ESPN has assigned its Spanish-speaking correspondent Alfred R. Berrios to keep up a weekly ranking of the NBA's Latinos for its ESPN Deportes property. Celebrating the game's Central and Southern American tentacles is a positive thing, and the NBA has long sought to integrate the multitudes of Spanish-speaking sports fans in the United States and abroad into its fold.
But ESPN's list is just weird in terms of inclusion and exclusion.
Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective.
The Knicks bench came up big as they erased a 19-point deficit in the second-half on their way to picking up their second victory of the season. Al Harrington led the way with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Larry Hughes added 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Hughes has trumped both Nate Robinson and Toney Douglas at the 'two' and continues to look like a safe add.
Danilo Gallinari's big goose egg was overshadowed -- literally? -- by the return of every Knick fan's favorite big man, Eddy Curry. Big Slacks had 10 points and four rebounds in 12 minutes coming off the bench. Mike Breem said it best when he insinuated that the Knicks were going to start giving Curry more playing time in order to showcase his "talents" with the hopes that someone will bite on his contract. That says a lot, doesn't it?
For the Pacers it was Danny Granger who led the way with 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting and five treys. He wasn't very helpful in the second half, scoring just three of his 33 in the final two quarters.
Trevor Ariza was a fan favorite during his days in Los Angeles, and an integral part of the Lakers squad that won a championship just a few months ago. So it's no surprise that when he returned on Sunday as a member of the Houston Rockets, fans greeted him with a long standing ovation, while his former teammates Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher presented him with the ring that he earned as a key member of that title-winning team.
Video of the brief but heart-felt ceremony, after the jump.
The Rockets strode into Staples Center ready for a gunfight. But emerging capo Trevor Ariza wasn't exactly ready for a game of keep-away. In this video, Ariza loses a sneaker during an early defensive possession. Sworn enemy Ron Artest notices and tosses Ariza's shoe out-of-bounds. And, of course, Artest capitalizes on his gambit the next time down. (Before you curse out Ron-Ron, know that he got his comeuppance: Rockets 101, Lakers 91.)
There weren't too many fireworks between Ron Artest and his former teammates during the Lakers' overtime victory in Houston on Wednesday, other than a double technical called on him and Trevor Ariza in the first quarter.
But judging by what Artest had to say afterwards, there certainly could have been.
Artest claimed that the Rockets were being extra-physical with him in hopes of getting him ejected. And after taking a shot from Ariza early, Artest admitted that thoughts of getting violent out there definitely crossed his mind.
There are 10 games on the schedule this evening, but perhaps none holds more intrigue than Ron Artest making his return to Houston, to face the Rockets as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Artest isn't the only one with something to prove, as L.A. will be seeing Trevor Ariza for the first time since his agent played hardball with L.A.'s ownership group over the summer.
It's a little early to tell which team has come out ahead in this virtual trade, but looking at tonight's matchup, the Rockets would appear to be the ones with the advantage.
The Lakers are coming off of a championship season, and are the favorites to take home the title again in 2010. But with the virtual trade of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest, along with the media circus created by Lamar Odom's whirlwind marriage to a reality television personality, they've certainly inserted enough wild cards into their stacked deck to make even the most die-hard of fans question the team's ability to repeat as champions.
There is a scene in Major League where the manager relates how ownership essentially has stacked everything she can against the team. They have no hope, because no matter what happens, they'll only be released as soon as it's convenient in pursuit of moving the team. Essentially, there is no reason for hope, no reason for effort, no reason for showing up to play. Tom Berenger's character looks up and says, " Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do ... win the whole (expletive) thing."
And that's pretty much where the Rockets are this season, barring the psychopathic sexbomb owner, threat of relocation, and the fact that they play a much more strenuous sport.
Here's hoping Lamar Odom and the L.A. Lakers reach an agreement and he returns to the defending champions.
If and when that happens, judging the offseason of general manager Mitch Kupchak will be simple. Odom returning to the Lakers, essentially means the offseason consisted of swapping Ron Artest for Trevor Ariza.
That's going to be an easy one to judge when it's all said and done. And Kupchak's going to get the credit or the blame.
Ariza admitted to hearing from LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal but denied an ESPN report that James had confirmed he planned on staying in Cleveland after he becomes a free agent the summer of 2010.
ESPN has assigned its Spanish-speaking correspondent Alfred R. Berrios to keep up a weekly ranking of the NBA's Latinos for its ESPN Deportes property. Celebrating the game's Central and Southern American tentacles is a positive thing, and the NBA has long sought to integrate the multitudes of Spanish-speaking sports fans in the United States and abroad into its fold.
Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective.
Trevor Ariza was a fan favorite during his days in Los Angeles, and an integral part of the Lakers squad that won a championship just a few months ago. So it's no surprise that when he returned on Sunday as a member of the Houston Rockets, fans greeted him with a long standing ovation, while his former teammates Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher presented him with the ring that he earned as a key member of that title-winning team. 
There weren't too many fireworks between Ron Artest and his former teammates during the Lakers' overtime victory in Houston on Wednesday, other than a double technical called on him and Trevor Ariza in the first quarter.
There are 10 games on the schedule this evening, but perhaps none holds more intrigue than Ron Artest making his return to Houston, to face the Rockets as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.
Here's hoping Lamar Odom and the L.A. Lakers reach an agreement and he returns to the defending champions.
HOUSTON -- Trevor Ariza officially signed with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, but not before the Cleveland Cavaliers made a last-ditch effort trying to convince him to break the verbal commitment he made last week.
