Bleacher Report - Articles by Joey Mills

NBA Workshop: Make Your Dream Team

Joey Mills — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:01:25 -0500

I want to have a competition in which everyone who wants to compete enters their dream team. Then I will write a blog with all the teams in it and people will vote for the team they think is the best and would beat every other team in a best of seven series. But you can’t just have every superstar in the NBA, there are guidelines.

Team Guidelines

You Get:

One mega star
One super star
One All-Star
One near All-Star
Four role players
Two spot-minute guys
Two bench warmers
You can only use players that are playing right now in the NBA.

Now I’m going to state some of the main (or only if there is no etc. at the end) people that are in each group.

Mega Stars

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard

Super Stars

Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming

All Stars
Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Pau Gasol, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, Danny Granger, Caron Butler, Tony Parker, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Amar'e Stoudemire, Devin Harris, Rashard Lewis, Al Jefferson, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Rip Hamilton, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, etc.

Near All Stars
Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, Andris Biedrins, Josh Howard, Manu Ginobili, Rudy Gay, Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Kevin Martin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson, Michael Redd, Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal, Jose Calderon, Jason Kidd, etc.

Role Players
Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, James Posey, Roger Mason Jr., David Lee, Chris Duhon, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Al Harrington, Ronny Turiaf, John Salmons, Brad Miller, Stephon Marbury, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Eric Gordon, Delonte West, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Daniel Gibson, Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, Ramon Sessions, Luke Ridnour, Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, Udonis Haslem, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, etc.

Spot Minute Guys
Josh Powell, Leon Powe, Tony Allen, Eddie House, Chris Quinn, Jose Juan Berea, Erick Dampier, Brandon Bass, Jerry Stackhouse, Antoine Wright, Antoine Walker, Eddy Curry, etc.

Bench Warmers
You know who they are….

I know you may not agree with who is in each category, but those are the rules so don't cheat!

Hopefully we get a decent number of people to do this.

Purple and Gold Report: Trades Galore!

Joey Mills — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 07:32:16 -0500

The Los Angeles Lakers are leading the West with a record of 21-4. But even though they have a huge lead in the West, it doesn't look like they would be able to beat defensive-minded powerhouses like the Celtics and Cavaliers. The Lakers need to make some trades for some defensive minded players who would make the Lakers the #1 defensive team in the league. I will give some of my ideas for trades.

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Ray Allen: No Respect, No Problem

Joey Mills — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:26:40 -0500

Ray Allen is leading the Celtics in scoring this season with a 19.3 points per game average. He is also averaging 3.5 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game.

Even though I hate Ray Allen, I think that he is underappreciated by the Celtics and sports analysts.

Many people consider Paul Pierce the best player on the Celtics, but Ray Allen beats him in every stat except for rebounds, blocks (but Allen is a guard and Pierce is a forward so he should be behind him in those two categories), assists (they let Pierce set up plays more than Allen), and steals.

The ESPN announcers said before the Hornets—Celtics game that if they needed a clutch basket that they should go to Pierce. The problem with their statement is that Ray Allen is a much better clutch player than Pierce.

Last season, whenever the Celtics needed a clutch shot they gave it to Pierce, and every time Pierce would miss the shot, they would get the offensive rebound, and then they would give it to Ray Allen and he would usually hit the shot.

Against the Bobcats, they were down by two with a couple seconds left, and the Bobcats had the ball. Jason Richardson passed it in, but the ball was tipped by Eddie House to Paul Pierce, and after he traveled he passed it to Allen to make a game-winning three at the buzzer.

They went to Pierce first and he missed, then they went to Ray Allen and he made it. Since I hate the Celtics, I hate Ray Allen because he wins them a bunch of games, but I still think that he is underrated and is the MVP of the Celtics so far this season.

Again, they go to Ray Allen and something good happens. So as a Lakers fan I have to say...I hope the Celtics continue to underrate Ray Allen and continue going to Pierce for a shot instead.

NBA: What's Overrated?

Joey Mills — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:16:52 -0500

In this blog I am going to list the things that I think are overrated in the NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers started the season off playing defense, but once everyone thought they were going to be a defensive powerhouse, they went back to their old ways and lost some games because of it.

Boston Celtics: Is it possible for the two best teams in the NBA to be overrated? Yes! The Celtics actually play defense unlike the Lakers, but their offense isn't very good and they have needed the refs to bail them out of games that they would have lost otherwise.

Referees: The refs in the NBA are terrible!!! David Stern says that they aren't betting on games, but it is obvious that they are. They couldn't make the right call to save their lives.

Coaches: Everyone thinks that in order to win a championship you need to have a really good coach. All you need is a decent coach that doesn't make a lot of stupid mistakes. (Doc Rivers.) You don't need a Hall of Fame coach to win a championship. (Phil Jackson.) You just need a coach that isn't terrible like some coaches (Grizzlies, T'Wolves, Thunder coaches).

Huge Offseason Signings: Baron Davis went to the Clippers, Elton Brand went to the Sixers, and Corey Maggette went to the Warriors, but all those teams suck. So those three teams wasted millions of dollars that they could have spent on LeBron or Wade or Bosh or anyone else that is a really good free agent in 2009 and 2010.

Watching the Lakers this season has made me respect the Boston Celtics because even though they are favored by the refs, and are overly cocky and annoying, at least they try to play defense for all 48 minutes of the game.

NBA Teams: How Can We Get Better?

Joey Mills — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:29:25 -0500

Some of the teams in the NBA aren't getting any better, and won't get better until they make some moves. Other teams just need a few more pieces to get them into playoff or championship contention. I have thought of a few ideas for some of teams that need it.

Dallas Mavericks:

The Mavericks were once the best team in the league. Since then they have traded away their best young talent (Devin Harris) for a declining veteran (Jason Kidd), lost in the first round, and been involved in controversy.

In order for this team to get better, they need to shed the "soft" label. Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki are both all-stars, but they don't have the right players around them to win.

Nowitzki is not a pure power forward, so he needs to have a strong post presence to play center. Dampier is not that presence however, and neither is Desagana Diop. Josh Howard is talented, but he has too many problems off the court. Howard's value has lowered because of his off court issues, but he could still be traded for some good pieces.

Also, Jerry Stackhouse has demanded a trade because he hasn't gotten enough playing time. One option would be to trade Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse to the New York Knicks in exchange for Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson.

This would give the Mavs a big and strong center who is a good offensive threat, and a shooter to replace Howard as the small forward. The Knicks would get a good sixth man in Jerry Stackhouse, and another athletic wing player in Josh Howard.

New York Knicks:

A year ago the Knicks were the most problematic and dysfunctional team in the league, now with a new coach they are one of the early playoff teams in the Eastern Conference. They still have Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, and Zach Randolph, but they seem to be doing pretty well with Randolph at center with Marbury and Curry in street clothes.

Curry is a good offensive post player, but he isn't suited well for D'Antoni's run-and-gun system. One of the trade ideas I have is with the Mavericks. They could also trade Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, and Nate Robinson to the Miami Heat for Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem. This trade would allow Mike D'Antoni to play small ball, and gives him the player who fits perfectly into his system in Phoenix.

This trade gives the Miami Heat size, so that they can play Beasley at small forward, Zach Randolph at power forward, and Eddy Curry at center. Then they have a backcourt of Dwyane Wade and Nate Robinson, or even Mario Chalmers. If the Heat didn't want to do the trade then the Knicks could add in Mardy Collins and Marcus Banks, so the Heat can get more financial flexibility in 2010.

The trade also helps the Knicks from a financial standpoint because they would have a total of $54,286,158.00 in expiring contracts. The trade would make the Heat have less money to spend in 2010, but they would have a really good team so they would only have to resign Beasley and Wade that offseason. And they would have the money to do that because Blount's contract would have expired.

Miami Heat:

The Heat were the worst team in the league last season, but this season they seem to be turning it around with a healthy Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, and Udonis Haslem, plus the addition of rookie Michael Beasley. The Heat still don't have a good center and they aren't very strong at point guard either.

One of the ideas that could help the Heat would be the Curry, Randolph, and Robinson for Marion and Haslem trade that I wrote about in the New York Knicks section. Another idea would be to trade Daequan Cook to the New Jersey Nets for Josh Boone. This wouldn't be a big trade, but it would give the Heat a decent center.

Los Angeles Lakers:

The Lakers don't really need change, but Lamar Odom is mad about coming off the bench, and if that becomes a problem then he will need to be traded. If the Lakers want to trade Odom, then they should sign Antonio McDyess for the mid-level exception and then trade Lamar Odom to the Milwaukee Bucks for Richard Jefferson.

This trade would give the Lakers an amazing starting lineup, and their bench would only get a little worse since McDyess and Radmanovic could help compensate for the loss of Odom at power forward.

Chicago Bulls:

The Bulls have the deepest backcourt in the league, but their froncourt is one of the worst in the league. The only good offensive frontcourt players they have are Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng. Drew Gooden and Joakim Noah are the power forward-center combo right now, but they only score a combined 13.8 ppg. They really need help in their frontcourt, and they need to trade some of their backcourt players so that there isn't a problem with playing time.

Since Kirk Hinrich is injured he can't be traded and hopefully the Bulls aren't stupid enough to be thinking of trading Derrick Rose unless it is for LeBron James or Chris Paul. That leaves Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon, and Thabo Sefolosha. Larry Hughes' contract will be hard to move, but if a team is looking for cap space in 2010 then they might want him. The Bulls could trade Larry Hughes and Joakim Noah to the New Jersey Nets for Vince Carter.

Even though this doesn't help their frontcourt, it gives the Bulls a really good backcourt. The Nets would only do this trade if they want to shed salary and have more cap room in 2010. Drew Gooden is a decent power forward, but they would need a good center in order to have a good frontcourt. To get a good center they could trade Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni to the Los Angeles Clippers for Chris Kaman and Cuttino Mobley.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have never been good, and whenever they have a chance to get good, something bad happens like an injury or a missed player signing. This past offseason everyone thought they were going to become playoff contenders with Elton Brand and Baron Davis, but there was a disagreement in Brand's contract, so he went to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Clippers have talent in B. Davis, R. Davis, Gordon, Mobley, Thornton, Camby, Thomas, and Kaman, but they just can't seem to win games. The only person that is really tradeable is Chris Kaman. They could trade Kaman to the Bulls in the trade that I came up with in the Bulls section.

The Bobcats are interested in Kaman, so they could trade him for Gerald Wallace and Sean May. The Clippers need a major roster overhaul to become contenders.

Memphis Grizzlies

Minnesota Timberwolves

Sacramento Kings

The Timberwolves, Kings, and Grizzlies just need to wait and see how their young talent matures. If they turn out to be busts then they should make some trades, otherwise they don't need to do many trades, except for getting rid of bad contracts when they can.

The MVP Race: Week 2 & 3

Joey Mills — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:15:43 -0500

The MVP Race: Week 2 & 3

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

I haven't posted a new "The MVP Race" in a couple weeks now. Sorry, I have just not felt like spending time to write it. But now I'm back and will be posting the new editions on this site. So, Happy Thanksgiving Day (even though thanksgiving was two days ago) and hopefully everyone had a lot of turkey.

Just Missed Out: Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Derrick Rose, Brandon Roy

10. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks / Team Record: 7-8

Last Edition: 18

Dirk has quietly led the Mavericks back into decency this season. They started out 2-4, but then Dirk went on a tear and had some huge games. He brought them back and won the game against the Knicks, and was the reason they had the lead on the Lakers before the Lakers game back and won.

9. Chauncey Billups, Nuggets / Team Record: 10-6

Last Edition: Not Ranked

Ever since Billups joined the Nuggets, they have been doing great. He is the defensive-minded veteran point guard that they've always needed. He isn't shooting great right now, but he is setting up his teammates for easy scores and making them play defense.

8. Paul Pierce, Celtics / Team Record: 15-2

Last Edition: 13

Pierce has been the leader of the Celtics this season. He has won them games that they were trailing in and looked like they might lose. He hit the game winner against the Hawks, and just so happened to get to the free throw line when he got the ball in the clutch.

7. Chris Bosh, Raptors / Team Record: 8-7

Last Edition: 5

CB4 had been a stats beast this season, but the problem is that his team isn't winning. Its not his fault, but you can't be higher with a .500 record and some bad games (vs. Celtics). Once Jose Calderon, Bosh, and Jermaine O'Neal are all together, the Raptors record will improve and Bosh will move up on this list.

6. Dwyane Wade, Heat / Team Record 8-8

Last Edition: 6

D-Wade has been amazing this season, he has some of the best all-around stats in the NBA, including blocking 1.7 shots per game as a 6'4" shooting guard. I know I said for Bosh that even with his amazing stats he can't be higher with his teams record, Wade has better stats and a worse team than Bosh, so he is ahead even though his team has lost one more game than Bosh's.

5. Tim Duncan, Spurs / Team Record: 9-6

Last Edition: 16

Big Fundamentals has led the injury plagued Spurs to an 8-6 record and eighth seed in the tough West. Even though that doesn't seem good, it is because Manu and Parker were injured and the only other people on the team were all old. He will move down on this list once Manu and Parker return though.

4. Dwight Howard, Magic / Team Record: 12-4

Last Edition: 10

DH12 has been a rebounding beast this season, like always. He leads the league in blocks and is second in rebounding, but he will probably be first in rebounding by the end of next month. His team also has a really good record.

3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers / Team Record: 13-1

Last Edition: 2

Even though Kobe's stats suck (compared to recent seasons), his team is no. 1 in the league and would be undefeated if it wasn't for a bad game against the Pistons. Kobe hasn't done much, but without him the Lakers wouldn't be favorites and wouldn't have this good of a record.

2. Chris Paul, Hornets / Team Record: 9-6

Last Edition: 4

CP3 has the same story as D-Wade and CB4, except for the fact that his team has a better record and he is in the Western Conference. The Hornets record is mediocre, but they have had injuries to Morris Peterson, Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic so far this season.

1. LeBron James, Cavaliers / Team Record: 13-3

Last Edition: 1

LBJ23 has been insane so far this season. He has huge stats and his team is second in the East. Mo Williams and James has turned out to be a much better duo than anyone expected. The Cavs won't be able to keep up this pace all season, but James will be able to keep up these stats all season and they will have a top seed in the East.

To give your opinions on the article or to read new or recent editions of The MVP Race, go to thebasketballoracle.com