The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the Kings are waiting patiently while Ron Artest decides whether or not he's going to opt-out of his contract.

I almost named this post "the Sacramento Bee needs a reality check," because if they think that Artest can only garner a two-year, $12 million contract on the open market, they are fooling themselves. He's worth a lot more than that.

Sure, he's crazy. But he's been a pretty good citizen in Sacramento and teams around the league have noticed that. He's just 28 and is a terrific player. He can play small forward or even power forward on a team that is playing small ball. Moreover, he's quick enough to cover shooting guards as well, so the guy can guard three positions. He averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals, while shooting 45% from the field and 38% from three-point range… and all he can get is a two-year contract worth $6 million per season?

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

Utah center Mehmet Okur has played pretty well against the Lakers; he's averaging 18 points and 11 boards against L.A., which is a pretty nice jump from his regular season stats. But the guy needs to stop flopping in crunch time and get his team a defensive rebound.

With 1:53 to play and the Lakers leading, 101-100, Okur was positioned for a defensive rebound when Gasol gave him a little shove in the back. Okur, like most international players, overreacted to the contact, trying to draw a foul. The refs didn't bite and Gasol gathered the rebound. The possession eventually ended with a Lamar Odom dunk.

With 0:21 to play and the Lakers leading, 105-102, Okur again had position...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

In a word… yes. But the Knicks probably aren't the right fit for Mike D'Antoni. This may not make much sense, but that doesn't make it any less true. Given the right personnel, D'Antoni's brand of up-tempo basketball can win over any group of fans, even the rough and tumble fans in New York. But a quick look at the Knicks' roster makes me wonder just how quickly D'Antoni can successfully implement that high-octane attack.

He'll first need to find a quick, pass-first point guard to push the tempo and hit the open man. Last season, the Knicks had Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford running the point. If reined in, Marbury probably has the skills to run D'Antoni's system, but there is just too much history there for him to succeed. Robinson and Crawford are both scoring point guards, and while they have the offensive ability to thrive at the off guard position, they don't have the court vision to run the point like Steve Nash does in Phoenix. So what's the solution? Barring the unlikely event that they can land Derrick Rose in the draft, the Knicks need to jettison Marbury as quickly as they can and do whatever it takes to acquire T.J. Ford from Toronto. Ford is expendable there because the Raptors will want to re-sign Jose Calderon. If that means that the Knicks have to give up Robinson, so be it.

Next, he'll need to surround Ford (or whomever he chooses to run the show) with rangy, athletic shooters...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

Over the next five weeks, I will go position by position and rank the top 30 players by total value. The NBA is a business, so it doesn't make sense to purely rank the players only by their talent or stats, or by some other qualitative measure (though those factors do matter). We must also look at a player's salary relative to his peers. Obviously, if a player is in the middle of a very reasonable contract, he'll get a boost in the rankings.

To summarize a player's stats, I'll use the NBA Efficiency statistic, which is defined as:

EFF = ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers))

I'll list Efficiency Per Game (EPG) for each player, which will give a nice snapshot of his stats. To compare two players that get vastly different minutes, I'll occasionally mention Efficiency Per Minute (EPM), which is simply the player's total efficiency divided by his minutes.

I'll also consider a player's age and potential. All else being equal, a franchise would probably prefer a 25 year-old point guard to a 32 year-old point guard, right? Essentially, the order of this list comes down to this question – would you trade Player X for Player Y, assuming the goal is to win a title in the next three seasons at a reasonable payroll?

To summarize, there are four major factors I'll consider: talent (statistical performance), contract, age and potential.

Without further adieu, here are the top 30 point guards, ranked by total value:

1. Chris Paul, Hornets

Age: 23

EPG: 27.8

Contract: two years, $10.6 M ($5.3 M per)

Not only has Paul emerged as hands-down the best point guard in the game, he is still on his rookie contract, so he's a bargain to boot.

2. Deron Williams, Jazz

Age: 23

EPG: 23.0

Contract: two years, $11.8 M ($5.9 M per)

Williams is bigger and stronger than Paul, and is also a better outside shooter. But Paul has the edge in quickness, ball handling and court vision.

3. Tony Parker, Spurs

Age: 25

EPG: 16.9

Contract: three years, $37.7 M ($12.6 M per)

Parker is young, speedy and a proven player in the clutch. Plus, his salary is fairly reasonable for a player of his caliber. His defense is mediocre at best.

(See the rest of the list after the jump.)

Vladimir Radmanovic: good shooter, horrible defender

Luke Walton: poor shooter, good defender

If you combine the strengths of these two players, you have a pretty good small forward. If you combine their weaknesses, you have the worst player in the NBA.

Walton had a couple of bad plays at the end of Game 3 that cost his team a chance at a comeback win. With the Lakers down seven and under five minutes to play, Walton failed to box out Boozer, who was shooting the second of two free throws. Boozer got his own rebound and made a strong move to the hole to complete the four-point play. Then, on a jump ball with the Lakers down four with 0:14 to play, Gasol tipped the ball to Walton who proceeded to fumble the ball away. It was interesting to see Kobe's reaction after the play. (He screamed at Walton, who probably deserved it.)

These are two pretty simple plays for a supposedly high-IQ guy like Walton...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

In 2005, Mike Brown took over a Cavs team that went 42-40 a year before under Paul Silas. Since then, he has compiled a 145-101 (.589) regular season record and led his team to the Finals last season. Good work, right? Yes, but a closer look at the numbers reveals something very troubling.

The Cavs are getting worse offensively.

The table below shows the Cavs' year-by-year offensive and defensive ratings, which are defined as points scored (or points allowed) per 100 possessions...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

I wrote a few days ago about how the Hornets' speed is killing the Spurs, and while speed and quickness is also playing a role in the Lakers' 2-0 start against the Jazz, their length has been a bigger factor.

Specifically, I'm referring to Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Their considerable wingspans are really causing problems for the relatively short-armed and undersized Carlos Boozer, who has shot a woeful 9-24 (38%) from the field in the first two games. His 12.5-point average in the series is well below his 21.1-point regular season average. Simply stated, if he posts his usual stats, the Jazz probably win one of those games in L.A.

As it stands, they head back to Utah where they hold the best home record (37-4) in the league...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

A buddy and I went to the AVP Huntington Beach Open this past weekend. I wanted to catch one of Kerri Walsh and Misty May's matches, but we arrived about an hour too late. We walked around the tournament grounds watching the action on the various side courts. We settled in to watch a match that featured Angela Knopf and Saralyn Smith against Jenelle Koester and Sarah Straton. Why did we decide that particular match? I'm not certain, but I think it might have been Jenelle Koester…

That's her on the right. [Picture is included in original post.] I could say that it was her terrifc serves, clutch digs or powerful spikes, but I'd be lying. As I watched the match, I started to wonder - how much of beach volleyball's success is based on sex? The sport really came to the forefront during the 2004 Olympics in Sydney, when May and Walsh (and all of the other competitors) showed off their toned, athletic bodies in tiny bikinis. If you remember, it was pretty amazing how popular the sport became as it was introduced to an international audience. Everyone was talking about it. Moreover, everyone was watching it, and the unbeatable Misty May and Kerri Walsh became household names. Still at the Koester match, I looked around the court, trying to figure out what percentage of attendees were there for the volleyball and what percentage were there for the view. I noticed a couple of male "photographers" taking pictures of Koester. No press passes, just big cameras with long lenses. It's clear that a large percentage of beach volleyball fans are there for the eye candy. And I'm not just talking about women. There were a lot of female fans clustered around the men's matches as well.

From a pure sports standpoint, indoor volleyball is more entertaining to watch. Due to the hard surface, the athletes are able to move more quickly and jump higher, which results in longer rallies and harder spikes...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

Granted, it's not nearly as big of a deal as last month's DUI, but Carmelo Anthony just got a speeding ticket.

Police say Anthony was pulled over Saturday for driving 60 mph in a 45-mph zone.

Driving yourself around isn't worth the bad pub, Carmelo. Hire yourself a driver, at least until this DUI runs its course.

It's still way too early in the series to write the defending champs off, but I think that even the most ardent San Antonio supporter would admit that things aren't looking too good. The Spurs entered the series with a serious advantage in playoff experience, but all that's got them thus far is a pair of 18+ point defeats.

It looks like the Hornets are a horrible matchup for the Spurs. San Antonio's offense starts with Tony Parker, who is typically able to use his quickness to get into the lane at will. But with the speedy Chris Paul and even speedier Jannero Pargo splitting defensive duties, those driving lanes aren't nearly as open as they usually are. If Parker's jumper isn't falling - and at the moment it isn't - his effectiveness is severely limited.

Inside, the Hornets are trapping Tim Duncan just about every time he gets the ball...

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

Basketball is a funny game sometimes. On paper, it looked like Boston's first round series would be a cakewalk. Here you go, Big Three. Here's a young, inexperienced 37-45 team to sweep before you give your old bones some rest. Or, if you want, you can drop a game in Atlanta so you can give your fans a treat and win Game 5 in front of them.

Only it didn't work out that way. The young Hawks were a different (i.e. good) team at home. The city of Atlanta, not known for supporting semi-lost causes, turned out in force and gave the Hawks an extra edge at home. While it was interesting to see the Celtics handle a tough series like that, none of these guys wants to play a seven-game series in the first round against a team with a losing record.

Is Boston's confidence shaken? Maybe not shaken, but there are certainly some chinks in the armor. It remains to be seen whether or not they use the series to circle the wagons, utilizing this ubuntu thing I keep hearing about. But one thing's for sure - the Celtics move forward knowing that they are not invincible, especially on the road.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers come into the season fresh off an oddly schizophrenic series against the Wizards...

(Read the rest of the preview after the jump.)

The Suns have given head coach Mike D'Antoni permission to talk to the Bulls and Knicks about their head coaching vacancies.

Wow, first the Mavs fire Avery Johnson (59.3 wins over the last three seasons) and now it looks like Mike D'Antoni (58 wins over the last four seasons) is available as well. I don't remember the last time two coaches that have had this kind of recent, sustained success were available in the same offseason. This appears to be a breakdown between D'Antoni's relationship with new GM Steve Kerr. It's understandable that D'Antoni is resistant to making major changes to a system that has worked pretty well over the last four years. But the proof is in the playoffs and the Suns haven't had the kind of postseason success they wanted given their roster and payroll.

Watching the once-proud Suns and Mavs (and the not-so-proud Nuggets) lose their first round series with a combined 2-12 record, the opening lyrics from "Games People Play" (the ol' Alan Parsons Project song) popped into my head. I realize I'm dating myself, but here they are:

Where do we go from here / now that all other children are growing up

And how do we spend our lives / if there's no one to lend us a hand

I don't wanna live here no more / I don't wanna stay

Ain't gonna spend the rest of my life / quietly fading away

So where do these three teams go from here?

THE SUNS

Bill Simmons just wrote a good, long piece about the downfall of the Suns where he discusses all the questionable moves that the organization made to get where they are now. I agree with most of what he says, except his claim that the Spurs were the better team in last year's series with the Suns. (You know, the one where Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for the crucial Game 6 in Phoenix when the Suns were up 3-2 and had a chance to put the Spurs away on their home court.) I firmly believe that the Suns would have won that game had Stoudemire and Diaw played, so I never liked their decision to trade Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal (which Simmons defends). The funny thing is that suspension may have completely altered the NBA landscape. Teams around the league were starting to mimic the Suns' breakneck offensive attack, but the perception after that series was that it wasn't effective in the playoffs. If the Suns' win the title that year, the overall pace of the league would have continued to rise.

(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

During the regular season, Utah and L.A. were 2/3 in offensive efficiency (after Phoenix), which means that the Jazz and the Lakers were both in the top three in points per possession. This is no surprise considering that these two teams are coached by two of the best in the league, Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan. Jackson runs the infamous Triangle Offense, while Sloan utilizes UCLA cuts (an upscreen from the post for the point guard) and even the ol' Flex cut in his offensive attack. Both teams are extremely good at hitting the open man as evidenced by their appearance in the top four in league-wide assists per possession.

This series provides some especially interesting matchups. Kobe Bryant causes huge headaches for opposing coaches, but the Jazz have two athletic, rangy defenders in Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko to throw at him. I suspect they'll start the game with Brewer watching Bryant and then Kirilenko will take over when Kyle Korver is inserted into the game. Neither player has been particularly effective in limiting Bryant, who has averaged 29.8 points and shot over 56% from the field in the four head-to-head meetings with the Jazz this season.

Utah also has to be concerned about Pau Gasol...

(Read the rest of the preview after the jump.)

If not for Tim Duncan's three-pointer near the end of Game 1, we might be looking at a Suns/Hornets matchup, but the uber-experienced Spurs grinded out yet another series with their blend of disciplined, fundamental basketball. Duncan posted 24.8 points and 13.8 rebounds in the five games, but it was Tony Parker's 29.6 points and 7.0 assists that really put the Spurs over the top. Manu Ginobili had kind of a quiet series, but still managed to chip in 18.2 points per game off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Hornets shredded a Dallas team on the decline, getting great play out of Chris Paul, who averaged 24.6 points, 12.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds in five games. He even had a 24/15/11 triple-double in the series-clinching Game 5. Fellow All-Star David West was steady and terrific, averaging 22.6 points and 7.4 rebounds during the series.

The teams split the season series, 2-2, so on paper they look to be pretty evenly matched. The Paul/Parker point guard matchup should be a joy to watch. Both players are super-quick and love to penetrate the lane. While there, Parker is looking to score, while Paul likes to set his teammates up. However, Paul has really developed his short jumper over the past season, so he's capable of completely taking the game over at times.

(Read the rest of the preview after the jump.)