Lakers lacking effort, Celtics seeking Ray Allen
With Game 7s looming, Los Angeles and Boston facing big questions
Elsa / Getty ImagesRay Allen is averaging 15.7 points in Boston's three playoff wins but just 7.3 points in its three losses.
4. The Mavericks' season is over, having lasted one series longer than most observers thought it would. Their 10 playoff games uncovered very little we didn't know about them already - Dirk Nowitzki remains a matchup nightmare, Josh Howard is still immature, Erick Dampier remains grossly overpaid and the team as a whole lacks the talent and toughness to compete with the elite.
The biggest offseason question for the Mavericks revolves around free-agent point guard Jason Kidd. But that is not the only matter.
Kidd is 35 and has a lot of mileage on him from deep postseason runs and international ball. He is still good enough to control a game from the point but the questions continue regarding his inability to stay in front of the league's younger, quicker point guards.
Kidd made $21.3 million this season and is taking an eight-figure pay cut no matter where he plays. The Mavs should offer him $21 million over three years and let him walk if he balks.
That would trigger Plan B, which is to acquire Chris Paul from the Hornets, who have huge financial issues ad have to unload at least one of their big contracts. Dallas could move Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse to New Orleans for Paul and Peja Stojakovic as the combined salaries match almost perfectly.
The Hornets move the immovable contract of Stojakovic, get fixtures at shooting guard and small forward and can dump Howard for his $11 million in cap room after next season. They can buy out Stackhouse's $7.25 million contract for $2 million and give his roster spot to a younger player. Yes, the would have to replace the irreplaceable Paul, but they could draft a point guard and sign Ramon Sessions.
That leaves the Hornets with a rebounder, three scorers and a passer in their starting lineup and a nice mix of veterans and kids on their bench. It's still a playoff team, and a more cost-effective one.
The Mavericks get a young superstar to take the burden off Nowitzki, who is in his 30s. Paul and Nowitzki can work the pick-and-pop the same way Paul and David West did in New Orleans, and Stojakovic can spot up behind the arc. They also can re-sign Ryan Hollins and exploit his athleticism through Paul. The deal does take Dallas off the 2010 free agent market and creates a need to find a shooting guard in the draft or free agency.
That leaves the Mavericks with two top-five talents, a perimeter sniper and some rugged pieces that instantly get better playing with Paul. They need to add a solid shooting guard, but it's still a playoff team, and one that could make a deep run if its stars take over.
Whether or not either of those plans unfolds, the Mavs have other free agents in Hollins, Brandon Bass, James Singleton and Gerald Green. It may be possible to keep Hollins cheaply, but this will be the third contract for Bass, who may be looking for the mid-level exception. If Singleton and Green harp for more money or years, it will be elsewhere.
5. Even in this instant-reaction world, I have done a pretty good job of restraining myself when it comes to speaking in superlatives.
I usually don't do so except when it is absolutely necessary. For example, during the course of any Sixers game, I will say two or three times, "Samuel Dalembert has got to be the dumbest player in the NBA."
I bet Paul Allen and Kevin Pritchard are wondering why this couldn't have happened, say, in Boston in early October.
6. Since we are in the first two-day stretch of no NBA games since late October, it seems like as good a time as any to update you on the PBN Postseason Pick 'Em Party.
As we approach the conference finals, PBN Editor Sam Amico still has the lead with 55 points. Yours truly has climbed to 48 points and narrowed the gap because I felt more strongly about Amico's hometown Cavaliers than he did. Tony Mejia remains third with 32 points and badly needs Orlando to win Sunday to get back in the picture.
Next season, the PBN Postseason Pick 'Em Party will begin in preseason, with all staffers selecting their 16 playoff teams and receiving a point for each correct pick — and losing two points for each incorrect pick.
We will have updated tables and conference finals picks in the near future.
Chris Bernucca is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.
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More newsJim Rogash / Getty Images Rajon Rondo had 18 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 85-75 in Game 7 on Saturday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
CSN: You may not see it from start to finish, but when the game — or in this case, postseason life — is on the line, you see just how good Rajon Rondo can be.
