There's Basketball on Television Again!

Last night after playing some hoops, I was flipping through channels and stumbled across a replay of the FIBA exhibition game between USA and Spain. Luckily, I had yet to check my usual basketball websites so I was unaware of the outcome. It turned out to be a super entertaining game and has got me pumped to tune into future FIBA games. Here's some of my observations:

Spain Has Got Some Ballers

Spain is obviously the biggest threat to USA's basketball supremacy. They came close to beating the Redeem Team in the '08 Olympics, which is a game I have still yet to watch. Apparently Chauncey Billups hasn't either, so that makes me feel a little better.

Ricky Rubio's court vision is certainly not all hype. He made some creative passes in transition, and the Pistol Pete comparisons are certainly justified. He's also very disruptive with his length on defense. Former Memphis Grizzly Juan Carlos Navarro was also impressive. He appears to be Spain's go-to offensive weapon, especially during crunch time. I wish he would have stuck around in the NBA, but there's just as much money to be made in Europe so I can't say I blame him for choosing Europe over the US. Marc Gasol played a decent game, but it was also really interesting to see some Spanish players who have never played in the NBA, like Fran Vazquez and Felipe Reyes.

Team USA Was Inconsistent Yet Exciting

Besides Durant, who had an excellent all around game, many of USA's players were making some really great plays but following them up with really stupid plays. For instance, Stephen Curry at one point crossed over Ricky Rubio and finished with a beautiful floater and shortly thereafter stole it from Rubio and finished with a reverse layup on the break. Soon after though, he committed a turnover and missed a jumper on consecutive possessions. Andre Iguodala was making plays but struggled shooting. Russell Westbrook missed a fastbreak dunk after getting a steal early in the game, but redeemed himself with a nice drive and a behind the back pass to Durant on the break. Derrick Rose had flashes of brilliance, especially down the stretch, but also turned it over five times.

Overall, Team USA seems impressive in transition but they still need time to mesh as a team and adjust to the international rules, as there were several travels called throughout the game.

Lamar Odom and Chauncey Billups provide veteran leadership, but Durant is clearly the leader with Derrick Rose playing second fiddle. KD was brilliant on offense and had two crucial blocks at the end of the game, including one on Rudy Fernandez as time expired.

Props to Coach K

Mike Krzyzewski deserves plenty of credit for this win, as he switched to zone during Spain's final possession of the game. Spain wanted to run the pick and roll with Navarro, so Coach K switched it up after running man-to-man for almost the entire game. Spain's Fran Vasquez said that they weren't surprised by the move, but it did prove to be a decision that affected the outcome of the game. With that said, Durant deserves the bulk of the credit for his stifling D on Fernandez.

Also Worth Noting

Durant and Marc Gasol exchanged words at one point during the game, which is something I'm not used to seeing from either of those players. Maybe there's a chance that Nenad Krstic will have the opportunity to throw chairs in KD's defense after all.

They kept running some awful chocolate milk ad with Chris Bosh and some woman Olympic athlete. There's a close-up of Bosh talking about the benefits of chocolate milk, and this woman keeps popping up next to him to fill in certain words and phrases. When the camera cuts to a wide shot, it's revealed that he's soooo tall that she has to jump on a trampoline to reach his height. It's a piss poor concept to begin with and Chris Bosh doesn't help, as he has the personality of a rock.

Things I Learned Watching Basketball on Sunday

The Superman "feud" is stupid, but the match-up is great

I'm totally sick of the talk about whether Shaq or Dwight Howard is the real Superman, but I have to admit that it makes the match-up between the two that much more entertaining on the court. It's such a fun battle to watch: a declining legendary big man against a young monster who's just beginning to realize his potential. They both looked like they had something to prove, so I've got to give some credit to Shaq's jackassery for thickening the plot. Dwight ultimately won the battle showing great confidence in the post, but Shaq kept it interesting by going 9-10 for 20 points despite foul trouble.

Orlando is deep

It's taken them a while to put it together, but the Magic seem to be figuring things out at the right time of the season. Orlando just has so many weapons on offense. After relying on Dwight in the post in the first half, the Magic were able to hold the Cavs off in the end thanks to Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter's offense. Mickael Pietrus AKA Air France also stepped up with his play on both sides of the court. I've enjoyed watching him since his days in Golden State. He's a talented athlete, with three-point range, and great perimeter D.

LeBron James can shoot the Cavs out of games

LeBron can make his presence known on the court unlike anyone else, but he has a tendency to take bad shots that hurt Cleveland. Take away his five missed three-pointers, and he would have been shooting well above 50%. The Cavs might have won the game, too. With that said, I've seen plenty of games where LeBron will sink a few threes in a row that initially seemed like bad shots.

I really, really love me some two-handed blocks

The Nuggets are for real

Denver made it to the Western Conference Finals last season pushing the Lakers to six games, and they're capable of making even more noise this year. The Nuggs have been impressive throughout most of this season, even when Melo's been out. Billups' emergence as a true leader has instilled a culture of winning that just wasn't there during the Allen Iverson years. In addition to this, Melo has expanded his game and stepped up his his once suspect defense. Denver's frontline is still one of my favorites in the NBA, with Birdman's energy and K-Mart and Nene's consistency. When J.R. Smith gets his head in the game, which he did in the 4th quarter against the Celtics on Sunday, the Nuggets are a very scary team. Rookie Ty Lawson also gives them an added dimension in the backcourt that they lacked last season when the aging Anthony Carter was the primary back-up at point guard.

Stephen Curry is really good

Not but a week ago, I was arguing with one of my friends that there was no chance that Stephen Curry could win the Rookie of the Year award over Sacramento's Tyreke Evans. While I still think Evans will win it, Curry's performance against the Hawks on Sunday has shaken my confidence a bit. After the Hawks had been leading by 18 in the 3rd quarter, Curry got Golden State back in it and took the game over. Although he had 4 assists to 5 turnovers against Atlanta, Curry has shown an ability to run the point as of late. His assists included a couple of perfectly placed cross-court passes that got the Oracle Arena crowd into it and really changed the game. I just love to watch Golden State pull off upset wins.

Changing of the Guards

The 2009 NBA Draft class has been largely dominated by guards, many of which are point guards or combo guards. With several of the league's elite point guards on the backside of their careers (Steve Nash, Chauncy Billups, Jason Kidd) there seems to be plenty of rookies poised to battle with the young elite, such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose.

Clearly ahead of the pack is the Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans. If Evans continues to play at the rate he has this season, he's a virtual lock for Rookie of the Year. With his size and strength, he's able to slash to the basket with ease. He also has tremendous speed, lateral movement, and the ability to find the open lane, which makes him that much more deadly. Many questioned his ability to run the point but he seems to be doing a decent job, averaging just over 5 assists. Most importantly, Evans has the look of a true leader. Last night Evans led the Kings to an overtime win against the Knicks after having trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 points in the quarter, and forced overtime by drawing a double team and finding Jason Thompson for a dunk. This isn't the first time he's led the Kings back from a big deficit for a win, as they beat the Bulls earlier this season after trailing by 35.

Here's an example of how Evans can terrorize defenses, this time against Kobe and the Lakers:

Brandon Jennings is another young point guard who has turned heads throughout the league, not only due to his play but also his sweet hairdos, like this House Party-esque flattop. Nicolas Perkins has had a thing or two to say about Jennings, and with good reason. He's capable of going off at any moment, as evidenced by his 55-point explosion earlier this year. In addition to this, he's averaging 6.3 assists to 2.5 turnovers, good for 11th in the league in assists and 20th in assist to turnover ratio, which leads all rookies. Though his scoring has dropped off a bit, he's still averaging just over 17 points a game, which is very good for a rookie. Like Evans, Jennings also recently had a big game against New York (whom he had hoped would draft him) scoring 22 points and dropping 8 dimes in a win. I bet the Knicks wished they had made Jennings dream of playing in New York come true, as Jordan Hill (who was drafted before Jennings) seems to be nothing more than a project at this point.

Son of former NBA sharpshooter Del Curry, Stephen Curry is another rookie guard who has been impressive. Although he does play some at the point, Curry is the definition of a pure shooter. He leads all rookies in three-point percentage at 42.3 percent, good for 11th overall in the NBA. Curry seems to be a player with great character, which is too bad that he's mired in the mess that is the 2009-10 Golden State Warriors. Apparently when he found out he would be participating in the Three-Point Contest this coming weekend, he talked to the league about his teammate and fellow sharpshooter Anthony Morrow taking his place in the contest. Curry's main weakness is that he looks about 8-years old.

The Hornets happened to round up two promising rookie guards in Darren Collison and second-rounder Marcus Thornton. Having to fill in for the injured Chris Paul, Collison has performed beyond expectations. Despite losing 4 of 6 games since he has started, Collison has averaged 18.3 points and 9.6 assists. Unfortunately, he's also averaging 4.0 turnovers. Thornton has also shined in CP3's absence, averaging 18.7 points and shooting 43.2 percent from three in his last seven games. Collison's only problem is that he is destined to be a back-up behind Chris Paul for years to come, despite being a capable starting point guard. There's a good chance that he'll eventually wind up elsewhere. At least he has the best in the league showing him the ropes.

Denver's Ty Lawson finds himself in a different position than Collison, as he's being groomed to eventually take over the point once Chauncey Billups starts to decline. Lawson's ridiculous speed makes him capable of singlehandedly creating fast breaks off of inbound passes. Although his speed is his greatest asset, he's also a good three-point shooter.

Although I haven't watched him much, Minnesota's Jonny Flynn has also been an excellent rookie point guard. Who knows what will happen with Flynn if Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio actually comes to the NBA and plays for the Timberwolves, who he apparently doesn't want to play for.

Honorable Mentions: Terrence Williams seems to be a promising player, but he's rotting away with the New Jersey Nets. The Hawks' Jeff Teague also has potential, but hardly gets into the rotation playing for a contender. The Sixers Jrue Holiday could develop into a good point guard, but he's stuck behind Allen Iverson and he's apparently pretty raw. Eric Maynor, who was drafted by the Jazz but traded to the Thunder for salary cap relief, seems to be a solid point guard.

NBA Training Camp Story Lines & More

It's been a minute since I've written anything about the NBA, and now that media day is past and training camp has started, there's suddenly more interesting things to talk about than Lamar Odom's hasty marriage to reality TV's Khloe Kardashian. Speaking of which, I've been speculating their marriage was the deal breaker for Odom's potential Miami reunion. I probably should've written something about Delonte West being arrested for carrying two hand guns and a shotgun after being pulled over on a three-wheeled motorcycle, because, y' know, that was pretty fucked up. Also, I guess the richest man in Russia is going to buy the Nets, which will probably lead to their highly anticipated move to Brooklyn.

Not in a Golden State: Some of the biggest news to come out of media day is the bleak situation the Warriors have found themselves in. After being fined $25,000 for publicly requesting a trade, Stephen Jackson doesn't seem phased as he continued to express his desire to be dealt. Obviously the league is employing a ridiculous double standard with this fine, as Kobe bitched and moaned all throughout the offseason in 2007 without any consequence. As for Captain Jack's desired destinations, he'd like to end up with Cleveland, anywhere in Texas, or New York to reunite with former Warrior Al Harrington.

As if the drama with Jackson isn't enough, Monta Ellis has said that he and rookie Stephen Curry can't work together as a backcourt as Warriors management had envisioned. Ellis says he has no hard feelings towards the Warriors for drafting Curry, but because they're both small guards, he doesn't feel they can produce wins playing together. Man, what a disappointment this team has been since that glorious upset against the Mavs in the first round of the 2007 Playoffs. I wish I could say that I still believe, but what's left to believe in.

KG Questionable: While I don't normally take pleasure in people being injured, I couldn't help but do a fist pump upon reading the news that Kevin Garnett's bone spur in his knee is more serious than he initially realized. After missing much of the end of last season and the entire playoffs, the Celtics have been pretty quiet about his injury. Garnett has had minimal health issues throughout his 14-year career, so he insists that the injury has forced him to take his health more seriously. Details remain vague.

Cut like a Prizefighter: Along with media day and training camp comes the inevitable rhetoric from coaches and players alike about how the players are in such great shape. Starting with my team, the Miami Heat, coach Erik Spoelstra has been gushing about Jermaine O'Neal's improved health after an offseason of working out in Chicago with noted trainer Tim Grover. Grover has received much attention after helping Dwyane Wade return to form last season. Spoelstra has said that Jermaine looks like he did during his All-Star days in Indiana, but even stronger. JO reportedly has looked much better moving around and can apparently jump again, which would probably be beneficial to to the Heat this season.

Elton Brand will return to the Sixers after recovering from a shoulder injury that kept him out the majority of last season. He's also recovered from the previous season's torn Achilles tendon. According to teammate Thaddeus Young, Brand has been a "monster" on the court, while GM Ed Stefanski says that he is "cut like a prizefighter." We'll have to wait and see if this can translate to wins for the Sixers, as last year Brand's presence seemed to throw off their fast paced offense.

Rajon Rondo has added 11 pounds to his frame which he insists is "all muscle." Judging from this photo from the Celtics' media day, Rondo really does look substantially more muscular. Dude used to be pretty bony. On the topic of Rondo, Celtics GM Danny Ainge has said that he started talks last week with agent Bill Duffy on a contract extension, as he is entering the final year of his rookie deal.

Beasley Ready to Go: I feel the need to follow up on my my previous post about Michael Beasley's now infamous tattoo picture in which two baggies in the background appeared to contain weed. Beasley claims that the bags weren't his as the photo was taken at the place he got the tattoo. He insists he isn't addicted to drugs, and the reason he was checked into a Houston rehabilitation center in the first place was due to his involvement in the incident at the rookie symposium last year when Heat point guard Mario Chalmers, the Grizzlies' Darrell Arthur, and Beasley were caught in a room that smelled of marijuana. I'm guessing there must have been other missteps along the way considering Chalmers wasn't sent to rehab with him.

Beasley apologized to the Heat organization and its fans for his immaturity and insists that his time spent at the rehabilitation center has helped him out. As for those supposed "suicidal Tweets," (I can't believe I'm typing that) Beasley has said that he posted those after hearing his time at the rehabilitation center had been extended. Although I wouldn't go posting some shit like that on the internet, I'd also be pretty pissed if I found out I had to stay in rehab longer. Beasley says he is now through with social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Last But Not Least: Ron Artest is still totally sweet and a really nice guy, too.