It was one of those games. But it wasn't supposed to be one of those games. It was supposed to be high scoring, up and down, not fundamental, and wild and crazy. But it was none of those things. It was one of those games. It was one of those games where the home team plays a bit harder than the other, even if there were tons of fans dressed like seats in the arena. It was one of those games where one team simply couldn't make an outside shot so instead of taking things to the bucket and getting closer, they just kept shooting outside shots. Because you know, the percentages should even out right? How's this for shooting?
| Bad Shooter | FGM | FGA |
| S. Jackson | 6 | 21 |
| C. Maggette | 4 | 16 |
| A. Harrington | 3 | 15 |
| T. Hardaway | 0 | 17 |
I know, Timmy didn't play tonight even though if he did, it would've been an improvement. But the reason I put Timmy there is because if you remember that game, the Warriors still won even though Timmy couldn't find the broad side of the barn. Why? Because he was only one player. Chris Mullin was able to bail him out and the Warriors won. Here, when you have three guys who feel the need to chuck up shots without much success, it's detrimental to the team. At least Andris Biedrins came to play as he scored 14 and pulled 22 boards. Also, we had an Anthony Randolph sighting for one minute.
Marc Gasol, Pau's angry little brother, was the only player for Memphis to really play well, at least offensively. He went for 27 and 16 and looked smooth and rough at the same time, if that makes any sense.
OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay both went 6-13 shooting and neither got to the free throw line so Gay still leads Mayo by a large margin in shots taken.
I almost forgot. The Grizz won 90-79.
More on Iverson for Billups
Kelly Dwyer from Ball Don't Lie has a really good recap of why this trade is much better for Denver than Detroit.
Detroit's taking another chance, and though there's the possibility the team might whiff in free agency, it hardly matters. They've cleared cap space and developed even more options. If nothing happens this summer, then they can run the kids for a year before trying to clamp down on the 2010 free agent market. After all, only Tayshaun Prince ($11.1 million), Jason Maxiell (reportedly about $5 million), and the backcourt tandem of Stuckey and Aaron Afflalo (combined to make $4.7 million) will be on the books that summer.
Nobody, not even Joe Dumars or Iverson himself, will be able to anticipate what sort of impact his presence will have on this year's Pistons team. AI's game is that unique. But given the far-reaching implications of what this deal could do for Detroit, again, it hardly matters in the long run.
Geoff Lepper says that Denver might've received some short term cap relief, it won't help that much in the long run.
The Nuggets save some $8 million in the short term; Billups ($11.1 million) and McDyess ($6.8) represent more than $4 million in savings over Iverson's cost ($21.9 million), which is doubled because the Nuggets are — even with this cost-cutting move - slated to go several million over this season's luxury-tax threshold of $71.15 million.
The deal could get even sweeter if the team is able to negotiate a favorable buyout with McDyess, who reportedly won’t play anywhere but Detroit.
But unlike Iverson and his soon-to-expire deal, Billups is on the books for another $25.2 million in '09-'10 and '10-'11 combined (there's also a player option for $14.2 million in '11-'12) and McDyess - unless a buyout is reached - will pull down $6.8 million next season.
So, in exchange for some short-term relief, the Nuggets have cast their lot with a 32-year-old point guard who has never led an up-tempo attack before in his life.
Tim Kawakami says that Denver got better, even if it doesn't make them a lot better.
The Nuggets aren't good enough to challenge in the West, but the Nuggets weren't going anywhere with AI and, in their spot, desperately needing new talent around Carmelo Anthony, it’s probably better to add Billups and his longer money than it is to let AI walk away next summer just to save some cash.
If I have this right, since the summer, Denver basically has traded Marcus Camby (given away a few months ago for cash purposes) and Iverson for Billups and McDyess plus some extra salary savings to use on Linas Kleiza's new deal and maybe some other things.
Again, nothing spectacular, but it's better than Denver sitting around and letting that roster atrophy and watching Carmelo get nasty and pretty soon he's ready to get the heck out.
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