Around the Association

Don't worry football fans, TJB's Sports Universe will have round-the-clock Super Bowl coverage all next week. But now, its' time to travel around the National Basketball Association:



---What a spectacular showdown between two of the game's greats last night in Miami. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade delivered a thrilling game of anything you can do I can do better, as King James' Cavs ultimately prevailed.

---As LeBron showed last night and in the win against Kobe and the Lakers last Thursday, he is the best basketball player on the planet. James has even improved at the free throw line. Once his Achilles Heel, LeBron now is a confident shooter at the charity stripe, draining two clutch free throws in the final seconds of last night's win over the Heat.

---The Chris Bosh-Andrew Bynum trade rumors are gaining steam. Now it goes without saying that Chris Bosh is far superior to Bynum. But ironically enough, I don't like this trade for the Lakers. Bosh may be the better player, but Bynum is the better fit in Phil Jackson's system. Should Bosh arrive in Los Angeles, you would see an ego clash between Bosh and Pau Gasol at the forward position.

---This proposed trade makes perfect sense for the Raptors, however. Giving up Bosh is going to be tough, but his exit from Toronto has always been inevitable. For the rebuilding Raptors, adding the long-term potential of Bynum would be a wise move.

---Tremendous point made by the great San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Bruce Jenkins, who argued in a recent column that the banning of card games on team flights is a gross overreaction. In the wake of the Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco in Washington, many teams are banning card games on their flights. As Jenkins brilliantly and eloquently stated in his column, such a decision could derail team chemistry. Activities such as card games build camaraderie within a team. It is not smart to take that away.

---I'm all for letting the fans have a say in the All-Star voting process, but the millions of fans who elected Allen Iverson a starter in the Eastern Conference ought to have their heads examined.

---The All-Star reserves are announced on Thursday, and I have a couple of demands: 1)Jamal Crawford must make the All-Star team in the East for his exemplary performance this season with the Hawks, and 2)Aaron Brooks must make the All-Star team in the West for his exemplary performance this season with the Rockets. There are other immensely deserving candidates in both conferences, namely Gerald Wallace, David Lee, Monta Ellis, Zach Randolph, Chris Kaman, and Carl Landry, but Crawford and Brooks are the two players that deserve it most.

---Here's an interesting question: If the Warriors and Blazers suited up to play each other tonight, would there be enough healthy bodies to finish the game? Both Golden State and Portland have been plagued with injuries this season, as crucial players such as Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden, Ronny Turiaf, and Kelenna Azubuike have all missed extended amounts of time.

---I have been resisting this notion all season long, but I now believe it to be true: The 2010 New Jersey Nets are the worst team in NBA history. The Nets' historically bad season was best exemplified by Keyon Dooling's unintentionally hilarious interview following New Jersey's blowout road loss to the Jazz last week. When asked if this was one of the toughest road trips he has ever had to endure as a pro, Dooling shot back: "Man, this is the worst road trip of my life!"

---And finally, if you are an NBA GM and are looking to take a lightning fast point guard in this year's draft, I suggest you take a look at Wake Forest's Ish Smith. Watching last week's Wake Forest-North Carolina game, I was startled by Smith's electrifying speed and athleticism. Very Ty Lawson-esque.

(1/27/2010: After writing this appreciation on Ish Smith, I realized I had omitted another outstanding college basketball point guard: South Carolina's Devan Downey. Downey is an incredible talent with star potential in the NBA, potential that he flashed in South Carolina's stunning upset over top-ranked Kentucky.)