We all know that the current plan for McGrady is to sit out every other game when the team has back-to-backs (4 more to go in a row!).  But even when T-Mac plays, he's been uninspiring.  So, I submit the following... what do you think:

We originally set this up to be before the game on Saturday, but with the holidays there was a bit of a delay.  You can check out our answers to their question here.

1.  The Jazz are 7-5 without Deron Williams this year, and 9-6 without Carlos Boozer, how exactly is that possible?

The easy answer is that there is a big drop off from Deron Williams to Brevin Knight. And a small drop off from Boozer to Millsap.

The hard answer is....how exactly do we move Carlos Boozer now he is having knee surgery?

2.  With Carlos Boozer stating he is going to opt out, please elaborate on TrueBlueJazz's position that Millsap can take over for him.  Who, among the free agents next year, can you get to be Millsap's replacement if he does start?  Are you reaping what you sowed by signing the guy that stabbed a blind man in the back to sign with the Jazz?

TBJ is split on this question. We have guys who like Boozer and want him back, and others (like me) who can't wait for the door to hit him in the ass on the way out. Millsap has proven he can play against starters and put up exceptional numbers. However...he is not a back to the basket guy. The Jazz offense needs a post up guy. Millsap is a great fix, but I'm not sure it is a long term fix. I think Okur has proven much more valuable to the team than Boozer has. The key is keeping Okur here.

What free agents would we get? Ha. How about anyone who we can overpay enough to come and live in SLC...only to find out it's a great place to live and play NBA basketball.

Are we reaping what we sowed? Yes. Yes we are. Add stabbing a man dying from Diabetes to that list of Carlos' victims.

3.  How much longer does Jerry Sloan coach the Jazz?

You guys are big J-Slo fans I know. He's here as long as he wants. I think he and Deron get along well so there is nobody to force him out.

My personal guess is that he will be done by the 2010 season.

4.  Where do you see the Jazz in the Western Conference standings when April gets here?  Does anyone foresee another Utah/Houston Round 1 matchup?

This depends on whether the Jazz ever get healthy. I would guess the Jazz can hold on to a 5-7 seed. I think a first round match-up with the rockets is very possible. I want to see one because I'm curious to see how long it takes Houston police to talk T-Mac off of the edge of a bridge.

5.  Does Utah make any trade deadline deals this year?  Might that include Boozer?

Pre-surgery announcement? Yes. Post-surgery announcement? No. The only person I think the Jazz would even be interested in moving is Boozer.

The Jazz traditionally don't move players during the season. The Korver trade was the result of the cancer that is Gordon Giricek. I think the team you see today is the team you see kick your asses in the first round come playoff time.

6.  Which current Utah player/representative should I hate the most:

Carlos Boozer, Jerry Sloan, Matt Harpring and/or Ashton Korver??

(Deron is cool...)

Great Question. I'll give you a reason to like them and a reason to hate them and you can come up with your own verdict.

Boozer: Love him because he's a beast on the boards and a consistent 20-10 guy. Hate him because he has no soul. You can trust Carlos about as much as you can trust a used condom lying in the gutter in downtown Houston.

Sloan: Love him because he is such a hard ass and has proven that his system is timeless. Hate him because he'll talk for 10 minute about how good the opponent is and not give a single compliment to his own team.

Harpring: Love him because if he was in a Rockets uni, the flops wouldn't be so obvious. Hate him because he misses anything inside of 10 feet and outside of 13 feet.

Korver: Love him because he's a good person and great role model who can shoot lights out when he gets his rhythm. Hate him because chances are your wife or girlfriend is only watching the game with you to see him swipe his beautiful bangs off to the side revealing his piercing eyes and statuesque jaw line and his Abercrombie and Fitch poster boy lips

and...*sigh*  

It's really early, so I'll make this short.  Here are some links to posts that are starting to spread rumors about a 3-way trade between the Lakers, Bucks, and Rockets.  It would involve Charlie Villanueva coming to Houston along with a filler from the Lakers (possibly Chris Mihm), Tyronn Lue and Luther Head or Brent Barry going to the Lakers, and Carl Landry going to the Bucks.  Here are your rumor links:

Brew Hoop

JournalTimes.com

Real GM

The Real GM link may be the most legit of the three, and BrewHoop links to the other links.  Also, Carl Landry would have to consent to any trade.  And remember, they are just rumors.

More to come as soon as I know.

We continue our Q&A sessions with a long time friend of the blog, Carolyn from the Cleveland Cavailiers blog And One on Cleveland.com

She also had 5 questions for us.  Check out my answers here.

1.  How have the Cavs been doing it?  It's been said many times that the Cavs were one good to great player away from putting it together, Mo Williams cannot be that good, can he? 

In my dreams, Boobie and LeBron link arms and waltz their way to the championship.  And then came Mo.  Guess it doesn't matter how we get there, as long as Boston falls to their knees and begs forgiveness.  I already have it planned out – the Celtics will be forced to march downtown and bow before the giant Witness poster and then they will all write "He's not going to NY" 500 times on a giant, specially constructed public chalkboard.

Wait, that wasn't your question, was it?  Can Mo be that good?  What does he have to do to prove it to you?  The man floats through the air with the greatest of ease, left-handed, under-handed, reverse spin, deep in the Q, under the basket, behind the back to LB or Z, the man is everywhere.  Boobie is a pure shooter and the cutest guy in the league but Mo is a playmaker extraordinaire.

2.  Lebron's stats are down from last year.  He plays less, scores less, assists and rebounds less.  The team isn't all that different from last year except for Mo Williams.  How is he able to lower his output and still have people saying he's having a better year this year than last?

Playing less and lowered stats go hand-in-hand, don't they?  Playing less means he's even more powerful in the clutch moments, playing less means even stronger leadership from the bench, playing less means less likelihood of injury.  Let's put it this way – when LeBron's happy, everybody's happy.  And LeBron is way happy at the moment.

His skills have tightened and focused – the difference between his play and 'Melo's the other night was startling.  At one point in the Nugg game, LeBron made a ridiculous fastbreak play, no one could catch him, a delicious dunkadelic moment, cut to 'Melo on the Nugg bench, shaking his head in wonder.

Not to mention the improved free throw shooting, which is critical since typically enemy teams play him 4 on 1.  There's never enough room, someone always fouls him.

 3.  How is it possible that I completely forgot that Ben Wallace is on your team?

Because you're still eyeing the horizon for the next Calvin Murphy, twirling a baton in one hand and swishing baskets with the other? 

Here's the thing about BW – what he brings to the Cavs isn't always captured on a stat sheet.  Such a scary presence under the basket. I don't care if his free throw percentage hits negative numbers; when Ben throws his weight around in the paint, we win games.  Period.

4.  How much credit should Mike Brown get for the Cavaliers' record this season?

I'm guessing Mike's answer to that would be "exactly as much as every other person on the team and in the front office."  What I love most about Mike is his complete faith in his staff and his players.  He's my kind of coach – forget knocking you upside the head if you make a mistake; he nurtures.  A slower process but you're seeing the results this season.

As for quantifying his contribution, I don't see how it's possible.  I'm not sure we would be in this position without him; on the other hand, I'm not sure he would be Coach Mike ".614" Brown without LeBron, Danny Ferry, and the rest of the gang.

Mike's patience has paid off: a little offense, a little defense, a little championship ring.

5.  What will be your reaction when LeBron signs with New York or Brooklyn for less money than Cleveland can offer in July 2010?  I know that's harsh, but that's what is going to happen, right?

Sigh.  Did you not see my piece this weekend – Hold The Presses; LeBron Loves Us Again?  Now he's talking summer extension, provided the season ends well.  Hey, no pressure, other members of the team and coaches.

Here's the thing – LeBron is an international star and he's never left Cleveland/Akron.  Nike gave him a $90 million contract his senior year of high school.  Can you imagine?  This was back when he and his mom had no home to call their own.  This was a person doomed to failure, 8,000 strikes against him.  No dad, no money, no stability, even his beloved Grandma died when he was 3.  The fallout from that was stark; he and his mom were living in her home at the time.

Wait, what was the question?  Oh right, LeBron leaving Cleveland.  He'll never sell his city/state in Bath (outside of Akron); people in Northeast Ohio are barely hanging on to their jobs.  See, if LeBron leaves, he takes more than the excitement of sports; he takes our hope, our pride, our dignity.

A wise person once wrote: 

No other NBA player has spent an entire career with his hometown team. Reggie Miller, born in Riverside, California and playing all 18 seasons with the Indiana Pacers, played more games with the same team than all but two players in NBA history, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz. None of them played in their own backyard.

Asked why he stayed in Indiana, Reggie replied:

"There was a lot of people telling me to go elsewhere, but I just couldn't do it. I think the character of a man is to establish something where no one else has ever done before."

LeBron James has a chance to accomplish something no NBA player has ever done before.

He may not be the only jewel in our tarnished crown, but he is a jewel like no other. LeBron's childhood represents the worst this country has to offer. A forgotten family; a single mom desperately trying to do the best for her baby; poverty; homelessness; community apathy. Somehow LeBron rose from that environment to represent the best this country has to offer: community cohesiveness; family ties; dedication; character; intelligence.

I know people will respond with a list of reasons not to view LeBron as a role model. Not sure who these people are; not sure if they live perfect lives. The one thing I do know is that a man with a single championship ring is wonderful. But a single man representing the hearts, minds and dreams of an entire city is a rare opportunity to bring that most prized of NBA skills to its logical fruition: selflessness.

Confession:  A wise person didn't write that; I did.

We here at The Dream Shake are honored to take part in the Blogger MVP and ROY Rankings every few weeks.  Here we find ourselves at the Quarter way point of the NBA season and we get to host this weeks rankings.

Our esteemed colleagues:

Ryan McNeill from Hoops Addict
They do everything over at HA, even college basketball rankings, they have my Horns at number 5

College Wolf from TWolves Blog
This is one of the sites that got Dave and I completely in the game.  They do a phenomenal job over there.  I present to you the Kevin McHale era

Matt McHale from Basketbawful
In my best Ricky Bobby impression: If you don't read Basketbawful, F You! I need this jersey, Mom, can't you hear me from the basement??

Phx Stan from Bright Side of the Sun
One of our fellow SBNation sites, and the Suns just have such pretty colors.  They bring to you The Dramastache

David from The Dream Shake
That's us, just FYI, though as lazy as he was in putting the list together, I should have had Tom do it.  Lessons learned...

Joshua Coleman from 3 Shades of Blue
The Blogger Rankings round 8 are out, 3 Shades of Blue was gracious enough to host them

Fish from Dallas Basketball
Fellow Texas basketball fans bring you the Mavs Quarter season report card

Jonathan Somers-Harris from The Lakers Nation
In Kobe they trust.  Need a gift idea for a Lakers fan?  Here you go!

James Borbath from Dino Nation
It's always fun when the coach gets fired!

BenGo07 from Thank You Isiah
One Act Play

Raptors HQ
The Raptors new unis are still pretty sweet

Truth About It
Deshawn Stevenson has some sweet hair!

Don Landrigan from With Malice
I have to give Don some props, he gave the longest, most thought out answers of anyone.  I was impressed.  Here are his power rankings

Ben Golliver from Blazer's Edge
They aren't the highest rated team centric blog on BallHype for nothing.  I'm still mad about this game.  These guys have access most of us just dream of. 

Rob Mahoney from Upside and Motor
We're still upset that we weren't on the chart, but maybe this year!!

Zebulun Benbrook from Blue Blitz
Someone misses PJ Carlesimo?  I know Latrell doesn't

Alex from Brewhoop
The creator of this poll, the SBNation Bucks site who one day we hope to owe the fame of this poll to.  Heck, maybe they'll create a BCS for the MVP/ROY voting and we'll get a vote!  I mean, if the AP can give out trophies, maybe we can too
Why is Charlie Villanueva such a mystery?

Tom Ziller from Sactown Royalty
The Kings aren't getting better, but they do have one of the greatest blogs on the planet here at SBNation

John Karalis from Red's Army
The Celtics beat Utah to keep the streak alive, but Pierce is down

Rock from Waiting for Next Year
These answers were phenomenal, you will see these and With Malice's the most often throughout the rankings
It's not Cavs related, but it's interesting

Bret from Peachtree Hoops
The Atlanta Hawks are well represented at SBNation and they just killed the Cavaliers winning streak

Wyn from Canis Hoopus
The SBNation TWolves blog, though even they agree that the Timberwolves are bad

Jeremy from Pick Axe and Roll
Another SBNation blog, I'm so jealous they have a starting PG and the Rockets don't

And with no further ado, the Blogger ROY and MVP rankings:

Rookie of the Year

5th Place - DJ Augustin - 23 points -

It seems like he's still deciding whether to be a score first or a pass first point guard. With any luck, ha can be both. - Blue Blitz

The Bobcats took a lot of heat for passing on Lopez but Augustin is starting to look like the real deal. - Raptor's HQ

Amid Charlotte changes (and maybe more to come), the Longhorn point guard has been a constant.  - Dallas Basketball

Despite the fact that he’s five-foot nothing, he’s showing everyone what he can do out on the court.  His production has skyrocketed with the increased minutes of late.   - TWolves Blog

4th Place - Marc Gasol - 25 points

Just make sure there are no Geico signs in the arena... or else he'll quit. - Red's Army

The bearded Spaniard does whatever the Grizzlies need of him, as exhibited by his 7 point, 7 rebound, 4 assist, 3 blocked shots performance in the 16 point win over the Miami Heat on Sunday - 3 Shades of Blue

3rd Place - Rudy Fernandez - 27 points

Currently leading the league in unnecessarily wild shots.  But dude is primetime even though he comes off the bench. - Blazer's Edge

Bombs away. His alley-oops with Sergio Rodriguez have been particularly well-taken. - Sactown Royalty

Kind of a douche, but a talented one. - Basketbawful

2nd Place -OJ Mayo - 101 points

Remember a couple of years ago... before Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley stole the show... when last year's draft was supposed to be the OJ Mayo  - Red's Army

Leads all rookies in scoring at 20.8 ppg and is downright lethal from distance, hitting on 42.5% from 3. He hasn’t necessarily made a huge impact on the success (or lack thereof) of the Grizzlies, but no rookie has played better thus far than Mayo.  - Waiting for Next Year

The real deal.  OJ Mayo is trying to drag the Grizz kicking and screaming out of the cellar and into mediocrity.  From where they were, being termed 'mediocre' would be a step in the right direction. - With Malice

The latest exhibit in the "Kevin McHale trades" saga. - Raptor's HQ

He's scored in double-digits in every single game this year (24 and counting).  The last player to open a season like that went by the name "Magic". - 3 Shades of Blue

1st Place - Derek Rose - 106 points

Barring injury the rookie of the year race is over. - Pick Axe and Roll

He's got next. For the next 18 years or so. - Blazer's Edge

Later this season I wouldn't be surprised if he was suddenly in the MVP top 10 discussion. - Raptor's HQ

Mr. Rose: You can hunt, whittle or butter with that thing. You cannot sleep with that thing.  - Dallas Basketball

He's on a level by himself. The only way he loses this award is if he decides to peel a pear in a bathtub with a toaster. - The ThunderWorld

Most Valuable Player

10th Place - Chris Bosh - 50 points

Bosh might be playing well, but his inability to make Toronto into a challenger is of concern.  Especially when so many neat pieces surround him. - With Malice

Bosh drops in the rankings but that's probably a good thing for Raptors' fans.  When he was a top 3 MVP candidate earlier this year, he was doing everything for Toronto and the team was getting blown out. - Raptor's HQ

9th Place - Kevin Garnett - 54 points

Though he’s lost the support of Jose Calderon, Andrew Bogut and Big Baby Davis.  - Dallas Basketball

8th Place -Chauncey Billups - 58 points

Melo got the headlines this week with his 33 point quarter, but it remains Chauncey who is stirring this cocktail.  The Nuggets offensive efficiency is skyrocketing this season thanks to Chauncey. - Pick Axe and Roll

Whilst 'Melo might be the scoring leader on the Nuggets, there's no doubting that the leader in this team is Denver-native Billups.  Many derided this trade thinking that Mr Bigshot had left his best years behind him... not so, and Denver are in contention because of one man, and one man alone. - With Malice

The greatest thing to happen to Melo since he finally cut his girl braids. - Blazer's Edge

7th Place -Dirk Nowitzki - 68 points

Mad love to JET, Kidd and J.J., but Dirk's the only real reason Dallas isn't in 9th place. - Sactown Royalty

On such a roll (averaging 32.6 points per in his last six) that the Western Conference might as well re-name the Player-of-the-Week Award in his honor.  - Dallas Basketball

The German is averaging 25.00 PPG with 9.00RBG, showing everyone that he can not only score but also hit the boards. The Mavs are playing better as the season moves along, it'd be interesting to see if Dirk keeps this numbers up and most importantly if it will get them W's.   - Bright Side of the Sun

Despite what you might have heard, "Dirk" is the lonliest number of all. - Basketbawful

6th Place -Tim Duncan - 72 points

Timmy... he's playing like he was 5 years ago.  Worth noting that it's an 'on' year for SA too! - With Malice

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle noted this week that Duncan was a threat to automatically "score every time’’ SA had the ball. All that, and now he’s got healthy help.  - Dallas Basketball

The Admiral would be proud of how Duncan kept the Spurs' ship afloat with two major leaks. - Basketbawful

5th Place -Dwight Howard - 129 points

The Celtics, Lakers, and Cavaliers have been getting a lot of attention as the NBA’s cream of the crop, but I can’t shake the feeling that people are overlooking the Magic. At 18-6, the Magic are just 2 games behind Cleveland and 4 games behind Boston in the Eastern Conference. Hardly an insurmountable gap. Dwight Howard is the premiere center in the NBA, and in my opinion, it’s not really even close. He has the 4th best Player Efficiency Rating in the entire NBA, and he’s putting up 21.1 points, 14.1 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks per game. No other center can touch those numbers. Every time he steps on the floor, he gives the Magic a double double and he gives the Magic a great chance to win. To me, that’s the definition of an MVP.  - Waiting for Next Year

Four blocks and 14 rebounds a game? Oof. - Sactown Royalty

He drops on my list because his teams proved to be effective without him. - Blue Blitz

While Howard and his Magic are off to a great start, I just can't put a 57 per cent free-throw shooter any higher than this. - Raptor's HQ

He had back-to-back games of 20+ pts/20+ reb/6 blocks last week.  Somewhere Moses Malone is smiling. - 3 Shades of Blue

Some players get "in the zone."  Howard enters BEASTMODE and destroys everything in his path.  - TWolves Blog

4th Place - Kobe Bryant - 164 points

Sign #23424234 that you're on a good team: you give interviews talking about how it's fun to sit out the entire fourth quarter because your team is winning by so much, then reconsider that stance because you're in great physical shape, you're not fatigued and you kind of want to keep playing so you can run up the score and make everyone feel bad.  - Blazer's Edge

We bumped into Robert Horry this week and asked him, "Who is the best athlete you’ve seen in the NBA?’’ He said hands-down, Kobe. So add that to The Drama Queen’s list of credentials. - Dallas Basketball

with almost physical pain I chose Kobe at the top spot. Why? Because his team has the second best record in the NBA abusing every team that comes their way. We all know he can score in bunches, but the 2008-2009 Kobe has been deadly efficient from the field. He is shooting a 47.7 FG%. We also have to take into consideration that has had to adjust his game to incorporate everyone on the team, this shows that he has finally found a balance between shooting and passing. A balance that he has struggled to achieve since the Lakers where our bitches.... Good old times. - Bright Side of the Sun

3rd Place -Chris Paul - 170 points

He had an off night against Boston and still had a 20 pt, 15 asst. game.  Yikes. - Red's Army

A year ago, he was "one of the great young PGs.’’ Now? He’s pretty much "The One.’’  - Dallas Basketball

It's hard not to include CP3 in the MVP conversation, after all, he makes his teammates better with his exceptional passing and awesome court vision. His 20.6 PPG and 11.8 APG are even more impressive when you take into consideration that he is the smallest in my top ten. After a rocky start the Hornets are picking up speed. As long as this kid in that team...The Hornets are contenders. - Bright Side of the Sun

I’d say "better luck next year", but LeBron might win the next 12 MVP Awards in a row.  - TWolves Blog

2nd Place -Dwyane Wade - 171 points

I know some people would write off giving an MVP award to a .500 team, but last year without Wade for half of the season, and a shell of the player for the half he did play, the Heat won 15 games. They’ve already won 12 games this year. Wade is leading the league in scoring, is 2nd among shooting guards in FG% at 48.6%, and he currently has Miami in the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference. You can debate about the quality of the players around Wade in Miami, but there’s no question the quality of Wade’s play this season and how much he has meant to the Heat just by being healthy and playing with a chip on his shoulder after being so heavily doubted last year and heading into this season.. - Waiting for Next Year

Whilst D-Wade is playing some amazing basketball at the moment (his 29.1 per leads the league), but that's not equating to more wins for Miami.  Unfortunately for the Amazing Teflon Boy, he needs more around him before he'll win an MVP. - With Malice

During the recent stretch of 5 wins in 6 games, he averaged 34.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 7.5 apg, 1.7 spg on .537 FG% and .786 FT%.  Those are some man-sized numbers for your digestive system. - 3 Shades of Blue

He'd be higher except his team keeps losing.  It's not a coincidence. - Dave from The Dream Shake

I was walking down a dimly lit back alley last weekend and I saw some thug jump Wade.  He slashed him with a blade and then ran off.  I could see the wound and there was no blood.  He was bleeding liquid titanium.  - TWolvesBlog

1st Place - LeBron James - 259 points

There are no more words that can be said about LBJ.   I'll have to start creating new ones. - Red's Army

The Cavaliers are 20-4, with the 3rd best record in the NBA. LeBron has elevated his defense to new heights and he’s finally learning that he doesn’t need to control games by initiating the offense himself. He has deferred that role, for the most part, to Mo Williams and Delonte West, and LeBron is scoring more and more by putting himself in good position for easy baskets without the ball. It’s showing as LeBron’s FG% is at a career high. He’s dramatically improved his FT shooting as well and is hitting a career high 80.1% from the line, making it even more difficult for opponents to just foul him and force him to make FTs like they have in the past.  - Waiting for Next Year

I keep expecting LeBron to announce that Cecil B. DeMille's been coaching him.  Because this is a performance of epic, biblical proportions.  Pretty much every game he plays reminds me not of MJ, but of Charlton Heston standing before Pharaoh, demanding "let my people go". - With Malice

I am a WITNESS. - 3 Shades of Blue

Yeah, I know, I haven't posted much in the last week or so...
cut me some slack, I'm stuck in a trial wherein I have no responsibilities here whatsoever.  Which only makes things more difficult to keep up with.

In the meantime, I won't make too much of an effort to be creative and witty here until the Rockets have 3 consecutive games where they are not mediocre and actually look like a professional basketball team...

Right now, that doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon.

Wake me up whenever we're "back". 

The BCS is an absolute sham.  There is absolutely no reason that there should not be a playoff in the NCAA Division 1. 

And to have the biggest cheater in the history of collegiate sports announce it was absolutely classless on the part of Fox Sports.  I will never forgive them for that.

Come on Mizzou, have some pride, kick their butts, they don't play any defense either.

Bright Side of the Sun was kind enough to host this week's round of the blogger power rankings...

here are this week's rankings, with comments.

Yeah, I have the Rockets at 3rd - but almost by default.  Only the Lakers and the Celtics have looked like Championship-caliber teams so far.  And you know there is no way I rank Utah ahead of Houston when the teams have the exact same record!

In anticipation of the Yao/D-Ho matchup, we exchanged some questions and answers with Ben Q. Rock over at Third Quarter Collapse (a fellow SBNation site!). 

Here's our questions and his answers... our answers to his questions should be posted to his site sometime today:

1.   How would you compare Dwight Howard to Shaquille O'Neal at their comparable ages and experience?  While Shaq got to the NBA Finals in 1995, he had Penny and Nick and Dennis to help... what does D-Ho need to take Orlando to the Finals?

That's such a loaded question. There's no way I can answer it without feeling really awful, frankly. But if I had to get rid of one starter, it'd have to be Hedo Turkoglu. I love him and he's my favorite player, but the Magic can't afford to lose anyone else. Cutting Jameer Nelson means Anthony Johnson is the starter; cutting Mickael Pietrus means Keith Bogans is the starter, in which case the Magic are right where they were at the beginning of last season; cutting Rashard Lewis leaves a gaping hole at power forward for some combination of Tony Battie, Marcin Gortat, and Brian Cook to fill; and cutting Dwight Howard is just... yeah.

Lewis makes Turk expendable, in some way. If Turk were off the team, Lewis would shift to small forward, and the $9 million player the Magic acquire would play power forward. Ideally, he'd be a veteran, so the Magic could go into definite "win-now" mode. To that end, I suggest Rasheed Wallace. That's cheating, a little bit, since he'll make nearly $14 million this year. However, he's in the last year of his deal, and $9 million is a more than generous sum for a player of Wallace's caliber. He rebounds, defends, shoots threes, and can serve as a tutor for Dwight, whom he once famously referred to as his secretary. Quite honestly, I can think of no other realistically attainable player who fits the Magic's needs as well as 'Sheed does.

Yeah, I am sooooo ready to see Yao and D-Ho battle it out on Saturday.  Yao better play, dammit!!

 

We are the proud participants in the Blogger MVP/ROY rankings over at Hoops Addict this week. 

This was started last year and was first hosted by Brewhoop of SBNation fame and we were happy to be involved again this year.

The Rankings can be found here

Here were our inputs:

MVP:

1.  LeBron - Mo Williams isn't that much of a difference maker.  It's still LeBron's team.

2.  Dwyane Wade - the fact that Miami has 4 wins already is enough evidence in support.

3.  Paul Pierce - just ask the Atlanta Hawks.

4.  Kobe - Not scoring as much but he's still undefeated.  Only candidate who can say that.

5.  Dwight Howard - when you do something that hasn't been done since Hakeem, well, that's just special in our eyes.

6.  Chris Bosh - 2010 is now the summer of LeBron, Wade *and* Bosh...

7.  Chris Paul - this will probably be the lowest he ranks on this list all year.

8.  Amare - would be higher if he didn't disappear so much against quality opponents

9.  Tony Parker - just so I can put in writing my disbelief that Frenchy got a double nickel.

10. Doctors in Phoenix - they patch up Nash, they make Shaq look mobile again, and did you *see* the performance of T-Mac in Phoenix on Wednesday?  He credited the doc he saw that morning.

honorable mention:  Al Horford - someone needs credit for Atlanta 's crazy good start.

ROY:

1.  Derrick Rose - could shoot better, but he's already the leader of that team

2.  OJ Mayo - I want to hate him, but he's actually kinda good.

3.  Rudy Fernandez - rather streaky, but also extremely exciting to watch

4.  Michael Beasley - I expect him to be #1 by the end of this

5.  Jason Thompson - so much for the Kings reaching to get him at #10 overall.

The Dream Shake would also like to voice an objection that there aren't as many Rockets players to vote for this year.  Yao , T-Mac and Crazy Pills are underwhelming and our only rookie isn't allowed to play.