"NBAz in 7 Dayz"

Restricted or unrestricted? That is our next obsession. What was arguably one of the busiest and craziest NBA trade deadlines in recent history, has now passed. Now, we shift our focus toward the playoffs and further, to another season of free agency, provided we are not dealing with a lockout - we will cross THAT bridge when we come to it. Fodder for debate quickly changes in the NBA. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh were once on the tips of our tongues, however; before they even played their first game, discussions turned to Carmelo Anthony. Now with that "will he stay or will he go" debate laid to rest, new ones are emerging. The first one which comes to mind is Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard a close second. Their time to fuel the fire won't really come until 2012 when they actually become free agents but don't kid your self. These players and their potential General Managers are already looking into their crystal ball. According to player's from last year's free agency, 'don't keep talking about it' would be their advice. Dwayne Wade even said if he were to do it all over again, he would have taken a page from LeBron James' approach to pending free agency: answer 'no' to questions during the season. We all know questions will be unavoidable. For now, we'll put this debate on simmer and turn our attention to three things making my radar screen: Baron Davis, Kendrick Perkins and the unravelling in Detroit.

Just Smile and Nod

If you had a choice to work near the sandy beaches and warmer climate of Los Angeles or for the worst team in the NBA and all the snow you could handle, which would you choose? If it weren't for the Cavs being a part of the deal, it would be a toss up for me (I am one of those crazy people who like the snow). This is the position Baron Davis was in last week and the only difference is, he didn't have a choice. Mind you, the Clippers aren't exactly a powerhouse but they have become very entertaining as of late and Davis did get a chance to help former teammate Blake Griffin with his high-flying final dunk over NBA All-Star weekend. Being traded from the L.A. Clippers to the Cleveland Cavaliers isn't the biggest challenge for him to get over, either. It's the reunion with Cavs' Coach Byron Scott which raises some flags for me. Think back to their time in Charlotte. When Byron Scott was coaching Davis then, they weren't exactly best friends. Don't forget it was Byron Scott who was the driving force behind Davis being traded from the Hornets to Golden State. But apparently they made up two years ago as a result of Davis' apology to Scott for the way he behaved under Scott's leadership. Still, I am not jumping on the Scott-Davis BFF bandwagon just yet. According to Coach Scott, Baron Davis is questionable for Wednesday night's game against San Antonio due to a sore left knee. He will be wearing the number 85 as a tribute to his grandparents who got him into basketball and who lived on 85th Street in Los Angeles. Ironically enough, he is using LeBron James' old locker which was occupied by Jamario Moon before the trade. Let's hope the 'owner heckling player' stigma doesn't follow him to Cleveland.

Lowest of the Low

What do a Canadian alternative rock band and the Celtics have in common? Both are talented and both relate to the moniker "Lowest of the Low". I watched last year's NBA final very closely and when the Boston Celtics had to soldier on without Kendrick Perkins, I thought this is has to be a major blow to their momentum and overall team morale. This feeling has to be comparable to the mood in the Celtics' locker room presently. Neither Kendrick Perkins nor his now ex-teammates were happy with the deal seeing Perkins go to Oklahoma. Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers put on a good face but he also showed signs of "we'll just have to wait and see" mode - not exactly a ringing endorsement of the trade. This much we do know. But this is where it goes downhill for me and raises some major questions. Why would Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge trade their starting center for a backup forward in Jeff Green? Does this really make the Celtics a better team? If the Celtics really thought Kendrick Perkins was a tradeable commodity, why not wait and issue a sign-and-trade and get his replacement later. This really seems like a panic trade to me since Perkins wouldn't sign a contract extension before the trade deadline. This is hard because you would think most agree Perkins was worth keeping in a Celtics' uniform for another run at the playoffs regardless of whether or not he signed a piece of paper. But on the bright side, at least the Celtics didn't do to Perkins what they did to Baron Davis. Perkins is going to a strong team and will be called on to defend and rebound - two of his strongest attributes. Let's hope both sides are able to take a deep breath and move on.

Falling apart at the seams in Detroit

By now we have read and heard every angle there is to consider about the alleged Pistons boycott. Here's what supposedly happened in a nutshell. Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Chris Wilcox missed the Piston's shoot around on Friday morning. That night the Pistons were scheduled to play the Sixers in Philadelphia and team sources were alleging the players were staging a protest. According to the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, the supposed shoot around boycott was directed at Detroit Pistons' Coach John Kuester who has been clashing with certain members of the Pistons' roster. Will Bynum, Ben Gordon, Jason Maxiell, Greg Monroe, DaJuan Summers and Charlie Villaneuva were the only ones to show up to the full shoot around, so this is why rest were allegedley benched. If you look at the box scores from Friday's game, you will notice each starter played close to or over 40 minutes each with Ben Gordon and Will Bynum playing 45 and 48 minutes, respectively. The rest were rostered but with no points or minutes played. The only one happy with the situation seemed to be Will Bynum who was happy for the extended playing time after not seeing consistent play for a month and a half. The decision to go with a 6-man rotation was the deal breaker in this game since it was clear by the end, the Pistons got tired and the Sixers never once gave up the lead. To further fuel the fire that night, coach Kuester was ejected with a pair of technical fouls with three minutes remaining in the first half. The worst part? Several Pistons players were seen laughing as Kuester was ejected.

This is a very sad situation. There were many excuses given as to why only six Pistons players saw playing time Friday. Coach Kuester even went on record saying this before the game: "We got a number of guys that have a bug, but these guys went through the shoot around the way it was supposed to. We have some things, some excuses, not excuses, but absences because of headache and stuff like that". First he indicates the group at shoot around was to play and then he retracts saying he expected "everybody to be available". This is a coach who knows his days are numbered. If the allegations are proven to be true, that this was a boycott, this could definitely hurt NBA players during Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. The pieces don't all fit together for me. Detroit's decision to go with a 6-man rotation Friday night versus the Sixers seems like an emotional reaction to what may or may not have been a boycott. No matter how much Pistons President Joe Dumars publicly supports Coach Kuester, that may not be enough to get over the mess this event has caused. When any team is met with a clear rift, what usually happens? Do you replace an entire team or just the coach? You do the math.

Thank-you once again for joining me this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming by following me on Twitter (@ddegraauw) or on Facebook (Danielle de Graauw). Be sure to join me on Thursday for another dose of "NBAz in 7 Dayz" as we further discuss NBA news makers and look forward to the playoffs. See you then.

Raptors Rewind- Please Win Edition

Good news for the Raps before the opening tip. The Clippers would be without Marcus Camby for this basketball game. The also do not have Chris Kaman who has been out for awhile. Can Bosh and O'Neal take advantage? Raptors fans are praying for that at this point. Clippers are coming off getting hammered by the Bucks. It really is set up for the Raptors to win this game. But given what has been going on with this team nothing is for sure right now. Cross your fingers and say a prayer as the Toronto Raptors look to head in the Christmas break with a win. Any kind of win will do. Raptors Rewind is back after a live blog break doing my part for the score.

1st Quarter

Not a good sign the Raptors won the opening tip but it went out of bounds. But Jermaine O'Neal would get the opening basket. That was after a Bosh miss and a couple misses for the Clippers. Chris Bosh would get fouled get to the line and make a pair. Al Thornton would drive and score for the Clippers. Bosh would get back to the line and make 2 more from the line. Raptors lead early 6-2. Eric Gordon hits a mid-range jumper from the corner. Jose Calderon would respond with a score plus the foul shot and the Raptors lead 9-4. Zach Randolph the former Knicks get a basket. Jermaine O'Neal had an answer on the other end. Bosh would follow that up with a hook shot and score in the paint. Raptors would get another score down low. The Raptors stormed out to a 15-6 lead. Clippers would score and Chris Bosh had a loud answer with a one handed throw down. Raptors lead 17-8 with a time out on the floor.

Baron Davis got to the line and made a pair. Jamario Moon would drive and get to the line and score both. J.O would get into the paint and score and he had 8 point so far and the Raptors lead 21-10. A Clipper turnover turns into a long 2 pointer for the Raptors. Jermaine O'Neal would score again and the Raptors lead 25-10 early on. A big lead we have seen this before. But that being said the Raptors looked very good. Clippers would get a basket on an alley oop from Baron Davis out of the time out. Jose Calderon would draw a charge on Baron Davis. Raptors had gone cold after the time out. But they still had a 13 point advantage. But Eric Gordon would hit a 3 pointer to cut it to 10 points. Baron Davis would hit another 3 pointer from Baron Davis and the Clipper had an 8-0 run going. It would have been 10 but the Clippers cost themselves a basket with an offensive cylinder interference call. Raptors still lead 25-18 after one quarter of play.

2nd Quarter

Andrea Bargnani was struggling again as he missed his first attempt of the second quarter he had already a few misses in the first. Zach Randoplh was back in the game with 2 fouls but he would drive and score. Anthony Parker would end the Raptor drought with a bucket. The Clippers would score but Will Solomon who had checked in nailed a 3-ball. Raptors lead 30-22. Randoplh would pick up his 3rd foul. Anthony Parker would get another 3 pointer. The Raptors would get another basket from Bargnani and the lead was back up to 13 points. Couple ugly misses on 3 point attempts from Will Solomon and Baron Davis. Zach Randolph was remaining in the game as the Clippers were short in the front court down Camby and Kaman. He had made a couple free throws prior to the brutal 3-ball display. So the Raptors lead was still 11 points.

Out of a time out Steve Novak would hit a needed 3 pointer for the Clippers. Zach Randoplh had a basket and lead had been trimmed to 35-29. The Raptors would respond and rattle off 4 straight points. Make that 6 straight points for the Raptors. The lead was up to 41-29 Raptors. Jermaine O'Neal would add on to that. The Clippers shooting was truly awful and we have seen awful in Raptorland. Jermaine O'Neal had another bucket. Jose Calderon would add a 3-ball and The Raptors were building a very impressive lead with the score 46-29. Clippers looker like the Raptors with all jump shots and they were missing everything. Jason Kapono had a 2 pointer. The Clippers finally may get some points as Jermaine O'Neal would get tagged for his second foul. But they would only get 1-2. Anthony Parker would hit a 3 pointer in response. The Raptor lead was 21 points. Steve Novak would finally get a field goal for the Clippers but the half time score was 51-32 Raptors. Dino Blogger's bold prediction was looking good for now.

3rd Quarter

Bosh and O'Neal combined for 22 points in the first half. Raptors were shooting 46% which was pretty good. However the Clippers were shooting 30% which was awful. The Raptors did not care just win and move on. Could they put together a 2nd half to match the first. Raptor fans for their personal sanity sure hoped so. Raptors would start the quarter with a 3 second violation on O'Neal. Al Thornton would make a couple from the line to start the half for the Clippers. Jermaine O'Neal would score and get to the line and make the free throw but would get called for a lane violation. Bosh and O'Neal continued to look good as they both added another basket to their totals. Eric Gordon would get a 3-ball for the Clippers in between that. Jermaine O'Neal blocked Baron Davis. That would turn into a Jamario Moon Jam on the other end. That was set up by an O'Neal pass. O'Neal would get another big block to maintain the the 17 point Raptor lead at this point. Bosh would miss two from the line that could have extended the lead. But no matter J.O would challenge another shot and it would end up on the other end and Calderon hit a jumper. It was Raptors 61-42 at this point.

Jermaine O'Neal had 16 points and 3 blocks and was leading the Raptor charge on both ends of the floor. Andrea Bargnani would get nailed for a clear path foul on Baron Davis. He would make the shots and Clippers would get a basket. Bargnani would then get tagged with an offensive foul. Which the Clippers would turn into two points. Andrea Bargnani had cost the Raptors 6 points of their 17 point advantage. The Raptors still lead 61-50. Clippers had an 8-0 run going. Bargnani would get to the line to get back a couple of the points he cost the Raptors. But he could only manage 1-2. Clippers would get a bucket from Zach Randolph. Andrea Bargnani would pick up his 4th foul and Eric Gordon would make them both. Bargnani would miss a 3 pointer and Andrea was almost all on his own blowing this lead. Jermaine O'Neal would finally score. But Eric Gordon would respond with a basket for the Clippers. O'Neal would just come back and score again. But Zack Randolph would get a 3 pointer. Andrea Bargnani would continue to blow up in front of your eyes with a loose ball foul and maybe that would convince Triano to get him the heck out of this game. The once 17 point Raptor lead was down to 6 points. Chris Bosh would drive and draw a foul and get to the line. Bosh would go 1-2 but Raptors would get the rebound. Jake Voskhul was in the game and he got to the line now. Jake would make both and Raptor lead was back up to 9 points now. So The Raptors would end the quarter up 69-60. A lot closer then they would like. Clippers out scored the Raptors 28-18 in the quarter.

4th Quarter

Baron Davis would open the scoring with a 3 pointer. Chris Bosh would respond with a two pointer. Zach Randolph would end up banging knees with his team mate and he was not able to stay in the game. Chris Bosh was still in the game and he was jamming it in the basket. He would be driving again and this time get to the line. Bosh would make both and the Raptor lead was back up to 10 points again with the score 75-65 Raptors. Baron Davis would get to the line and make a pair. Will Solomon on the other end would make another 3 pointer. Anthony Parker would make a two point shot and the Raptors lead by a dozen. Jake Voskhul was being aggressive and almost like the Raptor goon. He was responsible for Zack Randolph leaving. He would also lay a lick on Al Thornton. Meanwhile Bosh would make a basket and a foul shot. Bosh would get another score. Raptors lead was now 85-68. Eric Gordon would make a 3 pointer but Chris Bosh would later answer with a 3 pointer of his own. He was owning the 4th quarter.

Bosh had 28 and a lot of it had come in this final quarter. So who wants to trade Bosh now? Not Me. Bosh had 2 more that makes it 31 for him and the Raptors lead 92-73. Jermaine O'Neal made his way to the line and he would have a pair making one. He had 20 on the night and raptors had a 20 point lead. Raptor were going to win as they had their largest lead of the night with the bench in the game to close it out. It was a 97-75 final MERRY CHRISTMAS RAPTOR FANS YOU HAVE A WIN. Finally a boxscore worth looking at. Check it out:

Raps/Clipps Boxscore

Just as I said it would happen it did. Raptors win did you have any doubt? O.K so did I. But they came through lead by CB4. Take that all you people jumping off the bandwagon of CB4. J.O was solid as well. Check this dynamic duo stat line

54 points (31 Bosh, J.O 23 ) 16 rebounds ( 9 Bosh 7 J.O) 4 steals (2 each) 7 blocks ( J.O 5 Bosh 2)

This is what Bryan Colangelo had in mind when he traded for O'Neal. Hopefully the Raptors can remember what they did right on this night come Boxing Day in Sacremento.