Carnival of the NBA #64

First off, thanks to Matt at Blog-a-Bull for giving me the opportunity to host. I’ve long admired the Carnival’s many themes, but since my creativity pales in comparison to previous hosts, I thought it would be best to go old-school and hit you with a good old-fashioned batch of links. So without further adieu, here’s the 64th edition of the Carnival of the NBA:

• Quality centers are few and far between. With Chris Kaman as his model, Steve Perrin of Clips Nation examines the NBA’s law of supply and demand at the center position.

• The Suns were plagued by Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal’s inability to defend the pick-and-roll this season. That weakness wasn’t lost on Suns GM Steve Kerr, who wants Phoenix’ big men to be more “active” next year. Bright Side of the Sun reports that Shaq wants to slim down and be the change the Suns are seeking.

• Hoops Addict’s Ryan McNeill talks to Peace Players International’s Dave Cullen about his goal to use basketball to unite and educate young people in divided regions such as Northern Ireland.

• Chris McCosky of The Detroit News made waves in the blogosphere a few weeks ago when he reported that Allen Iverson had been banned from two Detroit area casinos. That report was refuted a few days later when casino spokesmen denied that Iverson had been banned from their establishments. Matt Watson at FanHouse notes the negative impact the incident could have on Iverson’s free agency this summer, and pushes for a retraction.

• Rip City Project, King James Gospel, Lake Show Life, and Pippen Ain’t Easy are four good FanSided NBA blogs that deserve a look.

• SportsBiz wishes Hall of Famer Dave Bing luck in his campaign to become mayor of Detroit, and includes a video of Bing speaking about his strengths and weaknesses. Bing talks about entrepreneurship and shares some of the lessons he’s learned in business. Interesting stuff.

• With a disappointing season behind them, Raptors HQ presents the “Throwaway Awards.”

• The Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, among others, have been rumored to have interest in CSKA Moscow Coach Ettore Messina. If hired, Messina would become the first foreign-born coach to run an NBA team. Joe Casciaro profiles Messina at The Score.

• Loy’s Place remains confident despite the loss of Kevin Garnett.

• JONES ON THE NBA wants the player’s union to push for more revenue sharing among NBA owners.

• A Stern Warning sees Jeremy Tyler’s decision to forgo his senior year of high school as a logical step toward playing in the NBA. ASW also features one of the best Michael Jordan highlight clips on YouTube.

• Scott Carefoot of RaptorBlog.com thinks it’s time for the Raptors to consider trading Chris Bosh.

• Hoop Heads North presents Dikembe Mutombo with its inaugural “Veteran of the Year” award. While you’re there, don’t miss HHN’s compilation of “The Lesser Known Nicknames of the NBA.”

• Bust a Bucket lists the ten most hated players in the league, starring Shaquille O’Neal as the Joker and Kobe Bryant as Darth Vader.

• Ryan J. Parker has some innovative ideas at BasketballGeek.com. His blogs on referee efficiency and the relationship between players and their teams’ shot distribution are must reads.

• Speaking of advanced statistics, David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout has discussed the use of advanced stats with Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, and Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry.

• Give Me The Rock hands out their 2008-09 Fantasy Basketball Awards.

• The Painted Area crunches the numbers and points out that shooting percentages are at an all-time high.

• Henry Abbott’s TrueHoop Network is producing some of the best basketball writing online. I hope to see more blogs like this from TrueHoop editor Kevin Arnovitz. Arnovitz has a unique way of combining subjective and analytical analysis.

• The guys at Fanster do a good job covering the Suns. Greg Esposito rips Shaq for ripping Robert Sarver.

• The BergerSphere is a daily must read.

• Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog kept tabs on the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament earlier this month and noticed that Jermaine Taylor, an under-the-radar shooting guard who led the tournament in scoring, shares the same agent as George Hill. Both Hill and Taylor are represented by Michael Whitaker. Hill was a surprise first-round pick last season, prompting Heitner to ask if Whitaker has George Hill 2.0 this year?

• With Malice took a thematic approach to previewing the first round of the playoffs. The Bulls are on the verge of a monumental upset, just like Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III.

• Check out Joe Cool and Miami Sports Generation’s game blogs.

• Draft Express’ predraft measurements database is a cool resource. It contains all kinds of interesting nuggets. For instance, did you know that Dwight Howard’s standing reach is 9-feet-3-inches? With that in mind, Howard’s 12-foot dunk loses some of its luster. Nate Robinson’s vertical is a ridiculous 43.5 inches.

• TalkHoops.net’s “Eight Second Violation” was one of my favorite reads during the regular season. The TalkHoops crew is busting out some good game recaps during the playoffs as well.

• You may be familiar with Josh Tucker’s work at Respect Kobe and Hardwood Paroxysm. Tucker signed on with SBN and is their new Lakers blogger. Give Silver Screen and Roll a bookmark, you’ll be glad you did.

• The Lakers and Cavaliers appear to be on a collision course to the Finals. With that in mind, Jacob Rosen, blogging for Waiting For Next Year, examines the Lakers and Cavs’ regular season schedules to determine which team played in the tougher conference this season.

And that’s a wrap. Special thanks to those who sent in submissions. If I missed something, shoot me an email at ballerblogger@yahoo.com. If readers are interested in getting involved with future editions of the Carnival, join the Carnival of the NBA group at BallHype.com.