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Please welcome SLC Dunk!

Right in the midst of some second-round action with L.A., we're now representing the Utah Jazz at SB Nation. Head over to SLC Dunk (name courtesy of yours truly- my only real contribution to the company) to check out what Basketball John's got to say about Sloan and friends.

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Happy Birthday P&T!

You probably didn't know this, but yesterday (March 8th) was the one year anniversary of our move to Posting and Toasting. Let's take a little trip down memory lane...

It's been a great year. The number of visitors and users at P&T has seen only modest increases, but I'm really pleased with our little clique of top-notch commenters. If any of you are out there reading and not contributing, I really encourage you to make an account and make yourself heard. We don't judge at P&T.

What's to come in the next year? More of the same, mostly. I would like to explore whatever "access" I might have and try and get you kids some choice interviews or something. One sure change in the upcoming weeks will be a total migration to a prettier, more user-friendly platform. I can't say exactly when, but it's gonna be sweet. Anyway, thanks to all of you who made Posting and Toasting's inaugural year great. The better our community is, the more awesome this site can be, so keep up the good work.

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Game Preview: Knicks at Magic

In anticipation of tonight's Knicks-Magic contest, I exchanged some questions with Ben Q Rock from Third Quarter Collapse. Check it out.

P&T: The Magic are one of the few legit teams in the East, but I think we can agree that they're probably not going to be winning a championship this year. What's their downfall gonna be? Inconsistency at point guard? Lack of depth? Adonal Foyle?

3QC: I think it's a combination of those things, but the biggest problem is defense. We do a horrible job preventing penetration, which is why most of the guys who have torched them this year have been smallish, slashing guards: Dwyane Wade, Larry Hughes, and Ben Gordon are just three of the of the players who have posted season-highs against us this season. Just the other night, Andre Miller and Willie Green outscored our backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Maurice Evans, 52-2.

Offensive rebounding is also a concern, as is toughness. The Magic don't have a goon who can come into games and knock guys onto the court. While I don't advocate thuggery, it'd be nice to have some grizzled old guy in the paint to make the little guys think twice about venturing inside. Yes, Dwight Howard is intimidating, but he's not going to knock you out; he will, however, spike your shot into the 3rd row.

P&T: Other than tripling the team's average cholesterol, what has Stan Van Gundy's impact on this team been? What grade would you give him?

3QC: I love Stan. I think he's already the best coach in franchise history. He's candid, not afraid to rip his players, and he plays to his team's strengths. I don't know if many other NBA coaches could have managed to pair Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu and make it work, but he has. Unfortunately, the defense has gotten pretty awful lately, so I wish he'd turn up the intensity there. But overall, I'm stoked to have him coaching this team. He's the Man, and most Magic fans will agree.

P&T: Is Hedo Turkoglu's explosion this year merely a function of increased minutes, or is he doing something differently/better? Does this semi-breakout make you think all that money Rashard Lewis is making should've been spent elsewhere?

3QC: It's not that Hedo has gotten better, necessarily, but that he finally has a coach who has found a way to make use of Turk's exceptional ballhandling skills. He's our best playmaker and crunch-time scorer, and obviously the second-most valuable player on the team. And finishing second to Dwight Howard is nothing of which to be ashamed.

And no, I don't think Otis should have spent the Rashard money on anyone else. People talk about how Lewis spreads the floor for Dwight, and that's true, but they neglect to mention how that also opens up the lane for Turk (and our guards) to penetrate. It's weird to say that a 6'10" small forward does stuff that doesn't show up in the box score -- that talk is usually reserved to low-scoring guys who rebound and take charges -- but it certainly applies to Lewis this season.

What may become a problem is Turk's ability to opt-out after next season. He's certainly earned a big payday, and there may not be enough money to pay him fairly. Of course, he may choose to stay here if he feels like we stand a good shot at winning a title. But I really don't want to think about that right now. Picturing Hedo in another team's uniform hurts.

P&T: Orlando's bottom three minute-getters are J.J. Redick, James Augustine, and Pat Garrity. What does Van Gundy have against white people?

3QC: Let me first say that I laughed hysterically at this question. Thank you.

To answer it, I don't think Stan has anything against white people, but he does have NBA observers would agree that Redick is a better scorer than Keith Bogans, a shooting guard who is a career 39% shooter from the field , but Redick is just so poor on defense that Van Gundy can't justify playing him. Meanwhile, Augustine is probably a few months away from signing with a team in Greece, and Garrity is the same amount of time away from working behind a desk in the Magic's front office. Dude's been here for 9 years and the organization loves him. Neither of them fit into the team's long-term plans... on the court, anyway.

P&T: Before the trade deadline, you were clamoring quite a bit for Otis Smith to snaggle a decent big man. The deadline's come and gone, but I would imagine this is still a major need. Ideally, what type of player is ideal to complement Dwight Howard in the frontcourt?

3QC: Anyone of decent size who has the toughness to bang inside, but the shooting touch to knock down 13-footers consistently. Udonis Haslem, Joe Smith, and Kurt Thomas are jus three players who fit this description. Rebounding is obviously a weakness for us, even with Dwight, but the shooting ability is important because we want to keep as much distance between Dwight and the double-team as possible. Horace Grant did the same thing for Shaq during our last title run.

Good stuff. Big thanks to Ben Q for participating. Head over here for my answers to his Knicks questions. Game thread coming your way later, kids. Enjoy your day.

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Deadline Thursday

Plenty to discuss. Knicks or otherwise, it really looks as if shit's about to go down today.

  • This article from the Daily News lists a number of potential deals for Zach Randolph and others. Possible return packages:
    • Simmons, Bell, and Gadzuric from Milwaukee (Absolute dogshit. They all have nasty long-term deals)
    • Nene, who was once a Knick draft pick and has a contract that runs until roughly 2419 A.D.
    • Something involving Tyronn Lue (now a King), who has an expiring deal.
    Needless to say, despite whatever he says, Isiah's working the phones today.
  • Our Magic blogger Ben Q Rock stopped by to mention a possible deal for Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling. Again, I'm not excited to take either of those guys, but as long as they have expiring contracts, bring it on.
  • Elsewhere, one of my favorite players goes to one of my favorite teams.
  • Finally, the trade deadline affects everybody. In an effort to cut payroll, there has been some talk of SB Nation trading me to the You Grow Girl gardening blog for '08 and '09 draft picks. I know it's a business, but damn...I don't know the first thing about planting cilantro seeds.
Anyway, here's the deal. At about noon I'm going to get lunch, and then I'm in class until 3:30. The deadline is at 3. If anything Knicks-related goes down during that time period, I'd appreciate if someone could put up a quick diary to get our early reactions. I'll be sure to jump on it as soon as I return. Also, if a certain VC becomes a Knick this afternoon, please get one of those big missiles they shot at the satellite and set it on course for the psychology department at Skidmore College. As I burst into flames, I'll know that this is a world in which I no longer want to live. Thanks.

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Happy Valentine's Day from P&T


If only you could mack this well.

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Q&A with Green Bandwagon

In anticipation of Boston Massacre 2: Cruise Control, I exchanged some Q's and also some A's with Jim from Green Bandwagon. My A's to his Q's are over at GB.

P&T: 1. Glen Davis is rather cuddly, but he's also been pretty effective when I've seen him play. Three-part question: a. Are you ready to proclaim him more than a big, huggable novelty and, in fact, a legitimate NBA Player? b. Are you sure? c. What's with his headshot?

GB:

I'm sold on Davis as a player. He's got quick feet, busts his ass on defense, has one of the more developed offensive repertoires on the team and understands the game. Recognizing that you experienced half of the Michael Sweetney era up close, I probably don't have to go too in depth about how much Davis' weight scares Celtics fans. Eddy Curry and Jerome James work there as well. And I swear Davis' weight seems to fluctuate noticeably from week to week. However, he is thinner than he was at LSU and even occasionally gets enough lift to dunk of late. As far as his headshot goes, I'm not entirely sure. He is a class clown type and could have been screwing around. Just watch him get into his Christina Aguilera routine around the 2:20 mark. At the same time he may have been confused. It would be a lot easier to explain if it were David Harrison's photo.

P&T: 2. The Celtics have been rumored as a free-agent destination for the likes of Sam Cassell and others. Do you anticipate/would you support a quick signing to patch up a hole? If so, then who?

GB:

In his recent visit to Boston Cassell said he wanted to play for Boston, went out and got ejected for a hard foul on the guy he would back up and then complained that he was misquoted by the Boston papers. And ClipperSteve is quick to remind everyone, Cassell to the Celtics does not make much sense for LA. Still the Cassell rumors just won't die. Meanwhile, Scot Pollard is over the hill, Kendrick Perkins recently hurt his shoulder, Leon Powe and Glen Davis are effective but undersized and KG is hurt and no one wants him to play center. A lot of Celtics fans are quick to call for a big man. But who is out there besides PJ Brown? If a guy is 7 feet and can play it's safe to assume he's on somebody's payroll. In the end I'd be happy to see Cassell join the team.

P&T: 3. Besides the Pistons, does anyone scare you in the East?

GB:

LeBron James absolutely terrifies me. The last time he played the Celtics LeBron hit some deep, video game style three pointers. I knew he could finish around the rim and pass when he felt like it. But the new range was unsettling. I also think "LeBroned" should be a verb. Example: The Pistons got LeBroned in last year's playoffs.

P&T: Bonus question. Did you know that Boston has a strength and conditioning coach named Bryan Doo? Do you have any evidence to support my fantasy that Celtics players and coaches call him "Scooby"?

GB:

Fantastic question. I actually thought about this one for at least ten minutes. If you had asked me last season I would have said there was very little chance, given how young the Celtics were. On that squad I would guess that Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak and Brian Scalabrine might drop that reference. Of those three Scal would have been the most likely because Szczerbiak took himself so seriously and Pierce was disgruntled. On top of that Scal is a goofy guy. He's got some serious Shaggy potential. Trust me on this one. But this year's edition of the Celtics is much older. Pollard strikes me as a big Scooby Doo guy. KG could go either way. He might be too active to sit still and watch TV. Or he could love it. Although, KG strikes me as the type of guy that lived for Mr. T's cartoon performances. Ultimately I have no evidence. But I imagine it occasionally happens until Tony Allen flies off the handle and demands that everyone make Power Ranger references. And Allen gets so worked up to the point that no one knows if he is serious. As a result everyone drops the Scooby talk and moves on. If you've made it this far I'd like to add that for some reason Rajon Rondo reminded me of Scrappy Doo. This has somewhat damaged Rondo's reputation in my eyes, which I previously thought was impossible. I blame you. And I would feel a lot better if Bryan Doo were named Bryan Splinter and this was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles discussion.

Great stuff. While we're on the topic, I'm fully convinced that Leon Powe is a megazord. Leave your thoughts in the comments. Game thread coming later.

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Get them New Years!

Happy New Year to all (eight) of you from all of us (me) at Posting and Toasting! I can promise that 2008 will be a year of big steps forward for P&T and all the other SB Nation sites.

Hopefully this is a year of happiness and high draft picks for our beloved Knicks. Can't say that about '07.

I'm on my way home today, so I'll see you again back in Jersey, ready to be back into the action for Wednesday's game against the Kings. Peace.

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Merry Christmas from P&T

Hope everybody's having a fantastic holiday season. P&T wishes you the best.

Get them presents!

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Northwest Divison Previews

Just a little housekeeping before we get to the preseason game this evening...

The Northwest Previews are now up. Here ya go:

Utah Jazz

Daily Basketball

Taking it to the Rack

Basketball John

Seattle Supersonics

Sonics Central

Portland Trail Blazers

TrueHoop

The Inferno

Timberwolves

TWolves Blog

Denver Nuggets

Nugg Doctor  

Blog Previews Archives

CelticsBlog NBA Section

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Carnival #51

The 51st Carnival of the NBA (Michael Doleac edition?) is up at SB Nation's very own Clips Nation. Check it.

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