In April, we watched the initial stages of a showdown going on between the Celtics and the Bulls. The two organizations played during the first round of the postseason for an extraordinary playoff matchup, reaching 7 overtimes in 7 showdowns, and the magic was present.

It was a battle built around point guards. The Celtics had Rajon Rondo, 23 , averaging just about a triple-double a night and carrying a Boston team decimated by physical issues and forced to go tiny. Chicago had Derrick Rose, twenty, experiencing a defining series in the early years of his career. A first timer surrounded by veterans, Rose played with self-assurance beyond his age.

Currently, four months have gone by, and the two organizations nevertheless maintain a rivalry revolving around point guards.

The man in question is Carlos Arroyo. The 30-year-old career second-string guard played 8 years in the American basketball scene between 2001 and 2008; he then parted ways and shipped off to Israel, getting a one-season deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Presently, after a year away, Arroyo wants back into the NBA.

The Celtics are the sensible destination for Arroyo. The Celtics are presently devoid of a worthy bench for Rondo at the point — and following 2 seasons of picking one up in the middle of the season (first Sam Cassell in , then Stephon Marbury this previous season), they can basically use a year-round answer. The team has allegedly agreed to provisions with Marquis Daniels, however Daniels is more of a swingman-type than a pure PG. He is by no means the solution.

Arroyo is a worthy fit. He’s pretty affordable, he plays hard on both sides of the floor, and he’d be beyond pleased as a second-string on a great team. He’s done it in the past — he backed up Mark Jackson with the Jazz, Chauncey Billups in Detroit, as well as Jameer Nelson in Orlando. He does not require a starting role to be pleased in the league — he’ll just get minutes every way he could acquire them.

Seemingly Arroyo is in negotiations with the Celtics about becoming the newest bench for Rondo.

But for, of course, the Bulls woo him away beforehand.

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One cannot blame the Timberwolves anymore.

David Kahn took Ricky Rubio at his word… that he desired to join the national basketball association. But when it came down to it… after all the strings had been tugged and the hoops jumped-through… Ricky Rubio betrayed the team.

“Going to the Timberwolves might have simply complicated my life much. It was a danger and I did not look at it so noticeably,” Rubio claimed. “My priority was the National Basketball Association and it was hopeless for the organization to assume my takeover clause, so I aspired to remain house.”

Oh… boo hoo. It would have complicated your existence. You mean participating in the NBA and achieving the hypothetical fantasy you have? And that part regarding not having the means to pay the buyout:

Kahn claimed Rubio’s representative, Dan Fegan, offered a list of sponsorship deals and endorsements that helped make the basketball agreement pleasant enough for Rubio and Joventut to enter into a contract on Saturday night.Rubio asserts the contract came with too many challenges… even though it is his mediator that drafted the deal.

The Timberwolves took a chance on this kid… and they at long last figured out a deal to let him play in the NBA. However when push came to shove… he happened to be worried. Hey… it’s his choice. You don’t need to end up where you do not want to, Ricky.

Simply don’t say one thing and do something completely different. Don’t back out because you don’t like the franchise that chose you. That is part of the agreement.

It’s the identical agreement anybody else enters into. In exchange for making it to the pros, you would be required to work somewhere you do not wish to play. You think Blake Griffin is psyched going to the Los Angeles Clippers? Or fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol was always happy regarding playing in Memphis for over seven seasons? That’s just life, young man.

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There you have it, the battle for Lamar Odom has ended.

Lakers fans celebrate the extension of their valuable forward, while the Heat wonder what could have been had they succeeded in signing Odom. Additionally, the fact that they didn’t sign Odom is a legitimate blow to the team’s chances of extending Wade after his contract expires this season.

Getting back to Los Angeles, does this re-signing assure the Lakers a repeat at the NBA Title? Let’s take a look. In my previous Lamar Odom article, I brought about that regardless if the Lakers were to re-sign Odom or not, they would remain as the most powerful team in the NBA.

Some might disagree with my stance that the Lakers win with or without Odom, but the fact that he will return as a Laker really makes it difficult for anyone to rank another team above the Lakers going into the new season.

Not just because they are the defending champions of the NBA, but for the fact that they have the best player in the league on their team, arguably the best defending forward in the game, a top five 7 footer in the NBA, and the best sixth man off of the bench amongst the entire league.

Put that all together and this organization is stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger in his body building prime. Is it even a question that the Los Angeles Lakers will repeat during the upcoming season?

This team has the veteran experience, yet no players are old enough to be considered on the way down. They have one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. Sure, some other teams have made a few nice moves, but no one will touch the Lakers in the West.

When previewing their 09′-10′ NBA season, it is not out of harms way to state that the Lakers have an excellent chance at winning 70 plus games. Even though we are in the midst of off-season, the Los Angeles Lakers have managed to win the Lamar Odom sweepstakes and come up with yet another “W”.

The National Basketball Association changed their playoff rules after season in 2006. Basically, the format was changed to ensure that the two best teams in the league would not meet up until the conference finals, even if the teams are in the same division.

The National Basketball Association playoffs follow the regular season of basketball. These playoff games lead to the championship and are played between eight teams in two conferences. A conference is made up of three divisions. The team that has the best season record in each division is that divisions champion. In addition to the three division champions, the team with the best record in each conference is added to the mix and those four teams are given a ranking, or seeding, of one to four. Then four more teams in each conference are assigned rankings of five through eight, according to their season records.

If teams have even records, there are six tie breaks which can be employed to determine which team moves to the playoffs. These are: 1) the teams head-to-head record, 2) division records, 3) conference records, 4) team records within conference, 5) team record against other playoff teams, and 6) highest net points over the season.

The ranking, or seeding, of the teams is important and used to determine which team plays which team throughout the playoffs. During the first round of playoffs, also called the Conference Quarterfinals, there are four match-ups and these are based on seeding. The first seed plays the eighth, the second seed plays the seventh, the third seed plays the sixth, and the fourth seed plays the fifth. Four winners advance to the Conference Semifinals. During the semifinals, the winner of the first-eighth quarterfinal match plays the winner of the fourth-fifth quarterfinal match; and the winner of the second-seventh quarterfinal match plays the winner of the third-sixth quarterfinal match. The winners of these series are the NBA Conference winners and they advance to the NBA Conference Finals. The winners of each of the conference finals play against each other in the NBA Finals.

During each playoff round except for the NBA Finals, the teams must win a best-of-seven series, the format of which is 2-2-1-1-1. The team that earns home court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7. The opposing team will host games 3, 4, and 6. Home court advantage during the playoffs is not determined by seeding, but rather by the teams season-long record. So the team that ranks sixth could have home court advantage over the third seed.

The best-of-seven changes format for the NBA finals, however. Instead of a 2-2-1-1-1 format, the NBA finals use a 2-3-2 format. This means the team with home court advantage hosts games one, two, SIX (as opposed to five in the playoffs), and seven. The opposing team hosts games three, four, and five. When one team has one four games, they are deemed the winner, so games five, six, and seven are only played if necessary.

The NBA Finals take place in June. The winning team earns the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. In addition to the trophy, each player and the coaches and the general manager, are given a championship ring. The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award is also announced at this time. The award is usually given to a member of the winning team, but there is no explicit rule that says it must do so.

Vince Carter is a professional basketball player in the NBA and he has produced some of the most memorable slam dunks ever in the history of professional basketball. Read on for those Vince Carter slam dunks which made him famous and also won him the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk contest against Tracy McGrady.

Year 2000 was definitely by far the best for Vince Carter. He was at his best in the dunk of death slam dunk at the 2000 Olympics.

While doing this dunk at the Olympics he flew over the 72 French center Frederic Weis. He took off with the ball with legs spread mid air and hit Weiss head to avoid the accident with Weis. The French media went ecstatic over the dunk and labeled that dunk as the le dunk de la mort or the the Dunk of death.

This is not all that he could do. In the year 2000 NBA slam dunk contest he showcased his slam dunks which have now become famous and these are 360 degree windmill, between the legs bounce and an elbow in the rim dunks. His elbow in the rim dunk is also known as the Honey Dip or the cookie jar dunk

He has several records to his credit for the NBA playoffs. Guess what is his record for most three point filed goals in one half? The number is eight and it is a NBA record.

Vince Carters athletic abilities have helped him pull off some of the most entertaining slam dunks.

He started playing basketball at the young age of two. His idol on the field at that time was Julius Erving.

Daytona Beach, Florida is an area where basketball culture has spread its tentacles. Vince Carter was influenced by it for sure. The basketball played there was free for all with a lot of slam dunks performed in the games.

The same way as Vince learnt his craft aspiring youngsters can also learn to play basketball. There are many avenues available to learn basketball. In todays internet world there are free courses available which can guide you via videos and step by step instructional material. Read and watch these and then practice your moves again and again till you have achieved perfection.

It always helps to have a good neighborhood where basketball is played.

NBA as a professional association has done a lot to make the game of basketball popular. NBA also initiated the All Star game and the Sprite Slam Dunk contest to pull in more and more and enthusiasts into the game.

Slam dunk is a surefire way to get the crowds all worked up as well as it is an instant recognition for the players talent.

NBA started the Sprite Slam Dunk competition at All Star Saturday Night where the best players compete for the tag of the Best Slam Dunker of the year.

The best slam dunk to remember is Michael Jordans Kiss-the-Rim. Another one to remember is Vince Carters reverse 360 degree slam dunk.

Vince Carter has done a few dunks over the course of his basketball career which is his signature style now. He introduced the now famous the cookie jar dunk or more commonly known as the Honey Dip dunk. He performed another one named the reverse 360 degree

Nobody can forget the 2000 Olympics when Vince Carter performed the dunk of death. This was labeled so by the French media.

What is a slam dunk? For those new to basketball, slam dunk or dunk is a basketball shot in which the player jumps over the basket and makes sure that ball goes right through the basket with one or both hands over the rim.

Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins are all time great players who have also performed some memorable slam dunks.

Slam dunks are good for getting the points for sure and it also is a good crowd pleasing thing. A lot of players have become instantly famous because of the novelty of their slam dunks especially in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest.

If you need to learn a slam dunk then professional help and regular practice is the way to go.

For learning more about slam dunks and basketball in general there are a lot of videos and instructional material available online. Most of these provide step by step instructions for learning basketball and specifically on performing the slam dunks. You can definitely use them to enhance your skills and become a better player.