Kyrie Irving

Apr 22, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) shoots past San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) during the second half at the AT

When does this one on one match happen between Kobe and Kyrie? I would be very interested to see how that plays out.  But Irving is ready to make that jump into the next level.  He already showcased it by being the best player on a bad bad team.  The Cavs could spoil some teams this season, but I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs, maybe the cusp of it.  Kyrie Irving will become an even better point guard, and he should be talked about a lot more this season.

Paul George

Mar. 16, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) shoots over Indiana Pacers shooting guard Paul George (24) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

My Indiana Pacers bias will come into play as I’m going to talk about two Indiana Pacers.  Paul George is first on the list as fans are ready for him to take his game to the next level.  He might not be in the top options of players to go to for the Pacers, but he needs to make an impact while out there.   Last season, he did have that breakout game against the Dallas Mavericks, where he tied Reggie Miller for most threes made in a game.  But Paul George has to stay consistent.  If he can continuously put up 15 or so points a game, that would go a long way to helping the Pacers make that next step in their drive to get back to contending.  He will have to improve his defense as well, and with his length, he should be a better defender.

Roy Hibbert

May 2, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) drives around Orlando Magic power forward Glen Davis (11) during the first quarter of game three in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Time for Hibbert to earn his pay.  He got the big contract that was deserved after an All Star season, but like George he needs to be more consistent.  He should be at least a 15 points 10 rebounds guy.  Not one night of 15 rebounds and the next night of 5 or 6 rebounds.  Every night, he needs to be at the top of his game.  We saw the difference he was on defense against the Magic in that first round, which was helped without Dwight Howard there.  In the Eastern Conference, Howard is gone again, so Hibbert has a great shot at becoming the top center there.  But he will have to bring his A game all the time.

Jeremy Lin

Mar 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Knicks defeated the Sixers 82-79. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Maybe he’s already started that process of breaking out, but we do need a bigger size sample of games played to see what Lin can do.  Now he’ll get the chance back in Houston to be the starting point guard, and play enough to show his game.  Not bad for a guy who was a ten day contract and about to be cut.

Ricky Rubio

Mar. 3, 2012; Portland, OR, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio (9) drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers point guard Raymond Felton (5) during the fourth quarter of the game at the Rose Garden. The Timberwolves won the game 122-110. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Now’s the time for Rubio to stay healthy and help the Timberwolves along with Kevin Love get back to some sort of winning.  Rubio showed some flashes last season, but then he got hurt and the Timberwolves weren’t able to stay at a winning level.

Who are you ready for to break through in the NBA?

The Minnesota Timberwolves really don’t want their 2009 NBA Draft pick to go to waste in Ricky Rubio. They really want to have that extra point guard to go along with the Wolves’ many solid ones, such as Jonny Flynn.

The Timberwolves want to set a dinner/meeting with Rubio’s parents somewhere in Paris to talk about their son’s NBA future, according to Alan Hahn of Newsday.com. However, Rubio’s parents declined.

“Apparently, the Rubios aren’t interested in having dinner with Taylor and the T-Wolves,” he wrote.

It seems that Rubio will never play with the Timberwolves, but however, a shot in the NBA could still be possible.

Knicks To Shop for First-Round Pick

The New York Knicks are currently shopping for a first-round draft-pick to land Denver Nuggets’ small forward Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks have been searching long and hard. ESPN.com’s NBA Senior Writer, Chris Sheridan, broke the news recently that New York may have found what they have been looking for.

“Source tells me the NY Knicks have a deal available to acquire a No. 1 draft pick in 2011 for use in a C.Anthony trade, if talks revived,” Sheridan reported on his Twitter account.

There may not be a chance to go into trade discussions for right now, but New York can save this for later once the trade deadline comes up.

Randolph at Center?

Speaking of the Knicks, their newly-acquired big man, Anthony Randolph, could very well start at the center position. Ronny Turiaf looked like he’d be entering training camp as the starter. Things might have changed now.

“With Eddy Curry out of the picture, Ronny Turiaf not excelling and impressive Russian rookie Timofey Mozgov still so inexperienced, coach Mike D’Antoni is giving more consideration to starting 6-foot-11 forward Anthony Randolph in the pivot,” wrote Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Randolph saw time with the first team during a light practice at Armani Jeans Milano’s training facility. Training camp opened last week with Turiaf playing with the first team, but he has no presence on offense.”

Randolph wouldn’t be that bad, and him with a combination of Amare Stoudemire down low could be deadly, considering that Randolph is a fierce shot-blocker. Randolph can also be a great back-up at power forward, and according to several sources, could play a bit at the small forward spot.

“The plum here is Randolph. An erratic but talented young forward, he’s potentially a star; he’s also an extraordinary shot-blocker, so between him and Turiaf, the Knicks’ deficiency in this department should be a thing of the past,” writes John Hollinger over at ESPN.

Washington and the Guards

The Washington Wizards have a great set of guards set on the table. They drafted John Wall and also got a great deal in trading for Kirk Hinrich. They also currently have Gilbert Arenas as well. That’s a great combination of guards, and according to reports, they could all be on the floor at the same time.

A three-guard set for the Wizards? I think so.

“It might be those three little guys together. Our back court can be as good as anybody in the league, with our versatility, speed, quickness, defensive ability,” Flip Saunders told the Washington Post. “We’re going to play a lot of different people and a lot of different combinations.”

Although none of those three are no taller than 6’4″, Saunders says they play a lot bigger than what their height shows on the paper.

Though they could play bigger than their height, however plays at small forward could see a bit of a disadvantage no matter what.

NBA, Kings Frustrated with Sacramento

The NBA and the Kings are currently frustrated with Sacramento after the capital city of California rejected to build a new arena for the team.

“No one is packing up and backing up the trucks,” NBA commissioner David Stern told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday, “but we just don’t have any new ideas. There were several good ones reduced to the convergence plan, and everyone got behind it except for one enterprise (Cal Expo). Cal Expo exhausted us. If something comes up that’s workable, we would be all for it. But we don’t see anything workable right now.”

Stern’s patience has now been done. He can’t wait longer.

“It’s up to the boys (Maloofs),” he told the paper. “But a year from now, they’re going to need to figure something out. We’ll be waiting.”

Erick Dampier Visits the Raptors

According to the Toronto Star, free-agent center Erick Dampier recently visited the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors could use a solid-rebounder like Dampier, since Chris Bosh leaving to the Miami Heat brings a huge whole to the big-man set of Toronto.

Other teams that are interested are the Houston Rockets, who could have another solid center than Yao Ming and Brad Miller. The Milwaukee Bucks are also interested, as they only have one true center, which is Andrew Bogut.

“He’s a good friend of mine,” Corey Maggette said. “When we played in Dallas, he would always take me out. He’s a great guy. I think he would be a good fit here. I’d love to have him on our team.”

New Line-Up for Magic

The Orlando Magic look to start the pre-season with the starting line-up looking like this:

PG: J.J. Reddick

SG: Vince Carter

SF: Rashard Lewis

PF: Marcin Gortat

C: Dwight Howard

Stan Van Gundy has a lot of options to go through, but he wants to open the season with this.

“I think we should do those things and be prepared to go bigger when we need it,” Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel. “And I think there are other times where we need to go smaller. I think we have a roster that should be able to do all of those things.”

“At different times, different things are the way to go,” Van Gundy added.