A lot of the pleasure from Game 4 was the big comeback story, but it was also that I was watching players play and coaches trying to out-maneuver each other, and the refs didn't really come into play.
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ESPN.com is reporting that two ex-referees were asked by investigators about Dick Bavetta as much as they were Tim Donaghy. Among other controversial games, Bavetta was head ref of Game 6 of the 2002 Kings-Lakers series that Donaghy said was fixed. This is not going to be swept under the rug anytime soon.
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Chad Ford is putting out this trade rumor: The Detroit Pistons to send Rich Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Aaron Afflalo to the Utah Jazz for Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Jarron Collins and Morris Almond. I don't know if it makes either team better or worse. The Jazz would entertain the notion just because Boozer will likely opt out of his deal in 2009, and Deron Williams & Andrei Kirilenko will already be max-money makers.
The benefits for Detroit is that they've plateaued ever since Larry Brown left, and they needed a change. They get a two-time All-Star power forward in Boozer, two promising young shooting guards in Brewer & Almond, and a good locker-room guy in Collins. They get youth. The downside is their core still has good chemistry, and they're blowing it up, and who's to say they won't still lose Boozer in 2009? Does this look like an NBA championship line-up? Billips, Brewer, Stuckey, Boozer, Wallace.
The benefits for Utah is they get some more experienced guys (Utah's one of the youngest teams in the league, which L.A. was able to exploit), a solid shooting shooting-guard, the lankiest 3-4 tandem in the league (AK would move to the 4 spot, which was his before Boozer showed up), and a little more payroll flexibility. The downside is they lose a two-time All-Star power forward and their only low-post threat, and Almond looks like a guy who could really blow up after setting records in the D-League last year. Does this look like an NBA championship line-up? Williams, Hamilton, Prince, Kirilenko, Okur.
It would be quite the dice-roll for both teams.
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