More on the 'mythical 2-guard who can defend and shoot'

I think I should trademark that name, it'll be mentioned here alot this summer.

Anyway, from John Hollinger's Wednesday chat (reg. req'd):

Jerry (Laredo,TX): John, which guard would be best for the Bulls next year since they need a big two guard: Raja Bell, Antonio Daniels or Doug Christie?

 John Hollinger: We can eliminate Daniels because he's only 6-4 and is probably out of their price range anyway. We can eliminate Christie because of age. Bell would be a good fit and should have a friendly price tag. Plus his pugnacious demeanor fits in best with that team.

I'm blaming My Man Sam(tm) for even bringing Christie in the discussion. I did not know about Bell's 'pugnacious demeanor', but that scores even more points in John Paxson's favor I'm sure. But no doubt that also makes him a Jerry Sloan type player as well, so I wouldn't be so sure Utah will let him go.

More from Hollinger, since this cracked me up:

Tony (Chicago): Do you see Kirk Hinrich in the mold of Stockton?

John Hollinger: Well, they're both white. Struggling to come up with other similarities... Hinrich is much more a scorer than a passer and plays the 2 as much as the 1. Also, Stockton was about 800 times better.

Carnival of the NBA #9 - Conference Semifinal edition

A Bulls season finished, the offseason yet to begin: a perfect time to check out what the NBA bloggers are up to:

• Starting off in the Western Conference, the best part of having a Spurs-Supersonics series isn't the play on the court but the back-and-forth banter between San Antonio Spurs Blog and the multi-author attack of SuperSonicSoul. As of this posting, game 4 is still yet to be played, and while the Sonics bloggers are touting victory, they don't' sound too confident. Meanwhile Matthew from SpursBlog is incensed at the lack of fire from Tim Duncan, saying that no matter the outcome of this series, Duncan needs to be more aggressive:

          Allow me to simplify: if Tim Duncan does not drop 30 on SEA come Sunday the Spurs aren't winning a championship.

• For the other West series, relative newcomer Rising Suns has been blogging up a storm during these playoffs. I highly recommend checking him out. Rebel Ballin' of the MVN handles the Dallas perspective of this fast-paced series.
   
• In the Eastern Conference, multi-media superstar David Eisenberg of Crazy from the Heat has to be pleased that his Heat have swept the Wizards (almost makes me happy that the Bulls didn't win and get a similar thrashing) even with Shaq missing games 3 and 4:
  

  The Miami Heat have now proven that they are one of the four best basketball teams in the world, a minimum requirement for this season to not be considered a disaster. When everything started, most people had them behind the Pistons and Pacers until they proved something, and that was upgraded to Conference Finals by the Detroit Riot. The Heat are undefeated in these playoffs, have won 11 in a row, and have another nice little rest before facing the winner of the Detroit-Indiana blood war. Any one of Miami, Detroit, Indiana, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Dallas could still win the title, but no one is sitting as pretty as the Heat.
   

• Left to pick up the pieces for the Wizards are Les Bullez, who preaches perspective and optimism for the future after getting officially bounced.
   
• Another must-read newcomer is The Pistons (with now-appropriate color scheme!), which covers the defending champs' drive for the repeat. Not only that, but with daily posts he's tackling the entire league. Becoming an every-day read for me.
   
• Another Pistons blog, Motoring Pistons, takes the spotlight off of the referees and back on the team on the floor:
  

  What is even more sickening about last nights game was the bickering done by the Piston players and coaches after the game. Yes, Reggie Miller did use the off arm to free up some space. So what? Anyone that watched last nights game knows the Pistons deserved to lose and have no business blaming the officiating for their dismal performance. The Pistons were down right embarrassing for most of the game.

• For those like me who's blogs cover teams have been bounced from the playoffs (or were never in), that doesn't mean they're not paying attention. Read playoff thoughts from the Timberwolves Blog and Knickerblogger. Knickerblogger's got playoff stats calculated and updated, a must-have resource.
   
• Always taking on the big picture, The End of the Bench is back! New writer Joey Litman has taken off where NBA blogging pioneer Tim Kraus (as Eric McErlain recently called him), has left off. Sad to see Tim officially out of the game, but Joey's writing has been top-notch so far.
   
• Celticsblog, Already speculating on the offseason,  dares to dream:
  

  Maybe we can't get KG and Ray Allen might not be the answer. But why can't we get someone great? I won't throw around any more names (today), but imagine Paul with another great player? We have the trade assets to do something big. The Heat rolled the dice and ended up with Shaq to go with Wade. The Rockets pulled the trigger and now have McGrady to go with Yao. We need to find a team in flux, looking for quantity over quality, and meet their price.
  

• I know Kurt doesn't like being the all-Phil Jackson blog, so Forum Blue and Gold not only looks at the probability of a return of Phil, but examines other coaching candidates as well. Be sure to also check out Kurt'sblog for his Laker end-of-season report cards, by position. Similar report cards for the Warriors are being done at The City.
   
• Father Knickerbocker is also tracking the Phil Jackson rumors. Another blogger looking through the coaching applicants is newcomer Believing in Magic. Meanwhile All That Jazz is happy that things are staying the same on the bench in Utah.

It was fun taking over the carnival again, hopefully after reading it you've found enjoyable NBA blogs that you may not have been reading before. I'll be sure to let everyone know where it'll be stopping next. For submissions or volunteers to host the Carnival, email me.