The NBA: 2013 WCF: Best of the West

It took the San Antonio Spurs 6 years to get back to the NBA Finals.
They await the Heat or the Pacers
(Image from: Manu Ginobili)

#GoSpursGo #sweep #BestoftheWest
It only took the Spurs 4 games to advance to the NBA Finals. This was a series that many predicted to be grueling and tight. Some experts even had the Grizzlies advancing instead of the battle-tested Spurs (I picked the Spurs in 6). San Antonio was in control for most of the series and Memphis was unable to retaliate and adjust. Sure, two of the games went into OT but the Spurs still prevailed after initially having big leads during regulation. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had impressive performances during the series while their supporting cast did just enough to propel them over the Grizzlies. Meanwhile, Memphis struggled scoring and Zach Randolph was the biggest reason they were unable to defeat the Spurs for at least one game. Randolph could not find the bottom of the basket as he mustered only 16 total FGs in 4 games and shot 30% from the field vs the Spurs. Randolph was dominant in the previous 2 rounds but he could not overcome the Spurs' defense and strategy against him. Mike Conley also had a sub par series as Tony Parker destroyed him offensively. Parker averaged 24 and 9 while Conley responded with just 15 and 7. The Grizzlies needed more from Conley and Randolph especially since Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince are liabilities on offense.

#Big3 #Timmy #Manu #TP
The Spurs Trio will have a chance to win their 4th title together in the Finals. Tim Duncan will be gunning for his 5th ring which further cements his place as the best PF in NBA history. At 37 years old, Timmy has eluded "father time" this season and his play vs the Grizzlies was amazing. Duncan outplayed Gasol and Randolph for most of the series including hustling down the court for fast break/transition opportunities. Manu Ginobili struggled scoring and shooting but he still produced all-around numbers with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. If Manu ever finds his shooting stroke again, the Spurs look unbeatable. Lastly, Tony Parker is playing at MVP levels. He eviscerated the Grizzlies' defense with 37 points (season-high), mostly on easy and uncontested layups. He shot 15 of 21 (53% for the series) as he constantly got to the paint with no challenge coming from Memphis. The Spurs had 52 points in the paint compared to only 32 for the Grizzlies. The Spurs were the best assist team in the regular season and they are doing the same in the playoffs.

#Grizzlies #Grit&Grind
The Memphis Grizzlies did not win a game versus the Spurs in the WCF but this season can still be considered a success. Memphis finished with 56 wins in the regular season and they won 2 rounds in the playoffs. The Grizz traded Rudy Gay away but they still finished with a winning record and their team defense improved immensely. Other players developed and got better as well. Marc Gasol established himself as one of the best centers in the NBA and he received the DPOY award. Mike Conley emerged in the playoffs as a dependable player who can take and make clutch shots. Tony Allen remains a premier defender on the perimeter but he needs to vastly improve his jumper. As for Z-Bo, if he played like his 2011 version against the Spurs, then Memphis had a great chance of winning the series. It's unfortunate that Z-Bo failed to play like that and now the Grizzlies are going fishing. Overall, the Grizzlies took another step forward to becoming among the elite teams in the NBA. They just need more help/depth from the bench and Tony Allen needs to develop an outside shot.

#NBAFinals #Heat #Pacers
The Spurs will have more than a week to rest before the NBA Finals begin on June 6. If the Heat-Pacers reach 7 games, the Spurs will definitely have a big advantage when it comes to resting and preparing. That might mean impending doom for the Heat/Pacers because Coach Popovich is one of  the best coaches in the NBA. Some could argue that Pop is the best in the business and with all that time to game plan and prepare, the Spurs could be the favorites to win it all. Do the Spurs have a preference between Heat or Pacers? They beat the Pacers twice in the regular season while the Spurs lost twice to the Heat. The games against Miami dont mean much since both games featured a bunch of missing key players. The Spurs can match-up against the front line of Hibbert, George and West although Indy would have the overall advantage there. The Spurs have the advantage in the back-court and bench players. Meanwhile against Miami, a lot of the match-ups could cancel out each other (Allen-Ginobili, Duncan-Bosh, Wade-Leonard, Parker-James, etc). A series versus the Heat would rekindle the LeBron vs the Spurs story-line of 2007 where the Cleveland Cavaliers got swept. Do you think Heat-Spurs is a better match-up than Pacers-Spurs?  

#Player of the Night
Tony Parker (Spurs) - 37, 4 rebounds, 6 assists on 15-21 FGs 

#Highlight of the Night
Top Plays of Game 4

#Tweets of the Nights

Arash Markazi ‏@ArashMarkazi

As far as "Big Three" combos go, it's hard to top what Duncan, Parker and Ginobli have done the past 10 years.

JALEN ROSE ‏@JalenRose

Hate it or love it...Parker IS the 3rd best player in the ENTIRE NBA. Period. Behind only LBJ & KD

The NBA: 2013 Playoffs: Heat, Grizz Advance!

The Battle of Marquette alumni Butler and Wade ended in Game 5 with
D-Wade having his best game in the series
(Image from: USA Today)

#OntotheNext #WoW
The Heat had a big 18-point lead in the 1st quarter and appeared headed for an easy win and a laugher. The Bulls had other ideas and never quit. Miami took their foot of the gas pedal and went on cruise control. Chicago made them pay with a 24-point turnaround that gave the Bulls a 6-point lead at the half. The Bulls were in control during the 4th quarter until D-Wade (Way of Wade) and the Heat decided to turn up the intensity and effort. Wade has been a non-factor for the first 4 games and could have rested for Game 5 due to a bad knee. Good thing Wade decided to play because he helped the Heat overcome the Bulls. Wade had 6 points, a couple of rebounds and a bigtime putback dunk to propel Miami to the win. He also played great defense down the stretch on Butler and Hamilton. Credit to the Bulls for giving the Heat a big scare and this was a tough series. If the Bulls were healthy, then maybe this could have been 7 games.

#Heart #InjuriesSuck
The Bulls battled hard without 3 starters (Deng, Hinrich, Rose) and they almost stretched the series to another game. They played with sheer determination and all heart. You could never count them out and their effort was palpable. Miami had more talent and more players. Chicago could not keep pace with all their missing players and fatigue caught up with them. The Bulls only played 6 deep and that included Hamilton playing major minutes, the same guy who did not play the first 3 games of the series. Critics and fans will lament the fact the Derrick Rose did not play even once. Personally, I thought that Rose should only play if he was ready mentally and emotionally. It does not matter that team doctors declared him physically ready. The decision should be up to Rose and if he felt he was not ready, then dont play at all. The Bulls were not going to beat the Heat even if Rose played during the series. It was safer to save himself for next season and go through training camp and preseason games. Maybe the Bulls have a better chance vs the Heat next year.

#GritnGrind #Z-Bo
The Grizzlies are going to the West Finals and they avenged their 2011 loss to the Thunder. Randolph led Memphis with 28 and 14 as he dominated the Thunder in the paint. OKC played small ball for most of the game which allowed Z-Bo and Marc Gasol to run rampant in the post. There were defensive possessions that had Durant guarding Gasol. It almost worked for the Thunder as they managed to cut a 14-point deficit down to 2 points during the final seconds. Kevin Durant tried to do it all but he was fatigued and shot poorly for the whole game and series. KD had a shot for the tie but he missed an open jumper. The Grizzlies escaped with a win due to their great defense and advantage on talent. Mike Conley has emerged as a Top 10 point guard in the NBA while Tony Allen and Marc Gasol continue to play awesome defense. The Grizzlies are definitely an elite team in the West and they have a realistic shot of making the NBA Finals regardless of who their next opponent will be.

#Harden #Westbrook #Ibaka #Perkins
The Thunder failed to advance to the next round without Russell Westbrook. They were not deep enough to compensate for his injury. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin did not elevate their games to another level while Durant struggled with the extra defensive attention that the Grizzlies threw at him. Durant was not ready to carry the team by himself and his teammates failed to offer enough support. Now, the Thunder has to wonder if they did the right thing in trading Harden. I thought it was a BIG mistake to trade Harden at the start of last season. I felt that OKC should have at least tried one more year with their Big 3. That opportunity has vanished and next year could even be tougher. It was also a regretful decision to pick Ibaka (signed to a long contract) over Harden. The Thunder should have amnestied Kendrick Perkins last season which would allow them to have more flexibility with the salary cap. That extra money could have swayed Harden to stay and re-sign with the Thunder during the off-season.

#Stats #News

• Wade was averaging 11 points in the first 4 games of the series
• Butler played 48 minutes in 3 of the 5 games
• Nate Robinson finished the series shooting 33% after going 0-12 in Game 4
• Durant struggled shooting vs the Grizzlies, 42% from the field, 78% FTs
• Randolph averaged 19 and 11 vs the Thunder
• Sacramento will keep the Kings

#Player of the Night
Zach Randolph (Grizzlies) - 28 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists

#Highlights of the Night
Cole-Blooded Lefty Dunk
Prince over the Thunder

#Tweets of the Night

Bill Simmons ‏@BillSimmons

This tweet is going to be short for me, I have a game to get to in Oklahoma City. Anyway, congrats to Thibs + the Bulls for a great season.

Ramona Shelburne ‏@ramonashelburne

Caught Russell Westbrook leaving arena. "It's a little emotional right now, " he said. "but Ill be back. I'll be back"

The NBA 2013 Playoffs: Soaring High in Denver

Iggy and the Nuggets thwarted the Warriors in Game 5 to stay alive.
(Image from: yahoo.com)

#Stayin'Alive #Manimal
The Nuggets came out running and gunning in Game 5 to lead by 22 points. They had the lead the whole game and was only threatened near the final minutes. Denver had 3 players with double-doubles (Iguodala, Faried & Lawson) while JaVale McGee started for the first time this season and was an immediate factor with 10 points and 8 boards. The Nuggets played with high energy and intensity which was spearheaded by Faried who had a couple of alley-oops. Meanwhile, the Warriors started cold with Curry and Thompson shooting blanks which put the Dubs down by 14 in the first quarter. The sweet shooting back court duo combined for just 34 points and shot below 50%. The Warriors never got close the rest of the way. Andrew Bogut was a non-factor in Game 5 with just 2 points after being a key contributor in their last game.

#dirty #hitmen
After the game, Coach Jackson of the Warriors insinuated that the Nuggets played dirty and sent "hit men" to purposely target Steph Curry to hurt his ankles. Jackson even said that he had inside info coming from Denver that warned him that something fishy was up. Personally, I think his comments were misguided since both teams were just playing playoff basketball. Both teams have bangers and high intensity guys so physical stuff will always happen. I did not see anything really dirty from the Nuggets. It can be argued that the Warriors had the "dirtier" players in Game 5 since Bogut and Draymond Green were assessed with flagrant fouls. Bogut's two-handed shove into Faried's face was borderline dirty since it was not a basketball play.

#GrindHouse #Z-Bo
The Clippers are in trouble. They have lost 3 straight in this series and will face elimination at Memphis in Game 6. It's a very big possibility that Blake Griffin will miss that game but if he plays, he will be severely limited due to his high ankle sprain. Blake played 20 minutes and had 4 points and 5 boards. More importantly, he was unable to match-up with Zach Randolph who had a monster game (25 and 11). Z-Bo was not alone in their crucial win. Others stepped up, mainly Tayshaun Prince who hit crucial shots down the stretch and he finished with 15 points. The Grizzlies played good defense as they limited the Clippers to 44% shooting while Chris Paul was the only scoring option among their starters. The Clippers' starters combined for 18 points if you remove the 35 points from CP3. In comparison, the Grizzlies got 3 of their starters score at least 20 points.

#BenchMob #Practice?
Coach Vinny probably cost his team Game 5 before the game even started. Apparently, Blake Griffin hurt his ankle during a full-scale practice on Monday which may have included physical contact. Injuries happening during practice sessions in the playoffs RARELY happen since coaches normally scale down the intensity of practices to avoid injuries. Practices in the playoffs generally involve conditioning drills and a LOT of film sessions and game planning. Kudos to Blake for trying to play but high ankle sprains normally take weeks to heal and not days. The depth of the Clippers' bench was missing in Game 5 with Jamal Crawford the only one providing help to Chris Paul and his 35 points. Even their starters struggled with the likes of Billups and Butler combining for 8 points. Heck, Grant Hill has not played in this series and Willie Green has hardly played. Maybe it's time Coach Vinny gave the others a chance. If they lose Game 6, there wont be another opportunity to adjust.

#Stats #News

• Nuggets dominated the Points in the Paint: 50-24
• Warriors had a short rotation with 4 of the starters playing at least 41 minutes
• Evan Fournier did not play after starting the last 4 games
• Chris Paul had a playoff career-high 35 points
• The Grizzlies shot 26-33 from FTs while Clippers 19-25

#Player of the Night
Andre Iguodala - 25 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 7 assists, WIN

#Highlights of the Night
Faried working hard on both ends of the court
CP3 with the And 1

#Tweet of the Night

Denver Nuggets ‏@denvernuggets

Center @JaVale McGee on Mark Jackson accusing #Nuggets of playing dirty: "If we played dirty, they must've played unsanitary."

#Game Recaps

Final Score: Denver 107, Golden State 100
Denver, CO (Sports Network) - The hole that frustrated forward Kenneth Faried kicked in the visiting locker room's wall at Oracle Arena wasn't as big as the one Denver found itself in following Game 4's loss. But the Nuggets put their foot down and staved off the hard-charging Golden State Warriors in the friendly confines of Pepsi Center Tuesday. Andre Iguodala tallied 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Denver's 107-100 wire-to-wire win over Golden State in Game 5 of this Western Conference first-round series. The Warriors still lead the best-of-seven set 3-2. Only eight teams have come back from a 3-1 series deficit. Golden State trailed by as many as 22 in the second quarter and were down by 19 early in the fourth before surging back. The Warriors whittled the margin down to five with 2:16 to go, but Wilson Chandler nailed a 3-poiner and Iguodala put back a dunk off a Ty Lawson airball, sandwiched around Festus Ezeli splitting a pair of free throws, to increase the advantage back to nine with 53 ticks remaining. The Warriors never got within two possessions the rest of the way. Lawson recorded 19 points and 10 assists, Chandler put in a playoff career-high 19 points and Faried added 13 points and 10 boards for Denver, which has been eliminated from the first round nine times in the last 10 years. The Nuggets had dropped an NBA-low three home games during the regular season, but suffered a Game 2 defeat in the Mile High city. Denver made sure it didn't lose back-to-back games there for the first time since Feb. 8-9, 2012. After committing 23 turnovers in Game 4, Denver gave the ball away just 13 times Tuesday. Stephen Curry, whose 18 triples were the most by any player in the first four contests of a playoff career, missed his first five from beyond the arc. He netted 15 points on 1-of-7 shooting from distance. Harrison Barnes had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the Warriors, who were outscored 50-24 in the paint.

Final Score: Memphis 103, LA Clippers 93
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Memphis' Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph don't have the athletic leaping ability of their counterparts in Lob City, but the Clippers haven't found the antidote to stopping them over the last three games. And a road team has finally taken a contest in this series. Randolph had 10 of his 25 points in the fourth to go with 11 rebounds, while Gasol added 21 points and eight boards in the Grizzlies' 103-93 win over Los Angeles in Game 5 of this Western Conference first-round series. The duo combined for 43 points and 19 rebounds in Game 3 and went for 48 points and 22 boards in Game 4. The Grizzlies will attempt to close out the series in Memphis on Friday. Mike Conley tallied 20 points and six assists for the Grizzlies, who committed just seven turnovers against the team that forced the most in the NBA during the regular season. Chris Paul tied a playoff career high with 35 points to lead Los Angeles. Clippers forward Blake Griffin exited the tilt midway through the third quarter with a right ankle injury that he hurt in practice Monday. Griffin finished with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting. Jamal Crawford finished with 15 points in defeat.

The NBA: 2013 Playoffs: Day 6 - Allen for 3

Ray Allen led Miami with 23 points and the Heat
burned the Bucks for a commanding 3-0 lead
(Image from: USA Today)

#FearTheSweep #Rayray
The Bucks were up by 10 in the first half. Dwyane Wade shot 1-12 and finished with 4 points (2nd lowest of his career) and 6 turnovers. Miami had 19 turnovers and shot 14-25 from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Bucks had 6 players in double figures and had the lead in the 3rd quarter. Yet, the final score had the Bucks down by 13 points and looking at a 3-0 series deficit. The Bucks simply dont have enough firepower and composure to match the Heat. Ray Allen sizzled with 23 points (5-8 from deep) while Chris Andersen was great off the bench again with 11 points and 6 boards in 14 minutes. Heck, even Chris Bosh had a rare double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds.

#GrindHouse @MacBo50
The Grizzlies played great defense at the GrindHouse as they limited the Clippers to 38% shooting and only 82 points. Chris Paul was defended well by Tony Allen and Conley. CP3 struggled shooting and was held to 8 points and 5 turnovers. No heroics needed from Paul as the Clippers trailed by double digits for most of the 4th period. Zach Randolph dominated inside and won the battle of power forwards against Blake Griffin. Z-Bo finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds and was a team-high +19 on the court. The Grizzlies also won the rebounding edge which has been the barometer on who wins the game. The Clippers previously won the rebounding edge in the first 2 games.

#UglyGame #Defense
If you thought Game 2 of the Nets-Bulls series was ugly, Game 3 was even uglier. Both teams shot below 40% from the field and under 25% from deep. Luckily for the Bulls, they thrive on ugly, defensive games and they ended up winning 79-76. During the 1st and 2nd quarter, the Nets missed 25 of 26 shots. Ouch. The Bulls were comfortably leading by double digits in the 4th quarter when they entered a drought in the last 6 minutes. The Bulls missed all their shots in that span and made only 3 free throws while the Nets made a run and had a chance to tie with a three. CJ Watson air-balled a corner 3 for the tie. He was mostly open but his shot hit nothing at all. Nobody was surprised that an ugly game ended on missed free-throws and an air-ball.

#Stats #News

• Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller on the all-time list of threes made in the playoffs
• Wade had 4 points but contributed with 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks
• Birdman is shooting 13-15 in 3 games and averages 10 points and 6 boards in 14 minutes
• Chris Paul was a team-high -19 and had 5 turnovers
• Quincy Pondexter had a playoff career-high of 13 points
• Boozer and Deng finished with double-doubles
• Joakim Noah 27 minutes and had 1 point, 8 boards and 2 blocks
• Bulls-Nets had a combined 13 fast break points 

#Highlights of the Night
Jerryd Bayless with the OOP
Taj Gibson with the facial!
Larry Sanders can do more than block shots

#Player of the Night
Zach Randolph (Grizzlies) - 27 points, 11 rebounds, 9-10 FT and +19

#Tweets of the Night

Reggie Miller ‏@ReggieMillerTNT

I assume that's sarcasm from my co workers, "they smile in your face, always wanna take your place"..... Now I'm smiling... Congrats Ray!!

-Talking about Ray Allen passing his record

J.A. Adande ‏@jadande

It wouldn't be a Clippers-Grizzlies game without a double foul on Blake Griffin and Z-Bo

#GameRecaps

Final Score: Miami 104, Milwaukee 91

Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - The Miami Heat are making it fairly clear that they aren't too intimidated by the Milwaukee Bucks. LeBron James scored 22 points, Chris Bosh posted a double-double and Ray Allen became the all- time postseason leader in 3-pointers as Miami took a stranglehold of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a 104-91 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday. The Heat came out of the gate slow, but won the second half by a 56-41 margin and now have put the Bucks on the brink of elimination by taking a 3-0 series lead. James was 9-of-14 from the field and Bosh tallied 16 points with 14 rebounds. Allen was 5-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points to surpass Reggie Miller for most 3-pointers made in NBA playoff history. Dwyane Wade had a poor shooting night, going just 1-for-12 from the field, but chipped in with 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals in the victory. The Bucks once again got very little from their two best players, with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis combining for 23 points on 7- of-24 shooting. Larry Sanders posted 16 points and 11 rebounds as Milwaukee fell into a three- game hole, a position that no team has ever recovered from.

Final Score: Chicago 79, Brooklyn 76

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Carlos Boozer had a monster double-double and behind a dominating defensive performance, the Chicago Bulls grinded out a 79-76 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. After stealing home-court advantage from the Nets with a victory in Game 2, the Bulls returned home and held Brooklyn to under 20 points in each of the first three quarters. The Nets were brutal from the field for the second straight game, shooting just 34.6 percent, but had a chance after reducing a 17-point fourth quarter deficit down to three with four seconds left. C.J. Watson, though, shot long on a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the corner, securing the win for Chicago. Boozer carried the Bulls with 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, while Luol Deng also chipped with a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards. Brook Lopez helped spark the comeback attempt and supplied Brooklyn with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. Deron Williams had 18 points albeit another woeful shooting performance and Joe Johnson, who was a gametime decision with plantar fasciitis, scored 15 points in nearly 41 minutes of play.

Final Score: Memphis 94, LA Clippers 82

Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - A return to FedExForum was just what the Memphis Grizzlies needed. After dropping the first two games of the series, including a crushing defeat in Game 2, Memphis downed the Los Angeles Clippers, 94-82, behind a raucous home crowd and a big double-double from Zach Randolph in Game 3 of their Western Conference quarterfinal. Randolph was held in check the first two games, but powered the Grizzlies on Thursday with 27 points and 11 rebounds, six of which were offensive, and a desperate Memphis squad picked up its first victory of the series. Marc Gasol, the Defensive Player of the Year recipient, turned in 16 points and eight rebounds and helped limit the Clippers to just 38.8 percent shooting. Tony Allen and Quincy Pondexter scored 13 apiece and Mike Conley dished out 10 assists in the victory. Chris Paul, who provided the game-winning layup for Los Angeles in Game 2, netted just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting, but the Clippers still maintain a 2-1 series lead. Blake Griffin registered 16 points and Chauncey Billups had 11 in the setback.

The NBA: Grossly Overpaid NBAers

It’s that time of the year again when Thirteenth Month Bonuses and, at least in some companies, Christmas Bonuses are given out and added to employees’ regular paychecks. Of course, these are meant to make workers more liquid as spending tends to spike in the holidays.

Here in the Philippines, that phenomenon is magnified by the myriad of Christmas gatherings (e.g. company parties, department Secret Santas, family parties, parties with friends, etc.), and the number of people to whom one has to give presents (e.g. co-workers, friends, family, that Secret Santa person, and, of course, one’s godchildren). Bonuses tend to be hefty, but they also tend to just, quite literally, slip through one’s fingers. All it takes are a few hours of ghastly spending to burn those extra pesos.

All those ideas made me think of the best-paid NBA players in the current season, and whether these guys have actually been giving their respective teams the proverbial bang for the buck.

Kobe Bryant is the most expensive player
in the NBA. Is he worth it?
(image by Gerald Herbert/AP)

Let’s look at the top 20 NBA players in terms of their salaries this season (based on HoopsHype.com) and then measure this against their current NBA Efficiency rating (based on HoopStats.com).

Player	2012-2013 Salary	NBA Efficiency Rating	Bang per 1 Million Bucks [Efficiency/(Salary/1,000,000)]
Kobe Bryant	$27,849,000	25.2	0.91
Brandon Roy	$21,459,805	7.0	0.33
Dirk Nowitzki	$20,907,128	Hasn’t played yet	---
Gilbert Arenas	$20,807,922	Playing in China	---
Amar’e Stoudemire	$19,948,799	Hasn’t played yet	---
Joe Johnson	$19,752,645	11.8	0.60
Carmelo Anthony	$19,450,000	21.5	1.11
Dwight Howard	$19,261,200	21.8	1.13
Pau Gasol	$19,000,000	17.2	0.91
Elton Brand	$18,160,354	11.3	0.62
Chris Paul	$17,779,457	23.1	1.30
Kevin Durant	$17,548,838	30.4	1.73
LeBron James	$17,545,000	29.6	1.69
Chris Bosh	$17,545,000	22.8	1.30
Deron Williams	$17,177,795	17.9	1.04
Dwyane Wade	$17,024,000	19.1	1.12
Paul Pierce	$16,790,345	17.6	1.05
Zach Randolph	$16,500,000	23.1	1.40
Andrew Bynum	$16,473,002	Hasn’t played yet	---
Rudy Gay	$16,460,532	16.2	0.98

From this set of data, I can draw several things:

1)   It looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves’ risk of resurrecting Brandon Roy’s career is a long way from paying off. Roy is far from the three-time All-Star he once was, and he’s about a month away from coming back to the roster – if at all.

2)   I’m going to say something we’ve all known for quite some time now – Joe Johnson is one overpaid baller. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not exactly 20 million dollars worth of good. Not this year, and not the past two years, when he registered just 16.0 EFF in each campaign. His shooting is a pretty good complement to the Nets’ prospective inside-outside game, but the question I’m asking is maybe the Nets can get someone just as good (or even better) on the cheap.

3)   The third-best, or third-most-cost-efficient, player on this list behind KD and LBJ is NOT Melo, CP3, Dwight, or Bosh. It’s Zach Randolph. Z-Bo is putting up about 18 points, 13 rebounds, and shooting nearly 50% from the floor. And he’s cheaper than Melo by about 3 mill. Heck, he’s cheaper than Gilber effin’ Arenas by more than 4 mill. In Tagalog parlance, that’s what we call sulit (great bang for the buck).

Zach Randolph is one of the most cost-efficient
players in the Association.
(image by Danny Johnston/AP)

4)   Another reason the Heat are so good, and will continue to be good, is that their best players aren’t exactly breaking the bank. At least not as badly as some of the other guys on this list. They can keep their Big Three and still have some change left to spare for some Steve Kerr or Ron Harper-type role players like maybe DJ Augustin, Randy Foye, DeJuan Blair, or even Jermaine O’Neal – all of which are 2013 free agents.

5)   So, aside from Roy, Johnson, and (my God!) Arenas, who else are the grossly overpaid NBAers here? How about the Mavs’ Elton Brand? Like JJ, he’s not awful, but, like JJ, he’s not exactly the best 18 mill player around.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the next 20 guys on the salaries list. There are bound to be some impressive and gross surprises there, too.