We have all heard the rumor of a possible Kevin Garnett to L.A trade for Eric Bledsoe and Deandre Jordan. While adding Kevin Garnett obviously makes the Clippers a better team, Paul Pierce would make much more sense for the Clippers needs. The Clippers need a reliable wing scorer in the playoffs and Caron Butler is not the answer. Paul Pierce is the perfect scorer to add to this Clipper team who has a weakness of executing in the half court. With a healthy Pierce in the playoffs the Clippers can win a championship this year. Whenever you have a chance at winning a championship you make whatever trade you can to put you over the top and worry about the future when the time comes. The Clippers should be living in the present right now and take advantage of this opportunity to win a championship.

"Let's all hold hands and be friends"

       As I was watching the closing minutes of the NBA All-Star Game this weekend, I could not help but to notice a few things. First among these is further proof that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the league. In "clutch time", if there is such a thing in a NBA All-Star Game, Kobe recorded two blocks and one steal on Lebron James. On the second block, Lebron clearly touched the ball last before it went out of bounds; thus the following post-up and foul by Kobe on Lebron should not have happened. Nonetheless, Kobe Bryant got in Lebron's face and Lebron had no answer.

       I also noticed the problem with the new generation of NBA players today. Those last few minutes of the NBA All-Star game were very telling. It showed the generational divide or gap that exists between players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnet compared to the younger players at the game.  Something tells me that the current generation of players do not like the older players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnet because after all, this generation is the "don't hate" generation.

"Five beats one."

       This is the generation of keeping it real, but not too real. Say how you feel, but only to a point. Do not offend anyone. This generation of NBA players just wants to be loved. Players like Kobe Bryant have no problem stating how they feel, no matter who it offends. This kind of thinking translates to his game. Do you think Lebron's good buddy, Kevin Durant, would block Lebron's shot like Kobe did? I do not think he would. It would be seen as going too hard or as making the game too personal; and that's the problem. These current players do not go at each other in the same way that players from the past used to go at each other. Every week on TNT, they show the fight between Charles Barkley and Shaq from years ago. What is interesting about that is that Shaq and Charles went out to dinner with each other after the game.  Would Kevin Durant and Lebron James ever get in a fist fight? I cannot see it happening.

NBA going PG?

       It will be a sad day when the last of the "old school" NBA players leave the league in a few years. The level of competition will be lowered. The NBA will be less cut-throat and more kid friendly. Nowadays, even the slightest altercation in a game can lead to suspensions. In that sense, I see a lot of parallels between the NBA and the WWE. The WWE, or as I still call it the WWF, used to be raunchy. It was raw and in your face. Those days are referred to as the "Attitude Era." Well now the WWE is in the PG era due to Linda McMahon's continued efforts at securing Connecticut's U.S. Senate seat. I fear the NBA is headed towards its own PG era, and the game will suffer because of it.

"Me? Really?"

       Early in the Bulls championship run, was Phil Jackson as lauded as he is now? I think not. Greatness is best appreciated, and might I add exaggerated, over time. Phil Jackson is seen as the zen master; the great manger of superstar talents and their egos. Won't the same be said about Eric Spolestra?

       Think about it.  Who is better than the Miami Heat right now?  It is all but certain, unless the Spurs or Lakers reach the NBA Finals, that Miami will win the title this year.  And I do not see any other NBA team becoming significantly better in the next year.  The Heat have an opportunity here to run off 3 or 4 championships in a row.  The number of championships can easily climb to as high as 7 or 8 if Lebron decides to re-sign with Miami in a few years when his contract is expired.

       If this happens, expect Spolestra to take as much criticism as Phil Jackson took after his run with Michael Jordan in Chicago.  People will say "well if I had Lebron and Wade, I'd be winning championships too."  While there is some truth to that, placing a bunch of superstar athletes together on the same team does not guarantee success.  See the 2002 U.S. FIBA World Championship team, the 2004 U.S. Olympic team including both Lebron and Wade, and the current Los Angeles Lakers.  It takes great managers of people, or as Stephen A. Smith calls it "leaders of men", to get everyone on the same page to accomplish one goal; winning the Championship.  I believe when it is all said and done, Erick Spolestra will go down as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.  You can laugh at me now, but come back and read this line 10 years from now; "I told you so."

As usual,  TNT has a great lineup for its Thursday night broadcast. At 8pm eastern time we get to see Lebron and the Heat go into Oklahoma City for the first time since game 2 of the NBA Finals. After that we get to see the Clippers go on "the road" to play the Lakers. Heres a few things to look for in these games, lets start with Miami at OKC.  The first thing I am curious to see is whether Russel Westbrook will continue to try to do too much when playing Miami. I realize this is because of his competitive spirit and he wants to beat Miami badly but he needs to play smarter and let Durant do the offensive work. Speaking of Durant, I want to see him do something to Lebron. I am not saying I want him to fight Lebron, but enough of this overfriendly atmosphere in the NBA. Lebron is not your boy, stop working out with him in the offseason and start dunking on him. He is your main rival and is playing tremendous basketball right now, take the challenge to defend him and give him a few hard fouls to let him know the deal. I hope I see no conversations or handshakes between Durant and Lebron before the game. If Miami plays up to their potential then they will win comfortably, but if Oklahoma City can force Miami into contested jump shots and get their great crown involved then they can win this game.

Next we have the Clippers trying to put the dagger into the Lakers. It is still hard for me to convince myself that a team with Steve Nash, Kobe, and Dwight Howard can actually miss the playoffs but this is starting to seem likely. Kobe is playing his heart out and I have to give him a tremendous amount of respect, but Dwight is a clown and will always be a clown. He feels bad for himself after he misses shots and has a poor attitude overall. I know that Kobe and Nash can not stand playing with this clown. On Thursday I expect the Clippers to play inspired basketball with CP3 back and attempt to blow the Lakers out. We know Kobe will, but unless Dwight shows up then the Lakers will be blown out.
                                                                        

Ever since Rajon Rondo has been out for the season and the Celtics started to win a few games in a row I have heard some blasphemy in the Boston media. After a win in Toronto a few nights ago, Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger of Comcast were bashing Rondo and saying that Boston is better off without him. Even going as far as saying that Rondo is a selfish player who cares more about stats and his assist record than winning. Are you kidding me? Since when has trying to get your teammates involved been considered selfish?

     Even after a loss last night in Charlotte, Boston has been playing amazing team basketball. They have been moving the ball effortlessly and have been playing great defense. I feel that their winning is more of a result of their increased effort since Rondo has gone down. They have been playing inspired basketball trying to prove that they can still win without their best player. With that being said, I am excited to see Rondo play in a system like this next season where he does not dominate the ball as much in the past. 

Ps- Thanks for finally showing up this season, Jeff Green.

This game has a weird feel to it. There is almost no bad blood between the two teams. Jim and John Harbaugh held a group press conference with their parents yesterday and made this whole thing feel like a family vacation instead of the Super Bowl.This is a great matchup on paper but it is missing something. However, I am thrilled that Super Sunday is finally here. I will soon be able to watch ESPN again without hearing stories about Jim and John Harbaugh having pillow fights before bed when they were growing up, and no more stories about Ray Lewis and his heroic 12 tackles a game this postseason( his average tackle is 6 yards down the field).
            I see this game going in either one of two directions with nothing else in between. In the more unlikely scenario, this will be a tight game throughout with Baltimore's and Flacco's experience being the x-factor to help them prevail in something like a 27-23 final. This is the only way Baltimore can win, they need to keep it close and pull a New York Giant at the end. If it is tied going into the fourth I would be very worried if I am in California.  With that being said, I do not expect a close game today. Baltimore's experienced (old) defense will not be able to get Kaepernick off the field. Expect Kaepernick to have plenty of third down runs to move the chains. He is just too quick and the 49ers have too many weapons on offense to not score at least 35 points this game, especially since they are indoors. San Francisco will have many long drives which will give their great defense plenty of time to rest. This will stay close for a quarter or so but dont get fooled, San Francisco will win big.

               STEEZE REPORT PREDICTION- SAN FRANCISCO 42 BALTIMORE 21