Minnesota’s Anthony Tolliver ran down the floor, face unadulterated joy, staring at his hands as if in disbelief.

Just seconds earlier Tolliver dropped a nail in the coffin corner three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Dirk Nowitzki. But the 98-82 fourth quarter lead over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks was not the source of celebration.

Instead it was Minnesota Timberwolves rookie point guard Ricky Rubio that had Tolliver, and the entirety of the Target Center, in an uproar.

Rubio, the heralded rookie sensation from Spain, had just lost future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd with a crossover towards the baseline. As Nowitzki rotated over to close the baseline, one foot near the line to close all avenues of escape, Rubio calmly skipped a pass between the 7-footer’s legs.

For Tolliver, it was the sort of spectacular pass that left missing not an option.

Early on in his young NBA career much of what Rubio has done is of the can’t miss variety.

With Rubio and Kevin Love the Minnesota Timberwolves have quietly become everyone’s NBA Leauge Pass go-to team. Entertaining enough for fans to catch when their favorite team isn’t playing, not yet threatening enough to build rivalries with. Not unlike the early Oklahoma City Thunder team.

There have been lesser rookies that put up better numbers than Rubio’s nearly 10 points and 7.6 assists a night, but few have cultivated the imaginations of the masses the was his nightly passing displays have.

Many NBA players have remarkable court vision–the ability to see the floor and find players as they come open. LeBron James, for example, has put up gaudy assist numbers throughout his career for his ability to create holes in the defense and making the open pass.

What Ricky Rubio has is more akin to court omniscience.  He sees the play before the player comes open. It’s a rare quality shared by few superstars throughout NBA history Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili, and Chris Paul to name a few.

Athletic, but not blessed with elite athleticism, Rubio stays steps ahead of NBA defenses by processing information much quicker than his opponents. It’s as if before each dribble or step Rubio foresees the endless possible outcomes of each action and immediately chooses the best one.

A dribble here moves a defender there and suddenly Kevin Love is open from behind the three-point line. Just a fraction of second slowing his pace in transition and defenders slow up just enough to hit fellow rookie Derrick Williams streaking to the rim.

And the magic is not just limited to offense either. While scouts questioned his ability to defend NBA point guards (with the current NBA rules, can anybody?), Rubio has been able to hold his own at times, using quick feet and his natural instincts to stay in front of and challenge the likes of Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker.

That’s not to say there are not some bumps to come for the young rookie. Rubio turns the ball over a bit too often (3.2 a game), and while his shooting has been much better than advertised, his lack of finishing ability still limits his ceiling to a certain extent.

But the Wolves are fun and relevant again, and a large part of that has been Rubio would seem–as Tolliver can attest to–too good to be true.

For a moment in time the Memphis Grizzlies sat atop the basketball world, upsetting the no. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs.

It was a near historical run for a young Memphis team–only the second eighth seed to take out a first seed since the NBA switched its first round format to a best of seven. And wile the moment provides the Grizzlies with something to build on, success also brings something to guard against: the disease of more.

More minutes, more shots, more numbers, more money. Jim Collins, Author of “How the Mighty Falls,” calls it “the undisciplined pursuit of more.”

Hubris from Stage 1 (“We’re so great, we can do anything!”) leads right to Stage 2, the Undisciplined Pursuit of More, “more scale, more growth, more acclaim, more of whatever those in power see as “success.” Companies in Stage 2 stray from the disciplined creativity that led them to greatness in the first place, making undisciplined leaps into areas where they cannot be great or growing faster than they can achieve with excellence, or both.

So much of last year’s success for the Memphis Grizzlies was dependent on chemistry, players falling into specific roles that created a sum great than its parts. While Memphis found a foundation to build upon, the resulting platitudes also upset it a little headed into training camp.

“Well I thought [what we did last year was good for the growth of the team] until we started training camp and had to start back from scratch,” Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins said. “Players today grow, but as you start to have success people tend to want to have their roles expanded. So you’ve go to go through a training camp, start bringing them back together, and start building that chemistry again.”

“I think we had a little success and people wanted to be more for themselves, or whatever their agenda was,” he added. “I think the best thing that happened to us, even though I hated it, was not being able to play for so long and guys were away and not getting those pats on the back about what we’d done.

“Unfortunately we came back and that’s all people wanted to talk about: last year. Last year was definitely last year.”

If the Memphis Grizzlies needed any further proof of that they needed only look at their return to the site of their greatest success, falling to the same San Antonio Spurs they defeated just months ago in a sloppy, turnover plagued 82-95 loss.

Against a Spurs team whose already thin frontline was watered down further with early foul trouble to Tim Duncan, the Grizzlies deviated from what brought them success las season–force-feeding power forward Zach Randolph.

Randolph had only eight shot attempts in route to 10 points while Rudy Gay, who missed most of the Grizzlies successful run last season with a shoulder injury, hijacked the offense to the tune of 18 shot attempts (making eight) for 19 points.

Gay is not a peripheral piece, he’s a key member of the core, and integrating him with the success the team had last year will mean checking his own ego at the door.

“I told him you your shelf life is short, you need to go out and maximize your time. All players time here is fragile,” Hollins said. “And you also saw that the league will keep going on when you’re gone, so don’t think so highly of yourself that you’re indispensable.”

Gay wasn’t alone as Grizzlies perimeter players forced the action, largely ignoring Randolph and Marc Gasol (5-16, 13 points), who ran roughshod over the Spurs frontline last season.

“I don’t think we were playing at a pace that we need to be playing at,” Memphis point guard Mike Conley said. “We’re not moving the ball side-to-side, we have a bit of indecision when it comes to second and third options.

“We have to do a better job of moving the ball and getting the big fellas the ball early.”

This is not to pick on Memphis too much after one game, but rather something to keep an eye on as the season goes along.

Because so much of the Grizzlies success depends on turnover plagued Tony Allen being a neutral enough offensive player to stay on the court to supply his suffocating brand of defense instead of contributing four of the Grizzlies’ 24 turnovers trying to isolate Manu Ginobili.

Or Mike Conley efficiently running the offense through Randolph and Gasol while picking his spots in transition.

“We have to go out there and practice and be patient,” center Marc Gasol said. “Just keep working for the right reasons to get to the next level. This year is a whole differe year, we have to work pretty much from scratch.”

Fortunately for the Memphis Grizzlies they would appear to have the right man for the job in head coach Lionel Hollins.

“My primary goal is to let them know not to get deluded into believing all the hype of last year,” Hollins said. “Last year is done, we have to build and create magic this year.

“And the way you create it is to go to the gym, work hard, and play for each other. You make sacrifices, go to work and get it done.”

Growing up in Michigan, I disliked Larry Bird and his Boston Celtics a lot.

It wasn’t until later in Bird’s career, and after he had retired that I began to look past my prejudice and really appreciate the man’s basketball ability.

Bird is the owner of one of my top-3 favorite NBA plays of all time. Bird is one of 4-5 players in NBA history that could pull a play like this off; he had the hustle, creativity, and court I.Q.

Amazing. Bird hustles to the rebound, pops the ball out of Clark Kellogg’s hands, and as the ball shoots straight up in the air, Bird sees teammates streaking down the court.

In one motion, Bird jumps up in the air, grabs the ball, cocks back and throws a baseball pass down the court – resulting in a Robert Parish dunk.

Larry Bird was a phenomenal passer in a regular offense, but a lot of his highlight passes were only possible because he sacrificed his body and took chances.

Bird’s hustle caused chaos because if he stole the ball or threw his body around to create opportunities, the defense was unprepared, and Larry Bird took advantage of those situations.

Take a look at some of his career highlight passes at YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.

• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time
• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time part 2
• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time part 3

Ricky Rubio finally played his first NBA pre-season game and wowed the Minnesota crowd with his deft passing. Rubio showed off his court vision on no less than three eye-opening assists. Watch the video:

In the end, Rubio contributed 6 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in a 24 minute debut win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Should the Dallas Mavericks somehow make it back to the NBA Finals it remains to be seen how much of the roster could still be considered the defending champions.

At least two key cogs of the Mavericks championship run will receive their rings as a member of the visiting team later in the season. Tyson Chandler, the backbone of the defense that put the Mavericks over the top, and J.J. Barea, representing the dribble drive game the legs of Jasons Kidd and Terry can no longer consistently summon.

In their place now stand additions Lamar Odom, Vince Carter, Delonte West, and Brandon Wright. While Odom is an intriguing piece whose versatility helps soften the blow of losing Chandler, the important factor that connects each of their offseason acquisitions is their contracts, and the one year remaining on them.

In shortchanging their offer to center Tyson Chandler, the Mavericks were trying to preserve salary cap flexibility moving into next summer’s free agency. The Mavericks are walking that tenuous line between defending their championship and rebuilding on the run.

It’s a risky proposition for Mark Cuban and the rest of the Mavericks front office. They have an eye on a star-studded 2012 free agent class featuring Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul that may not exist.

The trade winds are blowing with hurricane force, and one imagines if any trades involving the Nets, Hornets, or Magic occur it will be with those players signing extensions that will take them off next year’s market.

Short of landing one of those players, the new financial responsibility Cuban is displaying could be a huge loss.

Read the rest of this entry »

If the reports are true, superstar point guard Chris Paul will be suiting up next to Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles this next NBA season.

Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the New Orleans Hornets have started telling other teams that they plan to send CP3 to the Lakers in a trade for Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. Here’s the tweet:

The Hornets have started to inform teams that they’re sending Chris Paul to the Lakers for Bynum and Odom, league sources tell Y! Sports.

UPDATE: Ack!  As soon I hit the publish button – things have changed!  According to Yahoo! Sports. The trade now involves Pau Gasol in a HUGE 3-team trade:

…the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and New Orleans Hornets have struck a deal that would send MVP-level point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers… In the deal, Houston would ship Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Goran Dragic to the Hornets and receive Pau Gasol in return from the Lakers. Los Angeles would also have to send Lamar Odom to the Hornets, and this is about as massive as these things get.

Ah, I miss the NBA, blockbuster trades, and slam dunks. I am tired of recreating NBA-style dunks on my adjustable basketball goal. To discuss NBA trades, go to our NBA Forum.

Deron Williams is having his #8 jersey retired.  By his Turkish club. The one he played only 15 games for.

Yes, Deron Williams played well in his short 15 game stint in Turkey.  During the NBA lockout, the NBA All-Star averaged 21.8 points and 6.5 assists, but to have his jersey retired?  This smells of a public relations move.

Anyways, what an honor!

Check out the original article at SLAM magazine.