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Basically, Rosen says that if Shaq is willing to be a good role player, Boston could be a legitimate threat .

Charley Rosen goes over some of the rumored combos that might come out of this summer's NBA free agency.

Their defense is better, but the Wizards aren't going to win too many games relying solely on the jumpshot .

It must be used wisely .

The Princeton Offense is a distant cousin of the Triangle Offense in that it's a read, rather than an execution, scheme. Instead of following prescribed routes, the players react to where the ball is and what the defense is doing. One difference between these two plans of attack is the former features more back cuts and back screens, and the big man is often used as a ball reverser from the top of the key. It's highly doubtful either Samuel Dalembert or Elton Brand will be asked to carry the ball across the time line. But who knows for sure? The major problem I have with the Princeton Offense is it's difficult to take advantage of specific mismatches and also to get the ball to certain guys in their favorite spaces. There's simply too much continuity to adjust the vital importance of matchup situations to the limitations of the shot clock. Of course, Jordan's game plan calls for specialty plays, but, by and large, these represent departures from the norm. Also, when...

As asked by Charley Rosen : Since Flip Saunders is on the record as saying that Gilbert Arenas will touch the ball on 80 percent of the offensive sets, does that mean that Agent Zero will also get 80 percent of the team's shots? Whatever Arenas's percentages might be, how many leftover shots will be available to keep Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Randy Foye and Mike Miller happy? Is there a defender in the house? My (humble) Answer: No, don't be crazy; There's a pecking order, but from the Media Day quotes getting shots isn't a priority right now; and Relying on "having one or two good defenders" is little more than a smokescreen so the focus needs to be on playing good team defense.

As explained by Charley Rosen .

And here's the most significant bad news for the Cavs: With Shaq stationed in the paint, there'll be precious little room for LeBron's powerhouse drives. In fact, the presence of Shaq will mostly limit LBJ's offense to the least efficient aspect of his game -- his jump-shooting. Also, if Shaq is such a desirable player, why did Miami trade him 16 months ago, and why is Phoenix so willing to deal him now? In sum, since it's virtually inconceivable that even with Shaq the Cavs can total more than the 66 wins they posted last season, this trade is exclusively geared to enable Cleveland to beat Orlando in the playoffs. Amen ; this trade certainly wasn't for wins: Cleveland had home court advantage for the entire Eastern Conference. If the Cavs did this just to beat Orlando, they may get their wish; but now they're going to have to deal with the non-Orlando teams who have players that will wear Shaq down. And if you see stories about how James has been reduced to...

I knew if I kept looking I'd find something from Rosen on the Eddie Jordan firing . I know it's late, but considering his predictions for certain personnel, it still seems relevant. We've all seen this movie before: A general manager stocks his roster with a dysfunctional mixture of players, but since he's the one who procured the players he thinks they're better than they really are. Eventually the team loses, and the coach is canned — because it's easier to fire the coach than to fire the players, and because the GM is certainly not going to fire himself. This is approximately what happened to Eddie Jordan in Washington. Ernie Grunfeld's team had no reliable big men as well as too many gunners with similar talents. Rosen goes on to say that without a low-post producing, double-team commanding big man or a consistent slasher, the Wizards were left with little options. Couple that with injuries, and you have a recipe for one fired coach. Plus, Grunfeld had ...

I think I understand Gilbert's recent blog post ; he must have read Charley Rosen (Straight Shooting Section).

Charley Rosen wrote a very good piece on being a sports fan and being a sports critic: There's nothing intrinsically wrong with being a spirited sports fan. Loyalty, passion, the appreciation of details and trends, of grace under pressure, and just plain fun are some of the wonderful rewards resulting from a total immersion in a ball game. Even the "agony of defeat" can be instructive. However, when a fan (which is shorthand for "fanatic") invests too much emotion in what is after all a vicarious pastime, it becomes easy to cross the line that separates enthusiasm from madness. One symptom of the overly rabid sports fan (or zealots of any persuasion) is a tendency to demonize anyone who has a different view. Go read the whole thing . Personally, I think it can be applied to more things than just sports.

Charley Rosen thinks that the Boston Celtics got a steal by getting Ray Allen in a Draft-night trade, but Sports Guy Bill Simmons isn't too sure . Later own I'll talk about how I think the Wizards did, and maybe about some other teams as well.

Remember when I said that the Heat was old and slow, and that the Lakers were young and sloppy ? Well, here's Wilbon : A year ago they were resourceful and poised, veterans who were the epitome of old-school basketball -- even their young flash, Dwyane Wade. For the final eight days of this season, neither the spirit nor the flesh was willing and the defending champion Miami Heat simply looked old. The Heat couldn't guard the Chicago Bulls, couldn't score on them, wasn't as strong or as swift. Miami coaches and players kept talking about playing harder and with more energy because it's easier to say that than face the notion that the challenger is simply better. Truth is, the challengers not only were more athletic and energetic, but more skillful, too. The result, shockingly, was a mismatch, a four-game sweep that eliminated the Heat in the first round. And here's Charley Rosen : The Lakers lacked the manpower, the maturity and the overall talent to sustain the...