Posted by Ben Golliver

Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin took off from real deep to dunk in traffic over multiple defenders during the third quarter of a Wednesday night game against the Denver Nuggets. One of those defenders happened to be a familiar face: Timofey Mozgov.

Griffin received a pass at the top of the key from All-Star guard Chris Paul and attacked the middle of the paint, with Mozgov flying by behind him helplessly. He then elevated straight to the rim, launchpad style, and Nuggets big Kenneth Faried got trapped below him after take off. Griffin finished the thunderous dunk with one hand, and the force of the impact caused him to stumble to the ground after he landed.

Here's the video of Blake Griffin taking off in traffic for a dunk against the Denver Nuggets.

By Matt Moore

When trading a superstar, you look at two options. You can try and aim for a similar, albeit lesser star, or you can aim for financial flexibility and young players. When the Denver Nuggets traded Camelo Anthony last February, they received young players and financial flexibility, but they also recieved something better. Choice. 

The team was not so devastated by Anthony's deparure as to be forced into a pure rebuilding episode. They had young players like Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, and got back more in the form of Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov. But they also had cap room to bring in someone, or, if they wanted to bring back Nene. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports that's just what they did, inking the 29-year-old to a 5-year, $67 million deal which puts him at less per year than Marc Gasol, and which is less than the reported four-year, $70 million offer from the Nets. In locking up Nene, the Nuggets are entering into exciting but dangerous territory.

The Nuggets can compete for the playoffs right now. If Lawson continues his progression and Gallinari becomes a full-fledged star and young players like Jordan Hamilton and Kenneth Faried contribute anything, along with Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer, who the Nuggets acquired Tuesday in a trade with Dallas, then Nene allows them to push for as high as a five-seed in the West. With the Lakers undergoing signs of a possible implosion and Dallas clearing space for 2012, along with San Antonio's age finally wreaking havoc on them, the Thunder really only stand as a major long-term challenge in the West, provided the Clippers don't get Chris Paul. A deep, talented, versatile team with depth, size, experience, youth, athleticism and range? The Nuggets have everything you'd want in an all-around collection of talent.

The Nuggets are expected to zero in on restricted free agent Arron Afflalo, according to Berger, and as a result, will have a killer lineup of Lawson-Afflalo-Gallinari with some combination of frontcourt players beside Nene filling out the roster. They'll still have long-term flexibility, with only Al Harrington standing as a major impediment and will still have the amnesty clause as a weapon to use to clear space. Most of that cap space will be absorbed by extensions for Lawson, Gallinari, and potentially Mozgov, but that doesn't alter the fact that they can use those contracts and players to upgrade or go in different directions.

Still, the re-signing of Nene has its drawbacks. They are a win-now team. They are not aiming for the next superstar, they're trying to grow one out of either Lawson, Gallinari, or, less likely, Nene. They're trying to catch lightning in a bottle and that's a difficult act in the NBA. It's said that the worst thing you can do is end up in NBA purgatory, a constant 5-8 seed playoff team who never winds up going anywwhere. But the Nuggets might get to have their cake and eat it, too. With the kind of young roster they have, and a viable anchor in Nene to bolster the interior, Denver can have it both ways.

Masai Ujiri caught flak from everyone for waiting on the Melo deal last fall, seemingly squandering opportunities to get better deals. Instead, not only did he take in a king's ransom for Anthony, he has converted that haul and the cap space it afforded into a team that isn't struggling to fill roster spots, one that can take risks and make savvy moves, a team on the rise that can also compete now. There's no telling where Ujiri will take the Nuggets over the next several years, but unlike so many franchises beholden to the fate of one player, the Nuggets have options, now.

Wherever they're going, it's their decision which path to take.

By Matt Moore

Kentucky held an exhibition last night called the Big Blue All-Stars vs. The Villains featuring a number of college stars. As you'd expect, a high number of NBA players showed up, including Jodie Meeks who dropped 42 points. $50,000 was raised for the V Foundation, which is awesome. You know what's almost as awesome? 

This.

 

NO, Enes Kanter, YOU MAY NOT COME IN. Kenneth Faried INVITES YOU TO TAKE THAT WEAK STUFF AND EXIT THE BUILDING IN A TIMELY FASHION. 

Sorry, got a little excited there. No NBA has me a little... off. 

Check out this quote from Kanter post-game:

"I couldn't play in high school," he said. "I couldn't play in college. Now, I can't play in the NBA. I'm really frustrated."

via Curses, Christian Laettner wins again as Villains beat ex-Cats | Homepage | Kentucky.com.

Apparently Kanter can't play when Faried is around, either. Boom. It'll be exciting to see how Faried's intensity and athleticism can help guard the rim for the Nuggets when the NBA returns. You know, in 2014. 

Posted by Ben Golliver. 
 
We can debate who the best point guard in the NBA is all day, but there's no question that Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics is the cheekiest.

Rondo simply has every trick in the book: zip passes, bounce passes, alley oops, through the leg passes, around the back passes, you name it. And that's just on offense. He's averaged nearly two steals per game for his entire career, suckering opponents into turnovers by playing mind games, purposefully leaving his man open or sneaking up behind big men when they least expect it. He's the ultimate trickster, a basketball jester in the best sense of the word. The guy even turned his elbow around backwards during the playoffs and kept playing. He leads the league in leavings fans slack-jawed and smiling.

With the NBA still locked up by a labor impasse, Rondo has taken his show to the Big Blue All-Stars, a collection of former University of Kentucky Wildcats and NBA players who are playing in a series of exhibition games against local colleges throughout October. Rex Chapman is coaching so you know this is legit.

On Tuesday, in a game against Union College, Rondo tossed the best assist of the lockout, an over-the-head, no-look, one-handed, alley-oop pass to Denver Nuggets draft pick Kenneth Faried, who slammed it in cleanly. He set the pass up beautifully, walking the ball back to the top of the key as if to reset the offense after a failed look in transition. The defense relaxed ever so slightly and bang. Two points.

Here's a look at Rondo's inspired wizardry via YouTube user wazoosports08.



Hat tip: Deadspin.com