Jason Terry Monster Jam On Keith Bogans

 Start your weekend off right with this Jason Terry monster jam. The Dallas Mavericks' guard gets a steal & drives right down the lane for the year's first posterization on Keith Bogans of the Chicago Bulls.

    

Cap City

From Mark Cuban to Pat Riley, Jay-Z to Donnie Walsh, NBA front office hustlers are ready to make deals with players who are looking to get made and paid. Armed with salary cap room and hype machines, teams are hours from unleashing furious sales pitches to sign a variety of all-stars. Championships won't be guaranteed, but ticket sales will.

Here's how the big front office players are stacked up on Free Agency Eve.

Once Dwyane Wade opts out of his contract, the Heat will have an astonishingly low payroll of less than $6 million for only 2 players, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. They have the most cap room, Pat Riley's influence, the lure of Wade already being a winner there, and the weather and vibe of Miami. They are possibly in the best position to capitalize on this summer of the stars. 

 

Jay Z and his Russian financier have gotten the Nets' payroll down to only $19.8 million. Rising stud Brook Lopez will only make $5 million over the next 2 years. Cap space is a plus but spending 2 years in Newark may be a challenge. 

The Knicks have also slashed their payroll with only the last year of Eddy Curry's hefty deal weighing them down. Yet owner Jimmy Dolan has created an atmosphere of losing that may destroy the lure of playing in the so-called Mecca of basketball Madison Sq. Garden.

The Chicago Bulls are stuck with 4 more years of Luol Deng for $50 million, but they have Derrick Rose cheap for the next 2 years and one more season with Noah making $3.1 million. They have cap space and a storied tradition behind them, but loyalty concerns surround the franchise.

The Clippers have cleared decent cap space but they're stuck paying Baron Davis $40 million over the next 3 years. Chris Kaman is a decent big man, but also expensive at $23 million over the next 2 years. Factor in their history of disasters and who wants to play on a jinxed team with the underachieving and overpaid?

And then there's the sadness of the Mavs and Cavs. Dirk Nowitzki is opting out of Dallas and even without his huge contract, they're still maxed out with Dampier, Terry, Butler, Kidd and making $47 million between them. Cuban doesn't mind the luxury tax, but his team won't be much better with or without Dirk next season.

The Cavs are similarly strapped with LeBron opting out, leaving Cleveland with Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams and Varejao for multiple years of $35+ million combined. If they re-sign James, how will they improve? If they lose him, the franchise and city are heading further into an abyss.

Even more teams will undoubtedly play a big part in the coming roster shuffles. Speculation will happen, signing will happen and again, amazing will happen. This time next year, who will be the studs and who will be the duds? We're 82 games from finding out.

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Suspensions Over Najera

Eduardo Najera's gentle caress of referee Bob Delaney shortly after he mauled Manu Ginobili may have been enough to show Czar David Stern that he was more than just a goon from Chihuahua. Najera will not be suspended for game 5 against the Spurs.

However, there will be a different suspension related to the Najera foul. Dallas radio personality Mike Bacsik of KCTK was suspended for racist tweets he posted shortly after the play. Bacsik is the former pitcher who served up Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th home run. Now he's known for serving racist tweets like "Congrats to all the dirty mexicans in San Antonio" after Najera clotheslined Ginobili.

It's harder to forgive a drunk ex-jock for being a public jackass than it is to look past a momentary loss of control by Eduardo Najera, the greatest Mexican player in NBA history. 

2008 Miss Mexico Elisa Najera (unrelated) agrees.

    

Manu Mans Up

Manu Ginobili is a playoff warrior. Friday night he broke his nose on Dirk Nowitzki's elbow. He got a bandage on the outside and plugs on the inside to stop the bleeding. He returned to the action and finished with 15 points in 36 minutes in a big Spurs win over the Mavericks. 

Adrenaline is a wonder drug and it appeared that Ginobili was running on high octane. Would he be able to bounce back 2 days later in game 4? Would he need a protective mask like Richard Jefferson? If tough guys like Bill Laimbeer needed a mask, surely Ginobili would wear one.

Nope. He opted for a giant band aid in Game 4 and play as hard as anyone else on the court. No fear of contact and no hesitation in the paint. He slashed through the lane on offense & even put his nose directly in the fray, fighting for a loose ball with Jason Kidd.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle went old school and sent Eduardo Najera in to intimidate Ginobili. In his only minute of play, Najera put a flagrant 2 clothesline hit on Ginobili that sent him to the floor hard. Ginobili stayed down for a few seconds before popping up and showing no signs of even having been touched. Najera was ejected, mission failed. 

Rick Carlisle seemed pleased with Najera's play in his 47 seconds of action. "He was in there a short period of time but made an aggressive play at least," said Carlisle after the game when asked about Najera. If that's their strategy against the Spurs, the Mavs may not see Game 6.

When Ginobili was asked about Najera's play, he said "He just fouled me hard. No big deal."

You can't spell Manu without m-a-n.

    

Jefferson's Millions

When they were Nets, Jason Kidd created the illusion that Richard Jefferson would one day be worth the $14.2 million that the Spurs are now paying him. Jefferson makes more than both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. If Kidd's Mavs beat the Spurs tonight, they will go on to face each other again in round 1 of the playoffs. 

Jefferson came to the Spurs via a trade with the Bucks for defensive specialist Bruce Bowen. Jefferson is  having his worst statistical season as a starter with 12.3 ppg, 2.0 apg, and 0.6 spg. He's logging more more minutes than every Spur except Tim Duncan, while lagging behind in nearly all stat categories from points to +/-. San Antonio will finish the season with their lowest 82 game win total in the Tim Duncan era.

If the Spurs face the Mavs in the playoffs, Jefferson will be asked to guard Shawn Marion and Caron Butler, both acquired by the Mavericks this season. Marion & Butler have each elevated Dallas in defensive intensity, versatility and wins while making millions less than Jefferson. 

Jefferson and the Spurs will likely fall short tonight in Dallas and in round 1 of the playoffs. Marion & Butler should outplay Jefferson on both ends of the court. 

And the Spurs will begin looking for a team that will take Jefferson's expiring contract.

Erykah Does Dallas

What the - is going on in Dallas?

Dirk Nowitzki, fresh off the all-time jungle fever baby mama drama, just got his 2nd career triple double in a huge win against the Nuggets last night. 34 pts, 10 reb, 10 assists.

Jason Terry played with a broken face.

Caron & Dirk elevate & celebrate. 

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And there's more in Dallas to celebrate-

 R&B queen Erykah Badu's new video "Window Seat"

where she strips down & blesses the Grassy Knoll with love.

Thank you Erykah. 

Dallas never had it so good.