Manimal Dominates BBVA Rising Stars Challenge

Kenneth Faried dominate BBVA Rising Stars Challenge with 40 points and 10 rebounds. (Nathaniel S. Butler)

Kenneth Faried has been overlooked the vast majority of his life. He played NCAA Division I basketball at Morehead State, a lesser-knock school in the state of Kentucky. Faried was undersized, didn't have great strength and lacked offensive effeciency. He used an incessant work ethic and his powerful leaping ability to break the NCAA's rebounding record.

The Denver Nuggets decided to take a chance on Faried late in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. He has not disappointed. Faried has overcome his size disadvantage at the power forward position with explosive play and his continual work ethic to improve. The Nuggets have reward him with the team's starting job, where he is averaging 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Since the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge is part of the NBA All-Star Weekend, little effort is usually shown by the players on the court. Faried didn't let that stop him from putting on a show. He finished with 40 points on 18-for-22 shooting and had 10 rebounds. The performance earned him the game's MVP honors.

"I came out with the intent to put on a performance," said Faried. "But I wasn't thinking MVP type of performance. I was just thinking about winning the game and enjoying myself. And pretty much enjoying the game I love to play."

Faried's style of play has earned him the nickname of the "Manimal." With his untamed hair and fanged teeth and the performance like this, he will not be overlooked in the NBA much longer. Faried will try and impress even more people when he make his encore performance in the NBA Dunk Contest on Saturday night.

2012 NBA Christmas Day Preview

James Harden singing Jingle Bells is just one of the joys of five NBA games on Christmas Day. (TotalProSports.com)

Christmas Day has almost arrived, which means a great day of NBA matchups will be on ABC and ESPN. I will preview what to watch for in each game. Merry Christmas to all!

Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets  - 12:00 PM EST, ESPN
The Celtics will travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets in a budding Atlantic Division rivalry. The premier matchup of this game will be the point guards, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and Deron Williams of the Nets. Rondo is averaging 14.3 points and 11.1 assists in December while shooting 52 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Williams is having a down year as he tries to find his role with his newly formed team. He is shooting just 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc. Williams is still averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 assists a game. There's also a player on each team who is capable of taking the game over. The Celtics' Paul Pierce has been superb lately and is averaging 23.8 points per game in December. Joe Johnson has emerged as the go to guy for the Nets. He scored 22 points in their win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers - 3:00 PM EST, ABC
Both teams have been two of the NBA's biggest surprises. The Knicks have emerged as of the league's top teams behind great three-point shooting. The Lakers have struggled to come together as a team, but they will benefit from Steve Nash's return from injury. This game features some great matchups. The Knicks' Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant are two of the league's top scorers. Anthony is scoring 33.7 points and shooting 50 percent from the field in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Bryant is averaging 33.8 points per game since the start of December. Another intriguing matchup will be two of the league's top centers. Dwight Howard is in his first season with the Lakers, while Tyson Chandler anchors the Knicks' defense. Howard has struggled a bit recently, averaging just 15.1 points per game in his past five games. As the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Chandler will look to shut him down.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat - 5:30 PM EST, ABC
This is probably the most anticipated matchup of any of the Christmas Day games, featuring a rematch of last season's NBA Finals. This is the first meeting between these two teams this season, and the Thunder will be looking for revenge. As if you couldn't figure it on your own, the premier matchup in this game is obviously the NBA's top two players Kevin Durant of the Thunder and LeBron James of the Heat. Durant is averaging 27.9 points and 8.4 rebounds this season, while James is putting up 25.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists a game. The defensive matchup between the two will be intriguing as well. They will most likely be guarding one another for the majority of the game. The Heat will have the home crowd at their back, but the Thunder experienced what that was like last summer.

Houston Rockets at Chicago Bulls - 8:00 PM EST, ESPN
These two teams may not appear to be two of the NBA's top teams, but both have played surprisingly well given their circumstances. The Rockets weren't expected to compete for a spot in the playoffs at all. However, a preseason trade has changed everything. James Harden, the centerpiece of the trade with the Thunder, has averaged 25.6 points and 5.6 assists a game as a starter in Houston. He has emerged as one of the league's top shooting guards right now. Meanwhile, the Bulls have kept winning, even without one of the NBA's top players. A number of players have stepped up in Derrick Rose's absence. Joakim Noah is averaging 13.5 points and 10.6 seen rebounds while Luol Deng leads the team in scoring with 17.8 points per game. They have helped the Bulls remain competitive while they wait for their superstar to return.

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers - 10:30 PM EST, ESPN
The Clippers are one of the NBA's hottest teams right now. The Clippers' offense is led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Paul runs the show with 16.1 points and 9.6 assists per game. In the post, Griffin is averaging 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. The Clippers also have an elite defense that allows opponents to score just 91.6 points per game, which is fourth best in the NBA. The Nuggets are one of the most balanced teams in the league. Ty Lawson is one of the fastest players in the NBA and pushes the tempo of the offense. He loves to facilitate the ball to his teammates, such as Danilo Gallinari, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer. Lawson did strain his left Achilles in Sunday's game and is listed as questionable for tomorrow's game. If he is indeed out or not 100 percent, it would be a huge blow to the Nuggets' chances.

Nuggets Sign Ty Lawson to Four-Year Extension

The Denver Nuggets have signed point guard Ty Lawson to a four-year, $48 million extension. (Chris Humphreys)

The Denver Nuggets had a busy offseason. They landed former All-Star Andre Iguodala in a four-team trade. Then, they signed JaVale McGee to a four-year, $44 million deal. On the eve of their regular season debut, the Nuggets knew they had one last piece of offseason business to take care of. That was to sign their young, budding point guard to a contract extension.

On Tuesday, they managed to do just that. Point guard Ty Lawson agreed to a four-year extension worth $48 million. This means that the Nuggets have McGee, Lawson and Italian small forward Danilo Gallinari locked up under contract for the next four years. Given what happens with the Iguodala experiment, he could be back as well if it is for the right price.

This is a solid core upon which one can build around, but the knew that Lawson is the crucial piece that holds all of the other ones together. Lawson had a career year last season when he averaged 16.4 points, 6.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 49 percent from the field and 37 percent from downtown.

Lawson led the Nuggets and their dynamic offense to the playoffs as the Western Conference's sixth seed. He was the catalyst for their league-leading scoring offense (104.1 points per game) that shot 47.6 percent from the field as a team (second best to the San Antonio Spurs).

As if that weren't enough, Lawson stepped up his game even more in the playoffs. In the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he averaged 19.0 points per game, 6.0 assists per game and shot 51 percent from the field. Even though the Nuggets lost the series in seven games, it was not for a lack of superb play by Lawson.

Last season was Lawson's first in complete control of the reins. The fact that he is still only 24 years old and in his fourth season in the NBA means that he might be a golden Nugget for many years to come. The Nuggets are now his team. The rest of the NBA just better hope they can keep up.

Analyzing the Dwight Howard Trade From All Angles

At a press conference Friday, Dwight Howard holds up his new jersey as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. (Kevork Djansezian)

When a blockbuster trade such as this occurs, it isn't just the teams involved who are affected. The whole league feels the repercussions. Just as with every action there is a reaction, every trade seems to have its winners and losers. With a trade this large, the winners and losers become more broad as well. I will focus on what I believe to be the teams that are most directly affected by this trade.

Winners

Los Angeles Lakers
Putting Dwight Howard's deficiencies aside, he is still the best center in the league. Whatever team has him is a better team from a talent standpoint. The Lakers have been trying to land him for a long time. They've come to realize that the combination of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the paint simply wasn't good enough to bring them a championship. After sending offers with all sorts of combinations of players and picks, the Lakers ended up only having to give up Bynum and one first round pick for Howard. Any GM would give that up in their sleep. Combine this trade with their one for veteran point guard Steve Nash, and the Lakers have to become the favorite in the Western Conference. With a core four of Howard, Nash, Gasol, and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are going to be tough to beat on any given night. Resigning Howard long-term could turn into another media circus, but the Lakers will worry about that next offseason.

Philadelphia 76ers
Without giving up the best player in the deal, the 76ers were the beneficiaries of receiving the second-best player, Andrew Bynum. Bynum is a 7-footer who averaged nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds per game last season. Those type of players don't become available very often, especially one as young as Bynum. In return, the 76ers did trade away their best player, Andre Iguodala, and their two most recent first round picks, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless. The team's relationship with Iguodala wasn't the best, and while Vucevic and Harkless do show promise, neither one is expected to blossom into stars nearly as talented as Bynum. The big question for the 76ers as well is whether they can re-sign Bynum long term. Since he grew up not too far from Philadelphia, there is certainly a chance. Even if they are unable to resign him, they will have freed up enough cap room to sign a top free agent or two.

Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets were able to acquire Andre Iguodala from the 76ers as part of this trade. Iguodala will pair beautifully with Danilo Gallinari to give them a dangerous duo at the wing. Iggy won't have the pressure on him to score like he did with the 76ers. He will be able to focus on playing tenacious defense and let that lead to fastbreak offense. The Nuggets did give up guard Aaron Afflalo and veteran big man Al Harrington, but that combination doesn't come close to comparing to Iguodala. Additionally, the Nuggets will reportedly save approximately $23 million in future money as a result of the trade. This means that the Nuggets were able to become a better team and save a considerable amount of money down the road. That shows they are a winner if you ask me.

Losers

Orlando Magic
You know I didn't think that anyone could handle this situation worse than Dwight Howard, but the Magic themselves found a way. In July, the Magic were fielding some great offers. The Brooklyn Nets offered Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, and four first round picks. The Rockets offered roughly $12 million in salary-cap relief and a better package of picks. The Lakers even offered Bynum and Gasol combined with picks. No, the Magic turned all those down to settle for this in August. You have got to be kidding me. The Magic are getting the combination of Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Moe Harkless, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga, three lottery-protected first round (five overall) picks. There's a lot there so there's a chance that someone could turn out to be a star, but there isn't anyone there right now. The Magic turned down a bunch of better offers only to accept this assortment of unknowns. I am disappointed for the franchise and their fans.

Small Market Franchises
All around the league, there are small market front offices shaking their heads at this trade. As the old mantra goes, the rich gets richer. That's what happened again here. While many franchises hope to have just one superstar player, the Lakers now have four. While the new CBA does discourage signing many stars like the Lakers have done, it doesn't stop them from doing so. Even though it is true that the small market teams below the tax will benefit from the Lakers' penalties, it won't help them to get any closer to a championship themselves. This trade only hinders these small market franchises even further.

Western Conference Contenders
Just in case the road to the NBA finals wasn't difficult enough last season, the Lakers are now absolutely stocked and reloaded. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks now have to adjust their lineups to be able to matchup with the new Lakers lineup. Each of these teams and any team in the Western Conference are going have to work even harder in order to make it to the NBA Finals.

NBA Friday: Separating the Contenders from the Pretenders

Boston Celtics 91 New York Knicks 89

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen helped the Celtics secure a much needed win at home. The Knicks fall to 8-15 on the season. Questions and complaints continue to circulate about this dysfunctional team.

Orlando Magic 102 Cleveland Cavaliers 94

The Magic had trouble closing out the end of January (they went 2-6), but picked up their second win in two February games. Dwight Howard had 19 points and 16 rebounds in the win. We will have to see the Magic are back on track as it appears.

Miami Heat 99 Philadelphia 76ers 79

The Heat pounded the 76ers behind big games from Wade and LeBron. LeBron has had a MVP first-half of the season to lead the Heat. The loss drops the 76ers' home record to 12-3. While that is still impressive, this game showed the 76ers to be more of pretenders than contenders.

Oklahoma City Thunder 101 Memphis Grizzlies 94

Kevin Durant closed out another impressive win for the Thunder. Their record now stands at a league-best 18-4 (9-1 at home). Each game makes the Thunder look more and more like serious contenders. On the other hand, the Grizzlies have been a disappointment so far this season. Many people liked their talent for a short season, but they have been mediocre to this point.

Indiana Pacers 98 Dallas Mavericks 87

The Pacers are playing like contenders right now. They won in Dallas for the first time in eight years. Their ten road victories are tied for the most in the league. Paul George nailed seven three pointers and scored a career-high 30 points. The defending champion Mavericks continue to struggle. Right now, they are looking a lot more like pretenders than contenders.

Los Angeles Lakers 93 Denver Nuggets 89

The Lakers have had their struggles on the road, but got a quality win in Denver to improve their road record to 3-7. Kobe didn't have his best game, but his solid effort combined with those of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were enough to secure the win. The Nuggets are trying compete against the top tier of the Western Conference, but lack a true star. They might be regular season contenders, but that is a recipe for a postseason pretender.