Looks like Anthony Parker will have his hands full again. (Don Ryan/AP)

Pete: And what’s up with Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez? Who’s getting more burn now?
Kellex: That’s another weird battle. At one point Sergio was demanding trades via crazy Spanish agents and then he’s dropping 9 dimes and 0 turnovers and getting a ton of minutes and then the next night, Blake is blowing up from deep, scoring 20+ in back to back nights and earning almost 30 mins a game. You just never know.
Pete: Didn’t know Blake’s got that in him! So, whoever’s got the hot hand?
Kellex: Definitely. Although we’ve been seeing a lot of Rodriguez as a spark at the end of quarters. He and Fernandez together are “electric.”
Pete: Yeah, they’re frying up the YouTubes.
Kellex: And he just keeps adding more.
Pete: Okay, I got a depth chart pulled up over here. B. Roy is the starting SG – or is he? Same with Blake at PG. Who starts? Who gets most minutes where?
Kellex: I think Blake is pulling almost 30 mins now as the starting PG with Roy almost 36 mins at SG. Batum (another of our rookie phenoms) is at the SF and was phenomenal for a while, but has seemed to have hit some sort of rookie wall. Aldridge at the PF and Oden starting now at C.
Pete: Yeah, Batum. I kinda wanted him for the Raps. No worries about his heart now?
Kellex: He seems just fine.
Pete: I guess with the PG battle, there’s not much room for Jerryd Bayless. What’s expected out of him?
Kellex: He’s definitely been left out which is too bad…he is the reigning Vegas summer league MVP. I think for now, he just doesn’t have a spot…not sure if they plan on some trade later this year with Rodriguez or Outlaw to free up space for Bayless or not. He’s fun to watch, but probably should be playing the 2 somewhere.
Pete: Ha, you read my mind. What would you shore up, if you were to trade? SF?

Nicolas Batum and Jerryd Bayless, as discussed. Please ignore Ike Diogu. (Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)

Kellex: A week ago, I was all for the Travis Outlaw trade with the way Batum was playing and the fact that Webster is about to be back…but now Batum is showing his age, and Outlaw is lighting it up from deep. I think for now, I’m still on the “leave Webster on the bench” bandwagon.
Pete: Hmmm. So no chance of Rudy to TO, huh?
Kellex: Hah. I’m going to say no to that one.
Pete: Shoot.
Kellex: He and Bargs battling for skinniest Euro could be scary!
Pete: Hahahaha. Don’t forget Roko.
Kellex: Who is this Roko character? I keep hearing the name, still wondering what’s up.
Pete: He’s the Pete Marasmitch mascot, thankyouverymuch.
Kellex: Hah! Yahoo has one pic, and the stats aren’t burning my eyes…so what’s the inside scoop on him? Funny story?
Pete: Here’s everything you need to know. He’s our backup PG of the future. In the present.
It’s sad that the Raptors have at least 2-3 “what’s up with this guy” players and the Blazers have one. One.
Kellex: True, but Bosh is about to change that for the Raps. So…MVP chatter?
Pete: Oh wait. There’s Shavlik Randolph.
Kellex: Shhhh! We don’t admit that we have Dukies on the team.

Welcome to “Shav Country,” which is apparently left of Sean-Dockerytown. (truthaboutduke.com)

Pete: Fair enough. What’s your MVP list?
Kellex: LeBron is quickly distancing himself from everyone including Mr. Bryant. Bosh in there at 3rd or 4th in a close matchup with Roy.
Pete: Let’s see how Boshy does the rest of the way (any more 40 pt games in him?). And what about Chauncey? He on the list?
Kellex: Hard to put Chauncey on the list even though his presence in Denver has definitely been felt. He just doesn’t carry that “Nash” factor which is needed for PG’s to win an MVP award.
Pete: Don’t remind me of Steve. Poor, poor guy. He supposedly has the flu. I think he has a broken heart. Or suffocated in a sandwich bag.
Full circle!
Kellex: Hah. His presence on the bench is not fitting nicely on my fantasy team. Let’s just leave it at that.
Pete: You got him too, eh? Luckily, I also got JET.
Kellex: And your boy J. O’Neal.
Pete: Condolences.
Kellex: Yeah it’s been rough…Yao, T-Mac, Nash, O’Neal…all injured.
Pete: You got Yao and T-Mac too?! You poor man.
Kellex: Yes…speaking of O’Neal, what’s the deal? Is he fitting in? Too injured? Too weenie? Too…former JailBlazer?
Pete: Not at all. He’s been awesome. I think he’s been a huge difference maker to Bargnani. Bargs has become way more defensively … useful. I think he’s been watching and training with JO a lot, and it’s rubbing off. But JO still needs to look after his knees.
Kellex: Hell yes he does…I need 15 and 10 from him every night!
Pete: He can do that. Plus a couple blocks. He just needs to leave the knee brace on. And Coach Triano has to have a good bigs rotation. I think he will.
Kellex: Triano…the sort-of-newbie? Used to coach Team Canada?
Pete: That’s right. Apparently, he’s been with us for 7 years. He’s survived a few Raptors coaching regimes. Hired by Grunwald, if I’m not mistaken.

Nash and Triano. I’m all about hitting two birds with one stone. (from SFU.ca)

Kellex: Well, nice to see him get his chance then. Good luck to that. Raptors were due for a big change, don’t you think?
Pete: I hope so. But they’ve had a big turnaround since BC arrived. Gotta recognize that.
Do we have enough time to squeeze in some GOde talk?
Kellex: Definitely. What you got?
Pete: What do you think: superstar? dominator? whelming? underwhelming? You heard what Bill Simmons said?
Kellex: I heard what Bill said…I tend to agree for the most part. The thing is, the guy is so young and hasn’t played in a year. It’s not like he’s going to come out and dominate the world. For me, it’s the intensity and the “look” in his eyes. I don’t see anything fierce or fiery…as a fan I want him to WANT to be a beast and I don’t see it yet.
Pete: You think he’ll reach that D-How swagger level? Or is it just not in him?
Kellex: Not in him. I hope I’m wrong but I don’t see it. He’ll be a force, but on a passive level. One night you’ll get 20 boards and the next you’ll probably get 6.
Pete: Ah, kinda Bosh-like.
Kellex: Nah, don’t give GO that much credit.
Pete: You don’t think he’s Franchise material?
Kellex: Not at all…Brandon Roy is the franchise and Oden will hopefully be a key piece to take them to championships. I don’t see him as ever being the dominant force that people had envisioned, but that’s OK. The Blazers need him to be a defensive animal, which he will be, and score 12-15 points a game, which he also will do.
Pete: I’d be happy with that.
Hey, Knicks in 2010 – LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh? The new Big Three?
Kellex: I hope so! Not that I want the Knicks to be winning multiple chips, but it would be exciting for the world to see. Isn’t the major goal to make the NBA bigger than the NFL?
Pete: Yes! Yes! YES!!

Three-fer! Please ignore Amare. I did in my fantasy draft. (from ESPN.com)

Who would be the new Knicks’ Rondo and Perk?
Kellex: I think D’Antoni actually likes Duhon for whatever reason; the system fits his game … 22 assists the other night and then another 12 or so against the Blazers.
Pete: But can he shoot?
Kellex: Well no…although he did light it up against Portland. Maybe his Duke-ness is wearing off or something.
Pete: “Duhon …. I can see your Duke-ness.”
Kellex: Hah! Exactly.
Pete: On that note, let’s douse the fire.
Kellex: Predictions?
Pete: Raptors 133 – Blazers 132 (2OT)
Kellex: Solid. I’m going Blazers by 7. Seven seems like a lucky number to people and we were lucky enough to grab Brandon Roy who, of course, wears number 7.
What are we pouring on this fire? Sam Mitchell Gatorade?
Pete: Calderon bobbleheads? Egg McMuffins?
Kellex: That’ll work.
Pete: Thanks for dropping by, Kellex.
Kellex: Thanks for having me!

From Paul Jones’ Fast Break:

A group of us arrived back at the hotel after dinner and there was Roko Ukic on the Internet at the hotel’s bell stand. At first glance, it looked like Roko was working at the hotel. When some of his teammates arrived they were giving him the business. Producer Paul Graham came downstairs to send a fax and while he was waiting at the front desk, Joey Graham piped up saying “What are you waiting for to fax it, just ask Roko to do it”, as he pointed over to Ukic behind the desk.

Hassan Adams started to laugh saying “Welcome to the (insert hotel name here), Roko speaking.”

(Picture from FAN590.com)

This present brings a smile and good spirits … an amusing figure from Copy-You.com. Each one of them is a personalized three dimensional caricature with exaggerated facial features as well as a typified figure and accessories. The unique product will be individually hand-made within a few days of the photograph being uploaded.

Whether for a car driver or a motorcycle rider, or related to various professions or sports [Pete's note: including b-ball]: there are over 500 figure designs available from all walks of everyday life, the most fitting of which can be simply selected.

[...]

As an option, many of the figures are also available with so called “bobble heads” or with a personal message on the base.

From the latest Bohire e-Announcement:

The “Tell a Friend about Bohire” contest starts now! Bohire is Canada’s Job Referral Community where Canada’s Top Employers will pay you to refer your friends to jobs.

The Prize: A pair of amazing Toronto Raptor Tickets (face value $322.00) vs. Indiana Pacers [Pete's note: the return of TJ and Rashoooo...] on Wednesday Dec. 10, at 7:00PM (face value $322.00). The Bohire seats are 5 rows from the floor, Section 102, Row E, Seats 11 & 12.

All you have to do is tell as many people as you can about Bohire. The person who gets the most friends to join Bohire from right now until this Friday December 5th at 1:00PM wins the tickets. The winner will be announced this Friday at 6:00PM.

To participate, you must already be a Bohire Referrer. If you have not already joined, please join for free at http://bohire.com/index.php?stage=member&mode=MemberJoin&type=r

When you get your friend to sign up as a Bohire Referrer they must list your name and email address as the referral source (the email address you used to create your Bohire referrer account). It’s as easy as that!

Hurry, the “Tell a Friend about Bohire” contest ends this Friday December 5th at 1:00PM. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Vincent Tsang,
Vice President – Business Development
Bohire Inc.
vincent.tsang@bohire.com

Egads! I almost let this nice set of Roko quotes pass without posting. From Fes’s musings about NBA luxury living:

But NBA-style luxury is relatively new to a handful of Raptors. For Roko Ukic, the 23-year-old rookie who honed his game in Croatia’s lower-pro rungs, life wasn’t always thus.

“We stayed in some bad places. It just was terrible, terrible. You cannot imagine,” Ukic was saying last month. “No TV. Cockroaches. No curtains on the windows, so you wake up at 5 a.m. …”

[...]

Perhaps [the luxury] is a small reason why Ukic left money on the table overseas to test himself(and spoil himself a little) in the NBA.

“It’s easy to get used to the good things,” said Ukic, smiling. “Now, if they don’t put out the food(on the private plane) fast enough, you say, ‘Hey, where is the food?’ It becomes normal very quick.”

He smiled and glanced at the scouting report in his lap.

“I enjoy it, but I would trade all this food, all these luxury hotels, for one good game,” Ukic said. “At the end of the day, everything is about the basketball court. So you can have everything, but if you play bad, you feel bad. If you play good, you can stay in the worst hotel in the world, you can eat the worst food in the world, and it would make you happy.”

I love the humility and candor Roko shows. Let’s hope he also shows he belongs in the NBA.

This news is so November 21, but it’s worth broadcasting: Sternest Meanings now does t-shirts!

I’d love for a basketball-themed shirt to make the cut. With the upcoming Raptors/Blazers game in mind, here are some ideas:

Toronto Raptors’ Andrea Bargnani = Stronger or radiant or top banana.
Toronto center Jermaine O’Neal = Ornate, ornate lemon rejection.
Portland Blazers center Greg Oden = Plodders brazen, not gentler grace.
Rudy Fernandez = Frenzy and rude.

Did you get some neat anagram results through Sternest? Please copy and paste them into the comments section.