Official 2012-13 NBA Regular Season Thread. SPOILERS

OH MAN!!!!

What a win for the Bulls.

Belinelli with the clutch shot at the end there.

Great B'Day present for me :D

GO BULLS!!!
 
The Heat sign 'Bird Man' to a 10 day contract!

Chris 'Bird Man' Andersen signs with Heat





MIAMI (AP) -- Chris Andersen wore a stars-and-stripes headband Sunday morning, showed off the colorful array of tattoos that stretch from his neck to his ankles and virtually all spots in between, and spoke about himself in the third person.


He's got 10 days to make an impression on the Miami Heat.

Seems like he's already off to a good start.

The veteran forward-center signed a 10-day deal with the Heat on Sunday and worked out with his new club for the first time. For a team that's looking for rebounding help, Andersen - who hasn't appeared in an NBA game since playing with Denver last March - is hoping that he will be the answer.

"This opportunity and being with the defending champs, it's a dream come true," Andersen said. "They're taking a chance with me and I'm here to give them everything I've got, defensively, diving on the floor, blocking shots, you know, the usual that a Birdman does and what Birdman brings."

Birdman is the nickname he's had for years.

The Heat are more than a little curious to find out if he can still fly.

"Typically, you're not able to get a player of his caliber at this time of year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But three years ago he was the best in the game coming off the bench at his position, as a shotblocker and a rebounder. We've always liked him. We had him in our camp a long time ago, when he was just coming up in this league, pre-tattoo, and we liked him back then. Ever since then we've searched for ways to get him back."

The Heat worked Andersen - who has averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 482 NBA games - out earlier this month, around the time they were starting a six-game road swing. They didn't sign him immediately, but Andersen was doing two-a-day sessions in Miami while the Heat were gone and in essence scouting the way they played from studying their games closely during the trip.

If all goes well, Andersen is expected to make his Heat debut on Wednesday when Miami hosts Toronto.

"We love guys with chips who feel like they've got something to prove for a lot of teams not giving them an opportunity," Heat forward LeBron James said. "Hopefully he plays with that type of intensity."

Andersen's past - and in some respects, his present - is dotted by off-court issues.

He was barred from the NBA for just over two years because of substance-abuse issues, and had his home in Colorado searched last May as part of an investigation into what was described as Internet-related crimes against children. He was excused from team activities by Denver to deal with the investigation, and the Nuggets waived him through the amnesty clause in July.

"There has been an investigation and I have cooperated fully with the authorities in Denver," Andersen said. "I am not the target of the investigation and no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed against me. I'm grateful for this opportunity that the Miami Heat has given me."

Spoelstra did not address Andersen's off-court questions specifically, though insisted that Miami has no qualms about bringing him into the mix.

"We've done enough research on him. We feel he fits in very well," Spoelstra said.

And yes, Heat president Pat Riley's preference for players to not wear headbands - a policy that has been relaxed a bit in recent years - will not apply to Andersen.

He asked for permission, and apparently got it in a mildly comical manner.

"I was told about the code of conduct around here," Andersen said. "I went into Pat Riley's office and I asked him if it was cool if I could wear my headband, because I do a sweat a lot. And he was like, yeah, because he didn't want me perspiring on his nice floor."

No, what Riley wants is for him to rebound on his nice floor.

Rebounding has been a major question for the Heat in recent weeks, even while the team has held on to the top spot in the Eastern Conference race. So the team made roughly 21 feet worth of moves on Sunday, signing both Andersen and Jarvis Varnado to 10-day deals - it's Varnado's second such contract with Miami - and recalling another big man, Dexter Pittman from the NBA Development League team in Sioux Falls.

Miami entered Sunday ranked 29th in the 30-team NBA in rebounds per game.

"I'm here to help assist in any kind of rebounding or defense that I can provide to an already outstanding team who are defending champions," Andersen said. "And I'm just ecstatic to be here and I'm ready to get back to blockin' and rollin'."

Andersen said he had his left knee scoped in August, but has been able to work out in Texas and Colorado while waiting for an NBA team to call. He didn't reveal how good the knee feels now, though pointed to his tattoos as evidence that he's got at least some level of pain tolerance.

"That ain't gonna keep the Birdman from flyin' and getting in there and getting some rebounds and bangin' and playin' hard," Andersen said. "As you can see, I'm pretty much accustomed to pain. But it ain't gonna stop me from coming out here and assisting these champions and trying to help them win another championship."
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According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Varejao has developed a blood clot in his lung, and is currently recovering in the hospital. Since blood thinners are needed to address his problem, Anderson Varejao will miss the remainder of the season.
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Grizzlies Reportedly Trade Marreese Speights, Josh Selby to Cavs for Jon Leuer​
After weeks of speculation, the Memphis Grizzlies have finally pulled the trigger on a trade. Instead of it being a blockbuster involving Rudy Gay or Zach Randolph, it's a cost-saving deal.
The franchise has reportedly shipped forward Marreese Speights, guard Wayne Ellington, guard Josh Selby and an \ 2015 draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for forward Jon Leuer, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld.
Grizzlies trade Speights, Selby and pick to Cavs for Lauer, source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 22, 2013​
The Grizzlies have traded Mareese Speights, Josh Selby and a 2015 pick to the Cavaliers for Jon Leuer.
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) January 22, 2013​
Windhorst later reported that Jeremy Pargo was waived to make the deal work.
To make trade work. the Cavs waived Jeremy Pargo.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2013​
While the players are solid, the first-rounder is an extremely valuable one for the Cavs, as Windhorst found it has great potential to land in the lottery:
[The pick] has protections that would send Cleveland the next draft pick the Grizzlies have between Nos. 6 and 14 from this season through 2016, making it a likely lottery selection. It is the sixth first-round pick the Cavs have traded for since 2010.​
This deal will save the financially frugal Memphis organization over $6 million (as per Windhorst), and this was likely the main motivation for getting it done.
Speights is the most notable player to be moved, considering the fifth-year pro was selected No. 16 overall in the 2008 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Speights can be effective at times, but he's not likely to evolve into a star.

The 6’10” big man never panned out with that organization and was acquired by the Griz in a three-way trade just over a year ago. He agreed to a new two-year, $9 million contract prior to the 2012-13 campaign, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations.
In 40 games this season, Speights is logging just 14.5 minutes per and has started in just two contests. He is averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds during that time.
Ellington is another solid bench player. The fourth-year man out of North Carolina has averaged 6.3 points on 41.1 percent shooting over the course of his career.
He was selected No. 28 in the 2009 draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded this past summer for Dante Cunningham. The swingman is set to become a restricted free agent after the season.
The other players in this deal are throw-ins and rather insignificant.
Selby, a second-round pick in the 2011 draft, has played sparingly during his two seasons with the Grizzlies and has averaged 2.2 points during his career. Leuer is also a 2011 second-rounder who hasn’t made much of an impact during his short tenure in the Association.

This trade shouldn’t shake up the landscape in the NBA at all, but it does give the Grizzlies more financial flexibility. That's a big reason why they have allegedly been floating feelers concerning Gay and Randolph to other franchises.
It’ll be interesting to see if this small move will lead into something bigger closer to the Feb. 21 trading deadline.
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