Q: Why is everyone afraid to admit that Greg Oden may very well be a bust? At best, he appears to be Dikembe Mutombo 2.0 (not that Deke was small potatoes, but he certainly was no team's savior). Your call?

AM: I think afraid is the wrong word. Calling a big man who is less than five games into his pro career a bust is a bit presumptuous. First, let's define a bust. Is a bust any center that does not reach the heights of Tim Duncan, Shaq, Dwight Howard, etc.? If so, then bust defines about 95% of the lottery pick centers of the last 20 years. However, I would define bust much more narrowly. Is he proving night in and night out that, excluding injury, he can be a productive player from his position, filling the needs his team? If he can prove that, then he is not at all a bust. If he can't fulfill that goal (see Milicic, Darko), then he can be called a bust. Right now, in four games, he is averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds in just 19 minutes. Extrapolate that out to 36 minutes per game, and it would be a 12 and 12 average. Is that bust-worthy? I hardly think so.

Think of Dwight Howard. In 2004-05 he averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds per game for his rookie season, and in his first ten games of his career, he averaged 7.6 points and just over 10 rebounds. Does that mean that Oden will be as good as Dwight Howard? Not necessarily. But I wouldn't be too quick to throw the "bust" label at him either. He is still a young player, and was playing high school basketball just 18 months ago.

Q: Derrick Rose has had so much early success for the Bulls that I can't help but marvel in the simplicity of Del Negro's offensive schemes. Should more teams run clear-outs ad nauseam?

AM: God I hope not. Coach Del Negro is doing what he knows best, after watching Mike D'Antoni give free reign to Steve Nash for the last few years in Phoenix, he is giving the same freedom to Derrick Rose. Opposing defenses have helped Rose look really good, not helping and forcing him to finish (which is more than willing and able to do). However, this does create situations where Rose is not making his teammates better (through no fault of his own).

I actually think incorporating some movement into the half-court would help the rest of the Bulls find scoring opportunities. Right now, they are catch and shoot players or catch and jab-series players. They are all too ready to become the former, and none are too good at being the latter. By having them circle behind and cut on Rose's drives, it would create driving lanes and attack angles.

If the Bulls went too much to clear-outs, their offense would start to look like the death trap in Cleveland for the last few years, where we all marveled at how good Lebron is but shuddered at the thought of a bad night of shooting by the King. The same will happen with Derrick Rose if Coach Del Negro goes too far down that path.

Q: What NBA fundamental is often over-preached yet sadly underutilized?

AM: If I had to pick one, and I think there are several, but if I had to pick one, it would be help defense. There are a myriad to choose from (passing, mid-range shooting, effective rebounding, hustle), but help defense is one that I think we can all recognize pretty clearly. Watch the Boston Celtics. A few games ago, I watched them take on the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics were everywhere, and I mean everywhere. They were committed to being in help positions, they recovered to their men, they rotated as needed, their communication was excellent, and they essentially stifled the Bulls completely. There is no special scheme that Coaches Doc Rivers and Thom Thibodeau are using-it is basic half-court defense used by at least 20 of the 30 NBA teams-but they execute it with such energy, precision, and intensity, that it is almost laughable to watch them and then watch another team attempt to execute the same thing. Every team talks about help defense as a fundamental concept of play, but very few actually use it.

Q: More painful for Mark Cuban: trading Jason Kidd for Devin Harris or the possible fine for alleged insider trading?

AM: If it is a choice between those two things, I think trading Kidd for Harris will be more painful to Cuban than the fine for insider trading. However, if you asked me whether that trade was more painful or the public allegation itself, I would probably go with the allegation. Mark Cuban is a guy that presents himself as a good, solid person. He can be a little crazy in support of his team, but good for him, he's earned it. This allegation, even if it proves to be false, sullies his reputation in a pretty significant way.

I like Devin Harris as a player, so I do think it was a bad trade, in the sense that he was not going to get the Jason Kidd of yesteryear. I think with his flair for the dramatic, however, Cuban would consider doing it again.

Q: The recent passing of Pete Newell was a true tragedy. Just how big of an influence did he have on the NBA and most notably, its big men?

AM: I'm not sure we can quantify the kind of impact that Newell had on the game of basketball. Obviously, Pete Newell's Big Man Camp was a household name around the homes of anyone that followed the NBA with more than a passing interest, and for good reason. A master of footwork, Newell revolutionized the way that bigs played the game. He taught the "rocker" step, a series of jabs and shot fakes, in a way that is still utilized today, and he put some of the sizzle into playing in the post. At least as big as his contribution to the players themselves were his commitment to coaching and the game itself. As a coach who trains and develops players, Newell's influence, both through those he taught directly and through his tapes and videos, are a treasure trove of basketball knowledge.

Q: Anyone can predict the NBA champs for this year, so let's be a little different. Which teams will win in 2010, 2011, and 2012 (throw in their MVP for extra brownie points)?

AM: Now that is an interesting, and challenging, question. Obviously, this assumes teams will be injury free and that free agency won't get in the way of major personnel changes.

I have seen enough from Cleveland to think that they have as good a shot as any to win it all in 2010, with Lebron as MVP. Assuming he stays in Cleveland, I'd say the same for 2011. In 2012, however, the championship swings back to the west as the Lakers win it in Kobe's final season. The MVP that year, however, is not Kobe. It is Lebron again.