Roland Beech is the founder of the NBA statistical analysis site 82games.com. His statistical information has been widely used throughout NBA discussions, and he's even had a stat named after himself (Roland Rating).

Q: First off, I owe you many thanks. Your article which reviewed the calls in the infamous Lakers v. Kings playoff battle from 2002, restored my faith in the game (Tim Donaghy had me thinking the fix was in on all "important," games). Perhaps I need to give it up, but I guess the "paranoid side" in me still wonders if any other NBA conspiracies carry weight. Your take?

RB: I'm not a believer that the NBA/David Stern are rigging playoff series through referee 'instructions' or anything. The problem on the ref side from the league office is that they won't just flat out admit that basketball has a lot of grey area in calls. If they would be honest and say "it's a very difficult game to call and that the refs do their best and we try hard to keep the level of officiating as high as possible," I think we could all live with that. But they claim that 95% of calls are right in their grading, etc. The truth is there are many plays where you could reasonably call it one way or the other or no call it. The most common is perhaps the block/charge stuff.

But in terms of fixing series, if the NBA was trying to do this they have been dismal at it since so few of the big playoff series go to 7 games or even 6 games.

Other conspiracies? I thought Simmons' article on the Ewing draft was very funny!

Q: What's worse: Michael Jordan tarnishing his legacy by coming back and playing for the Wiz or his botched impression of a GM (and is there any excuse for drafting Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison)?

RB: I have no problem with Michael playing in Washington and guys should be allowed to play on as long as someone is willing to have them. You don't have to be all Pete Sampras and retire after a triumph. As a GM though, Jordan has not had success.

Q: From point guard to center, who would be your starting roster on the "All Choke Artist," team?

RB: Gee, that's kind of tough and somewhat unfair without a clear definition of what we mean by choke. Is that missing a last second shot, just being weak in the last five minutes of close games, bad defense, etc.? Is it just big playoff games, or regular season, too? I'll be doing a multi-year clutch article at some point, but I'll refrain from that one right now.

Q: It seems to me, that the NBA writers have botched the last three MVP award winners. What's your call?

RB: I liked LeBron for MVP last year, and I was fine with Dirk as MVP in 06-07, in 05-06 I would have gone with someone other than Nash; it's easy to say Wade knowing what happened in the playoffs but Wade was outstanding in the regular season too (best 'Roland Rating' I think)

Q: Let's play revisionist history and pretend two things happened very differently for the Lakers:

1) They hadn't swapped Gasol brothers with the Grizzlies.

2) They drafted Rudy Fernandez in the spot they foolishly selected Javaris Crittenton (also included in the trade for Pau).

If this transpired, would the current Lakers be in a better position to win a championship in 2009 and beyond?

RB: I think the Lakers are well positioned to win this year and beyond as is. Marc is not Pau yet. How much Rudy would help them in contrast is hard to say. He does look good, but the Lakers I am sure are not complaining about being current favorites to win it all.

Q: Would Wilt Chamberlain be able to post his ridiculously dominant stats in today's NBA?

RB: These kinds of historical comparisons are not my thing since so much has changed. How would Wilt train today versus what he did then, etc. but no, no way could he post anything near the ridiculous stats he did in his day. No 50+ pts/game average, etc. Defense is so much different nowadays that I don't think he would be particularly dominant.

Q: When he (and his sizeable ego) decides to pack it in, where will Kobe Bryant's place be in the NBA pantheon?

RB: A great player, a number of championship teams he was on. I don't try for the 'best ever' type analysis and he certainly isn't tops for me even this season.

Q: Stephon Marbury: Too big a headache or worth rolling the dice on?

RB: Depends on the team. I think there are a few teams that it might be worth the risk if they can get him cheap and thus dump him if he gets sour. I also can't speak to whether he is fit and whether his skills have eroded considerably from a couple years ago.

Q: Shaquille O'Neal recently added that he and Kobe were the "best Lakers guard-center punch" ever. Has the "Big Cactus," lost his mind or is he perhaps wishing for one more season in Los Angeles (once his Phoenix contract has ended)?

RB: I don't think Shaq is likely to go back to LA since they have Bynum and Pau for the huge front line already. Can't see Shaq being a backup center, but maybe I'm wrong. They had three titles together, Shaq got another in Miami, and Kobe looks likely to add one sometime soonish.

Q: What are the odds that Kevin Durant never turns into anything more than a "one-dimensional gunner"?

RB: I think Durant has a ton of talent, he just happens to be on what may well end up as the worst team in NBA history. He needs more players around him before we can really tell how good he can be. Put him in a good situation and I think he will thrive big time.

Q: When it comes time to re-up his contract in 2010, Lebron will sign with...?

RB: I'm thinking the Brooklyn Nets are the favorite.