The highlight of Wednesday night’s NBA games was definitely the scuffle in the game between the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.

When Suns forward Matt Barnes set a hard (cheap shot) pick on Rafer Alston, that’s when it all got started. Alston took offense and got in Barnes’ face. Phoenix point guard Steve Nash decided to get in the mix and pushed (elbowed?) Alston. Then Shaq decided to intervene.

Instead of pulling people apart, Shaq put an end to most of the ruckus by pushing people down, including Rockets star Tracy McGrady.

Did you miss it? That’s okay, we have the video right here including some good angles on the replay. I’m not sure anyone deserves to be suspended, but I’m sure commissioner David Stern will hand down some fines. Barnes started it, but it was kind of funny to see Shaq pushing people down near the end.

If you’ve glanced at the Portland Trail Blazers’ roster recently, you’ll know why a lot of NBA fanatics believe that the Blazers may be the next dynasty in basketball. Sure, their championships aren’t going to start pouring in this year, but all the pieces seem to be in place for multiple titles over the next decade.

Here are five reasons why the Blazers may become the NBA’s next dynasty:

1. Bigmen in the Middle - Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge
To date, Oden’s career has been a disappointment. He missed his entire rookie season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee. This season, in his second attempt at a rookie season, he got injured in the first quarter of the first game. The sprained foot is to keep him out at least another couple of weeks. All that said, Oden has the body and the talent to become a dominant center in the NBA who could be a dominant defensive force. Next to him will be LaMarcus Aldridge, who has a chance to become one of the best power forwards in the NBA.

2. Superstar Wing – Brandon Roy
Roy is one of the most talented players in the league – and hardly anyone knows his name. Capable of playing point guard, shooting guard or small forward, Roy’s all-around game is breathtaking and he’s already proven to be a clutch performer. Whether he’s scoring in an isolation play or setting up his teammates, he is a player who continually makes an impact when he’s on the court.

3. International Greatness
The Blazers scouts have searched Europe in the last few years and they’ve now landed two very good players in Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum. Fernandez is a player in the mold of Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, while Batum is the second coming of Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons. Although they are both rookies this season, expect Fernandez and Batum to blossom in short order.

4. Athletic Role Players
The NBA continues to draw more and more athleticism to its game. The Blazers are ahead of the curve when it comes to stockpiling a roster full of athletes. Small forward Travis Outlaw is an athletic freak who has an expanded repertoire of skills. Martell Webster mixes athleticism and three-point accuracy.

5. Sideline Sensations
Coach Nate McMillan is one of the best basketball minds on the planet. Even though he’s only 44, McMillan has a lot of head coaching experience and is regarded as one of the premier coaches in the NBA. Not only does McMillan rule the sidelines, but the Blazers also have quite a bit of other Steamy Sports approved talent on the sidelines, as you can see in the picture below.

As part of the trade that sent Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets and Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons, power forward Antonio McDyess was also sent from Detroit to Denver. Although McDyess’ inclusion in the trade didn’t make too many headlines, he’ll be a much wanted man over the next couple of weeks.

McDyess was released from his contract after being traded to Denver and will soon become a free agent. Although the 34-year-old is no longer a star, he’s a very serviceable bigman who can hit the perimeter jumper, defend and rebound. NBA teams will be lining up around the block to try to woo him.

Many league experts expect McDyess to end up back in Detroit. Previously, he had said that he’d rather retire than to play for another team than the Pistons. While McDyess definitely has ties to Detroit, he needs to take a closer look at the situation.

Prior to the season he lost his starting job to Amir Johnson, a young, athletic power forward prospect with an enormous upside. Soon after, the Pistons gave undersized yet energetic power forward Jason Maxiell a sizeable contract extension. Additionally, Kwame Brown was brought in during the offseason to supply bulk to the frontline of the Pistons. McDyess needs to read the writing on the wall and recognize that he no longer fits in Detroit.

While a number of teams will undoubtedly go after him including the defending champion Boston Celtics, the team that McDyess would fit best on is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are a team that desperately needs what McDyess can bring to the table. Outside of Tim Duncan, the Spurs lack a quality bigman. And with both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out with injury, the Spurs could also use McDyess’ outside touch.

Once the Spurs get healthy, McDyess will have a starting role next to Duncan. He’ll have both Parker and Ginobili to feed him the ball and he’ll get as many open jumpers as he wants. If everything comes together for San Antonio, McDyess will even be able to have a shot at the 2008-09 NBA championship.

Allen Iverson could very well be a Hall of Fame player. He made it to the Finals on a Philadelphia 76ers squad that simply wasn’t that great. He’s been to the All-Star game countless times and is one of the most popular players in the game. That said, the Detroit Pistons made a mistake by trading for him.

The main problem concerning Iverson in Detroit is that he’ll need to play point guard. Although Iverson looks like a point guard and sometimes can even have the stats of a point guard, he’s always been more effective as a shooting guard. Trying to replace the steady hand of Chauncey Billups with the erratic decision making of Iverson is going to be a disaster.

Another problem is the backlash of the supporting cast. Players like Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace won’t like it when they turn into spectators of the Allen Iverson Show. They are going to go from being involved in almost every play to playing a secondary role. If you don’t think this issue can boil over, you don’t know much about Rasheed.

Finally, Iverson simply isn’t as good as he used to be. He’s a player who has depended on speed and quickness in his career but now that he’s over 30, he’s been slowing down each season. This year, he could very well hit the wall and be forced to rely on his shaky jumper rather than his ability to get to the basket.

Pistons general manager Joe Dumars has made great trades in the past but this one will be ugly as Iverson will turn into a bust for Detroit.

Iverson Mix …

Although the NBA is just three days in, it’s never too late to start sorting out the best teams. Which teams look the best so far? Here’s the SteamySports top five:

1) Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have wasted no time in looking dominant in the 2008-09 season. Already 2-0, the Lakers have pounded both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers. And shockingly enough, it’s not all Kobe Bryant anymore. He’s still their best player but he has an amazing amount of talent around him this year.

2) Boston Celtics
The reigning NBA champions are off to a good start. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in their one game so far this season. However, we have to put the Celtics behind the Lakers. Not only do the Lakers look very, very good, the Celtics have a few questions marks including how they’ll adapt without James Posey and what they will do if Ray Allen loses another step.

3) New Orleans Hornets
Speaking of James Posey, his new team is looking quite good. At 2-0, the Hornets are a team that fits so perfectly together. Chris Paul is the head of the snake but he also has a lot of very talented players around him that fit perfectly in the equation. If the Hornets can remain healthy, they could very easily end up with the best record in the entire NBA.

4) Houston Rockets
The Rockets sit at 2-0 after two impressive victories to star the season. The combination of Ron Artest, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming already has other teams shaking in their boots. Houston made a lot of changes over the summer but if they can get some chemistry, they definitely have the wherewithal to go all the way.

5) Detroit Pistons
The Pistons started off their year with a win and they promise to once again be a formidable opponent in the Eastern Conference. The only big change this season is Amir Johnson starting in place of Antonio McDyess. Other than that, this is basically the same team that has had much playoff success over the last half decade.

Check out this video as correspondent Elie Seckbach talks to members of the Lakers about Kobe Bryant:

There is no denying that Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers can potentially be a great NBA player. He’s tall, he’s strong, he’s thick, he’s athletic, he can jump and he’s relatively light on his feet. And, as you can see in the picture below, Oden is also quite good with the ladies – a trait we applaud here at SteamySports.

The problem with Oden is he can’t stay healthy. In his one year at Ohio State, he hurt his wrist and missed a large portion of the season. After being drafted first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden couldn’t even make it out of the summer unscathed. He suffered a knee injury that forced him to undergo microfracture surgery and miss the season.

This year, Oden was back and looking to get his rookie season off to a good start. He played decently well in preseason, but everyone was waiting for his regular season debut against the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. However, less than three minutes into the game, Oden hurt his foot.

After limping around the court for much of the first half, Oden would stay in the locker room at halftime. He had an x-ray on his foot that proved to be inconclusive. Right now, the Blazers are calling it a foot sprain.

Although Oden may just be experiencing a lot of bad luck, it might be time to wonder if he’s ever going to withstand the rigors of the NBA season. He’s yet to play three healthy minutes in the NBA. It seems like he’s getting hurt almost constantly.

Can Oden become the NBA star he was destined to be or will he be remembered as potential wasted? Oden still has time but right now it’s not looking good for him or the Trail Blazers.

Bizarre news came out of New York on Friday when reports surfaced that Isiah Thomas overdosed on sleeping pills. However, since the story broke, a lot of conflicting reports have been released.

The problem for Thomas is that he is the source for most of the conflicting reports. While the police have steadfastly claimed that a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital from Thomas’ residence, Thomas has denied that fact and is saying that it was in fact his daughter that was taken to the hospital.

While the police might not always be right, we are going to have to believe the police over Isiah Thomas in this situation. While coaching the New York Knicks the past few years in the NBA, Thomas has been known to massage facts and try to cover up incidents.

Instead of going even further down this road of deceits and straight up lies, Isiah Thomas needs to come clean. Admit he was the one taken to the hospital. Explain why or how he overdosed on sleeping pills. The American public will understand and forgive Thomas if he comes clean. But if he is going to continue to lie, Thomas is going to find it hard for both the NBA and the American public to embrace him.

Thomas hasn’t made many right moves in the last half decade, but hopefully even he can see the light and be honest this time.

Check out this new report that says the police confirmed it was Isiah taken from the scene and that he was the one with the prescription.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been a popular pick to win the 2008-09 NBA championship. While they are definitely talented, not everything is going in their favor heading into the regular season.

The biggest change that will be noticed is the addition of center Andrew Bynum. Last season, Bynum had the appearance of an up-and-coming star for the Lakers before he hurt his knee and sat out the rest of the season. This year, Bynum is back and all reports indicate he should be able to get back to 100% physically.

While adding a talent such as Bynum never hurts, it may very well be offset by other issues. First of all, Pau Gasol thrived at center last year for the Lakers and this year he will have to play more at power forward. Can he handle that change? The same question holds true for Lamar Odom, who will have to switch from power forward to small forward.

Another issue that will be facing the Lakers this year is all the wear and tear on Kobe Bryant’s body. Without Bryant, who is arguably the most talented basketball player in the world, playing his best the Lakers simply can’t be a very good team. In addition to all the NBA games over the years, Bryant also added some mileage this summer by playing in the 2008 Olympic Games for the United States. Will his body begin to break down?

A third issue is team chemistry. Prior to last year, the team chemistry for the premier NBA team in Los Angeles had always been in question. Last season, the Lakers had a near perfect run chemistry-wise. Can that hold up or was that team chemistry a fluke? There are already a few cracks showing in the foundation with some players openly questioning their roles heading into the new season.

All told, the Lakers could be a great team this year but they have a lot working against them. They’ll need another slice of perfection to climb the mountain once again. Any slight stumble and the house of cards could come tumbling down.

Check out this video - Day in A Life: Andrew Bynum

Jason Kidd has been in the news a lot recently. Last year, Kidd got a divorce from his wife Joumana. This summer, Kidd played great the Team USA and helped them win their qualifying tournament. Currently, not only is his new girlfriend Hope Dworaczyk pregnant, Kidd is involved in numerous trade rumors.

With his New Jersey Nets suffering through a losing season, talk from within the organization indicates that the Nets are willing to trade Kidd. Many teams including the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers have all been linked to Kidd.

While Kidd would no doubt make all three of those teams better, there is one team out there where he’d be an absolutely perfect fit. That team is the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, who are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, will be good without him. However, with Kidd on their side, Denver would be great.

If Kidd has a weakness to his game, it’s scoring the basketball. He’s a great playmaker, a fantastic rebounder and he’s still a capable defender. Even though his current NBA team isn’t very good, there’s no doubt Kidd remains one of the best point guards in the league.

That said, Kidd’s ability to put the ball in the basketball has diminished. With the Nuggets, though, that wouldn’t matter. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony are two of the better scorers in the NBA and would more than mask Kidd’s weakness.

A trio of Kidd, Iverson and Anthony would instantly make the Nuggets a championship contender. Kidd will be able to concentrate on setting up his twin scoring teammates, while Iverson and Anthony will just have to worry about racking up the points. It sounds like a perfect marriage for Kidd and the Nuggets.

Last year’s NBA season ended with the San Antonio Spurs being crowned champions. Right now, those memories for the Spurs seem like a long, long time ago.

Mired in a slump that has seen the team lose 13 of their last 24 games, the Spurs haven’t lost like this since Tim Duncan arrived in town. And the news got worse recently with the news that point guard Tony Parker will be sidelined indefinitely with a nagging foot injury.

Things are so bad in San Antonio that they are signing Damon Stoudamire to help with the team’s point guard issues. Yes, 85-year-old Damon Stoudamire is headed to San Antonio to lend a helping hand.

Is it time to officially bury the Spurs? While they definitely appear to be circling the drain, it’d be foolish to count them out already. With the NBA season just a hair over the halfway point, the Spurs have a lot of time to turn things around.

For now, Parker will be spending a lot of quality time with Eva Longoria. However, if he’s able to fully recover from his nagging injuries, the Spurs are good enough to turn their ship around quickly. Duncan is as good as he was last season. Manu Ginobili, their Argentine sparkplug of a shooting guard, is having arguably the best season of his career.

With role players like Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley and Robert Horry, the Spurs definitely have the needed playoff experience. As long as the Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are healthy, this Spurs team will once again be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.