HoopsHype.com Rumors

Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson is hosting the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge on Nov. 12-13, sources told Yahoo! Sports. The tournament includes four teams with captains, including Iverson, who will recruit players for their respective teams. NBA All-Stars who could participate include Kevin Durant, Amar’e Stoudemire and Paul Pierce, sources said. Iverson is expected to announce the participants for all four teams in Las Vegas next week. The winner of the Nov. 12 games at Thomas & Mack Center will play in a championship game the next day. The Nov. 12 games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET to allow players to attend the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Marquez fight that evening. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, Lockout, Las Vegas 

Typically the way gambling works is that you bet on the outcome of a game. But in this case, you can throw down some money on there not being any. Bodog.com has released their odds on how many games the NBA will play this year. All 82? That's 8/5. Somewhere between 51 and 81 games? 4/1. Just one to 50? 3/1. But the best odds? Bad news everybody: Those are set at 5/4. So Vegas doesn't see a season happening. CBSSports.com

CBA, David Stern, Lockout, Billy Hunter, Las Vegas, NBPA 

Brandon Rush: John Wall is gonna be a problem this year. Got that stroke going Twitter

Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Brandon Rush, John Wall, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Rudy Gay is looking much better today @impactbball. He's knocking down pullup jumpers, not as winded & had a vicious lefty dunk in the lane Twitter

Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Las Vegas native Marcus Banks is really running the show @impactbball, dropping behind-the-back passes & getting to rim. Not used to this Twitter

Las Vegas, Marcus Banks, Impact Basketball 

Brian Mahoney: Seems from Twitter that every player is playing great in Vegas. You can tell writers are happy to see ball again. Or happy to be in Vegas. Twitter

Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Of course, Abunassar's "Lockout League" is not without problems. Many games are blowouts, which results in the second half turning into little more than a glorified pickup game. There is little passing -- if the nearby casinos listed the over/under for number of passes per possession, it would be 1 1/2 -- and even less defense. Worse, no one can see it. The original plan was to broadcast the games on YouTube but escalating production costs -- between $70,000 and $100,000, according to Abunassar -- forced Abunassar to scrap it at the last minute. "Everyone wanted the content," Abunassar said. "But we put this thing together so quickly, there just wasn't enough time to find ways to pay for it." SI.com

Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Surprisingly unimpressive player: Sixers center Marreese Speights, who looked winded and a little lost on the floor on Tuesday. SI.com

Philadelphia 76ers, Las Vegas, Marreese Speights, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: John Wall is destroying cats @impactbball. He had 47 pts on Tues., giving him a 3-game total of 130 (or 43.3 pts per game) #wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Jordan Crawford had a triple double with 20 pts, 13 rebs & 10 asst; Rashard Lewis had 21 pts & 16 rebs, but G team #wizards lost again. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Las Vegas, Jordan Crawford, Impact Basketball 

Chris Mannix: Kenyon Martin watches JaVale McGee launch a hook over him, says "Hell motherf----- no" when it misses. Then calls for sub. Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Kenyon Martin, Javale McGee, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Kenyon Martin just cursed after JaVale McGee missed a hook. "Excuse my French people. He's shooting the ball like he's Kareem out there." Twitter

Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Kenyon Martin, Javale McGee, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Jared Dudley just shut down play @impactbball by catching an alley-oop dunk. He slapped 5 with every player seated along the baseline. Twitter

Phoenix Suns, Jared Dudley, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Jared Dudley: Breaking News!!! @Rudy Gay will play today at the the Impact training series!! His first game since his shoulder injury Feb 15 Twitter

Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay, Injuries, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Michael Lee: Was told Rashard Lewis is in Las Vegas, but took a day off. Will be back, with John Wall on Tues. Wall had some business to tend to in LA. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Las Vegas 

Michael Lee: Last game of @impactbball CTS was pretty bad. In final seconds, Jordan Crawford was launching halfcourt shots with team down by 24 #wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, Las Vegas, Jordan Crawford, Impact Basketball 

Anyone who saw Melvin Ely kick a full tub of Powerade all over the floor Wednesday, or saw Pacers guard Dahntay Jones and third-year Pistons small forward Austin Daye engage in an extended and entertaining trash-talking session on Thursday, might have thought the CTS was a step removed from the NBA playoffs in competitiveness. But Ely -- a journeyman big man who was most recently with Denver and plans to play in China this season -- was simply reacting to an eye poke that left him in serious pain (and wearing a bandage later). Jones and Daye were apparently tired of seeing each other's faces every day. These outbursts, however, hardly symbolized the intensity level on display during the first week of CTS play. SI.com

Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

If everyone competed like Lowry, there would be no griping about the quality of play. Much like he did last season with the Rockets, the bulldog of a point guard took charge every time out and played with a controlled aggression on both ends that always seems to wear down opponents. His teams went 4-0 for the week, including a Wednesday faceoff with John Wall in which the Wizards' point guard won the individual battle (42 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), but Lowry was his stellar self (25 points, 14 assists). He set the high scoring mark for the week Thursday, with 49 points on 13-of-18 shooting (5-of-9 from three-point range). Lowry has trained at Impact since his days at Villanova, and he was quick to use his seniority to his advantage during his game Tuesday. When Lowry noticed that the length of quarters had been changed from 10 minutes to eight, he insisted that the change be reversed. When Impact officials resisted and said other players had requested shorter games, he clearly didn't care. "I've been here longer than anyone here," Lowry barked. "Ten minutes." SI.com

Houston Rockets, Kyle Lowry, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball 

Melvin Ely, who is reportedly heading to China, crumpled to the ground after taking a blow to his face. In some fairly serious pain, Ely was escorted to a training area away from the court, where he was attended to by medical personnel. On his way there, though, he took a quick detour to upend a large gatorade bucket in frustration, crashing the contents behind one of the team's benches. Players chuckled and media members raised their eyebrows. CBSSports.com

Denver Nuggets, Las Vegas, Melvin Ely, Impact Basketball 

On Thursday, Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington made his debut with a bang, earning two technical fouls in one game for disputing calls. The first time, he merely shouted at one of the referees; the second time, he chucked a ball so far off the court it hit a brick wall some 20 or 30 feet behind one of the baskets. Harrington was not ejected after receiving his second technical, although free throws were awarded on both violations. CBSSports.com

Denver Nuggets, Al Harrington, Las Vegas, Impact Basketball