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I constantly hear people saying Bill Russell is overrated this and Bill Russell is overrated that. About every reasoning people list to think he's overrated are all myths. So I am going to try to find/hear all the myths I've heard and debunk them. Myth #1 - Bill Russell was an average offensive player because his career averages were 15 PPG under 44% FG shoooting. - That is straight up dead wrong. How many shots are generated by a big guy setting a pick?? How many layups are because of an outlet pass that starts the break?? How many shots around the rim are made easier because of the threat of a great offensive rebounder?? There are no Centers that averages more assists than Russell in post season history with 4.7 APG (Could be wrong). Is passing not part of being an offensive player? Last I check it was, and also while his field goal % looks ordinary in today's league, it was top 7 in the league 4 times. It was a different time and a different game back then. And to end this all, Bill Russell was very capable of scoring 20 PPG, as he said on Roundtable talk with Greg Oden and other great centers, it just was not his job, he could do it but he never did. In 1962 and in 1963 he averaged 20+ PPG in the Playoffs. There is his capability of scoring. Myth #2 - Bill Russell would have been nothing if he wasn't playing for the Boston Celtics - Again a Myth and nothing but. Won 2 ncaa titles at a program that was absolutely nothing before he got there, and was absolutely nothing after he left (USF). Led them to a 55 game win streak in those two years.Along with that he was the Captain of the gold medal winning team in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, prior to joining the Celtics mid-season. Also, The Celtics were like this..... Before Russell--Nothing, about a .500ish team During Russell--11 titles in 13 years Directly After Russell--Missing the playoffs I would offer that many of the players who played with Russell were able to raise their play, because Russell was able to take care of virtually everything on the defensive end of the court, and a fair bit on offense as well. He just made life so much easier for all involved. Myth #3 - Wilt Chamberlain played with Scrubs while Bill Russell had the most stacked team in NBA History - Big Myth. Wilt Chamberlain played with 8 HOfers throughout his career while Bill Russell had 9. That's pretty even, I don't think 1 HOFer will make that much of a difference, especially if you are supposely more "dominant" than the other player. Wilt played with Elgin Baylor, Tom Gola, Nate Thurmond, Billy Cunningham, Paul Arizin, Jerry West, Goodrich, and Hal Greer. So if you think it was the teammates were the reasons why Russell managed to win every single time, Try again. And Russell's HOF teammates..... Player - (Pts/Reb/Ast) - accomplishments Cousy - 18.4/5.2/7.5 (1 MVP, 10 straight 1st team all-NBA, 2 2nds) Sharman - 17.8/3.9/3.0 (4 1st team all-NBA, 2 2nds) Heinsohn - 18.6/8.8/2.0 (4 2nd team all-NBA) Ramsey - 13.4/5.5/1.8 (never made an All-Star team) Sam Jones - 17.7/4.9/2.5 (3 2nd team all-NBA) KC Jones - 7.4/3.5/4.3 (never made an All-Star team) Havlicek - 20.8/6.3/4.8 (4 1st team all-NBA, 7 2nds, all-defense 8 years) Lovellette - 17.0/9.5/1.7 (however, that was mainly with other teams). With Boston, Lovellette was a 10-minute a game player at the end of his career. Howell - (4 of 12 seasons with Boston), 18.7/9.9/1.9 (made 1 All-Star team with Bos) Of those guys, there's no way Ramsey or KC Jones gets in the HOF without the rings. Lovellette shouldn't even count because he was at the tail end of his career when he played with Boston. Myth #4 - Bill Rusell played in a Weak ERA, Replace him with anyone and they could dominant then. - Just another Myth. Its been alluded to a number of times, but the basic flaw in the argument of people who criticize Russell is they have an imaginary time machine. If Russell had been born 50 years later, he would not look at all like he did back then. He would have had much more polished offensive moves, having had several generations of centers to copy. He would probably have been about 20 lbs heavier that was all muscle. He would still be an absolute athletic freak of nature who could run the floor faster than guards and he would still have a basketball IQ off the charts high. Its a little bit like pretending that Kobe Bryant could have been born 50 years earlier and still be the same player, That's absolute nonsense. That Kobe would probably have issues dribbling with his left hand, would not have anywhere near as good a jumper, would have far fewer offensive moves, probably not have a fadeaway at all etc... He still would have been a great player for the era, but he would have looked nothing like what we associate with Kobe. There is no magic time machine. Great players in one era are great players in any era - End of discussion. Myth #5 - Wilt usually outplayed Russell, that's why he's the better player - Mostly a Myth, but somewhat true. Wilt only averaged 6 points a game more than Russell when it matters.... the playoffs. Not exactly that huge a difference. And in the playoffs, Russell gets more boards and dimes than Wilt, despite playing slightly lower minutes. And the players back then voted Russell more MVPs than Wilt. Along with that, People don't realize that most of the time Bill Russell LET Wilt Chamberlain score on him on purpose, You want to know why? Because that was how you put Wilt's team back then....Teams weren't stupid and teams weren't so weak that Wilt would dominant them THAT easily. You could double him or whatever. However, most of the time teams would purposely let Chamberlain score all the points in the beginning so he could get into a groove. Because once he gets on his groove he's not passing the ball ever, the only time his teammates would ever touch the ball in that Scenario is if they were dribbling the ball up the court. Why they would do that you would ask? Because that was how you beat Wilt's team. You would let Wilt get his and shut down every other player. Because Wilt wasn't always about the wins during his younger years, he cared greatly about stats and most of the time they were more important to them than wins. That was why he kept losing until Bill Russell retired because he learned to copy his style of play to win championships. Here's is one reason why Wilt outplayed Russell was a myth, Take 1969 for example. Russell on his last legs. Lakers are big favorites with Wilt, West and Baylor. Somebody forgot to tell Russell he was supposed to lose. He and the Celts hold Wilt to under 12 points a game that series. Wilt shoots 2-11 from the line in one loss (a one point loss I might add) and shoots 4-13 from the line in the deciding game 7 in a two point loss. He didn't exactly light up old Bill when it mattered then did he? As you see here it is nothing but a Myth to say Bill Russell is overrated, but keep trying......

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/7751/legacyno5.gif This past offseason has been an enormous one for the top teams in the National Basketball Association. Big name players were acquired in trades or free agent signings. Each team aiming for the NBA Championship and that actually has a shot, has gotten better. In some cases, close friends of teammates were lost, but new doors opened as they welcomed in other players that will be key to the run at the Finals. Last season was like a dramatic first part of a movie, this season will be the sequel. So many storylines will be a part of this second showing that will keep fans on the edge of their seats. These are the ten worthy stories that you should keep on eye on for the second showing of what looks like one of the best seasons ever... Honorable Mention: How will Andre Miller change the Blazers? 10. Wizards: a top team in East This Washington team has always had talent, but lingering injures held them back from their full potential. If they remain healthy this season, which I think they actually will, they could easily be the fourth best team in the East. Gilbert Arenas is a top player in the league when he is 100 percent healthy. Caron Butler is one of the more underrated players in the league and has improved drastically from his earlier years. Antwan Jamison is always capable of a big night. Not to mention, they have playoff experience and have added some nice young guards in the offseason. The Wizards will be a force this year. 9.Sophomore class rising The top players from this draft class is Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo. Both of them will elevate their statuses even higher this season. Rose went nuts in the playoffs and will carry his momentum into this season. With the loss of Ben Gordon, he will also be relied on more to score. Mayo will become a scoring machine while working on other aspects of his game such as defense. He will establish himself as the face of the Grizzlies franchise. The two surprises of this class are Brook Lopez and Anthony Randolph. Lopez will be the second option on the team without Vince Carter. Randolph will emerge as a star himself and as the third best player from this class, ahead of Lopez and Michael Beasley. 8. Rookies not as bad as advertised This year, people were hating on the draft class. They said no one will be an all-star besides Blake Griffin which is false. This class has many other studs such as Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, James Harden, and more. Evans could be as good as Griffin and could possibly go down as the best player in this draft class once his shot improves. Curry will be good depending on how much Don Nelson plays him. James Harden will be a key factor to the young Oklahoma City Thunder who will make noise in the future. 7. Finally All-Stars There's been a few players in this league that have never been named an all-star, and it's unbelievable when you watch them play. Some of those players are Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, and Al Jefferson. All three of these players will be all-stars this upcoming season. They are all young and have improved every year they have been in the league. Unless someone emerges out of nowhere, it's safe to say that these three guys will all be all-stars for the first time in their careers this season. 6. Spurs are not done, yet It looked like the San Antonio Spurs were done being a top team in the league. Injures and age were starting to take over. The lack of depth hurt as well. When people were starting to give up on them, they made a great move to get Richard Jefferson from the Bucks. Not only did they keep Roger Mason Jr., but they added a legit scoring option and capable defender in Jefferson. He also has lots of playoff experience with the Nets. 5. KG guarantees the title Maybe the injury got to Garnett's head, but he guaranteed back-to-back championships for the next two seasons. "I talked to [Garnett] and he guaranteed the championship in 2010 and in 2011," Wyc Grousbeck said. "He was as fired up as he's ever been."

One thing I can't understand is although Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) are so relevant and rampantly used but, at the same time, is unethical and unacceptable in other sports, it is hardly given any attention in the basketball world. Not that I am saying that I am in favor or against the use of performance enhancing drugs. I wish to reserve that opinion to myself...in the meantime. What IF, and I mean IF, a major basketball superstar who is still active like say Shaquille O'Neal or Lebron James or Dwight Howard (I am only using the names as examples for the sake of argument) would be determined to have been using performance enhancing drugs? Would that tarnish their accomplishments? Would they be "crucified" by the media and the public like Barry Bonds in baseball? I am just curious. And aside from that, I would like to solicit your thoughts on the following: 1. How much do you think will performance enhancing drugs (PED) affect the game of a basketball player? 2. Will a PED scandal severely affect the NBA the same way it has wreaked havoc on MLB? 3. Who is your favorite NBA player, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, who? IF (hypothetically) he is found out to be using PED, what should be done to him? 4. Do you think that the NBA should start testing its athletes for PED? Why? 5. Finally, let's just say, WHAT IF Michael Jordan was found to have used PED during his playing years, should he be reviled? Should his records be erased? Should an asterisk be placed beside his name and his records and awards?

I have lost all respect for him because as you said, he clearly waited this out to avoid camp. Also just three weeks ago he said there was no chance of a return because he didn't feel his body could handle that. Well I'll be damned, Brett... But yeah you are right the ESPN coverage makes this even worse than it should be. My favorite is the countdown clock on the bottom of ESPN News (including hours minutes and seconds) until the press conference. Give me a break. I am personally hoping that this blows up in everybody's face.

lol ABBA, Backstreet Boys, NSync, Britney Spears, Aaron Carter are all personal favs of mine

Good points man, i agree with pretty much all of em .

Sad, isn't it?

Wow you are [expletive]ing stupid for saying that. He isn't a juggale, he's just said he's "down with the clown" a couple times which is obviously for more money since there is a huge amount of juggalos that like him.

Hurry up b4 the season starts wow got dayum.