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Rasheed did hit shots in the post-season...at a sub-42% clip. Since JO went to Indiana the only major knock on most of his post-season runs was his FG % (compared to what he was expected to contribute based on regular season). Fortunately for this comparison, Rasheed had the same problem, shooting over 44% only once in his final 10 post-seasons. JO was horrific in the Boston series, but using a 5 game sample against one of the best defenses in NBA history is really being stingy and narrow-minded (especially since he just joined that same team). He shot well over 50% during the regular season, and shot over 50% in the 2009 post-season. Besides, at best he'll be the 5th scoring option in the starting lineup...he's not going to make or break the Celtics offensively. He just won't get that oppertunity. As for him not being a defensive factor in that series...1) He had a DRtg of 100 that series, the next closest on the team was 104 by Wade/Q-Rich, 2) Who did he have to defend that would make a big impact for Boston? Perkins? Broken down KG? Cavs were helpless with him on the court? They wouldn't have had back-to-back 60+ win seasons if they were helpless with him. Just because he's not athletic and or like to bang down-low on offense doesn't mean he's a liability. He was 2nd last year in post-up defense, he's still a quality rebounder (which next to a Bosh-level rebounder will be plenty sufficient), still can hit open jumpers, and he's simply a big, servicable body. For the vet minimum you can't get much better quality at Center.

Evans certainly had the better season statistically. Not only did he have a better FG % but he also managed to keep his TO's to just 3.0 per game (compared to LeBron's career high 3.5 his rookie season). However, I do think I'd give James the nod simply because I think he made a bigger impact. He was one of the very few big-time rookies whose team was actually BETTER statistically with him on the court (for Rose, Evans, Beasley and many others this is not the case). LeBron helped the Cavs win 18 more games than the previous season, and that was with their previous best player (Slick Ricky) traded halfway through the season. He kept them in the playoff hunt until the very end. Evans' impact was smaller, and his team only won 8 more games than in 2008-2009. Granted I know there are plenty of other variables to take into account, but I think the proof is in the pudding that LeBron as a rookie made a greater impact than Evans.

I think d00d might fake an injury a few games before, so he will have an excuse to sit out the Cleveland game.

lol Spiderman was so gay

I doubt a superhero movie will ever be the greatest movie ever. On IMDB's top 250 it's still in the top 10. Here's the thing, movies aren't about what a critic makes of it, what I make of it, or what everyone makes of it, it's what you make of it. If you think it's the greatest movie ever, then it is for you. That being said here's my take. It isn't even, imo, the best super hero movie of all time. I loved Iron Man, I felt if Iron Man was 2 and half hours it would have destroyed Dark Knight, Dark Knight is an excellent movie, one of the greatest of all time? No, but it is one of the greatest released in our generation no doubt.

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. However, I think you're SERIOUSLY overrating Wallace's abilities and impact if you don't think O'Neal can contribute at least 90% of what Wallace did last season and in the post-season. O'Neal is a very solid player and a good defender. He has been relatively healthy the last 2 seasons and was the anchor of one of the league's best defenses last season, as well as the 2nd best overall player on a 47 win team (yes I am aware it was a poor team and he bombed against Boston, but nontheless...). I am not saying he's a championship caliber 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th option, but to think he can't or won't be a solid contributor as a 2nd or 3rd backup in the frontcourt positions is foolish. PS- I'm a stat guy, but have never heard of dMult...what is it? I think O'Neal having the best defensive rating on the team alongside Wade (Magloire had the best drtg but played very few minutes), while also being one of the best defensive post players in the league speaks enough to that he is a very capable defender. 1) In regards to Joel Anthony, Kendrick Persons also did NOTHING offensively his first few seasons in the league. He went from shooting 49% his 4th season to 61.5% shooting in his 5th, which was the Big 3's first season together. He was equally as foul prone in similar minutes, if not moreso. My point is that with so much offensive AND defensive talent on the roster, Anthony is going to look a whole lot better. He'll have more leeway defensively, and offensively he won't have to do much more than dunk the ball and finish easy plays off. I think he'll have a very nice season next year. I don't expect him to average many minutes, but he should be able to contribute a useful 20MPG. 2) I think it's very premature to say how Illgauskas will influence the game without seeing him on a team this talented and stacked. He's never been on a team with such good defenders on the perimeter, and hasn't been on a team that should KILL opponents on the boards. He's also never had anyone that has demanded defensive attention besides LeBron. My point is that you can't expect perfection when you are so limited in finances. The Heat got a guy who is 7'3'', can effectively defend and box out some of the bigger Centers in the league, has a consistent midrange game that will be important in spacing the floor, etc... Really, that's a decent amount of value for a vet minimum Center. 3) Kurt Thomas would have been nice, but I wouldn't say he's marginally better than Illguaskas. Theo Ratliff hasn't played in 50 games any of the last 4 seasons while Illgauskas has been very reliable since his foot injuries early in his career. Brad Miller? I don't know the terms of his contract off the top of my head, but I would assume it's considerably more than the vet minimum. And if it is, the Heat would have been CRAZY to waste cap space on him instead of Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. Also, I fully believe Z/Haslem/Miller and a few others were signed with great influence by James/Wade since they already have built chemistry with them.

Very nice with the "his efforts didn't end up mattering anyway" snarky line when he was the best offensive player on the floor for the Celtics that game, and who hit a huge three to make it close within two minutes left when the Lakers were pulling away. Jermaine still has to prove that he can provide even the relatively modest numbers Wallace put up. Just because he's slipping into a lesser role doesn't always mean that he'll be able to meet responsibilities needed of him. One thing about Wallace---he also was a disaster last regular season. It's not as if he had a successful regular season as a 5th/6th option. What if O'Neal takes a similar trajectory, but bombs in the playoffs as well? My point is that players who are used to falling when needed don't always come through in lesser roles. Habits are habits. O'Neal has a negative Offensive Win Share for his playoff career. That's pretty bad. O'Neal's post defense may be fine, but his dMult was slightly below average on a good defensive team. For the sake of discretion, Rasheed Wallace had a worse dMult for last year, but he sleptwalked through the entire regular season. BasketballProspectus doesn't have playoff-only statistics on their player page but Wallace simply plays defense at a higher level. For example, how do you chart post up stats where Wallace successfully fronts the post and denies an entry pass? O'Neal almost exclusively plays behind defenders, yet when you look at Boston in the playoffs, Wallace is three-quartering, pushing centers out of the post, getting his hands in front of entry passes, and making pinpoint rotations when teammates are getting beat. We saw that against Cleveland, Orlando, and Los Angeles. Have we seen Jermaine O'Neal do that? Then there's the minutia of O'Neal being a poor screen-setter. Then there's the fact that he's as big an injury risk as anyone in the NBA. Is there some All-Star caliber defender out there? Perhaps not, but creative teams will always find ways to fill holes. Just because O'Neal's possibly the best of bad options, doesn't make him a good option. Anthony also came out of the womb with three personal fouls and has zero offensive skills. I like Anthony a ton as a limited-minutes backup, and I like Haslem a ton as a medium-minutes backup at the four, but between he, Bosh, and Ilgauskas there will be openings near the basket so long as those are your centers. The Heat will probably be a top-10 defensive team next year too. I understand how good the organization is at protecting poor defenders. Heck, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams started on a title team. But Ilgauskas is just a body. He does nothing to influence a game against good teams. Opponents will leave him to double elsewhere. The Cavs played him in only three games against the Celtics last year for good reason. If you want to sign a bargain basement guy who won't contribute much offensively, why not just sign Theo Ratliff as your 5th big? Why not sign Kurt Thomas? Why not sign Brad Miller who's a lot like Ilgauskas but can pass? These are precious roster spots, they can't be wasted.

Rashard Lewis

I think you're really grasping at straws, man. Wallace shot sub-42% from the field and sub-35% from 3 in the post-season. No matter how you cut it, that's not exactly impressive. Not something so out of reach that JO can't match or at least make up for (as he surpassed 52% EFG in the 2006 and 2009 post-seasons). And again, we're not talking about Indiana or Miami Jermaine O'Neal in terms of what is needed from him. I think that's the biggest reason you felt Rasheed had an abberation of a post-season last year...he was a bench player and a 4th or 5th option virtually everytime he was on the floor, as opposed to in the past where his flaws were glaring because he was a featured player. He didn't really play any differently (sans Game 7 in LA, where his efforts didn't end up mattering anyway), it's just that you appreciate what he does offer when he isn't looked to as a primary weapon. JO will have the same role, possibly even less because the Celtics will be deeper than last year in the frontcourt. As for defensively, you can't realistically expect the Celtics to get a defensive player with such little off-season payroll as good as Wallace was. JO is a very solid defender who is very good at defending post-players, can block a few shots and isn't horrible on his rotations. On a team with a good amount of defensive talent and a terrific defensive gameplan, his defense will get better on the Celtics. I'm not saying he'll turn into an All-NBA defender, but often times players get better defensively when they are on the right team with the proper structure. As it is, he was a good defender to begin with. The thing is, Miami won't need Z to play major minutes in either the regular or post-season. They have a really, really good defender in Joel Anthony that caused guys like Bynum tons of trouble last year by properly fronting the post as well as blocking shots on the weakside. Howard and Haslem can play most bigs with success as well at the PF and C positions. Even Magloire isn't a bad defender if they need a big body to be put on Dwight for spot minutes. Even IF Dwight goes off on the Heat, he's going to have a lot of problems staying out of foul trouble against 3 of the top 8 players in the league last year in FT's made. Every year LeBron and Wade rip apart the Magic's defense. Bosh dropped 40 a year or two ago on them. The Heat have arguably even greater depth than the Magic with better talent. Dwight won't beat the Heat. His flash in the pan offensive showings is something Wade/Bosh/James can do on a nightly basis if the Heat need it. Also, the Heat have been top 10 in defense virtually every season since Wade was drafted. That's with a few totally different rosters top-to-bottom, 3 different coaches, them going from Shaq to being very undersized, etc... The organization will always have a defensive identity as long as Riley is in some position of prominence, and they made some huge upgrades on that side of the floor. They will figure out a gameplan to minimize Z's flaws just like they have done with so many players over the years. Offensively he doesn't even have to hit a shot; stand 15ft out and force the defense to pay attention to him so the lanes open a bit for Wade/James/Bosh. Anything else is gravy.

More cops. There is no reason to get pulled over by a cop and ticketed unless you deserve it, and with less cops, even more stupid crimes and shootings would go unnoticed.

Oh yeah, I saw a huge billboard for Marcin Gortat while over there. It was on one of the buildings on the way to the school. He was like doing a milk advertisement, or something. Pretty cool.

Well just throwing this out there, wilt chamberlain said hes had sex with 20,000 women, so I guess he is the nba's greatest "scorer"