Real Deal

LOL, this is rigged, or something. I just want to know if the NFL asked the Raiders to do shit like this, for entertainment purposes.

Ugh.

Replying to everything else just means I'm going to continue repeating what I said earlier, but this... Come on, dude. You are the guy that sits here and says that McGrady could have been better than Kobe...but if you sit him aside, all of those players are better than Iverson AND Drexler (and I know you'll argue for T-Mac...keep in mind that he was a shooter, far more range than Iverson and Clyde both, so I'm not surprised that his percentage was decent). Both don't even come close to Kobe and LeBron. We know what those guys were capable of, regardless of who was on their team...not necessarily regarding their team's success, but on an individual level. LeBron had shooters and defense lined up, and he was both the primary scorer and facilitator, penetrating and hitting all of his teammates much like Iverson was asked to do many times throughout his career...but to compare the two? No point in that, no reason to even bring LeBron up, because James is already the greater player (and better, overall). And as far as leading the team in assists goes, that wasn't exactly my point. Snow and McKie were no Terry Porter...not even close, and I'm definitely not saying that Iverson would have won a championship with Porter in 2001, but damn, it would have at least helped throughout the years. Eric Snow was absolute trash without Iverson by his side, and McKie only had a good season or two in his career, anyway. Those guys fed off AI more than anything, and even with Snow out there throwing 5-7 assists a night (only happened in Philly, by the way), it was Iverson racking up his 6-7 as well (Snow and Iverson threw seven each in the 2003-04 season, and Iverson was at 5.5 APG the two previous seasons before that, Snow only one more per game).

Teams took more threes a game (and generally, longer jumpers) because of the illegal defense change. Even Jason Kidd talked about this (he was on the only team in the pre-00's that took over 23 threes per game...the 1996 Mavericks), and logically, it makes perfect sense. Because the zone defense basically targets players EXACTLY like Allen Iverson, you saw him suffer because, quite frankly, he never did have a legitimate, reliable, second scorer next to him until he found Carmelo Anthony in Denver (Stackhouse wasn't that reliable in Philly). At one point, Theo Ratliff and Matt Geiger were the next two leading scorers for the Sixers, and that's just sad. What happened when Iverson went to Denver? His FG% shot up to 45%, which was actually quite high for him. Clyde had help. Kiki was there for what...4-5 seasons? After that, in the late 80's...he had Kersey (who was putting up pretty nice offensive numbers and was a defensive beast), Duckworth (two-time all-star in Portland) and Porter (two-time all-star in Portland that ran the offense). Iverson NEVER had that. Aside from Mutombo and Ratliff (who were not even close to the offensive weapons Drexler had), Stackhouse playing good every three games for the Sixers...he didn't have a teammate that could genuinely give him rest in Philly. Iverson was both the primary scorer and the facilitator. Drexler was fortunate to have Terry Porter by his side for most of his career as a Blazer, and also have guys like Kiki (who was putting up huge scoring numbers) and both Kersey (around 15-20 a night) and Duckworth (same as Kersey). Once the team started to break up, Cliff Robinson came in and put up 20 a night, and Rod Strickland was running the offense. Against better defensive teams, and zone defenses at that...Iverson had the ball much more than Drexler AND was forced to do more with it. I can't believe I'm actually defending Iverson (never liked him, because my younger brother was shoving him down my throat and bashing Kobe at the same time back in the early 00's), but it's all true. And I'm not saying that Iverson isn't at fault for some of those turnovers, but I put more weight on the defensive teams, and the role he was playing, if we're going to compare AI and Clyde. Kiki Vandeweghe, Jim Paxson, Mychal Thompson, Jerome Kersey, Kevin Duckworth, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Rod Strickland...all of those guys averaged 18-19+ PPG alongside Drexler back in Portland. Stackhouse (one season + 22 games, sophomore in the NBA), Coleman (for 116 games, injured, playing poorly), Iguodala, and a 32-year old Chris Webber...those are the players that reached 18+ PPG and that's what Iverson had in Philly. Iverson may not have found his way to a championship ring behind Carmelo (like Drexler did behind Hakeem), and he didn't carry the Sixers to a second NBA Finals, but a big reason is because he didn't have a team to carry in the first place, much like McGrady didn't in Orlando. I don't think Clyde would have been able to reach the Finals with the team that Iverson had in 2001, when you consider the teammates, the offense + the role he would have, and the defensive rule changes. I would bet my house on it. Clyde didn't carry Portland to the Finals in 1990. That team had four 16+ PPG scorers on it, and none scoring 24 a night...with Porter running the offense. There was no doubt that Clyde was "the man" from that squad, but he didn't carry that team. The 1992 squad was more Clyde than the 1990 team, but he still had more help than Iverson did in 2001. So, it's hard to say what you're posting because Iverson didn't have those opportunities. We see what it's like to team with Carmelo Anthony...and while people may have had high expectations, we know that wasn't going to work out like it did for LeBron/Wade (two similar players on the same team, in regards to their distinct roles). I'm still surprised when I go back and see the 2001 Sixers in the Finals, and shocked that they beat my Lakers one game in the series, ruining our perfect 15-0 in the playoffs (thanks to Iverson's 48). That team was ranked in the middle of the league on offense, and not even top three defensively...but Iverson averaged 33 or so a night, and over 46 minutes a game (both in the playoffs), to take his team to that destination, with Aaron McKie being the only scoring threat on the floor next to him...and shit, McKie shot almost as bad as Iverson did that postseason. I like Clyde. I just can't say he's better than Iverson. More efficient, better rebounder and shot-blocker (of course), but that's all.

That they CAN alter prices. Are we asking what policies and actions, specifically? I mean, what happens if we start drilling? What happens if we drop a bomb on Saudi Arabia, for some crazy ass reason? Either way, the recession brought gas prices down from over $4/gal (summer 2008) to what...near $1.60/gal in January 2009? I know it's hard to admit, but the economy has been gradually doing better...and for that reason, gas prices are going to increase. At that point, blame starts to head out East, specifically the Middle East, and that would be a reason why he would ever back away from that stance.

Nothing really stands out, aside from the efficiency, and back in the 80's and early 90's, guards were FAR more efficient than they have been since the zone became legal. I actually found 74 instances of it, in Jordan's era (well, from 1984-96), that a player averaged 15+ PPG and shot 50% or better from the floor...while it's not as common today. Iverson wasn't a great defensive player, but he did show very solid defensive ratings (I know you like those) and he was a hell of a ball thief, and I'd say that AI was a better defender than Clyde (not by much, because I really don't care about the defensive ratings in their primes, think they were altered quite a bit by their teammates, but whatever). So you have a better scorer, arguably better defender, and a guy that carried his team on his back much more. Iverson got to the line far more, and easier, than Drexler, and even passed the ball slightly better (although Clyde was an underrated passer, nobody gives him credit for it). I really don't know about Gervin. To be honest, that's a coin flip to me...but the Iceman basically did everything that Clyde did, but scored the ball better. I'm sure Clyde had more range on his shot, but Gervin was the better defender. I don't know.

Gas was hitting record highs before Obama took office. http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/21/news/economy/record_gas_monday And it continued to increase. Did it double in price? I wasn't aware that it was at $6.40 a gallon now. It hit a low, then bumped back up. If I recall correctly, it was well over $4/gal (the average) back in the summer of 2008, higher than it has ever been, and that was pre-Obama.

1) Jordan 2) Kobe 3) West 4) Wade 5) Iverson Gervin would be 6th, Drexler 7th, on my list.

The GOP is a joke. The funniest part about all of this is...they had a better chance of winning this election with (gulp) Ron Paul as their candidate.

LOL.

Nevermind, I'm in.

I won two years ago, placed second last year. I might be content with that, lol...haven't paid much attention to the NFL this off-season, so I don't know much.

http://zipmeme.com/uploads/generated/g1337436914921846786.jpg

I know a lot of you downloaded it. What do you think? I didn't like anything he did on it. Cole made him sound weak in Green Ranger.

k.

Watched it last night at the IMAX. Holy shit. Perfect place to watch it. I thought Bane was pretty good...but as everyone else is saying, definitely no Joker. His tactics were far more devastating, though, and he was planted as a huge threat from the start of the movie. Being more of a terrorist, and a guy that didn't give a damn if Batman was dead or not...his "madness" was a little more interesting, but Joker (as a whole) made TDK the movie to beat, for the simple fact that Ledger literally died turning himself into a madman. Honestly, only the little things bothered me...like, near the end...why the hell was Batman taking so long to load up the bomb? Catwoman kissed him, he just had to tell Gordon that he was Bruce Wayne...and I understand that we were supposed to be under the impression that he was going to lose his life to save Gotham, but still... I'm also assuming Joker was locked up in Arkham Asylum, right? Otherwise, why wasn't he with the prisoners when they were released by Bane? I thought it was pretty cool that the movie was similar to Arkham City (the Batman game), in that all of these criminals were roaming the streets, and it was snowing, and the city was ruined. The Riddler would have been great in this movie, but I'm assuming that he would be reserved for a future installment (just in case Nolan wanted to open the book again).

He should be good to go now.

I wasn't sure about Kyrie, Curry or CP3...but I knew for a fact that Nash had the better mid-range shot. Nash has been one of the greatest shooting PG's in NBA history (in my opinion, the greatest). I can't recall a better shooter at that position, in regards to every shot from 24 feet in (plus free throws).

At restaurants, and sometimes at my parents' house (or my brother's place), but I try to keep it out of my fridge, or I'll drink far too much of it. And as far as the milk goes, I'm an addict. I can drink a half gallon of milk each day, easily...and I've been through a gallon in 24 hours a few times. Recently, I've been drinking a lot of Powerade Zero and water, though...and still, a lot of milk...but not as much as I used to.

1a) Mario Chalmers 1b) Chris Paul 2) Deron Williams 3) Derrick Rose 4) Rajon Rondo 5) Steve Nash I just can't stick D-Will over CP3. Paul was pretty damn good last season, and is a better defensive player. If we're going to consider all players at full health, Rose is top three. Rondo is the better defensive player, better passer, but Rose carries his team on his back. Rondo hasn't had that opportunity for an entire season yet, and that's not fair, but what can I say? The fifth spot was between Nash, Parker and Westbrook. It's tough for me to stick Westbrook in there, just because he plays like a two-guard most of the time. Between Parker and Nash, I'll take the guy that can shoot lights out and pass the ball better.

Funny. I wonder how Sessions feels about this, since he left LA mainly because he didn't want to play backup to Steve Nash. His decision landed him on one of the worst teams in NBA history, possibly missing out on a championship or two in the near future.

Mario Chalmers is actually my favorite player on the Heat, and from Kansas. Being biased, I still can't take him seriously when he says this.

I doubt anyone will say that Wade was horrible, but him dropping 22/5/5 isn't going to topple Bryant's 28/5/5, even if he's more efficient (his TS% isn't much higher, anyway). Bryant still has more range, he's still receiving more defensive pressure than Wade is, and he's got a better post game...and I'll take Kobe's contested jumpers over Wade's any day of the week. Playoff numbers were similar to regular season in that Kobe averaged 30/5/4, while Wade was at 23/5/4, but both shot a 53% TS%. There's nothing there that tells me Wade was better last season back on the offensive end, and their allowed eFG% and allowed PER were probably similar, also (if I recall correctly, they were close, within 1% of each other), so there wasn't much there on the defensive end, either.

Adam Morrison 2, LeBron James 1. Okay.

Well, if Dirk, Garnett, and Duncan were all younger...suddenly, Love wouldn't be top three anymore (and they all played together in their primes, so let's just pick a year...2003). It goes back to my argument in that topic: can you say that those three I named would have been better playing the "Robin" role in their prime, or were their respective teams smart for building around them? Kevin Love could be a better Robin, and if there's any doubt that he can't have a team built around him, I just can't call him a legitimate, set-in-stone franchise player. As it stands, Stoudemire is playing second-fiddle to Carmelo back in New York, and Bosh is the third wheel in Miami. Gasol is in his thirties. You can't take a step back and call any of them franchise players right now. You can still make an argument for Dirk, but he's coming off of a poor season (when compared to his others), and he's entering the upcoming season with a different squad.