Real Deal

Alright LUOL, it's time to step your game up. You're the second all-star on this team, buddy.

Lawson will try to go ballistic against us in Denver. All we need to do is control the tempo, and have our bench play decent ball (not even that great, just decent enough to not blow a big lead).

Most non-Laker fans do, lol. I didn't hate the Knicks until this series with the Heat...thought they would do SOMETHING, but now I just want them to be swept, so they make drastic changes and come back strong next season.

Nikola Pekovic? Jeremy Lin? Andrew Bynum? Danny Green?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/story/2012-05-04/ryan-anderson-most-improved/54745184/1

Would have posted it at around 12:10 PM, if I didn't have my head buried in basketball-reference.com's website. I hate your Knicks, still.

I don't like Blake anymore, but the fact that he will be catching oops all game long is intriguing. He would also be a dominant rebounder against most of those players overseas, and if you stick him in the game with Tyson Chandler, his lack of defense won't hurt us as much (and in the Olympics, his athleticism will provide us with shot-blocking against some of the big men we'll face, then we can sit him longer against teams like Spain and Argentina, who have bigs he will struggle defending). Usually, we pull away from the less talented teams by running...and at PF, there's really no better player to have if you're going to run the break as much as possible.

I know most of you saw this on TV (if you were watching the game), but this is shocking...didn't realize this until they brought it up. https://twitter.com/#!/ESPNStatsInfo/status/198449025844912128 I'll break it down... 2004: 4-1 loss vs. Minnesota, first round 2005: 4-1 loss vs. San Antonio, first round 2006: 4-1 loss vs. LA Clippers, first round 2007: 4-1 loss vs. San Antonio, first round 2008: 4-0 loss vs. LA Lakers, first round 2009: 4-2 loss vs. LA Lakers, WCF 2010: 4-2 loss vs. Utah, first round 2011: 4-0 loss vs. Boston, first round 2012: down 3-0 vs. Heat, first round That's two sweeps (may be three after Game 4 vs. Heat), eight first-round losses. By the way, no, McGrady has not played 50 playoff games...just in case you're wondering.

How do you approach this series vs. the Nuggets, if you win Game 3? We would go into Game 4 with the potential to sweep...but if we were to sweep, we have to play our first two games against OKC (they will beat DAL) without Ron Artest, who is vital when having to contain Kevin Durant. Quite frankly, I still say we just try and win the series ASAP, value the rest more...but I'm not sure if I will give a damn if this LA/DEN series goes five OR six games. If it does go six, we get Ron for Game 1 vs. OKC.

I doubt Lin would try and play on a bad knee. If he returns, it's because he can absorb contact and has no pain for an extended amount of practice time. And a turnover-prone Jeremy Lin still produces ball movement, which is what the Knicks need badly right now. Baron and Bibby aren't going to get to the rim and create for anyone, including Novak, and all the Knicks can do is hope for Melo dropping 40 on efficient shooting (HA) and JR Smith becoming a young Vince Carter (another HA).

I bet my friend $10 the Knicks would win just one game in this series...and that was all gambling on Jeremy Lin's return. So, we'll see about Game 4, but at this point, down 3-0, I doubt that will even help.

OKC cruised. This reminds me of the LA/DAL series from last year, roles reversed.

No confidence in New York. I see Melo trying to do something big, but he's not going to beat a team by himself because you have to defend to beat the Heat. Chandler's time is now. He's going to have to turn on "full defensive anchor" mode, and completely shut out the paint, hoping that the Knicks have enough firepower to keep up on the offensive end. Hold Miami to around 90 points, and you have a chance. Huge task, but the Heat are 4-12 on the season when they score 90 or less, and obviously have a lot of trouble when their offense isn't clicking. Too difficult for them to win those "grind it out" games like others can.

He's not limping, doesn't look like he's having trouble shooting off of that leg, either. I don't think any of the fanbase has thought about it since he returned. This Kobe, the one playing right now, may be the best we've seen this season. He's dominating Afflalo and [insert name here], and still being passive and letting others get theirs. If he really wanted it, he could have dropped 40+ in both of these first games (wish he would have had one more basket to do it in Game 2), and he is doing it without getting to the line often (just seven FT's in Game 2, and two threes, but 38 points).

Just a case of others giving Lakers fans a hard time, that's all, lol. Welcome to the site.

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2117/iguanahumor.jpg

No Bosh tonight? I guess his wifey went into labor in Miami, flew home overnight.

I get told I have a quick release, and it's nearly one-handed. I don't bring my left hand up enough on my shot, sometimes dropping it slightly under my chin once I elevate, but it has changed because of my eye situation. If I have my other hand up, part of my arm (or the hand, depends on where it's at and where I'm shooting from) can get in the way, and cause my shot to be off quite a bit. It's weird how things work, once you lose vision in one eye. I can't see a damn thing out of my left, but certain angles and light interfere with my good eye BECAUSE of that useless one (no shapes or distinct images, but sometimes, it seems like I can see reflections of shadows and faint light, which "mix" in with what I see out of my good eye). It's pretty effective...and I can shoot really, really, really well...but it's still an abnormal shot, nonetheless. I think it's a bit more difficult to block, though, because my body turns slightly, and I get the ball out of my hands quicker, a bit more elevation. I need to get a video of it.

Would be nice if Utah had Deron Williams for this series. This should be a beating, really.

I think Memphis will be better prepared tonight, but for me, it all depends on CP3's desire to take over this game.

Well, I wouldn't go as far as saying he's not the overall #1, because I would definitely take him over everyone else...but there are a lot of guys out there who like Beal quite a bit, and think he can be a better player than Davis, right out of the gates and for the future.

See, I can understand if someone wants to call him Marcus Camby, but going all out and saying he's the next Hakeem reminded me of the bullshit with Rubio and the Pistol Pete comparisons. Both excellent players (Rubio and Davis), but you can't reach that far.

Oh damn...I forgot, this could be McGrady's final chance to get out of the first round. :o Josh Smith busted his knee. Could be huge. Joe Johnson scores the ball for this team, but I'd like to think that Smith is the MVP.

If Philadelphia were to play like they did near the beginning of the season, they could actually take this series 4-2...but I still have my doubts. Wouldn't be surprised to see this go to seven games.