Real Deal

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120125_NO@OKC

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120125_MIN@DAL

Who will be the bad ass graphics guy, that comes out of nowhere, and hooks these guys up?!?!?

Nevermind...may have fixed team reps for almost every active member over the last three days.

Since it's our anniversary...go edit your team reps to get the new icons. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=members (would have been nice to be able to keep the data, no idea why it always does that to us, haha) I'll edit some of your profiles myself, but won't be able to get to all of you.

What's up, Ryan? Haha, Kobe with the "WTF is going on? I don't care though" look. Yeah, we need an aggressive Gasol. I've said it plenty of times on another site...Gasol's presence in the post is a big deal, probably more important than Drew's, because Bynum is just unwilling to make plays from the block. No idea why...you can run doubles at him, triple teams, and he doesn't care. In our game against the Blazers a few weeks ago (whenever it was), Portland adjusted and ran doubles at him the entire second half, and it not only shut Drew down, but our entire team suffered because of what our offense demands (running through him in post plays). Gasol is a higher IQ player, a much better passer, and he knows when to back off and create.

DUDE. How have you been?

No reason to be surprised at this. I can safely assume that EG is still bitter about the deal, and I don't think he wants to play for a franchise that doesn't have an owner and is at a risk of being sold and moved to a new city.

Seven years is a very, very long time. :o I first installed the board back in 2005, when I was 21 years old. Incredible. A lot of the veterans were pretty young...some were 13-14 years old, to be exact, haha. Should I go for 20 more years, or...? I'm really glad I have a strong core for our community...even if we're much less active than we were back in the day. I'd rather talk basketball with you guys, than dive into a board of thousands of active members, barely getting a word in and having almost everything I type ignored. I may have created the site, but you guys decided to build it along the way. Thanks everyone. http://lakernation.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/81.gif EDIT: Just added... I'll edit some of your profiles myself, but won't be able to get to all of you.

We used to have a star-studded graphics crew here, before they all left for a graphics site (lol). We still have a few guys who can design signatures and walls, though...and are really good at it. I know Guru is a beast with Photoshop, and I think JYD makes walls pretty well. Need4Sheed was another, although I don't think he does much of that anymore (could be wrong). http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/51-graphics-discussion

Man, I love Blake Griffin, one of my favorite players to watch and I was a huge fan of him at Oklahoma (even though I disliked the Sooners)...but damn, he is flopping A LOT. I know a lot of superstars do, and Kobe used to say "HEEEEEY" (which got annoying), but Griffin is flopping about as much as CP3 does. I hope he doesn't get on that Manu or Raja level, or Vlade, because that's when I'll seriously just start to dislike him.

Must have flipped the switch again tonight.

When Ron steps up (better late than never) and we have at least one bench player doing SOMETHING, we have a shot. Helped that Gasol did his thing out there, tried getting to the rim more, getting more involved in the offense, instead of standing there and taking 16-footers. There are still big problems with our offense, though...but I'm hoping these problems will be resolved before March, because we can't settle for a bottom four seed.

He wants to get rid of the FDA altogether. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39a7mP1JoUA He is a nutcase. He wants to get rid of the minimum wage (LOL): I'm sure getting rid of the minimum wage would create more jobs for the poor...and they would still be poor, despite having a job, because companies would be able to pay them $2-3 an hour for doing labor worth more...which saves those companies a ton of money, and above all that, gives CEO's a chance to profit even more. This guy wants to get rid of income tax...completely. Sounds fun, but incredibly dumb. This almost tells me that Ron Paul doesn't want limited government, but absolutely NO government...because income tax is that steady stream of money to govern our country with. State income tax, same thing...he expects the state to handle most everything, including Medicare, but without that stream of money, how will these states pay for everything they currently support PLUS what else he'll pile on? Ron Paul is living in the United States...but his mind is in some fantasy land. Criminals will most definitely go out and buy guns without background checks. Terrorists will most definitely have it easier when trying to get on a plane. Countries will not shake our hands for ditching the UN, pulling out all of our military, and refusing aid to anyone else (basically becoming the world's loner). Without the EPA regulations, companies will take advantage of it, and pollution will be at an all-time high. Without the FDA, foods and drugs will be more dangerous and less regulated. Completely dropping the Department of Education? So what happens to those who can't afford to send their kids to a public school? Ah, they have to teach their kids at home, while the rich kids are still able to go to private schools and are given the best supplies, books and teachers. I have a gut feeling Ron Paul is going to get owned. Bad. His ideas would send our country straight into a depression...intentionally, as he stated, which is just downright ignorant.

You can't find me a single elite scorer, since 1985 (as far back as I could look), that had 0-1 points in a game playing over 30 minutes AND in their prime. No one other than Melo. I just went through a list of 684 guys that have started a game, 30+ minutes, 0-1 points, and not one of them was an elite scorer in the NBA and in their prime (saw a lot of Jason Kidd, Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman, lol). The closest was Paul Pierce, just last season, when he went 0-10...but Pierce has been out of his prime, and not considered an elite scorer, for a couple of years now. Crazy.

It doesn't have to be abused like that everywhere. How many people do meth at work? It's not abused everywhere, either...doesn't mean it should be legal. Well, to my knowledge, 15 or 16 have already. It's not up to Obama, ultimately. Congress rules all, and extending that statement, politics ruin all because of the power held by Congress. Yeah, the candidate that basically wants to flush education down the toilet and promote more private schooling or home schooling (means less resources for those who can't afford public school), ask the state to cover Medicare (lol, they can't even cover Medicaid without struggling, many deserving people would get the boot), ditch the FDA and EPA (so everyone in my city can die of cancer, due to our oil foundry and Sherwin Williams polluting the air without regulations), pull the US out of the United Nations (WTF), purposely watch the economy hit rock bottom and let the strongest survive (creative destruction) to eventually build it back up from that total economic collapse (even greater WTF), stop US aid to any and all causes outside of this country, get rid of public healthcare and let the lower class (or anyone who can't afford what needs to be done) rely on churches and free doctors (LMAO, thank God I got my eye surgeries before this crazy ass takes office)... That would be the end of the United States as we know it. If that were to happen, I put my life on it, I would move out of this country...already talked to my girlfriend about it the other day. It would make me ashamed to be an American.

Damn...he went off. You have to find the time to listen to the entire rant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKa-kKxs2J8

That would blow my mind...but then again, I won't say that it's impossible. However, he'll be third, at least. No doubt about that. He'll pass Shaq this season, could pass Moses Malone if he stays consistent (although it'll be a stretch). Wilt and Dr. J would be the two for next season (and Moses at the beginning of next season, possibly), then it's Jordan two years from now. After that, it's hard to imagine he'll catch Karl or Kareem.

You can rest assured that things would be a little different if bitter Republicans would stop kicking the can, delaying everything in hopes that Obama looks like a piece of shit in office, rather than letting him do his job and look better, eventually being re-elected. Just a bit about the medical weed BS...people are abusing it. Just two weeks ago, my father's boss fired a guy working a lift, high as hell, three machines down from my dad (which isn't very far, not sure how to describe that distance), and he dropped two boxes from 10 feet high OVER the machine he was near. Those boxes were full of heavy parts that would've killed anyone on the other side of that machine. Got sent home, and later fired, because he was high on the job, and now he's trying to sue because it was "medical marijuana" that he was supposed to smoke on his lunch break. The guy has been a pothead for decades, since he was in HS. The NSA wiretapping you're talking about was started by the Bush administration (part of the "President's Surveillance Program" started by Bush after the attacks). He didn't extend everything in the Patriot Act, by the way.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/02/president-obama-signed-the-national-defense-authorization-act-now-what

Worst offense in the NBA, even with an offensive-minded coach. I know Flip isn't Phil Jackson, but the Wizards just wouldn't listen, and I doubt they'll find a coach that will change this team for the better. Start making changes AROUND John Wall, big changes, before he takes a hike in 2-3 years.

Nope, I'm saying that going back to the way things were in the early 1900's won't accomplish anything. If you guys are pro-Paul, and want everything he does, Somalia needs a few people representing OTR. They don't have a government to intervene in anything, public education means nothing over there, you can have guns for any reason and get them without background checks (do background checks even exist there?), and there's no worry about the EPA or FDA telling their people what to do or what to eat.

For different reasons. Shaq just punked the young Kobe because he wasn't really someone that went to parties, celebrated with the team at big events, etc...and all of that was because he wasn't even old enough to drink, and was pretty reserved to begin with. I believe these are Derek Fisher's words. The biggest conflict was happening when Kobe was older, and became an all-star, climbing the superstar ladder. Coincidentally, it was around the time Phil took over the team, and the Lakers were in their dynasty years.

My point is, I'm not really sure what a PG will do if you're not getting an elite one (or someone that's very good). What non-elite PG (or non-all star) will take the ball out of Melo and Amare's hands? Both demand it, and I'm not so sure they will want to play any other way, so why not try and become a much better defensive team, one that defends the three, rebounds better, and contests shots better? Harris just isn't that guy you're looking for, anyway. I'm not even sure Baron Davis will make THAT big of an impact. If I'm a GM with both of my all-star players playing just on the offensive end of the court, I'm stacking defenders around them, and after that, I'll find a way to make the offense work, even if it means new coaching, or dealing Amare.

Points allowed isn't exactly the bread and butter of a defensive team. The Knicks are 21st in FG% allowed, and nearly dead last (29th) in 3PT% allowed. They are letting teams shoot 40% against them from three. By the way, the PPG allowed is 21st in the NBA...96.7 PPG.