Real Deal

Wade is supposed to be out, and LeBron is now a game-time decision with an illness.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120118_DET@MIN

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120118_SA@ORL

Nice. Keep that in mind the next time you talk about clutch stats. If every basket is equal, don't ever talk about clutch points again, or else I'll roll in with an opposing first-quarter run of points that rival someone like Wade's 15-point fourth quarter...and you really won't have anything to say about it, since points are points. When I talk basketball, I consider everything, from strategies and fatigue to momentum and lineup changes. My apologies. Even without the significance in games (yours or mine), one shot each game separates the 45's from the 50's...and that's quite funny when you consider just how blown up a 50% season is in topics discrediting anyone lower than that.

LOL, I'd stop arguing as well. If Howard became a 70% FT shooter, teams wouldn't pull the Hack-A-Shaq on him. If you're not going to consider the possible changes made to offensive and defensive strategies (that are inevitable), there's no point in discussing it any further. The best part of it all is, I could just distribute those shot makes in some of his worst games, or in blowouts against the Lakers, and make it even worse for you to argue against, but I won't. Fun stuff. One extra shot per game isn't that impressive, anyway...that's the bigger picture, tossing everything else aside. That 50% shooting isn't that godly after all.

Cool. One extra win, maybe two, possibly. Maybe Kobe's extra basket means he sits out a bit more for the third quarter, and the Lakers blow the lead a little more, and we may lose one game...who knows. But I digress. Welll, 6-9 points (three players doing this) is going to be more significant, and I never said I was going that far with it. That's basically adding 15% to Kobe's FG% (three extra makes). That's not the argument. A two-point bucket in a tied game, final minute, doesn't necessarily put the game out of reach...but a 6-9 point run does. That's entirely different, no matter when it happens.

I actually had a cool topic to post, about Reggie's TS% over the years, but after seeing Martin's, it really ruined it for me, so I won't elaborate. I didn't think Martin's TS% was nearly 60% for his career.

I never twisted anything. I've been saying it the entire time...you can't prove to me that one shot in the first quarter would change the entire outlook of a one-point loss. Maybe Kobe takes a couple of his shots after that, instead of the second quarter, and he tires quicker...or the Heat stick LeBron on him. What I said is true. Unless that shot comes at the very end of a one-point game, to win it, there is no way you cay say an extra two points, in any minute of the 48, will change the result of the game. True or false? So the difference between 45% and 50% is just 82 shots in an 82-game season. That's eye-opening. Also, it's not about Kobe. I should have used another player, but the argument was about him from another site. Had I said Monta Ellis, I'm sure you would have related it all to Bryant, though.

So, with all of this said, you do realize that Kevin Martin is far, far more "efficient" than Michael Jordan, right?

If it means Deron Williams in Los Angeles, I'll watch Troy Murphy play center. I'm not watching Andrew Bynum in a suit again.

Yeah, but again, those shots only assure you those wins if they are at the very end of the game. If Kobe makes one extra shot, and it comes in the first quarter...that doesn't mean they will win the game they lost...it means the Lakers have two extra points in the first (and really, it doesn't even assure that). What if the Lakers are up by one point going into the fourth, instead of being down one point? Maybe the opposing team brings in LeBron earlier, or Kobe sits a minute longer. Nobody can say that one extra shot changes a one-point finale. My point is, unless the shot comes at the very end of the game, that one extra shot is not necessarily that significant...and because of that, the 5% difference isn't THAT big of a deal.

Ian Mahinmi is not Dwyane Wade?

Dirk hits a crazy 35-foot fadeaway?!?!?!

BFT, don't you EVER talk shit on Billups, again!!!!! Same to me! ^_^

BILLUPS FOR CHUCK!

Clippers ball. Come on.

Billups for chuck?!?!

What the [expletive]? The Clippers are stupid. Where the hell did Jordan go?

Dirk time?

Bynum is from New Jersey. Nets, please, just do it and be happy about it. Don't look back. You'll be okay!

IF that shot comes at the end of the game. That is really the only way we can be sure that shot changes the loss to a win (or, actually a tie if we're talking 2-3 points...which doesn't guarantee anything). Well, sure...but there are guys that shoot 42% consistently, also.

DIRK KNOWS IT'S A JUMP BALL.

Anyone else anticipate that Billups shot? I was pretty sure he was going to launch that baby.

Nice spin move and handles by Blake.

Horrible spacing...Jordan tries to get involved in the offense a little too much, sometimes.