Real Deal

Last season, Ariza attempted 10+ FGA a night, shot below 40%, third scoring option on the Hornets (behind West and Paul). The previous season, with Houston, he attempted 14 FGA a game, shot under 40%, third scoring option behind Brooks and Martin. Before that, he was a key player on the 2009 Lakers championship team, shooting around 46% and just seven shots a night...which was behind Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Drew, and even Fisher. Is Trevor a legitimate third scoring option, or should he be limited to under ten shots a night?

There's no doubt the backup PG position will be open for competition in Portland. It's a given Felton will start. What do you expect from Nolan Smith in his rookie season? Will the Blazers give him a fair shake as a backup guard? Do you think he can work his way into 15-20 MPG, or even among the top ten rookies of the year?

http://otrbasketball.com/kings/roster.php DeMarcus Cousins C Tyreke Evans G Jimmer Fredette G Francisco Garcia G-F Donte Greene F J.J. Hickson F Tyler Honeycutt F John Salmons G-F Isaiah Thomas G Jason Thompson F Hassan Whiteside C-F Does Jimmer start at all during the season, or are you dead set on bringing him off the bench for an entire season?

A lot of the time, you'll hear about Phil's 11 championships, but most of the casual fans give credit to MJ, Kobe and Shaq before they mention Phil (and, even die-hard fans consider the work done ON the court being worth more than on the sidelines). Popovich has four championships with the Spurs, all with Tim Duncan, three with the Spurs' well-known trio of Timmy, Manu and Parker. He's a high-IQ coach that has knowledge of every aspect of the game of basketball, and coaches like Mike Brown have learned everything they know from him (in that case, defense, turning Cleveland into an elite defensive team and giving them a Finals berth in 2007 against...well, the Spurs, lol). Where does Pop rank among all coaches in NBA history? Is he top three, up there with Phil and Red?

This team isn't going to contend, so it's your job to make sure they will. This one move may not put them into contention, but it's a step in the right direction. If you were the GM, what is that one move you make? Here's the roster: http://otrbasketball.com/jazz/roster.php Is it time to trade Jefferson? Do you throw Devin Harris out there in a package deal that includes Millsap? How important is Favors, at this point? Can you find a diamond in the rough through free agency?

Hey so yeah, I don't like thinking about Ben Wallace or the 2004 Detroit Pistons. HISTORY. Thanks Nitro! FYI - Yes, Ben was the best defender in that era, and I can't name anyone else who I'd consider over him, even though KG and Timmy were true anchors.

Be specific...what type of player (position and style) would compliment John Wall the best? Obviously, Wall is in it for the long run, and he's going to need help to turn the Wizards into a contender.

Fine, I'll play the devil's advocate to get the discussion going. To be honest, Bargnani is actually an underrated reboundehahahahaha, nevermind, I can't do this.

No big deal, right? Shaq just knows that his talking gets him in the spotlight more than his playing (has been that way for a few years now), and even more now that he's done playing. I really have no idea why he'd say something like that, though (there are many other things to talk about)...but it's Shaq.

Okay, well, I'll take both if I'm building a team. Howard is right there with him. Still can't take either over Dennis, though.

If Howard had a CP3 or a Deron Williams throwing him lobs and perfect post entry passes, again, Orlando would be in the Finals. The offense is built for the three, not Dwight. While SVG may want his team to play inside-out, they can't because none of them can throw the post entry, none of them can penetrate and dish to Dwight under the rim (ala Kobe/Shaq), and none of them can draw enough defensive attention to give Howard room to operate. We've seen this over and over again, though. Why not talk about his defense? He's the best defensive player since Dennis Rodman (the GOAT defender). Howard's defense is better than most anyone's offense in the NBA, and it's really the only reason why Orlando makes the playoffs. If people thought the Cavaliers hit rock bottom when LeBron left, I'd hate to see what would happen to this exact Magic squad if Howard took off (or was injured an entire season). -------- As far as Howard defending his own man, there's no other way to determine how well he does that other than stats, and without digging up those numbers (the allowed FG%), he has been one of the best in the league every time I look those stats up. He was holding his opponents to 45% shooting (yes, centers), and I'm sure not even Tim Duncan was able to pull that off back in 2007 (when he went to the Finals), and Duncan was defending a lot of PF, who shoot lower percentages.

Add Terrico White to the list. He hasn't played enough to be cut out of the picture just yet. The man can jump out of the building, and while he could just be a shorter James White (all athleticism, no substance), there's still a bit of potential there. T-MAC IS DONE. GET OVER IT. But maybe not.

If people were giving James a pass back when he was in Cleveland, they better do the same with Howard in Orlando...because, quite frankly, the Magic are ranked dead last in defense without Howard, and a top five with him (which is astounding, and I'm not sure if I can name another player that has ever done that with a team before). And, he's super efficient with an improving offensive game, 20+ PPG on top of that, and the ability to completely tear into a defense and erupt for 40+ (and that's with 2-3 people on him). People give Shaq a lot of crap for not being able to score very many 50's in his career, but there's a reason for that. At least Shaq had arguably the best player in the NBA, at that time, as his teammate. Give Dwight Howard a superstar teammate (Durant), and suddenly, shit gets real in Orlando. Dwight would average 25-30 a night, easily, with Durant getting his 25-30, Howard starts racking up assists because he actually has someone to pass to, and Orlando goes to the Finals. I'll put it this way: Orlando was 16th in FG% last year (near/below average). They were a respectable 10th in 3PT%. Unfortunately, they were 27th in assists. The Magic didn't pass the ball, and that's partially because they didn't convert shots when they DID pass the ball. There was no strategy to play inside-out, because their opponents would allow them to launch threes all game long (ranked 1st in 3PT attempts, by the way), and as the old saying goes, "Live by the three, die by the three." Orlando is toxic for Dwight Howard. Despite everything he does for the team (basically everything), they are still an average NBA squad...and almost none of that rests on Howard's shoulders.

It's really up to you now (or, well, up to him). I'm done trying to keep him here.

Yeah, he knew the animals were going to cause problems. That's exactly why he did that. I just don't understand why no tranquilizers were used, but I'm assuming a lot of these animals were loose in residential areas, and in that case, there's really no time to set up something like that.

That's not exactly what I read. It wasn't a zoo. The guy didn't have a permit for all of those animals, and many of them were dangerous (including the 300-pound Bengal tigers and a monkey with a deadly herpes B virus), and he let them all go to cause havoc right before he committed suicide.

I wouldn't leave LeBron out of my top five, but a great deal of what they are saying is true. Physical talent, LeBron is easily on top of the league. Factor in everything, and he's #4 on my list, behind Wade, Kobe, and Howard (mix the order however you want, I can make an argument for all three at #1). The one thing that's hurting LeBron is the fact that he can't adjust very well, because he has one speed. He still doesn't have that post game, something he would MURDER teams with if they weren't giving him the lane. He still doesn't hit free throws over 80%, which is bad for a guy that can get to the line 10-15 times any given night. He doesn't play off the ball, at all, unless he's going for an oop at the rim (and good defensive teams don't allow that every play). He's not a good enough three-point shooter to rely on his long range shot when the opponent is pushing him out to the three. Deep down, I was worried that, if the Lakers didn't stop the Heat in the Finals, nobody was going to. LeBron had Wade and Bosh, Haslem was back, and the Heat were clicking and obviously set as the best team in the East, once they found an identity on the offensive end. However, nothing came of it, and this is the result. I'm not going to put Durant or Melo over LeBron. Quite frankly, neither play defense or have the passing ability LeBron does. CP3 doesn't take over games like James, and while he's a good defensive player, he's only defending one position. LeBron is all over the court. So, in no particular order...Kobe, Howard, Wade...and then you can give me LeBron.

Currently, you're on nine members' block list. That's second among all members since the rebirth of OTR (don't have stats for the first run), first among active members. Only PointForwardGuy has appeared on more lists, with 11, and he's no longer with us. Third (who I won't name) is on just two block lists. I just think that would be vital information for you, since you absolutely love it when people read your posts. You're slowly losing respect as a credible poster here, and it's not really due to what you know or don't know, it's how you present it.

Patriots Ravens Chargers Raiders Bills Bengals Steelers Would you say the Raiders are a top five AFC team right now? Why or why not?

TIME: 8:30 PM ET TV: ESPN

TIME: 8:20 PM ET TV: NBC

TIME: 4:15 PM ET TV: FOX

TIME: 4:15 PM ET TV: FOX

TIME: 4:05 PM ET TV: CBS

TIME: 4:05 PM ET TV: CBS