Real Deal

By the way, they don't show the ping pong balls being pulled because they reveal a combination of numbers that are checked against a database supplied for these teams. With the top team having 250 different combinations, and a total of 1,000 combos to check the results with, you're talking about a long process if they were doing it by hand. Doing it by computer, though, is how it's done...and guess what? We wouldn't know if they were rigging it. They aren't going to list all 1,000 of those combinations, with the teams owning them, on the TV screen. No point in showing it on TV.

The only fans that should be angry are the Raptors fans. It sucks for them, dropping from the #2 slot (pre-lottery) to the #5. That means they miss out on Irving and Williams, and possibly Knight. I have no idea why anyone else would be pissed, though. The Wolves will get Irving or Williams (and they should want Williams, because they need to get away from the PG spot now, especially with Rubio on deck). Utah is lucky to be in the top three. The Kings are lucky to have their team. Aside from maybe 2-3 players that may have that all-star potential someday, there are a lot of players that could be decent role players. I may be a bit biased, but Marcus Morris could be good. Josh Selby is killing people in workouts already, and has moved up significantly in mock drafts in a matter of weeks. Who knows how Nolan Smith will do in the league...he's probably a projected late first. Same with Jimmer as a mid-first. Looking into the second round, you have guys like Malcolm Lee, a player who has the physical tools to produce in the pros, just lacking the skillset that gives others reason that he'll be able to make that transition. For the most part, this year's draft will give teams an opportunity to fill holes. The players in the draft can do that very well. I'm not ready to call someone like Derrick Williams a future superstar, or anyone in this draft for that matter...but it's not that bad of a class, really...it may all depend on where these guys end up, and what roles they are given on their respected teams.

The way I see it, teams like the Cavaliers can't really "blow it up" because they are already in that rebuilding mode, especially now that they have two top four picks. In less than a year, they lost LeBron, Shaq, Ilgauskas, Williams and West...so, I mean, technically, it's already obliterated. Blowing it up and rebuilding...this is what I'm reading. I'm interested to see if anyone will consider the Celtics. Few have actually discussed what they should do in the offseason. KG, Pierce and Allen's run as a championship trio could be done, so is it right to blow it up and deal the pieces now, or wait and hope for another magical season, and risk having these guys end their careers like Hakeem, Barkley and Drexler?

Stupid move, but go ahead. Chicago would love this. Sounds like LeBron expects more out of Chalmers and Bibby, and this is his way of saying it. Maybe Bibby should come out and say he wants more shots, because the 5-15 shooting from James isn't going to cut it.

I said rep, meaning a reputation for being an excellent poster...not a reputation point. I went through 40 pages of your posts, which is around 1,000...just skimming through them, of course. And you and I both know that very few on OTR care enough about the WNBA for that to matter. I even made the attempt to get the discussion going with you on a couple of your topics, but I knew it wouldn't pan out simply because it doesn't on any board I've seen. Motivation for what, though? It's a place to post, that's it. You give and take here. Rep points mean nothing to most. For one, you can't see total rep unless you go to a profile. And no, rep points and post count have no relation, whatsoever. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/index.php?app=members&section=view&module=list&max_results=20&sort_key=posts&sort_order=desc&filter=ALL Minus those that have a boosted post count due to the old OTR...just go to the second page and compare reps to post counts. People rep posts for various reasons. Everyone here knows that, including you. Why would anyone actually care what our reps are? Getting rid of reputation points will do nothing for you, and nothing for us. According to you, it actually doesn't matter...because you're some outcast because you're different (these are your words). That your opinions differ from the norm. That you're this OTR version of Van Gogh. You stated that rep points are irrelevant to you. You stated that you're ignored, that people don't read your posts. I think you're wrong about both. You created a topic in Site Suggestions all about the reputation points, asking if we can get them separated (one for funny posts, one for NBA). Also, if people aren't reading your posts, you wouldn't get any replies...but you do. People just don't like hearing about Dorell Wright being a future all-star, about as much as they don't like hearing JR Smith being compared to Kobe Bryant. If Dorell becomes an all-star, you get a thumbs up...but how much energy will I waste trying to argue my stance on that right now? I think it's a ridiculous prediction because, for the most part, there's no reason for me to believe it to be true. He's 24-25 years old, steadily improving, and...? You can't expect me to dive into a 5-page argument about it. You also gave us a new stat that rates a player's scoring ability, then you ask for us to find a flaw...yet, you didn't give us any information on it. It's cool that you want to keep quiet, but why are you asking us to find a flaw? For all we know, you're making up numbers...can't find a flaw if we have no idea what you're talking about. So, what exactly do you expect? You predicted the top four teams in the CF's. Do we talk about this, or...? It's not outstanding when you made the prediction just a month ago, when the Lakers were struggling, when the Spurs started looking bad and nearly losing their top seed in the West, when Chicago was locking up the best record in the NBA, when Boston was struggling without Perk, when OKC knocked off the Lakers and looked solid, and when the Heat were firing from all cylinders. Really? I don't know what else to say to you.

Shaw pulled out of the race. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/topic/49671-brian-shaw-pulls-name-out-of-rockets-head-coach-search

Sadly, this is why you feel the way you do about this place. Nobody is trying to make you look bad; instead, it seems like you're trying to prove nobody can. My post proved that you can be right, and you can be wrong. We have no reason to freak out and claim that you're unbelievable and impeccable because you knew the four CF teams and have developed a stat for scoring. You can toot your own horn, but most all of us have our headphones on. You get a rep here by the quality and quantity of your posts, and by the way you treat the rest of the community, not by making a single prediction at the end of the regular season. If you wanted more respect as a knowledgeable NBA poster, you're going to have to put in more work with the other 29 teams. It's something a few others have no problem doing from time to time, a couple earning their respect on other boards before making their way over here, and someone like Blasco, who doesn't mind debating about any team or player in the NBA, and doing it often. As far as rep points go, who really cares? If you don't think they mean much, I'm not sure why it's even up for discussion. I don't use them to determine who the top posters are here, and nobody else does as well (haven't seen anyone judge people by their rep points, unless they were cracking a joke), so I don't see the relevance. If you're really disappointed in OTR, losing interest, whatever you are feeling...dude, nobody is holding you hostage. I wish you the best in finding another site that has the basketball knowledge we do, other than RealGM, where you're going to have to post your ass off, non-stop, to gain even an ounce of respect and to be noticed.

Ahhhhh. NO. I actually didn't look at the image, just going off the records in my head. I completely forgot about the trade. :wallbash3:

What the [expletive]? West standings... A lot of stuff going on there. That's just a post search of about 30% of your posts, random (from July 2010-today), and I skipped over half of those I looked up. Kudos for getting the four conference finals teams right. If I wasn't a Lakers fan, I wouldn't have put them in the WCF, and my four teams would've been the same as yours. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/topic/48827-can-the-lakers-still-win-a-championship/page__view__findpost__p__897328 It's not that impressive, no reason to make a big deal about. We all hit the nail on the head sometimes, but the one thing we don't like to do is go back and point out where we were wrong. We've all been down that road before as well.

40,234 on here 9,463 on TLN Other than that, I don't really visit any other board. I probably have around 100 or so on IPB's support board. Looks like I have 235 on RealGM. I had 2,407 posts on JBB, and almost 7,000 on Clublakers.

It would be nuts if the Clippers found their way into the top three, and had a chance to get Derrick Williams. Him, Griffin, Gordon? They would make the playoffs next season with those three.

As everyone knows...it's the first time in 20 years that the NBA Finals did not feature Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan or Olajuwon. First time since 1998 it didn't feature Kobe, Shaq or Duncan. I also just saw that it's only the second time since 1993 that the Western Conference Finals didn't involve the Lakers, Spurs or Jazz. Three of the four coaches in the conference finals had no previous head coaching experiences with another team (Brooks, Thibodeau, Spoelstra), and those three coaches have a combined seven seasons coaching. The last time any of these teams made it to the conference finals, they advanced to the NBA Finals (Bulls in 1998, Mavs and Heat in 2006, Thunder/Sonics in 1996). Crazy just thinking about it.

TIME: 8:30 PM ET TV: TNT

TIME: 9:00 PM ET TV: ESPN

Just a translation, nothing more. An interesting translation, but still...

I don't mind the Heat being in the Finals, as long as I can have the guarantee that they will lose. ^_^

That's understandable, but you can't say you weren't excited for last year's LA/Boston series, especially the Game 7. I can see why people were tired of seeing the Lakers in there, but that series was awesome.

Good point. Any time there's a sweep in the Finals, you know it's a terrible series.

Has anyone ever had 82 posts in a game topic since the hack? I'm pretty sure that was reached in the Lakers/Suns series topics back in 2006...but wow Erick, haha. I need my laptop back. I have this boring 26-inch TV in my computer room, and I hate watching the games on it. Blah.

I'd enjoy a Chicago/OKC series, having two super quick PG's against each other, and Deng having to defend Durant, Noah and Ibaka blocking shots.

The 76ers and Pacers have the two worst attendance numbers in the league, and both were in the playoffs this season, both are the two lone franchises in those cities and states. After the response the Hornets got when they temporarily moved to OKC (which was huge), I think no other crowd deserved a team more. The state of Oklahoma has been pretty high on basketball, and sports in general, just as much as Kansas has (with the Jayhawks' success), and compared to Seattle, it's just a different environment altogether. There were die-hard Sonics fans, no doubt, and they always stepped up and said that they were still around...but in the grand scheme of things, the attendance was low, the city wasn't supporting the team, and after drafting a future superstar, the response was just bad. People will say I'd have a different outlook on this if it weren't so close to home (OKC), but that's really not the case. I was saying that the Sonics should move long before the proposal. I wanted them to move to Kansas City, or even Vegas...didn't matter to me, though.

Nah, because we've heard the OKC crowd all season long, and they deserve this team far more than the Seattle fans who didn't care to go to the games, even after they drafted Durant. The support the Thunder get from the city is insane. I was just down there not too long ago (May 6th), and it's crazy how many people support that team.

http://twitter.com/#!/WindhorstESPN/status/69952513830424578 Shocking, honestly. The offensive glass did it for Chicago, along with the defense on LeBron and Wade (props to Deng and Noah, mostly).