Real Deal

KOBE.

Like I said, he was about the money...and once salaries start taking a dive, he'll be even more about the money.

So you're wanting the mock that I run, and not a traditional sim league? As in...the old JBB mock?

Knicks and Nets acting like there's some kind of meaningful rivalry going on... Anyway...Deron will strongly consider staying in New Jersey. He can get the most money, and the longer contract, if he does...and with the new CBA being put into play before he becomes a free agent, I'm sure money will be the biggest factor at that point, like it will be with most every NBA player, especially the following season after the new deal is created.

Thinking of adding just widgets. The simple format feels nice...not really sure what else I can do with it. I do need links under the banner, but that will be tied in with the actual website portion of OTR, when I start on that soon.

The Nets are currently 17-40. The Pacers are 25-30. New Jersey has 25 games left, Indiana with 27. Can they catch the Pacers? :o

There isn't much more to trade, really...unless they've found a team that wants to drop a contract. Charlotte comes to mind. The Lakers would deal something to get Farmar back, for some reason.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2f07s79.jpg

Not finished with the design, need to add widgets on the right side as well...have a lot of work to do, but here's where I'm headed with it: http://www.otrbasketball.com

Copy and paste the code below, filling in the blanks. All correct answers get you five points. No late entries accepted. If you don't turn yours in by the tip-off of the first game, you miss out, no exceptions. Wednesday, February 23rd Oklahoma City @ San Antonio (ESPN) Winner: Leading rebounder: LA Clippers @ New Orleans (ESPN) Winner: Leading scorer: Thursday, February 24th Miami @ Chicago (TNT) Winner: Leading passer: Boston @ Denver (TNT) Winner: Leading scorer: Friday, February 25th Oklahoma City @ Orlando (ESPN) Winner: Player with the most steals: Denver @ Portland (ESPN) Winner: Player with the most threes made: Saturday, February 26th New Jersey @ Houston Winner: Leading scorer:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110222_BOS@GS

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110222_MIN@MIL

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110222_LAC@OKC

That's actually a better post. I have no problem replying to that. However, the reply is going to be short, because Bryant simply shot more difficult shots (threes, and contested jumpers). Why? Partially because he didn't have anyone else to take those shots on the team (not even in the Kobe/Shaq dynasty), partially because the zone pushed him out of the paint, and partially because Shaq pushed him out of the paint. It's not necessarily bad shot selection. People can point out 2-3 bad shots in about half of his games, sure, but that's not enough to swing a career FG% from 46% to 50%. What happened after the 1991-1992 season? Jordan never shot 50% or better, ever again. This is a 29-year old Jordan. The most threes attempted, by Jordan, in one season? It was 3.6. Kobe exceeded that eight times, with a high of 6.5 3PTA/G. Jordan's career FG% is 4% better. Check this out... 4,064 3PT 20,841 FG 20% of Kobe's shots are threes 1,778 3PT 24,537 FG 7% of Jordan's shots were threes If you consider the fact that Kobe shoots a lot of threes, and is the primary scoring option (and has been since 2000-01 season, based on FGA), it's impressive that he's at 46% FG. If you want to compare him to one of the greatest shooters of all-time, check out Ray Allen's career FG% (45%). While Allen has taken 2,000 more three-pointers and shoots the three 38% of the time, he has also shot poorly in Seattle, and even in Milwaukee a few times (when he was the primary option), but has been on fire in Boston, where he's more of a catch-and-shoot player, and not a primary option. When you have an expanded range, and you're asked to shoot 20-25 times a game, your FG% is going to decrease. It's true that Kobe's range is greater than Jordan's, correct? I'll show you something really interesting, to close out my end of the debate. Season numbers of... FG% is >= 47% (very generous here) FGA/G is >= 20 (basically what Jordan and Kobe have shot most of their careers) 3PTA/G is >= 4 (near Kobe's career average of 3.8) Guess who has achieved this in NBA history (in a single season, not career)? Just three players...LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Dale Ellis. Kobe reached 46%, shot 4+ 3PTA/G and shot 20 FGA/G twice in his career. If only three players in NBA history achieved 47% while shooting those threes and that many shots per game, I don't think anyone should have a problem with Kobe's career 46% FG, especially considering the amount of defensive attention he gets.

Make one move for another...expect the Bulls to rake in the two-guard they need.

Haha, nah...the only thing you can actually make out in that picture is Sting, and the spot where he's standing. The rest is all blurry.

EDIT: Ah, didn't know it was already merged...lol. Good job, mods.

Denver was going to deal Melo before the deadline, no matter what. If it meant him to New Jersey, they would've done it. They would've taken Bynum, too. And Melo was going to accept it. There's no way he would NOT sign that extension, as long as it was a big market team with potential to contend. Waiting until the off-season...it would be different if this were February 2010. With the uncertainty of the new CBA, he wouldn't have risked it, and New York knew this had to be done.

That would absolutely suck. Battier's defense has fallen off only because there's no Yao in the frontcourt. It's well-known that Shane's defensive play relies heavily on defensive anchors and help, and if he was playing in Boston, he would have the same effect as Posey did.

It's the double-dunk, and it's not even close. Should've saved it for the Finals, instead of attempting Vince's reverse 360 windmill (super fail).

Duncan is overrated because he made it into the ASG over Steve Nash (among other reasons, just an example), a guy that is playing less minutes, but STILL put up similar numbers (some better) as his MVP season. And this time around, there's no excuse...the Suns aren't great, but they sure aren't the Wolves, and today, Duncan is the third best player on the Spurs. He may play well in significant minutes (although he's shooting the ball worse than ever), but it's obvious who the two driving forces are on that team, and the Spurs have changed their offense, going inside to TD much less than they used to, which is converting into one of the best seasons they've ever had. Not only do the numbers say it, but the lack of playing time says it, the change in offense, just sitting there and watching them...I don't see how someone can't tell that Tim Duncan has regressed. If you think he's doing it on purpose, so what? It doesn't change the fact that he's not playing at an all-star level.

"Him" includes Varejao, Shaq, Big Z, and everyone else that has left or went down due to injury? I agree that LeBron is Miami, and that soon, Wade will be pushed aside and people will recognize the city as LeBron's...but at the end of the day, they will split votes, and just like it has happened in the past, LeBron will not get the MVP (unless the NBA rigs it because they want him to keep winning them until he wins a title with it).

Me neither, just got tired of people asking me when it was going to be done, since almost everyone wanted it.

Not surprised. I knew it was either HBK or HHH in the video with the Taker...definitely not Taker's face that they were showing in that third vid. In fact, it was the third vid that actually convinced me it wasn't Sting. And, now, we have Cena vs. Miz at WM...and Taker vs. HHH? No Rock, no Sting. Not even sure if I'll tune in anymore.