Real Deal

Wade was flopping out of bounds and into cameramen for years, until he realized it made him look stupid.

Without fans, none of those athletes have anything but a talent that they would be using on playgrounds and in rec leagues.

Laimbeer, Kirilenko, Ginobili and Divac are the top tier floppers in NBA history. Bell, Scola, Stockton, Varejao, Rodman and Fisher are right behind them. I also considered Danny Ainge and Reggie Miller (on offense), and even Wade back in 2006 (offense).

She deserves to win. Look at that bedroom! http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs265.snc6/179315_498071836278_623106278_6272407_2092586_n.jpg

When Artest and Fisher shoot 2-16 (or something like that) and Gasol is standing 16-18 feet away from the rim and doing absolutely nothing, the offense isn't going to work. The only reason the Lakers were in this game was because Kobe surged. Gasol is a [expletive]ing sissy right now, much different than the way he played last season, where he wanted the ball every single possession. Phil pulled both Drew and Gasol out of the game at the end for a reason. Jackson and JVG were talking trash on them for a reason. The Lakers lost for a reason. When you play a physical defense, such as Boston's, you're going to lose if you don't play like a man wanting to cause damage. Paul Pierce, Glen Davis, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, they were all going hard. Ray Allen was almost fighting with Fisher, just to get space. Rondo attacked Brown and Blake like a superstar once Kobe moved to Pierce. Damn, it's so annoying when people have dumb [expletive] to smart off about. Start watching the game, instead of the box score.

Haha, they were clowning Eddie House. I keep forgetting House is still in the NBA.

LeBron doesn't get it because Kobe and Shaq were splitting votes during the dynasty, and that's how life is. Wade is just as valuable as James, so they should be splitting votes as well. It's why Kevin Garnett, the defensive anchor of the 2008 Boston Celtics (and one of the best defensive teams in the history of the game), didn't get an MVP award that season. Mention Garnett's stats? Tell me about Steve Nash's stats. Mention Nash didn't have a lot of support? We're back to my point.

LOL this is a referee's dream game. Two teams that put their heads down and drive to the rim recklessly to win games.

I laughed at Zeke's punch. The Palace brawl makes this look like a playground fight, though.

Stern decided he was going to help the Knicks this time around, because he didn't feel as if he got his money's worth when he paid off the refs during the 2006 NBA Finals.

Typical shooting night (0-3). But seriously, good win by the Bucks...and while everyone is throwing spotlight on Bogut, Keyon Dooling had a pretty good game. He held Devin Harris well, and he produced on the offensive end in that fourth quarter (saw most of it, nothing before that though).

By the way, I think Chicago is the best defensive team in the league, and I'm not really sure if it's up for debate, considering what Thibodeau has done with them. Boston may be the only team that can contend with that body of work.

I just don't see that defensive system beating a championship-caliber team in a seven-game series, against a coach that knows how to adjust after playing them a couple of times. Boston could have one of the biggest frontcourts in the NBA right now, as far as depth goes, and the Lakers have three bigs (guess I'm going to include Odom because he can post up against Bosh) that can drop 20/10, and that's not even their bread and butter when the storybook closes. Stick a halfway decent defensive anchor on that team, and they win it all...this season, or the next, whenever. Pittman is tearing up the D-League just like he did those college players...and, well, the D-League is basically full of college players that aren't ready for the pros yet. With very, very limited mobility, you really think he's a legit starting center for the Heat? This is the same team that looks to win it all now. And Dampier isn't starting because his knees are still bothering him. I saw him limping just a bit the other night, and grabbing at them on the bench. The Heat had already declined to pick him up after a tryout around the start of the season, and the only reason why they brought him a second time was because they were rail thin at the four, Joel isn't Mutombo and Big Z is Big ZZZZZZ. Pittman is a body, but so is DJ Mbenga. The Heat don't need another offensive big. Their big three scores 64% of their points, and their fourth leading scorer (not counting Haslem) is James Jones, and he's producing seven a game. Guys like Howard and Horford are too mobile, and will eat his lunch. Gasol...too long for him, and will drag him clear out to the free throw line. Drew, Shaq, they are too strong and big. Pittman would have to defend all of these guys, and there's absolutely no chance of it happening. I'll definitely own up to it if I'm wrong, but this is a Tractor Traylor situation...a guy that was too short to play the five, too slow to play the four, didn't play defense, fouled way too much, couldn't pass the ball, and had no mobility. Pittman will be lighter, and he's more like Stanley Roberts than Traylor in regards to JUST the style of play...but he's not as long or strong, not as smart, and it would be a shocker to see him succeed as a starting center in the league (producing as one, not riding coattails to a championship).

...I'm 27 years old. I started watching basketball in 1990, when I was six. I grew up watching MJ, and he and Kobe are my two favorite players, of all-time. I have no reason to be biased about it, and I've seen more MJ live than I've ever seen him on ESPN Classic. Cool. Kobe outscored the entire 2006 Mavericks team (the one that went to the Finals), 62-61, through three quarters. The Lakers were down by 18 points to the Raptors in 2006...and Kobe decided he was going to score 55 in the second half, 81 in the game, and basically beat the entire team by himself. Tracy McGrady's Rockets were down eight to the Spurs, 35 seconds left, and he decided to hit four threes (all jumpers), not missing any, and a free throw, to win the game. And, above all of that, the three I named actually have video proof of them happening. Not really impressed, dude. I could name 10-15 other things in Jordan's career that's more impressive, maybe even more, and that includes his spectacular layups.

Doesn't seem to be that easy.

Maybe for you, but I never had to defend him more than I did back in 2004-2007 (with the exception of his rape allegations). Haha...you actually missed out on the worst "personal attack spree" in OTR history, through those Lakers/Suns games. We had a ton of Suns fans here, and a lot of Lakers fans. You would've enjoyed it, especially Game 7. I was always impressed with what he did, but again, that 50-win team still didn't get to the Finals. I realize they almost beat the Pistons, but a lot of people were stepping up here and there, when James would struggle in spurts. I haven't missed a single playoff game since the Lakers dynasty games (I know that sounds hard to believe, but I've recorded those I couldn't watch). The 50 wins came in a weak East (not as weak as Iverson's East, but I'll go that route with you). And hell, Big Z was playing like Gasol is right now for the Lakers (I know you've watched Lakers games this year, and you've seen how Gasol's play has changed since last year), so I really don't buy into it THAT much. Varejao was one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA, also. The 50-win, Finals team...they were 4th, defensively, and there were seven players on that team with very good defensive ratings, two being Varejao and Big Z (who were the two best defenders on the team), along with Newble (who was the best perimeter defender) and even Marshall and Gooden were playing defense. They were also 18th on offense. They held Detroit to under 90 points in five of those six playoff games, under 80 in two. In three of their 20 games, they allowed 100+ points...seven of the 20, 90+ points. It speaks volumes as to how good that team was, defensively, and while LeBron was a part of that, he wasn't the biggest part of it, and that's how they reached the Finals. Better talent, but they won just 45 games in 2008? It was because their defensive ranking fell to the middle of the league. When they reached that mark again, the following season (top three defensively), they won 66 games. Slight drop in defense the following season, less success (in 2009)...at 7th, defensively, and 61 wins. LeBron is a good help defender, and chasing down the break, but he's no on-ball defensive player, and the Cavaliers relied heavily on their bigs. Ben Wallace was amazing for them two seasons ago, despite playing about half of the game, and Varejao and Big Z did more work down low, on-ball defense and supplying help to guys like Mo Williams and Boobie Gibson, probably the two worst defenders on the team. That's true, and watching Durant, he's tailing LeBron. But it's really not fair, either. Kobe doesn't get those opportunities anymore. Phil forces the ball into the post, and Gasol holds it for 20 minutes before he decides to do anything with it, dishing it to someone like Artest or Brown, who makes a ridiculous move and throws it back out to Bryant with two on the clock. OR, Kobe holds it for too long, draws a double and NOBODY on the Lakers wants to make a move to the rim, and Gasol stands at the high post waiting for his chance to take a contested 16-footer. There's a lot going on with the Lakers right now, and Phil's decisions to rest Kobe for way too long (saving him, or whatever) is hurting us. Bryant is playing 32-33 minutes a game, which is far less than he did last year. That's almost 1 1/2 quarters off. The Heat run ISO's for LeBron and Wade, all game long, and that's their offense. It works. James gets to do what he wants, Wade gets his, because both are always in the game with each other OR with Bosh (not counting recently, with the injuries, but you know what I'm saying). James gets his in the last 3-4 minutes of the fourth by putting his head down and going to the rim. Makes sense if it works...Shaq stood in the paint and pushed people around. However, when the game is on the line, I don't put the ball in LeBron's hands...especially today, because I'd rather have Kobe take that shot than to see Mario Chalmers fire up a 24-footer (not in Kansas anymore). By the way, there was a season where Kobe averaged 10+ PPG in the fourth quarter...for the entire year. Only Jordan and Wilt accomplished that, from what I can remember. I don't think anyone else has done it since...but, that season he did it (probably 2005 or 2006), it was one of the seasons included in this analysis, so it's just difficult for me to digest any of this, no matter how it's being presented.

Cousins is eating steroids.

Pittman isn't going to do anything in the NBA. The more weight he loses, the more he'll have to play the four...and he's a center, nothing else. He can't step out of the paint and do anything, and he's super foul prone, as in, Danny Fortson foul prone, because he doesn't have the mobility he needs. He'll pick up four fouls in two minutes having to defend PF's. Bad thing about being the center is that he's 6-10, and not Ben Wallace. Cut the weight, he becomes less effective, plays the four and gets crushed because he has no game outside of forcing his way under the rim...and, in the pros, it won't come as easy as it did in college. The Heat need a defensive anchor. Pittman isn't even close to that, and he won't be a starting center, unless it's for a desperate team. As far as Chalmers goes, good move, of course. Arroyo wants to get open mid-range jumpers all game long, and do absolutely nothing else while he's on the court. His defense is possibly the worst on the team, and that includes Eddie House. Chalmers isn't a lock-down defender at the point, but he's three times better than Arroyo.

Someone needs to slap Gasol across the face. He has to man up. I would say the same for Drew, but he was still trying to play his hardest. Gasol is just brain dead.

Might prove my point a little more, actually. I'm 100% convinced the Nets were tanking last season. I don't see how that team could've nearly challenged that Sixer record (for losses in a season). When you're dead set on your team losing the game, it's really not fun to watch. It's just disappointing.

Even though it's Charlotte, the Clippers are looking impressive with Gordon out. Nobody can stop Blake, either.

Welllllll...you were in support of their tank mode, and even though I don't think a lot of their games have been winnable, it does seem like they don't care. It's hard for me to ever support a team's tanking. Even with the Raiders, I hate when they lose.

Yeah, but it wasn't too long ago that Bryant was blasted for missing the playoffs, and then getting floored by the Suns in the first round...twice. People were railing him for it because, of course, he's the superstar...but they didn't realize the team was starting Odom and three of the worst possible players you can have (Kwame, Smush and Mihm/Walton). In addition to the garbage teammates, the offense wasn't built for Bryant. They had ditched the triangle in that first season without Shaq. Rudy Tomjanovich didn't want it, and Hamblen couldn't coach it (second half of the year, when Odom and Bryant were both hurt, which led to the piss poor record). Then, Phil basically ditched it for a couple of seasons because Kwame Brown had absolutely nothing going for him in our offense, and Odom was [expletive] as a ball-handler and playmaker, when most Lakers fans were thinking he was going to be the next Scottie. But, Bryant was the scapegoat. So, when LeBron James has shooters and defenders stacked around him, I don't feel too sorry for him because it's the perfect compliment for a player like him. LeBron didn't win 60 games by himself. Hakeem Olajuwon won one of his rings with a similar build, and Iverson won 56 games and reached the Finals in the same manner, something I never fail to bring up because nobody can really argue against it. As far as LeBron being more clutch than Kobe, in any season...he's unselfish, and he had shooters that would knock down threes. Stick a prime Ron Artest on both players, and let me know who you want taking a contested jumper to end the game. There's no way in hell I would take LeBron over Bryant. Even today, LeBron would rather pass to Chalmers or James Jones instead of seeing a double team, and it has resulted in losses.

Kansas DOMINATED K-State, 90-66. Screw Pullen, Frank Martin and that entire team.

So from 2009-present, Kobe is shooting 11-22 (50%) on those clutch shots... Guess he's the best clutch player over the last two years? Stats don't lie.