Real Deal

The guy that's a proven franchise player. Ask me again in three years.

Talk is cheap.

:o http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5061867676_23a837484a_z.jpg Holy [expletive], I just realized...we are 0-2.

Nah. It would be different if it was Sports Illustrated.

Almost went to this, but my friend ditched me, last-second, because his girlfriend didn't want to go to a basketball game. It's her birthday, and she would rather go out and eat, and spend all of his money. Oh well. The living room is just fine. Cheaper food, more comfortable seats, no traffic.

Wrong. Those teams struggled because they didn't play like a team. It took a well-rounded team to win those medals. Wade and Bron were more mature, Kobe and Kidd led the way (instead of Iverson), and they were much less selfish. Everyone knows that. There are plenty of NBA/NCAA players that go overseas and dominate. I can give you tons of examples, but I think you know that as well. Haha, right, because the Lakers are a one-man show. It's Kobe, not Durant or LeBron. Bryant doesn't get to the line as much as he used to. The Lakers have too much of an inside game to have to worry about anything to begin with. Barcelona would not be able to defend Gasol and Drew both, and still keep an eye on a healthy Kobe. How is this even up for debate? The shorter three doesn't change the triangle offense, at all. The offense isn't dictated by the spots on the floor as much as it is the spacing and the actual triangle formed, while the spacing also has nothing to do with the three point line. Players will space out regardless of where the three is, and because they are so used to the 23-24 footer, it wouldn't matter where they shot the three to begin with. Haha. Should? Haha. Weird.

Barbosa > Kidd, because he's fast and stuff.

Huh? There isn't that much of a difference between the two sets of rules. Knocking the ball off the rim and a shorter three point line wouldn't sway the series that much. This Lakers team, fully healthy, would annihilate them. I'd give them one win only because I'm giving Bryant one bad game. Doesn't matter the rules.

I'm not the one that has a "Dynasty in the Making" signature of the Big Three, despite them playing just three total minutes together.

He's not going to be 100% ever again. The index finger, shooting hand, already has arthritis and it's a permanent tear, and he'll have tendinitis in that knee for the rest of his career. Not that it matters, really. It's Kobe. Drew and Walton would concern me in a situation like that, and most NBA players, especially at 30+ years old. I've seen enough of Kobe to be able to ignore it, though.

Dude, are you kidding? I don't even know what to say to that, honestly. You're going out on a limb. You might as well say that Lawson has what it takes to be a top five point guard of all-time. By the way, to add to the list of ridiculous predictions for Denver's players...I forgot about the JR Smith/Kobe Bryant comparison you made. In a couple of seasons, man, you'll have two of the best players in the league, I guess, in Lawson and Smith.

Well, they are a great team, no doubt...but if this was June, they would get ran by the Lakers.

1) Wade 2) LeBron 3) Bosh 4) Durant 5) Kobe Something along those lines.

Funny, because I tried to get 20 assists the other night on My Player (2k10), and my guys kept getting fouled at the rim, and couldn't finish (mainly Artest and Drew). That's exactly why I created this topic, lol.

Game is finally over. I hope Bryant doesn't even play the next game.

Cool that it's a close game, and the Lakers are trying to win, but Kobe needs to come out of the game. He shouldn't even be playing over 12 minutes while he's still healing from the surgery.

For some reason, Rubio seems to have gotten worse putting the ball in the basket since 2008.

Disregarding the record books for a minute (just pretend like we've just started counting assists in basketball, so don't consider how unfair it would be for Magic and Stockton), should the NBA log an assist when a player is fouled AND makes one or both of his free throws? If you think about it, the pass does lead to a point or two, as long as the player makes the free throws...and technically, it was the passer that "assisted" by putting his teammate in the position to get to the foul line.

So wait...all of your predictions wrapped up in a bundle here: Afflalo - 15 PPG (8.8 PPG last season) Lawson - 13 PPG (8.3 PPG last season) Martin - 16 PPG (11.5 PPG last season) Carmelo, Harrington, Billups, Smith, Nene...all going to average under 15 PPG each? Because Denver isn't going to score 120+ PPG.

I believe they are showing this on ESPN or ESPN2. EDIT: ESPN2

Wait, Lopez got ejected in a preseason game? LOL.

LOL, I don't know how many times I have to repeat it (maybe it's because you guys drool over hearing it?), but I think the Heat will win 60+ games and probably get to the Finals. I don't have a motive to post reasons why I think they will fail. I really don't care. If I was insecure about my team, it would be a different story...but the Lakers are the two-time champs, they have Kobe, they have Phil, and we're in the West. All I'm simply saying is that there should be a little concern, at least in the playoffs, about selfish play, based on their previous averages, James' ego and his latest comment. All you guys are saying is that there's no chance of it. Very convincing, fellas. Just noticed that Dee is rooting for the Lakers, if her Mavs don't win it all. She has always hated the Lakers, since our days at JBB (in 2004). I'm starting to see a lot of people doing this, also, and for very good reason, and a lot of it doesn't have anything to do with LeBron leaving Cleveland. Criticizing the Heat doesn't make you a hater, but saying they will do this and that, nearly perfect trio, makes you the ultimate homer. Let me go ahead and write the reply a few of you will give... So, again, cool. Your team has no holes, has the three best players in the NBA, and has already won six consecutive titles and 73+ games, is already the greatest trio to ever play together. They will be perfect. Their games complement each other to perfection. Perfect. Chalmers and Co. will be much, much better players, the Heat will go 16-0 in the playoffs (because who the hell can defend Wade AND LeBron, right?) and all 29 other teams' fans will eat crow for being haters. Hope I covered it all. [expletive] is making me want to leave my own site and never turn on ESPN again...and yeah, it's definitely not just the media anymore.

Haha, okay, nothing to worry about. They will all defer when necessary, and play perfectly. Lots of proof, no reason to speculate.

You can give me that argument for Wade, but there's no way you'll ever convince me that LeBron's ego isn't as bloated as Shaq or Bryant's.

There's no proof of that, though. In that case, all three will want lesser roles, because all three carried their teams. Seven years still puts these players in their primes. Technically, they aren't even NBA veterans yet (10+ years). I think there are people overrating AND underrating what this team can do, both sides of the fence. But, I can't say I fully trust that the three will be able to share the ball similar to, say, the 2004 Detroit Pistons (who had no clear-cut dominant scorer). And I feel like Kobe and Shaq DID take a lesser role. O'Neal never averaged 30 or more PPG in his career...but I have a gut feeling he could've. Bryant didn't hit 30 until the third ring was completed, and he took over 27 FGA per game on his way to a 35.4 PPG average, post-Shaq. But, despite those two deferring to each other to win three consecutive titles, the egos intercepted their success. These were two guys who stated they were going to win championships together until they retired, stood by none other than Magic himself and told the world this. It's two guys who really did take a lesser role when Payton and Malone came in, 6-8 less points per game, just to win a fourth. The only team that has had success doing this was Boston, and it may have been because they were all failing so much, they needed to defer. Garnett and Ray were much older, and none of them (even Pierce) had a ring to their name. None of them were dominant 30+ PPG scorers that found their way to the NBA Finals, and neither Ray or Pierce were among the top five in the league at any point of their career. Houston's experiment with Hakeem, Barkley and Drexler failed due to injuries and age. The Lakers' experiment that included Malone and Payton failed possibly due to that one injury to Malone, and Bryant and Shaq not being able to play together. Wilt, West and Baylor didn't make it due to injuries. While it'll always be about the team as a whole, it won't seem like it because there are three monsters in Miami. One goes down, though, and then it will be very evident that the entire team is most important, and that's where those other teams failed in the past. Only problem is, most of the ones I named were older, ringless (or hurting for wins), and desperate. I'm really not sure if this current Heat trio shares the same characteristics, and that maybe, it's this trio that will have the biggest concern with chemistry and selfishness.