Real Deal

Okay. Jordan's opponents let him win championships, MVP's, and play nearly flawless on both ends of the court for most of his career, so nothing he did was genuine. Therefore, you can argue that Kareem is the greatest player of all-time.

LeBron, Wade, Melo, Howard, Bosh and Paul were all young and basically undersized, still very good, and still won bronze in 2006.

If they win gold, I'll be amazed.

I'm a bit biased, but I think he still has it in him to contribute as a sixth man in the league. Maybe not on the level of those that are legit starters (Manu, Terry, Crawford), but the Hornets really didn't give him that opportunity, and I felt as if they tried to play him too much like a big man. If you guys are curious, go find that game he had against Denver last season. I have no idea when it was...probably February or March (second half of the season), but Wright did really well, had to defend Melo and didn't do well in that department, but still put out a good offensive game. Had another solid game near the end of the season, also. I would love to see it happen. I do have my doubts, but I really think he can make something of himself. Definitely not starter material, but potentially a solid backup.

Nah, nothing to really do to it now...it's permanently damaged, much like Jordan's was in the second dynasty. Plus, it wasn't the finger that was bothering him the most in that Thunder series. His knee was the problem.

How can you guys do this for a month? From sunrise to sunset...that's pretty impressive, honestly. No eating or drinking. Being a diabetic, I definitely couldn't do it and I'm guessing I'd be exempt from it (disease)...but even if I weren't a diabetic, I just can't see how I could make it even a week. I rarely go six hours without stuffing my face.

Any way possible to win, dude. Boston shot 44% from the floor the entire game, held to 94 points (scored 120 in Game 5). James shot 38% and had nine turnovers, so his triple-double was masked by a bad shooting performance, and many turnovers. Everyone but LeBron locked down the perimeter. It was Pierce that lit James up from downtown, and Ray Allen who struggled significantly. James rebounded the ball well, but he didn't play much defense, didn't try and take over in the fourth, and his body language said it all even when they were down single digits.

I did watch the series. I have it on a VHS tape, actually. Watched it again last year. I'm guessing you have it somewhere, also, so go check out how many times Shaq was fouled without a call in the entire series, and how many times Christie hacked away at Bryant in Game 3.

Actually, I was just looking into the same crystal ball as you conspiracy theorists...but coming up with a different conclusion: LA was getting screwed. So either the NBA is fixed and the Lakers were getting screwed in 2002, or it's not fixed and the referees were calling legit fouls for Shaq in Game 6, and those other games were just called loose. No reason to throw your TV and cry about the Lakers' dynasty. I figured people were over that by now. It was a decade ago. I just hope you're not doing the same thing for this next dynasty. If the NBA is rigged, stop watching it and stop posting about it.

When LeBron turned the ball over with about 8:30 to go, and Boston went on that 10-0 run to go up 14, LeBron was done. There was still six minutes left in the game, and he stopped being aggressive...threw two assists and scored four points (two free throws and a dunk), missed a layup he should've made, and threw a careless turnover at the end of the game. Down seven, two minutes to go...you go for the kill in a deciding game. LeBron didn't get a rebound, an assist, a point, a steal, block...nothing but a turnover on a bad pass. He quit being aggressive with six minutes to go. He literally gave up with two minutes on the clock. It was definitely not the LeBron the Cavs fans saw against Orlando the previous year, even when that resulted in defeat as well.

By the way, just an observation over the years...the referees called about 75% of the fouls made on Shaq in almost every game he played in during the dynasty (his most dominant years). Sacramento was one of the teams fouling him every possession that ended up in his hands, while San Antonio didn't have to go to that extreme due to their defensive-minded frontcourt. Had they called all of the fouls in that series, the Lakers probably win in six. As a Laker, up to the 2002 Playoffs... 1997 Playoffs, FTA: 11.7 1998 Playoffs, FTA: 12.2 1999 Playoffs, FTA: 14.8 2000 Playoffs, FTA: 12.9 2001 Playoffs, FTA: 12.5 2002 Playoffs, FTA: 10.9 (third year of dynasty) And... GM1 vs. SAC: 6 FTA, 21 FGA GM2 vs. SAC: 11 FTA, 27 FGA GM3 vs. SAC: 6 FTA, 20 FGA GM4 vs. SAC: 13 FTA, 22 FGA GM5 vs. SAC: 1 FTA, 18 FGA (one? really?) GM6 vs. SAC: 17 FTA, 25 FGA GM7 vs. SAC: 15 FTA, 25 FGA Anyone grow suspicious when they saw the Kings take 35 free throws in Game 3? The Lakers took 15, just eight between Kobe and Shaq despite both players taking a combined 44 of the team's 101 FGA. What about the 2-3 games Sacramento was racking up 30+ FTA? GM1: LAL 22, SAC 17 (+7) GM2: SAC 38, LAL 25 (+13) GM3: SAC 35, LAL 15 (+20) GM4: LAL 27, SAC 26 (+1) GM5: SAC 33, LAL 23 (+10) GM6: LAL 40, SAC 25 (+15) GM7: LAL 33, SAC 30 (+3) But everyone looks at that Game 6 because Shaq was getting to the line, and because there's a big "40" plastered into the statsheet. Did anyone care that the Thunder had 48 free throw attempts in Game 4 against us last season? Get over it.

Sky (a member here, one of the most intelligent posters I know) already put those rumors about the 2002 WCF to sleep. If that one game was fixed, so was the other that gave the Kings a victory. Nobody wanted to comment on what he said, though, because it basically made people look stupid.

A rather odd way of replying to my initial post, then. If I were to do that to someone, it would be because I agreed with it all and had nothing to say, or because I was annoyed and just dismissed the post as irrelevant information. It's most certainly about Heat fans because most can't seem to grasp the reason why nearly every fan of the league thinks LeBron is a douche. As mentioned many times before and in Steve's post...if this was Wade leaving Miami, and the Heat becoming a 20-win team, with the same process (the Decision, not notifying Riley or the fans of anything, then trying to repair his image weeks later), I'm pretty sure plenty of you would be irate about it. Any NBA fan would be if that happened to their city. Hell, you guys were upset when some of us were saying Wade was going to Chicago. You were telling us how dedicated he was to Miami, that his "heart was in Miami" and he had no reason to leave, that we only say he's going to Chicago because we WANT him to go (that came from you, directly). I'm sure things would be much different if this happened to the Heat.

He did have a right to choose Miami. That's fine, and I'll acknowledge that. I just don't like the Decision, don't like his attitude (over the last two years, really), and because of that, I really don't like him at all now. Can't say he's a bad player...we know he's damn good. Can't say the Heat are going to be a bad team now, because they've gotten some pretty good role players. But I can say I hope he fails miserably. If he doesn't? Won't bother me at all, as long as the Lakers win the championship. I could care less what happens in Miami, just not approving of what happened outside of it.

Looks like 2k10. Glad they have Jordan's signature dunk in there, though. That's sick.

It's more about the way it happened, the manner, and his attitude. I doubt any player, retired or not, cares about James' own legacy. Barkley has been praising him for a couple of years now, saying he's the best player in the league, saying Cleveland was going to win it all last year...but opinions will change when someone does something like this. And, if LeBron wins four rings, playing the way he does right now (or putting up a near triple-double, whatever), he'll go down as one of the best players of all-time. That doesn't mean I'm "riding him" or that I like him. I still can't stand Shaq (for what he said about the organization, Kobe, Buss, and even the fans), but I don't ignore his four rings and past dominance. Who cares if he left Cleveland? Who would've cared if Wade left Miami for Chicago? I can name a handful just on OTR.

Well...Pippen and Bird didn't like the way James went about it, either, and they have plenty of rings to show off. Malone and Barkley? They don't need championships to be able to make a good point.

...so you're seriously that annoyed? Thicker skin, dude. Try defending a player that goes through rape allegations. What LeBron did (not accused of) was disrespectful to the Cavaliers organization, and even his biggest fans are now turning their heads. Fanbases are typically hated on because they are spoiled winners, and because of that, most are cocky. The Lakers are one. However, a lot of people hate the Heat. They aren't winners...haven't won a single preseason game yet, let alone one in the regular season or playoffs. There's a legit reason for it, but I shouldn't expect you to see it.

Actually, it does, to some fans. My girlfriend actually liked LeBron and didn't mind where he went, was going to be a bit upset if he left Cleveland...but when he used an hour-long special and decided to stick it to the organization by not informing them until we all knew (and I believe just one team, Miami, knew his decision when the show started), she decided she was done rooting for him, no matter what. She was a Cavs fan because of LeBron. Now, she's still a Cavs fan...and ironically, it's still because of him...just in a different way.

The Wizards team forum skin is now available in our skin selector. Keep in mind that all 30 team forums will have their own skins and will override your preference, but any other forum not assigned a skin will be using YOUR selection.

I was thinking Amare Stoudemire, but I'll consider Walker since they are basically the same exact player.

http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/41-washington-wizards-team-forum No pictures of Wall in a Wizards jersey yet, but once there are, I'll edit the banner. Feedback on colors and such is appreciated. EDIT: Also, there are Wizards logos replacing the default OTR post background images...but most of you knew that was going to happen, haha.

Deal is official. Click me.

The skin you use (skin ID) is added to the database, so I'm not really sure if there's anything you can do. But, I just use the IPB app. Search for "IPB" and it should be the first one you see...has the Invision logo. It's mobile, all the time, and it's really awesome. And Kyle, I have no idea.

The astounding thing isn't really the 105 (although that's crazy), it's the 72 points in 20 minutes.