Real Deal

TIME: 8:30 PM EST TV: ESPN

TIME: 9:00 PM EST TV: TNT

Haha.

Gotta say Rose for now, but we all know how that goes. Give us all one season of Wall first (still not enough, but you get the idea). And by the way, I wouldn't call Rose a good defensive player. He's an athlete and it helps, but his timing is still off a bit and he gets lost out there easily.

Can't say he'll be an NBA center (well, a successful one). He's 6-10 and almost 300 pounds, but the problem is, taller centers will expose him. He has a little athleticism, not much explosion though...and that will be a problem when he starts playing big minutes on a professional stage, especially if he's showing he's not dedicated to working out. So here's what Cousins needs to do: work out, a lot. Drop the weight a bit. Become a power forward. That way, he gains explosiveness, it's easier for him to manhandle the average power forward (because Cousins is super strong), and playing 30+ minutes a game won't wear him down halfway through the season. In 3-5 years, Cousins will either be a thicker and stronger Al Jefferson, or the NBA's version of JaMarcus Russell. It all depends on how hard he works to drop that weight. Top five for the ROY? I would say so. There's no way in hell I would ever, ever consider him the next Shaq, though.

So wait...the Bobcats, Heat and Hawks are all talented and tough teams, but the Thunder and Jazz are no big deal, despite winning 50 and 53 games in the tougher Western Conference, where they have to play eight 50+ win playoff teams four times a year? That's pretty weird. Your analysis is a little off, by the way. You mention the sweeps and how significant they are, but Boston didn't sweep the Heat OR the Cavaliers...and it was only one year ago that the Cavaliers dropped the Pistons and the Hawks in eight games (two sweeps) before getting jabbed to death by a team that matched up perfectly with them. Ironically, that same team that beat "the best team in the East" (you know, the one that swept the first two rounds) ended up losing to the Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals. Just something to think about, of course.

I never said a team would look at him as cap relief. I think some of you misunderstood what I was saying. Basically, the reason NOBODY would want to trade for Arenas is because they wouldn't want the contract. Cap relief in 2014? Haha, no team would care right now. But I never said anyone claimed that a team would care for that cap relief.

Merged the two. One topic will keep any big debates in one central location.

Just watched most of the game (fast-forwarding through free-throws and commercials, haha). I definitely don't like how easy it was for the Phoenix bigs to lose Gasol. I have no idea why that was happening, really...just the activity, I suppose. And Nash was like a surgeon out there, cutting up our defense left and right, sticking passes wherever he wanted...sucks to see it, but then again, Nash is a top 3-4 point in the NBA, and it should've been expected. That zone hurt. We have to learn to adjust DURING games, and not AFTER. I noticed Phil was resting Kobe a little longer after that huge first quarter, and we lost momentum and eventually struggled going into the half, one of the few things I really don't like about Phil (and him neglecting to call a timeout when he NEEDS to). At the end of the game, it was evident that the Lakers shot too many threes (Kobe did, and Odom should never attempt four per game) and we had way too many turnovers, both due to the zone. Have to adjust; there's nothing more to say.

In other words, nobody else has done what Kobe did, but so what? Put him in that category anyway. Shaq was Superman, Kobe was Batman. Take one out and try to replace them, and you don't get the dynasty. There should've been enough proof of that when Shaq and the Lakers were losing in the playoffs before Kobe took over the triangle. Again, it's the toughest thing in the world to ignore the facts. No "Robin" has even come remotely close to those numbers Kobe put up, and no "Robin" has ever had as many responsibilities as Bryant (the ones that you listed, plus him shooting more shots than O'Neal in two of those seasons).

Depends on who is guarding Ron, and how much pressure the Celtics put on Bryant. If they leave Ron open, there's a chance he'll light them up. I will admit I was somewhat wrong (because it was through that injury) when I said Ron wasn't able to hit wide-open shots. He does miss a few, but he was shooting 40% from three before he was injured, if I remember right, and he showed he could do it the other night as well.

Didn't watch the game (played basketball instead), and I'm glad I didn't. I told Terry I had a feeling we were going to drop this one, so I decided to go to the park...first Lakers game I've missed all season long. Can't really say much about it, though. Looking at the box scores, it looks like "Foul Collector" Andrew Bynum made a HUUUUGE impact, Ron and Odom chucked and bricked, and someone (Gasol or Odom) forgot that Amare is still an all-star player. Great game by Bryant -- 36/9/11 on over 50% FG. Gasol did pretty good offensively. All expected, though.

Riot has had his turned in since the 19th.

Wouldn't make sense for the Wolves to make that trade, because they can get much more out of Jefferson. And if Portland has given up on Oden, they do the deal...except, it's a shame they think that sticking Jefferson at center will turn them into a contender.

Right, so that presents the question: why would anyone trade for Arenas? There really is no reason to want that contract, or to want the player.

No team would be getting cap relief by trading for Arenas. 2010-11: $17.7 million 2011-12: $19.3 million 2012-13: $20.8 million (player option that Gilbert will exercise) 2013-14: $22.4 million That's Arenas' contract. I'm 100% sure no franchise will think, "Hey, we can shed $22.4 million off in 2014! That will definitely help us in our free agency." For one, no team will know their payroll situation four years ahead of time...and two, with talks of salary decreases, none of them know what that will do to future contracts, the salary cap itself, and just how ugly Arenas' contract will be compared to everyone else's. So...buying him out? Quite a chunk of change. I'd be surprised to hear that happened.

Ray Allen and Derek Fisher have the same knees. I guess you haven't seen what Fisher is doing to Nash. He's forcing him into turnovers (9 total in two games), limiting him to 13 and 11 points in the first two games, and also just five total free throw attempts. Nash is a better player than Ray...faster, smarter, and possibly a better shooter. Allen has also shot under 43% in the last two rounds he's played in (this current one, and Cleveland), so I'm not going to worry at all.

I'm not worried about our post scoring, mainly because the Magic have a guy who has maybe one or two total post moves in Dwight Howard (not much of an offensive game other than forcing his way to the rim and dunking). And...well, that's it. LA has Bynum, who is a much, much better offensive player in the post, and Gasol, who is easily one of the best in the NBA (both left and right-handed, excellent footwork, high IQ player). Sticking both in the post is different than having Howard and...? In their two meetings this year, Perkins vs. Bynum, Drew has scored 19 points, 11 boards in 33 minutes (first game) and 14 points, 9 boards in 27 minutes (second game). I'm not worried about Perkins on Drew. On the other hand, in the game where Gasol wasn't in foul trouble (Bynum's 14/9 game), he dropped 22 points and 7 boards. You say Boston has way too many scoring options. Pierce, Allen, Rondo, Garnett. The other two, Perkins and Wallace, aren't going to be threats throughout the entire series. They won't even get the opportunities like those others. The Lakers have Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Odom...and by the way he was playing last series, it could be Ron (since his hand is healed). Basically, here's the key: Boston will eventually have to double Bryant. We won't need to double anyone. Where LeBron and Wade didn't have the extra scoring options, Kobe does...by about 3-4 teammates. That's a massive difference.

Added the rest of the questions. Come on guys, not much time left.

Boston shuts down teams that rely heavily on the jumpshot. They are holding teams to .319 shooting from downtown. Cleveland is a three-point shooting team, and so is Orlando. The Heat weren't contenders, so they were going to lose to Boston to begin with. 1) Los Angeles isn't a three-point shooting team. They get a ton of points in the paint using screen and rolls and simply dropping the ball down low and letting the bigs do work, something Cleveland and Orlando don't practice. 2) They have a perimeter player in Kobe that won't have to drive through Perkins and Garnett to get his points. It's Ray and Tony, or Kobe gets 30+ a game. 3) Instead of Vladimir Radmanovic defending Perkins and standing in the paint, it will be Andrew Bynum. 4) Instead of Luke Walton defending Paul Pierce, it will be Ron Artest. This team is a much different squad than the 2008 Lakers. You can remember 2008 all you want, but the fact is, if Kobe shuts down Rondo, the Celtics' offense is busted. He can do it.

Yeah, but I don't think Orlando can adjust. Live by the three, die by the three. If Boston doesn't allow them to shoot it, they are in big trouble...and that's what you're seeing. They are forcing guys like Rashard Lewis off the perimeter, and it's unfamiliar territory for him.

One of the mods already took care of it. I scrolled past it though...the damn problems with the topic marking (read/unread) is making life tougher on me right now. The board needs that minor upgrade whenever they come out with it.

The Kobe from the Lakers dynasty was no Gasol. Shaq and Kobe were the two best players in the NBA during that dynasty. Gasol isn't an MVP candidate. In fact, Shaq and Kobe have a combined two MVP awards because, quite frankly, they both bumped each other out of the voting most of the time. You couldn't replace any of them and still create a dynasty...that's how important those three were. Some would argue replacing Shaq with Duncan, some say Kobe with Carter, and some say Jackson with Popovich, but not three rings. Duncan wasn't as offensively dominant as Shaq, Carter was not the facilitator or defensive player Kobe was, and Popovich couldn't manage egos the way Phil did. The numbers still give it away. If Jordan, LeBron and others were their teams' best players in both the regular season and the playoffs, Kobe gets the same treatment by following the same criteria. Scottie Pippen is an outstanding player, but he wasn't putting up 28-29 PPG with MJ, and it was Jordan who made his teammates better as well. If anyone gets the short end of the stick, it's probably Phil...but I can't say those role players contributed to that dynasty as much as Shaq or Bryant, not even close. While they did hit big shots, they were almost all wide-open, and it was because both Kobe and Shaq were seeing doubles on the perimeter (#8) and in the paint (#34). Dominant duos of THAT caliber don't have clear leaders. Because Bryant ran the offense, he led the team as much as Shaq...and with the shots he took (more than O'Neal) and the defensive assignments he had, Shaq did the dirty work on the boards and was giving LA their 25-30 a night as well, and it mimicked what the Lakers had in the early 80's, with both Magic and Kareem (before Kareem really started to decline).

I really hate Matt Barnes.

Whiteside is a freak, but he has a lot of work ahead of him. And Ron Gant (baseball) was rumored to be at just 2% body fat at one point in his career. It's not really amazing to see an athlete at 5.5%. Typical athletes are usually 6-13% on that scale. Essential fat would be considered 2-4% body fat. Fit people are 14-17%.