Real Deal

Haha, nobody saw the game where Kobe suffered the avulsion fracture...just heard he got hurt. Brewer was the guy that deflected the pass that literally destroyed Kobe's index finger. That was right before Christmas, if I remember right.

Funny ad just hit "super funny" when the Jazz went up 3-1 tonight. Wonder if Melo still has jokes.

We were blown out once in OKC, and it was due to mismatches. Kobe will be fine. Our problems in Game 4 were... 1) Kobe's passive play, which was probably a message sent 2) Gasol's inability to defend Green on the perimeter (and he didn't even try to) 3) Westbrook on the break 4) OKC shot-blocking and shot-contesting 5) missed free throws The Thunder are one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, I believe the top shot-blocking teams as well (but don't quote me on that). They are also one of the youngest and most athletic, they play incredibly fast, and their home crowd rivals that of Golden State's in 2007. I'm more concerned about the Thunder than the Jazz.

Wouldn't mean much. The Spurs can beat anyone in their house, while Dallas has already lost a game at their place. This game was just another example of what the Spurs are really made of. They can beat any West team, 2-8...and they will challenge the Lakers in the WCF.

Both are 40-win teams without their superstars. One would make the playoffs in the East, probably 8th seed...and the other would miss the playoffs in the West. Cleveland still has too many damn shooters, and Shaq would take advantage of it. Williams and Jamison would provide the offense, and the team defense would still be decent. Denver would probably start the season stronger, but eventually, that would change.

1) Celtics (Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Sheed, Finley, Rondo) 2) Cavaliers (Shaq, LeBron, Jamison, Ilgauskas, Williams) 3) Lakers (Kobe, Gasol, Artest, Odom, Bynum, Fisher) 4) Mavericks (Dirk, Kidd, Terry, Marion, Butler) 4b) Spurs (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, McDyess) I actually think it's a tough call for the #2 and #3, honestly, because Artest was mean in his prime, and we all know how fierce Bryant was (hell, he was an MVP player this season, before injury), but I don't think anyone can topple a Boston team if they were all in their primes. Sheed was one of the best power forwards in the league when he wanted to be, Garnett is a top five power forward of all-time because of what he did in his prime, Allen is one of the greatest shooters ever, we know where Pierce ranks among the all-time Celtic players, and Finley was a mess for defenders in his prime.

Defensively, Jamison can't deal with anyone. But it's all good...we'll find all of this out if the time comes.

Boozer and Deron toyed with Denver. Gonna be a fun second round match-up. Carlos has had a history of getting crushed by Gasol (with the exception of their last game, Booz shoots 40% against him), so I'll be excited for this one.

Portland would rather play Dallas, bro. There's no way they are beating San Antonio's half court game, not when the Spurs are at full strength. Miller would get torched, Duncan would slow LaMarcus and dominate him on the offensive end, and Roy would stand no chance against Manu (a healthy Roy would, of course, but he won't be 100% until the offseason).

My computer has been down for quite some time now (motherboard fried), so I've been on a crappy one with no banner files to edit. Thought about moving my hard drive over, but I'm on one of those slim desktops, no room for a second drive, and it would be too inconvenient to do anything else, not to mention I don't have Photoshop on this computer, either. As soon as I get the money to buy a new mobo, I'll install it and get the rest of the team forums up. I was wanting to get the 16 playoff teams done before they started the postseason, but to no avail. Sorry guys.

Parker, Duncan, Ginobili: 6-25 FG, 17 PTS

Man, the Spurs are who I thought they were. Near the end of the season, I actually figured I was stupid to think they were going to be good in the playoffs...but then I remembered how big of a threat they can be when they are all healthy and wanting to win a championship. And George Hill is a monster.

I find it funny how he can just take jumpers from that far out. Really freaky. It's rare you see a guy that can actually do that. And Howard launches shots from 3/4 court, sitting down, like he's shooting from six feet away.

I really don't care where any of those players go as long as they don't run to a contender. The Heat are in a different conference, and the Bulls aren't even my second favorite team anymore. I think it would be smart of Wade to join Rose, Noah, Deng and Hinrich, but it's whatever. The links you post...that's nice and all, but do you really think Wade would say otherwise? Not even Boozer is doing that. LeBron has hinted that he's staying, and so has Bosh, Boozer, Amare, and even Johnson...but can you really say you believe every single one of them? No need to get upset that people ignore those links. The truth is, they really don't mean much until the player signs that contract. If he was a true veteran and had about 12-13 seasons and multiple championships with the same team, it would be more convincing...but Miami isn't going anywhere, and it's looking more and more like it's Bosh or bust, really.

What the hell is Dampier doing?

He can learn it, and he will someday (it took Odom 3-4 years to really get it down), but that's not the issue. Artest isn't running to the correct places on the court, but he's still getting open shots, and he's still missing those open jumpers. THAT'S the main concern. Ron isn't facilitating the offense, and he's not a primary or secondary option on offense. Not even the third scoring option. He doesn't necessarily have to learn the advanced aspects of the triangle, just the basics. However, learning the offense doesn't help knock down your shots, because he's still getting open for them.

Yeah, Jamison is fantastic when Taj Gibson is defending him. Put length on him and he struggles. The Lakers won't beat Cleveland with an injured Kobe, so I'm not really even talking about the NBA Finals right now...but Jamison would have trouble doing things like that against Gasol and Odom. He would have to go back to his usual one-on-one play, which doesn't suit Cleveland well. Jamison isn't much of a concern for us. I'm glad it was him dealt to Cleveland. The more we force him to work on defense, the less offense he'll produce, also. I think you'll become a bit frustrated with Jamison when you guys play Boston, assuming Garnett starts playing like a man again. Orlando will give him trouble as well, and so would the Lakers...and I think the decrease in frontcourt defense (especially pick and roll defense with Shaq, and physical man defense with Jamson) will force LeBron into 40-point games every night, and while we all know it's not tough for him to drop 40, I think we also should be aware that doing it in 4-7 consecutive games is a hell of a task.

Haha, yeah...he was 110% sure Kobe was leaving. I believe he even had a deal set in stone, reported it, then deleted it from the ESPN article he wrote.

Didn't know that would air, or else I would've wore a Kobe jersey instead. But yeah, why would KCAL even let him talk that long? I realize it's live, but still...kind of stupid. Guess they have nothing else to talk about.

All I'm saying is that, with all the belief that Riley will get his man (whoever that is, guess it'll be Boozer now?), there isn't much telling me that Wade will want to stay in Miami, especially after they lose this first-round series. But you guys used the "Riley excuse" and said that he will bring in help. Doesn't look like it will be Amare. Don't think a Boozer signing will convince Wade. Maybe LeBron to Miami now?

The way to beat Cleveland is to stick one excellent defensive player on LeBron (let's just say Ron Artest), then lock off the perimeter. If LeBron scores 40, so be it...but if you cut off access to his shooters, it cuts Cleveland's offense in half. In fact, I guess it's similar fashion to what Orlando did last season.

No, I recall people saying that Riles would find a way to bring him to Miami, which would keep Wade there. If I did a post search, I'm willing to bet I'd find something. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/1316-wade-doesnt-want-to-give-up-options/page__view__findpost__p__14797 http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/9746-spoelstra-might-be-looking-for-a-job-this-summer/page__p__101723entry101723 http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/10258-amar’e-stoudemire-thinking-of-joining-2010-free-agency (entire topic) And the most telling of them all... http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/10385-summer-2010-fa-predictions-thread/page__view__findpost__p__110753 And this, replying to Jammin... http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/10385-summer-2010-fa-predictions-thread/page__view__findpost__p__110867

Mr. Brittle Knees is averaging 25.7 PPG on 59.6% FG, 10 RPG, and 2.7 APG in the first three games against Dallas. Just saying...

I'm not sure why everyone is surprised. Miami came into the playoffs on a huge run, but they also played some poor teams in that streak of wins. In every strong area for the Heat, Boston has defense to counter it (Tony Allen on Wade, Garnett and Perkins on Beasley and O'Neal). And for every weak area for Miami, Boston has offense (Rondo at the point, Pierce at the three). Just too much to overcome, not to mention Spoelstra is a bad coach.

New rules for round two: 1) 16 lines max. 2) At least one of those lines must be about your opponent's favorite sports team (basketball, football, etc). 3) One line has to end with your opponent's display name on OTR. You can exclude numbers. 4) Cussing will be censored if you decide to use it. Don't bypass the censor with asterisks or other symbols. 5) If you say Dick Vitale's first name, please censor it yourself by typing [expletive]. In the manner it would be used in this contest, it should be filtered out. NOBODY ELSE POST IN THIS TOPIC UNTIL THE SECOND RAP IS ADDED. After both competitors are finished, members can place their vote. Please explain your vote. The lower seeds (in terms of position) go first. Based on this match-up, .infinite will be asked to post his, followed by Riot. You have two days to post. Good luck, fellas. Run yo mouth!