Real Deal

TIME: 2:30 PM EST

TIME: 12:30 PM EST

TIME: 12:25 PM EST

TIME: 12:20 PM EST

It's stupid to think that a player doesn't have the ability to play less motivated after he gets paid. Everyone has given you plenty of examples, yet you call it a coincidence...and I'm sure I can give you 100 more examples of it in the NBA. Playing a sport is a job. When you want a promotion, you do everything possible to get it, work as hard as possible, work overtime, do things you usually don't do. Once you get your promotion, you're at that point where you can kick back again, still working hard...but not at a high level. Just because a player isn't working his ass off, every single hour of the day and every minute of the game, doesn't mean he's not playing at a pro level. Erick Dampier went nuts in Golden State, during his contract year, grabbing 12 boards and scoring 12 points per game (nuts compared to his previous seasons), and he was always contesting shots at the rim. Once he was paid, he wouldn't demand the ball much in the post, he didn't contest as many shots, and he probably knocked off an hour every workout session, because he lost muscle mass. Once Sasha Vujacic was handed his $5 million a year, he started partying, ended up with Anna Kournikova, didn't give it his all in practice, and his game suffered because of his negligence, dedicating more time away from the game because, simply put, he had the money to do what he wanted, was locked up in a binding contract, and he shot pathetic for an entire season (and now counting the second season) because of it. It's not difficult to figure out. You pay a player big money for 4-6 years, and you run the risk of them slacking off. You give them the opportunity to MAKE that money, and you'll see more production from him than you ever have.

Also, here's the topic for the Yahoo group: http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/9850-otr-tourney-pick-em

Here's the OTR group: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=126983 Password: otrbball If you're filling out brackets, please enter. EDIT: Also, there's a March Madness Gameday forum. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/109-march-madness-2010-gameday All games are created and ready for discussion.

I would be more shocked at Ohio getting out of the first round than anything else, lol.

Most all of my utility bills are due tomorrow, so I guess I'm paying them this afternoon, and watching my money disappear before my eyes. Then filling out NCAA brackets so I can win my money back.

Haha, no idea. I just added those three (and Kansas) to one of my 10,000 brackets, and I realized that it could happen.

Final Four...what are the odds that we'll see three Wildcats? Kentucky Wildcats Villanova Wildcats Kansas State Wildcats

I never wish major injuries on anyone...I just wish LeBron would get a hangnail and have to miss the rest of the season.

Man, Memphis just blew it, even though they did hold on for the win. I turned it off once I saw the Grizz up by 20 and heard that four of the starters for Chicago were out. Figured this was going to be a 30+ point victory.

Yeah, I figured Wizards fans dropped their jaws. Good game against a good team, just not enough clutch play to get the job done, really.

Wow. How many teams do you see score 150+ points on 56% FG, 48% 3PT, and 93% FT? What in the hell were the Wolves doing?

Yeah, Casspi was running his chops, and he busted Bryant's hand. You heard right. It's unlikely for Bryant to miss six of 14 from the stripe. The last time he shot under 60% from the line, 10 or more free throws attempted, was February 2006, against the Hawks (6-12 FT), and it was after a huge shooting slump where he was playing through an injury the previous 4-5 games.

In other news, Ron Artest sucked tonight. We HAVE to take the load off Kobe. Asking him to come out and be aggressive on command is understandable when you don't have capable scorers on the team, but come on...we have enough. Why can't Phil ask him and the entire team to just play the damn game? This "Kobe play aggressive in the first and fourth only" BS is really starting to take its toll on Bryant.

Yeah, it would be a little different if they were actually star players, or elite defenders.

IF we're going to compare the two players to superstars in the NBA, Curry gets the nod as a Steve Nash, while Tyreke is a LeBron. Obviously, the two have a LONG ways to go to reach that point, though.

LOL, I can't believe this. We were up 13-15 points.

LOL, a friend of mine has a KU table. http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs078.snc3/14541_1177266710271_1186200085_30471248_218871_n.jpg Got it for his birthday...his sister and her boyfriend made it for him.

Don't overrate Smith's dunk, though. He caught it already halfway turned around, so it wasn't quite a 360. Anyone with airtime can catch an oop, look around and see that they are a couple of feet away from duplicating that dunk, as long as the oop keeps him close to the rim...and that's the key. The pass was just as good as the dunk.

Jordan didn't have a weakness after he added the three-pointer to his game, so there's your answer.

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Foreign players must turn 19 on that calendar year. Rubio was 18 when he was drafted, turning 19 that same year (2009), so that would make him eligible.