Real Deal

Makes sense. I think Chicago needs this win more than Miami needs Orlando to win, lol. The Bulls have to regain that confidence they had a month ago. They are 4-6 in their last 10, five straight losses, and are now sitting ninth in the playoff race.

I used to blast "Here We Come" by Nelly, driving around the high school about 4-5 times before I went home everyday. Had a ton of Eminem flying out of my speakers, also, haha.

Back in November, the Warriors won by 14. Portland was healthy (even had Oden), but it was Roy that struggled, and Monta Ellis went ballistic. That was in Oakland. Things changed in Portland. Roy hit 37 points, and the Blazers won by 16. Not sure what will happen tonight, but it could get interesting, with an improved Curry, and the game being in Oakland once again. The Blazers are 17-15 on the road this season.

Without Noah, this should be an easy win for the Magic. Back in January, Chicago took out the Magic, and Howard had a tough time with Noah on him. Carter also struggled, shooting 3-15 from the floor. Shard shot 2-9, and Nelson was 5-13. Of course, that was a Bulls team with John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas, though...but Rose did notch 30.

Alright, here's mine... 1) Dirk Nowitzki He's a superstar, probably the toughest power forward to defend in the league, and he's super versatile (which explains why it's so tough to defend him). 2) Chris Bosh Not much of a defensive player either, but his offensive game has improved quite a bit. Basically, he's added a couple more post moves, better footwork, and he's stronger. 3) Pau Gasol Pau is putting up nearly the same numbers as Duncan, better rebounder and if he wasn't injured (hamstring problems since November), he'd be shooting a higher percentage from the floor. 4) Tim Duncan He's struggling to shoot 50% from the floor, and has been for the past three seasons. His defense has dropped off a bit, but he's still putting up a solid 19/11, exceptional leadership. 5) Carlos Boozer He's a much better rebounder than Amare, shooting just as well from the floor, and he's stronger in the post. Amare may be a product of the system he plays in, so Boozer takes #5. By the way, David Lee is a center.

I won't argue against it. Other than Cleveland, they are the team that I think can beat the Lakers if they have HCA.

Kidd is playing out of his mind right now. He's shooting amazing from three (42%), he's averaging 10/6/9 with two steals per game, and his defense has been much better this season (versus last year). Dallas has choked in the playoffs in recent memory because they haven't had a defensive-minded big that isn't a liability on offense. Brendan Haywood fills that hole, and he's a much better defender than DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier, or any center they've had in the last decade or two. The Mavericks can play fast, they can play a half court game, they have four players who can drop 15-20+ on any given night (Dirk, Terry, Butler and Kidd). They have defensive players (Kidd, Marion, Haywood, Stevenson). They are currently on a win streak that probably won't stop until they snag the top seed in the West (just take a look at their remaining schedule). Dallas shoots a higher percentage than we do, a higher 3PT percentage, the only team above 80% free throw shooting, second in assists, third in steals, and they are beating us in all of those (and probably more, too lazy and worried to check). If we beat Dallas, it'll be because of our defense, nothing more...and to tell you the truth, their strength at the PF and the PG positions are where our weaknesses lie in our defense. If you say you aren't worried, you better open your eyes to a Dallas Mavericks team that is quite possibly the most complete team we've ever seen out of Dallas.

Riot gets the win. On to the next one.

Rules: 1) 16 lines max. 2) At least two of those lines must be about your opponent's favorite sports team (basketball, football, etc). 3) Cussing will be censored if you decide to use it. Don't bypass the censor with asterisks or other symbols. 4) 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. Votes are only valid with an explanation containing three or more sentences, no exceptions. The lower seeds (in terms of position) go first. Based on this match-up, Swish will be asked to post his, followed by Legacy. You have two days to post. Good luck, fellas. Run yo mouth!

Hoopshype again. I see they flipped the switch back in May of last year. Thanks for the update.

Forgot Jennings. It's about Bogut. The guy has an improved offensive game, he's becoming a leader, and shockingly, his defense is actually better. For a while, I figured he would stick around as that "good center" we've known him to be, but now he's playing solid basketball, and I'd consider him an all-star-caliber player right now. That may have a little to do with Jennings and Salmons, as they take the load off of Bogut offensively. Salmons is actually averaging 19 PPG as a Buck. However, nobody can really ignore Drew's play and the impact he's having on Milwaukee's season.

Evans - 19 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST, 2 TO Udrih - 24 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 2 TO Toronto has to play perimeter defense. You can expect Evans to put up big numbers, but you have to lock down SOMEONE in the backcourt. Should've just doubled Evans if they were going to let Udrih kill them.

Too many damn weapons, and Jason Kidd is a PLAYER. Dirk shot 3-16 and the Nets still didn't capitalize on it...but it is the Nets. And wow, Terry didn't even play, lol.

Collison and Thornton choked this game, and it's good to see Julian Wright playing. WHERE IS EMEKA? I know he can play better than he did tonight. Did he get hurt? Durant had a big scoring night again, but don't write off what Westbrook did: 17 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, over 50% from the floor shooting, two steals. The guy is like a more athletic Jason Kidd...well, stat-wise at least.

Give my boy Chalmers some credit. He didn't have a single turnover, shot well, had 12/6 and played good defense. Wade went 15/17 from the charity stripe. That's ridiculous. The Clippers would've made it a bit tougher on Wade if Eric Gordon had played.

Utah shot 56% from the floor and had 35 assists as a team. Any team that allows that deserves to lose.

Gallinari and Harrington combined to shoot 1-11 from three and 9-27 from the floor. The Knicks were 2-17 from downtown as a team. Didn't they just set a record for going 0-18? Great game by Manu, but the Spurs are going to need Parker in this tough stretch of games ahead.

You're probably going to lose when you allow 31 points off of free throws, and 50% shooting for the game.

Wolves had this one had they not rolled over and died in the third. That's too bad. Nobody wanted to play defense this game.

NITRO! What's going on, man? Good to see you back. The only thing I want to point out is the passing. The turnovers that Kobe has had are mainly from him trying to split doubles, or drive into 2-3 players and utilize his spin moves (which was actually a big problem of his for a while). I rarely see Bryant throw a terrible pass. It does happen, of course, but not often. And, with that said, neither did Jordan. I just believe that Kobe's passes down low (off penetrating drives) separate him from Jordan. They were accurate and effective. Both find their shooters really well. I just don't take assists per game into consideration as much because, throughout the years, Jordan has had more competent teammates to convert those passes into assists than Bryant has. While Kobe did have Shaq, it was O'Neal that called for the ball down low, creating his own shot. Same with Gasol and Bynum. Jordan and Scottie had a plethora of dangerous shooters at their fingertips, and with Scottie doing what he could to set up MJ, it was Jordan that had the ball in his hands at the end of the clock, and that's what made him most dangerous, spreading the floor and doing what he wanted with guys that actually knew how to spread the floor with him. LeBron James is an excellent passer, and his high assist numbers can be explained because he has Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson, and Jamario Moon all knocking down shots, one of the best shooting teams in the NBA, I believe.

If "stats are stats" as you claim, why did you claim that Kobe Bryant was a better player than LeBron James? Just curious...

Each player will have a player page, full stats and all...but that's in the future. Tons of work behind that as well. So when you click one of the players, you'll get an error. Dallas' owner and GM are fixed (left them as the Cavaliers' office by accident), and the Magic owner's name is fixed. Ryan, I'll think of something. A box doesn't exactly work there...looks a little out of place, but I'll figure something out.

Done.

Ah, I forgot. Should I put Irene Pollin? Since all of it went to his wife?

Don't worry too much about the height and weights of the players. NBA.com, Basketball Reference, ESPN, CBS, they all have different numbers for them. Not sure why they can't just be all the same. For salaries, I just used Storyteller's stuff. He seems to have more accurate salary totals. Hoopshype leaves out some player salaries, anyway. The main thing is to make sure the players are all there, and the coaches, owners and general managers are correct (names spelled right, stuff like that as well). Salaries will be approximate, and height/weight will vary due to conflicting reports.