Real Deal

No double-double for Howard, and he really didn't get involved much...but the perimeter players DID take over, and that was expected. Orlando cruised to a victory.

Pretty good game. The Bobcats didn't exactly defend Dirk the way they should've, and they had to play small quite a bit, so Dirk took advantage of that.

Damn, I wish I would've given a point differential here. I would've said 30. But yeah, there was no way the Knicks were going to win this. Cleveland, without Shaq, can run with them all night long. The Knicks rely on their speedy offense, and the Cavaliers' transition defense is too good. David Lee struggled, Gallinari couldn't get a shot off before the Cavs recovered, and the Knicks were down nearly 50.

Utah by 70.

Dallas is on a roll and on Denver's tail, and the Bobcats are known for beating the better team in Charlotte. This game could be where Dirk starts shooting bricks, especially with Charlotte's defense in his jersey.

Shaq is out, but the Cavaliers would rather play a faster-paced game, mainly to contain David Lee. How many points do the Cavs blow them out by?

These aren't necessarily must-wins for Orlando, but games against bottom-feeding teams in either conference need to be won if the Magic want to catch the Cavaliers. Carter and Shard have to start hitting their shots. Howard has been the backbone of the Magic the last few games, and he'll need others to step up if Orlando wants to make a second consecutive trip to the Finals. Games like this shouldn't be a problem for the perimeter players.

This game is the Bulls' chance at stealing the 5th seed from the Raptors, and possibly a statement game against one of the better East teams. Josh Smith has been stepping up big, defensively, and Joe Johnson has been better in the clutch, so this will be a dogfight for Chicago. Any word on Rose's knee? I know he was nursing it last game.

This should be a good game. The Grizz are tough at home, and Portland has to start winning games to retain that final seed in the West (it won't take much for Memphis to creep up on them and steal it, and the same can be said about the Hornets and Rockets). The Blazers should be playing with a sense of urgency, so a win here wouldn't surprise me. Randolph will probably go off, though.

The Parker/Collison match-up will be great, especially after Collison's huge 30+ point game yesterday. It'll be interesting to see what he can do the very next day, against a Spurs team that thrives on shutting down the hot hand early.

Houston is on and off, Toronto is losing ground to the Bulls...so I'm not sure who will come out on top here. I'll be rooting for Toronto, though. No Bosh this game as well, right?

Sorry Ben, I gotta root against the Suns, for the sake of the Thunder. Denver won't catch the Lakers, so I have to think about my second favorite team. Denver should win it, anyway. I don't see how they wouldn't be able to bounce back after Sunday's loss, unless they were tired.

If you're not a top four seed, all you should care about is the match-up in the first round. Now...if you believe you'll get out of the first round, well...maybe you should care. Cleveland would be your second round opponent if you end up with that 5th seed, so maybe grabbing the 6th or 7th gives you the best chance at getting to the ECF's, if you think about it. Hope for the 6th seed. You'll play Boston or Atlanta in the first, avoid the Cavs in the second round, and have a chance at the ECF's.

So you seriously just compared their stats, knowing LeBron plays most of the game? Come on. Oh well. LeBron is GOAT at everything.

Just hooked it up and connected today, and my PS3 is fine.

I wouldn't go that far. I don't think Bynum is intimidated by Shaq at all, honestly. Drew just plays like an idiot if he's not getting his touches, which is going to be tough to do while trying to gain post position on someone as big as Shaq, so he has to accept less. Gasol is not intimidated by Ilgauskas, at all. Big Z is a finesse player. Pau is more intimidated by someone like Varejao, who doesn't mind playing physical defense. That's why I was a little happy with the Jamison trade, rather than it being Amare. While Stoudemire isn't known for his defense, he HAS played physical on the defensive end when he's motivated (ask Tim Duncan), and he would probably cause Pau more problems at the end of the day over someone like Antawn, who I could probably score on. Having a healthy, 100% Shaq is what Cleveland needs in the playoffs, every round...even against the Bulls, who could really do damage down low (particularly attacking the rim). Rose is more likely to drive in on Ilgauskas than Shaq. Because the Cavaliers have excellent help defense, I don't think they need to be concerned with teams killing them on the pick and roll as much -- that hasn't been the case yet, at least consistently. Shaq doesn't play 40 minutes. Cleveland will be fine as long as they get him back by mid-April. Otherwise, they are going to have to cross their fingers for someone like Milwaukee in the first. Chicago probably couldn't beat them, but they would take them to six or seven...and I think the same can be said for Charlotte, as both teams would have to play four times in Cleveland. Problem is, no team wants to play six or seven in the first round, no matter who has HCA.

I understand Lopez because he's a good big man, but Lee and Harris? If you could trade those two for a really good power forward (possibly borderline all-star), and be lucky enough to get John Wall, you just jumped from one of the worst teams in NBA history up to a playoff team...and that's without signing a big-name FA.

Now that I actually think about it, I think Vujacic has done something like that. He looks like he's raping players when he defends them, so if I'm mistaken, he wasn't too far off from 3-4 fouls in a couple of minutes.

Landry had a solid game...seems like he's trying to fit in there pretty quickly. Sean May picked up four fouls in seven minutes. That has to be some sort of a record.

Durant continues to shine, and the Thunder continue to win. Their streak was snapped, but they look like they are back on track for another. Kevin is just too hard to stop.

Called the Kid's goal. I forgot the game was even on, flipped to it right when Team USA scored with 24 to go, and once it went into OT, I flipped it back to the Lakers/Nuggets and called it then. Once I turned the channel back, the game was already over, and they were getting ready to receive the medals. I figured sudden death would last a little longer.

Yeah, 82 games as a starter first. Starting for a full season is a different animal.

First five posts, all Canadians. I'll delete this if a different Canadian posts after this one.

Damn, tons of people getting owned. I haven't pulled my PS3 back out of the box since I returned home from Christmas. Just haven't had the time to play. Crazy, though...I was going to play it yesterday, but Jess wanted to watch some chick flick, and I coin-flipped my way into the movie. Watching one as we speak, also. BLAH.

Let's run through why this won't happen... 1) The Lakers don't have the cap room. 2) LeBron will not accept the MLE. 3) This is still Kobe's team. Now the reason why it could happen... 1) Cleveland would not want to let him walk, so they accept Bynum (to replace Shaq) and Odom in a sign-and-trade deal for LeBron. The Nets and Knicks don't have anything better to offer, and Miami would have to offer Wade (which means he doesn't get paired with him as a teammate). Slim, slim chance. If I were a betting man, my money would be on it not happening.