Real Deal

Wade had way too many easy buckets off of those damn screens by Chalmers. Fisher (yes, not the team, but Fisher) needs to fix that, pronto. Wade is too fast for Kobe to push out of that screen and catch him in time, so it's Fisher's job to tail Chalmers until the screen, then jump to Wade before he gets in the paint and at least contest a jumper. Good game by the Heat and Wade, great game and shot by Kobe (and Fisher's three), good game by a handful of Lakers. We have things to fix before we win another championship, just as the other contenders.

I actually thought you were joking, lol.

The guy only JaMarcus Russell would throw at (if they were on opposite teams, of course).

Four out of the 17 they've played. Only one road loss. Not really a good thing, though. People may think it's great to have an easy first half schedule, but the second half (when everyone is tired) will be filled with away games and long road trips.

Philly needs to run, like Atlanta is doing. If they want to keep Brand, they need to stick him at the five and go small, instead of worrying who's getting open in the Princeton offense. Adelman is running the same thing in Houston, and it's working well...because they are going small and they have guys that can knock down shots (ex. Brooks, Battier). When you stick a big in the five, and you still want to run an offense that relies heavily on its shooters, you need him to command doubles. Yao did it. Brand doesn't get that attention on defense. In the end, you have the Sixers going down low to Elton, and then everyone is standing around waiting for something to happen...and they end up playing a slow half-court game that lacks ball movement, which is why they are one of the worst teams in the league at 5-14.

LeBron uses his strength to get to the rim more than anything else. Artest is in Los Angeles to take care of LeBron, Melo, and Pierce...guys that are too strong for Ariza. Bryant will most likely handle the speed demons, along with Shannon Brown. Even though he's not as fast as he used to be...he's still faster than Ron.

I hope Artest believes he won't be able to contain Wade, and that it should be Bryant's job. Wade will light Ron up...just too quick.

He's there, haha. It's Kobe, LeBron, Wade and Howard.

I actually took Blake as my ROY winner before the season started, figured he would pull down double-digit boards and give the Clips at least 17 a game. That would be enough, in my opinion...and maybe even good enough to push them directly into the playoffs. I know guys are going to bring up Michael Olowokandi and Danny Manning, but I'm not sure if Griffin should fall into that category just yet. His injury isn't severe, and when it happened, he was still able to play. I believe he's probably already healed up by now, maybe just getting his legs back under him and making sure he's 100% before he suits up again.

Only problem is, McGrady won't be re-signing after this season. The chance of that happening is slim to none, unless Houston decides to overpay (which would be astounding). Trade McGrady to the Knicks for Harrington and a filler. New York seems to be interested in dealing him, McGrady has an expiring, might as well make it rain in the Big Apple.

Well, as I said, even if Boykins was going to fake and drive, or pull up for that shot...damn, just let it go. If you're going to contest a potential game-winner, you don't have to try and block it, just get a hand in the face...and that doesn't take a player jumper 40 inches off the ground, especially when your opposition is the shortest player since Muggsy Bogues.

Under 16 minutes per game, just three shot attempts a night (on average)... Yeah, I'd be upset. Some will argue that Gortat is just as good of a defender as Dwight is.

Nah man, there have been some good dunks...but they were all underrated. Iguodala's performance comes to mind, and so does Dwight's sticker dunk, and that tap-off-the-glass dunk was incredible. Problem is, DeRozan would literally have to showboat, and I actually think it was a good idea what was mentioned above these posts...about wearing a Carter jersey. He should put it on and go after Carter's reverse windmill (his first dunk in 2000) or the elbow in the rim (which I'm not sure if DeRozan can do either of those, especially the reverse windmill).

Well, Miller is the better overall player, but Blake is a shooter, and that's what Roy wants...and that's what McMillan likes (with him taking that role on a few times in his Sonics days). However, I don't think either of those guys fits this team, to be honest. Miller will pass the ball and run the point as a true PG would, and Blake is a shooting point that can also pass. I'd much rather see a slashing, score-first point guard in this offense...like Bayless, even though he's barely playing. Roy handles the ball most of the time, probably leading the team in assists because of that, so to me, this team has all the right pieces besides a suitable point guard.

Actually, yes. Harrington's contract expires soon, and that's $8-10 million off the books (don't remember how much he's making). I know Tyrus has a player option after this season, since I was actually hoping the Lakers would trade for him, and Jerome James is overpaid but PROBABLY expiring...so really, assuming the salaries are probably going to have to match due to cap restrictions, there's no reason for the Knicks to do this. Well, unless Harrington wants out. That could be it. Otherwise, this is a stupid move for New York as a team looking to be WAY under the cap, and a stupid move as a team looking to win games this year.

So... C - Bosh PF - Amir SF - Hedo SG - DeRozan PG - Jack Is that the lineup? I have no clue. I guess maybe they can play Hedo at the four, start Wright (someone that should be in the doghouse to begin with).

Right, but if they just run the ball, instead of trying to set up the Princeton offense, they can be a playoff team. Defense wins championships, but there has to be scoring, and a lot of offensively-talented teams who lack defense have won 50+ games in a season, especially this last decade.

Last six games... @ Washington: 7-21 (33.3%) vs. Chicago: 5-15 (33.3%) @ Orlando: 7-22 (31.8%) @ Oklahoma City: 3-11 (27.3%) @ New Orleans: 4-15 (26.7%) @ San Antonio: 6-21 (30%) He's shooting 30.5% from the floor in those six...didn't reach over 33% in any of them. Is it because they are on the road? Because he's a rookie? Fatigue setting in? Bogut being out? Bogut DID play against Chicago and Washington, so I'm not sure if that's the case. Maybe Jennings has hit the rookie wall already? Teams are targeting his offense, so I'd think Jennings would play it smart and take better shots, pass the ball more, and re-define his game, adjusting to his bigger role and the stronger defense.

Jennings is shooting 30.5% in his last six games, hasn't shot over 33% in any of them. Not good at all. He needs to take better jumpers, or make better decisions, as defenses are giving him the jumper and doubling him once he gets in the paint, and tough layups aren't going to go in all the time.

Rose needs to step it up more on the offensive end. I don't know if it's because of Salmons and Deng dominating the ball or what, but from what I've seen of Rose, he's not attacking the rim as much...just passing it out from the top of the key, or taking contested jumpers. Cleveland should win, but the Bulls can put up a fight if the bigs are producing well, especially Brad Miller.

Wonder how Al Harrington performs after his name has been tossed into trade rumors. Atlanta should have this in the bag, but it seems like there have been a ton of games we could've said that about for many teams in the league, and the ball rolls the other direction.

Final score: Washington 157, Toronto 152.

Yeah, he's pretty ugly though.

That sucks big time. Jennings running away with the ROY?

Haha, Dirk would go up, but then I'd have to stick Garnett up there...and because of that, Amare and Gasol would have to go up, along with Bosh, and then Joakim Noah.