Real Deal

Because, quite frankly, nobody cares about Big Z anymore, despite his long journey with the Cavs.

Good help defense, not a good man-to-man defender (sort of like Camby, except less defense).

Just to boost morale a bit more... OTR was up for 53 months before the hack. I deleted probably 30,000 posts over that amount of time, so add that to the 620,000 we put up. 650,000 posts, divided by the 53 months...12,264 posts a month, on average. This November, we've hit just over 10,000 posts. We can surely do better, but we aren't as bad as I thought when compared to our averages.

Haha, I'm sorry...but Jose Calderon? Again? He shot 1-7 from the field, was absolutely murdered by Nash, and didn't get to the line at all. Five of the players for Phoenix had 15 or more points (Nash, Amare, Barbosa, Richardson and Frye), shot 51% from the floor, 43% from three, and won the game by 19 points after a 50-49 halftime score. Toronto needs work.

I actually thought the point guard play by the Knicks was going to keep the game tied up until the final seconds of the game. J-Will wasn't doing a great job defending anyone out there, and Anthony Johnson was just too slow. Lee did a number on Howard, wore him out a bit, but it was nice seeing the Magic look to Dwight in the post more...which helped him get to the line and ultimately make for an easier win by Orlando.

Yeah, like I was saying earlier, having McGrady back takes the ball out of Ariza's hands, and it means that Trevor can go spot up and knock down shots. When you combine that with Battier doing the same thing, Landry's improved scoring and Brooks slashing, you have a team that can hurt you in more ways than one (which, right now, is the pick and roll).

The problem is that Wade is trying to work Jermaine like he did Shaq in 2006, and that's not going to happen. Jermaine isn't going to command that much attention in the post, so he's going to need to work the two-man with Beasley (even though Beasley is no Shaq as well, but he's a threat from more spots on the floor).

I don't know about Gasol, but he's better than Andrew, who has been playing average to below-average defense all season long. Shot-blocking is okay, but you also have to stop your man, not just the small penetrating guards that blow past Fisher. I can't say that Gasol is a top ten defender...I guess you can argue he's top ten, at least...but no way is he in the top five.

Conley isn't a starter. Run Mayo at the two, Tinsley at the point, Arthur at the four and bring both Randolph and Conley off the bench. Both don't belong in that first unit with Mayo, Gay and Gasol on the floor. EDIT: Is Arthur hurt?

There is no way Detroit should've won this game, not with Gordon, Prince and Hamilton out. Despite being on the road, this was the Hawks' chance for an easy win, and they just blew it. On a side note, Smith is playing really well. I've been impressed with him so far this year.

...and not only that, but Kevin Martin looks like a good piece to move. Sacramento could get quite a bit out of him...young, explosive scorer, could be used as a second option on a team needing one to get over the hump in the playoff race. Build around Evans, bring in some defenders, and beef up the five a little.

The other thing I just realized was that we almost hit 400 without me actually posting much. Before this one and the other few posts I've had since the day ended, I posted maybe 20 times, probably less. That's definitely a good thing, because usually, boards struggling with activity tend to lean on their staff for an extra boost, and you guys didn't need that today.

Yep, both Scott and Johnson have had success in the past. Johnson and Scott would both push for defense as well.

Yeah, Przybilla has been a good defender throughout his career. I don't consider Josh Smith a big man. His position is at the four, but he's not a big. Greg Oden Joakim Noah Tim Duncan Dwight Howard Kendrick Perkins That's my top five, no particular order. You can make arguments for... Brendan Haywood Chuck Hayes Joel Przybilla Marc Gasol Kenyon Martin

I plan on adding something cool for us in the next few days, finishing all of the promo sigs I've been working on, and getting to those player databases. Some of my recent decisions...I wish I would've made a long time ago, so I'm sorry for that. Probably best to have made them before the season started, but we all make mistakes. It's much tougher to reconstruct and replace while the season is in progress, but it's never impossible.

Just thought you guys would be interested in our recent activity. Post count is reaching for the 400's again, but better yet, our actual posts are of really good quality, and that's even more important. Very impressed with what we are doing right now, especially tonight. Great, great, great job guys. Our most productive day since 11/16. http://i46.tinypic.com/166j0ap.jpg

The same way the Lakers had trouble with the Rockets in the playoffs last season. Houston changes their style of play really well when it's needed. Last year, the Rockets ran up and down the court once Yao fell to injury, and it manipulated the way the Lakers defended them. With Scola out tonight, Houston probably changed it up a bit (not sure, didn't get to watch most of the game).

He may not be the best overall player right now, but Joakim Noah is Chicago's MVP.

I agree with Dick Vitale. Just let the kids enter the draft right out of high school. College basketball won't suffer from it. There are many guys who have been afraid to go straight to the pros, or just wanting to go one or two years to a school before the draft. There's a lot of talent out there, and some of them aren't smart enough, or just don't have the money, to get into a college.

Well, assuming the Nets are going to make a run for LeBron, they may need to bring in a respected coach, instead of a rookie on the sidelines. Frank was respected. Byron Scott is looking for a job.

Wow, 30 point lead in the third. At least we're beating teams that we're supposed to beat (something we had trouble with last season). Beat the Warriors by 33, gonna beat the Nets by 70.

Durant just said on his Twitter that Scola was hurt this game. How bad was it?

Houston should go to their two "bigs" before anyone else on the team, including Brooks and Ariza.

I wouldn't say he was doing fine at any point during the season. He'd been shooting bad the entire year so far, and taking too many shots in the process. @ BLAZERS (start of regular season) 3-8 FG (37.5%), 12 PTS vs. WARRIORS 9-21 FG (42.9%), 25 PTS vs. BLAZERS 11-17 FG (64.7%), 33 PTS vs. JAZZ 6-15 FG (40%), 15 PTS @ LAKERS 5-21 FG (23.8%), 15 PTS vs. THUNDER 8-18 FG (44.4%), 21 PTS @ MAVERICKS 3-10 FG (30%), 9 PTS vs. GRIZZLIES 7-17 FG (41.2%), 17 PTS @ KINGS 10-21 FG (47.6%), 28 PTS vs. LAKERS 2-12 FG (16.7%), 9 PTS @ SUNS 8-21 FG (38.1%), 19 PTS vs. WOLVES 6-19 FG (31.6%), 18 PTS @ HAWKS 7-18 FG (38.9%), 16 PTS vs. KINGS 7-19 FG (36.8%), 19 PTS @ MAVERICKS 8-15 FG (53.3%), 20 PTS @ SPURS 6-21 FG (28.6%), 17 PTS @ THUNDER 7-23 FG (30.4%), 17 PTS

59-34 at the half, Kobe with 23 already. Hope Phil takes him out for the fourth.