Real Deal

They are history. I don't think there were that many posts lost, anyways...probably less than 50.

The database was saved and uploaded to the new server at around 5:20 AM EST, so anything after that was posted on the old database.

Clear your cookies and cache.

All teams are up. If you see any banners missing (ex. a big space with no banner showing), let me know. It's because I was too busy saving the PSD's and creating the banners so quickly, I forgot to save the JPG form.

If you take the early 90's Jordan and put him up against the 2005 Kobe Bryant, you'll get a pretty damn good matchup. I'm not sure Kobe beats him, though.

Nuggets, Pistons, Warriors, Rockets, Pacers, Clippers, Lakers, Grizzlies and Heat are up.

Actually, your argument was back in November of 2008, when I posted that the Suns would miss the playoffs because of Shaq. I remember it well. Only if I still had our old database. And don't give me a list of who the Heat had in regards to superstar play. You already dismissed that earlier, when I brought up Kobe, Shaq, and Gasol.

I'm mad because I don't hate Shaq as much anymore? Does that make any sense? I think what I said pissed you off, which is why you quoted me. I was 110% sure you'd quote my post, in fact...which is why I found it hilarious when you did. Don't feel so special. You aren't the biggest Kobe hater I know, not even close.

Hawks, Celtics, Bobcats, Bulls, Cavaliers and Mavericks are up in their team forums. I'll do more pretty soon.

Ah, okay...the Heat, then. But I'm sure you'll take the Heat's injury-plagued season and hold that against them also, right? Boston won less games in the decade, had the worst healthy season, so uh...the Heat have one ring, Boston has one ring, so I guess...the Heat are more dominant because they have had more regular season wins and their worst healthy team is better? Hmm...that's funny, because I remember having this debate on the old OTR, about who was the most dominant player of the decade, and I do believe you said it was Shaq. In fact, I remember replying to you about it, saying I had an argument it was Bryant because of his offensive dominance. But yeah.

Well, to be fair, I saw Jordan play since 1990, when he was in his prime, and I think you're underrating Kobe Bryant again. Jordan is still better, and I don't think that's up for debate by even the biggest Lakers homer, but the gap isn't that far, either. If you saw the last three-peat for Jordan, you'd know that in 1997 and 1998, Jordan had a bit of trouble with Kobe when Bryant was guarding him, and had a little more trouble containing him in his last season with Chicago (which was still an MVP season for him). That's a Jordan that was the MVP of the league, having trouble with a rookie and second year Kobe Bryant, who wasn't even getting the significant playing time under Del Harris. There isn't one single player in the NBA that can contain Kobe individually. Not one. Same with Jordan. The difference is, teams couldn't play Jordan the same way they do Bryant, or they would get called for illegal defense in the 90's. Kobe has seen more double teams than any other player I've ever watched, maybe Shaq nips at his heels, and I can probably say that Wilt saw as much...but that's it. Yet, even in the worst of times, Kobe was able to average 35 PPG, able to drop 81, able to score 56-62 points in 36 minutes or less two or three different times (which, really, is on pace to dropping another couple of 80's). On the other hand, even though I think Kobe can lock down any guard or small forward in the league (as he did with LeBron this last season), I also think it slows down his offensive production, something you didn't see with Michael, and that's what separates the two. Not the defensive ability, really, but just the offense/defense combination that was more consistent with Michael (if that makes sense), although that might have a LOT to do with having the greatest defensive small forward in the history of the game on your team.

Jerry Buss' daughter (the owner's daughter) and Phil Jackson's woman.

Then if this has nothing to do with Denver, and you're just pissed off at him because he didn't want to come off the bench, you need to understand that Allen Iverson cannot come off the bench as a contributor. He's a volume shooter. If he's not getting his shots, he's not effective. Same with Reggie Miller. In fact, I can almost say the same thing for any NBA superstar that puts up 20 shots per game. Coming off the bench, Iverson never saw fourth quarters in Detroit...at least not the last six minutes of them, and there were games he didn't even get to play at all in the fourth. Really? That's a good idea? Don't even try to debate that. If you have Allen Iverson on your team, and he's not 45 years old, you stick him in the game in the fourth, especially when your team is down by 10 points or so. No Rodney Stuckey will bring you out of that, and it's well-known that Rip Hamilton plays off the ball better than he does with it in his hands, and Prince is a better spot-up shooter than anything. So let me ask you one question: what player, with the ball in his hands in the fourth, was going to draw enough attention to get everyone else shots? Haha, don't even answer.

Snake posted this right after the database was transferred, so it won't show up on the site now.

There are going to be a few posts lost, between 5:20 AM EST and 11:00 PM EST. Things should be installed and fine for most, and some will have to wait a bit before seeing the forums (due to domain propagation).

Great way to handle trolling, Mike. If you want, let me know when it happens again, so I can hand out a suspension. Thanks.

That doesn't occur normally if you have diabetes. Don't believe everything you read. But high blood pressure, yes. That can happen. I have pre-hypertension, blood pressure runs a bit high sometimes, probably from all the salt I eat (in other words, all the food I eat) and from low potassium. Ever see small silver stars, or slivers of things in your vision? The blood rushing from your head to your feet...if you feel that, it's the blood pushing up against your artery walls. That pressure? It's blood pressure...measured by the force your blood presses up against the walls of your arteries. The higher the pressure, the weaker you feel...along with being dizzy sometimes, or feeling pain in your legs, headaches, etc. Go to a regular doctor first. If he doesn't find it to be your blood pressure, or you aren't anemic, go straight to an eye doctor. Temporary vision loss, for that long, is a bit odd...so I'm willing to bet it has more to do with your body and your blood pressure, and not your retina or blood vessels in your eyes.

Damn cancer. And pfft...look at this: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/600/picture10e.png Wow. What a cancer.

Haha, no, Ben Gordon is not a better three-point shooter than Larry Bird or Craig Hodges. I'll let someone else in on this, if they want. It's useless for me to even debate that above. When Gordon gets doubled constantly, and he still nails threes from the corner, with two guys in his jersey...he'll be better than Larry Legend. And there's a huge reason why Hodges nailed 48% or better from downtown in two seasons, and set the three-point contest record. The thing about Gordon is that he knows when to draw back his shot. When he's cold, he won't shoot threes. When he catches fire, he doesn't pass, and he jacks up the shots until he bricks. 30 points one game, 10 the next. I'm not sold on an extremely streaky shooter being considered one of the greatest three-point shooters in the history of the game. Maybe in the league today, but I'm not sticking him up there with guys that would drop 50 on you at any given time if you didn't defend them from beyond the arc.

Haha, if the Nuggets had played the Lakers in the first round in 2009, with Melo and Billups, you wouldn't be saying any of this because it would've been another first-round loss. Iverson was irate about coming off the bench because he wanted to win, and anyone that knows the game of basketball knows that a team will not win bringing AI off the bench. You act like he's not a winner, but he's a former MVP and a player that led his team to the NBA Finals. Before 2009, Carmelo was in the same boat as Tracy McGrady, losing every single playoff series he ever played in since being drafted. All I'm saying is that I find it very, very funny that you were telling me the Lakers were going to get killed against Denver in 2008. You had all the faith in the world in Allen Iverson. Then, you witnessed a sweep, mainly because Carmelo Anthony played like a D-Leaguer against Luke Walton. Now, a year later, you're pointing fingers elsewhere? Please. Iverson shot 43.4% in the playoffs, scored 24.5 PPG, while Carmelo shot his 36.4% and scored 22.5 PPG. Hell, Iverson threw more assists, that selfish piece of trash...more than twice as many as Melo. Carmelo also had five more turnovers and 14 more personal fouls in those four games. I believe I know where the fingers should be pointing. Iverson is probably glad he left Denver. I sure would be if some young failure was getting all the credit for the hard work I was doing.

Jordan is the better overall player, and we all know that...but he's not better than Kobe at everything. Bryant has more range on his shot, and he also has a broader offensive skillset than Michael, including more post moves and ways to split doubles and lose his man on the perimeter. Jordan drives better and has better overall defense, including steals, blocks and defensive rebounding. If you take away the rings and MVP's, they are pretty damn close as a comparison, but it's Jordan's defense that separates him from Kobe...and while I can argue that Kobe is the slightly better offensive player, I can't argue that he's better defensively, and that's where I draw my conclusion.

So I have to assume you're British, and that's also why you're defending Gordon to the death. I'm also assuming you're going to classify Gordon as a superstar? Just curious. If you're wanting to talk about complete bodies of work, then don't bother talking about Ben Gordon until he's retired. Using your argument, Ben Gordon is a better three-point shooter than Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Larry Bird and Craig Hodges, as long as we're taking their first five seasons...but haha, that's definitely not true, and will prove to be false once Gordon approaches his prime a bit more, working on other aspects as he draws away from spot-up threes he was landing with Rose, Hinrich and Deng passing him the ball. This will show even more once he attempts 500+ in a season, also. I've stated a few times that Ben Gordon is one of my favorite players, but there's no chance I'm going to label him "great" at anything. There's no reason to associate greatness to a five-year player, not even LeBron James.

BOOMSHAKALAKA! Don't worry, Matt, mine was the obvious joke. I don't spend all of my time here blasting him every chance I get, sort of like you do (and, hey, sort of like Shaq did, huh?). In fact, I haven't said anything bad about Shaq in a long, long time. Gave him props plenty of times lately. So...yeah, we know who gets mad around here, in Shaq discussions, Eagles discussions, etc. Most of us know, at least.

Working on it right now.

The best franchise has a dynasty and doesn't achieve 2nd round loss, Finals win, 2nd round loss, Finals win, 2nd round loss, Finals win (in that order). Well that sure the hell doesn't make sense. That doesn't tell me anything. So since the Celtics were pathetic for five seasons (under 40 wins), and the Suns haven't done that bad in the last 8-9 years, are the Suns the better franchise because you'd rather play the worst Celtics team? Nice logic. If Shaq were still a Laker, you'd be all over this topic. But hey, using your logic, Duncan is the better player from 1999-2009. He's got as many rings as Shaq, but in their worst seasons, who would you rather play? I rest my case.