AboveLegit

Davis had a solid season after the trade to Cleveland, his attitude was shockingly better and acted as a leader for the Cavs. He also improved his three point shooting which is great to hear if he heads off to Miami. However, I would not even consider signing Baron if I'm Miami. Chalmers was coming into his own near the end of the finals, he's still young, and knows his role on the team. Not to mention they just drafted Norris Cole who is great at creating for himself and plays good defense.

They will work out for them in the regular season, but come playoff time, the Bulls will fall once again because as it was proven in the Miami series, they need another player capable of creating his own shot. I highly doubt the Bulls cut ties with Boozer, they still like what he brings to the table, and having that duo of him and Taj is very comforting. The amnesty clause could however, help find them a legitimate SG. Names like Brandon Roy and Ben Gordon are being thrown around, honestly wouldn't mind seeing either of them suiting up for Chicago.Both are risky moves, but I don't see why not if the price is right.

Teams like the Lakers and Knicks will still be able to afford stiffer tax penalties, and owners like Mark Cuban will still be going after every free agent he thinks will help get his Mavs a second title. Honestly, I don't see how some of these provisions are helping small market teams like Minnesota or Charlotte. An example is the sign and trade idea being thrown around. Wasn't that already a giant loophole in the old CBA that allowed for players like Carmelo to get to New York? Teams were over the cap, and were still able to trade for a free agent, pay him a max salary with the extra year. Wasn't that the big problem with the old CBA causing a competitive imbalance? Not sure why the owners are wanting this... Then, the owners are also pushing for an amnesty cut which is beyond me if I'm on their side. It would make sense if the hardcap was still on the negotiating table because the amnesty would allow for teams to get under the cap and avoid tax penalties. Yet we're hearing owners say they're losing money, but they still want add players without any sort of risk in free agency or by trades, and if he doesn't pan out, use the amnesty. How is that saving money or making the league more profitable or improve the competitive balance? Owners will still have to pay the released player and will probably end up paying a new player to replace the one they just cut. So, who will benefit most from these provisions? Definitely not the small market teams...The only real way to for the league to be more competitive is through the draft, which is why I'm pretty satisfied having an owner who knows what he's doing. This isn't the NFL where there's only 16 games a season, and single elimination playoff games, making it easier for middle of the pack teams to win.

Disgusted.

I'm not concerned with his ability, approach, or work ethic, he could clearly start for a handful of teams in this league right now, but I am concerned about the high expectations everyone has for him. If he ends up as a 'very good QB,' will that be enough? People believe he's the next Peyton Manning/Aaron Rodgers/Tom Brady, and that's a lot for a 22 year old. Remember, people didn't even project Peyton to be as good as Luck, there were GM's that were ready to take Ryan Leaf over him, in 2012, there's absolutely no competition for him. He's got the total package, and will probably end up in the top tier of QB's in the league in a few years, but I just can't say he will be in the realm of Manning, Brady, Marino, etc just yet. It's the same thing with John Wall, I knew coming into the draft that he was a sure thing because not only did he display talent as the collegiate level, but he had a great work ethic. It's why I continue to believe he will be a top 3 PG in the league very soon. Blake Griffin really stole the spotlight from John last season, and I think that helped him settle down and play to his ability rather than to everyone's expectations.

Jordan Taylor is the best PG in the nation if you ask me. He doesn't get enough credit for being a good PG because he's such an explosive scorer. He carries such a heavy load on this team, hopefully someone steps up and provides the Badgers with a second scoring threat. If Gassner and Evans improve their perimeter game, Taylor will find them. Aaron Craft is a little too high on this list if you ask me, he's not a great leader, and is passive at times. He makes flashy plays every now and then, but he needs to control the pace of the game more often. I cannot wait to see both Teague and Kabongo this year. Kabongo in particular, because he will rise up draft boards if he displays his leadership with this young Texas team and they start to win. He's a natural for the PG position and is a terrific shooter.

I don't buy all this hype until they make significant progress with the BRI, that's what is holding them back the most.

Hell yeah, very excited about the Caps play as of late. Hopefully this thread won't just be me and you talking lol, we need more Caps fans. -_- Vokoun has really impressed me as of late, this guy is everything we wished for in a goalie all these years. If our defense continues to support him, we could finally make some noise in the playoffs.

I can't wait to see Drummond play this year, I doubt he dominates, but he should have a good season. Problem with him is that he shies away from contact, which could be a problem that scouts will take a look at. The player I really want to see this year is Sullinger, the Wizards are a possibility for him in this draft, and I love the idea of pairing him up with an athletic center and SF to go along with his rebounding skills. If he's able to repeat his performance from last year, he will be a great choice for us. Hopefully he can continues to improve his midrange game. As for Perry Jones, he's shown flashes of greatness, but I want to see him stay consistent. You could use the excuse that Baylor as a team were very dysfunctional, but this year there's no excuse if he plays poorly. With the addition of Quincy Miller, it's a possibility that he gets outplayed, which could lead to an even greater drop in stock.

Just yesterday I had high hopes for the season getting started within the next month, now I feel like we're about to lose the whole season. There's enough new owners like Leonsis that just don't care if the season is lost, just as long as they get what they want, contrary to what many are assuming. The players are hell bent on not accepting a BRI split and won't take whatever is offered. At this point in the lockout, soon there will be a personal animosity between some of the league's biggest stars and a select group of owners. Or at least getting to the point where Stern is almost untenable as commissioner from a players' perspective. Even the mediator is saying these meetings are useless... http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/20/mediator-says-%e2%80%9cno-useful-purpose%e2%80%9d-to-continue-labor-talks?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Amazing start for the Caps this season, best ever in the history of this franchise . The new guys we acquired in the offseason have been a pleasant surprise, especially Halpern. Knuble playing with the second line is awesome, he really didn't fit in well with Ovie and Backstrom's speed, with this second line he's able to control the pace of the game and work on the boards. The lines overall are starting to gel. And I can't post this without giving some props to Vokoun, he continues to impress after the rough start.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/20/chicago-tribune-82-game-season-could-be-salvaged?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

He was hurt for one game, and Shanahan compensated for miss time by putting Beck in at QB during the last preseason game. At the end of the preseason, their snap totals were even, if not favoring Beck. Point is, in hindsight, it was the right move to go to Rex because he has that gun slinger mentality that Kyle Shanahan loves. Beck fits the offense better now due to his mobility because two of our O-linemen are out.

If we're really talking about the playoffs, let's also mention that Pierce was being guarded a lot by LeBron as well as covering Bron on defense, and he still put up decent performances. He had back to back 27 point games, and did some facilitating too with Rondo hurt. Ray on the other hand was covered a lot by Mario Chalmers, and didn't exactly have many ground breaking performances. So it's really a wash. The offense took a HUGE hit after the Perkins trade because it took those incoming players time to adjust to the new team (I don't think they ever fully grasped the offense). While Perkins is borderline inept on that end of the floor, his presence alone was a valuable asset to the team. Everyone knew their roles and spots, and they were able to run every play in Doc's playbook. Now Ainge brings in a jump shooting big (not sure I can even call him that, he's worthless), and Doc is forced to make adjustments to how his team is run. Losing Perkins also hurt Allen's productivity, because Perk was the main guy setting screens to get him open looks. It's no coincidence Ray fell into that huge slump after the trade deadline.

Ray has proven that he cannot create for himself as much as he used to, while Pierce still has his patented step back shot. And let's not act as if Green is a polished player, he's still pretty raw, so I'm not sure why that would alter your opinion. Just two years ago Pierce had a career high in 3PT FG% and FG% (which he happened to exceed this past year). He's still a great scorer, and is capable of doing more than Ray at this point in their careers. Bottom line is in the playoffs, Boston clearly didn't have enough weapons on offense to create for themselves. Putting the ball in Rondo's hands even more would only make them worse. I'd much rather lose a spot up shooter than a versatile scorer.

Problem with that list RD is that Pierce can do everything Ray does. Obviously he's not on the level of Ray in terms of spot up shooting, but he can still get it done. The biggest advantage he has over Ray is the fact that he can match up to the top wing players in the league, which is huge. Green CAN be a good defensive player, but he's not there yet. He has the build and athleticism to be a great wing defender, but he just didn't show it last year. When he was aggressive on the court (believe it or not he did show it a few times with Boston), he was very effective on the perimeter. He drove to the basket, got out on the fast break, and used his length to his advantage in the paint with that baby hook he has in his arsenal. The problem is, there were far too many times where he'd just disappear and do nothing on offense. Pierce is by far the most versatile scorer on the Celtics, and he draws fouls better than anyone on the roster. I'd go as far as saying he's just as important as Ray in the clutch. Obviously if there's less than 2 seconds on the clock, you're inclined to go with Ray, but say under 10 seconds, I'm giving the ball to Paul. He can create his own shot, and has the passing ability to create for others. That being said, I've said this a lot in the past year, Rondo is the most important player in Boston. He drives the offense, when he's aggressive and is getting into the lane, he makes life hell for opposing defenses due to his elite passing ability. He's a top 5 passer in the league, and the best defender at his position. After that, I'll go with KG for all the reasons you mentioned. Then I'll go with Pierce, followed by Ray.

They made a new model of those during the season to help him out. The games he missed were a result of him coming back too early and exacerbating the injuries he was dealing with. Now that he's completely healthy, I expect him to have a huge year and show off more of his athleticism. As for who would be the best fit next to him, I love Fish's answer. A player like Amare would be great to have, I can't remember the number of times Wall made dump off passes in the paint to McGee that resulted in a turnover. And please no to Josh Smith, as long as we have Jan Vesely on this team, we don't need another athletic forward who can't create for himself.

No he got outplayed by Rex in the preseason, and besides, the coaching staff felt more comfortable with Rex due to his experience under this offense.

I'll be the 11th I guess. -_-

What is the obsession over bets...?

Added a poll for you. It's probably going to be Palmer, I don't have much faith in the rest of these players. Beck plays too conservatively, which is nice for Skins fans since we won't have to deal with anymore 4 INT games, but on the stat sheet it probably won't look good. As long as he manages the game, makes accurate throws, and Kyle Shanahan sticks to running the damn ball, we have the potential to win the division.

How do these guys get paid to talk sports?

If there's one thing we learned from all of these labor meetings, it's that the number of hours they meet for means absolutely nothing.