Poe

But was he chuckling at the idea of the Heat being the best? That's what you said the Mavs and the other teams would be doing at the idea, and that is what I was responding to. Nothing else.

Just because Bargnani doesn't play like a traditional center doesn't make him less of an overall player necessarily. Rose averaging 6 assists didn't stop him from being an all star last year, even though the traditional all star point guard usually gets a high volume of assists. For the Raptors or any team really, the bulk of the rebounding doesn't have to come from any particular position. Guards like Rajon Rondo and Landry Fields are terrific rebounders. That said, while Bargs has grown into a very good player, he doesn't bring quite enough of the other elements to make up for his lackluster rebounding for me to call him an all star yet. He's a good scorer with 21 ppg and 56% TS, but he isn't a great scorer like Dirk Nowitzi who has been scoring about 24 ppg since 04 while shooting at least 59% TS for many of those years. If Bargs can increase his scoring and improve on at least another element of his game, like passing for instance to about 3 apg or so, then I'd say he's an all star in the right circumstance.

Coming from the owner of the Mavs team that "destroyed" the Heat by 11 points. I'm sure he's chuckling, as well as all the other owners of teams that may come close to contending with the Heat.

RD, it is possible I am wrong about Kobe this year, but I'll wait several more games to rebuild judgment about Kobe's game. Early in the season, he played bad and Gasol was putting up MVP caliber numbers. Since then, Kobe has played a string of games against bad defensive teams and his numbers went up, while Gasol's worsened from being overplayed. I'd like to see what their numbers are by the half of the season. Either way, the Lakers are not a perfect machine, and the stars haven't played consistently well. I have no idea what you're talking about here. Honestly. BTW, I talked about my prediction of the past two titles to show that I've seen the Lakers' struggles before, yet still didn't see a reason to think that would mean anything in the end. This year I'm sensing something different. And I don't recall "everybody" predicting the Lakers would win. I hope that cleared up whatever you're trying to prove against me. I'm still not sure what it is, or how it would help your argument in any way that would prove that LA still has the best chances at the title. Who is "everyone"? Anyway, this isn't about team record. The Jazz could have played 30 good teams to start each year, they could have played 30 bad ones. This year they are a different team, and I don't see how the Lakers can beat them when things start coming together for them.

No, they're still in the process of "meshing". Despite this, they are somehow the best team in the league already.

What does that have to do with what everyone thinks? Are you?

So what "everyone thinks" is what's right? And notice I have the Heat at the top. I'm not basing this off team record.

Gasol was overplayed to start the season, so naturally he's wearing out a bit. At his best, he's still the Lakers' top quality overall player at this point. And out of your ten game sample, the only teams Kobe shot over 50% against were the Clippers, the Kings, and the Wizards. How impressive. You know what's even more impressive? The only other teams Kobe shot over 50% this season were against the Warriors, the Raptors, the Suns, the Grizzlies, and the Pistons. Still the best player in the NBA, right? I don't doubt that Kobe is the best player on the team without that broken hand, nor do I doubt his ability to turn things around. It's imperative he does. If he doesn't, a healthy Jazz team will be the best in the West come playoff time. Remember, this is coming from a guy that predicted LA's past two titles despite the question marks.

Right now, my list would be... 1. Heat 2. Spurs 3. Mavericks 4. Jazz 5. Celtics 6. Lakers 7. Magic But eventually, I think it will be... 1. Heat 2. Jazz 3. Lakers 4. Celtics 5. Mavericks 6. Spurs 7. Bulls Unless there are trades. In the Eastern Conference, the only teams that have a legitimate shot at the Finals are the Heat and the Celtics. After those two, it's a considerable drop off in team quality. The Bulls may become the next closest thing as Boozer finds his role, but the Bulls neither have the depth of the Celtics or the mega star power of the Heat. As I've predicted before, the Magic are fading off the map. Vince Carter's shell of his old sell is getting weaker and weaker, and Rashard Lewis has been missing since 09. With Dwight Howard as the only remaining star, they may have become a weaker form of the past Cavaliers team. They'll win regular season games, but they'll come short in the playoffs without having a legitimate second option. That is unless they make a trade. In the West, the Spurs have been hot under Manu's leadership. However, i feel the team lacks a legitimate big man. Duncan is only averaging 13 points per game shooting merely 52.4% TS. To make up for that, Manu, RJ, and Hill have been shooting unusually high percentages to start the season. When those inevitably drop, so will their record. The Mavs have a similar issue as the Spurs in missing a big, except the opposite. They have Dirk as the big, but are missing a true complimentary wing option. Sure they have Caron Butler and Jason Terry, but does that really match up with the Kobe's, the Wade's, the LeBron's, etc? They have the depth and the experience to win games and even make a playoff push, but in the end, one star can only handle so much pressure. The Lakers have won back to back championships, and I predicted both of them. This year, I'm less sure. There are smaller details like Fisher's inabilities on defense, and Artest's inability to play a team offense. By far the biggest issue, however, is that Kobe is no longer the best player on this team. He has played poorly, whether it's because of age or injury, and it shows in his numbers. He's not getting any younger, and the worst part, his hand is beyond repair from what I'm hearing. Gasol is not good enough to lead a team to win a championship, and Kobe's massive ego wouldn't accept second fiddle if they were to truly use Gasol as the first option. Unless this turns around and Kobe finds a way to rediscover his game, I'm wondering if they'll even revisit the Finals this year. I truly believe Jazz will become the best team in the West. If they enter the playoffs healthy, I do believe we will see a Jazz - Heat matchup in the Finals. They have everything you need. They have a perimeter scorer and an elite playmaker in Deron, and they have true second option in Al Jefferson, who will become better and better as he continues to get accustomed to the offense. Paul Milsap has proven to be a great third option as well. With Bell and Kirilenko at the wings, plus being one of the top shot blocking teams in the league, they can match up with any team in the NBA. They have some depth too with Miles and Okur.

BTW, Rajon Rondo gets my vote. In 5 years the guy went from a player with a small role to the third best PG in the world. He has legitimately improved his game over the years, and his numbers aren't as much of a product of an increased role, touches, and minutes given to the same exact talent leveled player like many of the other candidates.

Clippers, Nets... and anywhere else that has multiple teams in the same state or very close location to each other. Not saying there is any reason for these teams to be removed though. I also do believe the NBA needs to spread further. There should be more teams, preferably located outside the states. Maybe a couple more teams in Canada, a team or two in Mexico, and definitely a division or two out in Europe, and maybe eventually Asia as well (particularly China, basketball is massively popular there).

I wouldn't doubt that... http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CqDk4jAv_Y4/S9oT8YCk-kI/AAAAAAAACOU/ZDD-out2Ins/s400/11.jpg He's probably already establishing a full court jumper.

I think the NBA should incorporate a system where higher game attendance increases the team's cap. That way dedicated fan bases will be rewarded.

+/- is only useful to evaluate what group of players fit together best on a team. Otherwise, the only thing +/- shows is that a particular player happens to be on a good or bad team, or has happened to have had playing time with a good or bad group of players.

Wow, three game losing streak for the Lakers. Time to fire Phil Jackson.

I find it odd how people are so fixated on the way things are, and have very limited imagination on the way things will be in the future. 5 years ago, when Dorell was benched because he was playing the same position as Antoine Walker and James Posey while the Heat were headed towards a championship, people said he's a bench warmer and would be fortunate to have a future in the NBA. Fast forward the clock to three years ago, when Dorell was finally getting a chance to play after recovering from a serious injury. People said he was a 9th man at best, and would remain a third string player for the rest of his career. Now just last year, when Dorell recovered from yet another injury, he became the 7th man for the Heat. People said he was a good back up and is ideally a sixth man. Now this year Dorell is finally getting minutes and increased freedom offensively, and people say that he's a good third option. Are you starting to get the pattern? Do you realize that he's only 24 years old?

I remember the days when every fan would say he sucked, that he was a "total scrub", every analyst calling him a "9th man at best", and I was always laughed at for calling him a future all-star. That was six years ago... and I was still arguing throughout last year and the whole time in between. Is it too early to say "I told you so"?

I've watched Nick's videos from time to time. He's definately not a joke, but I wouldn't trust him to be my coach either personally. Though I don't always agree with him, I find that he does usually make some interesting points, and most of the key areas he points out in each game are at least worth noting, whether I personally agree on his take or not. I do agree on intricate things like going under screens against a shooter, though such things are elementary. Other small things I don't agree with, like saying Blake shouldn't take advantage of a layup opportunity. If you don't trust Blake to take a layup, you might as well not let him play. Even if it's a bit contested, he still had a good angle on both shots, he just aimed poorly and didn't execute. And also, if Artest can't be trusted with a very good looking corner three, then LA has some issues to figure out. And saying Barnes is part of the core reason the Lakers lost is very odd... especially since he had a decent game scoring and rebounding the ball. The only real negative appears to be his lone technical, and saying that committing a technical foul is the reason LA lost is absurd. Techs give 1 point to the opposing team (if the free throw is made... oddly enough). LA lost by 6. Just from looking at the box score, it seems clear to me from noting individual player performances that the point guard position was the Lakers' biggest issue. Both Blake and Fisher played poorly offensively, and neither provided much resistance defensively to Deron Williams. So if I'm going to blame the loss on the performance of two players, it should clearly be Blake and Fisher. From a different perspective, you can also blame the Jazz's win on Deron Williams being such a damn hard cover, and him penetrating and breaking down the Laker defense so well. And also give credit to Al Jefferson being in the right place at the right time off the ball. Also, seeing him switch from "who's the best PG" thing in his vids is clearly done for attention. He's trying to create discussions/arguments in his videos so that they get more comments, ultimately generating more views.

The game against Indiana was awful. I didn't even want to keep watching past halftime. There was simply no effort or intensity, causing the Heat to make a lot of silly mistakes offensively, and more importantly, giving the Pacers a lot of easy looks in their offense due to the simplest things like getting back on [expletive]ing defense. I want to see Joel back in the starting line up. I know he struggles offensively, but I would prefer if Spo allowed him to play through his offensive mistakes, mostly due to the outstanding effort Joel gives. His energy and willingness to do the "little things" like showing on screens, taking away passing lanes inside, blocking and altering shots inside, overall making his match up work hard for everything, and offensively being a quick screener and making hustle plays like rebounding and diving for loose balls. Unfortunately, most of this goes unnoticed because almost none of it shows up on the stat sheet, except for shot blocking. The only thing the common fan will notice is once the ball does actually get in his hands and all eyes are on him, he is notorious for [expletive]ing up. Honestly, though, I think the latter part of his game won't be so prominent if he relaxed a bit. Though he needs to play with the same intensity, he needs to play without the jitters. Spo should take pressure off of him and allow him to play through mistakes as long as he's giving full effort. His offense isn't completely bad. He CAN finish, and he has been working very hard on adding a hook shot, and he can knock down his free throws well. He's just too damn nervous out there. As for Z, he's just too slow. I am tired of seeing how much offenses take advantage of him. All you have to do is drag him out of the paint for one second and he's utterly useless. Yes, he can rebound and block shots.. when he's already standing there. As for the rest of the time, he's too slow to even get close to the right position to affect anything positively on that end. I much prefer if Z gets limited minutes off the bench. As the season progresses, it's becoming more and more clear why Arroyo starts. It turns out Wade and LeBron aren't reliable to run an offense effectively, as odd as that sounds. Those two are best meant to bring the ball up looking to score rather than set things up, so Carlos is there for security. That doesn't mean he's the ideal player for the job. He's hardly average defensively, and his lack of range hurts (at least he's developed a corner three). For now though, he's the best Miami's got. I think the Heat can live with him at point and still win a championship this year. But anyway, who is really to blame? Well it's a mix of a few things. First and foremost, the schedule. The Heat are ranked #1 in SRS in the East despite their record, so automatically we can expect the overall record to increase as the schedule rounds out. Second, the defensive complacency of the Big Three, particularly in Wade and Bosh. Wade has hardly given effort with his help defense, other than raw steals and blocks. He is simply caught out of position too often, and he doesn't hustle to make up for it. As for Bosh, it's not as much his defense as much as his rebounding. He has bad habits in trying to simply use his length to grab boards rather than putting a body on a man. I think that is partially Spoelstra's fault. He is giving the big three too many minutes, causing them to feel the need to preserve energy, which are leading too these problems. Instead, Spo needs to cut down their minutes so they can play at 100% for more of their minutes. Third, a lack of fluidity in the offense, and a lack of an "attack, attack, attack" mindset especially from Wade and LeBron. They have a tendency to settle for jumpers even when they aren't open, which isn't as big of a problem when they are the only star on their team. Problem here is that you have two players like this now and there is no need to attempt these shots. Wade and LeBron both shoot below 30% from three, yet for some odd reason are taking 3-5 three pointers each per game. At times they will take a combined 10 three pointers, and by average they are only likely to make 3. That's 9 points in 10 shots. Not good efficiency. Instead they need to attack the basket, where a high percentage of the time they will either score, get fouled, or both, and those two are the best in the league at it. So why aren't they doing it more? If I was Spoelstra, I would man up and tell these guys they no longer have permission to take more than 2 three pointers per game each until they increase their ability to make three pointers. They are simply hurting the team taking these shots. As for the fluidity, I'm not going to bother discussing it since it's something that largely comes from most of the players being knew to the team. It's something that will improve over time. Fourth, the center position. Big Z is too slow, and Joel Anthony can't do [expletive] with the ball in his hands. As much as I'd like the team to put more faith into Joel, it seems like they have now turned over to Dampier. Hopefully he's the answer, though I really doubt it.

I guess I'll post every once and a while, but I won't be nearly as active as before.

Just so you guys know, I am still 100% behind Spoelstra. I feel Spoelsta has done a fine job overall, though the only decision I do not agree with is the decision to bring Joel Anthony off the bench... and especially the decision to not play him at all. The Heat have actually played worse since then. Now that they have Dampier, though, perhaps Spo will consider starting him instead. I am also not at all concerned with the Heat' record thus far. The Heat have been the #1 ranked team in SRS up until the loss to Indiana, where the team came out completely flat with no sense of urgency throughout the game - most likely not Spo's fault. Despite that, the Heat are still the top ranked team in SRS in the East. The only reason the record doesn't reflect the ranking is due to their schedule, which will even out during the course of the season. Still, being so high in the rankings with only having a hand full of players returning from the previous year is quite a remarkable feat. Much credit to Spoelstra is deserved. And still to come.. as chemistry develops, players find their comfort zone in their roles, tweaks are made to increase efficiency, and all the new members of the team buy into Spo's system.. that's when the Heat will be a true force, and both the record and the rankings will reflect that. Even without Haslem and Miller.

I think it's a good loss.

Give some credit to the Jazz, especially Paul Millsap's performance of his life. That was a terrific game.