Poe

^ lol @ his responses

Could someone link me to where I can watch the heat vs hornets online? I'm not very good at finding this stuff..

So I guess this means that me (Heat fan), MB (Bucks fan), and Waldo (Nets fan) don't count.

Weird how people are fined for an opinion.

I love how your responses have nothing to do with what the other person said.

No.

Raising your awareness is the best thing for your grade by far, but not necessarily for your production, since you are in control after all. From what I can tell, raising 10 points of awareness would probably raise your overall by about 2 or 3. For better play on court, you might want to focus on other things, though. I'd say the six most important attributes for a PG in this game to be the most productive for your grade is (in no real order): Passing, Stealing, Layups, Mid Range J, Shot off Dribble, and Shot in Traffic. The seventh most would probably be ball handling, since it's important to protect the ball and a high enough rating makes it easy to create your own shot. - A good pass rating will make you less turnover prone in making tough passes, which makes it easier to throw alleys. All alley oops are highlight plays, and highlight plays both increases your grade and gives you extra skill points. - A good steal grade and going after steals frequently will help your grade in the long run, even if it hurts your grade slightly for "bad steal attempt". It raises it that much more to get a steal to a fast-break basket, since it is also a highlight play. If you get a steal, dribble down the court, and execute an alley oop. It does wonders for your grade since that is two highlight plays in one plus a steal, assist, fastbreak point, steal to score highlight, and alley-oop highlight. - A good layup grade gives you a higher chance of making lay ups (of course) and a good mid range J gives you more range and makes you a threat in more areas of the court which expands your game. Having those two alone isn't enough, though. You need a good shot in traffic and off the dribble ratings as well (even though the insider doesn't advise it). A good shot in traffic will make you less prone to getting a negative hit on your grade on contested lay ups, plus that and shot off dribble ratings will give your shots a lot higher chance of a make and getting a good grade for taking the shot. If you get your assist rating to 80, mid range to 85, lay ups to 70, and SIT and SOD to 70 each, that's all you'll need to raise that B+ limit to easier A+s. Also, for your grade outside of skill points, Steals and Assists should be your living. All I have for suggestion to getting steals is just always being in position to get one and press X or Y whenever the ball is thrown in your direction, and double team big men while tapping x to reach for the ball (don't leave your man open, though. Letting your man score cuts deeper into your grade than anything else). As for assists, there are a number of things: pick n rolls/pops to get your bigmen open, alley oop whenever possible, be patient on offense and allow off ball screens to be set for shooters, and one more thing is to dribble the ball towards your wing players - when you and a wing player is standing in the same spot, the wing will move out of the way either by cutting towards the basket or towards the middle of the floor. Also, use icon passing and your left stick to help bring players to better positioning, this helps get a positive "good pass" to your grade and can increase your teammates' chances of scoring. Oh, and since you asked, my offensive awareness is an 80 and defensive is a 90. I'm a good deal into the season by now, though, so that's why my overall rating is so high (78). Edit: Damnit.. I'm getting this habit of writing too much. I get in a flow and wind up making tldr posts. Is that a bad thing?

Personally, I play for the win. I noticed that when I shoot too much (like more than ten shots), and if I'm not hitting a high percentage, my team winds up losing. But, yea, the difficulty is clearly not HoF. More like Pro. Again, it really should be adjustable. Also, I think the range of the skill points you can earn should also depend on the difficulty you set and how many minutes are in the quarters, just so people wouldn't be able to do 1 minute quarters in rookie mode and still get 1000+ sp and get their skill rating up super fast. My team had both T-Mac and Wade on the team (computer traded JO for T-Mac). I had to have the same rating as T-Mac (78) to finally be able to start games (Wade was the PG, he moved to SG, T-Mac moved to SF, and Beas moved to the Bench). It seems like for most cases, if you are a PG, your going to have to just be a higher rating than one of the guard positions in order to start. Raise your awareness ratings if you want to start faster.

I noticed you don't get subbed in quite as fast when you don't sim till sub. Notice how they keep taking you in and out of games in 4th quarters when your team is up 20+? If you don't press sim and wait it out, you'll stay on the bench until the time is out like in a real game. It's weird. One thing I hope they change in the upcoming patch, along with fixing the bugs, is increasing the time in each quarter in NBA games where stats are more like in a real game (something closer to 12 minute quarters), and just play me 15-30mpg out of the full time. It would make the experience more enjoyable if it felt more like I was actually playing in a real game instead of subbing at unrealistic times with short quarter lengths. There should at least be a way to adjust it.

LMAO at that whole topic. I loved the pictures, especially this one: http://tgip.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/feature51.jpg

I just had a crazy game with my PG. 35 points (15/18 FG, 4/4 FT), 15 assists, 3 boards, and 3 steals, including a half-court buzzer-beater at half time and 16 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Magic.

It's not like they were going to get significant minutes anyway. It will give you the chance to have a good look at the role players.

If you take Magic's prime being and transport it to today's world of athletes, then yes, he would probably get beaten. But if you take childhood Magic, and have him grow up with the same training, coaching, and competition as today's athletes, then Magic would probably wind up still be among the best.

I've never watched a full lacrosse game.. it's really not my kind of sport, though. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's just not for me. orly? I'm not criticizing skill or anything of that sort at all. I'd say it takes more skill to handle a puck in traffic with a crooked stick with a helmet and heavy protective gear on while ice skating, than bouncing a ball with your hands while running in comfortable jerseys. It's just the way the sport is played that is uninteresting for my taste for excitement. I'm not saying that basketball as a game is better, I'm just saying that I like it better.

I'd say the starting line up should be.. C: Darko PF: Lee SF: Gallinari SG: Chandler PG: Duhon ..and leave Nate, Harrington, and Hughes to bring spark and energy off the bench. It would keep the starting line up solid and flowing, and create a very strong bench of: C: Curry (healthy?) PF: Jeffries SF: Harrington SG: Hughes PG: Robinson

Now: Spurs Future: Blazers

Guys, Erick's list is based on his own opinion on these players, it's not based on popularity, or any kind of an official ranking. I'm sure that all of our lists would look a bit different. I think we should at least appreciate him spending the time to make this list and explaining his reasoning with some detail for our reading enjoyment.

Basketball is the only sport I actually like. All the other sports are too slow paced for me, except Hockey and Soccer which are too low scoring and lack real ball control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BjF5XQ4TAo

^ Also depends on match ups. While Durant is sitting, the Thunder's bench line up is most likely matching up and playing the opposing bench line up. Really, there are just so many situations with teammates and opposing players that can make a particular player appear like a huge + or -. It can be an unreliable statistic because of all the different circumstances in games.

So, in short, the Cavs were in a great position to make the Finals but blew it, and now over the offseason they have reset some pieces to fine tune and readjust their team to try on another Finals run, although there are still some minor weaknesses to address. The Cavs probably have the greatest depth in the league as far as guards and wing players go. Mo - Gibson Parker - West LeBron - Moon Pretty damn good squad in the back court, especially since West has the flexibility to play both guard positions and you also have Green in the 3rd string that can play both wings. The front court has some good names as well. Varejao - Powe O'Neal - Ilgauskas There's a problem here, though (other than Powe's injury). AV and Powe in their state today and Shaq and Big Z in the state they were 6 years ago would have been killer. However, Shaq and Z were slow to begin with, and are going to be extra slow defensively thanks to age. Z is 33, and Shaq is 37. Big Z may benefit with having less minutes with Shaq on the floor, if Shaq manages to stay out of foul trouble, but I'm unsure of how either can handle extended minutes. Also, Shaq has lost the status of being a "dominant" inside presence. He hardly requires double coverage anymore. He managed to average almost 18ppg with Pheonix's uptempo game (although their style was a bit different for a portion of the season being under a different coach). As you said, it will be interesting to see how he fairs in with the Cav's system. If LeBron was a shooter, I can see Shaq benefiting and getting more room, but since LeBron's shooting range is still limited (I know he's improved), Shaq and LBJ might get in each other's way dominating the paint. We'll see, though, since all the attention LeBron gets despite his style may free up space for Shaq anyway, plus Shaq is an excellent passer in the post, and with all the scoring options, things may find a way to work out. All in all, though, this team looks good. LeBron has gotten to the point in his career where any team he's on has the possibility of contending. With shooters, scorers, playmakers, and great defenders surrounding him, it's really looking like a dangerous team. If Garnett's injury problems continue on the Celtics, I see the Cavs possibly taking first seed again, and making another Finals run. To be honest, though, I can't see LeBron actually winning a championship until he has another true sidekick that can take a good deal of pressure off. LeBron needs a Pippen, Mo ain't it, and Shaq's too old. There's my two cents.

Damn....

^ Posterized... but Shaq clearly shoved him after the dunk.

I wrote a bit more than I meant to about Dorell, there... Anyway, about Chalmers, I think his range for success can be up to becoming an all star sooner than I expect (next year or year after), or it may never come. Don't underrate this guy for being a second round pick, either. He was already a top 5 in the entire league in spg in only his rookie season. That's saying quite a bit right there. Other than the steals and starting all 82 games for the Heat, I don't have any sort of flurry of stats to support my claim on this one. I'm judging this one from what I am hearing from the coaches. I'm hearing great things like how he is coming into his role at the point and proving himself to be able to handle the ball well enough to take some pressure off of Wade. I've also heard that he's been one of the hardest workers on the team putting in the 2nd most amount of hours (next to Wade) into his training. With all the talk about how the Heat should get a vet PG for his replacement, he seems to have a good attitude and focus about it with a strong mindset of "proving the doubters wrong". Chalmers had a pretty good rookie year, and it's normally the 2nd and 3rd years are when you start to see young players blossom. I think with all the opportunities that the coaches are giving him in the line up, this will be his year to prove himself. I'm still unsure of his success, and I'll admit that all star may be a bit of a high expectation, even by his prime. I think by the end of this year we'll know where his ceiling lies. And about O'Neal, I think his situation in Toronto simply didn't work out well for him, and his transition to the Heat has just been a slow adjustment. In Toronto he was expect to put up points alongside a similar type of scorer in Chris Bosh. Both Bosh and JO are face-to-the-rim players, who like to drive, take midrange jumpers, and neither rely on post moves as much as the average big. With two of the same types of players, I think it may have been a harder situation for Jermaine offensively especially coming off an injury, but it didn't affect him much with his rebounding and defense versus what he may have done on other teams. Even though he may not be scoring and rebounding the way he used to, he is still a great presence and very efficient defensively. When he moved to the Heat, you could see some immediate chemistry between him and Haslem, and on both ends of the court (which I expect to strengthen next season after spending time training in an offseason together). Aside from that, it took some time to fit him in. I think he showed signs of renewing himself during the series with the Hawks, and the rest of the team was getting a feel for when and where to get him his looks. I'm confident he will be able to pull off similar success during this coming season, although his health may look shaky throughout the season.

The reason I posted those stats on Dorell Wright was just to show what he's capable of when given consistent playing time. The problem for him is that he's played in so few games over the years, he's not used to the spotlight, so he has trouble coming off the bench in games and producing right away. When he's guaranteed playing time, which has happened in the past, in the beginning he appears to not do much with the minutes he's given. Over time, you see a steady improvement after each game. Now, I'm going to bring up stats again, just to make a small point in his potential. This was in 07-08 season: 1/16 Chi - 4 points(2/8), 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal - 26 minutes 1/18 Por - 2 points (1/3), 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal - 20 minutes 1/19 Nyk - 8 points(4/7), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks - 30 minutes 1/21 Cle - 7 points(3/6), 2 rebounds - 16 minutes - 16 minutes 1/24 Sas - 9 points (4/6), 6 rebounds, 2 steals - 37 minutes 1/26 Ind - 14 points (7/11), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks - 32 minutes 1/29 Bos - 8 points (3/9), 3 rebounds, 1 block - 22 minutes 1/30 Orl - 12 points (6/17), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block - 40 minutes 2/1 Njn - 7 points (1/5), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal - 27 minutes 2/4 Tor - 17 points (5/5), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block - 34 minutes 2/6 Det - 14 points (6/9), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal - 32 minutes 2/7 Phi - 16 points (4/10), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks - 40 minutes 2/10 Lal - 15 points (7/12), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block - 34 minutes 2/12 Den - 19 points (8-16), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block - 46 minutes 2/14 Chi - 6 points (3-9), 6 rebounds, 3 assists - 30 minutes 2/21 Hou - 8 points (4-9), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block - 34 minutes Before January 16th against Chicago he had about an 6 game span of no playing time, and after February 21st against Denver, his minutes sank significantly for a few more games and then were cut completely for the rest of the season. I forget the reason why, either it was injury or it was because Pat Riley was replaced with a new coach that thought it was better to replace Wright's minutes with Kapono's. I do know that Wright missed almost all of last year because of injury. These numbers may not show anything incredible, but they do mean something. You can take it one way and say that oh, he just had a good span of games then dropped. The way I see it is from the first game against Chicago all the way until the game against Denver, there is a noticeable increase in his performance. And it's not just how much better he got, but how much better he might have gotten before the sudden changes were made. Being a Heat fan, I am familiar with his style of play and his personality. Giving him small spurts of minutes in games, he won't react well since he tends to get very nervous on the court, which affects his performance greatly. Giving him consistent playing time he eventually gets used to playing in front of the crowd and the cameras, and he just gets better and better. Maybe these stats alone don't prove anything about him becoming an all star, I'm just trying to show his upside. In all of the games shown, he was expected to guard the best perimeter scorer on all of these teams (Kobe, LeBron, AI). Aside from Wade, he could possibly be the best perimeter defender on the Heat team. Maybe numbers won't show his ceiling of being on All Star sometime in his career (I still think its possible for him), but in my opinion, he is more than a worthy starter. Dorell's stats in 07-08 showed a much higher upside than any sort stretch in Jamario Moon's stats for the the Heat last season, who started almost every game he was healthy for. Some say that Dorell's ceiling IS a player similar to Moon. The reality is, Wright is ALREADY ahead of Moon, both athletically, skill-wise, and overall production on both end of the court, and is 6 years younger.