Poe

It's arguable that nobody has affected the game more than Jordan, and since there are other jersey numbers that are retired league-wide as well, then yes.

Whatever you say. I just try not to worry about the things I can't control, cause in reality, you choose what upsets you and what doesn't. It's all a matter of how you look at things. BTW, from what I understand, Christians believe in multiple lives: the life on earth and the life in heaven or hell. So, if I was a part of Christianity and my father died when I was ten, then I guess that means I just have to wait for "the next life" to see him again, which would be a very short time comparing to the supposed eternal life in Heaven.

I don't like memorial-type days like this. The past is the past. Do we have to keep reminding ourselves about it like it's a holiday or something? Why don't we look ahead with a positive mindset to a brighter future than reflecting on a grim past. What you feel about things in and of itself goes nowhere, so you might as well feel happy. BTW, I don't mean to bring religion into the topic, but I'm just curious.. Why do Christians feel sad when people die? You believe they go to Heaven, right? Some sort of third dimensional world of paradise? What's so sad about that?

I just watched a vid of a summer press conference with Pat Riley (Link), and it sounds like the starting SF position is still up for grabs. He expects Beasley to have a much larger role this year, although he didn't say whether or not he's going to start. He said some good things about James Jones, and also said stuff about him "setting records" this offseason. He spoke a bit about Q-Rich, but it looks like the SF will be his secondary position since Riley said that he considers him to be more of an off guard that can also play the 3 because of his strength. He said good things about his post-up ability, though, and says that he could be the team's best post up player (better than O'Neal and Beasley). He also spoke a bit about Dorell's versatility in being able to play the 2, 3, and 4 positions. My take on this is that James Jones will be most likely to start at the SF with Beasley gaining big minutes off the bench at the 3 and 4, and perhaps starting some games depending on match ups. I was hoping that Dorell would get a bigger opportunity to get minutes this year. I think the Heat could really use his all-around game, especially on the defensive end. Maybe he still has a chance, though, since the starting 3 isn't on lock just yet, so everyone still has a chance to compete for the position.

I think the Bobcats would be a very successful playoff team. Problem is, they have a hard time getting there.

Check out the Grizz's new streetball team.

People who do sort of a 'false effort'. Grunts, facial expressions, do workouts too quickly without paying any attention to detail just for the sake of being fast.. things of that nature just tick me off. Other than that, I agree with almost everything else said thus far.

Magic will most likely fall in the 2nd round (like RD said), whether they are beaten by the Cavs or Celtics (if the Magic wind up being a 4th or 5th seeded team), and the Celtics will be in the Finals to lose to the Lakers. I'm unsure whether or not the old O'Neal and LeBron combination will work just yet, though. Shaq doesn't warrant the same defensive attention as he used to, and if he's out of shape, he'll probably just wind up getting in LeBron's way. At the moment, I don't see any other Eastern team that is ECF caliber, so for now, my prediction is a Cavs vs. Celtics ECF.

If Rose can do that, imagine what LeBron will be able to do... Personally, I like to play NBA video games almost like a strategy game. Figuring out your opponent's weaknesses in their line up and habits in their playing style (etc), and adjusting accordingly. Stuff like that. But when you're playing against people who full court pressure the entire game, and their whole offense is using a 99 rated player and all he does is: dribble move, dribble move, dribble move, dunk. Things like that kill any kind of strategy put into the game, and turns into a mindless, arcade-like dunkathon. In real life, an athletic player will dunk on someone maybe once or twice in an entire season (maybe 5-10 times if you're inhuman like VC). In 2K, dunk-ons happen 5-20 times per game. It's pathetic. Plus, the fact that (at least in 2k9) all it takes is a dribble move or two to get by your man is crazy, while the comp help defenders are too slow to react, plus being able to do it on every play without the player wearing out any faster is crazy too. IMO, there needs to be two different modes: Arcade and Simulation. In arcade, which would be for the casual player, you can do all the dribble moves you want, leave your starters in all game, have your PG dunk on centers, etc. Simulation, for those who prefer realism, you can't do dribble moves in traffic, onball steals only possible in traffic (otherwise it's an automatic reachin call), full-court pressure wears your players out more quickly, dunk-ons next to impossible, etc.

Comparing Iverson and Billups, I'm talking recent years. Now, if you want to talk about the past, sure. Iverson lost to the Kobe-Shaq Lakers squad. Billups won. Now back to more recent years. You keep bringing up the number of wins. I think it's the amount of success that counts. Billups lead the team to more wins, the second highest seed, and two playoff wins shy of the NBA Finals. Now, are you saying that Iverson didn't have the same opportunity? He was with the same players that won 59 games the year before. And, please, don't blame the coach. You already had plenty to say about George Carl. BTW, I wasn't comparing Billups' and Bryant's style and skill level of play, just the fact that neither are stat robots with flawless programming.

From what I remember, Kobe didn't always have top-notch statistical performances, either. *pulls up Kobe's Game Log* Jazz, Game 3 - 18 points, 5-24 shooting Rockets, Game 3 - 33 points, 11-28 shooting Rockets, Game 4 - 15 points, 7-17 shooting Rockets, Game 7 - 14 points, 4-12 shooting Nuggets, Game 6 - 22 points, 6-13 shooting, 7 TOs (team TOs - 12) Magic, Game 4 - 32 points, 11-31 shooting Some games he took more shots than points, some games he had more than half of his team's turnovers, and, if you can believe it, sometimes Kobe has an off-night. And don't jump the gun on me bashing Kobe, I think he's the best player in the world this decade. Now, because Kobe wasn't in his top form every single night, does that mean he's overrated? What about Billups? Just because he doesn't shoot above 50% every night, does that make him overrated? Billups is the opposite of a stat stuffer, he reads the game, and does what he finds is the best approach to win, whether he shoots 20 shots or 0. Billups is not overrated. The coaches agree and the players agree. Maybe he isn't able to lead his team to victories every time, but hey, at least his formula is better than Iversons. You still haven't replied to the fact that every team Billups is on gets the Conference Finals, and the fact that Iverson's awesome leadership can't get past the first round. Just look at the facts. With the exchange of Billups and Iverson, Detroit got worse and Denver got better. Plain and simple.

I'll use both. Just switch off between the two. I'll probably use my PG more since I can relate to the height and position more (I'm 6'1'' and 17 years old in r/l, so I figured I'll be at least 6'3'' by 19... hopefully taller, haha). I'll make sure to jack up my shooting skill so defenders will stop guarding me like I'm Rajon Rondo xD But, yea, this concept is awesome for any age and whatever real life success. I think I remember doing this sort of thing with the Madden games and I always wished an NBA game would do this. I think a PS2-only NBA game tried this, and it was a load of garbage. I'm glad 2K turned this into a fun, more realistic feeling experience. I can't wait to play alongside Kobe, Artest, Pau, Bynum.... I wonder if they've incorporated the triangle offense?

Nice about the 3 shooting. I didn't put a whole lot into my own player's shooting ability, and it shows when my man is guarding me... it's so awkward how he sags so much, when in real life it's the opposite.

You're placed in training camp and you play a number of games to try and make the cut. If you do, from what I read, you'll start out with about 3 mins per game and you try and work your way up from there depending on how well you play.

I'm not really sure how the draft stock works, sorry. If you're worried that by playing another game your draft stock will change and autosave, maybe you could try and just upload your player to the server as it is. I don't know if there is a rule that you have to do all 6 games or not. A trick you could probably try, I don't know if this works, but maybe you could check to see if your draft stock changes after your next game, and if it does, just restart your xbox without saving it. After games it asks you what saving device you want to save in, I think there might be a cancel option and it shouldn't autosave. That way you can check to see if the draft stock changed without it being permanent. If it did, restart your console and redo. If it didn't, just save your player manually, and continue to your next game. It might be a bit of a hassle if your draft stock keeps changing, though, but it could be worth a try.

Half French, even though I can't speak the language.

I made a couple players in two separate saved files, one in my hard drive and the other in my memory card. Position: SF Height: 6’9’’ Play Style: Defensive Overall Rating: 47 Avg. Grade: A+ Draft Proj: Lakers Stats: 13.0 PPG (58% FG, 0% 3PT), 7.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 4.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 1.8 TO Position: PG Height: 6’3’’ Play Style: Pass First Overall Rating: 50 Avg. Grade: A+ Draft Proj: Lakers Stats: 17.2 PPG (47% FG, 50% 3PT), 7.5 RPG, 12.2 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 2.8 TO Somehow both of them went back and forth between draft projections from the Lakers and the Heat, and both winded up on the Lakers after playing my last game.

You don't play NBA players... just random created players. That's the only letdown. You'll get to play with NBA players once the full game comes out and you get drafted (you only get drafted from playing the combine, I think, otherwise you're an undrafted free agent). I think your best bet to get drafted by LA is to be a PG and average an A+ teammate grade (that's how I did it). If not, I suppose after getting drafted you can play bad on purpose during training camp, so that you'll get cut and maybe have a chance at trying out for your favorite team. Even if you wind up on the wrong team, though, you still only have a 1 year deal, and could get an offer by your 2nd year.

- I know it is physical play. The Celtics truly played great defense. A lot of it was TOO physical, though. I'm just trying to point out that Kobe isn't "crying" over nothing. - Umm.. what? Where? - Kobe was fouled on about every one of those. Kobe pretty much HAS to sell it to get the right call. Reffing in the NBA is pretty bad. Worst in all sports, IMO.

These are probably made by either staff or people who glitched the game or something. They should have been taking off the leaderboard. And, no, you don't get drafted and wind up as the best. By the sound of it, you start out with about 3 mins per game and work your way up from there depending on how you play.

I don't think increasing the shooting helps much with your overall. Maybe after 15 points you'll increase the overall by 1 or 2 or something. Try increasing things like awareness, on ball D, etc. I got my PG to about 50, and right now I'm working on a defensive SF and after 4 games he's a 46. I increased mainly his defensive awareness, on ball defense, and quickness, and also some stealing and blocking ability.

Spurs because of those years when Kobe had to put up with Smush and Kwame, plus mediocre players like Walton, Mihm, Cook, and the inconsistency of Odom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQaVvf2VOsc Lakers vs Celtics 2008. Watch after about 4:30 into the video. It shows a lot of fouls and discreet physical play Kobe gets from the Celtic's D. He gets fouled without calls so often, it's a huge wonder why Kobe doesn't get more techs.

07-08 The Nuggets were lead by Iverson and had 50 wins, but were an 8th seeded team and were out of the playoffs in the first round. The Pistons that season, being lead by Billups, had 59 wins, were a 2nd seeded team, and made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals to lose to the team that won the Championship. The following year, Billups and Iverson get traded. With Billups as the Nuggets' new leader, the Nuggets increase to 54 wins as the competition in the West grew, increase all the way up to being the 2nd best team in the West, and made it to the Western Conference Finals and winded up losing to the team that won the NBA Championship. The Pistons, however, with Iverson as their new leader, fall to the 8th seed with 39 wins, and, of course, are out in the first round. Sure, AI was injured for that series, but would you have expected a different result if he had played? And what about Billups? Remember, he got the same Pistons team to win as many regular season games as Orlando did that year. The results don't lie. Yea, we all know AI can score, but does he actually make his team better? Perhaps in the right system, but the thing about Billups is that he actually makes his teammates perform better. It's more than just distributing the ball well, and hitting the open man. It's his leadership. Coaches say he's like an extension of the coach on the floor. A floor general. AI, on the other hands, is what you call a "ball stopper". He kills ball movement out of pure selfishness. He prefers to have pretty stats than to win games. Even during this offseason he continues to prove how much of a selfish player he is. At his age and point in his career, he still refuses to go anywhere less than the #1 option on his team, even if it guarantees a championship. Another special thing about Billups is how he affects his teammates both on and off the court, but the thing is, so does AI, but not in a positive way. When Billups is able to get fellow "Thugget" teammates J.R. Smith and Carmello Anthony to show up in games wearing dress pants, AI is inviting his teammates to party all night (yet he still has enough ego to say that he leads by example). And about Carmello, perhaps there is still an argument that he could be more valuable than Billups to the Nuggets, but one thing is for sure, Melo is a much better player with Billups on the team. And whether or not Melo is more productive than Billups on the court, Billups is still the one controlling the pace of the game, talking to his teammates and giving them advice, setting the example.. things that you can't put a stat on. I consider the former Finals MVP to be more valuable than both AI and Melo for one main reason: Leadership. It's the most important role on the team. You never see any team win a Championship without a great leader. Kobe, Shaq, Wade, Duncan, Garnett. When it comes to dominance, Billups doesn't touch those guys. When it comes to the amount of impact he has on a team, he's right up there with them.