Built Ford Tough

Basketball Reference had their pace factor at 89.6 which was 24th out of 30. From what I remember, they did start off the year by getting up and down the floor as much as possible but when Smith got hurt they basically stopped running and even when he came back they didn't run much.

What are your expectations for James Harden this year? This was made at another forum and here is my response: He is not the type of player that is going to take over and dominate night after night but he is an ideal second option with his skill set. He is a very versatile player. He is capable of handling the ball and even running the offense, he is a good creator and he is good at playing off of the ball as well. That old saying "jack of all trades, master of none" (at least I think that is how it goes lol) applies to Harden as he is good at basically every area of basketball, but he is not great at any one particular area. I think that he will fit in very nicely with the Thunder giving them a very versatile team that won't rely on one partiuclar player to run the offense as Westbrook, Harden, Green and Durant are all capable of handling the rock and setting things up. I think that Harden will average around 14/4/3 for his rookie season and in his prime will be a 18/6/5 player and be the Pippen to Durant's Jordan.

Do you think that the Hawks should try and implement a faster paced system next season and try to get out in transition and run? If you look at their roster they are one of the most, if not the most athletic teams in the entire NBA (at least starting 5) as aside from Bibby, all of their starters are good athletes respective to their positions. Smith and Horford might be the most athletic 4/5 duo in the entire NBA and guys like Williams and Johnson both have the athletic ability and shooting ability to thrive in a fast paced system. Bibby is also a very good shooter and a smart player. So do you think that the Hawks should run more next season and try to play a faster paced game rather than walking the ball up court like they usually do? Why or why not?

Cuban: Current Mavs better than '06 Finals squad - Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

Yeah that happened to me the first time as well. Just make sure that you keep backup save files so that in case one ruins you can just use the ackup one.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-fyi11-2009oct11,0,794430.story I like this move from the Lakers. Rather than just handing Farmar an extension they are going to force him to earn one. Even if they decide that they want him back, he will be an RFA at the end of the year and they can still match any contract that gets offered to him. They can see the market value for him and if it is something that they are willing to pay they can just match any deal. If not, they can just let somebody overpay to get him.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Agte0OaT9oZor4NTwmWHCrK8vLYF?slug=mc-millerblazers101009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns I didn't like the signing in the first place as I didn't think that the Blazers didn't need a primary playmaker in the backcourt when they already have Roy. It definitely didn't help that they got a guy in Miller who doesn't have great range on his jumper either. Miller is definitely the better and more talented player but I think that Blake is a better fit with the rest of the starting unit.

The Celtics are going to be a very good team assuming that Garnett bounces back and they are healthy. I really liked the offseason moves in bringing in Sheed and Daniels especially as both of these two will give the Celtics some much needed depth off of the bench to go along with Big Baby and Eddie House. Daniels will help relieve some of the pressure off of Pierce and keep him fresher heading into the playoffs. For Boston's sake, hopefully young players like Giddens and Walker both step up and become good rotation players as well, which will only help keep their veteran players fresh going into the playoffs. However, despite the fact that I like Boston's offseason moves and think that if they are healthy that they will be representing the East in the Finals, there is no chance in hell that they will surpass 72 wins this year as far as I com concerned. I see around 65 wins for them this season, maybe less if they try to coast a bit during the season in order to conserve energy for the playoffs like the Spurs have been known to do in years past.

Raptors on an 8-0 run right now and have been getting after it on the offensive glass with their athletic lineup. DeRozan had a very nice put back jam right there and guys like O'Bryant and Amir Johnson have both been playing very hard and battling for boards as well. I know that it is preseason and all but I am really impressed with the effort given by the Raptors down low both offensively and defensively. DeRozan has also had a very strong game thus far. He has 19 points. Johnson has also been impressive as well with 12 boards tonight. Paul Davis just scored and is at the line for an And 1. Raps up 96-91 as Davis just completed the And 1 with 1 minute to go. Jack and Davis just traded buckets to make it a 98-93 game with about 40 seconds left. Jack also just got fouled and is going to the line for two free throws. He converted both to push it to a 100-93 game with 35 seconds left. Raptors win the game by a score of 100-93 to even up their preseason record at 2-2. I was very impressed with how the Raptors were able to consistently get to the line as well and not just settling for jumpers like they would in years past. They converted 36-40 from the line to make it 74 free throw attempts over their past two games. Hopefully they can continue this aggressive play during the season. Last season there is absolutely no way that the Raptors could shoot under 40% from the field and still manage to pull out a victory. If they really want to be a viable threat in the Eastern Conference they are going to have to win games like these when their shots aren't falling. I know that it is preseason and all and most people are still getting their legs under them, but I have really loved the effort that the Raptors have given so far in the preseason and the intensity that they have played with.

Raptor fans were saying the exact same thing about adding Jermiane O'Neal prior to last season. We convinced ourselves that JO would manage to stay on the court and be a presence on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. We convinced ourselves that O'Neal would manage to put up around 18 ppg and 8 rpg while playing great defense (he did play good defense during his time with the Raptors though). We convinced ourselves that Jermaine O'Neal would become more than just an overpaid, injury prone center. We were wrong and O'Neal showed that he simply is not a reliable player anymore. Sure, he can have some impressive games but he will follow those games up with a 6 point 2-11 game or get yet another injury and miss some time. I want to see O'Neal do well because I like his game and the tenacity that he plays with, but the fact of the matter is that expecting 18 ppg from O'Neal is simply unrealistic at this point in his career. He is simply too fragile and not consistent enough to be able to produce like that. I predicted that the Raptors would finish 5th in the East with around 45 wins and get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Not exactly big things. I admit that I hyped him up way too much, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the majority of Raptor fans that I know who were saying the Raptors were a 50+ win team that would challenge the Celtics and Cavs in the playoffs. And seeing how the Raptors were a 41 win team and the 6th seed in the East the season prior to JO coming to TO, was it really unrealistic on my part to expect a 45 win 5th seeded team? I remember writing that season preview and I may have stated that I believed the Raptors could flirt with 50 wins and advance in the playoffs, but that was more to generate discussion than anything. All of my other posts concerning the Raptors were more along the lines of 45 wins (I even had a huge debate on another forum with a Raptors fan who called me a pessimist because I was projecting 45 wins).

Alright, I'll sign up. I don't know if I can make the draft though.

I'm going to go with Thompson as well. The Nets are lacking a power forward (I don't think that Yi is ever going to amount to anything) and Thompson can end up becoming a pretty good power forward if he develops properly. He would give the Nets a very good, athletic, young team that could really push the pace and get out and run, but can also be effective in a half court situation because of the penetrating ability of Harris and his ability to make plays off of the bounce for not only himself but his teammates as well. The Nets are in need of a big man and Thompson is definitely the best big available, and one of the better prospects available as well. It makes sense as far as I am concerned.

How many more do you need? (if you need more)

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/62028/20091009/garcia_fractures_right_forearm_lifting_weights/ Tough break for both Garcia and the Kings. Hopefully he can recover quickly and get back on the floor.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a..._not_the_knees/ I don't care if it isn't his knees, but anytime you hear the name Jermaine O'Neal mentioned with injuries it is a cause for concern if you ask me. The Heat need him to have a healthy season this year because he could really make a difference for them, mainly on the defensive end of the floor. However, I don't think that it is realistic at all to expect him to be healthy for an extended period of time anymore. His body is just shot.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2009/10/08...-for-ilgauskas/ I don't know how reliable this site is (it doesn't seem to be very reliable) but ISH put it on their main rumors page so I thought it would be worth posting anyways, in case it became more than just a rumor. As a Warrior fan, would you be happy with a base deal of Stephen Jackson for Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Why or why not?

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/te...ght-157488.html Personally, I would be more impressed reading about him having a fantastic point guard game (running the offense, setting up teammates, being a leader on the floor, etc...) just because I know that Teague is a very good scorer, but the reason why he fell in the draft was because of his lack of point guard skills. If he can develop his point guard skills he could very well become one of the steals of the draft. Playing behind a veteran point guard like Mike Bibby should be great for Teague though. He may not be the most prototypical point guard (Bibby) but he is a very smart player and can teach Teague a lot of things about being a point guard in the NBA.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar...t_100_percent/ I used to be really high on Kristic and thought that he would become an above average NBA center up until that knee injury just completely put a halt to his development and even made him take a step backward as a player. Hopefully this is true and he is on his way to being the Nenad Kristic of old.

Great team defense right there. Johnson and O'Bryant made great use of their length and athleticism there to alter and block shots down low. That great defensive stand also led to a 3-0 fast break for the Raptors and an alley-oop from Weems. I knew that the Raptors were a more athletic bunch this season, but I didn't realize that they were this athletic. They have a very athletic group with guys like DeRozan, Weems, Johnson, O'Bryant and even people like Bosh, Belinelli and Jack have some nice athleticism. Nice move from Douby there. Looked like he got hit on the arm but no call there. Raps down 2 here with around 20 seconds left. EDIT: Speights just went 2/2 from the line to extend it to a 4 point lead with 19 seconds left. He also gave a pretty hard foul to Banks considering it is a preseason game lol.

Douby is terrible. I like him and all but man he is just not a good basketball player and sure as hell can't play the point. The only thing that he can do is shoot, but he really isn't that good of a shooter. No biggie though, you can't expect much from a 13th player on the team anyways. I've been watching on and off so I don't really have much to say. Weems had a nice post up but it was on Kapono so it really doesn't mean much. I could probably go in there and score on Kapono in the post. He does look like an interesting prospect though. He is a great athlete and is very long.

Good god Randolph sure knows how to chuck.

Very nice behind the back pass from DeRozan to Weems for a transition layup.

Everything preseason can go in this thread. Talk about the games, post observations of the new and old Raptor players or anything else related to the preseason. They are playing Philly right now on Raptors TV for those of you that have the channel and were unaware of this. With all of this talk about Bargnani being better in the post and looking for contact down low, I sure as hell haven't seen it in the first 8 minutes of this game. He has played exactly like he did last season which was 15 feet and out facing the basket. He has gradually drifted further and further away from the basket since I have been watching. He hasn't had a bad game or anything but with all of this talk about him looking for contact down low I would've expected him to actually, you know, go down low. Reggie Evans has looked good though. Loving his hustle already. He is definitely going to be a fan favourite this season if he plays with the same intensity that I have seen from him in the first quarter of this game. Belinelli has looked pretty good from what I have seen as well. His jumper is very smooth and he does not need much space to get it off which is an added benefit. He has put the ball on the floor looking to create a couple of times as well, one of which led to a nice draw and kick for an open Jack jumper. I do keep on confusing him and Calderon though since Belinelli decided to wear #0 and he and Calderon look sort of similar from a difference.

With all of this talk about Bargnani being better in the post and looking for contact down low, I sure as hell haven't seen it in the first 8 minutes of this game. He has played exactly like he did last season which was 15 feet and out facing the basket. He has gradually drifted further and further away from the basket since I have been watching. He hasn't had a bad game or anything but with all of this talk about him looking for contact down low I would've expected him to actually, you know, go down low. Reggie Evans has looked good though. Loving his hustle already. He is definitely going to be a fan favourite this season if he plays with the same intensity that I have seen from him in the first quarter of this game. Belinelli has looked pretty good from what I have seen as well. His jumper is very smooth and he does not need much space to get it off which is an added benefit. He has put the ball on the floor looking to create a couple of times as well, one of which led to a nice draw and kick for an open Jack jumper. I do keep on confusing him and Calderon though since Belinelli decided to wear #0 and he and Calderon look sort of similar from a difference. As for the Sixers, Dalembert is still playing like his dumb self. He has been giving Bargnani too much room and basically letting himself get his shot off whenever he wants and is jumping out of control at pump fakes. Jason Smith seems to have added some range to his jumper. That is going to be very usefull in Jordan's Princeton offense. He has knocked down a 3 and another long range jumper so far. Iggy has looked good. Those reports about him handling the ball a lot this season definitely look to be true thus far as he has been the primary ball handler and facilitator while Louis Williams has been playing off of the ball looking to score more than distribute. It has only been one quarter though so these are very basic observations. The Leaf game is back on so I probably won't see the rest of the first half.

Opinion is not fact. I agree with anybody that has said that the better system is whichever one that your friends have. Most of my friends have a PS3 so I have one. If they all had Xbox's then I would have bought an Xbox. Why does it matter which one is considered the "superior" system? All that matters is which one that you enjoy more and get the most out of. At least if you ask me.