Built Ford Tough

I actually cancelled my NBA TV so I won't be able to watch the game live, but I do have League Pass so I'll be able to watch the game after it is completed. I'm not really expecting all that much from Toronto in this game. To be honest, I think Real Madrid will beat the Raptors. Lowry and Valanciunas both aren't playing and as far as I know, Bargnani and DeRozan will both play a maximum of 20 minutes today. I'm looking forward to seeing how Nikola Mirotic looks for Madrid, though. I liked him his draft year and think that the Bulls getting him at 23rd was an absolute steal. I'm looking forward to seeing how he has developed since I last saw him.

1. Kyle Lowry 2. Ryan Anderson 3. Brandon Roy 4. OJ Mayo 5. Andre Iguodala Reasoning can be found at: http://dimemag.com/2012/10/5-nba-players-who-will-struggle-on-new-teams/5/ I can agree with Anderson and Roy (although that would be more due to injuries than playing on a new team in my opinion) and can understand the thought process behind Mayo even if I don't agree, but I just don't see why Lowry or Iguodala should be on this list. What are your thoughts on this list? Also, if you were to make a list of 5 of your own, who would you have on it?

How do you see the minutes being allocated for the Celtics guards this season? Rondo is an obvious in that he will play around 40 minutes a night at the point, but after him things become quite murky and Doc is going to have to get creative to find a way to get Terry, Lee and Bradley (when he returns from injury) the minutes that they deserve/need. Early in the season it won't be a problem since Bradley is expected to be out until late December or even January, but when he does come back how do you see the rotation being? Will Bradley start at the 2 but get a quick hook so that he can spell Rondo at the 1? Will Lee start? What do you think Doc will do? If it were up to you, how would you distribute the minutes?

http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2012/10/thomas-robinson.html#storylink=cpy I guess experimenting with him at the 3 won't hurt anybody, but I really don't see anything about his game that would suggest to me that he could be a full time small forward. Sure, he can handle the ball well for a power forward, but when you put him 25 feet from the basket with a quicker defender on him and suddenly his handle doesn't look quite as good. I just don't understand why you try and change him. He is a power forward, play him at power forward. I realize that you have guys like Chuck Hayes and Jason Thompson on the roster and are limited at the 3, but still, don't try and turn the guy into something he isn't.

Despite entering his 3rd NBA season, this is actually the first real training camp that Davis has attended. He missed his rookie one due to knee surgery that kept him out of action until December and then last year the lockout shortened season wiped away much of camp. According to many people who have been following the Raptors camp, Davis has been the most impressive Raptor in camp. Jack Armstrong was on TSN Radio and spoke highly of Davis. He said he looks bigger, his jumper has improved and that he looks more comfortable and confident on the floor. Beat writers, such as Wolstat and Koreen, have spoke highly about Davis' plays during camp as well. In the Raptors intrasquad game yesterday, he was the best player on the floor according to everything I've read. He finished with 14 points and 12 boards. What do you expect from Davis this year? This really is his first true offseason of his career where he can work on his game with the coaching staff.

I was watching the Clippers/Nuggets preseason game yesterday and the Clipper announcers were going on and on about how the Clippers were the deepest team in the league after their offseason additions. They also mentioned the Nuggets, who most people think of as the deepest team in the league, as being extremely deep, but insisted that the Clippers were deeper. So is it a consensous that the Nuggets are the deepest team in the league or do you guys think that another team, whether it is the Clippers or somebody else (Spurs?), hold that distinction?

Bledsoe looked good last night. He still had his moments where he would get completely out of control and recklessly drove to the hoop. These lead to turnovers or forced passes that should've been a turnover but instead was just tipped out of bounds. Still, despite those moments I was impressed with what I saw from him. He was his usual active self on defense, especially jumping passing lanes. He did a very nice job on the boards which enabled him to quickly get out on the break where he is at his best. I liked what I saw from him last night. Jordan actually looked competent on offense as well. He had a nice up and under move on the first possession of the game and then there was another move where he completely faked out McGee (not like that is hard to do) but McGee managed to just throw his hands at the ball and knock it out of bounds. If he can actually score the ball on something other than lobs and garbage buckets around the rim, it will be a big addition to this Clippers team. Of course, it is only the first preseason game so I'm not going to declare Jordan a low post threat just yet, unlike the Clippers homer announcers. On the Nuggets side, that was the first time I've ever noticed Hamilton on an NBA court. It wasn't because he did anything I haven't seen him do before since I saw him a lot at Texas and already knew he was a gunner, but I haven't seen him get on a hot streak like he did in the 2nd quarter.

For anybody who has NBA TV and is looking to veg out and watch some ball today, there are 4 games today. Dallas vs. Berlin at 2 PM EST Memphis vs. Real Madrid at 8 PM EST San Antonio vs. Siena at 8:30 PM EST LA Clippers vs. Denver at 10:30 PM EST

Went from this: http://windycitizensports.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/anthony-davis.jpg?w=416 http://www.guysnation.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/03/Anthony-Davis-by-David-E-Klutho-SI.jpg http://timekeepingscore.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/147514226.jpg?w=600&h=400&crop=1 to this: http://c-product.images.dreamsretail.com/77-21/77-21963-F.jpg http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1004/nba_u_davis11sc_288v.jpg http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/002/639/765/hi-res-150566455_display_image.jpg?1349130195 He does have a fairly wide frame so I'm not surprised to see him get bigger, but I didn't expect to see such a noticeable difference from draft night to the start of training camp. Also, I realize angles and photoshoot pictures are going to make him look bigger than in game photos, but even then, you can see a noticeable difference.

It may not seem like a lot, and he will probably lose a fair amount of it throughout the course of the season, but now that he isn't expected to play center I'd like to see him trim down and have a frame more like his rookie and sophomore seasons. Like I said before, Bargs will never be a banger and I truly think that he would be at his best if he were to focus on his quickness, especially since he spends so much time on the perimeter. I remember watching him during the summer league after he was drafted and was blown away by his fluidity and quickness for a guy his size. Since he was asked to play center and get bigger, he doesn't have that same bounce. He still does have that advantage over most bigs in the league, but I think he should really look to maximize that because it is such a unique attribute for a player his size. Couldn't you argue that working on his quickness and fluidity be more advantagerous considering his playstyle and skill set? After all, he usually likes to turn and face his man, utilize a pump fake and then take a few hard dribbles for a pull up jumper. I'd say quickness is more effective in that type of move than strength is.

Only because you always seem to want to go against the grain. There is honestly nothing rational to suggest that Curry is more likely to end up as a Hall of Famer than Griffin is, and I am a huge Curry fan and don't care for Griffin. Curry is going to be, at best, a 20/7 player who shoots around 42% from 3. The scoring numbers are probably generous since if he ever gets on a good team he will likely be the 2nd or 3rd option. Meanwhile, Griffin is going to be at worst a 20/10/3.5 big man. This is probably conservative considering he already has career averages of 21.7/11.5/3.5 despite not having a particularly refined offensive game. He has also already been named to the All-Star game twice (which will probably be as much or more than Curry makes his entire career), won Rookie of the Year and has been named to the All-NBA 2nd team.

Casey and others have mentioned that Bargnani added 15 pounds over the summer. Normally you like to see big men bulking up, especially ones who struggle with some of the more physical aspects of the game like Bargnani does. However, is this necessarily a good thing for Bargnani? I think we can all agree that Bargs will never be a good rebounder. Nor is he ever going to be a bruiser down low. So is it really better for him to continue to bulk up or would it be better if he were to stay around 245-250 pounds and focus more on getting leaner and quicker? I guess at the end of the day all that really matters is if he can play like he did at the start of the year last year but is bulking up going to make that more likely or would focusing on being quicker and leaner make it more likely?

This coming from the guy who sent about 100 PMs to the staff over a 30 day period complaining about every little thing said about him.

Again, though, the problem I have with this logic is that it's not like the Celtics viewed him as a valuable piece anymore. They signed Terry to replace him before he even signed with the Heat and then all of the other stuff I've mentioned in this thread already. Sure, he won a championship with them 5 years ago but as far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't feel any sort of obligation to the team after what has transpired between them over the past two years. It is beating a dead horse at this point, though, so I'll just leave it at that. So let me get this straight. You put me on ignore even though we've never had any sort of altercation that derailed threads, yet when the staff urges you to put iMan or Yugo, guys who you constantly get into it with, on ignore you blow us off?

I liked it. I know it is only 1 episode but it felt more like the first four seasons of Dexter than the last two. Even though I'm not like a lot of fans who loathed the last two seasons and enjoyed them, I can fully admit that they are clearly not up to the standards of the 1st, 2nd or 4th season. I liked all of the references to the past seasons (ice truck killer, Deb's flashbacks, Doakes, etc...) and how they all tied together in the present day. I think that the Ukranian mob storyline has potential to be very good and LaGuerta being on a mission to prove Doakes wasn't the ITK and subsequently investigating Dexter (whether she knows it or not) will be interesting as well. I'm looking forward to what Hanna McKay (Yvonne Strahovski's character) is like since I've read that she is one of the more interesting guest stars that they have had (although, that isn't exactly hard considering how boring Prado and Lumen were). I believe she is introduced in episode 3. Lastly, the whole computer nerd character going stalker crazy on Dexter, which we all saw coming, seems like it will be the 4th main arc of the season. I'm not as stoked about that one since I knew it was coming for nearly 2 years, but it should still be decent. All in all, it was an encouraging episode, although the last two seasons started off well too only to diminish in quality as it progressed. Hopefully this season doesn't go that route. With the framework they've laid during this first episode, I'm fairly confident that they'll be able to maintain the quality that was set with this first episode.

I read something about Casey saying DeRozan put on about 15 pounds from the end of last season but I didn't really believe it after all the talk about how much bigger he had gotten the previous offseason, but in that picture he does look bigger. Nice to see as it will help tremendously with his ability to draw fouls and finish through contact. Also, Fields looks bigger as well, but I definitely didn't see him as much as I did DeRozan. Could any Knick fans or people who frequently watched Knick games confirm or deny this? Of course, by January most players will have lost most of the mass they gained during the summer anyways, since it is so difficult to maintain mass during the grind of the season.

It may only be 3 weeks, but given Bynum's past it certainly should be something to worry about. If this was LeBron James or some other player who has been extremely durable throughout his career, sure, I'd agree that it would be nothing to get worked up about, but given Bynum's past? I would be concerned if I was a Sixer fan. Also, missing training camp your first season with a new team, new coach, new teammates and a new system isn't exactly something to take lightly, either. You could possibly add another two-to-three weeks to that for him to get his conditioning back and a comfortable understanding of the new system and his new teammates tendancies. Of course, he will still be able to observe and what not, so he won't be completely out to lunch when he does return, but there is no substitute for actually participating.

It still doesn't change the fact that if not for a last second (literally) change of mind from Ainge, Allen would've finished the season as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. If there was loyalty there, his name wouldn't even come up in trade talks. Was Garnett almost dealt? No. Was Pierce almost dealt? No. (Celtics turned down the same deal Brooklyn made for Wallace) Sure, it is a business and players are dealt all the time, but you don't think it pissed Allen off that he was almost dealt two years in a row after he was a arguably the most important part of the Celtics turnaround (no Allen trade means no KG trade)? You can sure as hell bet it did to a person like Allen. Ok, so let me ask you this. If you were to be offered a better job with more stability from a rival company and you didn't get along with your boss/supervisor/manager/whatever would you turn it down just because of having a relationship with two of your co-workers? At the end of the day this is a business. The Celtics knew that and that is why they explored trade options involving Allen in an attempt to better their team. Allen knew this and he made a decision that he felt was better for his career. He is basically doing what the Celtics did for the past two years and yet he should be vilified? PS: Just to be clear, I don't think the Celtics did anything wrong, either. I just think it is stupid how people are crucifying Allen for this. It isn't like he is Paul Pierce or anything like that. If Pierce up and left Boston for Miami, I would agree that would be just awful.

Why should Allen show loyalty to the Celtics when they showed hardly any to him over the past two years? He was almost dealt at the deadline two years ago and he was told by Doc that he had been traded to the Grizzlies for OJ Mayo at this year's deadline, only to be told 10 minutes later that the deal was off as Ainge backed out. He was demoted to the bench and then saw his minutes cut. Sure, you can argue (and I'd agree with you) that it was the right move from a basketball standpoint as Avery Bradley was more valuable than a hobbled Ray Allen, but for a player like Allen, you can sure as hell bet that felt like another punch to the gut. Despite this, Allen didn't quit or mail it in. He played at probably 60% during the playoffs, never whined to the media and the only sort of clash we heard about was with Rondo, and it is a well known fact that Rondo is a very moody player. Criticize Allen for taking the easy way out and latching onto the best team in the league for his twilight years all you want, but it is ridiculous to criticize him for not showing loyalty to a franchise that has shown hardly any to him for the past two years.

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what the point of it is either. I understand what it is but I just don't really see how it helps the forum or anything of that nature.

The Magic may have to overpay for him a bit in order to keep him around because you know that any contending team will be more than willing to get a player like Redick for the MLE. The guy is an ideal role player for all the reasons CmS mentioned. Like him, I love what he gives a team.

I'd probably as well if this is based on production, but I fully believe that Bosh is a better player than Aldridge is. I've mentioned this plenty of times on here, but I think that Bosh has become one of the more underrated players in the league since he joined up with Wade and James in Miami. He was a top 10 player in the league his final season with Toronto and was routinely a top 15 player every other year of his Toronto prime and it seems like people forget how good he actually is. As number one options on their respective teams, Bosh was more productive than Aldridge: Aldridge - 21.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 bpg with a 21.9 PER and 55 TS% Bosh - 22.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.1 bpg with a 23.2 PER and 58 TS% I'm actually pleasently surprised that Bosh was included in the top 20 due to his relatively small role on the Heat, at least in regards to all the other players on the list.

Well, it is public knowledge. Michelle Carter (Vince's mom) talked about this in 2005 and it was published in an article from both ESPN and Sportsnet. Here is the ESPN article (that references the original article from Sportsnet). http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1989670 So, yeah, it actually is public knowledge and has been for over 7 years.

I like this one better.

He played pretty well with the Kings towards the end of the season last year and the Pistons aren't exactly loaded with talent so he has a chance of making the team if you ask me.