Nitro

Damn, for all the talk about the Heat not having any money after signing Wade/James/Bosh, they are STACKED. I see 12 players that can make a significant impact on this team- PG: Chalmers/Arroyo SG: Wade/House/Jones SF: James/Miller PF: Bosh/Haslem/Howard C: Illgauskas/Anthony Not to mention they also have Magloire and their rookies if they have any injuries and need to plug in holes. The league should be terrified.

It doesn't matter if they are a storied franchise, Cleveland is one of the least attractive cities to play for in the NBA. LeBron changed things a bit because he is an all-time player, but even in LeBron's tenure they brought in very, very little talent via free agency (solid role players, but not great talent). Anyway, as BFT said, there are a few franchises who are doing poorly and are in less lucrative destinations than the Raptors are. Therefor, it really shouldn't be much of a discussion yet. As long as they are bringing in the revenue, they will stay put.

It's actually really tough, but I'd go with Amare. Keep in mind, Boozer is the more complete player...he has a better post game, is a much better rebounder, a fantastic left hand and he's also a very underrated and better passer than Amare. With that said, Amare is a guy who I trust more as a scorer and go-to guy. When he wants to, he can be flat-out dominant offensively. He's the best PnR big man in the league who is literally unstoppable off the dribble. In a playoff series if my team needs a basket, you can give it to Amare and he'll get you a high percentage shot or will bully the defender into fouling him and he'll get to the FT line. Therefor, I give Amare a very slight edge.

Haha RD that was ownage. But I'm bored so I'm gonna nit-pick a few things... Oh c'mon you know that's not the right way to look at it. Shaq led the league each of the championship seasons in both FG% and FTA. He led the league in scoring the first championship, and took home MVP. Top 4 in blocks the first 2 championship seasons, top 3 in RPG both of those seasons. He was #1 in PER each of the championship seasons. Finals MVP each championship. Aside from the stats, no one demanded as much defensive attention in modern day NBA history as Shaq did those seasons. He was so efficient, so dominant both as a scorer and rebounder, and his passing out of those post is one of the reasons that offense ran so smoothly. Well, are we talking just championship teams? If so, I'd say Dr. J came close when the Sixers won the championship and Moses Malone was MVP. Erving averaged 21.4PPG/6.8RPG/3.8APG/1.6SPG/1.8BPG and shot 51.7% from the field. Actually a very good comparison to the '99-'00 stat wise as Malone gave relatively similar production to Shaq. Gail Goodwrich on the '71-'72 Lakers. Took 20.7 FGA to West's 20.0. Don't know if you're trying to prove that Kobe/Shaq was Batman A and Batman B as opposed to Batman and Robin, but Shaq's playoff numbers during the championship years were off the charts- 1999-2000: 30.7PPG, 15.4RPG, 3.1APG, 56.6% FG, 2.4BPG 2000-2001: 30.4PPG, 15.4RPG, 3.2APG, 55.5% FG, 2.4BPG (including the Finals destruction of DPOY Mutombo) 2001-2002: 28.5PPG, 12.6RPG, 2.8APG, 52.9% FG, 2.5BPG Shaq was CLEARLY "the man" on those Laker teams. His level of dominance in that 3-peat has not really been matched in the last 20-30 years by anyone not named MJ. The Lakers didn't win the championship that season, did they? And isn't it ironic that the first post-season Kobe outscored Shaq, they were knocked out of the playoffs? Keep in mind against the Spurs that post-season Kobe shot nearly 13% worse from the field than Shaq (43% to 56%), and averaged the same amount of assists with 1 more TO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKHyGryHhUU Anyone know what this songs is? The dude who supposedly made the video says it's Soutshide by Lil Keke but it isn't, and I've tried searching the lyrics and am coming up with NOTHING. Normally I would just use a youtube to mp3 converter but there's some audio of the highlights over the song in a good portion of the video. Can anyone help?

BTW here's a video of after the dude got kicked out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QMrvkJsFBU

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/ID/38459999/NS/SPORTS-BASEBALL/ Honestly, if I were LeBron, I would just skip any games in Cleveland for the next few years. It isn't like they'll need him anyway, and I really do think it could be a dangerous situation if he comes to town next season.

Who cares? In the last 2 seasons Bosh has substantially beat Amare in RPG, RPG per 36min, and TRB % (and Bosh actually has a better TRB % for his career than Amare).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tXwAhMVb1Y Great video. Shows that Jordan did indeed have to face zone defenses, double/triple team on AND off-ball, handchecking, faceguarding, no 3 second rule, etc... If you get the chance check out some of his other videos, they're all pretty good. ANYONE who picks Kobe over Jordan because Jordan didn't have to deal with zone defenses, please watch this video.

You got it twisted. LeBron is actually a better 3pt shooter than Melo, and last season took nearly 2 more attempts per game. The difference between Melo and Wade from beyond the arc is smaller than the difference between LeBron and Melo. However, between all 6 players, Paul is by far the best 3pt shooter of the bunch.

Love it, just don't know about the text. Seems either out of place or too big.

http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Source-Lorenzen-Wright-Found-Dead-in-Southeast/2mTkdqqd7UOSIrzrER_jRQ.cspx

Bosh has averaged over 10 boards 3 of the last 4 seasons (Amare hasn't averaged more than 9.6RPG ever). He was 6th in the NBA in rebounding the last 2 seasons. He's a great rebounder at the PF position. Did you watch the 2008 Olympics? Almost was everything Wade did was off-ball, and despite coming off the bench he led the team in scoring and shot 67% from the field. And before you use the excuse that it's international ball, Kobe shot his NBA percentage of 46%. Wade is one of the best star players in the league at moving off-ball, whether it be curling off screens or making hard cuts to the basket. As I said in my first post, this comparison is hard because we don't know how Wade/LeBron will mesh. But the potential is SKY HIGH. LeBron was #1 in PER last season. Wade was #2. Bosh was #4. Of course each will drop next season, but with their versatility and age, the sky really is the limit.

I think it's just the shirt. Take a look at this pic from the welcome party thing... http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize_image/images/m/miami-heat-070910-2.jpg Also, I think Riley possibly sold him on playing PG or a Magic Johnson type role on this Heat team, so maybe he is cutting some weight to allow him to defend the PG position? Who knows...

Wow...really? How in the world is it a wash when Bosh averaged 10.8RPG to Amare's 8.9RPG last season? Bosh had a TRB% of 17.7 to Amare's 14.5. In the post-season Amare averaged a HORRIBLE 6.6RPG. I don't know how you can't give Bosh the edge as Bosh has Amare beat by a pretty substantial margin. Ok...Paul is a better passer/playmaker for his teammates than Wade. But Wade and LeBron are the very best passers at their respective positions in the entire league. Wade and Bron are both more efficient scorers than Melo, and also All-NBA First Team defensive players. Bosh is a better rebounder and IMO a better defender than Amare.

Don't mind the first quote as I think that's what most people would say if they had to play in Toronto. It's gotta be tough being in a different country, and he did give the city of Toronto props. But the 2nd quote just makes him look horrible. You're a professional and got to be able to take the pressure of playing as a superstar, even if it's in a different country. He seemed to be diverting blame to the city rather than himself.

Really hard to tell since I have no idea how Wade/LeBron will work out. But, I think I'd give the Miami trio the edge. Individually Wade>Paul, LeBron>Melo, Bosh>Amare. The NY trio would definitely fit together perfectly, but I love the Miami trio's versatility and they are much more well-rounded.

...wow...

Honestly Yao is different. He's had a foot/leg injuries every year for the last 5-6 seasons and always comes back relatively the same. I really don't expect his play to suffer much once he shakes off a year's worth of rust. However, I think before the end of the season he will get a hairline fracture in his leg or foot or something will happen to end his career. He's just too prone to injury with his huge size and it's just bound to happen.

If I have time to kill...jerk off, smoke a cig, shower, eat breakfast, then go on the computer.

On paper, sure, they look good. I never argued that, but I am very skeptical of the way they ended last season. The Mavs won something like 13 straight after they got Caron Butler and looked primed to be the Lakers' biggest challenge with a STACKED lineup. What happened? They lost to a Spurs team that got swept by the Suns. I am not saying the Bucks will have that same kind of follow-up this season, but to call them a better team than a Magic team that swept their first 2 series' last season, won 59 games and won the ECF the previous season? Not ready to say that as they still have a LOT to prove. Like can Bogut stay healthy? He played only 69 games last season, and only 33 the previous. Can Jennings shoot above 40%? If not the Bucks will be in trouble because there are going to be less shots to go around next season with everyone healthy and Maggette on the roster as well. Even if the pieces fit on paper, I see them struggling out of the gate which will hurt their standings. And quite frankly, I just don't think they will be a better team than the Heat, Celtics, Bulls or Magic. The beauty of the Magic is they take on responsibility by committe. They aren't solely reliant on any specific players. It's why last season they were 4th in offensive rating, and 3rd in defensive rating. Nelson's production won't go down at all. Lewis' should stay constant. Carter should actually play BETTER than most of last season, where he was a sub-40% scorer to kick off the year. And if his production tails off a bit, Reddick continues to improve and can be counted on to take some of VC's minutes. Anderson improved a bit last year. Gortat and Bass are great backups to Lewis if his production plummets. And above all else, if they have trouble scoring, Howard only took 10 FGA last season...that can always go up. And the moves they made in the offseason were lateral more than anything. Barnes isn't really any better than Q-Rich, and Richardson may actually be a better fit with his 3pt shooting. Duhon is a solid backup PG, not really a downgrade from Williams. I just don't get why you think some of the Magic's big guns will take such a plummet that the other players can't pick up the slack. They operate very much as a team and have the depth to pick up individual slack. 3 things- 1) As I said in my previous post, Perkins is going to be out for awhile. And when he does come back, he's likely not going to be 100% and will have to shake off rust. 2) On top of the Perkins loss, they also lost Wallace, Tony Allen and IMO their biggest loss was Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau was the mastermind of their all-time defense, designing their schemes and defensive gameplans. Rivers is not the best at gameplanning, and I think the loss of Thibs' will definitely make an impact. But on the hardwood, the loss of those 3 players with only the addition of an old JO (who is not a great rebounder anymore) will only cause negative effects on the team. 3) Garnett and Pierce had their injury problems last year, and all of the Big 3 have been showing consistent signs of decline. Offensively that is going to really hurt this team. Yes, Rondo is a great player, but he is not the kind of scorer that will be able to take over games consistently. You could see that during the 2nd half of last season. He would show up with a big scoring effort one night and lead his team to victory, and the next night either be too passive or be forced into jumpers that he couldn't connect on. The Celtics are a team made for the playoffs. But in the regular season, with their age, injuries and off-season losses, I don't think they'll have the 2nd best record to the Heat.

He got fined for two reasons- 1) The things he said about Beasley were inappropriate. The "opinion" was that Beasley's drug use/immaturity caused his disappointing play in Miami. What he got fined for his the detail and wording. If he simply said Beasley had some off-court issues in Miami that hindered his play, he would have been clear. By going into detail about such a personal subject matter puts Beasley's privacy at risk and is completely unnecessary on Kahn's part. If you had a drug problem, you would understand how it's completely wrong to do what Kahn did (especially since Beasley's supposedly been clean for a year or so). 2) It's a business. If you go about doing something in an inappropriate manner that makes the company look bad, you'll get punished and EVERY business has the right to that. See my analogy in the previous post.

Supposedly the workout didn't go so great according to some Chicago beat writers like Sam Smith. He shot well but didn't move with fluidity and his conditioning wasn't the best. Most don't expect the Bulls to offer him a contract, and if they do it might be an unguaranteed worth about $1.4M.

I think so. I don't think they'll make the Finals, but they are going to be a VERY tough out in the playoffs. They have upgraded the talent on their roster immensely, and filled all of the holes they had last season. If they sign T-Mac and he somehow returns to 50-75% of what he was in 2007-2008, they could be even more dangerous. I'm excited to see how it all comes together. Best case scenario they are the 2nd best team in the East. Worst case scenario they will at least get homecourt advantage and advance to the semi's.

Again, it's not a matter of Kahn getting his freedom of speach repressed. It's his boss considering what he said inappropriate and negatively effecting the company's image, which effects the business revenue. If I was working at a supermarket and told a customer that I hate black people, should I not get punished? I would just be expressing myself, and the only way it can hurt the person I said it to is if he/she percieves it a certain way...don't you see how ridiculous that idea is? The Beasley thing was not about him getting fined for his opinion. It was him getting fined for essentially violating Beasley's privacy in an inappropriate manner on a radio show, which has further attracted the attention of the national media.