Nitro

Haha bad night for Chris Rock. First that akward interview where Phil yelled at him, then that shot. Great stuff.

The Spurs won the title in 2003, not the Lakers.

Terrific game by Kobe and Gasol. The Lakers fought harder, played to their size advantage, and were not settling for jumpshots. Boston looked lethargic and couldn't get anything going offensively. I expect a much more competitive game in game 2, but it was clear from this game that the Lakers matchup far better than they did in 2008.

Why would that be stupid? Ray actually got a decent amount of time defending Kobe in the 2008 Finals and did a pretty darn good job. The Celtics will rotate multiple defenders at Kobe the entire series, but giving Ray the assignment wouldn't be a bad decision. As I've said many times, I don't know about having Kobe guard Rondo. I think he'd do a great job like he did on Westbrook, but I don't know what's a scarier scenario- having Fisher guard Rondo straightup and relying on help defense to challenge him at the rim, or having Fisher trying to chase down Allen around screen after screen.

Al Horford isn't a center, but it doesn't change the fact that he isn't a better player. And as I said in my posgt, I'm comparing them when they are healthy, which has been the primary reason Bynum hasn't done much in his career. And as for Stoudemire torching him, the only game which Stoudemire played well and had double digits rebounds was when Bynum only played 8min due to injury.

Health aside, Bynum is the better player. Better post repetoire, better rebounder, better defender and his size and length really can change games in a way Horford can't.

Talent doesn't equal best necessarily. T-Mac in his prime was as talented as anyone in NBA history offensively but he still isn't even a top 50-75 player in NBA history. Where Kobe lacks against MJ is efficiency, which is a big factor in the game (as well as Jordan was more consistent, except for the 3pt shot he had virtually the same skillset as Kobe, more athletic, stronger, better defender, IMO better playmaker, etc...).

I'm really sick of the whole throwback fad. I do admit the Warriors one looks pretty cool just because of the logo, but the Jazz ones are a step down from their current uni's.

All I'm saying is it was Shaq's team, making Kobe Robin. The best Robin there ever was, but he was still the 2nd best player on the team, 2nd most important and Shaq was undoubtedly the emotional leader of the team. A lot of Kobe's leadership qualities have come after they parted ways. I agree in some ways that Kobe should be given more credit than he usually gets for the three-peat, but that's because he never had a choice in playing 2nd fiddle and they did win 3 rings in a row. But don't confuse that with the facts still remaining that Kobe was not the better player in that time-frame or that he wasn't equally as important.

No one can name another Robin that was the caliber player that Kobe was in the 1st dynasty...but he was still Robin. And I find it odd you're using Kobe's post season stats to prove your point, yet fail to mention's Shaq's 31/15/3/3 on 56% shooting that he put up during the 1st 2 postseasons of the 3peat dynasty (3rd he averaged 29/13/3/3 on 53% shooting...slouch). Kobe was the Lakers' lockdown defender, he was the primary facilitator, and he scored like Kobe has always been able to. But Shaq in the 3-peat was on another level of pure dominance. The offense ran through him in the post and just his presence meant an immediate double or triple team and all kinds of defensive nightmares. So yes, even though Kobe was extremely important and productive, it was Shaq's team.

Boston should scare LA...they are the best defensive team in the league, and probably the most physical. They also have size and length, which has been LA's major advantage this entire post-season. And even though he is not the player he once was, KG is a nightmare defensively with his length and ability to move all over the court to cut off driving lanes. Lastly, people seem to be so confident of the Rondo matchup because of Kobe's defense on Westbrook...while Kobe did do a great job on Westbrook, I really am not sure if putting Kobe on Rondo would be the best move. Not because Kobe's can't defend Rondo, but because there's no way Fisher can reasonably defend Ray Allen while he's running around screens. And even though the Cleveland series showed Rondo can kill you, Ray has done much the same throughout his entire career. With all that said, I do pick LA to win the series. I think they have too much firepower, and way too much Kobe. And unlike 2 years ago, KG isn't a major threat offensively, and Pierce will have a very difficult time with Ron hounding him. It's going to be a GREAT series.

Carter is certainly more deserving, he's had a far better, more accomplished NBA career. And as for the injury thing...VC's averaged 73 games played per year over his 12 years in the league. Yao has averaged 60 games played over his 8 year career, and it's in doubt if he can go on much longer. What will hurt VC is that he never led a team too far in the playoffs, and even in his absolute prime he was a cut below some of the other elite swingmen of his era. T-Mac's injuries and lack of any post season success might kill him...but there's only a very small handful players who have averaged 32.1PPG/6.5RPG/5.5APG in a season or led the NBA in scoring in back to back years.

Yao had about 3 healthy years of 20/10, and after that he was an All-NBA 25/10 player who was only on the court for half-seasons, getting out of the first round only once. He made a great impact on the international landscape, but I don't think he deserves to be in the HoF. ESPECIALLY not over Carter, who had a 2-3 years of injuries but still managed to be a 25/5/5 type player for the majority of a decade. Not to mention he's had halfway decent playoff success, was the greatest highlight reel player in NBA history IMO, and also you can throw in his 2000 Gold Medal. As for current players who are either in their prime or past their prime, I think T-Mac, Pierce, and MAYBE Chauncey are borderline.

A good post player that isn't 6 years past his prime.

Kobe's been absolutely brilliant, reminding me of Kobe from when he had to do these things nightly. And wow @ Shannon Brown.

All the Heat need is a PG that can knock down jumpshots at a decent clip and be efficient handling the ball. That was generally the formula at the PG position the year they won the championship. Wade may be a SG, but he does the vast majority of the ballhandling and playmaking, as he should. Assuming they get one of the big-name FA bigs (Amare, Boozer, Bosh, etc..), they take the biggest issue the team has had in the last few years as they will have a 2nd player that can create his own shot down near the rim. Once again, a prime reason why a spot-up shooter at the PG position would be ideal. Personally, I think out of all the possible PG's that the Heat could manage to get, Kirk Hinrich would be the best fit. He's tough, a great defender who will take pressure off Wade on that end of the floor, and he'd thrive with all the open jumpshots he'd be getting fed. The 2nd player that came to my mind was Darren Collison, but he's not a very good shooter, a tad small on the defensive side, and while his body of work is limited, having a TO prone PG next to a relatively TO prone SG in Wade could be a problem. Also, after how well he performed last year as a rookie, his asking price might be a bit much.

Until the draft comes and goes, until certain coaches are hired/fired, until we see what other big-name FA's are doing, and until we see whatever summertime trades go down...it's just wayyyyy too early to make any judgements. But as I said, I'd love to see him paired with Wade, and Miami afterall is beautiful...

Money- Doesn't really make a difference between the Bulls/Knicks/Cavs/Nets/Heat/etc... Winning in the next 2-3 years- Heat/Bulls/Cavs Winning in the next 3-5 years- Nets/Bulls Personally, I'd love to see him and Wade on the same team. 2 of the league's 3 best players together...even if the rest of the roster was fill-ins, it'd be a nightmare tandem for opposing teams. The Bulls probably have the best and one of the youngest already set rosters for James to sign to and make them an instant title contender. The Cavs have the pieces and experience, just need a true post-up presence and new coach. Coming from NJ, having him come to the Nets would be unbelievable, and they also have a tremendous young core (especially if they get Wall) who all they need is that centerpiece (and a few veteran fill-ins like the Celtics and Heat imposed on their respective championship runs). Then there's the Knicks...who all they really have over the other teams is the NY spotlight. And as for the recent Clipper talk...if LBJ is going to LA, he's not going to the Clippers, forever in #24 and the purple and gold's shadow. Just won't happen.

One of the single most pathetic, desperate things I've ever seen. Hilarious...just pathetic.

I think it's gonna be LA-Orlando. The Lakers should have no trouble taking out the Suns in 5-6 games. Orlando-Boston is an interesting matchup, but I think the Magic's depth is going to be the big difference in the series. The Celtics just won't have the offensive power to beat the Magic in a 7 game series. Yeah, the Celtics without KG pushed the Magic to 7 last year, but this year the Magic have homecourt advantage and IMO are a better team than last year's squad.

He had SO many great punchlines, funny or not. Some of my favorites... "Everybody wanna be like Mike but Mike wanna be like L" "Mad ho's, ask Beavis I get nothing Butt-Head" "You might be kind of big but they make coffins your size too" "Cute chicks get the dick ugly [expletive]es get the wrong number" "[expletive] love, all I got for ho's is hard dick and bubble gum" (My favorite) "This ain't Cali, it's Harlem [expletive]a we do walk-by's" "And if I catch the AIDS I'mma start raping [expletive]es" "The shower's the only time you get your dick wet" "I wouldn't give a chick 10 cents to put cheese on a whopper" "A girl asked me for a ring and I put one around her whole eye" "A lot of rappers talk that murder [expletive] and couldn't kill time" "I told him give me the dough before you get smoked, oh you're broke?' *shots* 'Now you're dead broke" "A tech nine is my utensil, filling [expletive]az with so much lead they can use they dick for a pencil" It's absolutely ridiculous.

To quote him on 'Friends' off Distant Relatives, "My value high cuz I do more than rap about a gun." What makes Nas special is that yes, a lot of his subject matter is regular [expletive] rappers rap about, but how he does it is very different. For example, listen to 'Rewind' where he tells the story backwards, or 'I Gave You Power' where he raps from the POV of a gun. But I agree, this topic is all personal preference.

I've been looking around this forum quite a bit lately, and I don't think I've seen more than one or two members mention Big L, one of the greatest MC's to ever come out of NY, and my 2nd favorite ever behind Nas. One of the most grungy yet unbelievably talented rappers with arguably the best punchlines in the history of rap. So, I thought I'd make this topic to make those who aren't aware of him or his music. For those that don't know, he died back in 1999 and only made 2 albums, but both were great IMO. Anyway, here are some of my favorites from him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTRFS-6eUs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U1UN4P9Mnw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m257sYN_7Xw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQCLl7EUQw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhva3uw9Lu4

Kobe's shooting the ball fine and playing very well, but his one problem right now is the TO's...5 through 2.5 quarters is just too much.

Yeah, as I had to endure with him on Houston last year, any shot within 18ft from the rim is a struggle for him.