Nitro

It's surprising to me that Westbrook is still getting so much hate. He just had an incredible season, raised his efficiency, and his explosiveness at the PG position is nearly as important as what Durant does for this team (not saying he's as good individually as Durant). Anyway, I made a topic at the beginning of the season about their cap situation, and it's even a bigger issue now after the seasons Harden and Ibaka had. If Rudy Gay could get a max contract, I think Harden could, or at least something close to it from a small market team. Per 36min, Ibaka averaged 12PPG/10RPG and an amazing 4.8BPG. Of all the young guns for OKC, he is the guy with the most untapped potential, and I could easily see him getting $11-13M per year. With Durant/Westbrook having max contracts, Harden possibly requiring a max deal, and Ibaka likely getting over $10M a year, and Perkins getting $7-8M (I believe), they are going to have to cut ties with 1, maybe 2 of those players, and will be in a similar cap situation that the Heat have been in since the Big 3 formed. However, with the core 2 to build around, they will be a contender for a very long time, with the chance of being a dynasty if management is smart.

LeBron's been ridiculous tonight. As dominant as I've ever seen him scoring the ball, and it's coming really effortlessly. Bosh has made a huge impact. His length on the boards, his ability to defend the PnR and switch, ability to roll to the rim and be a threat with the jumpshot...it has opened up the offense big time. The role players (and Wade) aren't doing their job right now, but at home the shots guys like Miller and Battier aren't hitting tonight will likely fall. Boston needs to utilize Ray more, especially when he has Chalmers and Miller defending him. Pierce is always going to have a difficult time with LeBron and Battier defending him, so I don't expect him to go off for a big game at any point in this game or Game 7 if it gets that far. KG needs more touches in the post, though Miamia is doing a good job of swarming him when he gets deep.

The offensive foul that Durant drew was legit and a great defensive play. The offensive foul that I think Harden drew on Manu (the one where I think Leonard hit the 3) was absolute bullshit, though. Regardless, SA gave this game away. They let a big lead slip away, and let OKC be the aggressors that 2nd half. That was the story of the series.

It's easy to blame the officials, but SA gave up a huge lead (in this game and the series) and their offense was completely shut down in the 4th. OKC was the better team and deserved to win this game.

That's why I always prefer LeBron to take the last shot. Wade ALWAYS dribbles the clock out when Miami is down so he can take some buzzer beater to tie/win the game, as opposed to giving his team two chances. It drives me crazy. Spo really has to get Wade the ball in better positions on the floor than he has the last 2 games. In Game 2, he drew up a lot of plays in that 2nd half for Wade in the post and making strong off-ball cuts to the rim from the weakside. In Boston, it was all high pick-and-rolls, which Boston traps and keeps Wade on the perimeter. Miami could really, really use Bosh on Tuesday. They need that extra option against this Boston defense.

Bad call on LeBron, Pietrus hooked him. Wade needs to take this over.

Awful play call by Spo to end regulation. Knowing that Boston always traps on high pick-and-rolls, why call for one with LeBron doing the ballhandling?

The double-foul after that one on James was terrible as well. Rondo needs to push the tempo here in the last 5min, the offense is too stagnant.

LeBron was the most hyped player ever coming out of high school. It wasn't like he was one of those late 1st round/2nd round/undrafted picks who Cleveland gave a shot that no one else would. No matter who had that #1 pick, it was gonna be used on LeBron, he was gonna immediately get 35-40MPG, and the team was gonna immediately start building their franchise around him. If Cleveland didn't appreciate him as a player, another team and their fanbase would have welcomed him with wide open arms. Cleveland didn't offer him anything special. They did a pretty awful job of building a championship contender around him, from the owner, to the GM, to the coach, to the players. What was special about the Cleveland-LeBron relationship was what LeBron brought the city. He brought that city their first MVP awards, first Finals appearence, first ASG MVP, multiple ECF visits, scoring title, and brought that city SO MUCH NATIONAL MEDIA EXPOSURE the likes of which that city has never seen from ANY of the 3 major sports. So, explain to me why LeBron owes them so much? Because they spent 7 years cheering one of the greatest players the league has ever seen? Because they filled the seats while he was carrying them to deep playoff runs? LeBron owes them an apology for "The Decision", but THAT'S IT! Most franchises never get the chance to see a player as talented as LeBron play for them, never get to sniff the NBA Finals, and never get so much national exposure. He doesn't owe them shit, and had every right to leave them for Miami.

I'd trade him if the right offer came along. He scores the ball at decent volume but he doesn't do so efficiently, his jumper is suspect, and he doesn't rebound, pass, handle the ball or defend well. His worth isn't very high, and players like him are easily expendable. Because of his age, athleticism and IMO bloated scoring numbers, he will probably bring in more value than he gives if you keep him.

Spo has done an awful job this post-season of shuffling and re-shuffling the lineup. As a result the team just hasn't had the right chemistry, especially on the defensive end where the team has looked disorganized and are getting killed on the glass. Why does Battier continue to get huge minutes when he's consistently getting torched defensively, streaky at best from 3 and is the worst on the team next to Joel Anthony at putting the ball on the floor? James Jones deserves more minutes. And why isn't Spo calling more post-ups for Wade? I know Wade's been seeing some quick doubles, but that's one of the only ways he'll be able to get going. I hope this series proves just how amazing Rondo is and that his productivity is NOT just a product of his teammates.

Apologize for what? He said he went about The Decision the wrong way, but even though it was distasteful he still raised a TON of money for a reputable charity. He had every right to leave Cleveland as they did an awful job of building a championship caliber tean around him over his 7 years there...they truly did over-achieve based on talent, and them overachieving is solely because of LeBron. He brought threm to their only Finals in franchise history, and gave them the only MVP awards the franchise has ever seen (among other individual accolades). He brought the franchise an insane amount of money, from endorsements, national attention and ticket sales. He owes Cleveland NOTHING.

LeBron is the face of the NBA. He's widely regarded as the clear-cut best player in the league, and NO ONE gets as much attention from the media, and as strong of a reaction from the fans as he does. No one draws crowds from city to city as Bron does. Kobe is a very close 2nd, and Durant/Dwight/Wade are a clear step below as far as who is the faces of the league.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXiYC7CZyyU This shit has had me laughing for a good 10min now. Brilliant. UGH!!! "So I hit my [expletive]a Ross, he picked up like 'UGH' Told him I needed a adlib, that [expletive]a went 'UGH'" LMAO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuL9V32aGFs Good to be back.

Allow me to reintroduce myself...

LeBron was the easy choice. Every year the MVP tends to go to the best player on one of the top 3-4 teams. There are exceptions; usually players who dominate on teams that seems to overachieve to an elite record. AI, Nash and Rose come to mind. However you want to slice it, that's the way the award tends to go. Durant had a terrific season, but he's still a clear step below LeBron. Besides that, Westbrook and Harden had two healthy, unbelievable seasons...Westbrook had arguably a better year statistically than Wade, while Harden's advance stats were ridiculous this season. Wade missed nearly half the season, and Bosh missed some games as well. If OKC had a big advantage record-wise over Miami, Durant would have a case, but they won only one more game. LeBron also does so much more fot the Heat than Durant does for the Thunder...LeBron is the primary ballhandler, playmaker, scorer, defender (defends 4-5 positions as well, and is the most dominant off-ball defensive wing in the game), and rebounder. He does a lot more heavy lifting than Durant despite having Wade/Bosh by his side. ALSO, a stat- Durant had a net +/- of +4. LeBron is a +14. Just sayin. No way in hell was Tony Parker gonna win. He played only 32MPG, his stats weren't mind-blowing (18/8/3 on average efficiency), and he doesn't make much of a defensive impact. Duncan still anchors that defense, and IMO Manu is still the best overall player on the team. If the Clippers won 4-5 more games, CP3 would have had a really strong case and would have fit the AI/Nash/Rose mold. But, their record just wasn't good enough.

The album "Be" by Common, which Kanye produced, is the only other album that has that sound, but Kanye doesn't rap on that album (maybe 1 song, I forget). That style is just so soulful and easy to listen to, and doesn't come off as preachy or gloating like his new stuff. Late Registration has a great sound as well but is more grandiose, and Graduation came off as a bit monotone to me. His recent stuff is completely different.

3.7BPG is ridiculous (especially since he played only 27MPG), and shot blockers like that consistently affect shots at the rim...the most efficient area on the floor. To statistically compare his impact to, say, Tyson Chandler, OKC gives up 3 more points per 100 possessions when he's off the floor...NY gives up less than 1 more point when Chandler is off the floor. Speaking of Chandler, I don't understand how he earned 2nd team honors and still won the DPOY. I understand why he won the award and don't really have a problem with it, but if he wins then he can't possibly be 2nd team. That is, unless they award it to the defensive MVP of the league, and not best defender, but that kind of makes the award pointless IMO. Only glaring problem with these lists is Kobe. To put him ahead of guys like Wade, Marion, Iguodala, Sefolosha, Afflalo, Holliday, and a few others is ridiculous (Wade I understand because of the time he missed).

I said this earlier in the season. Giving him that big contract was stupid when they still had yet to give Westbrook and Harden their new deals, and they were fresh off giving Durant a max deal. He's going to end up crippling their cap-space in the future much like the way Mike Miller's contract (and Battier's) is killing Miami. Perkins is ineffective offensively, an average-at-best rebounder and only good at defending true post players. Everyone over-reacted to the trade last year because they correlated OKC's improvement to the addition of Perkins. It wasn't Perkins, it was getting rid of a tweener in Jeff Green, which balanced out the lineup and gave Ibaka the minutes he deserved. Collison needs way more minutes, and it should be at Perkins' expense. As for moving Harden to the starting lineup, that's not smart. OKC lacks scoring as it is off the bench, and Harden will become less effective if you decrease his minutes against other second stringers. He's damn near a carbon copy of Manu Ginobili, and his role on the team is the same (except in the past Manu has been the #1 option in 4th quarters, while Harden will always be 3rd behind Durant and Westbrook).

Thru the Wire. One of the songs that turned me into a huge hip-hop head. That entire album had an awesome, unique sound to it that he hasn't been able to duplicate.

Wade and LeBron...wow. This is just about as unstoppable as I've seen this duo the last 2 seasons. Doing whatever they damn well please. This year's Heat team is really scary good.

Holy shit LeBron and Wade are coming out on fire, scoring the first 18pts (so far), and some highlight reel plays in transition. That last one-handed alley oop by LeBron was ridiculous. Not a fan of the starting lineup, though. Need Haslem in there for rebounding, Joel isn't good enough on the boards and LeBron's defense keeps him away from the rim to protect the Heat from giving up offensive rebounds.

It is murder, though in some ways I can understand the reasoning if the child has a mental or physical disorder. That brings up the question of quality of life for both the child and its parents, and in some cases I can see the benefit of killing it for everyone involved. However, it does seem extreme, and I'd personally vote against it.

The pass that was turned over was not a set play...it was a broken play off an offensive rebound from a Deron Williams 3 (which I thought wasn't a bad play to run, and he did get a good look).