Nitro

As ABL mentioned, many stats can be inflated by the ease of the play. If points didn't have FG% as a backing, you wouldn't be able to tell if the player had a good or bad game scoring the ball; for example, if Player A shoots 11-30 to get 30pts, while Player B shoots 11-16 to get 30pts, you wouldn't be able to tell who had the better game just by looking at the points. Assists don't have this elaboration in the box score, although sites like 82games and Synergy Sports have other passing stats that help elaborate on the assist's quality. But as I said, I believe in the law of averages. Meaning, the truly great passers will end up with high assist averages, while the poor ones won't. Coaches will put the great passers in a position to make plays for teammates, while they won't do the same for poor passers. Therefor, it's hard for me to call it an overrated stat. There are also players who get high number of assists off usage, so I tend to blend passing/ballhandling/ability to create shots into a term called 'playmaking'. That's why I'd call a PG who is an excellent, pure passer who may not be able to create teammates easy looks an equal playmaker to a guy like Dwyane Wade, who can force defensive attention which frees up his teammates, giving them open looks.

Well, to comment on the idea that certain plays that are counted as assists shouldn't be counted, or have little value, I agree. At the same time, however, assists are [generally] awarded equally among players, so assists do have legitimacy for statistical comparison since there is an even plane. The fact that the great passers at each position do tend to have their passing quantified by assists does give the stat some substance. However, there are players who get their assists due to ball dominance, so with those players you have to factor in usage and role in the offense when making a comparison. But, to answer the question, I don't think it's necessarily an overrated stat, it's just that passing is the hardest area of the game to quantify. There is so much grey area in what qualifies as an assist, and in box score stats it's hard to tell the assist's quality (if the player was open, if the pass was on target, if there was sufficient time on the shot clock, etc...)

October: 16.7 PPG/ 11.0 RPG / 2.3 APG November: 20.9 PPG/ 11.7 RPG / 2.7 APG December: 23.0 PPG / 13.5 RPG /3.9 APG January: 27.2 PPG / 14.5 RPG / 4.6 APG ------------------------------------ Damn. Reminds me a lot of the kind of stats a prime KG was putting up, back around 2003ish.

That's how I went to a Philly game earlier this year (and will go to another in March against Houston), and the parent company my dad works for has Miami season tickets in the box seats. My dad promised he'd take me sometime this winter when I was off school, which I just dropped out of, so I don't know if that'll happen for me this year -_-

I will. I just want to make sure EVERYTHING is perfect (IMO) before I record it. Once you put out a few weak tracks, you get a bad rep, and I don't want that. I want to come out of [expletive]ing nowhere with some fire. I'm writing every single day, and trying to perfect my style. I want to make 12 great songs, choose the best 8, then record and put out my mixtape. Even if that takes another year (it shouldn't, the latest I expect would be this summer), so be it. I want this to be amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH18GpABKcw Quite possibly my favorite rap instrumental ever.

Thanks for the videos! Back in his T-Wolves days, KG was probably the most versatile player I've ever seen. He could legitimately play all 5 positions on both offense and defense (he obviously could only play certain positions for small stretches, but nontheless he could still do it), and the only real weakness he had was settling for jumpers at at times being too passive. Still, he was a very, very special player, and one of my all-time favorites (before he went to the Celtics, anyway).

Damn this song brings back memories :glasses: Me and my boy used to bump this everyday during lunch of our senior years smoking blunts. I wish I could turn back the clock and be in high school again

Crazy shot by Griffin, that was a looooooooonnnnnggggg 3 pointer.

^Simpsons FTW. Just wrote this out below, putting it to the beat of 'Love and War' by Dilated Peoples....

Here's the link fellas: http://depositfiles.com/en/files/wy0k84vy9 I'll give my review sometime this week.

That shot was a killer from Durant, a fadeaway from right at the 3pt line. Can't do much more to defend that except not let him touch the ball in the first place. On a side note, the officiating was absolutely horrible down the stretch for both sides. A ton of blown/missed calls.

Mike Miller is going OFF!! He has 18/4/3 on 7-10 shooting with half the 2nd quarter to go. Really good to see him finally playing well.

DAMN, he really is putting in work, can't believe this is already out (or leaked). Can anyone hook me up with the link?

WOAH THERE!!!! Em has had many, many songs where he spits things just to play with words, but Renegade is not one of those. Both of his verses have quite a bit of meaning.

Then you're just crazy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybEZF4Vbe3A

You can make a case for the Takeover being a better song than Ether, but no way was it a better diss, and that's why Nas won the beef. I also personally think H to the OMO was better than Super Ugly.

Here's a T-Mac mix from this year so far... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5puyjr2qd4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gYPipNBcLs "Is he H to the Izzo, M to the Izzo? Fo-shizzle you phony, the rapper version of Sisqo" :glasses:

The Lakers have always been a team that builds its teams proactively through FA and trades. Of course they hit it big with guys like Magic and Kobe (who they traded for) through the draft, but ever since the days of Kareem they've been a team that gets it done by more unconventional means. I personally don't mind how things are nowadays. Most teams still do get the chance to see their players develop into stars, but more than ever it is on the franchise to put talent around their stars to compete. If they don't, it opens the door up for that star to leave for a better situation. I don't see the problem with that, and IMO it makes things a bit more dramatic and interesting.

That part is very important, and shows Karl isn't naive to all the agendas at play for all of Melo's agents and advisors. Should be an interesting development if Karl has that sitdown with Melo, although I doubt it will sway Melo's decision much.

Lol ok gay-fish, whatever you say there buddy...

Again, though, the topic is about who is currently taking over the league. And in the last 4-5 years, specifically the last 2-3 years, there has been a bigger influx of great PG's than there have been PF's.

Hmmm... http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/8288-random-thread-2010/page__st__1220__p__173786#entry173786 "We don't believe you, you need more people!"

Haha it's all good, he wrote a nice 16, I got no problems losing to that. I just thought those few lines were funny. Anyway... KEEP VOTING PEOPLE!!!