Nitro

Heat on 13-0 run to tie the game. With LeBron at PF (as I suggested before the game ) the team looks so much better. More shooters and offensive weapons.

And they were a buzzer beating 3 away from it being an 8pt quarter.

Yikes, AWFUL start to the game for both teams, especially the Heat. In 9min the Heat haven't gotten one shot at the rim, which should probably be expected with Arroyo on the floor and Anthony replacing Bosh at PF. Chalmers just came in and Miller's about to enter, so we'll see how they fare with that lineup.

With Bosh out, assuming LeBron is in, the Heat should run a lineup with LeBron at PF most of the game, and give Miller extended minutes at SF. LeBron is perfectly capable of defending Josh Smith, and it will give the Heat another 3pt shooter on the floor, which will really open up the offense.

He's getting there, but I'd still comfortably take Paul and Williams over him. Both are much better at running an offense, and they can both score in volume on strong efficiency (especially Paul) when needed. Rose has really picked up his defense the last few weeks I've seen him play, and I'd take him on that side of the ball over Williams (not Paul since he's not a good enough man-to-man defender to make up for Paul's ability to generate steals). Rebounding difference is minimal, although Paul is the best of the 3 in that regard. When the game is close, however, I'd have Rose over either Paul or Williams since he's the best at creating his own shot, and this season has been a lot more aggressive in those situations. Basically, the biggest issue with Rose is that he's a really good passing SG trapped in a PG's body, and his scoring isn't so elite that it can be overlooked when comparing him to Paul and Williams.

Well, he's a very good rebounder for a SF as well, and in the clutch there are few better options to go to, but he's not elite in any other facet of the game besides scoring. The thing is he is a GREAT isolation scorer, and even though his TS% isn't that high, he makes a huge impact with that ability. I do agree he's not carrying a team to a championship without a legit superstar by his side and role players who do all of the little things, though.

I agree. And if Melo happens to tear an ACL or has some kind of serious injury, it will destroy their chances to get any value in return besides a TPE.

Yep, although I believe in the law of averages, meaning that over the course of an 82 game season or post-season, that the numbers won't be so off-track that you can't make a proper analysis. The biggest problem with stats in basketball are the fact that they don't account for different playing systems, styles of play, etc...

Gotcha, although it's stupid to risk your future to spite a guy who has carried the franchise for the last 8 years. And if the new CBA comes out and max contracts and and the salary cap are pretty much the same as they are now, then the Nuggets will have egg all over their face (same can be said if they don't reach an agreement and extend the current CBA one more year).

Cuz things aren't always what they seem

Nah, they'd get less assets than if they just trade him before the deadline to NY.

So, you go from calling Rudy a better player to saying he should be in over Griffin because he's been in the league longer...ok, makes perfect sense.

That's the problem with assists; of all the box score stats, it is the only one that has grey area. That Ray Allen pass that was counted as a Rondo assist was plain awful, but there are so many other instances where the assist could go either way. It's annoying but we have to live with it.

He could average 30PPG...lol what? Both Griffin and Gay take the exact same amount of shots (16.5) per game, yet Griffin averages 2 more points. Going by your reasoning, you don't think if Griffin took 21-22 shots that he'd average close to, or over 30PPG? And besides scoring, which Griffin does at greater volume and better efficiency than Gay, where does Gay impact the game? He's not a great rebounder at the SF position, and he averages the same amount of turnovers as he does assists. Griffin, meanwhile, is 4th in the league in rebounding (in a year where players are rebounding at an abnormally high rate), and one of the best ballhandling and passing big men in the league. So, where's your reasoning? I think you just have some kind of stupid bias against big men since wing players are generally more flashy and skilled, like your belief that Dwight Howard isn't close to being a top 5 player. But, with Griffin that really isn't much of an issue as he's insanely well-rounded and skilled for a big man. In the last 2 months he's averaging 25/14/4 on 53% shooting...that's ELITE, even if you stretch the comparisons out to NBA history. I am not suggesting he's as good as a prime KG, Barkley, Duncan or any of them yet, but he's REALLY far along already. And keep in mind, this is coming from someone who is very hard on young players, as seen with how I analyze Durant and how I hated LeBron up until around 2006ish. That's how good Griffin is already.

K, here's my entry (it's all in good fun, no hard feelings even though it's kinda harsh):

That's what I told the dean of my school, but he just shook his head and gave me an application for the Exxon down the road

Evidently my school didn't like that in the 5 classes I enrolled in, that I dropped one and failed three...who woulda thunk??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF5W7hy1WvI Could be staged, it probably is. But I thought it was pretty funny nontheless...

Don't [expletive], at least you're still in school...I dropped out last week -_-

Yo, my bad for taking so long with this, it's been like 3 months Anyway, these are the Finals. I figured I would get this specific competition over with, then if you guys want we can start up a new tourney when this is finished. Anyway, I'll leave it to up to Fish to see who goes first, and hopefully by the weekend we'll be ready for voting. Here are the rules: Rules 1) 16 lines max. 2) At least one of those lines must be about your opponent's favorite sports team (basketball, football, etc). 3) One line has to end with your opponent's display name on OTR. You can exclude numbers. For example, "Fish" can be used in this battle. 4) Cussing will be censored if you decide to use it. Don't bypass the censor with asterisks or other symbols. 5) If you say Dick Vitale's first name, please censor it yourself by typing [expletive]. In the manner it would be used in this contest, it should be filtered out. NOBODY ELSE POST IN THIS TOPIC UNTIL THE SECOND RAP IS ADDED. After both competitors are finished, members can place their vote. Please explain your vote.

Then what could possibly be your reasoning, besides pure, misguided hate? It's not even like Griffin's playing with an elite PG, which was the knock on Amare earlier in his career.

Because he makes $9M per year, and with Chandler becoming a FA this summer, the need for a center and the whole Carmelo saga, it's not an area of immediate need.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjJCdfWkG1I

I have a feeling the Knicks are starting to burn out. At the pace they play, an 8 man rotation will only get you so far, especially since the team only has 1 star that is used to carrying that kind of load. They'll pick it up again at some point, but I'd expect a little lull going into the all-star break.

Griffin has 28pts and 7reb with 2min left in the first half...damn