Nitro

As I said, despite a limited offensive arsenal (which has clearly been getting better if you've watched him this season), he still gives you over 20PPG on nearly 60% shooting. It may not be pretty, but it is effective. Because of how effective he is around the rim, it opens up everything for the guys on the perimeter, and as a result they are statistically one of the greatest 3pt shooting teams of all-time (I don't know if that's the case so far this season, but the last few years that's been the case). So, even if he is only getting 1-2 assists, he is still opening things up for teammates. But of course his defense and rebounding is what puts him so high. I cannot stress enough how impactful he is on that side of the ball. The Magic have been a top 3 defense in the league each of the last 3 seasons, including this season, with Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter/Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, JJ Reddick, Mickael Pietrus and other average to below average defenders built around him. If that doesn't represent just how dominant he is on defense and how far ahead he is of guys like Deron/Melo/Dirk/Gasol in that regard, then I don't know what does. Also, with Lewis as the starting PF, the team still destroys other teams on the glass, which once again is all Dwight. Lastly, as I said, he's already proven he can be the best player on a Finals squad, and that wasn't a team that had a ton of talent. Dwight's impact is huge, and even if you want to argue pure skill, his size, strength and athleticism makes those differences negligible. He's the best big man in the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FqQmcr10po

Great win for the Knicks, sort of legitimizes their current winning streak. Amare has been straight balling lately and is definitely making a strong case for early season MVP. I'm really happy he is proving all the doubters wrong, not just in showing he can play efficiently without Nash, but showing he can be a true leader.

Chris Paul had 25pts on 8-12 shooting, 2-2 from 3, 7-7 from the FT line. The rest of the team? Belinelli: 6pts, 3-9 FG Okafor: 2pts, 0-5 FG West: 9pts, 2-10 FG Ariza: 5pts, 2-11 FG Green: 0pts, 0-7 FG That's just awful. Since the Hornets started the season on fire, going 11-1, they have dropped 8 of their last 11.

Do you have ANY idea how potent Salvia is? It only lasts 5-15min, but it is more intense than acid. You'd have parents talking to trees while their kids would be getting into the tool drawer and playing Russian roulette with nail guns.

It's close between Dwight, Deron, Melo and Dirk. I'll go with Dwight, he's the most dominant defensive player in the league, he's an elite rebounder, and despite his limited (but improving) offensive arsenal, he still gives you over 20PPG on nearly 60% shooting. He's also proven he's a player you can build a perennial championship contender around.

Yep, that's how it was this time last year when my ex bought us tickets to the Laker game. Trust me, though, it's not as bad as when the Heat come to town.

Make it 8 games, another blowout. The Heat are looking really, really good right now. Besides making it a premium to get out and run, there have been a few other changes that have made a big impact. First, and most importantly, Wade and LeBron are co-existing and playing aggressively together in the same game. Both guys are pushing the tempo and creating havoc on the fastbreak, but LeBron has also been more aggressive in getting to the rim in halfcourt sets, and Wade in general has been a lot more involved in the offense (i.e- getting a lot more opportunities to run the offense, and not standing around everytime LeBron has the ball). Secondly, the return of Mario Chalmers and the addition of Erick Dampier have also made an impact. Even though Chalmers isn't shooting well from the field (sub-40%), he is a massive defensive improvement over Arroyo and House, and his athleticism works well into the Heat's new-found run-and-gun system. As for Dampier, the addition of his size, defense and rebounding ability have helped fill those massive holes in the Heat's game. I understand he hasn't gotten many minutes yet, but he does a few important things; he is the only Heat player that consistently looks for a man to box out when a shot goes up, he has more speed to rotate on defense than Z and a lot more size and strength to bother shot attempts around the rim than Anthony, and he helps create 2nd chance opportunities on the offensive glass. By the time the playoffs roll around, assuming the Heat don't make any major roster moves, I expect him to get around 20-25 minutes per game. It's going to be interesting to see how Mike Miller will fit in once he returns (which should be within the next 2 weeks I believe). Once he returns and learns his niche in this offense, they are going to be even more of a handful.

If memory serves me correctly, Evans is suffering from plantar faschiatis, right? If so, that's a tough injury to play through, especially for a perimeter player without much of a jumper. I expect him to get better as the season goes along, but at some point he'll need to develop a consistent jumper from at least midrange. Against the great defenses, he'll have to do more than simply bully his way to the rim or break people's ankles with that crossover. He should also really learn how to play in the post because he certainly has the strength to back down pretty much any SG he wants. And the whole idea that he is a PG is ridiculous...he's a SG, plain and simple. He's a very good playmaker at the two-guard position on the basis that he is so good at dribble penetration, but he doesn't have the IQ or passing ability to have to be doing heavy lifting in that department on a non-lottery team.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v493/biglbigl/BigPunCondom.jpg

The fact that they are NBA players who can hit those same shots, when they are both contested and non-contested, at around a 35% clip or better over the course of an 82-game season and have been important pieces on championship teams, there is no need for video evidence that they are capable of hitting wide open shots at a higher clip than Kobe can hit ridiculously tough long-range fadeaways over double teams. That is, unless you truly believe Kobe is God. And for every tough, contested fadeaway outside of 18-20ft Kobe has hit in the clutch, you can find about 8-10 similar shots that he has missed...because they are bad shots, and Kobe is human. And for every excuse you can make to justify Kobe taking such horrible shots, I can make similar excuses for his teammates missing the rare opportunities we are discussing (the main excuse being Kobe freezing out his teammates the last few minutes of close games, which throws his teammates off any rythym they had). I was referring to primarily long-range shots, specifically outside of 20ft or so. Either way, for both the short (the immediate win) and long term (how the role players improve in the clutch) best interests of the Lakers, the correct play is for Kobe to pass up a long-range, tightly contested fadeaway, and give it to a wide open teammate within his shooting range.

I understand that a 1st quarter shot attempt is not the same as a shot attempt in a clutch situation in the 4th, but a Kobe 25ft fadeaway over a double team is never going to be more efficient than a 20% success rate TOPS. Even factoring in the "choke" factor of certain players, I trust they can make those wide open shots at a clip better than 20% in those situations (as long as they are within their range). They are NBA players for a reason. And let's say they fail in those situations...if you keep giving them opportunities to hit similar shots, rather than freezing them out if they fail in the past, they WILL improve and be much more capable of staying strong when the pressure is on. I just think it's ridiculous to justify a player taking that kind of shot, and even going as far as to say you think it's a better basketball play than giving a wide open teammate the ball....that's Kobe homerism taken to a whole new level.

I originally joined on 9/24/2007.

You know I'm not talking about obvious situations like that. But yes, if Odom (or Brown, Sasha, Artest, etc...) is open for 3 and Kobe is double teamed 25ft out, Odom should be taking the shot. If Gasol is open in the midrange, he should be taking the shot. If it is the correct basketball play in the 1st quarter, it is the correct basketball play in the 4th. I believe that the last play should always be drawn up for Kobe, but if a situation arises where he is doubled and has an open teammate who is within his shooting range, the correct play is to give that player the ball. And the only way to build a clutch role player, besides the very rare few who have that "clutch" gene, is to let them build from their failures and gain confidence in those situations. Only way that happens is if Kobe (or any superstar) makes the correct play in the clutch and gives them the ball when they are open within their shooting range. That's how you make your teammates better. You keep mentioning what other players have done in those situations this year, but what has Kobe done? He's missed a number of clutch shots this situations in the last few games, probably more than all those other players combined. One of Kobe's issues is that he freezes teammates out in the final few minutes by trying to take over, especially when the Lakers are down. It looks awesome when he is able to make those shots, but when he's not on it throws the entire team off its rythym. When that happens, it isn't exactly surprising to see the role players miss when they do get the opportunity. Don't get me wrong, MJ had a similar problem, especially early in his career, but you can't justify Kobe OR MJ taking contested fadeaways from deep in clutch situations when their teammates are wide open (unless it's a ridiculous situation like Gasol being open from 3 or Shaq from 16ft out). It's ridiculous to justify that.

If Phil, or anyone, believes a contested fadeaway from 25ft out over a double team is a better basketball play than passing it to wide open role players who have proven they are good enough to be intregral pieces on championship teams...well, that's plain stupid.

All I care about is in the last decade, the Nets have actually had some success, earning 2 Finals' appearances, some pretty good post-season runs, had an MVP candidate (2001-2002 Kidd), etc... As a franchise, neither team has won a championship in decades (Knicks in 1973, and the Nets in 1976 in the ABA), so that point is moot. MSG is the mecca, not the Knicks franchise, and that cannot be stated strongly enough. The Knicks have been an embarassment the last decade, and are still not a championship contender, so for them to act all condescending through the media is kind of funny.

As Poe said, it's useful when looking at how a player works in various lineups on a specific team. When trying to compare players on two different teams, it is pretty useless.

That's a gross overstatement. Stop. I wasn't referencing any stat. Kobe ain't hitting a contested fadeaway from long range over a double team more than 2 out of every 10 tries. Even if Odom has airballed a potential GW 3 in the past or Walton has missed some wide open shots in clutch situations, they are who the ball should be fed to as long as Kobe is being doubled 25ft out and they are wide open. Even if they miss yet again, that is the only way you can develop their abilities and confidence in clutch situations. That is one way how you can make your teammates better, and Jackson uses that principle in plenty of his coaching techniques (for example refusing to call timeouts when his team is struggling). Eventually, if you keep feeding teammates in clutch situations, they will develop a positive mentality when those opportunities arise, and that's how clutch role players are made. As I said before, if it isn't the correct basketball play in the first quarter, it isn't the correct play in the 4th quarter.

C'mon, Laker fans...that's such a cop-out. As I've defended in this thread, I feel Kobe is the best last-second shot maker in the league, but you can't justify taking contested 3 pointers over double/triple teams. If you do not give those role players the opportunity to get comfortable in those situations to hit clutch shots, they will never attain that skill. It's like saying Kobe should have never been passed the ball in clutch situations after he threw up airball after airball against Utah in the playoffs when he was around 19. Without that experience, and without future situations where he was given the opportunity to hit clutch shots, he would have never developed into the clutch player he is today. The same goes for his teammates. In fact, that's one of Phil's main philosophies, to give the players the opportunity to play through diversity and struggle...but the key is you have to give them that opportunity. Basically, if it isn't the correct basketball play for Kobe to take contested fadeaway 3 pointers over double teams in the 1st quarter, then it isn't the correct play to make in the 4th quarter. Just because he has the uncanny ability to make the play maybe twice in every 10 tries doesn't make it right.

Trading Bosh would be stupid this early in the Miami Heat project. Right now he's playing great, and he's doing his work very comfortably within the confines of the offense. He's automatic with all those open mid-range jumpers he's getting from LBJ and Wade, and he's pretty damn effective and efficient in face-up situations (of all the Big 3 he's been the most aggressive in iso situations when it comes to getting to the rim). For the last 10 games or so his game has really picked up and he's been the most consistent of the Big 3 by far. Most importantly, as I mentioned before, he's found his niche in the offense and is doing it within the flow of the game. To answer the question as to why he's in so many trade rumors, it's because he was the early-season scapegoat of the Heat's roster, and he's soft and the most likely of the Big 3 to get traded.

If there's one trade in the entire NBA I'd love to see, it'd be Chris Paul joining the Orlando Magic. With the best PG in the NBA setting up Howard, especially in PnR situations, the combo would be LETHAL. Paul would give the team a go-to guy, someone who could generate offense for the still somethwt-limited Howard (who has slowly progressed quite a bit offensively) as well as the rest of the role players against teams like the Celtics, he'd vastly improve their fastbreak game with his ability to generate steals, he'd provide on-court leadership and in Van Gundy's system I think he could really be a force. Unfortunately, I doubt it happens because I think he has his eyes set on NY, but if the Magic could somehow land him by 2012 it'd be one hell of a move.

Yeah BBW was awesome, that was my favorite site before it went to hell (I knew I remembered you from somewhere!). BBW for life.

Beautiful Camden, NJ... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Camden_NJ_poverty.jpg

It'd be a really risky move on the Magic's part, but I think the move has the potential to pay dividends for them. Arenas has worn out his stay in Washington and desperately needs a change of scenery. He would give the Magic that #1 guy to go-to at the end of games, and in their system I think he can really turn things around and be closer to the Arenas we saw in 2005-2007. Of course his massive contract and injuries would have me probably turn this deal down if I were Orlando, but I think it could potentially be a high-reward signing.

Insomnia is a symptom of blue balls. http://teamblueballs.tripod.com/blue-balls-shirt-color2.jpg