Nitro

Read what I said about Roy. In parantheses I said if Roy can win some games in the playoffs, or dominate and his team still lose. That's what happened with T-Mac. At one point T-Mac was arguably a top 5 player capable of scoring in a way Roy NEVER has, and creating for his teammates like Roy never has. T-Mac's career post-season averages, even though he never made it past the first round, are among the best EVER (29/7/6 career average, 4 series of over 30PPG, 4 over 6.5APG, 6 with over 6RPG). I wouldn't consider T-Mac a superstar back in 2007-2008, but he still showed those dominant qualities a lot more often than Roy did last year (see my posts in the Roy vs Durant topic for examples), and also proved it multiple times in the post-season. Again, it'd be one thing if Roy was a dominant regular season performer like Durant or even Melo to make his minimal post-season experience expendable, but he's not. He doesn't have dominant scoring ability like Kobe/Bron/Wade/Melo/Durant/Dirk, 'nor does he dominate with his playmaking like Paul/Nash/Williams or with his defense like Dwight (and KG if he keeps it up). He does everything very well, but nothing in a dominant manner. And that'd be fine in the regular season if he was a dominant player in the post-season, but he's only played in 1 series healthy, so the jury is still out.

DAMN!!! I wish I tuned into this game instead of the Blazers-Clippers one. Looks like Ellis and Curry went ape-[expletive], and it's good to see that Lee apparantly had no trouble fitting in just fine. I'm very excited to see the Warriors this season, I think they'll surprise some people. Also, it's amazing how much in 2 seasons this Rockets teams' identity has changed. Just a year and a half ago they were an elite defensive team, and had been for the previous few seasons. Now that Adelman has gotten the toys he wanted, that identity has left the team. Hopefully they can get things together on that end of the floor.

When he's having an off-game he offers more than Durant or Melo, yet you put those guys in your superstar group. When he's having an off-night he rebounds well at the PF position and attracts double teams, and he's an underrated passer. And how often does Dirk really have an off-game? He's very, very efficient considering his play style, and he gets to the line well. In the last 3 years he's averaged 27/10/3 on 52% shooting in the post-season. He's proven that he could get deep, as in Finals deep, into the post-season as the clear-cut #1 option. If you look at the 2006 run, he DOMINATED Pau and the Grizzlies, dominated the Spurs and came up HUGE in that game 7, dominated Marion and the Suns, and then came up short in the Finals. I just don't see how someone with his resume and stats can't be considered in the same class as guys like Melo and Durant, who have in comparison done nothing in the post-season, and who put up similar production.

Saying Roy dominated the Rockets is a bit of an overstatement. He scored well, but he averaged less than half his season average in assists, didn't grab as many boards as he did in the regular season, and it wasn't like he was making a big defensive impact. I hate to use McGrady again, but in a similar situation the year before he averaged 27/7/7 against the Jazz in a 6 game loss. That's more what I consider a dominant playoff series (and I probably wouldn't consider T-Mac a superstar at that point). And if we look at Williams, he's had to face elite defenses 6 of his 8 career playoff series' (Lakers 3x, Rockets 2x, SA 1x), and has career post-season averages of 21PPG, 10APG, 4RPG and 46%FG, 40%3. He scores at a similar efficiency and only slightly less volume than Roy, but is a top 3 playmaker in the game. That is where they are different individually. If Roy can raise his game to the level Williams has in the post-season and win some games (or produce dominant stats and his team fall short), then I'd be more inclined to label him a superstar. But so far we have only 1 series to really analyze, and IMO what he does in the regular season does not warrant putting him in that superstar tier.

The difference is Dirk has proven himself as a #1 option time and time again. He's led teams to the Finals and deep into the post-season, every year his team is elite, and he puts up great stats. Gasol never proved himself as a #1 option, and never even won a playoff game as a 1st option (including when he put up a horrible series as Dirk torched the Grizz). Dirk is an incredible scorer, is a very underrated rebounder and passer, decent defender, and is an elite clutch player. I'd say so. He is disgustingly efficient as a scorer, can score at volume (i.e 20-25PPG), he's still IMO the best pure playmaker in the game, and he's also one of the best clutch performers in the league. When Amare went down for a year and Joe Johnson left, the team still made the WCF on his back. Every year, no matter his teammates or coach, the Suns win 50+ games and tend to go deep in the post-season, with the one constant being Steve Nash. I don't see how a 2x MVP who is still at the top of his game can't be considered a superstar.

I agree that he's without a doubt a better player than Johnson (because he's so polished he's capable of adjusting his game to what the defense gives him in the playoffs, unlike $JJ), but I think Roy is a lot closer to $JJ than Wade, Bryant, James, Melo, Durant, CP3, Williams or Nash. As I said, he's insanely polished, has a high basketball IQ, and is very consistent with his 20/5/5. But, do I trust him to single-handedly win and dominate ball games on a consistent basis like all those other guys do/can? No, and I think that's what separates a superstar from all-star. It's why I'd still rank a guy like the 2007-2008 T-Mac over Roy (despite the poor shooting percentages). C'mon now. I do think Roy has the potential to make noise in the playoffs as a first option, but don't downplay the talent he has had around him. In the 2009 post-season he had a healthy Oden, Aldridge, Blake, Outlaw, Rudy, Przybella, etc.... That is certainly a collection of quality role players who can score and defend. Last season Williams dominated against the Nuggets, averaging 24/10, and led that team without Okur or Kirilenko to a convincing series win. And I am not saying Roy CAN'T do some of the thing Williams has in the post-season, but until he proves it, I can't put him in the discussion with the other 10 guys I mentioned, who are clearly better statistically AND have serious post-season experience. Doubt it. Roy has already just about maximized his skillset, and his IQ is as good as it gets. He's also already 26-27 years old. The only thing that would raise his level of play is added athleticism.

Out of curiousity, why doesn't Dirk or Nash make your list if that's your definition? They have serious playoff history, have MVP's, and really are still arguably at the top of their games.

Williams makes a bigger impact on the game than Roy, IMO. I posted in the Durant vs Roy a stat where Roy only had 7 30pt+ games last season, and that stat in a nutshell kinda reflect my view on Roy. He's a tremendous player, very consistent, very well-rounded...but I don't believe he's a guy that can dominate games on a consistent basis like D-Will can. Roy gets a little overhyped because of how wonderfully polished his game is, but in reality you get as much production out of him as you do Joe Johnson. Also, Williams has led a team to the WCF, and consistently gets his team out of the first round. Roy has a lot to prove in the post-season to be on that same level (although Roy did perform exceptionally well against Artest in the 2009 playoffs). I'm waiting to see more of KG this year before putting him back on the list. Besides PnR defense he was god-awful last season/post-season, especially on the boards which was a big surprise. If he proves he can get back to the level he was at before his injury in 2008-2009, he'd make my list easily.

I fixed that for you. CP3 scores more on better efficiency than Williams, gets more assists with less turnovers, rebounds better, AND is a better defender. But because he was injured last season and they had a GREAT replacement in Collison who put up some stats (not wins, stats), he has been forgotten like Wade was before the Olympics. CP3 is the 4th best player in the league without a doubt IMO. Anyway, I agree with Real Deal on the definition of superstar, and here's who I consider to be in that category... Kobe, LeBron, Wade, CP3, Howard, Durant, Melo, Williams, Dirk, Nash Some may disagree with Nash and Dirk, but every damn year their team's win 50+ games despite who their supporting cast is, both have MVP's, and both can dominate ball-games like only those other 8 guys can. When completely healthy, I think you can make a case for Yao being in that group as well. Amare, Bosh, Rose, Rondo, Gasol and those guys are on the next tier.

I didn't see much of him in college or pre-season, but if this style of play is the norm for Griffin, he could very well lead the league in offensive rebounds very, very soon. He reminds me a lot of Amare before the microfracture surgery (of course he has a lot to prove before he can be considered as good/better). This Clippers team should be pretty exciting this year, especially with Davis looking like he's healthy and great shape.

Damn that alley oop would have been SICK had LeBron put it down. It's going to take a long time to get used to these LeBron/Wade alley oops and fastbreaks.

He kinda reminds me of a Brandon Roy V.2. Similar size, skillset and smooth but not extremely athletic. Hopefully he can get it all together. As for the Heat, it's ALL iso ball on offense. They are overwhelming Philly with this style, but against better teams it won't fly as well. Spoelstra needs to use more set plays to get this team some rythym and identity.

Through November 2nd.

Of course we would win, we would just send the Miami Heat there. LeBron would lead the Army in kills, Wade would be awarded a Medal of Honor for his clutch performance in the Battle of Shanghai, and Bosh would lead the military in local village rapings. It'd be kind of like the A-Team, with Pat Riley as Hannibal. To top it off, they would win the entire war in 2 days, and make it back to play the Orlando Magic on Friday. Seriously though, we'd need to reinstate the draft to make this a real discussion.

Holy crap, +1 for you. I was getting ready to put on the ATDHE.net on, but NBALP is so much better.

You don't know this, it's just an unfounded assumption. Why would having an unbiased party decide the settlement of a case where two sides can't reach an agreement, even though an agreement would benefit millions of people makes sense? Doesn't seem to make sense to me... Yeah, they deserve more than DOUBLE what CBS gets, even though CBS had higher annual ratings last year....right.

Binding arbitration is used precisely for situations like this, especially where millions of people are affected and it's attracting enormous (negative) national attention. This situation must be resolved quickly, and since neither side is giving in, a 3rd party is exactly what is needed. A neutral party determining what's fair for both sides. Please stop talking out your [expletive]...

You did post it earlier, but the server is all messed up and deleted a bunch of posts/topics. Anyway, I agree with pretty much everything. Nice writeup.

Fox wants more than double what the yearly rate has been (effectively jacking up the Cablevision customer's bill sharply), and refuse arbitration (aka using the government as a non-partisan way to settle the dispute, which is what the FCC encourage). They want far more than what Cablevision receives from CBS, ABC, etc... It's ridiculous.

Haha love the wording in that e-mail, and great idea on Cablevision's part. As for this whole dispute, it's a mess. I'm right in the middle of it having Cablevision at my house in NJ (though on campus we get Fox), and it's really annoying having Fox blacked out. I was listening to Mike Francesa 2-3 days ago and he was GRILLING the CEO (I think) of Fox in an interview, ripping all his points to shreds as MIke does so well. Fox definitely looks like the bad guys here, their greed is ridiculous. Fox is demanding more money than NBC, CBS, ABC, etc and they are generally considered the lowest quality station of that group.

I was at this game, free throw line extended, about 17-18 rows up. Insane, and probably my pick for most memorable.

I was supposed to actually go to this game, but the plans fell through. The person my dad works for has box seats and gives out tickets to various employees, but he didn't have a spare one to give besides one for my dad. Lucky bastard.

Don't know much about the baseball and football community here, but as far as NBA goes... Real Deal Erick Blasco Built Ford Tough His Greatness (where the [expletive] you at?!?) Above Legit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELsHtmJmfuQ Absolutely amazing song, never heard it before. If there is an example of a style that I think perfectly fits Em, especially at this point of his career, it'd be this one. Love it.

WOOHOOO!!!!! Only 3 hours left! After that excruciating summer and pre-season, we're finally here! Personally, I expect it to be a very close game. I think Boston will come out on fire and jump out to a 10+ lead, but the Heat will get it together and make it a tight contest. My prediction is Boston wins by 5. They have the chemistry, talent, health and depth, and are coming off a crushing Game 7 defeat in the Finals. They also have the motivation from everyone talking about the Heat in the off-season when they were likely one Perkins injury away from a championship.