The Lone Granger

I've actually got the Raptors as the #8 seed in the East in my predictions. They've built a very solid all-around team, and the additions of Landry Fields and Kyle Lowry will make them an extremely dangerous team. The Eastern Conference as a whole isn't the strongest, especially from seeds 6-8. With the potential starting lineup of; C: Jonas Valanciunas PF: Andrea Bragnani SF: Landry Fields SG: Demar DeRozan PG: Kyle Lowry And don't forget about the talented players they're going to have off their bench in Jose Calderon, Terrence Ross, Ed Davis, Amir Johnson, and more, they're going to be a tough team to beat. Not saying that they'll be contenders to do much once they get in the Playoffs, but I think a lot of people are looking past them because they don't have any "big name" players or scorers. If DeRozan steps up like he's capable of doing this season, they're going to be able to lock up that #8 seed in the East.

Honestly, I think he could. Granted, he's missed some time due to injury this off-season, but he's back at full strength and ready to go. He's got a good core of players built around him, and he's improved a lot offensively over the course of this off-season. I know for a fact that he's worked hard to develop his three-point game, and he's also improved his mid-range game as well. Should be a very good season for him. That being said, being in a top-5 of Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook is going to be tough. Tony Parker is going to be his main competitor if you ask me. Very well could.

Not even a poll. Andre Drummond is the only rookie that one really could be excited to watch play. Will certainly be interesting to see how he's able to contribute as the season progresses. His offense looked better in the preseason than I was expecting, and we already know he has the ability to be a good rebounder/defender as well. Excited to see if he can stabilize that Pistons front-court.

Is there really a debate about this? LeBron James made an immature decision when he announced his "decision" on live ESPN TV, but at the same time, he didn't cause drama throughout an entire off-season, and not to mention the season before that off-season. Howard was trying to tell the Magic when to trade him, who to trade him to, and didn't really care about what the Magic needed to do to keep a good basketball team around him. James played his best through the season, and tried to win a Playoff series by himself to be honest for the city of Cleveland. Not a very close call in my opinion, Howard went about this the worst way possible.

I'd take Harrison Barnes myself. He's a great offensive threat, and he also can play defense decently well. Brandon Rush also will push for that starting spot with the way he performed last season. I wasn't a big fan of him after his "bust" tenure with my Pacers, but he showed me some things last year. He's in a good situation with a coach that uses him correctly. Wouldn't be a bad move to start him to be honest.

http://www.centerstagesports.com/forums/images/cssv2/header.png Home Page: centerstagesports.com Forums: centerstagesports.com/forums There's the affiliation information. Real Deal, email me at masseyevan@yahoo.com if you have any questions or anything like that. Just sign up at CSS and send me a PM with the info you'd like on your affiliation post. My username there is Wrigley. Does that work for you?

Very tough news for Bayless and the Raptors. After what he's been able to do in Toronto this year in limited minutes, he looks very good. That being said, I think he very well could be the future at point guard for the Raptors if they're willing to invest in him. When he was starting in Calderon's place, he put up some big games, and I think he's able to do that every single night. Interested to see what they do this off-season.

#2 or #3 overall pick would be my guess. The kid has tremendous potential, he could become a superstar in the NBA. Like a buddy of mine and I have discussed, if he falls somehow to Cleveland, that team is stacked for the next 10 seasons assuming they can re-sign all their young talent. Can you imagine a lineup of; C: Anderson Varejao PF: Tristan Thompson SF: MKG/Alonzo Gee SG: Alonzo Gee/MKG PG: Kyrie Irving In my opinion, that would be pretty sick. Of course they'd have to package some picks to move up in the draft in order to snag Gilchrist, but they would be stacked for quite a few years to come if that happened.

He definitely hasn't been getting the desired results out of this team that was supposedly going to be one of, if not the best team in the NBA. They're struggling, and with the recent success of coaching changes in the league, I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

Like I've stated in another thread, this is going to end up being a very nice pickup for the Thunder. Fisher will be that floor general that they need, and the veteran point guard that can get them over the hump if you ask me. Really excited to see what he brings to the table for them the rest of the season.

Interesting move to say the least. As a Pacers fan, we really could use another front-court player, and while Hickson has struggled this year with the Kings, I've seen him at his finest when he was in Cleveland. The dude could be a very nice pickup for any team out there. Looking forward to seeing where he heads. Maybe a change of scenery is all he needs.

Was wondering when someone would go out and pick Arenas up. Granted, he's nothing like what he used to be back in his prime with the Wizards, but he can still shoot the ball, and I think he'll be a nice fit in Memphis with what they're trying to do there. Solid move.

Absolutely love the move by the Broncos. Look, I understand that this means Tebow likely will have to be moved, but it's the right move to make. Whenever you can snag a guy of Peyton Manning's stature and skill-level, there's just absolutely no reason to pass that up. Expecting Denver to be highly competitive in the AFC this year.

He won't retire...not just yet. Wouldn't be surprised to see him head to San Antonio even after they locked Patty Mills up with a two-year deal. Granted, that does make it a bit less likely, but if that's not the case, then Orlando makes a lot of sense. Currently, they're trying to rock with Chris Duhon playing a decent amount of minutes, and while Fisher isn't exactly a great pickup at this point in his career, I'd rather have him out on the court than Duhon. Also, that might be an interesting pickup to make Dwight Howard more happy.

Definitely a great job to get Chandler locked up. He gave them some grace when he was allowing the Nuggets some extra time on the Friday-evening deadline that he had originally set for them to get him signed long-term. Great move, and he's going to be a major threat out West for Denver. To think they were already deep and now they're bringing him in.

It's a great move for Seattle football. Flynn may not have convince everyone in his short stints with Green Bay, but he has me convinced that he has every chance to be a great NFL starting QB in the kind of offense that Carroll has going on out there. He's got some good targets out there, and I think within 2-3 seasons, he'll impress everyone out there with how well he is playing. Once again though, I think the move is a very good and underrated one for the 'Hawks.

Honestly had no clue he was playing that well. Wow.

The thing that's so dangerous about the Suns, is that you just don't know who to try and lock down from night to night. One night it could be Jared Dudley going off for 25, or maybe the next night it's Channing Frye dropping 6 triples. Steve Nash is obviously always going to be a threat as well. This team has so many parts to it that can play well, that I think they're finally starting to come into their own. As they continue to grow and learn to play with each other, they just keep getting better and better. Haven't heard many people bring Phoenix up as a Playoff contender, but I definitely could see it. With a player like Nash leading the charge, anything is possible. If I had to put a bet down on it, I'd say that they'll miss the Playoffs as the 9th seed, but it's an interesting possibility to say the least. Good thread man.

Last night was more than impressive. I recorded the game and watched it this morning, and this was his state line; 28 Points, 6 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 1 Block, 3 Steals, 9-17 FGM-A, 3-5 3PM-A, 7-9 FTM-A. That's impressive. He seemed to be everywhere out there on the floor, and was making his teammates better. Remember when he was coming out and there was all kinds of buzz that he'd be drafted top-3, and then he fell all the way down to my Pacers at #11? Unfortunately we traded him for Brandon Rush, but seriously, the kid always had the "star or bust" potential label, and maybe he's starting to get away from having that "bust" label and trying to turn it completely around. If he continues to get the starting nod, I really believe he'll end up having a solid career, and who knows, the Raptors may have found their point guard for the next 5-7 years if he can play similar basketball to what he was doing last night.

The kid has starting point guard potential without a doubt. Like you said BFT, he just seems to have more confidence in his own game when he's starting, which definitely is something that comes with the position. When your coach puts you out there because you're one of his best five players, that gives you all the confidence in the world to go out there and prove him right, and play the game that got you to the NBA in the first place. What you were saying about the difference in his numbers is true as well. I've watched him both start and come off the bench, and you're right, he does have an entirely different look about him. Not sure why they don't go ahead and make him the starting point guard. From everything I'm hearing, they really don't have much of a plan for the future of Jose Calderon in Toronto. Time to see just how good of a future point guard Bayless can be.

Why would you even say something like that? Lol.

Seems like it's been forever since I've posted here at OTR, but I find myself here again, and really looking forward to talking basketball with knowledgeable fans. To be honest, I've been searching for a place to talk with people who actually know what they're talking about when it comes to players/teams and I had completely spaced OTR for some reason. As I was reading some completely retarded posts at another basketball website, I saw the link to a post here at OTR, and clicked on it and here I am. Once again, HUGE Pacers fan, and I'm extremely happy with what we've been able to do this year. Loving the "smash-mouth" basketball that we're playing, and I also loved the acquisition of Leandro Barbosa at the trade deadline. Granted, I'm not expecting an Eastern Conference Finals run, but I am really wanting to at least win the first round matchup, which appears likely to be against the 76ers at this point in time. So all that being said, I'm glad to be back, and I look forward to discussing the beautiful game of basketball here with you knowledgeable fans. Thanks again! See you all around the forums. -TLG

Looking forward to tonight's game. The Pacers got rocked last night in New York, and the only benefit of that is that we have one of the best motivational coaches in the league with Frank Vogel. You can count that the Pacers will come out with much more energy and passion, and they might have recently acquired scorer Leandro Barbosa off the bench tonight as well. Hopefully this time around we do better.

Interested to see if another team goes out there and gives him a deal here in the next few days. Wouldn't mind seeing the Charlotte Bobcats take a flyer on him with Maggette's inability to stay healthy. That being said, what a waste from the Rockets. Not sure what they were thinking in the first place.

He'll get his jersey retired by Cleveland if they do the right thing. What an underrated player and great competitor. Classy player as well. He will definitely be missed.