The Lone Granger

I was just seeing the stats he put up last night in the Nuggets' win over the Suns, and I was wondering if he had a shot to make any kind of an impact in Denver? The numbers he put up were, 27 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists. http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Shelden+Williams+kw9lPI6-onWm.jpg Those are very impressive numbers for him, even in preseason, and it looks like he actually has some confidence. I do realize that it's just preseason, but one of his main issues throughout his career is that he just didn't have the confidence to make any moves to score, and he at least has those now. I think even if nothing else translates, the aggressiveness to the bucket will carry over into the season, and that could drastically help him. All that being said, do you think he will have a decent season? Or do you see another bust season on the end of the bench? Just wondering. Again not saying that he'll put up this kind of performance, but I mean will he even hav ea decent role players role? Thoughts?

Welcome to OTR man, thanks for joining! Hope you have fun and are able to stay active! See you around the forums!

As a huge Pacers fan, I'm expecting huge things from Roy this season. He's worked on his post game and rebounding with Bill Walton all off-season and I really think you'll see that pay off. As for scoring, I see him putting up 16 PPG, because of his size, loss of weight (which makes him quicker), and also added a couple go-to post moves to his arsenal. Rebounding I could see a good 10 RPG for the double-double average. Blocks I could see around 2.3 per game or something like that. He's definitely going to surprise some people. I can't wait to see if my predictions and expectations are reached!

He was a legit scorer in college, but his scoring techniques didn't transfer to the NBA. Huge disappointment... BUST!!!

Welcome to OTR man, thanks for joining! Hope you have fun and are able to stay active! See you around the forums!

I think that the Milwaukee Bucks will have a good season, but they will not win the Central division. In my opinion the Central will look like, 1. Chicago Bulls 2. Milwaukee Bucks 3. Indiana Pacers 4. Detroit Pistons 5. Cleveland Cavaliers No offense to anything anyone has posted thus far, but the Bulls are by far the better team. I don't understand how anyone can say that Gibson isn't better than an aging Drew Gooden. Gibson put up decent numbers last year as a rookie, and coming into this season he's improved a lot, and is ready for the NBA game even more than he did last year. Gooden is a decent player, but he's not going to put up the kind of numbers that he used to by any stretch of the imagination. He could still put up 10 PPG, and 10 RPG, but I fully expect Gibson to put up better than that in his tenure as the starting power forward. Also, you can count Boozer into the equation when you think about the fact that he'll be back into the starting lineup just about 4-5 weeks into the season. I'm not really worried about the Bulls play while he's out with his injury. As for the other positions, here's what I have, Derrick Rose > Brandon Jennings Ronnie Brewer < John Salmons Luol Deng = Corey Maggette Joakim Noah = Andrew Bogut I'm not sure that Bogut is going to be the same player after that injury. And even if he is, Noah is equal to him simply because he does so much more than Bogut does. Noah is going to put up a decent amount of points, but he also rebounds exceptionally well, and he also plays great defense. Luol Deng and Corey Maggette are almost the exact same player. The only difference that I see holding Deng back from being the by far better player is the fact that he has had injury problems. If he stays healthy however, I can see him putting up some very big stats. He's shown so far in the preseason (even though preseason doesn't really count), that he still has his game, and assuming he stays healthy this will be a breakout season for him. Derrick Rose over Brandon Jennings is a no-brainer. This is the real reason that I give the Central to Chicago. Jennings had a good year last year, but there is no way that he's going to come even close to matching Derrick Rose this season. I think we saw a taste of what is to come with Rose in the Fiba World Championships, where Rose played outstanding basketball form Team USA. He's gotten better on defense, and maybe it's just me, but he looked quicker, and an improved passer. That's just my take on this thread, maybe I'm wrong in some areas, but I'm still going to say that the Bulls will take the division. Am I saying that they are Title contenders? not necessarily unless from the time Boozer comes back they are completely healthy. But what I am saying is that they are the better team, and I really believe they have more depth. Kyle Korver coming off the bench, and when Boozer comes back Gibson as well. That's a very nice first two off the bench in my opinion. All that being said, to answer the question of this thread originally, I think the Bucks will finish at about #5 or #6 in the East. If they get a healthy Michael Redd back late in the season, they very well might be contenders when the Playoffs come around, very similar to the Bulls assuming everyone stays healthy. Thoughts?

Have you not watched the last two pre-season games from Paul George? He's been putting up good numbers, and I think he's starting to get settled into the NBA. No, he's not ready to start yet, but he will be able to do some scoring off the bench. Other scorers include Dunleavy and Rush like you just stated, A.J. Price, T.J. Ford, Hansbrough, and there are more. If you want me to go more in depth about it I'm willing to, but I don't think your seeing how much talent this team has man. They definitely have enough scoring beyond the starting five and Ford.

LeBron James Just watch the video that was posted above.

Reggie Miller I may be a bit biased because of the fact that I'm a Pacers fan, but Miller is the obvious choice here. He was clutch, deadeye, and hit some of the most ridiculous shots that I've ever seen. Ray Allen is close, but he's still not hit the number that Reggie has, so I'm still giving the edge to Miller.

This is something that can't happen if Miami wants to win like they are projected to. The big three are going to be good yes, but without the supporting cast like Miller, and the rest of the crew, they are going to have issues. Miller is going to hit a lot of threes this season if healthy, because of the ability for James and Wade to drive and kick. This will be a big loss if he misses any regular season games.

There are 8 teams in this draft, so rate the team I drafted. Derrick Rose Joe Johnson Darren Collison LeBron James LaMarcus Aldridge Carmelo Anthony Joakim Noah DeMarcus Cousins Ray Allen Blake Griffin Brandon Jennings Terrence Williams J.J. Hickson What do you guys think?

There's been a lot of comparisons between these two guys. They have the same kind of take it right at you gameplay, and they put up very similar numbers in their rookie seasons. LeBron James: 2003-04 Season 20.9 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG. Tyreke Evans: 2009-10 Season 20.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG Those numbers are incredibly close. Just thought I'd compare them simply because I've enjoyed the debates about them. Basically I want you guys to look at the rookie seasons of both of these guys and compare their games, and maybe even their futures? Does Tyreke Evans have the potential to play similar to LeBron? Thoughts?

Maybe because like you were saying in the other thread, Quality > Quantity?

It's just like no one talks about the Spurs, yet they are always playing great. I'll be the first to admit that Gordon Hayward is looking very good out there right now, and I was a main doubter on draft day, but it's looking like things are going to work out for him in Utah. With guys like Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, Deron Williams, and even throwing Andrei Kirilenko into the mix, they look like a very promising team heading into the postseason. I think that they will compete out west, but their success all hinges on the health of Al Jefferson in my opinion. At the center position after losing Boozer, they need a dominating post presence to allow the offense to succeed, and with Jefferson they'll have that. Without him.....yeah not so much. Personally though, I think he'll stay very healthy and will be a huge contributor for Utah this year. Definitely a team that needs to be talked about a lot more. They will be a real threat this season.

OK, so now that I'm really enjoying this site, I thought we should make it even more enjoyable by getting more NBA fans onto the forums. There is only one way to get more NBA fans onto a site, and that is by recruiting. Many people don't want to do it because they think it will be hard, and will take a long time, but that is not true at all. Here are some sites that you can use to recruit members to join OTR. -Facebook -Yahoo -Fantasy Leagues (in the chat box) -ESPN -Twitter Those are just a few of the ways that you can recruit. I'm more than happy to write up a recruiting note that you can use to send to the members. It's not that hard at all, and doesn't take long at all to be able to send out 5 messages. Trust me, it won't take too much out of your computer time, but it could result in OTR becoming a lot more active. So all that being said, let's get recruiting! And if you have any questions about it, don't hesitate to ask me!

Hmm I personally see him being able to be productive for the next 3-4 seasons, and then he'll start to decrease. Now don't get my wrong, I'm not saying he'll go down fast after these 3-4 years, but I think he will start to lose some of his game. Don't worry though, Boozer has at least 6 years of good basketball left in him in my opinion.

Peace man, hope you find another good spot to discuss the NBA. I'll probably see you make a comeback here in a couple weeks when the season starts up? haha.

1. Pau Gasol 2. Tim Duncan 3. Al Jefferson (when healthy for sure) 4. Andrew Bogut 5. Kevin Garnett

As of right now, our lineup should look like, PG: Darren Collison SG: Mike Dunleavy SF: Danny Granger PF: Tyler Hansbrough C: Roy Hibbert The reason I have Dunleavy in there is because he's finally healthy from his knee injury that has been dragging him down for the last few seasons. So far this pre-season he's shown that he finally has the elevation on his shot to hit the three again. He's also playing well in other areas of his game like passing, rebounding, and all around playing the game of basketball. George has shown some flashes, but I don't think throwing him right away is a good idea...let him spend the first half of the season at least on the bench watching the game and getting in to spell Dunleavy. At least that's what I think Indiana should do, and will do.

Year You Became a Fan: 1998 Why You Became a Fan: I live in Indy, plus Reggie was amazing. Favorite Pacers Player, All-Time: Reggie Miller Favorite Pacers Coach, All-Time: Larry Bird probably. Favorite Pacers Moment: Reggie forcing two overtimes against the Nets in the Playoffs around 7 years back. Amount of Pacers Games Attended: Wow, quite a few. Maybe 60 or so?

I've been wondering what your guys' opinions are on Darko. He went to Minnesota and played a fairly decent role for them last year, and they thought he was good enough with them to offer him a sizable contract. Now that they've dealt off Al Jefferson, what kind of production do you see Milicic having? Will he have a breakout season (for him), or will he have yet another bust season. And what kind of averages do you see him having? Thoughts?

I would like to share his game last night with you guys. Many people have been hating on the fact that he is "slow" and doesn't have a "go-to move" in the post, but let me share these numbers from yesterdays' game with you. 27 Points, 16 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 10-19 FGM-A, 7-10 FTM-A. Just saying, those numbers don't lie. The kid has worked hard on his game over the summer, and he's ready to ball this season for the Pacers. He's dropped a lot of weight, and even worked out with Bill Walton all summer working on his rebounding and post moves. Also he dropped a good amount of weight, and he's quicker on his feet because of it. I think you guys will see that Hibbert is for real, and will not be a "slow" center this season. He'll be dominating most teams.

So true! Half the time, the activity that forums have is just a bunch of crap. Another site that I used to post at that died, died because of the fact that people would post just to post. Granted, that's how I used to be, but now I really enjoy the quality discussion, especially for the NBA. I forgot to mention this, but I'm studying to be an NBA writer with a current beat writer for the Pacers, so that's been exciting as well . Maybe I'll drop some articles here and there.

I completely forgot about Kobe lol. Wow, thanks for the reminder. Well then, they definitely have the defense to slow down the Heat, but am I not right that they do need Bynum in decent health in order to win? Who else do they have up front besides Gasol?