The Lone Granger

Alright, thanks for the reply man!

Sorry, I forgot sarcasm is hard to read on forums . We are screwed pretty much at running back unless James Starks, Kuhn, or Brandon Jackson decides that it's time for them to step up...

He has been struggling so far yes, but the reason is because he hadn't started slowing himself down. In the last two games he has been, and it's worked for him. The shooting percentages are not extremely high, but he's been putting up good all-around numbers. I'm too lazy to get his numbers from two games ago, but last game vs. Minny here are his numbers. 17 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6-11 FGM-A, 5-9 3PM-A, 0-2 FTM-A, and this was in 26 minutes. He should have scored 19 points, but missed the free throws. So as I was saying, if he slows himself down and focuses on making the shot rather than just getting the shot up, he'll be fine. In all honesty he reminds me of Brandon Rush (God help us), because when his confidence is up, he's played great, but he doesn't have the confidence all the time. Hopefully he learns how to control his confidence, and he can step in this year and contribute. The whole goal with George however, is for him to come into himself completely next season. We have some cash via free agency to sign a good power forward, and having George at complete talent, with Granger, Collison, Hibbert, Hansbrough, and maybe a guy like Al Horford would be a contending team. At least those are my thoughts on this subject.

In past years, the Lakers were fine if Bynum wasn't 100% healthy in the Finals, but this year isn't going to be the same. In my opinion, he has to be at least 90% for them to win. They will make it a great series regardless, but without Bynum, the only advantages they have are their defenders. You stick Ron Artest on LeBron James, and maybe start Matt Barnes as well to guard Wade and that should slow them down, but it won't stop them. With Bynum in the lineup, it changes things up a lot. First, the Heat have to use either Joel Anthony or Zydrunas Ilgauskas to guard him, unless they want to put an undersized big man like Udonis Haslem on him. Either way, Bynum is going to overpower the defender and score practically at will. I won't say that he has to be right at 100% if they want to win, but I'll say 90% or above. Just my thoughts.

Thanks for the welcomes guys! Yeah I might bring some more posters over here Real Deal. I'm really enjoying this site so far, and I hope I can make a difference here . I've been looking for another NBA only forum to talk about my favorite sport, and also a site with a lot of quality rather than a lot of immature posters. Hopefully this can be the spot, and I think it will be.

Well, our wings are completely filled up right now. Stephenson is going to be a Pacer this year, I think that's been made obvious. Rush is only out the first five games of the season. From the sound of things, we are going to have a three-wing rotation for the first five games of the year between Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, and Paul George. If we need Lance, then we will use him. At least that's what it's sounding like right now.

Can't really say it much better than AboveLegit just did. He's going to be the best point guard in the league in the next couple seasons, and maybe even the best player as well. Not only is he a great scorer and passer, but he's been extremely good with the ball. Some of the main concerns about John Wall coming out of the draft, were his ability to handle the ball without turnovers. Thus far in the preseason he's handled it exceptionally well, and I really believe this kid is going to be one of the top players, if not the top player in the NBA in a couple seasons. Washington's future looks very bright right now.

Granger will be back for the season opener they are saying. Pretty sure he's done for the preseason though.

Ugh, so I guess we're just supposed to wait and hope that James Starks can get the job done when he gets completely healthy? I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. We needed to get something done, but we sit around and do nothing. Hopefully this doesn't make our season go to waste and someone steps up for us. Maybe it's time to sign a guy like Willie Parker and just hope and pray?

I don't know if I am allowed to do this since I just joined here at OTR. I'm the Central Division mod over at RSZ, and I'd love to do the same here for OTR. I'm a huge Pacers fan, and I know I can add a lot of posts and threads into the Central division. Just thought I'd throw my name out there, and I'd love to get a PM or something from Real Deal or whoever letting me know if I am allowed to apply for this spot.

I'm hoping we can get some kind of value for him. Some team will be interested in him because of his defense, but I don't really know what team that could be. Maybe the Bulls because of Thibodeau's concern with Korver's defense? Maybe they could do a Dahntay Jones and something, for Kyle Korver? That would be awesome for the Pacers, I can tell you that much. Thoughts?

Melo would be a great addition for New York, and having to add Gallinari in the deal would suck for them, but they should do it even if that's necessary. He's a great player, and for Denver would be the replacement for Melo at small forward, so I'm guessing that's why they are asking for him in return. What do you guys think about the Knicks sending Danillo Gallinari in a package for Melo? Thoughts?

I'm going to start posting these predict the season threads quite a bit now that the NBA season is almost upon us. So here's the first one, Greg Oden. Over his first few seasons in the NBA, Greg Oden has been unable to stay on the court. His knee injuries have been so severe that every season he has gotten a season-ending knee injury, and it seems unlikely that he will ever be able to fully recover from these injuries. All that being said, he is coming into this season relatively healthy, and hoping that this is the year he proves to people that the Blazers drafting him #1 overall was not a mistake. Has he been a bust so far? Yes. Does he still have that #1 overall pick potential? Most definitely. Assuming he is able to stay healthy, and work hard on improving his game, I could see Oden becoming an 18 points, and 10 rebounds per game player. He's got the height, strength, and he's fairly athletic and quick on his feet for a big man as well. http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Portland+Trail+Blazers+v+Golden+State+Warriors+4wEJHwOPm5im.jpg Another aspect of Oden's game that would drastically help Portland, is his defense. With the height that I was talking about, and the long arms, as well as perfect timing, he is an excellent shot-blocker. If healthy, I think you could see him lead the NBA in blocks, possibly getting as high as 3 per game. Unfortunately this all hinges on him staying healthy, and until he proves that he can, he will be carrying the "bust" label. Do you guys think Oden can rebound this year and stay healthy? Or do you think he will have injury problems yet again? Predict Greg Oden's season, PPG: RPG: BPG: Anything Else: Thoughts?

"With the 10th pick, in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select....Paul George." Right after those words were spoken, there was a lot of mixed reaction from both Pacers fans, as well as NBA fans. Was Paul George a reach at #10? Some mock drafts had him going at #7 to Golden State, others had him falling to the late 20's, but he ended up at #10 with the Indiana Pacers. http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/2010+NBA+Draft+UYNRzPoxqtqm.jpg With the re-building process that the Pacers are currently going through, they really need some big pickups in the draft. They drafted King George on potential, and man does he ever have a lot of potential. Many people are comparing him to a young Tracy McGrady, and rightfully so. He's very athletic, plays good defense, lights out shooter (when not rushing his shot), and he's also a very smart basketball player. His athleticism allows him to jump out of the gym for rebounds, and also jump into the passing lanes for steals. All that being said, it comes down to this. Is Paul George the real deal for the Pacers? Or is he just going to be another bust of a first round pick for Indiana? Thoughts?

Thanks guys! Hope to be active around these boards. I remember this site being talked about a lot all the way back to the RST days, and I met Real Deal back then. So I hope to be able to contribute to this site now that I'm here .

Wow, that's pretty surprising to me. I thought he'd be a contender for their #1 scoring option. So I'm guessing this means that their lineup will be, C: Anderson Varejao PF: J.J. Hickson SF: Jamario Moon? SG: Anthony Parker PG: Mo Williams ? Does that sound about right to everyone? I understand also that this move means they are giving Hickson more minutes to grow as a player, so why not try to deal him to a contender and get some young talent in return. That makes sense to me too.

What about T.J. Ford or Darren Collison? Both of those guys can fly with the ball. The fastest guy outside of Wall (who I believe is the fastest player with the ball as well), is probably Rajon Rondo in my opinion.

I think it's possible. The only way that I see them making the playoffs however, is if both Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry learn how to play together in the back-court. I think at times last year, they were both fighting to get their shots, and it really hurt the team chemistry. This year, they also have David Lee in the mix, which will help rebounding and scoring wise as well. They have so much talent, but the question is, will they all work together to achieve the common goal of making the Playoffs? That is the question. If I had to guess at ti right now though, I'd say that Golden State will miss the Playoffs.

This surprised me a lot when I read it as well. Morrison was a great college player, but he never did all the things that Turner did for Ohio State. Morrison was basically just a flat out scorer, while Turner on the other hand, was putting up double doubles almost every night, and sometimes threatening triple-doubles. I strongly disagree with Bill Simmons, here and I think Turner is going to turn into a very good starter in the NBA, if not a star.

What's up guys? Some of you know me, some of you don't. For those of you that don't know me, I'm a HUGE Pacers fan, and will be until I die. I live in Indianapolis, and go to quite a few games per year. Favorite player is Danny Granger obviously from my user name. I'm also a Packers, Cubs, and Colts fan. Not really sure what else to say, but I'm looking forward to joining this community and posting around some. I know some of these guys, mainly Real Deal, AboveLegit, and htown11 but a few others as well. Just thought I'd drop in and post a quick introduction. If you want to know anything else, don't hesitate to ask! See you guys around the forums!