The NBA 08-09 Thread
 

The pre-season has begun.

The Lakers are looking like the team to beat. They're probably the deepest team in the league. If anyone caught highlights of last night's pre-season opener, you'd see a lot of potential. Now they have a few months to realize that potential through fluidity.. then its over. I'm looking at a 60+ win season.

The Celtics are still looking good. I expect them to come out of the East again. I don't see any other team in the East challenging them, really.

I can't believe Greg Oden has been ranked so high in player rankings and he hasn't played a single NBA game. What a joke.

Let's keep this going throughout the season.

as always..my beloved spurs will win and reign supreme once again.

nuggets my 2nd choice!

go west!

As to a surprise team this year? How about the Toronto Raptors. Not in LA's league (well, you know what I mean),
but I think they have a shot to go three rounds in the playoffs.

I just hope the Knicks don't embarrass themselves again this year. Maybe they can become semi-credible under Mike D'Antoni.

I have my doubts about the Knicks as long as Marbury remains a part of the team. I can't think he'll be satisfied coming off the bench, he's been a starter all his career and when is the last time he's done something for the good of the team? Philadelphia has an interesting team, Charlotte with Larry Brown coaching, Houston an interesting team, $100 million Arenas in DC, Toronto if O'Neal can reach his potential again and remain injury free, although they took a hit losing TJ Ford I think. No clue what the Pistons will do, depends on how a few key young guys play, I like Kwame (not our jailed mayor), he doesn't need to score, and I think he'll be a decent defender with Sheed in his ear all year long. Boston-LAL Final again.

They're the Knicks. In the post-Isiah period. You should hope for them not to have a gunfight a center court in the middle of a game this year. Or to average 7 guys dressed per game for the year.

Aw c'mon. This isn't the Blazers or Pacers we're talking about here.

True. But I see unreached potential for violence in the Knicks. They're a scowl away from a full-blown riot.

On a completely unrelated note, go Bulls.

To be fair, Kevin Pritchard has now removed all the malcontents from the team.

With Brandon Roy, Aldridge, Oden, and Rudy Fernandez, this looks to be a good team to watch.

As far as Oden being rated so high without playing, what about Durant last year, or LeBron a few years back. The highest drafted players often come in with uber-high expectations.

Here's my prediction that the Blazers win at least 4 games.... which still might not mean a playoff berth.

The Knicks of today are a bunch of softies. Not like the Knicks of yesteryear who knew how to tumble. I wish they had that kind of fight in them, maybe then they won't roll over and get kicked around so much.

Even the coaches got down:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3..._On_Alonzo.jpg

And they weren't afraid to hook off on a superstar:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...mondo/chow.jpg

That brawl at the garden was nothing compared to when Pat Riley was around with Ewing, Oakley, and Starks.

Who is that Knick throwing a punch? Is that a photoshop?

How bout them Milwaukee Bucks? $72 million for Bogut??? I would have given it to Stoudemire. They look pretty good on paper.

That's Chris Childs throwing a mean right hook to Kobe.

$72 million for Bogut...The league must really be hurting for quality centers.

Ah ok, Chris Childs...looked familiar forgot the name. I guess its no surprise how Ben Wallace became Ben Wallace (well, the pre-Bulls/Cavs Ben Wallace) under Charles Oakley's tutelage. Riley's Knicks were great fun to watch...it is hard to believe how far they have fallen. Wonder how Isaiah feels about Donnie Walsh keeping Marbury over him.

Because they did not lose any rotation players and they have Bynum back, the Lakers are the favorite. The Hornets are not far behind though.

However, they were also the clear favorite in the finals last year, but were outplayed. The Celtics needed 7 games to get past the below .500 Hawks, and the Lakers swept a potent Nuggets team. Phil Jackson was supposed to be the better coach over Rivers. Kobe was the MVP and three time champion, while Pierce, Allen, and KG never made an NBA finals.

Kobe simply did not step up in the finals as he was expected to. The league MVP had a poor performance in the finals similar to what he did years back in defeat to the Pistons. He shot around 40% & turned the ball over nearly 4 times a game. People blamed Odom and Gasol, but the truth is, they both shoot a much better percentage and are not anymore to blame than Kobe.

I think the Celtics should have paid Posey a little more, and the east became stronger this offseason. If Lebron could make the Finals with his 2006 roster, he could do it again. Is this the year Dwight Howard establishes himself as a 25 and 15 per night guy?

I don't think you can blame the Finals on any one player of the Lakers. When the Celtics came back from 26 down to beat them one game, it crushed the whole team. It IS a team game and Kobe has scaled back his game to fit with that idea. You can't beat the Celtics by yourself. You can hope for better performances from individuals, but the team needs to be working together.

With that said, the Lakers did lose Ronnie Turiaf. They managed to get Josh Powell in his place, who is a better rebounder and comparable defender (lacks versatility though). I personally think playing Gasol and Bynum together will stagnate the offense and confuse their defense. I am in favor of splitting the team up into two cohesive units. The same starting 5 as last year will provide a good margin for the second unit, who is deeper than any other in the league, to completely bust open on the second string scrubs. It will also give everyone a lot more rest.

I like Odom, but while he's got all the talent in the world he is a headcase who disappears in the playoffs, along with Gasol who plays poorly under pressure and against dominant centers/pf like KG. Bynum has been in exactly zero playoff games. They will have a great regular season, a disappointing playoffs, and a departing Kobe in 2010 free agency. I'll take the Celtics starting 5 over the Lakers 5 all day long. And no more comparisons of Kobe to Jordan, Jordan would never have let Game 4 happen.

Marbury to start for the Knicks tonight. The Knicks are turning into the Detroit Lions of the NBA.

That's harsh, man. How can you say such a bad thing about Detroit?

Hey, don't be talking about my Blazers that way. They're going to win at least 6 games and at least 1 of them will be an away game. I also predict at least 8 blazers will have trouble with the law.

Which leads into...

If the starting line up of the Blazers are riding in a van who's driving?

The police.

They aren't quite the worst sports franchise in the history of professional sports like the Lions, we've been at it for 54 years and counting. Watching the Celtics/Knicks game last night, there seems to be no change in how they are playing under D'Antoni, it is astonishing...same selfish play, no passing, poor shooting from everywhere, lack of fire, lack of defense, they are barely competing. I think Eddy Curry has actually gotten worse since he's been in the league. What is up with these Knicks?

James Dolan. He's the anti-Christ, or at least the anti-Steinbrenner. As much as people dump on The Boss for throwing obscene amounts of money at players, at least he draws in quality talent, or talent good enough to keep the fans entertained. The Knicks, on the other hand, throw money at mediocre players, they're afraid of any criticism (they fired Marv Albert for god's sake. MARV ALBERT!!!), the front office is run like some frat house (as we've already seen from the much publicized sexual harassment lawsuit), and the only thing they care about is being good enough to get celebrities to the game. For a charter franchise playing in a city that supposed to be the Mecca of basketball, the Knicks are an embarrassment to both the the city and the league, and Dolan is the reason they're such an embarrassment.

I really wish some giant media rival would engage in a hostile-takeover of Cablevision just so they can force the sale of the Knicks to an owner that actually cares about basketball. I feel sorry for Walsh and D'Antoni. If Lenny Wilkens and Larry Brown couldn't save this team, really, who can?

I got my tickets to see Lakers @ Knicks on Feb 2. Booyah!

Isaiah Thomas Overdoses on Sleeping Pills: Report

FOX Sports on MSN - NBA - Report: Isiah Thomas ODs on sleeping pills

Former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas was reportedly hospitalized Friday morning after overdosing on sleeping pills.

Authorities say an ambulance was called to Thomas' suburban New York home, and someone from the home was taken to a hospital. Various reports say the person taken to the hospital was Thomas.

According to the New York Daily News, police say the victim consumed "roughly 10 Lunesta sleeping pills."

Harrison Police Department Officer Vincent Lanzillotti says an ambulance responded to the 911 call early Friday. He declined to give any details, except to say a person was taken to White Plains Hospital.

WCBS Radio reported the call involved "an issue with sleeping pills."

Barry Watkins, vice president of communications for Madison Square Garden, told The Journal News newspaper, "Isiah is fine."

Late Friday afternoon, a small SUV escorted by a police car pulled into a private road leading to the luxury development in Westchester County where Thomas lives, about 30 miles from midtown Manhattan.

Thomas purchased the house on Azalea Circle in Purchase for more than $4 million in 2004, according to the Journal News.

Thomas was removed from his coaching duties by the Knicks on April 18 following the team's seventh straight losing season. The Knicks finished last season 23-59.

Donnie Walsh replaced Thomas as team president, but Thomas remained with the Knicks as a consultant.

Thomas' troubles extended away from the court last year, as well, including a sexual harassment case with a former team employee and feuds with Knicks players Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry.

It was Thomas' second season coaching the Knicks following three years as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. He played 13 years for the Detroit Pistons, where he was a 12-time All-Star and the NBA Finals MVP in 1990. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

How do you accidentally take 10 fucking pills?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...8013351-12.jpg

I wonder if Dolan has seen this...he's made some strange decisions last few years, especially his decision to keep Marbury. It's not like in Detroit where the fans have rewarded the Ford family's pathetic handling of the Lions for decades by showing up for games whether the team is unwatchable or not. NY isn't going to put up with sub-500 Knicks teams forever. Perhaps he is waiting for 2010 free agency, when guys like LeBron, Chris Paul, Wade, Anthony, Nowitzki, Stoudemire etc, will be on the market. Personally I think LeBron will end up a Knick in 2010 (or Kobe to NY, LeBron to LA), Cleveland is no place (or franchise) for a talent like him. Good point about the coaches - hall of famers some of them - if the likes of Iverson and Billups can make such progress under Larry Brown, why can't Marbury?

Hope Isaiah gets some help...probably not the most well-liked guy in New York lately.

Isiah is treating the media just like he did when he was President/General Manager/Head Coach. Throw out 10 conflicting reports, deny involvement in the whole situation, and just shrug your shoulders and smile.

He makes it really hard for people to like him. This is the closest any Knicks fan will ever get to feeling bad for him and then he pulls his media stunt and now we're all just, "whaddya expect from the man?"
-----Added 25/10/2008 at 12 : 09 : 13-----
The problem is that the people who show up at the Garden aren't Knicks fans. They're just corporate bigwigs, celebrities, and athletes from other sports who go there so they can get their picture taken and appear on Page 6 of the New York Post. Management has proven that it's all they care about, so they'll make the team mediocre enough to keep the celebrities happy, while the remaining fans just give up and go to support the other New York sports teams.

If Cleveland loses LeBron to New York, it won't be because NY did anything special to acquire him. They let Boozer sweet talk his way out of there (which John Paxson should've been fired for, IMO), and in the meantime they've done nothing through trade, free agency, or the draft to give LeBron a credible wingman. Ben Wallace is good, but he's getting old and he's too defensively minded. If they want to keep LeBron past 2010, they need to worry more about giving him some help so he's not a one man show year after year. They'll just have to hope that Mo Williams is the wingman King James needs to rule the Eastern Conference.

Tonight is the night! I'm excited to see the Lakers vs Blazers game (obviously). I predict that it will be a very tough game for both teams and I hope that the Lakers can pull it off.

I meant to say win 45 games (dohrk = spongy.... this is my real handle, spongy was just for the tb, but I loved the rest so much I stayed.. I will endeavor to post more and link less), which still might not make the playoffs...


Oden is out 2-4 weeks with that foot sprain.

sigh.. coulda been worse I guess.

Greg Oden's injury confirms that the Blazers are simply cursed when it comes to draft picks.

And the Knicks won their first season opener in.....geez I can't remember the last time they won a season opener.

Toronto Raptors are perfect so far this season. Well, 1-0. Listen, I think Bosh REALLY benefited from
playing for team USA. O'Neal is gonna love Canada (for maybe a year) if someone keeps him
indoors.

Just wait. My credibility comes from the fact that I passionately hate all things Toronto (I'm from
Montreal) and I'm actually excited about their chances.

I'm calling it now.. 73-9 season for Lakers

Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez... sure the Blazers are cursed.

As far as a 73-9 Lakers season, you can't be serious can you? only 9 losses?

I am serious! The Lakers are stacked and they are playing smothering defense. They have two different offensive methods and they are DAMN effective at executing them. They are deep, allowing their starters to absorb less minutes, not to mention young and spry. Their back-to-backs will be a cinch. The only possible hiccups I see are their 2 games that they play in NO, which are both the second games of back-to-backs.

Sure, in all likelihood, at the midway point you'll be laughing at how blindly optimistic I was at the beginning, but it's not like it can't be done. Many teams in the league got better, but the Lakers got better too. And one team that didn't get better was Boston, their only hurdle.

It's a pretty bold prediction Halx, all I can say is if anyone is going to win over 70 this year its probably the Lakers. How's that for a hedge? ;) I just read that the Lakers signed Bynum to a 4 yr/58 million extension...thats quite the investment. Behind Howard and Yao, he may be the 3rd best center in the league. Pretty nice walking around money for a 21 year old...

I think Boston, New Orleans and maybe San Antonio will win at least 60...its an odd-year isn't it time for the Spurs to win another championship?

The biggest problems in going 73-9 are probably intensity... a few off nights or teams getting pumped to beat the Lakers.. and injuries. Sore pinkie, bad knee, anything can happen during the grind of the regular season.

60+wins is a tremendous accomplishment.

i haven't really started to fade into basketball yet, but the prospect of 2nd row floor seats at boston garden again is a serious prompt to pay attention. the consortium i fell into late last season is operating again this year, and the seats are just crazy. i think the celtics will be excellent again this year, but i am concerned that they let posey get away. in alot of ways, he was at the heart of the team. a very dangerous player.

i thought the lakers were like paper in the finals last year and am not expecting much different from them this year, but i would like to see another lakers-celtics final because it was so much fun hearing "beat l.a." again.

i'd look out for new orleans.

I'm going to say it will be the OKC Thunder.... ok back to reality the Lakers are pretty stacked. I really think the NBA needs a hard salary cap.

take it or leave it..but the spurs never win back to back championships. its their year.

as for a 73-9 season... id like to see that...thats going almost 8 x 10 game streaks.

cant be done. check back with me after the spurs have another ring.

You say it can't be done, but the Bulls did 72-10 (under Phil Jackson) so I don't see how it can't be improved by 1 game.

I didn't say it couldn't be done. It just won't.

Too hard to keep the intensity all year. I predict a few games off for Kobe.. not to mention off games.

Time will tell.

Feel free to ridicule me if I'm wrong.

I will probably just mention that they lost their 10th game .. in January :p

dohrk..i said it.

cant be done. i dont see the same auro of invincibility that phil jacksons bulls had in the 90's.

Wow, the Blazers were fun to watch last night. They beat the Spurs for the first time in 3 years. Brandon Roy had never beaten them. Nicolas Batum was way better than I expected.

Watch these guys grow. Should be a fun ride.

As far as the Celtics getting worse, I assume you're talking about losing Posey. While that is a loss, you have to remember that all of their other young players have gotten more experienced and comfortable in their roles (Powe, Rondo, Davis, Perkins etc.). There shouldn't be much of a dropoff from the big 3, in fact Allen could actually have a better year than he did last year, as he was subpar for him. Either was, this is still a driven, Talented team. They beat the Lebrons in the opening game when they were totally distracted by raising the banner.

I never said the Celtics got worse. I said they didn't get better.

Anyways, last night was an example of how the Lakers can win in a dirty game. The refs had 5 players in foul trouble by half time. One rookie ref was responsible for all 5 fouls called on Bynum. Pau kept the team close and Kobe dropped the hammer.

This just in:

The Dever Nuggets have shipped Allen Iverson to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess.

ESPN - Denver Nuggets trade Allen Iverson to Detroit Pistons

Wow.. what is Detroit doing? Great trade for Denver. Billups was never a superstar, but his place on that team was what made it work. Rip + AI = blah! Denver got a real PG and some insurance for Nene. They've already got scorers. The west just got tougher.

Iverson's an expiring contract, so it's no big loss to the Pistons. Billups and McDyess are getting old and you can't expect them to perform at the level they did back in 2004.

It's like a great experiment with not much of a downside for Detroit.

I understand that. My initial reaction is that all 3 are sputtering veterans, but Billups brings more than a physical presence. He's a big loss from the mental side. It sounds like both teams are resolved to be mediocre though.

Wow, i'm actually glad to have AI out of the west. It will be interesting to see what happens with Denver now.

Joe Dumars did say nobody was safe after Boston bounced them from the playoffs. My guess is that this is just the beginnings of a massive shakeout in Detroit.

This is an awesome trade imo. Billups has declined offensively since 2005. Defensively he still has a lot to offer, and is universally liked and respected around the league which is exactly the type of guy Denver needs. Detroit gets a vet scoring superstar ready to sacrifice to win a championship, not unlike what happened in Boston. Rip and AI are both shooting guards, yes, but they're also vets who I hope will have the experience to get along and sacrifice for the sake of contending for a championship, something Carmelo has yet to learn (but something Billups will definitely help him with). It is also handy to have a guy who is feared in the playoffs...he's gonna draw a lot of fouls/free throws. And yes since AI's contract expires at the end of this season, along with moving Billups contract and potentially Sheed's which expires this year, the Pistons will have something like $35 million in cap space to spend on the big free agency class of 2009-10. Its a win-win for everyone involved.

11:46pm post-game: 6 years of watching Billups bring the ball up the court and captain this team to a championship and 5 straight eastern conference finals. Hamilton basically ignoring new fellow guard Stuckey in the backcourt. I am bummed out tonight. :(

Even if McDyess re-signs with the Pistons after the 30 day waiting period, I think the trade benefits both teams. Billups adds defense and ball control to a team that lacks both, but it is a bit surprising the Nuggets traded for a 32 year old with 46 million left guaranteed on his contract. The Nuggets dumped Camby for salary reasons over the summer, so there are some mixed messages there.

Iverson is a first ballet hall of famer and an elite scorer. People don't realize that Compared to his career averages, Iverson's turnovers per game decreased last year, while his shooting percentage increased. Despite his knack for stealing the ball, he is still a defensive liability, but not as big of a concern on a stout defensive team.

The Pistons will have cap room to pursue Lebron, Bosh, Wade, and Boozer. Dumars is being a quality GM and thinking about the future as well.

Two games with neither Billups or Iverson in the line up, and the Pistons looked solid. Charlotte is not a quality opponent, but the young players off the bench stepped up and didn't get distracted by the hoopla surrounding the trade. The Toronto game was a bigger test. The coach and team passed.

Iverson says all of the right things, and if he and Sheed find some common ground, this will be a very good team. We'll start finding out Friday in New Jersey and Sunday against Boston.

The biggest liability I see is Qwame Brown. The guy is a walking turnover machine.

Yeah have fun with Kwame. Don't let him within 100 feet of cake.

Lakers have a wonky schedule this week. Huge gaps between games means some out of rhythm play. It took them 3 quarters to finally click last night. Their first test will come Sunday against the Rockets.

The Hawks beat the Hornets on their home floor. I like the Hawks.

Kwameh is next to useless on the offensive end, so was Ben Wallace and the Pistons did ok with him. Joe Johnson is the real deal.

What is happening to those spurs? If they keep this up they are going to dig themselves in a very deep hole. With Tony Parker out there season may be over before it starts.

wth ginabili and parker out, and duncan not playing to capacity in my opinion, i think its going to be a touch season for the spurs. watch for a late run come season end.

I'm in a deep fantasy league (30 teams, 10 man rosters), and was sorely lacking at small forward. Thus, I traded Joe Przybilla away for Mike Dunleavy. I generally stay away from trades involving injured players, but figured I might as well try to get value from Przybilla while Oden is out.

I'm interested to see how Chauncy Billups does on the Nuggets. I recorded the game last night and will likely watch it shortly, but I think he will provide a nice presence as a genuine point guard on a team that is a bit lopsided with scorers. It's for this reason that I don't mind Iverson leaving the team either. His ball hogging and huge shot numbers can be beneficial on a mediocre team like the Sixers, but on a more complete team, I think he hinders more than helps. Thus, I think it was a nice trade for the Nuggets; not as much for the Pistons.

6-0

Lakers can win big and they can win ugly. They fought past a valiant effort by the Mavs, but the Hornets tonight are the real challenge. Hopefully, we can put them away early instead of waiting 3 quarters to turn on the jets. The fact that we trailed for most of the game last night doesn't concern me as much as the fact that we only started to play defense halfway through the 3rd. Bynum is going to learn that he's not the only center in the league, and if he has to play against a smart one like Dampier, he's going to have to get smarter too.

Didn't the Bobcats beat the Hornets? That was an especially savorable win for Charlotte residents.

Eff the bugs.

You are correct, and the media was very quick to ignore that it ever happened. Even the power rankings that have been published don't seem to want to acknowledge it.

I'm glad D-Will is back. I'm surprised the Jazz are doing as good as they are with their injuries. Last night they were missing Harpring, Collins, Memo, and Fesinko. D-Will played but was clearly not 100%.

Right now it looks like the Lakers are the team to be in the west.

Though both the Jazz and the Lakers have softball early schedules.

Hah I say the Jazz are looking good and they lose to a bottom feeding team. It looks like they are heading to the same problem they had last year (beat the hard teams lose to the easy teams).

7-0

Wednesday was another test and the Lakers passed. Then again, few of the teams we thought would be kicking ass this year have been very impressive. The Hornets are a great team and they're familiar with eachother, but they seem to be having focus and chemistry problems early.

Tonight we take on the Pistons, who are getting used to Allen Iverson. They are on the second game of a back-to-back and they're on the road, so I don't see this working well. AI has never given the Lakers any trouble, despite his ability. I don't see the Pistons as a particularly dominating team. They have good players, but their strength lies in their competition... the L'East.

Lakers should win a lot of there games coming up:

Fri 14 vs Detroit [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Tue 18 vs Chicago [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Thu 20 @ Phoenix 7:30pm AM 570 KLAC
Fri 21 vs Denver [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Sun 23 vs Sacramento [BUY TICKET] 6:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Tue 25 vs New Jersey [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Fri 28 vs Dallas [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC
Sun 30 vs Toronto [BUY TICKET] 6:30pm FSN HD AM 570 KLAC

Only 1 away game in the next 8 games.


Wow I just looked closely at the Lakers schedule. It is majorly front loaded with home games and then Feb-March they go on the road like crazy.

Do think this type of schedule hurts or helps the Lakers?

Detroit shoots 50% from the field once or twice a month, and the Lakers probably don't shoot 42% at home too often. Gasol kinda flowery on defense. Sheed goes 25/15 once or twice a decade so thats nothing to get too excited about, look for him to lose his mind and get ejected from a few big games in the near future (not to mention in a game 6 or 7 come May). AI plays so fast...he's like a hurricane in a retirement home with the Pistons. How about that kid Anthony Morrow of Golden State scoring 37 points and 11 rebounds in his very first game?

Whats up with Shaq lately?



He did the same to Boozer last night.

Anthony Morrow.. the new Flip Murray.

7-1

That was a nasty loss to the Pistons. The stars misaligned and the Lakers couldn't shoot for shit. It wasn't even the defense, they just kept missing the open shots. I see that Iverson makes the Pistons a more intimidating team.

Tonight the Lakers take on the Bulls. Rose looks like a challenge at PG, but everywhere else looks like fresh meat.

I loves me some RonFlip. True, could just be that flash in the pan, but 37/11 is crazy, I don't think RonFlip ever scored over 30, may be wrong about that. Lakers should win easily over Chicago, they need a few more years to hang with LA.

Flip Murray played outstanding for stretches in 03-04, hitting game winners and scoring in bunches while Ray Allen was injured. However, over the course of that year and throughout his career, he has never been a below average shooter percentage wise and a poor three point shooter. He is undersized though and has settled for low contracts just to remain in the league.

Though it is from a small sample, Morrow has shot very well from the field and three point line, and has been a good rebounder. Morrow is bigger and a better shooter than Murray. Look up Morrow's stats from Georgia Tech, he was an excellent shooter in college as well. What he becomes as an NBA player is unknown, his career path could easily follow that of Murray's. For example, his minutes have decreased the last several games despite the Warriors battling losses and injuries in their back-court. I think his success will largely be predicated on opportunity.

He reminds me of Marquis Daniels, who has a rookie, scored a bunch and took over the starting 2 guard on a contending Dallas Mavericks team in the playoffs, but has not progressed as a player since.

Boozer and Collins just got hurt too. Only a few weeks into the season and the Jazz have the following people who have missed games due to injuries:

Williams, Okur, Kerelinko, Boozer, Collins, Harping, and Knight. Currently injured are Williams, Boozer, and Knight. If the Jazz keep this up there season is going to go the way of the Aztechs.

I would rather be dealing with injuries early, than later. Chronic injuries will ruin a season, but from what I gather, Williams is expected to fully recover.

The Western Conference playoff teams were bunched up last year and one through eight were separated by just 7 games. The Jazz have enough to get into the playoffs. Don't forget, two years ago, the 8th seeded Warriors knocked off the 1st seeded Mavericks.

I am not an NBA fan it ranks 5th for me. But The Cavs are doing great so far and seem to have truly pulled it together.

LeBoob or not, I do want to see a class man like Z win a ring.

Yeah the silver lining here is *if* they get healthy their bench is going to be a very strong bench. Also AK seems to be having an awesome year so far. I think putting him as a 6th man was perfect. He is very talented (kind of a jack of all trades) but when you surround him with to much talent you can't utilize his talent fully.

9-1

The Lakers seem to be gathering their wits after losing to Detroit. Tonight's game against Denver should be a walk in the park after holding Phoenix at bay last night. With the Lakers, there is no let-up. Even if certain players are struggling, there will usually be a role player here or there who is thriving.

Crawford to Golden State.
Randolph to the Clippers.

Payroll's slashed, expiring contracts given in return, and the move is on to acquire King James when he becomes a free agent in 2010.

Exciting year so far for the Blazers. They are the only team I actually make an effort to track, and have followed since the my childhood years (although I did watch on TV the local Shaq/Penny Magic games during my short stay in Orlando Nuke school). They might be on track to resemble the team that ran into the Jordan/Pippen buzzsaw given enough years.

show off

you're going to track and post every game arent you?

Back to earth for Morrow: 2/9 shooting, 7 points in 34 minutes. He should have a few more chances to shine, although Coach Don Nelson is notorious for giving most of the minutes to the vets. Halx may be right about 70+ wins for the Lakers, their schedule is ridiculous for the 2 months or so. I like the Knicks moving Randolph and Crawford (dumb & dumber?), I think they should also trade lil Nate Robinson...Knicks are looking up.

They probably won't trade Robinson. His contract is up at the end of the season, so it's more likely they'll hang on to him at least until the end of the season. But he's also turning into a fan favorite at the Garden, so it's possible that he gets re-signed, but not for big bucks.

11-1

I am going to post as often as I feel like it. I looked at the upcoming schedule and I have to say that the Lakers don't face any competition for a long while. They'll be 27-1 before they run into New Orleans again. Then right after that it is.. dun dun dun.. Boston. Two tough games in a row. The Lakers might be unstoppable if the following stretch doesn't snap their streak.

I am glad to see the Knicks dumping their roster. I don't like the Knicks, but I don't hate them. What I hate is when a team with so many resources flounders and fails so badly year after year. I mean, you can argue that there are too many teams in the league and that a few unsuccessful small market teams should be removed, but you can't do anything about the Knicks.

With that said, I don't think LeBron will find the Knicks attractive. I think the Nets have a better young core (but that's not saying a lot) and they'll be moving to Brooklyn soon. LeBron will be on the Nets in 2010.

halx..if the lakers take out the championship, ill pay for the full month it takes for you to run TFP.

there i said it.

TFP, July is on dlish.

Where are we at, 12-1?

Tonight is Dallas, which has been playing well behind Jason Terry. They're not playing well enough to beat the Lakers, but they might have one thing go their way. Andrew Bynum is day-to-day with a loose bone spur. This could present problems for the interior defense. Bynum is having a pretty effective start to the year, but his impact is not fully shown in the box score. If he's out, I'd expect Terry to be attacking the lane. Still, once the bench comes out, the game is over.

I just realised that the new XM/Sirius service carries the play-by-play for NBA games. I looked back when it was just XM and they just had pointless (strictly IMO, limited sports interest) NHL, College sports, nascar, and whatever else non-NBA on there.
Not planning on paying time warner for their NBA package.

Celtics winning percentage= .900. and it looks like they're getting better, especially the play of Rondo and Powe, not to mention Perkins.

The Celtics had an impressive blowout win against a good Portland team on Friday, and they haven't appeared to miss Posey yet. I still think his absence will be sorely missed come playoff time. Powe is a legitimate low post threat, and scores at the basket even better than Garnett. Rondo's all around game has progressed well, and he is a top tier point guard in the east.

The Lakers blew a big lead against an below average Indiana team and almost blew a big lead against a poor Wizards team. They still are one of the deepest teams in the league and playing exceptionally well overall. Ariza's defense has been outstanding, and it will be a shame if he continues that effort and gets snubbed when it comes time for the all NBA Defensive teams. I think Jackson would be smart to continue to give minutes to Ariza over Walton. Maybe Walton can get some minutes back from Radmanovic, but it will be difficult since Radmanovic has been shooting the three ball well this year.

17-2

Should be 18-1... damn Pacers. Tonight is the measly Sacramento Kings. This game will be a test of motivation. The Lakers have been getting out to big leads and then blowing them with impatient play and lack of focus. I guess there is such thing as too much talent. There have been many articles written in the last 2 days about this little issue. Now the bench is under the gun to produce results. I hope to see some results tonight.

Boston looks unbeatable at the moment. Ray Allen is shooting the ball like magic again, keeping Boston winning games easily. Detroit is dead in the water without a good point guard, instead we get spoiled, selfish, defensively challenged malcontent Allen Iverson destroying any remaining team chemistry once Billups left. Basically the same thing he did in Denver after they traded him for another solid point guard in Andre Miller which was a mistake the Nuggets seemed intent on fixing ever since and now have. Mr. Microsoft's Portland Trailblazers a very very good team, they have so much young talent it is ridiculous, just need to fine tune their defense and they are top 5 in the league. I like this Rudy Fernandez guy, he is a wizard with and without the ball, very creative passer, can drive to the hoop and dunk with authority. Aldridge and Roy are playing Allstar caliber basketball and Greg Oden is coming along fine. They lost by 1 point to Orlando last night in an extremely high quality game, both teams were hitting shots and making great plays all over the court. Orlando has so much firepower, 2 experienced snipers and Superman in the middle make them dangerous every night. Took them long enough! Devin Harris in New Jersey has been getting rave reviews this year, his scoring average is up 10 points/game. New Jersey v NYK tonight in Jersey.

who are your picks for the allstar game?
 

Allstar voting has started.

WEST
Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge
Forward: Carmelo Anthony
Guard: Chauncey Billups
Guard: Chris Paul
Center: Mehmet Okur

EAST
Forward: Tayshaun Prince
Forward: Paul Pierce
Guard: Ray Allen
Guard: Joe Johnson
Center: Dwight Howard

I think its time Tayshaun Prince get a nod for allstar. His low key demeanor hides one of the most versatile players in the game.

Too easy for the Boston Celtics these days. Hall of fame 3-point shooter, Hall of Fame versatile do-it-all 7-foot freak of nature, probable Hall of Fame slasher/penetrator/scorer/scowler. 17 game winning streak is incredible.

the celtics are playing a beautiful game. they're a pleasure to watch.

The Celtics have so many ways to win: they blow people out, they win close games, thy come from behind, they do it in the post, they bang from outside, they fast break, they play half court, they give and go, pick and roll, have Garnet score 30, have Pierce score 30, have Perkins score 25, have Rondo dish assists like crazy. They will lose a couple more this seaon, but the current win streak isn't an aberration, or luck, barring any serious injuries, they should continue to win games in chunks. I like the way Rondo is feeding Ray Allen, he is finally healthy and looking like a big time contributor. They are a pleasure to watch.

Lakers beat the celtics 92-83 and stop the 19 game celtics streak.

impressive. lets see if they can do it in the playoffs day in day out.

Allen Iverson 2ND in allstar voting behind Dwayne Wade for starting guard? Is basketball fixed or something?

It is fan voting, which completely explains it. Iverson has long been a fan favorite. I disagree with it, but I wouldn't say fixed. I take All star/pro bowl voting in all professional sports with a grain of salt, even if it is not entirely fan voting.

I wonder if the LeBron Rule is considered cheating? (And the Wade rule and the Kobe rule...and the..) Extra steps, palming the ball, and the flopping is out of hand.

Would be nice if Tayshaun Prince got in the allstar game as a sub. If 1 million chinamen on the other side of the world can vote in Yi Jianlian, and thousands of Denver Nugget fans can vote in Iverson (who's done squat this year), Prince should at least get a long look. Guy can play and defend every position on the court.

Am I the only one who cant stand Lebron?

What don't you like about him? I like him as a player...great athlete, unselfish, excellent passer. He's now got a solid backcourt for the first time in a long time.

Well, the whole "global icon" thing, the whole "a lebron james team" thing when they are winning, and the whole "i need more help" when losing, and how any time the cavs lose a couple in a row there seems to be a million different "sources" talking about him going to greece, to the knicks, etc which he refuses to deny. Add to that the whole Ira Newble situation.

For such a once in a lifetime set of physical skills, he still has some glaring holes in his game that have really hurt in the playoffs, like shooting and a post up game. If he ever developed a consisted outside shot (about 40% effective FG from jumpshots, 29% 3 pt), he could be deadly. But its been three years in a row that the cavs lost in the playoffs simply because opponents closed the lane and forced him to be a jump shooter.