Hi.

Lakers get Gasol for draft picks and some trash. Not the D low post prsence I was looking for, but he's a pretty damn good offensive player and a solid boarder.

But the best part of the trade is that I save soda by not throwing it at the TV whenever Kwame Brown comes in. Thank God that piece of shit is off the team. Now him and Sucko can live in holy 1st round bust matrimony in that shithole Memphis.

Gasol gives them a legit shot to win the West methinks.

On ESPN tonight:

Jazz-Wizards
Knicks-Blazers

ZzzzzzZzzZzZzz...

Terrible night of NBA on ESPN imo.

I'm such a fucking loser though that I'll be watching it instead of doing something more entertaining.

Did anyone else hear about the Lakers trade?

Apparently they traded for Gasol! Why isn't there a thread about this?

zach demonstrating exactly what type of a player he is tonight.

time left in the first, he's 6/9 for 13 pts. great start, right? not really. i dont think he has passed it yet. on the last possession, he was in possition to recieve the ball in good scoring position, the other knick w/ the ball opted to drive and dish to a 3rd guy. randolph charged in and intercepted the pass, chucked up a panicked buzzer beater with 14 seconds left.

he is the prototypical best player on a bad team. you can tell his teammates hate playing with him.

same w/ crawford, btw. 2 of the most selfish guys in the league.

Fuck that fat fuck Randolph.

I guess you're right about Crawford, but I still like him for pwning Hinrich.

Randolph/Robinson/Crawford have taken 30/40 of NY's shots.

i could have mentioned robinson, but i thought i'd be getting redundant by that. throw curry in also as a guy that doesnt like to pass the ball. and starbury too. uhhh... yea, so i guess you could say the knicks are bad for a reason.

you might get away w/ on of those guys on your team, but not when everyone on your team doesnt like to pass.

Bernard King is rolling in his grave.
I know he's not dead

over / under for randolph passes for the rest ofthe game. i'll set it at 4.

Under.

I think I could get all of these guys to play together like a team in NBA 2K8.

the only way randolph gets the over is if he gets 5 defensive rebounds... in bounding doesnt count.

so far he's touched the ball twice and jacked it up twice.

he is trying harder on defense than usual it seems.

It's not fair to Portland that they play in the West. I think the East should trade the Bulls for them.

3 shots on 3 touches.

Where's Curry at?

mcdonalds?

lol

Da only D I know iz Mickie D's, son.

Aldridge is on my fantasy Pistons team in 2K. I need a big performance.

i like lee, but aldridge is taking him to school.

we could include crawford in that over under also. i might up it to 5 passes....

randolph just got a defensive rebound and passed. DAMN!

yeah go Blazers!

roy deserves to be in the appreciation thread for that dunk. LOOOVE the slow it down break. NYK have no inside d.

What I love about Roy is his consistency.

fuck, second defensive rebound / pass for randolph. still might stay under, but your hurting right now, mailman.

10 minutes though without a pass past the timeline.

3 passes now, on 3 defensive rebounds. 4 shots on 4 touches past thetimeline. game switches to passes past the time line. the over under is 1. 13 minutes left in the game.

Too many jumpers by Portland.

...Remind you of any team?

nate mcmillan is probably #2 or 3 on the highest paid coaches list and most nba fans probably dont know who he is. he was available when we hired flip. oh well, he didnt want to leave the nw anyway, but he would have been a nice pick up.

randolph just refused to pass out of a double team and chose to offensive foul instead.

if he wont pass there, he will never pass.

if i was trying to grab guys off the knicks, the only two guys i'd look at (not considering team need) are david lee and balkman. robinson has potential, but he's a thug with low bball iq.

zeke just coached up randolph, was it to remind him your allowed to pass in the nba?

That's what a top 5 PG of all time should be saying.

Michigan knows Balkman quite well.

i thought for sure randolph was gonna pass it his time. he opted fr a shot clock violation instead.

and there it is, roinson passed it to randolph at the timeline after a loose ball and randolph passed it back.

damn.

the nxt offensive pass will probably come 2-3 games from now. to be fair though, that pass wasnt them running the offense, so it shouldnt really count.

I think any time Randolph passes shouldn't count and should just be considered a figment of our imaginations.

randolph avgs 2 assists per game. would have guessed less than that.

Knicks and Blazers going into OT...now this is what I call a Friday night!!

LOL @ Pat Riley.

"Are we 9-35?"
"God..." *puts head down*

[smilie=totlach.gif]

Blazers win!

Outlaw, Roy, Aldridge are fucking amazing. They're a straight up team.

Lebron got busted for speeding.

I heard he was clocked going 23 in a 22.

^ Nice.

The Jazz are 15-2 since trading for fucking Kyle Korver.

Celtics and Cavs playing tonight.

I hope to God that Boston and Cleveland meet in the second round. It would be terrible for the Pistons to go Cleveland then Boston.

Ha, what do you know? Webber's first start with GS is against Chicago on Thursday and it IS a TNT game.

NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant will take part in the 3-point shooting contest at All-Star weekend against a field that includes defending champion Jason Kapono and the last repeat winner, Peja Stojakovic.

Steve Nash, Detroit All-Star Richard Hamilton and Cleveland's Daniel Gibson also were chosen Wednesday to take part in the event, which will be held Feb. 16 in New Orleans during All-Star Saturday night.

Bryant will try to add the 3-point title to the dunk championship he won as a rookie in 1997. He is shooting 35 percent from behind the arc this season.

Kapono signed with Toronto in the offseason and is shooting 51 percent from 3-point range. He won last year in Las Vegas while playing for Miami, falling just shy of the event record with a 24 in the final round.

Stojakovic, from the hometown Hornets, won the event in 2002-03 while playing for Sacramento and was the runner-up in 2004.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press


Both of them were talking trash before the Lakers-Pistons game about the 3 point contest. Now it's on!!

Hornets over the Suns 132-130 in 2OT.

Paul: 42 points, 9 assists, 8 steals.

Shocked by Shaq trade, LeBron seeks to improve Cavs
Associated Press

Updated: February 6, 2008, 9:56 PM ET

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- LeBron James was in Shaq shock.

Like nearly everyone else, Cleveland's megastar was floored by Shaquille O'Neal's trade to Phoenix.

"Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."

O'Neal, one of the league's top centers for more than a decade, was traded by Miami to the Suns for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks, a blockbuster deal that rocked the league like one of Shaq's backboard-bending dunks.

It was the second jaw-dropping swap involving All-Star players in days. Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired 7-foot center Pau Gasol from Memphis, a trade that may have forced the Suns into retooling their team in order to stay ahead of their nearest competitor in the Pacific Division.

For James and the Cavaliers, Shaq's departure from the Eastern Conference is a plus. They'll only have to face him twice in the regular season, and won't have to worry about him until the finals, assuming, that is, they ever get back there.

"It's always good to see guys like that leave the East," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "But the reality of it is if you expect to win it, you're going to have to play somebody like him or Gasol or [Tim] Duncan eventually."

But the Shaq-to-the-Suns trade also raised another issue in Cleveland: When will the Cavaliers make their own super swap?

James recently said he would love for general manager Danny Ferry to make a run at New Jersey point guard Jason Kidd, who has made it no secret that he wants the Nets to dish him off before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.

When James was asked if being paired with Kidd, his teammate last summer on the U.S. national team, could win the Cavs their first championship, Cleveland's superstar delivered an answer as resounding as any of his powerful slam dunks.

"Yeah," James said. "It's that easy."

If that was only the case.

The Cavaliers have been active in talks on several major trades in the past two years, but Ferry has been unable to pull one off since taking over the club in 2005. He made a strong push for Sacramento's Mike Bibby last year and may still be interested in adding him to Cleveland's roster.

Ferry, though, has been hampered by a roster filled with unappealing contracts and few tradable assets.

But getting a major deal done involving All-Stars isn't an impossibility as the Gasol and O'Neal deals have shown. Whether they work out, well, that remains to be seen.

The Cavaliers would like to add another star player to complement James, who's having an MVP-caliber season. Larry Hughes hasn't been what Cleveland had hoped since Ferry signed the oft-injured shooting guard to a five-year, $60 million contract before the '05 season.

James was asked if it's necessary for a team to have multiple stars to win an NBA title.

"It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get."

Reminded that Kidd was still available, James grinned.

"I know that," he said.

James, too, knows that adding another big player can lead to problems.

"It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.

"It all depends on what caliber of player you are getting and how fast he can adjust to the new system."

If the Cavaliers stand pat and don't make a trade, James is confident the defending Eastern Conference champs are still good enough to win it all.

"As long as I'm healthy, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win," he said. "No matter who is out on the court with me."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press


How can his teammates stand him? I don't care how much better you are than me, don't talk about me like I'm fucking handicapped.

I'd be so pissed if I heard a teammate was talking about me like that. I'm sorry I'm not a perennial MVP candidate, but that doesn't mean you can talk about me like I'm the biggest piece of shit in the league and I'm only holding you back. He basically said "I am the team, you can put whatever crap around me you want and I'll still get us a chance at a championship. Put something worth anything around me and we'll win it all for sure."

Seriously, can anybody tell me why the All Star game is still played during the season?

The game is meaningless (I watch it anyway), there's nothing to be playing for. Give the players 5 days off or whatever it is and move the game to after the season (like the Pro Bowl).

Plus, you get to have an entire season to decide who the all-stars are instead of just half a season of good play. See who pulls it together and drags their team into the playoffs and who folds under pressure and can't get it done.

Plus, you get to have an entire season to decide who the all-stars are instead of just half a season of good play. See who pulls it together and drags their team into the playoffs and who folds under pressure and can't get it done.

word

i think rips gonna choke like fuck in the 3pt competition too. anyone see jason kapono in shoot around? he missed one three...its on nba tv

word

i think rips gonna choke like fuck in the 3pt competition too. anyone see jason kapono in shoot around? he missed one three...

I think RIP will come out hot and end hot (he can hit the corner threes), but suck with the middle 3 racks.

Kapono is a beast. I'll be amazed if he doesn't win it. The guy can flat out shoot. Just think about him playing for the Suns!!!

My boy Earl got a trip-dub last night:



Seattle 105, Sacramento 92

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Earl Watson sat calmly in the Seattle SuperSonics' dressing room, pleased that the first triple-double of his six-year NBA career came in a victory.

Watson had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the revitalized Sonics to their fourth victory in five games, a 105-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

"It's something you always want to get, a triple-double," Watson said, "but it was even more important that we got another win."

It has been a surprising turnaround of late for Seattle, which snapped a 14-game losing streak on Jan. 29 with a victory over defending champion San Antonio. The latest win ended a 14-game road losing streak.

"We're playing better defense, making better decisions at the other end and more guys are simply playing well," Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

Ahead by eight points after three quarters, the Sonics scored the first 13 points of the fourth to take a 21-point lead.

Scoreless through three quarters, Johan Petro scored all nine of his points in the 13-0 run that helped Seattle go ahead 94-73 with 8:06 remaining.

"I thought we took Seattle for granted," John Salmons said. "We thought we could turn the switch on and off any time we wanted. We didn't put them away like we should have."

Outplaying Kings point guard Mike Bibby, Watson was the model of efficiency, making nine of 12 shots, connecting on three 3-pointers, and hitting both free throws attempts.

Watson's 10th assist came off an unlikely 20-footer by center Kurt Thomas with just under a minute remaining, giving Watson Seattle's first triple-double since Ray Allen on Jan. 28, 2004, against the Lakers.

"I've been close a couple of times, but I was not sure I was going to get it," Watson said. "My teammates told me in the fourth that I was getting close."

Kevin Durant scored 17 points, Chris Wilcox had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Collison and Kurt Thomas each had 13 points.

Ron Artest scored 20 points for the Kings, who had their season-best four-game winning streak snapped. Francisco Garcia and John Salmons both scored 11 points, while Spencer Hawes, Mike Bibby and Mikki Moore all had 10.

It was a sub-par game for Martin, the Kings' leading scorer. He missed both first-half shots and was scoreless until making two free throws midway through the third quarter. Martin missed his first nine shots before making his only basket, a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. He finished with five points.

"There was nothing off about my game tonight," Martin said. "It was one of those nights where I couldn't force too many shots."

For the injury-plagued Kings, it was also another game without a full roster. Starting center Brad Miller missed the game after cutting the index finger of his right hand Sunday. Miller was named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 22 points and 18.3 rebounds in three straight victories last week.

Seattle's switch to a zone defense in the second quarter seemed to bother the Kings, who went cold after a strong first quarter. The poor shooting extended into the third quarter when the Sonics went on a 14-4 run to start the period and led 81-73 going into the fourth.

"We couldn't play any worse than we were doing man-to-man," Carlesimo said of the switch to a zone. "Sometimes when you throw a zone out there, the other team starts missing. Our guys played it hard. Zones look good when guys don't make shots. Guys who normally shoot well for them were missing shots."

Watson did much of the damage in the third quarter. The veteran guard made all four shots and scored 10 points for Seattle, which outscored Sacramento 34-24 to assume control of the game for good.

Artest scored 13 of his 17 first-half points in the opening quarter for the Kings, who led 49-48 at intermission.

In case you missed it...


Francis to have season-ending knee surgery
Associated Press
Updated: February 6, 2008, 10:46 PM ET

HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis will undergo season-ending surgery on a torn left quadriceps muscle, his agent told a Houston television station Wednesday.

The 6-foot-3 Francis has been out since Dec. 15 with the injury. He's appeared in only 10 games this season with three starts, averaging 5.5 points and three assists.

Agent Jeff Fried told KRIV that Francis would have the procedure.

"It's been a challenging few years for Steve from an injury perspective, and if there is any aspect of a positive light to be placed on the situation it is that Steve now knows the severity of the injury," Fried said, "and can take definitive steps to repair the problem and look forward to continuing his basketball career at the elite level that he is accustomed."

Fried did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press. Rockets spokesman Nelson Luis would not confirm the surgery.

Francis signed a one-year contract with an option for a second year in July, returning to the city where he played from 1999-2004. He was traded to Orlando in 2004 in a deal that brought Tracy McGrady to the Rockets. After two seasons with the Magic, Francis spent two seasons with New York before signing with Houston again.

The former Maryland star has career averages of 18 points and six assists, but his numbers have steadily declined since he left the Magic.

Send them Flip Murray quick!

Is something wrong with James? They played Tmac and Alston almost the entire game the last time out.

I checked his game log and he's played 18 total minutes since Thanksgiving (not counting a 21 minute game when Tmac was out). Why is he out of their rotation entirely? They've played Brooks some, but not a lot either. Maybe they would like a veteran chucker in case Tmac goes down again.

Probably not.

However, they don't have a backup to Yao (Dike does not play), maybe Brezec and chucker Murray could net us a first rounder? They are barely in the lotto right now, so it would be a decent pick maybe. They owe 3 second rounders over the next two drafts, maybe we could send them ours with the above mentioned expirings for a first rounder.

QUICK, SOMEONE E-MAIL KEITH AND ASK HIM!!!

Joe Smith looks like fucking DMX.

Damon Jones went 3-7 tonight, all of which came from 3 point land...


seems to me Damon has his role figured out...

I know everyone was bashing Chicago for picking up Joe Smith (I was one of them) in the offseason, but he's been one of the few bright spots for them this season.

Minny choked one away vs. Bawston.

Gotta admire how Kidd is going about things. He wants out of NJ, yet he's still playing hard and playing great ball.

Joe Smith looks like fucking DMX.

LMFAO HAHAHAHAH

Honestly, I think the Kings are a pretty damn good team when healthy. Brad Miller is playing out of his fucking mind right now. I think 2 20/20 out of 3 at one point. They have beat pretty legit teams with a healthy team. Maybe they need to get rid of Bibby and and John Salmons for a big time point guard in Jason Kidd or a power forward? This team can contend. They'll need the defensive presence from Artest and the great offensive player kmart is. Mikki Moore is an energy guy and hawes is a prject so thheir frontline is set, although weak. they're really deep though. Douby,Garcia, and Udrih are all capable of taking starter like minutes.

Brad Miller
Ron Artest
John Salmons
Kevin Martin
Mike Bibby

Their bench is the x factor. This team is such a good offensive team, so many damn weapons.

Szczerbiak pulled a Webber and called a timeout even though they had none, then got teched.

Big day today.

Spurs @ Celtics at 1:00 (ABC)
Lakers @ Heat at 3:30 (ABC)
Then Nuggets @ Cavs and Wizards @ Suns on ESPN (not sure about the times)

Nuggets-Cavs is at 7
Wizards-Suns is at 9:30

Both Francis and Marbury are done for the year...

I know Glenn will be rooting for Bawston today. Traitor.

Rasheed Wallace will replace Kevin Garnett at the All-Star Game. "Motherfucker," mused Wallace.

Nuggets raping the Cavs' brains out.

http://www.wizznutzz.com/images/birth_jordan.jpg

Nuggets raping the Cavs' brains out.

:sas:

Even with KG out the "scrubs" on the Celtics are stepping up. Rondo leads the friggin' team in rebounding without Garnett, Glenn Davis (sounds familiar) has played well, and Leon fucking Powe has as well.

What happened to the Pistons Notes thread?


Jason Maxiell, Pistons forward -- The Pistons starters can occasionally be seen pounding a couple of Red Bulls to prep for a game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Maxiell, however, never fails to energize whomever is on the floor with him, shaming them into matching his energy. He is, essentially, Ben Wallace Lite -- some of the production at 1/16th the price. His statistics are a modest 8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.


ATLANTA -- The 3-point Shootout at All-Star Weekend may be four days away, but the trash talking has already begun.


Playing the role of Damon Jones this year is Detroit's normally low-key Richard Hamilton, who told me after the Pistons' 94-90 win over the Hawks that he's the man to beat this year.

"I know for a fact Kobe can't beat me in a shootout, so that's one down," said Hamilton, who at 46.0 percent on the season is well ahead of fellow Pennsylvanian Bryant's 35.4 percent. "I just gotta figure out a way to beat the other guys."

Hamilton also assessed himself as the toughest competitor in the six-man field -- one that also includes defending champion Jason Kapono of Toronto, two-time winner Peja Stojakovic of New Orleans, Cleveland's Daniel Gibson and Phoenix's Steve Nash.

Mind you, this was with Hamilton laid low by a bout of food poisoning that caused him to miss the morning shootaround. He spelled out the beginning of an unprintable world to describe how he felt after the game, in which he shot 4-for-12 for a quiet 12 points.

So if he can muster this much confidence when he's under the weather, how much more trash talk will we see from him in the next four days?

Both from the same link http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080213&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

There's only one undisputed form of abortion, and its postbirth: Jason Maxiell

I'm more interested in the 3 point contest than I am in the dunk contest. Actually, I'm not interested in the dunk contest at all.

SI is reporting Stern is considering putting 5 NBA franchises in Europe within the next 10 years.

Thoughts?

the nba has been talking about that FOREVER. i think he just likes talking about globalization. i can see the nba buying a euro league, but it would probably have more in common with the DL than the L.

Here's to hoping Chernobyl gets a team.

I wouldn't mind seeing them buy a Euro league, but to start putting actual franchises there just seems bad. Think of the horrible travel the guys playing for those teams would have to endure, those overseas plane trips.

Would they be the Chernobyl Mutants?

^ Win.

NBA Europe will be like Iron Chef America -- kinda lame.

Glenn Davis went down with a knee injury vs. the Knicks.

Ray Allen was added to the East All Star team btw. He's replacing Butler.

lol, the Dallas crowd was all over George (who scored 0 points on 0-11 shooting btw) last night.

First off, fuck Allen making the All-Star team. I'd rather see quite a few others go in his place.

Second, if you just screwed up a trade that your franchise was banking on to bump it to title contention, and then you go out and take 11 shots, you are an idiot. after he started 0-4 he should have just decided "if its not a dunk, i'm passing".

He has 3 rings too. What a prick.

Dear lord, 3? I didn't know it was that many.

3 with the Lakers. I don't even remember him doing anything on those friggin' teams.

Kobe may withdraw from the All Star Game and 3 point contest with a dislocated pinky.

3 with the Lakers. I don't even remember him doing anything on those friggin' teams.

He didn't. They had Shaw, Kobe, Rider/Rice and probably a half dozen other players ahead of him on the depth chart.

even freaking rick fox

btw the heat just lost to a bulls team without ben wallace, luol deng, and ben gordon...oh god

Kobe has a torn ligament in his finger.

Nowitzki will replace him in the 3 point contest, but the Lakers were told by the league that they aren't looking for a replacement for him in the All Star Game.

If they do, I say Baron.

I'd agree with Baron Davis. He's been quietly having a great season for GSW.

Outdoor Preseason Game:


Taking a page out of the NHL's playbook, the NBA is heading to the great outdoors when the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets square off in an October exhibition game, according to a published report.

Indian Wells Tennis Garden will host the Oct. 11 Suns-Nuggets exhibition game.

The matchup will be held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., on Oct. 11, The Arizona Republic reports. The stadium seats 16,100 fans and annually hosts the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament.

According to the newspaper, the Suns visited the game site last summer and put down a basketball court on the tennis surface. The Suns are also expected to bring a scoreboard and video boards for the game.

An official announcement of the game is expected Tuesday.

Once before, according to the paper, an NBA game has been played outdoors. Phoenix was also part of that event when it faced Milwaukee in Puerto Rico in 1972.



I know it's preseason, but that sucks. Outdoor basketball is completely different than indoor. I know they'll use hardwood and a regular ball, but it's going to be an ugly game, I promise you that. They better hope for ZERO wind.

I think it's cool, for a preseason game. Tennis stadiums are pretty intimate, I doubt there would be a ton of wind. Sun in the eyes would probably be the biggest problem, or possibly just fatigue from hotter temperatures. It might not be 100 in October, but it will still be hotter than a climate controlled inside court.

I like it as well.

lakers up over 40 on the hawks in the first half. damn.

kobe and gasol already have some chemistry going.

bibby is basically playing w/o a thumb on his bad hand. hard to imagine how you play basketball without a thumb on your right hand.

Wholly shit, 73-37.

Houston with another road win, albeit against a crappy team.

The messed up thing about the West is that Houston is the 9th seed and would be a shoe-in to make the conference finals if they were in the East.

lakers up over 40 on the hawks in the first half. damn.

kobe and gasol already have some chemistry going.

The Lakers dominating again brings a tear to my eye.

http://thehype.files.wordpress.com/2006/09/pau2.jpg

He looks like Jesus craddling a follower or some shit.

Lakers-Suns on ESPN, Shaq is starting.

Shaq is sucking. boo birds are fluttering already.

in all trades you allow for a grace period. i think you need to give shaq a big one in phx. adjusting to style and getting himself in shape.

he can do alot for his physique in 2 months, not so much in a week.

Just postered DJ Mbenga.

Phil Jackson makes me laugh.

Three fouls on Shaq in the first half. Nothing changes. :D

The Lakers need to stop settling for jumpers and start attacking the basket. This game shouldn't even be close.

you know that when a guy diving for a ball out of bounds seems significant something special is happening. this game is setting up to be an all-timer in nba regular season history. i do suggest putting espn on and watching the 4th qrter if your not doing so already.

Yeah Ledezma, WATCH IT!

Lakers have way too many weapons.

Knicks lost by 40 BTW.

Zeke. :(

Bench guys who can knock down an open shot. Wow!

We need a fast forward to April because this may go down as the best postseason ever.

Lakers have way too many weapons.

Who unfortunately fall in love with their jump shot. :(

Hell man, they make them at least.

Kobe is playing phenomenal. Pinkey injury my ass!

Who unfortunately fall in love with their jump shot. :(
Gasol does some nice work around the rim, as well as Bynum. Odom can take his man off the dribble, and of course Kobe can too. I think they are pretty balenced actually.

Most of the bench is jump shooters though, I do agree with you there.

Shaq looks so funny without the facial hair.

should be a great postseason, but teams 1-5 in the west are also seperated by 3 losses right now, so itll be a great race too. meanwhile, the east couldnt be any less important. the only reason why anyone should watch any game invlovling the east is to see rodney stuckey.

My thoughts exactly deezy.

I think the starters are balanced too, but I think guys like Kobe and Odom shoot too many jumpers when a chance to drive is apparent.

OMG I VANT TO KISS YOU GASOL!

That's been the only complaint I have about Kobe. Too many jumpers. Especially last Spring in the playoffs against Suns (game 1 especially) where he was taking turn around jumpers over two defenders.

Also, I see no signs of a pinkey injury, Brain!

http://www.dvdactive.com/images/reviews/screenshot/2006/7/pb_1.jpg

the league should be the western conference, detroit, and boston. the rest of the eastern teams would be disbanded. howard could host a dunk contest till next season. wc teams will only play wc teams, and boston and detroit will play each other 40 more times until the playoffs, at which time they will have a 3 round tennis matchesque competition until the western conference champion is determined.

i honestly see no losers in my scenario.

i think kobe just killed raja bell. more to come.

Master of the cheap shot clothesline is down and out.

Kobe knocked that boy out.

the league should be the western conference, detroit, and boston. the rest of the eastern teams would be disbanded. howard could host a dunk contest till next season. wc teams will only play wc teams, and boston and detroit will play each other 40 more times until the playoffs, at which time they will have a 3 round tennis matchesque competition until the western conference champion is determined.

i honestly see no losers in my scenario.


That's a good scenario. I would rather have them use the shitty teams and put them in an NIT type thing though.

it was oneal! dear god.

i do not envy the headache raja will have in the morning.

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/Princess-bride-cary-elwes-dread-pirate-roberts.jpg

Ouch, that knot.

This West over East thing is getting old. Will some good GMs please take over some East teams?

The East should be pretty lucky they had MJ and Pippen that whole decade or else it would have been even uglier for them

kobe is having an ok game.

Black Mamba ready to strike.

is it too late to call the suns my #2 team? fuck the blazers. they are the "it" team in the league as far as im concerned.

I hope this one goes to like 3 OT.

if shaq plays like this a few more times and he'll never see the playoffs.

TONE IT DOWN BIG MAN!

is it too late to call the suns my #2 team? fuck the blazers. they are the "it" team in the league as far as im concerned.

Mine's the Pistons.

lol @ barbosa running away from getting posterized on the break.

if i'm phx im scraping the barrell trying to find a way to get artest.

When the Lakers get Bynum back, they'll have one of the longest and most athletic starting lineups in the L. It's disgusting how much length they have.

07-08 Lakers > 03-04 Lakers. At least right now on paper.

Interesting stat: Suns go to 5-12 against the other playoff teams in the West with a loss.

well see. right now they have 4 guys who could be allstars. doesnt always work. and im not talking about an ego thing, more about just understanding and playing well w/o a lot of touches. neither gasol or odom are considered hogs, but concievably one will be a 4th option. w/ kobe as #1, might not be alot of touches. its just a hard role to play for some.

that said, i think the lakers should scare the shit out of the rest of the league.

I'd think Odom is fine being the 4th option. Obviously it's going to be interesting to see how Gasol and Bynum play together.

How about Bosh tonight? 40 points on 14-16 shooting.

Fuck the East. I want to see all West games from now on on TNT/ESPN/ABC.

who?

odom might be ok w/ 4th option. and bynum isnt going to be force fed in the post, he'll probably be a put backs/missmatches guy. and its not like gasol is a volume shooter.

but kobe is probably the most notorious ball hog in nba history. even when he's being unselfish for the team, he still typically takes a ton of shots (unless hes doing one of those 'kobe hasnt shotten all half' things). we'll see. gonna be worth watching, atleast.

And to answer Wil's question: This is why the suits promote the hell out of certain matchups.

This game will get GREAT ratings, and posts about this game from a fairly non-partisan board were pretty high as well.

And to answer Wil's question: This is why the suits promote the hell out of certain matchups.


I told him I'd rather watch this game than the friggin' Pistons-Bucks. Unless the Pistons are playing the Celtics I'd rather watch any game involving two damn good West teams any time.

but kobe is probably the most notorious ball hog in nba history. even when he's being unselfish for the team, he still typically takes a ton of shits (unless hes doing one of those 'kobe hasnt shotten all half' things). we'll see. gonna be worth watching, atleast.

BAH! Kobe is not a ballhog. A lot of times in the past he took a lot of shots because the Lakers were down and Kobe had to bail them out. It's really hard to stay in the game when you have guys like Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, Devean George, Aaron McKie, Chris Mihm, Brian Grant, Slava Medvedenko, Chucky Atkins, Kareem Rush, Luke Walton(a really good bench player) and so on in your starting lineup. Lamar Odom(and Caron Butler for a year) was the only good player on the team since Shaq left, but he's not a scorer type.

When you have more good players on your team, you generally take less shots. You haven't noticed that Kobe's SPG have gone down each of the last three years?

Hey now, Slava was the man!

Slava made watching Laker games even in the Kobe/Shaq ages a pain.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:OuW-DKhfcABdpM:http://lh3.google.com/_mK5L-Iivp3c/RrqKMCCdFWI/AAAAAAAAAHY/UWU-n0DqKXA/s800/200561711222685.jpg

By the way, if we're talking shitty shots then look no further than Agent 0.

I don't see any ego problems for the Lakers.

After three years, Odom knows his role as Kobe's bitch. Not only will Odom be comfortable as the 4th option he will put on lipstick and look pretty for Kobe. Gasol is Sheed-like in that talented not-the-go-to-guy way. He'll flourish in the shade of Kobe's ego. Bynum may as well be a rookie.

The only thing standing between the Lakers and a title this year is injuries.

Lakers-Celtics Finals?

Party at Stern's crib!

Lakers-Celtics Finals?

Party at Stern's crib!

I'll bring the strippers.

Pistons are picking the right time to lose 2 in a row. Boston has lost 2 as well.

Heat-Rockets on TNT right now. I like Houston's team.

Adelman fit in well with them after all.

David Aldridge is doing studio work for TNT now? Excellent. Always liked him.

The Heat are 9-42....lol.

The Heat are 9-42....lol.

and yet, in an official wtfdetroit poll, not one poster voted-concretely- that they would miss the playoffs. for shame! for shame!

LeBron and the NBDL Cavaliers notch a win against the Wizards. Two assists shy of a triple dub.

Now lets see how Shaq looks against a more half court oriented team in Boston.

Celtics-Suns on ESPN. Smashing!

I hope Rondo gives Nash fits, but the Suns win.

Suns don't look so hot with Shaq in right now. Not to mention they turned it over 11 times in the first quarter.

The Celtics are putrid right now...

Jesus, Celtics can't even take advantage of 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 situations.

Suns, Boston, Dallas all interested in Brent Barry, lol

Magliore to Dallas?

Should we start a "LOL @ The Wizards" thread after last night's performance?

We should start one just for their unis. Those are awful.

Suns, Boston, Dallas all interested in Brent Barry, lol

Magliore to Dallas?

Barry may be longshot

PHOENIX — A Celtic source said late last night that the team may be a longshot to get guard Brent Barry.

Once he clears waivers, Barry will be an unrestricted free agent and will be able to choose from, among others, Phoenix and San Antonio. The Spurs just dealt him to Seattle, and they would have to wait 30 days before taking him back.

The chance to play for a contender and not have to move across the country could keep Barry in the West.

Barry did have interest in the Celts four years ago, but he chose to sign with San Antonio then.

I think if he signed with Boston, it vastly improves them at the PG position.

I don't know about that. Brent Barry isn't a great player anymore. Why disrupt your chemistry having to implement a chucker (thats basically what BB has become) into the offense???

If Boston's smart, they will stand pat. I belive that most Doc Rivers' coached teams have a hard time adjusting to change, especially in the middle of a season...

Doc Rivers is such a bafoon, if they don't win a Title, Danny Ainge needs to let him go, and get a REAL basketball coach in there...

Grizzlies waived Marcus Vinicius...and nobody even noticed.

You know you blow if you get cut by the Grizzlies.

Yeah, I actually really like Rondo for them. It's a good fit, since he's a pesky little energy guy who doesn't take a lot of shots, and he plays with no fear.

Yeah, I actually really like Rondo for them. It's a good fit, since he's a pesky little energy guy who doesn't take a lot of shots, and he plays with no fear.
he also sucks, so i like him for them too.

Cassell is likely to be bought out by the Clips in the next day or so, with the Celtics, Nuggets and Mavs all on stand by.

I think he's a lock to Boston, based on his relationship with KG.

^That said, I think it would hilarious if someone claimed him off waivers (not sure who has the cap room to do so, if anyone).

Also, Brent Barry clears waivers today and is believed to be heading to Phoenix.

Mavs will sign Magloire.

I don't see the Cavs beating us in the playoffs, even if they get that far. Yeah they collected a bunch of 3-point specialists, but at the 1-3 positions they are terrible defensively. West, Brown, Szerbiak and Jones have to be the slowest collection of guards in the NBA.

Hughes, Newble and Snow were offensive voids, but at least they played great defense and kept our guards in check. Billups and Rip will have free reign against these snails.

I can see LeBron beating us by himself if we only score 80 points. I don't see him beating us by himself if we score 105.

1 and 2, i agree, 1-3 i don't. LeBron isn't a horrible defender, and he's the 3.

1 and 2, i agree, 1-3 i don't. LeBron isn't a horrible defender, and he's the 3.

Being that he now has to guard the other team's best scorer for every minute he's in there. He has to do more work now, not less.

He was gassed by the 4th quarter tonight from doing all the scoring and chasing Redd through screens on the other end for 3 1/2 quarters. Damon Jones and Wally Szerbiak are taking most of the crunch-time shots, which is fine with me.

I still have no clue how they expect to slow down Billups, Rip and Prince like last year. LeBron can't guard all of them.

I can see LeBron beating us by himself if we only score 80 points. I don't see him beating us by himself if we score 105.


And we will score 105.

Feb 26 Ilgauskas missed his first game of the season Tuesday with a bad cold, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Recommendation: Athletic trainer Max Benton also has a cold, and they are back at the hotel in bed. They are going to meet the Cavs at the airport to fly to Boston. It does not sound too serious, and he should be fine for the game against the Celtics.

LMAO

Yeah, that's poorly written.

And we will score 105.
And idea what the other team will score?

And idea what the other team will score?


We're the best defensive team in basketball again. Cleveland isn't going to break 100 more than once, I'd wager.

And idea what the other team will score?

Probably somewhere exactly between 86 and 88 points.

LMAO


Where'd you find that report, glenn?

Where'd you find that report, glenn?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3121/news

Thank you Glenn, that was the response I was hoping for.

--Dallas signed Magliore

--Fatoine is trying to negotiate a buyout with the TWolves

--Gordon Giricek might be bought out by Philly

Anybody hear about any other possible buyouts? (besides Cassell)

What's left on Fatoine's deal that they should buy him out of?

What's left on Fatoine's deal that they should buy him out of?
2 years, including this one. I think 8.5 and 9 mil left. He's being selfish too. He wants to be bought out to play for a contender, and he also said he doesn't want to forfiet much of his money he's owed. Then why should they buy you out chump? They'll just trade him next year as an expiring deal.

I can't believe Joe didn't trade for him. You know, maybe Sheed for him straight up. I've always seen Fatoine as a class act, and a top 5 player in the NBA.

I think we all know that he's a champion.

I can't believe Joe didn't trade for him. You know, maybe Sheed for him straight up. I've always seen Fatoine as a class act, and a top 5 player in the NBA.

We'd have to keep Sheed so they could have a "4 point" shootout.

Why does he shoot so many threes?

There is no way in hell I would buy him out if I'm the Timberwolves. Then again, their GM is an idiot so you never know. If he bitches, I'd just bench his ass for the rest of the season.

Why does he shoot so many threes?
Because there are no fours.

PJ Brown to the Celtics. Good pickup for them.

Waiting for Ledezma to say "Oh, PJ sucks anyway!"

the chosen one injured?

edit: false alarm

Because there are no fours.

YES!

I was hoping someone was going to bail me out there.

Hornets beat the Suns again.

Nuggets 138
Sonics 96

talk about defense...how do you score 96 pts while shooting 102 times...

LeBron became the youngest to 10,000 points last night. He could potentially become the #2 leading scorer all time behind Kareem when he's 34.

Cassell release is official now:


Injury-prone Cassell released by the Clippers

Associated Press

Updated: February 28, 2008, 7:07 PM ET

LOS ANGELES -- The last-place Los Angeles Clippers (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=lac) waived injury-prone Sam Cassell (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=1295) on Thursday, after he missed four straight games because of a sprained right wrist.
He averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 25.7 minutes in 38 games. Earlier in the season, the 38-year-old point guard missed 12 games because of a strained left calf.
Cassell is earning $6.1 million this season -- the final year of his contract.
"After weighing all of the options, and after conversations with Sam, we believe this is the best solution for this team," general manager Elgin Baylor said in a statement. "We know and appreciate the many contributions Sam made during the last three years, and we wish him nothing but the best."
Cassell's most productive season with the Clippers came in 2005-06, when he averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 assists. He helped them beat Denver in the first round of the playoffs before getting within a game of reaching the Western Conference finals.
Three weeks ago, Cassell denied a Boston Globe report that he was trying to buy out his contract so he could play for the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics.
But he made no secret that he was unhappy about the Clippers' mounting losses. Cassell has said he'd like to play another season before retiring and going into coaching.
He was a member of NBA championship teams in Houston in 1994-95.
The Clippers (19-36) are last in the Pacific Division.
They have played without injured star forward Elton Brand (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3324) and point guard Shaun Livingston (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3821) all season because of injuries.

WASHINGTON -- It raised a few eyebrows when Caron Butler (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3608) was listed as day-to-day for nearly a month. Now the Washington Wizards (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=was) have discovered the reason.
A re-examination of the All-Star forward's hip revealed a small labral tear of the left joint. Butler will be reexamined next week -- the injury might require surgery -- and coach Eddie Jordan made it sound as if his slumping team isn't expecting its toughest player to return anytime soon.
"I am not going to talk about the injury and the timing and all of that," Jordan said Thursday. "But as a player and as a human being, he means a lot to us. We just have to go forward with the guys we have."
Butler has missed the past 10 games with what was originally diagnosed as a strained hip flexor. He did not accompany the Wizards on the road trip that ends Friday night at Chicago.
The Wizards are 4-10 this season when Butler doesn't play. He is averaging 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals and earned a spot in the All-Star game for the second time, although he could not play because of the injury.
The Wizards, who have also played most of the season without injured point guard Gilbert Arenas (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3540), have lost 11 of 14 games to fall to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

That's pretty sad that they've lost 11 of 14 but they're 6th in the East. Terrible...

Another great game between Dallas and SA btw, on TNT.

Nowitzki is Wade like. 17 FTs and they still got a quarter to go.

Kobe passed the ball over his head to Walton, who passed it behind his back to Odom for the dunk. Fucking sick.

Cassell headed to Boston.

They must've forgot about him almost beheading Rondo and getting ejected in that Clippers-Celtics game.

Avery is taking heat for not having Kidd on the floor for the final two possesions in a one basket loss.

Stephon Marbury has been instructed by Isiah Thomas not to attend New York Knicks home games -- another indication of the continuing feud between the former pals, The Post has learned. According to a Marbury confidant, the embattled point guard is under a gag order by Knicks management, forbidding him from speaking to the media. Marbury has not commented since his Jan. 22 ankle surgery. "They've got a muzzle on him," the confidant said.

^belongs in the official Marbury thread, IMO

Not sure if it was previously mentioned in this thread...but Gordan Giricek was waived by Philly today, he's likely to sign with Phoenix. IMO, it's a move that will not improve Phoenix at all, Giricek has been a marginal NBA player ever since his Orlando days...

Also, Tyronn Lue (the only person ever to play in both the NBA & WNBA) may be bought out by Sacramento.

also Ira Newble was waived by Seattle to make room for Mike Wilks...

My guess is he goes back to Cleveland...he's still a decent little defender, but not much else...

The Bobcats waived Jeff McGinnis as well.

The Bobcats waived Jeff McGinnis as well.


There won't be much of a market for J-Mac....