Real Deal

That's my pick, especially once the big three are dissolved. May be tougher getting his assists, but I wouldn't put it past him.

I believe Woj reported it first, but I don't remember (seems like forever ago), but I did read that Harden was the second piece, and the Hornets were also wanting either Collison or Ibaka.

Perfect timing, by the way...waiting a day after 10 years means she gets half of everything, for the rest of her life OR until she finds someone else to marry.

In his jet.

Well, the Nets could just look at the Rockets and how they are, right now, and realize that getting K-Mart and Scola really doesn't do much for them, especially since these two guys aren't young talent. Unless, again, they wait and end up accepting less.

I doubt Howard and Williams will get to play together if it doesn't happen in New Jersey. I don't see how any other team can pull that off, unless the Nets wait too long and end up on the verge of losing him for nothing, and they decide to just deal him to the destination he wants, taking much less.

The deal included Harden (I'll have to find the article, I guess Stern kind of stuck his hand into that trade as well).

Hey, it's your interview with the Magic, Andrew. Play your heart out, buddy. 40 points, 20 rebounds, 0 assists.

Well, I've stated it over and over again: I'm trading Westbrook, even after re-signing him. I know it's going to be the unpopular decision, but I've never had faith in Westbrook being the #2 guy on this team pressing on as a contender, and I think the Thunder could get some real value back for him. Plus, I have confidence in James Harden as a second scoring option, if needed. I'd like to see the Thunder try and find a post scorer. You bring up a good point with Perkins. I thought Perk was underrated (defensively) in Boston, because the guy was doing pretty damn good as a defensive anchor when Garnett was on the bench (and KG did benefit from him being out there, as Perk took up a lot of space), but yeah...the money can be spent elsewhere. Rumor was that the Hornets offered CP3 to the Thunder, and they wanted Westbrook, Harden and a big man. Very steep price, and I wouldn't do that, but CP3 would compliment Durant perfectly. So would Rondo, or Deron Williams. I'm not so sure the Thunder really need more rebounding, as Durant, Ibaka and Collison can get the job done for them (assuming Perkins was thrown out the door), and Westbrook is a good rebounder at the point...but they don't crash the glass enough when shots are hoisted up, and that's one thing that needs to change. If they had a Gasol grabbing offensive boards and creating second chance points, that would be huge for them. I've seen every Thunder game for about two years now...and I've always felt there's too much one-on-one going on. They aren't that great of a passing team this season, and I said the same about them last year. Durant will eventually learn how to create for his teammates (he's slowly improving, but not fast enough), but it would be nice to have a PG that can do that, and a post scorer that can pass the ball, also.

What the hell was that last pass from Kidd? The ball just flipped out of his hand...could have been a huge turnover, if Utah was actually paying a little more attention.

Close game, 85-83 with five minutes left.

Blake is the best PG on the team, sadly. Morris should be in the D-League, but we can't afford to send him over there. As far as him being in the Rookie Challenge goes, not a chance. He doesn't get the playing time, and even if he did, he's not good enough.

I've understood how people can talk trash on Dwight's lack of post moves, but it's hard to argue that the guy is not a good offensive player. He's really a very good one. If teams don't double down on him, he's under the rim, and that's an automatic two points. He may not be a traditional back-to-the-basket player, but Howard will act like a truck and back your ass into the paint. And if he doesn't get his way doing that, he can face up and get his buckets. A lot of Lakers fans prefer Drew to Howard, offensively...but I've always wanted Howard, simply because he draws more defensive attention than Bynum, and while he has had trouble with turnovers, he is still aware of his surroundings, while Bynum has a tendency to just try and score the bucket, regardless.

When I say "big man" in my posts, I'm talking about back-to-the-basket bigs...not PF's and C's that play like Larry Bird. Lopez does not score better than Drew, by the way.

Eddy Curry working out with Kendrick Perkins this offseason?

Bynum is trash when you double him, completely takes him out of the game. Two man game between Kobe and Gasol, or else we're done. Mike Brown has to learn how to adjust.

Depends on the coach, and how critical he is of the team. Also, I'm assuming the evaluations would be more useful for players in a junior college. The older, or better, they get...the less they'll listen to a coach, even if they cooperate.

Yes.

Don't want that POS, and the Celtics will trade Garnett and Allen before they trade Pierce. Kobe, Gasol and Drew aren't going to Boston. The Celtics aren't dumb enough to take anyone else, and I doubt we're going to trade any of our big three for Pierce.

Great decision, Presti.

Wade is supposed to be out, and LeBron is now a game-time decision with an illness.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120118_DET@MIN

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120118_SA@ORL

Nice. Keep that in mind the next time you talk about clutch stats. If every basket is equal, don't ever talk about clutch points again, or else I'll roll in with an opposing first-quarter run of points that rival someone like Wade's 15-point fourth quarter...and you really won't have anything to say about it, since points are points. When I talk basketball, I consider everything, from strategies and fatigue to momentum and lineup changes. My apologies. Even without the significance in games (yours or mine), one shot each game separates the 45's from the 50's...and that's quite funny when you consider just how blown up a 50% season is in topics discrediting anyone lower than that.

LOL, I'd stop arguing as well. If Howard became a 70% FT shooter, teams wouldn't pull the Hack-A-Shaq on him. If you're not going to consider the possible changes made to offensive and defensive strategies (that are inevitable), there's no point in discussing it any further. The best part of it all is, I could just distribute those shot makes in some of his worst games, or in blowouts against the Lakers, and make it even worse for you to argue against, but I won't. Fun stuff. One extra shot per game isn't that impressive, anyway...that's the bigger picture, tossing everything else aside. That 50% shooting isn't that godly after all.