Real Deal

Don't even see the team getting into the ECF's. Philly could beat them in a seven-game series, and I don't need to tell you what the Heat and Bulls would do. Miss the playoffs, though? I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't be surprised, either. Bulls Heat Sixers Pacers Knicks Magic Hawks That's seven in the East. The Cavs are currently in 8th, with a losing record...but near .500. The Celtics just seem like they've played for hours without breaks every single game they dive into. They need changes, ASAP, before most of the roster becomes too old to trade.

http://i42.tinypic.com/if1zpt.jpg

Nobody should ever be compared to that fat slob, lol. A lot of QB's hold the ball in the pocket too long, some that shouldn't. Guys like Tebow and Big Ben should have that green light (Ben when he has two legs to play on) because they can make a play out of nothing. Tebow holding the ball means that any receivers he has should get open (no defense in the NFL, any era, can hold a good receiver core for THAT long), but they just aren't good. There are a lot of passes that Tim throws...you just know that they are inaccurate. Other times, you can tell when he's just throwing the ball away from the opposing jerseys, especially when he's overthrowing on a short route, and there's nobody in the vicinity. Gron, Hernandez, Welker, Branch...that Pats group would turn Tebow into a decent QB. He wouldn't be Tom Brady, but he wouldn't throw 9/26, either. And me saying that I wish he wasn't in Denver is more about rooting for the guy. I hate the Broncos.

That last minute drive was just horrible...but he's a rook. Where is Tom Brady when you need him?

No superstar, no problem (what Denver says as well). It's a unique team, no doubt. I'm always interested in teams that do this, because you go into every game not knowing what to expect from their players. If the Lakers are losing, you know Kobe will have the ball. Same with teams like the Heat and Knicks. With the Sixers, there's a bit of uncertainty, and I believe that's a small part of why they are winning games. When teams lose their superstar players, they still win a few games here and there because they are hard to figure out (almost all teams have done this in the past, but we know they wouldn't be able to win games without their stars for 82 games). Philly has a little more than just decent role players, so they are basically like the Nuggets, just in a different conference.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120114_NO@MEM

It was 56-52 at the end of the third, before Rose took over the game (reminds me of their last game against Boston, when he took over the fourth after the Celts decided to climb back into it). Noticed that James Johnson was dead set on killing his former team, right before that ankle sprain. It's funny how guys suit up and look to go off for these type of games. Rose shot poorly...gotta give credit to the best defensive PG in the NBA...the Matador, Jose Calderon.

Where is Dorell? The dude looked like a star in that Miami/Warriors game...is it the lack of effort, or him not getting the ball? I'm finally glad Kemba got the start, but I'm not so sure how long that will last. They are pretty small with Augustin, Kemba and Henderson in there. Silas said he wanted to try it out, but I'm guessing it was because they were playing the Warriors. Not sure how this will work out against bigger teams.

That's four consecutive losses for the Celtics. Good God, their former big three looks so old, it's terrible. Ray hasn't looked THAT bad this season, but Pierce looks like he's permanently injured, and Garnett's knees are so bad, every bit of his game is declining. The Celtics are 20th, defensively...and 17th on offense, and haven't scored 100+ in nine straight games.

The Pack are lucky David Tyree is retired.

Tebow is going to get criticized either way, no matter what. When Denver was beating everyone, a large amount of football fans were saying it was all about the Broncos' defense. When he lost, it was Tebow's fault, for throwing the ball in the dirt. I'd rather see Tebow doing that in games, instead of him going into Michael Vick mode (the young Vick), the player that would rifle passes into coverage, turn the ball over, and lose games that way. I'll take 17 incomplete passes, to shitty receivers, than 3-4 interceptions, any day of the week...and a lot of my way of thinking is because of Carson Palmer. I'm not saying Tebow is a good passing QB, not at all...but he's smart. He did hit his receivers in the hands and chest with the ball multiple times (and he has throughout the year), but they drop it...and that's a big problem for me. Dropped balls happen, of course, but if he had better receivers, guys that could run their routes better and, above everything else, catch the ball...I'm pretty sure he'd let loose a little more, get more comfortable, and might have more success. All I'm saying is...if the Denver defense held the Pats a little better, and Tebow was throwing 3-4 INT's, the score would probably be worse (although I don't see how it could get worse, unless the Patriots wanted to run it up). The good thing is, there are many, many QB's that learn how to throw better...and a lot of that starts with having the confidence, which happens when you have receivers that get to their spots and make big plays. Like Vick (even though it took him a while), I'm confident Tebow can improve. I just wish he wasn't in Denver.

Well, there are other examples, I just didn't have the time to look up their ages when they joined the NBA. Ron Artest was 20, and he was defending Kobe his rookie season. The Spurs really don't have anyone else to do it, though. Gary Neal? James Anderson? Leonard is a good defender, no doubt...but we would not be having this conversation with Manu still playing. It's not really about Leonard being THE GUY to start and defend the "Kobe and Wade" players, it's really him stepping in for an injured Ginobili...and a big part of that is because Gary Neal and James Anderson aren't fit for it (Gary would get roasted because he's a bit small, and Anderson doesn't play defense -- neither do, really). Now, if Manu was healthy...and Leonard STILL was starting over him (like you've seen with Afflalo and JR Smith, or Thabo and Harden), that's a much different story.

Not really worried. We went 2-2 against them in 2009-10, before winning our championship...and that was when they were without Blake Griffin. Both are new teams with new offenses, Lakers with a new coach. It should take us longer to figure out our offense, since it all depends on Bynum passing the ball out of the low post. The Clippers have it a bit easier, beating teams with their athleticism (Griffin and Jordan are freaks, and they made Drew and Pau look like they were 50 years old), so they really don't need much time adjusting. The Clipps can win a game or so against us again, not a big deal. I think that all changes by April/May.

How do the Patriots actually expose Tebow? I don't get that. The Pats' offense crushed the Broncos' defense, and that basically won the game. Back on defense, New England just knew how to play the option. If Tebow had competent receivers and tight ends, things wouldn't have to be so repetitive for Denver.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120113_DET@CHA Would have loved to hear what he had to say.

Slow down, you renegade. This part of your sentence is not an impressive feat.

I would've never guessed the Sixers would be tied for second in the East after 11 games. I have to say, they are truly a team...sort of remind me of Denver, the way they focus on making the most of their possessions and not needing to rely on a superstar scorer throughout the game. Seven guys averaging double-figure scoring (Brand is the 11th after tonight), and none of them are averaging over 16. After tonight, Jodie Meeks is nearly at 10 PPG, and he would make eight guys. :o That's pretty impressive.

Dirk should have sat this game out...no point in playing. The Bucks have so many problems to fix...hard to see them winning very many road games this season. Funny part is, they are undefeated at home, if I recall correctly.

Rubio has some nasty passes in his repertoire. He threw a slick behind-the-back bounce pass to Love on a cut to the basket, and it was just perfect. That no-look behind-the-back in the corner was nice as well. Minnesota is really fun to watch. Haha, yeah...he had 17 FGA, and 18 FTA. The Wolves shot the ball worse (and 34%, at that), pulled down less boards, had four more turnovers, had less assists, five less steals, and they STILL won the game by seven points...all because of free throws.

It's sad when Ray Allen, who has probably ran thousands of miles more on the court than any of his teammates, can still put up good games...while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are playing like they are 40.

Camby going down in the second quarter really hurt the Blazers. It's definitely not a big excuse for them, but the injury played a small part in the loss, because aside from Camby, the Blazers don't have another center (Chris Johnson may be 6-11, but he's a primary PF). The Spurs just look so funny not playing through Duncan as much as they used to. You get the feeling they just want to go out and run like crazy, and ignore him...sad stuff, just how cruel Father Time is.

You could probably convince him if Landry wasn't there, but knowing Blatche, he would be completely unmotivated having to come off the bench (I highly doubt the Hornets would start him over Landry). In fact, I'm not really sure why Landry isn't starting right now...Kaman and Okafor together just creates bad spacing.

Third straight game of 40+ for Kobe, all wins. Dude is so damn old.

If they were loyal, they should have been purchasing tickets to see their Sonics. In the 2004-05 season, the "no-show" rate was 23%. People were buying tickets, then not showing up for the games. Seats were empty. The fans, and the city of Seattle, were responsible for what happened. Many saw it coming...maybe not watching the team move to OKC, but there were other destinations predicted. Here's an article from last season, on the possibility that the Hornets are bought and moved to Seattle. http://mynorthwest.com/category/news_chick_blog/20101207/%22Seattle-will-get-an-NBA-team%22

That was only the first two seasons of his career. He was dealt to the Magic when he was still 20 years old, and he played over 20 MPG for Orlando that first season. The next two seasons? He logged 24 MPG, 21 and 22 years of age (Wade, in the same draft, played his first game when he was 21). He has had enough time to develop. Andrew Bynum has been injured most of his career, which means less time on the court AND in practice and offseasons...yet, he's able to average 17/14 (after 55 games per season average, just 24 minutes per game). Darko needed a ton of work on offense, and throwing him into shark-infested waters (basically what happened with Bosh in Toronto) and asking him to be a primary scoring option who creates for others...I just don't see how that would have been good for him. He came into the league a bad passer, didn't take care of the ball, had two moves (face-up jumper and a rolling hook shot), and he could not finish at the rim to save his life. Defensively, his size alone is what makes him decent, blocking shots and just filling space, but the Raptors needed more than that.