Real Deal

And, more than likely, the Heat will be in the Finals, waiting for someone new to beat them. It'll be awesome for the world, according to Wade.

Rookie in a veteran's shoes, haha. EDIT: Or is that veteran in a rookie's shoes? Hmm.

How many of you joined when you were 13-14?

I can't find a picture of it right now, but these are how big they were when they hit our houses a few years back. This particular one was in Wichita, KS, of last year (Sept. 2010). http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width/hash/56/85/56858ea5e2ceffa9300a828880e28f24.jpg That one was 7.75 inches in diameter. http://www.examiner.com/natural-disasters-in-national/this-hailstone-measuring-7-75-inches-diameter-fell-near-wichita-on-september-15-2010-photo This is kind of what it was like a few years back...the one I'm posting was in OKC, though.

A few tornadoes were spotted about 15-20 miles southwest of my town, ended up pulling back up into the sky before the storm hit. So, we get hail instead. This is a neighbor's picture. He grabbed this off the ground AFTER the storm was over, so keep in mind that when the hail was pounding all of our cars, it was more in between a golf ball and a baseball, as far as size goes. When I was standing on the porch, there were a few that were pretty close to baseball-sized hail that were hitting the sidewalk, some were busting limbs out of trees. It melts very fast once it hits the ground. http://i55.tinypic.com/dw865g.jpg According to him, this one was bigger when he first picked it off the ground, and it's one that hit the hood of his car. Most of them were this size, and the hail was hitting hard for about 3-4 minutes, nonstop. Here are a couple of hailstones that are a bit larger... http://i52.tinypic.com/290qycy.jpg I might take a picture of my car tomorrow, if I'm not too angry after looking at all of the hail damage. Third time we've been hit hard this year. Roofers are eating this up, making all the money they could imagine.

Haha, didn't think about that. Good point. Hater. Just because of this, I hope the Rockets blow their lotto pick on Kyle Singler.

Rubio is going to have to be ball-dominant in the NBA, or else he's not going to be able to offer anything. He still can't shoot the rock, can't post anyone up, and he's far from an excellent off-the-ball player. It's the exact reason why the Grizzlies passed on Lamar Odom, and took Steve Francis instead. Utah took Kris Humphries over Josh Smith because they wanted a legit PF. While Humphries is actually playing decent basketball now, he wasn't for a long time, and Josh Smith is by far the better player, even at the four. It's not that Williams is a Michael Beasley...he's just a versatile player. Beasley needed a lot of work coming out of K-State, and he didn't know how to play a lick of defense, even in college. Williams is much different, and he's probably the most NBA-ready player in the draft.

MAAAANN...they should remove Singleton and put in Markieff Morris. He could go to Houston or Phoenix, who knows? Put him in there with his damn brother, Marcus...that would be awesome.

The best question is, who will be the Jameer Nelson or Darrell Arthur of this year's draft?

Best player, not better franchise player. If we're asking who the Cavaliers need to build around, it's obviously a PG or a legit big. If you're going to select a small forward to build around, it better be LeBron James or Kevin Durant. Williams isn't going to get that far (hope he proves me wrong, but he won't). Dan Gilbert needs to be patient, though. Irving could take a little longer than CP3 and D-Will did. A PG's transition seems to be the most difficult. That jump from college to the pros is huge for most of them. He has to accept the rebuilding stage, stop worrying about winning a title before LeBron, and put the necessary pieces around Irving for a playoff team, then worry about contention and keeping Irving happy.

Oh, the denial.

I'm not really sure if Irving is the clear-cut best player in the draft. Derrick Williams has a lot of tools to offer a team.

I have a gut feeling Devin Harris won't be in Utah much longer, so yeah, Brandon Knight should be a Jazz...musician (Jazzian, uh, a Jazz guy, a trumpet, whatever) when his name is called Thursday. Question, though...if Cleveland DOES take Williams, who would Minnesota take? Kemba and Jimmer are both small point guards that play like two-guards, so they are out of the question. I don't think Kahn wants to bother with any other international BS. Leonard isn't good enough for the #2. Knight is a PG, might as well take Irving if you go that route. Marcus Morris? He's as much of a #2 as Leonard. Trade the pick?

I'll be 28 in September, Kyle is 23 or 24, Aaron is 26. Justin is 25 or 26. I think Ben is 22. Most of the staff (original staff, ahha) is pretty old, and for a reason, lol.

Idea: why not just drug test those that are in the system for something in the past? If you were pulled over for a DUI, and you're applying for welfare, take your drug test. If something goes down while you're receiving government aid, then you're slotted for a drug test. While not everyone has a past before they start receiving aid, I'm sure a lot of them do (in regards to those that are abusing the system).

Well sure, but I would dangle Boozer before Deng. Taj Gibson is more than capable of starting for Chicago, and he would probably do pretty well alongside Howard. The thought of having Howard, Gibson and Deng in the frontcourt is S-C-A-R-Y for the entire league. I'm not sure how many could actually score 100 on that trio.

Stupid for Cleveland, or Minnesota? There's a chance that Brandon Knight shines. If so, Cleveland would be smart to pick up Williams, then take Knight at #4. Only problem is, I really think Brandon Knight will be in Utah, and they have the third pick.

It could be Turk, because there's a huge chance the NBA will have an amnesty clause for each team to use next season, and waiving Arenas would be the top priority for Orlando (because they sure as hell wouldn't be able to trade him without Dwight, and even then, it would be tough to match salaries).

I wonder how far Chicago would go. Noah and Deng? If I were the Bulls, I'd stick Noah and Boozer on the table ASAP, and cross my fingers that we'd be able to keep Deng. Not sure what Orlando wants, though, but that would definitely give them a little extra beef in their frontcourt (even though there's no replacing Dwight).

That's awesome.

Orlando goes from third in the NBA in defense...to last. :o

It's hard to say what the Kings should do. They already have Casspi and Garcia at the three. Will they finally deal Casspi? He's been unhappy for the last two years. Other than Udrih, who do they have at the point? Evans plays the two most of the time he's on the floor, and Greene is behind him. If Marcus Thornton returns, he's also a two. Pooh Jeter??? Come on. If Kemba were to somehow, someway, slip to the Kings...I'm pretty sure he's headed there. Otherwise, it would come as no surprise if it's Jimmer. I just can't see them selecting Leonard. Evans and Cousins aren't going to score all of their points, and Sacramento had so much trouble scoring the ball last season. They couldn't defend, either, but they weren't THAT bad defending the perimeter...it's just that they had no size (or defense at the four and five), and Leonard probably won't be seen defending the post much.

I wouldn't be that shocked if Minny gave up that #2 to Cleveland, for the #4 and someone else (Hickson). Makes sense if Minnesota keeps shopping it, and could be worried about losing Kevin Love after this upcoming season. Hickson isn't that bad of a player. He just needs to take better shots, but he does pull down boards and gives you around 15-16 points a night.

Adding the sixth pick wouldn't make sense to me. That could be Kawhi Leonard. Alec Burks will be there at six. There will be a few more bigs to pick from...maybe even Kanter. Washington could fill some needs.

IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING, WOW. More time to work on that jumper?