Real Deal

Just got home and saw no one was voted in. It's almost laughable...but did you guys really expect any of them to land a spot this year? I wouldn't have bet against Barry Bonds, though...figured if any of the controversial picks would get in, it would be him simply because of the run he had. Not even close, though.

It's protected, BUT Cleveland has the option (that they will take) to swap their pick (which will be EITHER Miami's first OR Sacramento's first...likely Miami's, I think Sac's is protected) with ours. At that point, we have Miam's first...and that won't be a lottery pick, so it will go to Phoenix. That's the way I've understood it all this time.

No, don't get me wrong...I never said Parsons was a guy to back down from a challenge. I said he's not a defensive specialist, an outstanding defender. Kevin Durant gives Kobe fits, also. Taller, longer players always have. Tayshaun Prince? But all of those guys needed someone behind them, or needed help. Even Prince, who was ten times the defender Parsons is today. Kobe isn't going to put Parsons on blast, because he's a "good guy" in this league. And he's somewhat right...he's a good player. He's what...a 15/7 SF that can shoot? Sophomore? I don't think a lot of us really saw that coming from him out of Florida, but he's getting it done so far, easily the best player out of all of the second-rounders two years ago. Would Kobe shoot 8-22 (or whatever it was tonight) the majority of the time when going up against Parsons in, say, a seven-game series? Nah...and that's the difference between being defended by Parsons + the Rockets...versus Tony Allen + the Celtics in 2008.

Nope. Kobe dropped 39 on him back in December, and it was James Harden who shot 3-19 in that game (which is the definition of being shut down). Kobe shut himself down tonight...tried to get his teammates involved in spurts, didn't have anyone helping him create shots (Nash was too busy looking for the bigs), and it threw him off. It took a bit more than Kobe to stop Harden in December, although I believe Kobe was on him most of the time. Dwight did his part, though, just being in the paint. Houston is among the league's average defensive teams. If you're a 25+ PPG efficient scorer, it takes more than one man to shut you down...and Parsons is hardly a defensive specialist.

Yeah, we were talking about this in the game topic...pretty funny. And you know images have to be posted. http://i49.tinypic.com/10ztxcj.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/ef14c8a7682bc855e4aab25d39824fce/tumblr_mg5w096t4O1rfsxgmo6_r2_500.gif http://24.media.tumblr.com/524fb153eb5644b0bb290add73fa554a/tumblr_mg5w096t4O1rfsxgmo1_r2_500.gif http://25.media.tumblr.com/4aaec98dcdf884e3139bbd4d6988cb5b/tumblr_mg5w096t4O1rfsxgmo2_r1_500.gif http://t.qkme.me/356ihf.jpg

Harden vs. a returning Eric Gordon...should be fun. Gordon is no slouch on the defensive end, either...but that was pre-injury.

Ron Artest is our backup center tonight...lol.

Well, it says that Memphis may be after Dudley and a first-rounder...but who knows.

http://i49.tinypic.com/10ztxcj.jpg

The fact is, he and Dwight (and Gasol) aren't using the P&R. Kobe has to drop 30 a night. Do you think Kobe would be taking all of these shots if Nash was actually getting more jumpers in out of the P&R? It's not a sacrifice, it's Nash just not wanting to shoot. He has passed up many shots, and it's mind-blowing. For no reason. That's basically like someone saying that Gasol has sacrificed all of those years, not taking 15+ FGA/G...even in Memphis. No, he's just not aggressive...and now, when we need him the most, he finds a way to stand 18+ feet from the rim, and comments on how he's going to shoot more threes in this offense. Nash may have found his way to 60+ wins in his offense, but he never touched the NBA Finals...and I'm not fond of building a team around a PG when we have a five-time champion and a center who demands doubles in the post. One of our bigger problems is that we don't have shooters on this team. Nash is a shooter. It fills a need. A big need. Why isn't he filling that need? Are you telling me that we need a facilitator at the PG position more than we need him as a shooter? I don't believe it. We have two that are successful at doing what they do, creating opportunities for their teammates just by being who they are. Nash comes in and changes that, and that's an issue. This was going to be a problem from the start, and I smelled it once D'Antoni walked through the door. MDA doesn't like to post up players, he doesn't like to play through superstars, and there's one guy on this roster who has made him who he is today as a coach, and it's a 39-year old Nash. I know you truly don't believe we should continue running with Nash dominating the ball like this. We could use more P&R, but that's really the ONLY thing he should be facilitating for...nothing else.

Honey Nut Cheerios is trending...LOL.

Here we go. http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0901/history.january22/images/kobe-bryant.jpg

Hahahahha no.

I'm reading two different things on Twitter. Some are saying fired, others saying he walked. Go figure.

Hmm... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--suns-in-trade-talks-for-rudy-gay-165005609.html

How has Nash changed his game? All we want him to do is shoot more, to actually try and play off of the two superstar teammates he has never had before, and he's still trying to average 10 APG (since his return, he has) and shoot less than he did last season, when he was really the only guy that mattered in Phoenix. Kobe is coming off his worst statistical year...and yet, it's not significant because he's having one of the best years he's ever had now. Are you telling me that Nash shouldn't be taking all of those wide-open shots he has? I know you watch the games, at least some of them, and there are many times that Nash does absolutely nothing when he doesn't have the ball. I know guys like LeBron and Kobe are like that, sometimes, when they kick the ball out to the other side of the court, but they aren't exactly in Nash's position, either. As a 50/40/90 shooter, and the third-best player on this team, Nash should be salivating over all of the shots he could have...but instead, we're forced into this system that changes Kobe and Dwight more than it would Nash, and that makes zero sense to me.

LOL.

Guess that .500 record was a bit too disappointing for the Bucks? They just fired a decent defensive coach.

C - Sacre PF - Artest SF - Kobe SG - Morris or Meeks PG - Nash Jamison possibly backing up Sacre? I really have no idea. Great time to sign Pavel Podkolzin.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130107_MEM@SAC

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130107_DAL@UTA

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130107_SA@NO

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130107_CLE@CHI

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130106_MEM@PHO