Real Deal

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110204_MIN@TOR

The majority of the people he ran over were far from the vehicle before he floored it. If he ran over a couple that were trying to pull him out and beat him to death, it's a different story...but he floored it, then swerved and drilled 20-30 people that had no idea he was going to hit them.

Raja is always trying to get under someone's skin...but JR shouldn't have broke down so easily. It was obviously an F-2. Al Jefferson is toying with Nene, by the way.

Gilbert's plan was to get the top pick in the draft. I think that was clear once LeBron took off. Saying that the Cavaliers would win before LeBron did...I don't see how he expected it unless he saw something in Harrison Barnes or Kyrie Irving (or whoever was the consensus #1 pick at the time, since it has changed over and over again). Cleveland didn't start off that bad, actually. They were a bubble playoff team until Varejao went out, and teams started to figure them out, not to mention the duration of the season starts to kick in and take effect (which is why I HATE when people bring up teams winning without superstars, because it wouldn't be the case once you play 40+ games in that state). The Cavaliers came out of the gates with no true plan. Nobody knew who was going to be their primary option, and teams didn't know what to expect. Once teams started to see how they were going to run their offense, and when guys like Hickson and Jamison started to feel the burn of an increased role, things started to turn sour. Blame LeBron, blame the season, the players, and the rest of the league. That's just how it works when you walk into a season without a legitimate primary scoring option.

Man...I don't think that was a Flagrant on Blake. He had his arms straight up, and if anything, he was going for the ball. Horford made both frees anyway, but still...

There goes Garnett again, trying to fight Barea AND pushing off the ref. What a punk.

Wow.

I'm not used to seeing Iggy pass the ball like he has tonight. Good look by him, though, and another nice shot selection by Brand. Doesn't look good for NY.

Garnett gives Chandler a cheap shot down the court, then "bounces off" him and runs the opposite direction, just in case Tyson decides he wants to break his face.

YEAH BUDDY! Rooting for the Cavs. I don't want to see that record streak snapped.

Who's watching? Did the Wiz fans boo Arenas?

WTF Elton Brand...haha. Dude is playing like he's in the NBA Finals right now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2011/news/story?id=6091625

Like I said, the only reason why I considered Gasol "1b" in that discussion is because he's the better big man. If you ask both to play in the low post, I would take Gasol operating out of it, as a passer and a scorer, over Dirk. But, strictly positional debate? Dirk is the better PF, and I wouldn't think twice about that right now. Amare is better than Gasol, also. I would take Griffin as well, the way he's facilitating, scoring (back-to-the-basket and fast break), and rebounding. Gasol's stats are his worst as a Laker, but even then, they do show he's a productive forward. However, they are painting an unfinished picture. Gasol is very "mild" when we need him the most. He avoids contact. He would rather switch and defend a guard in late-game situations, just to keep him out of the paint. Last night, Gasol was 8-10 shooting the ball. He had MANY more opportunities to shoot the ball, or even post up and call for it, but he didn't take the low post as much as he should've, and he didn't shoot the ball as much when he had it in his hands. It's why Kobe called him out on his lack of aggressive play, and why Jackson made fun of him yesterday (in his comment about being an all-star and not playing hard). Gasol isn't a top three PF in the NBA right now. Dirk, Amare, Griffin...they are doing better scoring, rebounding, and/or facilitating. Some will argue for others as well (ex. Love, Garnett, Aldridge). At this point, I really don't consider Gasol a back-to-the-basket post anymore. He's not a scoring threat. He refuses to average over 15 FGA per game (and did so in Memphis as well, which is shocking), and when the Lakers need him the most, he hasn't shown his face.

Phil seems to be throwing down on Gasol and Artest lately, and for good reason.

Pouncey is out for the Super Bowl.

Wade missed a bit of the game, played the rest injured...and Bosh was basically the equivalent of Brian Scalabrine in this game, scoring-wise, so it's no surprise. Tonight, it was the 2009-10 Cavaliers vs. the Orlando Magic. The only defense Orlando plays (and has played over the years) is running perimeter players off the three and letting them fall into the hands of Dwight (something you've seen Battier do, sending players into Yao and Mutombo). LeBron decided he wasn't going to do that, wanted to take jumpers, and he was hot the entire game. I wouldn't expect it too often with him, even though he's an excellent player. James is more likely going to take over those games by getting to the rim every other play. Tonight, he was hitting everything, from every spot. In fact, to be honest, he looked like Durant out there, scoring-wise. KD gets to the line, drives to the rim, and can shoot the rock with 23-24 feet of range. LeBron possessed those abilities the entire game...not the first time I've seen him do it, but it's not really his thing, either. Keep in mind, though, that a team like Boston would welcome this play. Same with the Bulls (who I consider better than Orlando). It really was LeBron's show out there tonight, but that kind of show doesn't work with some of the elite defensive teams out East, especially Boston.

Packers 28-17 - Charles Barkley Packers 23-20 - Ernie Johnson Steelers 24-17 - Kenny Smith Steelers 31-23 - Chris Webber

Odom didn't even jump for that board. How many bigs do we have on this team? Whatever.

Orlando is getting exposed, especially Dwight. The Magic don't have a Kobe to come in and perform in place of Shaq near the end of quarters/games, so Dwight is really on his own...has to hit those free throws.

LMAO, what the [expletive]...LeBron wasn't even touched going to the rim.

In other words... "I'll give away a second-rounder, maybe cash considerations, just to have a chance at keeping him...but I'm not stupid enough to go beyond that, and that's why we won't acquire Carmelo Anthony without a guarantee that he signs the extension."

Ouch.

Here's where I would expect the ignorant basketball analysts to say, "OMG, LeBron has 23 points and, as you can see, the Magic are ONLY down by four! He needs to get his teammates more involved."

That was when the season first started, and I never stated that he was better than Dirk. Ever. Last month, on TLN, we had a few Lakers fans saying Gasol was, by far, the best PF in the NBA. Not true, at all. Now? It's not even close. Gasol may be the best back-to-the-basket PF in the league, I can see where someone would want to argue for that...which is why I stuck him up there with Dirk. HOWEVER, if we're talking strictly position, Dirk blows him out because he's a legitimate primary scoring option and a franchise player. I'm sure I never made that clear here, but I did elsewhere, when people were slamming Dirk just to stick Gasol at the top of the list.