Real Deal

That's part of the defensive IQ, though. Rajon Rondo? Same thing happened with him. Neither Westbrook or Rondo want to shoot those jumpers, but Kobe will give it to them all day as long as he stops them on the break (which he did with Westbrook) and prevents them from having open lanes (which he did with Westbrook and Rondo both). If Shaq hit open 15-20 footers in 2004, the Lakers would have beaten the Pistons...but they knew how to shut down the Kobe-Shaq connection, and they did it perfectly. Defensive IQ.

People are saying the Thunder can get that second seed because, to be honest, there are about 3-4 teams in the West that can. Even then, there are just as many that can be the biggest threat to the Lakers' chance at a fourth-consecutive NBA Finals...but that doesn't mean they are an actual threat. The Kobe/Westbrook strategy wasn't the end-all for the Thunder. When Kobe had his knee drained, that was it. Had that happened after Game 2, the series was over in five games max. They are my second favorite team, and I do believe they may have the best chance among West teams at beating LA next season, but that's different from them actually having a big chance. I would say that belongs to the Celtics, Heat and Magic before the Thunder.

Only Lakers fans put Kobe's name on these lists back in 2003 and 2004. It's really, really weird seeing others do it now, haha. I'll put my list out a bit later.

Rajon Rondo, Adam Morrison, and Emeka Okafor are the three that come to mind. I thought Emeka was going to be far, far better than Dwight Howard...put him #1 in my mock drafts, everything. He won ROY, but fell off the Earth after that (in terms of being a top center, at least). Rondo...would've never guessed. Not sure if anyone knew. Morrison, I wasn't too sure...but then again, injuries have put him down. He could average 15 a game if he wasn't always hurt, so I don't know if I can really add him to my list. There are others, for sure...but for guys like Morrison and Oden, it's still in the air.

Hahaha...good way to look at it. Provide me with words...lol.

No ads, no donations. It's a big deal for me. I can't stand ads, and I don't like having to pay for something that should be free. Therefore, there's no point in me making the rules different for everyone else. Maybe if we had donations for games that were used to pay for prizes...I would consider that...but otherwise, I don't want the money. When I went blind, I had no control over the donations you guys sent (I believe Kyle set all of that up, too) because I wasn't able to see anything for a while. While it was very generous, it was unnecessary. Bigger avatars, stuff like that...we can do that once we set up the dedicated members group, but I'd like to wait for that. We need to have a bar set in regards to posting, and I'm not even up that high yet.

"Failure permits no alibis" is actually worded incorrectly. Maybe intentionally. To get straight to the point, failure allows no alibis. It can mean that you do not need an explanation for your failure...or it could mean that there are no excuses for failure. You can sort of translate it the same way, really...because while you should do everything in your power to achieve success (and never stop until you do), you have no excuse for your failure. The explanation is simply because you accepted defeat. Yes, sorry about that.

I started out at the RateMyFace forums, moderated there for a while. Went over to the Playstation forums and posted every now and then, mainly just about basketball...but there wasn't enough basketball talk there, so I left for JBB, where I was a writer and a moderator. While at JBB, I discovered Clublakers, wrote over there for a while until I became a moderator. Things happened, and I put up my own site (yes, this one!) and I left Clublakers and installed forums over at TLN, and now I run those.

Welcome back, dude. You went missing for a while..but I always knew where you were: on Facebook.

We don't retire jerseys of journeymen.

There's more to it than translation. It relates to someone seeking success, no matter the defeat. Basically, you can run into what Hill describes as temporary defeat, but behind that defeat lies greater success. So, yes...no apologies for what you believe to be right. If your way of seeking happiness is morally correct, you've done nothing wrong and have nothing to apologize for once you achieve it. Failure is only temporary if you accept defeat.

http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/76-mma-wrestling-and-boxing-forum There's a sub-forum at the top.

...worse than LeBron in what way? Scoring? Because honestly, that would be it.

The league is dominated by fast point guards these days (just look at Rose, Wall, and Paul). Magic would be too big to defend those guys, and he would have to rely on a lot of help defense. Because Johnson wasn't much of a scoring guard, I would think most coaches would stick him at the three. Makes a lot of sense. Magic was fast when he was younger, but during the late 80's, he was already slowing down a little.

The Clippers have no shot at a ring this season.

1986-1987 Lakers 1988-1989 Pistons 1992-1993 Suns 1993-1994 Rockets All four of those teams needed to be included...sort of upset that they weren't, to be honest.

It's possible, but I have no idea how to code something like that, there is no modification coded by anyone else, and IPB doesn't give that option. Plus, it would be abused in the same manner. A basketball rep of +3 could be given to a "funny" post in a basketball topic.

Hahaha, how weird...the first few lines in both are so similar. Neither knew what the other was posting, also.

Almost a month later, lol... LEGACY Legacy about to begin, my verse is hot, yours is quiet Winning is something I do, maybe you should try it Like the Orlando Magic, you're on a losing diet Just like Dwight's roid rage, I'm about to throw a Riot You're already scared, taking days just to prepare Getting nervous, like Stan Van Gundy, you losing your hair Get beaten so bad, in this rap game you can't even handle me Let's call you Eminem, but you ain't gonna have a Recovery Cause son, this is a classic beating, I destroy you and you're done Just like how Boston killed the Magic, this sure was fun Posted my verse, and you can't even handle the fight Choking under pressure, let's call you Dwight Using steroids in your game, but you're still clueless For that, I'ma start calling you Rashard Lewis I win son, the game is over, next time, come harder I guess it's time to finish you, let's call you Vince Carter ---------------- RIOT You battling me? That’s a riot You’d be better off not to try it My verse blow your speakers out while your [expletive] is quiet I got flow like Biggie so my rap don’t need a diet Let me take you on a rap tour of rapture, this rap is true I capture, your attention, take you to a new dimension The Warriors so miserable, not even worth a mention This is the internet, nobody’s bustin caps, I’m just bustin CAPS I can already hear the claps, the applause, all I hear with yours is yawns You need to try harder like Vince Carter, don’t you see, Legacy? If you’re fire, then I’m water, I extinguish a MC I know it’s plain to see, you all agree, it’s not a mystery It’s victory for me, Riot the champ, this battles history VOTE!

Funny posters aren't wanted if they are going to be funny the entire time they are on the site. I created a topic, in the announcements, about how we all need to change the way we address members and how we are contributing to discussions. Some took it as a joke. Sometimes, the funny posters aren't funny. The [expletive] gets old. There are people who want to see more basketball discussion here, and I'm one of them. Sure, there may not be much to talk about today, but this has been an issue for years. The rep system is just another thing to discuss when it comes to who is getting repped for their posts, and who isn't. A few months back, I wanted to use the rep system for a game, and then again for something similar to a bookie system. Can't do it, because the reputation points given around here are usually for the "funny" members that attack/bait other posters, non-stop. You can get a +1 for posting a "GTFO picture" that has been around for years. There's a difference between being funny every now and then, and being absolutely stupid with every post he/she makes. Here lately, it's getting ridiculous, to the point where we're losing members, and the staff doesn't want any part of it anymore. If people actually gave a [expletive] about the site, this would change without me posting about it.

LeBron, and then Garnett.

Sign and trade. Denver would probably take Okafor as long as they get someone like Gallinari with him. It would be better than seeing Melo walk.

How many members do we need participating? Let me know when we hit that mark and I'll make a sub-forum for you.

Derek Fisher fits that description, especially the clutch factor.

Hope they find him. I actually have a basketball signed by Wright...just found it today, when I was unpacking (no, not trying to make a joke). Reminds me of the Keon Clark story, when he went missing.