Real Deal

Dude, I don't even get what you're saying. I simply said that soccer isn't dominated by "superstars" because the roles of each player are different...and you can't change that because if you did, you'd be changing the entire sport and how it's played. The only connection you can make between the two? A goalie and a basketball superstar. Both impact the game significantly more than anyone else. You play without a goalie, you're basically the worst team and you're going to lose every game. You play without a superstar, and you're in the same boat. But not even THAT connection matters. So for you, it's all about two things: referees, and the halftime/timeout entertainment (and in-game music). Are you kidding? Halftime entertainment has nothing to do with the game...doesn't change anything about it. The entertainment is mainly for the kids and fans that have nothing to do during halftime. What else is there to do while players run to the back, rest, and adjust for the second half? In-game music? That gets the fans involved even more (crowd chants, for example), and it also drives the players to play better (hearing the fans chanting "defense" to a tune, it makes them want to play better defense due to fan support). Again, no point in removing it. You want to turn basketball into baseball. Good for you. There's a reason why I can't sit through nine dreadful innings of baseball, and while there are people that can, there are a ton of die-hard basketball fans that would rather watch the NBA.

I wear 2XL's and I'm 6-2. Just depends on how tight you wear your clothes.

Once, in Game 2.

Because I don't see the point of it. You can't model the sport of basketball after soccer. Referees have much different roles, and the entertainment during stoppage of play (timeout, halftime) is completely irrelevant to all of this. The sport is even less physical. Superstars? Without goalies, every soccer game becomes a double-digit affair. Scoring a goal does not compare to scoring a basket, either...not even close. The greatest soccer player can score three goals in a game and become a hero for that number. Smush Parker can shoot three baskets, and nobody cares. But what if a soccer player dropped, say, 10 goals a game? That's a superstar...but hell, you don't even get that opportunity in soccer. I just don't see the reason to even compare the two, or to even want it to be similar to soccer. Basically, it was the referee comments that got me thinking it was more about the Nuggets than anything else, and the fact that Snake was pretty hard on Carmelo acting like a superstar (and not a teammate) over the last two or three Denver playoff runs (and he made comments about it).

My point was, I feel like this is more driven towards the current situation of the Denver Nuggets and not the NBA as a whole. If Denver were in the Finals, I don't think you would've posted this topic.

You forgot Carmelo Anthony.

Done watching this one. Great game Kobe, great game Celtics, everyone else blows. On to Game 6.

Kobe time. Defend Pierce, take every shot, screw everyone else on your team. Might as well defend Garnett, too, if you can.

LOL, if you were any more right, I'd call you Antoine.

Kind of funny...there's really only one guy trying to get open when Kobe is doubled, or stuck, and that's Andrew Bynum. Drew has cut to the rim (where Bryant fed him twice, on an oop and a bounce pass). WHERE IS EVERYONE ELSE? This is ridiculous, beyond belief.

Is it just me, or does Lamar Odom stand in the way of his teammates on offense? And does he ever actually JUMP to contest a shot? Pierce is toying with him. If Bynum was 100%, Odom would deserve 10 minutes max per game. That's it. Kobe is shooting bad, but credit Boston's defense. Bryant, Bynum and Fisher are the only three people on this [expletive] team that are playing like they want a ring.

I hate Lamar Odom. This dude does NOT deserve another ring. He should retire and go join his ugly wife on her show.

Dedicated jerseys will return, but nobody really has enough posts to get one just yet (I'm not even at 7,000). It would be nice to change the criteria, but there's really nothing else we can go by, without people calling me biased for picking certain posters and not others. Adult section is out of the question, really. I know other sites have one, but I think the hot girls thread is enough for OTR. I'd rather not have to monitor that section, anyway...and I would have to, since I run the site. Can't allow 15-year olds in there, but nobody can prove that they are of age unless they give me personal info. Food section, haha...just not active enough. OTR All-Time awards, yes...I'll get to that. Sorry. The team logos under the banner (linked to team forums), I don't know. I'll think about that. It sort of depends on how the new skin looks and feels...depends on the amount of images I'm using in it (yes, there will be a new skin, this one has a few security holes in it). Dedicated forum? That would probably come with the dedicated jerseys. NBA scores widget (actually just an iframe) will be up for next season, along with the college basketball scores. WNBA forum could be a subforum (if it isn't already), so I'll consider that. I'll throw an MLB moderator into the mix soon.

TIME: 8:00 PM EST TV: ABC

Odom's pathetic play would be less relevant if Bynum was healthy. Always something with one of them.

Would you enjoy it more, just as much, or not as much? It would be easier to score, but everyone on the field would have to play much, much harder. I don't like the idea, at all...but I saw it on the news yesterday morning, never heard of it before (they call it Futsal and it was a group of former HS soccer players playing it in Dallas or Houston, can't remember).

He's already had it drained once before, after the Phoenix series if I recall correctly (3-4 days before the Finals). We'll see what comes of it, I guess.

Not only physical, but Odom has to also play with a sense of urgency. I felt as if he was out there just to be on the court at times, and when he finally started scoring the ball here and there, his defense was still part of his no-show act. When Ray threw that reverse layup on him, after taking Odom baseline, it made me sick. Odom looked lazy...as in, giving-up-lazy. Odom can have massive games, and we saw that against the Suns...and when he does, Bynum isn't as important. However, Odom has proven to us that he can't put out against Boston. He failed to do so in 2008, and he's failing to do so again now. Maybe it's just the big stage, or maybe it's the Celtics...but nonetheless, he's not getting it done. And because he's not getting it done, Bynum's presence is needed more than ever. If Odom is still a no-show, and the draining doesn't help Drew, the series goes to seven, and the Lakers are in danger. In that case, we'll need Kobe and Gasol to turn into a mirror image of the Kobe and Shaq duo of the dynasty, and I don't think that's possible.

I had that problem once, and I just used CCleaner to remove everything from my registry that had to do with iTunes. Re-installed, and it worked. I HATE, HATE, HATE that I have to use iTunes for the iPhone. It's really the only thing I can't stand about the phone.

So, in other words, why even question what any single NBA player does? They are the professionals, not us. They achieved something that we didn't. They are obviously better basketball players than we are...so why even question anything, ever? Never said Jordan and Kobe didn't mess up from time to time, either.

LOL.

Poe, what coach really keeps a game close, intentionally? If Phil does that in the regular season, and you consider that smart, that's probably why we lost home court advantage to Cleveland and Orlando. And if you consider THAT move smart, I don't know what to say. The Kobe/Shaq Lakers were blowing teams out every chance they got. The 72-win Bulls were doing the same. All you do is win if you're a championship-caliber coach. And definitely no knock on Phil Jackson's ability to win rings, but you have to keep in mind that he did win them all with Jordan and Kobe, the two best overall players to ever play the game (and Shaq, most dominant center ever). Jackson has coached teams that didn't even get out of the second round (Pippen's Bulls, Kobe's Lakers in 2006 and 2007, and even the dynasty Lakers lost to San Antonio in the second, in 2003). He makes as many mistakes as anyone else involved with the franchise. Many question why he delays his timeouts...so we aren't the only ones to do it. He will let the second unit struggle for two extra minutes, giving up an extra 6-7 points and destroying a lead, before calling a timeout that was LONG overdue. When have you seen that second unit actually play through it and recapture the lead, after blowing it? Never. If his plan is to develop our players, so be it...but in that case, he must be doing a terrible job at that also, because our bench is still among the worst in the NBA after all the years they've played under Phil Jackson.

He was also dominated by Glen Davis, played the absolute worst defense out of anyone on the floor for us tonight. Even Ray Allen toyed with him on the way to the hoop, at one point. And he only had one assist...and the 10 points he scored doesn't mean jack when he allowed 30 with his pathetic on-ball defense and his even worse help defense. One good game, three bad. Story of his career.

Yeah, and not only that, but Brown and Farmar were getting roasted out there in the fourth, and he kept them in, waiting for us to lose that lead. What pisses me off most about Phil...he has this thing about resting our best players until we lose the lead, then tossing them back out there to try and make some heroic comeback happen when he KNOWS Bryant has to play 43-44 minutes a game just to pull out a win. He acts so concerned about Bryant's time on the floor, but he sure wasn't worried about it against the Suns. It reminds me of the 20-point lead we had to end the third in Game 1. Same damn thing, although we didn't completely blow it. Once we get up 8-10 points and look comfortable, he lets his foot off the gas and goes into "bench practice" mode. Then, when we actually need Mbenga to come out and handle Glen Davis, he makes sure DJ doesn't get a second on the court. That's exactly why we lose games, all season long. We can sit here and smash Fisher for his defense (I did it all year), poke at how soft Gasol is, how Kobe's injury killed us in the second half of the season, how Artest's hand injury caused him to shoot 20% or so...but Phil Jackson is not exempt, as you stated. An offense is the best defense? Yes, when we had two unstoppable forces in Kobe and Shaq.

Lamar Odom just sucks, all there is to it. I don't even know why I created this topic. Hollywood Odom.