Real Deal

Under/under: 120.5 points for the Knicks. Over/under: 170.5 points for the Jazz.

Denver is 5-5 in their last 10, with just one win in this current road trip they are on. They just lost last night, letting Reddick torch them for 23 points. The game is in Dallas, so I'm expecting the worst for the Nuggets.

Collison scores 25, West gets 25, we barely get the win. Or...we blow them out, something I'd never predict any other day of the season.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Nets were picked apart BADLY by Manu and Hill tonight. Even though it seems like the Nets want to win their 10th game before they tank the rest of them, it can't be a victory against the Spurs, who are trying to climb out of the hole they've been in almost all season long.

It's not looking too great for the Raptors. They really need this game. I would love to see Hedo against his former team in the first round, as much as I would love to see Charlotte against the Cavaliers.

West Virginia. I think Butler will be tough, though, but they'll fall to WVU in the championship game.

+1 for the article. Great job. And I've been saying it forever now...Ginobili is the x-factor for the Spurs. Even with a healthy, younger Duncan, Manu was the one guy that did all the dirty work. Don't get me wrong...Duncan has been the MVP of the team since he was drafted, but Ginobili has deserved all the praise he's been given by both their fans and the media. With what's happening in San Antonio, you have to point your finger at Manu for all the success they are having. Duncan has been inconsistent, possibly from both the wear-and-tear AND the injuries, and Parker can't stay on the court. George Hill is stepping up, big time, but Ginobili looks like he grew younger by 3-4 years. As far as Boston goes, they are ancient history because Garnett's knees are ancient. No Garnett, and the Celtics struggle to maintain that high level of play because, quite frankly, Sheed has been nothing more than a disappointment, and aside from Perkins, nobody else in the frontcourt plays defense.

Haha, just watched it from the DVR about 30 minutes ago. He's pretty cool. I laughed when he said he had no idea where his boat was, and that he didn't know how much money he had...funny as hell.

Thought this was a sick picture... http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs484.ash1/26508_379236338462_8245623462_3802100_4832564_n.jpg

FYI - If your favorite team has a lesser-known star as their franchise player (ex. Al Jefferson...yes, Zach), I need HQ pictures, please.

I set the width of the content (the actual forums) to a percentage, so it adjusts accordingly. However, the banner is 1,100 pixels long, so if your resolution is set at 1024x768, you'll still see that scroll only because of the banner width. If it's still a problem, I can shrink the width of the banner, of course...but I'd rather not unless we get a lot of complaints. You should be able to read the forums fine now, though. That's my main concern.

Anyone using a 1024x768 resolution, try it now.

Is the scrolling really, really bad? Enough to where it's a nuisance? I gotta know the truth.

Try the Magic forum... http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/33-2-orlando-magic-team-forum-50-22 Tough to get that exact blue.

Boston Celtics team forum... http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/13-3-boston-celtics-team-forum-46-25

Those will change, eventually. I just wanted to get the new skin's main core done and released, because there were security problems with it.

What monitor resolutions are you guys using?

If you see any odd blues in the skin, let me know. I created it using the Clear Cut default IPB skin. Hope you guys like it. Team forums will follow, just need some time to rest, haha. EDIT: Boston Celtics team forum - http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/13-3-boston-celtics-team-forum-46-25 And Orlando: http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/33-2-orlando-magic-team-forum-50-22

That's because Finals MVP's are for 4-7 games, and that's it. Who won the last Finals MVP for the Spurs? Tony Parker. Paul Pierce won it for Boston two years ago, but we know why they were champs...and it's more obvious now, because Boston is struggling to stay in contention as Garnett struggles to stay healthy. Finals MVP's are a joke. Shaq ended up with Rik Smits opposing him, and Kobe had Reggie Miller. Shaq took MacCulloch and Collins, Kobe had Kidd and Kittles. Granted Shaq did abuse a DPOY in Mutombo, it was Kobe who had to step up and defend Iverson when Fisher was getting lit, and Iverson was the reigning MVP. That's like Aaron Brooks being defended by a weak point guard all game. He goes off and scores 30. Finals MVP's shouldn't define a player for a full season, let alone through 4-7 games.

This is still on, we're just waiting for... 1) teams to be filled, and 2) Justin to come back from his magnificent vacation

Cheese isn't as bad as what people are making it out to be. It's protein. Cheese doesn't make you fat, it's nourishing to your muscles. Milk, not so bad if it's skim. People don't like skim milk, though...seems like it's too watered-down. Try 2% if you're going to drink it. You still need the Vitamin D, though. I drink three glasses of 2% milk a day.

Text her, just in case she senses you're a bit nervous and asking her for other reasons. Plus, it's so much easier for girls to answer over a text.

Haha, probably the worst book ever. I give advice using past experiences, lol. I did the stuff I told Yama when I was a junior in high school, actually...and it worked on a girl I only knew for about three weeks.

JR Smith comes to mind. He should be shooting 40% or better from downtown, with all the open threes he takes. Daequan Cook as well, although he hasn't played much at all this season.

In his prime, on a team without McHale, Bird probably would've scored 35 a game. Overall playing abilities, one could argue for LeBron...but LeBron is not as great as Bird. I'll say this much: a physically-gifted athlete can slow LeBron down, despite how bad he could be as a player (James White with muscles, for instance). There were very few people that could stop Bird, because he could score from 23 feet away, in the post, attacking the rim, mid-range, off the dribble, off the ball, and against any quick or strong player (or combination of the two), because he was three times smarter than LeBron is today. James has yet to win a championship because the reckless driving to the rim only gets you so far. His game has improved significantly since his rookie season, and somewhat since 2007...but he tends to re-visit what has earned him individual success when the Cavs are in trouble, and as we saw last season against the Magic, and against the Spurs in 2007, it's not going to get it done. LBJ has had very solid TEAMS. They have been excellent, standout defensive teams with players that can score 15 points on any given night. They are filled with guys that can knock down shots, the perfect teammates for James, who loves penetrating and passing. Slaven, you (of all people) should be giving LeBron's teammates more credit. Your favorite all-time player (which I assume is Hakeem) had nearly the same team surrounding him, and he made the best of it by winning two consecutive rings.