Real Deal

Wow, a blowout. I forgot what those were.

Makes sense, really. You have to expect this, though, with the CBA issues putting the league in a bind, and the economy the way it is. There was a statistic from a while back, showing that almost 50% (or maybe more than 50%) of all retired NBA players need to find jobs within five years after their last game (I THINK that's how it went).

Damn straight. Stick his bad ass in that category with Ersan Ilyasova.

If you can put a crew together, it's all yours. No joke.

Orlando should win this game, but I have a feeling they will struggle with Curry. If the Warriors start racking up points on those huge runs they can go on, the Magic could find themselves chucking shots just to keep up, and that might be a problem. No preference here...but I'll pull for Orlando in hopes that they somehow catch the Cavaliers in the East.

Yeah, the NBA is a huge, huge chunk of your life. Too much traveling, and that's probably what got to him: being too far away from his daughter. If the Sixers played every single game in Philly, or wherever his daughter is (is the fam still in Georgia?), then things would be easier.

YES! It's a good thing.

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Rules: 1) 16 lines max. 2) At least two of those lines must be about your opponent's favorite sports team (basketball, football, etc). 3) Cussing will be censored if you decide to use it. Don't bypass the censor with asterisks or other symbols. 4) If you say Dick Vitale's first name, please censor it yourself by typing [expletive]. In the manner it would be used in this contest, it should be filtered out. NOBODY ELSE POST IN THIS TOPIC UNTIL THE SECOND RAP IS ADDED. After both competitors are finished, members can place their vote. Votes are only valid with an explanation containing three or more sentences, no exceptions. The lower seeds (in terms of position) go first. Based on this match-up, iBoldin will be asked to post his, followed by Riot. You have two days to post. Good luck, fellas. Run yo mouth!

It's been over two days. Fish7718 advances.

Air Rondo advances.

FYI - Andray Blatche is now on the banner.

Hey, that's what he told me, at least.

Hmm...back-to-back for Denver, playing the Lakers last night. Otherwise, there's no excuse. The Nuggets needed this win. I believe this drops them to the 3rd seed.

For Denver? Yes.

No double-double for Howard, and he really didn't get involved much...but the perimeter players DID take over, and that was expected. Orlando cruised to a victory.

Pretty good game. The Bobcats didn't exactly defend Dirk the way they should've, and they had to play small quite a bit, so Dirk took advantage of that.

Damn, I wish I would've given a point differential here. I would've said 30. But yeah, there was no way the Knicks were going to win this. Cleveland, without Shaq, can run with them all night long. The Knicks rely on their speedy offense, and the Cavaliers' transition defense is too good. David Lee struggled, Gallinari couldn't get a shot off before the Cavs recovered, and the Knicks were down nearly 50.

Utah by 70.

Dallas is on a roll and on Denver's tail, and the Bobcats are known for beating the better team in Charlotte. This game could be where Dirk starts shooting bricks, especially with Charlotte's defense in his jersey.

Shaq is out, but the Cavaliers would rather play a faster-paced game, mainly to contain David Lee. How many points do the Cavs blow them out by?

These aren't necessarily must-wins for Orlando, but games against bottom-feeding teams in either conference need to be won if the Magic want to catch the Cavaliers. Carter and Shard have to start hitting their shots. Howard has been the backbone of the Magic the last few games, and he'll need others to step up if Orlando wants to make a second consecutive trip to the Finals. Games like this shouldn't be a problem for the perimeter players.

This game is the Bulls' chance at stealing the 5th seed from the Raptors, and possibly a statement game against one of the better East teams. Josh Smith has been stepping up big, defensively, and Joe Johnson has been better in the clutch, so this will be a dogfight for Chicago. Any word on Rose's knee? I know he was nursing it last game.

This should be a good game. The Grizz are tough at home, and Portland has to start winning games to retain that final seed in the West (it won't take much for Memphis to creep up on them and steal it, and the same can be said about the Hornets and Rockets). The Blazers should be playing with a sense of urgency, so a win here wouldn't surprise me. Randolph will probably go off, though.

The Parker/Collison match-up will be great, especially after Collison's huge 30+ point game yesterday. It'll be interesting to see what he can do the very next day, against a Spurs team that thrives on shutting down the hot hand early.