Real Deal

TNA? http://i38.tinypic.com/28ivytw.jpg http://i37.tinypic.com/2vih8ph.jpg

Amare Stoudemire Chris Bosh Andre Iguodala Tracy McGrady Ray Allen Kirk Hinrich Monta Ellis Troy Murphy Devin Harris Kevin Martin Carlos Boozer Antawn Jamison Caron Butler Since the start of the season, I've heard "credible" rumors about all of those guys, either from ESPN or some other notorious media source. Honestly, that's crazy. TONS of good players. I really don't remember it being like this, ever.

There's still quite a bit of time left. I imagine there will be one or two huge blockbuster deals made, especially with the contenders wanting to get better, "middle class" teams needing one deal to get into the playoffs, and bottom-feeding teams wanting to shed salary.

1) Deron Williams 2) Chris Paul 3) Steve Nash 4) Rajon Rondo 5) Chauncey Billups Nash is good, but as I've always said, he's a horrible defensive player. I stick him over Rondo and Billups, though, because he does twice as much for his team's offense, both scoring and passing the ball...but overall, I can't put him above Deron and Paul.

Haha, thanks. I'm happy to get the Lakers fans that want to discuss more than just purple and gold basketball. You've already ran into those who think the Lakers are still going to win 82 games this season. Two Jersey Shore fist-pumps for realistic Lakers fans. Welcome to the best. If you have any friends who are non-Lakers fans, definitely drag them here.

http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/forum/52-other-sports-discussion 831 Topics 11,912 Replies

I honestly don't want Bryant playing until after the ASG, win or lose. We need him the second half of the season, and most importantly, in the playoffs.

Again, guys, Ron is better shooting off the dribble. I believe there were a couple of Houston fans that said this right when the trade happened, also...because I remember them saying that Kobe would be running the offense, and Ron would need the ball in his hands to succeed (saying that he wouldn't be good for us). Shooting off the dribble is essentially creating your own shot, unless you want to get technical about it and say that he needs to dribble the ball once or twice after being wide-open. I am more confident in his shot when he's got someone one-on-one than when he's left wide-open in the corner. That's not necessarily a good thing, though. Ron gets too wrapped up in hitting jumpers in his man's face. He's turned it down a bit from his days in Houston, though, but there are nights he jumps back on that ship.

Might have lurked without registering, or had a different name. Mr. Clutch and Clutch are two different members, fellas. Welcome to the best.

True as far as the percentage goes, but a great deal of those threes have been all on him. A lot of his shots are assisted, but he either puts the ball on the floor once before he shoots, or he misses as many as he makes, spotting up. I'll put it this way: we have much better spot-up shooters on our team.

The Heat can't get a good productive night from three of their best players all at the same time. One will do great on a Saturday night, another will do pretty good that Monday, and then both will play bad the night Wade goes for 30+ on Tuesday. Then, on a Friday, Wade will play terrible and shoot 30%, while the other two have decent games. There's no way the Heat get a top five seed playing that way. Not a chance. And the more I watch Miami, the more I'm convinced Wade is history.

Ron isn't a spot-up shooter. He hesitates to take the shot. Shooting off the dribble is the best bet for Artest.

Dude, Nova started to act like punks near the end of the game. I'm glad they lost.

Haha, we get that about 3-4 times a year in Kansas...plus the storms that are about three times as bad. You would truly freak out seeing the snow we got last week. I may have a picture somewhere.

Repped. Seems like all Shannon has been good for lately are the fast break dunks and the wide-open jumpers. Other than that, he's been terrible on defense and even worse making decisions with the ball in his hands. Farmar is too inconsistent to matter, and he doesn't have the lateral quickness to defend ANYONE. And I've already said enough about Fisher. He doesn't deserve another sentence after this one.

DEREK FISHER SUCKS.

Teams added.

I can't say Bosh is a better player than Nash. Steve does twice the work Bosh does on the floor. Howard's defense is far superior to Bosh's, while Bosh seems to be the better scorer (more moves, range). Howard takes it because he forces more doubles. You put him under the rim, and teams have no choice but to double. It's a sure dunk if he's too close. Kevin Durant is the better offensive player, by far. Neither play defense, and technically, Durant has less help in a tougher conference. In my mind, I have no reason to argue this because it shouldn't be up for debate. If you don't think Bosh is better than CP3, you can't say he's better than Williams. Deron is a better point than Paul. The Dirk/Bosh debate is complicated. Bosh is the better power forward, but Dirk is the better player. While I'd take Bosh if I was needing someone who does more work in the post, I would take Dirk as someone who can do more work at all spots on the floor. So...I don't know. That can be debated, definitely.

Wow. Three things: 1) Don't underestimate what LeBron has for a team. The same people did this with Allen Iverson and his "terrible supporting cast" in 2001. Cleveland is a defensive-minded team that can shoot the rock extremely well, and they are coached by a defensive-minded coach. 2001 Sixers? Iverson, the scorer, with a defensive-minded team that can knock down shots, coached by Larry Brown? Don't kid yourself. The NBA is a team game. The Cavaliers would NOT win 65+ games in any season if LeBron didn't have a good supporting cast. Stop looking at big-name players and check out what his team can do as a whole. 2) See the last sentence in #1. The Lakers would not be a 50-win team without Bryant, and I would bet any amount of money on it. They are in the middle of the pack offensively, and would be a worse defensive team without Bryant's defense on the perimeter. Just imagine if they lost Bryant's 30 PLUS his facilitating (running the offense). What player in Los Angeles would be able to make post entry passes? What player would draw doubles and kick out to the open shooter? Would Derek Fisher succeed in defending Rajon Rondo in the playoffs? The Lakers would be a 45-win team, at best. 3) If you want an MVP, your team needs 50 wins. Kevin Durant should definitely be in the discussion, but the fact remains that the team record does influence the voters quite a bit. The Thunder are on pace to win 47 games, based on their current win percentage. Maybe that will be enough, but Cleveland will hit 60, and LeBron is the better overall player at this point. Voters will stick with LBJ over Durant.

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After this game, I'm starting to change my mind about him. It's either him or Wade. If Miami wants a second option to consistently take the load off Wade, they need to make up their mind on who it's going to be. Quentin Richardson needs to stop touching the ball, and Wade is either running the plays for himself based on what Spoelstra draws up, or he's just ditching the coaching aspect of the game and doing it all without Spo.

Nah, can't say he is after looking at that list. And as far as Duncan goes, I'm sure it can be argued. Tim isn't the same dominant big as he was a few years ago, but he's still arguably top ten. I could say Bosh is the better player TODAY, though.

Good game, Beas.

Yeah. I would love Hinrich, but I've been repeating that so many times over the last 2-3 years, it's probably getting annoying by now. The typical response from Fisher apologists is that the triangle offense doesn't need a traditional point...and it doesn't...but damn, it would be fantastic to have a pass-first point that could play defense and knock down shots throughout the game (and not just for 30 seconds of the game). Found this quote from Phil concerning the last game versus Charlotte: And that's what bugs me to no end. While I do want Kobe taking the last shot of every single close game (because he has earned that right to), I don't want him to have to chuck 25-footers with three on the shot clock just because someone else on the Lakers is too shy to work for their own bucket. By the way, did you ever get the feeling that Phil and the FO have kept Luke Walton on this team because they believe he's the best post entry passer on the Lakers? Or best passer, period?