Real Deal

If the trade goes down and Haywood ends up in Houston, where does that leave the Rockets with Yao Ming next season? Would you say that Yao Ming becomes expendable? He has a player option for next season, $17.6 million, that I expect him to take.

Rose's jersey will probably drop once Wade finds his way to Chicago next season.

Gotta find someone else to co-sign for you. That's all you really can do if you want a brand new car. I guess you could go to a few dealerships that aren't as well-known (you know, like "Carl Landry Auto" instead of running to a Mazda dealership). Sometimes, those dealers will work with you as long as you have income rolling in, and they'll help you get financed. You probably won't get a brand new car, though...but you can still get something nice.

It's actually true, and one told me yesterday that he won't be posting much because of it. But, with that said, I really don't care. To me, that's a pathetic excuse. If you're truly dedicated to the site, you don't leave for ignorant reasons.

Hmm... Knowing that Amare may leave, you wouldn't trade him for Artest?

I'm talking about if they end up re-signing him.

That's true, and with that said, it makes it much easier for coaches to defend the final shot in a game. Stick two on Bryant and jump in his face. Game 4, against the Suns...Phoenix stuck Bell and Diaw on Bryant, their best defender and a big man, and they knew he was going to take it. Since Shaq left, I honestly don't believe Phil (or anyone coaching them at that time) has changed the sideline-out play that gets Bryant the ball with five or less on the clock, and it seems like teams are sitting two players on his shoulders every single catch he makes. It may be just me, but I would rather have one guy on me, and 2-3 capable clutch shooters on my side, than to have two guys on me, a team that knows what's going to happen, and four other teammates that are either not willing to take that last shot, or just capable of throwing up an airball due to being so nervous or, basically, terrible at basketball.

If you're so concerned about the pick, make it lottery protected. That would definitely change the trade, though, and I doubt Washington falls for that. The Wizards aren't going to be a big-name team in the free agency period, though. New York, New Jersey, Miami, Chicago...those four are the ones with the biggest chance of landing LeBron, Wade or Bosh...so bringing McGrady on board (well, his contract) is either to save money next season, or the Wizards' FO hoping they can rake in one of those second-tier free agents. As far as McGrady fitting in, I don't see it. He would need the ball in his hands to be most effective, slotted into the roster as a point-forward, but that takes the ball out of Gilbert's hands. You can't have both. Even though Gilbert stated that he was going to change, he never did...and without the ball, McGrady would have to be a spot-up shooter, and we see how bad that is with Mike Miller right now. But, pretend that Washington wants it. They will want a big, also...and that big will be Scola. They would play small ball with him at the five, giving them time to continue developing guys like Blatche and McGee. From Houston's standpoint, you dump McGrady and bring in Haywood and Butler. It's an excellent trade.

I second that.

Good win by the Thunder. Durant went nuts, almost hit 50 (expected him to). Westbrook had a helluva game too, got to the line more times than Maggette did. :o OKC needed this win, though. They have to stay in that playoff race.

LOL, I would love to see that. If they don't get Bosh back, and "replace" him with Montiejunas...the Raptors would allow 150 PPG.

Your definition of inconsistency is different than mine, then. Simply put, he has as many bad games as he does good ones, and there is really no reason why. He doesn't play bad against specific teams, home or road, nothing really matters...the numbers just vary off and on, and that's inconsistency, in my opinion, defining it to a "T" in fact. And Flash, I don't know. Spoelstra was doing a great job early in the season. From what I've seen, the only bad move on his part is not playing Wright. Dorell isn't an all-star player by any means, but he could be a very solid role player for them. I'd much rather point fingers at the team at this point, mainly because his rotations were working when the Heat were the top team in the East. Spoelstra didn't really change. Players just became tired, lineups were changed because of bad play, and the Heat couldn't maintain their composure in the clutch, which has actually lost them a few close games, including the one against the Cavaliers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhAzyr0K1S4&feature=player_embedded Read more... And here's something I found funny... Read more... Ron is the man.

I think the last part of that quote is taking a swipe at the other players on the Lakers more than it is Bryant. Everyone in the league, and every fan out there, knows that Kobe isn't afraid to take a jumper. If Rasheed is really saying that Kobe wouldn't have taken that jumper in the playoffs, he's mentally ill.

Bynum is putting up 16 points and eight rebounds on 57% shooting. Garnett is adding 15 points and seven rebounds on 54% shooting. Either he's not as good as Andrew, or Andrew is dunking on one of the best power forwards in the league. You can't have it both ways.

The only time I have my browser anything less than maximized, it's when I'm entering stats in for OTR (ex. database work, team records).

You're looking at monthly stats, and then comparing season stats to career. I'm strictly talking game-to-game. Haslem is left and right, up and down, in every direction possible. Haslem plays the Bucks tomorrow night, and I have no idea how he will do. I don't know if he'll do as bad as he did Saturday, or if he'll play better this time around because they are in Miami. No idea. I'm not sure if he'll give you guys three rebounds, or eleven. Not sure if he'll shoot 1-10 from the floor, or 9-10, five points or 15. And that's based on his individual performances and their inconsistencies. One game he does this, one game he does something else...and yes, that has a lot to do with that monthly shooting percentage dropping, especially if he's shooting 3-9 every other game (which, again, means he's inconsistent).

I'm sure he's entertaining, but I just don't see how he actually wins matches. Hulk Hogan was never as entertaining as Chris Jericho, but we all know who the better champion was. For me, it's just the lack of superstars now. Would today's Edge defeat a prime Sting? I hope they wouldn't throw that out there. He probably doesn't belong in the tag team with Christian, but Edge is more of an Intercontinental champ, or a lesser belt, than he is an ideal world champ. That's just how I feel, anyways.

Because he went from being Flyin' Brian Pillman to Ric Flair. The only wins I've seen Edge get were due to his cheating, but even then, Ric Flair was a better cheater AND one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever step in the ring. When I see Edge, I still see a guy that belongs in a tag team. Scott Steiner decided to get ripped, mean, and just plain bad ass when he broke away from the Steiner Brothers...but I still see the same damn wrestler with Edge.

Superstars put their foot on the gas in the fourth, no matter the teammates they have surrounding them. There have been many games where Wade was needed to maintain a Heat lead, but he just didn't contribute at that superstar level. And Jermaine isn't playing good defensively, according to his numbers...and neither is Richardson. Both are allowing more than they are contributing, and their opponents' eFG% is a little too high. Q-Rich has never been a defensive player to begin with, one thing that the Clippers' fans absolutely hated about him and the biggest reason why he was dealt 3-4 times last summer, according to team reports. As far as Haslem goes, his shooting is inconsistent, and so is his rebounding...very evident here: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/udonis_haslem/game_by_game_stats.html By just looking at that, I have no idea what Haslem will give you the next game. Same with you, I'm sure, because even in that Bucks game, you assumed Haslem would contribute right off the bat, like he did against the Pistons...but what did he do? Not much at all. Plus, before the Detroit game, he did MUCH better on the glass against the Raptors, but shot badly against the Cavaliers, shot decent but didn't do anything on the glass against the Kings, had a streak of bad shooting in seven consecutive games, grabbed just two boards against the Thunder and just one against the Clippers, five fouls in 17 minutes against the Pacers...and it's like three different players with the same name.

Well, one would say he should be attacking the rim, but there are games where players just don't get calls...or even then, maybe he just didn't get fouled.

Haha yeah, it's not very time-consuming at all, really.

Please vote again, everyone. You can vote one time per email, every 24 hours...so please use up all those email addys, every 24 hours. Thanks.

Yeah, Monta would be a good choice, but not a single all-star this season is on a losing team. My money would be on Billups making it in.

It was already getting boring, with everyone saying they'd take both.