Real Deal

Most definitely, and that's even an understatement. Wali has been amazing for us.

Nah. The Bulls would have to let Amare expire, then sign him for much less (or sign Wade for less). Amare wants his money, and Wade already laughed at the idea of signing for less money. Getting rid of Hinrich helps the Bulls get Wade, but that's only if they let Amare walk (or whoever they trade Kirk for).

I'm going to HATE the Suns even more (as much as I did about 3-4 years ago) if this happens. Kirk belongs in LA, and if he goes to a team I despise, I have to root against him...and that sucks.

The guy that came out of nowhere and hit the game-winning three against the Cavs.

Cleveland or Boston will be in the ECF (at least one of them), but I'm starting to become a believer in the Hawks. I think Atlanta can take out one of them in the second round. Charlotte would get punched in the throat by a healthy Boston squad, and Cleveland would crush them. The playoffs are a different beast. Charlotte would have to play the same team over and over again, in a seven-game series...and assuming they win their home games, it would be tough trying to beat one of those teams on the road in Apri or May.

I think Garnett deserved to make it, but not as a starter. Bosh should be starting.

NOOOOOO.

It's disturbing that he actually drew that, to be honest. Guys don't draw stuff like that. Image removed, though. We don't allow that kind of stuff to be posted with words, no reason to allow it in images.

Decent game for us. I like what Artest did, though...although I wasn't happy with the three near the end (took it too early, even though he made it). Overall, we should've won by double-digits. It was a comfortable lead once Bryant took over in the second half, but we need to stop letting our foot off the pedal all the time. A win is a win, but we can do better.

In fact, 23 points...that's Iverson's highest total since February 19th, 2009.

Season-high, actually.

Iverson gets shut down with Bryant on him, and Kobe is on FIRE. He crossed the life out of Iggy, hit a few fadeaways, making everything...14 points in the third, playing out of his mind. And I absolutely love the boos. It feels good. I wish I was there.

Nah, I don't believe offense is more important, nor do I believe it's less important. That's why I've been jumping Bynum's ass about his defense for the past 3-4 weeks on TLN, haha. It's also why I was upset about Steve Nash getting two consecutive MVP awards. But that's one of the reasons why I think Lee should've gotten in as an all-star. If guys like Nash and Nowitzki can win MVP awards without playing defense, and they are both locks to be in all-star games, David Lee's 20/10+ should be enough to stick him in there, especially when Zach Randolph was also a coach's selection.

Thank you God.

Just added the lite version (updated the link).

Kobe on the bench with two fouls...game will probably get ugly. Let's hope Bynum and Gasol prove they can co-exist, and someone else can run this offense for a while.

Check it out: http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/gallery/Designer/OTRBasketball Hope you guys approve.

Pretty good. Space before you add the parenthesis. Also, I was pounded as a sportswriter (before I became sports editor) when I didn't use full names of players and teams. The first time you name them, use their full names (ex. Tyreke Evans, Miami Heat, Bill Simmons). After that, in your article, you can just go with Evans, Heat and Simmons (and for players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, you can use first names, as they stand out). Ah, and don't forget to add tags. I did it for you (right side of the post).

Wordpress is similar to the forums, actually. Same concept, just a little different. That's not a problem at all, as long as the articles are cut short with the More tag. Full article posted, but the More tag has to be inserted after the first or second paragraph.

Right, but Detroit had Billups, Hamilton and Sheed...scoring from everywhere on the floor. They were around the middle of the league in scoring the ball, not bottom five (like Charlotte was last year AND this season). I realize that Phoenix was the top scoring team in the NBA when they were making their conference finals visits...but they were also in the bottom half, defensively. My point is, as much as you need defense to win games, you need offense as well.

There are more examples out there than just Steve Nash. Amare Stoudemire is basically David Lee, and I can easily argue that Lee is the better offensive player (by the numbers, he's also a better rebounder). Amare's defense is just as bad as Lee's. Zach Randolph is another example of an offensive player that plays little to no defense. We get the idea that defense is important, but you don't win games if you don't score. Championship teams are great on both sides of the ball. Offensively-injected teams, no defense, can get to the conference finals, and sometimes to the NBA Finals (as you saw with Dallas). Defensive-minded teams, no offense? That was the Charlotte Bobcats before getting Stephen Jackson.

...which is why Rose or Rondo should be starting in the East, or a duo of Wade and Johnson.

Shane/Oscar, make me a Kobe sig! Kidding...but POST MORE.

David Lee. If defense is that big of a factor, Nash shouldn't be in there at all, starting or bench...and then someone would need to explain why the Suns are even a .500 team right now, and why Nash has two MVP awards. And there's no chance Billups is a better point guard than Paul or Williams, or Nash for that matter. Not today. Billups is putting up under 20 points and six assists on just 42% shooting, compared to the big numbers Carmelo has been throwing down. Denver's success is coming from their offense. They are 2nd in offense, 13th in defense (league rankings). Just two years ago, with Iverson, they were ranked 10th, defensively. Someone having an inconsistent year on offense and showing he's not playing much defense (just watch the games)...he doesn't get in based on what he did in 2004, or his leadership that, actually, he only showed last season. Stick CP3, Deron or Nash on this Nuggets team, and they are challenging the Lakers for top seed in the West right now, and are a threat to win it all come June.