Real Deal

Primary and secondary positions allowed. C - Wilt Chamberlain PF - Moses Malone SF - Julius Erving SG - Allen Iverson PG - Maurice Cheeks

Primary and secondary positions allowed. C - Bill Russell PF - Kevin McHale SF - Larry Bird SG - John Havlicek PG - Bob Cousy

As long as Bryant is on the Lakers, the team will be selling extremely expensive season and playoff tickets, as well as Kobe jerseys. I'm sure Buss will reassure everyone he will go over the luxury tax threshold to keep the team together, mainly because he's making so much money off Bryant, it really doesn't matter. We could've said the same thing about Jordan, when he was making his $33 million a year.

Blah, guess we didn't get this game thread up, either. Crazy win by the Bucs. And...Freeman! Repping K-State (although I hate K-State)!

I'm pretty sure $30 million a year is the second biggest payday for any NBA player, ever. That's crazy.

I'm guilty of hyping him up draft day. I figured this guy was going to already be in beast mode. He went through his last year of college with a broken right hand, and did everything with his off-hand, and he still led Ohio State (along with Conley) to a very good record. Foul trouble can be easy to overcome, though. I really don't need to give you names, but you can go down the list of great centers in the 90's and find out just how many were getting themselves into foul trouble, yet found a way to adjust to stay in the game and produce for their team.

I'll have to watch this game tonight, right before the Lakers game. I wonder if OKC can pull out a win this time around. They battled to the end with LA. Durant needs to stop pulling up for premature shots, though. His field goal percentage is down big time because of it, and teams won't need to send doubles over if he keeps it up.

You'll find out he didn't quit on the team. It was a mutual agreement to send him off. Memphis told him he'd get a lot of playing time, yet he averaged 22 minutes per in the three games he played already. If the Grizzlies weren't so adamant about lying to him just so he'd be there to sell tickets, they would've realized he played his best game when he put in his most minutes, but I don't expect them to care.

Maybe if he starts playing defense.

Probably so, but Howard is possibly the most complete player, offense and defense, on the Mavericks, although Dirk is easily the franchise.

They said a bit ago (on ESPN) that he suffered a concussion, and that's it. Really, that's not bad considering the way he landed.

Mayo missed a mid-range shot, then a 2-foot bank shot, on one of their possessions in the final 1:20 of the game. Then he committed a stupid intentional foul on Baron with nine seconds to go, after letting the shot clock run down to 3-4 seconds, probably because Baron turned him into a statue because of his matador defense.

LMAO, you obviously didn't watch the Clippers/Grizzlies game just now. Oh yes, they are very fortunate to have the players they have, and all of that ball movement? Most definitely, perfectly put on display against the Clippers tonight, especially late in the game. Ask a Grizzlies fan how well Mayo moved the ball late in the game tonight. Or any of them, for that matter. Must have been evident when they were completely picked apart, by 22, against the Pistons with Iverson not playing a second in the game. Must have been evident when Iverson came off the bench and played very, very well (better than Conley, in fact) against the Kings and the Warriors, yet the team still lost due to Gay's chucking and Mayo's terrible defense against Martin and the Kings, or Mayo and Conley's pathetic performances versus the Warriors. Memphis struggles because they don't have a leader that can produce instant offense when needed on a consistent basis. Marc Gasol is the only defender on the team as well. Iverson gives them instant offense, effective mostly in the fourth quarter, yet he doesn't play much in the fourth, and they lose games. They are better when he's playing. Without him, they are nowhere near what you describe, and you should know that.

Wow, just some ignorant mistakes to end this game. Why would you foul after running 20 seconds or so off the clock? They would've had what...8-9 left to score if they had gotten the stop? Also, you can sure tell how inexperienced they are when the other four Grizzlies were sitting on the other side of the court for the inbounds pass, and it was nearly a five second call and almost a steal by the Clippers. To top it off, Gay's toe was on the line.

Did you guys see it? :o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzKKUJ5eRxo

I already told you the contenders that refused to sign him. Contenders aren't going to risk bringing him off the bench because he has never proven he can produce effectively in that role, and there are a lot of players that can't. Simple as that. If you're a contender, you aren't going to risk it. Among the contenders in the NBA (LA, Boston, Orlando, Cleveland and San Antonio), only one of them is struggling at the point guard position, and there's absolutely no way Phil Jackson tries to incorporate a 6-0, 160-pound guard that shoots first into the offense, especially when he's not that great of a defender. It doesn't matter if he scores 20 a game or 40. In the triangle offense, which is a heavily-armed passing offense that relies on off-the-ball movement and spacing, there's no reason to sign Iverson. Iverson wants to win a championship as a contributor. Nobody wants to Darko their way into a ring unless they are 40 years old and unable to play 20 minutes per game. I don't care what you, my brother, Michael Jordan or even Allen Iverson has to say on the matter...people want to contribute for their titles. People want playing time if they are able to earn it. Iverson is better than Conley, and keeping him on the bench is a shot at his ability to contribute and the Grizzlies' chances of making the playoffs, let alone getting out of the first round or going further than that. I'm not going to sit in here and perform in this circus again. I have better topics to discuss. Yeah, we all get it: he's a thug, he's a loser, and he's devastating to any team he plays for, and he should just come off the bench because he's no longer starter-quality anymore. We all know. I disagree fully.

Players don't just pick a team and go there. Orlando didn't want Ron Artest...doesn't mean Artest sucks. If anyone can go sign a contract and be with any team they choose, I guess that's my calling. And as far as Memphis goes, if they told him he was going to start, they are to blame. Iverson is not a bench player, period. If the Grizzlies want to make the playoffs, they start Iverson. He is still a 20+ PPG scorer, and he can still throw 6-7 assists per game. But that's not going to happen, because Iverson is done in Memphis. He won't be playing another game in a Grizzlies jersey.

Why isn't OJ Mayo playing anymore?

The Lakers can't use him in the triangle offense. We were looking to toss Jordan Farmar for that same reason (tried to trade him to Houston last season). Boston gave that backup role to Daniels, who is younger and will fit in better with a Celtics team that doesn't necessarily need Iverson's offensive production. Cleveland could use him, actually, but they already have Williams, West, and Gibson at the point, with Parker and Moon at the two. Just too many mouths to feed right now. The Spurs like George Hill a little too much, and he wouldn't fit into their system, either. No excuse for Orlando, but Iverson would be playing 15 minutes a game behind Nelson, and he would rather play and contribute to a championship, than to coattail one like Sun Yue.

I actually figured that Nash would head over to New York to be reunited with his old coach AND a big free agent, but I was wrong when I found out he signed that extension. But yeah, that back is bothering him more and more every year, it seems.

And THAT is how he tips the scales.

This is ridiculous. The Jazz are at home, also. I'd understand if it were in Sacramento, and K-Mart was playing...but all odds are against the Kings here. Hawes isn't playing that well, K-Mart will be out for a while, and Utah is healthy. It's too bad Okur thinks he's a young Rasheed Wallace, and Deron Williams can't contain Tyreke Evans. 30 points and counting.

That's because Steve Nash is John Stockton, minus the defense. If the Mailman left Utah, banking on Stockton to lead them to an NBA Finals was pushing it. Same with Nash. Without Amare, you're asking him to create for Jason Richardson and Grant Hill. I doubt Phoenix will be going anywhere if they have to depend on Nash to average 25-26 PPG and still throw 10-11 assists a night. I honestly don't remember a game that Nash scored over that 42 points he had not too long ago. Anyone? I think his career high is still 42, and 27 field goal attempts, and 16 free throw attempts. Not exactly Kobe or LeBron in terms of taking shots and getting to the line, and that's why he needs his all-star forward.

Everyone has a comparison. His game is similar if you drop the intensity three notches. He struggles with his shot, he drives to the rim and finishes well, he steals the ball well, throws 4-5 assists per game, and rebounds well for a 6-1, 165-pound combo guard he technically is (one inch and five pounds away from the combo guard that did all of that in Philadelphia in 1996). Jennings - 18.8 PPG on 42.9% FG, 70.0% FT, 4.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.8 SPG Iverson (1996) - 23.5 PPG on 41.6% FG, 70.2% FT, 4.1 RPG, 7.5 APG, 2.1 SPG Of course, Iverson was the better player, but Jennings' game is very similar, and so are his stats.

Well, the "every now and then" part is what I was hitting on. Same story with Smush Parker when he was in Los Angeles. He could steal the ball, but asking him to stay in front of his man was like asking Eddy Curry to break Dwyane Wade's ankles.