Real Deal

Arenas will take advantage of Bibby's lack of defense, but I'm not sure if the Wizards have the goods to beat Atlanta at home. While Brendan Haywood does play good defense, it's going to be Johnson and Smith attacking the rim, and Haywood's assignment is no slug, either (Horford). The game may come down to how well Mike Miller shoots, to be honest. If he catches fire, it'll open up quite a bit for Caron Butler and Arenas, and that could spell danger for Atlanta. If the Hawks want to win by double digits, they'll run the ball and stop playing a half court offense. Bibby can hit shots on the break, and we all know how dangerous Smith is on the wing. Otherwise, the game could stay close throughout all four quarters.

I'm not worried about missing Pau here. Odom is the ideal defender for Dirk. He's long and can chase him around on any spot on the floor. Hell, we could go small sometimes, and place Ron at power forward. I expect Bynum to have a HUGE game against Gooden. Maybe we'll see a lot of Dampier, but that only hurts Dallas' offense.

I also have to go with the Bucks and the Kings here. Redd is probably gone by February, and unless Jennings decides he's going to ride home with the ROY crown, I don't see the Bucks winning many games this year. Sacramento is just a mess, other than K-Mart and Evans. Thompson is a decent player, but there's no chemistry between anyone, no coach or assistant coaches that can turn them around, and there are rumors that the Kings will be moving. It's all downhill from here, it seems.

These were created yesterday. You're talking about the NFL logos.

Because they were on the list last year, and Gilbert has returned to the lineup before, only to make an early exit. Not saying he will again, though.

I actually left him and Hill out accidentally.

Battier would be a unanimous pick, so I left him out.

Take your picks and explain why.

Most will say Iverson has the best crossover ever, so I'm going to just assume we all agree with that for this topic. Who has the second best crossover of all-time?

Build the greatest eight-man team you possibly can using the players below. Please read the instructions after each group. Keep in mind that I did leave a few players off, on purpose. Also, the discussion isn't about who I felt was an all-star level player and who isn't...I based it off of last season, combined with this season. The Greatest (pick one) Michael Jordan | Wilt Chamberlain | Magic Johnson | Larry Bird | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bill Russell | Oscar Robertson | Hakeem Olajuwon Current Dominant Players (pick one) Kobe Bryant | LeBron James | Dwyane Wade | Carmelo Anthony | Dwight Howard Chris Paul | Tim Duncan | Kevin Garnett All-Star Level (pick one) Paul Pierce | Deron Williams | Dirk Nowitzki | Yao Ming | Chris Bosh Steve Nash | Amare Stoudemire | Chauncey Billups | Pau Gasol | Brandon Roy Tony Parker | Derrick Rose | Devin Harris | Danny Granger Rookies (pick one) Blake Griffin | Jonny Flynn | James Harden | Tyreke Evans | Hasheem Thabeet Stephen Curry | Demar Derozan | Ty Lawson | Jordan Hill | Brandon Jennings Defender (pick one) Raja Bell | James Posey | Greg Oden | Anderson Varejao | Chris Andersen Matt Barnes | Stars (pick two) Manu Ginobili | Andre Iguodala | Lamar Odom | Ron Artest | Andrew Bynum Joe Johnson | Ray Allen | Mo Williams | Shaquille O'Neal | Jason Kidd Ben Gordon | Monta Ellis | Eric Gordon | OJ Mayo | Michael Redd Al Jefferson | Brook Lopez | David West | David Lee | Vince Carter Rashard Lewis | Jameer Nelson | Gilbert Arenas | Caron Butler | Kevin Martin Carlos Boozer | Rajon Rondo Problematic: Inconsistent, Injured, or Implosive (pick one) Delonte West | Stephen Jackson | Tracy McGrady | Baron Davis | Allen Iverson Peja Stojakovic | Andrei Kirilenko | Zach Randolph Coach (pick one) Phil Jackson | Gregg Popovich | Chuck Daly | Red Auerbach | Bill Fitch Pat Riley | Red Holzman | Mike Brown | Larry Brown | Doc Rivers George Karl | Don Nelson | Rick Adelman | Byron Scott | Stan Van Gundy Mike D'Antoni | Jerry Sloan Primary Scorer (select one among your roster) Facilitator (select one among your roster) Optional: Select your offense (ex. Triangle, Princeton) After you finish, explain why you have the best team on OTR.

LOLLLL. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=nbalogos/1/091029&sportCat=nba http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/1028/pg2_nbalogosB3_576.jpg http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2009/1028/pg2_nbalogosA3_576.jpg

I believe it was the Phillies who took out the Dodgers in the NLCS this year, and LA had home field against them. I think the Angels had home field over the Sox in last year's ALDS, and they lost 3-1. In the same year, the Dodgers beat the Cubs in the NLDS, who had home field. That's just over the last two years. In 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008, all teams starting with home field advantage in the World Series lost. Pretty inconsistent across the board. I'd say it doesn't really matter.

I don't see where Roy was hot shooting the ball. He was bricking shots quite a bit. To be honest, I don't see how the Blazers stayed in this game until the end. They tripled the Nuggets' second chance points (with 18), but they also shot under 35% from the field as a team, and that's ugly compared to Denver's 45-46% (forgot which, exactly). Their three best players were just ugly shooting the ball. Roy (6-16 FG) Aldridge (4-15 FG) Miller (3-11 FG) Denver should've blown them out.

That remains to be seen.

The members that consistently mouth off to everyone on this site, that bait a fanbase almost every chance they get, they are going to get suspended or banned. Do some of you completely ignore the announcements? Do you not read anything? If it doesn't slow down, I'm going to start tossing people left and right, and I will drop anyone and everyone from this site that wants to see how far they can get with their ridiculous posts and inappropriate comments. If OTR's activity drops significantly because of it, good. I'm paying the hosting, I'm working diligently to put out a product that promotes mature basketball discussion, and if there is anyone attempting to stand in my way of that, you will be pushed off to the side quicker than you ever imagined.

Three days for both. I'm close to closing all baseball discussion for a week.

That was an offensive foul.

Hell of a coincidence that it happens the first pitch after Utley should've been safe at first.

If referees were assisting in all of this, I'm sure there were plenty of games Tim doesn't know about...unless, of course, it was only the games he officiated...but then we have a problem. And I mean, Shaq was such a dominant force down low, so many fouls with every touch. He earned all 17 free throw attempts in Game 6, since any other time, you claim he earns them because of his dominance. Don't worry, I don't despise the Heat as much as you despise the 2009 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Love it.

Trying to get excited for this game...just not feeling it, lol.

Might as well never discuss the book then, because it's all in the past. No reason to publish it.

LOL, how is that hating on the Heat? Wade had almost 100 free throws in a six-game series. It's been the topic of discussion for all Mavericks fans I've ever ran across. If we're going to assume a team was handed a championship because of all the free throws given to them, why can't I assume the same? You guys are as consistent as they come.

Yeah, that was pretty weak. When I get pissed off, I go out and throw curves at my neighbors' knees.

With what happened in the 2006 Finals with Wade and the Heat, that free throw discrepancy just leads me to believe that the Heat were given a ring...and that's wicked, because that means Shaq has two rings he earned. Ouch.

...it's against the Wolves. Cleveland can be made of glass, thrown up against the wall and stomped on, and still come out of this game with a victory. If the Wolves win this game, I'll be amazed.