Real Deal

Lee's defense needs a ton of work, and Jeffries is too thin to play the five. I would rather see Darko in there, but it's still a toss-up to me, because like we saw in Phoenix with Amare, I'm not sure if D'Antoni cares that Lee is playing center. Mike would sacrifice a basket just to have his players streaking up the court and scoring within seven seconds, which is why he'll never win a ring as a head coach. I do agree that Curry needs to come off the bench, though...but I would like to see Darko start. He's not the offensive player Lee is, but he's a better defender, and dropping Lee to the four gives you a stronger and more legit power forward than Al Harrington. In fact, just compare the situation to that in Los Angeles. Gasol would be the ideal choice at the five, but Bynum is a legit center, and even though Odom is a better overall player than Andrew, he'll be coming off the bench because of Bynum's defense and his physical presence, while Gasol plays his natural position.

WK1: vs. SD (L) WK2: @ KC (W) WK3: vs. DEN (L) WK4: @ HOU (L) WK5: @ NYG (L) WK6: vs. PHI (L) WK7: vs. NYJ (L) WK8: @ SD (L) WK9: BYE WK10: vs. KC (W) WK11: vs. CIN (L) WK12: @ DAL (L) WK13: @ PIT (L) WK14: vs. WAS (W) WK15: @ DEN (L) WK16: @ CLE (W) WK17: vs. BAL (L) 4-12 Record. Ha.

We usually always hit a rough patch before November, but activity picks up pretty quick once the regular season starts, so stick around and bring some friends over. Welcome to the best.

Is Speights really able to play the five, though? I guess it's no different than having Emeka play center in New Orleans. Both are undersized at the position, but both have the strength to hold their man. Dalembert just needs tossed aside. His IQ seems to have hit rock bottom, and he doesn't even defend the paint as much as he used to (and even then, I've always seen him as overrated).

Well, yeah...they are a playoff team, so I wouldn't say "horrible" when describing them but there's definitely something wrong. When you have Paul and West, an MVP candidate and an all-star caliber forward, you should be contending. Emeka should actually put them over the top...but now, Peja has become irrelevant, and Posey looks to be a worthless signing.

Need a link with all articles posted, bro. And...welcome to the site. By the way, Kansas City is the heart of the United States, not exactly the heart of Kansas. The bigger part of KC is in Missouri. Just a fun fact.

Any other two-guards on OTR that have been destroyed by Kobe yet? I was assigned to him for almost the entire game, and all he did was post up on me, pass out of the double, get the ball back and crush me. Even worse, I ended up with a D+ because he was all over me back down the court. I couldn't break free from him for the life of me.

The problem is that Carter will be playing the two. Lawson is backing Billups.

NO way. I'd give you this site if that was coming out of my mouth. I've been saying Marbury is the biggest cancer in the league since Steve Francis, and it should be on every board I've ever posted at.

http://www.justin.tv/directory/sports Maybe it'll appear in there. That's where I watch most of the stuff I can't find on TV.

Right, but I don't see why anyone would want to sacrifice offensive and defensive capabilities over discipline. Guys like Bryant and Wade eat Carter's lunch when he's out on the court, and on the other side of the ball, he becomes a non-factor. Kris Humphries is an extremely disciplined player, maintains his composure...but he should never get anything over 7-8 minutes a game, either.

I wish they would show all preseason games on TV. I have to rely on the internet to watch most of them.

Exciting matchup. Minnesota will more than likely be tested here, and it makes me wonder if the Vikes will go to the air a bit more, or stick with Peterson and the ground game against Baltimore's line.

This will be a fun game to watch. I expect the Steelers to pull it off, but the rivalry is always something when you are watching the game with a Steelers fan (Jessica's dad loves Pittsburgh). Without both Troy and now Aaron Smith, I wonder if Pitt will struggle just a bit on defense. It's not like they are playing the Colts, but we've seen the Steelers break down in the fourth quarter of almost every game they've played this year.

Let's play over/under! 1) JaMarcus Russell will be sacked twice this game. 2) JaMarcus Russell will fumble the ball once. 3) JaMarcus Russell will complete 39% of his passes. 4) Al Davis will lose by 21 points. 5) The Raiders will score one touchdown. 6) The Raiders will score two field goals.

This might be the game Kansas City finally wins. I think Cassel will be able to work that secondary over a bit, if he wants. I just don't want to see the Chiefs hand the ball off to Johnson two of three times, because LJ is finished.

Good that he THINKS that. Bad that he said it.

Haha yeah, the guy a lot of Celtics fans said would thrive in their offense. But nah, Marbury is an idiot. He's an attention whore, and that's about all she wrote.

Smart. The Warriors need all the big talent they can get, especially Randolph, who looks to be a poor man's Odom (the good Odom). With that said, I hope Wright ends up recovering from that injury soon. They need him out there.

Carter deserves 10 minutes off the bench, and that's about it. He has been overrated by Karl the entire time he's coached AC. Smith, Afflalo, Graham, even James White...those guys deserve more minutes. Carter is nothing more than an offensive nobody, an overrated defender, an undersized two-guard that has already been waived by the Nuggets twice in his career. You'd think they'd get the hint.

Just keep in mind that Shareef wasn't the same after that knee injury. That's why he wasn't traded to New Jersey, as you noted...and his play took a hit from it that season with the Kings, and after that, he was done. I can't say the Nets would've fared better with him in the five, or even off the bench. If you planned on starting SAR at power forward following his failed physical, I'm not too confident in his post play with the knee problem. As far as the 2006-07 season...wasn't Cleveland the second seed? If I remember right, Detroit had home court over them, and I can't think of another team that was "better" in the regular season. They beat Washington, who was the seventh...so that makes the Nets sixth. In that case, by the numbers, the Nets were 30-23 with Jefferson, Kidd and Carter in the five. That's on pace to win 46-47 games, and that would've possibly helped them win that division (Toronto had 47 wins). New Jersey would play the sixth seed, who I'd predict would be the Heat, more than likely, and we saw what happened to them against the Bulls (sweep). But then the problem arises when they play Cleveland in the second round...which is the same exact thing that happened...so I can't say that anything different would've happened that season.

DeRozan isn't doing bad at all, but sometimes, he looks a little lost on offense, and maybe intimidated back on defense. Could be the rookie in him, though, but from what I've seen, he can be a pretty good player in the league someday.

What the hell?

Is he still practicing his three-point shot? Philly needs to find a way to get rid of him. Hell, Brand can play center as long as they dump Dalembert.

Darko did show signs of improvement, and I don't mind the lineup except that Chandler has to start at the two. However, you said it in your original post: D'Antoni likes to run. I'm not sure if Darko does, even though he certainly has the ability to do so. It's the main reason why I think the Knicks should just go after Bosh in 2010. He would run with Lee, Chandler, Nate and the others, no doubt about it. Defense? Mike D'Antoni doesn't play defense.