AboveLegit

Pathetic.. I can't stand him. The majority of this league is black, if it was a white guy of LBJ's caliber, there would have been the same media attention. I'm also surprised on what Jalen Rose had to say.

...and Amare wants him in NY. Dirk probably wants him in Dallas. Almost every team in the league wants Melo. I don't see Melo in New Orleans, small market team, lack of big men, and not a great supporting cast. Besides, Melo wants to go East. In two years I don't even see Paul as a Hornet.

This game has a huge reward for victory and a steep price for defeat. A win puts us 2-0 in the division, .500 overall, and is a huge confidence boost to McNabb and the rest of the team going into the rough stretch. A loss, puts us at 1-3 overall, 1-1 in the division, and I don't know if our guys would be ready mentally for the tough three games ahead.

If we can't beat the Eagles on Sunday, we have a chance at starting off the season 1-6 (next games feature the Packers, Colts, and Bears). If we really want to win this division (or make the wildcard), we need to take advantage of the games we have a good chance at winning. I don't consider Philly an elite team, however I do consider both the Packers and Colts elite..

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/2751674,CST-SPT-bull28.article What are the chances of Rose winning the MVP award this season? We all seem to have our eyes set on Kobe and Durant to lead the race for MVP this season, but we tend to overlook the importance of Derrick Rose to the Chicago Bulls. I believe this is the year they crack 50+ wins, and after a successful offseason, the front office has provided Derrick with good role players and starters. His assist average should go up significantly, and his offensive averages should only go up as he develops his game.

As much as I love the optimism, you're really overrated some of these players. I highly doubt Yi makes the All Star Game, he's soft, doesn't know how to play in the paint, and is too passive when he gets the ball. McGee is a work in progress, he isn't much more than just a freakish athlete, and we have yet to see what Blatche can do as a second/third option on a consistent basis. Hilton won't be anything more than a big body in the paint to rack up fouls and rebounds. And Nick Young is probably entering his last season as a Wizard unless he has a breakout year. He's a ghost on defense, immature, inconsistent, and not much more than a shooter who occasionally drives in when given the opportunity. I'm not saying we won't make the playoffs because it is possible, but we just have too many question marks coming into this season for me to make a solid prediction. My surprise team this year is the Sacramento Kings. I think Cousins has a chance to be the next big deal as far as centers are concerned, he has an amazing skillset and I don't see immaturity coming into question this season. Pairing him up with Tyreke Evans was great for this organization on draft day.

See, but here's what confuses me. If Arenas does indeed make a successful comeback, returns to his All Star form, and coexists with John Wall, why trade him? They invested so much in him, and if he isn't hurting the team, I think management will realize that and support him even more. Losing Arenas would be a step back, and I don't think that's something we want to see happening. This backcourt has the potential to be very dangerous, and if it turns out to be as good as advertised on paper, we could become playoff contenders instantly. I know there's a ton of external factors that comes into play here and a ton of question marks yet to be answered, but it's something worth discussing.

Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Doug, Kenan and Kel, Rockos Modern Life, All That, Rocket Power. That's what my childhood consisted of. ^_^

But one of the biggest question marks is whether or not that O-line can keep him out of pressure throughout the game. If I had to venture a guess, I'd go with Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, they have all the tools to accomplish this feat. But really, there's not much logic behind these predictions.. there's about a handful of QB's capable of doing this. Rodgers, Brady, Romo, McNabb, and Shaub. Hell I can even see a guy like Flacco in this discussion because of the receiving corps around him and his rocket arm.

I'm not going to downplay the incident with Javaris Crittenton because it was a stupid move on Gil's part, but as I was watching their training camp practice last night, I noticed how much more healthy he looked on the court. Yes it is training camp, and we can't take much out of one 15 minute scrimmage, but this is different. I'm not talking about his talent level or whether or not he will drop 30 night in and night out, I'm simply referring to how he looks. He is now 2 years removed from his last knee surgery, it normally takes a player a full 18 month recovery (obviously they rush back, which is why it is such a rarity to take the full time to recover), and he's had virtually 2 years to get back into shape. When Gil met with Ted Leonsis after his suspension ended, Ted simply told him to come back to camp in good shape. After seeing Gil on the court, I noticed how much quicker he was, and David Aldridge had stated that he's just as quick as he was 4 years ago. I think he's now 100% healthy and ready to make a proper return to the league. If he can't make a successful comeback this year, I don't know what to say.

....do you know what OCD is?

Personally I don't care, and I don't think Donovan does either. There's so much riding on this game, and it's much more than just Donovan getting back at the team he spent his whole career with (up till now). This is a must win for the Skins.

No, but you're on the right track... we lost to the Lions, giving them their first victory in nearly 2 years.

I'd say in the range of 10-12 million. The Nuggets want him in a deal for Melo, so that must mean his value is extremely high. The going rate for bigs is really high right now, just take a look at what David Lee just recently got. So while it's an expensive offer, it's a fine one.

The Heat will have the best record in the league, but I don't know if they will crack 70. I think it's more around 60-66.

Not too bad, I like how they didn't overrate any players, I'd rather have them being underrated. John Wall and Gilbert Arenas above an 80, looks good to me.

Very true, nicely put. I think the Bulls are on the same level as the Magic if Derrick Rose takes his game to another level. They have the defense to match up nicely with Orlando, and have the offensive potential to win them ball games. There's a few question marks like you mentioned, but I think knowing that, Tom Thibodeau will end up playing Korver more minutes than expected despite being the sixth man.

I understand what you're saying, and you probably are right, but after seeing Rose improve his midrange game last season, I can't help to think his offensive arsenal will only expand. They don't have any superstars at this point who will totally make other teams shudder, but Derrick Rose is on his way there, and now he has Carlos Boozer to pass the ball to who isn't all that far away as a regular 20 and 10 guy. They addressed their need for three point shooting with Kyle Korver and got a good shooting guard defender with actual size in Ronnie Brewer. Brewer also won't be taking as many bad shots as Hinrich did, and he'll also make the open ones he takes, unlike Hinrich. Luol Deng should be able to sneak up on teams more this year since he'll have less focus on him being the third option. Everyone by now knows what Joakim Noah is capable of and how much he brings beyond the stat sheet. Outside of that, Omer Asik is going to be a bit of a wildcard, but as long as he isn't a horrendous bust the Bulls should be fine down low with Gibson being the other main reserve and Kurt Thomas waiting right there. CJ Watson is a good bench scoring type of guard to have despite being streaky. While 3 point shooting could be filled in better, getting Korver was a huge help to them since Luol Deng was their best three point shooter last year. People seem to be underrating the value of team chemistry and a balanced offense and overrating each single player. The Bulls went from teams just knowing to defend them between the paint and the three point line to teams having to respect them at all points on the floor. Sure, they've gotta actually perform in those other areas, but with Boozer and Korver alone the Bulls did a great job in stretching out defenses they go against which will greatly open things up for Rose, and being a third option will open things up for Deng so that he can be more like he was during the 2007 season, the last time he was really a third option for any part of a season. 50 wins is, in my opinion, a very realistic finish for this team. What I like about the team is the depth they have built up, there is a backup at every position who could come into the starting 5 and play a role.

What's even more embarrassing is that the Skins ran the ball 5 times in the third quarter and zero in the fourth... And of those 5 rushes, Ryan Torrain got 3 of them while Portis and Sellers each got one. This all happening while we had the most success with the run game this season. I'm so frustrated with this team right now.

Everyone is assuming that Rose and Deng won't be taking 3's this season. Rose has publicly announced that he's been working hard on developing his long ball shot this offseason. He made a similar claim about developing a jumpshot last season and most people didn't believe him. But he became one of the best mid-range shooters in the game last season. So you have to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Also, Deng has always had it in him to shoot the long ball. But in every system he's been in he's been asked not to because of his slashing abilities. Last season he shot the long ball pretty well. I don't see why having Deng take 1-2 more 3PA's per game next season won't happen considering the Bulls just brought in Brewer - a guy who doesn't have 3-point range. Do not be surprised if Rose and Deng starting hitting 3's at a pretty decent clip next season. So while the three point shooting won't be as good as Utah's, they still have guys who can shoot the rock. Let's not forget about the impact Ronnie will have on the defensive end. They will also have guys like Watson, Korver, Bogans to help space out the floor.

New England looked great first week, mediocre since then...I mean, 30 points to Buffalo? For real?

Read this earlier, but didn't get a chance to reply because I had to go watch my Skins get rocked by the Rams... You set the bar pretty high when making these grades, so I'm surprised you have both Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer as a C+ for the Bulls. I think you're overrating Keith Bogans a bit, while underrating the impact Ronnie Brewer may have for that Chicago team. I haven't had a good enough look at Bogans yet, we'll see how he does, from what I heard, he is a decent size guard and smart player. If he's got a knock down three point shot, and plays good defense, I would definitely consider that. Rose pretty much handles the ball for the majority of the time anyway, and lots of times they need someone to sit in the corner and pop 3's. If his defense is good enough, and 3 point shot consistent enough it's a good idea. Jury is still out for me about this guy though. I'd personally give that signing a D. I think for the price they got Ronnie, it was a tremendous signing. I was really pushing for them to sign Redick, but Brewer definitely comes at a much better value at nearly half the price. The only issue I had with Redick, though, was his athleticism. He's a good shooter, good defender, has a pretty good basketball IQ overall, but he's not the kind of guy that would break players off the dribble. However, having Redick would have taken the long ball pressure off of Rose and Deng. If Deng starts taking more 3's, Brewer would ultimately be the better fit since he's a better defender than Redick, has more size and length and is more of a threat to reach the basket. Like what Deron Williams did for Brewer, I can absolutely see Rose doing for him, as well. And by that I mean Brewer is going to be involved in a number of alley-oops. I'd give this signing a B. I guess I'm nitpicking here, but its whatever, I thought I'd just give my two cents.

Yeah hes definitely back that's for sure. Despite playing some pretty average teams, he's been killing it out there.

SO upset right now with this team, I don't know where to begin. What is going on with our defense??? We're known for being a good defensive team, despite our terrible record the past few years, we've managed to always be a solid defense. I thought bringing in this 3-4 will produce more turnovers, which maybe true, but we're giving up a TON of points in the process. As for Haslett, I'll take Blatche's defense over this garbage. He doesn't have the personnel to run a 3-4, but hey, he's a genius. he can make it work.... Your 2 best pass rushers are now linebackers. You are playing a rookie QB so we won't pressure him and play our corners 9 yards deep. Coaching killed the team (That and Vinny) the last 2 years and now it's doing it again with a different regime. Something needs to be done, or I will totally give up on this team. It's pathetic, we actually have a shot at winning the division too. I'm definitely not looking forward to the next game against the Eagles, Vick will dominate our pathetic defense. And after that we play the Packers, Colts, and Bears...joy. Before the season started, I thought we would win 7-8 games, now I don't know if that's possible. We look terrible.

Almost gametime, we have a few injuries including Trent Williams being out and getting replaced by Stephon Hayer. Luckily we're playing the Rams.