AboveLegit

Didn't get to see most of this game, but Perk looked great in his limited minutes. Great to see.

Same, we're expecting 6 or so inches. I can't stand winter at all.

We shot the ball pretty well tonight, but couldn't do anything on defense. No one could cover Lawson tonight, he absolutely killed us with his penetration.

Either way though, it's probably the best movie of the year (and if you don't agree with that, then it's probably in your top 3), it's very rare to see a movie that good not get any consideration for best director. Inception should have been nominated for best editing and Nolan should have gotten best director nod over Hopper, Russel or the Coen Brothers. Nolan is probably the best director of the decade. The guy really doesn't make a bad film. From Momento to Batman Begins, to The Dark Knight to Prestige, and now with Inception. He really makes movies seem like your reading a book, and his imagination is exactly what you imagine. And I still think Shutter Island doesn't get enough credit, it was phenomenal. It was well acted all around (especially Dicaprio I thought his performance was fantastic), the film did a great job building up suspense and I literally was on the edge of my seat for a good portion of the movie.

I still think he should have been nominated for Director though. It was one of the most inventive, thought provoking, and unique movies I have seen in a long time. I thought it dragged a little in parts, but aside from that, excellent, best movie of the year.

Eh, I think his performance in Shutter Island was great, as was his performance in Inception. One of those two should have been nominated IMO. But I'm honestly shocked that Nolan wasn't nominated for his work in Inception, it was a masterpiece.

http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2011/mockdraft Have fun with it. First time I tried it, it said the Wizards will take none other than the guy I just criticized, Jared Sullinger... -_-

Well we're down huge, but nice end to the half. Crazy shot by Booker there.

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/83/nominees.html Someone tell me why Christopher Nolan isn't nominated... Or more importantly, tell me why Leonardo DiCaprio hasn't been nominated for one of his two movies in 2010... [expletive] the academy.

FINALLY! Andray Blatche is finally playing aggressively, this is exactly what I expected him to do coming into the season.

I think most would agree that he has a good chance of going in the top 5, I think a lot of teams will look at the recent success of guys with a similar build such as DeJuan Blair, Kevin Love, Glen Davis, Paul Milsap, etc. He dominated against Illinois, scoring 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks. But for some reason, I'm not sold on him... I think he's benefiting from playing in the Big Ten, and as recent history proves to us, they do not exactly perform well early in their careers. I see a lot of Evan Turner in him, a guy who is great in college, but average in the NBA (as of now). He has a high IQ, is a great post presence, and will probably be a good rebounder at the next level with his 7'1 wingspan. But I question his ability on defense at the NBA level. What's his true potential? Do you see him living up to the hype in the NBA?

Wednesday, January 26th San Antonio @ Utah (ESPN) Winner: Spurs Leading scorer: Manu Ginobili Thursday, January 27th Miami @ New York (TNT) Winner: Heat Leading rebounder: Amare Boston @ Portland (TNT) Winner: Boston Player with the most threes made: Ray Allen Friday, January 28th Orlando @ Chicago Winner: Orlando Leading passer: Derrick Rose Sacramento @ LA Lakers Winner: Lakers Leading scorer: Pau Gasol Boston @ Phoenix (ESPN) Winner: Boston Player with the most turnovers: Steve Nash Saturday, January 27th Atlanta @ Dallas (NBATV) Winner: Dallas Leading scorer: Dirk

He's been doing that since he came into the league. This is pathetic, too many turnovers, Blatche consistently took terrible shots, and John needs to be more vocal out there. I know he's just a rookie, but he's gotta take charge of this team. Flip needs to hold everyone accountable for their mistakes, this is ridiculous. I can't believe we haven't been able to win on the road yet.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2011/01/two_physicians_say_jay_cutler.html So assuming that he does have a Grade II or III MCL tear, there's no way he could perform adequately. By playing him, you are risking his health even more or threatening his play next season. Just reverse it, and imagine if this was your franchise QB. Would you want him to play, if it means the longevity of his career is in jeopardy? Fine, you can complain about his demeanor, yeah he could have been doing more on the sidelines instead of sulking, but that's just how some people deal with things. He was probably livid that he couldn't help his team, and that's how he responded.

My fault, I meant to say "that year" not "last year" so yes, I was talking about 05-06. Yeah, I'll agree with you here LBJ could probably have deserved MVP that season as well. I just think Kobe is an extraordinary circumstance. That team is awful, they started an NBDL point guard and front line, had no depth, little experience, and pretty much just Kobe and Phil Jackson. And they still almost put the Suns out. Journeymen and bums everywhere. I dont think anyone could go to the playoffs with that type of team except Kobe and LBJ. In the end its hard to say he deserved it over Shaq the first year and Kobe and LeBron the second year, regardless of the Suns accomplishments. Not everyone could do what Kobe and LeBron do, or what Shaq does for his teams (all of them being contenders and making the finals), but there ARE a few people who can do what Nash does and thats the bottom line. 3 wins isn't a whole lot though. And you gotta give more credit to Amare, his game rose to a whole different level that season. Like Wade's rise in Miami and Shaq, all of the credit can't be given to Nash, though Nash definitely played a role. Stoudemire most definitely improved his ball handling and shooting in just the one years time between Marbury and Nash being there. That tends to happen with younger players. That was a more balanced team though, it wasn't just one man totally dominating games though. Odom and Butler had a nice run in the playoffs which really helped take the pressure off Wade.

Brilliant idea, trade their franchise QB 2 years after trading 2 first rounders and their starting QB because he didn't show enough emotion... Urlacher and Kreutz were both supporting Cutler vehemently after the game, so he still has the locker room respect.

Tough to really say. I don't believe the starting QB playing as the 2nd seed with homefield advantage would just quit on his team while only being down by 2 scores. Just because he wasn't screaming at the coach and medical staff, doesn't mean he doesn't want to be back in. But let's see what the Xrays say, if it comes back negative then he's going to be a dead man walking in Chicago.

Pretty sure he's a Steelers fan, so it makes sense. Anyways, I'm rooting for the Packers, but I'm not totally confident in them. It's going to come down to the game plan and coaching IMO, GB has enough talent on both sides of the ball to get it done, it's just a matter of putting it together. But you gotta believe Pittsburgh will come out ready to go, they've been there before and if the game is on the line, Big Ben has the ability to drive down the field and win it. Going to be a great game for sure, can't wait.

I agree with a lot of your points here, and this is where I think we should truly figure out what the MVP award is about. Your side of the argument is saying that the award goes to the best player on one of the best teams, while my side says it goes to the most valuable player on a playoff team. I guess it's all based off of preference, but I do concur that we need to have a Most Outstanding Player award. See, my criteria is that as long as you're a playoff team, you should be considered in the race. The teams record isn't as important as what the player was actually able to accomplish that season. Who else could have scored for the Lakers in 05-06? The media and the fans hated Kobe, pure and simple. You can talk about people making players better and whatever else, but the real deal is that Kobe is one of the few players in the league that could make the playoffs with that bum team. I'm a Shaq fan and I hated Kobe when he was playing keepaway from Shaq, especially in 04'. But he's turned the corner, and I cant think of another player other than MJ or Shaq in his prime that could do what he did last year. Nash, Brand, Dirk, etc. just dont have the talent, and Lebron doesn't have the experience, skill set, and mental toughness to match Kobe yet either. Kobe may not have led Odom to a 20 ppg season or Kwame Brown to respectability, but he led that terrible team to the playoffs. If that isnt making your team better I dont know what is. The sad thing is, the team had no foundation. At least with the Cavs LeBron had a team around him that he was able to feed off of, Kobe had nothing. No one was able to create their own shot, there were no reliable outside shooters, we're talking about one of the greatest offensive displays ever in a season. That has to warrant MVP talk. Shaq took a less talented team than Nash's to about as good a record. You can say that the Heat went to the playoffs the year before, but lets be real, until Shaq went to the East, the East was terribly weak. The East was very top heavy in 2003-04, with the Pacers and Pistons being the only real title contenders, and the Heat being a long ways away. Add Shaq, take away their 1st and 3rd best players from the previous year (Odom and Butler), and they are damn near the best team in the league. That would be akin to Nash taking the Suns to 60 wins after the Suns lose Marbury and Stoudemire, or Marbury and Marion, take your pick.

Easily Griffin. In 20 or so years, I truly believe we'll be seeing Blake as one of the top 5 PF's ever. He's already significantly better than his comparison, Shawn Kemp, and is having a better rookie year than Charles Barkley had. The scary thing is, his stats continue to improve, and he's getting more and more comfortable with his game. When he develops a better defensive game and some go to moves with his back to the basket, he's going to be deadly.

I understand your argument, but I just don't think it's completely logical. I don't see how LeBron having the better statistical season warrants him the MVP when clearly he isn't the most valuable to his team. That 3 game losing streak the Heat had without LeBron in the lineup is too small of a sample size as compared to the losing record Dallas had with Dirk out of the lineup. The most consistent player this season has been Rose without a doubt in my mind. He has missed all but one game this season (which they lost by the way) and has clearly improved in all facets of the game. And Malone and Stockton were the greatest pick n roll duo the league has ever see, so they fed off each other. Historically, this should have went to Jordan. They won 69 games for crying out loud. Utah won 64 which was quite good but the Bulls were very good. I think a lot of voters considered the Bulls a very deep team and gave it to Malone because of that, but come on, these are also the same voters who gave Dave Cowens MVP over Lew Alcindor based on the Celtics great winning record. In 1999, Spurs and Jazz tied for the top record, Duncan put up 22/11 and Malone put up 23/9. Malone basically got it because he was the veteran player and was considered the top player after Jordan retired, since he was the last non-Jordan MVP and had battled him in the previous two NBA Finals. Nash is unique because he draws help with his speed, if not flat out double teams, and pulls the help matchup out on the perimeter for mismatches. Regardless, in my eyes, this doesnt change the fact that Shaq drew more defenders more often than Nash in 2004-05, and was more valuable. Nobody else in the league can do what Shaq has been doing, career year or not. Even Lebron will never be defended like that, no matter how good he gets. Crediting him for "making" that team a contender would be to overlook Stoudamire's rise to a top 10 player in the league who dominated Duncan in the playoffs every game. And sure Nash helped Stoudemire, but Nash wasn't putting 30 and 10 on Duncan everynight. Stoudemire did that. I hate to sound as critical of Nash as I have, I just think that in spite of how great hes been, he was picked unfairly over one of the greatest players (Shaq) and greatest seasons (Kobe) of all time. Like Phil Jackson has said, great post players are always more valuable than great guards. In 05-06, I think was just a freak season though for Kobe, with the rules, his scoring outbursts, and all that. Not to mention the down (or non) years of the great post players like Shaq, Stoudemire, and Duncan.

http://i53.tinypic.com/213rzt2.gif YES I FOUND IT!

Well here's the thing about things we can't see (intangibles), it can influence things we can see. Although defense doesn't have an accurate statistical measure, we can still evaluate defense right? All of the intangibles I care about come through some how. KG's passion comes through in his defense and his night in, night out consistency. We can measure these things. Kobe's determination comes through in all the injuries he plays through. The thing about intangibles is that they're only intangible at sort of the surface level. You want to know how we can evaluate, say, Larry Bird's Basketball IQ? Well, starting with the knowledge that he wasn't exactly the most athletic guy, we look at his steals per game. Now, how does a six nine forward who isn't lightning fast average almost 2 steals a game? Basketball IQ. How does a forward end up 3rd on the all time assists list for non guards? Same thing. The thing to me is that the intangibles often end up being tangible, you feel me? And I suppose stats are somewhat overrated, but I feel the need to qualify things to an extent. I do my best to be informed of their limitations. So defensive guys, hustle guys, I KNOW it under ranks them, and I try to adjust accordingly. But if something I notice anicdotally conflicts with something a stat clearly shows, I've done enough statistical measurement exercises to trust the numbers. I KNOW I can notice things incorrectly.

With the league filled with young star PG's such as Rose, Rondo, Wall, Westbrook, and Curry, I don't give a [expletive] about this guy anymore. Tired of all his drama. But this is from the New York Times, and we all know how much credibility they have. They think everyone wants to play there.

That and Rex Ryan throwing his headset to the ground needs to be made as a gif ASAP.