Check my Stats

Norris Cole is not an NBA player on a contender.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=anthoca01&p2=jamesle01 Melo always plays him solid defensively. One of the few players who can physically (kind of) matchup.

Turned it on just in time to see that slick LeBron spin move, as well as new york moving the ball really well (wow) for that Melo 3. Miami looks sloppy

I don't picture Gasol getting postered twice. I would love to see Dwight get crowned though. If it was ever going to happen, it would be now while his lift is suspect. Probably going to try and watch the first half of this game tonight. Gotta work early, but any chance I can watch CP3 play, I gotta take it.

We were behind the guys in those costumes. Not close enough to get caught on camera with them, but probably like 8-10 rows up.

I picture this game being ugly. Knicks are going to have to have a really, really good game. Especially Melo. He usually does play well when matched up with LeBron though.

I don't think it is fair to compare the situations. OKC was holding all the cards, and folded. You are comparing apples to oranges right now. If Harden is a UFA this summer, okay, I don't mind the deal, but he's not. Especially when you clearly CHOSE Ibaka over him, who is clearly a worse player by far.

Only been 1 game, but people are already starting to see OKC kept the wrong guy(s). Whether it is Ibaka or Westbrook, they made the wrong choice, especially with regards to Ibaka.

I forget. I think 116 lower bowl? We were in the corner. Great seats for what we paid though, can't really be sitting anywhere "bad" as far as I am concerned, and for 44 bucks (tickets said 67 a piece on them, got from stubhub) you can't really go wrong. Crowd was awesome. There were some dickheads where we were sitting but still, great atmosphere.

Can't wait to see OKC"s new big 3!! -No one.

Mike Brown never should have coached this team in the first place. Ridiculous hire. I wonder who is going to take over next summer. I actually feel bad for the guy, he never had a chance to begin with. And don't you dare say I am basing this just off 2 games, I have said he had no chance for the past 68 games and the day he got hired. Didn't get the chance to watch again, which sucks. Despite Dwight's numbers, from what I've read on twitter, it still sounds like he isn't looking like normal Dwight. Any LA fans have a better take? I am just curious. That is easily the most hilarious thing Dwight has done yet. Honestly, he is by far the biggest meat head in the NBA. Kid doesn't have a god damn clue.

-Refs were brutal last night. Crowd was going nuts at some of those calls. They were pretty brutal both ways though, and I definitely won't sit here and say the refs lost us the game, because they didn't. Most of the bad calls were throughout the game, and by the time the comeback started, there weren't as many bad calls (at least compared to earlier). But Demar should have been at the line at least 6-8 times last night. He got shafted (as usual) by the refs. Like BFT said, Hibbert probably should have been close to fouling out of that game. -JV is a stud. So active on the glass. You can tell he is really anxious though with some of the shots he took. That is to be expected though. Loved what he brought against on the best interiors in the league. He got abused in the first half (hard to watch), but came back almost as a new player defensively in the 2nd half. His development is going to be fun to watch. -Derozan's stat line looks a lot worse than what he played. He should have been at the line numerous times like I mentioned. I was kind of concerned by the fact I don't think he was in the post a single time the first half, and probably only 3-4 times in the second half it seemed. The times he did get it though,even with a bigger defender on him at times, he looked good operating down there. He still needs to find a way to get involved when plays aren't run for him. He disappears at time and is still really disinterested defensively it seems. He is running out of "he's still young" time. He needs to up the energy level. -I know Fields is bad. But he is even worse in person. I was at the game stupid early (like 80 minutes), and I swear even when he was out taking 3's (the only shots he was taking in pre-game), he was probably shooting below 30%. When he got introduced, there were already some boos in there. Toronto fans are not stupid. He will be getting booed by 50 games into the year. -Lowry is a stud. He is going to be good for us. It was actually pretty awesome to see Jose give the ball up to him, since he has been so reluctant to play off the ball in the past. If he is actually willing to be used as a spot up shooter, something he never has, that will be huge for us since he can shoot it. His reluctance to play off the ball was why Hedo was useless, but if he can with Lowry, that will be awesome. It will also make him a more useful player for a contender if he wants to leave next summer. -Ross is bad. I know he's young (not really, 21 already), but he was totally irrelevant out there. He was lost defensively (got yanked immediately after he didn't even know who he was supposed to take on D in transition) I know he is known as a shooter, but we had a break I can recall, and he just drifted to the 3 point line when he probably could have cut to the rim and got an easy dunk/layup. Hopefully it comes with time, but right now he is one of our only shooters, and if that shot isn't hitting, and isn't even close, there is no role for him. -We were a really pesky defensive team after that first quarter. The Pacers were getting really pissed off (especially Green) at how physical we were playing (Anderson and Lowry in particular) and not getting called. It was awesome to see. Watching West and Hibbert pretty much have their way with us (in the 2nd and 1st halves respectively) was a concern though. Bargnani is still a big minus defensively, and while Demar is too, at least we can hide him. Overall it was a really fun game to be at. Sucks that we lost, but there were a lot of good things we could take away from this game. People might say "Granger wasn't playing", but I honestly think that may have worked in their favour. If Granger is there do they go inside to Hibbert and West 25+ times on the night? Do they only take 11 threes? I don't know. Pacers are a good, tough team, and we played right with them despite Bargnani being brutal offensively, Demar not getting a single whistle which was ridiculous, Demar blowing a chip shot layup he hits 98% of the time, and having Landry Fields as a starter.

There is literally no in between with Colangelo. For every good move he makes, he makes a totally ridiculous one (actually more like 2 ridiculous moves for every 1 good one). I get that he wants players to feel like if they work hard they will be rewarded, and not want them to be worrying about contracts while playing, and its a good logic, but this is just ridiculous. I am a fan of Demar's. Yeah, I know he has weaknesses in his game, but the potential is also there. But even if he reaches his absolute potential as a 3rd-4th option type, his lack of a jumper and handles at the 2, he still probably isn't worth this money. I just don't see why this was done now. Play the season out, if someone offers 10 a year, and you think he's worth it, match. If not, let him walk. I thought that is why we drafted Ross, but now we have a ton of money invested into wings who can't shoot, are mediocre defenders AT BEST. And now, next summer when Lowry needs to be extended, how do we not offer him pretty much max money? I have defended Colangelo numerous times over the years, but the Ross draft pick (not totally brutal, but now it makes no sense), the Fields signing, and now this. I think its time for the organization to move on. He has been given chance after chance, and has failed brutally. The only problem is, he has [expletive]ed up this team long-term now. Just so frustrating. Our only hopes are that Valanciunas becomes a franchise big man, because otherwise, this team has no chance of sniffing anything besides being fodder for the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls each year.

Even if Jrue doesn't make a huge leap, I don't think this is a bad deal in the current NBA climate. If you have a point who gives you 14 a night and doesn't hurt you offensively (low apg last year but lets see how he runs the offense with Iggy gone, 11 assists last night), can stroke the three and is a very good defender.... well that player is probably getting close to a max contract in free agency from someone, or at the very least one of those poison pill things. Not to mention the kid is only 22 and doesn't turn 23 until after this season. Of all the extensions signed for this class, this is by far my favourite (with Demar's obviously way at the bottom, [expletive]). One player I will be watching for this year.

Why was Steve Nash running it up and then just handing it off to Kobe. Couldn't Steve Blake just do that? Wish I could have saw more than just a few plays of the game.

Toronto's crowd is infinitely better than Miami's, our teams have forever sucked, yet we still get people in that building and are loud. Just makes the game more enjoyable when the crowd is rocking (OKC). I am sure the crowd will be fine tonight for opening night. Stop being so insecure.

They don't have a choice. He literally HAS to be at least a 3rd option type of scorer. Just a brutal, brutal draft pick when your franchise player is a stud point guard. Why do you draft a guy with a shaky jumper who is at his best with the ball in his hands? I am surprised Scott started him too, for 2 reasons. 1. He didn't earn that spot. He was [expletive]ing brutal in the pre-season, and showed no signs of being ready to contribute as a starter to an NBA team. Scott seems like an old school coach, and I even remember him pushing Kyrie to 'earn' that spot (even if he didn't really have to) 2. The kid needs the ball in his hands. Starting him with Kyrie is going to lead to a lot of standing around and him clanking jumpers. And when he does get the ball, he is probably not going to give it back. I'd like to see him as the first guard off the bench, and have the offense run through him at times. I think him starting is a way of Cleveland just accepting they are headed towards another top 5 pick this year, only this time they can't afford to [expletive] it up. Kyrie's extension period will be here before you know it (I know its only his 2nd year). I want to try and watch him a bit tonight so I can form a better opinion. I am still assuming a bit to fill in the gaps from what I haven't been able to watch of him, and it is pre-season after all. Needless to say though, I am far from sold on him. I think Cleveland [expletive]ed up brutally in their Kyrie support picks. Don't need to remind you that a Kyrie-Barnes-Valanciunas core is pretty sexy.

Arbitrarily I would picture his numbers being something like 22 a night on 44% from the field and like 36% from 3. I see him at around 5 boards and 5 assists with some extra turnovers. Overall I think it is fair to expect more volume less efficiency from him. He is going to go from being the 3rd best player on a team to being the best player by far on the Rockets. Jeremy Lin might be able to be a solid player, but even at his best he isn't a guy I would say is going to make Harden's life easier offensively (or demand the attention that Westbrook or Durant would). Asik is going to set good hard screens, and while that may free up Harden, is Asik really going to be a guy that Harden can hit on a hard roll for a bucket? Is Donatas going to be that player? Seems like a spot up shooter to me, but Rockets fans would know better than I would. I don't think what Harden does this year is important. He is going to develop his game more this year than he has the past 3 years. Him being the number 1 option (something I believe he is capable of by the way, at least in the same way JJ used to be, not a title number 1 but still competent) is going to make him a better player. He is going to get game planned for now, which may not have been the case the past few years. I know people may use the argument "well look what he did with KD and RW on the bench", but without looking at the numbers, probably 70% of the time he was playing with and against backups. I am a huge fan of Harden, I think Houston fleeced OKC. I hope he comes in and gives you guys 24-6-6 right off the bat, but I just think everyone should temper their expectations. There is probably going to be a bit of a rough patch at first, as well as throughout the year. Harden is a good player, but as long as Jeremy Lin is the Rockets second best player, they aren't going anywhere, and Harden's life will not be easy.

Not really how I feel about this. Big fan of his, but if they are trying to make the playoffs this year (assuming they are), I don't see why you start him over the vets they have when Barnes wasn't very spectacular in pre-season. Don't get me wrong, he was solid, but I don't think he really 'stole' that spot, which is what I would think a team vying for the playoffs would do. Would have thought they would go with Rush or Wright. But then again, Jackson did give Klay a big role immediately last year, and I think Barnes is a better prospect.

Its really a shame this game isn't in Boston. I know they are doing the rings but still, seems like a waste to have the ECF preview in such a shitty arena. You know the Garden is gonna be electric when the Heat come to town.

I am really scared to see what kind of extension Colangelo gives Lowry this summer. Love the kid, but if we gotta pay him 12M a year, that is going to suck (unless it is 3 years or something like that). I like Lawson, but that is a very steep pricetag. We will see how it plays out, still young.

Adding another top pick to that Washington team is going to have them in good shape 365 days from now. I feel like those moves they made came a year too early. Winning 34 games would be the worst thing that this team could do at this point I feel. Huge fan of John Wall though, Beal too. Love that backcourt moving forward. Just like Arenas and Hughes back in the day, except infinitely better.

First Raps game I will be going to in a while, the last time I went was pre-Hedo. The last home opener I went to was vs the Warriors, JO's first game, which was a great game. I am expecting the ACC to be rocking tomorrow, despite this shit weather I am hoping the city is buzzing. Just the first time I feel like the team is worth dropping 50 bucks on a ticket for + everything else. I know the playoffs are a longshot, but at least I know the team will play their nuts off. Not something I could have said with certainty before a game 2-3 years ago. Sounds like the Pacers are pretty banged up too, so them not having Granger/George Hill for extended minutes would obviously go in our favour. Excited though. Hoping we pull off a win and get some free shit at the game.

I think that would be their best line up, but I think both LeBron and Wade have said (could be totally pulling this out of my ass though, just feel like I read it last year) that they don't want to guard points. I am just curious to see how Allen is going to be implemented into the rotation. They can't very well have Wade, LeBron and Allen on the floor at the same time unless Wade is guarding point guards, which would be scary since we know how disinterested he can be defensively in the regular season. But Allen is just too good a shooter to not have him on the floor with LeBron for at least 20-25 minutes a night. I am really excited to see LeBron surrounded with shooters again though. As if stopping him wasn't hard enough last year, now he has both shooters like in Cleveland (they had shooters last year, but no Ray Allen), and quality support in Miami. Hoping for a historical season out of LeBron this year, and lots of triple doubles. Simmons actually has a really good article on Grantland right now about LeBron. His stuff hasn't been that great lately, but that article gave me goosebumps. People need to realize that we are watching one of the best players ever carve his legacy right now, and instead of pretending like Durant is in his stratosphere (not even close), we should all sit back and enjoy watching him grow into one of the greatest ever.

Kobe or no Kobe, no excuse to win by anything less than double digits. First game though. Can't wait to see all the world is ending/my teams player will be MVP posts in the next few days around the world of basketball forums.