Check my Stats

One of the softest players ever during our era of basketball watching. So much talent, so little to show for it (compared to what he probably COULD have achieved, dude has still had a pretty solid career).

We save the money on not overpaying for Chandler, just so we can overpay Barbosa to keep him this summer

Ainge should be fired immediately if he trades Rondo for Pau. They didn't wanna give Perk 7M a year, but they would be willing to pay a 31 year old 20M for the next 3 or 4? I wonder how many times KG would make Pau cry too. Pau is everything the Celtics aren't. I don't get how Rondo might not be staying, you do realize his contract has 4 more years on it right? If they are trading Rondo (or anyone for that matter), you have to think it is in the same mold as the Jeff Green deal. Save money, and get younger. Not add money, get older, and get worse.

I will never feel sorry for a professional athlete no matter how hard I try.

I don't get where this sense of entitlement is coming from.

So... is the late season run not coming this year? Or do we wait until we can't make the playoffs to start winning games? Part of me wants to make the playoffs, but another part of me wants to lose out and hope the lottery is rigged for us.

You move a Rick Nash at the draft IMO, and you trade FOR a Nash in the summer as well. I see Toronto upping their offer this summer if we continue this slide and finish with a pretty high pick, for example (don't even want him, but could see us dangling a top pick if we have one due to this terrible end to the season). You trade nash, you do it like Philly did with Richards., you get one A list prospect (and a nice supporting piece), not a bunch of solid prospects/late firsts. Quality over quantity, at least that should be your philosophy while you have absolutely no quality in your lineup. Luckily for Columbus, they should have a new, competent GM in charge before Nash has to be moved. If I was Columbus I'd have done everything to get Couture, but I wouldn't blame SJ if they refused to give him up, seeing as he already better than Nash Hopefully for that franchise's sake they rape a team in a deal, cause Nash is absolutely not worth it.

I don't think I hate a player anymore, realistically I hate fanbases far more than players. I guess right now it would be Dwight, just because he seems like a really annoying guy (personality wise) and this whole situation is just so stupid, the way he has carried himself.

Constructive? Lmao no. Dude was talking straight trash and I love it. Kobe was just saying what the entire world is thinking. It sucks it was just an exhibition game, because in a moment like that in a real game, well that would have just been amazing.

Wade is a punk, hopefully people will realize it now. Everyone has painted LeBron the douche, but Wade is no saint either. What I don't get is why Wade didn't just D up on him, he let him go by, no help (as expected, all-star game) then just hammered him. If Kobe had been expecting a foul, then he probably wouldn't have gotten banged so hard, but don't play the first however many minutes soft, then all of a sudden hammer a guy.

His man defense would get exposed against those guys, but in general i think he would still be statistically the same, and would still be a great defensive anchor. I think where Dwight would get exposed would be in the playoffs, where he would have to play a legit big man every night in a 7 game series, something he doesn't have to do right now.

Wade is one of the biggest punks in the league. I don't know how people don't notice it.

Why are you guys wasting your words on Rick Nash? I hope for their own sake Columbus is gonna have a real franchise player in Yakupov this summer. Teams should be trying to get Dustin Brown, not Rick Nash.

I literally want to kill Chris Brown. He just has a face you wanna stomp imo.

Both teams should have done this deal months ago. Shit is getting ridiculous. LA is seriously going to regret not giving up everything except Kobe for Dwight when they had the chance (assuming they did).

1. I wasn't 2. I just call it how I see it. You're telling me Ovie, Semin and Kovalev were/are just in slumps? I would question anyone who demonstrated a lack of heart or determination to win (hell I have had to witness two of the biggest my entire life in Chris Bosh and Vince Carter). Russians are supremely talented typically, it just SEEMS like a lot of them don't care. Obviously none of us can say definitively, so I just go off what I see, just like you. I will question Phil Kessel's desire to win or heart (has come a long way but still so soft) just as fast as I would someone like Alex Kovalev.

A biased Canadian Let's see if Malkin is the playoff MVP if he isn't being shadowed by Datsyuk and Zetterberg every shift. They have both had bad linemates as far as I am concerned, so that point is pretty moot. You'd have an argument if Crosby had been playing with all-stars on his lines through his career, which he hasn't. They had Marion Hossa for 30 games, other than that absolutely nothing spectacular. If you think Kunitz and Dupuis (Crosby's most frequent wingers I believe) are something special then we have bigger issues in this thread than Malkin vs Crosby. In regards to Letang, he was never above 33 points until last year, so I'm not sure how Crosby can be some sort of a product of him as you seem to be suggesting. Also, didn't Malkin play with Sykora? Who was Pitt's 4th leading scorer a couple years ago. Also I could be wrong, but didn't Malkin also get Guerin on his wing, the 5th leading scorer a couple years ago? (going purely off memory here, so I could be completely wrong, not sure) Crosby has a higher hockey IQ, and brings intangibles to the game that Malkin simply doesn't. He is a smarter, more effective player. I admitted Malkin is probably the more talented of the two, in fact he is probably the most talented player in the league. I just choose to take the empirical evidence that Crosby's production is superior opposed to your opinion. Any Russian star is less in my eyes? No. Players like Datsyuk, Malkin, etc are amazing, cream of the crop. Players like Ovechkin, Semin, Kovalev, those are what give Russians a bad name, not me. If every Russian had a quarter of the heart that someone like Datsyuk does, then this wouldn't even be a discussion. Both are absolutely amazing, and Malkin has closed the gap more than anyone ever has (even Ovechkin a few years ago wasn't this good imo). It really is hard to say who is definitively better because Crosby before he got hurt last year was brilliant, better than Malkin right now production-wise, and the team was winning. Hopefully Crosby can get back to full health so that instead of talking about ifs, we can talk about what is actually happening. Crosby vs Malkin isn't really worth arguing over, because the gap isn't that big anymore. All I am saying is that for you to act like Crosby's superior production is a result of linemates/conditions, then your argument is hugely flawed, because Crosby has played with equally mediocre players. For the record, I watch Pittburgh all the time, because believe it or not, I love watching Malkin play. He is amazing, Crosby is just better.

http://www.lakers-fan.com/wp-content/uploads/fishfancopy.jpg If that ain't hostility I don't know what is. Toronto would be up there too if we ever had a contender I feel. Our building gets loud even in times of mediocrity.

LOL. Yeah Crosby has played with absolute gold such as Kunitz and Dupuis. Malkin might be more talented, might, but Crosby is without a doubt the better, more effective of the two players. It isn't even up for debate. Malkin is having an amazing year, but Crosby last year was easily better, and he didn't even get to play with someone like Neal. Please, enlighten me as to what Crosby's luxuries were last year? Hell, the kid came back after a YEAR off, with a potentially fractured spine, and put up 12 points in only 8 games. It's not even a debate, even if you try to make it one.

Stammer now tied with Malkin in points this year (although he has played quite a few less games which is definitely significant). Stamkos has really come a long way, and has pulled far away from the "product of St. Louis" label. Malkin is without a doubt the best player in the league playing right now, but Stamkos is definitely in that group right now with Datsyuk, Malkin, etc imo, if he wasn't already (wasn't for me before the year). If Tampa can make a big run and get into the playoffs, the race for the MVP will be very interesting between him and Malkin. Giroux should be in the mix too, but for some reason I just feel like he won't be, even though he has been nothing short of stellar. Also, just realized that Radim Vrbata just pushed into the TOP 5 in goals this year. You know it is a pretty dry year at the top of the scoring leaders when guys like Vrbata and Hartnell are in the top 10. Good players, don't get me wrong, but damn.

Party boys are back in town! Johnson is garbage, Carter has potential to be good again. Honestly this just feels like a bad trade for both sides.

Haven't really noticed but this kid is putting up sensational stats so far this year. The kid has Cleveland hovering around the playoffs right now, and while they won't get in he is a big reason they aren't dead last again this year (having players try/healthy helps also). My question is posed to those who have watched him much more than I: what do you envision Kyrie as? Statistically, player comparisons, etc. Just interested in what everyone here thinks of him, because I don't have much to go off other than the few times I have seen him play and the stats.

That would seriously suck. He is carrying The Office this season imo, and if you take him off it probably goes down the shitter. And a show like that is so gimmicky it has potential to last maybe one season at the most. I like the Schrute farms part of his character, but I wouldn't want to see it week in week out. Was originally just coming in here to see if anyone has been keeping up with it? I think this season has been really good, and this plot-line is the exact kind of shot in the arm this season has needed for years. David Kochner being on multiple episodes in the past/coming weeks is awesome too. Dude is hilarious, so damn obnoxious.

One part of me questions how much better he can get because he has so many limitations. But another part of me is encouraged because this is a kid who averaged 17 PPG last year on 47% from the field (how is this inefficient? 81% from the line too.), and did this IN SPITE of all his limitations. I was hoping to see him take a big step this year, but he hasn't shown near the improvement that you expect/hope from a guy going from his 2nd to 3rd year. To be fair, the environment is entirely different this year, there is accountability defensively, and Triano was a cupcake. Yeah and Ariza shot 39% that year. I think the problem is that you are looking at that 40% next to Demar's name and thinking that is because of an increased role or something, like Ariza. It's not. He shot 47% last year in the exact same role as the 2nd offensive option. He got off to a bad start. New coach, new system, new culture. If you want to knock Demar's handle, defense, IQ, vision, etc, that is fine. But to call him an inefficient scorer I think is wrong. Especially when you consider the potential he shows in getting to the line often (he also gets abused by officials very often). Sorry, but I will take the full season sample of last years %'s over the 30 games so far this year. I don't disagree with your other post, but I am reserving judgement on him still. He is a gym rat, and while he hasn't taken the steps in his game that I had hoped, I still think he can be a productive scorer in this league. Especially because he is pretty effective at playing off the ball (he is a bad one on one iso scorer as of today). For what it is worth, over the last 9 games he is averaging 20.4 PPG on 49% from the field. This includes 29 vs SAS, 21 vs BOS and 25 vs MIA. By no means is this a huge sample size, but at the same time I consider it encouraging. These are the types of numbers he was putting up last year in the second half. He still has a long ways to go, but I don't think scoring is his biggest issue at this point to be honest. I just think this year Casey might be making his stats less pretty than if Triano was still coach, but long-term I think Demar is going to be a much better player than under a coach like Jay.

You can count on someone signing Rask to a very, very nice offer sheet if Boston doesn't lock him up very quickly, which is probably pretty likely (just look at all the other top end RFAs lately... Rask would be a moron to not at least hear from other teams before locking in, but then again crazier things have happened). I seriously doubt Boston even risks losing him for someone like Parise who they don't even need, at least not as much as they will need Rask a couple years from now. Parise is going to be commanding Brad Richards type of money to start from, especially after the solid type of year he is rounding out into this year after missing an entire season. If they dump Thomas for nothing, then okay you might have something. But I still think Thomas is a year or two from being moved, but then again I am not overly familiar with the situation. But even then, I think it is way less certain than you are making it out to be. I haven't heard a single rumbling of Parise to Boston.. any chance you could provide a link? Not being a dick just curious, haven't heard rumblings of him to anywhere actually, seems he's been pretty tight lipped. Bottom line, I seriously doubt Boston is going to rush into locking into a deal paying Parise probably around 7M annually with guys like Seguin, Lucic, Horton and Rask all due for nice new contracts all in the next 2 years. I just find it hard to believe the best team in the east (sorry New York) is going to make such a big splash with so many uncertainties financially in the near future. For the record, I think Parise will stick with the Devils.