Poe

The Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Raptors, and Heat are going to be battling it out this year, and maybe the Bulls, too. I expect all of their records to be a bit close. The Eastern conference is going to start looking a little like the Western did the last couple of years.

Damn, Ariza is about to surpass his career high in only his second game. Oh wait, I thought he couldn't be a first option...

Looking Good. Ariza, Scola, and Brooks getting the majority of the shots. This is looking much better than the first game. Keep it up.

Wow, looking at the scoreboard, what a game for Lopez. Yi has some nice stats too. I'll be keeping an eye on this team. They will be looking good in the future.

Hmmm... Me thinks Shaq is gunna get traded. A bit early to really tell, though.

Well, I was right about Beasley, 21 points, although this prediction won't sound too out of the ordinary after a few games. And by the way, Beasley was actually playing defense out there! Man, the dude was hustling, and making plays on both ends of the floor. This is going to be a great year for him. JO didn't have quite a big enough performance to call it a complete domination, although he put up a very good numbers. 22 points and 12 boards in less than 30 minutes. Great way to start the season for him. I was completely wrong about Wade, haha. He had a bad shooting performance in the first half, and he picked himself up in the second. 26 points, which is below his average last year. Cook only made 2 three-pointers out of 5 attempts, yet those 15 points off the bench are looking very nice. Still, my prediction was on his 3 shooting.

Thanks man. I've said it from the start that the Heat are going to look like a very good team. Just because they didn't make moves, doesn't mean they didn't get better Hopefully the Heat stay focused and don't get too comfortable. I just predicted a 5 game streak. They should build from this performance and carry it on throughout their next games.

Man, Miami is looking awesome out there. And I'm just about ready to change my mind on Q-Rich. He's proving to be a decent role player making a couple baskets and drawing a couple charges. He may not be a good 1on1 defender, but he's been a great team defender tonight. BTW, Jermaine O'Neal - 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and its still not the 4th quarter yet. I told you guys he is back, baby! OK, fine, the Knicks defense sucked... but still, man, he looks great out there. There is no question that his knee feels better.

Great team play so far. Other than Wade's poor shooting, lots of things are looking good for Miami. Actually, the fact that Wade isn't shooting well and the Heat are still up by 9 says a lot about the improvement of this team. Also, Haslem coming off the bench seems to be working well. 6 points and 6 boards. He's averaged 10 points and 8 boards for his career, so having him off the bench has not slowed him down a bit. The only sore spot is Q-Rich's production. He's drawn a charge, and that's it. He's been almost a complete nonfactor in his 8 and a half minutes of play. Erik, please start Jones or Dorell instead. Jones is a better shooter, and Dorell is a much better defender and rebounder then both of them.

Alright, Darko subbed in, and the Knicks defense looks a little more normal now.

Wow, wtf kind of defense are the Knicks playing... Jeffries is guarding Chalmers every time he dribbles down the court, and they are switching on absolutely everything. I've never seen anything like that before.

I think it might actually be beneficial to have Haslem come off the bench. He has always been an energy guy, and I think his intensity can pick things up and bring some spark off the bench.

Because of 3 point shooting ability. I think they are trying to surround D Wade with shooters to space the floor to give him room to drive and dish. Jones and Q-Rich are the Heat's best 3 shooters that can play the SF position, and Beasley will be able to stretch the floor beyond Haslem's mid range limit. Q-Rich has started games in preseason, although I don't like to base a whole lot off of that, it sounds like he might take the position against New York today. I consider Dorell to be a good all around player, but he's still not confident enough from behind the ark for defenders to truly respect his shot, although his midrange is deadly at times.

Last year, Charlotte seemed to do well against good teams and somehow lost most of the games they should have been winning against bad teams. I got Boston on this, but it should be somewhat close.

Bargnani-Shaq matchup is a mismatch on both ends. It'll be interesting to see if Calderon has truly improved his D, and I wonder how Turk will handle LeBron without having the best shotblocker in the league backing him up. It's to be expected that the Cavs win this. I wonder how much the Raptors have really improved.

LINK This is interesting. Beasley averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds in the games he started last year. He's definitely going to be there offensively and on the boards, but he has nowhere near the same defensive intensity as Haslem. I guess we'll have to wait and see how this will work out. I have doubts the line up will remain exactly the same throughout the season. Also, Q-Rich looks to be the most likely to start at SF. He'll bring 3 shooting, defense, and some posting up if he ever gets any sort of mismatches.

So I guess this is going to be a slow start to the season for the Rockets. Hopefully they'll start flowing soon and won't wind up digging themselves a hole.

Hmm.. the two teams are tied after the first quarter, and then Houston is suddenly down 13 at the end of the 2nd. On Houston's side, it seems a bit odd to me that Battier has taken the most shots. I'd like to see Ariza and Scola get about 15-20 shots each by the end of the game. The offense needs to be run through those two and Brooks. And Greg Oden looks awful on the offensive end for Portland. No points and four turnovers, yet those 3 blocks and 6 boards are lookin good. Nice play from Outlaw off the bench, though. BTW, I haven't actually been watching the game, just looking at the stats.

I guess it won't be too long before we find out

^ I agree that the players around Rondo have definitely helped him start out his career and develop into what he's becoming. Rondo wants the most money he can get, and he knows the Celtics need him. Going into free agency is his chance to gain the most possible. Whether he deserves it or not is what he's going to try to prove this year, and it will be up to the coaches around the league to find out if he's truly worth it.

For the Heat, I'd stay with Wade all the way. It's his house, and I wouldn't replace him for anybody in the league. If it was for some sort of team where I could pick all the players with 30 other people, and it was only for a single season, and I had the number 1 pick, then my first choice would be Kobe.

Anthony is one of the better ball movers on the team. Even when West comes back, I'd still start AP, just for a better flowing offense, and Delonte can bring spark off the bench. You're probably right about Shaq. Him and LeBron love that paint. It's best to let them dominate the area at separate times in the game. The thing is, that would be a very difficult decision for a coach to bench one of the greatest centers of all time.

It looks like Cleveland starts off the season with a loss at home court :o Looks like having Shaq in the paint is forcing Bron to take more jumpers than finishes at the rim. Although he shot well for the most part tonight, I don't think this system is going to work out as well as the season progresses. I know this is just one game, but the Shaq addition hasn't worked as well as the Cavs have hoped.

I think Rondo wants to wait and see if he can prove he is worth more. If he puts up anything close to what he did during the playoffs last year, then there should be at least one team in the league willing to give that kind of money, and it will be up to the Celtics to match it. I think financially, Rondo is making the right decision.

I agree, MJ was SUCH a scrub.