Nitro

He will, but I was talking strictly about their open court game.

In LA he was constantly playing in front of stars and some of the sexiest women alive. In Philly the only people he has to impress are Meek Mill and the ugly bitch from It's Always Sunny.

That 6 year streak was largely based off Nellie-ball. Last season they were 14th in offense, and dropped 5 spots in pace. Jackson wanted to slow down the game and become more defense and execution oriented. With Bogut they will definitely improve in some of those aspects, but with his supporting talent I don't see them becoming a top 10 defensive team, and offensively I don't see them being elite either in a slowed-down offense. As for the Bynum thing, where he fits is that the team is based off defense and securing rebounds to ignite their fastbreak. H's got the supporting talent to accomplish this. The Warriors are a jumpshooting team which will negate some of Bogut's offensive rebounding ability, and they don't have the defenders around him to maximize what he can offer on defense.

Besides health (the #1 key), my issue is with the direction of the team. How will they operate? The Sixers last season were built on defense. They had arguably the best defenders in their league at 2 positions (Holliday and Iguodala), and top to bottom the team was defensively talented with a very good coach. Anytime you are as strong defensively as they were, to add to occasional explosive offense that their open court game enabled, then you are going to be a solid team. They benefited from playing in the East, and then playing a heartbroken Chicago team in the playoffs, but still they had a solid identity to play off of. Indiana had one of the best big man combo's in the league, a SF a step below elite when he's on, and good depth with Collison, George, Hill, Barbosa and Hansbrough. Because of their big men they were top 5 in the league in rebounding, and their role players allowed them to be one of the best 3pt shooting teams as well. Denver was as perfectly constructed for their uptempo, team-oriented identity as you could possibly get without having a star player. From the coaching to the talent, they just meshed very well. This Golden State team...I don't know. Everyone besides Bogut is made to play at an uptempo, free-flowing style. If they want to take advantage of his abilities, they'll need to slow the game down. However, if they do, and I'm assuming Mark Jackson will, I don't know how far that will get them. Bogut is a very good player, but not a good #1 option, and the players around him aren't guys who can be key contributors on a team based on defense, rebounding and an offense based on strict execution. Now, if they up the tempo, then that will largely negate the abilities of Bogut, making him no more than a glorified role player. And the rest of the roster, while they have some talent, just isn't good enough to make them anymore than a fringe playoff team (IMO on the wrong side of the 8th seed). I honestly have higher hopes for Milwaukee, at least as far as potential goes. I am not a Monta or Jennings fan, but they can be an explosive 1-2 punch on some nights, which is a bit more intriguing to me than what GS has going for them.

Coaching, health and direction.

It was ok...lyrics were pretty strong, but the production bored me and no song really stood out and grabbed my attention.

I think they can coexist, but the ceiling isn't high. Both are volume scorers who don't do much else. Randolph is a great rebounder, but he makes minimal defensive impact and is an average-at-best passer (and not a willing one). Gay does nothing at a high level besides score. Neither guys are particularly efficient at scoring, and Gay isn't an elite 3pt shooter, so the variety in scoring isn't great. They can certainly figure out how to balance attempts and figure out different sweet spots to where the other player won't be effecting the quality of shots they get. But, where does that ultimately get you? Not far. Randolph, when healthy, is the better overall player, and proved 2 seasons ago that he can be a decent 1st option. Instead of giving 15 shot attempts to Gay alongside him, it'd be more productive to give him a more elite 3pt shooter who has some versatility, and balance the shots between that player and other guys on the team who deserve more exposure (Gasol, Conley specifically). This would lead to a more balanced team that would maximize its talents, as opposed to the current team which can't overcome its issues of redundant talent like Miami did.

Gotcha. I think them being a title contender is a lot less likely than a team like Toronto making the playoffs, but at least it makes things more understandable.

Don't feel like reading the description, but how is Denver a sleeper team? They pushed LA to 7 games last year and pretty much everyone agrees Iguodala was a very nice addition.

I said this was gonna be a problem early last year. Giving out 2 max deals and giving Perkins that awful contract made not only keeping the current core group intact extremely difficult, but improving the rest of the roster to keep up with the likes of Miami (and now LA) nearly impossible. Ibaka is overrated to most, but fact of the matter is he is still young, a nightly double-double threat, and blocks shots at an insane rate. All that equates to a big contract, even if in actuality he probably isn't worth it. And Harden, while not a franchise player IMO, can put up 20/5/5 or a little better as a #1 option on a mediocre team, which will equate to a huge contract as well (especially now that he's getting a lot of media exposure and becoming a household name). Now that the new luxury tax penalities are getting ready to take into effect, it makes things that much harder to keep this team together. For some reason I got the feeling he's gonna stay, but OKC's gonna have to get creative in how they spend their money to give this team a real shot at winning a title.

Before I comment on him going to LA, I think people are being a bit too optimistic about LeBron's longevity. Yes, he'll only be 29 when he can possibly jump ship to LA, but the milage he has on his body already is RIDICULOUS. He's led the league in minutes played twice (and is basically top 5 almost every year), led the league in minutes per game once (top 6 every season besides rookie year), led the league in minutes played and minutes per game 3x in the post-season, has played in 5 Olympics/Olympic-related events (FIBA Ameica's and World Championships) and got big minutes in 4 of those, etc... Most players tend to break down from minutes as opposed to age. LeBron has made massive strides in rounding out his skillset, but with his style of play I am not sure if he will age quite as gracefully as Kobe has. I could be wrong, and I hope he proves me wrong, but I am not optimistic that he'll give either the Lakers or Heat 4 excellent seasons after this contract runs up. Keep in mind, 4 years into his next contract he will be 14-15 years deep in the league, with far more milage than guys like Kobe and KG had up until that point. Anyway, I could see him going to LA as a major possibility, but I think a lot rests on the next 2 seasons. If he squeeks out another championship, I think he will be inclined to stay with Miami. Remember all that hate he got when he left Cleveland? He hates being the bad guy, and now that he's won a championship in Miami, he will forever be adored by those fans, especially if he brings another championship there. Would he want to risk losing that? And it's not like he's playing for a shitty franchise with a poor record of readjusting the roster when needed to remain a contender...Riley gave Wade 3 seperate contending rosters (04-05 team, 05-06 team, and the current squad). He is as capable as any GM in the league at putting the right talent around his stars, even if it doesn't seem feesible. Him and Mitch are one in the same there. Either way, you're gonna see him in the Finals for many years to come.

Was disappointed with the snippets and the crazy track lengths, but the kid's got crazy talent so I'll give it a listen soon. If anyone can hit me up with a link it'd be appreciated.

Wow their court colors and the blackbox lighting look INCREDIBLE!!! I'm so excited for this season as a Nets fan. Can't wait to see the arena for myself sometime this season (I'm trying for November).

He's still a solid player in spot minutes, but the issue is he needs the ball in his hands. He isn't the sparkplug scorer/shooter that everyone thinks he can be, including the Hawks last year. He hasn't been that player since like 04-05. His primary asset is his playmaking, specifically out of the PnR. He was quite effective on the Pistons as starting PG, and I feel using him as a primary playmaker off the bench on a contender he could do some damage. But, with his history, both with injuries and his attitude make that impossible. Extremely sad to see this considering he's my all-time favorite player.

Got the issue in the mail today. One of the illest magazine covers ever.

I like the new baseline script, but can't really see the difference at midcourt in that back (which is probably a good thing). Could look classy, especially since it's complimentary as opposed to an eyesore.

I agree to a large extent. The big difference between this and the reversed situation is a 17 year old boy can defend himself if he didn't want it to cross a certain point, while the girl can't.

I wouldn't say he is underrated or overrated. He is an awful first option, and sketchy 2nd option. He is not a great iso scorer, 'nor a good 3pt shooter, 'nor a great post-up player, so relying on him to be one of your primary offensive threats is a bad mistake. His ego to be that type of player shows itself often, where he tries to do things that he really isn't capable of, so even with a different coach and teams I could see him continuing to take bad shots, force himself into iso's, etc... However, he is an incredible player on other areas of the floor, even with attributes like passing where he is very overlooked. He is also very versatile and can be a game changer at times by his athleticism alone. And when he does get hot offensively, he can shows signs of domincance for stetches. The issue is he is talented and a big enough name to get close to a max deal on his next contract, and for a guy who isn't even suited to be a championship caliber #2 option, that makes him kinda hard to be a building block on a contender. He is good enough to be a top 2 player on a rebuilding/middle tier team, but not good enough at anything particular to be a top 2 player on a contender, who won't be paying him near max money just to be the 3rd or 4th option.

They ended up [expletive]ing the league worse. By raising the price of the luxory tax, it completely destroyed the chance of smaller market teams being able to afford strong rosters, while the richer teams (LA for example) continue to be able to afford the same stacked teams.

Love is more well-rounded, but he's not first option material, especially not on a championship team. Dirk is an elite first option, and won a championship in that role, and been to the Finals another time.. He's a former MVP winner, and consistently performs at a high level in both the regular and post-season. To compare Love, a guy who hasn't even been to the post-season yet, to a guy with Dirk's resume and who is less than 2 years removed from one of the greatest post-season runs ever, is kind of ridiculous IMO. Same goes for Griffin, who is probably and even worse first option that Love. KG was better in his prime, and on days where his legs still have spring he is right with Dirk as the best PF in the game, mostly because he is more well-rounded and arguably the best defensive anchor in the league next to Dwight. However, those games are way too far and inbetween. Pau at his best is also right there with KG, but like KG, he doesn't string together those efforts on a consistent enough basis. Amare, Bosh and Aldridge also are clearly a tier below.

Lol Sheed, Camby and Kurt Thomas...would have been an elite frontcourt about 12 years ago. Sheed could still potentially have some decent value, though, so it can't hurt. If nothing else he'd still be able to knock down 3's and play solid defense.

Agreed. Lyrically, he's on complete fire this album. Great flow, amazing wordplay, and the stories and pictures he paints are incredibly vived and detailed. I just wish for the 2nd part he picks some darker, non-techno sounding beats. But that's not a big deal considering how focused he is lyrically, and the fact that the production is well-done even if it isn't always my cup of tea.

Bynum doesn't impact the game more than Paul. First off, last year was the only season in the past 5 where Bynum played the equivilent of 65 games. Secondly, he still can't pass out of the post and is a blackhole down there, therefor you can't run an offense through him like other elite big men...not to mention even despite having the ball in his hands far less, he actually turns the ball over more than Paul does. Thirdly, he has trouble defending PnR's and is stiff defensively, and isn't an elite shotblocker. Lastly, for a dominant big man, he doesn't get to the foul line a ton (less than 6 attempts per game), and shoots below 70% there. CP3 has been very durable over his career, he is normally just as/more efficient than Bynum as a scorer despite taking less shots while scoring more, he is among the best defensive players at his position, he is one of the top 3 playmakers in the league and by FAR the most efficient ballhandler in the NBA, and he is statistically one of the best clutch performers in the league while Bynum has NEVER been a go-to clutch player. Not to mention, due to not being a willing passer and being a poor FT shooter, it is doubtful he will ever be an elite clutch performer. Big men normally do impact the game more than perimeter players, but the league is changing, and Bynum isn't Shaq, Hakeem or Duncan. No one has any idea how he will be able to handle the defensive attention/responsibility a #1 option does, he hasn't proven to be able to stay on the court throughout his career, he is a terrible and unwilling passer, his attitude has remained a big question mark, and he isn't an elite defensive player. Comparing him to a former #2 MVP candidate, one of the best players statistically in NBA history, a #1 option who has led teams deep in the playoffs, and guy who is consistently on All-Defensive teams...c'mon now.

http://www.82games.com/1112/CSORT11.HTM Of the top 5 crunch-time scorers last season, Paul led the way in assists, steals, and FT% (which was important since he got there a lot in crunch-time). He also had a higher FG% in those situations than Durant and Melo, and only 2% of his FG's were assisted on which greatly detracts from FG%. Basically, he wasn't terrible in clutch situations. In fact, he was one of the top performers in the entire league last season. Of course you can pick out some of his failures, which is easy since you so closely follow the Clippers, but amongst his peers he was on the elite side of things. And crunch time performance is such a small percentage of a game, and especially over an entire season. What he did over the course of 48 minutes the entire season was phenominal....as I said before, look at the stats and accolades he accumulated last season, and how he turned the Clipper franchise around and led them to the 2nd round without homecourt.

What struggles?!? Last season CP3 was 3rd place in MVP voting, led the Clippers past the 1st round without homecourt advantage, was 2nd in the league in PER, averaged 20/9 on great efficiency while leading the league in steals, and made 1st team All-NBA and All-Defensive. Again...what struggles? He didn't play amazing in the playoffs, but he faced an awesome defense in the 1st round while Griffin was MIA, and the 2nd round his team was simply way over-matched. Still, in the scope of the entire season, he was sensational.