Nitro

Love it, just don't know about the text. Seems either out of place or too big.

http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Source-Lorenzen-Wright-Found-Dead-in-Southeast/2mTkdqqd7UOSIrzrER_jRQ.cspx

Bosh has averaged over 10 boards 3 of the last 4 seasons (Amare hasn't averaged more than 9.6RPG ever). He was 6th in the NBA in rebounding the last 2 seasons. He's a great rebounder at the PF position. Did you watch the 2008 Olympics? Almost was everything Wade did was off-ball, and despite coming off the bench he led the team in scoring and shot 67% from the field. And before you use the excuse that it's international ball, Kobe shot his NBA percentage of 46%. Wade is one of the best star players in the league at moving off-ball, whether it be curling off screens or making hard cuts to the basket. As I said in my first post, this comparison is hard because we don't know how Wade/LeBron will mesh. But the potential is SKY HIGH. LeBron was #1 in PER last season. Wade was #2. Bosh was #4. Of course each will drop next season, but with their versatility and age, the sky really is the limit.

I think it's just the shirt. Take a look at this pic from the welcome party thing... http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize_image/images/m/miami-heat-070910-2.jpg Also, I think Riley possibly sold him on playing PG or a Magic Johnson type role on this Heat team, so maybe he is cutting some weight to allow him to defend the PG position? Who knows...

Wow...really? How in the world is it a wash when Bosh averaged 10.8RPG to Amare's 8.9RPG last season? Bosh had a TRB% of 17.7 to Amare's 14.5. In the post-season Amare averaged a HORRIBLE 6.6RPG. I don't know how you can't give Bosh the edge as Bosh has Amare beat by a pretty substantial margin. Ok...Paul is a better passer/playmaker for his teammates than Wade. But Wade and LeBron are the very best passers at their respective positions in the entire league. Wade and Bron are both more efficient scorers than Melo, and also All-NBA First Team defensive players. Bosh is a better rebounder and IMO a better defender than Amare.

Don't mind the first quote as I think that's what most people would say if they had to play in Toronto. It's gotta be tough being in a different country, and he did give the city of Toronto props. But the 2nd quote just makes him look horrible. You're a professional and got to be able to take the pressure of playing as a superstar, even if it's in a different country. He seemed to be diverting blame to the city rather than himself.

Really hard to tell since I have no idea how Wade/LeBron will work out. But, I think I'd give the Miami trio the edge. Individually Wade>Paul, LeBron>Melo, Bosh>Amare. The NY trio would definitely fit together perfectly, but I love the Miami trio's versatility and they are much more well-rounded.

...wow...

Honestly Yao is different. He's had a foot/leg injuries every year for the last 5-6 seasons and always comes back relatively the same. I really don't expect his play to suffer much once he shakes off a year's worth of rust. However, I think before the end of the season he will get a hairline fracture in his leg or foot or something will happen to end his career. He's just too prone to injury with his huge size and it's just bound to happen.

If I have time to kill...jerk off, smoke a cig, shower, eat breakfast, then go on the computer.

On paper, sure, they look good. I never argued that, but I am very skeptical of the way they ended last season. The Mavs won something like 13 straight after they got Caron Butler and looked primed to be the Lakers' biggest challenge with a STACKED lineup. What happened? They lost to a Spurs team that got swept by the Suns. I am not saying the Bucks will have that same kind of follow-up this season, but to call them a better team than a Magic team that swept their first 2 series' last season, won 59 games and won the ECF the previous season? Not ready to say that as they still have a LOT to prove. Like can Bogut stay healthy? He played only 69 games last season, and only 33 the previous. Can Jennings shoot above 40%? If not the Bucks will be in trouble because there are going to be less shots to go around next season with everyone healthy and Maggette on the roster as well. Even if the pieces fit on paper, I see them struggling out of the gate which will hurt their standings. And quite frankly, I just don't think they will be a better team than the Heat, Celtics, Bulls or Magic. The beauty of the Magic is they take on responsibility by committe. They aren't solely reliant on any specific players. It's why last season they were 4th in offensive rating, and 3rd in defensive rating. Nelson's production won't go down at all. Lewis' should stay constant. Carter should actually play BETTER than most of last season, where he was a sub-40% scorer to kick off the year. And if his production tails off a bit, Reddick continues to improve and can be counted on to take some of VC's minutes. Anderson improved a bit last year. Gortat and Bass are great backups to Lewis if his production plummets. And above all else, if they have trouble scoring, Howard only took 10 FGA last season...that can always go up. And the moves they made in the offseason were lateral more than anything. Barnes isn't really any better than Q-Rich, and Richardson may actually be a better fit with his 3pt shooting. Duhon is a solid backup PG, not really a downgrade from Williams. I just don't get why you think some of the Magic's big guns will take such a plummet that the other players can't pick up the slack. They operate very much as a team and have the depth to pick up individual slack. 3 things- 1) As I said in my previous post, Perkins is going to be out for awhile. And when he does come back, he's likely not going to be 100% and will have to shake off rust. 2) On top of the Perkins loss, they also lost Wallace, Tony Allen and IMO their biggest loss was Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau was the mastermind of their all-time defense, designing their schemes and defensive gameplans. Rivers is not the best at gameplanning, and I think the loss of Thibs' will definitely make an impact. But on the hardwood, the loss of those 3 players with only the addition of an old JO (who is not a great rebounder anymore) will only cause negative effects on the team. 3) Garnett and Pierce had their injury problems last year, and all of the Big 3 have been showing consistent signs of decline. Offensively that is going to really hurt this team. Yes, Rondo is a great player, but he is not the kind of scorer that will be able to take over games consistently. You could see that during the 2nd half of last season. He would show up with a big scoring effort one night and lead his team to victory, and the next night either be too passive or be forced into jumpers that he couldn't connect on. The Celtics are a team made for the playoffs. But in the regular season, with their age, injuries and off-season losses, I don't think they'll have the 2nd best record to the Heat.

He got fined for two reasons- 1) The things he said about Beasley were inappropriate. The "opinion" was that Beasley's drug use/immaturity caused his disappointing play in Miami. What he got fined for his the detail and wording. If he simply said Beasley had some off-court issues in Miami that hindered his play, he would have been clear. By going into detail about such a personal subject matter puts Beasley's privacy at risk and is completely unnecessary on Kahn's part. If you had a drug problem, you would understand how it's completely wrong to do what Kahn did (especially since Beasley's supposedly been clean for a year or so). 2) It's a business. If you go about doing something in an inappropriate manner that makes the company look bad, you'll get punished and EVERY business has the right to that. See my analogy in the previous post.

Supposedly the workout didn't go so great according to some Chicago beat writers like Sam Smith. He shot well but didn't move with fluidity and his conditioning wasn't the best. Most don't expect the Bulls to offer him a contract, and if they do it might be an unguaranteed worth about $1.4M.

I think so. I don't think they'll make the Finals, but they are going to be a VERY tough out in the playoffs. They have upgraded the talent on their roster immensely, and filled all of the holes they had last season. If they sign T-Mac and he somehow returns to 50-75% of what he was in 2007-2008, they could be even more dangerous. I'm excited to see how it all comes together. Best case scenario they are the 2nd best team in the East. Worst case scenario they will at least get homecourt advantage and advance to the semi's.

Again, it's not a matter of Kahn getting his freedom of speach repressed. It's his boss considering what he said inappropriate and negatively effecting the company's image, which effects the business revenue. If I was working at a supermarket and told a customer that I hate black people, should I not get punished? I would just be expressing myself, and the only way it can hurt the person I said it to is if he/she percieves it a certain way...don't you see how ridiculous that idea is? The Beasley thing was not about him getting fined for his opinion. It was him getting fined for essentially violating Beasley's privacy in an inappropriate manner on a radio show, which has further attracted the attention of the national media.

How are the Jazz in the top 10? They clearly got worse IMO. The rest of the list is shaky but I agree with a decent amount of it. But the Jazz? Damn...

I like this list, but have two problems- Orlando is too low, Boston is too high. Orlando really didn't regress much roster-wise, and we're talking about a team that won 59 games last season. I think it's premature to call the Bucks a better team when the Magic have been to the Finals and ECF the last 2 seasons, while the Bucks have had 0 playoff success and have new pieces that may or may not gel. As for the Celtics, they'll be a very tough out in the playoffs, but they aren't built for the regular season anymore. Wallace in all likelihood is gone, the Big 3 are all in their mid-30's (and had various injuries last season), Perkins will probably miss time from his ACL tear, Tony Allen is gone, etc... I don't see them having a better record than the Bulls or Magic next year. Otherwise, good list.

Would love to see Perkins do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntXXP25McMA

I know they buy the team, but the league has the ability to reject a purchase. As I said, it is a privilege, not a right to own an NBA team. And when you own the team, you are representing not only your team, but the NBA. And if the higher authority feels you made inappropriate comments, he should have every right to hand out major fines. That's not trampeling on free speach, that's just business. You're looking at it from your own personal viewpoint and not how an actual billion dollar business looks at it. If you don't think your image is largely shaped by what you say, you're dellusional. And considering owners don't play in the games and the only PR they get is from what they say, I'd say their contribution to the NBA's image is very much contingent upon their words. It's not his opinion (which implied that Beasley's smoking caused his dissapointing play in Miami) that is the issue. It's his decision to bring a 21 year old's drug addiction to the forefront in the media. It was very inappropriate. Trust me, if you had a drug addiction and were a year removed from it, the last thing you'd want is your new boss bringing it all up again to the media. And once again, not only did he say that about Beasley, but he also called a former NBA great (and current NBATV employee) a schmuck on live radio. Not morally wrong like the Beasley thing, but still inappropriate.

Nice article, reminded me of guys like Zoran Planninic who I tried to wipe permanently from my memory. Thorn had a bad streak in the draft from 2003-2007, but some of those guys were servicable role players for the Kidd/Carter Nets when they were still flitering with Eastern Conference contention. Overall I don't think Thorn's done a terrible job, and Lopez/Favors is a great drafted frontcourt with tons of potential.

The thing is that Melo has the better supporting cast going into 2010-2011, and next off-season could sign with a new super-team in which he'd be in a position to seriously contend for the next 4-5 years. Durant is going to be at the Thunder's mercy for the next few seasons, and they still have a lot of talent to add before they could take out both the Lakers and EC champ is in the same post-season.

When Fisher was the primary defender on Westbrook in the first 4 games, Westbrook shot above 50% in EVERY game. Then Kobe took the role of checking Westbrook starting in Game 5...and for those last two games, Westbrook couldn't shoot over 35%. Also in Game 5 Kobe helped force Westbrook into 8 TO's. Yes, Fisher may have switched onto Westbrook occasionally in those last two games, but Kobe was guarding him the vast majority of the time. And one could argue that Kobe's defense threw Westbrook out of his rythym, which indirectly helped Fisher out whenever he had to switch onto him.

It used to be hence my name haha. But you ride El Toro? That's by far the best ride there now IMO.

This is actually tough. I thought Legacy had the better punchlines and disses, but Riot had the better flow and rhymes. To make things interesting... 6-3

Well, Westbrook shot a very poor 36% EFG on jumpers last season, so Kobe played him perfectly because it was well known that Westbrook couldn't hit the jumpers consistently. Unless he was on a hot streak, there's no reason for me to believe he would be hitting those jumpers. To give you a comparison, Rondo shot 37.4% EFG on jumpers last season, and Kobe shot 46.2% EFG. 36% is awful. Anyway, it's semantics arguing if he locked him down or not. Not a big deal.