Nitro

Bingo. Generally speaking, I feel it is better to play with instincts rather than think-out every single play. Your instincts are developed by practice and how your IQ can help shape those instincts. But in a game, I'd rather play free and trust my instincts rather than breaking down every single thing. You tend to play more free and your decisions come a lot quicker when you play with sound instincts.

Aside from who's already been mentioned, this is my list. Not necessarily guys that are unknown for their scoring, but don't get the credit they deserve ... -David Lee -Aaron Brooks -OJ Mayo -Brook Lopez -John Salmons -Danny Granger

Don't really get it from either side. All the moves the Suns have/are likely to make would keep the run-and-gun foundation going, which has been the only real successful style this team has played with the last decade. Jefferson is not Amare; he will not kill teams in the PnR as much and won't be beating other bigs down the floor every fastbreak. He needs legit post touches to be very effective, and by doing that you are hurting everyone's strengths on that roster. As for the Wolves...they can do better than JRich if they are going to give up Jefferson. At least get some young players, a TPE or draft picks back.

Well that just destroyed Miami's chances at him, unless Riley can pull another rabbit out of his [expletive]. Not sure if he deserves the full MLE, but he's a great role player who will definitely help the Mavs out. Don't know if he'll be forced to play a lot of Center, though, with Dirk taking up 35-40MPG at the 4.

No, there's no reason relevance to bringing up that Wade/Bron/Bosh only won a Bronze 'till Kobe came onto the team (and Kidd...and Williams...and Redd...and Boozer...and Prince...). But I'm sure you know how ridiculous some of the points you made regarding that were, so I'm not even going to bother debating it anymore.

It'd be a great signing. Maybe not exactly what they need from a Center, but that's kind of hard to find when you're only working with minimum contracts. What I like is that he's a big, long body who can rebound, so they won't be at as much of a disadvantage playing against the Lakers/Magic. He also will get a ton of open looks that he can hit on a consistent basis. Doesn't hurt that he has the chemistry with LeBron as well.

Which in the end is irrelevant because the Miami Heat aren't going to be playing in a Euro-league next season. If Wade has proven he can lead a team to an NBA championship with one of the worst supporting casts in Finals history, then anything you bring up about Wade/Bosh/LeBron needing Kobe to win Gold in the Olympics means nothing. At all. Why do you keep bringing up Jordan and the Bulls? Jordan wasn't getting outscored by Pippen and shooting 21% worse from the field and 15% worse from the 3pt line. Jordan's effect on the Bulls is really non-comparable to Kobe's on Team USA. Two completely different roles, completely different productivity, different levels of supporting talent, and different leagues. It's not that Wade/Bron didn't need Kobe, but he needed them as just as much, especially Wade. Kobe's role on the team was much more from an emotional leadership standpoint than his actual play. Same thing with Kidd to a lesser degree. Of course Kobe came up big in the clutch in the Gold Medal game, but ignoring Wade's 20 1st half points is ridiculous. He kept the team in the game. It's like how you bash Fisher for coming up clutch but playing poorly the first 43min. It's not a perfect analogy, but for the game Wade had as much to do with the win as Kobe. As I said before, if I was just aimlessly sticking up for the trio and ignoring Miami's potential problems, I would have dissected your entire post. But the whole Team USA comment is what was wrong and misleading, and a really bad way to discredit how good this trio could/will be. I'll wait until Miami actually fills out their roster before saying they can beat LA in a 7-game series. But, to get back onto the topic of the Heat, it won't take a ton to find a big body to grab some boards and alter some shots. I'm also waiting to see if Riley really wants to pursue using LeBron at PG, because that will have a Magic Johnson effect for the team in rebounding (Magic is the reason those Lakers teams killed teams on the boards, even after Kareem was over-the-hill and grabbing 5 boards a game). No one will have a decent indication of how good this team will be until the playoffs, and their 2nd full year of being together.

Love the trade for both parties. Hedo will fit in nicely with the Suns and keep them competitive, and the Toronto can start to erase the memory of Hedo in a Raptor jersey.

Wade didn't step up with his 20 1st half points when the rest of the team was non-existent? And Kobe gave the team an identity with his defense, but you have to give credit for the rest of the team raising their level of defensive play. Kobe deserves major respect for it, but ultimately the team made their biggest defensive impact by full-court pressing teams and creating constant fast-break oppertunities (and Wade did the best job at that without a doubt). Give me a break. Kobe shot 32% from 3 in the Olympics. LeBron shot 46% and Wade shot 47% from 3, respectively (both higher than Kobe's overall FG % in the Olympics). Wade shot better from the FT line than Kobe, and shot 29 more FT's in those 8 games than Kobe did. And basketball is about shooting percentages when you're both playing the wing positions and one player is scoring more on over 20% better from the field. It's not like Kobe was drawing triple teams and players were playing off him. He scored in iso situations, and that's it offensively. Wade was destroying teams by playing the passing lanes, getting to the rim constantly, giving them a huge boost in energy and being ultra-consistent. First off, yes, Wade was the leader of the NBA Champion Heat...which makes whatever points you make about the team needing Kobe to win Gold irrelevant as Wade has already proven on the NBA stage he can lead a team to the promise land. And four years makes a big difference. LeBron is a much better shooter and defensive player than in 2006. Bosh is a better, more experience player since that time. Wade got marginally better as well. Players with 3 years experience and 7 years experience is a big difference, even if talent/skill wise the difference is minimal.

I understand the bitterness, although I do think him having so much say in the moves should be a knock against the Cavalier franchise for allowing that. I do think that as much as it sucks to see him go, you guys had a tremendous 4-5 year stretch. Getting to watch your team have great success and have a back-to-back MVP is something many franchises have never seen. He didn't win a title there, but 5 franchises have taken 29 of the last 31 championships. I know there was such hype and expectation, but in reality the years he was with the Cavs were extremely successful. Hopefully with time the dissapointment will subside a bit and appreciation for what he did the Cavs will surface.

Kobe led the team from an emotional standpoint, but he was NOT the best player of that Olympics. He and Kidd had a huge impact on the team's attitude/confidence, and their defensive intensity stuck with the other players. I am not denying he was "the leader", but he was not the best player of that Olympics. He was inconsistent offensively, and didn't give the team the energy or actual productivity that Wade did. Wade was without a doubt the best player of those games, and you cannot deny how important LeBron's versatility was as well. And no...not anything for me to do to credit the trio. If I wanted to do that I could have dissected your entire post and gone about it that way. All I wanted to do was disprove this, because it was horribly misleading (especially the Melo part...at least mention Kidd, as Melo was also on that bronze team).

That's not fair and very misleading. Wade was the best player of the 2008 Olympics, leading the team in scoring and shot 67% for the entire Olympics (including leading Team USA in scoring against Spain). LeBron also shot 60% and was played all 5 positions for the team. Kobe managed to shoot his NBA % of 46% and only 59% from the FT line. Melo was money in the 2006 and 2007 FIBA games, but didn't play that great in the Olympics. The team that won bronze together was 4 years ago and included many other current stars. If you put that bronze medal stigma on James/Wade/Bosh and say they'd need Kobe or Melo to win, then you have to do the same to Deron/Paul/Howard/etc.. And I know those guys aren't on a "super-team", but in the next few years they are going to have to form similar duo's/trio's to have a shot at winning championships.

I actually played against Caracter in a basketball camp. It was the camp of his high school coach, Kevin Boyle, and he came in and played in a few scrimmages. A few years older than me, but it was pretty fun. He had a bunch of character (no pun intended) problems throughout both HS and college with Pitino. Very curious to see if he can make it in the NBA.

I disagree with this. I think if he did end up joining the Heat, he would take it as a challenge just like he did when he first left LA. Different circumstances, and unlike that scenario he'll have essentially the same role, but it would be a huge stroke to Fisher's ego if he could play a major part in a different franchise winning a championship. But I highly, highly doubt he'll leave LA.

There's been a championship monopoly over the last 30 years between a few teams. Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs, Pistons and Rockets have taken 29 of the last 31 championships. I wouldn't mind it. It would hurt the lower-middle tier teams, but the rich would get richer and make the Conference Finals and Finals more interesting.

"Run the point night! One lucky fan gets to run the point every night for the Heat that's under the salary cap! The lucky fan gets to keep the jersey!" Hahaha that was all hilarious. He's an idiot on PTI but he's damn funny.

Lot to digest here, so I'll try to just quote the key points. BTW, I wasn't necessarily saying Kobe or LeBron is better than the other. I was exploiting magicballa's horrible logic. Yes, the LAKERS offense allows that. LeBron has never been in a read and react system where other players have to be able to initiate and run the offense. He simply never had players with that kind of talent in Cleveland. It's a lot harder to have the game come to you and have other players run the offense when you ARE the only set offense. I know it's a very small sample size, but watch how he played on Team USA. He let the game come to him and played near flawless all-around basketball. That's what he is naturally. Kobe also played naturally; the same way he does on the Lakers, because they can give him that oppertunity. As I mention later in my post, look at what Kobe did when he was out of the triangle/comfort zone and how it translated. Kobe is not an efficient ballhandler/playmaker, not on the level of LeBron. In the one year Kobe played out of the triangle he coughed up 4+ TO's per game. Last year he averaged the same amount of TO's as Bron while averaging over 3 less assists and 3 less points. You can say Kobe makes better on-point passes and reads of the defense, but in the end that is counter-balanced by him forcing things that aren't there (like his crossovers to split defenses). LeBron also has much better court vision, can make more difficult passes with greater consistency, and most importantly is more willing to get his teammates involved on a nightly basis. Kobe that's been a struggle his entire career. And Kobe may not force feed players the same as LeBron, but LeBron doesn't try and force feed the basket with the ball as much as Kobe, either. Kobe had 47 games last year where he took 20+ FGA, and 18 of those he shot below 45% from the field. In comparison, LeBron had only 43 games of taking 20+ FGA, and only 6 of those games did he shoot below 45%. That's a very substantial difference, regardless of skill. First off, what do you define as a great team? If we are talking defensively, then you just mentioned LeBron dominating two of the best defenses of the last decade (who Kobe himself has struggled against) Secondly, are we talking playoff series or individual games? Kobe has never had as dominant of a series as LeBron did against the Magic. Ever. And IMO Kobe's never had as dominant of a playoff performance as LeBron's 48pt game against Detroit. And that's with Kobe playing in over 120 more post-season games. For his career, Kobe's never had a post-season where he shot 48%. Averaged over 6.5 boards only twice. Over 6APG only once. LeBron has shot over 50% each of the last two post-seasons, grabbed over 7.5RPG each post-season, and besides his rookie campaign never averaged below 7.3APG. That's consistent dominance and efficiency where all the teams are on a good to great level. LeBron has NEVER had as horrible of a series as a few of Kobe's duds. ****Kobe is IMO the most skilled player of all-time. I do not deny that. He's also tough as nails and generally a very intelligent player. However, his over-confidence in those skills is why he'll never the GOAT (IMO). He has a poor shot selection, and if he's having an off-night scoring the ball he's not making a big positive impact offensively. LeBron, by the nature of his game, is a more efficient scorer. That's important because there will be less nights that he will be a volume scorer who shoots an inefficient percentage. And if he isn't scoring the ball well, he has the vision, ability, IQ and willingness to play similar to an elite passing PG. He will also crash the boards more often than Kobe and be a major contributor there as well. He has more ways to kill a team than Kobe does, and that goes a very long way IMO.

Stop. LeBron has statistically been the top clutch player in the league the last few seasons...by A LOT. His 2009 post-season stats also beat-out Kobe's (2009-2010 isn't available yet). If you look in the Barkley comments thread, I posted how LeBron destroyed Kobe in virtually every statistical category in season-ending games since 2006. As I said before, if LeBron not trying equated to a 27/19/10 Game 6 against the Celtics, then the Heat are in terrific shape.

Umm, Deng shot 2% better from the field, 7.5% better from 3, and 3% better from the FT line last season. And grabbed more boards on a better rebounding team than the Sixers.

LeBron gave the Cavs 4 years notice to build a contender around him. That ultimately translated to 2 years of Mo Williams and 1/2 a year of Jamison. Kobe demanded a trade, and in a few months they had Pau Gasol. Another year later they get former DPOY Ron Artest. Not to mention Fisher resigning, keeping arguably the greatest coach of all-time, and a player in Odom who's a better player than Bron's 2nd option last season (Jamison). But yeah, the Cavs did everything and the Lakers did nothing. LeBron did nothing and Kobe did everything. Right.

This whole free agency has made Wade look like a freaking saint. That's awesome of him to take the biggest paycut, even though it's his team and he's the one with the title.

Let's compare for a second, season-ending games, which you brought up (I'll go back 'till 2006 for each to make it fair, using examples of both being undisputed #1 options)- LeBron 2010 Game 6 vs Celtics: 27pts /19reb/10ast/ 9TO/ 8-21 shooting LeBron 2009 Game 6 vs Magic: 25pts/7reb/7asts/3TO/ 8-20 shooting LeBron 2008 Game 7 vs Celtics: 45pts/5reb/6ast/2TO/ 14-29 shooting LeBron 2007 Game 4 vs Spurs: 24pts/6reb/10ast/6TO/ 10-30 shooting LeBron 2006 Game 7 vs Pistons: 27pts/8reb/2ast/3TO/ 11-24 shooting Average: 29.6PPG, 9.0RPG, 7.0APG, 4.6 TO, 41.0% shooting Kobe 2010 Game 7 vs Celtics: 23pts/15reb/2ast/4TO/ 6-24 shooting Kobe 2009 Game 5 vs Magic: 30pts/6reb/5ast/1TO/ 10-23 shooting Kobe 2008 Game 6 vs Celtics: 22pts/3reb/1ast/4TO/ 7-22 shooting Kobe 2007 Game 5 vs Suns: 34pts/4reb/1ast/6 TO/ 13-33 shooting Kobe 2006 Game 7 vs Suns: 24pts/4reb/1ast/3TO/ 8-16 shooting Average: 26.6PPG, 6.4RPG, 2.0APG, 3.6 TO, 37.0% shooting I now have two questions for you- 1) Why in the WORLD would you use LeBron having a poor stat-line in season-ending games when LeBron statistically murks Kobe in every category but TO's (which means nothing when LeBron is averaging 5 more assists than Kobe in those games)? 2) If that is Kobe trying his hardest and that's LeBron quitting on his team...what does that tell you about the comparison? LeBron forced Cleveland's hand by giving them 4 years notice that he'd be a FA in 2010. Kobe gave the Lakers short notice. Cleveland got Jamison and Williams. LA got Gasol and Artest in half that time. That's why people forget about the Kobe trade demand, because the Lakers pulled through and got him plenty of talent. The Cavaliers did not, and they had a full 4 seasons to do so.

Interesting. If this goes down, won't the Heat be able to resign Haslem to a heftier contract than the minimum? If so, that would be huge for the Heat.

Kobe 2008 Game 6 vs Celtics: 7-22 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers. Kobe 2006 Game 7 vs Suns: 24pts, 4 rebonds, 1 assists, 3 turnovers Kobe 2004 Game 5 vs Pistons: 7-21 shooting, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers Kobe 2003 Game 6 vs Spurs: 20pts, 2 rebounds, 7 turnovers Your point?

We have no idea what role each player on the team will have, and how the responsibilities will be distributed. Really dumb to make those assumptions now. I personally believe Wade is not the kind of guy that will needlessly ball-hog, and LeBron would probably rather do everything but take over the game scoring-wise. In the end, I'd rather have two guys that can take over than just one. Ride the hot hand.