Nitro

I know this, and it proves my point. 1) If LeBron's primary goal is to be the first NBA billionaire as a player, he will NEVER be considered the greatest player who has ever lived, or even the greatest player of his generation. 2) Status is attained by what you do in your sport, not how high your exposure is off the court or how much money you make. Jordan made $90,200,000 over his career on the court...LeBron had a $90M contract with Nike months before he ever stepped on an NBA court as an 18 year-old. When Jordan first retired he was considered the greatest ever and a marketing icon...and he was only taking in $4M a year. When he re-entered the game he was taking in a staggering $30M a year, but my point is that money and exposure don't mean more than winning and TRULY dominating a sport. 3) Why has Jordan made so much money since retiring? Why has his brand flourished even after his 40" vertical jump and 50pt games went away? There have been plenty of freak athletes who have put up ridiculous stats in NBA history, but what set Jordan apart and what has kept his brand going is the 6 rings and countless career accolades. His titles coupled with his talent made him a legend. Take the titles away, and he's just an upgraded Dr. J. Hell, most people under 20 years old don't even remember Jordan as a player, just some old highlights. But they DO remember the legacy, something Bron hasn't even began to touch and will never touch if he doesn't WIN. KG actually gave LeBron some of the best advice I've heard, saying, "You can't get your youth back." James is entering his 8th NBA season...that was just about the athletic prime for Kobe. For T-Mac, with all his potential and freakish ability, he only declined after his 8th season due to injuries. Garnett hit his highest point his 9th season and only declined after that. LeBron, a person whose offensive game is so dependant on athletic ability (as opposed to say Kobe, whose unmatched basketball skills negated the athletic decline), should be looking to win NOW. One bad injury and his career will never be the same. You can't just assume the guy will be averaging 30/8/8 for the next decade, it just won't happen. And it's not the fact that the Knicks won't have what it takes to compete as over half the roster still needs to be signed. I'm just saying that their ridiculous tactics to lure him are embarassing and won't help sway Bron's decision.

Even though he was 6-24, Kobe showed his greatness in Game 7. 15 rebounds, terrific defense, great energy, and in the 4th he did his job and helped close it out. Amazing series by him, truly vindicated himself from the 2008 series. Even though his shooting percentages were low and his TO's high, he still played terrific all-around ball and got his 29PPG without getting more than 3-4 easy looks at the rim the entire series. I've never seen anyone over the course of a series hit as many extremely tough shots as he did on such a consistent basis. Only Kobe could do what Kobe did this series.

Lakers deserved it indeed. Artest has never played a bigger game. He was unbelievable, truly gives this team the toughness, heart and defense this team has lacked the last few years. Even though that Finals MVP trophy is Kobe's, Artest deserves major props.

Lakers will shoot better in the 2nd half, Boston will rebound better. Going to come down to Kobe, he's gotta make quicker decision off the catch. This is looking too much like the 2004 Finals where Kobe bombed. I fully expect him to come thru.

Once again, if that's his biggest goal as opposed to winning a title and leading a dynasty, then he's not the player in this FA class that should be garnering all this ridiculous attention. If that's honestly his attitude, that's a loser's attitude, and just 2-3 years of losing in NY would make him Public Enemy #1 just like A-Rod was before last season. He has no rings, and history only remember the great players who WIN. Making the playoffs every year and bringing the Knicks to relevance would not be enough...he'll need to win a few rings. And trust me, living 10 miles from NYC I know how the city treats its athletes and how everything is so incredibly magnified. But regardless of where he plays (aside from Minny, Milwaukee, etc..), he's going to be the richest player in the NBA from both a salary and "extra" standpoint. He's going to continue to have status as arguably the most powerful professional athlete in the world. He's still going to get his commercials, small movie roles, huge billboards, shoe deals, a sold-out arena to watch his games...he's going to have EVERYTHING. The only thing that should matter is the only thing he doesn't have that can't be bought with money...a ring. And if he doesn't win in the next few years, he'll go from prodigy to perrenial bust, because averaging 30/8/8 and having his team get bounced every year would still mean his career is in many ways is a failure. And that would certainly hurt his "status." Showing the fans support and having the chance to play in NY is marketing enough. Having the orginization do all these ridiculous publicity stunts is just pathetic and makes the franchise look horrible.

He is. Jamison's two best seasons rebounding the ball were 10.2RPG in 39MPG, and 9.3RPG in 40MPG. The 2nd leading rebounder each of those two seasons on the Wizards was Brendan Haywood with 7.2RPG and 5.9RPG, respectively. Odom's two best seasons rebounding the ball were 10.6RPG in 38MPG, and 10.2RPG in 36MPG. Next leading rebounder on those teams was Chris Mihm with 6.7RPG one season, and Bynum/Gasol with 10.2/7.8RPG, respectively. Not to mention last season Odom averaged 9.8RPG in 31MPG, starting less than half the games and playing next to Gasol, who averaged 11.6RPG and Bynum who was at 8.2RPG. Jamison was at 8.2RPG while playing 37MPG.

He wouldn't be, and how do you know what he wants?

I'm with JWall, it's getting really pathetic. Not just from the Knicks, but from every single team in the league with the slightest shot at getting him. I mean, I don't mind the fan-made websites, but when team officials are asking celebrities and others to lure James, erecting huge billboards, having mini-parades outside arenas (right before a playoff game for the other NBA team in the same city), etc...it's absolutely ridiculous. And what I don't get is with all of the LeBron hoopla, why has there been not even 1/10th the effort to lure D-Wade out of Miami? I know he seems to be the less likely one to leave, but he's a top 3 player with a ring and Finals MVP to his credit, neither of which Bron possesses. And one final point- If LeBron values the attention and media coverage over who his next coach and supporting cast of players will be, then he's not worth all this craziness to begin with.

Jamison. Far more consistent. It doesn't matter that Odom is more skilled when it shows up only a handful of times every month.

No, just don't want him to open his mouth. Do you see Kobe coming out and guaranteeing a win? No, he's too smart for that and has too much respect for the Celtics. Bynum needs to grow up.

Really, really dumb because he'll look like a f'ing moron if he plays poorly against a Perkins-less Celtics and they lose. Just a really bad decision.

Depends on what team I'm considering signing the player to or trading for. Also greatly depends on the position, because perimiter and interior defenders have an entirely different impact on the game. But generally speaking, I'll take the offensive player. The NBA's best defenders can't stop an elite scorer from getting his on a consistent basis. This could be seen with Durant still getting his 25-30PPG against Artest in the first round, or Kobe at times obliterating every great perimeter defender of the last decade. Also, a great individual defensive player relies a lot more on his teammates than an elite scorer. A great, versatile scorer can create his own shot and score on anyone, regardless of how crappy his teammates are. But again, there are so many variables. Gotta be more specific.

I watched a lot of Nate when he was with the Knicks, and while I always loved his charisma and explosive play, I'd rather have JR Smith. Nate's better at creating his own shot and can be more selfless, but the problem is he can't play SG for more than a few spot minutes. His size causes defensive mismatches, and putting him at PG means you also have to deal with his poor decision making as a playmaker. Smith is a perfect SG's size of 6'6'', allowing him to play in his comfort zone as a scorer at SG. He's a better shooter than Nate, and has an easier time of finishing at the rim. He also has become a solid defender who you don't have to worry about being constantly at a size disadvantage. And while he is not the best decision-maker, he has become a pretty decent passer.

It all depends on his teammates. He is not Steve Nash as a playmaker, and in clutch situations he'd need that all-star wing player to take the reigns of the offense and make plays. But, if he has that type of wing player he could be an ideal PG for D'Antoni's system. Even though he won't run run run or be able to take over a game, he is extremely efficient. Not only with high shooting percentages across the board, but his AST:TO ratio every year is among tops in the league. In a system like D'Antoni with a nice supporting cast, he'd be tremendous because he just doesn't make mistakes. The mark of a truly great offense is one that won't lose themselves possessions by turning the ball over and missing makeable shots, and Calderon is one of the best in the league at doing neither.

Kobe's on-ball defense has never really been an issue. Now that the Lakers have a very good defensive team compared to the last few years since Shaq left, Kobe is able to showcase that talent on a nightly basis. Without a good supporting cast defensively, it's a lot harder for a perimeter player to make such an impact. His off-ball defense is still his achiles heal because he tends to over-play, over-react and turn his head. Sometimes his bball IQ on defense is questionable, but his physical tools and determination cannot be understated.

Batman Begins didn't come close to the success of TDK for three reasons... 1) Heath Ledger's amazing performance that coincided with his death. 2) TDK was simply a better movie. Not because of the novelty of a better villain, but because of how amazingly well the story was written and developed. TDK was a very deep, complex movie, unlike any other super-hero movie ever. And the reason TDK was so well developed was because...(see #3) 3) As opposed to the first Batman film by Tim Burton in the early '90's where the movie started with Batman being fully developed, Batman Begins made it a point to bring depth and respect to such a character. By tackling Batman's origins and giving him such meaning and realism, it set TDK up to be an epic film. To go along with #3, TDK's main goal was to further develop the character of Batman. What makes the Nolan Batman so good is not all the gadgets and explosions, but rather all of the serious, more adult ideas the movies dive into. The 3rd film will have Batman further evolving on an emotional and physical (like whatever his new Batmobile will look like) level, and like the Joker whatever new villain they use will just be a tool to give Batman's story depth. Considering how Nolan likes to develop characters and make them more about mind over matter, I fully expect the next villain to be awesome like the Joker was.

I was referring to what Jammin said before about how new rappers use rhymes in songs before freestyles.

Haha ok, whatever you say. And yes, entirely different flow, especially from Nas. It's much closer to AZ's flow early on in his career, but I stand by my opinion that the only similarity is rhyming 4-5 words a bar. Every rapper has their own influences, but to say Em jacked anyone's style on Infinite is just wrong. Many of the things unique about Eminem were there pre-SSLP, including on Infinite, particularly in the way he articulates words and uses pronunciation to his advantage.

Definately hurts the Celtics for Game 7. It basically makes anything Bynum can give the Lakers a luxory rather than necessity. For next season it's a killer though. He'll likely be out for at least half the season, and the other half he'll be shaking off rust and playing through pain. What a shame.

You do know that flopping is more associated with soccer than basketball, right? And flopping in the NBA is a problem NOT because the refs or Stern "allow it." It seems like every fan and member of the media hates the idea of flopping, so why would Stern want his refs to blow the whistle if it's a flop? Flopping is a such a big problem because with players becoming more and more athletic and the game having such a fast pace, it's literally a tenth of a second decision to blow the whistle or not. Some flops are extremely blatant, but then comes the decision of whether there was enough contact in the first place to warrant a foul call, despite the flop. It's not nearly as easy as it looks. While watching the game on TV we have the very best angle of the entire floor and have the benefit of replay. Trust me, when you're right on top of the action in person, the floor looks a lot smaller, the players look a lot bigger, and there's so much movement and action at such an intense speed. By far the hardest sport to ref. As for your other gripes...eh, I agree with the in-game music to an extent. The defense/charge chants and similar chants I'm perfectly fine with because they do add to the game, but playing pop music with no relevance in the middle of the game gives the NBA an And1'ish feel. You don't see it nearly as much in the post-season, but I know where you're coming from. Halftime or during timeouts? Who cares, most times I've went to games the fans seem to enjoy the entertainment.

The Joker not returning has as much to do with the fact that, to put it frankly, it's been done before. TDK gave the Joker the justice the character deserves, and Nolan covered it from top-to-bottom in the context of a Batman movie (a spin-off explaining the Joker's origins would work, though). Much like how musicians like to change creative direction even after they made a hit with their previous song/album, it's the same thing with the movie business. The Joker is considered Batman's best villain by most, but switching to another villain with a totally different story and style will help progress the Nolan Batman universe.

I'm going with he should stay. Give him a chance to see how he plays alongside Wall. After the whole gun thing, Arenas' trade value is going to be very low to non-existent and buying him out will cost a pretty penny. There's no sense in giving up a talent like Arenas for nothing before even giving him a shot, especially since the only basis for giving him up is off assumption. We have no idea of the player Arenas will be next year (will he be the dangerous scorer that gets to the line 10x per game, or the volume scorer who can't get to the line), we have no idea what to expect from Wall and how his game will translate to the NBA, and we have no idea how they will co-exist. If it's like how Ricky Davis/LeBron James were in LeBron's rookie season, then it's time to consider getting rid of Arenas like the Cavs got rid of Davis. But I have a feeling that it'll turn out a lot better than most expect.

Honestly I think Johnson would be fine at the 3. He's gained enough muscle since coming into the league and he's a perfect SF's height of 6'8''. Offensively I think he'd flourish at SF and with the chance to play with Wade. Defensively he's not the ideal lockdown defender that could relieve Wade of defensive responsibility, but he's a capable enough defender and has the size.

Hahahaha that's exactly what I was thinking. Drake is tolerable, but his goal is to get big with the 14 year old girl part of the population, and his music reflects that. If it wasn't for the fact that there's a Drake song bumping every 5min on every hip hop/pop station out there, I'd have a much nicer view of his music.

My point is it's neither right or wrong, and it's not exclusive to certain rappers or certain generations of rappers like has been pointed out in this topic.