Nitro

I don't go to college anymore, so many of my friends are away at school or working 60 hour weeks, so I don't have a ton of options of people to chill with. So, it's nice to have a girl to keep me occupied and not feeling lonely.

Haha I've been in relationships, and my last serious one was one of the happiest times of my life :glasses:

Haha don't worry. I learned from my last relationship that I can't let a girl take all the time away from my homies and other hobbies. But I swear I wanna give this girl everything...[expletive] jewelry, I'll give her all of Saturn's rings.

Finally got a new girlfriend!!!! I absolutely [expletive]ing love her. She's sexy (not like ridiculously hot, but she isn't fake and made beautiful by tons of makeup, either) and way more importantly, she has a fascinating, unique mind that challenges my own, which is a far bigger turn-on for me than pure looks. I'm so, so happy!!

My top 10 never really changes, but rappers who I have been listening to a lot the last week or so... Vinnie Paz The Game Tyler the Creator Hopsin Chino XL Big Pun R.A the Rugged Man Immortal Technique Talib Kweli

Can't believe it's been 10 years already. I remember that day like it was yesterday, and going to a nearby spot on top of a mountain and seeing the black smoke covering the entire NYC skyline. Once in a lifetime-type event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxAmObgulv0 Crazy.

To each his own I suppose. I just think that when your 3 top offensive threats are iso players who do the majority of their damage inside 15ft and none of which are great passers (which is key), that creates problems offensively in terms of spacing and flow. A good passing PG won't alleviate these problems as I saw what Arroyo did for the Heat last season...they become useless as they take the ball to the 3pt line and then hand it off to a player looking for the iso. If that PG can't shoot the 3 (like Arroyo couldn't), it makes for a 4-on-5 offense. And even with Dwight, I don't know if they'd have a better defense than the Heat, or a better offense.

I know you compared Melo to Pierce, just as I did, read the post again. I said they won't find a 3pt shooter to play SG that's as good as Ray is in that area, and Melo is not the 3pt shooter Pierce is either. They won't find a playmaker like Rondo at PG, Melo also isn't the passer Pierce is, there's a strong chance that whatever 3pt specialist they find as a SG won't be as well-rounded as Ray, and Amare isn't a quarter of the passer KG is. Basically what I am getting at is the Celtic comparison just isn't valid...that team is so extremely well balanced and versatile offensively, which is why they are so disgustingly efficient on that side of the ball. Therefor, I think it will be a lot more important for that Knick team to have a 3pt shooter at both backcourt positions, as opposed to throwing a guy like Rondo out there at PG.

Melo is a career 32% 3pt shooter, and usually between 35-37% with less than 3 attempts per game. I think last season with the Knicks was a bit of an abberation when it came to his 3pt shooting, and he's not really a spot-up shooter. They won't find a SG that's as good as Allen, Melo is not the 3pt shooter Pierce is, and that Celtics team would likely be better passers at every position (except maybe C) than that Knicks team would be. In other words, I don't think the Celtics are comparable, and the Knicks will need a PG that can shoot the ball IMO.

I disagree about the SVG thing...he's a disciple of Riley and had the Heat as a top 10 defense each of the 2 years he was with the team. I don't think he's as savvy defensively as his brother, but he's definitely no slouch there. And if you are going to have Dwight and want to build around him, I think you build your team to be a juggernaut on that side of the ball. Get an up-tempo coach who preaches exclusively offense and I think you take away from some of Howard's strengths (defense/ offensive rebounding), and I still don't think they'd be the top offense in the league. A great defensive coach who gets them to lock down their opponents, while getting by mostly on sheer talent offensively I think would be the stronger option. Finding a player with very good PG skills who can also knock down the 3 isn't that easy, and since Melo/Amare/Dwight aren't great playmakers, with each being heavy on iso's, I don't know if it'd work out as well as many assume it would. Simply getting a PG to walk down the court and drop it off to one of those 3 for an iso just isn't good enough, not with this group.

Miami worked so well because of how versatile Wade and LeBron are. Both can drop 40-50 at any time, both can run an offense and dish 10 assists, both can dominate defensively, and both are very good rebounders at their positions. That negated their overlaps in style, for the most part. The issue with the Melo/Amare/Howard combo offensively is that none of them are great playmakers. Melo is the best of the bunch, but the ball can stick in his hands and he has a very quick trigger with his shot (along with just not having the best instincts as a playmaker). Amare often times forces the issue too much offensively and won't pass when he runs into a lane full of defenders, and Howard still hasn't learned how to effectively pass out of the post (which, on the Magic, would give him a bunch of assists if he could). To me, that could be a mess offensively, and without the right defensive coach they won't be so dominant defensively that it would negate their offensive issues en route to a championship. Both Big 3's would need the right pieces around them. The Howard/Amare/Melo combo would need a player with very good PG instincts, a 3pt shooter/perimeter defender, and some bench pieces as well. I just think that the CP3/Melo/Amare combo would allow each player to do what they do best with little compromise, and would be easier to build around because of that. With Howard, each player would need to tweak their games a lot more, and I don't think Melo and Amare are versatile enough to handle that well.

All of the Big 3 on the Celtics were exceptional passers for their positions and meshed perfectly in terms of chemistry, and the Heat have arguably the 2 best players in the league who do EVERYTHING on the court, with Bosh being an exceptional mid-range shooter to play off the attention Bron/Wade get. Melo is an exceptional iso scorer but not a great playmaker, Dwight still has trouble passing out of the post, and Amare also isn't a great passer. Offensively, I see this being a big issue with that trio, and even with Dwight immediately making them a great defensive team by his presence alone, I don't think they'd be the best defensive team in the league without the right coach and other supporting talent. I agree you can find a great playmaking PG easier than you can find a guy like Dwight, but Paul would just be so perfect alongside Melo/Amare. He can control the tempo of the game amazingly well, be a go-to scorer as well as spot-up shooter (at insane efficiency), and also rebound and defend extremely well for his position. He'd allow Melo and Amare to do what they do best while it being in the best interest of the team. If Melo and Amare pair with Dwight, I'd think they'd be taken out of their comfort zone to a greater degree. Give the Melo/Paul/Amare trio a good spot-up 3pt shooter at SG and a good rebounding big, along with some solid bench pieces, and that team is scary.

A second superstar, specifically Dwight Howard. Anything less and he won't have a shot at a championship, and there are other, more alluring franchises to play for that can offer that.

It really depends on if they plan on keeping D'Antoni, and what direction they want to take the team. With D'Antoni, Paul is the obvious choice; he'd fit in perfectly on the offensive side with Melo/Amare and D'Antoni's offensive schemes. He also provides toughness and the kind of leadership qualities that could really propel them to a championship. Howard immediately gives you the opportunity to be a top defensive team in the league, and him and Amare down low with Melo locking down the perimeter, they'd have the chance to be really dominant. However, the chemistry wouldn't be as strong unless each player makes sacrifices...all 3 would need to cut down on iso situations and keep the offense moving, with each assuming more responsibility in areas that may not necessarily maximize their skills. Overall, Paul makes more sense.

A new article by Chris Sheridan, hopefully will give people some belief that there will be something close to a full-season... LINK

Yeah this is really tragic, the entire [expletive]ing team was on board. The one player who survived is going to have a really difficult life with burns to over 80% of his body, though there's a good chance he might not even make it past a few days.

After that interview Game made 400 bars which had some shots at 50. But yeah, as I said, it's pretty much settled.

They never squashed anything, and those two did have a beef (50 saying he wrote a few songs off The Documentary, Game making entire mixtapes and 20min long diss songs going at 50, etc...). They don't go after each other anymore and the tension has settled, but in no way, shape or form are they friends.

Lol the Khaled shit was funny as hell.

What I'm trying to say is you won't get people so scared of going to prison that they'll stop commiting crimes. Even if you call the US's prison system 'nice', there are still officers kicking the crap out of inmates, inmates killing and raping other inmates, god-awful food, disease everywhere (I saw a real nasty example of this on Beyond Scared Straight in the shower areas), rats and other rodents running around, etc... There is still the death penalty on the table in many states. Many of these inmates don't do it just to be unruly, or even just for money. According to THIS study, nearly 85% of the prison population are either substance abuse addicts or were high during their crime/commited their crime to get the drugs. I'd assume what makes up the other 15% are people with severe sex addictions (rapsts, pedophiles), and then stone-cold killers (many of whom have an addiction/urge to kill that you won't scare out of them). In other words, when such a huge amount of the prison population have these terrible addictions, a stricter prison system won't be much of a deterant. They need to satisfy their urges, despite the consequences. That's why better rehabilitation programs would be beneficial, but bottom line is no matter who you do things won't get much better either way.

Read my posts. You really have to understand the psychology and make-up of the prison population before making statements like this.

He actually got a fair amount of playing time in the middle of the season, starting and actually running point for the Pistons quite effectively (he averaged 12/5/4 in January/February in 29MPG). Early in the season he was still shaking off rust and getting his legs back, and I believe toward the end of the season he got nicked up a little bit. No other teams had interest. I actually think the Pistons were a great situation for him. They have some miracle-working trainers who had him in the best shape in years, he wasn't forced to immediately play significant minutes, got to run point rather than being a designated scorer, and basically had a year to shake off rust and get his game back. He did quite well. As for what he has left, I think he can be a significant bench player on a contending team. He still is arguably the best playmaker of all wing players not named LeBron, still is extremely intelligent, and now that he has his legs back somewhat he can actually keep defenses honest and attack the paint. I don't think he should see more than 25-30 minutes on a regular basis, and shouldn't be expected to be a big scoring punch off the bench, but he is still a very solid all-around player.

Didn't bother really listening too intently on his lyrics, but his flow is solid. His voice doesn't bother me as much as the delivery and how he is over-doing it...reminds me of why I hate listening to Meek Millz.

I think that's about right in terms of talent, although I'm not sure if either Rubio or Williams will start once the season rolls around. Rubio still is a poor shooter, inexperienced to the NBA while Ridnour is a sound veteran PG, and Darko anchors whatever semblance of a defense they have (and they certainly won't bench Love or Beasley for Williams). Really, this team has talent, but it's unbalanced. Both Beasley and Williams are tweeners at the forward positions (with Beasley being more of a SF and Williams being more of a PF), and neither can anchor a defense if you play Love at center. I think this team would be best with a free-flowing offense, with Rubio setting everything up, which makes me feel Beasley is the odd-man out. He's a ball-stopper and scorer at a very low efficiency, and offers little to nothing else, on top of all his off-court issues. I think if they got 1-2 solid veteran role players for him, then eventually signed a veteran wing that can score and do a little bit of everything, I think the team would be well on its way to building a playoff squad (assuming Williams and Rubio both aren't busts).