Nitro

Basically this. They won't find a coach much better than Carlisle, but they certainly can make roster upgrades. I saw a post on RealGM that I feel is really true...some superstars get a Kobe/Pippen/Shaq/Wade/Gasol/Garnett as a sidekick, and some get a Jason Terry. As well-balanced as the Mavs are, I truly believe it is imperative in today's NBA to have either 2 superstars or 1 superstar and another elite player, along with team balance in order to win a ring. Besides, everyone expected the Mavs/Blazers to be a tough series, and no one expected the Mavs to come out of the West. Also, they are still without arguably their 2nd best player, Caron Butler, who helped the Mavs get off to that red-hot start early in the season before his injury.

Went to the Marlins game last night, about 5 rows next to 3rd base for only $30 (keep in mind, it's the Marlins, so there were only like 10,000 people there). It was a lot of fun and the Marlins had a walk-off hit to end the game.

Wade also has an effective post game which Rose doesn't have, is a better rebounder (averaged over 6RPG this year which is fantastic for a 6'4'' SG), and is a far better defender, which is ultimately what comfortably puts him ahead of Rose. I don't think you put enough stock into just how good Wade is on that side of the ball; he is the best shot-blocking guard since prime MJ (which the numbers back up), gets his steals, causes chaos with his ability to cut off passing lanes and make sharp rotations, and he's a tremendous one-on-one defender against iso scorers. If they were equal defensively, this would be a very close debate, but with Wade having such a major advantage in that area it really isn't all that close. Oh, and Wade's only 28, and Rose's only 22. Rose definitely will improve and Wade's probably about leveled out, but this is about who's better right now.

Terrible execution on that last play by the Spurs, from not calling the timeout to Manu not even getting a shot off. Memphis played great, inspired basketball, and Randolph sunk the Spurs with that 3 (he's been very underrated the last 2 years). I hope McDyess is alright and ready for Game 4, he couldn't even move his hand which is not a good sign at all.

I tend to value a player's peak over consistency and accomplishments, although they are also major factors for me as well. With that said, since the '80's began (pre-'80's is too difficult to judge and I've seen very little from those era's), I'd put MJ, Bird, Magic, Shaq and Hakeem over Kobe. Duncan/Kobe is a coin-flip, though I'd probably give Kobe the edge due to longevity. That puts Kobe at 6th. Going by what I've heard along with stats/accomplishments, Wilt/Russel/Kareem would also probably be ahead of Kobe. That puts Kobe at 9th. Overall, I'd say anywhere between 6th-9th greatest. Depending on how much you value longevity and accolades, that could fluctuate a few spots up or down.

Of course he does, he leads the team in points by 8PPG, while taking only 1 more FGA than Richardson. He is the only player that can consistently score in the paint on the Magic, and along with all the double teams he receives it opens up that strong 3pt attack the Magic have (keep in mind, they have no really good playmaker either). Just because he's not a great passer doesn't mean he doesn't make his teammates' lives much easier offensively. Dwight has as much range as Shaq ever did, especially now that he's developed a relatively consistent 15ft bank shot. All I was debating is that you don't need to do much more than score within 6ft to be elite, I wasn't debating who was the better overall offensive player. Still, Dwight DOES now have a solid post repertoire, and mix that in with his insane athleticism and ability to finish in the paint, and he's become a truly elite post player...he was the highest scoring post player in the league last season, and he was the most efficient scorer of anyone who scored at least 22PPG (once again, that's factoring in his FT%). I don't know how you can possibly minimize that. Besides being a better finisher at the rim, Wade also has a very effective post game, has more pet-moves to get his shot off, and his midrange and 3pt shooting aren't much worse than Rose's (Rose is only a 33% 3pt shooter to Wade's 30%). And yes, the fact that Wade does get to the line more than Rose is a major factor, just like it is if you're comparing Rose to LeBron or Durant as well. I mean, once again, just 2 years ago Wade LED THE LEAGUE IN SCORING and did it on far greater efficiency than Rose, with a worse supporting cast. Just last season Wade averaged 34PPG on 56% shooting against the Celtics in the playoffs, who managed to lockdown LeBron and Kobe. Back in '06 he averaged nearly 30PPG on 70% shooting against the Ben Wallace Pistons in the ECF. I don't know what more he can do to prove he is CLEARLY a better scorer than Rose.

Dwight does nothing for his teammates?!? Did you know the Magic this season were the 3rd best defensive team in the league, and that's with Richardson, Hedo, Arenas, Nelson, and Reddick playing major minutes, and for the majority of the season only having one legit Center, Dwight. He had a Drtg of 94 this year...the next closest guy who played more than 25 games was Ryan Andersen at 101...that difference is astronomical and practically unheard of. In other words, besides Dwight that team is horrible defensively, yet they rank among the league's elite because Dwight is a monster defensively and is able to clean up all their mistakes. On top of the actual defense, the Magic were 6th in the league in rebounding with nobody grabbing even 6 boards per game besides Dwight. Offensively, he 's the only player on the team that can score in the paint. Without him, they're strong 3pt attack would drop significantly...not to mention he's not only a player who takes attention away from those guys, but he drops in 23PPG on ridiculous efficiency as well. LMAO...Melo and Dirk have complete games and Dwight doesn't? Melo and Dirk aren't dominant on both sides of the ball like Dwight, neither of them are exceptional passers like a LeBron/Kobe/Wade, and neither scored as efficiently as Dwight (even when factoring in FT%). They may have more complete offensive games, but Dwight's the best defensive player in the league along with being one of the best rebounders and post scorers. Lastly, Shaq never needed to score past 6ft away from the basket, yet he's one of the greatest players of all-time. Dwight scored 23PPG this season (.1 less than Dirk, and around 2.5PPG less than Melo) and did it on ridiculous efficiency...bottom line is he got it done. Yes, I said second best...for the past 3 years Wade has produced more than Kobe (on greater efficiency) as well as played better, far more consistent defense. I've always swallowed my tongue when it came to that because Kobe usually came up big in the post-season while Wade was stuck on crappy teams and didn't get to advance to show what he could do, but now I think he is clearly more effective than Kobe. As for what the Heat did when he was putting up those numbers...about as much as the Lakers did when Kobe was at his peak and putting up huge numbers. When Wade had good teams in the past, he got them deep in the post-season along with having stellar regular seasons (24/7/5 in 04-05, 27/7/6 in 05-06). As for Rose being less efficient because he takes more 3's...this season Rose shot 48.0% on 2pt FGA's while Wade shot 53.0%. And before you use the LeBron excuse, Wade shot 51.0% on 2pt FGA's in 09-10 (which was a down year for him in the efficiency department).

I'm so, so happy for Roy. His knees may be shot, but he certainly has enough polished skill to be a borderline all-star...it's all about confidence. Hopefully these last 2 games carry over for him.

As I said during the last game, this will go down as the closest 5-game series of all time.

In their primes? T-Mac for me. People forget how good he was before his injuries started destroying his career...he was a 32/7/6 player at one point, and even though he never had success in the playoffs, he was individually spectacular (consistent 30/7/6 the first 4 series' he was the main guy, before the injuries caught up to him). Also, even though he wasn't known for his defense, when he exerted himself he was an above average defensive player, and in 2005 he locked down Dirk in that series. Overall, when he was healthy, he was a better all-around player than Nash, and could dominate games on a more consistent basis than Nash could.

Jordan. Kobe's a more versatile scorer, but he was never as good around the rim as MJ, and he's always been a much streakier scorer due to his poor shot selection. His ability to get hot from 3 allowed him to go off for 81 and those other big games, but I value consistency far more than those rare explosions (especially considering that Jordan had a lot more 'big' scoring games in the post-season than Kobe has had). Besides being better around the rim, he was also a better post scorer than Kobe due to his strength advantage against most SG's, and he was more dangerous in the mid-range game because he used it a lot more often than Kobe ever has. Even if you put prime Jordan into today's league, with zone defense, he'd still be a more efficient scorer than Kobe because of how good he was inside the 3pt line, and how rarely he would go on a streak of taking poor shots like Kobe does. Oh, and if zone defenses can't stop Wade from getting to the rim and to the FT line, do you REALLY think it would stop a prime MJ?!? It wouldn't.

Umm....what? Just 2 years ago he averaged 30.2PPG/7.5APG/5.0RPG/2.2SPG/1.3BPG while shooting 49% from the field (.575 TS%), he has been deep into the post-season multiple times (lighting up some of the league's best defenses, including the '06 Pistons and '10 Celtics), has a ring, Finals MVP and scoring title, yet he has never really been discussed as even the 2nd best player in the league. That screams overrated to you? If people are overrating anyone due to flashiness, it's Rose, who even now scores less than Wade on lower efficiency, who isn't near Wade when it comes to defense, and besides a better outside jumper doesn't have the same polished game that Wade does. And I don't even know how you can say Dwight's overrated anymore since he's finally built up a strong post-game that allows him to score in elite volume while maintaining insane efficiency...on top of his elite rebounding and being the most impactful defender in the NBA. I'm sure you been paying attention to the 33/18 he's been averaging against the Hawks so far...

When Pierce and Allen are both hot from 3 like they were tonight, the Celtics are just about unbeatable. They were amazing tonight, as was Rondo in orchestrating everything. Disappointing performance from the Knicks, but without Billups and an injured Amare, it's just a bunch of scrubs and Melo, who can't be expected to go off every game against one of the league's toughest defenses.

This will go down as one of the closest sweeps/5-game series' in NBA history.

Before I begin, I pick Chosen One for the next KIR. Anyway... ___________________________________________________________ Confidence: 1) Origin of your username? When I was like 10 I used to be big into roller coasters, and at the Six Flags in NJ there's a roller coaster named Nitro, so that was my first user name back in like 2001. For whatever reason it stuck. 2) Blonds or brunettes? I fall for blondes, but I prefer brunettes. 3) What's your favorite NBA team? Nets 4) Have you considered maybe pursuing a career in sports journalism? Yep, I wrote for my HS newspaper, and got accepted to a few really good schools as a communications major. Since then I switched to Psychology because there's little money in journalism, and it's ultra-competitive. 5) What college are you attending or plan on attending in the future? For the last year and a half I attended William Paterson University in NJ, but right now I am not attending school. I'll go back in the fall, but probably not to that school. 6) How's rehab? Been out of rehab since March, but it was...interesting lol 7) What are the chances that Dwight gets traded to LA within the next couple years (percentage)? 30% 8) Bigger [expletive], Pau or Bosh? Bosh, because it's not cool to dive for loose balls. 9) Where does Kobe rank all-time amongst the greats? Somewhere in the top 10, between 6-10. 10) Is Derrick Rose the best pg in the league? I think CP3 and D-Will are better players, but Rose easily had the best 10-11 season. Erick Blasco: 1) Would you rather have a steering wheel replacing your belly button or a pogo stick replacing one of your hands? Pogo stick replacing one of my hands...girls would be lining up to get fingered by me. 2) Rate these creatures on any criteria you want: shark, whale, octopus, carp, ill-tempered sea bass, coral, a second shark, sea cucumber, krill. Shark, a second shark, octopus, sea cucumber, whale, carp, sea bass, krill 3) What's your favorite video game where a brunette gets killed? GTA III 4) What's your least favorite romantic comedy? Gigli 5) Name one book you think should be required reading in a college English class (or senior year high school English class). Catcher in the Rye 6) Favorite indy rock band? N/A. Favorite underground rapper is Immortal technique 7) Why did the Milwaukee Bucks struggle this season? Horrible offensive balance and a bunch of low-percentage scorers. 8) Top 10 favorite point guards whose first or last name has a "R" somewhere in there? Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Walt Frazier, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Rod Strickland, Darrel Armstrong, Russel Westbrook 9) Rate these dogs: Terriers. Huskies. Chihuahuas, Dalmatians, Bulldogs, Salukis, Air Bud, Brian Cook. Air Bud, Huskies, Bulldogs, Dalmatians, Brian Cook, Salukis, Terriers, Chihuahuas 10) Dirk's strength as an isolation scorer and jump shooter prevents the Mavs from having much of an offensive rebounding presence, or a in interior scoring presence, limiting their ability as a team. Agree or disagree? I don't think it prevents either, but it's simply something you got to build around. I do think his abilities as a shooter can possibly enhance their interior scoring as he forces his man to stick by him at the 3pt line, which opens up the lane. The key is finding the right pieces to put around him. 11) You have a chance to win a weekend trip to Northern California or a free air conditioning unit with installation. What are you choosing? Free air conditioning unit with installation...it's hot as [expletive] out here in Florida mang!!! 12) Favorite month? May 13) Least favorite planet? Mercury 14) You've had a pretty bad day, but nothing too awful. Rate how likely you think this person will brighten your day.Will Ferrell, Colin Farrell, Mia Farrow, Brian Fellows, Bob Feller, Raymond Felton, the cast of Fargo. Will Ferrell, Mia Farrow, Brian Fellows, Raymond Felton, cast of Fargo, Bob Feller, Colin Farrell 15) Name your three favorite and three least favorite players with a rebounding percentage of above 10%. Favorite: Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin Least favorite: Spencer Hawes, Carlos Boozer, Charlie Villanueva Chosen One: 1. Do you feel like a completely new person now since you are sober? Nope, it takes time. 2. How long have you been sober? 84 days 3. What teams make it to the NBA finals? Who take the title? Lakers and Heat, with the Lakers winning the title. 4. Who is more valuable to the Heat Wade or Lebron? They are basically interchangable, but I think Wade is slightly more valuable because Jones and Miller are more capable replacing a SF than SG. 5. Why is Bosh so phony? Cuz his penis touches his vagina when he goes for a dunk. 6. Should Nash request a trade? Absolutely 7. Do you think Yao can make a semi come back? (at least be a decent role player) I don't think so. He certainly has the talent and ability to still be a productive player, but his body simply won't allow him to play even half a season, so therefor he isn't worth the money. 8. Rose is the best PG in the league hands down? No 9. What do you think of Kevin Martins season? About as much as I've thought about him before...he's a very, very efficient scorer, but does absolutely nothing else. 10. Will the Rockets make the playoffs next year? I'd say no at the moment, especially with Adelman gone. 11. What is your favorite food? Ice cream 12. What is you favorite drink (any)? Alcohol- 4Loco, non-alcoholic- Monster 13. #1 thing on your bucket list? Skydiving 14. Do you have a job? if so what? Pwning people on OTR 15. If you could punch one person in the face without consequences who would it be? My current roommate...he's like not even metrosexual, he's like a flat-out lesbian. 16. Is it ok if I ask you 16 questions? Absolutely not, your computer will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1... Cavamatic: 1) How often do you check OTR? 2-3x a day 2) How is rehab? Not in rehab, but being at a halfway house in Florida is pretty cool 3) Do you know me? Nope lol 4) Who will win it all? Lakers 5) Who SHOULD be the MVP?? In terms of value, Dwight Howard. Based on past history of the MVP award, Rose fits the criterea. 6) What would you change about the OTR forums? The ponies 8) Favorite member? Guru 9) Least favorite member? ECN 10) Who goes number one in NBA draft? Irving Pinkie Pie: 1. How's life? Sunshine and rainbows 2. Going back to college? Yep, in the fall 3. Moment that made you NBA fan? Seeing MJ play for the first time. 4. Most dominating performance you've ever seen? Live- Kobe's 62 in 3 quarters against the Mavs, On replay- Jordan's 69pt/18reb/6ast/4stl/1blk game against the Cavs 5. Next realistic year the Knicks can win championship? 2012-2013 6. Roses are red, violets are blue _________________? Ponies are gay and so are you 7. Young Money or Roc Nation? Have to pick 1, no neither... Roc Nation 8. Which lyricist do you look up to? Nas, but I try to mold my style from Big Pun/Eminem/Canibus 9. Something we don't know about you? I made the Central NJ all-star team for basketball in 8th grade 10. Do you actually believe Knicks fan will become Nets fans just because they moved like 20-30 miles? No, but a lot of parents from the Brooklyn area will take their kids to see Nets games, and they will be next-generation Nets fans down the road 11. Any chance you relapse? Yes 12. What is like to almost die? Unexplainable 13. Happiest moment of your life? My ex coming to visit me in the hospital 14. Saddest moment of your life? Thinkin my mom was dead when she was in a coma 15. Why don't you like My Little Pony? I hate ponies, get a butch moose instead Guru: 1. Why are you a Nets fan? Grew up 20min from Continental Airlines Arena, had season tickets in the '90's, been to over 100 games over the years, and I loved the Kidd Nets. 2. Fav. Nets moment? Beating the Pacers in Game 5 in the 2002 playoffs after Reggie Miller hit that crazy fadeaway from 40ft out to send it to OT. 3. Favorite type of bud? Kush 4. Will DWill sign an extension? Yes 5. Funniest thing you saw at rehab? Some guy shit himself 6. Fav. brand of cigarettes? Camel Turkish Royals 7. Do you own a car? If so, what car? Nope, only car I ever had was a '98 Altima 8. Which conspiracy theories do you believe in? Moon landing 9. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? Pro basketball player 10. If you suddenly found yourself turned into a woman, how would you spend your day? Sticking objects of various size, texture and color into my vagina #24: 1. How's going? Chillin, chillin homie 2. You're favorite basketball shoe of all time? Jordan 12's 3. Pac, Nas or Biggie? and why? Nas, he's the best lyracist of the 3, and by far the most creative songwriter. 4. What do you like the most about OTR? Quality of posters. 5. Who are you rooting for in the playoffs this year? Miami, only because of D-Wade 6. Who do you think will be the 2011 champs? Lakers 7. Beer or hard liquor? Hard liquor 8. When did you become a basketball fan? Mid-'90's 9. Have you ever been to Europe? Never been outside the US 10. Your favorite members here on OTR? Guru, Blasco, Illwill...I really like the majority of people here, the ones I don't like know who they are

Well, when you have 3 future HoF players and a an all-star PG, there really isn't much the coach can do to screw things up in terms of getting a quality shot off from a great player. Usually Pierce or Allen are given the opportunity to hit the big shot, but tonight Rivers had the luxury of giving it to Kevin freaking Garnett as yet another option to win the game. D'Antoni had Melo and a bunch of bench warmers to work with...he gave it to Melo who made the correct play, and the guy that ended up trying to make a play to put the Knicks up had the best shooting night of anyone on the team.

That's the issue, the players that were on the court. When you're working with a bunch of bench warmers who had done little to nothing all game, there's not much you can do except give Melo the ball and expect him to make the correct play. If you were expecting D'Antoni to create this amazing play to get one of those guys an open dunk at the rim against one of the best defenses in the league, you're fooling yourself. BTW, Jeffries was 5-7 from the field tonight, and was the 3rd leading scorer tonight for the Knicks (with Melo and Douglas, who was 5-16, scoring more than him). As I said, with what D'Antoni had to work with, there wasn't much more that could be done.

Melo had no opportunity to get a shot up after he hit that 3 in Pierce's face, they were doubling him every touch, and had a double waiting before he even would get the ball. D'Antoni's not at fault here, the Knicks shouldn't even have been within 20pts of the Celtics with Amare and Billups out. Melo was absolutely amazing.

Eh, it's a nice change of pace, the mustache alone was getting old.

Not Morey's decision...

LINK

Yeah, that was a heart-breaking loss for the Knicks, but they shot themselves in the foot with the uncontested alley-oop play out of the timeout. The offensive foul on Melo was a flop by Pierce, and the KG trip should have been an offensive foul, but that is prototypical Celtic basketball that you can't do much about. However, that alley-oop was inexcusable, and probably cost them the chance to win the game, or at least send it to OT.

He's not that hard to defend in the sense that he doesn't have a ton of moves, but the moves he does have are nearly impossible to stop, especially when his jumper is on automatic.

Ultimately, there's only two concrete facts that really show who was the most effective scorer this season- Volume +efficiency. House shot under 40% from the field, and under 40% from 3 this season, while Bibby shot around 44% from both, and per 36min House had to take 4 more shots to get 4 more points. Brown and Odom both scored 16 points per 36min, but Odom shot OVER 10% better from the field, and shot 4% better from 3. Brown scored less than 2 points per 36min more than Bynum, but needed 5 more FGA to get that mark. Unless you are vastly overrating volume in your ratings, there is no way Brown and House should statistically be so high, let alone so much higher than those other players.

Young didn't have the position on Wade for it to be an offensive foul. It should either be a no-call or a foul on Young, because he was impeding his progress. Ideally, it should be a no-call, but that's the way the NBA is officiated now.