Nitro

I know, but Walton went through similar things very early in his career and may regret his decision to push his body to the limit just for a game. Also, Oden's making a lot more money than Walton was at the time, so Walton may have had more financial incentive than Oden does to pursue this career.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Walton's opinion. If anyone would know what it's like to go through what Oden has had to the last few seasons, it is Bill. He played under 60 games 8 of his first 9 seasons, including missing 2 full seasons.

M.B- I think what Real Deal is trying to say is that Kobe is the best clutch shot maker in the league, but often times faces pressure that most other players simply don't attract. In a situation where Kobe is going one-on-one, nobody has more moves in his arsenal, mixed with the killer instinct to hit a dagger when the game is on the line. Real Deal- What you're missing, I think, is that a lot of the shots Kobe takes in clutch moments shouldn't be taken in the first place. That is the sole reason why his shooting percentages in clutch situations are so low, and it is why his assists numbers in those situations are so abysmal. You can't expect role players to knock down clutch shots when you constantly ignore them in pressure situations; giving them opportunities to succeed or fail is how you let them develop that ability. There are a certain few who have that hot-wired into them from the start, but others need to be exposed to it so they can build that ability. And since over the last decade or so the Lakers, as a team, have had arguably the consistently best offense in the league, they certainly have had the offensive talent and system to get that done (save for maybe 1-2 years). It is simply unacceptable to being taking fadeaways over double and triple teams when your teammates are wide open (unless there is like 1 second on the clock and they wouldn't receive a clean catch and shot). Relying on that ability is a very dicey risk, and I think some of the stats showing the Lakers' offense over the years in the clutch kind of reflects that. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly many factors which Kobe can't control that play into that, but Kobe certainly deserves a fair share of that blame. Being able to nail any shot on the floor and facing some fierce defensive attention doesn't excuse Kobe's stubborness in those clutch situations, and that same stubborness is why defenses can load up on him like they do; he's too predictable most of the time. Sometimes it won't matter and he will hit the shot anyway, but in the bigger picture it isn't the best strategy.

One of the main songs on my mixtape-to-be, Dead Presidents III (to the Dead Presidents II beat, including chorus break, first 2 lines need to be changed):

Read the entire article, the guy actually hits the topic from a ton of angles. I read the article earlier today and am too lazy to open it back up, but the 1 assist to all those FGA;s stat really jumps out, as is how much the offense drops off in clutch situations. I think Kobe's stubborness in clutch situation makes him a lot easier to defend than other guys, and although he hits some really tough shots in those spots, living or dying by them isn't the best strategy. I don't care who you have for teammates; they are NBA players for a reason (and statistically in the last decade the Lakers' have had the best offense in the league, as the article mentions), and the only way they can gain that 'clutch' confidence is to give them opportunities. As I said, though, those stats do Kobe's 'clutch' ability an injustice, but he does make some good points.

I think Kobe's clutchness is overrated since he has that 'killer' mentality, and isn't afraid to take those shots. But, he's a helluva lot more clutch than those stats suggest.

If they screw you and tell you that you have to pay for LP, just use ATDHE.net. Every night they have every game streamed (usually NBALP streams, very good quality), all links on the homepage.

Yep. For all the Paul/Williams/Rose/Rondo hype, he and Nash have really gone under the radar this season. That's a LeBron-like triple double. Very strange game. OKC took 19 less FGA's than Washington, and turned the ball over 9 more times, yet won the game. Usually when you lose both of those areas, esepcially by that big of a margin, you tend to lose the game. That's what the star power of Durant/Westbrook can do for you.

T-Mac with 14pts/10ast/8reb/4blk tonight against the Heat/

Don't get me wrong, it's insanely impressive, and I do think he's underrated far too often. But, I just think he was a little better back around 05-07, whether you want to go by the eye-test or statistically. And as I said, him not being able to play as many minutes in the past does hurt his value a bit if we are comparing him to when he was able to give you a few more minutes a night.

The ATDHE.net link is offline right now, so I haven't been able to see the game so far, but T-Mac has a very interesting statline with 10min to go in the 2nd quarter: 1pt on 0-6 shooting, but 6 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. He might just get a double-double with assists/rebounds, but lose out on the triple-double because of points. Quite ironic for a 2x scoring champ.

Nah, 06-07 was probably his best individual season. Pretty much identical PPG/APG per 36min, and he had a ridiculous .652 TS%. I think the fact that he was able to put in those extra minutes back in 06-07 does add some value to what he accomplished that season individually.

No way does Odom deserve to be there over Dirk. I do agree that Pau should be the starting C, though, or Duncan.

Wrong. People do other drugs because they want to experience something different. It's why I've done pretty much everything out there (except shrooms...strange, I know). And my weed dealers weren't the ones who I got those harder drugs from. I had to dig and dig to get those connects. And when it came to dope, Newark is an open air market...there are blocks and blocks with dudes on the street who wave your car down, ready to sell you dope/crack/whatever.

I've gone the 'just smoking weed' route before. It always ends with me doing harder drugs because after awhile, I get bored with the weed high and start craving something harder. Completely quitting drugs is the only option that will be successful in the long-term. Also, I'm on probation, so I really haven't been able to smoke weed anyway. I did my normal dose. The problem with street drugs is you don't know the purity, and what the cut is. Dope in Newark is one of the purest in the country, estimated around 71% pure. The other 29% is cut, which is what they use to make the bags look fatter. When picking the bags up, you (and the street level dealer) don't know the purity of the product, or the cut. Sometimes bags with weaker purity are cut with Fentanyl, which is the strongest opiate and is measure in micrograms. There have been many, many people die from getting dope cut with Fentanyl, and they may have only done 1 bag. My dope was either 100% pure (doubtful), or had something in the cut that made me OD. Either way, I did the same dose that I've done the last 3 months.

It is. It's the 3rd time I've gone through an OD. I OD'd on sleep pills, intentionally, in 2009, and I was pretty much blacked out for the entire experience so it wasn't too bad. Then last year on Easter I took a bunch of caffeine pills (that I was selling to a kid, crushed up, as coke) and nearly had a heart attack and they needed to inject me with 4mg of Ativan to get my heartbeat and blood pressure in check. That was really scary, but this was even worse because I took what is usually an average does for me, then out of nowhere I black out and wake up very light-headed and delerious strapped down to a stretcher in an ambulance. When I heard I was so close to death and that my friends were so fearful of my life that they called the police (which they would have avoided at all costs if possible), it scared the hell out of me. And thanks for the all the kind words, guys!! I'll probably be around another 1-2 days since I gotta find a rehab my insurance recovers and move in and whatnot, so you'll still see me around a little while longer. Depending on what rehab I go to, I may or may not be able to occasionally have access to this site. If I don't, I'll definitely miss you all and wish you guys the best, although I'll do my best to find a way to come here every so often. And when I finish my rehab stint, Nitro will be back and better than ever!

So, around 3PM yesterday I was taken to the ER with an overdose of heroin. I shot up my usual two bags, but one (or both) of the bags had an unusual cut or was extremely pure, and I passed out, and woke up strapped to a stretcher in an ambulance with the oxygen mask on my face. They said I started going into repritory depression, which caused little to no oxygen to be passed when I was passes out, and started causing me to choke and my lips turn purplish. They got me breathin' and awake, and after a brutal few hours in the ER where I felt disoriented and [expletive], I finally got to go home. This is the 4th time I've nearly died in 2 years, and I'm sick of it. I'm always in some kind of serious trouble, and drugs are absolutely ruining my life. They are all I think about, even when I dream. So, once and for all, I'm going to ask for help and go to rehab. I need to get my last straight, That means that in the next months or so, I'll be absent from OTR, which sucks, but will be necessary. I'll let ya'll know what that date exactly comes soon. Peace, Nitro

Yoooooooo wtf did happen to Slamball? That was my [expletive]!!!

If you're the main attraction then I'd hate to see what the appetizer is.

Lol ok...? Seriously though, with Bosh out, and the Knicks at home, the Knicks shouldn't be afraid. Although Amare should be afraid, because Joel Anthony does as good of job individually as anyone in the league with defending Amare.

T-Mac had 20/7/5 (8-19 shooting, only 2 TO's) the other night in Orlando, and 14/8/6 (4-9, 1 TO) tonight against the Nuggets. Ballin' :glasses:

With Arenas' history of injuries, it'd be smart for them to keep Duhon for the time being. As for Williams, I'm sure his services could be used by a few teams. Definitely would fit in with the Knicks as a cheap, backup PG.

I agree with this list, for the most part. I'd tempted to put Washington over NJ since they have a young player with superstar potential in Wall, but that Lewis contract really hurts their flexibility down the road. I also think Minnesota could be ahead of Sacramento; the Beasley/Love combo could really have potential, especially if you add a really good PG that can play some defense to that team. FYI, I really don't think Milwaukee should be included on this list. Salmons, Maggette, Boykins, Dooling, and Gooden are all getting up there in age. I look at them more as a 'win-now' group than a team that's young and rebuilding.

It's crazy that I joined here 4 years ago already, then took an extended leave and came back. Had BBW not gone down I wouldn't have probably came back, but I'm glad everything happened the way it did, definitely enjoying my stay. Congrats!

Not anymore. Now that I'm dropped outta school and have no car, I only get to chill with friends 1-2x a week. That number will drop even farther in a week or two when I start working full time. It sucks. When I do hang out with friends, we usually just sit around because NJ suburbs are rather boring, and we rarely have the $ to go do something. Occasionally we'll go to a movie or some [expletive], but most of the time we just sit around doing various drugs. Fun stuff.