Nitro

It was a joke lol, but the reason is because the franchise is historically cursed with injuries.

Ok, it was getting crazy, but now it's completely ridiculous. The entire Blazers training staff should be fired and the franchise should move just outside Portland like how the Pistons are at Auburn Hills.

Well, I had a year and a half (3 semesters) to turn things around and couldn't get my [expletive] together. In 3 semesters I have like 12 credits to show for it. So, instead of wasting other people's time, effort and my own personal money, I decided it'd be best to get an internship working with my dad, and make some money in the process. I plan on going back at some point, probably next semester, but I gotta see if this is a field I wanna pursue, and I have to get my head on straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiVS8smTcLQ

The Heat lost and Rex Ryan didn't say anything outlandish today, so what could ESPN possibly discuss???

They barely lost in LA to a Clippers team that's on fire, lost at Denver, barely lost at Chicago (who's been streaking at home the last few weeks), and barely lost to the Hawks (who have also been playing very well). Bottom line is the team has no depth, has been without at least 2 of its top 5 players the last 4 games, and barely lost 3 of those games against some tough competition. There's no reason to question this team on this losing streak as they've had 2 injured stars and a bunch of scrubs (vet minimum scrubs) playing against 2nd tier contenders. When they start losing 3, 4 games in a row while healthy, then the 'Fire Spo' people will come from all angles.

In none of the 4 games were the Big 3 healthy for the entire game, and in 3 of those game at least 1 of them didn't play. This team is not built to pick up the slack with 1 of the Big 3 injured, especially without Haslem and Miller still finding his groove (the rest of the team is basically on minimum contracts).

Very strange ending. The Heat's offense wasn't so surprising, but their defense was very, very lazy and disorganzied in that OT. That play where half the team turned their head, which led to the corner 3 was a killer for them. But Joel Anthony had 16 rebounds...WTF

That sucks. You got to FIU, right? I got applied to a few schools in Florida, and got accepted there. Back in the summer of 2008 I took a trip to those schools to check them out, and FIU was BRUTAL in the summer with the Heat, and there's not much shade. Still, it's a beautiful school, you're lucky.

Umm...what? He gets 3SPG, has the best Drtg on the Hornets of anyone who's played significant minutes, 2nd most DWS on the team, and has made All-Defensive teams. Those are just stats and accolades, but anyone who watches Paul play will tell you you're just stupid.

Heat on 13-0 run to tie the game. With LeBron at PF (as I suggested before the game ) the team looks so much better. More shooters and offensive weapons.

And they were a buzzer beating 3 away from it being an 8pt quarter.

Yikes, AWFUL start to the game for both teams, especially the Heat. In 9min the Heat haven't gotten one shot at the rim, which should probably be expected with Arroyo on the floor and Anthony replacing Bosh at PF. Chalmers just came in and Miller's about to enter, so we'll see how they fare with that lineup.

With Bosh out, assuming LeBron is in, the Heat should run a lineup with LeBron at PF most of the game, and give Miller extended minutes at SF. LeBron is perfectly capable of defending Josh Smith, and it will give the Heat another 3pt shooter on the floor, which will really open up the offense.

He's getting there, but I'd still comfortably take Paul and Williams over him. Both are much better at running an offense, and they can both score in volume on strong efficiency (especially Paul) when needed. Rose has really picked up his defense the last few weeks I've seen him play, and I'd take him on that side of the ball over Williams (not Paul since he's not a good enough man-to-man defender to make up for Paul's ability to generate steals). Rebounding difference is minimal, although Paul is the best of the 3 in that regard. When the game is close, however, I'd have Rose over either Paul or Williams since he's the best at creating his own shot, and this season has been a lot more aggressive in those situations. Basically, the biggest issue with Rose is that he's a really good passing SG trapped in a PG's body, and his scoring isn't so elite that it can be overlooked when comparing him to Paul and Williams.

Well, he's a very good rebounder for a SF as well, and in the clutch there are few better options to go to, but he's not elite in any other facet of the game besides scoring. The thing is he is a GREAT isolation scorer, and even though his TS% isn't that high, he makes a huge impact with that ability. I do agree he's not carrying a team to a championship without a legit superstar by his side and role players who do all of the little things, though.

I agree. And if Melo happens to tear an ACL or has some kind of serious injury, it will destroy their chances to get any value in return besides a TPE.

Yep, although I believe in the law of averages, meaning that over the course of an 82 game season or post-season, that the numbers won't be so off-track that you can't make a proper analysis. The biggest problem with stats in basketball are the fact that they don't account for different playing systems, styles of play, etc...

Gotcha, although it's stupid to risk your future to spite a guy who has carried the franchise for the last 8 years. And if the new CBA comes out and max contracts and and the salary cap are pretty much the same as they are now, then the Nuggets will have egg all over their face (same can be said if they don't reach an agreement and extend the current CBA one more year).

Cuz things aren't always what they seem

Nah, they'd get less assets than if they just trade him before the deadline to NY.

So, you go from calling Rudy a better player to saying he should be in over Griffin because he's been in the league longer...ok, makes perfect sense.

That's the problem with assists; of all the box score stats, it is the only one that has grey area. That Ray Allen pass that was counted as a Rondo assist was plain awful, but there are so many other instances where the assist could go either way. It's annoying but we have to live with it.

He could average 30PPG...lol what? Both Griffin and Gay take the exact same amount of shots (16.5) per game, yet Griffin averages 2 more points. Going by your reasoning, you don't think if Griffin took 21-22 shots that he'd average close to, or over 30PPG? And besides scoring, which Griffin does at greater volume and better efficiency than Gay, where does Gay impact the game? He's not a great rebounder at the SF position, and he averages the same amount of turnovers as he does assists. Griffin, meanwhile, is 4th in the league in rebounding (in a year where players are rebounding at an abnormally high rate), and one of the best ballhandling and passing big men in the league. So, where's your reasoning? I think you just have some kind of stupid bias against big men since wing players are generally more flashy and skilled, like your belief that Dwight Howard isn't close to being a top 5 player. But, with Griffin that really isn't much of an issue as he's insanely well-rounded and skilled for a big man. In the last 2 months he's averaging 25/14/4 on 53% shooting...that's ELITE, even if you stretch the comparisons out to NBA history. I am not suggesting he's as good as a prime KG, Barkley, Duncan or any of them yet, but he's REALLY far along already. And keep in mind, this is coming from someone who is very hard on young players, as seen with how I analyze Durant and how I hated LeBron up until around 2006ish. That's how good Griffin is already.

K, here's my entry (it's all in good fun, no hard feelings even though it's kinda harsh):