Nitro

Interesting. My only issue with the rankings is they don't factor in efficiency, which is a huge part of consistency. For example, if a player one night shoots 10-31 from the field and gets 30pts, while another player shoots 5-9 and scored 15pts, and both players average 25PPG, why should player A be awarded the more 'consistent' scorer?

Same. I want to smash those glasses and use the shards to stab his eyes out.

Their deaths did elevate their music in the view of the masses, but you have to realize that when they were alive they were still ranked among the 5 greatest rappers by most. Biggie was considered the 'King of NY' in the strongest era of rap in the city's history, and Pac was the most famous rapper in the game for the last year or so of his life. People older than us who were a part of the industry at the time, from rappers to producers to DJ's to whoever, commonly place them among the greatest of all-time. Basically, what I'm trying to say is you're ignorant to the situation, as I am for the most part, which is rely on my opinion as well as what people at the time were saying about Pac and BIG.

How old are you? Considering you probably aren't even my age, 20, you have no idea the kind of hype they received when they were alive. 2Pac was a huge star once he signed with Death Row, and had a ton of hit songs, appeared in famous movies, etc... Biggie, just 2 albums in, was considered the 'King of NY' before he died. Think about that. With Nas, a young Jay-Z, Big L, KRS-One, Rakim and many other NY rappers spitting at the time, Biggie had the city on lock with just 2 albums. His funeral where they drove his casket through Brooklyn looked like a funeral for a president: http://listicles.thelmagazine.com/wp-content/upload/biggiefuneral.jpg Think about how many rappers who were spitting at the time acknowledge them as arguably the best rappers of all time. You think they are biased because Pac and Biggie died tragically?

Sadly, Yelawolf's best song

How exactly does Royce suck? He's the best rapper in Slaughterhouse. I agree about Yelawolf, though. Can't stand that dude.

Ouch, that's horrible. Back when I went to the Sixers game in November I had to go from Paterson, to Westfield (near Union), to Philly, to Trenton, then back to Paterson. Brutal travel.

So, after 40 games, the team is 30-10, winning 21 of the last 23. Statistically, they have been the most dominating team in the league, ranking in the top 3 on both offense and defense, and first in point differential. I've seen almost all of their games this season, and every game since the middle of their 12 game win streak. So, below are my observations so far, both the good and bad... The Good: -LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. They've proven they are the best duo in the league, and in the last 20 games or so have developed a good chemistry. Even though a lot of times they 'take turns' taking over the ballgame, they've gotten a lot better at playing to each other's tendencies. For example, when LeBron drives to the rim now, Wade will make a strong cut to the basket from the 3pt line, which has been a very efficient play the last few weeks. Another play is when Wade will dribble around the screen, hand-off to LeBron at the top of the screen, and that often will open up driving lanes for LeBron, who is not as adept to getting to the rim off isolation as Wade is. They are playing very efficient, effective basketball. They are two of the most consistent superstars in the league, and now that they've finally hit their groove, it is very rare you will see many nights from either player where they shoot like 4-18 from the field. That will make them a handful all season long, and will force the bad/average teams to play out of their minds to beat the Heat. -Chris Bosh. After about 10-15 games he finally started to his his groove, and of the three stars he found the coziest niche in the offense. He's usually automatic when he's got room on his jumper, and his effectiveness off the dribble is impressive as well. The last few games I've noticed him taking players in the post with his back to the basket, which is a little wrinkle I never noticed in his game before. His rebounding is still a little disappointing, and he needs to play tougher defensively against back-to-the-basket post players, but he's doing a real solid job with his team defense. -Team defense. When this team wants to lock you down, they do an awesome job. LeBron and Wade, when they are engaged, are everywhere defensively, cutting off passes, forcing turnovers, making weak-side blocks, cutting off driving lanes; they can be dominant. Joel Anthony, against quicker big men, is phenominal. Defensively, he reminds me of Chuck Hayes, who is aggressive against those type of big men, and has the athleticism and quickness to not be beat easily off the dribble. Z and Dampier are both big bodies that change shots around the rim, James Jones has done a tremenous job drawing charges, Chalmers can create turnovers and generally be a pest (although he goes over screens too often, which often leads to dribble penetration which can be a problem), and overall they have very good team defensive principles. -Ability to close-out games. Forget the last few minutes of ball-games, where the Heat have two of the best finishers in the game. In the 2nd half, the Heat do a great job of wearing out teams, turning up the energy, and really beating a team down. Since the win streak started, it's been very, very rare for the Heat to give up big leads like they were earlier in the year, and if they do they eventually choke you out with their star power and defense. -3pt shooting. The last few games have been a bit of struggle from deep, but for the year they have been very good from beyond the arc. They are currently 6th in the league in 3pt% at 38.1%, and that is without their best 3pt shooter, Mike Miller. Carlos Arroyo and James Jones have been lights-out this season from 3, with Arroyo shooting 48% from deep this season, and Jones netting 73 3PM so far this season. -Transition offense. They don't run often, but when they do they are highly successful. They could really use a good PG to make their fastbreak offense that much better, but as it is LeBron and Wade are nearly impossible to stop in transition, and Jones has been effective The Bad: -Joel Anthony. He hustles, makes quick defensive rotations, is a good weak-side shot blocker, and knows his limitations. However, he has many limitations. First off, he's 6'9'', and 240lbs (and that may be generous), so he's at a major size disadvantage. Underneath the basket against legitimately sized big men he is unable to provide much resistance. That leads me to the second point; he's one of the worst rebounding C's in the league, and probably the worst of those who play significant minutes. He doesn't box out well, doesn't have much jumping abiliy, and against legit C's they either simply reach over his head to grab the rebound, or will tip it over and over until they either get the basket, or tip the ball out to a teammate. What's more, he has tiny hands and no offensive repetoire, so he's completely useless on that end besides setting screens. If you go to 82games.com and look at how the team performs with him on the floor compared to Z and Dampier, and it is crystal clear that he should not be playing the kind of minutes Spo gives him. -Carlos Arroyo. He makes open jumpers at a blistering rate and doesn't turn the ball over. In other words, he generally won't make the kind of mistakes that will lose a game. However, he cannot hit a jumper with a hand in his face, he doesn't take the kind of chances that lead to 'impact plays', and his defense is awful. He has little lateral quickness, and constantly is blown by. He has little strength or size, so bigger PG's absolutely abuse him in the post, and around the rim. He's a really solid backup PG, but like Anthony should NOT be seeing the kind of minutes he gets. Unfortunately, Chalmers isn't way better, and he as well shouldn't be a starting PG, so they don't have many options here. -Erik Spoelstra. I applaud him for keeping it cool when the team was 9-8 and the whole 'LeBron bump' thing was a big story, and I think he's done a very good job with getting the team prepared defensively, but he is awful with rotations, and doesn't have the confidence in himself to make adjustments on the fly. Much like Arroyo, he plays it safe by sticking with robotic rotations and not doing anything that will make a big impact on the game from a coaching standpoint. His love-affair with Anthony really is a detriment to the team, as was his inclination to play the Haslem/Bosh frontcourt for major minutes to make sure Haslem got his burn. Spo seemed to turn a corner when he started to get the team to run and gave Chalmers/Dampier minutes, but he's reverted back to some of his old habits, and still needs to take more chances with such a dynamic roster. -Roster depth. We all knew it going in, but outside of the Big 3, the team lacks depth with talent. Things will be a lot better once Mike Miller gets back into form, and if he returns and is used properly, Udonis Haslem will be a huge addition as well. But as awesome a luxory it is to be able to have 3 players combine for 90% of your points and win the game against a +.500 ballclub, that is walking a dangerously fine line once they meet Boston or Orlando in a 7-game series. -Slow starts. It's pretty amazing to me that, even during the last 23 games, almost EVERY single game they start off slow. It's almost automatic; they come out with little energy, their defense gets burned, and on offense they appear to simply be going through the motions. Wade is really the only one who comes out of the gate with an aggressive attitude, but once again, they are walking a fine line that could cost them in the post-season. I know the Big 3 are rhythm players, which means they are naturally better finishers than starters, but they can't expect to simply blow teams out in the 2nd halves of games. Against the great teams with comparable talent, they will get burned doing this. With that said, I do think come playoff time that Wade and LeBron (and maybe Bosh) will come out of the gates looking to put teams away early, so this trend may or may not be something to be concerned about, but it's worth noting. Overall, this team is great, but they need Miller and Haslem back somewhat healthy and in a rhythm come playoff time for them to knock off the Celtics in a 7-game series IMO. A lot of the things they need to improve on are in Spo's hands. It's a lot of pressure for a 3rd year coach, but he's going to have to learn to make better on-the-fly adjustments, and will have to start working Miller back into the lineup soon.

Why does him being a douche about the Decision make the Cleveland fanbase feel entitled to a championship? That's silly. They still fully recognize what he did for the team, and acknowledge him as arguably the most dominant player ever during his tenure with the Lakers. Meanwhile, you have fans like Cleveland Finest who post pictures of themselves on here wearing "LeBron James MVP" shirts a few months ago now saying guys like Durant are better players. He's just an example. Look around and the same attitude is everywhere among Cavs fans. It's pathetic. Lol...they are justified to hate him. But to be so damn ungrateful about the experience they had the last 7 years with him on the team, the kind of experience over half the league hasn't had the luxory of having, is what pisses me off. It's a slap in the face to us, and quite frankly it makes me sick. Talk is talk...bottom line is when LeBron stepped on the court, he dominated. He led them to their first 60+ win seasons. Led them to their first Finals. Won back-to-back MVP's. Brought the franchise out of the slums, gave them notoriety and earned the team and city a crapload of money. Ultimately what people say in sports don't have much meaning, the only thing that truly matters is how they perform. And LeBron was unbelievable in his time with the Cavs.

Yeah, I really like Electronica. He's got a really nice, smooth flow, and he really pays homage to the past greats. Definitely a breath of fresh air in the game. BTW, send me that link, either in this topic or through PM. I have some of his work, but not a whole lot (like 6-7 songs).

LMAO great job on the tweet

AL has pretty much everything covered. Just one thing... Why should they have felt that way after leaving? LeBron exercised his right as a FA. The Decision was very, very poorly done, but LeBron owed the Cavs NOTHING. They knew there was a good chance he was gone 2 years prior to the 2010 off-season, failed to give him another star sidekick, and are now feeling the consequences. LeBron made a stupid statement by saying he'd bring the Cavs a championship, but the Cavs knew if they didn't win last season then he was likely gone. People are just using any little thing they can to assasinate his character, which is fine (BTW, why did no one mention that statement by him during FA? People only bring it up after the fact because they hate he went to Miami to form a super-team, not because it has any substantial meaning), but it doesn't change all the amazing things he did for the franchise.

Anthony played 24min, had 2 rebounds and had a +/- of -10. Z played 22min, had 6 rebounds and a +/- of +2. The run in the 3rd quarter was sparked by strong offensive rebounding, with Z playing a big part in that. It's time for Spo to STOP with the Joel Anthony love-affair. Every damn night against teams with legitimate big men this happen. FREE DAMPIER!!!

Wow, LeBron turns his ankle, comes up severely hobblying, gets the ball and nails a step-back 3...damn. But he looks really hurt, though. Wade's gonna have to finish this game off.

Spo made 2 awful decisions in the 3rd that completely destroyed their momentum when they were down by 3-5pts... -Taking Wade AND Bosh out at the same time for the last 3min or so. -Once again, keeping Joel out there for too many minutes. When Z was in the game they were killing the Clippers on the boards, but now the opposite is happening. GIVE DAMPIER MINUTES!!!

C'mon son...the officiating has been pretty damn even tonight. At first they were calling ticky-tack fouls on BOTH teams, and now they are starting to let them play. The Heat really have to watch this tempo and keep things slow. The Clippers are too hot to run with right now. The Heat need to force a slower tempo to throw the Clippers off their rhythm,

Heat's defense has been attrocious, and it all starts with Davis getting into the paint. Once you force the Heat to make a few rotations, they struggle defensively.

Per 36min he's grabbing over 13 boards per game, and he's shooting 55% from the field...his previous career high was 48%. Young's actually been really good over the last month or so scoring the ball, so even if he didn't add a new dimension to his game, he's doing what he is capable of a lot better than before. Also, how should Milsap 'work' when he's done these kinds of things in past seasons when he was starting/when Boozer was out? I wouldn't question your choice there if it wasn't for you nit-picking some of those other picks for the exact same reason.

Those were the first 2 60 win seasons in franchise history, and in one of those 50 win seasons he got the team to the Finals. He did this in 7 years out of HS, without a 2nd legitimate All-Star. Nowitzki has/had Nash, Finley, Harris, Butler, [young] Jamison, [old] Kidd, Terry (who is on the same level, if not better than Mo), etc... In 10+ years he has been past the 2nd round twice, the same amount as LeBron did in 7 seasons. Bron won one more MVP, earned Cleveland a lot more money and attention than Dirk did Dallas, and had a lot less help over the years. The Rockets were built perfectly around the T-Mac/Yao duo, too...but without TALENT that 'perfect fit' only gets you so far. The Cavs never got a player in 7 seasons that could create his own shot besides LeBron, or at least do so with any kind of efficiency. If they had gotten, say, Ray Allen instead of Mo, who could create his own shot as well as nail spot-up 3's, that would have made a huge difference. I'm just throwing a name out there, but without legitimate talent, it doesn't matter how well you fit together...as seen with the Heat completely dominating teams earlier in the season when they had less chemistry than their opposition. In the post-season, against great teams, putting a bunch of one-dimensional shooter and defenders around a superstar doesn't cut it, and you know that. I'm sorry, but that slap in the face shouldn't outweigh the best 7 years the franchise ever had....the kind of run half the league's franchises have never had. To feel you are entitled to a championship, and to put all the blame on LeBron for their post-season losses rather than what the franchise did to put the other 11 guys around him, is pathetic and IMO offensive to fans of teams like the Nets, Wolves, Raptors, Clippers, etc...

Agree with most. I'd change Detroit's to T-Mac, Houston's to Jordan Hill, Miami's to Arroyo (last I checked he was leading the league in 3pt %, when in past years he couldn't shoot worth a [expletive]), and SA's to Jefferson.

I agree that they are completely justified in hating him, but it drives me nuts how ungrateful and entitled they appear, and how many (not all) of them act like the last 7 years never happened. And as bad as the Decision was, the backlash LeBron has received from media and fans alike, Gilbert's letter, and the rest kind of evens the game. That's why I have 0 sympathy for LeBron, Gilbert, the Cavs franchise and fanbase. The whole situation is just a cluster[expletive].

I'm a Nets fan. I put up with years and years of suckage (as a season ticket holder), before they finally got good. Even though circumstances were very different from the Cavs/LeBron saga, I would have given anything back in the '90's and early '00's for the team to be good, even if it meant getting embarassed on national television 7 years later. My point being is that half the teams in the league have never had a 7 year run as the Cavs just had, and even if they didn't win a championship and got dumped on on national TV, the fans should still be grateful. It's really a slap in the face to fans of other teams who have never had that kind of success, and never got to see a player that's LeBron's caliber grow into a top 2 player (at worst).

No way. Pretty much any team could have given LeBron those same luxories, he would have had God-like fan support, and still would have received Nike contracts and such. However, not every superstar could do what he did for that team. MAYBE Kobe, and MAYBE Wade...that's it, and I think even those two are stretching it.

I'm not talking about liking or hating the guy. I'm talking about the ungratefulness for what he did while he was there, along with a myriad of other accusations, assumptions, and blinded hate.

I really like the right half of the sig, but the left side could use work. Overall, with a new computer and limited resources, you did a nice job.