Nitro

21pts, 8ast, 4reb, 7-11 from the field (1-1 from 3 and 6-6 from the FT line), and 3 steals tonight in a win against the Celtics. :glasses:

Admit you needed LeBron. Admitting your problem is the first step in recovery. Seriously. I think Gilbert and company truly thought this team was capable of competing without LeBron, and they were dead wrong. They have to blow it up and start piling lottery picks.

Whenever the head is severed from the human body with a sharp enough weapon The brain remains conscious for ten seconds Long enough for me to give you one last message And when you get to hell you can tell lucifer I said it ~Canibus

I don't believe there is currently a NWO currently in the process of taking over the world, but I do feel in the not-too-distant future a NWO will be necessary for evolution to be possible.

After tonight's loss, the Lakers will drop to 21-10 after starting the season. IMO, they're most impressive win was against the Bulls (without Boozer) at home. They've lost in Denver, in Utah, in Chicago, in San Antonio, and at home against Phoenix and Miami. Now, they've had some key injuries (Bynum specifically), and certainly aren't playing with a ton of heart, so the issue may be non-existent as the season progresses. However, I've seen a few alarming things that will prevent them from winning another championship... -Kobe is taking way too many shots. Kobe continues to decline athletically, and his fingers/hand isn't going to get much better, so leading the entire league in FGA per 36min (21.1 heading into tonight, the only player in the league with over 20) with as much supporting talent he has is unacceptable. I completely understand that he has two starters shooting sub-40% this season (which I will get to shortly), but besides those two players Kobe is shooting the worst percentage on the team among players taking over 5+ shots per game. I think Kobe will be fine, but he has to understand that the team runs most effectively when his teammates are more involved. In the 21 wins this season, Kobe is averaging 17.8 FGA's per game, and shooting 46% from the field. In the 9 recorded losses, he's taking 23.3FGA's per game (will go up after tonight's loss) and shooting 42.4% shooting (will go down after tonight). Basically, he's got to take a little step back, focus more on getting everyone else going, and try to be more efficient with the shot attempts he does get. -The PG play this season has been unbelievably bad. 39% shooting for Fisher, 37% shooting for Blake, both with under 2.5APG, and neither have been effective defensively. They are hitting their 3's, but sub-40% shooting from the starting AND backup PG is unacceptable, especially when neither player is doing much else. This is a huge problem. Should the Lakers try and see if Blake will improve, or should they make a trade? Personally, I would let it play out and see if there is some improvement as Blake gets more comfortable in the triangle, but if there isn't they need to make a move IMO. -Artest has been awful. He's still a very good defensive player, but he is no longer a dominant player on that end of the floor, and his offense has been even worse than last season. He's at that age where he will only continue to decline, so if I were the Lakers trading Artest would be a move I'd make immediately. He is an offensive liability, and his defense simply doesn't make up for what they lose on that side of the ball. -The fact that the Lakers have been this complacent is a concern in and of itself. I understand they are the defending champs, and had a similar run last season, and did it to a degree in the 2009 post-season, but you can only play with fire so many times before getting burnt. The Celtics have only gotten better from last season, the Mavs and Spurs are vastly improved, and the Heat are starting to look scary. I think the level of competition is stronger than it has been in years, and if the Lakers show any kind of this arrogance or complacency in the post-season, they WILL NOT win a 3rd title. IMO a change or two has to be made to kick their asses into gear and hopefully give them some energy. Thoughts?

Did you guys read the quote? It says the Magic will go after him if he's bought out.

They have relevancy as it shows that you can make an impact in at least 2 areas of the game, but besides that they don't mean much. Even triple doubles can be over-valued, although they are an amazing feat.

Eh, don't see the purpose. He's been awful this season and even though he's 6'11'' and a good rebounder, he doesn't provide the defense that they need behind Howard. I'd pass.

Phew, there's still hope.

It's mildly funny at best. He called him a queer...I think he was actually trying to go at Joe, not mocking other people for making serious diss tracks.

Well, that's awfully anti-climatic...you could have at least told us they found a mysterious tumor and they needed to call Dr. House.

If you jerk off use the stop-and-go method, as you are about to bust put your finger on the dickhole and press down hard as you are orgasming, and hold it for like 3 seconds, then let go really quick...your man-goo will shoot out like 10ft.

Plantar Fasciitis is no joke, and for someone who relies as heavily on athleticism as Tyreke does (moreso lateral than straight-ahead speed), it can be a major handicap. I say he should go for it. Sacramento has been arguably the worst team in the NBA this season, so there is absolutely no reason for the franchise player to stick it out and potentially worsen the injury. Besides, it would probably just increase their chances of obtaining another #1-3 lottery pick anyway, which is what they should be striving for with only 5 or 6 wins at the start of 2011.

I can find your veins, just give me the syringe.

That's not even it IMO. It's giving Dampier and Chalmers more minutes, and seeing less of Arroyo and Anthony. Either way, of course there is going to be more people calling for his head when they are 9-8 as opposed to winning 14 out of 15. If I were a Heat fan I'd still be nervous about Spo come playoff time.

LBJ is really, really cocky, but on the court he tends to have his head on straight. When I think cocky, I think of people like JR Smith, Stevie Franchise and Paul Pierce, who make you want to smack them when you see the things they do during games.

Here's what I said: "Big L was the easiest and most prominent way to show this, but there are dozens of rappers who have polished that technique a lot better than Wayne has." I didn't use Big L as a measuring stick, although in that style of rap he is the gold standard. I used him as the easiest example of how to properly incorperate punch lines into rap with it not being completely random or simply not making sense. It was also to show that Wayne's clever lines that apparently make him a beast aren't so spectacular. They aren't bad, and some are pretty darn good, but it annoys the [expletive] out of me how this topic can get pages of replies while I post videos of far more developed and insightful songs that get no more than 20 views, let alone a reply. I'm in the camp where I feel he's ok. I think it's absolutely insane to put him on the same level lyrically as many of the past and current greats, but he does make some good music.

Wait...a shot in your head, or a shot in your neck? I have experience with shots to the neck, and they aren't too bad, but I have no idea how a shot in your head would work.

I used Big L as an example to what a great punchline rapper is, and how it is properly done. Wayne is clever at times, but when your [expletive] don't make sense or is completely and utterly random, it makes the work average. Big L was the easiest and most prominent way to show this, but there are dozens of rappers who have polished that technique a lot better than Wayne has. So to call Wayne a beast, which is the title of this topic, is a little crazy (not saying there's a problem with people liking Wayne).

Meh...he has some clever/funny lines, but a lot of times they are extremely and/or don't make sense. If you want to hear awesome punchlines, Youtube Big L. No one was a better punchline rapper. Some gems... "Before I buck lead, and make a lot of blood shed Turn your tux red, I'm far from broke, got enough bread And mad hoes, ask Beavis I get nuttin Butt-head" ""I'm lookin nuthin like ya poppa , I wouldnt give a chick 10 cent to put cheese on a Whopper, They wanna know why im so fly, A girl ask me for a ring and i put one around her whole eye" ""The Tech is my utensil- Fillin [expletive]az with so much lead they can use they dick for a pencil Im known for snatchin purses, and bombin churches- I get more [expletive] by accident than most [expletive]az get on purpose I got drug spots from New York to Canada- Cus Big L be [expletive]in with more keys than a Janitor" "Big L is that [expletive]a you expect, to catch wreck on any cassete deck I'm so ahead of my time my parents haven't met yet" "So we can never be a couple hun [expletive] love, all I got for ho's is hard dick and bubble gum"

T-Mac had 15pts on 7-13 shooting against the Bulls (the team who passed up on him over the summer for Keith Bogans) today, with 13 of them coming in the 4th quarter. :glasses:

It wouldn't, but if Wade played in LA he'd get a lot more exposure, more hardcore followers, and in most debates he'd get the Kobe treatment, aka, "He's better just because..." Also, LA has been the most successful and well-run franchise since the 1960's, so we have no idea how that fact would have benefited Wade in the long-run.

Yes sir.

I wasn't paying attention to if they were home/away games, just the teams they were facing, so I missed that.

http://elgee35.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/great-debates-christmas-edition-kobe-v-wade/ I found this pretty interesting. It has a few holes, and doesn't take into account a few other stats that could have been thrown in there, but I think it's a nice read. Certainly it doesn't take into account intangibles and areas of the game that need to be analyzed via watching the games as opposed to looking at it in a black-and-white statistical sense, but it still has some meaning. Also, I did not post this to knock Kobe. It is more to give Wade his props, and to show that guys like JVG and Mark Jackson aren't so crazy by calling Wade the 3rd greatest SG of all-time already. I don't think people realize just how good he is, and how eerily similar his career has been to Kobe's.