AA25 Mamba

Exactly. Let's not forget either, that Rondo was the reason Boston made it to the finals. He dominated the Cavs and got them there in a year when the older players were banged up and had to rely on the young guy to do it for them. If you swapped the two out, it wouldn't have worked for two reasons, Rondo's playmaking would be absent, and the team chemistry wouldn't have been the same.

Well, I only through Pierce in there because he's been with Boston for his whole career and takes pride in the franchise. I agree with what you're saying about building a team around a franchise player, that's definatly a given. I just think there's more to it than being the centerpiece to a good or great team. The thing that seperated the best players from the franchise players in my eye is loyalty and promotion of the player's franchise and team. You know, guys like Kobe and other I mentioned have that, they care about their franchises as a whole. The reason I don't include LeBron or Melo in that group is because LeBron basically betrayed his hometown, state and franchise, which has left the Cavs decimated. He is not the centerpiece to the Miami Heat, but I just think it's dis-loyal to his old team. As with Melo, he still is a part of the Nuggets, but with all of the demanding a trade talk nonsense, it could impact the Nuggets negativly.

^ that's it. When I first heard that I about lost it. I listened to the whole thing last night while I was fallin asleep, and Dark Fantasy is real catchy to me. He really took a step outside the box with this one, and he pulled it off.

HAHAHA that just made my day

Haslem got a little bent out of shape over it. So that menas +2 Pierce and Boston.

Isn't it though? I agree with you. I hate when players act like it's a big love fest on the court. I like to see the chippiness. and to me, it looked like every member of the Celtics played with a scowl and disgust for Miami last night. Ray Allen even said at halftime that they don't like any other team.

What's the deal with the combat training? Can you use the unlocks you get there in online matches?

The two teams that come to my mind off the bat, are the 07-08 Celtics, and the 06-07 Spurs. The Celtics were obviously a huge turnaround, and I'm going to pick them because they were built on team chemistry and defense. The big three meshed together so well right off the bat that it was ridiculous. And the postseaon for them was dramatic to say the least. The reason I give them the edge, however, is because during the three month postseaon, Paul Pierce was the best player in the world. The Spurs were a great team too, the way they dominated the postseason, but if I had to choose, I would pick the Celtics.

Thanks for the welcomes guys. I'm enjoying OTR so far, I'm going to try to stay as active as possible. You guys have a lot of topics to discuss on here.

I think there's a big difference between the two terms. Your best player is just what it implies, the player that has the best skill set on your team and produces the most efficiently. When the term franchise player is applied though, I think it means that it's obviously your best player, but it is also a player that draws a lot of attention to the franchise for the better, plays hard every night, is a good individual off the floor, and takes pride in being part of the franchise. Kobe, Paul Pierce and Kevin Durant are franchise players to me. Whereas, LeBron, Carmelo and Dwight Howard are their teams best players.

I'm satisfied with Boston's season so far. Points I'm pleased with: .Rondo has became an elite PG .The team seems to have better chemistry than ever .KG looks to be regaining some explosiveness and doesn't seem frail on the court as he did last season .Pierce is playing very good basketball. He looks like he did in the 08 postseason .Ray is shooting the ball very well .The defense overall is playing well .The front court will be a monster when Perkins returns and the O'Neals are healthy .Big Baby is playing better than ever and the bench is producing Points I'm displeased with: .They have had double digit leads and lost them on numerous occasions .Shaq' and Jermaine are banged up .Semih Erden isn't producing like I thought he would .They need to play a bit more uptempo

This game is sick guys. I got it Tuesday and I played the campaign before any Multiplayer. The story is awesome. Has anyone completed it and seen the ending?! My first multiplayer game wasn't bad, I hate the default guns they give you, but I leveled up three times in the first match. But what's the deal with the COD money stuff?

The explicit is out now, and it's all cdq. I downloaded it last night, I've been waiting on this for a while now, and it didn't disappoint me. So far, my favorite tracks are Dark Fantasy, Blame Game, and Gorgeous. Did anyone catch the line about the Beatles in Gorgeous? It's a great album throughout. I'm thinking instant classic, It's Kanye's best overall album IMO.

haha I love this. He really got a nice lil shot in on LeBron with this one. If LeBron is still taking mental notes of all the people hating on him, I'm sure Pierce will be on the top of that list, seeing as how LeBron has never beaten him when the games matter.

I don't agree with this. We all know Rondo can't shoot, which is fine, he doesn't really need too. All of this talk about defenders playing off of him, I think that's fine. When they play him like that I just think he needs to get a head of steam and get into the paint, there's no way anyone is going to slide with him if he gets his speed going, he'll just blow by them. But as for Rondo taking the last shot Monday night, NO. He should have either got into the paint when they backed off of him and kicked it out to one of his hall of fame teammates; or he had enough time to dribble the ball to Pierce on the right wing for a hand off. Eventually he will have to get to the point where he can make jumpers consistently, but not with this group now. As far as I see it, if Rondo takes a J in the flow of the game and it drops, that's just gravy.