New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[steve williams]

Magic was taking these shots as a rookie but I am willing to bet that this will not last ... They are a scary team and D-Wade is perfectly capable and willing to take the last shot .. I understand the fascination about OKC but I find them lacking that swagger that (even when understated like San Antonio or Dallas) that championship teams seem to have .. The Heat despite LBJ timidity during the last minutes of a game have it and so do the Bulls ... Let's not talk about the Celtics, Lakers, Bulls or even Pistons of yore... I could be wrong. I still don't see OKC beating Miami 4 games out of 7 ...

Like I said Frantz, I am betting OKC over the Heat. They have a young confidant swagger and never get flustered even when behind by big amounts. IMO KD is MVP material and Westbrook has gained maturity this year

 

[steve williams]

Lakers look like a whole new team since the All Star Break when Kobe broke his nose. Kobe has taken unbelievable pounding but only has gotten better since he put on the mask

I remember the same thing with James Worthy and the mask. He too got better IIRC

 

[Ron Party]

Amazing first half. Bynum played well and they got significant contributions from Artest and their backup 2 guard. When Miami turned up the defense late in the 2d quarter they pretty much shut down the Lakers. The second half promises to be very interesting. I look for Wade to take over.

 

[Ron Party]

Best I've seen Artest play since Game 7 against Boston.

 

[jadis]

Good wins by the Celtics and Lakers. If they play like this each night, I don't think they need a trade now.

 

[steve williams]

Lakers at least suggested they could get out of the first round

 

[jadis]

Lakers at least suggested they could get out of the first round

What the Lakers, and the C's, have at the moment, is experience. IF they get into the playoffs, that should be one of the few bright things going for them. Manpower-wise, maybe a C or C+, but experience-wise, they've got to be in the B or B+ level. For the first time in a long long time, I rooted for the Lakers against the Heat. . I have more dislike on Wade than James actually. Last season, causing a dislocated elbow on Rondo, and last week, a broken nose on Kobe.

 

[jadis]

Ainge trading away Rondo? Rondo had a 18pts, 17 rebounds and 20 assists night against the Knicks. Rondomination over Linsanity. How did he do that? Grab 17 rebounds? More than Amare or Chandler.

 

[rblnr]

I think it's time for the Celts to liquidate their older talent if they can. Build around Rondo if that relationship is OK.

 

[jadis]

I think it's time for the Celts to liquidate their older talent if they can. Build around Rondo if that relationship is OK.

I would agree too, Bob. One problem I can see though is finding which teams would want to take in old players with very high salaries and give up their young ones.

 

[steve williams]

Weren't the Lakers eyeing Paul as he grew up in the LA Area

 

[rblnr]

I would agree too, Bob. One problem I can see though is finding which teams would want to take in old players with very high salaries and give up their young ones.

Agreed it's a tough sell, but teams who think they can go far into the playoffs with one more piece. They give up some picks and/or a prospect. New luxury tax rules may make that tougher than it was though.

 

[steve williams]

Having watched several games yesterday I feel that Chicago is overall the best in the East and I still maintain OKC to be the best in the West. Clipps looked good but couldn't handle Kevin Love and lost thus leaving Lakers in first by 1/2 game.

I also believe that the Mavs are fading fast

 

[rblnr]

Bulls need Hamilton to stay healthy. He just came back from a groin injury and is now out w/a shoulder injury. Needs time to work with D. Rose, though the kind of player he is, less than most. In the few games he was healthy he added dimension to the offense which they'll need against Miami. He makes finding open space look easy and is a very good passer as well. Gives D. Wade a workout on defense too.

Trading deadline is about a week away, despite the new luxury tax issues and so forth, will be interesting to see who makes a move.

 

[FrantzM]

I think no one in the NBA is willing to underestimate the Heat.. least of these Chicago... The Heat play well in all aspects of the game and frankly if you have DWade and LBJ you ought to ... Their Achille Heell is Houdini ..err... Lebron ... If he wakes up at the end of important games ... Heat win it all ..of course they could well be ambushed by the, now ambitious Lin-lead Knicks or maybe The Phillies but barring these, they will reach the Finals where they'll likely win it all against anybody the league would care to present ...

 

[rblnr]

Pains me to say it, but if I had to bet, I'd take the Heat over the Bulls.

 

[steve williams]

I think no one in the NBA is willing to underestimate the Heat.. least of hese Chicago... Theyseem to play well in all aspects of hegame andfrankly if you have D[Wade and LBJ you ogh to ... Their Achille Hell is Houdini ..err... Lebron ... If he wakes up at the end of important games ... Heat win it all ..of course they could well be ambushed by the, now ambitious Lin-lead Knicks or maybe The Pillies but barring these they will reach the Finals where they'll likely win it all against anybody the leagues would care to present ...

Remember our friendly wager Frantz

 

[MylesBAstor]

Pains me to say it, but if I had to bet, I'd take the Heat over the Bulls.

Hard not to agree. Looks like the Heat have found their groove and want the title. That is unless James passes up the last shot of the game to pass the ball to Haslim Kinda mind boggling in this day and age one would be criticizing a player for being unselfish

 

[jadis]

Pains me to say it, but if I had to bet, I'd take the Heat over the Bulls.

I feel that way too. Both teams basically the same from last season and I can't see why the Bulls will prevail this time. D-Rose was controlled by James and the lane was clogged for his penetrations. That shouldn't change now. What can change is if Boozer rises up or gets traded for someone more consistent in point production in the low post and plays tougher D. Both teams play almost similarly although the Heat has 3 consistent point producers and the Bulls, one, or maybe 2.

 

[jadis]

That is unless James passes up the last shot of the game to pass the ball to Haslim Kinda mind boggling in this day and age one would be criticizing a player for being unselfish

Maybe James does not feel confident about taking the last money-ball shot. Will that change this June? We'll see. This is where we separate the men from the boys. Kareem, (my personal top-ranked money-shot maker), MJ, Bird, Magic, Kobe, Wade, among others, have shown they are the money-shot makers with the game on the line and a few seconds left. So many highlight films have shown that. James, like in that Utah game, made a few very difficult, well-guarded shots- really amazing shots with so much time remaining in the game to pull the Heat closer, but when the game is on the line with a few seconds left, he doesn't feel confident that he will make those shots and consequently, passes to someone else whom he thinks will do it for him. Well, if he has a guy like John Paxton who made MJ's pass-up plays looked good, that would be fine. And MJ never got criticized for passing up the last shot bec Paxson always makes them.