I'm just glad theres finally some intelligent conversation happening here, no matter who's right or wrong

I think the Cavs are on ESPN tomorrow night so we can all see firsthand how Big Ben looks playing next to the King

2/21/2008 6:26:48 PM

hey i mean plenty of people think Shaq will help the Suns, plenty think Marion would do better

we just have to let it play out

2/21/2008 6:28:40 PM

dear houston

thanks for doing a salary dump and giving away a decent player in the middle of a playoff push

oh and btw, even bett4er, thanks for giving him to a team in your OWN FUCKING DIVISION!

2/21/2008 6:49:07 PM

Meh...I don't think Houston made that bad of a move.

And if Bobby Jackson has anything left in his tank, he'll be a great addition to them. Raefer Alston isn't exactly a typical NBA Championship team point guard.

2/21/2008 6:55:24 PM

wow, I didnt realize that Cedric Simmons was part of the Cavs/Bulls/Sonics trade, hopefully he'll get some playing time in Chicago

2/21/2008 7:56:34 PM

the way he's played for the Cavs, he won't see much time in Chicago or anywhere else

2/21/2008 8:06:07 PM

Simmons could have been a senior this year.....why couldn't he have stayed.

I am afraid he's never going to get much pt and will be out of the league soon.

2/21/2008 8:18:20 PM

WTF is up with Manu Ginobli??

That guy is killing it right now. 26 points at the half against the T-wolves...6-7 from 3pt range...just hit two bombs to end the half. His recent good play has really been a lift for the Spurs who were struggling a little bit. I don't think the rest of the teams in the West were counting on Ginobli dropping 40 a game.

2/21/2008 9:26:10 PM

he's up to 42 points with crazy good %'s from FG, FT and 3pt

still they're only up 2 on minnesota with a minute to go

minnesota up 99 to 98 with 39.2 seconds left

League Pass 953

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 10:24 PM. Reason : .]

44 points now, Ginobli just hit the go-ahead basket with 6.2 seconds left...twolves timeout

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 10:29 PM. Reason : .]

2/21/2008 10:23:19 PM

I picked up tickets for 4 more Warriors games today... can't miss this team down the stretch. I scored Lakers tix on Stubhub for $20... sweet.

[Edited on February 21, 2008 at 11:06 PM. Reason : wtf oden's hair.]

2/21/2008 10:57:53 PM

Wallace will fit in well next to Big Z....not sure he's that much of an upgrade over Gooden. He's marginally better on defense but considering the Cavs really need some offense....

On thate note, the Cavs are much better and it is because of the other three players they picked up. Wally will obviously help on offense and lift some of the burden from James, he is useless on defense though. Delonte west will be an upgrade at the pg position. big time. joe Smith will provide a litle bit of offense when Z sits down.

I don't understand the Rockets move at all.

Durant is disappointing to watch everytime I see him.. I thought he'd grow to be a huge superstar and still do but he just hasn't impessed me the few times I've seen him.

2/22/2008 2:28:30 AM

Quote :

"I scored Lakers tix on Stubhub for $20"

niiiicccceee

2/22/2008 4:21:33 AM

I watch Ginobli do that same move all the time. when he crosses hard to his left you have to respect it but then he whips it back right, even the best defender would really have to have good time on a reach to stop it because of how easily one could get beat letting him go to the left. He's talll enough to stick the J over most defenders with just a bit of space. People really sleep on how good Manu is, probably because of Timmy's brilliance

or maybe it is his bald spot

2/22/2008 4:47:51 AM

I perosnally LOVE the Ben Wallace trade

he didnt fit into Chicagos scheme at all and knew he was just there for the $

in cleveland he has a shot at doing some good postseason work
Cleveland needed a good defensive presence downlow to stop the likes of Sheed or Garnett and we all know Z cant do that...in addition it gives Lebron some rebounding help down low which we all know is one of Bens strong points, granted he wont be THAt much more of an offensive threat but with Lebron you never know, he might blossom, i think their personalities fit really well.

as for Wally, this was the BEST thing the Cavs did in this trade, it got rid of Hughes who has been a dissapointment, Gooden who is good n then he's bad some games...he's aging and just not the overall talent they need.

Wally gives them that threat from outside that they need sooooo bad so they cant always shut down the paint like every team does against Lebron, Smith is a welcome addition as well for backup role and west as a secondary ball handler, if Gibson will ever realize his value.

The Cavs should be a lot stronger in a week...they have the role players in place, its up to Lebron to make them gel and become great tho

and who cares if Ben cant score and you say it makes it 4 on 5 on offense, add in Lebron which counts for two people and you get that 5 on 5 back

2/22/2008 2:31:36 PM

Well Gibson is out for 4-6 so that's gonna hurt their depth in the short term but Wally World makes up for his shooting.

And Gooden wasn't struggling because he's aging...he's 26

He was struggling because he's Drew Gooden and he's just not very good.

I think they should never put Varejao and Wallace together at the 4-5 or put Smith and Big Z down there at the same time either. They need to have one offensive guy with one defensive guy on the block at all times, except for specific endgame scenarios.

LBJ...hate it or love it, this is all you get till summer of 2010, when you'll probably say "fuck this shit" and sign a a max deal with Brooklyn.

2/22/2008 2:39:49 PM

yea i agree, they need defense and offense at the same time

Z and Ben with Z playing center seems the fit to me that makes the most sense, i guess you COULDDDD run a PF with Z but I think Ben being a little undersized makes him less ideal


but i agree, Gooden was ok...but not what they needed

2/22/2008 2:46:21 PM

2/22/2008 6:31:19 PM

11 in a row for the rockets and still in 4th place in the division

ha

2/23/2008 12:16:49 AM

the suns CAN win low scoring games

2/23/2008 12:53:26 AM

they looked pretty good last night. shaq looked better than the game before despite only 4 points

2/23/2008 3:23:17 PM

The Western Conference playoffs are going to be fucking amazing this year.

The Eastern Conference has three good teams now that Cleve made that deal and the Magic might give Boston a few good games.

Last years playoffs was pretty sick but this is going to be even better

2/23/2008 6:58:40 PM

throw atlanta into the mix now that they have Bibby, they can make a decent run

2/23/2008 7:02:13 PM

No they can't.


The West has two heavyweights:

Lakers, Spurs

One Darkhorse:

Suns

Five longshots:

Rockets, Hornets, Jazz, Mavs, Warriors.

(nuggets have no chance)

The East has three heavyweights

Pistons, Cavs, Celts

One darkhorse

Magic

One super ultra magnum darkhorse that is good but cant win

Raptors

And shit behind them

2/23/2008 7:56:30 PM

Calling the Suns a darkhorse is like calling The Colts a darkhorse

I think its too early to try to categorize the West contenders...try not to suck Bill Simmons cock so much

and

Quote :

"throw atlanta into the mix now that they have Bibby, they can make a decent run"

I hope you meant a decent run at a playoff spot, not at a title

2/23/2008 8:22:04 PM

Atlanta might be able to win a series over a Washington...they went into Golden State last night and beat them

2/23/2008 8:23:56 PM

what's the over/under on how many games shaq misses through the end of the season?





suns will be exposed, again.

If healthy, lakers vs celtics. spurs and pistons waiting for the injuries to occur/not heal.

2/23/2008 8:26:41 PM

^^well yeah but they'd never play them...both would be a lower seed and get beaten by boston, detroit, cleveland, toronto or orlando

2/23/2008 8:28:53 PM

game was the shit

2/23/2008 8:29:55 PM

to the people who say Shaq won't slow down the Suns

did you see how many points the Suns scored last night

2/23/2008 8:32:20 PM

admittedly i haven't watched the suns that much but i've watched both of their games since shaq got on the court for them.

to me, they don't look any better than they did in last years playoffs. maybe a little bit worse. they seem to have lost some offensive execution but havent really picked up any defense, which the shaq trade was supposed to be about. help me out here tree, what's the deal

[Edited on February 23, 2008 at 8:55 PM. Reason : ,]

2/23/2008 8:54:17 PM

lakers win they are tied for the lead in the west, woot

2/23/2008 11:02:05 PM

^^they'll still be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs, but we won't truly get to see shaq's overall effect on them until we see them in the playoffs against another team with a quality big and see what shaq can do...also last night even though they won, boston played pretty good defense and barbosa, one of the suns' important players, missed much of the game after getting hit in the eye

the spurs gave the hornets their 17th loss tonight in tony parker's 2nd game back...ginobli with another big game...30 points, 12 assists, 6 boards, a few 3pters...that dropped new orleans from the best record in the conference (in the loss column) to the 5th best record in the west...logjam at the top

phoenix 38-17
spurs/lakers/hornets 37-17

2/23/2008 11:15:42 PM

might need to update that after tonight


hopefully

2/23/2008 11:31:57 PM

yeah after the LAL LAC game

2/23/2008 11:53:33 PM

yup go lakers

[Edited on February 24, 2008 at 12:46 AM. Reason : leading the west]

2/24/2008 12:45:45 AM

^^^what do you mean hopefully?? like hopefully they will either win or lose??


b/c he would have had to update either way. you realize this right? right??

2/24/2008 3:16:37 AM

Shaq has been terrible on defense for years. He can't move laterally.

2/24/2008 7:40:04 AM

he's better at gaurding bigs than amare....but yes, he has ALWAYS been a p/r liability and can't draft anybody with any amount of quickness

2/24/2008 1:50:02 PM

Pistons-Suns on right now.

[Edited on February 24, 2008 at 2:34 PM. Reason : ]

2/24/2008 2:34:07 PM

Pistons up 18 at the half

boy Shaq sure is helping the Suns' defense...they've only allowed 59 first half points

2/24/2008 3:34:57 PM

Quote :

"I hope you meant a decent run at a playoff spot, not at a title"

a title was never mention for the Hawks, i simply was talking about a playoff spot

and it will happen, Im sticking to my gunzz on this one.

2/24/2008 3:38:23 PM

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are straight ballers...if Bibby can keep playing solid they could win a series and give a scare to somebody else...young athletic team with a crafty veteran point guard...sounds kinda like the Phoenix of the East

2/24/2008 3:48:09 PM

To win a series they would have to beat one of the top teams in the East

I'm not going to speak in definite terms like so many in this thread like to, but I really can't see that happening

If it was a one and done tournament like in college, I think they would be a lot scarier

2/24/2008 3:52:40 PM

bingo

they have the talent, and they have the ability now that Bibby is there to show them what to do and lead them into the playoffs with that experience

the question is, can you keep the kids focused and make a push

I think they can, they have the goods...lets see how it goes, but props to Bibby really, he's so underrated to me.

2/24/2008 3:52:43 PM

Since they moved the first round to best out of 7, its a lot harder of those types of upsets to happen

Other than Golden State last year, I can't recall a heavy favorite losing to a team that barely squeaked in the playoffs

If they finish 7 or 8 and have to play Boston or Detroit, I give them almost no chance

But if they work thier way up to the 6 spot and go against Orlando, Cleveland or Toronto, I could definitely see them making some noise

2/24/2008 3:57:14 PM

well they won @ Golden State a couple nights ago and they lost a close one @ Utah last night...they've been playing better than I thought they would with Bibby...I still see Detroit beating Boston in the conference finals but the Hawks got better with that trade

plus I see New Jersey falling out of the mix pretty soon

man Detroit is whooping Phoenix's asses...75-50 midway through the 3rd

[Edited on February 24, 2008 at 4:02 PM. Reason : detroit what]

2/24/2008 3:59:10 PM

30 pt game.. ouch

2/24/2008 4:40:20 PM

when Herrmann gets PT you know the game is over

DET 116
PHO 86
FINAL

SO FAR it doesnt look like Shaq is helping Phoenix's defense, and he's certainly not giving them much on offense...do they have enough time before the playoffs to integrate Shaq into their lineup and get good chemistry, or was Marion a vital enough component of their system on both ends that they need a whole season to regain chemistry?

2/24/2008 4:54:11 PM

Obviously Memphis isn't a great test, but the Cavs offense is looking very fluid so far against them.

Up 22 with eight minutes left until the half.

2/24/2008 6:48:20 PM

I never thought shaq would really make them better I was just saying that they had some reason to believe he could help them against Boozer, Duncan, Yao etc...

I think losing Marion kills their defense because he could gaurd bigs....he wasn't good at it. But his ability to play the four allowed them to out-quick every other team on offense. The only other player in the league with that ability is Ron Artest.

Cavs look good. I don't think it is as great of a trade as everybody else. But I think it is proof of how good lebron is that you can add a washed up ben wallace and, two old guys and an ex-celtic reject and people think they are now as god as Boston and detroit.

I think West is the best addition. He's got the ability to be a solid starter. Wallace will be better, the Cavs play his type of basketball, Lebron will hit him under the basketball and he will work well playing with big Z.

Wally is going to kill them on defense, but he's the shooter that lebron needs to spread the floor. With him and Gibson on the court at the same time Lebron wont see near as many triple teams. I'd love to see this team go small for stretches with Lebron, Wally, Gibson, West and Wallace

2/24/2008 9:27:04 PM