... and baseball is finally OVER.

Who do you have in your top 5?

1. San Antonio
2. Heat
3. Suns (only b/c Amare is out for 4 months)
4. Pacers (hate him or love him, Artest is a MVP candidate)
5. Denver (my dark horse ... could go somewhere if someone steps up as a leader)

11/1/2005 2:18:06 PM

why do you have the suns at 3 if amare is out for 4 months

11/1/2005 2:19:04 PM

Baseball never ends.

11/1/2005 2:19:34 PM

with Amare I believe they are #1 ... with Nash at point they are still gonna be solid. I need to see how they play together before they drop out of the top 5.

11/1/2005 2:21:16 PM

I'm not sold on the Pacers, even with Artest, and I think Denver has the potential to be higher than 5th this year--after Karl came in, they had a drastic improvement on their record. They'll be a challenger for the West title this year.

At the moment, though, I'm more concerned with the fact that my Sixers probably won't be contending for much of anything beyond a playoff berth.

11/1/2005 2:24:44 PM

Anyone think the Cavs can be higher than a 4-seed in the playoffs this year?

I think LeBron has the chance to be ridiculously good this year. And it won't even be close to his peak year. I love Jordan to death, but Lebron is gonna take a similarily shitty team to the playoffs before Jordan took his shitty Bulls to the playoffs. I'm not insinuating too much here, but it is something to consider.

11/1/2005 2:29:54 PM

no.

i'll never understand people's passion about a sport that solely is in it for the money. basketball is one sport where the college game out plays the professional. and out classes.

11/1/2005 2:35:12 PM

yep

no NFL guy is in it for the money.

11/1/2005 2:36:17 PM

^^Amen to that. I only watch NBA when nothing else is on.

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 2:37 PM. Reason : .]

11/1/2005 2:36:45 PM

^^^ is that why the most popluar player (Shaq) has his b-ball shoes sold at Payless and Walmart for cheap so that more kids can get them instead of getting a huge shoe deal?

Yes I agree that some are greedy but there are plenty out there that go out and play hard everynight.

11/1/2005 2:39:43 PM

^ oh no doubt. there are plenty average joes in the NBA that make a solid living off of it.

the thing with the NFL is, the don't market their hoodum, the bury the fuck out of it.

then there's the NBA. and the reason why the have dress code.

but its not like its the players fault in my opinion. Send the newest high school star $57 million dollars straight from the ceremony. See how the react and dress, i promise you it wont change much. Hell my didnt till i went to and graduated college.

And thus the NBA, i believe, is the only sport that says to young kids Money > Future + Education.

11/1/2005 2:47:20 PM

I guess Ill still pull for the Bobcats even though they picked 2 tarholes.

11/1/2005 2:53:25 PM

Home Shopping Network > NBA

11/1/2005 2:56:15 PM

Quote :

"basketball is one sport where the college game out plays the professional."

The only way people can say this is if they don't watch the NBA at all.

I watched a lot of last year's playoff games on NBA TV while I was staying with my parents last week, and the execution and play development was just amazing, even among the shitty teams. Not to mention the fact that in the pros defense has to be much stiffer because your opponents will routinely make shots that would never be completed in college, and offensive execution has to be much more flawless because the defenses are tougher.

If you don't like the NBA, that's fine, but just say that instead of making (incorrect) generalizations.

11/1/2005 3:07:54 PM

the defenses are tougher is a joke ... we'll just imagine you never said that :x

11/1/2005 3:25:15 PM

^to be fair, he didnt say the defenses were tough

he said they have to be much stiffer.

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 3:27 PM. Reason : jfc spelling]

11/1/2005 3:27:11 PM

Again, watch the games, and then see if you still say that.

There are some teams that don't play as strong defense because they concentrate on overpowering you on offense (the Suns come to mind).

But the same thing happens in college, if you watched UDub or Wake play last year.

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 3:29 PM. Reason : and "defense has to be stiffer" is grammatically correct. Reading comprehension, people.]

11/1/2005 3:28:51 PM

Quote :

"the thing with the NFL is, they don't market their hoodum, they bury the fuck out of it."

LMFAO.

anyone remember what THE BIGGEST preseason NFL story was this year, that covered every GOD DAMN sportscenter show from March until August?








YOU GUESSED IT!!








MR. ASSHOLE HIMSELF

11/1/2005 3:34:58 PM

Quote :

"the defenses are tougher is a joke"

This is garbage.


NBA defense is at an all time high.

NBA defense is tough as hell....

I couldnt score 2 points a game in the NBA.... not even two...

11/1/2005 3:44:48 PM

NBA is Poop

11/1/2005 3:46:33 PM

i couldnt score 2 points in a damn highschool game

11/1/2005 3:46:45 PM

Yep.

Defense in basketball (both college and pro) has steadily evolved over the past 50 years.

And now we have a string of titles won by defensive teams (Spurs, Pistons).

I'm so glad basketball's back. Not to mention that tomorrow night my three favorite teams and the one I hate the most are playing, which is a great way to open up the season.

11/1/2005 3:46:58 PM

its gonna be a long year for my hornets

11/1/2005 4:07:28 PM

You're still pulling for the Hornets?

11/1/2005 4:08:05 PM

Quote :

"5. Denver (my dark horse ... could go somewhere if someone steps up as a leader)"

Quote :

"I think Denver has the potential to be higher than 5th this year--after Karl came in, they had a drastic improvement on their record. They'll be a challenger for the West title this year."

George Karl is the reason why I think Denver won't ammount to much.

George Karl: First coach to lose to an 8th seed in the NBA playoffs
First coach to lose an international game with NBA players
Took a Milwaukee team that was 1st in their division at the all-star break, and then failed to make the playoffs that year.

i don't hate the guy or anything, but i question his ability to take a team and finish anything. and its not like he's been missing the talent. denver will still have the a good record this year, i just don't see them doing anything in the playoffs afterwards. with all that said, i'm looking forward to watching my kings with shareef and bonzi now in the lineup.

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 4:27 PM. Reason : ]

11/1/2005 4:27:10 PM

kings did a great job of saving a sinking ship.

they're actually not that old anymore and they should win their division

11/1/2005 4:49:56 PM

Quote :

"You're still pulling for the Hornets?"

I'm from New Orleans
liked them when they were in Charlotte, and I'm glad Memphis got the Grizzlies (NO was also in the running, then got the 'ornets the next season)

Oklahoma City isn't that far away, so I might go catch a few games

11/1/2005 4:57:06 PM

fuck yeah, I'm ready for bball season

I think it'll be much better this year now that im in some fantasy leagues too, keep me interested

11/1/2005 5:02:46 PM

this is the Rockets' year

11/1/2005 5:19:10 PM

I'm so glad that the NBA is back.

My Top 5:
1) Spurs
2) Pistons
3) Heat
4) Pacers
5) Rockets

Next 5:
6) Mavs
7) Nuggets
8) Cavs
9) Kings
10) Suns

11/1/2005 7:48:48 PM

GO BLAZERS

11/1/2005 7:52:19 PM

bring out Nenê

11/1/2005 8:38:00 PM

All you people saying the NBA doesn't have defense: maybe you should be watching this game.

11/1/2005 8:47:17 PM

Nene down. Hodge to Power Forward?

11/1/2005 8:49:39 PM

I hate the NBA...there is no passion in the game. You could see that when only two players on the Spurs were excited they won. Its all about the money unlike the NFL and MLB.

11/1/2005 8:56:34 PM

"no passion"...you could disprove this yourself by looking at the intensity of the game that's going on right now. And this game basically means nothing, because it's opening night.

And damn, Boykins has some ridiculous moves.

11/1/2005 9:02:15 PM

^^ are you kidding me

i mean i guess i saw a little more coverage being in san antonio when they won it but the players were ecstatic about winning

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 9:02 PM. Reason : .]

11/1/2005 9:02:27 PM

"Anthony's the only person that can frustrate Bowen like that."


Uhh--Rip Hamilton did.

11/1/2005 9:55:08 PM

how about julius isn't even dressed out tonight ... too bad he got on the wrong team

11/1/2005 9:56:03 PM

Quote :

"Home Shopping Network > NBA"

That is def. true. However I might watch Hodge if he gets to play

11/1/2005 10:02:10 PM

Boykins looks like a midget out there.

11/1/2005 10:04:33 PM

Sixers lost to the Bucks in OT.

11/1/2005 11:22:30 PM

this NBA no-defense garbage that people spew is 100% sophistry. The FACT of the matter is that no one wants to watch a defensive battle. Only outliers want to see that shit.

The latest championship was the PERFECT example of two excellent defenses playing each other. What happened? They got the worst ratings ever.

People would much rather see kobe running up and down the court doing helicopter dunks. It's simply more entertaining. The ratings problem (iow, entertainment problem) has a lot of different causes, but prolific offense and anemic defense is not one then. That's just bullshit that snobs and haters like to throw out.

11/1/2005 11:39:42 PM

Well, then call me an "outlier," but I love watching good defensive play in basketball or football.

Bob Knight, Jim Valvano, and Dean Smith didn't seem to have any trouble getting people interested in watching teams play good defense...

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 11:44 PM. Reason : V this man gets it]

11/1/2005 11:42:34 PM

i'd argue a good steal or blocked shot is more exciting than a fast break dunk

11/1/2005 11:43:41 PM

usually a good steal leads to a fast break dunk

11/1/2005 11:46:45 PM

^^,^^^ and you know what most people think is better than that -- Kobe breaking someone's ankles, driving through a gauntlet of defenders, and doing a nuts-in-face dunk on some poor white guy. That's why people tuned in to watch Jordan back in the day, and that's not why people are tuning out today.

[Edited on November 1, 2005 at 11:56 PM. Reason : dfs]

11/1/2005 11:56:36 PM

oklahoma city is going all the way.(its got a nice ring to it)

cavs are no longer a shitty team. they are pretty decent

larry hughes
drew gooden
iaidjogunas illagouskous
eric snow
dejuan wagner
donyelle marshall

11/2/2005 12:17:04 AM

well socrates, its too bad that dajuan wagner isnt on the team anymore.

11/2/2005 12:34:39 AM

well hes on the video game

11/2/2005 12:38:59 AM