NBA Discussion

[- L1n -]

nah i'm tipping hosuton this yr they hve a good tram especially with t mac and yao combination plus the fact gaines would be given a chance to show us what his about back in the days when him and wade was at each other in every department.


now houston needs to work for vc and a powerforward or maybe even a pg lol i no i'm dreaming but can't blame me for trying.

[spooks]

Originally posted by - L1n -
nah i'm tipping hosuton this yr they hve a good tram especially with t mac and yao combination plus the fact gaines would be given a chance to show us what his about back in the days when him and wade was at each other in every department.

Gaines will be a nice solid combo guard. He's no Dwyane though. We'll end up comparing a decent starter to a perennial all-star when their careers are over. 2003 draft had a really nice selection of PGs I must say.

[Long]

Shaq made some great quotes in his press conference. But I like this quote about Shaq:

"No one else in the NBA makes their teammates better than Shaq. It's not so much that he's an excellent passer. It's that he attracts 4 or 5 defenders, allowing his teammates to roam free."

On Houston - Granted T-Mac and Yao are both healthly Houston will do well. But in the West you'll still have to go through Tim Duncan's Spurs and the KG's Wolves.

If Yao can become a 20.0ppg, 10.0 reb pg, and 3.0 blk pg and become a total offensive/defensive force then Houston are going to rock the West. Until that Happens they're still behind the Spurs and Wolves. I reckon Houston will make the NBA Finals in the 2nd or 3rd year that T-Mac and Yao are together. It's because Yao's still developing as a player.

[duguxiaojing]

Young O'Neal > Martin athletically anyways, just shows you how freakishly athletic O'Neal was (and still is to an extent)

Do you mean for his size a young Oneal is more atheletic? Kmart has some really amazing hops and speed for a guy his size. I wouldnt say shaq even a young one is more athletic than Kmart.

He still gets up and down as fast as any other bigman. For a 360 lbs guy his lateral quickness is pretty good. Spin move he does in the post is still deadly. Lost a step but to say not much left isn't true.

He's definetly slower dosent react to defense as quickly. As for vertical Shaq's lost quite a bit and its not just this year. Maybe its the toe or the excess weight hes been carrying but shaq just dosent get up like he used to. Sometimes he looks like Yao when hes goin for a dunk (about an 7inch of height while goin for dunk). Even on alleys shaq dosent get his head any where near the rim like he used to.

Shaq's drop step is still deadly and will always be deadly unless he loses a foot in height and width or stops using he's elbows to knudge the guy out of position when he spins.

[spooks]

Originally posted by duguxiaojing
Do you mean for his size a young Oneal is more atheletic? Kmart has some really amazing hops and speed for a guy his size. I wouldnt say shaq even a young one is more athletic than Kmart.

Young O'Neal destroys K-Mart athletically, it's not even close. Heck K-Mart isn't even the most athletic young PF in the league right now, that would be Amare.

I agree he's lost a step, but you said there isn't much left. Isn't much left is Hakeem during his Raptor days, D-Rob last year. He's still quite athletic.

[LuNaR]

Originally posted by Vicious
Divac and Grant both seem kinda old to me. They traded away one old center and got an older one.

at least they hit thier free throws..... if shaq had hitten 70% of his free throws, lakers are champions rite now... he attempts like 20 free throw per game and makes like 4, but laker's most heavy lost is actually fisher, hes like 1 of the best, fisher + divac + malone = omega flop = easy win

[James Ko]

NBA is becoming the new soap opera

I can't wait for the up coming season (since hockey might not be there)... what I expect is lots of trash talks... lots of hoop dreams... and so on

And about the all star line up.... is going to interesting to see how people will vote. I mean will Ben Wallace post as a Forward instead of Center so he can start when there is no dominating forward other then the other J Oneal... and speaking of J Oneal... I can't wait for the 2 Oneals on one all star team

[- L1n -]

i can't wait till yao kills shaq in the all star games.

the most interesting thing is who do u start kobe or t mac.


i don't think carmello would make it next season i'll give them 2 more seasons before they make it especially since now theys both t mac and kobe for the west.

[James Ko]

Lebron is in the east (Cavs) so he wouldn't be competing with the all star spot with T-mac or Kobe... so he has a chance to start.

I really don't think Francis is that popular or good for that matter to start in the East. There is still Iverson and Kidd too. I am not sure about Carter since he could be forward or guard. It would be interesting to watch though.

[Demitre]

Originally posted by - L1n -
i can't wait till yao kills shaq in the all star games.

:lol: what are you smoking?

[Jere]

Originally posted by Demitre
:lol: what are you smoking?

That's what I was thinking. I'm a Yao fan but let's get this straight, there is only ONE Shaq.

I must say if Shaq could shed 30 pounds or so, we could see the best Shaq in the last 5 years. His athleticism was replace with a better offensive game.

I remember when he played for the Magics back in the days, days. Sure, he was 70 pounds lighter and can run as hard as any forward out their but his offensive game was limited to staying below the rim and that's it. He's build a nice shot over the year and he plays alot smarter adding a nice passer's touch with it.

Now, I think the Lakers are in big trouble. Their salary cap is strapped till 2008-2009 and they got alot of holes to fill. Such a shame. If kobe had held back for a few more years and let the big man go out with his pride, this whole episode wouldn't have taken place.

I'm totally looking forward to the Spurs dominating next year. And is it me or are the Kings and Mavericks taken a step back? Too bad for C-Web.

[James Ko]

Originally posted by Jere

Now, I think the Lakers are in big trouble. Their salary cap is strapped till 2008-2009 and they got alot of holes to fill. Such a shame. If kobe had held back for a few more years and let the big man go out with his pride, this whole episode wouldn't have taken place.

I'm totally looking forward to the Spurs dominating next year. And is it me or are the Kings and Mavericks taken a step back? Too bad for C-Web.

Ya but remember Kobe did won 3 championship already more then likes hall of famer Gary, Karl, Barkley etc... so maybe winning isn't that important to him anymore... who knows.

And yes you are right Mavs and Kings seems like they been on the decline.. I was really curious what Cuban will do to beef up his team... could Kidd go back to the Dallas... only time can tell

[LuNaR]

actually i'll take divac butler odam and grant over shaq

[James Ko]

I wonder if there are any takers for Mr. Vince Carter...

[Long]

Originally posted by James Ko
I wonder if there are any takers for Mr. Vince Carter...

I still think VC is a great player and will do very well for any team.

But I think over the years his stocks has dropped as a result of his poor 'attitude' and 'injury'. I saw him unpfront at the Sydney Olympics and really hated his attitude on and off the court.

[spooks]

Originally posted by Long
I still think VC is a great player and will do very well for any team.

But I think over the years his stocks has dropped as a result of his poor 'attitude' and 'injury'. I saw him unpfront at the Sydney Olympics and really hated his attitude on and off the court.

Really? I've had to pleasure to see him play a couple times at the Air Canada Centre. He was a really nice down to earth guy before the game. Signing autographs and joking with the kids.

What exactly did he do during the Olympics to make you hate his attitude?

[Moinllieon]

There's definitely a perception out there that Vince is a "soft" player who isn't exactly dedicated towards applying himself to become the player that his vast talent would allow him to be. It really came about around 2 or 3 years ago when, after he was injured, his team reeled off 10 wins in a row to sneak into the playoffs. The idea was that, somehow, his team was better without him. He hasn't really ever recovered from that, the perception of him anyways.

[Jere]

personally, before Vince's injury, I thought he was way more explosive and a better shooter then kobe.

He didn't apply himself to defense but that's his own fault.

hopefully in a new environment, VC can regain the passion to be the best. He's lagging behind kB and TM now but he can always light it up if he's dedicated enough to get himself back to his early form. I hope he does.

[Long]

Originally posted by spooks
Really? I've had to pleasure to see him play a couple times at the Air Canada Centre. He was a really nice down to earth guy before the game. Signing autographs and joking with the kids.

What exactly did he do during the Olympics to make you hate his attitude?

Maybe he was friendly like that at Air Canada Centre because it was his home court and the USA is his market so he needed to behave. Who knows, he might have just had a bad day or weeks in Australia. But he looked very 'grumpy' at times and a little 'arrogant' at other times. He was respectful to the kids, but less so with adults and opposing players before and after the game. He seemed to rub people up the wrong way at functions when all people wanted to do was introduce themselves and say hello.

[spooks]

The Orlando Magic have agreed to trade power forward Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter and the rights to second-round draft pick Anderson Varejao of Brazil to the Cleveland Cavaliers for center/forward Tony Battie

Damn that's a bad trade by the Magic. I know they want to let Howard play and all but they're basically giving Gooden away. Cavs get a young PF with serious upside to replace Boozer.