NBA Discussion

[Long]

that's not shaq. if it's dirty malone, the probability of that happening is very high. i don't know how many of you remember the cheap shot malone put on isaiah thomas in 91. isaiah had torching stockton for 43 points before malone intentionally elbowed him in the head. blood was pouring out. it required 40 stitches!

Yeah I remember the hit Malone put out on Isaiah Thomas... He only got suspended like 5 games or something if I remember correctly for that. It was a light punishment, whatever it was....

Yes - I should start pinning my hopes that Karl Malone will play this season and deliver the knock-out blow or career ending injury to Kobe Bryant.

Shaq is just a 'soft teddy' bear at heart despite his awesome frame that could do a lot of people damage. He has never lashed out once in his career despite getting hacked many times...

[spooks]

I should start pinning my hopes that Karl Malone will play this season and deliver the knock-out blow or career ending injury to Kobe Bryant

Might be taking your dislike of Kobe a lil too far. Borderline obsessive if you ask me.

He has never lashed out once in his career

Brad Miller

[jay_z]

Yeah I remember the hit Malone put out on Isaiah Thomas... He only got suspended like 5 games or something if I remember correctly for that. It was a light punishment, whatever it was....

Yes - I should start pinning my hopes that Karl Malone will play this season and deliver the knock-out blow or career ending injury to Kobe Bryant.

nope, malone received a 1-game suspension and $10,000 fine.

i dislike kobe, but i respect his work ethics. he works hard in the offseason to make himself stronger. i wish t-mac would do the same because he should be better than kobe if he lifts weights in the offseason.

shaq never plays dirty, never try to put other players out.

[Long]

Might be taking your dislike of Kobe a lil too far. Borderline obsessive if you ask me.

If you were like me and placed a $100 bet at 14/1 odds with TAB (Sports Bet) in Australia that the Lakers were going to be the world champions at the conclusion of the 2003/04 season, you'd be pretty angry as well.. Considering the crap and selfish way in which Kobe played....

That's like $1,400 less in my pocket...

[spooks]

If you were like me and placed a $100 bet at 14/1 odds with TAB (Sports Bet) in Australia that the Lakers were going to be the world champions at the conclusion of the 2003/04 season, you'd be pretty angry as well.. Considering the crap and selfish way in which Kobe played....

That's like $1,400 less in my pocket...

That's the nature of gambling you win some you lose some. Wanting a player's career ended or to suffer a serious injury over a sum of money just doesn't seem right to me.

And yes I have lost comparable money betting on boxing. Not once have I wanted that particular boxer to get seriously hurt or killed the next time he stepped into the ring.

[Moinllieon]

Boxers kinda hurt themselves when they lose.

Anyways, all this depressing talk about how people have been bad or disappointing. I'm gonna bring up a pleasant surprise. The Bulls! After an 0-9 start, they have gone 5-6 with wins over the Lakers, the Wolves, and the Grizz while pushing the Mavs to the limit. Not bad. So who do you guys think will have a better career? Deng or Gordon? Charlotte ain't doing bad either. Okafur's turning out to be much better and consistent than I thought he would. Hope he stays free of the back trouble that bothered him in college.

[spooks]

So who do you guys think will have a better career? Deng or Gordon? Charlotte ain't doing bad either. Okafur's turning out to be much better and consistent than I thought he would. Hope he stays free of the back trouble that bothered him in college.

Probably Gordon. Gordon is pretty explosive I can see him developing into a solid combo guard like Arenas.

Deng is versatile but an average athlete by NBA standards (especially at his position where freakishly athletic SFs are a dime a dozen). He's like Grant Hill without the athleticism.

I think either Howard or Livingston will end up being the best player from this draft.

[ROI]

Hey, been a while since I checked but Lebron James is quietly putting together an MVP caliber year! All his stats are up! And he's scoring more by shooting a higher percentage. He's hitting .508 up from .417 and .339 up from .290 on threes. He's the only guard making more than half his shots. It looks like he's really worthy of all the hype. If he keeps this up, players like Kobe and Tmac are gonna look ordinary by comparison. Poor Kobe, this is the year when he finally gets to be "the man" and here we have a teenager already doing better than him.

[Moinllieon]

Probably Gordon. Gordon is pretty explosive I can see him developing into a solid combo guard like Arenas.

Deng is versatile but an average athlete by NBA standards (especially at his position where freakishly athletic SFs are a dime a dozen). He's like Grant Hill without the athleticism.

I think either Howard or Livingston will end up being the best player from this draft.

Of course, the question becomes just how good exactly is Arenas? To be honest, I'm not a big fan of small guards who should be playing point wanting to score. I just think there's a ceiling on how good those players can be and unless they develop a deadly-first step or some passing skills... As for Deng, Grant Hill currently ain't doing too bad without any athleticism. Who knows, both of those guys have turned out a lot better than I thought they would. That goes for this draft in general actually. I thought this was a very weak draft overall (like the one 2 years ago). But that has not turned out to be the case. Pleasant surprise to say the least.

BTW, I think Livingston will be the best, there aren't that many PGs out there his size while there's plenty of guys out there who matches up physically with Howard.

[TrieuTuLong]

Did you guys see the Kobe interview on Espn last night?
Some of people on Espn asked Kobe how come he hasn't called Shaq and apologized for his remark about Shaq during the police's question about his rape case.
And, this is Kobe's answer: " I don't have Shaq's phone number."

Does Kobe really expect the fans buying this?

LOL

[spooks]

Of course, the question becomes just how good exactly is Arenas? To be honest, I'm not a big fan of small guards who should be playing point wanting to score. I just think there's a ceiling on how good those players can be and unless they develop a deadly-first step or some passing skills... As for Deng, Grant Hill currently ain't doing too bad without any athleticism. Who knows, both of those guys have turned out a lot better than I thought they would. That goes for this draft in general actually. I thought this was a very weak draft overall (like the one 2 years ago). But that has not turned out to be the case. Pleasant surprise to say the least.

BTW, I think Livingston will be the best, there aren't that many PGs out there his size while there's plenty of guys out there who matches up physically with Howard.

I don't mind combo guards if they're not forced to play point with Hinrich there Gordon can worry about scoring and not playmaking unlike Arenas and Francis who have to worry about both.

Personally I thought Howard was gonna be another Kwame Brown. I've been pleasantly suprised by his play. He just turned 19, great NBA body, great athleticism, work ethic everything an owner would want in a franchise big man.

Livingston should be a great point guard in the future. A point guard that actually has a pass first mentality.

Funny note about Livingston though, he's possibly the weakest point guard in the league. Reports of him stuggling to bench press 135 lbs Kid is like 180 lbs that's not right. I can picture him getting posted up by 5'5 Boykins.

[jay_z]

vince carter's fans: wait up! vc is no longer half-man half-amazing, so quit voting for this cry baby. in fact, he's not even a top-15 guard. why don't you vote for those players that deserve to be in the all-star game? put any fowards who play more games than vc in.

the nba needs to set a rule that players must play x numbers of games to qualify to be in an all-star game.

TOP 10 all-star VOTE-GETTERS

Yao Ming (Hou.) 881,223
S. O'Neal (Mia) 854,930
Kevin Garnett (Min.), 751,586
Vince Carter (Tor.) 696,652
Tracy McGrady (Hou) 680,373
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 673,665
Tim Duncan (S.A.), 570,090
LeBron James (Cle.) 557,538
Grant Hill (Orl.) 552,328
Allen Iverson (Phi) 521,245
J. O’Neal (Ind.) 477,250

[Moinllieon]

I don't mind combo guards if they're not forced to play point with Hinrich there Gordon can worry about scoring and not playmaking unlike Arenas and Francis who have to worry about both.

At the moment Gordon ain't even starting as the Bulls are doing the 2 PG thing with Duhon and Hinrich starting. I missed them on ESPN earlier this week and really regretted it because I really wanted to see how they planned to go about the double PG thing. Oh well. Let me just say that I'm still skeptical about combo guards who aren't that tall, can't shoot that well, can't pass that well, and does not possess great quickness. But I'm pulling for Gordon, hopefully he proves me wrong.

Livingston might be thin and weak, but he's long (in the none sexual way ). Those long arms could make him a great defender on top of being a good PG.

As for VC's All-Star ballots, I blame those Canadians voting for him just because he plays in Canada.

[spooks]

Livingston might be thin and weak, but he's long (in the none sexual way ). Those long arms could make him a great defender on top of being a good PG.

Tayshaun Prince like arms, and we all know the fits Prince is capable of giving elite perimeter players.

As for VC's All-Star ballots, I blame those Canadians voting for him just because he plays in Canada. [/

Nah we hate him in Canada I seriously don't know who's been voting for VC these past couple years, he gets alot of negative press up here.

Side note about Vince. How low is his trade value nowadays? Miami Herald reported the Heat declined Jones for VC.

[Moinllieon]

Side note about Vince. How low is his trade value nowadays? Miami Herald reported the Heat declined Jones for VC.

Athletic, malcontent SF with a soft reputation no leadership skills and a huge contract? Maybe they can get Houston from the Knicks?

[Long]

Athletic, malcontent SF with a soft reputation no leadership skills and a huge contract? Maybe they can get Houston from the Knicks?

Well people should learn that 'bad attitude' gets you no where. But I must say, I'm a little surprised as the Heat could use someone like VC to bloster their title hopes...

Eddie Jones is an 'active' player who also happens to be the NBA's ALL-TIME leader for play-off chokes...

[spooks]

Athletic, malcontent SF with a soft reputation no leadership skills and a huge contract? Maybe they can get Houston from the Knicks?

VC and Eddie are making the same amount per year only difference is Eddie has 3 years remaining, Vince has 4 so I don't think contract size mattered. From a marketing standpoint VC + Shaq + Wade would be a raking in the $$$.

Miami Herald isn't exactly a reliable source but I dont' see a decent reason for the Heat declining that trade.

[Long]

From a marketing standpoint VC + Shaq + Wade would be a raking in the $$$.

As Shaq would have said the new "rap" version of Magic, Worthy, and Jabbar....

Either way a better combo then say, Shaq, Hardaway, and Nick Anderson...

A finals contender for sure if they had VC (if he regains his attitude that is), Wade, and Shaq...

[douggilmour]

Isn't Vince and Dwayne the same type of player; 2-guard that likes to drive to the basket (although Vince not doing alot of those lately), why need 2 of the same?

And just to comment on the bad press towards VC, I think it is unwarranted. Toronto loves Vince, the person, he personally contributes $100,000's and tons of time helping Toronto kids. I think his attitude is fine. As to VC's game, he needs to spend more energy on his post game, instead of taking stupid, ill-timed long fade aways.

[spooks]

Isn't Vince and Dwayne the same type of player; 2-guard that likes to drive to the basket (although Vince not doing alot of those lately), why need 2 of the same?

Wade plays 1 and occasionally 2, Carter can play 2 or 3.

Jones
Wade
Carter
Haslem
O'Neal

That's a damn good lineup on paper, too bad the deal fell through. Vince needs to change teams for sure, maybe that'll get him motivated again.

Another hot trade rumor has Redd going to Cleveland. Imagine

McInnis
Redd
Lebron
Gooden
Z

Another sick lineup