ZoomSlowik

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 12:47 PM) I fully expect a Heat victory by about 20 points. It will start off as a close one, a couple of bad calls will go against the Pacers, Miami will take advantage, and the blow out will be on. 20 is probably a bit much unless their role players hit a ton of 3's or Wade goes off (not expecting the latter). I'd be surprised if they don't cover though (7 to 7 1/2).

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 2, 2013 -> 02:27 PM) Please, I'm not talking just this year. The average wing/guard of the last 5-10 years dwarfs anything you can come up with from '89-'99. And bigs are considerably more skilled (even if they're not overall better) and tougher to match up with than 10-15 years ago. Since when are we talking about 10 year stretches? How does Tracy McGrady have any impact on the league "right now"? 10 years ago is an entirely different group of players at their peak. You don't see Boogua and me mentioning Magic and Bird with that era even though they were both in the league in 90/91. The same goes with Kobe/Allen/AI even though they were all drafted in 96. The late 90's/early 00's are pretty much universally ripped and no one is talking about that group of players. That era had awful PG's, but a solid batch of wings and a few really good big men. And lol at the bigs being more skilled. Probably 75% of them are useless if they're not in dunking range. Big men used to have actual post moves. Now they run up and down the floor in AAU ball waiting for lob passes and trying to prove they can shoot.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 2, 2013 -> 11:44 AM) I would think somebody like you would be praying this is a fluke. If this is really the new Hibbert (I don't think it is) and Howard reverts back to being dominant over a year removed from back surgery, boom, there's two elite centers right there. That's all you 90's geeks have. Anthony Davis will be running the position soon as well. Every other position? Not even a contest. Um, no. Shooting guard is 3 guys deep, and that includes two injured guys. There's a HUGE drop-off after Harden, Kobe and Wade. Small forward isn't significantly better either. Obviously you have two freaks and Melo, but that's about it for star-caliber players. Paul George is right there, but using your Hibbert logic, he averaged 17 PPG while shooting 41% in his best year so he can't possibly be a difference maker. I think you must have forgotten that power forward is a position as well. Point guard is loaded and Lebron and Durant are awesome. Big men in general are terrible though and there's a real shortage on wings that can take over a game right now.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 30, 2013 -> 09:47 PM) I'm very curious about what the market will be for Nate. I'd be surprised if he gets more than the MLE. I think everyone knows his limitations.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 30, 2013 -> 09:43 PM) I remember how much a guy like Barbosa could help when he was scoring when he was there Yeah, Collison had his moments with them too. They just need a guy that isn't afraid to shoot it and can create his shot a bit. I brought up Nate because he should be in their price range and we saw what he did for the Bulls this year.

Indiana just doesn't have enough players if one of George/Hill/Hibbert/West is way off. Besides Granger coming back, signing Nate Robinson would be a huge boost for them.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 30, 2013 -> 09:13 PM) You've gotta think that they will be considering trading Granger That too. I think the biggest thing they need though is another wing that can score. Maybe if they need to find a big to replace West or if they can get some enticing picks/young guys. I'm not so sure coming off the injury though.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 30, 2013 -> 08:53 PM) Now if he could do this for a full season, combined with the return of Granger and George's continued evolution, this could be a REALLY good team. They need to keep West too and add one or two more legit bench players. I think I'd personally convince Granger to come off the bench so they have more scoring punch there and he stays out of George's way. I think it's Miami, them, Chicago and everyone else out East.

QUOTE (Boogua @ May 30, 2013 -> 08:04 PM) Am I the only one wondering why Sam young is playing so much? Stephenson in foul trouble and their bench sucks. Granger at 70% would help them a lot.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 30, 2013 -> 02:45 PM) In the east no rose or granger either. The difference is both of those guys were out the whole season (well, basically the whole season for Granger) while the guys on the west are more recent injuries. The Thunder without Westbrook isn't the same team that won 60 games in the regular season, the Lakers without Kobe isn't the same team we saw in the regular season, ect.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 30, 2013 -> 12:32 PM) Spurs are doing it with a lot less hype and a tougher conference. The Spurs haven't really been much better, they were a Manu buzzer-beater away from being down 3-1 to a decent but not stellar Golden State team that had David Lee at less than 100%. One close game going the other way for either team and they have the same number of losses so far. Their schedule hasn't exactly been a murderer's row either; the Lakers were roadkill without Kobe and Memphis is similar to Indiana. The only real difference is Miami got a banged up Chicago team instead of a mid-40's win Warriors team (again, with one of their best players barely on the floor).

QUOTE (Boogua @ May 29, 2013 -> 08:11 AM) I seriously think Lebron and Wade's styles (probably moreso Lebron's) have been a detriment to Bosh's game. The guy averaged 24 and 11 with a PER of 25 his last year in Toronto. He averaged over 22 PPG on pretty good efficiency 5 straight years in Toronto. He would probably be the best big man in the NBA if he had his own team. He's been given the role of being a spot-up shooter and it seems like it has really made him less aggressive. Why is he a spot-up shooter? It's all about spacing for Lebron (and somewhat Wade). The Heat definitely hurt his production, but I wouldn't go that far. He's one of the most skilled and versatile bigs in the league, but there were serious questions about his interior defense before he went to Miami. His time in South Beach hasn't changed that, especially since his rebounding is getting progressively worse. I'd have killed to have him on the Bulls instead of Boozer, but there are definitely teams that would rather have someone like Marc Gasol that can protect the paint more effectively. Getting back to the original comment, I still think pretty much every GM would take him over Hibbert (though that's a terrible matchup for Bosh head-to-head), but many of them would take George at this point since he's a lot younger and could take the leap in the near future.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2013 -> 10:45 PM) Neither the pacers or the Bulls should ever be in a series with the talent Miami has. In this series Miami has the three best players on the floor. What else do you call a team that is underachieving its talent this much? If it were the Sox you'd be creaming for a sell off. What exactly do you consider their ceiling to be if they're "underachieving" with an NBA title and 66 wins? That doesn't even make sense. Good teams do occasionally lose games.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ May 28, 2013 -> 10:29 PM) He's on the wrong side of 30, depends too much on his fading athleticism and still hasn't developed a reliable jumper. I'm not saying he's going to play forever, there just seems to be a referendum on Wade's elite status every time he has a couple bad games. We've been down this road before, who knows when he finally hits the cliff.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ May 28, 2013 -> 10:22 PM) Yeah, I think it's the combination of age and his history of being injury prone. DWade's best days are definitely behind him. Debateable. We heard the same thing in the playoffs last year and early in the season when Wade started slow.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 28, 2013 -> 12:53 PM) I love how basically a bunch of second tier players get fined for flopping and Wade gets away scot free Wade has become quite the dirty, flopping b**** his last few years. I don't remember him doing this back when he was a 26 PPG guy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2013 -> 10:08 AM) Dallas has made it clear their #1 target is a guy named Dwight Howard. I'll re-post what I said, bolded for emphasis: Clearly Pierce isn't a primary target at his age.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 28, 2013 -> 09:39 AM) I wouldn't necessarily believe that story given it was started as a rumor by a Cavaliers' reporter. That said, if they did buy him out, he'd be a wonderful addition to the Bulls assuming they reign in his shot selection. Maybe we can get a discount like the Heat always do. Or, more likely, he'll sign a minimum deal with the Heat. I didn't really analyze the source, just saw it pop up on multiple reputable places. I would think Pierce is still good enough to at least get an MLE level deal, could possibly be more if contenders with cap space whiff on their free agent/trade targets. I'm thinking maybe Dallas, their clock is ticking with Dirk around anyways.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ May 27, 2013 -> 07:10 PM) I find this extremely weird: Celtics "likely" to buy out Paul Pierce. I don't see what the point is. They're still going to be at/near the cap ($73 million committed with Pierce). They're not really going to be in full rebuild until KG is gone anyways and next year is going to be dicey until Rondo gets back. Plus if they really don't want Pierce, I would think they could trade him for something rather than simply buying him out. I would like to un-bury this because I feel it warrants discussion. Why are they buying out Pierce and where would he go? He's still a pretty good player and it's not like they're way over the tax line.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 28, 2013 -> 12:32 AM) Of course it won't help me here. This is homer Bulls central. A neutral site like realgm or insidehoops and plenty of people would agree with me (and disagree). That's not really saying much, there are quite a few drooling morons floating around RealGM. I could say the Bobcats are going to win the title next year and probably find someone that would agree with me. There are quite a few good posters as well, but man, some of those threads are a mess (especially on the general board). There's also this thing called "Lakers homers", they're far more ridiculous than anyone I've seen on this board (with the exception of RZZZA).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 28, 2013 -> 08:07 AM) Didnt Lisa Leslie dunk a few times? Yeah, Leslie definitely had the Candace Parker has probably done it too, I'm not about to do research for the WNBA. Apparently it was the first time someone dunked TWICE in one game, still don't care.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ May 27, 2013 -> 11:05 PM) I think J4L needs to go back and refresh his memory about just how dominating MJ was. Kobe IS NOT on MJ's level and never was and never will be. And to clarify when I called Kobe a chucker, I didn't mean it so much as a volume shooter (though he does shoot a lot), I meant it in the sense that he forces a lot of shots instead of playing within the offense. He's famous for making tough jumpers but most don't go in, in the end, they weren't good shots and PJax alluded to such recently. Instead of chucker I should of said "bad shot selector":p In his defense, he's never said Kobe was better, just a "more explosive scorer". I realize that distinction won't help his case in most situations. I'm going to try to stay out of future ones, but Jordan/Kobe gets on my nerves.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 27, 2013 -> 09:28 PM) 5 of them? Kobe has 3 months ('03, '06, '07) of 40+PPG. Michael's never done that. Ok. I'm really done now. Okay, so a few scattered games and a statistical oddity. How does his 40-point games being closer together really make him "more explosive"? Is Sammy Sosa the "most explosive" homerun hitter ever because he holds the record for most homers in a month (perhaps a bad example because steroids)? As was pointed out already, Michael has 40 more 40-point games in his career despite playing almost 200 fewer games (and that includes 142 for the Wizards for MJ). The guy also averaged 37 per game for an entire season for christ's sake. Are we going to say that Kobe's "more explosive" because he's the all-time leader among players named after a type of beef next? MJ has the highest career scoring average ever. He has the highest playoff scoring average ever. He has 10 scoring titles and is one of only two players ever to score 3,000 points in a season. For most players, 30 in a game is a huge night. Michael averaged that for his career. And yet somehow you think it's weird that people debate you when you say that Kobe was "more explosive".

I really wish headlines like this would stop: Griner dunks twice but Mercury fall to Sky. Really? That is your lead? It's not like the first time that's ever happened.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 27, 2013 -> 08:17 PM) Not when Kobe's at his hottest. But I digress. I'm sick of old vs new vs old vs new. Youtube is your friennd. The proof is all there. I'm out. Says the guy that doesn't ever seem to care about what happened last week much less last decade. Do I really need to go dig up the 63 pointer against the Celtics? The shrug game? The double-nickel against the Knicks when he started the year playing baseball? The reason I made the Nolan Ryan comment is you seem to be caught up in what Kobe did in single games here and there. Congrats, you lit up the Raptors in a meaningless regular season game. While impressive, it doesn't really mean anything other than you had a good night. He's played over 1,200 regular season games, and you're focusing on stuff he did in like 5 of them. Guys like David Thompson, Reggie Miller and Tracy McGrady have done ridiculous things as well.