NBA discussion thread

well we'll see after 82 games. i've just read that ak is more healthy now and back in a groove... so his numbers are projected to go up. if he was top 5 last year... and his numbers go up this year? if they were the top three... then they would have been the first three players gone... and i had the fourth pick. i'm playin it a little riskey yes, but i have an excuse in that its my first time.😄 remember with amare out, the suns are gonna have more turnovers without their best finisher. which is why i took nash as a gamble. though i'm willing to trade. i took amare with my last pick too, mainly because i couldnt beleive i had the chance and when hes back from injury he'll be a monster, plus steve will get an assist extra or two but marions stats will probably go down a little, assist and scoring wise.

about dirk... i noticed the rockets kinda found a weakness in last years playoffs... a smaller but quicker small forward match up. now then, he'll either adjust and learn or continue to have this problem. and i think hes due a bad injury, so i'm looking for luck.

anyways... thats my explaining. good luck peeps.

Originally posted by darth_royke
well we'll see after 82 games. i've just read that ak is more healthy now and back in a groove... so his numbers are projected to go up. if he was top 5 last year... and his numbers go up this year? if they were the top three... then they would have been the first three players gone... and i had the fourth pick. i'm playin it a little riskey yes, but i have an excuse in that its my first time.😄 remember with amare out, the suns are gonna have more turnovers without their best finisher. which is why i took nash as a gamble. though i'm willing to trade. i took amare with my last pick too, mainly because i couldnt beleive i had the chance and when hes back from injury he'll be a monster, plus steve will get an assist extra or two but marions stats will probably go down a little, assist and scoring wise.

about dirk... i noticed the rockets kinda found a weakness in last years playoffs... a smaller but quicker small forward match up. now then, he'll either adjust and learn or continue to have this problem. and i think hes due a bad injury, so i'm looking for luck.

anyways... thats my explaining. good luck peeps.

AK wasn't even a top 60 player last year. You can't be a top player if you don't play. I was saying top 5 as a prediction. He has the skills, but he's way too fragile. Waaaaaay too fragile. Lebron, Dirk, and Shawn are all top 4 players. No if ands or buts. That doesn't mean they'll get picked 1-4. It depends on the people in the draft. It's a miracle I got Lebron with the 3rd pick. the steal of the century. So regardless of where they were chosen in this draft, they'll always be top 4 players.

And with amare gone Marions numbers will have to go up. He already gets an INSANE amount of boards for a SF. Those will only rise. As will his scoring obviously. And Shawn has always been top 3 in steals, so that's a given. His 3 pointers should rise as well. We dont have TO's in our league so those don't matter. Nash's assists will go down. He'll have to score more so his scoring will go up slightly. He always has awesome FG%, but that should go down a little since he'll be shooting more.

I'm very interested in Nash though, obviously, I'm a Suns fan 😄 . What kind of players are you looking for in return? Another guard or a forward?

Good luck too all. Royke, you have an awesome team. Even if AK cant stay healthy you'll be fine. Same with Kool and Strangelove. This is gonna be fun! 😄

Originally posted by D00m
Kobe's been hurt too, hopefully he can shake the injury bug... but with a target on his head good luck. He doesn't have Shaq to get easier shots and take the pressure off. Now he has everybody running after him. But that's what he wanted.

I see Kobe being alot more effective this year working off the ball. He has played at the top of the key all his career and been the primary ball handler which is why it is easy to double and triple him. Now with Odom running the point i expect to see Kobe getting far easier shots that last year, being able to blindside the defense and attack from the weak side. Shat used to get his teamates easy threes thats for sure but i would be happier to see Kobe take far less threes this season and take higher percentage shots (he didnt attempt any threes in the pre season and i hope that mentality continues).
I agree he has had his share of injuries, but this is the first year he has had the whole off season to get in tip top shape as the Lakers didnt make the playoffs last year. From what i've been reading (and its been alot being the die hard Laker fan i am) he has been working hard on getting in Rip Hamilton type shape and eliminating the weaknesses from his game. I think (and hope obviously) this is gonna be a great year for Kobe, he seems to have matured alot over the off season.

Yea I've heard good things about Kobe too. If healthy, he can have an MVP type year. He'll definitely put up awesome numbers.

send me some options d00m. we'll see what we can do😉

Dope. Let's see what we can do 😄

Originally posted by D00m

And with amare gone Marions numbers will have to go up. He already gets an INSANE amount of boards for a SF. Those will only rise. As will his scoring obviously. And Shawn has always been top 3 in steals, so that's a given. His 3 pointers should rise as well. We dont have TO's in our league so those don't matter. Nash's assists will go down. He'll have to score more so his scoring will go up slightly. He always has awesome FG%, but that should go down a little since he'll be shooting more.

Which is why there is no way in hell your getting him for Shaq. 😛

I didn't get to see any of the games today but they seem like they were pretty cool. TJ Ford was like 16 points, 14 assists, 9 rebounds or something like that.

Ford played really well. The 76ers should have won though. They just stopped playing well at the end. AI scored lots of points and also had quite a lot of assists, him and webebr played really well together.

i didnt even realise there were games played... thought it was opening night tonight. ah well. but i'm top at the moment!

In the spurs game Finley looked awesome off the bench with 16 points. The Spurs team is deep this year and I mean deep. The have a good player in nearly every spot except center, Mohammad should be starting. Just look at there bench Finley, Barry, Van Exel, Horry, and many more. Theyre most likely going to repeat if they keep focus. Tim Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker are their big 3 expect another good season for all 3 of those players. Miami is the only contender to match there team. Miami may look very good but they gave up alot of there 3 point shooters which they need alot if they want to compete. Jason Williams is a 3 shooter but one of the few they got. But Miami is deep with the additions of Antoine Walker and Gary Payton they look good. Payton will mentor Wade and Williams helping them develop more in the years to come. Antoine Walker can be a good player but he needs to learn when to take 3's and when not to take 3's, even though they do need 3 point shooters Antoine Walker fire's up 3's for no reason some times. If Antoine plays in the post it will take away from Shaq, and we all know about Shaq and his Ego. Haslem last year hardly ever played in the post and usually shot a 14 footer all the time, which gave all the inside play to Shaq and didnt take away from Shaq inside. Wade is what I call a miny Jordan, he's not as good as MJ but he has some Jordan qualities to him such as he can shoot a pretty decent Jump Shot, he has the Fade away going on, he can handle the ball and drive in easily, he's a good defender, and make those in air acrobatic moves. Wade will probally function moslty as a shooting guard now since Williams is at the point, Dwyane point per game could drop slightly this year becuz of all the talent on the team but he still will be very dominant. Unless Miami picks up another 3 point shooter I think San Antonio will take them in the finals. Miami could sign Spreewell but it looks like he wanting to much money and they wouldnt have much room becuz of salary cap, Spreewell needs to decide which is more important a ring or money. Now as for my Timberwolves things arent looking that good, Garnett is a year Older and the lack of talent on this team is alot. Garnett may be the best player in the game but in order for him to win a well deserved Championship he needs a team to back him up. Last year was suppose to be their year but the expectations were set high, perhaps to high, and they missed the playoffs. Minnesota lacks a point guard now and a center. I hope they end up trading for a PG durring the season, I bet they wished they still had Marbury. Marko Jaric is an Ok point guard but he not even a 12 point per game person. Olowakandi is terrible and I mean Terrible, he doesnt know how to play basketball and doesnt know how to score. Eddie Griffin is a great player but he cant play center becuz he worried about taking 3 's instead of playing in the post. Garnett is probally if you think about it the best Power Forward of all time. Now I know Karl Malone was very good but he cant shoot the mid range jumpshot, or dribble it as good as Garnett, nor is he as good a passer or defender. Garnett can do it all he can shoot, block shots, Rebound, Steal the ball, Pass the ball for the assist, and Score at will. He one of the few select group of players that could play any position in the NBA. Now Tim Duncan has won championships but as a player Garnett is better. Wally Szczerbiak is one of the best shooters of all time, but in order for Garnett to get a ring he going to have to step it up to the Wally World level of play as he did in the 01-02 season with 18.7 point per game. If McCants is allowed to start I can see him averaging 10 - 12 point per game in his rookie season, he could perhaps average more. I hope that Garnett does get a ring but the door is starting to close on him.

phoenix suns would probably have also challenged san antonio if stoudemire wasn't ingured. He's going to pretty much miss most of the season. and i see what you mee about miami. if they could play well together they would be unstoppable. with shaq and wade who are both amazing and walker, williams, posey, haslem, mourning and payton are all really good aswell

Originally posted by JediMasterLuke5
In the spurs game Finley looked awesome off the bench with 16 points. The Spurs team is deep this year and I mean deep. The have a good player in nearly every spot except center, Mohammad should be starting. Just look at there bench Finley, Barry, Van Exel, Horry, and many more. Theyre most likely going to repeat if they keep focus. Tim Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker are their big 3 expect another good season for all 3 of those players. Miami is the only contender to match there team. Miami may look very good but they gave up alot of there 3 point shooters which they need alot if they want to compete. Jason Williams is a 3 shooter but one of the few they got. But Miami is deep with the additions of Antoine Walker and Gary Payton they look good. Payton will mentor Wade and Williams helping them develop more in the years to come. Antoine Walker can be a good player but he needs to learn when to take 3's and when not to take 3's, even though they do need 3 point shooters Antoine Walker fire's up 3's for no reason some times. If Antoine plays in the post it will take away from Shaq, and we all know about Shaq and his Ego. Haslem last year hardly ever played in the post and usually shot a 14 footer all the time, which gave all the inside play to Shaq and didnt take away from Shaq inside. Wade is what I call a miny Jordan, he's not as good as MJ but he has some Jordan qualities to him such as he can shoot a pretty decent Jump Shot, he has the Fade away going on, he can handle the ball and drive in easily, he's a good defender, and make those in air acrobatic moves. Wade will probally function moslty as a shooting guard now since Williams is at the point, Dwyane point per game could drop slightly this year becuz of all the talent on the team but he still will be very dominant. Unless Miami picks up another 3 point shooter I think San Antonio will take them in the finals. Miami could sign Spreewell but it looks like he wanting to much money and they wouldnt have much room becuz of salary cap, Spreewell needs to decide which is more important a ring or money. Now as for my Timberwolves things arent looking that good, Garnett is a year Older and the lack of talent on this team is alot. Garnett may be the best player in the game but in order for him to win a well deserved Championship he needs a team to back him up. Last year was suppose to be their year but the expectations were set high, perhaps to high, and they missed the playoffs. Minnesota lacks a point guard now and a center. I hope they end up trading for a PG durring the season, I bet they wished they still had Marbury. Marko Jaric is an Ok point guard but he not even a 12 point per game person. Olowakandi is terrible and I mean Terrible, he doesnt know how to play basketball and doesnt know how to score. Eddie Griffin is a great player but he cant play center becuz he worried about taking 3 's instead of playing in the post. Garnett is probally if you think about it the best Power Forward of all time. Now I know Karl Malone was very good but he cant shoot the mid range jumpshot, or dribble it as good as Garnett, nor is he as good a passer or defender. Garnett can do it all he can shoot, block shots, Rebound, Steal the ball, Pass the ball for the assist, and Score at will. He one of the few select group of players that could play any position in the NBA. Now Tim Duncan has won championships but as a player Garnett is better. Wally Szczerbiak is one of the best shooters of all time, but in order for Garnett to get a ring he going to have to step it up to the Wally World level of play as he did in the 01-02 season with 18.7 point per game. If McCants is allowed to start I can see him averaging 10 - 12 point per game in his rookie season, he could perhaps average more. I hope that Garnett does get a ring but the door is starting to close on him.

Wow. I'm pretty sure no one will read that.

Anyway, The Sixers should have win. Iverson was typical, 30 plus points and 9 assists. Webber had like 35 points and 14 rebounds. He was great. I think he even had 6 assists. Sixers played horrible at the end. When Redd hit that shot, and there was 1.6 left, why the hell was Iverson INBOUNDING the ball? I know they wanted to get it to Webber, but still. Its only the first game though.

Originally posted by DanZeke25
Wow. I'm pretty sure no one will read that.

I read it. 😮

So did i, if someone can be bothered to write that much about hoops the least i can do is read it.
Sounds like opening night had some real excitement, double overtime for the Suns and Mavs - wow! Nash and Marion had huge games but others are gonna have to step up with Amare out. Dirk also had a very strong performance, if he improves his defense this year he will move up to one of the elite players in the league.
I get to see my first game of the season today, Buck vs Nets. Should be a good game, i always love watching Kidd play and with Carter and RJ there could be some highlights waiting to happen. As for the Bucks, im looking forward to seeing how Bogut plays. He had a solid game yesterday, but back to back games is a real test.
My Lakers play in Denver today, i dont think we'll win that though. Denver is pretty deep and have a great defensive frontline in Camby and Martin. The Lakers will do ok this season but they are gonna take a while to hit their stride. I just wish we could trade Medvedenko for anything, i'm not picky - anything.

That was one of the few times this season that I'll root for Denver. Oh well, at least one of those teams lost. 😉

Looks like Lebron decided to improve his 3s if nobody else was going to be a 3 point shooter on the team. Made first 6 then finished 7 for 8.

Darius did great for the Blazers. 32 points, 11 rebs, 5 stls. Too bad we still lost in the clutch to KG. Oh well, hopefully the T-Wolves will do good but its a bad sign to almost lose to the average age of 23 Blazers.

anyone check out mehmet okurs performance? damn.... he mite be good. kobe got clutch, as did sam cassell... not a bad opening night, raptors lost by 3, but big charlie gave a solid perfomance, grabbing several rebounds and 11 points. good for him. antawn jamison aint real... he was awesome. simple as. glad hes on my fantasy team😄

I cant believe the bobcats lost last night. They were up by 19 at the half and out scored the bulls in every quarter except the last which they only scored 9, which was the difference maker, and then they lost in over time. Bobcats arent a great team but theyre a team that will make the playoffs in about 2 years if they keep getting good draft picks. Seriously I dont know why Felton doesnt start over Knight, Knight may have has a good season last year with all those assist but he lacks the offense of Felton and also his height limits him from driving it in. I undestand why May doesnt start becuz the already have Okafor at the PF position and he's just a little to short to play center, but he can come off the bench and give them some good talent. For the Bulls, I still wondering when Scott Skiles will realise that Gordon and Deng should start over Duhon and that one guy from Argentina(cant think of his name). Gordon, given the playing time could average from 18 to 22 points per game. Gordon is a great player and should start. Deng also another great player if allowed to start he could be averaging from 16 to 20 points per game. Tyson Chandler is the most goofy player ever. Tyson Chandler is just another guy that game out high school averaging alot becuz all he did was Dunk over the much smaller players, now that he's got to the NBA that doesnt work for him much any more becuz he no longer has a 6 inch height advantage over other centers. Tyson Chandler skill wise is one of the worst players I ever seen. He just doesnt really know how to play basketball. Bulls may even win a championship in lets say 5,6, or 7 years. Bulls could still have Elton Brand but they traded him away for draft rights to Tyson Chandler, now isnt that somethin.

i think they dont start gordon because it didnt work as well last year when they tried it. so they kept bringing him off the bench and they won. dont know much about chandler to comment on him... so i'll leave it to someone else. one thing jedi master...

paragraph your posts! i get lost where i am reading it easily, but i do find what you have to say interesting so keep posting.

how do the fantasy guys feel after their players have played a game? i'm pretty happy with mine, second place and with two injured guys. keep that up and i'll be happy. antawn jamison looks like a great pick up for me, hopefully he'll keep it up to some extent. abnout kirilenko.... only 7 points🙁 but 10 rebounds... 5 assists and 6 blocks??? damn... when he starts offensively clicking he'll be a monster. 17 rebounds for bogut too... glad i picked him up.

d00m, yao looked ok, 20+points and 10 rebounds... but only one block? hope he picks it up. iverson... always gonna do well. should have a nice season man!

kool, bet u loved kobes winner! that was a sweet shot.how u feel abdur rahims gonna do? i've read hes been slated a bit but the stats look ok.

and team strangelove... mehmet okurs performance has gotta have u pumped! he was awesome in that game, looks like a good upcoming centre. dwades looking good too. 22 points and 10 rebounds... sweet