Lebron looks kinda like a black Abe Lincoln with that beard of his.



FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO...

12/27/2011 11:40:25 PM

how long before Lebron gives in and shaves his head?

i bet members of his entourage argue about who should step up and tell him

it'd be cool though if he never gave in and 5 years from now his dome looked like George Jefferson's

12/28/2011 12:58:40 AM

After watching Miami play twice this season, I can't help but see some comparisons between James Jones and Scott Wood, and CJL and Bosh.

12/28/2011 10:14:06 AM

Norris Cole is my pick for MVP after 2 games.

12/28/2011 10:51:20 AM

Damn Wright and Ellington are tearing it up so far. Totally worth the hype.

12/28/2011 2:40:00 PM

Kevin Love looks like a completely different person. I never even really thought he was fat before.

12/28/2011 3:24:37 PM

Who hyped up Ellington? 6'2" (6'4" my ass wikipedia) shooting guards aren't exactly projected to be NBA studs...

12/28/2011 3:50:35 PM

Osterfag is back
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/12/former-jazz-center-ostertag-begins-comeb.html

12/28/2011 4:11:10 PM

ha

12/28/2011 4:47:10 PM

lol this came up under a GIS for "Ostertag Eddie" trying to find something from the Whoopi movie

12/28/2011 4:50:25 PM

The reason I didn't bring up Marcus Thornton in my post is because I was listing all the UNPRODUCTIVE players they have on their team as the reason I think they'll finish last. I know Thornton is solid and that's why I didn't mention him when I listed all their shitty players.

Rose is a great PG, but he doesn't seem to have improved much and the Bulls are a slight bit weaker than last year now that they have Hamilton and Boozer appears to be aging. We already know how good Deng, Noah, and Gibson are but that wasn't enough to beat the Heat last year. Rose needs to become a great player to get them over the hump. Two games isn't enough to say he's not, but I'll have to see it to believe it.

New York in 4th isn't outrageous at all. That's likely about where they will finish. Obviously they are subject to injuries since they don't have much depth, but they have a good backcourt and a strong frontcourt. They aren't a threat to compete for the championship, but they could win a series in the playoffs this year.

Orlando 3rd is not an absurd prediction. Obviously, it hinges on Dwight Howard still being there. Alone, he's worth about 15 wins in a 66 game season. Beyond Howard they have several guys who are historically productive players like Ryan Anderson, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson (could be over the hill), JJ Redick, Turkoglu (bounced back last season), Richardson. Also, they got rid of several guys who were hurting them last year (Gilbert Arenas, Rashard Lewis, and Vince Carter). Their only really bad move was trading a good player Brandon Bass for a bad player Glen Davis.

Quote :

"Anyone else think Portland is gonna suck hardcore? I see them beign a bottom 5 western conference team. Brandon Roy is retired. THey are like 8 pt favorites over the kings tonight. I took the kings straight up. Free $. PUTTUN $ WHERE MY MOUTH IS."

Brandon Roy was completely washed up. He was a total zero last year that hurt them a lot more than he helped. They did have some big losses with Miller and Fernandez but they've replaced them adequately.

Camby and Wallace aren't superstars anymore but they're still top notch starters. Then you throw in good players like Felton, Aldridge, Matthews, and Batum. If they get anything from Oden (who was great when he played) they're one of the top teams in the West. They beat Sacramento by 20+ last night (again, probably the worst team in the West)

[Edited on December 28, 2011 at 6:45 PM. Reason : a]

12/28/2011 6:37:18 PM

when the Bobcats beat the Heat tonight, face's world will be turned upside down

12/28/2011 6:38:44 PM

One thing I messed up on is that I forgot Brook Lopez was out for most of the season. Gotta slide NJ Nets WAAAAY down. Probably 13th or 14th even. That team is terrible. Definitely not finishing above the Bobcats.

12/28/2011 6:50:49 PM

Golden State really making the case for being higher.

They had a really good starting lineup last year but they had injuries to Lee and Curry and they had a TERRIBLE bench last season.

This year Brandon Rush looks like a beast off the bench and they picked up two solid contributors in Mcguire and Kwame. They will definitely be in the playoff race and might get in if they stay healthy.

12/29/2011 1:13:24 AM

Quote :

"Who hyped up Ellington? 6'2" (6'4" my ass wikipedia) shooting guards aren't exactly projected to be NBA studs..."

#1 SG out of high school, and drafted in the first round.

12/29/2011 12:05:10 PM

Anyone think the Thunder might trade Westbrook?

They've got a team that can win a title if he doesn't derail them again.

I'm sure someone would be willing to trade an established PG to take a flyer on him.

12/29/2011 2:14:37 PM

Who would say no to Rondo for Westbrook more or less straight up?

OKC has plenty of scoring already with Harden and Durant. They need someone to distribute and get Durant easy shots. Boston seems pretty determined to get rid of Rondo for some reason. It of course would ride on whether Westbrook's contract was extended.

12/29/2011 2:43:27 PM

OKC would say no

Rondo has an unfortunate "bad guy" rep

too bad, i think he's the most underrated guy in the league

12/29/2011 3:24:50 PM

no way okc would turn that down, rondo makes them favorites to win the title.

Westbrook killed them in the postseason and his terrible play has now spilled over into this season.

After the feud last night he looks like he needs a change of scenery. Why risk another meltdown at this point?

12/29/2011 4:17:54 PM

Celtics have no use for Rondo after the big 3 retire so they might as well get a westbrook to build around.

12/29/2011 4:20:00 PM

Rondo is one of the best players in the league and he's signed for next to nothing on his contract.

Trading Rondo is one of the great mysteries of the league. They should trade Pierce, Garnett, and Allen to someone desperate to contend if they want to rebuild. They are still top line starters but they are obviously near the end of their careers.

I always laugh when teams say they wont to rebuild and then they trade their best player. That's not rebuilding that's getting rid of the guy you need to help you rebuild.

[Edited on December 29, 2011 at 4:24 PM. Reason : a]

12/29/2011 4:22:19 PM

Take away the big 3 and who is Rondo passing to? No more easy assists. Now all of a sudden defenses are focusing on him and things are more difficult for him not being the 4th option anymore. Rondo is good don't get me wrong but he couldn't be who he is on a team without two other great scorers.

12/29/2011 4:27:27 PM

You could say that about any player in the league. And how many "easy" assists does he get to Garnett/Pierce? Garnett isn't an elite scorer anymore and Pierce does a lot of the work to get his own shots. Rondo is a passing phenomenon and at times can be a great scorer as well.

Bottom line is he's the 2nd best PG in the league behind Chris Paul and he's healthier than him.

The only other PG's who played at Rondo's level last year were Nash and Kidd and those guys look shaky thus far this year.


Deron could get back to that level eventually and Rose/Westbrook may put it all together one day...

Miller and Lowry are top notch starters also but not even remotely as good as Rondo.

[Edited on December 29, 2011 at 4:32 PM. Reason : a]

12/29/2011 4:30:49 PM

Quote :

"no way okc would turn that down, rondo makes them favorites to win the title."

you're wrong. they've already turned down a deal for Rondo before.

if Westbrook makes it known that he doesn't want to play second fiddle to Durant, then they'd deal him for sure. but for now, there's no real evidence of any actual discord so i'm sure they'll stand pat. their team continuity is one of their biggest advantages this season.

12/29/2011 6:12:43 PM

I agree that Rondo would be a better fit in OKC than Westbrook

Quote :

"Celtics have no use for Rondo after the big 3 retire so they might as well get a westbrook to build around."

Westbrook is all of 2 years younger

12/29/2011 6:44:19 PM

westbrook is so bad right now that they would 100% take the Rondo deal.

this is like saying the heat wouldnt take Joakim Noah for Joel Anthony because they dont wanna disrupt team continuity.

12/29/2011 6:54:54 PM

^cool to know that you have a direct a line to Sam Presti's desk and that you think Westbrook is in any way comparable to Joel Anthony

12/29/2011 8:15:36 PM

Westbrook went 0-13 last night with 4 turnovers.

He's closer to Joel Anthony than Rajon Rondo right now, you'd obviously agree.


He had a solid regular season last year but he completely collapsed in the playoffs and it seems to have carried over.

I think he'll end up having a pretty good career but he relies on athleticism so he figures to tail off many years sooner than someone like Kidd/Nash that relies on size and passing ability.

He's only 23 which means he's got 2-3 years to continue improving but the Thunder are built to already start competing for championships. If he's a total wild card/head case at the moment then there's no reason not to trade him for an elite PG like Rondo.

Let's be realistic here.

12/29/2011 9:12:57 PM

Crazy to see how much the coaches are protecting their starters this year with the compressed season.

Already we've seen several teams barely show up for a back to back game.

When teams get down 15+ their coaches are benching the starters immediately (in some cases not even playing them in the 2nd half) and just eating the loss.

This could set up some very weird regular season standings and really make the playoffs profitable if people aren't able to see through the mirage.

Glad I didn't bet big on the regular season and only took the easy bets on the board. Should make the playoffs very interesting as conventional wisdom (higher seeds, homecourt advantage) could potentially get destroyed in the postseason.

12/29/2011 10:45:44 PM

Kevin Durant is a golden god.

12/29/2011 10:54:24 PM

DURANT!!!!


On a sidenote the Russell Westbrook meltdown continues. Whether the Thunder like him long term or not I just don't see him not being moved in the next few weeks.

It was an experiment to try him at PG in the first place and while it seemed to work for awhile it's all falling apart right now.

They are a small market team. They won't get tons of opportunities to win it all and this year is ripe given that Miami is really the only other team on their level. It's just not worth the risk to keep him if they can get a legit star for him. It doesn't even have to be a "true" PG since Durant/Harden handle a lot of the duties and Eric Maynor is an adequate backup PG.

12/29/2011 10:57:38 PM

http://youtu.be/wfFuzPDu2L8

durant game winner

12/29/2011 11:47:01 PM

Durant took a step back last year (may have been tired from the worlds) but man if he isn't looking sick so far this year.

If they can get Ibaka back up to speed, Westbrook ever finds his game, and Perkins ever recovers from his knee injury they are guaranteed the #1 seed in the West.

Even without those three playing well they are still rattling off wins.

[Edited on December 30, 2011 at 2:25 AM. Reason : a]

12/30/2011 2:24:23 AM

I traded Westbrook for Curry straight up in 2k11, it worked pretty well, maybe they should try that

12/30/2011 10:10:37 AM

Quote :

"Glad I didn't bet big on the regular season and only took the easy bets on the board. Should make the playoffs very interesting as conventional wisdom (higher seeds, homecourt advantage) could potentially get destroyed in the postseason."

You mean like last year?

Quote :

"It was an experiment to try him at PG in the first place and while it seemed to work for awhile it's all falling apart right now."

He had a great 4th lastnight.

12/30/2011 10:37:57 AM

Westbrook was a disaster last night against a Dallas team that has no one to guard him

He got a dunk off someone else's steal and he made a jump shot down the stretch. That's great but the thunder wouldn't have been in position to lose if he wasn't having another nightmare game in the first place.

12/30/2011 12:53:12 PM

^ see rose in action last night?

12/31/2011 11:25:50 AM

Didn't see it but looks like he had a huge game .

He's definitely got the potential to be great if he can figure out how to score efficiently

12/31/2011 1:21:27 PM

Yeah Rose might be a great player...someday.

12/31/2011 1:30:01 PM

oh i definitely agree. He's a great highlight reel player already, now he just has to translate that to a great NBA player.

It can be done. Many players have made similar transformations... some never do but Rose seems like a guy that wants to win big.

[Edited on December 31, 2011 at 2:22 PM. Reason : a]

12/31/2011 2:04:12 PM

1/1/2012 10:36:06 PM

Tyler Hansbrough was a -43 in his 31 minutes on the court against the Heat tonight.

1/4/2012 11:35:53 PM

someone embed
http://youtu.be/esZexFhV7Q4

1/4/2012 11:37:57 PM

^holy shit, I forgot that Faired was picked up by the Nuggets. dude is amazing.

1/4/2012 11:39:45 PM

into fernandezOHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh

1/5/2012 12:08:51 PM

t mac...HE'S BACK

1/5/2012 10:43:02 PM

nice shot by Bosh

1/5/2012 10:57:12 PM

Portland sure is a fun team to watch. it's certainly way earlier to make such claims, but it's not inconceivable that they could ultimately emerge out of the West. with Wes Matthews, Gerald Wallace, and Nicolas Batum, they got three guys who match-up decently against Lebron/Wade in a potential finals showdown. and with Aldridge and Jamal Crawford they got two legitimate crunch time scorers.

[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 3:14 AM. Reason : ...]

1/6/2012 3:13:30 AM

It's early but I'm bored so a look at the NBA landscape after ~10% to see if we have any surprises. My preseason predicted order of finish is in parentheses.

Eastern Conference
1 (1) Miami - Lebron is currently on pace for the best season of all-time. Truly unbelievable, he's probably already locked up the MVP. 60% FG with 30ppg, 7.6 reb, 7.6 ast, 2 stl?! Haslem is playing well in his return which is notable b/c he sucked in the playoffs when he tried to come back from injury. Chalmers is playing out of his mind at the moment. The concern here is DWade who has been terrible by his standards this season. He's a marginal starter at the moment rather than a superstar.

2 (2) Chicago - As expected they are really good. Frontline starters and great depth. As expected Hamilton hurt them more than helped them and is unnecessary with Korver/Brewer both playing well.

3 (9) Indiana - An easy schedule has put them much higher in the standings than they really are, but they are definitely looking like a playoff team. Collison has emerged as a top PG after a disappointing year last season. Hibbert has started off strong again but he did collapse last year. Paul George and George Hill are both playing well. The crazy thing is that Danny Granger has been horrible so far so they have some upside potential.

4 (6) Philadelphia - Truly bizarre how great Spencer Hawes has played. Iguodala back to being a superstar. Brand, Williams, Young, Holiday all playing well.

5 (7) Atlanta - Holy career resurgence T-Mac. I'm sure they're concerned about playing him a ton of minutes this season, but in the playoffs he could be huge if he's this good again. Marvin Williams is on fire and Horford is great as always. Smith and Teague playing well. Radmanovic is playing well but no way that lasts.

6 (3) Orlando - Interesting team. Redick and Ryan Anderson are playing great. Turkoglu is back to his old self playing well. Howard is still a monster. Even Duhon is playing well (who the hell saw that coming?). Their problem is Jameer Nelson is playing really poorly and Glen Davis is a total garbage player and is getting a ton of minutes. If they sit Davis they can make some noise.

7 (4) New York - Chandler has been great so far and Carmelo has been really good. Their problem is that Landry Fields regressed, Toney Douglas has been absolutely awful, and Stoudemire is fading fast.

8 (5) Boston - Ray Allen is having a career year and Bass was a huge upgrade for them over Davis. But the real story here is Greg Stiemsma. If Doc Rivers ever figures out that Stiemsa is a budding star and that Jermaine O'Neal has sucked for a long time then the Celtics could be a contender.

9 (13) Cleveland - All the numbers said Cleveland would be much improved this year but I thought they might be an outlier and moved them down to 13 with the caveat that they had potential. I'm not sure Daniel Gibson, Alonzo Gee, and Anderson Varejao all playing this well will last though.

10 (15) Toronto - Calderon is having a monster season and Bargnani is shooting so well that it is masking his rebounding deficiency. Amir Johnson/Ed Davis are a really nice PF combo. Not sure if this team can keep it up but they definitely aren't looking like the worst team in the East anymore.

11 (8) Milwaukee - Better than their record indicates becuase Bogut and Delfino have missed a lot of games. They've got to find a way to get Jon Leuer on the court and a way to get Stephen Jackson off of it and they can still make the playoffs.

12 (11) Charlotte - Diaw and Henderson collapsed after fast starts. DJ Augustin and DJ White have really been their only good players. Maggette has been a total disaster, even slightly worse than Stephen Jackson this year believe it or not.

13 (12) Detroit - Ridiculously stacked down low with Monroe, Wallace, Maxiell, and Jerebko. The problem is that everyone else on the team sucks big time (stuckey is eh but the rest are garbage).

14) (14*) New Jersey - I had them #10 but I forgot that Lopez was out when I ranked them. After i remembered that I said they'd be next to last. So far they've been a two man team with Kris Humphries and Marshon Brooks playing really well and everyone else sucking bad (deron included).

15 (14) Washington - This is the John Wall I thought we'd get last year. Terrible. This roster is full of terribly overrated players that suck like Nick Young, Rashard Lewis, and Andray Blatche. On the bright side Javale McGee is really good and both Trevor Booker and Chris Singleton look like great young players. And if John Wall ever learns to shoot straight he could be great too.

[Edited on January 9, 2012 at 3:16 AM. Reason : a]

1/9/2012 3:15:20 AM

Western Conference

1 (1) OKC - Durant has cooled down a bit. Lost in all the talk about how awful Russell Westbrook has been its easy to look past James Harden emerging as one of the elite players in the league. He's a lock to win 6th man of the year. Ibaka, Cook, Sefolosha, Collison all playing well but they aren't getting much of anything from Perkins/Mohammed at center. Westbrook may be a lost cause in OKC, he needs a change of scenery and OKC needs a reliable PG if they want to contend.

2 (6) Portland - They're getting nothing from Felton so far this year but Matthews/Wallace makes them one of the strongest teams in the league on the wing and Camby/Thomas are a great duo at center to pair with aldridge. If Oden comes back healthy somehow and Felton improves they can contend.

3 (2) LA Clippers - Everyone is playing well in their rotation even Caron Butler with a bounceback season so far. Paul, Chauncey, and Williams are co-existing well. Only weak links in their rotation are Foye, Cook, and Gomes. Still haven't seen Blake Griffin really break out like we thought he might with CPIII.

4 (4) San Antonio - Devastating injury to Manu who was really carrying them. Duncan is horrible and may need to retire after the season if he doesn't improve. They've got a lot of good talent with Blair, Jefferson, Green, Bonner, and Ford. Better regular season team than a playoff one though.

5 (3) Denver - Getting amazing PG play out of both Lawson and Miller. Weird start to the season as Nene and Afflalo are both struggling after signing big contracts. Al Harrington is playing like a good player instead of like Al Harrington which is weird. The birdman and koufos are both playing well and need more minutes.

6 (13) Utah - What the hell? I'm not sure how they are 5-3 with Watson, Bell, Jefferson, Howard all sucking,CJ Miles being the worst player ever, and losing Kirilenko. Kanter looks like a future star, Millsap is playing great, and Favors is pretty solid. I doubt Utah is a playoff team though.

7 (5) LA Lakers - Bynum looks like a monster so LAL will definitely improve on this ranking with him back. The Lakers have one of the worst backcourts in the league this year with a struggling Kobe and a shitty PG combo. Luckily they have one of the best frontcourts (Bynum & Gasol) and Murphy regaining form and Mcroberts playing well. Matt Barnes is playing pretty well. Metta World Peace looks completely done and I wouldn't be surprised if the Lakers waived him after this season.

8 (10) Phoenix - Just as people were burying Steve Nash he rose from the ashes like a Phoenix. Playing great all the sudden. Morris and Gortat are playing great. Now they just need to hook Grant Hill up to the same rejuvenation machine Nash is on. Jared Dudley is having another good season.

9 (8) Dallas - Dirk looks done as a star in this league based on play. He's really fallen off this year. Kidd, Marion, and Terry are playing alright and Haywood/Mahinmi have stepped up to replace some of Chandler's production. Delonte West has played really well and may be having one of the best seasons ever for a guy making the league minimum. The real problem is Dirk and Vince Carter so far.

10 (7) Memphis - Injuries have played a big part with ZBo and Conley missing games but the real problem is they have some really terrible players getting minutes. Cunningham, Mayo, and Pargo have all sucked. Rudy Gay has been really bad. Gasol on the other hand is really good.

11 (12) Minnesota - Kevin Love is a legitimate MVP candidate (he should have been last year too but people chose to ignore him because his teammates sucked). Rubio has been a stud so far. Derrick Williams has been good. Ridnour has been solid as usual and Darko has played like an average center. The problem is the rest of the roster is putrid. Beasley, Wes Johnson, and Ellington are total trash. Tolliver sucks. Barea and Randolph have sucked. Seriously, just release all those guys this offseason and put average NBA players around Love, Rubio, and Williams and they'd easily make the playoffs.

12 (15) Sacramento - They're getting surprising solid play out of Cousins, Thompson, and Hickson so far. They're getting unsurprising solid play out of Thornton and Hayes. Tyreke has shown nothing since his sensational rookie season and Salmons/Outlaw suck. Jimmer Fredette really sucks like everyone I think knew he would. Just give up on him, it's never going to happen.

13 (9) Golden State - So David Lee is terrible and Brandon Rush, Dom Mcguire, and biedrins are stars. Got it. What? Monta Ellis just doesn't look like he's ever going to become a good player which is sad because he's so talented. I don't know why they don't trade him to someone with a dumb GM. Curry isn't playing up to his potential, maybe if they dumped Ellis he'd play better.

14 (11) Houston - Lowry is playing like a superstar and Dalembert/Dragic were nice additions. Rest of the roster is just too below average.

15 (14) New Orleans - Okafor and Ariza have played alright. But when Greivis Vazquez has been your third best player it's going to be a tough season.

1/9/2012 4:14:09 AM