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1. OKC
2. MEM
3. SAS
4. DAL
5. LAC
6. LAL
7. DEN
8. POR
9. HOU
10. GS
11. MIN
12. PHO
13. SAC
14. UTA
15. NO
East
1. CHI
2. MIA
3. NYK
4. BOS
5. ATL
6. IND
7. PHI
8. ORL
9. NJ
10. MIL
11. WAS
12. DET
13. CHA
14. TOR
15. CLE
West
1. OKC v 8. POR: OKC
2. MEM v 7. DEN: MEM
3. SAS v 6. LAL: LAL
4. DAL v 5. LAC: LAC
OKC v LAC: OKC
MEM v LAL: MEM
OKC v MEM: OKC
East
1. CHI v 8. ORL: CHI
2. MIA v 7. PHI: PHI
3. NYK v 6. IND: NYK
4. BOS v 5. ATL: ATL
CHI v ATL: CHI
PHI v NYK: NYK
CHI v NYK: CHI
Finals
OKC v CHI: OKC
MVP- LeBron
COY- Rick Adelman
6th Man- Turner
DPOY- Howard
ROY- Ricky!
Or NY, but I assume/think he's out of our price range.
But you put them in the playoffs, too. And to echo the first response to this, he made the playoffs with the Bulls *twice* with much less talent than the Clips have now.
I don't see how people think that Memphis is going to improve from last year.
They had their ideal starting 5 for like 5 games last year - Conley/Allen/Gay/Z-Bo/Gasol. Yes, there's definitely blow-up potential, but I think they may have figured something out down there.
I think Nash gets traded to NYK
For what? I think it's more likely he signs there in the offseason for the MLE.
---
Meanwhile you've got some idiots online complaining about the Bulls probably keeping John Lucas III and Scalabrine as the last guys on the roster. Really? The 12th and 13th guys are meaningless. You just want good lock room guys that practice hard. If you are in a situation where the 12th and 13th men are actually seeing meaningful minutes your roster is so decimated by injuries it wouldn't matter who they are, you're screwed anyways.
I agree with both sides. It's just that Scal and Lucas are *so* bad. Last year Thibs used them (remember Lucas even cost the Bulls a win, and you can tie Scal's involvement in a couple other losses), and odds are they'll be used again because of the schedule and teams can dress 13 players this year. Part of me think there are better end of the bench options out there - neither guy belongs anywhere near an NBA roster, even if they are good practice players. But if that's my biggest complaint, I really don't have a complaint.
First someone put them at a 4 seed, and now this. Steagles' enthusiasm is spreading like rabies. BTW, Steags, can we get some official predictions from you?
1. Miami
2. New York
3. Chicago
4. Atlanta
5. Boston
6. New Jersey
7. Philadelphia
8. Washington
9. Orlando
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Milwaukee
13. Charlotte
14. Detroit
15. Cleveland
Round 1: Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago
Round 2: Chicago, Miami
Conference Finals: Miami
West
1. Oklahoma City
2. Clippers
3. Spurs
4. Lakers
5. Mavericks
6. Grizzlies
7. Portland
8. Denver
9. Phoenix
10. Houston
11. Golden State
12. Minnesota
13. Utah
14. Sacramento
15. New Orleans
Round 1: Thunder, Clippers, Grizzlies, Lakers
Round 2: Lakers, Grizzlies
Conference Finals: Grizzlies
Finals: Heat over Grizzlies
MVP: Chris Paul
COY: Pat Riley
ROY: Norris Cole
For the record I don't actually expect this to happen, but I wanted one WTF prediction and I went with STEAGLES crazy talk. Hey, an injury and I look like - well genius is way too strong - less dumb. If I had money on it I would have MIA going to Conf finals and losing to Chicago.
This wouldn't surprise me this year, especially if they stumble early like they did last year.
---
JJ, I assume your predictions include a Howard to NJ trade? I like the Paul as MVP pick, if they finish high enough in the conference it makes for a great story.
I feel certain Howard will be traded, hence the Orlando placement. Hedging a bit on New Jersey, but there's not really anywhere else I can see him (except Chicago where he doesn't seem to want to play).
and since this is a new page, i figure i might talk a little bit more about what i see in this team.
previously, i'd said that the team has advantages due to the continuity between last year's team and this year's, which should be important when considering the shortened training camp and preseason, and the lack of practice time during the actual season. and i'd said that they're built for the condensed season because of the depth of quality players and the fact that the majority of their contributors (hawes, holiday, young, williams, turner, meeks, vucevic) are young (under 25) and athletic.
but looking beyond that, i really do think people lack an understanding of the quality of player that the sixers have.
iguodala, for instance, was one of the league's best perimeter defenders last year, but he was doing it with significant issues in his legs (specifically in the knee and achilles of one of his legs). and in addition to the great defense that he brought, he averaged 14, 6 and 6, with a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio.
jrue holiday, in just his 2nd year and as one of the youngest players in the league, averaged 14, 4, and 6.5 assists per game, with a ratio of well over 2 assists per turnover.
louis williams, as one of the league's elite 6th men, scored 21 points per 36 minutes and also averaged more than 2 assists per turnover.
thaddeus young, another of the league's elite 6th men, was 9th in the entire NBA in field goal percentage. and he'll be just 23 years old this season, which will be his 5th in the NBA.
elton brand averaged 15 and 8 despite being completely over the hill and being one of the most overpaid players in the league (*that's not my personal opinion it's just the one expressed by most everyone who posts on a sixers message board)
evan turner...needs to be better. i think he will be.
spencer hawes...needs to be better. can only cross my fingers on that one.
jodie meeks was one of the league's better 3 point shooters last season. if he shoots at the same percentages last year, i'll take it.
beyond that, the intangibles that should correlate to winning in this condensed year--depth, continuity, youth, experience, athleticism--are all things that the sixers have going in.
oh, and tonight is the team's first exhibition game. very excited to actually see them on the court. and because there are only 2 of these, i don't think we'll be seeing any extended run for zendon hamilton.
---
I guess lots of trade exceptions expire today, and it's the last day to amnesty someone this year.
Ditto. He's great.
East
1. MIA
2. CHI
3. BOS
4. NYK
5. ORL
6. ATL
7. PHI
8. IND
9. NJ
10. MIL
West
1. OKC
2. DAL
3. LAC
4. LAL
5. SA
6. MEM
7. DEN
8. HOU
9. POR
10. PHO
Starting from the 2nd round:
MIA over NYK
CHI over BOS
DAL over LAC
OKC over LAL
MIA over CHI
OKC over DAL
MIA over OKC
Thoughts:
--I really see what you guys mean now that I've thought about the West a bit more - the Grizzlies look better almost by default. HCA in the 1st round is not a crazy idea for them at all.
--I may be grossly overrating the Clippers, but I just like them.
--I have very little confidence in my rankings 2-6 in the West.
--I don't see anyone but Miami or Chicago coming from the East unless there are significant injuries to one or both of those teams.
--I think Miami is the league's best team on paper
News here is that he's chunky.
News is also that Nate says the Blazers are going to run more this year. Supposedly, it was Roy and Miller that didn't allow them to. I'm still not 100% sold on that, though, Nate likes to call plays. A lot.
I'm hoping for a stream. Knowing the huge world wide Bulls fan base (Thanks MJ) and that it's on WGN, I like my odds of finding one.
Apparently Thibs told Jimmy Butler to prepare for extended burn tonight. I guess Rip plays little if at all.
Pruiti had a good article about James in the post. Basically he just needs to post up more. It's a mindset more than a skill problem at this point.
Lebron is also one of the most deadly mid-range shooters in the game, really he has no weaknesses offensively. His post game will be more important as he ages. It's funny that Lebron is basically my age. Now I know how guys felt watching Jordan that were his age or older. It's one thing to be a kid and impressed by these guys, idolize them even. It's another to know at basically the same age as yourself, what great athletes they are. And in 10 years Lebron and I will both be in our late 30's and when he can't jump out of the gym anymore I'll crack a wry smile knowing time waits for no man, even one blessed with seemingly superhuman athleticism.
BBTF fantasy basketball league. 16 teams max (we had 12 last season; now at 9); 14-man rosters; scoring based on Hollinger's Game Score:League is #28232; PW is albright
Draft is Monday, 9 p.m. EST.
Maybe Riley won't be back this year after all...
I picked them, but I don't really expect them to really make it out of the west. They still seem to be missing... something. But I can't see anyone better on paper, so I'm going with them.
I felt the same way, just thought it was funny. I think they could use some outside threats.
I don't see anything there that would imply Rip is a downgrade, unless you're talking about a post up situation. And while Rip is not as strong as Bogans, he's got a height and reach advantage. In fact, reading that description convinced me even more than it wasn't a downgrade defensively *at all*.
I mean, you could argue the league has this problem.
Yea, bad typo. I meant to say "won't be a downgrade". That guy, ColdFish, is probably one of the more technical basketball x's and o's minds I've found online that is a Bulls fan.
i'd add that the team was also 6th in the NBA in assists last season. they were/are very disciplined with the ball in their hands last season.
EDIT: By the way, the current Nets starting lineup
C: Brook Lopez
PF: Shelden Williams
SF: Damion James
SG: Anthony Morrow
PG: Deron Williams
What is it about Knicks late round rookies and a runaway hype train? DWTDD, Fields, and now Shumpert.
Don't forget David Lee.
In the sense that neither will ever start for a serious contender? Yes.
In addition, am I the only one that thinks Marcus Thornton is better than Jason Richardson?
Today? Perhaps. But I am not positive.
Can we please never talk about the headband thing again? Please?
No ####. I don't know why the media keeps dredging it up. Guess it's what they do. The headband rule was always stupid and stemmed from some misguided attempt to clean up the Post-Jordan image. Too bad that image had nothing to do with headbands and everything to do with #### teams.
the team looks really good.
basically, it would have been a good idea for the organization to bring an extra point guard into training camp so they wouldn't have had to extend turner and meeks before the season even starts.
otherwise, that was a hell of a performance.
That John Wall cross over to dunk was insane.
EDIT: So happy to have the NBA back.
The Sixers juggernaut got off to a nice start.
Kyrie Irvin is going to struggle in the NBA. I doubt he's ever anything more than a solid starter, at absolute best. His physical tools are meh, his ability to penetrate, from what I saw at Duke, isn't anything special, and his shot is decent but not deadly enough to where guys have to guard him tight. He was quicker than 95% of college defenders, that's not going to be the case in the NBA.
He can improve his shot, handle, etc. I just don't think it's going to matter, he's too limited physically.
__________________
Bulls give up 32 in the 1st quarter and then 54 the rest of the game, winning 95-84. Just a strange game, for one thing it was the most intense pre season game I've ever seen. There is def a little bad blood between Chicago and Indy lingering from their playoff series. The officials were in pre season mode as well, calling every foul possible. Just a hard game to watch. Rose had two fouls before the 10 minute mark and at one point in the 1st quarter Rose, Boozer and Noah all had 2 or more fouls.
Boozer looked like crap, again, but whatever, it's preseason, I take nothing except how rookies look and Jimmy Butler looked good. Looks like he'll have a long career in the league, won't ever be a starter probably, but as a backup 2/3 that can defend either position, knock down the open jumper, and even play off the bounce a bit.
The Pistons might be the least talented and exciting team in the league. Getting Prince and Stuckey back isn't going to change that either. Wow, Joe Dumars, what have you done. Cleveland's not too far behind. There are some watered down teams right now.
So true, so true. I can only imagine what Shaq's defensive calls in his monotone mumble must have sounded like.
-STAT claims to have gained an inch due to work he did on his back over the summer and also said he added 20 pounds of muscle. How accurate those claims are, I'm not sure, but he did look noticeably bigger. He also hit a few pull up 3s. I'm really excited about this addition to his repertoire.
-Melo looks like he's in slightly better shape but it still bugs me that he doesn't look like STAT, Wade, LeBron, etc.
-When the Knicks picked up Melo last year, D'antoni made a comment about how there's no reason why Melo can't average a triple double in his system (I'm assuming he means come close to). That made me feel as though the team somehow thinks/thought Melo is some sort of reasonable facsimile of LeBron. Well, I no longer think that, I know that now as they seem to be really serious about this Melo as point forward thing. I've never thought of Melo as a particularly good ball handler or passer, so...this could get interesting.
-Chandler has really taken to the whole being the leader of the defense thing. There were a few funny segments where he kind of said, without directly saying it, that his job is to clean up the mess created by STAT and Melo.
-As I alluded to with the above linked clip, I'm in love with Shumpert. He missed just about every jumper he took and was overly aggressive on defense but seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders and a better sense of team defense/communication than most of the guys on the team.
-Mike Bibby isn't easy on the eyes.
-Harrelson looks hilarious and can't really get off the floor but got his hands on a lot of balls and showed good activity. For some reason, there were a few sets that ended with him taking long jumpers. I don't remember how good his shot is supposed to be but...it didn't seem to be working.
EDIT: DWTDD's passing looked more creative, which is good, but he was still picking up his dribble too much and struggling with the alley-oop.
Oh yeah, the team ran what amounted to an alley-oop drill and Jared Jeffries ###### up both of his. Of course.
I think Melo's handle is functional enough to allow him to execute his power drives to the rim but it's not great. It doesn't really hamper him all that much if at all. As for his passing, I've always thought he was a really talented passer. He can whip some cross court diagonal passes you just can't pull off unless you have the gift for passing. He has a lot of other passes in his repertoire too. The problem has been that it seems he thinks he's always one made shot away from a 20 point quarter. I think his low assist numbers are due to mindset more than a lack of ability. If D'Antoni pushes him to average more than 5-6 assist a game, I don't thin it'll be very difficult for him at all. It's kind of embarrassing that he's never even averaged 4 assists a game with the way he can pass.
FWIW, Knicks runaway hype train Iman Shumpert had some pretty insane measurables. 6'4.5" in shoes and a 40" no step vert. Take these numbers with a grain of salt however. By looking at the spreadsheet you could be talked into saying Mike Conley is a better athlete than Derrick Rose or John Wall. But that's just on spreadsheet.
I'm not touching the Kobe thing. I don't like him but I never wanted his family ruined.
and completely unrelated to the above:
i was a really huge fan of daniel orton when he came out of kentucky last year. either i was wrong about his potential (which is definitely possible, considering his limited usage as a freshman at UK) or (and this would be my guess) between the knee surgery and being locked out of team facilities, he's not in anywhere near peak condition.yeah, that's not very good.
____
"Maybe if we sign a lot of white guys, no one will notice that Odom is gone!"
-On his very first touch of the game, Josh Harrelson confidently nailed a 27 foot 3 pointer. I #### you not. Outside of the 3, Jorts had a good game. Really active on both ends. He's definitely not 6'10'' though.
-Melo's shot was off. He had a few airballs, but looked great setting up the half court offense. He had more than a few passes worth some "oohs"
-STAT also had a couple good passes but looked out of sync offensively.
-Landry looked every bit as terrible as he did at the end of last season. The slower pace is killing him as he relies on movement to get his baskets so when STAT and Melo are in the game he gets stuck doing a lot of watching. Then, when he's in the game with the second unit things don't improve because he lacks any ability to create for himself, often losing his dribble.
-Chandler was abused by Brook Lopez who looked great.
-Marshon Brooks also looked really good from the Nets side. Nice jumper and good handle. Once he got any separation on the dribble drive he was able to make things happen.
-Iman Shumpert looked every bit as amazing as one would expect from the '12 ROY. A little too aggressive on the defensive end and doesn't know how to properly read screens yet, but I like him coming off the bench as our scorer.
-Renaldo Balkman was fantastic. It would be nice if D'antoni gave him some PT this year considering the schedule and how thin our roster is.
-DWTDD had a pretty rough go of it as far as setting up the offense though he played better with the second unit it seemed (which may have more to do with the Nets also having their second unit in at that point)
What do you think about Baron Davis? DWTDD is not a real PG, not the type that can play more than 15 minutes a game for a contender anyways. My opinion on Baron is that he's toast. Bad back, bad knees -- I just don't think he's got anything left. The Knicks would be relying on him to play an uptempo syle 30+ minutes a night on a condensed schedule. That's a recipe for disaster.
I agree Shumpert looks like a player. I can see a little Sprewell in him in the way he goes up for those ferocious 1-handed jams.
By the way, towards the end of the game today "Where's the Kardashian guy?"-Walt Clyde Frazier.
EDIT: I agree Shumpert looks like a player. I can see a little Sprewell in him in the way he goes up for those ferocious 1-handed jams.
That's an interesting comp.
i was actually a pretty big fan of both shumpert and harrelson at the draft. i thought shumpert was a bit of a reach where he was taken, but his defense is top notch, and if he can be as efficient on the offensive end as he was today, that's a hell of a player.
just looking at the game's boxscore, i'm wondering about whether the massive amount of turnovers that the nets had were due to the knicks defense, sloppy play, or just generally the nets being ####?
Both. In the Knicks practice broadcast yesterday there was a segment in the video room that showed Woodson talking about the guards needing to get more aggressive and get on ballhandlers by the time they get to halfcourt so the opposition can't stroll into their offense. They did that today. There were a couple times the Knicks were able to trap the ballhandler around halfcourt, against the sideline by having the primary defender come early and then sending a big as a secondary defender. This happened on the first play of the game with Melo and STAT, which...was shocking, I'll admit.
I think Baron Davis is a guy who can take a lot off the table, to the detriment of the talent the Knicks have.
Georgetown stomped American (competent mid major) in the second half. Henry sims, a 6'11 center had 6 assists to continue leading the team. I'm really enjoying the surprisingly good rebuilding season.
I think you're overselling American a little there though.
This was amazing.
David Locke (Jazz radio guy) said he saw a Sprewell comp for Alec Burks too. He was super high on Burks before the draft too(he dropped a Roy comp).
This is funny because I actually came on here to propose something like this. I think the Knicks should kick the tires on a Fields for PG deal. See how salaries and stuff match up with the TWolves or Clippers guys.
also, why in the blue hell is robbie hummel still considered an NBA prospect? i mean, he was intriguing 3 years ago, but between the injuries. the poor efficiency, and the limited upside, his name really shouldn't be anywhere near even the backend of an NBA mock draft.
...and there's his first foul
next update:
in a span of about 15 seconds, he pulled down an offensive rebound, got an assist on a scola layup, and then blocked a shot in transition after hustling down to the other side of the court.
Anthony Randolph is absolute garbage. In a 5 minute stretch he bricked two 19 foot jumpers (there's a reason you're open Anthony), fumbled a pass that would have led to a layup (Rubio made a nice pass), fouled his man for a 3 point play and then fouled his man again the next time down.
I think it might be about time to give up on this guy ever being anything other than a 9th man.
In the words of Sesame Street, one of these things is not like the other.....
SCHOENE projected him to shoot 33% from the floor this year.
From the link.
Daryl Morey, asked about it the other day, said he couldn't talk about it on "advice of counsel."
Watched about 15 minutes of MIL/MIN. I am sure berg will be here with a detailed report once he is breathing normally and his heart rate slows down.
even if they're not great, they look like they'll definitely be entertaining.
oh, and also, bonzi wells is terrible.
I did a literal LOL when I heard his name on the broadcast. I would have guessed Bonzi was either sitting at home counting his piles of money or somewhere in basketball Siberia overseas.
I hope he makes an NBA team, the league is a more interesting place when Bonzi Wells is in it.
Bad as advertised? His defense is actually supposed to be one of his strong points. He has fantastic anticipation and very quick hands. He likes to play Sasha Vujacic defense where he goes chest to chest and really pesters his man, annoying them in the process. Against the Bucks though, I agree, he didn't look like much of a defender. For a guy who has eight years of experience in Euro ball where they run screen after screen, he sure didn't handle them well on defense. Maybe he won't be able to handle quick guards (though he guarded the much bigger Livingston for most of the game) but it remains to be seen.
The Blue Jays haven't lost a playoff game in almost 20 years. THAT'S dominance.
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