*NBA THREAD* Abe will be missed (4 Viewers)

[timschochet]

Not Kobe's place to be commenting on the severity of a teammates injury. He needs to pipe down.

Any import to he avatar change?I don't care what else happens, I want D'Antoni run out of town on a rail ASAP. It's one thing to be clueless as to how you use your talent, it's another thing to antagonize them like he's doing to Gasol. #### off pringles. I can't believe it, but I actually miss Mike Brown - at least he wasn't an ### hole (as far as I can tell).

No changes until the end of the year. Then we see. Besides, outside of the 4th quarter collapse last night, I'm enjoying watching the "new look" Lakers of the last week or so. Much more entertaining product.

 

[Village Idiot]

Gay doesn't get a lot of love in the advanced stats community, this seems to have Hollinger's fingerprints on it.

I don't know about Hollinger, it just looks like a salary dump to me. It'd be strange to start messing with a team that's doing pretty well otherwise. Seems like the best player they're getting back is Davis, and big man wasn't exactly an immediate need. Going from Gay to Prince is a slight downgrade IMO.

Voulgaris thinks he's awful. His PER is not good. His ORtg/DRtg are not good. He has the physical potential to be amazing. He's a freak. But he's yet to put it all together.

I assume you're talking about Gay here? His PER is still better than Prince's on the year, who I assume will be taking Gay's starting spot. Maybe that'll change now that they're on new teams. I realize Memphis is a grinder type of team, but it's still nice to have a guy who's got some dynamic in him on offense, and Gay was that guy for them. I don't think Prince can bring that at this point in his career.ETA: Don't get me wrong, Gay's deal was idiotic from the start, and long term the Griz are well off getting out from under it. I just wonder if they won't take a short term hit on the court as a result.The real question is - why can't these GMs figure this #### out before they hand out stupid deals?

The Gay contract was the owner overriding the GM.Heisley made the decision to give Gay a max deal.The GM was against a max deal. He wanted to keep Gay but not at max. At least that's how it was reported in Memphis.

 

[Gr00vus]

Gay doesn't get a lot of love in the advanced stats community, this seems to have Hollinger's fingerprints on it.

I don't know about Hollinger, it just looks like a salary dump to me. It'd be strange to start messing with a team that's doing pretty well otherwise. Seems like the best player they're getting back is Davis, and big man wasn't exactly an immediate need. Going from Gay to Prince is a slight downgrade IMO.

Voulgaris thinks he's awful. His PER is not good. His ORtg/DRtg are not good. He has the physical potential to be amazing. He's a freak. But he's yet to put it all together.

I assume you're talking about Gay here? His PER is still better than Prince's on the year, who I assume will be taking Gay's starting spot. Maybe that'll change now that they're on new teams. I realize Memphis is a grinder type of team, but it's still nice to have a guy who's got some dynamic in him on offense, and Gay was that guy for them. I don't think Prince can bring that at this point in his career.ETA: Don't get me wrong, Gay's deal was idiotic from the start, and long term the Griz are well off getting out from under it. I just wonder if they won't take a short term hit on the court as a result.The real question is - why can't these GMs figure this #### out before they hand out stupid deals?

The Gay contract was the owner overriding the GM.Heisley made the decision to give Gay a max deal.The GM was against a max deal. He wanted to keep Gay but not at max. At least that's how it was reported in Memphis.

That's good to know, thanks for the insight.

 

[Gr00vus]

Not Kobe's place to be commenting on the severity of a teammates injury. He needs to pipe down.

Any import to he avatar change?I don't care what else happens, I want D'Antoni run out of town on a rail ASAP. It's one thing to be clueless as to how you use your talent, it's another thing to antagonize them like he's doing to Gasol. #### off pringles. I can't believe it, but I actually miss Mike Brown - at least he wasn't an ### hole (as far as I can tell).

No changes until the end of the year. Then we see. Besides, outside of the 4th quarter collapse last night, I'm enjoying watching the "new look" Lakers of the last week or so. Much more entertaining product.

You really think, even if D'Antoni managed to get the Lakers into the playoffs, that'd he'd be able to win a series?

 

[Abraham]

D'ANtoni's contract and the money owed to Brown make it a near certainty that Pringles is the coach for the next couple years.

 

[hxperson]

Really sucks to see Calderon go and feel real bad for him to be dumped in Detroit :XHe has been nothing but class his entire career. They brought in 3 or 4 guys to try and take his job and every time he ended up winning it back. None of those times did he ##### about coming off the bench. Team/pass first guy all the way. Very few of those in the NBA.

I'm not sad at all about losing Calderon - he's a decent player but not good enough to take any team far into the playoffs. I'm pretty disappointed though that we weren't able to use him as a chip to dump Bargnani and his horrible contract. As it stands how, I think Colangelo will have to use up yet another first round draft pick just to dump Bargnani's contract and get something more than nothing in return, which will allow him to spin the transaction as something other than the complete failure of the biggest - and practically entire - mantra of his tenture here in Toronto (That Bargnani is a franchise player and we need to build around him). IMO this Rudy Gay trade was entirely an exercise of saving face and enhancing PR for Colangelo. The Raptors can't win games this year and if they keep up this pace he's looking at the very real possibility that he gave up a top 5 pick for a mediocre Kyle Lowry. If Rudy Gay can come in and just help the team close out games, it can mean the difference between a high lottery pick and a lower lottery pick for Lowry, which doesn't look so bad in the eyes of the media/fanbase. At the same time, he now has another way to spin a Bargnani dump - by saying "Hey, the other guy we wanted at #1 was Rudy Gay, who is a pretty good player, and now we got him for just an expiring contract and an unproven Ed Davis". Nevermind Gay's idiotic contract and the fact that he now has to give up more to dump Bargs - the public can often overlook those things as they are less tangible.

 

[Premier]

Not Kobe's place to be commenting on the severity of a teammates injury. He needs to pipe down.

The guy has been in the NBA Finals 7 times in 16 seasons. The idea that guys on a football message board know more about when it's ok to comment on injuries than one of the 5-10 greatest to ever lace'm up is ridiculous.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Really sucks to see Calderon go and feel real bad for him to be dumped in Detroit :XHe has been nothing but class his entire career. They brought in 3 or 4 guys to try and take his job and every time he ended up winning it back. None of those times did he ##### about coming off the bench. Team/pass first guy all the way. Very few of those in the NBA.

I'm not sad at all about losing Calderon - he's a decent player but not good enough to take any team far into the playoffs. I'm pretty disappointed though that we weren't able to use him as a chip to dump Bargnani and his horrible contract. As it stands how, I think Colangelo will have to use up yet another first round draft pick just to dump Bargnani's contract and get something more than nothing in return, which will allow him to spin the transaction as something other than the complete failure of the biggest - and practically entire - mantra of his tenture here in Toronto (That Bargnani is a franchise player and we need to build around him).

The talent hasn't exactly been there for Chris Paul to take these teams to the playoffs, let alone Calderon. It would be to see Bargnani get package with Derozan to get them both the hell out of there.

IMO this Rudy Gay trade was entirely an exercise of saving face and enhancing PR for Colangelo. The Raptors can't win games this year and if they keep up this pace he's looking at the very real possibility that he gave up a top 5 pick for a mediocre Kyle Lowry. If Rudy Gay can come in and just help the team close out games, it can mean the difference between a high lottery pick and a lower lottery pick for Lowry, which doesn't look so bad in the eyes of the media/fanbase. At the same time, he now has another way to spin a Bargnani dump - by saying "Hey, the other guy we wanted at #1 was Rudy Gay, who is a pretty good player, and now we got him for just an expiring contract and an unproven Ed Davis". Nevermind Gay's idiotic contract and the fact that he now has to give up more to dump Bargs - the public can often overlook those things as they are less tangible.

Agree with this. BC is just doing what he can to hang on. How he hasn't been canned in beyond me... oh wait, MLSE is calling the shots. Completely understand.Really worried about how this team is going to look. They're loaded with guys who jack long 2, don't drive much and can't hit threes. The offense that had been fantastic for the last couple months is going to be terrible. They were one of the best teams at taking care of taking care of the ball but I fear that is going to change dramatically (last night more TOs than assists). Hopefully this trainwreck will be enough to get rid of BC.And of course, yet another blown call last night on the final play. 4th of the year. They get those games and are just behind the Celtics for a playoff spot.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Not Kobe's place to be commenting on the severity of a teammates injury. He needs to pipe down.

The guy has been in the NBA Finals 7 times in 16 seasons. The idea that guys on a football message board know more about when it's ok to comment on injuries than one of the 5-10 greatest to ever lace'm up is ridiculous.

 

[No. 16]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

 

[hxperson]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

I agree - they will easily the most skilled and athletic big men that Jose has played with since Bosh.

 

[Gr00vus]

D'ANtoni's contract and the money owed to Brown make it a near certainty that Pringles is the coach for the next couple years.

If they don't make the playoffs this year, I find it hard to believe they can keep him.

 

[No. 16]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

I agree - they will easily the most skilled and athletic big men that Jose has played with since Bosh.

Yah. Really love this deal for everyone except Toronto. Gay is a rich man's DeRozan, if that. Really feel bad for you Cliff. Your team will suck for a long time coming.

 

[Kev4029]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

I agree - they will easily the most skilled and athletic big men that Jose has played with since Bosh.

Yah. Really love this deal for everyone except Toronto. Gay is a rich man's DeRozan, if that. Really feel bad for you Cliff. Your team will suck for a long time coming.

It could be worse, they could have ended up with Anthony Morrow and Josh Childres...

For a stop gap get someone like Quentin Richardson

A stopgap for what? Where should Memphis spend the money that they're saving by signing Q-Rich instead of Gay? Or just pocket it?

Stopgap until they find someone worthy of 16 million. Until then sign vets to fill the roster to compete for the playoffs while Zach Randolph plays out of his mind in a contract year. After next season the Grizzlies will suck again once Z-Bo leaves or gets lazy again after getting paid. Then they'll need to rebuild again. However, if I were the Grizz I'd divy up the 16 million they gave to Rudy Gay between RFAs Josh Childress (8 million) and Anthony Morrow (6 million) for two young perimeter players who are way more efficient scorers than Gay and you got 2 million to spare. If you're going to overpay for a scorer you might as well overpay for top notch efficiency (Childress career 59.9 TS% & Morrow career 59.3 TS% vs Gay 53.0 TS%). This gives Memphis 3 legit shooters on the perimeter: Mayo @ PG, Morrow @ SG, and Childress @ SF to spread the floor for Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. Mayo is a decent enough penetrator to take over Gay's role. Childress not only is a more efficient scorer, but he rounds just as well, has a better basketball IQ, and plays some defense. Both are fairly young with Childress going to be 27 and Morrow being 25.

ETA: If you were the GM of the Grizz in 2010, they would have had Mayo at PG, Morrow at SG and Childress at SF... ouch.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

I agree - they will easily the most skilled and athletic big men that Jose has played with since Bosh.

Yah. Really love this deal for everyone except Toronto. Gay is a rich man's DeRozan, if that. Really feel bad for you Cliff. Your team will suck for a long time coming.

Yeah, I really don't like this but I'm used to them sucking. The losing is fine as long as it is entertaining but I have a bad feeling it is a going to turn into an ISO offence with little ball movement. Who knows maybe Gay's talents will come to fruition... and DeRozan will learn how to shoot... and Lowry will stay healthy for more than 3 games in a row... and Valancunias becomes a top tier center... and Ross becomes an elite scorer. But probably not.At least Colangelo is opening saying that he wants to trade Bargnani. Too bad that all he'll get in return is a backup PG and an overpaid big.

 

[Abraham]

At least Colangelo is opening saying that he wants to trade Bargnani. Too bad that all he'll get in return is a backup PG and an overpaid big.

Tony Douglass, Patrick Patteron (highest PER in the deal) and Cole Alrdich for Bargnani works in the trade machine.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

At least Colangelo is opening saying that he wants to trade Bargnani. Too bad that all he'll get in return is a backup PG and an overpaid big.

Tony Douglass, Patrick Patteron (highest PER in the deal) and Cole Alrdich for Bargnani works in the trade machine.

Based on Colangelo's history, that is the perfect trade for him. Not for anyone else though.

 

[Shrugs]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

 

[Shrugs]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

Sure, in the last 2 minutes Kobe tried to score on three consecutive possessions (getting four points to tie the game before missing the contested layup). I guess that's hero ball. At the 10-minute mark, the Lakers led by 13. In the final 10 minutes, his teammates connected on a total of zero field goals (with him making 1 of 3 during the first 8 minutes), so I can't imagine why he'd take it on his own in the final two minutes. Obviously he's back to hero ball. These are the kind of illogical conclusions Claven makes just to try to rile people up. And that's why he's like LHUCKS.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

Sure, in the last 2 minutes Kobe tried to score on three consecutive possessions (getting four points to tie the game before missing the contested layup). I guess that's hero ball. At the 10-minute mark, the Lakers led by 13. In the final 10 minutes, his teammates connected on a total of zero field goals (with him making 1 of 3 during the first 8 minutes), so I can't imagine why he'd take it on his own in the final two minutes. Obviously he's back to hero ball. These are the kind of illogical conclusions Claven makes just to try to rile people up. And that's why he's like LHUCKS.

The problem with your logic here is that it's entirely possible that the reason they were connecting well enough to give the Lakers a 13 point lead in the first 40 minutes of play is because Kobe was doing a great job of setting them up, and the reason they connected on zero field goals after they built that lead is because he stopped doing it.Again, I'm not saying that happened. I didn't watch the game. But your stats haven't exactly disproved what Clavin said. If anything they kind of confirm it. Hard to say.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Not Kobe's place to be commenting on the severity of a teammates injury. He needs to pipe down.

The guy has been in the NBA Finals 7 times in 16 seasons. The idea that guys on a football message board know more about when it's ok to comment on injuries than one of the 5-10 greatest to ever lace'm up is ridiculous.

 

[Kev4029]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

Sure, in the last 2 minutes Kobe tried to score on three consecutive possessions (getting four points to tie the game before missing the contested layup). I guess that's hero ball. At the 10-minute mark, the Lakers led by 13. In the final 10 minutes, his teammates connected on a total of zero field goals (with him making 1 of 3 during the first 8 minutes), so I can't imagine why he'd take it on his own in the final two minutes. Obviously he's back to hero ball. These are the kind of illogical conclusions Claven makes just to try to rile people up. And that's why he's like LHUCKS.

For the record, in the last 6 minutes he was 1/6 shooting with one turnover, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

Keep trying

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Detroit fans not taking deal well.http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/pistons-fan-learns-tayshaun-prince-trade-takes-off-171547542--nba.html

 

[Shrugs]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

Sure, in the last 2 minutes Kobe tried to score on three consecutive possessions (getting four points to tie the game before missing the contested layup). I guess that's hero ball. At the 10-minute mark, the Lakers led by 13. In the final 10 minutes, his teammates connected on a total of zero field goals (with him making 1 of 3 during the first 8 minutes), so I can't imagine why he'd take it on his own in the final two minutes. Obviously he's back to hero ball. These are the kind of illogical conclusions Claven makes just to try to rile people up. And that's why he's like LHUCKS.

For the record, in the last 6 minutes he was 1/6 shooting with one turnover, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals.

Nobody said he played well down the stretch, though he did bring them from four points back to tie in the final two minutes while no one else on the team was doing anything. It's hard to get an assist when your teammates don't make a single field goal. But Claven will find some statistics to justify his illogical points, just like LHUCKS.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Someone seems obsessed.

 

[the moops]

shrugs same dude as drummer?

 

[No. 16]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Detroit do better than expected with Calderon running things. Knight and Stuckey don't know how to get the ball to Monroe or Drummound to save their lives. Plus, with Calderon's shooting, Singler moving to the 3 spot the floor spacing should be much better.

Monroe and Drummond are going to love him. I can see the Pistons making a strong push for the 8th seed.

I agree - they will easily the most skilled and athletic big men that Jose has played with since Bosh.

Yah. Really love this deal for everyone except Toronto. Gay is a rich man's DeRozan, if that. Really feel bad for you Cliff. Your team will suck for a long time coming.

It could be worse, they could have ended up with Anthony Morrow and Josh Childres...

For a stop gap get someone like Quentin Richardson

A stopgap for what? Where should Memphis spend the money that they're saving by signing Q-Rich instead of Gay? Or just pocket it?

Stopgap until they find someone worthy of 16 million. Until then sign vets to fill the roster to compete for the playoffs while Zach Randolph plays out of his mind in a contract year. After next season the Grizzlies will suck again once Z-Bo leaves or gets lazy again after getting paid. Then they'll need to rebuild again. However, if I were the Grizz I'd divy up the 16 million they gave to Rudy Gay between RFAs Josh Childress (8 million) and Anthony Morrow (6 million) for two young perimeter players who are way more efficient scorers than Gay and you got 2 million to spare. If you're going to overpay for a scorer you might as well overpay for top notch efficiency (Childress career 59.9 TS% & Morrow career 59.3 TS% vs Gay 53.0 TS%). This gives Memphis 3 legit shooters on the perimeter: Mayo @ PG, Morrow @ SG, and Childress @ SF to spread the floor for Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. Mayo is a decent enough penetrator to take over Gay's role. Childress not only is a more efficient scorer, but he rounds just as well, has a better basketball IQ, and plays some defense. Both are fairly young with Childress going to be 27 and Morrow being 25.

ETA: If you were the GM of the Grizz in 2010, they would have had Mayo at PG, Morrow at SG and Childress at SF... ouch.

The whole point was that I would not have committed MAX money to Gay and would have signed all those guys to fill cap space. The only one I would have given longer than a 2 year deal would have been Morrow. As you can see the Grizzlies GM agree, that Gay is not with the max.ETA: The Josh Childress thing will never die huh?

 

[BassNBrew]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

 

[Abraham]

I don't see any way Lebron returns to Cleveland.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

I don't see any way Lebron returns to Cleveland.

I don't know if he will, but why would say that you don't see any way?

 

[Juxtatarot]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

 

[Abraham]

I don't see any way Lebron returns to Cleveland.

I don't know if he will, but why would say that you don't see any way?

Because Dan Gilbert still owns the team.

 

[the moops]

Woj has a serious hard-on for ripping Lebron. Dude needs to let it go

 

[Premier]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

 

[BassNBrew]

Is a two star team NBA model actually worse than super teams?

 

[Abraham]

Any chance hollinger is angling to use Davis as a piece in a pau trade?

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

No.

 

[tommyGunZ]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

Agreed. Jealously rears its ugly horns.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

Agreed. Jealously rears its ugly horns.

The article wouldn't work on my phone but for the title. How does Memphis dumping the salary if an overpaid slightly above average player imply the super team era is ending and how does that impact Miami who have been to the last 2 nba finals? Seems dumb.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Good job by Blatche dissing the Heat right before they square off tonight.

What did Blatche say? All I saw were Reggie Evans' comments.

I think Miami got so used to people hating on them, they almost need this kind of stuff to get pumped up for any regular season game at this point. They looked focused to destroy Brooklyn last night. They usually sleepwalk on the road.

When they are focused, healthy, and on all cylinders they destroy any team in the league. My disappointment with the team is they decide not to challenge themselves in the regular season and try to win 65-70 games, they just are not interested in this for whatever reason. Maybe they can just turn it on in the playoffs. Mayb the playoffs themselves will push them to play tougher defense and rebound the ball but right now they can be beat in a 7 game series at some point. Maybe in April/May not so much.

 

[Short Corner]

Now nine assists and 17 shots (most forced on him when teammates gave him the ball with the shot clock winding down) is hero ball, I suppose because he missed on a driving layup attempt to tie near the end. That's why Claven is the same as LHUCKS.

"Hero ball" is usually a description of end-of-game behavior. How many assists did Kobe have in the last few minutes of the game? How many shots?I'm not saying he played poorly or that he made bad decisions. I have no idea how he played, I didn't watch the game. I'm saying your reasoning is bad.

Sure, in the last 2 minutes Kobe tried to score on three consecutive possessions (getting four points to tie the game before missing the contested layup). I guess that's hero ball. At the 10-minute mark, the Lakers led by 13. In the final 10 minutes, his teammates connected on a total of zero field goals (with him making 1 of 3 during the first 8 minutes), so I can't imagine why he'd take it on his own in the final two minutes. Obviously he's back to hero ball. These are the kind of illogical conclusions Claven makes just to try to rile people up. And that's why he's like LHUCKS.

For the record, in the last 6 minutes he was 1/6 shooting with one turnover, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero steals.

Nobody said he played well down the stretch, though he did bring them from four points back to tie in the final two minutes while no one else on the team was doing anything. It's hard to get an assist when your teammates don't make a single field goal. But Claven will find some statistics to justify his illogical points, just like LHUCKS.

In his first 31 minutes, Kobe was 5-11 with 9 assists and 4 TOs. He enters the game with 8 minutes left and a 7-point lead and proceeds to go 2-6 (rest of the team attempted 5 shots)with no assists and 2 TOs while getting outscored 21-8. After PHX tied it with 3 minutes and change, he went 1-4 and 1 TO while getting outscored 10-4. He dominate the ball down the stretch, looking for me first, which is what he is supposed to do in the D'Antoni system, but it seemed he was looking for me second, and me third as well.

 

[TobiasFunke]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

Not just that, but he contradicts himself. Did they trade Gay because Hollinger doesn't like him or because Pera's a freeloader?As a general rule I disagree with anyone who thinks everything fits into neat categorizations. The whole "two stars/three stars" thing is nonsense. How do we even decide who is a "star"? Everyone is trying to do the same thing: put the best team possible on the floor. No "stars" worked for the 2004 Pistons. One "star" worked for the 2011 Mavs. The whole idea that there's a model in the first place exists largely in sportswriters' heads.

 

[Abraham]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

Not just that, but he contradicts himself. Did they trade Gay because Hollinger doesn't like him or because Pera's a freeloader?As a general rule I disagree with anyone who thinks everything fits into neat categorizations. The whole "two stars/three stars" thing is nonsense. How do we even decide who is a "star"? Everyone is trying to do the same thing: put the best team possible on the floor. No "stars" worked for the 2004 Pistons. One "star" worked for the 2011 Mavs. The whole idea that there's a model in the first place exists largely in sportswriters' heads.

Agreed. There is nothing new or devious about trying to get as many of the best players as possible on your team.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

Adrian's not pulling any punches for Hollinger.

I love Woj, but that was a ridiculous and childish shot at Hollinger. Actually can't believe he wrote that.

Agreed. Jealously rears its ugly horns.

The article wouldn't work on my phone but for the title. How does Memphis dumping the salary if an overpaid slightly above average player imply the super team era is ending and how does that impact Miami who have been to the last 2 nba finals? Seems dumb.

Yeah I really don't see the correlation. How is the super team era ending because Memphis is cheap (nevermind that they weren't a super team to begin with)? Anyone team willing to pay the a heavy tax can put a super team together.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

One of the worst ramblings I've ever read.Gay-Randolph-Gasol is super team? And Kobe-Dwight-Gasol is not? Or even Melo-Amare-Chandler? (If we're using Memphis trio as a super team) And James-Kyrie-Waiters(really insert anyone with a lick of talent) won't be a super team? (If James bolts as he indicates) None of Gay-Randolph-Gasol are even superstars to begin with. It wasn't a 'super team' and never would have been. Memphis got out of a horrendous contract, picked up a starter in Prince (who isn't much worse a player than Gay,certainly not $11+ mil/yr worse than Gay) + got a cheap young big in Ed Davis.Just ironic they progressed farther in the playoffs WITHOUT Rudy Gay and having the offense flow through Randolph and Gasol. Of course, he decided not to put actual facts in his article.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Woj seems to want to be both a great reporter and a thoughtful columnist. I don't understand why. He's good at one of them and terrible at the other.

 

[boubucarow]

What do you guys think about this article?http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html

One of the worst ramblings I've ever read.Gay-Randolph-Gasol is super team? And Kobe-Dwight-Gasol is not? Or even Melo-Amare-Chandler? (If we're using Memphis trio as a super team) And James-Kyrie-Waiters(really insert anyone with a lick of talent) won't be a super team? (If James bolts as he indicates) None of Gay-Randolph-Gasol are even superstars to begin with. It wasn't a 'super team' and never would have been. Memphis got out of a horrendous contract, picked up a starter in Prince (who isn't much worse a player than Gay,certainly not $11+ mil/yr worse than Gay) + got a cheap young big in Ed Davis.Just ironic they progressed farther in the playoffs WITHOUT Rudy Gay and having the offense flow through Randolph and Gasol. Of course, he decided not to put actual facts in his article.

All I know is that I would love this Rudy Gay that everyone is taking Memphis to task for trading. Too bad he doesn't exist.