Correct, Artest is a great pickup so I'm OK with giving up Ariza I suppose. I think he'll be fine with Bryant as Kobe will have his sneaker far up his arse to keep on task.
Clippers still do have Baron Davis. Such an under performing team.
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NBA - This Year's outcome
- Thread starter justinhasnohops
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Correct, Artest is a great pickup so I'm OK with giving up Ariza I suppose. I think he'll be fine with Bryant as Kobe will have his sneaker far up his arse to keep on task.
Clippers still do have Baron Davis. Such an under performing team.
I'm not going to quote the post since it was very large and I don't feel like snipping it down, but this is directed at BadAndy.
I'm mainly going to respond to the part about Dwight Howard was "atrocious" and how he's not one of the best players in the NBA. First off, you do realize we're talking about a center? A center? Center? You understand he's a center? You understand the responsibilities of a center? You understand what a center does? You understand his job on the court? Is his job to dribble down the court and have great basketball skills? No. Is his job to play down low and jump higher and be stronger than everyone else grabbing every rebound that's put up? Yes. Can Dwight Howard shoot? No. Do centers shoot? Rarely. Can Dwight Howard dribble well? No. Do centers handle the ball? Rarely. Do centers normally have 14 rebounds per game? No. Does Dwight Howard normally have 14 rebounds per game? More. Do centers normally completely stop anyone that comes down low? Not so much. Does Dwight Howard completely stop anyone that comes down low? Pretty much. Do centers normally run faster than forwards? No. Does Dwight Howard run faster than forwards? Most of them. Do centers normally take the toll Dwight Howard does down low every game? No. Does Dwight Howard take a toll like Dwight Howard does? Yes. Do centers usually have a decent guard to dish the ball out when needed? Most. Did Dwight Howard have that before the Vince Carter accusation? Not half the season.
I wrote that in that tone and format to make a point.
I cannot believe someone just said he's not the best at his position.
You will agree that Shaq was the best at his position in his prime? Does Shaq have anymore "basketball skills" than Dwight Howard, whatever that may mean.
Dwight Howard obviously gets the job done with "no basketball skills".
I'm mainly going to respond to the part about Dwight Howard was "atrocious" and how he's not one of the best players in the NBA. First off, you do realize we're talking about a center? A center? Center? You understand he's a center? You understand the responsibilities of a center? You understand what a center does? You understand his job on the court? Is his job to dribble down the court and have great basketball skills? No. Is his job to play down low and jump higher and be stronger than everyone else grabbing every rebound that's put up? Yes. Can Dwight Howard shoot? No. Do centers shoot? Rarely. Can Dwight Howard dribble well? No. Do centers handle the ball? Rarely. Do centers normally have 14 rebounds per game? No. Does Dwight Howard normally have 14 rebounds per game? More. Do centers normally completely stop anyone that comes down low? Not so much. Does Dwight Howard completely stop anyone that comes down low? Pretty much. Do centers normally run faster than forwards? No. Does Dwight Howard run faster than forwards? Most of them. Do centers normally take the toll Dwight Howard does down low every game? No. Does Dwight Howard take a toll like Dwight Howard does? Yes. Do centers usually have a decent guard to dish the ball out when needed? Most. Did Dwight Howard have that before the Vince Carter accusation? Not half the season.
I wrote that in that tone and format to make a point.
I cannot believe someone just said he's not the best at his position.
You will agree that Shaq was the best at his position in his prime? Does Shaq have anymore "basketball skills" than Dwight Howard, whatever that may mean.
Dwight Howard obviously gets the job done with "no basketball skills".
Where do you guys think Iverson will end up? I forgot about him this past year and last I heard was that he was interested in the Grizzlies!!? Ewww
He's thinking about retiring. All I know is he didn't do good with denver or detroit.
Really? I think he has at least a little left in him. It was kind of disappointing to see that he and Carmelo couldn't take Denver farther when they made that deal, but last season was pretty bad with the injury and such. I just read that he is interested in the Heat now though...
I love responses
Skill-wise, he's atrocious. Basketball skill wise, he's atrocious. He's like a more athletic Eric Dampier. The "more athletic" part is key, though.
I play basketball two hours every day, have watched basketball my entire life, and am alright myself, even if I am on the shorter side. I know basketball, and I know what centers do.
And yes, his job IS to have great basketball skills! Shaq? Incredibly good, he's not just big. Anyone who watches him and knows the game of basketball knows that his footwork is phenomenal. Some of the best footwork of all time, especially for a big man. He's slower now, yes, but you'd have to be a nut to think Shaq is just big and doesn't have any skill. That's why Shaq is/was so special. He was the most physically imposing player of all time, and he was incredibly skilled.
I'm not going to respond to the rest of your post, it only enforces my point more. He's a physical beast, no one denied that. But that's all he is, and unless he actually learns how to shoot (even a layup!), that's all he'll ever be. Pau Gasol is better, and you're in denial if you don't think so after watching the Finals.
Congrats.
Yes, far more. It's why, when the Lakers needed a basket in crunch time, they ALWAYS went to Shaq. Not Kobe, Shaq. They fed Shaq the ball. Over, and over, and over again. And you know what? He made them. Hook shots, jumpers in the lane, everything. He carried the Lakers. Watch the tapes. He has skill. Dwight has one move: Fake spin, dribble one dribble to the right, clunk a 5-foot hook shot.
I love responses
Skill-wise, he's atrocious. Basketball skill wise, he's atrocious. He's like a more athletic Eric Dampier. The "more athletic" part is key, though.
and yet he made it to the NBA? Even if he's tall he must be decent to be among the worlds greatest players? After all coming out of high school? He's not atrocious. He's a big man, he does his job and no one complains.
I said exactly what you said, except in about three thousand words.
You can't argue he's not one of the best basketball players in the NBA.
In your previous post, you said Howard was one of the best players in the league, and yet you continued to post and tell us that centres aren't supposed to have ball handling skills, shooting skills, etc. You certainly have high expectations.
Perhaps what you said was true regarding bad centres, or merely average centres, but how can you say he's "great", but not expect him to be able to shoot a hook-shot, a lay-up, dribble the ball even once, or make his own shot with his back towards the rim? He can't do any of these things!! As he proved throughout the playoffs, the ball will just get stripped out of his hands. Ewing has worked on his offence for years, and yet......nothing.
Howard's gift is his athleticism. He can grab rebounds and jump high to block shots because he's athletic. THAT was badandy's point, and you didn't really prove otherwise by saying that he's good at these things.
You said centres rarely shoot? No, Howard rarely shoots, and that's because he can't shoot. I'm sorry, but your expectations of the best centre in the league (your words, certainly not mine) is surprisingly low. Shaq can shoot. Hakeem was an awesome shooter. Same with David Robinson and Patrick Ewing. Yao can also shoot. Lots of great centres from the recent past, and before that, could shoot.
Remember during this year's All-Star game, when Shaq and Howard were at the 3-point line, and Shaq drove the ball past Howard? How did Shaq do it? Yes, a killer cross-over that went between Howard's legs!!! Shaq went right by Howard and took it to the hole.
Even so, it's not a fair comparison. You asked about Shaq in his prime, and when he did that to poor Dwight, Shaq was well past his prime.
You certainly have high expectations. Perhaps what you said was true regarding bad centres, or merely average centres, but how can you say he's "great", but not expect him to be able to shoot a hook-shot, a lay-up, dribble the ball even once, or make his own shot with his back towards the rim? He can't do any of these things!! As he proved throughout the playoffs, the ball will just get stripped out of his hands. Ewing has worked on his offence for years, and yet......nothing.
Howard's gift is his athleticism. He can grab rebounds and jump high to block shots because he's athletic. THAT was badandy's point, and you didn't really prove otherwise by saying that he's good at these things.
You said centres rarely shoot? No, Howard rarely shoots, and that's because he can't shoot. I'm sorry, but your expectations of the best centre in the league (your words, certainly not mine) is surprisingly low. Shaq can shoot. Hakeem was an awesome shooter. Same with David Robinson and Patrick Ewing. Yao can also shoot. Lots of great centres from the recent past, and before that, could shoot.
Remember during this year's All-Star game, when Shaq and Howard were at the 3-point line, and Shaq drove the ball past Howard? How did Shaq do it? Yes, a killer cross-over that went between Howard's legs!!! Shaq went right by Howard and took it to the hole.
Even so, it's not a fair comparison. You asked about Shaq in his prime, and when he did that to poor Dwight, Shaq was well past his prime.
My Nuggs!
PG: Chauncy Billups.......arguable the best point in the game. A proven winner
SG: JR Smith/Dahntay Jones.....super athletic guys
SF: 'Melo......a great player
PF: Kenyon Martin/Kleiza/ Chris birdman Andersen!....cant go wrong
C: Nene.....a beast
PG: Chauncy Billups.......arguable the best point in the game. A proven winner
SG: JR Smith/Dahntay Jones.....super athletic guys
SF: 'Melo......a great player
PF: Kenyon Martin/Kleiza/ Chris birdman Andersen!....cant go wrong
C: Nene.....a beast
I really think it's wide open. It's hard to say that a healthy Boston or San Antonio wouldn't make a difference, especially give the additions to those respective clubs.
People need to read my post again. I said his "game" is atrocious. He has absolutely no skill. What he does have is unparalelled athleticism for his size that should make him the best player of all time if he actually learned how to play basketball. But, sadly, he'll never put it together like Shaq did. He just doesn't have the skill.
I really like the Nuggetts.
But...
That's an absolute joke. "Mr. Big Shot" hasn't hit a big shot in years. He's like those QB's in the NFL that manage the game very effectively but aren't really stars. Look at his games in these playoffs. He flat out DISAPPEARS every other one. After hitting so many clutch shots in Detroit he's made a habit of under-performing in almost every big game and missing huge shots. Don't believe me, believe the stats. 82games.com Look at clutch stats.
Forgetting Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd (yes, he's still really good), Devin Harris, and Jameer Nelson?
Dahntay is dirty. JR Smith is one of my favorite players in the league.
This is all you have to say about Melo? He's so head and shoulders among everyone else on your team it's not even funny.
You can go wrong with Kenyon Martin. He's a good player, but not nearly the player you're paying him to be.
Its going to be extremely competitive, but it doesn't make sense to me not to have the Lakers as the favorite just due to team chemistry and adding Artest for Ariza. I think Ariza would've paid off more in the future but they're playing for now and Artest is for the now.
Bynum just needs to put some serious work in the gym this summer and work on his foot work.
I think that's why someone wouldn't put the Lakers as the favorite. How's the team chemistry going to be with Kobe Bryant and a confirmed psychopath? They both like to take more than 15 shots per game, and how long can Artest stand to be outshined? I don't know.
I don't think Ariza is ever going to be a star, but I see him as being an incredible role player. I don't know why the Lakers traded for him, but as I see it they should have set themselves up for the future. Kobe is on his last legs (he'll be ineffective after two years) and then who do they have? Bynum. They think he'll be the franchise guy but he needs another person. Sure, they'll pick someone up, but Ariza could have been a great, young addition.
that's not the definition of cross-over.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_dribble
what happened was a give-and-go. Shaq passed the ball to CP3 ,
in-between the defender's legs (Howard), then went ahead to the basket,
with CP3 passing him the ball, and Shaq, the dunk.
Who knows how he'll fit in, he's probably going to leave if they don't win a title though
Put Darko Milicic in Dwight Howard's body with Howard's same athleticism and you have one of the best players ever. I'm not joking.