Well, NBA training camps are under way. Are there any story lines that interest you ? * Can the Celtics repeat ? * Who will have more impact as a rookie, Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose ? * Is Kobe still the best player in the league ? Feel free to drop some science. I'll be adding info. as I see it or think of it. ENJOY THE SEASON !!!!!!!
Can the Celtics repeat? Absolutely! I think they have as good a chance as anybody, if they stay relatively healthy. Michael Beasley will have more impact as a rookie, but after a year or two, look for Derrick Rose to start taking over games ala Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Is Kobe still the best player in the league? In my opinion, NO. LeBron James has leap frogged Kobe as the best player in the league if you ask me. And i'm not even that big of a LeBron fan. His skills are just obvious though, and he makes his teammates so much better than Kobe makes his. Kobe is a great scorer (not a great shooter like people want you to believe) and his performance in the finals proved that he can't elevate the level of his teammates when he needs to. That to me, is what defines the greatest players, and i see more of that in LeBron than i do in Kobe. I love the NFL, but i also love the NBA, and i can't wait for the season to start. It should be a good one. Go Celts!!!
I gotta get back into basketball. I've been slacking on keeping up for the past few years, as far as rosters. I don't want to state my opinion on Kobe, because I don't feel like getting into an argument. Kobe is ALWAYS a touchy subject. I love Kobe though, that's all I'll say. Kobe did choke in the finals. He wasn't consistent in one fucking game. He wold have a great streak and then play horribly in the second half, or the other way around. Let's see if LA can step it up this year. I'm calling that Kobe gets one more ring before retirement.
The same Lebron that got swept in the Finals by the Spurs team that Kobe beat a year later? Lebron(ze) needed Kobe to win a gold medal after he and the rest of the U.S. national team laid an egg in the 2004 Athens games. No other player brings the skill set that Kobe Bryant does to the game of basketball. The Lakers will be the 2009 NBA champions, and I don't care about the other questions.
Hopefully, this will be the year that the Cavs win the NBA title. I think we have a good team in place to contend. Only time will tell
^^^Yo Dex, would have liked to acquire Jermaine O'neal when he was available this summer ? see below : Cavs Considered Dealing For J.O. Oct 08, 2008 9:26 AM EST The Cavaliers considered trading for forward Jermaine O'Neal this summer when Pacers president Larry Bird made it known that a majority of his roster was available. "He was talked about as were other guys on their team that were talked about for trade possibilities," coach Mike Brown said. "We couldn't get anything worked out." Brown coached O'Neal for two seasons when he was an assistant with the Pacers from 2003 to 2005 and knows him well. However, the two sides never could reach an agreement on a deal. Indiana wanted a starter-quality center in return for O'Neal.
Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league still.....B What was exposed last year was The Laker show is a wee bit soft. They need a banger...
The Spurs that the Lakers spanked this year, was NOT the same Spurs team that beat Cleveland in the finals. Ginobili was playing on one leg, and when he's not 100 percent, the Spurs aren't the same. Kobe also has a way better supporting cast than LeBron. Oh, and one last thing. Has a LeBron-led team ever blown the largest 4 quarter lead in NBA finals history like Kobe and his Lakers? Or has a LeBron-led team ever gotten beat by almost 50 points in game 6 of the finals? I don't think so bud. I watched all of the olympic games, and Kobe was by far, the worst starter of the bunch. Well, maybe that's stretching it. Jason Kidd and Carmelo Anthony probably were. Anyway, Kobe got hot and made a couple clutch baskets in the gold medal game against Spain, and that's about it. Throughout the whole tournament he was chucking, and shooting about 25 percent from 3-point land. LeBron and D-Wade carried that team to the Gold. I don't see why you're so optimistic about the Lakers winning the championship, after the 50 point spanking the Celts just handed those boys only a few months ago.
I don't see it Malik. Is Kobe the best scorer in the league? Maybe. Is he the best player in the league? I don't think so. Like i said, i don't even like LeBron all that much, but seriously ask yourself this question. What can Kobe Bryant do on the basketball court, that LeBron James can't do? Absolutely nothing. Kobe is still a great player, don't get me wrong, but all the myths about Kobe is what makes me dislike him. Myth #1: Kobe is a great shooter. Fact: Kobe has never shot over 50 percent from the field in his entire career. Kobe is not a great shooter. Kobe is a great "streak shooter." Big difference. When he gets hot, he'll knock down 10 3's in a row. But as you saw in the finals, and in the olympics, when he gets cold, he'll miss pretty much everything. That's the pure definition of a streak shooter. Myth #2: Kobe is a great defender. Fact: Who has Kobe ever shut down defensively? In the finals, he got abused by not only Paul Pierce, but Ray Allen as well. Hence, why they started to put him on Rajon Rondo instead.
That's because you don't know shit about basketball. You "never underestimate the heart of a champion" (Rudy Tomjanovich) and Kobe has already been to the promiseland three times. The gold is coming home to Los Angeles this year, where it belongs. And those clutch baskets meant the difference between gold and the silver Lebron would've had to take home had Kobe not been on the team.
C'mon B you are allowing rape allegations and Ko-beast's demeanor to get in the way of your judgment. His peers say he the best in the league hands down...
haha....give me a break. i can see you have an undeniable love for Kobe and the Lakers, and Kobe was an integral part of the 3 championships, but let's be real.... that was Shaq's team. if you replace Kobe with a prime Tracy McGrady, that team still wins 3 titles guaranteed. that's how dominant Shaq was in his prime. if Kobe can't win a championship with this completely "stacked" team of his, then can we finally stop with all the excuses? i swear, Laker fans are the worst. they are the reason why i can never appreciate Kobe for the player he is, because they're always overrating and overhyping him. it's unbearable.
noooo, not at all Malik. i hate Kobe's smug attitude, but that's not the reason why i dislike him. the reason why i dislike Kobe is because of his fans. they overrate him like nobody i've ever seen before. Kobe is a great, GREAT player, but instead of letting us appreciate him for the fabulous player that he is, they have to come in and start saying how much better he is than MJ, and how the Lakers are the worlds best team, even though they just got spanked by the Celtics in game 6 by 50 points. Laker fans, not even Kobe himself, is the reason why i can't appreciate the guy.
I think this would be a good outcome for the future of the NBA and especially the CAVs. Otherwise I can see LeBron jumping to another team.
LeBron will not remain a Cav. Don't be surprised if he excepts a 1 year deal in Europe for 50 Million. Don't laugh or think that he won't do it, the players in the European league play 2-3 games a week max instead of the 4-5 games in the USA. So that saves his body and broaden his appeal even more and he'll be still young if he comes back. He could blow up the spot so much that the following year they give him 75M to 90M to stay... How many primo players from the league would bounce right behind Bron to get that cheddar.....
GM poll: Lakers will beat Celtics in NBA finals Oct 22, 11:21 am EDT NEW YORK (AP)—The Los Angeles Lakers will avenge their NBA finals loss to the Boston Celtics, according to a survey of the league’s general managers. The executives who responded to the NBA.com GM survey also picked Cleveland’s LeBron James for the third straight year as the likely MVP. The results of the seventh annual poll were released Wednesday. The Lakers received 46 percent of the vote, well ahead of the Celtics (19 percent). Boston beat Los Angeles in six games in June for its 17th championship. New Orleans Hornets got 12 percent of the vote and San Antonio 8 percent. It was the first time in five years the GMs didn’t tab the Spurs as their preseason pick to win the title. James, who has never won the MVP award, collected 56 percent of the voting in that category. Kobe Bryant, a first-time MVP last season, drew 37 percent and Chris Paul the other 7 percent. Also, Miami’s Michael Beasley beat out Greg Oden in the Rookie of the Year voting. Beasley, the No. 2 pick, got 48 percent of the vote, while Oden, getting ready for his NBA debut after sitting out the 2007-08 season following knee surgery, was the pick of 30 percent. Fifty-two percent of the GMs chose Philadelphia as the team that made the best offseason moves, and 67 percent said Elton Brand’s move to the 76ers will be the player acquisition with the biggest impact.
