Hey guys, I was out of town on vacation for the past ten days... surely the Lamar Odom thing has been resolved by now, right? Hello?
Hey guys, I was out of town on vacation for the past ten days... surely the Lamar Odom thing has been resolved by now, right? Hello?
They cut him and used the MLE to sign Pops Mensa-Bonsu.
"Even gutter hags trump pretty boys." - BabyCakes
Are you referring to Lamar Who, as he is apparently known at Las Vegas sports books:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,2985902.story
"Getting [forward Ron] Artest is better than losing Lamar," said Jay Rood, director of the MGM/Mirage Race and Sports Book. The Lakers signed free agent Artest this month. "The core of that team still is what it is, and as long as you keep Kobe [Bryant] and [Coach] Phil [Jackson], nothing changes."
At MGM/Mirage, the Lakers are an 8-5 favorite to win the NBA title, followed by the Boston Celtics, and recent addition Rasheed Wallace, at 3-1, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Shaquille O'Neal joining LeBron James, at nearly 4-1. The Orlando Magic are 13-2 and the San Antonio Spurs are 7-1.
"We didn't change anything when they got Artest, and if they lose Odom it'll just be a wash," said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the Las Vegas Hilton's Race and Sports book, which has the Lakers as the 2-1 favorite over the 3-1 Cavaliers and 5-1 Celtics.
"Odom's a component, but he's not a star. As that team has already shown, if they lose someone, they'll find someone else."
I don't share their confidence, but then again I am not a mobster.
DaggerofChrist unmasked
Here's my very quick take on the contenders:
LAKERS: I don't think Artest is as good as people seem to think he is. On the other hand, I do not have nearly the confidence that so many Laker haters seem to have that Trevor Ariza is so great. I would like to see a little more evidence before deciding that Ariza is one of the best small forwards in the league. He played significantly better in the playoffs than he has at any point in his career. I would just like to see a bigger sample before deciding. Either way, I don't think the Lakers either lost or gained a lot from this move. Artest has the potential to be disruptive, and Ariza has the potential to be really great. I, personally, don't think either will happen.
We'll wait on Odom ... I said before that I would like to see the Lakers streamline the offense to feature more Gasol, but without Odom, they are pretty thin on the bench.
If the Lakers lose Odom, they will still win the Pacific, and make it to the Western Finals at least.
ORLANDO: fucked themselves up, terribly. This cannot be overstated -- that offense worked because it was so strange, and all were equally capable to hit a shot. They were unguardable when they moved the ball well. Insert Carter for Turkoglu and they lose exactly what made them so good. I hate this move for Orlando.
BOSTON: basically stood pat. Sheed is done. This team will go as far as the big three can carry them at the end of the season. Could be a championship, but that depends on how healthy they are. All three of their big guys have tons of miles on them.
CLEVELAND: I think they got better, but not alot better. Shaq will not muck things up as has been suggested, but I don't think a new center -- really any new center -- answers their questions. I think Cleveland stands pat, more or less.
The good news for them is that they can beat Boston. With Orlando dropping a bit, Cleveland could definitely make it to the finals.
SAN ANTONIO: the only really big climber this off season. If LA loses Odom, I could easily see San Antonio as the favorite in the West. Health will be the key here.
And speaking of health ... jesus christ, can we get a Kobe Bryant injury already? Seriously, how many games has he played in the last two years. I see a bone poking through a sock ...
(jinx?)
This is shaping up as a very fun season. Three very good teams in each conference, with some potential climbers (Portland may make the leap), and some intriguing lower teams (OKC, Chicago, and Minnesota).
Maybe he'll coach the Timberwolves. It's not like that team already has one or anything.
You dodged a bullet. Brett Favre that thought he still had it couldn't get the Jets into the playoffs, how good do you think Brett Favre that's pretty sure he's washed up was going to be?Originally Posted by TimBuktu
Besides, Minnesota was just made for a guy like Michael Vick anyway. He'll be the toast of the town.
"Even gutter hags trump pretty boys." - BabyCakes
hide your fucking dogs, chad
Garrett Gonzalez Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980
For the British flautist, see Gareth Morris.
I think Shaq to Cleveland is horrible. He will be a year slower and clogging up the paint taking away a lot of LeBron's drives and opportunities to post up smaller, weaker SF's (ie, all of them.)
Plus, I honestly think he's a distraction at this point. I'm not sure he's going to be totally cool being the second biggest name on the team.
Bao -- would you not include Toronto in your list of interesting lower teams? The bench is deep with Rasho, Reggie Evans and Jarret Jack and a pretty strong starting 5 in Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon, Turkgolu and likely Delfino.
And what the fuck is Charlotte doing? Did Brown really hate Okafor that much?
What was the best concert you've been to?
-- Probably Sade. It was just so sexy and relaxing.
I think the Hornets are now back in the mix after getting Okafor for Chandler. Even though Stojakovic is pretty much done, that gives them a big improvement in the middle for sure.
"Even gutter hags trump pretty boys." - BabyCakes
Yea that's obviously Larry Brown having a personal problem with a player. He publicly questioned Okafor's fire for the game. But hey, we'll take him!
Definitely an upgrade, but the Hornets still need to get a shooting guard under 30 years old and a backup for CP3O at some point if we're going to compete. I think Collison is pretty talented so perhaps that might work to some degree, but that still won't be enough to stop San Antonio, Portland or Los Angeles.
So no one wants to talk about the LeBron dunk video? Or the fact that Ben Rothlisburger was accused of rape but ESPN sent out an internal memo saying they wouldn't be covering it? Or Starbury's youtube meltdown? THESE ARE THE STORIES OF THE SUMMER, PEOPLE!
I'm too self-righteous/disgusted/saddened by those stories (respectively) to talk about them rationally. But hey, the Spurs signed Theo Ratliff, how about that?
1) I've seen better dunks on LeBron
2) I don't care about football or rape, they both happen without my participation (mostly [that's right])
3) I'm hesitant to watch Marbury on UStream because I'm not sure I've ever felt like he was being sincere in any way. Every video of him being "crazy" is more like "who cares" to me, and at this point I feel like it's really put-on. Somebody told him to go on the internet and say stupid shit and he did. Ron Artest, now there's an entertainer whether he wants to be or not.
Maybe this comes from the fact that nothing is ever really at stake from Marbury. The Celtics were lucky to get past the first round this year. He's, what, 8th man off the bench? And he's crazy? Whatever. Kirk Snyder is legally insane, I dare you to care
"(inaudible) I've seen, basically, all of those at this point."
(laughter)
"Yes, but have you ever seen Threen Wolf?"
~ AST Wake Up podcast 07/25/09, the Technology episode
didn't know that about big ben. very interesting.
I'm part Swiss. To my knowledge, there is one part swiss player in the NFL, and one in the NBA. This does not ode well for Thabo Sefolosha.
Also, how can anyone not like the stories of Ron Artest showing up late for team buses and catching the last one in only his underwear, with the Owner on that Bus.
And now Colangelo somehow managed to trade Devean George to Golden State for Marco Bellinelli, a young guard that can pass and score and has lots of upside still.
Starting 5
PG | Calderon
SG | DeRozan
SF | Turkoglu
PF | Bosh
C | Bargnani
Bench
PG | Jarret Jack
SG | Belinelli
SF | Antoine Wright
PF | Reggie Evans
C | Rasho Nesterovic
Bellinelli, Wright and Derozan are question marks for who will start but either way that's a good deep bench with a nice combination of defence, rebounding and scoring punch.
What was the best concert you've been to?
-- Probably Sade. It was just so sexy and relaxing.
I think you're being optimistic about your bench strength. It looks to me like your average Golden State Warriors bench in that it is all guys who should play much better than they actually do.
So is Toronto now officially the New York Mets of basketball, but with Euros instead of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans?
"Even gutter hags trump pretty boys." - BabyCakes
All that roster makes me think is: "What NBA team has the most players I couldn't pick out of a lineup?" The answer might be Toronto, although I'm sure Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta would give them stiff competition. Hey, this would be a good idea for a website: just headshots of every player on a roster (without identifying the team), and you see how many you can name. Please tell me someone's done this already! I want to play!
Youz all are just haterz.
What was the best concert you've been to?
-- Probably Sade. It was just so sexy and relaxing.
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