Just John

Good news. I think he can be a great fit for the team, and he won't have personal issues with coaching now that JVG's gone.

1. Grindhouse 2. Mr. Brooks (can't believe I'm the first one to list this) 3. 300 4. Fracture 5. Smokin' Aces Still need to see Black Snake Moan.

Where would you put Kwame Brown?

Yikes, do people flip out that much over characters dying on CSI or 24 (or whatever the popular mainstream shows are on tv now) and cite how distatesful and insulting to real people those shows are? Or is this just a wrestling fan thing?

Ah, that good old trade machine. I always love fucking with the Knicks whenever I see it. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/trad...=24~24~18~18~18

This is a good summer for Tony Parker. I'm happy for him. Also congrats to Horry on #7. Basically, the Spurs were just way better than the Cavs (and everyone else this year). The Spurs must be a horribly frustrating team to play against because they adapt to whatever your style is, then play it better than you. The Cavs getting the dagger in the form of offensive rebounds in the last 3 minutes must have been extremely disheartening. But, hey, Shaq got swept in his first Finals too, so don't worry about Lebron. As far as Roy's question goes, I simply think the Cavs this year are one of the worst teams to make the Finals. 5 or 6 different west teams would've beaten them in a series, and they happened to get the best one.

Definitely a good deal for the Rockets. James always brought a spark off the bench, which is something the Rockets really need. It does leave Houston a little shallow at the forward positions, but I'm hoping this means they're looking to make a move for Rashard Lewis. And let's face it, Juwan's gettting up there in years and is a pretty expendable piece at this point.

I don't think Parker in the HOF is a stretch. He's a terrific scorer, and he runs the Spurs offense very effectively. The difference in the fluidity of the Spurs offense when being run by Parker as opposed to Vaughn is pretty big. Don't underrate his defense either. The only thing that will be held against him is playing with Duncan for most of his career, so he'll have to put up some strong career numbers to shake that criticism.

Portland would be retarded if they did that. The Bulls would have to package one of their decent guys to get Jack and a proven 20/10 player like Randolph. I think whoever gets Corey Brewer will be credited with having the steal of the draft. He's a quality talent, and I think he's going to be the most successful player from the Gators championship teams in the NBA. Seems like most of the high pick teams need big guys, though. With Oden, Durant, Yi, Horford, and Noah around, it looks like Brewer could fall to 8 or so. I'll be keeping an eye on him.

That was cool. I was stunned at how he shaded the jersey. Anyway, I think it's safe to say the playoffs have gotten less exciting with each passing round. Man, back in April we had Warrior-mania running wild, the Suns were putting on an exhibition, and the Bulls were going crazy on the Heat. The second round at the wild Phoenix/SA series with a dissapointing finish and GS getting eliminated (but having fun games in the process), the East was really bad though. In the CF, you really only Lebron's 48-game to write home about because everything else was terrible. And there doesn't seem to be one redeeming quality about these finals. Random thought: Looking back on the way things played out, does anyone think the Wizards could have won the East if they were healthy?

The Spurs haven't beaten many great teams from the East (though that 05 Pistons team was basically the same one that won a title in 04), but they've had to go through the stacked west every year. If anything, any East team that's won this decade has credibility issues since their conference sucked, and the team they beat already had to fight hard against 2-3 other quality teams. Seriously, how can anyone say the Spurs can't be considered all-time quality champs when everyone talks about how great the West is every year? Let's face it, this is a salary cap era, and there will never be a team like the 86 Celtics in this day and age. Just give the Spurs their damn props already.

I have to agree that Mike Brown is being out-classed in every way as a coach. Most people caught on to him making some odd moves in the Detroit series too, but the Spurs don't appear to be interested in helping the Cavs win. Lebron should have stayed in after he picked up his second (or at least come back win when they got down by 8 or 10). He sat almost the entire first, and he came back down 15 or so and settled for jumpers that were way off. I have no idea why Hughes, Marshall, or Jones are getting playing time. I guess I could see Brown wanting to reward Hughes for toughing out an injury, but Parker's making him look like an idiot out there. Also, why did they go away from the Lebron/Parker defensive matchup? That was effective in Game 1, but they started with Hughes on him again, and again, the Spurs abused him and jumped out to big lead. It's a sad reflection on the Eastern Conference that this Cavs team is representing them in the Finals.

It's funny how Stan Van Gundy always seems to be involved in these fishy coaching changes in Florida.

Oh come on, the Cavs benefitted from the same type of BS call against Detroit in Game 5. It's hardly just a Manu thing.

Along with D-Wade, Stan turned a very bad Heat team into a second-round playoff team. Definitely a good pick-up for the Magic, though I have no idea what the hell Donovan's thinking.

Dallas has serious problems with run-and-gun teams. Their defense is not as good as people like to say, especially in transition. Phoenix would've definitely beat them in 06 with Amare and Raja. Look how they scored at will down the stretch on them this year, getting in the 120's in their last two meetings. Golden State is like a less disciplined Phoenix team, but still had no problem scoring on the Mavs. If you take Dallas out of the half-court game, they fall apart rather quickly.

I'm surprised the 01 Lakers didn't make the top 10. If someone has insider, I'd love to see the whole list. I'm curious who the weakest team is.

Does anyone think the Pistons should look into hiring Jeff Van Gundy if/when they give Flipper the axe? JVG wasn't really the right coach for the Rockets personnel, but if the Detroit team stays relatively in tact, he'd be a good fit there. Another interesting thing I don't know how I missed until just recently is that Chauncey is going to be a FA this offseason. His stock might have dropped some after the Cleveland series, but he's still a competent PG and would be a good pickup for a team that already has a go-to guy. I'd like to see Houston pick him up, but there is like zero chance of that happening. What are some realistic possibilities for him if he doesn't re-sign with the Pistons?

I noticed a very huge discrepancy in the attempted FT's column in Cleveland's favor. Perhaps there was no way the Cavs were going to lose this one, but man, that was a pretty asstacular performance by Detroit. For a veteran team that was "hungry for a title" they showed no heart and completely embarrassed themselves in this series. A lot of people will be quick to put the blame on Flip (who I wouldn't be surprised to see gone this offseason), and I think he deserves some for not being able to get his team focused. But on the other hand, if you need to focus a team with more than 900 games of total playoff experience, something's inherently wrong with that team. If I were a Pistons fan, I'd be incredibly pissed at this non-effort. Here's a question to ponder: Which team had the most heartless performance this postseason: Detroit (vs. Cleveland) or Dallas (vs. Golden State)?

I guess the Cavs proved everyone wrong by beating Detroit, but I think the Spurs are really going to put the boots to 'em, so to speak. Tim Duncan should be taking Gooden to school, Parker will have his way with Gibson, and while the Spurs bring difference makers like Manu and Horry off the bench, the Cavs will respond with... Varejao? Talk about having mismatches all over the floor. Lebron should still be effective even with Bowen on him, but his ability to finish at the basket will take a hit with the shot blockers the Spurs have. Most importantly, the Spurs won't fold like a cheap tent under the slightest signs of pressure like the Pistons. Cleveland's best hope will be to get some 8 on 5 action going, but since the Spurs always seem to get the benefit of the doubt (for reasons I can't understand), that doesn't seem so likely. I'll take San Antonio in 5.

I hope that doesn't take him off the TNT broadcasting crew. Not like they'd be hurting too much with either the Czar or Reggie to fill right in, but I enjoy Kerr on commentary.

Amidst all this Lebron greatness talk, I think we should remember this whole Detroit series isn't over yet. Last time these teams met in the playoffs, they were in basically the same situation after Game 5. Now, I will concede last year's Game 5 was not the emphatic statement game like this year's, but let's not count out the possibility of a Detroit win just yet.

Wait, what? At least 11 of those 13 teams are currently set on coaches. Not sure about Seattle and Detroit may be looking this offseason, but I don't see either taking a stab at Donovan. NBA coaching isn't like McDonalds or Best Buy where you go turn in an application and maybe they'll call you back for a job. He doesn't exactly get to pick which teams have openings. And if he doesn't improve the Magic, or "fails miserably and gets fired," he gets to collect 36 million dollars on his way out the door and a D1 college team will pick him up in heartbeat. Remember Steve Spurrier's stint in the NFL? Basically, the worst thing that can happen to him is he ends up in the exact situation he is now in 2 years, only 36 million dollars richer. I don't see where the bad decision is.

Figures the one fucking night I go out in the last week I miss what could be the best game this year. ESPN Classic better put that shit on soon.