naiwf

The Spurs and Suns are two of the five or six best teams in the league and both play the clutch and flop. The Pistons way of playing ball won't work anymore and Dallas and Miami are where they are because they excel on both ends of the floor. If the Suns win the title this year, trust me when I tell you a lot of undersized teams will model themselves after the Suns. Pro sports are all about copying what worked. There's a reason the NBA nearly died from 75 points being enough to win any game. Why bother wasting energy playing defense when you can just run up and down on offense and fall down whenever someone moves towards the basket on defense? That brand of basketball will kill the need for any kind of big men who can't run up and down the court, and there's no reason to have guys like Shaq or Yao on your payroll if they can't guard a 6'8 "center" who can shoot well on one end of the court and fall over whenever they get posted up.

OK under that criteria, the Charles Smith Memorial Game killed any chance the Knicks ever had of beating the Jordan Bulls, and I think they would have easily won the NBA title that year. That or John Starks being allowed to go 2 for 18, 0 for 11 from 3 game against the Rockets. Riley's reluctance to pull him ended the championship run because '99 was just an aberration.

I didn't say that's why they are this far. I said I don't know how people can root for a team that routinely cheats on defense to win. I don't think the league would benefit from the clutch and flop defensive team winning a title, just like the Knicks and Heat perfecting Basketbrawl under Riley killed interest in the league for years. You can't have a team flop on every defensive possession that goes to the post be rewarded for what is a violation of a rule.

The reason teams don't get fast break points on Phoenix is because they don't want to run with them. Don't be stupid. It has nothing to do with transition defense. You don't run against a team that thrives on running. Every single time someone falls for that stupid shit they get lit up for 120+ points because the Suns don't play defense anyway, the two LA teams proved as much. The Suns just keep shooting 3's, and when they fall it's hard to beat them. It's the same way the Kentucky Wildcats used to play under Pitino, and if the NCAA was set up with best of X series instead of 1 and done tourney play, no one would ever have beaten those Kentucky squads because all they needed was to get hot for 10 minutes and it was lights out. The Suns are great in blowouts because when they're up 10 you have to speed up the tempo to try and make up the difference, which *gasp* plays right into their hands. Imagine that, a team that runs and guns 3s can extend a lead by having the game turn into all out running and gunning. Shit, next thing you know I'll learn that the Earth is indeed round by watching the Suns play.

That wasn't the question though. Since the moment the Dolans got control we have been blessed with Scott Layden, Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Allan Houston's crippled knees getting a max contract, and being $100 million over the cap while our win total has dropped to 23 last year. I don't know how much more doomed a franchise could get than going from a perennial playoff team that always sold out home games to the second worst record in the league despite there being a 2 year old expansion team around. The worst part is that the next 5 years CAN'T be any better because of the albatross contracts about 7 of our 12 players have and the Dolans not acknowledging that Isiah has murdered our future because he wasn't smart enough to protect lottery picks.

The New York Knicks are purchased by Cablevision and the Dolans.

When did I say those plays cost Dallas the game yesterday? Your team is a bunch of floppy, whiny bitches. That's not debatable. Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili are the only player in the league that do as much diving as your starting 5 save Marion. Bell and Nash both dove to the ground like someone threw a grenade on that Griffin play, and that was called a charge when the replay showed no one got touched by him. Bell tried to pull Dirk on top of him on another play and that was called a charge when Dirk had his arms above his head and his feet were stationary. That was just the plays that stood out last night. Nash cries EVERY TIME he drives the lane and motions that someone shoved him with two hands, when just about every replay shows him pushing off with his left elbow to create space to get his shots off. He's tried to kick guys in two separate games this postseason. He almost tackled Dirk at the end of Game 1 with another jersey pull when that last inbounds pass went sailing out of bounds. I'm not talking about holding a jersey which happens regularly, I'm talking about pulling down on someone's jersey with all of your leverage with the intent of taking the guy down. There's a difference. The Suns don't play defense, and if they win a title it'll only show other teams that soccer moves actually work if you're small enough to get away with it. Shaq won't be able to take a deep breath without the Suns starting 5, D'Antoni, Eddie House, Kurt Thomas, Amare, the assistant coaches, water boy and trainer hitting the floor every time he makes an offensive move, and that's NOT how you play basketball, especially in the postseason. It's a flat out joke and anyone who doesn't have a vested interest in them winning can see that.

I just really like the other 8 teams ganging up on those douchebags from Austin and Johanna (?) not having the common sense to "lie" to her boyfriend and vote Tonya's team in, especially when it would have saved one of her friends. It's nice to see that MTV will never run out of stupid chicks.

When the commentators started calling Raja Bell the "King of the Flops" last night and laughed that he got away with it at least three times what does that say? Nash continues to try and leg whip dudes, but because he doesn't make contact he gets away with it. On one possession last night someone on the Suns tackled Dirk by yanking down on his jersey, leading to a 3 on 2 for Dallas, and then the other TWO Suns on defense (Nash & Bell) both flopped, and got a charging call on Griffin when the replay showed he didn't even make contact with either guy. It's ridiculous with the Suns. No one else spends that much time diving to the ground to "play defense". It's one thing to say you like them or think they're a fun team to watch. It's something else to say that everyone else does it, which is entirely not true. Just watch Nash, Marion, Bell, Barbosa or Diaw guard someone in the post for one quarter and watch how many times they pull on jerseys, have two hands in the back, and/or dive to the floor in hopes of drawing a charge. I guarantee you it'll be at least 6 to 8 per quarter, and the refs will only call them once or twice because they're so small and the refs just love to think that because a guy went flailing to the ground he must have been fouled. It's a complete joke especially when they play in Phoenix.

I don't know how people could want to see the Suns win an NBA championship. I just can't support a team who thinks that pulling jerseys and flopping every time someone makes contact is a good way to play defense. Bell dives at LEAST 6 times per game, Nash has tried to trip people and strip Dirk's jersey from him a few times and they get away with it because they're so undersized that the refs buy that shit. It would be a complete and utter joke if they won the title playing 'D' like a soccer team.

I don't lift weights because I find it to be the most boring thing I could possibly be doing with my time. Why sit there and move weight plates around when I can play a sport, go run, or do something that is actually fun just so I can have more muscle mass? It's not that serious for me. Perhaps I worded it too strongly, but I'm talking about the kind of guys who spend 3 or 4 hours a day in the gym, and nearly as much time flexing in front of a mirror. I don't spend that much time doing anything that I'm not getting paid for/getting enjoyment out of. I didn't necessarily mean guys who lift for 30 minutes here and there, I'm talking about guys who define themselves by their body fat percentage, or how many reps they can do at a certain exercise. If you took what I said to be an attack on you as individuals I didn't mean it that way, unless of course you are WP who IS a loser.

Hey things could be worse, you could still have Art Howe as your manager.

Riiiiiiiight, that's why most gay guys are very health conscious and try to have no body fat. It's because they're trying to look more feminine. My bad. Not only do you not understand women, you can't even fathom that gay men are not all dainty types. I'd wager that most guys that go to the gym religiously are not straight, and you'd know that if you had any connection to the real world. I'm not jealous of you because you're a fucking loser. I can always lift weights, which I chose not to do because I have an actual life, while you however will always be a loser. In situations like that the person who can do nothing to change their situation is the one who is inferior. More importantly, you didn't even know anything about the phrase love shy until an hour or so ago. This thread on the other hand has been going on for what seems like an eternity. You're the guy that was getting off on the concept of someone else going out on a date and planning your schedule accordingly to read about his exploits. Again, you're a fucking loser. And you're probably going to be very surprised when you finally admit that you might just be gay because straight men don't count how many times random chicks smile at them. That is all.

If it helps, I think you're a closet homosexual which is why you're so concerned with your physique and can't talk to women about simple things. It's also why you've never actively tried to do anything physical/sexual with one.

I'm thinking losing both Wallaces would be problematic, but if Ben chooses to go, you might as well send Rasheed away too. I just think they'd have to completely rethink their defense first philosophy as is and 'Sheed and Flip just don't mix. I don't think they need a superstar, just a solid low post/rebound type guy. I just can't really think of anyone who would be available, but the one guy that comes to mind that approximates what Big Ben offers is Samuel Dalembert. Kurt Thomas would be the only guy I can think of off the top of my head that would be a replacement for 'Sheed, and he seems like the kind of guy who Phoenix might want. Detroit can't lose Billups because he's their shotmaker and an average PG would just mean Rip would get doubled on nearly every possession. The Pistons NEED to keep the backcourt intact and swap out one of their bigs for a guy who has some consistent offensive ability. Like I said before, their biggest problem is you can't have 5 max guys on one team and the two Wallaces are their most tradable commodities unless they want to move Prince. It'll be interesting to see what they do because I could see this team completely imploding if they lose tomorrow night and Flip stays on for next season.

This dude is either the worst gimmick ever or someone who desperately needs a bullet in his cerebellum just to let him rest peacefully. A grown man who gets confidence from chatting with a stripper ONLINE and thinks he's doing something worthy of boasting has got to be the single most pathetic thing I've heard in years.

With all due respect, I'd rate the Bulls higher than Showtime Lakers. In the 8 years Riley was with the Lakers, they went 533-194 with 4 NBA titles. In Jackson's final 8 years with the Bulls they went 490-166 with 6 titles. The Lakers had to face much stiffer competition though. I'd give the nod to the Lakers but only by a 51 to 49 margin or so.

It's nice to see that Bell is still an elite flopper despite the bad calf muscle.

Milledge gets his 1st ML hit, a double. Sadly the Mets are down 7-1 Bot 7 right now. They had chances to blow it open early, but Arizona beat them to it.

We have a winner. Maybe it's just the New Yorker in me, but I really didn't believe there were people over the age of 16 out there that could possibly be this lame. Sadly, this thread has proven me wrong.

Another Mets game is already marred by a terrible call at second base. That's at least 4 in the last week or so with Beltran, Utley twice and now Counsell tonight all going the wrong way. That gaffe has now cost the Mets 2 runs. Go fat guy who can't see a runner out by 5 feet at second!

The grammar cop was getting on you for saying a "pretty better than average player". Better than average is sufficient to describe his skill level, adding the pretty before it is just redundant. Before I forget, Clemens can eat a dick.

I think the main problems the Pistons have is that they are too guard oriented on offense. Ben can't hit a shot outside of the charge semicircle these days, 'Sheed takes games off and Tayshaun just isn't strong enough to dominate on the low blocks so if his shot is off that's a lot of spots on the court not generating points. Ironically enough losing Darko looks like a mistake now because if Ben walks they don't have any kind of big man who can play the pivot. I think they might have to consider dealing one of their forwards if that's the case because the Pistons will not be able to play small ball if Ben isn't back there to clean up the messes. If there's anything we've learned in this series it's that if Ben is forced to stay honest on Shaq, the rest of the Pistons do not play great help defense and guys like Rip and Billups get blown by an awful lot straight up as well. They're gonna have to lose one of the "Big 5", they just need to figure out which one they can live without because they won't have the money to max all of them and not every guy is irreplacable.

3 months? is he not starting until July? I'm paraphrasing but the report was that the Astros hope to sign him by June 10th or 15th and that they'll put him on the MLB roster on July 1st. Also, Lastings Milledge will be starting in RF tonight and batting 8th. I'm not too excited about the fact he probably won't get any pitches to hit, but I'm glad I'll get to see him play tonight since I won't be able to catch the game tomorrow.

I demand at least one of my teams wins something every year. Otherwise the gods hate me. Didn't your Longhorns just win the National Title 5 months ago?