alfdogg 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2005 Wed, ESPN - Houston @ Dallas, 9 PM ET Thu, TNT - New Jersey @ Houston, 8 PM ET - Cleveland @ LA Lakers, 10:30 PM ET Fri, ESPN2 - Dallas @ San Antonio, 8 PM ET Fri, ESPN - Minnesota @ Denver, 10:30 PM ET Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2005 Why in the bloody hell is Houston on so much for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2005 Because ESPN has a hard-on for T-Mac, despite his absolute lack of knowledge of team basketball. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 10, 2005 Why in the bloody hell is Houston on so much for? Probably because before the season people were announcing Yao/T-Mac as the new Kobe/Shaq. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Doug Christie is being traded to the Magic for Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley according to ESPN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Because ESPN has a hard-on for T-Mac, despite his absolute lack of knowledge of team basketball. That statement is quite amusing. Really, it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Why in the bloody hell is Houston on so much for? Probably because before the season people were announcing Yao/T-Mac as the new Kobe/Shaq. Too bad Yao is so amazingly soft that it's sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 11, 2005 I just found out the Lakers are playing the T-Wolves tonight, in about 15 minutes actually. This is great, my favorite teams get beat on by teams from Minnesota in consecutive nights! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuban Linx 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 The way the Timberwolves are looking lately the Lakers shouldn't have any problems with them, unless it's one of the seemingly random games Cassell, Spreewell and friends decide to pull their head out of their ass for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 I think Spree can be bothered to pull his head out of his ass for the Lakers. I hope. Also, it's worth mentioning that the Czar has really turned the Grizzlies around and put them in contention for the 8 spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Fratello has done a fine job with the Grizzlies. Good to see him coaching again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mindless_Aggression Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Horrible trade on Sacto's part IMO. There's not gonna be enough shots to go around for that team and now they're completely devoid of anyone willing to play defense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Thank you, Kobe! And to think Daunte Culpepper and Michael Bennett attended the game, too. So, does this make L.A. the #5 team in the West now? If so.. Movin' on up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mindless_Aggression Report post Posted January 11, 2005 LA is at the 6th seed, Sacramento still has a pretty big lead over them. Thats probably about the cutoff point for them. They're also something like 2 games ahead of the team at the 8th and 9th spots, so probably not quite time to celebrate yet, although I think the Lakers will be fine. The T-Wolves however are in deep shit officially and there doesn't seem to be any hope in sight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 I would be very happy with 1 Phoenix 2 San Antonio 3 Seattle 4 Dallas 5 Sacramento 6 Memphis 7 Minnesota 8 Houston As the final seeding. Also, is it just me or is nobody talking about the Mavericks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 And the Jazz win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 18 game streak is OVER~! AK-47 comes back on the 15th! WOOT WOOT! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Cleveland @ LA Lakers, 10:30 PM ET Sweet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Because ESPN has a hard-on for T-Mac, despite his absolute lack of knowledge of team basketball. That statement is quite amusing. Really, it is. More and more, I think fans who buy into the idea that just because a player is flashy, and thus lack fundamentals and "team basketball", need to be slapped repeatedly with a rolled up newspaper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Because ESPN has a hard-on for T-Mac, despite his absolute lack of knowledge of team basketball. That statement is quite amusing. Really, it is. More and more, I think fans who buy into the idea that just because a player is flashy, and thus lack fundamentals and "team basketball", need to be slapped repeatedly with a rolled up newspaper. That's quite a blanket statement, Al. I didn't say that flashy players weren't team-oriented; I said that this one in particular was. He's a me-first, stats-oriented guy, and has been since he came into the league. There's a reason why Toronto wasn't too broken up about not resigning him, and why Orlando was eager to get rid of him after signing him to that huge deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Because ESPN has a hard-on for T-Mac, despite his absolute lack of knowledge of team basketball. That statement is quite amusing. Really, it is. More and more, I think fans who buy into the idea that just because a player is flashy, and thus lack fundamentals and "team basketball", need to be slapped repeatedly with a rolled up newspaper. That's quite a blanket statement, Al. I didn't say that flashy players weren't team-oriented; I said that this one in particular was. He's a me-first, stats-oriented guy, and has been since he came into the league. There's a reason why Toronto wasn't too broken up about not resigning him, and why Orlando was eager to get rid of him after signing him to that huge deal. Oh THAT is BS. Toronto WANTED him, but couldn't get him, because their then coach felt that he was more productive coming off the bench. Orlando...he carried them to playoff appearances, and shot the ball so much because he HAD to (I dare you to name their second offensive threat in any of those years......the closest thing is Darrel Fucking Armstrong) This year, Van Gundy finally had to pull him to the side and tell him to just shoot the ball and stop passing. I mean, the guy told T-Mac its okay if you take bad shots...just get some shots up. In other words, the coach had to literally beg him to take shots. That isn't the makings of a selfish, non-team oriented player. Anyone who has watched tracy mcgrady play and can honestly think that he isn't a fundamentally sound team player, i have to question your knowledge of basketball. because a team of scrubs and one really good player should never have a winning season, let alone make the playoffs and Tracy took the Orlando Magic there for 3 straight years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 I'm worried about the Bulls facing Iverson tomorrow, I've got a bad feeling he "drops" 40 points on us. I hate Stuart Scott. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 11, 2005 The Bulls are on a 4-game streak, aren't they? They've rebounded nicely from a bad start. Where are they at now in the standings? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 This year, Van Gundy finally had to pull him to the side and tell him to just shoot the ball and stop passing. I mean, the guy told T-Mac its okay if you take bad shots...just get some shots up. In other words, the coach had to literally beg him to take shots. That isn't the makings of a selfish, non-team oriented player. Sorry, I had to laugh at this. McGrady is third in the league in FG attempted (behind other noted ballhogs Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant), and his coach wants him to shoot MORE?? Good God. I'll agree he's a fantastic athlete, but he's not someone I'd ever build a franchise around. I mean, the guy threatened to quit last season because he didn't like playing against zone defenses. Why would I want someone with that kind of attitude on my team? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 11, 2005 This year, Van Gundy finally had to pull him to the side and tell him to just shoot the ball and stop passing. I mean, the guy told T-Mac its okay if you take bad shots...just get some shots up. In other words, the coach had to literally beg him to take shots. That isn't the makings of a selfish, non-team oriented player. Sorry, I had to laugh at this. McGrady is third in the league in FG attempted (behind other noted ballhogs Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant), and his coach wants him to shoot MORE?? Good God. I'll agree he's a fantastic athlete, but he's not someone I'd ever build a franchise around. I mean, the guy threatened to quit last season because he didn't like playing against zone defenses. Why would I want someone with that kind of attitude on my team? Kobe's 11th in the league in assists at 6.7 a game, and Iverson's 6th in the league with 7.2 points a game. For all the shots they take, they spread the ball around a lot as well, you have to also consider the talent level around them and have to think in who you have confidence in to score. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 T-Mac kind of reminds me of Dominique Wilkens, not based on specific talents because T-Mac is a better ballhandler/shooter while Nique was more explosive and a better rebounder, but they're both great scorers who are overshadowed by better all-around contemporaries (Jordan, Bird for Wilkens, Kobe and LeBron for T-Mac). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 This year, Van Gundy finally had to pull him to the side and tell him to just shoot the ball and stop passing. I mean, the guy told T-Mac its okay if you take bad shots...just get some shots up. In other words, the coach had to literally beg him to take shots. That isn't the makings of a selfish, non-team oriented player. Sorry, I had to laugh at this. McGrady is third in the league in FG attempted (behind other noted ballhogs Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant), and his coach wants him to shoot MORE?? Good God. I'll agree he's a fantastic athlete, but he's not someone I'd ever build a franchise around. I mean, the guy threatened to quit last season because he didn't like playing against zone defenses. Why would I want someone with that kind of attitude on my team? Kobe's 11th in the league in assists at 6.7 a game, and Iverson's 6th in the league with 7.2 points a game. For all the shots they take, they spread the ball around a lot as well, you have to also consider the talent level around them and have to think in who you have confidence in to score. That's more a function of the fact that both play over 40 minutes a game. A player who's on the floor for most of the game will get more assists than someone who plays 25-35 minutes. If you look at assists per 48 minutes, both go way down on the list (Iverson 23rd, Bryant 32nd). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 Plus Kobe and AI have the ball in their hands at all times, Kobe is de facto point after the ball gets up the court and Iverson breaks the press himself, they're counted on to get those assists and it is a function of their offenses. Also, a lot of their assists come off of the drive and dish. T-Mac gets nice assist numbers, but playing with a Yao Ming is a different situation, he's not fully able to drive to penetrate and create with Yao clogging the lanes. Given that fact his assist numbers are very respectable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 The Bulls are on a 4-game streak, aren't they? They've rebounded nicely from a bad start. Where are they at now in the standings? 14-18, 10th in the East, half a game behind Boston and Philadelphia. A win over the 76ers puts us in the 8 spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted January 11, 2005 LA is at the 6th seed, Sacramento still has a pretty big lead over them. Thats probably about the cutoff point for them. They're also something like 2 games ahead of the team at the 8th and 9th spots, so probably not quite time to celebrate yet, although I think the Lakers will be fine. The T-Wolves however are in deep shit officially and there doesn't seem to be any hope in sight. Also, I forget to address this post earlier. Sacto only has a 3 game lead on the Lakers at this point, and they've split their meetings so far, but LA can overtake the Kings by the end of January if you look at the schedules left for the month: Sacramento: vs DEN vs UTA vs LAC @ LAC vs POR vs CLE vs SA vs NJ @ SA @ HOU @ MIN LA Lakers: @ DEN vs CLE @ GS vs UTA vs MIN vs GS vs SEA @ LAC vs NJ vs CHA That's pretty even in that both of them have a tough game (Sacto gets SA at the SBC Center, and LA has Seattle at Staples) and mostly common opponents for the rest of the month. I wonder how the Kings will bounce back after getting beat by the Hornets, though. If you look at assists per 48 minutes, both go way down on the list (Iverson 23rd, Bryant 32nd). Where did you get those stats from? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2005 If you look at assists per 48 minutes, both go way down on the list (Iverson 23rd, Bryant 32nd). Where did you get those stats from? ESPN.com has them. NBA.com would too, I'd imagine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
