24 pt game against detroit.

lol @ nueva york

lol @ basketball

124*

Unless playoffs or March Madness, same.

Could agree with this if the playoffs didn't take 3 months.

Bill Walker is a G

what is a "G"

The Knicks are going nowhere fast but maybe they will do OK with all the $ they saved.

The are saving up under the misconception that Lebron will leave his hometown team that is able to give him the best shot at winning a title.

they have enough money for lebron and chris bosh

the don't have a high enough prayer level. getting bosh to move out may not be as simple as it seems, he actually seems to like putting himself in bad positions, both on the court and in terms of his career moves. i don't see lebron and bosh going to new york, even if they have the $. and even if they moved, that would be a fail for lebron because his current team would still be better than the nicks would be. the cavs are a "bare bones' kind of elite team, because they ahven't been able (or they've been unwilling) to make a major effort to help lebron win a ring. they've made some strides, but the celtics and lakers make better moves practically on a daily basis.

that being said, the cavs are better than they were last year. i see bosh staying with the craptors but it's a horrible idea for him. the knicks without lebron would be worse.

I think the cavs have done as much as they can. They have made trades and signed some players.

I personally think they should of went after Amare but they didn't want to give up their young talent so Jamison was a great add anyways.

that was an n1 move for them; and maybe they can still pick up amare if amare signs for the trade next season. it might be too little too late but at least they made a good move. jamison is a great player and so far he's not really showing that something like 10+ nba seasons have ruined his body. powe was another pretty good pick up, especially looking down the road toward a possible series with the lakers.

i still see moves like the pick up of artest (for LA) as being more important. the celts picked up nate robinson, which is sort of like adding a ben gordon or a j.r. smith. it's a really huge move but it can also screw things up. they also made a good snag when they'd picked up sheed. i think that the cavs are better than the celtics now, but it's a tough call. i'm not sure if the cavs did enough to reach/win the finals but they match up better this year against orlando and the celts. LA is going to pose serious problems ofr the cavs but in my mind LA vs the cavs would be the most interesting possible final. some other upstart teams look good but they will crumble in the playoffs. that is, oklamhoma city, etc

denver looks really good this year, so maybe they could rumble with some of the best teams in the playoffs. melo is a very hard guy to guard. the lakers have artest for that problem, but it seems like cleveland would need to use lebron, and then it becomes a shootout and a guy like billups could be a killer vs the cavs.

it seems to me that the elite teams (playoff-wise) are these and in this order:

lakers
cavs (i hope they win)
celts
nuggets (would put them ahead of the celts but the celts are hecka crafty), also donno if carl will be healthy and he's a MAJOR factor for playoff basketball). the nuggets would pretty much require big performances from nene and the major role players to beat the celts.

those are the 4 teams that i think have a chance at winning the title.

what about the Magic, Hawks or Mavericks?

I'm sure the Mavs will choke, same 'ole song and dance there. Magic are a deep, experienced team. Hawks are always a threat, and have proven that at least against Boston.

wall of text

0% chance lebran wants his career tied to chris bosh

mavs will choke, they're the utah of dallas of san antonio of phoenix in terms of winning potential. the hawks have a lot of talent but it feels like they're mixed up in a way that just won't work. they have some great experienced players and also teagues, but i don't see much championship stuff. the trouble with the East is that the Magic could get stomped by Boston or the Cavs, which makes them in my eyes the #3 team in that conference. i probably SHOULDN'T have excluded them from the championship picture but i still think they're just behind the Celts and Cavs. they did a good job against the Lakers last year, all things considered.

here's the tl;dr version of my thoughts on the Magic:

the Magic are a force and they have some great pieces but i just see them as being really iffy:

Vince Carter - here's the biggest factor in my eyes in terms of how far they will go this year. i think he's a stud/dud type and i'd say he's probably unreliable
Marcin Gortat - GREAT back-up, could start on some teams
Dwight Howard - most effective player on the team, still doesn't match up well against some players (Shaq is a prime example)
Anthony Johnson - good roll player, not enough juice in the tank imo
Rashard Lewis - major factor, could be more dynamic
Jameer Nelson - major factor, but he's iffy at times (performance-wise)
Mickael Pietrus - he needs playing time, he's a defensive force and he's a really great athlete
J.J. Redick - part pilon, part eagle-eyed shooter
Jason Williams - great player, past his prime

i like the Magic but they have a LOT of match-up issues. to me it seems like they're built to play the Lakers, but they aren't built quite right to get it done. they don't have a front line that can match up with the Lakers. they've got a great back court, but they aren't the best defensive backcourt. it feels like most teams could pick them apart. to their credit, i think they could beat Boston based on match-ups. the only trouble is that Boston is a different team this year with the addition of Robinson. it takes an edge off the energy advantage that the Magic might have had. however, the addition of Carter adds a potential 40 point game in any given series.

the Magic have good depth and talent, and they have a few outstanding athletes (Carter, Howard, and Pietrus); but i think they're limited in a lot of dimensions. against top teams, they can't afford to do the twin tower thing to play up against a great front line. they have good shooters but if they get cold or pushed into taking tough shots or if they have a bad night, they could quickly drown. Boston is a bit old but they have a better mix.

This post has been edited by RewtheBrave on Mon - Mar 8 2010 - 15:17:15

I think you're crazy if you think Vince Carter will ever at any point this season or in the future ever score 40 points in a game.

Barnes is a very nice role player, and Bass/Andersen aren't terrible.

This post has been edited by StQ on Mon - Mar 8 2010 - 17:16:58

MAVS GOING PLACES THEY STOLE BUTLER N HAYWOOD FROM US

Places, as in getting bounced in the second round of the playoffs?

Apparently you didn't notice that he has already scored 34 in a single half this year?
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nba9-2...0,5423139.story
That was a 48 point performance.

Vince carter can still score a lot of points if he gets aggressive and if he's on his game. A 60 point effort wouldn't surprise me at all. The trouble is that we don't see the same Vince carter every night. But he's one of the all-time best scorers in the history of the game, in terms of raw talent. I don't see him stepping up to the plate consistently this year, but then again he hasn't been consistent in any season during his career.

btw I agree about Barnes etc btw but they aren't what i'd consider top role players in the league.

nawwwwwwww G

I guess, but against a good defense Vince Carter is not going to score 30+ points unless he's shooting lights out from 3. He doesn't have the quickness he used to, etc

bucks dropping that hairless cunt was the best decision ever

Agree about quickness but he's such a great athlete than he can still score on basically anyone. However, if a great pressure defender like Artest gets on him, two things could happen. 1 - carter gets mad and finds a way to dominate the match-up, or, 2, and this is more likely b/c carter has a vagina, - carter gets his whining face on and gives us completely. He's one of the best pure athletes and scorers in the history of the game, so he can find ways to beat defenders when he gets serious. He's not unstoppable but he has a lot of weapons and he's pretty crafty. Come playoff time, his faggotry will be a potential problem and that's why I think the Magic won't do as well as they could. Once they start to feed him and he fails, things could go bad very quickly.

btw lol'd at Spencer's Bucks insult. Brandon Jennings is considered the 2nd or 3rd best rookie this year but a lot of people but I actually think he's #1. Just a Bucks comment. Then again I'm a fan of players who have their own game, not some bitch game developed from years of listening to what coaches say and sucking on it like its gospel ... so that's why I like Jennings. His listens to caoches but he has his own game, which is a huge rarity these days.