NBA Offseason 2009

[Captain Hate]

End of an era Nags: http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=4576647

LOL @ Nolan Richardson projected to be the head coach; what could go wrong with that especially if Stern decides it's time to stop the bleeding.

[Enforcer]

That sucks. I enjoyed watching them. It all went downhill when Laimbeer quit.

[faster]

Homering, for sure, but has anyone noticed the preseason Greg Oden is having? He had a five minute stretch the other day when he was clearly the best player on the court...I've never seen him like that. He's no Bill Russell, but he may well turn out to be a pretty good player.

And in other homer news, Aldridge still hasn't signed.

[BoBetter]

yeah, there's definitely some young talent coming up at center, I like Oden, if he can put it all together. He seems injury prone and fragile. Also, his skill set seems limited. I saw him up close last week, when the Blazers played the Clippers. Blake Griffin played like a battering ram compared to Oden. He has all the potential though. In terms of young talent in the league, obviously Howard is a beast, but Bynum could make a huge leap any year now. I also really like Brook Lopez's game.

I think Oden has the potential to be up there with those guys though.

[mshiflet]

Cavs/Celtics at OSU was fun last night. We got there late, missing the LeBron chasedown highlight and the Celtics pretty much had it sewn up by the time we finished fighting traffic at the end of the first. Cavs were down as much as 20, and cut it to 3 at one point, but Celts went on a run and the Cavs got cold again. Wasn't much to watch in terms of star minutes - KG and Allen were absent - though the Cavs definitely had their starters out there more trying to keep the score from getting ridiculously out of hand. Eddie House and Marquis Daniels both looked really, really good. Season opener rematch on Tuesday. If the Cavs can manage not to give up a huge lead right off the bat, it should be much better game.

[walto]

I watched most of that game on tube and didn't see one minute of Garnett, Pierce or Allen. It seemed like it was mostly a case of the Cs bench trouncing the Cavs starters. Even Hudson looked very good.

Shaq looked like some kind of iceberg. What's he weigh now, 500 pounds?

[mshiflet]

Pierce played a bunch of the first half, but beyond that your assessment is pretty spot on. A lot's being made about how the Cavs started hot (3-0) and cooled rather quickly (1-4, that one against Mavs with no one significant playing). Team chemistry, Shaq admitting he still hasn't figured out Mike Brown's offense, no Delonte... I've seen most the games and none looked as ugly as last night. Lucky me. I keep telling myself they were playing possum so they can come out and rock the Celtics when it matters next week. Let me enjoy my fantasy.

[jon abbey]

I keep telling myself they were playing possum so they can come out and rock the Celtics when it matters next week. Let me enjoy my fantasy.

I read a good piece about how some of the top teams are going to be pacing themselves throughout the season, for instance Duncan isn't playing any back to backs all year, possibly Ginobili too. LeBron doesn't really need to pace himself much, but if I were Cleveland, I'd barely play Shaq for the first half of the season, if not the first 60 games. next week doesn't matter much than last night did, home court in the playoffs doesn't matter that much, being at your best in the playoffs is what matters.

[faster]

Yeah, Cleveland's fortunes rest, imo, on how well they can keep Shaq rested, engaged, and in shape until the playoffs.

[jon abbey]

OK, SI has Washington at 4th in the conference and Detroit at 9th. I can't say I'm paying super close attention as of yet, but I can say that seems insane to me.

[walto]

Yeah, Cleveland's fortunes rest, imo, on how well they can keep Shaq rested, engaged, and in shape until the playoffs.

Is he thought to be in shape now? I mean he looked to me like some sort of Ohio State campus out-building.

[jon abbey]

SI also picked Shaq as second-team All-NBA center.

[mshiflet]

[jon abbey]

since we were talking about it already, here's Bill Simmons today on Shaq. I'm posting it because it made me laugh a few times, not really because I agree (my opinion on him, as partly stated above, is that they should play him as little as possible all year and tell him his job is just to play D on Howard and Garnett and Bynum in the playoffs, and I think he can do that).

========================================

Shaquille O'Neal
Red flag No. 1: He's 835 pounds. Red flag No. 2: He has never successfully pulled off the whole "sidekick" thing; even to the bitter end, he was playing the big brother/little brother routine with Dwyane Wade. Red flag No. 3: He's splitting time with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who might be a better fit for this particular team because of his outside shooting. Red flag No. 4: He has never, ever, ever, not in his entire life, played for a coach as offensively challenged as Mike Brown. Red flag No. 5: He doesn't have the luxury of Phoenix's training staff anymore. Red flag No. 6: He's so fat that it's like looking at one of those TVs where the HD is screwed up so it makes everyone seem wider. Red flag No. 7: The Suns traded him for two guys who they immediately bought out for a combined $14 million. Red flag No. 8: The Cavs are better off if he's playing 15-20 minutes a game and that's it. Red flag No. 9: He's so fat that it's possible Delonte West was packing three guns because he got confused and thought Shaq wanted to eat him. Red flag No. 10: He's awfully close to some records, which will make it awkward if Cleveland tries to reduce his playing time.

That's 10 red flags. Ten. (To be fair, Shaq doesn't look THAT fat. He just looks a little, um, heavy. Maybe it's the uniform that makes him look doughy for some reason. I just know that, when I saw the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, I couldn't figure out why Aretha Franklin shaved her head. Then I realized it was Shaq.) And that's before we get into the whole, "Shaq seems like a great guy, but if he's a great guy, then why did he leave four teams on really bad terms" thing. Be prepared for him to do more harm than good in Cleveland. One difference: If he crosses LeBron like he crossed Nash, he'll be getting the Braylon Edwards 48-hour ticket out of town.

[walto]

He is!! He's 835 pounds!

[jon abbey]

the Aretha Franklin line was my favorite.

so Simmons has Detroit at 30-52, one game below my wretched Knicks. dunno, they seem like a playoff team to me, as always, but maybe I'm just not paying enough attention yet.

Walt, your boy Marquis Daniels joining the Celtics still doesn't have you rooting for them, huh?

[walto]

Daniels has looked impressive, as has the whole team, really. They'll be tough to beat, I think.

Maybe I'd root for them if (i) I didn't live here, and (ii) they hadn't won so recently. It's really hard for me to root for a home team in any case--but a juggernaut/dynasty type team--NEVER! E.g., I always want the Yanks to beat the Sox (in as cruel a manner as possible) and then lose to anybody else in the Series.

Anyhow, I usually don't pay too much attention to the pros until after the NCAA tournament.

[The G Man]

Antoine Walker made over $110 million during his career but he now is trying to out-dribble his creditors, who are asking collectively for $4 million to settle his debts.
I'm not the least bit surprised.

If Jameer Nelson can play like he did before he got hurt last year, I think Orlando and Cleveland are about equal and Boston behind them.
The Knicks, Nets and Bucks are the Chiefs, Bucs, and Browns of the NBA.

[mshiflet]

With less than 48 hours to go until the season opener, Delonte West decided to add domestic violence to his offseason resume. I was really hoping he'd be ready to see the court soon, but it seems dude is in a bad place right now.

[BoBetter]

I expect a Jamal Tinsley or Antonio Daniels signing after Tuesday......

I knew they should have traded him during the off season. Like I said then, his stock will never be as high as it was at that point.

Oh well, Anthony Parker is probably a little better anyway.