Who would you pick first? (revisited)

age old question, where do you guys weigh in?
you get to pick first, out of all the dudes in the NBA. who do you pick?

all this talk of MVPs has me thinking... who would i rather have to build a team around? could i pick cp or bron instead of yao or d howard? jesus what about kobe? how can you NOT pick him? i dunno

i think i'd go CP. if i gotta pick one, i guess i'll take the PG. strange, i think bron and kobe may be better athletes/dunkers/monsters but i think i'd have to go with either Yaoward or CP just cause i think their positions are more critical. i dunno. for me it's a really hard question, and i'm eager to hear your thoughts.

ps don't forget about ray allen.

Speaking of Thornton

Just incase anyone missed this this...

If this lines up I am a lucky bastard

----------- pos min fgm-a 3pm-a ftm-a +/- off def tot ast pf st to bs ba pts
A. Thornton F 44:17.13-23..3-6..10-12..+12..2...1...3...2..1..5..3..0..0..39

I guess they been letting him start lately. 20 of those points came in the 4th.

Random thoughts

Boston Band Wagon
All you Boston lovers are way off. They suck, and they won't get out of the second round. Beating Pheonix means very little a day after they lose to Philly. How is it that the Pheonix game gets so much hype, but noone talk about how they let Philly go on a 16-0 run?

Barkley does it again
Just when I started to respect Barkley's opinion again, he goes and say something exceedingly stupid. "Houston will struggle to make the playoffs. They will only win 5 more games." Hells bells Charles! They've already won 2 since he said this, and their up-coming schedule is thus:

San Antonio
Sacramento
Portland
Seattle
LA Clippers
Phoenix
Denver
Utah
LA Clippers

I can see losing to SA, Pheonix, and Utah...maybe even Denver. But come on, that is not a hard schedule, and they are in 2nd place!

Tsk Tsk Kobe

With his ejection against Bobcats, Kobe has entered the realm of the elite complainers. With the new rule put in place this year, for each technical he recieves from now on, he will be suspended for one game. Does anyone know if this extends into the playoffs?

Fav 5 Young guys
Monte Ellis - Dang that guy is fast
Luis Scola - Never gives up
Leon Powe - He produces without mistakes
Carl Landry - Professional dunker
Spencer Hawes - 7 footer with a nice jumper

Who are your favorite younguns?

dang

the celtics really smashed phx last night. don't know if any of you guys caught that game, but i have a few comments about it...

1)even though they appear to suck REALLY bad (especially last night), watching them still scares me. i'm pretty sure amare is back to 100%, maybe 110. last few games i've seen him in, he's been looking incredible. of course the shaq thing is still a huge IF for me, but the potential upside is ridiculous. IF they pull their $hit together, i still think they will smash everyone.

2)for the first time this season, i was really impressed with BOS. not just KG, but the whole team was playing GREAT defense and it seemed like nobody could miss a shot (not like they were really being defended, but still :). i've seen them do well, and i've seen KG go bonkers occasionally, but last night the whole team was on FIRE. i still wouldn't bet on them beating a healthy west champ BUT i felt that after watching that game, they really deserve some props. they all played some fantastic defense.

a while ago, tom mentioned that he liked the Cs chances cause KG was so hungry/excited about winning and it would rub off on his team. i felt like last night, this was exactly the case. i really felt like he led them to that victory and to that killer mindset they were in.

this post was going to be : Dang
KG good

but then i started rambling

76s, a threat?

I have see them play only like once this season. But after hearing a couple sportcasters say they been playing as good as anyone lately, i'd thought i check there recent record.
I hope this cut and paste isn't too sloppy.

Here is their last 23 games, of which they have won 18. Philly is eastern so of course some of the wins are against reallly bad teams. But they have had some quality wins too. There's a four game stretch where they beat DET, CHI, SAS, and DEN. Then they just beat Boston last night- with a big 4th quarter comeback i might add.

Who knows what kinda playoff matchup 76's would be, but at least they are making the east a tad more competitive. Who knows, they may make a good series with someone. Looks like first round they will prob play either orlando (3 vs 6) or Cleveland ( 4 vs 5). I could see CLEV being too worried about BOS and DET and dropping a quick couple games to philly:) Howard though (it looks like), crushes Philly inside.

Tue 05
vs Washington
W 101-96
Thu 07
vs Miami
W 101-84
Sat 09
vs LA Clippers
W 101-80
Mon 11
vs Dallas
W 84-76
Wed 13
vs Memphis
W 102-88
Tue 19
@ Minnesota
L 88-104
Wed 20
vs New York
W 124-84
Fri 22
@ Orlando
L 99-115
Sat 23
@ Miami
W 101-96
Wed 27
vs Orlando
W 101-89
Fri 29
@ Golden State
L 97-119
March
Opponent
Result
Sat 01
@ Phoenix
W 119-114
Mon 03
@ LA Clippers
W 106-80
Fri 07
vs Seattle
W 117-83
Sun 09
@ Milwaukee
W 119-97
Mon 10
vs Boston
L 86-100
Wed 12
@ Detroit
W 83-82
Fri 14
@ Chicago
W 110-106
Sat 15
vs San Antonio
W 103-96
Wed 19
vs Denver
W 115-113
Fri 21
@ Orlando
L 95-113
Sat 22
vs New Jersey
W 91-87
Mon 24
@ Boston
W 95-90

The SI Vault

So Sports Illustrated has created their "Vault". They have posted every single article in their entire history, which is pretty friggin neat. Right now it's free, and hopefully it will stay that way. If you are looking to kill some time you should definitely check it out.



http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

A few articles I found quite intersting are as follows.

This is a great one about Wilt Chamberlain from 1965
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1076837/index.htm

Apparently, the Rockets in 86 had absolutely no chance of beating the Lakers in the conference final. I don't know if a writer today would be so blunt. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064836/index.htm

This one is a feature on Dennis Rodman from 1988. Pretty amazing stuff http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1067269/index.htm

Rockets and the streak that was.

So the streak has come to an end, and now I feel comfortable commenting on it. I was fearful that I might jinx them if I said anything. So here are my quick hits....

• From my point of view, I'm not surprised that they lost to the Celtics. I hope Boston kills Dallas tomorrow, and maybe Jake will stop hating.
• At the start of the game last night, I became very greatful for the acquisition of Bobby Jackson. Because Rafer is not who we need starting during the playoffs. At the end of the LA game you saw him almost get into a fight when he forget that he wasn't on the And-1 tour, and he clearly hadn't remembered by the start of the Celtics game. I think he honestly thought that he was one of the best players on the court.
• Hopefully everybody will calm down around here in Houston. I mean, I love the Rockets and all, but I was listening to one guy saying that the rockets could win all the individual awards. MVP(Tmac) COY(Adelman) MostImproved(Rafer) defensivePOY(Battier). let's have a little more sanity folks.

Rockets and Playoff matchups

So...the Rockets are on fire? They just tied for the best record in the West. That is crazy. I remember when they were 24-20 and were still OUT of the playoffs. Twenty-one games later they are 45-20 and in first place.

That's right. 24-20.............45-20. That doesn't even compute!

On another note, if the playoffs started today here would be the matchups in the West:

Lakers-Warriors
Rockets-Mavs
Hornets-Suns
Jazz-Spurs

Man is that awesome. I would watch every game of all those series.

Rockets? really?

i'm sure you all have been eagerly awaiting my next rockets-loving post, so without further ado, here is my explanation for why the rockets are really that good (or rather, why they are underrated):
they just won 20 in a row: GSW, IND, MIL, MIN, CLE, ATL, POR, SAC, CLE, MIA, NOH, CHI, WAS, MEM, DEN, IND, DAL, NOH, NJN, ATL (and to Houston's credit, most of these were pretty harsh beatings) . but,
right before this winning streak, they won 9 out of 14.

so basically all i'm trying to say is... Rockets? really?

Celtics? really?

i'm sure tom has been eagerly awaiting my next east-hating post, so without further ado, here is my explanation for why the celtics aren't really that good (or rather, why they are over rated):
they just won 10 in a row: POR, LAC, CLE, CHA, ATL, DET, CHI, MEM, PHI, SEA. (and to Boston's credit, most of these were pretty harsh beatings) . but,
right before this winning streak, they dropped 3 in a row: DEN, GSW, PHX
GSW-clearly not the best team, but they match up ok
DEN-they've had some quality wins lately, but nobody is putting them in the finals this year.
PHX-this game was directly after the shaq trade, before they even looked like a team again.

so basically all i'm trying to say is... Celtics? really?

Playoff Seeding

Of course everyone hates it. The comish says that its cyclical so we should ignore it. How much bull is that? Just because it swings to the east sometimes doesn't make it any better. I mean, how does that argument make any sense?

There are some valid arguments. Like making some teams travel all the way across the country. And of couse the game times being two hours different for the two team's fans. But saying its cyclical is just retarded.

I do have a question though. It looks like Utah is going to get the 4th seed even though the 5th seed will have a better record. Another ugly aspect rears its head. So, who has home court advantage in that series? And if you tell me its Utah, I'm gonna have to burn something.

-Haircut

My thoughts on the Nuggets, PHX, and Hubie Brown

First of all, I just want to say how much I would love to be related to Hubie Brown. I can only imagine what it would be like to have him as a grandfather or uncle.

I'm watching the Denver Nuggets versus the Suns. I've always appreciated Hubie, but I'm finally beginning to worry about his mortality. MF'er is old. So, every time I catch him making comments about anything, I feel this need to pay close attention. Anyways, he has done a fantastic job tonight analyzing and explaining the beauty of Iverson. definitely some quality broadcasting and amazing telestrating.
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Second topic for me is the slow start for PHX since Shaq was acquired. I still believe that it was a good move. Mainly because I think Marion would have sabotaged their season. Yet, I thought it was doubly good for PHX because of Shaq's tendency to inject some camradare. Yes, I hate his game, but you have to respect his ability to be endearing, and he is pretty fucking big as well.

So why does PHX all the sudden seem to be average? I'm chalking it up to an adjustment. I'm expecting 3-1st-names to figure it out.
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3rd thing, I'm feeling compelled to comment on is how much I hate Carmelo....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................

I just wrote this long diatribe about how I hate Carmelo. Then I thought that it wasn't healthy to despise someone so much without ever seeing them in person. So never mind. it's deleted. I wish the best for the nuggets and all their wonderful fans.

Love Dick.

I hate to jinx the Rockets but...

I can't explain how depressed I was when I heard Yao was out. I almost thought it was a cruel joke at first. I haven't looked forward to the playoffs this much...well, ever. The West was gonna be so nice. Lakers just got Gasol, Phoenix got Shaq, Dallas got Kidd, New Orleans has been good all year, Utah was scary last year, the Rockets were rollin, Golden State is fun to watch and the Spurs are the defending champs.

When I heard Yao was out my interest in the playoffs went from a 97 out of 100 to a 40 or so. After getting over the initial shock I remembered there are still six teams in the West that have a legitimate shot at winning a title. That is crazy. And the Finals should be better this year. I think Cleveland got better with the trade, Detroit looks better this season and obviously the Celtics drastically improved to say the least.

After today I have a little more faith in the Rockets chances. They just won their 15th straight game which ties a franchise record for consecutive wins and is the longest win streak by any team this year. Obviously without Yao they don't realistically have a shot at the championship. But maybe this will be the year that Tracy finally wins a playoff series. It really depends who they draw in the first round. I think they could beat New Orleans, Utah, Dallas or Golden State.

Even though the West is super competitive this year I would still bet that the Rockets will make the playoffs. After tonight they're now the 6th seed and only three games out of first! And as Patrick pointed out their remaining schedule is pretty easy.

Although they may not win it all I'm still hopeful for what they can do in the playoffs. Maybe they can mimic Golden State from last year and knock off the Mavs. My playoff interest is back up to an 80/100.

ABA

There's been some cool stuff on ABA lately cause of that will ferral movie, Hard Ball.

I thought it was fun going through these old jerseys and logos. So, i'm posting the link. I know it's bad form to just post something when you got nothing to say; but, i am a sinner. I may have a comment later.