Are you freaking serious? The 2008-2009 Hornets had All-Star David West, who had a career 21.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 bpg year. They also had former multiple All-Star in Peja Stojakovic, who still averaged 13.3 ppg that season, shooting 37.8% from three point range. And Tyson Chandler was on that team, averaging 8.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 1.2 bpg on 56% FG. I'm not even going to get into their bench, which is almost as good as the Cav's current starting line-up all by itself. Oh...and Chris Paul was arguably the MVP of the freaking league, and finished 2nd in voting in the 2007-2008 season, and 5th in 2008-2009. As for the Nets, they had three current or future All-Stars in Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson, and terrific role players in Kerry Kittles (talented former lottery pick, 13.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.6 spg that season), Lucious Harris, and Dikembe Mutombo. Oh...and Kidd was an MVP caliber player, and the Nets made the NBA Finals. Who the hell do the Cavs have on their "personnel" to remotely compare to that? You're still drinking Dan Gilbert's Kool-Aid as hard as ever. Dude, none of those guys would even crack the top 4 players on virtually any other team in the league. That's how much they fucking suck. Take a look at some of the rosters in this league. There are guys (some of them recent, former All-Stars) coming off the bench that are way better than anyone you named above. It's a very deep, talented league, with the exception of the Cavs. Edit- Missed your awesome comparison of Varejao to Noah. I can't even begin to describe how stupid that is. I'm surprised you showed some restraint and didn't compare Daniel Gibson to Ray Allen. The point is that the rest of their roster is absolute garbage, not good enough to win 18 games all season, while you seem to believe they're comparable to serious play-off contenders of years past. (And that was in a much less competitive league, I should add)
Dallas's horrible slide since the Nowitzki's injury (5 straight losses), which has only gotten worse with Butler going down, proves how insanely competitive the NBA is this year. Even a losing team like Memphis has legitimate All-Star talent with Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay, and other stars like OJ Mayo, Marc Gasol, and Michael Conley. And they're coached well by Lionel Hollins, and play tough defense. With the exception of the Cleveland Cavaliers, there is not a single "easy" win in the entire league. Every team has a lot of talent, and many play smarter, more disciplined, and together than in any of the past 10-15 seasons. Speaking of the Cavs, not only their team, but most of their fans suck, too. Now that they no longer have LeBron, there is no groundswell of support for the team like there is in a loyal basketball city like Detroit, Chicago, and Sacramento, where people still show up to the games and talk about the club even if they suck.
Speaking from the perspective of a guy actually from the area, I'd like to declare this statement officially retarded. Although in fairness, I'm usually pretty down with your takes on basketball. The praise has turned to scoffing, but the attentiveness to the team is still there in the region. Fuck, we've stuck with the giant abortion that is the Browns for this long. The Dallas situation is a little scary at the moment, and you know the league is in a good place when a team like Memphis with that kind of talent is still in the lower echelon. And just throwing it out there--anybody got a fantasy take on what happens if/when Melo and Billups get moved (already moved CB off my roster, thankfully)? As a semi-Denver fan, this one bums me out, but it really seems inevitable. Billups was the only guy on the '04 Pistons I didn't want to beat with a shovel, and it sucks that as a Denver native who wants to ultimately retire in his hometown, that he might no longer get the opportunity.
Okay, I haven't visited Cleveland itself, so you tell me; are the fans still firmly backing the team? While their recent home games have been listed as "sell-outs", there seem to be an awful lot of empty chairs. Also, the Cavs blogs that were so boastful and active a year ago are about as lively as a ghost-town right now. Not to mention, if this forum is any indication, some Cavs fans are still very much in denial. There's a decent chance Billups gets bought out, and the Nets retain Harris. In which case, he would probably re-sign with Denver. The fantasy ramifications seem pretty clear; a bunch of Denver guys become more valuable, Vujacic becomes less valuable (unless he's traded), and Lopez's stats might become more efficient (better shooting percentage, fewer turnovers), although less in the ppg category.
I was born and raised in Cleveland. Lots of my friends still live there. I haven't lived there full time since I left for college 14 years ago. I haven't lived there at all since 2003. I have been and will always follow and support my Cavs, Browns and Tribe. It's painful and I wish I didn't but that is the way it is. I follow Ohio State college football and Cincinnati Bearcat college basketball as that's where I went although I grew up loving Ohio State football and Cincy really hasn't ever been a football school, a couple years ago notwithstanding. Nothing will ever get me to stop loving those teams. I'm so used to bad teams at this point that it doesn't matter. When they're bad, I look forward to the draft and when they're good, I look forward to the playoffs. I'm still watching the Cavs right now even though they are TERRIBLE. They are terrible because they were built to compliment one player and he left. Granted, they shouldn't be as bad as they are, but Lebron could have recruited if he really wanted to have stayed and the supporting staff would have been better. Fault can be placed in a lot of places. Thankfully there is an owner who is willing to spend. I think they'll be a decent team in 2-3 years. Tribe is fun for me to watch as Cleveland has had a fantastic farm system for a long time. That's the only way they can even hope to be good in the 5-6 team spending league. They always are bringing up some good players. I'm hoping one day they'll be at the top, but I doubt it until the broken league with its rampant salary spending by the few teams that can is stopped. Football is where the best chance lies. It's much easier for Cleveland to get players to play there for football than to get players to come to the Tribe or Cavs. Problem with the Browns is that they have had shitty management since they returned. I think Holmgren is moving in the right direction and thinks he should have put in a coach of his choosing last year. Things will hopefully get better. Good or bad, I will keep supporting my teams. Most of my friends who care about sports feel the same way.
I love it when a second-rate sports journalist criticizes one of the richest and most successful multi-billionaires in the world for being "delusional" and not understanding the right way to do things. It's just too funny and fucking stupid for words. Anyways, I think the Nets are doing a good job with their franchise. Avery Johnson is a solid head coach, they are playing much better this year than last, have quality young talent and numerous trade assets, and getting Vujacic was a savvy move. What Adrian W. is too much of a goddamn moron to understand is that a good owner doesn't necessarily have to meddle in every day-to-day affair, like a Mark Cuban. Cuban's approach is fine, but so is a more hands-off approach, which Prokhorov is adopting. And uh, from a talent and ability perspective, Anthony is at least equal to Kobe right now, and just a little below a Dwayne Wade.
I'm not entirely certain that's true. You have to take advanced basketball metrics with a grain of salt, I know (I've played since I was 5), but in terms of efficiency he's far below Wade and even Kobe. Apart from this year, he hasn't been more than a decent rebounder and his assists and usage rates are fairly pedestrian. He also doesn't play very good defense, which is why he might not be as valuable as advertised: <a class="postlink" href="http://dberri.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/commenting-on-nate-silver" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://dberri.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/ ... ate-silver</a>’s-melo-effect/ That being said, it takes a unique skillset to be a primary scorer, and he's a very good pure scorer. Which is exactly what the Nets could use. The Knicks, on the otherhand, would probably have to give up young, good assets for essentially the same kind of production. Which would be a waste.
Wow, major bombshell here; <a class="postlink" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtBtyo6hNb7Sag1rsLiudVO8vLYF?slug=ap-nets-anthony" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... ts-anthony</a> Bad news for Carmelo and the Nets, but absolutely horrible news for the Denver Nuggets, as it's difficult to see where they go from here. Ultimately, I think they just wanted way too much from the Nets (initially, it was 5 future first rounders!), and New Jersey was smart enough not to gut their entire franchise to get the deal done.
I can't blame the Nets owner for doing that. It's like trying to guilt trip the hottest girl in school to go out with you: Yeah, maybe she'll go eventually, but everyone knows she doesn't want to be there. And 'Melo is good, but he's not that good. NJ would have ended up stuck with 'Melo and nothing else to put around him if they did that deal.
It sounds like the Nuggets kept demanding more and more, like they don't have to get a deal done. I'm willing to bet that he still goes to the Nets eventually, but the Nuggets will get substantially less in return.
I would agree for most NBA franchises. However, with the Nets, I think that once Prokhorov publicly states something, it's as good as law within the team. This is not a man who will go back on his word a few days later, especially for a measly few tens of millions of dollars, which is the financial benefit Melo would give them in a best-case scenario.
I think it's also important for Prokhorov to establish that he's running that ship, and he's not just going to throw shit around to get names. There has been some bitching in the media that he's been an absentee landlord, signing the checks while not really keeping an eye on things. The big difference between him and Cuban is that the guy has actually played pro basketball before, and that makes him both knowledgeable and dangerous (i.e. Isiah Thomas). I don't think he wants his first big name dictating terms, especially when La La has been compared to Joumana Kidd.
I mentioned this above, but I don't see why an absentee landlord is necessarily a negative. Prokhorov explains his business model very simply in this interview; Seems perfectly reasonable, right? Hire good people and get out of their way. I guess the media just needs something to write about.
I don't think he'll go back on his word per se. The Nets are probably done "pursuing" Carmello, but the Nuggets are going to come crawling back before the deadline. The Knicks don't have much incentive to go after a trade since they have such a good chance to pick him up after the season, probably with a more favorable contract after the new CBA. Nobody else who can put together a decent package has a real chance to sign him to an extension. Cleveland's got the first round picks and can take on bad contracts thanks to the exemption, but there is no way he wants to go there. Ditto for Minnesota. Dallas and Chicago might be in the hunt, but neither really has young stars they're willing to part with or lottery picks. The way I see it, Denver's either going to beg the Nets to come back to the table or get nothing.
I'm just gonna throw this out here, I can't believe the Blazers actually won a game with how beat up the bench is right now. I was shocked they didn't blow the lead in the forth, like they normally do if they are up going into it. Shocker.
This is kind of funny: <a class="postlink" href="http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/24/the-works-who-are-the-nbas-worst-players?icid=maing|main5|dl8|sec1_lnk2|39175_aim" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/24/the- ... |39175_aim</a>
Anyone watch enough Pacers ball to tell me what the fuck is wrong with Roy Hibbert? I had him on my team for fantasy, and his field goal percentage decline was mindboggling. November: 48.6% December: 41.6% January: 35.7% What the fuck is that? He also shot 47.1% and 49.5% the last two years, and well over 50% in college.
I read a report that he has been seeing a sports psychologist recently. Anyways, it's not that surprising; he has been asked to shoulder much more of the Pacers offense, and without a solid point guard, and Hibbert being relatively slow and unathletic, it's not surprising opposing defenses have managed to clamp down on the center.