Pretty sure I just quoted pure stats, which are unbiased. Attacking every writer because he is a fan of the game/a team is pretty silly. I don't want to read surgically dry articles or articles where the writer is faking a bias. Everyone has a team. That statement about Nash getting old overnight is stupid. It can happen anytime. It also can not happen. That is usually the type of statement you go all nuts over and attack. I want examples and scientific proof that with Nash's current health regimen he's going to get "get old over night." I'd be $100 cash money adding Nash is going to be a huge upgrade for them. Also, as much as I hate Gator for being a Miami dickrider, I agree. Its a solid fact that no other point guard in the league is going to play any decent man-to-man defense alone on Westbrook or Parker. No one has traded for or drafted a point guard for defense. Its like picking up a center for steals or 3pt shots. You get them to getting people the ball and buckets.
Can someone explain to me why Eric Gordon wants out of New Orleans for Phoenix? He could have gotten that max contract easily without courting anyone else. If it were somewhere like his hometown of Indiana, I'd get it. But Phoenix? He apparently wants to leave one of the best young coaches out there, one of the most promising rookies of the past decade, and additional help with Rivers for equal money at a relatively small market team that seems like it is at a competitive dead end and has a fan base that will inevitably compare him to Nash. I don't get it. What does Phoenix offer over the next four years that he is so enamored with? They've been getting by on Nash's willpower for a few years now. Gortat is a decent player but shouldn't have been enough to sway Gordon. Why does everyone seem to hate New Orleans so much? As a Celtics fan I dispute this. Rondo is at least theoretically capable of it. Westbrook played well against the Celtics but Parker was a mess (5/14 for 10 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound). Also there are varying degrees of inability. There's normal can't-guard-Westbrook, and then there is Nash's screen door approach.
Well the Clipps signed Billups and Crawford and cancel Ray Allen's planned visit for tomorrow. Id be shocked if Allen wasnt a Heatle by sunrise tomorrow.
Well "guarding" is relative given the help defense techniques and zones, and what not. But I agree with you. Ok, Rondo. So we have one. My argument still stands.
You also quoted "don't worry" when it comes to Nash's age, when that's easily the biggest worry anyone should have about the deal. Also, those stats don't mean shit when we're talking about a guy who will be 39 for the season. At that age, what happened several years ago is irrelevant. The question is purely if his body can hold up for another year or two. My point is that the move by the Lakers is a very risky one, not a slam dunk. Knowing the history of players with the greatest longevity in the history of the NBA (Stockton, Malone, Kareem), all of whom greatly worsened at 39, Nash would be defying even more odds if his play stayed the same. There is also the whole question of Nash adapting to a completely brand new system that isn't specifically tailored to highlighting his strengths and hiding his weaknesses.
None of those guys were Canadian... What the fuck are the New York Knick's thinking? I watched the Finals last year, I never once thought "Jason Kidd is out there doing work." Did I miss something? Also the Clips get Jamal Crawford, guess he's tired of coming off the bench, or wants just to play in Lob City. And Lin wants to try and get to New York? The Knicks have to match that, no way Kidd holds up an entire year, plus they can have the entire asian market!
Just a note on this, Westbrook was actually more known for defense coming out of school than offense if I remember correctly. As a pro he has become much better offensively but he was a great defender in college. And J. Kidd was brought in as a backup, so much like Fisher was in OKC he could be helpful for spurts and helping their younger guards in Shumpert and Lin, if he ends up staying. And as much as I want to see Lin stay as a Knick, they need to either not sign him or get rid of one of Chandler/Melo/Stat because they would be over the cap on those four in two years.
If Howard does not want go to the Lakers I will consider him the dumbest player in the NBA and of this generation. That is a fucking slam dunk right there. Kobe, Nash, Pau and Howard?!? Not to mention Josh Roberts coming off the bench??? NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE....
I probably shouldn't be excited about this as I am, but on paper he fills a huge hole. He's probably going to have to come of the bench and play limited minutes given his history, but it's still a big improvement over what they have.
I just don't see it. Not the Ray Allen part, thats more or less inevitable. The Magic are going to want Bynum, which right now the Lakers are probably willing to part with(for that deal alone). What they're not going to want to do is take on Turkoglu's contract, something that's necessary for the Magic to properly rebuild. They're already going to be fucked salary cap-wise(doesn't Kobe make 30 million each year for the next two years or something like that?) without taking on a massive contract for a player they don't need. They have a contender as it is, why throw millions out of the window with the luxury tax?
You do realize that all the surgeries he had equates to bone rubbing on bone because all the cartilage has been destroyed or scraped out right? That shit doesn't work that way.
Damn Parker, I know you have a masters in a marketing related field; you went to medical school as well? Wait, so you aren't actually a doctor? YOU SHUT UP WITH ALL YOUR NEGATIVITY! BRANDON ROY'S KNEES ARE GOING TO BE GREAT AND THE TIMBERWOLVES ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS! STOP TRYING TO DESTROY MY DREAMS!
Crawford will likely still be coming off the bench behind Billups. I don't get your skepticism of Kidd while pimping Nash's longevity. Kidd has been a very solid defender for a while now, still hands out assists at a very high rate while being unselfish re: his own shot, and shoots the 3 reasonably well (his overall shooting percentage is low in part because he takes almost entirely threes these days). But more importantly, he's someone who can teach Lin how to play the point and can play side-by-side with him to give him a little more freedom. He's clearly being courted as Lin's mentor, not his successor. Roy probably won't be a meaningful player and I think there is a decent shot he's cut by the first game, but I'll be cheering for him. That game against the Mavs was one of the more emotional games in recent memory. I'd ask how he convinced them to offer him two years, but I suppose it's Kahn we're talking about. As for the "need," I'd look more for Batum to fill that.
Hoping for that as well, even though I'm not really familiar with Batum. But if the Blazer's decline to match the offer than I suppose Batum would get penciled in as the starter with Roy coming off the bench, which I would be fine with.
It is very very simple: Statistics over the last few years. I'm not making some off the wall argument. As I posted with Nash, over the last few years, he's stayed in the same range, actually IMPROVING last year in some. Kidd has been regressing year over year. It is pretty simple. In the last 3 years Kidd has been getting worse, with fewer minutes each year. You can't argue with numbers. If you take the range is lower, and the mean is higher. Let's also toss in, on a much less talented team.