Jordan4life_2007

Chris Paul, IMO, is the pre-season favorite for MVP. He's got GUNS now. It's gonna be raining oops, oops and more oops.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 01:42 PM) Because Bill Russell is a top 10 player (conservatively) of all time, and Motumbo wa a one trick pony who blocked shots. Don't fall for the propaganda. Bill Russell is unequivocally the most overrated figure in NBA history. Right there with the "great" Roger Maris for most overrated, glamorized figure in sports history. He had Joakim Noah's offensive skill-set. His rebounding numbers are totally inflated due to the ridiculous pace teams played back then. He played with 66 Hall of Famers. Dikembe Mutombo saw stiffer competition in a month than Russell saw in 3 years. Centers better than Russell: Wilt, Kareem, Moses, Walton, Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson. Centers arguably better than Russell: Mikan, Ewing, Sabonis. Centers comparable with the same skill-set: Mutombo, Mourning, Ben Wallace, Howard. Players overall better than Bill Russell: MJ, Magic, Bird, West, Duncan, Kobe, Erving, Robertson, Dirk, and some others I'm probably forgetting about.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 12:46 PM) After seeing how the superteams got hatched exactly by guys getting together and recruiting other players? Why wouldn't you? I know it's taboo around these parts to even insinuate D-rose is anything but perfect. But maybe he simply doesn't want to play with another superstar?

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 11:21 AM) Wait. What?! And this is shocking because?

Whatever. I got a draft coming up. I must prepare. I'm taking Carlos Boozer with the first pick.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 08:29 PM) Cleveland won 19 games last year. 30 wins is considerably better than 19, more than 1.5x better actually. The Bulls wouldnt be as bad as Cleveland. I meant that as a best case scenario. 30 wins is being generous.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 08:20 PM) Even without Rose the Bulls wouldnt be as bad as Cleveland. I don't want to see a Luol Deng-led Bulls team with Carlos Boozer playing the sidekick role. That's 30 wins. Tops.

You guys are hilarious. You think Rose won the MVP because people thought he was the best player? LeBron and Howard were clearly better. Rose got it because they recognized how awful they would be without him. Just like with Iverson in '01.

And take Rose from last year's Bulls and you see a situation similar to what happened to the Cavs after they lost LeBron.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 08:05 PM) That Sixers' team had a point differential of 4.3. The Bulls were at 7.3 last year. And their second best player isn't Theo f***ing Ratliff. Theo Ratliff was traded mid-season for Mutombo. A 4-time DOPY and the modern day Bill Russell. I'm sorry. The rosters don't look that much different to me.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 07:56 PM) Comparing this Bulls supporting cast to the 00-01 76ers supporting cast is basically telling the world you are basketball stupid. lol. I'm looking at the roster and it's even less impressive than what I remembered. Unless you're saying the Bulls' roster is better? Nobody has clarified that.

QUOTE (Brian @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 07:06 PM) If you are comparing the supporting cast of the 01 Sixers to that of this Bulls team, you are out of your mind. Who was the second leading scorer on that Sixer team? I bet you most people would have to look it up. Both teams were defensive-oriented and relied heavily on the scoring/playmaking of a guard. It's not a ridiculous comparison at all.

The '01 Sixers! Yes, that's what I mean. Sorry, just came to me. I think the situations are very similar. Nobody on that '01 Sixer team did anything exceptional outside of Iverson. They came back with roughly the same team and never got close again.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 06:40 PM) I think they'll "improve" but it won't manifest itself in the standings. 62 wins is a lot, so it'd be hard to go up. Regular season wins are highly overrated in my opinion. The Heat won fewer games than Lebron's last two Cavs' teams, but I think everyone would agree that the Heat were far more dangerous. I don't really see them "regressing" anywhere but in the standings, and even then I think they can get the #1 seed because they're built for the grind of the regular season. There are two main things I'm looking for from the Bulls for improvement 1) Noah being healthier and more consistent 2) Rose getting more efficient and putting up the same stats in fewer minutes with a better FG%. I'm not a big Rip fan either, but if he can provide any kind of offense that would give them a different dimension as well. That way they can run TWO guys off a billion screens instead of just having Korver do it! I've got the Knicks at about 50, which is a sizeable improvement already but probably 5-10 short of the Heat/Bulls. Carmelo is a damn good player, but he's never seemed to have the same kind of ability to carry an inferior roster like most of the other superstars have. Same goes for Amare, at times he might have been the third best player in Phoenix. They're both incredibly talented but still need to put everything together to reach the elite level as a team, especially since Chandler isn't really the kind of #3 that can pick up the scoring slack. I think somebody is forgetting we're only playing 66 games this season. Unless you've got the Heat going 60-6. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 06:42 PM) where is this likely regression you are referring to? who played so much over their heads in your opinion? You know, this is a good question. I can't even answer it. The Bulls winning 62 games last year was pretty astounding considering the roster makeup. Maybe the defense falls off? I don't think it will. They just scream semi-fluke to me. But you just don't see too many teams so overly reliant on one player get to the finals, let alone win it.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 06:11 PM) That would imply that Tyson is a "dominant" defensive big man and not merely a good one. As I said, Dallas wasn't a dominant defensive team (8th in efficiency) and the net impact from 9/10 to 10/11 in Dallas was only 1.3 points per 100 possessions, and that's with Dallas splitting starts between Erik Dampier, Brendan Haywood and Drew Gooden (what I would call two serviceable defenders and a terrible one). I would think a truly dominant defensive big man (someone like Dwight or Mutombo) would make a far bigger impact than that. That's what the Knicks need considering they were 22nd in defensive efficiency last year. It's not like he has a career with that kind of reputation early, this "defensive stopper" persona is quite recent. He put up PER's below 14 the two years before this and the Mavericks were able to get him for basically nothing. One year later he's some kind of monster because his team won it all. I would also love to know how the Knicks are better than the Bulls at "at least" five positions. They're not remotely close at point guard, so that's already off. I think most would argue that Noah is about as good as Chandler and is younger. Even if the Knicks have the edge at the other 3 (and it's not like they have a world-beater at the 2 either), it's about how the pieces fit together too. The Bulls are an elite defensive team with good depth while the Knicks are a likely mediocre defensive team with no bench. Those things matter, otherwise the Suns would have a ring or two and the Nuggets when they had AI, Amare and Camby would have been a lot better. Bottom line is that you're trying to argue that the Knicks are better than/as good as the Bulls even though they won 20 fewer games last year and basically traded Billups for Chandler. That's highly dubious even if you subtract a few from the Bulls. lol. My fault. I meant to say at least 3/5 positions in the starting 5. No amount of alcohol in the world would get me thinking Douglas was better or in the same universe as Rose. Besides that, whatever. You make some good points. I think you totally underestimate having Carmelo from jump as opposed to inserting him mid-season. The Bulls have done nothing to improve from last year, and that includes the draft. All I've heard is "youngest MVP ever" that should get better. And I agree that he should get better. Whether that will be enough to trump likely regression from the rest of the team remains to be seen.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 05:43 PM) So he's worse than Bogans in every aspect of the game then? They're both bad. Neither should be playing significant roles for a team with championship aspirations.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 05:26 PM) So you agree Rip is better than Bogans...but don't agree that it's an upgrade? You realize that makes 0 sense, correct? No, I don't think he is. That's the reasoning around here. 2005 was a long time ago.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) The major flaw here is that you're talking about Rip and Boozer being "hacks" defensively when comparing them to a team that employs Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Those two guys don't even try on defense most of the time. Oh, and the Bulls were #1 in defensive efficiency last year by a solid margin even with Boozer. One player does not make or break a defense (with the exception of Dwight). Dallas was 8th in defensive efficiency last year and 12th the year before, not exactly night and day. Also, the Knicks were 28-26 before they acquired Melo and finished 42-40, so it doesn't seem like he made nearly enough difference to say they'd be a 50-win team if he were there all year. They're probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the East depending on how much Boston ages. They only have five players that are remotely useful and their two frontcourt players have extremely checkered injury histories. One other thing to point out is that Chandler is going to have to play A LOT more minutes than he did last year. He only played 27.8 MPG for Dallas because they actually have depth. The Knicks are screwed if that doesn't increase by a lot, which doesn't help with his injury history. And that's where Tyson comes in. How many all-defensive teams has Dirk made? A dominant defensive big can cover up a lot of other inadequacies. Yes, Tyson will take on more minutes. No reason he shouldn't be able to handle it. He's healthy and, what, 28? The Knicks' bench is not very good, though Shumpert has a chance to be an impact player. But who cares. It's the east and depth doesn't matter that much. They're better than the Bulls at at least 4/5 positions in the starting lineup.

Oh my goodness. Again, Rip is awful. He's old, unathletic, can't create a shot for himself or anybody else, and is a hack defensively. He's better than Keith Bogans so that's an upgrade? lol. The Bulls were not 62 wins good last year. Their division was terrible. It might be terrible again. Who knows. They still have nobody to take the scoring/playmaking load off of Rose. They have nobody that commands a double-team inside. Boozer, even when healthy, is a hack defensively. Athletic front-courts eat him for breakfast. And the Knicks now have the best front-court in the east. Even with the Knicks' deficiencies last year, they're a 50+ win team with 'Melo. Amare/Melo should be even better this year now that they've had a chance to mesh some. Tyson Chandler changes everything. Talk about Dirk all you want. Tyson's elite defensively abilities were the difference between last year's Mavs and all the other chocking teams they've had in the past. Their backcourt is not terrible. Fields > Rip. No question there. I can think of a lot worse PGs than Douglas. Knicks, Bulls can go either way. But the Knicks have improved. The Bulls simply haven't.

I'm all for giving Axelrod a chance if Danks, Floyd or both are traded. It would give us a better shot at the #1 pick in the '13 draft.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 03:43 PM) Really? Yes. With no legitimate additions, I expect at least semi-regression from the Bulls. Everybody knows they overachieved last year. I expect Rose to continue his natural progression. But where's the upside for the rest of the roster? The Knicks only had Carmelo for 25 games last year. And Tyson is a massive upgrade for them at C.

They better give Frank his 2000 MVP if they decide to strip Braun.

Hamilton is goose dung. Marion brought athleticism, rebounding and versatility defensively. He could effectively guard 2's, 3's and 4's. Rip doesn't address a single need for the Bulls. Forget about the Heat. How are the Bulls better than the Knicks? Full year of Carmelo and the second best defensive C in the game > Boozer staying healthy, RIP.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 11:41 AM) Don't forget about the draft tonight. I won't. I already have a 40 and a bucket of Pringles ready to go.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 09:35 AM) Let's not lose sight of this fact: I've been dominating the Soxtalk Keeper League ever since I added Braun in his rookie season. That is the absolute most important thing to result from this positive test. It might actually give J4L a chance at beating me. Like with Ryan Braun's MVP, we will now have to add an asterisk to each of your last two championships in that league.