Jordan4life_2007

lol. That was pretty funny. Cubs 8 gms back again. The Cards just keep rolling along.

I was peepin nba.com earlier. Just to put in perspective how tough it's gonna be for the Lakers to make the playoffs next year. Check out the rest of the west. Spurs=resigned Manu Ginobili, Signed one of the best 3 point shooters in the league in Brent Barry "something they desperately needed". Tony Parker will be a year better. Oh yeah. They have that Duncan guy. Wolves= Brings back virtually the same cast from last season. The same team that had the best record in the west. The same team that many believed would've beaten the Lakers in the wcf's had their all-star pg Sam Cassell been healthy. Add to that, they locked up Troy Hudson, Who is now healthy for the next 6 years. Rockets= Added who many believe to be one of the top 5 players in the league "T-mac" to an up and coming all-star center, who figures to be even better in year 3 "Yao". To form what should be "Now that Shaq is with the Heat" The best inside-outside combo in the league. Kings= They look to start the season with a healthy Chris Webber. Add to that , all-stars in Peja and Brad Miller. To go along with Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson. The Kings still figure to win 50+ games. Mavs= They lost Steve nash. But resigned pg Marquis Daniels, who had a very impressive rookie year, to go along with a fantastic playoff run. They also drafted the very talented Devis Harris out of Wisconsin, who figures to get every oppurtunity to fill the void left by Nash. They still have an all-star pf in Dirk. An explosive sg in Michael Finley. A versatile pf in Antoine Walker. An up and coming Josh Howard. They also figure to have one of the leagues better benches "Stackhouse, Laettner, Najera". The Mavs also figure to be a 50 win team. Nuggets= GOD DAMN@THAT FRONT-COURT. Nene Hilario, The resigned Marcus Camby, The newly aquired all star pf In Kenyon Martin. Oh yeah. That Carmello guy should be even better this year. Grizzlies= a 50 win team last season that brings back it's entire core. Add to that, they picked up a very solid reserve in Brian Cardinal "sure he's overpaid" But none the less, He makes what was already a deep team, Deeper. Jazz= Missed the playoffs last year by 1 game despite chronic injuries, including their leading scorer "Matt Harpring" Who missed 51 gms. They've added a solid pf in Carlos Boozer, to go along with the very talented Mehmet Okur from the world champion Pistons. All-star Andre Kirelinko is back. To go along with the resigned Raul Lopez and Gordn Giracek. Both of whom played very well last season. They also had a solid draft "Kris Humpries and Kirk Snyder". Both are expected to contribute this year. Suns= Signed all-star pg Steve Nash. Are very close to signing the very talented Quentin Richardson. To go along with an all-star pf In Shawn Marion, and the every improving Amare Stoudamire. The Suns figure to be very much improved Lakers= Fired a 9 time world champion coach. Traded the most dominant player in the league for a Borderline all-star "Odom", a solid role player at best "Butler", and an undersized center who posted single digit points and rebounds last season "Grant". They Still have Kobe, who figures to increase his scoring now that Shaq is gone. But the other side of that is that he will now be the focal point of every defense the Lakers go up against. Meaning more double if not triple teams. Especially now that teams don't have to constantly double and triple Shaq in the post. Not much to get excited about after Kobe. Gary Payton is 36 and way past his prime. Karl Malone might leave. Even if he comes back it's very doubtful that at his age he could play anymore than 55-60 gms, especially coming off knee surgery. They figure to have one of the worst benches in the league, to go along with the fact they have little to no outside shooting. Something that's crucial in today's era of the zone defense. So there it is. Sorry if too long. I just wanted to remind everybody of what the Flakers are up against. I don't think they have a prayer. Stay tuned.

Yeah. That's what I meant. I agree with all of your post.

lol. 12-15 years? I don't think Kobe is gonna play 20+ years in the nba. However. This is Kobe's chance to prove himself away from Shaq. I 100% believe that if T-mac, Iverson, Pierce, Or even Vince had a 28, 29, and 30 year old Shaq next to them they would win rings. History is definitely not on Kobe's side. As has been mentioned, No sg who's last name wasn't Jordan has been able to lead a team to a title. One aspect of Jordan that people don't look at enough is that he was the ultimate leader. He commanded the respect of his teamates. He made everybody around him better. Not everybody has those type of leadership skills or qualities. I've never seen anything outta Kobe that screams leader.

If Shaq is healthy and in decent shape, the Heat will finish no worse than 3rd in the east. The Lakers, Wow. That team is in serious trouble. They're undersized at pf and center. Their bench is nothing to get excited about. They have little to no outside shooting. You better believe that defenses are gonna gang up on Kobe now that there's no Shaq to worry about down low. Who's gonna consistently hit open jumpers? The west might be better than ever next year. The Spurs, Wolves, Kings, Mavs, Rockets, Nuggets, Grizzlies r all locks to make the playoffs. I see the Suns, Blazers, Jazz, and Lakers battling it out for the 8th spot.

Holy s***. Why didn't Prior say anything?

Prior is what, 23? And he's already injury prone. It is sad. Even if he does play for those cocksuckers on the Northside.

Amen.

A 6th seed is being generous. I see the Lakers winning 38 gms next year.

It's funny how you can hate a guy one minute, then he joins your team or there's rumors of him joining your team and all of a sudden you love the guy. I should go dig up that old nba finals thread. I don't think there was one positive thing said about Kobe. However, I want no part of Kobe Bryant. There's some guys you would just rather lose without then possibly win with. He's one of the most selfish players i've ever seen. Gets a 9 time world champion coach fired, the most dominant player of this era traded. Why? So he can have his OWN team. Please, ask T-mac, AI, Pierce, Or Vince carter what it's like to be THE man. Not everybody can be Michael Jordan. And Kobe is no exception.

Poeple seem to forget about that little thing we have now called the WILDCARD. The Stro's have no chance at the division. But, if i remember correctly they're only 4 gms outta the wild card race. They're not gonna give up Clemens or Beltran unless they feel they have absolutely NO CHANCE at the wildcard.

Wasn't that supposed to be the begginning of a White Sox dynasty?

I'm worried about containing their offense. I believe they're first in average and runs scored. Maybe that's good for our guys. Maybe it was hard to get up for a team that was on pace to set a record for losses in a season. I don't think anybody will take them for granted this year.

The Slubs would be complete idiots to trade Clement. With any kinda of solid run support he could have about 12 wins right now. Maddux is obviously washed up. And you don't know how Prior and Wood are gonna hold up. I hope the Cubs do it. That would seriously hurt their chances at the playoffs.

I agree. I think they have the LLE to use as well. They should look at adding Toni Kukoc or Eric Williams. Or maybe somebody like Stromile Swift. I also heard that Karl Malone might follow Shaq to Miami whenever this trade is official.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. It's amazing what a few less miles can do to someone's fastball. Last year he was consistently 93 or 94 with his fastball. Now he's topping out at 90 or 91. It doesn't seem like much. But obviously it is. He's also gotta cut down on the hr's he's serving up. He's on pace to give up damn near 40 bombs.

I'm glad people are taking notice of his struggles. We need a 2003 type performance in the second half from Loaiza. I like the idea of him uisng his cutter more in the second half.

Hawkins has been really strugglin of late. The flubs need a closer. Hawkins is a set-up man, period.

Carpenter has ltoyed with the Cubs this season. He's 3-0 with an era in the 2's. I think it's foolish to start Wood. Let him get the extra rest. But that's why Dusty has never won a ring and probably never will. He can't handle a pitching staff.

The Lakers are getting FLEECED, And I love it. Lamar Odom is a nice player when he's got his head on straight. But nowhere near the impact player Shaq is. Caron Butler looks like nothing more than a solid 13 ppg, 5-6 rpg type of player. And Brian Grant? LMAO. This guy barely put up 8 ppg an 7 boards in the EAST. He's gonna get murdered in the west. Add to that he's already undersized. Now from the Heat point of view. Sure Shaq is 32 and declining. But he's still the most dominant player in the game. He still commands more double and triple teams than any other player in the league. And now that he's gonna be going up against smaller eastern conference front courts, I don't see any reason why he won't average anywhere from 23-25 ppg and 10-12 rpg. Oh yeah. Props to Kobe for getting a 9 time world champion coach fired, to go along with getting the most dominant center of the last 30 years traded. Now you finally have you're OWN team. Have fun winning 35-40 gms every year and getting your ass handed to you in the playoffs. If u make it..lol

I agree. But that damn contract of his :puke

I've been very impressed with Mr. Anderson. I thought he would struggle at first. I'm glad I was wrong.

Maggs is STILL with the Sox. Therefore he will get all of my support. I'm not worried about next year. As long as he's still with us I will cheer for him.

I don't see Freddy having any problems with this pathetic Mariners offense. Here's to sweeping them tommorow and going into the all-star break in first place

I forgot how bad our pitching was that year.