hammerhead johnson

Forrest Gump soundtrack

You'll always find guys who come along and break the mold, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll rewrite how the pros define a certain position. Take Magic Johnson at the PG position, for instance. I'm sure that people were saying the same thing back then, but he didn't change the recipe (6'0 to 6'3, 170 to 210). Magic never became a dominant defender because he was too big for the PG position. Opportunistic? Yes. Shutdown defender? Not quite. That's what I think will be the story of Lebron's career on the defensive end when all is said and done. However, I still think that he'll go down as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, just like Magic. But Lebronski could never even begin to approach Jordan's level. That guy was voted the greatest athlete of the 20th century, period. He was the ultimate basketball player on both ends of the court.

Game-by-game breakdown: 09/12 @San Francisco W 21-19 10 rushing yards 09/19 St. Louis W 34-17 109 rushing yards 09/26 Arizona W 6-3 68 rushing yards 10/03 @Carolina W 27-10 35 rushing yards 10/10 Detroit L 10-17 29 rushing yards 10/17 San Diego W 21-20 35 rushing yards 10/24 @Kansas City L 10-56 62 rushing yards 10/31 @Denver W 41-28 115 rushing yards 11/14 Tampa Bay W 24-14 73 rushing yards 11/21 @New York W 14-10 104 rushing yards He has averaged 97 yards per game over the last three games, two of which were on the road. And he gets to play against the Saints this week. New Orleans is dead last in the NFL in rushing defense (150.6 allowed per game).

Top 3 in NFL history: 1. Bobby Douglass (968 yards, 1972) 2. Randall Cunningham (942 yards, 1990) 3. Mike Vick (777 yards, 2002) He is averaging 64 yards per game, so if he can maintain that average through the remaining 6 games, he'll finish with 1,024 rushing yards on the season. Remaining Games: Nov 28 New Orleans Dec 5 @Tampa Bay Dec 12 Oakland Dec 18 Carolina Dec 26 @New Orleans Jan 2 @Seattle 4 games left against division rivals...it's gonna be interesting.

Rasheed is actually a hair under 7'0, but it doesn't matter. We're getting a tad too anal here. We'll see how Lebron does guarding SG's in the long run, but I'd be absolutely shocked if he were to become a dominant defender.

I was intrigued when we picked up these three: Marte (didn't know anything about him, therefore intrigued) Shingo (all time saves leader in Japan) Gordon (vicious curveball and nice fastball when healthy) If Walker wasn't a 28 year old pitcher with less than 30 combined major league innings pitched over the past 4 seasons, people might not be ripping on him so hard. So you can definitely give all of the soxtalk clowns a free pass on this one. No need to defend a major stroke like Walker.

Scottie Pippen was actually the same height and 10 to 15 pounds lighter than Lebron...think of it like that. Pippen trying to guard SGs...there's just no way. If Lebron switched to Point Forward, he could be Pippen with a shot. Think of how scary that would be.

Well, I try to look at basketball as though I were a scout. Lebron is closer to 6'9, and Artest is closer to 6'6. Seriously, examine these guys. You can't compare the two. Also, it takes a certain amount of maliciousness to really play 1st team caliber defense. You knew that Artest had it right off the bat. Lebron just ain't cut out to play shutdown defense at the SG position. "His size and length allows him to dominate 2G's if they try to take him inside" This could never happen. A guy who is 30 to 40 pounds lighter and 3 to 5 inches shorter (your prototypical SG) would always have the inside step. And worst case scenario, he has to guard an Iverson type, or a Dwayne Wade type (both of whom are more cut out for the SG position). Sylvester would have a better chance of catching Speedy Gonzalez, nahmean? I think that you know your basketball, but you're way off the mark on this one. I'm not trying to be an asshole...I'm just being honest. Thinking that Lebron could "dominate" 2G's if they try to take him inside is something that you'll never hear from pretty much anyone who studies the game. That is precisely his weakness, in fact. To expand on my initial argument, I think that Lebron might be a 1st team caliber defender out of the SF position. But not out of the SG slot...it's just basic physics and mathematics.

At one point in the 3rd quarter, I was getting ready to puke up my turkey dinner. Quinn must have bet a lot of money on the Cowboys.

He's an amazing talent, no question. Unfortunately, his height (6'8) and weight (240) at the SG position will prevent him from ever becoming a defensive monster. It's hard to play on-the-ball defense against your prototypical shooting guards when you're 2 to 5 inches taller and/or 30 to 40 pounds heavier than they are. You won't find too many guys at or around his height playing shutdown defense in this league out of the SG position. When you go on those west coast trips, and you can't contain guys like Ray Allen, Peja Stoyakovich, Kobe Bryant, Jason Richardson, Michael Finley, Tracy McGrady, Latrell Sprewell, etc, you're most likely gonna lose. He matches up well with McGrady and Bryant, though. But you get the picture. The thing about Lebron is that he's wise beyond his years. His court vision is second to none, and he ain't even turned 20 yet. And yes, he has forced close to 3.5 turnovers per game this year due to the fact that he's an opportunistic defensive player. He will never be confused for a 1st Team All NBA defender at the SG postion, though. By the way, I think that Kevin Garnett blows everyone else out of the water if we're talking about the most gifted player in the league right now. Last I checked, Garnett was only a couple assists away from being in the Top 10 in the NBA. He's the only non-guard in the Top 25 right now, IIRC. Combine that with his rebounding skills (perhaps the best in the league), his 1st Team caliber defense, his ability to school most anyone on the offensive end, etc. We could also talk about his charisma and leadership skills. The list goes on and on and on.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all

Yes Now we're back on track. Keep the jokes coming, fellas.

And besides, even if it was some crazy ass number, I'm sure that Dustin Hoffman could figure it out.

Yeah, really. The first page of this thread was pure comedy. To all of the contributors:

Naah, nobody said anything to suggest that it was the one and only move that they'll make.

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Damn, how did you know? Nice avatar, by the way.

This is too easy. RUN DMC- "Christmas In Hollis" For those that have seen "Die Hard" over and over and over again as I have (and I'll still watch it every single time that it comes on), this is the song playing right at the beginning.

Buzzer-beater

If you need any help, let me know.

Week 11 was unusually easy to call for some reason. I got 14 out of 16 right in the football picks thread. Not that anyone is even keeping track anymore, though.

Big Frank