Livaso

Yeah exactly. 3/4 of the NFL could have been arrested last year but it wouldn't change a drop of public opinion as the single Michael Vick arrest.The NBA has a higher superstar-to-scrub ratio because rosters are small. We didn't have to listen to Wayne Newton and Christina what's her face at the all star game because David Stern's a fan.What can I say the general public are jerks.and come on don't me man.

Not just hiring him, but giving him contract extensions!Zach Randolph in New York is a ticking time bomb as well. This is going to be a wacky NBA season that reinforces the public opinion that NBA players are criminals. I can smell it

It sucks being a Raptor fan whose hometowns are both just slightly out of "weekend trip" reach from where the Raptors play. I was hoping to get to see them in Spain for EuroLive but that's not going to happen. Screw you guys

That's a shame.

FMPTYPFFM? (fixed my post that you previously fixed for me)Just kidding though!

"Aw heck, at least you weren't gambling. Welcome back" - David Stern

Amare is the exception not the rule when it comes to micro-fracture knee surgery. I can't even say "If he is who he was when he comes back" because we don't even know what he "was" yet. He didn't "tweak" his knee, he had an injury that's taken more money away from athletes than the IRS.I hope he returns and can live up to the hype. Having surgery on your knee at that age means a long 10-15 years for you.

Haha.The Blazers measure success in increments of misdemeanors. Winning a championship is -6 misdemeanors. Having the future of your franchise blow his knee out before the first game is 1.4 misdemeanors.We were all joking how Oden seemed injury prone. I'm going to withhold judgment until season 2, but I don't expect as much from Bill Simmons. Durant's stats are going to be bloated because of his crappy team. I expect next year's rookie of the year will be him or Bellinelli.

they definitely have more depth than every team in the Atlantic and most teams in the East. 50 wins just seems a lot more difficult than last year. Who knows the ceiling on Boston this year, the Nets will in all likelihood be healthier than last season and the Knicks are looking a little better as well.With a young team growth is important and that's all we should hope for. As for the Carter thing, don't mind them addaminsane. Its an almost perfunctory hate at this point

plantar fasciitis isn't a big deal. Sam Mitchell didn't want him playing in USA basketball this year because he had so much taken out of him last year. Not to mention he was pulling industrial minutes near the end of the season.It won't be that big of a deal, but I'm real happy with him being out of the USA Team. I think we'll notice a difference in his energy level at the beginning of the season. Bargnani didn't have any problems with fouls last year, but that's probably because he wasn't playing starting minutes and he was playing a very awkward position that doesn't really exist in basketba

I hope for their sake they win SOMETHING. could you imagine KG, Pierce, Allen and Miller all (re-)retiring together without any rings? While Robert Horry retires with 16.

Curry and Randolph, Shaq after he gets back from his customary injury... hmm. Not a whole lot of other ones but even players of Bogut's calibre can back you down if you're underweight. the Raptors will have at least 3 players on the floor at any time that can shoot threes. with all 5 at any time good from 15 to 20 feet. Its just a matter of Bosh and Bargnani moving inside every now and again.Thinking about that just there makes me a little more excited for this season. On paper they just seem so hard to defend. I wish Parker and Garbajosa were 26.

I just got back from Europe and I was contemplating starting the 2.0 thread but I can't keep up with fleung. Toronto is a young team and young teams don't need rehauling every season especially when coming off a 47 win season. That being said I don't expect that kind of year this time around. Swirsky's going on that it'll be a 50 win season but the NBA is going to be a lot better this year and he's always overreacted when it comes to the Raps. They're still soft and there's glaring problems at C if Bargnani doesn't learn the North American delicacy of the bicep curl and push up. His skill will

He's had a problem with fouls both in college and the summer league. It'll be interesting to see how he plays against AI who nobody has been able to not foul. Ever. Boozer is built like a truck as well.

Yeah this is the reasoning I said on why nobody has the guts to pass on 7 footers that have an even basic understanding of footwork in the post. Its just too enticing. Most people don't remember that Jordan changed what a Shooting Guard is supposed to be. All of a sudden you expect a lot of offense to come from the two guard. They don't win championships on a regular basis. Duncan, Shaq, Russell, Kareem.... Jordan's the exception not the rule.When Oden comes along you HAVE to take him. You don't have a choice. You have to take Darko at 3. You have to take Hakeem over the skinny shooting guard

His offense wasn't what made him great. It was his defense and rebounding and "in the way" ability that was the main point of centers before Kareem changed the face of it.And he was supposed to be the savior of the Trail Blazers but had conditioning problems and injur---- Oh no!(this is a joke)50 greatest is a push but so is Scottie Pippen in my opinion.

Patrick EwingI went there.Edit: I take that back. Ewing was great.

My Oden comment was sarcasm and frustration from the way sports columnists treated him pre-draft. Like "so will he be between Russell and O'Neal in history or O'Neal and Walton?"If you check my post in the day of the NBA Lottery I said how they didn't have the guts to take Durant even though it'd make perfect sense for that team with Randolph and Aldridge. Nobody has the guts to pass on 7 footers because skilled big men are rare and championships follow Shaq around like flies to ****. I still think Durant's going to be the best player from this draft and while the roof is lower on Carmelo, I s

Bosh might have weighed 200 pounds soaking wet when he was drafted. Sort of in the position Brandon Wright is in. Wade was under the radar and I think billed as a combo backcourt guard and there might be a bit of fudging to list him at 6'4. A 7 footer with a single iota of post skill goes ahead of those two any day of the week. A handful of skills and you're billed as the 5th best center of all time before your first game (Oden). Not taking Carmelo was obviously a bad move. Even at the time. More so now. But now way Darko was slipping past 3. The reason Detroit took him is you don't draft for

Bill's one of "those" guys.He's a lot more tolerable in general with his articles when the Celtics are good. Don't even attempt reading anything he writes when the Pats get eliminated. Its unreadable.

I try to make a point not to wish ill on others, but I think karma would definitely be fulfilled if Yi turns into a journeryman and is forced to play for whomever is willing to take him. You can't go around demanding to play for certain teams. Especially if you're an unproven commodity that wants to play the hardest position in the game.It probably won't happen though. He'll go where he wants and be an average to above average 1 or 2 time all-star or some such thing.

I was kind of hoping the Raptors would get him. They need a shot blocker/rebounder who can shoot outside and he's young. But I guess one over paid serbian center is enough.He'll break out of his shell this year. He's not going to be benched in Memphis.

Off Season highlights:Oden and Durant went 1 and 2, flying in the face of everyone's pre-draft predictions.Orlando virtually capped out on 2 playersRashard Lewis takes his rightful spot in the hall of fame next to Barry Zito.In a day and age when the faster paced styles of the 80's Lakers are making comebacks, New York does the logical thing and goes for the Curry-Randolph front court. Shaq helps fat kids lose weight.Kobe Bryant complains, apologizes, complains and then apologizes again. My worst fear of having this annoying headline play out all summer seems to be coming to fruition.What am I

I don't even think you can put Howard in the company of the 20 millers:Kevin GarnettAllan IversonShaquille O'NealStephan MarburyPaul PierceRashard Lewis. Cap relief is very important to teams that are trying to get young (unless you're Orlando then sign Grant Hill and when you're finally out from under the weight of a franchise-crippling contract, do it all over again.)Not to mention nobody wants Francis on their team. Nobody.

Orlando with the worst GM move in basketball since Rafael Araujo.A sign and trade with Seattle that gives Lewis $126 million over 6 years. For some reason Orlando's bid of 75 million was matched by nobody at all so they made it 126. If salaries remain stable, in a few years he'll be the highest paid athelete in professional basketball. Its completely unfathomable. Its like giving Lamar Odom 21 million a year. It might even be worse than that. Dwight Howard is awesome and deserves a lot of NBA success so I hope either this works out for them or he leaves. With Portland having a chance to turn i