Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Wallace barely got there in time to get the charge.
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
Wallace barely got there in time to get the charge.
wallace was late. I got to see it 12 times at home
man, I just don't know how the jazz are gonna divvy up the minutes :?
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Wallace barely got there in time to get the charge.
wallace was late. I got to see it 12 times at home
man, I just don't know how the jazz are gonna divvy up the minutes :?
I'm sure the replayed that like crazy.
The Jazz did waive 4 players before the game last night, so now their roster is at 14... still, some distribution needs to be done. Corbin needs to find a solid starting line-up and a reliable second unit.
and for the love of God, C.J. Miles needs to become consistent... he's been in the league 7 years now...
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
john hollinger on espn insider is always a great read. here's his east predictions:
8. Milwaukee Bucks (34-32)
Last season, the Bucks were one of the best defensive teams in basketball, but it didn't matter because the offense was so awful -- they ranked dead last in offensive efficiency. They've tried some tweaking around the edges to fix that, sending out Corey Maggette for Stephen Jackson, adding Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy, and drafting Tobias Harris.
Nonetheless, the Bucks' biggest obstacle to the playoffs is simply this: They need Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings to play better. Bogut isn't really a go-to guy but plays that role for Milwaukee, and last season he was bothered enough by his surgically repaired elbow that he took a major step back statistically. Jennings, meanwhile, also seemed stuck after a very encouraging rookie season; while his jump shot gets most of the criticism, it's his inability to finish that's been the bigger problem.
Milwaukee also was wracked by injuries last season; on health alone, it should be a better team this season, especially if Drew Gooden comes back and stabilizes the power forward spot.
As for the help, Jackson is holding out with a nebulous back injury while he lobbies for a contract extension -- a strategy that will fail miserably unless former Warriors president Robert Rowell took a job with the Bucks and forgot to tell everyone.
But the Bucks hardly need Cap'n Jack. Milwaukee has vast reserves of depth -- so much so that it sent Keyon Dooling to Boston for a future draft pick -- and is well adapted to the grueling schedule this season. The starting five (Jennings-Jackson-Carlos Delfino-Gooden-Bogut) might not scare anybody, but as with the Nuggets out West, the Bucks go 12 deep with Shaun Livingston and Udrih in the backcourt, Dunleavy, Harris and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute on the wing, and Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova up front.
All except Udrih can defend, and coach Scott Skiles will make sure they all do. They still won't be an offensive juggernaut, but they'll be better than last season and maintain a top-five defense. That combination should just squeak them back into the playoffs.
7. New York Knicks (35-31)
This might seem pessimistic in light of the hype coming from Gotham, but in the short term, I'm not sure the Knicks have dramatically improved. They've essentially traded Chauncey Billups for Tyson Chandler, which will help, but this is the wrong season to have a thin bench and brittle stars. Between Amare Stoudemire's knees and Chandler's toes, the Knicks are likely to feel the brunt of the schedule-makers' wrath.
Baron Davis, despite his weaknesses, will prove quite useful when he's able to play. Mike D'Antoni's system demands a point guard who can pass, and Davis can do that when he's not jacking up 3s with 20 on the shot clock. It's even more important given the Knicks' other high-profile moves -- they boast three of the best frontcourt finishers in the game, but nobody to get them the ball.
I factored half a season of Davis into my projection, figuring he will miss more than a quarter of the season with his current back injury and then some more with his next injury. When he's out, the Knicks have Toney Douglas running the point, which is less than ideal. While I like him as a player, he's a bad fit at the point in this system because he's blind as a bat.
Otherwise, the roster is a bit of a mess. Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert are nice prospects but aren't ready to be top-seven players on a contending team. Jared Jeffries and Renaldo Balkman are the top two frontcourt reserves. Really. And at some point the Knicks will have to play Mike Bibby in a real game.
About the best thing New York has going for it is, well, New York. Players are lured by the city, and, as with the Lakers, the Knicks have a great shot at signing any decent veteran who shakes free during the season via buyout, waivers or departure from China. Better yet, the Knicks still have their $2.5 million "under-cap" exception lying around to use on such a player.
Nonetheless, I have trouble envisioning a high seed for this team. The Knicks get more dangerous once the playoffs begin. If their three frontcourt stars and Davis make it to May upright, they'll be a very difficult first-round out. Getting to that point is the problem.
6. Indiana Pacers (36-30)
On most levels, few teams are set up for the future better than the Pacers. They have a lot of young talent, $15 million in cap space and nary a bad contract, and they scored a rare small-market free-agent coup by luring David West from New Orleans.
However, they face the classic small-market conundrum: How do we snag a star if we don't win the lottery? While Plan A is hoping Dwight Howard develops a passion for corn, more realistically their hopes depend on an advantageous trade opportunity. They've set themselves up for that chance, but they still need the right deal to fall into their laps.
In the meantime, they'll hope Paul George can take a step toward addressing their star problem. The second-year pro won't be their best player this season, but he is an alluring prospect with his size and fluidity, and at 6-10, he combines with Danny Granger to give Indy the biggest wing combo in the league. In fact, long term, one suspects Granger will be traded for a guard to clear the decks for George at the 3.
Despite the absence of a star, Indy has built itself a nice, deep team that should be able to take advantage of tired opponents on the schedule. One gets the impression the Pacers aren't quite done in the backcourt -- the only real rotation-quality guards on the roster are Darren Collison and George Hill, and neither sees the floor well. A deft passer would be Indy's preference going forward, because its frontcourt can seriously fill it up. West, Granger, George, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert all should average at or near a point every two minutes this season.
The good news is that getting good guards is generally easier than nabbing bigs; the more difficult problem has already been solved. The Pacers have a two-year window to convert some of that cap space into an A-lister before the kids start becoming restricted free agents and hammering away at their cap position, but they've put themselves in great shape. For now they're a merely interesting, one-and-done playoff team, but they're potentially much more.
5. Philadelphia 76ers (37-29)
The limited practice time before opening day is going to favor teams with continuity, and the Sixers have more of that than anybody. The likely nine-man playing rotation will be identical to last season's; the only major change is the mascot, which they've tentatively named "At Least It's Not A Hip-Hop Rabbit."
Philly also sports a fair number of young players who should play better this season, most notably point guard Jrue Holiday and wing Evan Turner. Putting the pieces together into coherent lineups gets a little tricky, however. Jodie Meeks is the only consistent long-range threat, inviting teams to pack the paint. Sixth man combo forward Thaddeus Young, while deadly effective in the right matchup, has to be spotted carefully; he can't guard big 4s and has struggled when asked to play the wing.
The Sixers proved shockingly good when they played small with Young at the 4 and Elton Brand at the 5 last season. They could go to that option more often this season, especially since small, young and fast is likely to be a winning strategy in this season's grind of a schedule. However, they built a top-heavy roster that's dangerously thin in the backcourt, and an injury to any of their guards would leave them in a precarious spot. Philly was very fortunate in that respect last season, gliding through 2010-11 virtually unscathed health-wise, but it can't count on similar fortune again.
Big picture, the immediate future is a bit brighter than the medium term, despite the club's youth. Philly might challenge for a top-four seed this season, depending on Dwight Howard's mood, but it's difficult to see how it will take the next step forward with this group. Coach Doug Collins' history is that he gets a big boost in Year 1, starts getting on everybody's nerves in Year 2 and completely self-combusts in Year 3, which presents a bad omen. A worse one is the Sixers' lack of stars and subpar cap situation. Unless Holiday becomes a big star -- possible, but not likely -- they'll be tugged back toward .500 by two giant anchor contracts (Brand and Andre Iguodala) that have left them with their hands tied financially.
4. Orlando Magic (40-26)
I know everyone is anxious to predict doom and gloom for the Magic, but let's keep in mind that before losing to Atlanta in the first round, they'd put together a very solid regular season. Orlando won 52 games in an accredited basketball conference and had the point differential of a 58-win team. The Magic ranked third in defensive efficiency thanks to the might of Dwight Howard, and they might be able to considerably improve the offense if sharpshooting forward Ryan Anderson gets more burn.
In fact, my initial projection for Orlando was even rosier. Despite all the overpaid averageness surrounding Howard, Orlando's ceiling remains very high because of Howard's dominance in the middle. If he plays all season in Orlando at last season's level, I could easily see this team pushing for a top-two seed in the East.
But there's the rub. Orlando's success depends on Howard being fully engaged and playing at an MVP level; if he's anything less than the second-best player in the league, the Magic's chances fall off a cliff. This, then, is a bit different from the celebrated 2007 example in which Kobe Bryant demanded a trade and then belatedly realized he had a really good team around him. In Orlando's case, Howard has a really good team almost entirely because of his own efforts. Anderson and Jameer Nelson are the only teammates who project to generate a player efficiency rating better than the league average.
So if Howard isn't 100 percent committed to the enterprise, the Magic's fortunes inevitably suffer. And right now, Vegas has "checked out" as a seven-point favorite over "dialed in." If Howard goes into Vince Carter-in-Toronto mode, the Magic will take a step backward.
While Howard talk will obliterate any other news trying to escape Orlando, three other players who bear watching are Anderson, Earl Clark and Daniel Orton. If Howard is going to experience a Kobe-esque revival of interest in staying, the development of those three youngsters would be the most likely cause. Anderson has definite breakout potential, but we aren't holding our breath on the other two.
Overall, this is a difficult projection -- we don't know how long Howard is staying or how motivated he'll be while he's here. I split the difference and projected the Magic with a full season of unmotivated Dwight. That's not unrealistic; in a vacuum, I'd say Orlando would be better off declining the current lame trade offers and crossing its fingers he'll re-sign. However, a lot of water can go under the bridge between now and the trade deadline.
3. Boston Celtics (43-23)
It's amusing that the same Celtics fans who wanted Jeff Green tarred and feathered last spring now think they're hosed because he's out for the season. It's a loss, but he's a backup small forward and they can do other things with their lineups to mostly cover his absence. As long as they can avoid playing Sasha Pavlovic in an actual game, they'll be fine.
The more worrying problem for Boston is the grueling nature of the schedule, which will be magnified for the Celtics because of their age and mediocre bench. The theft of Brandon Bass from Orlando should help, and I suspect they'll get a lot more from Jermaine O'Neal than they did last season. Still, this team tied for 17th in offensive efficiency in 2010-11 and should be mediocre again; Boston is counting on its defense being at or near the top of the league to keep it in contention.
Perhaps it will be, but the combination of age, schedule and coaching staff defections (Tom Thibodeau left two years ago and Lawrence Frank this past offseason) might cause some slippage. All of Boston's bench players are good defenders except offseason pickup Chris Wilcox, but the C's still will have great difficulty retaining their No. 2 ranking in defensive efficiency.
Here's one other bummer for Boston: There are no games before Christmas this year. Over the past four seasons, the Celtics were a ridiculous 94-14 (.870) before Santa's arrival and a much more pedestrian 140-80 (.636) afterward.
In the big picture, the Celtics shape up for this season as Mavericks East: They're a Tier B contender, but rather than ride their veterans slowly down the tubes, they've built around short-term contracts and given themselves an opportunity to completely reshape the roster after the season. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are the only rotation players with contracts for next year, presuming Bass opts out, and Boston will have more than $20 million in cap space and two first-round picks next summer.
2. Chicago Bulls (48-18)
Provided they can keep up last season's intensity through a sausage-grinder of a schedule, the Bulls are very likely the second-best team in basketball. Chicago led the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, thanks in equal parts to Tom Thibodeau's help-heavy schemes and a long, athletic rotation that defended the rim with gusto.
While the Bulls won a league-best 62 games, they finished just 12th in offensive efficiency and were shut down by Miami in the playoffs. This explains their quest to add more scoring. Chicago waived Keith Bogans and signed Richard Hamilton to provide scoring help for Derrick Rose; I'd argue Hamilton can help the Bulls' anemic second unit even more, depending on how they spot his minutes. Unfortunately, he's also higher-maintenance than Bogans, so the Bulls will need to manage that carefully to maintain the esprit de corps that fueled them through last season.
Aside from Rip, the big item in the Bulls' favor is continuity -- Chicago has the most intact roster this side of Philly, with Hamilton the only change. Several young players likely will improve, including Joakim Noah and reserve bigs Omer Asik and Taj Gibson. The latter combo presents an awesome defensive frontcourt with the second unit, but each is raw offensively. Rose comes off an MVP season, but the exciting part is that he's still getting better -- his free throw rate steadily escalated during 2010-11, while his long-range shooting and court vision are the next items on the list.
While continuity favors the Bulls, the schedule presents some challenges. Chicago is generally a deep team, but Thibodeau's instincts last season were to ride Rose and Luol Deng as long as humanly possible; do that with this season's schedule, and he'll break them. If he treads more carefully, the Bulls are heavy favorites to get back to the conference finals.
1. Miami Heat (52-14)
We don't know yet what LeBron James will do if he gets back to the Finals this season, and there is little he can do to mollify his critics between now and then.
Here's what we do know: James has a better chance of playing in June than any other player in the league. We already know Boston and Chicago had no answer for the Heat's stars last season, and it remains to be seen what the Western Conference could throw at him in a potential Finals matchup -- especially now that Dallas has reshaped its roster.
Thus, while I would take "the field" over the Heat to win the NBA title this season, I would take the Heat over any other single team. There simply is too much talent not to put them above the rest, especially since they're likely to have more help than last season.
The scary thing about last season's Heat was how heavily they had to rely on awful players. Between Mike Miller, Joel Anthony, Mike Bibby, Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Carlos Arroyo, Jerry Stackhouse and Dexter Pittman, Miami allocated 5,346 minutes to players who produced a PER less than 10 ... nearly matching the combined playing time for Wade and James.
That 5,346 figure should diminish considerably this season. Shane Battier's arrival and Miller's having operable thumbs should allow Miami's wing rotation to be far stronger, permitting more lineups in which James is playing either power forward or, in a frightening matchup situation, point guard.
In the backcourt, rookie Norris Cole should soak up the minutes taken by the Arroyos, Bibbys and Eddie Houses of last season, along with holdover Mario Chalmers. Unfortunately, Miami still lacks a point guard who can push the tempo and get James and Wade out in transition; the Heat had disappointingly few run-outs last season and ranked just 21st in pace factor.
And up front, Udonis Haslem returns after missing nearly all of last season. He'll often be playing as an undersized 5 next to Bosh or even James; while this isn't ideal, it's a big improvement on what they had a year ago.
Despite those upgrades, weaknesses remain. The Heat have only three players who project to have a PER better than the league average -- I'll let you guess which three. Their starting center, Anthony, was statistically one of the league's least effective players last season. Yes, he provides defense, but no player in basketball is more blatantly disregarded by opposing offenses.
And despite the bench upgrades, the depth situation remains fraught. For instance, Juwan Howard is the second big off the bench; I'm pretty sure he played with Bob Cousy. As a result, any injuries to one of the Big Three will quickly make this team very beatable. Plus, the grueling schedule puts teams with weaker benches at a disadvantage.
With all those caveats, Miami will be extremely difficult to beat in the playoffs, because there's more rest and the Superfriends can each play 40 minutes a game. With the drama quotient dramatically reduced this time around, I expect a more relaxed and comfortable Heat team than the one that pressed through early-season games a year ago. That team was already a heavy favorite, and with a better bench and unmatchable star power, this is again the team to beat. Whether James can deliver on that promise will have to wait until June.
john hollinger on espn insider is always a great read. here's his east predictions:
no atlanta?
I'd be surprised if they made the playoffs. I think Milwaukee is more prone.
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
and my four favorite words on draft night - "We have a trade"
and the transaction is Mehmet Okur to the Nets for a draft pick in 2015
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
and my four favorite words on draft night - "We have a trade"
and the transaction is Mehmet Okur to the Nets for a draft pick in 2015
so long, money man
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
and my four favorite words on draft night - "We have a trade"
and the transaction is Mehmet Okur to the Nets for a draft pick in 2015
so long, money man
Gonna miss Memo. :(
Good opening of minutes for the young bucks though. Kanter, Favors, Burks... they all need to get in and get to work. Still trying to understand what this trade exception is...
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
and my four favorite words on draft night - "We have a trade"
and the transaction is Mehmet Okur to the Nets for a draft pick in 2015
sweet ... i picked up okur hearing he was in great shape and hoping he would be traded ...
dude...we don't care about your damn fantasy team :x
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
OK, basketball junkies (PX, SoS, XM, etc.)....explain me two things
what's a "trade exception"? we got one for memo...woo hoo
secondly (and I'm way too lazy to read the CBA), this whole split of BRI....how does it actually effect contracts? e.g. D Rose's $19m per year deal....is this 50% or whatever of some hypothetical revenue or is the whole 50/50 (or whatever they agreed on) split on TOP OF their contracts :? ? I mean, how do you split revenue that is yet to be generated?
hope this question makes sense....I just woke up....and I was thinking about it all night
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
OK, basketball junkies (PX, SoS, XM, etc.)....explain me two things
what's a "trade exception"? we got one for memo...woo hoo
secondly (and I'm way too lazy to read the CBA), this whole split of BRI....how does it actually effect contracts? e.g. D Rose's $19m per year deal....is this 50% or whatever of some hypothetical revenue or is the whole 50/50 (or whatever they agreed on) split on TOP OF their contracts :? ? I mean, how do you split revenue that is yet to be generated?
hope this question makes sense....I just woke up....and I was thinking about it all night
as for the BRI - i think it goes something like this ... salary cap is determined by the BRI ... maximum salary is then calculated based on a percentage of the salary cap along with adjustments based on years of service ...
Still trying to understand what this trade exception is...
you and me both :crazy:
Traded Player Exception: If a team trades away a player with a higher salary than the player they acquire in return (we'll call this initial deal "Trade #1"), they receive what is called a Traded Player Exception, also known colloquially as a "Trade Exception". Teams with a trade exception have up to a year in which they can acquire more salary in other trades (Trade #2, #3, etc.) than they send away, as long as the gulf in salaries for Trade #2, #3, etc. are less than or equal to the difference in salary for Trade #1. This exception is particularly useful when teams trade draft picks straight-up for a player; since draft picks have no salary value, often the only way to get salaries to match is to use a trade exception, which allows trades to be made despite unbalanced salaries. It is also useful to compensate teams for losing free agents as they can do a sign and trade of that free agent to acquire a trade exception that can be used later. Note this exception is for single player trades only, though additional cash and draft picks can be part of the trade.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
as for the BRI - i think it goes something like this ... salary cap is determined by the BRI ... maximum salary is then calculated based on a percentage of the salary cap along with adjustments based on years of service ...
so....is salary cap maybe something like total league wide BRI divided by number of teams, times the percentage the players were allowed? what was it anyway? 49%? 50%? 51%? :crazy:
I'm just trying to figure how you decide you can dole out a $95m contact :?
to me, it kind of refutes the whole "plantation owner/slave" analogy
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I think that's pretty much it. Just factor in that max salary is a % of the cap with some exceptions to entice players to sign with their current team.
as for the BRI - i think it goes something like this ... salary cap is determined by the BRI ... maximum salary is then calculated based on a percentage of the salary cap along with adjustments based on years of service ...
so....is salary cap maybe something like total league wide BRI divided by number of teams, times the percentage the players were allowed? what was it anyway? 49%? 50%? 51%? :crazy:
I'm just trying to figure how you decide you can dole out a $95m contact :?
to me, it kind of refutes the whole "plantation owner/slave" analogy
actually looking forward to the season. few more hours
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
:thumbup: I don't care if he looks funny in this, he has a ring and that's all that matters now to a great career.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Comments
Looking at what will be the starting roster for the season I feel like the indian fans from major league
Who are these fucking guys? :roll:
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
They seem more like the Kentucky Colonels
West: okc, memphis, dallas, clippers, spurs, lakers, jazz, portland
Finals: clippers over the knicks ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... p4txhMDJbQ
Wallace barely got there in time to get the charge.
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
man, I just don't know how the jazz are gonna divvy up the minutes :?
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I'm sure the replayed that like crazy.
The Jazz did waive 4 players before the game last night, so now their roster is at 14... still, some distribution needs to be done. Corbin needs to find a solid starting line-up and a reliable second unit.
and for the love of God, C.J. Miles needs to become consistent... he's been in the league 7 years now...
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
8. Milwaukee Bucks (34-32)
Last season, the Bucks were one of the best defensive teams in basketball, but it didn't matter because the offense was so awful -- they ranked dead last in offensive efficiency. They've tried some tweaking around the edges to fix that, sending out Corey Maggette for Stephen Jackson, adding Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy, and drafting Tobias Harris.
Nonetheless, the Bucks' biggest obstacle to the playoffs is simply this: They need Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings to play better. Bogut isn't really a go-to guy but plays that role for Milwaukee, and last season he was bothered enough by his surgically repaired elbow that he took a major step back statistically. Jennings, meanwhile, also seemed stuck after a very encouraging rookie season; while his jump shot gets most of the criticism, it's his inability to finish that's been the bigger problem.
Milwaukee also was wracked by injuries last season; on health alone, it should be a better team this season, especially if Drew Gooden comes back and stabilizes the power forward spot.
As for the help, Jackson is holding out with a nebulous back injury while he lobbies for a contract extension -- a strategy that will fail miserably unless former Warriors president Robert Rowell took a job with the Bucks and forgot to tell everyone.
But the Bucks hardly need Cap'n Jack. Milwaukee has vast reserves of depth -- so much so that it sent Keyon Dooling to Boston for a future draft pick -- and is well adapted to the grueling schedule this season. The starting five (Jennings-Jackson-Carlos Delfino-Gooden-Bogut) might not scare anybody, but as with the Nuggets out West, the Bucks go 12 deep with Shaun Livingston and Udrih in the backcourt, Dunleavy, Harris and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute on the wing, and Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova up front.
All except Udrih can defend, and coach Scott Skiles will make sure they all do. They still won't be an offensive juggernaut, but they'll be better than last season and maintain a top-five defense. That combination should just squeak them back into the playoffs.
7. New York Knicks (35-31)
This might seem pessimistic in light of the hype coming from Gotham, but in the short term, I'm not sure the Knicks have dramatically improved. They've essentially traded Chauncey Billups for Tyson Chandler, which will help, but this is the wrong season to have a thin bench and brittle stars. Between Amare Stoudemire's knees and Chandler's toes, the Knicks are likely to feel the brunt of the schedule-makers' wrath.
Baron Davis, despite his weaknesses, will prove quite useful when he's able to play. Mike D'Antoni's system demands a point guard who can pass, and Davis can do that when he's not jacking up 3s with 20 on the shot clock. It's even more important given the Knicks' other high-profile moves -- they boast three of the best frontcourt finishers in the game, but nobody to get them the ball.
I factored half a season of Davis into my projection, figuring he will miss more than a quarter of the season with his current back injury and then some more with his next injury. When he's out, the Knicks have Toney Douglas running the point, which is less than ideal. While I like him as a player, he's a bad fit at the point in this system because he's blind as a bat.
Otherwise, the roster is a bit of a mess. Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert are nice prospects but aren't ready to be top-seven players on a contending team. Jared Jeffries and Renaldo Balkman are the top two frontcourt reserves. Really. And at some point the Knicks will have to play Mike Bibby in a real game.
About the best thing New York has going for it is, well, New York. Players are lured by the city, and, as with the Lakers, the Knicks have a great shot at signing any decent veteran who shakes free during the season via buyout, waivers or departure from China. Better yet, the Knicks still have their $2.5 million "under-cap" exception lying around to use on such a player.
Nonetheless, I have trouble envisioning a high seed for this team. The Knicks get more dangerous once the playoffs begin. If their three frontcourt stars and Davis make it to May upright, they'll be a very difficult first-round out. Getting to that point is the problem.
6. Indiana Pacers (36-30)
On most levels, few teams are set up for the future better than the Pacers. They have a lot of young talent, $15 million in cap space and nary a bad contract, and they scored a rare small-market free-agent coup by luring David West from New Orleans.
However, they face the classic small-market conundrum: How do we snag a star if we don't win the lottery? While Plan A is hoping Dwight Howard develops a passion for corn, more realistically their hopes depend on an advantageous trade opportunity. They've set themselves up for that chance, but they still need the right deal to fall into their laps.
In the meantime, they'll hope Paul George can take a step toward addressing their star problem. The second-year pro won't be their best player this season, but he is an alluring prospect with his size and fluidity, and at 6-10, he combines with Danny Granger to give Indy the biggest wing combo in the league. In fact, long term, one suspects Granger will be traded for a guard to clear the decks for George at the 3.
Despite the absence of a star, Indy has built itself a nice, deep team that should be able to take advantage of tired opponents on the schedule. One gets the impression the Pacers aren't quite done in the backcourt -- the only real rotation-quality guards on the roster are Darren Collison and George Hill, and neither sees the floor well. A deft passer would be Indy's preference going forward, because its frontcourt can seriously fill it up. West, Granger, George, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert all should average at or near a point every two minutes this season.
The good news is that getting good guards is generally easier than nabbing bigs; the more difficult problem has already been solved. The Pacers have a two-year window to convert some of that cap space into an A-lister before the kids start becoming restricted free agents and hammering away at their cap position, but they've put themselves in great shape. For now they're a merely interesting, one-and-done playoff team, but they're potentially much more.
5. Philadelphia 76ers (37-29)
The limited practice time before opening day is going to favor teams with continuity, and the Sixers have more of that than anybody. The likely nine-man playing rotation will be identical to last season's; the only major change is the mascot, which they've tentatively named "At Least It's Not A Hip-Hop Rabbit."
Philly also sports a fair number of young players who should play better this season, most notably point guard Jrue Holiday and wing Evan Turner. Putting the pieces together into coherent lineups gets a little tricky, however. Jodie Meeks is the only consistent long-range threat, inviting teams to pack the paint. Sixth man combo forward Thaddeus Young, while deadly effective in the right matchup, has to be spotted carefully; he can't guard big 4s and has struggled when asked to play the wing.
The Sixers proved shockingly good when they played small with Young at the 4 and Elton Brand at the 5 last season. They could go to that option more often this season, especially since small, young and fast is likely to be a winning strategy in this season's grind of a schedule. However, they built a top-heavy roster that's dangerously thin in the backcourt, and an injury to any of their guards would leave them in a precarious spot. Philly was very fortunate in that respect last season, gliding through 2010-11 virtually unscathed health-wise, but it can't count on similar fortune again.
Big picture, the immediate future is a bit brighter than the medium term, despite the club's youth. Philly might challenge for a top-four seed this season, depending on Dwight Howard's mood, but it's difficult to see how it will take the next step forward with this group. Coach Doug Collins' history is that he gets a big boost in Year 1, starts getting on everybody's nerves in Year 2 and completely self-combusts in Year 3, which presents a bad omen. A worse one is the Sixers' lack of stars and subpar cap situation. Unless Holiday becomes a big star -- possible, but not likely -- they'll be tugged back toward .500 by two giant anchor contracts (Brand and Andre Iguodala) that have left them with their hands tied financially.
4. Orlando Magic (40-26)
I know everyone is anxious to predict doom and gloom for the Magic, but let's keep in mind that before losing to Atlanta in the first round, they'd put together a very solid regular season. Orlando won 52 games in an accredited basketball conference and had the point differential of a 58-win team. The Magic ranked third in defensive efficiency thanks to the might of Dwight Howard, and they might be able to considerably improve the offense if sharpshooting forward Ryan Anderson gets more burn.
In fact, my initial projection for Orlando was even rosier. Despite all the overpaid averageness surrounding Howard, Orlando's ceiling remains very high because of Howard's dominance in the middle. If he plays all season in Orlando at last season's level, I could easily see this team pushing for a top-two seed in the East.
But there's the rub. Orlando's success depends on Howard being fully engaged and playing at an MVP level; if he's anything less than the second-best player in the league, the Magic's chances fall off a cliff. This, then, is a bit different from the celebrated 2007 example in which Kobe Bryant demanded a trade and then belatedly realized he had a really good team around him. In Orlando's case, Howard has a really good team almost entirely because of his own efforts. Anderson and Jameer Nelson are the only teammates who project to generate a player efficiency rating better than the league average.
So if Howard isn't 100 percent committed to the enterprise, the Magic's fortunes inevitably suffer. And right now, Vegas has "checked out" as a seven-point favorite over "dialed in." If Howard goes into Vince Carter-in-Toronto mode, the Magic will take a step backward.
While Howard talk will obliterate any other news trying to escape Orlando, three other players who bear watching are Anderson, Earl Clark and Daniel Orton. If Howard is going to experience a Kobe-esque revival of interest in staying, the development of those three youngsters would be the most likely cause. Anderson has definite breakout potential, but we aren't holding our breath on the other two.
Overall, this is a difficult projection -- we don't know how long Howard is staying or how motivated he'll be while he's here. I split the difference and projected the Magic with a full season of unmotivated Dwight. That's not unrealistic; in a vacuum, I'd say Orlando would be better off declining the current lame trade offers and crossing its fingers he'll re-sign. However, a lot of water can go under the bridge between now and the trade deadline.
3. Boston Celtics (43-23)
It's amusing that the same Celtics fans who wanted Jeff Green tarred and feathered last spring now think they're hosed because he's out for the season. It's a loss, but he's a backup small forward and they can do other things with their lineups to mostly cover his absence. As long as they can avoid playing Sasha Pavlovic in an actual game, they'll be fine.
The more worrying problem for Boston is the grueling nature of the schedule, which will be magnified for the Celtics because of their age and mediocre bench. The theft of Brandon Bass from Orlando should help, and I suspect they'll get a lot more from Jermaine O'Neal than they did last season. Still, this team tied for 17th in offensive efficiency in 2010-11 and should be mediocre again; Boston is counting on its defense being at or near the top of the league to keep it in contention.
Perhaps it will be, but the combination of age, schedule and coaching staff defections (Tom Thibodeau left two years ago and Lawrence Frank this past offseason) might cause some slippage. All of Boston's bench players are good defenders except offseason pickup Chris Wilcox, but the C's still will have great difficulty retaining their No. 2 ranking in defensive efficiency.
Here's one other bummer for Boston: There are no games before Christmas this year. Over the past four seasons, the Celtics were a ridiculous 94-14 (.870) before Santa's arrival and a much more pedestrian 140-80 (.636) afterward.
In the big picture, the Celtics shape up for this season as Mavericks East: They're a Tier B contender, but rather than ride their veterans slowly down the tubes, they've built around short-term contracts and given themselves an opportunity to completely reshape the roster after the season. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are the only rotation players with contracts for next year, presuming Bass opts out, and Boston will have more than $20 million in cap space and two first-round picks next summer.
2. Chicago Bulls (48-18)
Provided they can keep up last season's intensity through a sausage-grinder of a schedule, the Bulls are very likely the second-best team in basketball. Chicago led the NBA in defensive efficiency last season, thanks in equal parts to Tom Thibodeau's help-heavy schemes and a long, athletic rotation that defended the rim with gusto.
While the Bulls won a league-best 62 games, they finished just 12th in offensive efficiency and were shut down by Miami in the playoffs. This explains their quest to add more scoring. Chicago waived Keith Bogans and signed Richard Hamilton to provide scoring help for Derrick Rose; I'd argue Hamilton can help the Bulls' anemic second unit even more, depending on how they spot his minutes. Unfortunately, he's also higher-maintenance than Bogans, so the Bulls will need to manage that carefully to maintain the esprit de corps that fueled them through last season.
Aside from Rip, the big item in the Bulls' favor is continuity -- Chicago has the most intact roster this side of Philly, with Hamilton the only change. Several young players likely will improve, including Joakim Noah and reserve bigs Omer Asik and Taj Gibson. The latter combo presents an awesome defensive frontcourt with the second unit, but each is raw offensively. Rose comes off an MVP season, but the exciting part is that he's still getting better -- his free throw rate steadily escalated during 2010-11, while his long-range shooting and court vision are the next items on the list.
While continuity favors the Bulls, the schedule presents some challenges. Chicago is generally a deep team, but Thibodeau's instincts last season were to ride Rose and Luol Deng as long as humanly possible; do that with this season's schedule, and he'll break them. If he treads more carefully, the Bulls are heavy favorites to get back to the conference finals.
1. Miami Heat (52-14)
We don't know yet what LeBron James will do if he gets back to the Finals this season, and there is little he can do to mollify his critics between now and then.
Here's what we do know: James has a better chance of playing in June than any other player in the league. We already know Boston and Chicago had no answer for the Heat's stars last season, and it remains to be seen what the Western Conference could throw at him in a potential Finals matchup -- especially now that Dallas has reshaped its roster.
Thus, while I would take "the field" over the Heat to win the NBA title this season, I would take the Heat over any other single team. There simply is too much talent not to put them above the rest, especially since they're likely to have more help than last season.
The scary thing about last season's Heat was how heavily they had to rely on awful players. Between Mike Miller, Joel Anthony, Mike Bibby, Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Carlos Arroyo, Jerry Stackhouse and Dexter Pittman, Miami allocated 5,346 minutes to players who produced a PER less than 10 ... nearly matching the combined playing time for Wade and James.
That 5,346 figure should diminish considerably this season. Shane Battier's arrival and Miller's having operable thumbs should allow Miami's wing rotation to be far stronger, permitting more lineups in which James is playing either power forward or, in a frightening matchup situation, point guard.
In the backcourt, rookie Norris Cole should soak up the minutes taken by the Arroyos, Bibbys and Eddie Houses of last season, along with holdover Mario Chalmers. Unfortunately, Miami still lacks a point guard who can push the tempo and get James and Wade out in transition; the Heat had disappointingly few run-outs last season and ranked just 21st in pace factor.
And up front, Udonis Haslem returns after missing nearly all of last season. He'll often be playing as an undersized 5 next to Bosh or even James; while this isn't ideal, it's a big improvement on what they had a year ago.
Despite those upgrades, weaknesses remain. The Heat have only three players who project to have a PER better than the league average -- I'll let you guess which three. Their starting center, Anthony, was statistically one of the league's least effective players last season. Yes, he provides defense, but no player in basketball is more blatantly disregarded by opposing offenses.
And despite the bench upgrades, the depth situation remains fraught. For instance, Juwan Howard is the second big off the bench; I'm pretty sure he played with Bob Cousy. As a result, any injuries to one of the Big Three will quickly make this team very beatable. Plus, the grueling schedule puts teams with weaker benches at a disadvantage.
With all those caveats, Miami will be extremely difficult to beat in the playoffs, because there's more rest and the Superfriends can each play 40 minutes a game. With the drama quotient dramatically reduced this time around, I expect a more relaxed and comfortable Heat team than the one that pressed through early-season games a year ago. That team was already a heavy favorite, and with a better bench and unmatchable star power, this is again the team to beat. Whether James can deliver on that promise will have to wait until June.
no atlanta?
I'd be surprised if they made the playoffs. I think Milwaukee is more prone.
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
and the transaction is Mehmet Okur to the Nets for a draft pick in 2015
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Gonna miss Memo. :(
Good opening of minutes for the young bucks though. Kanter, Favors, Burks... they all need to get in and get to work. Still trying to understand what this trade exception is...
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
sweet ... i picked up okur hearing he was in great shape and hoping he would be traded ...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
what's a "trade exception"? we got one for memo...woo hoo
secondly (and I'm way too lazy to read the CBA), this whole split of BRI....how does it actually effect contracts? e.g. D Rose's $19m per year deal....is this 50% or whatever of some hypothetical revenue or is the whole 50/50 (or whatever they agreed on) split on TOP OF their contracts :? ? I mean, how do you split revenue that is yet to be generated?
hope this question makes sense....I just woke up....and I was thinking about it all night
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
trade exceptions are sort of loopholes to exceed the salary cap ... you can read about it here as it would be better than me typing it all out ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_salary_cap#Exceptions
as for the BRI - i think it goes something like this ... salary cap is determined by the BRI ... maximum salary is then calculated based on a percentage of the salary cap along with adjustments based on years of service ...
Traded Player Exception: If a team trades away a player with a higher salary than the player they acquire in return (we'll call this initial deal "Trade #1"), they receive what is called a Traded Player Exception, also known colloquially as a "Trade Exception". Teams with a trade exception have up to a year in which they can acquire more salary in other trades (Trade #2, #3, etc.) than they send away, as long as the gulf in salaries for Trade #2, #3, etc. are less than or equal to the difference in salary for Trade #1. This exception is particularly useful when teams trade draft picks straight-up for a player; since draft picks have no salary value, often the only way to get salaries to match is to use a trade exception, which allows trades to be made despite unbalanced salaries. It is also useful to compensate teams for losing free agents as they can do a sign and trade of that free agent to acquire a trade exception that can be used later. Note this exception is for single player trades only, though additional cash and draft picks can be part of the trade.
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I'm just trying to figure how you decide you can dole out a $95m contact :?
to me, it kind of refutes the whole "plantation owner/slave" analogy
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
the heat / mavs game is sucking me to sleep
hurry up 4 o'clock...
Is this in HD or SD?
It's gonna be a long season
can you get him a uniform that fits? looks like he was wearing shaq's old digs.
Well times are tough for Kobe with the divorce and all. :roll: