[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by heavyjeffd

LeBron has D?

Well, that's debatable.

Originally Posted by heavyjeffd

If LeBron wins MVP, it's favoritism, nothing else IMO.

Totally.

[GH0STrider]

There have been a few coaches/teams that did not want Bowen- keep in mind he was waived before.

On another note- With a win today the rockets will be in first place in the west. Did anyone think that this late in the season the 2 best in the west would be the rockets and lakers??? I love the nba

[Azyiu]

Winning 10 in a row in this league is no easy thing, let alone 22 in a row. I don't care if you play the Heat / T-Wolves' 22 nights in row, chances are you won't win them all. So for that I salute what the Rockets have done lately.

That said, I praise and blame Rick Adelman for that at the same time. Without Yao, he is pretty much running all the old plays he ran w/ the Sacto Queens, and the Rockets are adjusting nicely to that. Still, why couldn't he figure out how to utilize Yao better before he was out? Keep in mind the Rockets were under .500 as late as January. Of course, some may argue Yao's injury is sort of a blessing, or else guys like Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry would never have the kind of minutes they are getting now.

Still, I must say this... 22 in a row is awesome, but it doesn't mean a thing without a ring!

[GH0STrider]

I think for the rockets and t-mac especially even if they don't win the ring it means something. If they at least make it out of the first round that will be a milestone for mcgrady, and the rockets haven't been out of the first round in a long long time. Your lakers folded man. They played so well without bynum I thought they would be able to take 'em even without pau. Oh well, I'm still pulling for la to win the west.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

I think for the rockets and t-mac especially even if they don't win the ring it means something. If they at least make it out of the first round that will be a milestone for mcgrady, and the rockets haven't been out of the first round in a long long time.

You know? If I were a Rockets' fan, and this kind of winning streak this late in the season; I would aim my goal a little higher. Sure, we all know the Rockets are not quite there to win it all right now without Yao, but I think making it to the WCF is a somewhat realistic goal. Or at least make the second round as tough as possible, no matter who they face.

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

Your lakers folded man. They played so well without bynum I thought they would be able to take 'em even without pau. Oh well, I'm still pulling for la to win the west.

This is a yes and no thing, IMO. Sure, losing sucks, but the Lakers are badly short handed, and their only real reliable big left is Turiaf. I thought they actually played well enough @ Rockets on Sunday. They were right there at the end of the 3rd, and if they weren't as short handed, the game could've gone either way.

Like you always say, and I agreed, injuries are part of the game. It sucks when that stuff hit your team, but I am more interested to see how my guys respond to that and how they adjust. Seeing how they play so far, all in all I am pleased.

Oh, earlier I praised the Toronto Raptors right after the All-star break. Well, they have been without Bosh pretty much since, and looking back I might have praised them a bit too soon. So for that, how about we talk about the Magic? Pretty impressive win tonight vs. the Cavs. And seriously, SVG is my coach of the year. IMHO, it is either him or Jerry Slone in Utah.

And I'd say Isiah Thomas should win the Executive of the Year award. He single handedly makes all 29 other GMs look like geniuses if nothing more. Yeah, he even makes Paxson looks good, ain't that crazy Man, the chemistry on your Bulls is just bad. I thought things would've gotten better after they sent Skiles fishing... What do you think the problems are?

[GH0STrider]

The reason the bulls were good the past 3 seasons is cause they had hard nosed, unselfish players who believed firmly in the importance of a team game. There were no all-stars (although joe johnson over gordon last year was a fucking joke.) They played to win. that was skiles direction. They have fallen apart because they got selfish. (1)Gordon has played for stats. It shows. he's taken to many stupid shots this year and tried to make plays when they aren't there. 50 mil was the most pax was going to offer him. He is a glorified role player and that is more than fair for his service. He knows he is trade bait come this off season and is simply trying to play into a bigger contract. He has lost a lot of respect from the fans and media here in chicago. No one is happy with him. (2)Deng was hurt during an important strech. Missing him for 3 weeks was tough. He is hands down the most consistent player we have had since elton brand. But as we both agree upon, injuries are part of the game. (3) Hinrich never showed up. His shooting sucks as always but because he is picking up ridiculous fouls for a player as experienced as he is he can't help us defesivly either. That is one spot we need him most. (4) The young guns still have not developed. I have never been a fan of tyrus thomas. I said from day one trading lamarcus aldridge was a stupid move. I was right. Tyrus has been given the minutes and in even a starter job for some time. He never showed us anything but a hot temper and a low basketball iq. Thabo is coming around to be fair. (5) big ben's lack of passion. When the going got tough- big ben got going. He flat out quit and showed a bad example for a young team. He is really disliked in chicago right now. (6) the outstanding defense is gone. The bulls had been on of the premier defensive units in the nba that past few years. they have gone far away from that. they just aren't playing as a team. they let stupid shit like the kobe trade talks get in their heads. Bottom line they are lacking the mental toughness to do anything. Pax needs to just play the young guys and let this team fall flat on their asses. We need the lottery pick. then we need to sign and trade gordon. then we need a real coach. Boylan... that guy just has no business being a head coach in the nba. I think pax can turn it around. He righted the ship in worse situations. but this is his last chance too. If they suck next season I bet he looses his job as well

[Azyiu]

You've got some nice points up there, but I especially agreed with you on point # 3 and 4. All along I thought Hinrich is going to make his shots eventually, and I always thought highly on his energy and D early on. Yeah, he has been a disappointment this season, not sure what is going on with him. On point # 4, hindsight is always 20/20, but the Bulls should've taken the sure thing instead of gambling on Thomas.

The Lakers won tonight and dodged a bullet in Dallas. Being up by 25 pts and almost lost the game... their next one is going to be even tougher! Thursday night @ Utah is going to be ultra tough for these thin Lakers. The Jazz are so big down low and they've won 19 in a row at home. But like I said on my last post, I am generally pleased with the Lakers' progress thus far; and I just hope to get all the guys back healthy ASAP. Now they are saying Bynum won't return until at least the first round, ouch! Gasol will probably need to play hurt and show the world he ain't that "soft".

It looks like the Rockets' win streak will end tonight. VERY impressive win for the Celtics, after beating the Spurs in a tough tough game the night before.

[GH0STrider]

The celtics are starting to look scary good. And what the hell is going on with the spurs? - jeff? losers of 6 of their last 7.

[heavyjeffd]

Yeah I dunno. They are famous for this shit. They always go on some losing streak as the playoffs near.

There's lots of speculation about it amongst fans, some say they're trying to stay healthy and save it for the playoffs, or some say they're maintaining rather than trying to kill themselves by getting a high seed. In otherwords, just make the playoffs rather than try and come in as a top seed and suffer the consequences of it.

Either way, as a fan, it's annoying, lol. :P

[777timesgod]

I think the spurs will wake up sooner or later. They've got the roster for it and the champions mentality.