NBA 2004-2005

[Joe G]

I knew you'd take it personally.

[sheldonm]

ejp626,Nov 22 2004, 10:00 PM] is any team going to trade for Artest. Indiana appears to be through with Artest.

There will be several teams interested in Artest if the Pacers let him go; it seems crazy at this particular time but there have been players crazier than Artest (they didn't necessarily go into the crowd, which seems to be the "thing" that will hang him) that have gone on the market and been picked up. As all things do, this will blow over (it may take a while ) but there are teams out there that would take him. I do think he may have played his final game for the Pacers!

Mark

[Noj]

I think the whole point of the thing is that no one should throw a drink and expect no ass whooping in return--not that handing out ass whoopings is proper procedure.

[sheldonm]

I think the whole point of the thing is that no one should throw a drink and expect no ass whooping in return--not that handing out ass whoopings is proper procedure.

[doubleM]

A trade? I don't know if he has a big enough weed habit...but maybe he could play for the Blazers!?!? They need help at the guard position, at least. Not really at forward.

Edited November 24, 2004 by doubleM

[BERIGAN]

Wow. I knew Tom Arnold was an idiot, but not to that degree. Amazing.

Oh yeah...I heard him say he was a Kerry supporter! :rsmile:

[Jim Alfredson]

So, that Pistons/Spurs game the other night (Friday) was bullshit. Down 4, Chauncey launches a three and is clearly fouled by Parker (Parker smacked the crap out of his hand) and of course, no call. That should've tied it up, but no. Pistons lose by 3. Bullshit.

But tonight was a good game... whippin' the Mavs by 16 points. Pistons are starting to sync again.

[SEK]

Pistons are starting to sync again.

[Jim Alfredson]

Good game versus Toronto tonight. Big Ben was tearing it up on the day that his brother was charged with assault as a result of the Pacers/Pistons brawl.

[BruceW]

Pistons not on TV out here tonight. Glad to hear Pistons and B Wallace doing it.

They will be okay. No injuries and 3 -4 more games and they will be clicking.

B-)

[Jim Alfredson]

Two wins in a row... a nice comeback win against the Knicks and a defensive exhibition against LeBron and the Cavs! Go Pistons!!!!

Anyone see that block on Marbury by Tayshuan? That was sick!

[ghost of miles]

Wow.  I knew Tom Arnold was an idiot, but not to that degree.  Amazing.

Oh yeah...I heard him say he was a Kerry supporter! :rsmile:

His statement makes him sound more like a Bush supporter.

[BruceW]

Two wins in a row... a nice comeback win against the Knicks and a defensive exhibition against LeBron and the Cavs! Go Pistons!!!!

Anyone see that block on Marbury by Tayshuan? That was sick!

Yeah, I saw it. Prince is going to be great.

Detroit is getting it together. They just need to mesh the new players into the mix. They still have their entire first unit, so they will be alright. B Wallace is getting more and more aggressive on offense and they needed that. Now if R Wallace can just take it to the middle a lot more, they will be fearsome again. Well then again, Billups and Hamilton do that a lot anyway.

Shoutin at ya

B-)

[BruceW]

A trade? I don't know if he has a big enough weed habit...but maybe he could play for the Blazers!?!? They need help at the guard position, at least. Not really at forward.

Yeah, Blazers are in trouble again. That little pip squeek of a guard Stoudemire has been in the league 10-12 years now and still cannot make the right decisions.

B-)

[Jim Alfredson]

Two wins in a row... a nice comeback win against the Knicks and a defensive exhibition against LeBron and the Cavs!  Go Pistons!!!!

Anyone see that block on Marbury by Tayshuan?  That was sick!

Yeah, I saw it. Prince is going to be great.

Detroit is getting it together. They just need to mesh the new players into the mix. They still have their entire first unit, so they will be alright. B Wallace is getting more and more aggressive on offense and they needed that. Now if R Wallace can just take it to the middle a lot more, they will be fearsome again. Well then again, Billups and Hamilton do that a lot anyway.

Shoutin at ya

B-)

Detroit's problem, in my opinion, is a weak bench. I don't know what they were thinking getting rid of so many of their key bench players like Mike James, Mehmet Okur and Corlis Williamson. Say what you want about Corlis' scoring (or lack thereof), he did the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet.

Yes, they still have their great starters, but with the exception of Lindsey Hunter, their bench is pretty bad. Hopefully they'll make some trades and fill some holes.

Darko = worse draft choice ever.

[BruceW]

Detroit's problem, in my opinion, is a weak bench. I don't know what they were thinking getting rid of so many of their key bench players like Mike James, Mehmet Okur and Corlis Williamson. Say what you want about Corlis' scoring (or lack thereof), he did the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet.

Yes, they still have their great starters, but with the exception of Lindsey Hunter, their bench is pretty bad. Hopefully they'll make some trades and fill some holes.

Darko = worse draft choice ever.

Yeah you are right. It is my understanding they did not want to pay Corliss Williamson and Mehmet Okur the money. I think they through in James to make a deal. The worse thing about Detroit, even worse than Darko was trading for Derrick Coleman, a beat up, worn out, overweight, out of shape, attitude carrying veteran who can no longer cut the mustard.

B-)

[SEK]

Detroit's problem, in my opinion, is a weak bench.  I don't know what they were thinking getting rid of so many of their key bench players like Mike James, Mehmet Okur and Corlis Williamson.  Say what you want about Corlis' scoring (or lack thereof), he did the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet.

Yes, they still have their great starters, but with the exception of Lindsey Hunter, their bench is pretty bad.  Hopefully they'll make some trades and fill some holes.

Darko = worse draft choice ever.

Yeah you are right. It is my understanding they did not want to pay Corliss Williamson and Mehmet Okur the money. I think they through in James to make a deal. The worse thing about Detroit, even worse than Darko was trading for Derrick Coleman, a beat up, worn out, overweight, out of shape, attitude carrying veteran who can no longer cut the mustard.

B-)

My wife and I miss the old bench during every game, especially "Big Nasty" and "Memo".

FWIW, I've been calling Darko "Dorko" since his anticlimactic arrival in Detroit.

[BruceW]

Myself, I reserve judgement on Darko. He is very young and is not getting playing time. He was also out last year at some point due to something being broken I think. He is going through the typical first 3 years on a loaded team. I got this gut feeling that he is part of the Detroit future and will be good.

B-)

[Jim Alfredson]

I miss Memo the most. He's only what, 24? It was crazy to let him go. He can play inside and out.

[Jim Alfredson]

Pistons lose to Chicago?! Criminey.

I'll say it again... their bench sucks. I have no idea why Joe D let the bench go.

[ejp626]

Pistons lose to Chicago?!  Criminey.

I'll say it again... their bench sucks.  I have no idea why Joe D let the bench go.

Not to rub it in, but to lose at home, while getting some very generous calls from the refs... Oof.

I don't take it too seriously one way or the other, but my wife is very pleased that Chicago has started to turn it around in the last few weeks. Bulls' fans have had very little to celebrate for a long time after Kraus's terrible trades (though now in retrospect trading Artest wasn't such a bad idea) and then that motorcycle accident. They still aren't a great team by any stretch of the imagination, but they are staying competitive and they now believe they can win, which the previous five teams did not. And they have one of the best benches in basketball. So the future is starting to look better for Chicago. I think they may actually make the playoffs, given the weak nature of the East, though I doubt they'd get out of the first round. Not going to bet on it though.

[Jim Alfredson]

Chicago played very well tonight and I agree it's nice to see them turning things around. I'm a Scott Skiles fan for obvious reasons so it's good to see him having success.

On the other hand, Detroit is pissing me off, but they are obviously going through hard times right now. I don't think they have recovered from the "basketbrawl" (though who can blame them? The media won't let them move on!) In fact, I know Larry Brown hasn't. I read a sobering interview with him where he said basically that his love of the game was damaged by that incident. He also said his son, who was a ball-boy, won't go back to the Palace since that fight... he's too scared. Multiply that by all the other kids that were in the Palace that night and it's really a terrible thing.

[ejp626]

That's really a damn shame. I think Sports as an industry has to decide if it can survive these ugly fan-player interactions. My personal feeling is that the beer sales have got to be cut back and probably ended about mid-way through the third quarter. Sure it will be a drain on team revenues, but the long-term success of these franchises depends on not alienating families. The bad behavior of these drunks is really getting out of hand, and here I am talking generally, not specifically about Detroit fans.

[BruceW]

On the other hand, Detroit is pissing me off, but they are obviously going through hard times right now. I don't think they have recovered from the "basketbrawl" (though who can blame them? The media won't let them move on!) In fact, I know Larry Brown hasn't. I read a sobering interview with him where he said basically that his love of the game was damaged by that incident. He also said his son, who was a ball-boy, won't go back to the Palace since that fight... he's too scared. Multiply that by all the other kids that were in the Palace that night and it's really a terrible thing.

Hey B 3-er,

Don't worry, Detroit will be okay. Yeah I wish Memo was back too. The bench has a lot of attitude and physical work to do. BUT, you know what, Larry Brown is making excuses for something else. He has a very bad habit of leaving teams when they are getting good or got good. He is not handling the attention and probably wants to quit like he always does. I just don't believe what everybody is making out to be so damaging to the kids etc., etc., etc. Shit, we saw fights and mess all the time as kids. All kids see this stuff and most kids get a kick out of it. People need to listen to kids when the kids get together and think there is no one else listening. PR and SMOKE SCREENS is a very complicated business!!!

B-)

[Jim Alfredson]

Pistons got a much needed win over the Pacers today. Didn't get to see the game due to family stuff, but I read that nothing happened and the Piston players felt that the game represented "closure" over the "basketbrawl" scenario. I hope that this will indeed close the book on that chapter for them and they can get back to focusing on defending their title.

GO PISTONS!