Sports: NBA 2007-2008

[Noj]

Who hates Odom? He scores 15 points and grabs 15 rebounds every game. With a healthy Gasol and Odom as the third option, most teams cannot effectively match up with Lamar.

Huge win for the Lakers last night to salvage their road trip and improve to .500 without Gasol.

[Soulstation1]

i just saw the hi-lights from the cavs and pistons game

LBJ was taking those fools to the hoop again

if it's lakers vs celts

bird and magic need to coach or play

[Patrick]

You can't look past the willingness of the NBA to help LeBron succeed in the playoffs.

After last night's lost to the Cavs, in which the Pistons got to the freethrow line a grand total of three times for the whole game (yes... three times), you may be right.

So the Pistons were only 6 of 7 from the line, and the Cavs had 9 more FT attempts (12/16). Refs were letting them play, at both ends. Did you watch the game? I only caught the second half and saw a whole lot of missed jumpers by Detroit--especially Rip and Chauncey. Sheed ended up getting his points (16) but Ben made him work at it, and toward the end (when the game was still very much in reach) Sheed was just launching 3's. Fine outside shooter for a big man, but good luck with that.

Forget about going to the line, when you only shoot 39% from the field and 28% from 3-point land, you're probably going to lose, even when you hold the opposition under 90. Cavs are a talented team, playing their division rival, at home, with rest.

The real explanation for the outcome is that Detroit played a barn-burner in Denver the night before, and the Cavs had an offday at home.

[BruceW]

Man,

That Flip Saunders syndrome is always present!!

[Big Al]

The Mavs season is officially over, and it will go down in the record books as one of the most disastrous seasons in memory. Yes, even worse than those horrific teams that were winning only ten and eleven games per season.

Why? Because this season was theirs for the taking, and they blew it. This team had so much to live up to, and they high-tailed it in the other direction. They've been playing all year like they're trying to cover up the gut-wrenching exit of last season's playoffs. They're still trying to prove they can win by playing "Nellie ball." AFAIC, Avery, as good a coach as he is, has lost his team. Trading for Jason Kidd was a mistake of epic proportions, the kind of deal that will be making "Top 10 Worst Trades In NBA History" lists for decades to come. After tonight, since the Kidd trade, the Mavs have yet to beat an above-.500 team. Couple that with Dirk's leg injury tonight, and you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. And even if, IF, the Mavs still manage to weasel into the playoffs, it'll be another first-round exit.

Sangrey called this team correctly last year and the year before that: gutless. After two years of hoping it wasn't true, I have no choice but to agree.

[Chalupa]

Somebody please tell the Sixers to stop messing w/ my head. They beat Boston on the road last night, after a 19-0 run in the 4th.

[Jim Alfredson]

Yeah, that was wild.

Good, hard fought game between the Pistons and Suns. Some really funky calls in that game and unfortunately the most damaging one went against the Suns in OT (I thought Billups did commit a charge against Nash). But that's the way it goes.

[WorldB3]

The Mavs season is officially over, and it will go down in the record books as one of the most disastrous seasons in memory. Yes, even worse than those horrific teams that were winning only ten and eleven games per season.

Why? Because this season was theirs for the taking, and they blew it. This team had so much to live up to, and they high-tailed it in the other direction. They've been playing all year like they're trying to cover up the gut-wrenching exit of last season's playoffs. They're still trying to prove they can win by playing "Nellie ball." AFAIC, Avery, as good a coach as he is, has lost his team. Trading for Jason Kidd was a mistake of epic proportions, the kind of deal that will be making "Top 10 Worst Trades In NBA History" lists for decades to come. After tonight, since the Kidd trade, the Mavs have yet to beat an above-.500 team. Couple that with Dirk's leg injury tonight, and you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. And even if, IF, the Mavs still manage to weasel into the playoffs, it'll be another first-round exit.

Sangrey called this team correctly last year and the year before that: gutless. After two years of hoping it wasn't true, I have no choice but to agree.

I wouldn't go that far. The west this year will have 8 teams with 50 wins going into the playoffs. Every game in the west since the all star break has been like a playoff game. As of now your still in it, somebody deserving will not make it. Until the Suns won 7 in a row everybody was saying the Shaq trade was the worst trade in the history of the NBA. Kidd may have not been the right fit for the team but on paper it made sense.

[Soulstation1]

LBJ = All time Cavs Leading Scorer

that means the Cavs suck

[BruceW]

Pistons are still playing with that schizo mindset. I think Flip Saunders is happy but it won't last if they don't toughen up some more.

[Chalupa]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

* 5 years too late

[Aggie87]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

* 5 years too late

If that's serious, I don't think he's done enough in the pros to merit the HoF at all.

[Soulstation1]

c-weed in the HOF

for what?

i am a michigan fan

is howard still in the league?

if not zero rings for the fab five

[Soulstation1]

SS1's secret weapon on "D'ing up LBJ.......

The sleeper hold

[BruceW]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

[Chalupa]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

So even though he played in over 830 NBA games(equivalent to 10 seasons) and averaged nearly a double double(20ppg/9.8reb) he doesn't get in?? He's one of 6 players to avg. 20ppg, 9rpg, 4apg for a career. Those are sick numbers. Not a winner?? All of his the teams he played for made the playoffs. There are are plenty of people in the HoF who never won a ring. How many rings does Barkley have? Or Malone? Patrick Ewing anyone? If the refs hadn't sent the Lakers to the charity stripe 27 times in the 4th quarter during the 6th game against Sac in the 2002 West finals he would have got one.

[Soulstation1]

or if c-weed didn't tap the ball to big shot rob for a 3-pointer

[Noj]

Hey, the Queens shouldn't have been fouling so much.

[WorldB3]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

I have to agree, it the intangibles that don't get him. Forget the numbers.

[Soulstation1]

i'd say c-weed pulled in $200 mil from hooping........

plus he had tyra banks for a minute

[BruceW]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

... If the refs hadn't sent the Lakers to the charity stripe 27 times in the 4th quarter during the 6th game against Sac in the 2002 West finals he would have got one.

No, no, noooo. They would only have been in the NBA Finals, so noone knows if he would have gotten a ring or not. And it wasn't the free throws that beat them, it was the batted away rebound by the ex-Laker Divacs that allowed the Lakers to steal that game.

And C.Webb did not have the impact of a Karl Malone etc. Look I am a Michigan man myself and I would love for a Michigan man to make HoF but C.Webb just does not have those credentials. It is a little bit more than "just" numbers.

[Chalupa]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

... If the refs hadn't sent the Lakers to the charity stripe 27 times in the 4th quarter during the 6th game against Sac inthe 2002 West finals he would have got one.

No, no, noooo. They would only have been in the NBA Finals, so noone knows if he would have gotten a ring or not. And it wasn't the free throws that beat them, it was the batted away rebound by the ex-Laker Divacs that allowed the Lakers to steal that game.

And C.Webb did not have the impact of a Karl Malone etc. Look I am a Michigan man myself and I would love for a Michigan man to make HoF but C.Webb just does not have those credentials. It is a little bit more than "just" numbers.

Look, who ever was coming out of the West in 2002 was going to win. The Lakers swept the Nets, remember? Divac flopping around on the floor any time someone got within 6 inches of him had more to do w/ that win then his rebounding. But we're getting off on another tangent.

Garnett, Webber, Bird, Wilt, Elgin Baylor, and Billy Cunningham. These are the only 6 guys to have ever averaged at least 20 PPG, 9 RPG, and 4 APG for a career. The last 4 are in the hall.

OK so he didn't live up to the hype that was surrounding him when he came out of Michigan. Although that had more to do w/ injuries and unrealistic expectations then his performance. When CWebb was healthy he was great. Even when his knees were shot he was probably one of the best big man passers to ever play the game. His career averages would be even better if he had retired about 3 years ago. I thought he dogged it for most of the time that he played in Philly and when I first thought about him getting into the HoF my immediate reaction was,"No F'ing way". But I think I was letting my personal bias get in the way of my better judgement. I think he'll get in. Maybe not first ballot but he'll get in.

[BruceW]

So now that CWebb has officially retired* let the debate begin....

Does he get in the HoF???

No Unfortunately C. Webb is not a HoF player. Yes, he scored lots of points and was a good passer. But he was not a winner and he did not contribute enough to make his teams a winner. C. Webb also did not play the style of basketball that was pertinent to his position. He was a power forward with the "power" removed. C. Webb only mixed it up with other power forwards when he gained more weight from being injured and even then he was reluctant, he wanted to be a big guard (which more than once hampered the real guards on his teams). While he had a very good career and was paid very well, he is not a HoF.

... If the refs hadn't sent the Lakers to the charity stripe 27 times in the 4th quarter during the 6th game against Sac inthe 2002 West finals he would have got one.

No, no, noooo. They would only have been in the NBA Finals, so noone knows if he would have gotten a ring or not. And it wasn't the free throws that beat them, it was the batted away rebound by the ex-Laker Divacs that allowed the Lakers to steal that game.

And C.Webb did not have the impact of a Karl Malone etc. Look I am a Michigan man myself and I would love for a Michigan man to make HoF but C.Webb just does not have those credentials. It is a little bit more than "just" numbers.

Look, who ever was coming out of the West in 2002 was going to win. The Lakers swept the Nets, remember? Divac flopping around on the floor any time someone got within 6 inches of him had more to do w/ that win then his rebounding. But we're getting off on another tangent.

Garnett, Webber, Bird, Wilt, Elgin Baylor, and Billy Cunningham. These are the only 6 guys to have ever averaged at least 20 PPG, 9 RPG, and 4 APG for a career. The last 4 are in the hall.

OK so he didn't live up to the hype that was surrounding him when he came out of Michigan. Although that had more to do w/ injuries and unrealistic expectations then his performance. When CWebb was healthy he was great. Even when his knees were shot he was probably one of the best big man passers to ever play the game. His career averages would be even better if he had retired about 3 years ago. I thought he dogged it for most of the time that he played in Philly and when I first thought about him getting into the HoF my immediate reaction was,"No F'ing way". But I think I was letting my personal bias get in the way of my better judgement. I think he'll get in. Maybe not first ballot but he'll get in.

J.H.

You have some good points but one thing I won't do is equate C.Webb in the same breath with Garnett, Bird, Baylor and Cunningham. That is what I meant about "impact" on the game. While I may also be personalizing a bit, the HoF is just not for him. Maybe waaay off in the future as an "old time veteran who was overlooked" but certainly not in the first ten years. At this point we have reached a stalemate, so I can only say "we have to wait and see."

So what team is going to win the NBA Finals this year?? I love the Pistons but they still exhibit that schizophrenic personality and right now, I don't see them winning it all.

Bruce

[Big Al]

I bet Avery quits after this year. Watching him coach tonight, he looks very apathetic, just standing there emotion-less. I guess arguing with Cuban is taking its toll.

Hard to believe the Mavs were up by almost 20 early in the 2nd quarter. Now they're down by 14 with 7 minutes left and Kidd just rimmed another free throw.

This is just sad.

[Soulstation1]

I'd like the spurs to lose 10 straight games

The west conf ain't no joke

Some great 1st round match-ups