NBA Season 2010-11

[Lancer]

Or does Rose needs his Jordan? It's amazing how far they got and they got the best record in the league this year with one guy. Deng as a #2 isn't ideal. He's a good player but I'd compare him to a Horace Grant if you want to compare this team with other Bulls teams. They need two #2's to compete with the Heat the next 3-4 seasons. Rose is only 22 so they have time.

It'll be interesting to see how Brown can handle the Lakers next year. I am going to bet Artest isn't going to be a model citizen under the Brown regime. And we'll see how much respect Kobe will have under Brown. Kobe would listen to Phil when Phil would tell him to stop shooting bricks or they'll lose, like game 7 of the finals last year. I KNOW if Brown tells him to stop throwing bricks he's not going to listen. Lakers say Bynum is untouchable, that's another hot head that I don't think Brown can handle.

[dbdynsty25]

Again...EASTERN CONFERENCE. If 10 of the 15 teams in the conference weren't garbage, the records of the top 3 teams wouldn't be so inflated. The Bulls didn't overachieve...they simply were taking advantage of the teams they got to play. That's what good teams do.

[Lancer]

I can't believe how badly the Mavs played in game 1, missed so many open shots. But the Heat were laying up bricks as well until the 4th where they just came alive. This game was just like the Bulls series where the Heat kept close and ran away at the end.

Can the Mavs play D like the celts/bulls to stop the Heat now in this series? Those two come from behind wins vs OKC maybe was a foreshadowing of this series? It's only game 1.

[Lancer]

Shaq's done.

[Rodster]

Not looking good for the Mavs. Dirk got injured last night and will wear a splint on his injured digit.

[Brando70]

NBA.com posted an awesome highlight reel from Shaq's rookie season, with some amazing stuff in there:

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_t ... index.html

It's especially hard to compare centers from different eras, Shaq would have to be in the top 5, and I think warrant being next after Kareem, Russell, and Wilt. The only thing that kept him from being completely unstoppable during his first dozen years was his freethrow shooting. Plus I think he had one of the greatest combinations of being a fierce competitor and also not taking the game too seriously.

[RobVarak]

That dunk on Mourning was quite excellent.

[wco81]

Shaq was really raw and while he did develop some skills over the years, probably the least-skilled of the all-time top 5 centers.

Refs let him get away with a lot, especially shoving the opponent on offensive rebounds -- on key possessions in playoff games in years when he won rings.

No question he was a force of nature, stronger than probably anyone who's played the game. But few centers have been allowed to play that way.

[greggsand]

Refs let him get away with a lot, especially shoving the opponent on offensive rebounds -- on key possessions in playoff games in years when he won rings.

No question he was a force of nature, stronger than probably anyone who's played the game. But few centers have been allowed to play that way.

What??? Shaq had dudes draped on his arms so many times the refs couldn't call them all (nearly every play esp in the playoffs). Hell, the NBA changed their RULES because of Shaq when they allowed zone defense because no one could play him 1-on-1. The difference between Shaq & previous "big men" is you could knock a punk on his @ss after hanging on your arms in the 'old days'. Shaq would have been ejected every game if he did that.

My only real complaint about Shaq was his lazy attitude to getting in-shape at the start of each season (post 2000). That said, he was ready to roll when it counted. Big compliment: most 'big men' were real chap-asses. Shaq was hoot. He's #1 in that category.

[Lancer]

Shaq was a pretty good role model too. I agree w/ the older bigger men, they were too into themselves or were total a-holes, like Kareem.

I heard him on ESPN today and he was kissing all the media's ass. Think he's probably going to go the tv route.

[Rodster]

Shaq was a pretty good role model too. I agree w/ the older bigger men, they were too into themselves or were total a-holes, like Kareem.

I heard him on ESPN today and he was kissing all the media's ass. Think he's probably going to go the tv route.

Shaq was and still is an awesome role model. I forget what year but during a Heat offseason he worked with the Miami Metro-Dade police dept and even worked a neighborhood.

[Brando70]

Shaq was really raw and while he did develop some skills over the years, probably the least-skilled of the all-time top 5 centers.

I agree on the offensive end, but defensively he might be the best, maybe second after Russell. He also was an excellent passer.

One funny thought when thinking about how long Shaq played: I remember him being represented on the LSU team in "NCAA Basketball" for the SNES, the year before he turned pro!

[dbdynsty25]

Didn't Shaq cheat on his wife with Gilbert Arenas' fiance?

Speaking of good Shaq stories...when my mom used to work for the Suns, she told me this story. When he got traded to Phoenix he moved her and rented a house. He needed furniture so he went to a furniture store in town to rent some. He went through, got his entire house picked out and by that time it was 10pm at night (store closed at 8pm). The group of people that were helping him moved all the stuff to his house THAT night. Now it's like 1am and he breaks them off $1,000 a piece for helping him out and then buys the entire store dinner the next night. He thanked them profusely for dropping everything and helping him out, so it's apparet that he isn't one of those "entitled" superstars. He appreciated everyone and their time.

I definitely liked conversing with him when he was in Phoenix...totally a nice dude to everyone he comes in contact with, so yeah, he'll be a good guy to still have around the game.

[Lancer]

one of the funniest shaq stories was one I heard on Jim Rome when shaq was w/ the Lakers.

He was at a Taco Bell and demanded to be comped for the order. It turned out to be like 2 tacos.

Millionaire asking to be comped for 2 taco bell tacos. The way Rome said it it was pretty funny.


Shaq and his wife divorced but Kobe sold him out about him cheating and not getting caught when Kobe had his troubles. I am sure all these guys wives know these guys cheat on them, but w/ the millions rolling in, they probably are ok with it. You probably have to know that going in when you want to marry a NBA star.

As the case of D Wade, I know him and his college sweetheart recently divorced but not sure if it was because d wade was cheating or the wife was.

[greggsand]

That's cool story, DB. I think there's a ton of those out there. Years back, there was a story about a parking attendant at Staples that worked the player's parking lot. One day Shaq saw the attendant's car (a junker), and Shaq felt bad about the dude having see these swanky cars come thru every night - so he bought the guy a new car the next day.

Mike Wilbon has said numerous times that Shaq 'can't say 'no'' when it comes to $$ & helping people/family. He fears Shaq will be another "broke athlete story" one day.

I met Shaq once. My office was in the same building of a hip-hop station. I walked into the lobby & Shaq was there signing autographs for everyone. One girl (prob 14-ish), was so excited she was about to loose it. Shaq walked over to acting like he just signing her poster then dropped the pen and gave her a big over-dramatic kiss on the cheek. She nearly passed out. Shaq then said "SEE YA" & jumped in his limo. the entire room was cracking up.

[Lancer]

WOW WHAT A GAME! Heat choke, great defense by the mavs.

[HipE]

Didn't see that coming after that Wade 3 to put them up by 15, I thought for sure they were going to fold. Glad I didn't go to bed then!

[EZSnappin]

DIRK.

[sportdan30]

I can not believe Miami lost that game. I turned it off at the 88-73 mark. Dallas at that point looked old and slow, and was turning the ball over on pretty much every possession. Kidd looks past his prime, and Dirk was being guarded well.

Amazing!

[Rodster]

I can not believe Miami lost that game. I turned it off at the 88-73 mark. Dallas at that point looked old and slow, and was turning the ball over on pretty much every possession. Kidd looks past his prime, and Dirk was being guarded well.

Amazing!

I bet Miami is asking the same thing after the game. I thought Miami put it in cruise control when D-Wade hit the 3 from the corner. As James like to say, 'they took their foot off the gas'.

[pk500]

Didn't see that coming after that Wade 3 to put them up by 15, I thought for sure they were going to fold. Glad I didn't go to bed then!

I did, right after that shot. I think I choked harder than the Heat when I woke up this morning and saw the score.

But I used the outcome as a "teaching moment" with my 10-year-old son this morning. One, heart can always trump talent. Two, never give up on a game -- whether you're playing or watching.

[Rodster]

Here ya go this pretty much sums it up.

Mavs get fire in the belly from Heat's early celebrations
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mavs-fire-bell ... 58441.html

"MIAMI (Reuters) - Not for the first time this season, the Miami Heat have been accused of celebrating too soon -- this time with NBA Finals rivals the Dallas Mavericks saying premature jubilation inspired their Game Two comeback win.

With seven minutes remaining, Dwyane Wade sunk a three pointer to stretch Miami's lead to its biggest margin of the night and he milked the moment with LeBron James in front of the Mavericks bench as a timeout was called."

[pk500]

You can also turn the tables on the premise of that story, Rod. One could ask why the hell it takes a premature "WHOOP!" session for the Mavs to wake up and feel like playing.

It's the NBA Finals -- you should be jacked and ready to go from the opening tip.

[wco81]

Only thing Miami had going was points off transition after turnovers.

In half-court, they didn't look that good. When the turnovers dried up, they looked bad in half-court. LBJ or Wade handles the ball while the other one takes a break. Then Dallas was able to stop Miami from penetrating and the Heat just took a lot of jumpers, including some as the shot clock ran out and they didn't get a really good look.

But Miami has obviously been able to make this formula work throughout most of the playoffs, despite the bad half-court plays.

[Brando70]

Totally unexpected, as historically Germans tend to collapse when behind late in a contest, not launch a counterattack that produces a victory.

Wonder if Pippen still thinks LeBron is the best player ever.