CubbieBum

And he's back (according to ESPN Rumor mill) ...

The NBA doesn't have its own Hall of Fame there is only the Basketball Hall Of Fame that takes all levels of basketball into account (as well as off the field stuff). It is also much easier to get in than baseball's and football's. Deke is definitely in. He was the only 4 time defensive player of the year winner before Ben Wallace won four, he is second all-time in blocks and in the top 20 for rebounds and he has done perhaps more good off the field work than anyone else. Yao will probably be in when it is all said and done because he will be one of the best centers of his era, made the NBA huge in Asia and does a lot of charity off the field. T-Mac is really the only questionable one. A recent example that is comparable however is Adrian Dantley. They both led the league in scoring twice. However, T-Mac already has more all-star games (7-6), more All-NBA first team selections (2-0), many more All-NBA second/third team selections (5-2), more rebounds and assists per game and like coaches and GM's have pointed out before he is one of the few stars to have higher career averages in the playoffs than the regular season. The one thing Dantley had that T-Mac doesn't have and could make a big difference is that Dantley was a 2-time first-team All-American in college. Yao and TMac are going to be hurt though because they have no careers to speak of before the NBA. It could. I'm not sure how the committee views players like them. Should you be punished for being foreign or going straight from high school? I don't know why you would but how can it be avoided. I also forgot to mention they (especially Yao) will be helped by playing in the Olympics. In general if you are good enough to play in the Olympics and are very successful in the NBA you get in. Yao's experience with China really helps him because he has been the leader for nearly a decade for China. TMac never did anything in the Olympics but being respected enough to be one of the players on the team will help him get in nonetheless.

The NBA doesn't have its own Hall of Fame there is only the Basketball Hall Of Fame that takes all levels of basketball into account (as well as off the field stuff). It is also much easier to get in than baseball's and football's. Deke is definitely in. He was the only 4 time defensive player of the year winner before Ben Wallace won four, he is second all-time in blocks and in the top 20 for rebounds and he has done perhaps more good off the field work than anyone else. Yao will probably be in when it is all said and done because he will be one of the best centers of his era, made the NBA huge in Asia and does a lot of charity off the field. T-Mac is really the only questionable one. A recent example that is comparable however is Adrian Dantley. They both led the league in scoring twice. However, T-Mac already has more all-star games (7-6), more All-NBA first team selections (2-0), many more All-NBA second/third team selections (5-2), more rebounds and assists per game and like coaches and GM's have pointed out before he is one of the few stars to have higher career averages in the playoffs than the regular season. The one thing Dantley had that T-Mac doesn't have and could make a big difference is that Dantley was a 2-time first-team All-American in college.

Because missing Mutombo is really that big of a loss. Its a huge loss now that Yao is out. He is a big reason that we were able to continue to play well last year when Yao went down and was even better the year before last. In 06-07 he averaged over 10 rebounds a game in 27 minutes as a starter in 33 games. In 07-08 he averaged almost 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 20 minutes a game as a starter. This year he only started twice but averaged 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in 29.5 minutes. If you thought about Yao being out and looked up how Mutumbo has done as a starter with the Rockets you would know he is still one of the best rebounding and blocking centers in the game. He just can't play 30 minutes a game for 82 games. Playing 25 minutes or so for a 20 game stretch, however, is something he has proved to be great at and is something the Rockets could really use right now.

He's a player that has OPSed .818 or above every year in AAA since 2005. I don't think he's a great player but judging from that consistency, the amount of walks he takes, and what he has been doing since called up I think he is probably around Fontenot's level. He has the power to hit home runs but not consistently, he takes pitches showing he has a good eye, and when he sees a pitch he likes he can drive on it. My guess is he's a guy who can bat .280 with a .360 OBP and can play adequate defense. Like I said nothing great but he's a consistent contributor from a position most teams are abundant at. He is also loads better than Miles, but then again who isn't.

All I know is the Lakers are the worst team ever with that much talent. They showed what they should be doing in game 5 but yet here they are in game 6 getting beat. The Rockets did have an off shooting night in game 5 but the Lakers should still beat them by 20 every game. The Rockets are missing three hall of famers and yet are still on the brink of forcing a game 7. Oh and the Kobe technical was Karma. The refs know they missed two elbows and a knee in games one and two and Kobe made contact around Artest's head so based on his previous actions they figured he did it again. They also didn't want to miss one on Kobe again and make everyone who isn't already questioning the NBA and rigging begin to.

Yes, he should be suspended at least 2 games, that's what they gave Bradley for much less obvious contact. This has to be a 2 way street. Along those same lines, but reversed, do you think Jermaine Dye will be suspended for throwing his helmet down yesterday? The helmet bounced and then hit the ump in the chest. Dye should be. The way I look at it is his anger caused him to throw the helmet and his helmet hit the ump because he threw it. If he wasn't throwing a fit the ump never would have been hit.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keown/090512&sportCat=nba I think that article sums up why so many hate Kobe unlike the other players like him (Jordan, LeBron and the such).

Not when T-Mac is fully healthy. He hasn't been in two seasons. Its close and I see it as more of a preference but for this Rockets team its T-Mac. With a player like Yao you need someone who consistently shoots well from out, can create his own shot consistently and is a good passer. Artest can make the outside shot but he is incredibly streaky. He'll miss 10 straight and then make 6 straight so his overall percentage is pretty good but there are a lot of games he's worthless. Artest can make good passes around the perimeter but is awful at feeding the post. T-Mac for all his deficiencies was always a great passer. Artest's defense is why this is close. While I like players who play defense more than guys who can score at will the Rockets are/were a great defensive team before Artest. Now if the argument is which one would I rather keep its Artest hands down because he can actually stay healthy. But in terms of both being fully healthy T-Mac is still the better player he is just never healthy.

There's a major difference between losing some playoff games you shouldn't lose and losing some playoff games you shouldn't lose to a team missing its two best players and has no center.

Its probably because this involved Jewish people but I couldn't help but think this was a story from a Mel Brooks movie.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd110/tripl3_a/BrooksownsLakers.gif The peak of my giddiness over this game. A six-foot guard who was already dominating somehow gets an alley-oop off an in-bounds play with 0.7 seconds remaining in the 3rd. The Lakers put forth one of the most lack luster efforts I have seen in a playoff game from any team in a very long time. I don't understand how Bynum couldn't go in with Gasol and which ever one wasn't marked by Hayes just go to town.

Was willing to give O'Leary the benefit of the doubt until that part.

8-5 Cubs win. Both starters do well but the bullpens get hit hard.

Figured some of you Bulls fans would like this. http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6173/jordanimn.jpg It was posted on the Rockets message board.

To be fair Yao would likely not have very many injury problems yet, if any, if it wasn't for not having an offseason since he came to the NBA. As soon as he gets done with the NBA every year China literally demands that he start playing for the national team again. Last year he had the surgery and immediately after getting the cast off he started practicing for the Olympics. He's said once or twice now that it was time for him to step down from the national team and let the younger players step up but every offseason China threatens to essentially exile him if he doesn't play. The Rockets board I belong to has a ridiculously high amount of Chinese people who barely know English on it and they relay a lot of that info. Two or three years ago they supposedly threatened to have Yao removed from the record books including the ones in the CBA and strip him of all the special honors he has received if he didn't play in the World's.

That could be but them suspending a Laker player hardly proves it. They suspended Fisher. Big whoop. Yeah. He's not exactly LA's most important player and they proved tonight that they can win without him. I had turned the game off and missed Artest's second ejection.

95 Missed all but 7 or 8 NHL teams because I've never been too big into NHL. I would have been a lot better with MLS instead of NHL. I blanked on Texans somehow which annoys me because when I get bored in class I test myself on naming teams from different leagues. I write it down when I do that and divide into divisions so this threw me a bit. I should have done a lot better.

I think our only chance is Gallardo to get hurt early again. Don't see that happening.

That could be but them suspending a Laker player hardly proves it.

Best first post in a game thread ever?

I guess I will be representing football all by myself. Anyways ... World Cup Soccer>>>NFL>>College Basketball>College Football>MLB>>NBA After that I'm a once a week check the standings fan. That includes NHL, College baseball, MLS.

What do you think May, June and July are? Extra time to talk about Favre. OMG is Tom Brady married? He could be married. Did you see TO doing situps the other day? That's still the offseason. Its the media having to fill the void but from May-July football fans like myself are antsy and counting the days until training camp. Oh and the TO situps clip happened during the NFL season.

Did they win the whole damn thing that year?

What do you think May, June and July are?