Yikes, that was quick. I'm still on a high from the Celtics winning last season and the new one starts TOMORROW (ie- Oct 28, US time), with games between Celtics/Cavs, Bucks/Bulls and another one I forget.
Lots of pretty big offseason moves- Richard Jefferson to the Bucks, Mo Williams to the Cavs (meaning LeBron finally has a backup scorer, which should be interesting), Elton Brand to the Sixers, Ron Artest to the Rockets, Jermaine O'Neal to the Raptors, Baron Davis and Marcus Camby to the Clippers, a bunch of others....
Australian player-wise: Andrew Bogut's been consistently improving for 3 years, especially after the All-Star break last season, and could even be an outside shot to make the All-Star team this year, assuming the Bucks don't suck too hard. The Raptors signed Nathan Jawai to a contract but then sat him out the eintire pre-season due to an undisclosed heart problem. Looked like he was likely to see some minutes before this happened, but no way of knowing what will happen now.
Most experts seem to be picking the Lakers this year, because they'll finally have Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on the court at the same time. Folks are also hot on Houston, because Artest, Yao Ming, and Tracy McGrady is a mighty impressive big 3, barring the inevitable injuries to Yao and T-Mac. The Spurs and Pistons old guys may be able to hold it together for one more shot, and the Jazz, Hornets and Sixers should all continue to improve.
I still see my beloved Celtics going back-to-back. Kevin Garnett is a madman, Paul Pierce is the clutchest dude alive, Ray Allen is still the best pure shooter in the game and Rajon Rondo hasn't even begun to reach his potential and he's already probably the top defensive point guard AND fastest guy in the league. Good times.
No one else excited?
I am.
me too
I endorse this event and or product.
Blazers/Lakers is the other first-day game for those too lazy to look these things up.
Anyone else feel like making some stupid predictions? How about Rondo and Bogut for the All-Star game (Rondo to START!). Bucks and Heat to make playoffs. Pistons to trade at least a third of their team before the deadline. Lakers to tank out before conference finals. Mavs to miss playoffs. Knicks to go 0-82. Suns to scrape into playoffs in last few days of season only to make conference finals after Shaq somehow magically regains dominant form for one last hurrah.
i heard that channel 10 have the rights to broadcast in hd. i'm not sure if it will be ready for this season. nba on free to air will be awesome.
that celts win feels like yesterday.
Yikes. The Nuggets just traded Alan Iverson to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess. This could be interesting, particularly Detroit having an actual exciting player.
One week into the season and the Lakers, Hornets, Pistons, Rockets, Raptors, Jazz and Hawks (!) are all still unbeaten. The Celtics got hammered by the Pacers a couple of days back and are 2-1. The Spurs are 0-2 after losing to the Suns and the Blazers.
Greg Oden injured his ankle in his first ever game and is out for a week or two. Bogut hasn't seemed 100% but has still been posting some solid numbers. Nathan Jawai is yet to see any minutes but is still listed on the Raps roster, so hopefully he'll get a game at some point.
This is a freaking rad move by the pistons - dumping Chaunceys big three year contract for AI whos in a contract year and will be desperate to prove that he's worth an extension.
Personally i dont think he is, but get this - 'Sheed and AI's contracts will run out next year, HAVE YOU SEEN THE LIST OF FREE AGENTS COMING OFF CONTRACT IN '10? it's fucking amazing, Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Dirk.. etc etc.
Pistons will have more cap space than any other team in the league, teams will be desperate to deal with them because they can move, and if they dont deal then the Pistons can offer more money and one of the best young support cast's of Maxiell, Stuckey, Johnson and Prince to slot a Lebron and Bosh or who and who around for a huge run in 2010.
So really, Pistons get one of the best pure scorers in NBA history and set him up for one final shot, maybe have a bad season in 09-10 and then have the space to sign anyone to practically any contract (LeBron and Bosh would be killer) and go large in 2010.
who was the last big superstar to play for the one team for his entire career?
Probably David Robinson or Hakeem Olajuwan.
I think also Magic, Bird, McHale, Kevin Johnson, maybe Karl Malone were all one-team guys, but I could be wrong.
Yeah, I think it was a great trade for both teams, too. The Pistons have somehow improved their short-term and long-term prospects with one trade. The Nuggets were always going to be looking to trade AI this season, and I can't imagine they could have gotten a better deal for him.
Rumour has it that the Nuggets are likely to waive McDyess and he'll wind up back with the Pistons.
malone played his last season with the lakers. hakeem spent time with the raptors.
stockton never left utah, though.
This trade shows that Joe Dumars is a smart dude off the court as well as on.
Shame about Isaiah...
Ah, I was too lazy to check that shit. Turns out KJ also played his first season for the Cavs. McHale was always a Celtic, though. Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki are probably the current stars with the longest runs.
On another note, it looks like Ohio is going to Obama. If it had gone to McCain, I wonder how that would have affected the possibility of LeBron staying in Cleveland after the end of next season. I gues we'll never know.
Of the 4 players who played more than 12,000 games for a single tean, I think Reggie Miller was the last to retire (2005)
Of the 4 players who played more than 12,000 games for a single team, I think Reggie Miller was the last to retire (2005)
Tim Duncan will play out at spurs I reckon. As a nuggets fan Im pretty bummed becasue I dotn really care about games won. just how good it is to watch and AI and anthony was really good times.
Good lord. Look at Amare Stoudamire's stat line from the Suns win over the Pacers today.
51 points. 18/22 shooting. 15/15 free throws. 11 rebounds. 6 assists. 5 steals. 2 blocks.
That's just fucking mindboggling.
that is nuts.
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the pistons are going to suck some serious shit this year.
I cant see how we can be any worse than we were with AI jacking up shots all last season.
Pistons have nothing to worry about compared to my knicks, not one decent trade/draft pick yet again and putting everything into getting lebron in 2010, someone's going to have some serious egg on their face if they don't get him.
his name is isiah thomas and he has been cooked into an omelette for quite some time
i'll be in nyc for the jazz vs knicks game. umm, excitement! never thought i'd see the jazz in person.
Damn that will be ace, wonder which team Boozer will be playing with....
Isiah Thomas really did F*#k the knicks over, already got rid of some contracts but still have two hacks in jeffries and curry to go.
It gets better for the knicks... In 2010 the jazz get their unprotected first round pick from some trade years ago. Probably zeke's fault.
Somehow came out of the Marbury to the Knicks three way trade with the Suns and Jazz. The Knicks are going to bomb so hard this year, the Jazz are going to be in the lottery from that trade.
fuck you anok :) make sure you remind those knick fans that the jazz own their unprotected draft pick!!
lebron wont go to the knicks. they are a basketcase and he'd be going from a contender to rebuilding.
Yeah I think googs was involved in that trade too. Googs!!
Has anyone here been to an NBA game before? Getting a ticket at MSG with the knicks this bad shouldn't be an issue right?
yeah was part of the gugliotta trade.
myself and the family hope to fly to slc in the future to catch a jazz game.
Saw the Knicks at MSG in '07. Tickets were pretty easy to come by.
You shouldn't have a problem, anok. The most popular games are when the good teams come to town.
What are you implying!? Jazz will go deep again if fit.........
ha! unintentional!
Ron Artest is confident as ever about 2009/10...
this Iverson situation is kinda interesting...all signs point to him heading to the bobcats, but overall, i think the fact that no-one wants to sign a guy who can feasibly average 20+ppg if you run enough of the offense through him makes a pretty clear point. Y'know, that watching Iverson dribble for too long and take a bad shot isn't good basketball, and isn't going to win you games. Chatting to a mate the other day, we couldn't really think of any ideal teams for him either - hell, i hate the idea of him going to bobcats as it takes minutes away from felt and DJ. Any ideas, theories, crazy-crackpot announcements?
It does seem kinda weird that after one lackluster season with the Pistons, everyone seems to have decided that Iverson is a washed-up primadonna who is only deserving of a minimum contract and a spot on the bench. Fair enough, he's hardly the most selfless player in the world, but I reckon he could still scorch a team for 50 points on a good night. Contrast that to noted lunatic/ballhog Ron Artest getting snapped up by the defending champs in no time flat, even though it meant letting Trevor Ariza go, and having the two biggest chuckers on Earth on the same team.
people have been rightly slamming allen iverson since his tenure with coach brown. an apt quote from brown ''everybody knows about the mean streets, the poverty, the lack of father figure... but you never hear about his lack of disciplined coaching''. basically growing up he was so talented he never bothered to train, turn up, run an offense and now he is a 6' undersized two guard with an amazing knack for scoring (whilst shooting ~.40).
he has twittered that he is in talks with the grizzlies. a 5mil a year offer. can an athlete live off that little every year?
ron artest is worth the risk. unstoppable post-scorer and can tag just about anyone. i suggest googling ''the underwear story'' for a good read.
So it looks like Iverson is signing with the Grizzlies. Should be official within a day or two. AI, Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Hasheem Thabeet- that's a hell of lot of talent. Wonder if it'll make for a good team.
Also, Ramon Sessions signed an offer with the Timberwolves. Milwaukee can still match it, but they won't, because they are breathtakingly stupid.
interesting article on jordan's HOF entry speech