NBA Draft

[ThaSaltCracka]

I have hope for te survival of the NBA. Last years top picks were two ego maniacs(both of which are excellent players) and one quite unpolished serbian. However this year the two top picks seem to be two very grounded and skilled players. Okafur seems very mature, he has no tatoos or earings, which is actually refreshing and Dwight Howard seems young and pure. Maybe he is naive, but I like his attitude. I am hoping the NBA will continue to be filled by players like these two. Maybe then people will start watching it again.

[paland]

I noticed that there's a Russian who is 7'5" in the draft.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I saw on espn.com's page2 there is supposedly some guy who is 7'11" who is hoping to get drafted. He is from South Africa, never played a single game of basketball, can't block shots, can't shoot free throws, weighs 265, but apparently what he can do is dunk...... this doesn't bode well for the NBA

[M2d]

but he has a built in endorsement waiting to happen.

[banditbdl]

LeBron and Carmelo are unquestionably the two best rookies as far as the marketing and financial survival of the NBA is concerned in years, maybe decades. You might not like the two and the fact they've been pampered as the phenomenonal athletes they are since they were in junior high, but both contributed more to the survival of the NBA in one year then any rookies since Magic and Bird. I agree Okafor seems like a great guy, but I seriously question his skill set as a top 2 pick. Don't know anything about Howard's game. The Finals did buffo ratings this year and whether you like it or not LeBron is exactly what the league needs to get people watching again if he can reach his potential and make his team compete for the title in a few years.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Lebron is very very good, and the only way people will enjoy watching him and the Cavaliers is if they can play like the great teams from the late 80's and early 90's.... ie TEAM BASKETBALLL.

[Uston]

Okafor is the real deal. The Orlando Magic have a former CIA guy do background checks on potential draftees. After looking into Okafor's past he stated that he was "the best human being I've ever had to do a background check on". He graduated college in an honors finance program with over a 3.7 GPA in five freaking semesters. He's probably the only NBA prospect in the last five years who would have a legitimate chance at a six-figure job by age 25, if he never played basketball again.

[banditbdl]

[ QUOTE ]
Lebron is very very good, and the only way people will enjoy watching him and the Cavaliers is if they can play like the great teams from the late 80's and early 90's.... ie TEAM BASKETBALLL.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I don't see why you're calling LeBron out for not playing team basketball. He seems to love the great pass as much as the great shot or dunk. Of course the Cavs will only get good if he can meld his individual dominance into the team structure but I don't see why you seem to assume he won't. Just because he's got a Hummer, some tattoos, and big earrings doesn't mean he doesn't know how to play the game the right way.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Maybe you are getting the wrong impression from me. If Lebron can implememt the team basketball spirit in Cleveland, he very well may become more popular than Jordan. I am not saying he can't or won't do that, just if he does that. I like him and Melo, but I just hope they don't get caught up in the hype that is themselves.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
I saw on espn.com's page2 there is supposedly some guy who is 7'11" who is hoping to get drafted. He is from South Africa, never played a single game of basketball, can't block shots, can't shoot free throws, weighs 265, but apparently what he can do is dunk...... this doesn't bode well for the NBA

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a joke, and I can't figure out why ESPN would let someone like Darren Rovell, who usually writes legitimate articles, pen something that's a fabrication. Let some of the other Page 2 guys like Graham Hays handle that.

I'll probably watch a bit of it tonight, even though there's little hope that the Sonics will do anything exciting.

[Clarkmeister]

You seem to be implying that the recent NBA champions haven't been playing TEAM BASKETBALL. I don't think anything could be further from the truth. This years Pistons were obviously a collective. Both Spurs teams were outstanding teams fueled by great defense. And the Laker 3-peat teams had outstanding role players and played very good defense, very similar to the Bulls teams of the 90's.

[namknils]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I saw on espn.com's page2 there is supposedly some guy who is 7'11" who is hoping to get drafted. He is from South Africa, never played a single game of basketball, can't block shots, can't shoot free throws, weighs 265, but apparently what he can do is dunk...... this doesn't bode well for the NBA

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a joke, and I can't figure out why ESPN would let someone like Darren Rovell, who usually writes legitimate articles, pen something that's a fabrication. Let some of the other Page 2 guys like Graham Hays handle that.

I'll probably watch a bit of it tonight, even though there's little hope that the Sonics will do anything exciting.

[/ QUOTE ]

This article confused the crap out of me. I couldn't figure out if they were joking or not. I thought it was pretty dumb. Some parts sounded very reasonable yet others were very suspect. I'm about 90% sure that it's a joke.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
You seem to be implying that the recent NBA champions haven't been playing TEAM BASKETBALL.

[/ QUOTE ]
No, the teams that have won did so by playing team basketball. There are probably 5 teams in the league that routinely play solid team basketball, the rest of the teams are train wrecks. The NBA was terrible this year; don't let the playoffs fool you into thinking otherwise.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

I thought the NBA had some great stories this year, I for one enjoyed the season and the playoffs imensely

I'm curious to know which 5 teams you're referring to.

[J.A.Sucker]

I think that you are underrating the ability of the Pistons players. I know that I did early in the series, but I was dreadfully wrong. Shaq was clearly the best player on the court (though his gap has diminished due to his body breaking down), and Kobe was probably 2nd, but his edge over the other top guards in the league isn't that great, and that's due to the fact that he's a headcase. Chancey, Rip, and Ben all got much better during the playoffs, and I bet that their increased confidence will make them much better players in the future. Even Prince is looking like a top-tier defender, and his driving/slashing game has a smoothness and explosiveness that can't be taught. Thus, Kobe's assets were neutralized by the Pistons' defense, effectively making 4 of the 5 best players Pistons.

This wasn't like the NCAA tourney where there's always some tight team that takes out the big boys; it was complete physical and skill domination, befitting of the better players getting the best of it. This was incredibly surprising to me, for sure.

[Clarkmeister]

Any of the Lakers 3-peat teams, with a smoother offense, better role players and a more cohesive defense would have slaughtered these Pistons. This year, however, they disintegrated into a 2 man team with no one to help pick up the slack. The issue wasn't Kobe vs Rip. It was Prince, Billups and Wallace (take your pick) vs George (ugh), Fisher/Payton (ugh) and essentially no power forward.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought the NBA had some great stories this year, I for one enjoyed the season and the playoffs imensely

[/ QUOTE ] I am not trying to convice you to dislike the NBA, if you enjoyed it then thats great, I am a fan of basketball but I really didn't enjoy the low scoring games(which were caused by poor shooting, not defense) or the blowout games when the western conference teams pummeled much of the east.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious to know which 5 teams you're referring to.

[/ QUOTE ]
There could be more than 5, I sort of through a number out there. here are some though IMO.
San Antonio
Detroit
New Jersey
Sacramento
Minnesota
LA Lakers (at times)
Indiana(at times)