The Perpetual NBA Thread

[empy]

Does he ever consider that the two of them could have formed the NBA's greatest duo ever? Does he realize he could have worn six or seven championship rings by the end of his career?

this is the most frustrating thing for me and countless other Lakers fans. teams can spend generations building and rebuilding and never get all of the pieces in place (just talk to a Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs fan)...the Lakers were poised to make a run at 6 or 7 in a row, but were forced to throw it all away because of ego :swear:

[ILuvDetailing]

this is the most frustrating thing for me and countless other Lakers fans. teams can spend generations building and rebuilding and never get all of the pieces in place (just talk to a Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs fan)...the Lakers were poised to make a run at 6 or 7 in a row, but were forced to throw it all away because of ego :swear:

Shaq got Lazy, Kobe wanted to be "The Man", Kobe and Shaq butted heads, their supporting cast got old... it all culminated in the loss to Detroit in the Finals. Regardless it was a great run that ended prematurely, I was hoping they get atleast 4 straight or at least 4 of 5, too bad Malone got hurt and GP got old FAST.

[ssaloon]

Doesn't matter... whether the Wolves or Nuggets make it... they'll face a deep and cohesive San Antonio team in the first round.

basta sana di sila umabot para matauhan tong si kobe.

[empy]

Duncan is out for most if not all of the rest of the regular season with an ankle sprain suffered vs the Pistons.

Diesel and Flash...the door to homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs is wide open

[ssaloon]

Struggling Cavaliers fire Silas as coach

[ILuvDetailing]

Theres no such thing as Job Security as an NBA Head Coach. Who's next? Jim O'brien?

[mikaztro]

The King Reigns 56 on Raptors

LeBron's Record-Setting Performance Wasted
in Ninth Straigth Road Loss in Toronto
LeBron James crushes home two of his career-high 56 on Sunday.
Ron Turenne
NBAE/Getty Images
On Sunday afternoon, LeBron James put on the greatest offensive display in Cavaliers history – going off for 56 points and becoming the youngest player to ever break the 50-point plateau. LBJ hit 18 of the 36 shots he took and went 6-for-12 from behind the arc. His effort was nothing short of Herculean.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that LeBron’s incredible performance was wasted in the Cavaliers’ ninth straight loss on the road, a 105-98 defeat at the hands of the Raptors. As scorching as LBJ was for Cleveland, perennial Cavalier-killer Jalen Rose was equally deadly for Toronto; he scored 12 of his team-high 30 points in the fourth quarter.

"I played well, probably the best game of my life, but it means nothing when you come away with a loss," said James. "I don’t care about individual stats, especially when you lose. I was disappointed to have as good of a game as I had, and still come out with a loss."

The Cavaliers are celebrating their 35th Anniversary this season and that almost how long Walt Wesley’s scoring record has been in existence. Wesley netted 50 points on February 19, 1971 against the Cincinnati Royals. The next highest game was Mike Mitchell’s 46-point performance in 1980.

LBJ’s career-high before Sunday’s prolific outing was 43 points, which he notched against the Pistons on November 24. The young King also grabbed 10 boards, dished five dimes and grabbed a pair of steals. He was 14-of-15 from the line, but the trip he didn’t make to the stripe might have been the difference in the ballgame.

With the Cavaliers clawing back late in the game, trailing by five with 17 seconds left, LeBron made a baseline move to the hoop and was undercut by Toronto’s Rafer Alston. The ball squirted free and Drew Gooden was forced to foul. Alston dropped both free throws and put the Raptors ahead to stay, 105-98.

Gooden was primarily the only other Cavalier to record a contribution in Sunday afternoon’s loss. The former Jayhawk was extremely effective down low, working Donyell Marshall and Chris Bosh over for 24 points and 10 boards. In a game where LeBron James did the unthinkable on the floor, Gooden’s baseline drive over Bosh to put Cleveland up 70-68 late in the third period was one for the ages.

"We had a good game, but if we had a good game, that means Toronto had a better game," quipped Gooden. "And that was the case tonight."

But LeBron stole the show on Sunday. LBJ did his damage from every point on the floor. He had 16 points in the first quarter and 29 at the half. His three give the Cavaliers their first lead with just under nine minutes to go in the third, 59-57. But it was his monstrous one-handed throwdown in the third that will be splashed on SportsCenter for the foreseeable future.

"This was something special to watch from a great player, and you’ve got to put him in that category if he can do what he did tonight," praised Paul Silas. "It’s just too bad we couldn’t come out with a win, but that was superb."

Aside from LBJ and Gooden, the only other Cavalier to notch double-figures was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who netted 10 points and eight boards. Big Z shot 4-for-15 from the floor. Over his last two, the large Lithuanian is shooting 9-of-34.

Eric Snow got the start for Cleveland and Jeff McInnis went from Friday night’s starter to a DNP-CD on Sunday.

Snow dealt six assists, but didn’t score a point in Toronto. Unfortunately for Cleveland, nobody picked up the slack. The entire second unit scored a single point (Jiri Welsch – 1) in support of their young star’s colossal effort.

Toronto is a team that lives and dies by the three-pointer, lived well in Sunday’s matinee. Donyell Marshall, who tied an NBA record one week ago with 12 treys, went 5-for-10 from home run range for 24 points. Rose went 2-for-5 for part of his 30. And Rafer Alston hit 3-of-4, finishing with 16 points.

"Fortunately shots went down and the crowd got into the game," said Rose. "I think me and my teammates fed off of that and that was and important catalyst for our win today."

The Wine and Gold needed Sunday’s win in the worst way. The upcoming week promises some major challenges. Cleveland welcomes the World Champion Pistons to the Gund on Tuesday night before hitting the road for two-thirds of the Texas Triangle, Houston on Thursday night and Saturday against Dallas.

[ILuvDetailing]

He's just warming up...

[theveed]

Barring any weird collapses or surges, looks like the West top 8 is set huh...

1. x-Phoenix --
2. x-San Antonio 0.5
3. * Seattle 4.0
4. Dallas 6.0
5. Sacramento 9.5
6. Houston 10.5
7. Memphis 12.0
8. Denver 14.0

9. Minnesota 17.0
10. LA Lakers 18.5
11. LA Clippers 20.5

With the way Denver is playing, I doubt if the T-Wolves can catch up... The two LA's, who cares hehe...

DAL vs SAC again? hehe...

East 7&8th spot seems to be more interesting

1. x-Miami --
2. * Detroit 8.5
3. * Boston 13.0
4. Washington 14.0
5. Cleveland 15.0
6. Chicago 16.0
7. Indiana 17.5
8. Philadelphia 18.5

9. Orlando 19.0
10. New Jersey 19.5

[RedHorse]

blockbuster na finals: heat vs rockets