The Perpetual NBA Thread

**baiskee** · October 25th, 2006 03:32 PM

ganda nga nung kay VC. pang nike ad.

**chain** · October 25th, 2006 03:37 PM

the VC pic should have won IMO.. ganda-ganda ng composition.

**ssaloon** · October 25th, 2006 04:58 PM

nice! sana tuloy-tuloy na at di masilat ng injuries

**Eismann** · October 26th, 2006 06:19 PM

Who Will Assert Himself As the NBA's Best Player?
By: Paul Forrester(Inside The NBA) - CNNSI.com

Nagging foot injuries aside, Tim Duncan is still the gatekeeper to the NBA title. But this mythical award isn't reserved for the league's most influential player. This is for the league's best overall talent, the player who can fill up a boxscore, hit the game-winner, ice the contest with key free throws and make the game-clinching steal. By our estimation, that leaves three legitimate candidates:

• Kobe Bryant
Says a league scout, "Ask yourself the following: If you had one possession on offense to win, who would you want to have the ball? If you had to have one defensive stop to win, who would you want to cover the ball? It is hard to imagine you would want anyone else, past or present, to answer the call. He is capable of playing multiple positions and dominates both sides of the ball. We ask champions to never back down from a challenge and to step up when it's time to do so, all of which Kobe has accomplished. We recognize greatness because it thrives under pressure, so does Kobe."

• LeBron James
The only player other than Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan to average at least 30 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for a season, James enters his fourth season as a favorite to win the MVP award this season. This for a man who wasn't legally allowed to order a drink until last December. James' skills set isn't much different than Bryant's or Dwyane Wade's, it's that his 6-foot-8, 240-pound size -- and Cleveland's need -- allows him to use those skills for longer stretches of time.

"The big difference was that LeBron played so many more minutes [last season]," a front-office consultant says. "Part of that was probably because Cleveland didn't have as much additional support, so on the nights that LeBron wasn't playing that well, the Cavs lost." Last season, only Gilbert Arenas played more minutes than James, who averaged nearly two more minutes a game than Bryant.

• Dwyane Wade
It's difficult to make a case against Wade after he almost single-handedly dragged the Heat out of an 0-2 hole to win the title in June. "He stepped up and did everything that had to be done," a Western conference scout says of Wade's Finals MVP performance. "Kobe Bryant's a fabulous player, but I don't like what he's done without Shaq, and LeBron hasn't shown me he's capable of leading a team to a championship, but Dwyane Wade has."

Our verdict: Wade's championship credentials have made him the fashionable pick, LeBron is an appearance in the Finals away, but when, as a scout says, "you are the player all others compare themselves to," well, Kobe can take the last shot for us, anytime.

**theveed** · October 26th, 2006 06:22 PM

Kobe is just ruthless hehe.

**Eismann** · October 26th, 2006 08:34 PM

Fearless as it may seem, these are my playoff predictions come April of 2007....the champ will come from the West this time.

Western Conf -
1. Phoenix - reason: Marion, Boris and Nash trio plus a rejuvenated Amare, Barbosa, Marcus Banks, a healthy Kurt Thomas and new nba rules where the Suns fluorished under D'Antoni counting the last 2 years.
2. LA Clippers - reason: their core did not change plus an addition of Tim Thomas. Livingston is poised for a breakout year. Brand will get his first MVP award and Dunleavy will finally be named coach of the year.
3. Dallas - they would have finished higher if Cuban learns to stop being himself. An nba championship is not too far away. Dirk, Jet, Josh, Finley and a trade or two will take the Mavs to their second straight WCF.
4. San Antonio - their current roster, system and discipline is already a force to contend with but they need to make key moves before the trading deadline. Otherwise their old bench will haunt them come March or April.
5. Houston - Battier and Bonzi are not the reasons they're this high in my fearless predictions. Yao will be the reigning big man in the middle this year and TMac will be his efficient sidekick. Barring injuries and bad luck, Houston will be back in the playoffs this year and advance deeper than they ever were since the Hakeem days.
6. LA Lakers - they're a notch higher this year compared to their finish last year because their players have matured in the playoffs against the Suns. KB24 will assert his top dog status in the nba even more by doing the impossible - giving up the ball. Their finish will be a lot higher if Lamar can finally cross the boundary to superstardom that has eluded him all these years. Phil needs to add a better C for the triangle O to weave it's magic back.
7. Denver - the key to their making the playoffs again is not Carmelo Anthony and his stellar production. Marcus Camby and KMart should stay healthy and help their team defensively. No doubt about Andre Miller being their top feeder but Karl should find ways to bring discipline for their offense to run much like how Phoenix runs it. They have very similar pieces that fit the running game and they'll blow teams away if they can mimic the playbook of D'Antoni.
8. NOK - they looked like a veteran team last year who almost made the playoffs with CP3 running the show. Now they have hotshot veterans in Peja and BobbyJax. Chandler will prove to be a key acquisition and other veterans like Butler and Marc Jackson will help David West defensively after the trade sending PJ Brown and JR Smith to the Bulls. CP3's learning curve will be peaking this year and he will find himself in the first team all nba by the end of the season.
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9. Minnesota - of course KG and rookie Randy Foye will be great this year but their efforts will not be helped by internal Wolves front office fiascos and unwanted pieces like Ricky Davis in their line up.
10.Sacramento - new coach, no Bonzi, it will be a matter of time till we hear of another brawl this time at Arco Arena.

ROY - Brandon Roy

Defensive Player of the Year - Ron Artest(barring another long term suspension)

Can't wait for the season to start.............

**BoEinG_747** · October 27th, 2006 09:11 PM

Stern nababahala sa gun-toting NBA players

(Ace Pasco)

NEW YORK --- Lub-hang nababahala si Na-tional Basketball Associa-tion commissioner David Stern sa dumaraming bi-lang ng NBA players na nagbibitbit ng baril para gamiting pamproteksyon sa mga sarili.

"We think it is an alar-ming subject," pahayag ni Stern. "Although you’ll read players saying how they feel safer with guns, in fact, those guns actually make them less safe. And it’s a real issue."

Ito ang reaksyon ni Stern matapos ang mag-kakahiwalay na insiden-teng kinasangkutan ng ilang NBA gun-toting pla-yers nitong buwan.

Si Pacers forward Ste-phen Jackson ay naaresto matapos limang beses magpaputok ng baril nang may makaalitan sa labas ng isang strip club sa Indianapolis samantalang nakunan din ng baril sa kanilang kotse ang mga teammates ni Jackson na sina Jamaal Tinsley at Marquis Daniels na na-roon din nu’ng oras ng in-sidente.

Sa isa pang pagka-kataon ay nahuli naman si Boston Celtics guard Sebastian Telfar na nag-dala ng baril sa kanyang bag sa isang team flight. Idinahilan niyang maling bag ang kanyang nabitbit at ‘di sinasadyang naisama ang baril na nakalisensya sa kanyang girlfriend.

**kimpOy** · October 29th, 2006 11:09 AM

this just in...

Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach dead at 89

**tsupermario** · October 29th, 2006 11:44 AM

RIP

a critic of of phil jackson:

"He's done a fantastic job with the teams he had – either Chicago or Los Angeles," Auerbach told ESPN. "All I said is that he never tried it the other way. He's never tried building a team and teaching the fundamentals. I'm not saying he can't do it. Maybe he can. But he never had to."