The Perpetual NBA Thread

**ssaloon** · October 5th, 2007 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by pajerokid

I got NBA 2k8 last night..... lufet ng Celtics hehehehe. Walang nagawa si Gilbert, Caron and Antawn.

OT

Uy ano yan, console or PC? May 2K sports games na for PC???

Sorry, OT din.

**tsupermario** · October 6th, 2007 07:33 AM

Isiah Thomas oblivious to Stephon Marbury's antics

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Isiah Thomas is apparently the one person who never got around to viewing any of Stephon Marbury's bizarre television appearances over the summer.

"I still haven't watched television," he said yesterday.

Just to keep Thomas up-to-date on his chosen point guard: The content of Marbury's now infamous interviews, plus his blog entries, deposition and other rambling thoughts were the talk of the NBA. Every comment sounded more outrageous than the last and resulted in more ridicule for the face of the franchise.

In no particular order: Marbury says he intends to play in Italy in two years. He compared himself to David Beckham. Winning a championship isn't everything. He's found God. And he's said that the Knicks are "my team." Plenty of Marbury's former teammates will vouch for the latter statement. Thomas, the Knicks' president and head coach, didn't quite know how to respond.

"Let's just say this ... I won't even go into that," Thomas said. "No comment."

Marbury's power and influence inside the Knicks' organization surfaced throughout the Anucha Browne Sanders trial, and some of the testimony reflected poorly on Thomas and Madison Square Garden. For years, teammates complained that Marbury was granted star treatment despite failing to produce a winning record on the court. The trial confirmed that the Marbury Rules are in place at the Garden.

The case revealed that Marbury had an extramarital affair with an intern and managed to procure jobs in the organization for relatives. He also admitted to calling Browne Sanders "a bitch," although he was not punished for his conduct. Thomas testified that he would address the issue with Marbury.

"Any private conversations that we've had will remain private," Thomas said yesterday.

Thomas has been Marbury's strongest advocate, defending him against any perceived criticism and even siding with Marbury when the veteran point guard feuded with Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown.

But has Thomas' loyalty and commitment to Marbury been worth the aggravation? The Knicks have not won a playoff game since Marbury arrived. His shocking testimony appeared to enhance Browne Sanders' case, while many Garden executives say they were embarrassed by Marbury's behavior over the summer. Through it all, Thomas continues to support his point guard.

"I think basketball-wise and life-wise my job is to protect my players and stand up for my players, and as the coach that's what I do," he said.

The more reporters asked about Marbury's conduct and comments, the more defiant and uncomfortable Thomas became. When asked about Marbury claiming that winning a championship isn't important, Thomas said: "Don't mischaracterize the things that he is saying. I think he understands that there is a game of life and a game of basketball and I believe he wants to win at both of those. And I think he has already won big-time in life, considering where he started from. Now the challenge is to win big-time on the court, and I think he is committed to doing that."

Marbury believes that he has made the necessary changes in his body and mind to turn around his career. He claims to be at peace after becoming a born-again Christian. It's a noble transformation for a player who admitted to committing adultery, has fought with teammates and has made a career out of bullying and threatening anyone who dares to challenge him.

Physically, Marbury looks fit and seems to be a step quicker. With the Knicks lacking a proven backup point guard, keeping Marbury healthy and productive is crucial. Marbury limped to the finish line in each of the past two seasons and yesterday Thomas finally admitted that Marbury arrived for camp out of shape last year.

"I was definitely disappointed with the way he played in November," Thomas said. "And I think we let him know that. And I think he's trying to avoid that this year."

**ssaloon** · October 6th, 2007 09:25 PM

Monta ellis is possibly paralyzed from the neck down after colliding with brendan wright. Looks like belinelli will have the starting job. Hope ellis is ok.

**empy** · October 6th, 2007 09:40 PM

he's ok. was released from the hospital this morning :sweat:

as for marbury, he's not so ok. may tuliling pa rin :screwloose:

**BlueBimmer** · October 6th, 2007 09:48 PM

AWW sayang! ehehehehehehe

**theveed** · October 7th, 2007 11:00 AM

BB: Hope your comment was for Steph not Monta...

**theveed** · October 7th, 2007 11:16 AM

Garnett leads way as new-look Celtics make preseason debut

ROME (AP) -- Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 16 rebounds in his Celtics debut, and Boston ruined Andrea Bargnani's homecoming with an 89-85 preseason victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.Paul Pierce added 21 points for Boston, while Ray Allen had an off night with only 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

The start of the NBA Europe Live tour marked the Celtics' first game since Garnett and Allen joined the team, creating a "Big 3" with Boston veteran Pierce.

"It was good to finally get out there and get our feet wet," Pierce said. "It was probably the best first game since I've been with the Celtics."Coach Doc Rivers left both Pierce and Garnett in for 32 minutes, while Allen played 31.

"Doc told us we're not going to play a lot of minutes tonight, but he wanted us to go really hard," Garnett said. "We had a lot of energy tonight."Bargnani, last year's top overall draft pick by Toronto, played his first game in his hometown in an NBA jersey and scored 13 points in less than 15 minutes.

"Andrea was pretty good. I probably could have done a better job at getting him back in, but I wanted to keep him fresh for tomorrow," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "I know where Andrea's at."T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker started at guard for the Raptors, with Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono at forward and Bargnani at center.Ford led the Raptors with 15 points.The other Celtics starters were Rajon Rondo at point guard and Kendrick Perkins at center.

The Raptors play Roma on Sunday, then travel to Spain to face Real Madrid. The Celtics meet Garnett's former club, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Wednesday in London."We did some good things and we need to work at some other things," Mitchell said. "We play again tomorrow and we'll try to clean some things up.

"The sold-out crowd of 11,118 at the Palalottomatica gave Bargnani a standing ovation when he came out for warmups and grew even louder when he scored six of the Raptors' first eight points, including a 3-pointer on his first attempt from the field.The Celtics had a slow start, while Toronto's international cast of Carlos Delfino, Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa and Rasho Nesterovic sunk a series of perimeter shots to open a 34-22 lead.

The Celtics finally got going midway through the second quarter when Allen hit a 3 to pull Boston within 40-34. After missing a series of midrange jumpers, Garnett picked up a rebound off a miss by Pierce and dunked to put the Celtics in front 42-40, their first lead since the opening minutes of the first quarter.

Garnett added a free throw to conclude a 12-0 run for the Celtics and make it 43-40 at halftime.After his early outburst, Bargnani picked up three fouls and was quiet for the rest of the first half.

The Italian started the second half with another flourish, hitting a 3 to restore the Raptors' lead at 45-43, then adding four more points in succession before picking up his fourth foul and returning to the bench.

Garnett was given a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk that tied the game at 52. It appeared he was trying to avoid landing on some players beneath him, and the Celtics argued the call to no avail.Pierce began hitting his fallaway jumper as the Celtics started to take control midway through the third quarter.

Ford's perimeter shooting for the Raptors kept the game close and Rivers kept Garnett and Allen in for the entire third quarter, which ended with the Celtics leading 70-68.Reserve guard Gabe Pruitt sealed the game with a free throw for Boston in the final seconds.

Both teams wore special uniforms for the game featuring the colors of Italy's flag. The Raptors' white jerseys had red and green trimming, while the Celtics' lettering was red, white and green, as was the shamrock on their shorts.Spike Lee, slated to begin shooting a film in Italy next week, sat courtside.
Celtics center Scot Pollard has flown back to the United States for medical exams on his sprained left ankle.