It feels like it's been weeks since the last game. Can't wait for tonight.

Looks like he was right in a big way.

Oh how I wish the Cavs had a low post scorer :(

Yeah Cavs do need an agressive big man. I mean they have to sissies who can shoot but no turn around guys. I knew bynum and Gasol were going to slow Howard down but jesus that was ridiculous.

Yeah Bynum had to be a pleasant surprise. That's the best he's played defensively since the injury.

He was very determined last night to stop Howard. You could see the fire in his eyes. I've never seen him play that hard. Gasol got physical last night too, you don't see that very often.

That was the best I've seen any basketball team play in a long, long time. Superb on both ends.

Orlando missed a ton of very open shots, though. Expecting a close one on Sunday.

Eh, it's true they missed open shots, but I think a lot of the misses were generated by the Lakers length and athleticism helping them close out well.

http://www.basketwallpapers.com/Imag...-Wallpaper.jpg

Lakers are the champions!!! :D

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

BORING!!!

The Lakers won a championship. Also, water is wet.

All bets are won.

^Who else has a moment of nostalgia hearing this, the best theme song in the history of sports? I miss the 90's :(

Best theme song in basketball (and sports) CURRENTLY:

What will Shaq call himself now that he's in Cleveland? The big burning river?

The Big Backup Center, I hope.

Edit: Howard Beck of the New York Times has dubbed him "The Big Witness".

Love it.

ESPN has been throwing around the term 'The Big Aristotle'. I like that.

Shaq glossed himself that years ago based on a book Phil Jackson gave him to read, it's pretty good indeed.

This draft class is absolute garbage. Worse than even I imagined.

You kidding? Theres going to be alot key players. Not LeBrons, but team players taken in the first round.

I'm pretty happy the Hornets went out and traded for Marcus Thornton, not only because he rules but also because he's basically a hometown prospect since Baton Rouge is relatively close. And LSU is \m/

There were a lot of role players drafted tonight. I saw few key players. I like the Harden pick at 3 for Oklahoma City. Everyone else I think will be drafting in a similar spot this time next year. Thabeet's a good center, but even Jay Bilas basically admitted on-air that his offensive game is limited at best. He went #2. Evans, Rubio, Flynn, and Curry are exciting, but in the NBA they're long-term projects that may or may not pay off. IMO if you're drafting on potential in the top ten spots, you've got a weak class. I'm just happy as hell the Bulls passed on Mullens, I was ready to hang myself from my ceiling with an extension cord.

How the hell did Blair drop to #37?! HOW?

I could see him starting for the Spurs next year. My god...

(I know, I know, his knees... but he's not even worth a second round pick? 6 teams passed on him with a SECOND ROUND PICK.)

Shaq in Cleveland....what the frick?

If that's true, I definitely like the Cavs to win it all next season.:yeah:

I can't believe T Will dropped to #11. I figured him top 3 for sure. Wayne Ellington might surprise a lot of people next year. Of course I also thought that about Chris Douglas-Roberts :banghead:

T-Will in the top 3? You weren't following any of the mock drafts then, were ya?

Heh, I like the Shaq move, but I think the Magic still beat Cleveland next year if the Cavs don't make any other key additions. With or without Turkoglu. That Vince trade was genius, IMO.

We'll see, postseason success has not often followed Vinsanity.

I like the move too, he's probably an upgrade over the Turk, but they still need someone to play alongside Superman to keep him out of foul trouble and help him on the glass.

Failure to do so cost Charles Barkley and Karl Malone, the 2nd and 3rd best powerforwards ever NBA titles.

Turk & Lee >>>>>>>>>> Vinsanity

Vinsanity is turning into Vinsenile cause he's so old. The Magic will be regretting giving up Courtney Lee for the next 8 years.

I'm not sure he's ever more then a role player

Yeah Courtney Lee is not going to be much more than more coordinated and less athletic Trevor Ariza. That's good if you're a championship-caliber team, but the Nets are bad.

Also, Vince Carter has found another fanbase to frustrate and annoy with his bizarre and incomprehensible playing style. If the Magic planned on using him to take some of the sting out of losing Hedo, well, lol.

It's pretty crazy that Shaq is in Cleveland. But I guess the Cavs are pretty much unstoppable now.

I'll miss Ben Wallace.

Wait and see what they do at PF. They need to resign Varejao and pick up someone else, preferably 'Sheed. Then you can start talking about unstoppable.

Sheed's the guy I think.

I've watched Sheed very closly as he's been in Detroit the past five years and though his game has dropped off, he's the perfect fir for the Cavs. The things he does well like shooting the three, rebounding, defending the post and on help side and hitting big shots are exactly what the Cavs were missing from the four position this year. A line-up of Mo Williams, D. West, Sheed, Shaq and Lebron looks very tough to stop. Keeping Varejo would be nice though too because you need a guy to eat minutes in the season as Sheed and Shaq ideally should only play 60-65 games and 32-36 minutes a night to stay fresh for the playoffs. It also sets up nice for Gibson and Sasha as the primary perimeter bench guys going forward.

The other good fit for Wallace is San Antonio; Matt Bonner thrived there next to the greatest power forward ever and Sheed does everything except get a sunburn better then him. He'd be playing the five in name as he did in Detroit but his role would be the same in as it would in Cleveland. Hit the open shot, defend the post (The Spurs interior D would be the best since Robinson\Duncan) and provide the veteran cool down the stretch.

The one place that needs Sheed the most won't ever get him. Orlando. Dwight Howard could learn so much from Sheed and he'd be the perfect compliment there as well, stretching the floor for Howard to work the offensive glass, defending the post to keep Dwight out of foul trouble and giving the Magic an occasional post up option who can actually shoot.

People make a big deal about the techs he gets, but having watched him for five years I can tell you it never once cost the Pistons a game so he can get all the T's he wants. I make whichever of those three teams gets Rasheed Wallace the top contender to knock off the champs.

What do you guys think Proggy, Dac, anyone else.

Sasha's gone remember, and Gibson is one of the most hot-cold players I've ever seen so the backup guards would be the week spot for the cavs for sure. The Spurs won't land Sheed simply because they aren't a team that likes to go out and spend money, and they just picked up the Jefferson contract. Orlando would be unstoppable with him, but I just don't see them spending that much money. The Cavs have shown the willingness to spend the money though, as they've had one of the top team payrolls for years now, so they're the biggest contender out of the three you mentioned. I also think with LeBron and Shaq on the team, you'd see his attitude drop WAY off. Varejao is the key though. So many intangibles, and if you've ever seen a cavs game, you'd know how well he plays with LeBron. I don't know if any PF in the league moves better without the ball.

I did not realize Pavlovic was part of that trade; I guess maybe Danny Green or the other rookie try to steal some minutes behind West and Lebron. They can't resign Sczerbiak.

Varejo would be foolish to leave, I don't know if he could score without Lebron setting him up so nice, but you're right he does understand how to find space well.

Sheeds' disposition will never change, it's always been the same. And like I said, it won't be a problem, he was the most valuable member of the team from '04-'06 when the Pistons were at their peak.

I like Gibson as a regular season bench player and situational shooter in the playoffs and his contract isn't terrible so you gotta keep him.

I wonder too what they will do with Z and Joe Smith. Will Z come off the bench and do they retain Smith or trust that J.J Hickson can stay healthy.

who knows if mo williams will continue to be as good as he was last year? i wouldnt pencil anyone in as "unstoppable" this early on.

Thoughts on the trades:
Jefferson to SA:
Pushes the Spurs past the Nuggets, if they have everyone healthy at the end of the year, the WCFs will be epic.
Carter to ORL:
Good for the Nets, they needed to unload Carter. Wait and see for the Magic. I think they needed to make a move since they knew Turk was going to opt out and probably wasn't signable so they had to do something. If this was the best deal they could get I can't fault the GM for pulling the trigger. I'm just not sure if this will pan out, especially with SVG as coach.
Shaq to Cavs:
Good move, no risk that I can see. But unless the Cavs make a big move for quality 4 who can spread the floor with their shooting I see Shaq doing nothing but clogging the middle on the wrong side of the floor. This makes them better no matter what, but can you imagine Shaq guarding Gasol?
Edit: I'll post my thoughts on each pick of the first round later.

cavs gave up like NOTHING for shaq. and its last year of his contract right?

It just seems to me that Shaq solves no problem for the Cavs. He might've done a slightly better job in the post against Orlando, but what they really needed was an athletic guy over 6'9 who could've given them some kind of answer for Turkoglu/Lewis. Shaq is only good in spurts now and so they're still pretty average and slow up front unless they move Lebron to the 4. That's their best bet, I think. Move Lebron to the 4 and I guess try to find a bruce bowen type or something to help out on the perimeter. Either way, if Garnett is healthy, I think the Celtics are gonna run through the East next year. And I hate the Celtics

The big 3 get another year older while Dwight Howard and LeBron move closer to their prime... I've got the Celtics finishing 3rd.

So, Pistons much? I must question putting Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton in the same backcourt...THEY COULD HAVE HAD BLAIR.

Hamilton and Gordon won't be in the same back court.

Hamilton is probably on the way out and either way Rodney Stuckey is the teams PG for better or worse, so one of the two will be off the bench if they're both here.

The big issue is why pay Gordon at least 3 million more then he's worth and Villanueva 2 million more then he's worth.

If they don't put off the Bosh trade this looks like a team in need of some serious help to avoid the dreeded 35-45 win black hole.