NBA 2008-09 Season

[SabresRule]

a little birdy told me we will be acquiring a new Big later on in the week..... his name is Joe Smith! Welcome back Joe!!!!

I thought Joe was a liability in Cleveland... or was that Hughes?

 

[salsadancer7]

Convert him to PG?

Could you imagine a front court with D-Wade and OJ?!

Believe me, that idea crossed ALOT of peoples head, but now you are taking your VERY BEST PLAYER and basically making him learn a new position. Take him out of his comfort zone....NOT to mention putting him on the floor MORE than he may have to. Come 60 games into the season, he is pooped! They made the right choice in Beasley. Mayo MAY HAVE been the more mature pick, but Beasley had the best upside and best all around player and athlete. I mean he is ONLY 20 and only ONE season in college.....at this point he can STILL grow and is BETTER at this stage than Amare was at 20.

 

[Skyhi]

I thought Joe was a liability in Cleveland... or was that Hughes?

That was Hughes. Smith was a very-good role player for the Cavs last year in the playoffs,

 

[Skyhi]

at this point he can STILL grow and is BETTER at this stage than Amare was at 20.

Or he can be the next Marcus Fizer

 

[HD MM]

I thought Joe was a liability in Cleveland... or was that Hughes?

Hughes was the liability.

Joe Smith I loved and hated to get rid of.

BTW, listen to this.....

Last offseason, Cavs GM, Danny Ferry made an epic trade that has certainly proved to be key to this teams advanced play. In a 3 team trade, the Cavs traded Joe Smith and Damon Jones and ended up getting Mo Williams in return. And this week, if Joe Smith makes it through waivers, the Cavs are expected to pick him back up without giving anything up in return. So essentially, we traded Damon ("No D, No J") Jones for Mo Williams!!!

 

[HD MM]

Believe me, that idea crossed ALOT of peoples head, but now you are taking your VERY BEST PLAYER and basically making him learn a new position. Take him out of his comfort zone....NOT to mention putting him on the floor MORE than he may have to. Come 60 games into the season, he is pooped! They made the right choice in Beasley. Mayo MAY HAVE been the more mature pick, but Beasley had the best upside and best all around player and athlete. I mean he is ONLY 20 and only ONE season in college.....at this point he can STILL grow and is BETTER at this stage than Amare was at 20.

I understand the pick, but I was talking about making OJ the PG, not Wade.

OJ was a "combo-guard" in College and could player either the 1 or the 2.

 

[Skyhi]

Last offseason, Cavs GM, Danny Ferry made an epic trade that has certainly proved to be key to this teams advanced play. In a 3 team trade, the Cavs traded Joe Smith and Damon Jones and ended up getting Mo Williams in return. And this week, if Joe Smith makes it through waivers, the Cavs are expected to pick Joe Smith back up and giving nothing up in return. So esentially, we traded Damon ("No D, No J") Jones for Mo Williams!!!

Ferry has been great as the GM of this team (with a few misses along the way). If only he could work for the Browns too!

 

[salsadancer7]

I understand the pick, but I was talking about making OJ the PG, not Wade.

OJ was a "combo-guard" in College and could player either the 1 or the 2.

Well...you could get away with that in college, NOT in the NBA. Like I said, they looked at ALL combinations with Wade because Reilly REALLY wanted Mayo, he came in, they tried him out at the 1 spot and didn't like what they saw.

 

[BillD1984]

For your viewing pleasure:


Tuesday 3/3

7:00 ET

Chicago (CSN-Chicago) at Charlotte

Phoenix (My 45 HD) at Orlando (Sun Sports) also on NBA-TV

7:30 ET

Denver (Altitude) at Detroit (FS Plus)

8:00 ET

New Jersey (YES HD) at Milwaukee (FSN Wisconsin)

Golden State (CSN Bay) at Minnesota (FSN North)

8:30 ET

Toronto at Houston ( FSN HOU)

10:00 ET

Indiana (FSI) at Sacramento (CSN CA)

10:30 ET

Memphis (Fox Sports Tennessee) at LA Lakers (FSN HD)

 

[HD MM]

A while back, HD mentioned Cleveland's magic number to clinch their division.

Detroit's eight-game skid and Cleveland's impressive string of wins clearly added to that- what is it now down to?

To answer your question Sabres, the Cavs magic number is now at 7.

Ant combination of Cavs victories and losses by the second place team adding up to seven will give Cleveland it's first Central Division Title since 1976.

 

[SabresRule]

Those damn Pistons won't die.

I refuse to believe the idea of 'OMG, here comes Detroit, a team that never quits!'

They're still at the bottom of the playoff seedings, and I still refuse to think they can win a playoff series.

Their only hope is to get a playoff matchup against Orlando, IMO.

Besides, I remember when Phoenix got Shaq and finished the season nicely and were a sixth-seed, EVERYBODY was saying they'd be a darkhorse, and look what happened.

Give me five reasons why I should still fear this team. I can't.

 

[HD MM]

Those damn Pistons won't die.

I refuse to believe the idea of 'OMG, here comes Detroit, a team that never quits!'

They're still at the bottom of the playoff seedings, and I still refuse to think they can win a playoff series.

Their only hope is to get a playoff matchup against Orlando, IMO.

Besides, I remember when Phoenix got Shaq and finished the season nicely and were a sixth-seed, EVERYBODY was saying they'd be a darkhorse, and look what happened.

Give me five reasons why I should still fear this team. I can't.

Even more interesting is that the Detroit Pistons remain PERFECT without Allen Iverson. A perfect 7-0 when AI is not in the lineup!!

Remember, Iverson's first game with the Pistons was November 7th. That also happened to be the first Pistons loss. Prior to that, they were a perfect 4-0. Fast forward to today and all of a sudden, the Pistons broke an 8 game losing streak by beating Boston, Orlando and Denver. All without Iverson! I think I'm starting to see a trend here.

Never, never underestimate team chemistry on a basketball team. If this isn't proof, I don't know what is.

 

[HD MM]

Agent: Smith agrees with Cavaliers

It's official....

CLEVELAND -- [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=788"]Joe Smith Stats, News, Photos - Atlanta Hawks - ESPN[/ame] is about to bounce back to the [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=cle"]Cleveland Cavaliers News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame].

The veteran forward, traded last summer by the Cavs in the deal that brought them All-Star guard [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2178"]Mo Williams Stats, News, Photos - Cleveland Cavaliers - ESPN[/ame], agreed to terms Tuesday night on a one-year contract with Cleveland, his agent told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"After careful consideration of his options, Joe has decided that the Cavs are the best fit," agent Dan Fegan told the paper.

Smith can not officially sign with the Cavaliers until he clears waivers on Wednesday. But that's the final procedural hurdle in a signing that has been expected since the 33-year-old Smith bought out his contract on Sunday with the [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=okc"]Oklahoma City Thunder News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame].

Smith averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 36 games for the Thunder, but his playing time had diminished and he didn't get in any of his final eight games with the club.

He wanted to join a team for a playoff push and Cleveland, where he played 27 games last season, was Smith's first choice.

The Cavs reluctantly parted with Smith in August, when they packaged him with guard [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=406"]Damon Jones Stats, News, Photos - Milwaukee Bucks - ESPN[/ame] in a three-way deal to acquire Williams from the [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=mil"]Milwaukee Bucks News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame]. Smith came to Cleveland before the trading deadline in 2008, and the 14-year veteran provided leadership as well as consistent play during his stay.

The prospect of getting him back excited [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1966"]LeBron James Stats, News, Photos - Cleveland Cavaliers - ESPN[/ame].

"One of the best guys, one of the best teammates I've ever had," James said Monday night in Miami.

With [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=885"]Ben Wallace Stats, News, Photos - Detroit Pistons - ESPN[/ame] expected to miss three more weeks with a broken leg, the 6-foot-10 Smith will give the Cavaliers needed depth up front and his playoff experience will be invaluable. Smith appeared in 13 playoff games for the Cavs last season.

Smith was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NBA draft out of Maryland. He has also played for Golden State, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Detroit, Denver, Milwaukee and Chicago. He has averaged 11.7 points in 929 career games and appeared in 39 playoff games.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3949657"]Agent: Joe Smith agrees to terms with Cleveland Cavaliers - ESPN[/ame]

 

[HD MM]

Sources: Gooden to join Spurs

Barring an unforeseen snag, [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=1711"]Drew Gooden Stats, News, Photos - Los Angeles Clippers - ESPN[/ame] will be joining the [ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=sas"]San Antonio Spurs News, Schedule, Players, Stats, Video - NBA - ESPN[/ame] later this week, according to NBA front-office sources.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3949639"]Sources: Drew Gooden to sign with San Antonio Spurs - ESPN[/ame]

 

[salsadancer7]

Even more interesting is that the Detroit Pistons remain PERFECT without Allen Iverson. A perfect 7-0 when AI is not in the lineup!!

Remember, Iverson's first game with the Pistons was November 7th. That also happened to be the first Pistons loss. Prior to that, they were a perfect 4-0. Fast forward to today and all of a sudden, the Pistons broke an 8 game losing streak by beating Boston, Orlando and Denver. All without Iverson! I think I'm starting to see a trend here.

Never, never underestimate team chemistry on a basketball team. If this isn't proof, I don't know what is.

And I give you the Oakland A's, the New York Yankees and EVEN during Chicago Bulls during the Bulls run....

...Never, EVER OVER ESTIMATE the team chemistry...because there is plenty of proof to prove it is not needed when you win. Tell me honestly, you don't honestly think the Pistons were as bad as they were playing were you? They may not be the power house that they were a couple of years ago....but I assure you, once they get their rotation in place and everyone knows their role....they will play better.

 

[HD MM]

And I give you the Oakland A's, the New York Yankees and EVEN during Chicago Bulls during the Bulls run....

...Never, EVER OVER ESTIMATE the team chemistry...because there is plenty of proof to prove it is not needed when you win. Tell me honestly, you don't honestly think the Pistons were as bad as they were playing were you? They may not be the power house that they were a couple of years ago....but I assure you, once they get their rotation in place and everyone knows their role....they will play better.

The Pistons have a winning percentage of 1.000 without Allen Iverson.

Numbers don't lie Salsa. It's a fact, this team plays better without him.

 

[salsadancer7]

The Pistons have a winning percentage of 1.000 without Allen Iverson.

Numbers don't lie Salsa. It's a fact, this team plays better without him.

Nope they don't. Tell me, something...take Iverson out of the line and you have...ready? LAST YEARS TEAM that.....ready? Already KNOW their roles on the team. Also, noticed that Hamilton STARTED??!! Last few games is PROOF that the coaching staff have NO CLUE how to get a proper rotation of Iverson. EVERYTHING that has happened to the Pistons is fault of coaching staff. Iverson has come and done what he told to do. Is it HIS fault players stand around and do nothing when he has the ball? Is it his fault that the coaching staff have NO clue how to use Iverson and Hamilton? I mean really.....

...not everything is a black and white as it seems...

 

[HD MM]

The Pistons have a winning percentage of 1.000 without Allen Iverson.

Numbers don't lie Salsa. It's a fact, this team plays better without him.

Nope they don't.

Huh?! They're perfect without him! They win 100% of the time when AI isn't on the court this year with the Pistons. You can't deny this stat. You can make excuses or long winded explanations, but you can't deny the numbers.

 

[salsadancer7]

Huh?! They're perfect without him! They win 100% of the time when AI isn't on the court this year with the Pistons. You can't deny this stat. You can make excuses or long winded explanations, but you can't deny the numbers.

Sweet Jesus...never minded....just stick to your story....

Just amazes me how people think EVERYTHING is a yes and no answer....

 

[BillD1984]

Some good ones tonight......


7:00 ET

Milwaukee (FSN Wisconsin) at Cleveland (FS Ohio-HD)

7:30 ET

Phoenix (My45-HD) at Miami (Sun Sports-HD)

Boston (CSN-HD) at New Jersey (YES-HD)

Atlanta (SportsSouth) at New York (MSG)

8:00 ET

Washington (CSN) at Oklahoma City (FS Oklahoma-HD)

8:30 ET

Golden State (CSN Bay-HD) at Chicago (CSN-Chicago)

9:00 ET

San Antonio (My35-HD) at Dallas (KTXA-HD) also on ESPN-HD

Houston (FSN Houston) at Utah (KJZZ)

10:00 ET

Indiana (FSI) at Portland (CSN)

10:30 ET

Memphis (Fox Sports Tennessee) at LA Clippers (FSN Prime Ticket)