Around The Horn 1.02

Discussion in 'S2 Sports Bar' started by 808Hornetsfan, Jul 9, 2007.

  1. CB4allstar

    CB4allstar BBW Global Mod Team

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    This took me a while to decide on, because I really think that the Bobcats are going to be a good team next year. However, I've come to the conclusion that they just aren't good ENOUGH yet to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs. If they played in last season's ECF, then yeah, I probably wouldn't even have to think about this. I'm positive that they'd be a better team than Orlando was last year. But this year the ECF has just gotten so much better. Mainly because of the Seattle imports. Rashard Lewis gives Orlando the #1 option that they've been missing for quite some time now. They were a playoff team last season, and this year there is no question that they've improved alot. Rashard Lewis is a big upgrade over Grant Hill scoring wise. They gave him a huge contract, and they're expecting him to score 20+. Dwight Howard might finally break through offensively this year and crack 19-20 a game. Jameer Nelson will get smarter as a PG, and overall he'll definitely improve as a player - same with JJ Redick.Boston will challenge Gilbert/Caron/Jamison for best scoring trio in the NBA. Seriously, they've got Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, AND Al Jefferson. When you add that up with their bench filled with good young players like Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Kendrick Perkins and co. the playoffs are surely in their plans next season. This team also is better than the Bobcats in my opinion.The Nets finished off the year as a very hot ball club. Their big 3 were working coherently, and guys like Jason Collins and Mikki Moore were giving them hustle plays, defense, and overall team spirit. When the playoffs came, they completely trashed my team; the Raptors. They held Bosh down to a minimum, and Jason Kidd was simply unbelievable. I think these guys will go back to what they did two years ago. Maybe they aren't quite that team, but I think they are a sure fire playoff team also.When you add in teams like Miami, Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington, there isn't much room for the Bobcats, is there? Actually, one of the teams I just mentioned besides the Bobcats will be missing the playoffs next season. And I consider all of these teams as better ball clubs than the Bobcats. That reminds me, I gotta talk about the main part of this debate. The Bobcats of course.Okay, last season the Bobcats were trash again of course. Their offense sucked, they had no experience, Adam Morrison was dissapointing, etc....well, I've gotta say that those days are over. Here's why. Jason Richardson first of all. Before this upcoming season, the Bobcats have never had a true #1 option. Now they finally do. J-Rich is a great offensive player. He can shoot the ball from mid range, and from 3 pt range. He is about as athletic as you can get, and fully capable of driving. He's a 20+ capable guard, and he's been putting up those kind of numbers for a while now. Everyone knows what G-Force can do. The dude's an athletic freak, and he's strong as hell and fully capable of posting up weaker Small Forwards. He's amazing at rebounding, stealing AND blocking shots. He's probably as versatile of a player as you can get. The one thing he doesn't have is shooting, but he still gets a good amount of points. They've got Emeka who is a great defensve player, and a talented player on offense too. Ray Felton is quick, he's got a pretty good shot, and he's a more than adequate passer. He was only a sophomore, and although overshadowed by Deron Williams and Chris Paul, he put up a very nice sophomore season last year. The dude's a baller, and he's only going to get better. Then you've got shooters like Matt Carroll and Adam Morrison (although he was inconsistent as hell). But you know what? I still don't think this adds up the the talent that the other teams have. And the other teams have one thing that the Bobcats can't even dream of having right now. That would be experience. Veteran experience. I really want to know how many combined trips to the playoffs all of ther players have. I bet you I could count that on a hand. J-Rich never made the playoffs in GS until last year, and that was the year where he was injured and when he slipped off a fair bit due to the other guards on the team. You need experience in this league. How else can you bounce back from tough losses. How else can you fight off some great WC teams when you're going on a long road trip? How else can you take on the Spurs and not pee your pants at the same time? How else can you come back from a tough losing skid? That's what I'm talking about. Already these guys probably aren't equal to the other playoff calibre teams in the East. But without experience and coaching, they are going to be inconsistent. Too inconsistent to make the playoffs in my opinion.So I challenge any of you guys out there who thinks the Bobcats will be making the playoffs. Name me 1 or 2 of the teams I listed, and tell me exactly why you think the Bobcats will have a better record than them. Because really, I want to know.This was a long response, but I really wanted to go into detail with the teams I was talking about.
     
  2. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    quite a long post, but I get the gist of it. +4 for CB4AllStarEdit: Right now RaptorFan#1 is in last place, but PrimeTime is tied with BluffCity for second place so one of them will be cut. BluffCity needs post or I'll have to figure out a tie-breaker.
     
  3. Roaming

    Roaming Back In Black! erm...in Colour!

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    Eh, I knew I could have won. I was just too lazy. I didnt even post in the second topic and I was still in second place.
     
  4. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 12 2007, 08:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Eh, I knew I could have won. I was just too lazy. I didnt even post in the second topic and I was still in second place.</div>your not out of it yet, if you make one good post worth 3 or 4 points you advance to the final round. :winkglasses:
     
  5. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    Alright, it looks like I'm cutting RaptorsFan and BluffCity. Thanks for playing guys! Now only two remain and will face of in tomorrow's Final Showdown...Totals CB4AllStar- 9PrimeTime- 7<strike>BluffCityBlue- 7</strike><strike>RaptorsFan#1- 5</strike>
     
  6. Roaming

    Roaming Back In Black! erm...in Colour!

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 13 2007, 12:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>your not out of it yet, if you make one good post worth 3 or 4 points you advance to the final round. :winkglasses:</div>So I can make a post now?
     
  7. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    It's PrimeTime vs CB4AllStar in the Final Showdown of the week. The winner is placed on the all-time wins list, and is invited back to defend his title in next week's contest.Topic #5- Final ShowdownLet's end off the week with a really good topic that I hope stirs up some discussion. After witnessing the draft and a few free agent signings, throw in the Summer League to that equation, which NBA team is the favorite right now to win the 2008 championship?? This should be a tough one to answer considering that loads of teams improved in the off-season, so who do you think has the best chance?? If you want to be safe, just say Tim Duncan and the Spurs will win it again. [​IMG]
     
  8. CB4allstar

    CB4allstar BBW Global Mod Team

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    I am sorry guys. I'm going away for the weekend, so let either Raptorfan or Bluff fill in for me. I had fun with this, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.
     
  9. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    BluffCityBlue will take CB4's spot, thanks for playing man.
     
  10. primetime

    primetime Get Your Popcorn ready again

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 13 2007, 03:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It's PrimeTime vs CB4AllStar in the Final Showdown of the week. The winner is placed on the all-time wins list, and is invited back to defend his title in next week's contest.Topic #5- Final ShowdownLet's end off the week with a really good topic that I hope stirs up some discussion. After witnessing the draft and a few free agent signings, throw in the Summer League to that equation, which NBA team is the favorite right now to win the 2008 championship?? This should be a tough one to answer considering that loads of teams improved in the off-season, so who do you think has the best chance?? If you want to be safe, just say Tim Duncan and the Spurs will win it again. [​IMG]</div>This is a tough one to pick. Right now theres no real way to pick who will win the championship but if I had to pick a team I'd probably say Spurs,Pistons, or Bulls. I cant see Dallas or Phoenix winning it considering a soft team like them would get shut out by either the pistons or bulls, but if san antonio makes it through to the finals im pretty sure they're going to repeat. The Rockets are a wildcard but right now they havent proven anything to me(the last time they were out of the first round, Hakeem was playing center)
     
  11. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    +1 for PrimeTime, you don't necessarily have to choose a team to win the Finals, just who's the favorite to win it after their moves in the off-season to go along with their proven roster?
     
  12. Memphology

    Memphology BBW VIP

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    Im going to pick Phoenix. Steve Nash is the type of player who is going to stay in his prime until hes 35 or 36, so hes going to bring it like he did in his MVP seasons. Amare is only getting better than ever and Marion is now in his prime. Barbosa is an excellent player off the bench, and Boris Diaw is always going to be solid. They have Raja Bell who can stop players on the perimeter...and one significant thing about Phoenix is there defense has improved season after season. If not for those suspensions, the Phoenix Suns might be the NBA Champions this season. They have so many threats offensivley with Barbosa, Nash, Marion and Amare, and Amares defense is getting better by the season. Amare is an superior athlete to the Western Conference bigs, I expect him to make a leap defensivley next season. Amare might actually be the only player who can guard Dirk AND Duncan effectively. Phoenix arguebly has the best bench in the NBA. They have Barbosa, Rose, Hill, and Banks(who will probably get more PT) coming off the bench. Not to mention defensive minded Kurt Thomas who can put on solid defensive minutes on Tim Duncan. IMO, Its just a matter of time until Phoenix gets to the NBA Finals...and I think that time is next season.
     
  13. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    +3 for BluffCityBlue, your about the only person I've seen to pick PHX as the heavy favorite to win the '08 championship, and I couldn't agree with you more.This means that BluffCity is this week's champion!!! :worthy: He has won each of the first two contests and is becoming a star for this young game. So that's it for this week's topic, although it was a very slow week, you won't want to miss what we have in store for you in the following months to come. BluffCity will be co-running ATH from now on and will be looking to see if anyone can match his dominance of the past two weeks. So congratulations on the win, and we'll see you next week! :winkglasses:Final ScoreBluffCityBlue- 10<strike>PrimeTime- 8</strike><strike>CB4AllStar- 7</strike><strike>RaptorsFan#1- 5</strike>
     
  14. Memphology

    Memphology BBW VIP

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    :flex: didnt even try that much [​IMG]
     
  15. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BluffCityBlue @ Jul 13 2007, 11:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>:flex: didnt even try that much [​IMG]</div>You didn't even have to try, we had no where near the activity we had in Week 1... We'll do better though starting next week. We do need our own section for this.
     
  16. Memphology

    Memphology BBW VIP

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    I have this really good idea about the sig I was telling you about...but I deleted my photoshop about a week ago so I cant do it. Ill get somebody to do it tomorrow or something though...
     
  17. 808Hornetsfan

    808Hornetsfan BBW VIP

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BluffCityBlue @ Jul 13 2007, 11:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I have this really good idea about the sig I was telling you about...but I deleted my photoshop about a week ago so I cant do it. Ill get somebody to do it tomorrow or something though...</div>Awsome, take your time there's no rush yet.
     
  18. primetime

    primetime Get Your Popcorn ready again

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    That was sad, his whole point was how Phoenix defense has improved but how has it improved at all? they are still soft as ever, and adding grant hill on one knee isnt going to push them over against teams like the mavs,suns,rockets,and possibly even the nuggets.that wasnt my ath post but my opinion of his post.
     

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