Just got back from the Black Vs. White Bobcats preseason opener. Here are thoughts off the top of my head: - Gerald Wallace has not lost a step. He had 3 good dunks and was active on both sides of the floor - Darius Miles is done. He had huge braces on his knees. He couldn't move laterally well and was sluggish. He turned the ball over half a dozen times and couldn't really elevate for rebounds or to finish around the rim. - DJ Augustine can't run an offense - Boris Diaw looked like he had too many croissants this summer. Definitely out of shape. - Stephen Jackson had a quiet game but hit some open 3s - Tyrus Thomas had some good defensive plays around the rim but looked out of place on offense - Sherron Collins is this rookie PG I've never heard of. He's 5'10" and listed at 205. He actually surprised me with his skill and athleticism. Good handles and nice outside shot. Not much else. It was just a scrimmage so they didn't play that hard. I think the Blazers match up well with them. The season can't come fast enough!
Hey, if you're a Blazers fan stuck in NC, why not go see the Bobcats? Thanks for the info. Next time ask Larry Brown if he thinks he can turn Bayless into a PG, and if he'd give us Gerald Wallace for the privilege.
I'm another Blazer fan living in NC right now...I went to see the Blazers when they played the Bobcats, and the arena felt really empty. Folks here love basketball, just not NBA basketball. It's the best place ever for pick-up basketball though (in Raleigh at NC State)...so many more games going on then when I was an undergrad at UO and OSU.
I thought of Bayless when I read the description of Augustine. Augustine is shorter, though. When he shook Stern's hand at the draft, I noticed he was 2-3 inches shorter than Stern.
What the hell?? Augustine's agent jimmied the picture!! The one I saw had him shorter!! Somebody reversed the negative or something. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else, but there was a picture in the last 4-5 years of a 1st round draftee shaking Stern's hand who was shorter than Stern.
Oh yeah, now I remember!! I used that picture to prove how short Stern is, not Augustine. if Augustine's 5-10, then Stern must be 5-6. It was on the ESPN Sonic board when team defenders were down to about 3 people, against the onslaught of Okies whose mouths were watering to steal the team. I used to use anything I could against Stern. I used to write how they rode their burros in from the desert to see a game and how the Ford Center parking lot was covered in burro dung, stuff like that. Thanks for the picture.
Where do you live, Ant? I'm in Wilmington now. I agree on the pick up games. I played in a game against Shane Battier once... The Hornets use to have an awesome vibe back when they had Morning, Johnson and Bogues (I was Blazer's fan first, of course). They lead the league in attendance for like 5 years straight. I think the city feels burned by the previous owners. I always go to see the Blazers when they are in town and it's weird how the atmosphere is different from the old Hornets days.
Definitely. I just love watching basketball. I've been guilty in watching the WNBA and FIBA on several occasions. NBA playoffs is just on another level though. Kwame didn't play much. They had Diaw at center for the white jerseys and Nazr for the black. I don't think Kwame is a "Larry Brown" kind of player (or any coach for that matter) The scrimmage was in Trask coliseum at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (Jordan's hometown). I guess there were about 4,000 people there. Bobcats are sneaky because opponents never see them coming. They got us in overtime last year and they definitely have the Lakers number.
Darius Miles played for the Bobcats tonight. 12 minutes tonight, 0 points 2 turnover and he fouled out. bum Oh and I just looked at the Cavs roster, they might have the worst team in the league, seriously.
