ANVIL

who woulda thought 3 yrs ago that the Lakers would be #1 team (to potentially win the championship) and the Heat wouldnt even make playoffs

sad day for us Heat/Shaq fans

ALTRNTV

^
Talk about a fan out in nowhere? You live in Alaska and are a Miami fan? haha nice.

The Lakers ARE NOT the #1 team by any means, Gasol hasn't even played a game with us, until later tonight. We still have team chemistry to worry about, and for Gasol to fit in the triangle. When Bynum comes back, we'll also need to adjust. The championship isn't ours until then.

(I'm just being modest, we're gonna fucking rule for years to come)

Gnnr

I doubt Shaq's going anywhere...I mean he doesn't have that many years left I think. If he did, thats where he'd be retiring.

As for the Heat, hmmm...Wade said it best last night.

‘We [stunk] more the past couple of games than we have all season. Bad basketball. Terrible basketball. Maybe the season is getting away. I’m trying. I’ve said all I can say, doing all I can do. I’ve talked to guys. I don’t have the answers. I don’t know the formula.” -Wade

__________________

ALTRNTV

Does anyone here think the Heat can turn it around this season? They are about 10 games behind the 8th spot in the East.

ANVIL

well for 1 Alaska doesnt have a team.. and 2 Shaq has been my favorite player in the NBA since his rookie year. Gotta stay loyal where ever he plays.

and it said Potentially #1 to win. theyre playing awesome and seems like the have the key players to get it done (even more so than boston). but your right aobut the chemistry thing, thats why i said potential

ANVIL

not getting my hopes but but I think they have the ability to but they have been so inconsistant this season so its still kinda up in the air. If they were in the west no chance though.

ALTRNTV

True. my old high school Varsity team can win in the East.

OptionZero

Big problem: luxury tax

The Heat's best trade bait are the expiring deals of Jason Williams and Ricky Davis. As we saw with Gasol, the opportunity of cap space is attractive.

However, the Heat do not want to bust the tax, and all major talent out there WILL push them over the tax.

If they wanted to make a quick fix, they would have to deal for Bibby and Mike Miller, but that would be adding around $25M in contracts.

The Heat should trade Shaq for any relief they can get and pray they draft well the next two years.

pbcstylez

OptionZero, you're as frequent a visitor as I am to warrior's game whats the deal with this Webber signing? i think hes beyond his prime, can he even run anymore?

__________________


parking lot pimpin...

Seller Feedback here:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.p...ight=pbcstylez

ANVIL

Was it a trade? I thought he was just signed? Either way, yes hes passed his prime but any team would benefit with him on the squad, hes still a pretty solid PF for any team looking for a good passing/outside shooting 4. He will make D have to spread the floor a little more and also he plays pretty decent defense. Plus he was originally drafted to the Warriors.

pbcstylez

yah being drafted to the warrriors doesnt matter, but why settle an over the hill PF? i like Webber from his warrior days to his Kings days, but I dont think he can keep up with the team. Yah he will be fine in the half court sets, but dont expect him to run full court

__________________


parking lot pimpin...

Seller Feedback here:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.p...ight=pbcstylez

ALTRNTV

I think Webber can still contribute in a good way, to the young Warrior team.

OptionZero

The Warriors added Webber for a couple reasons:

1. Cost
Webber was signed for the veteran's minimum ($1.3M). The NBA League covers $500K of that (team pays $800K). Then you pro-rate by remaining games and Webber ends up making a little under $400K.

This is a straight signing- not a trade, so we "lose" no talent.
Trading for a PF that's actually better than Al Harrington would likely cost Al himself AND some combination of our first rounder, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, or Brandan Wright.

2. Lack of alternatives
having trade pieces is nice; you need someone to trade FOR. Now, you might say,...GASOL! but Gasol is a questionable fit in the Warriors system, he's having alot of trouble on an uptempo Memphis team, he's not the quickest defender. He would have made us more talented, but we'd have had to gut the team to find sufficient expiring contracts (there's no way Memphis takes on a long term deal), leaving no bench. There's also the Jerry West connection, not to be ignored.

The rest of the names out there are Kidd, Carter, Artest, Kirilenko, Marion, Shaq, Jermaine O'Neal...none of whom were going to the Warriors because they were poor fits or playing on another WC contender, and all are expensive.

3. Webber can pass
When's the last time you saw Biedrins or Harrington "finish" a break"? You almost never send all 5 guys down on a fast break, usually theres 1, 2, 3 guys trailing while Ellis and someone else fly down the court.

There's no need for Webber to actually be running up and down like it was '94 all over again.

What Webber can still do is pass ..

Reading the SF Chronicle/SJ Merc reports on practice, all reports indicate Webber can still dish the rock and hit an open J. That's all you really need when you're one of the best high-post passing big men of all time, and that's not an exaggeration. just you tube the guy- for every dunk you'll find an impressive backdoor or full-length outlet pass to another teammate.

Nellie pretty much said straight up..."high-low". If you don't watch basketball, it basically means when you have a big men that can pass (Webber) and big men that can move (Biedrins), you can get easy buckets by designing action for the two. One big man slides up to catch it while the other rubs free, and you get a layup.

Many of Nellie's plays were used by Sacrament, and those plays are gonna be implemented this 5 day layoff.

3. Webber can rebound

Webber can still board, too. He's still 6'10, and his rebound rate (boards per 100 possessions) was similar last year to what it's always been. Given that Nellie has been prone to starting guys like Matt Barnes (6'7) and Mickael Pietrus (6'6) at PF...I have to imagine Webber is an upgrade

You can't run a fast break until you get the ball, and you get the ball by stealing it or getting a stop and a rebound. Glasswork matters. Glasswork will spark breaks when accompanied by a strong outlet pass and freaks like Monta Ellis.

-Defense-
This is a legitimate concern- Webber isn't nearly as quick as he was before, and the Warriors rely alot on being able to switch on defense quite a bit. Webber will not be stepping out to defend SF's like Harrington could in spot-duty.

Webber should still be big and strong enough to man up to guys like Boozer, at least enough to deny early position. He's still a crafty player these days, as well.

Also remember...the Pistons were one of the best defensive teams in the league last year, and Webber started for them. can't do that if u can't play at all. Sure, they had 'Sheed and Prince surrounding him, but Biedrins and Jack don't exactly suck.

Given the cost and the potential benefit...how do you not do it? There's little chemistry concerns, Jack and Baron own the locker room, and Nellie runs the team. Webber's said all the right things, the players have said all the right things. Webber makes nothing, so it's easy to cut and eat the $350K or whatever

Low risk, high reward.

ALTRNTV

$400k for Webber? That's a steal, especially for what he provides to the table.

fliprayzin240sx

Well the thing with Webber that you guys didnt bring up is that if you give him the ball, he can still do something with when it matters the most. He can still post (depending on whos guarding him) and he still got a nice 6-10 footer jumpshot. Given the chance, he can still consistently chip in 10-14 points if needed.

__________________

If you think Zilvia has too many assholes...
CLICK HERE!!!

Phlip

I am agreeing with the consensus here that Webber is a good look for the warriors, especially for what he will cost them, and at the very least he is a "why the fuck not?" given the situation.
His strong and weak points have been discussed, and my only worries would actually be his knees, which immediately make him a defensive liability if he's rotated to someone who MIGHT handle the ball, or (God forbid) he come up against someone in the post with good footwork. Luckily for him, though, very little about the Warriors' game lends itself to the frequent likelihood of this. I DO, however, worry about HIS ability to be involved in the break beyond being the dude who pulls the rebound and turns and throws it to the first/fastest to release on the break.

__________________
And I write too!

fliprayzin240sx

[QUOTE=PHLIP;1816110]I am agreeing with the consensus here that Webber is a good look, especially for what he will cost them, and at the very least he is a "why the fuck not?" given the situation.
His strong and weak points have been discussed, and my only worries would actually be his knees, which immediately make him a defensive liability if he's rotated to someone who MIGHT handle the ball, or (God forbid) he come up against someone in the post with good footwork. Luckily for him, though, very little about the Warriors' game lends itself to the frequent likelihood of this. I DO, however, worry about HIS ability to be involved in the break beyond being the dude who pulls the rebound and turns and throws it to the first/fastest to release on the break.[/QUOTE]

Shiet, isnt that all that matters for a team that runs like a pack of fucking cheetahs??? He pulls it, he heaves it as far as he can and somebody will catch it down court...No way can he make those runs anymore...

As far as the Lakers being the best in the West, sure they may be the best on paper, but the West still have way too many stacked teams. Just because you have the best record, the #1 scorer, all that can change during the playoff.

__________________

If you think Zilvia has too many assholes...
CLICK HERE!!!

OptionZero

The Warriors always have a guard run out to half court to catch the outlet pass on a rebound, or an inbounds pass after a score.

There's little time for any big man to actually run and catchup anyways, much less one with a busted knee.

Ellis and Baron essentially get a running start or at least a big lead; it's like a well-designed route by a WR who catches the ball in stride. They're hard to catch.

Fortunately it's more or less worked so far.

If anything, he's just a competent warm body that Nellie will actually use, which makes us deeper, since Brandan Wright and Patrick O'Bryant can't get off the bench (nellie's too stubborn), and Austin Croshere is always broken.

ANVIL

i wouldnt limit him to 10ft. id say hes got a solid shot from even as far as 18ft

ALTRNTV

Webber has a nice 10-16ft jumper he consistently makes.

Gasol with a nice debut today with the Lakers.

Pau Gasol: 24pts/12rebs/4ast
Lamar Odom: 14/15rebs/5ast
Derek Fisher: 28pts
Kobe Bryant: 6pts/5rebs/8ast

Kobe has SIX points, and they win by 15. Wow. Even though it was against
the Nets, it's a good indication of how well they will play from now on.

OptionZero

ESPN now running with the Shaq-to-PHX story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3232862

ALTRNTV

I really hope he comes to Phoenix. Makes our title chances better.

Xandy Boosts

Gasol looked great tonight. Kobe looked happy as fuck! Whodathunkit this would happen to Kobe after the "Ship his ass out!" thing about Bynum 8 or so months ago.

__________________
it's a RUCKUS life

Xandy Boosts

Per Hoopsworld.com

__________________
it's a RUCKUS life

fliprayzin240sx

Anyways, back to the whole Webber thing...Guess hes on the starting 5. Not bad for $400k...

__________________

If you think Zilvia has too many assholes...
CLICK HERE!!!

Xandy Boosts

hahha cracks me up everytime!

http://www.clublakers.com/video-blog...acos-2326.html

__________________
it's a RUCKUS life

ALTRNTV

LOL!! That cracked me up.

Picking up Mbenga wasn't a bad idea, he does what he's
supposed to do out there.

I really do think the Shaq trade will be a mad move. That will force
Amare to the wing instead of the low block, since Shaq will be
rocking his rocking chair down there. I guess it's good for the opponents
though, with Amare settling for outside jumpers.

In other news, Kwame Brown's debut with the Grizzlies:
4pts, 4rebs, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers in 15 min

Oh noessss!

Phlip

Shaq to Phoenix would be a stupid move on the part of Phoenix.
They need to find Hakeem Olajuwon to help Amare with his footwork and defense, they need Jason Kidd, if only to show Steve Nash how to defend a point guard, they need a real power forward, not to put a cinder block with diminishing abilities in the middle and try to move Amare over.
Shit, moving Amare to the 4 would prove lethal when he meets Tim Duncan or back up with Andrew Bynum, he'd be CRUCIFIED against Kevin Garnett or Rasheed Wallace on the FAR outside chance that they come off in the west and make it to the finals.

__________________
And I write too!

yudalicious

Very very far chance. I personally think this will make Pho from top 4 to the bottom 4 of the playoff ladder. Marion was Nash's go to guy on fastbreaks/semi breaks. They just lost an athletic defender and a guy that spaces the floor so well for them on offense. Worst of all, Shaq won't even be able to keep up with the west's younger centers in a 7 game series.

woodchuck

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......





worst trade of 2k8 if it happens.

__________________