YanksHater213

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2775430 He was only 52.

Damn I wasn't invited But you couldn't start all relievers because I'm pretty sure there is a minimun innings pitched for the week you need your staff to reach so your stats count. EDIT: There is, it's 15 innings a week for your pitching stats to count.

college basketball is the sex... saturdays are the best. ill watch college basketball all day if i have nothing better to do.

gerald is my nigga.. love the kid.

vandy = underrated at ncaa bball. i called that upset today btw. mother f***ers are tough to play at home.

Take that s*** with a grain of salt. Everyone says the right thing until time to decide comes and Durant will most likely decide. He truly doesn't know, and neither does anyone else. Until he's 100% sure of himself, he's going to say that he may not go pro because its the right thing to say. For the record I'm pretty damn sure he will go pro. Guaranteed top 2 pick, no use in going back to college when you can get hurt or something. I hate it when people run and take the money right out of high school or after a year in college, but IMO, especially for a talent like Durant, it's something he needs to do.

And that was, IMO, the right choice as well.

^^Meeeeh I'll take Acie 8/10 times, if I need something down low I'll take Boggan. Boggan's got f***ing massive nuts too. Big 12 and PAC-10 top two conferences this year? Lot of dangerous teams in those conferences.

Texas A&M. They actually have an identity unlike many other teams in the nation. They don't have the "star" power other teams have, but when they play their game they're tough to beat and you need to play a perfect game to beat them (see: Texas Tech last night, played a perfect game, won on a buzzer beater). They're the best defensive team in the nation, and they have Acie Law IV, probably has the biggest balls in the nation. He's hit at least 10 gigantic shots this year. He's gotta be the top PG in the upcoming draft, the kid is so much like Eric Snow, with an offensive game. He plays so under control, he's got great vision, is a great passer, plays spectacular defense, and hits the HUGE shots. You can tell the kid wants it badly. I love watching him play. Carter is one of the better shooters in the nation, and Kavaliauskas and Jones are both above average big men and rebounders. I also really like Wisconson as well. One of those two teams WILL be in the finals along with Florida (barring them both being on the same side of the bracket as Florida). I don't think UNC will. Too young and inconsistent. OSU is a good choice I think, but they still don't play well together. They have so much talent and can't keep everyone happy, and that's worked against them. Next year they'd be amazing if freshmen sensations Oden, Conley and Cook stay. I don't like UCLA. They don't have one guy they can go to. Afflalo is solid, but I don't think he's the kind of guy who likes the ball in crunch time. Same with Mbah a Moute. I love Collison though, he's going to be a good player.

^^Thank you See Red. A true fan wants to see their team succeed no matter what. Now I realize the best "option" is losing to get Oden, but honestly, who openly roots for their team to lose? Thats absolute ludacris. Like I said, The Celtics could win out the season from here, miss the playoffs, and get the last lottery pick and I'd be happy. If you want your team to lose, you deserve to be shot, and should never even consider yourself a Celtics fan.

i wanna play

It's somewhat an issue. He hasn't been exactly "dominant" on the college level. He hasn't been given the chance to, but who's to say that an extra ten pounds of muscle wouldn't go a long way?

Bosox you're retarded if you don't see his point. Durant is dominating the college game with the body he has now. He's only going to grow and get better and going to be able to use the tools and skills he has even better. It's not a hard concept.

^^I agree with that opinion I agree with this opinion too.

Losing is great? Your a f***ing idiot my friend. You call yourself a Celtics fan? My ass you are. The Celtics could win out the season from here, miss the playoffs, and get the last lottery pick and I'd be happy.

Haha I don't know what this huge argument is about. Fill me in.

Durant is the sex. So is Oden. Durant is more flashy. Durant will average 30/9/2 for his career with maybe one championship depending on where he goes. Oden is more gritty. Oden will average 25/12 with 2+ BPG with multiple championships depending on where he goes. Durant may very well be a better NBA player, but these days everyone knows that players are measured in championships, and Oden most likely will have a better chance at winning them because of his dominance at his positoin. You can't argue which is better at this point. Oden will obviously have a bigger impact, but who is to say Oden will be either David Robinson or Pervis Ellison. Who is to say Durant will be either Michael Jordan or Darius Miles. They're in two completely different situations on their college team. Only when they get to the NBA will this debate be able to be solved. Im going to the game tonight and I busted in my pants when I heard Pierce may play.

tehy suck

Wow people are being SO f***ing retarded about this. 1. You DONT trade Al Jefferson for Pau Gasol. He's 5 years younger, doesn't have broken feet, and will be an even better player 2. You DONT trade Paul Pierce for ANYONE. He's the key to this team 3. You DONT tank. You don't need to with this team. Keeping Pierce out this long has been enough to lose games. 4. You HOPE that you can pick Greg Oden. I swear on my life if we get the #1 pick and we pass on Oden to get Durant I will stab Danny Ainge in the heart. Greg Oden is the next dominant center in the NBA, Durant is just another swing man. People are so f***ing retarded and think that the Celtics have no future because their losing. If they keep losing and get Oden, in 08 they can be a contender in the East. C: Oden/Perkins PF: Jefferson/Gomes SF: Pierce/Wally SG: Allen/Green PG: Delonte/Rondo This team needs no major shake ups at all. This team doesn't need Gasol. This team doesn't need to trade Pierce. So stop being f***ing retarded and bringing all that stuff up.

Durant showed flashes of brilliance, and he started off the second half on fire, but then he kind of faded away for the last 8-10 minutes of the game. Nothing to worry about, the kid is dynamite in crunch time for the most part, but tonight A&M did a good job of denying him the ball late in the game. I know Dicky V said that, but it's true. Durant had a very nice first half and he scored in many ways (off penetration, the 3's, mid-range floaters, etc.). Despite all of those brilliant hot flashes on the offensive end, he was a pushover on defense and let Josh Carter have the best game of his career. He was pretty bad manning up on Carter and his help defense was nearly non-existant. He didn't make anyone else on his team better, and only made plays for himself. Makes you think if he will come in like, say LeBron did, and put up consistent numbers right away, or if he will start out pretty inconsistent. Oh and if anyone else watched this game - Acie Law IV is and has been my fav. college player for a while. I'd love him to be a Celt but 1) he won't be one, and 2) I'm happy with Rondo and D.

I played mostly right field and 3rd base in my baseball days.

1. Oden =/= Bowie. Oden is a much more polished defender than Bowie ever was and much more efficient on the offensive end. During his college career at Kentucky he shot around 50% whereas Oden is shooting 63% with his OPPOSITE HAND. Oden has an NBA body and is going is the most dominating presence down low the NCAA has seen in a long time. Comparing Oden and Bowie is like comparing apples and oranges - makes no sense. 1a. Oden is David Robinson, not Sam Bowie. He has the size and body. Great athlete, can run the floor and is a great leaper. Has the best footwork I've ever seen any college player have and is very intelligent when getting position in the post. He protects the ball very well, finishes with authority, doesn't bite on fakes, blocks shots, and puts fear in opposing guards driving the lane. His defense is NBA ready. He has great hands and can get positional rebounds, and can leap for them. Only knocks on him are that his post moves aren't very polished, and it's been fun watching his moves progress and how far he has come offensively with both his back to the basket and facing up (even though he still looks uncomfortable facing up). 2. If we have the choice between Oden or Durant (which would mean getting the #1 pick, and both going into the draft, the latter of which is more likely), choosing Oden would be a killer to the Celtics future. It makes no sense to pass on a guy who can dominate as much as Oden, to make an even bigger log jam at the wing position where they already have three excellent players for now AND the future in Pierce, Green and Allen. 3. I have yet to see anyone give decent evidence as to why it would be smart for the Celtics to take Durant over Oden.

If we get the number one pick, and they both go, they have to pick Oden. How many teams in the NBA do you know that have dominant centers? 1, 2? Those teams ALREADY have the advantage over any other team. Point guards and wing players are so much easier to replace, and even get than dominant big men. That is precisely why the Celtics need to pick Oden. The Center position is so thin in the NBA, especially in the East, and a frontline of Pierce, Jefferson and Oden might become one of the best two way forward groups in the NBA. The Celtics are LOADED with wing players. I realize this isn't the topic of conversation but I wanted to bring it up regardless. Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Paul Pierce, etc. are all very good wing players. Why get another, when we can get a great center in Oden who will be the perfect compliment to Al and Paul because he won't demand a Durant number of touches on the offensive end, and will completely dominate on the defensive end. Finding complimentary pieces to a dominating center is ten times easier than finding complimentary pieces for a wing player. Trust me, when your team gets deep into the playoffs, the Center position will be exploited if you don't have a top notch one, especially in the Western Conference. 2006: Suns lost out to Mavs, Pistons lost out to Heat 2005: Suns lost out to Spurs. Just in the last two years, 3 of the four teams who lost in the conference finals lost because the other team dominated them with big men. Its a simple concept, especially since you can find talented wing players on the free agent market every year. You will obviously say you would take Durant if you're just a casual basketball fan that maybe watches a game here and there and looks at stats. Throw stats out the window, Durant is obviously the best player on that team, and commands how they play. Oden is on a team that is a National Championship contender with a lot of good pieces including a great point man in Conley Jr. and a great wing player/PF combo in Cook and Harris. You'll look at the stats and Durants will wow you. What you don't see in the box score is the impact they have on the game. Oden's impact on the game is so much bigger than Durants. Durant is flashy and gets the stats, Oden still puts up great stats, but has a bigger and more important affect on the game. He puts fear in guys driving to the hoop. Just last night he had two beastly blocks, and Purdue wasn't driving often in fear of Oden. Teams don't have that fear of Durant. Sure ,they'll double Durant; they double Oden too. Durant will put up better NBA statistics, but Oden will be an even better player. It's like David Robinson for example: one of the best centers of all time. In this era where wing players dominate, his accomplishments are diminished because he never put up the "ESPN Top 10" dunks or moves, and didn't score 30 PPG. I love how Durant plays, and he will be a star too, but you CAN'T pass on a center that only comes around every so often like Oden. Name me the last team who won a championship without a dominant or at least very good big man. The Bulls in '98? Even then, those teams were completely different since they had Jordan. Without any Jordan teams, because having MJ would transcend having any great big man, and it's the 1990 Pistons. Shaq, Duncan, Olajuwon, etc, without them the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Heat, never win championships. Lets just look at this more in depth: 2006 Finals: Miami Heat (Shaq) def. Dallas Mavericks (Dirk) 4-2. 2005 Finals: San Antonio Spurs (Duncan) def. Detroit Pistons (Sheed/Wallace) 4-3. 2004 Finals: Detroit Pistons (Sheed/Wallace) def. Los Angeles Lakers (Shaq) 4-1. 2003 Finals: San Antonio Spurs (Duncan) def. New Jersey Nets (can you consider K-Mart here? 17/8 that year) 4-2. 2002 Finals: Los Angeles Lakers (Shaq) def. New Jersey Nets (no big man, swept. coincidence?) 4-0. 2001 Finals: Los Angeles Lakers (Shaq) def. Philadelphia 76ers (Motumbo/Ratliff had very very good years) 4-1. 2000 Finals: Los Angeles Lakers (Shaq) def. Indiana Pacers (Dale Davis??? haha averaged a double double) 4-2. 1999 Finals: San Antonio Spurs (Duncan) def. New York Knicks (Ewing) 4-1. The list goes on... Bulls with Rodman, Jazz with Malone, Sonics with Kemp, Rockets with Olajuwon, Magic with Shaq, Pistons with Laimbeer and Rodman, Suns with Barkely, Lakers with Abdul-Jabbar, Worthy, and Wilt, the Celtics with Russell, etc. Look at the last 8 finals winners. Seven of them have been by two of the most dominant big men of this era in Shaq and Duncan, and with the Pistons being the only one without them, still had a two headed scoring/rebounding monster in Sheed and Ben. YOU DO NOT PASS ON A CENTER LIKE ODEN FOR A WING PLAYER LIKE DURANT. (yes i threw this post together from other posts by me in another thread )

Then if that's all you see, then you're missing a lot. Fact is, is that he's still recovering from his wrist injury, and has been dominating down low playing with his LEFT hand. He's shooting an insane 64% shooting with his OPPOSITE hand. You must be missing something though. Buy I agree with you, statistically Durant will be a better player. He's got the potential to average 30/10 if he wants to. But Durant isn't the kind of player who will win you championships. Oden is. How many dominant centers have there been that have just rotted on bad teams? Not many. How many great point guards or wing players (or in Durant's case, a hybrid who can play inside and out, like KG), have rotted on bad teams. Pierce, Garnett, Vince, and I think eventually we will be adding LeBron to this list. I won't refute your point that Durant will be better, because, well, statistically he will have more chances to succeed. He's a flashy player that's going to demand (not like in a douche way, but you know what I mean) 15-20 shots a game, and is going to score a lot, and will be on "Top 10" a lot, which is what a lot of people look at, "Top 10" and their statistics. No doubt he is a special player and will be a great one, its just that if he doesn't get placed on the right team I don't think he will ever win championships unless he leaves said team, or the other team brings in a big man. If Durant goes to Memphis, and Memphis doesn't deal Gasol, that could be a great team, but odds are that Memphis will deal Gasol and start over. And why would the Celtics get Durant anyways? LOADED with wing players. I realize this isn't the topic of conversation but I wanted to bring it up regardless. Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Paul Pierce, etc. are all very good wing players. Why get another, when we can get a great center in Oden who will be the perfect compliment to Al and Paul because he won't demand a Durant number of touches on the offensive end, and will completely dominate ont he defensive end.

You can argue the Philly, Detroit, and Pacers teams were guard oriented, but not many more. The Mavs are built around Dirk. The Spurs are built around Duncan, the Jazz were built around the combo. The Lakers were built around Shaq, not Kobe. The list goes on. Yes, that is true. Your team does need good guards, you need a complete team. But tell me right now, how many teams in the NBA do you know that have dominant centers? 1, 2? Those teams ALREADY have the advantage over any other team. Point guards and wing players are so much easier to replace, and even get than dominant big men. Finding complimentary pieces to a dominating center is ten times easier than finding complimentary pieces for a wing player. Trust me, when your team gets deep into the playoffs, the Center position will be exploited if you don't have a top notch one, especially in the Western Conference. 2006: Suns lost out to Mavs, Pistons lost out to Heat 2005: Suns lost out to Spurs. Just in the last two years, 3 of the four teams who lost in the conference finals lost because the other team dominated them with big men. Its a simple concept, especially since you can find talented wing players on the free agent market every year.