If Ratliff plays decently this can only be good for Philly. They are starting to look like a playoff team.

Ratliff would be a useful bench player on a lot of desirable teams. San Antonio, the Lakers & Miami all come to mind. I don’t know if they could pay him more money but I’m sure there was interest in Ratliff for the veteran minimum throughout the league. I’m sure Joe Dumars found his Ratliff satisfactory in his role but there are just too many young bigs that need minutes in ’08-09.

Good depth:

Ratliff backs up Dalembert.

Reggie Evans and Speights back up Brand.

Iguodala moves over to the three when Thaddeus Young sits.

Green backs up Iguodala.

Louis Williams backs up Miller.

They need a backup SF for insurance but it’s otherwise a solid bench.

This has nothing to do with Theo Ratliff or Philly but there’s no “current issues” thread going atm so:

I generally consider most ESPN “News” to be HIGHLY suspect… Chad Ford and Chris Sheridan in particular come to mind as examples of “highly suspect journalism” most days.

John Hollinger, the stats guy? Usually does not. Which has me scared to death when he says:

“Baseball Fan (Detroit): So, is Detroit “stuck” with their lineup? Or will Dumars really be able to make a big trade?

SportsNation John Hollinger: Patience, we still have two and a half months until opening day. The Kwame Brown signing, to me, is a telltale sign that Joe D is looking to move a frontcourt player (likely Sheed)."

This was during an insider chat in which he WARNED there were “Crickets” chriping in NBA land because of the Olympics… so MAYBE he’s just stirring up trouble…

except that’s Chris SHeridan’s M.O….. not John Hollinger. USUALLY Hollinger’s sources and general observations are borderline word of gospel…

Other shoe/dropping in T Minus…

Please don’t let it be Sheed…

Nice transition D from the Aussies. Never seen a team full court trap after turnovers and missed shots. They’ve not just stopped the US fast break, they’ve caused turnovers too.

US needs to stop giving up threes and make them finish at the basket.

You know theres no Pistons news popping when Theo Ratliff’s name is headlined twice on the frontpage. Doesn’t Davidson have heart issues? We could even discuss the fact that Joe D’s head seems to be getting bigger during every interview, like the fat he’s gaining is all going into his face alone.. A hang-nail on Chauncey’s index finger perhaps.. any of these topics would be better than discussing whether or not Theo’s going to make a contribution to the sixers. I’m just sayin’.

Go Aussie go!
My stupid Official Olympic Network has only started showing the game. From the last 5 mins of the half too.

For the record, the margin should get no closer as I fully expect the US to jump on its bike in the second half.
Also, its nice that the world gets to see Pat Mills and all his awesomeness. I hope your watching Joe D.

“Patience, we still have two and a half months until opening day. The Kwame Brown signing, to me, is a telltale sign that Joe D is looking to move a frontcourt player (likely Sheed).”

Interesting. Would we really be all right with Dyess and Max as our starters? Relying heavily on Kwame and Amir? That’s the frontcourt for an ECF/Title Contending team? I dunno. Seems like we’d have to bring a starting quality big back in the deal and I’m not sure there are a ton of options in that regard. The only ones who seem available and have the contract for it would be one of the NY bigs.

Laughton, I like that Ingles kid. Good stroke. Filled the lane nicely for a dunk. He looks like the best NBA prospect on the team (besides Bogut, of course).

I just have two things to say….

1) Dear Boomers…. thank you. That was not only wonderful to watch but I’m sure it’s the toughest game we’re going to see this olympics. You guys aren’t kidding when you say “Aussies know no fear”. Bravo.

2) OH HELLZ YEAH THAT’S WHAT IMMA TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!! AND JUST WHAT THE FUZZ IS A BOOMER ANYWAYS? U-S-A Basket-Baallll! I think I even managed to root for Kobe there a couple times without throwing up. Whoever’s next? Get ready for the Bronze medal game yo!

All respects.

@QD – He reminds me a little of Prince actually. Long, can shoot, stoned stupid grin frozen in place. Actually, that’s one thing he has over Tay. Also you gotta love how fast Pat Mills plays. He makes Paul look slow! Please Joe, draft the little jet next year.

Houston needs to get Brad Newley into the program. One last season in the Euroleague and he will be ready for the big time. I thought Bogut was a bit weak for not playing more, but he has had an injury for the whole tournament, no sense in risking it.

Good win for the US though. Love the game Kobe played, he was all class. I thought Lebron was a little high on himself though.
The only weakness I can see for the US is mental. If they keep their cool and play to their strengths, they will easily win. Don’t get too cocky! I’m looking at you Lebron.
Finally, well done to my boys, nice recovery from a poor start to the campaign. You made Australia proud.

@PG4L – A boomer is a nickname for a kangaroo. Also we know fear. It’s when the fridge is empty and the pub is closed :)

Wow. I just read the comments on ESPN regarding this game.
Won’t make that mistake again. Some people need to calm down, or uppercut themselves.
As a famous Aussie once said ‘Shit, get that stingray outta my chest. Crikey’
Hang on…

My bad taste meter just exploded. I apologize.

No offense taken man. One of the girls I work with is studying to become an exotic kinda vet (the type that works in zoos) with a particular lean towards marine-life…. You won’t believe how many times someone says “Crikey, I feel a burning sensation in my chest” or “Just remember not to let the tail touch youzzzzzzzzzzzzt” in response to tales from her volunteer hours.

Seriously trying hard not to gloat here, I’m pretty excited and all because of the win.

Seriously if people didn’t watch this they won’t understand why I’m so impressed. Australia did EVERYTHING right……. and we still hung 30+ on them. This is a gold medal team. Period.

@Laughton:
“Also we know fear. It’s when the fridge is empty and the pub is closed”

I think I might be Australian…

The way to beat the US:

Take care of the ball. Hit open shots. Poach the passing lanes while racing back on D. Force them to shoot threes. Foul religiously to put them on the line (and muck up the game).

Aussies did all of that in the first half and it worked to keep them in the game until the US hit two threes to start the third.

Mills and Ingles looked good. Wouldn’t be surprised if NBA teams start taking hard looks at them.

That was a decent game for a while, but the US started hitting 3s, and they’re nigh unstoppable when that shot is dropping. The team’s still on and off from there, so forcing 3s is still probably the way to go against them…

Nice to see Prince get some quality minutes and actual shots, too.

Proud of our boy Prince, and now I’m starting to be a big fan of Bosh – dude is the best defender on that team…

Just adding a little to Rob G’s point about the quality of Bosh’s defense…IF Jermaine O’Neal is healthy Toronto has a very good defensive front line.

Seriously if people didn’t watch this they won’t understand why I’m so impressed. Australia did EVERYTHING right……. and we still hung 30+ on them. This is a gold medal team. Period.>>

I turned it off at half time

Another boring blowout with more time spent at the foul line than commercials during a playoff game.

Totally boring.

The whole idea is competition.

There hasn’t been any competition for us yet in the Olympics. With our women ballers it is even worse.

I think our ladies team would give our men a better game than they lame international teams. LOL

Mike, you better watch the US – Australia game in the women gold medal match, it will be close and highly competitive.

Go Opals!

QD: Going back to the original topic of the thread (Philly) and your comment about depth … Kareem Rush. Kareem Rush is a “passable” or “solid” rotation player. If Kyle Korver passed for a SF in Philly (one that makes the phrase “defensive liability” a colossal understatement), Rush can too. Kareem Rush reminds me a bit of Jarvis Hayes with a prettier stroke on the offensive end. I know that Jarvis Hayes doesn’t instill confidence in a fan base, but we’re talking about a likely choice for their 10th man. If Hayes was just our tenth man and not our 8th man, things would’ve been different. Philly is looking real solid and real deep.

Ed Stefanski is coming up on 8 months on the job. I’ve got his progress report at: A- right now. I’d say that’s probably Joe’s grade for the last couple years to give it some perspective.

“The whole idea is competition.”

I call bullshit. If the whole idea was competition we wouldn’t be listening to four years worth of recriminations and blame. If it was REALLY about competition Larry Brown and Starbury wouldn’t be DESPISED for failing to win gold in Athens. If the whole thing was about competition all these Euro bastards wouldn’t be sneering about “FIBA Basketball”, “Team Concepts” and the so called “American Superego”. This was NEVER about competition. This was about proving there is ONE best brand of basketball on the planet and that’s NBA Ball even if one tatooed malcontent, 3 kids in over their heads, one moron control freak coach and a bunch of B-Rate NBA leftovers DIDN’T show it four years ago. If this was about competition there’s no WAY the three most important ballers on the PLANET right now end up on the same team talking about how much they want the OTHER guys to have the last shot.

You can’t have it both ways. Either you get close games because the US doesn’t try, or you get focused DESTRUCTIVE basketball because WE ARE JUST BETTER AT THIS THAN OTHER PEOPLE. Dear Europe/South America… Your game isn’t good enough and all the funny rules and bullsh*t federations you’ve used to try and steal this game from us don’t work. Have another pack of smokes and enjoy the show. THIS IS AMERICAN BASKETBALL and it’s the Mutherf’n BEST Yo.

Sorry

/endrant

One more thing… just once I’d liked to see someone like Manu have to stand there at the podium and answer questions like:

“Given the success of the American pressure game in your recent loss is it time for FIBA federations to start training actual athletes rather than just jump shooters who can barely move? Were you really planning on the moving pick to confuse American players forever? Would you say the Americans have an advantage because they play this style of basketball week in and week out in the most competative league in the world whereas most Euro/South American teams are made up of 1-2 NBA players and 10 guys who represent 5 fouls each and only play with each other during international season?”

Hell we could even manufacture “CHEMISTRY ISSUES”. It’s not like I haven’t seen guys jawing at their team-mates after Kobe Bryant/Chris Paul force yet ANOTHER turnover… how come it’s only “Disgraceful” or “Egocentric” when it’s an AMERICAN yelling at an AMERICAN about a no look pass out of bounds?

“My stupid Official Olympic Network has only started showing the game. "

Viva la capitalism, baby. Visit www.nbcolympics.com for live feeds for sports that matter. Sponsored by McDonalds. Have you heard of the joint?

Are there any Aboriginal Australians in the games? If so, I’m sure you’ve been treated to 57,896 backstory pieces about him or her.

That said, I wouldn’t know anything about it, what with my five different channels covering various events live and all. I can simply skip the “colors of the rainbow” montages. Ba-da-ba-ba-bum. I’m lovin’ it.

It’ll be interesting to see how the change to the rectangular lane will affect the international game.

Tim Duncan was pretty much rendered useless by a combination of zone and that trapezoidal lane. I think it’ll be really hard for other teams to beat the US once this change has been made.

Or maybe more International players will develop a low post game.

“Mike, you better watch the US – Australia game in the women gold medal match, it will be close and highly competitive.”

Is netball an Olympic sport?

Sorry, this is the only time I get to trash talk you until 2012. I have to take advantage.

Jim
Aug 20th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Just adding a little to Rob G’s point about the quality of Bosh’s defense…IF Jermaine O’Neal is healthy Toronto has a very good defensive front line.

That’s funny, because all season long Bosh plays pretty weak D. I’m forced to watch Raptors games all the time because I’m only a few hours away from Toronto, and I think there’s so much focus on Bosh dominating the offense that he slacks a bit on D and rebounding. Good to hear that he’s picked it up at the Olympics, though, because he can be good. I like the Bosh/O’Neal combo.

I agree that we are substantially better than the other teams. It will take cheating or a ridiculous fluke to beat us. China is out of the tourney, so only the latter possibility applies.

The US is trouncing these teams because our worst player would be the second best player on most of them.

“If Kyle Korver passed for a SF in Philly (one that makes the phrase "defensive liability" a colossal understatement), Rush can too. "

Korver has more to his game than Rush, who is strictly a three point threat (and a nominal one at that). I think Philly will be good, but Rush won’t contribute much. Korver isn’t great, but he’s decent. Rush isn’t decent.

kevin s, if I wasn’t so damn jealous of your Olympic channel orgy, I just might talk some smack.

For the record, I much prefer NBA rules to FIBA. I like my big men to operate down low. Wait. That came out wrong.

Laughton, if it helps I didn’t really mean the Aussies anyways. As a team they earned my respect by being more like “us” than anyone else I saw in the tournament. I mean did you see the look on Bogut/The Aussie Coach Who’s Name Escapes Me faces when the one reporter asked them if they should have held something back in the tune up game to “suprise” the Americans later? I thought we were going to have a Jim “Chrissy” Everett on the Jim Rome show moment for a second there. Neither man could comprehend the cowardice it would take to purposely throw a game of basketball…

I agree. It’s the little things like that OVER AND OVER thousands of different tiny areas that really bug me about the “World” game of basketball. For the most part, the Aussies seem as revolted by it all as we do. I firmly expect good things out of their basketball program in the future and I’ll be watching for which NCAA players I had no idea were Australian before… (Winks at that Mills kid).

This Olympic madness is driving me crazy. I’ve taken part in it as well. I find myself watching players that I’d normally hiss and boo at hysterically.

I feel kinda sick to my stomach that I’ve been rooting for Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James – players that would normally make me gag in my mouth while watching their NBA games.

I almost feel as though I’m cheating on my girlfriend. Just give us (US) the fucking gold so I can go back to booing these players. If I see another cloud of baby powder burst into the air before a game I really am going to be sick.

“I feel kinda sick to my stomach that I’ve been rooting for Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James – players that would normally make me gag in my mouth while watching their NBA games.”

Look at it this way – Wade’s got a chip on his shoulder (referring to the figurative one) that he’s taking out on the Olympics. I’d much rather him put his energy into the US team than his below average Heat. Same to James. The more he enjoys great passes from Kidd and Paul, the more pissed he’ll be about Mo Williams’ contested jumpers with 18 seconds on the shot clock.

Not to hijack the thread, but anyone see where OKC waived Donyell Marshall? Perhaps a backup to Tay if things work out? Just throwing it out there.

Shinons – Good point, I’ve noticed they’re taking their frustrations out on the world; which is good. I’d rather see Wade drive the lane in the Olympics than see him dive with a Heat jersey on, undoubtedly crying while getting wheeled away on oxygen :D

MarkButter in SoCal – No need to apologize, Team USA has already hi-jacked this bitch. It wouldn’t be a bad pickup, considering we could probably get him pretty cheap; but I’ve always had an issue with how dopey his eyes are. Dopiest eyes in the game, if you ask me.

MarkButter: Marshall is not a small forward. He’s not quick enough as far as foot speed to guard wing players. So I don’t see him as a back-up for Tay. He would just get in the way of our already crowded front court. We don’t need another jump shooting big man.

This time of the year is such a drag. No major trades, rumors, controversies to kick about. Can’t wait for training camp. Not looking forward to the winter arriving, but I need some Pistons basketball.

DD, don’t sleep on ole’ dopey eyes McGrady.

Kevin: If you think Korver has more to his game than Rush, you just really haven’t seen the two of them play that often. That, or Kyle Korver is either a relative, childhood friend, or you’re on his payroll. Is Korver a bigger three-point threat? Most of the time. More to his game? No.

Mark: E-Double is right, Donyell is a three-point shooting PF. He played SF at times earlier in his career (and shot a lot less 3s) when he was still young, but basically all the guy does now is shoot threes because he can’t move. Walter Sharpe strikes me as a guy who could possibly develop a game similar to Donyell Marshall’s. If Walter Sharpe is still getting paid by the league in 2022, I think I’d consider it a successful pick.

DD & Craig,
I’m casting my dopey eyes vote for Jeff VanGundy’s eyes, though I’ll give some of the credit to the man behind the eyes.

I hope he stays away from coaching for another season so he can commentate the playoffs again (Really, I loved him on the mic in the 08 playoffs) and schedule a rematch with Alonzo’s Leg. With Alonzo coming off surgery, I think JVG has a shot.

“If you think Korver has more to his game than Rush, you just really haven’t seen the two of them play that often.”

Korver is very good at coming off screens, which is why he thrived (by 8th man standards) in Utah, which actually has player who know how to set screens. He shot 57% from two point range. He also began figuring out how to get to the line, which is big when you shoot better than 90%.

If Detroit signs Donyell Marshall I am giving up on them this season.

RE: The Korver vs. Rush argument

Korver has shown more in his NBA career than Rush has. Korver is a “specialist” while Rush is just a warm body to put on the floor. Philly needed a 3 point threat after trading Korver for scraps, so they sign Korver-lite with Rush.

Korver does his job night in and night out. He does what he does, just like Rip does. Nothing special about his game, he makes baskets. Rush has done well in spots, but I take Korver over Rush in a battle of “specialists” which is what Philly is hoping Rush can be.

Korver has an excellent midrange game and some semblance of an ability to draw fouls. Rush has neither.

He was lucky to be in Jim O’Brien’s 3 point chuckfest offense, but even with all those, his shooting efficiency sucked.

Marshall’s basketball ability went down the toilet last season, and there isn’t much hope for a meaningful comeback.

I thought we were Pistons fans here. Pistons fans like their players to play defense.

Soooo, I take it, that it’s a NO on Marshall??

Didn’t think he’d fit anyways, but it appears the OKC is picking up his entire 5M salary. I agree he shoots too many 3’s and defense definitely is not his forte, but as the 14 or 15th guy who would probably come cheap, I figure he’d be a good locker room presence. I’ve never heard of him being a cancer in the locker room and at his age, he wants a ring more than money…or at least he should. And if memory serves me, didn’t he play with Rip for a year at UCONN?

Besides, if Joe D trades Sheed, there’s our PF 3-point shooting replacement!! (kidding)

No way in hell Van Gundy or McGrady’s eyes are as dopey as Marshall’s.

I need this pre-season to start, reading about all these “what ifs” and Australia’s team is really starting to make me sad.

all i’m thinking about these days is football. 3 fantasy drafts coming up, multiple mocks to complete, preseason reruns 24-7 on nfl net. all i want to hear is “boldin. trade. eagles.” and if randy moss could fall to me at 13, that would be super as well.

“I thought we were Pistons fans here. Pistons fans like their players to play defense.”

Then I guess talking about either Rush or Korver is a waste of air.

I agree that basketball season needs to start, but I’m really enjoying baseball…

JackDutch, I haven’t even looked at football yet. But, I did watch a couple drives of the last Lions pre-season game to see how Calvin Johnson looked because I have him in a keeper league. He’s a flat-out beast. He’s like Lebron. Fast. Strong. Tall. Hops. Hands.

I really think he’s the best receiver in the league and the best player the Lions have had since Barry Sanders. I’ve pretty much given up on the Lions doing anything of note until Matt Millen is gone, but I’m going to love watching this kid play.

Wait, there are other sports?

basketball season can’t come soon enough

I hope Detroit signs Donyell Marshall… maybe then Damon Jones will want to sign back with us too.

Boney: too damn funny Dude. :-)

The Quiet Yell could ball when he was at UConn. Is Glenn Robinson still in the NBA too? They came out together and left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. That legacy : the rookie salary cap.

If the plan is to play some of the young guys in D-League then I would be opposed to Marshall as the 15th man on the roster. He might have a few embers still burning within him and it’s possible that on a good team he’ll play differently. Note: I’m an old-school UConn fan so I’m biased.

1. - Deron Washington would be interesting but

Shaun Livingston would be more interesting. Its definitely a long shot to say the least. None of the Pistons share the same agent with Livingston. His agent is Wade’s, D. Harris and Bosh’s agent and there have been roomers indicating he may sign with the Heat or the Nets.

Here is the latest on his recovery

Shaun Livingston, who has been playing five-on-five, for at least the past week and a half, at fitness trainer Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics facility in Chicago.

Clippers athletic trainer Jasen Powell confirmed Wednesday that Livingston has progressed to playing full-scale, full-court pickup games with the contingent of 20 or so NBA players that work out regularly at Grover’s site.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/54100/20080821/shaun_livingston_continues_to_progress/#

Mike: I feel like Miami and NJ don’t have a real desperate need for a PG. Plus both teams (especially Miami) really don’t have roster space for Livingston. If he is coming for the veteran’s minimum, I suppose it might be worth waiving someone to take him on. That injury was absolutely brutal though. I wouldn’t be confident that Livingston can ever be the same player.

I usually have a soft spot for guys making a comeback after an injury but that Livingston thing was absolutely sick. I threw up in my mouth when I saw it. I wouldn’t take a chance on him physically or psychologically after an injury of that magnitude.

“Shaun Livingston would be more interesting.”

Not for us. He’s be a third string PG on a team with two really good one.

“I feel like Miami and NJ don’t have a real desperate need for a PG.”

Miami certainly does. They have a lot of PGs on their roster, but none of them is anything close to a sure thing.

Miami has their PG. Chalmers is for real. Feel free to hot key that for taunting later, but I honestly believe his summer league was real and I DEFINATELY think the kid should have gone before pick 34….

So does he and he’s going to prove it.

PG4L – I agree and think Chalmers is a solid pro at minimum. He could be a poor man’s Chauncey Billups and that’s a steal with a 2nd round.

Kevin- “Miami certainly does. They have a lot of PGs on their roster, but none of them is anything close to a sure thing.”

Don’t forget about Chris Quinn. That goofy-ass white boy sure helped my fantasy team at the end of last season. I even heard a rumor that he’s been taking River Dance classes to improve his foot speed!

joejoejoe- Chalmers having the ability to possibly be the poor man’s Chauncey leaves much to be desired. How much slower can you advance the ball, how much more can you run the clock? Moreso, does that mean that Chalmers at his best will let his team get smoked in the 2nd round playoffs, and not the ECFs?

Like you stated though, he’s a steal in the 2nd round.

Also, I don’t hate Marcus Banks. If you have to rely on him at all offensively, you’re in trouble. But with Wade, Beasley, and Marion all fighting for shots, Banks can just focus on what he actually does well – being fast and playing defense. I haven’t seen Chalmers play much, but I could see Miami surprising people next year just as easily as I could see them winning 30 games. Weird team.

Wow, the US is going for the kill early. The D has been impeccable.

30-12 after the first, and they only broke double digits because of a Nocioni prayer at the end. US ain’t messin’ around.

That’s 2 times in 24 hours Kevin S. raises the skeptical eye. First, Kareem Rush is a “nominal three point threat” (he’s more “one-dimensional” than Kyle Korver? Really?) while Korver is just
more well-rounded. Come on Kev, I’m trying not to laugh or be mean, but like, watch a few games of these two guys from the last couple seasons or something. Seriously.

Shaun Livingston also missed SIXTY-THREE games in the two seasons prior to the big injury. If he suits up for someone on opening night, he’ll have missed ONE HUNDRED TEN games with the knee injury alone. I’m not saying anything about his talent, but he’s only worth a flier maybe, that’s it. As JesseC reminded us, Chris Quinn will be on the Heat next year (unless something crazy happens) and doesn’t completely suck. Mix in Banks and Chalmers, and addition by subtraction with J-Will, and while that’s not All-NBA, it’s not desperation if Wade is healthy.

Shinons: Agree completely. I think Beasley > Rose but who knows. I like what Beasley brings to the court, especially in a pairing with Marion. I guess so Wade goes, so go the Heat. If he’s healthy for 72+ games, I gotta like the Heat’s chances to at least go .500. Last season, that would’ve earned a playoff spot.

And they follow that up with what was probably their worst quarter in this Olympics. They whiffed like 7 3s, and Argentina’s playing them a bit like QD’s post earlier in this thread.

Having had an ACL reconstruct many, many years ago and a couple of cleaing/scrapings since then, I can definitely sympathize with Livingston (though his was much worse). I think signing him as the 15th for vet minimum (is he eligible for that?) is a WTF move.

He obviously isn’t going to come in for anyone and be playing right off the bat. But he signs, plays in the D-League and perhaps mid-season can come in. Suppose in a year or two your backcourt is Stuck & Livingston (assuming he’d come cheap on a two year deal and then re-sign).

Joe likes what he sees from Livingston and at mid-season has an offer (perhaps the best he’s gotten so far) for Chauncy…he’s in a better position to trade him as Stuck starts and Livingston can play the point, Stuck SG and Rip plays a little SF some nites.

I think depending on the price, what does any team have to lose? He’s obviously got the talent. And after spending time on the Clips, he’d be happy playing anywhere, even rehabbing in the D-League and comes with that famous “chip on his shoulder” like so many other players. And he’s what, all of 22 or 23? If the price is right, WTF, why not?

This game probably gives Spain a little hope. Coach K should have put Boozer on Scola.

And smith back to denver, but I wonder for how much. Also waiting to see if they give him the starting gig after AI leaves/is traded this year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3548705

And even more hilarious, Celts sign d-miles. There goes some of portlands cap space. I wonder if he can do the horn gesture from the bench with a suit on?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3549061

Kareem Rush sucks.

No need to watch a few “games last year” to see a guy who got some run on a horrible team.

intelligent basketball watchers can see that 40% from the field and 38% from 3 but only putting in 8.3 a night isn’t very good.

I’ll take Kyle Korver/Jason Kapono over Rush anyday.

I feel like I’ve said this 10 times already, but since we’re apparently still discussing Livingston, it bears repeating.

I have had a less catastrophic version of that injury. I basically had an identical injury to Andrew Bynum. I was a pretty good athlete before the injury and I have nowhere near the speed, quickness, or ability to do anything moderately close to where I was (I’m 23 now, injury happened 5 years ago). Playing pickup hoops is a tremendous risk for me, so I’m more or less limited to shooting around. Even going to the gym is a chore because my knee is still funky. It aches for no reason, and some of the time it’s painful to even walk up a flight of stairs.

I realize that I’m not a professional athlete and was never even close to being one, but I wouldn’t spend a dime on Shaun Livingston. There is ZERO chance that he’s ever going to be a useful player in the league again. I’m worried about Bynum’s ability to come back. Him having a secondary surgery is worrysome to me.

Wasn’t Livingston’s injury so bad there was discussion about amputation?

Also, as an obsessive KU fan I feel qualified to weigh in on Chalmers. An absolute steal in the 2nd round and went to the perfect team. He’s a very nice complimentary player to Wade. I think his handle is underrated and even if he does struggle to adjust, Wade can handle the ball until he adjusts. That was a terrific pick for them, I love what they did in the draft. Wade has looked scary good to me in the limited time I’ve been able to watch the Olympics. They could rebound very nicely this coming season.

Craig: J.R. Smith certainly has the talent to be a really good starting SG in the NBA. I hope one day before it’s too late he realizes what he needs to do in order to maximize its efficacy. I don’t have too much faith in him doing that though. That Darius Miles story is incredible considering the NBA just absolved Portland of Miles’s salary this past spring. Per the CBA, Miles was deemed to have a “career-ending” injury by an independent physician hired by the NBA to examine the matter. As this article explains, the Blazers are 100% off the hook for Miles salary because a player can be waived under that exception and the team doesn’t owe him squat:

http://www.katu.com/sports/17691544.html

qd (or lions fans in general): who is going to have better stats then, calvin johnson or roy williams? i’m staring at both in a lot of my mock drafts.

Craig – “Celts sign d-Miles”

That sound you hear is Portland GM Kevin Pritchard screaming because Miles $9M/year salary goes back on the Blazers cap until ’09-10.

JD: “The white kid that used to play safety…. Wait we fired Mike Martz? Really?”

Jokes aside, Calvin Johnson. Roy might still go 10 and 10 but Johnson just makes football look so easy. I have a funny feeling he’s going to rip a bunch of teams up for massive numbers. EVERYONE sent to cover him looks over-matched. Conservative projection, 12 and 10 and that’s only because the Lions still suck. On a good team the kid could be a 16 and 14 type player.

Umm for what it’s worth, that’s old school FF talk for Hundreds of Yards and touchdowns respectively. For example saying Chris Henry will probably be an 8 and 8 type player again projects 800 Yards and about 8 touchdowns. Back in the day FF players were always looking for a WR who could give you 12 and 12, because they tended to be the only ones worth drafting before every live running back on the board was gone.

Probably the only reason I don’t hate Sterling Sharpe to this day is because he was a mortal lock for 12 and 12.

biden.

No way does Joe Biden out-gain Calvin Johnson this season. You can take that to the bank.

grins

Not to be all political, but if somebody can fill me in on why on Earth the Obama camp thought Biden was the best pick, I’m all ears. I don’t understand what they’re doing at all.

There’s a good blog on Tayshaun at truebluepistons. Really proud of this kid and he’s definitely the member of the core I’d least like to part with.

Also, pistons.com has a three part interview with Joe Dumars. The first one is stuff we already know and/or suspected. Part II which will be posted on Monday sound like it’ll be real interesting.

JackDutch, I don’t know how Calvin Johnson’s fantasy stats will be, but I’m on record as saying he’s the best WR in the league. There’s NO ONE that’s going to be able to cover him one-on-one. He’s a guaranteed double team. Which should open up a lot for Roy Williams. Not sure who the TE is or if this rookie RB can catch out of the backfield, but they’ll be pretty open too.

Other Matt – Without getting too political my guess is Biden has working relationships with most world leaders and Obama thinks that will be useful moving forward. Think about the kind of discussions we have on this website. We all have opinions but we really don’t KNOW like Pistons scout Tony Ronzone. Obama might have opinions and ideas about Leader X, Y, and Z but Biden has scouted them up close and might have the kind of useful detail that is critical to US diplomacy.

I also think Obama must get along great with the guy. They are both jocks who played in college (Obama b-ball at Occidental, Biden football at Delaware), both are pretty smart, and both lost people close to them young, Obama his mom (who died of cancer when Obama was just out of college) and Biden his wife and infant daughter in a car crash when he was 29 years old. They probably end up having good communication because of all the common threads.

Finally on Joe Biden – he HATES the BCS. If you want a college football playoff system instead of some goofy computer/big conference hybrid train wreck, Biden is your man.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E7DB1239F930A35752C1A9659C8B63

“Not to be all political, but if somebody can fill me in on why on Earth the Obama camp thought Biden was the best pick, I’m all ears. I don’t understand what they’re doing at all.”

Biden is Catholic, brings gravity to the ticket with his foreign policy substance, and has tragedy in his backstory. So that’s what they’re doing here.

On the other hand, he is a gaffe machine who is on the record saying Obama (in addition to being articulate) lacks the foreign policy experience to be president. He also voted to authorize the Iraq war, so Obama loses his purity on that issue.

His son is a lobbyist, which means nothing, except that Obama can’t use the lobbying bludgeon against McCain.

All in all, I think this was a panic pick. His campaign looked at the internal numbers and recognized that people are worried about the experience factor. So they are willing to take the cons with the pros.

In the long term, the cons are going to win. I don’t think it was a very good pick.

Totally off-topic … the first word in my captcha on Ticketmaster.com today (Ben Folds tickets for the LawyerGirl), no-joke … Laimbeer. AWESOME.

JD: To echo others, Chris Mortensen picked Johnson ahead of Roy Williams during ESPN’s live fantasy draft a couple weeks back, and Roy was running one of the teams. They tried to make Roy uncomfortable, and he said something to the effect of “I don’t blame you, the kid is a beast”. And then Roy drafted himself like 10 picks later.

kevin: Solid analysis on why Obama did it (bingo: panic), but in the end it’s all moot. McCain’s got to pick a running-mate too, and when his is announced (Mitt would be classic) there will be plenty of scrutiny to go around. Besides, with the first presidential debate being focused entirely on Biden’s forté, it gives Obama a chance to spin the pick into a positive for his campaign rather quickly. Still, the VP has never made a bit of difference in a presidential election and it won’t start now. VP has no impact on votes, so it’s just an over-hyped story that will die down soon enough. As the peaceful black man in the jail scene of Harold & Kumar 1 says: “The universe tends to unfold as it should”.

I will be interested to see who Mr. Biden will be facing on October 2nd though. Still, by the end of the 2nd presidential debate any stupid comment Biden makes on the 2nd will be forgotten.

Personally, John McCain still has no shot in my mind. When these two get on a debate stage, it will be Kennedy-Nixon all over again. McCain is crotchety and Obama couldn’t show any more poise under pressure if he were a trained hostage negotiator.

“Still, the VP has never made a bit of difference in a presidential election and it won’t start now. VP has no impact on votes, so it’s just an over-hyped story that will die down soon enough.”

I’ve got to completely, 100% disagree with you here, as would any political analyst with a pulse. VP picks have a tremendous impact on elections. Quite often, Veeps are picked solely because they can carry swing states on their own or put new uncontested states in play. This is precisely whey the Obama campaign vetted potential running mates like Kaine, Bayh, Rendell and Strickland.

“On the other hand, he is a gaffe machine who is on the record saying Obama (in addition to being articulate) lacks the foreign policy experience to be president”

Fortunately, Biden’s gaffe frequency is dwarfed by McCain’s near-weekly gaffing. As for experience, McCain has already begun running ads showing Biden questioning Obama. Expect Biden to address this today by using the word “judgement” constantly, saying something to effect that “my 42 years of foreign policy experience leads me to believe that Barack Obama has the kind of judgement we need in a President”, yadda yadda.

In response, the McCain campaign will likely pick Lieberman, Pawlenty or a dark horse like Petraeus, although I doubt the latter is likely. If McCain picks Romney, expect Obama/Biden to ride this “mccain/romney out-of-touch” wave through to November. A pick like the three above would avoid that.

“His son is a lobbyist, which means nothing, except that Obama can’t use the lobbying bludgeon against McCain.”

They can and will— Biden’s son is not involved in the Obama campaign, whereas McCain has 60 ex-lobbyists working at high levels in his own.

“All in all, I think this was a panic pick.”

If by “panic” you mean “kick ass, across the board”, I agree with you.

For anyone interested in more politics Nate Silver (who got his start writing at Baseball Prospectus) has a website called FiveThirtyEight.com (the total # of electoral votes) that has the best poll analysis anywhere. He blogs from a Democratic perspective but his polling breakdowns are non-partisan and he has tons of information (RealClearPolitics is good but 538 is better IMHO). The national poll numbers that you see in the papers and on TV are about as useful as the point totals in a 7 game basketball series. It’s winning individual games or states that counts, not the popular vote.

Politics aside, I met Biden in January, pretty funny story. I was at a restaurant in Davenport, Iowa with my girlfriend’s family. As we left, we noticed Biden sitting with a small group, having just finished their own meal. We said hello, Biden jumped out of his seat and walked over to shake our hands (this was a few days before the Iowa Caucus, in which he was well aware he was dead in the water).

He introduced his group— his son, the District Attorney of the State of Delaware, his daughter-in-law and his campaign manager. Biden gave me a bit of love advice during the brief meeting: “You’re marrying up, Mike.” What? “You’re marrying up. She’s better looking than you are, do not let her go. Don’t feel bad, I married up too!”

Whether or not it was boilerplate press-fleshing, it was an awesome moment. I ghave a picture of Biden with his arm around my girlfriend somewhere on this computer…

@joejoejoe:
awesome tip on FiveThirtyEight. I haven’t seen that yet. I read RealClearPolitics daily, so this is a welcomed addition. High five, brother!

countdown to a new thread that doesn’t involve politics in 4, 3, 2…

LB: The Blazers (or more likely, their insurance company) were always on the hook for paying the rest of Miles’ salary — the “career-ending” diagnosis simply removed it off the books for salary cap purposes.

Everyone: I usually like to keep my politics and sports separate, but since the tangent was already started, I will throw this site out there: Beltway Blips ( http://beltwayblips.com/ ). It’s BallHype for politics (as in, literally, it was recently launched by the same company that does BallHype …)

Politics is sport.

I don’t think this pick affects McCain’s choice, which should come down to Pawlenty or Lieberman. I agree that Romney would be a disastrous choice, with only Tom Ridge the worser among the short list.

As Democrats go, I like Joe Biden. I find his demeanor agreeable. That said, I am the furthest thing from a swing voting soccer mom that you will find.

To the degree that the Veep selection hasn’t mattered, it has been so by design. Lloyd Benson and Dan Quayle anyone? Joe Biden will almost certainly make some sort of splash, as would Lieberman. Pawlenty would elicit a more muted response, but Minnesota flaunts its state pride to an absurd degree.

As for a repeat of Kennedy-Nixon, I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you. Away from the tele-prompter, McCain has been a bit more polished, and the factoid-gotcha questions that have been plaguing McCain are unlikely to find their way into a televised debate.

Further, people are going to be expecting Kennedy-Nixon, which sets the bar absurdly high for Obama. Al Gore was overwhelmed by similar expectations, and John McCain will almost certainly outperform Bush. And if you think SNL took it to Al Gore…

MP: Feel free to make Biden more significant. Edwards was picked in 2004 to try and bring in North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes. Kerry sucked so bad that the charismatic and beloved Edwards was stuck looking (understandably) like a fool playing second fiddle to the black hole of charisma who loves historic “Lambert” Field. I maintain, generally speaking no one gives a crap about the VP, especially when the presidential candidate is extremely distinguishable (be it good or bad).
 
Barack is as distinguishable as it gets. Biden shores up the ol’ foreign-policy experience problem, and he’s a passionate guy (another plus), but Barack is going to rise to the occasion on his own laurels, not with help from Biden’s. Like always, the VP won’t matter.

Should McCain for some insane reason go with Romney, the stark contrast between Romney (snake oil salesman, been rich his whole life) and Biden (working class hero) will be fascinating to watch.

@LB:
“MP: Feel free to make Biden more significant.”

As Kevin S. pointed out, Biden is Catholic. Obama has a Catholic problem. In the primaries, Obama was regularly trounced by Clinton 2-to-1 and 3-to-1 for the Catholic vote. Biden is an outspoken Catholic who now gives wayward, swing voting Catholics a reason to consider this campaign.

Also, if you were watching Biden’s introduction by Obama today, both of them repeatedly mentioned Biden’s Scranton roots— 5 times total. This was a deliberate move to connect with the State of Pennsylvania. As deliberate as the day, as scripted as can be. (the fact that 29% of Pennsylvania citizens are Catholic doesn’t hurt Biden’s impact either… especially since Clinton held 72% of the Catholic vote in the Dem primary)

To assume that “no one gives a crap about the VP” is nothing short of looney tunes. Daffy Duck type shit. But what do I know, its not like I write about politics…

Hi, could someone please direct me to Detroit Bad Boys, I seem to have stumbled upon the wrong website.

Good article from Langlois.

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2008/08/joe_dumars_i_expect_us_to_go_t.html

For me, this season is gonna be like “The Godfather 3.”

I’m really dissappointed with the lack of movement.

nice link, UTEP. I like the idea of leaving that 15th slot open throughout the season in case something comes up. I also agree with Joe, I’m quite happy that no big trade has happened, although I had made myself pretty clear about those I would have preferred.

@Laughton:
Don’t worry, you likely won’t see many more mentions of politics on here until November. And by that time, we’ll be so busy with a new basketball season that politics will be all but ignored completely. With the slow NBA news right now, its not surprising other topics have bumped into our community here…

Snapper Jones is just doggin’ Delfino during the Bronze Medal game. They’ve been talking about him for about ten minutes.

" Edwards was picked in 2004 to try and bring in North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes. "

Edwards is not the kind of candidate who causes voters to vote against their affiliation. He’s kind of a schmuck.

“Should McCain for some insane reason go with Romney, the stark contrast between Romney (snake oil salesman, been rich his whole life) and Biden (working class hero) will be fascinating to watch.”

Keep in mind that not everyone shares your politics (based on our basketball conversations, I assume that you are pretty far to the left… No offense). Mitt Romney doesn’t impress me much, but did manage to win over Massachusetts, of all places.

Joe Biden as working class hero? That’s new.

@Kevin S.:
Agreed on all points (edwards = schmuck, romney, working class hero?). Especially this = “Politics is sport.” Even though I might be slightly on the other side of the aisle from you, I’m glad to know you appreciate it in the same way. :)

reaches across the aisle, high fives Kevin S.

Either way, that shot clock violation sequence was absolutely money.

As is Prince getting quality minutes.

Competitive game so far. Prince is shredding that zone.

Look at Tayshaun coaching Howard on the sidelines.

As is Prince blocking a half-court shot. He’s the Joe Biden of this squad.

Okay, so maybe NBA officials aren’t so bad.

That ’oop to Bryant was unreal.

Pau really isn’t likeable at all, is he?

By the way, scoring 58 points in 16 minutes is ridiculous. That’s the equivalent of a 174 point pace in the NBA.

Wow, Spain is playing out of their mind.

Marc Gasol

More accurately:
Marc Gasol

Joe Biden Sr. was a car salesman. That’s not working class? MP, you linked to an article you wrote about biofuels for a site called gas 2.0. That’s absolutely your thing, green issues, no doubt. You haven’t exactly shown any qualifications for election history coverage with that link. You’re not the senior election correspondent for the Washington Post. Citing that article to illustrate that you’re extra qualified than others to discuss election history makes you come off like a serious windbag. It’s a preposterous argument. Bring better credentials or get over yourself.

As for basketball, and Spain v. the USA, people didn’t really think Spain losing by 37 was the real deal, right?

@LB:
Be nice, princess. You made the bonehead statement of the century re: politics and, as always, won’t ever concede being wrong:

“Still, the VP has never made a bit of difference in a presidential election and it won’t start now. VP has no impact on votes”

We can talk about my qualifications all you want, I’ll gladly extrapolate. I write about policy, not green issues, which you’ll understand once you read that article i linked to (which ain’t about the environment, not one bit).

“makes you come off like a serious windbag”

nono, talking about shit you clearly don’t know about makes you come off like a serious windbag. i’ll post again, just for good measure:

“Still, the VP has never made a bit of difference in a presidential election and it won’t start now. VP has no impact on votes”

“Bring better credentials or get over yourself.”

I don’t have to bring a damn thing, sweetheart. You being wrong, backpedaling and then making your argument about me instead of the miserable failure of your point— is almost more entertaining than this ball game.

Well, let’s see, um, the last time a VP even brought his home state which wasn’t traditionally in his pocket was Gore with Clinton. Guess what, Clinton was southern too. STFU. Windbag.

Its also entertaining when you take insults to disagreements. Totally awesome. I suppose its a waste of time to even discuss it with you, since you’re completely incapable of accepting your own fuck-ups. You yourself brought up Edwards and NC, Biden and Foreign Policy. And in the next breath, “VP’s don’t matter”. 100% hilarious. You want to keep it going? Email me. DBB is MUCH better than this.

That’s how we do it boys.

“Well, let’s see, um, the last time a VP even brought his home state which wasn’t traditionally in his pocket was Gore with Clinton. "

That was only three elections ago, and geography isn’t the only factor.

My bad, I asked the question about Biden. I know I said before that I prefer my politics and sport to not mix. However, after the last debate, it became apparent that most of the commenters around here are either Democrats or Liberals or both, of which I am neither (but I’m still not a Republican, ZING!). And neither are most of my friends and/or family. So I wanted the chance to ask people who have a different viewpoint than myself what they thought.

I don’t understand what the Obama campaign is doing at all. The only VP pick that made any sense to me was Bill Richardson who covers up an ENORMOUS problem for Obama. Those weaknesses being foreign policy experience (he was Ambassador to the UN) and energy policy (was Clinton’s Secretary of Energy). I also think that the Obama people need help from somebody who’s actually governed something (in this case the state of New Mexico). There’s a reason that no US Senator has been elected President since Kennedy.

I also kind of agree that this is a panic pick. I think it has a lot to do with what’s going on over in Georgia and the fact that Biden was called over there to meet with the Georgian President.

I think the Republicans have a real problem in this election because they nominated a guy that they don’t believe in and don’t like because they were so afraid of Hillary Clinton. McCain can compound that problem by picking Tim Pawlenty, a very moderate Republican. I’m not sure there’s a right answer out there right now for the Republicans because their leadership is the reason that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are in charge in the Senate, which is a huge indictment on the lack of leadership in the Republican party. I guess McCain could pick Charley Crist, current popular governor of a crucial swing state, and close friend, but there hasn’t been much buzz about him.

I don’t care for either candidate personally, and don’t think much of what happens from here on out matters. I have the unique viewpoint of being able to watch this all unfold with being interested but indifferent towards the outcome. It’s a strange feeling really. Anyway, I think it’s going to be Obama unless something dramatic happens between now and November.

If it helps as a Govt-hating anarchist who’s convinced we’re going to have to eat the rich when the Zombiepocalypse comes?

Joe Biden doesn’t make me want to vote for Obama. In fact, I’d say I am LESS inclined to do so now than I was before Obama chose Biden.

Then again I could just say "Obama is a manufactured populist candidate who’s loyalty is being offered to an American people who actually BUY that you can become President of the United States without being a complete scumbag despite the OBVIOUS double-think that requires to believe…. Generally these types of people in history work out VERY VERY VERY poorly (See Hitler for example and yes I know I just busted out Godwin’s Law).

So basically “Change” is more of the same and our Multi-National overlords who care NOTHING about concepts like Countries win again.

Yay. Score is now “Rich: Infinity” vs “Poor: Nothing”… again.

“I don’t understand what the Obama campaign is doing at all. The only VP pick that made any sense to me was Bill Richardson who covers up an ENORMOUS problem for Obama.”

Richardson has a reputation as a womanizer. Obviously that isn’t a deal-breaker in politics, but Obama is trying to flip states like Virginia and Iowa, and some of his surrogates are running ads that not-so-subtly dig at McCain for infidelity.

Tim Kaine, on the other hand, seemed like a perfect fit. Other than the fact that he talks like Christopher Walken, he has plenty of upside, while he is a conventional two, his wingspan allows him to guard taller governors.

Er, I mean, he would have helped deliver Virginia, while fortifying moderate constitutencies in the rust belt.

I think conservatives would be very happy with Pawlenty.

Someone get LB a tampon, stat!

I was thinking in the primaries that it is interesting, historically, that a sitting Senator will win the Presidency. Governors have done better for decades.