It's not like I have been ignoring you guys...

[JoMal]

Hi, everyone. How's it going?

Not like anyone has missed me, but I have just returned to the States after three weeks away. I was so out of touch, I still have yet to even watch a King's game in the preseason and the little I have gleaned from news stories is that they have a ways to go in getting Wells and SAR acclimated to the Princeton Offense.

Some prognosticators are even saying the Kings will miss the playoffs. I say the guy who predicted that is an A**hole with a capital "IDIOT" in front of his name, but if he is right, I will just kill him for saying it anyway.

So Swoopes is gay. Saw the picture of her "significant other" in the paper today. They say the camera adds ten pounds to you. Makes me wonder how many cameras were actually on her. Point being, Cheryl could do better, but who choses who they fall for? That she is gay is no big deal to me in itself though.

Webber and Iverson are not yet playing important, joint minutes together yet this preseason. The Sixers are not going to be a factor unless these two get to understand each other's game, but with Allan Houston retiring because of his knee, I think it would be wise to keep a wary eye on Chris this season. If he can recover, this is the year we will find out. If he still is having trouble, the trouble is perminent.

Spurs should win it again. What.....no arguements?

Is it just me, or does it start to look like Shaq is done? Not done in the sense he is going to retire (no surprise if he announces that after this season, though), but in the sense that the work to stay in shape and with his "shape" itself, it just seems to me that his motivation to show up the Lakers and Kobe came and went last season and this season he is going to let Wade and company handle the stress of winning the games. If I were coaching opposing teams, I would test O'Neal on defense heavily and for all four quarters.

Suns sans Stoudamire = short term problems. That he had micro surgury on his knee = long term problems. How much did they sign him up for in the off-season?
Hope he recovers sufficiently, though, because he is a heck of a player, but sky-highers like him are all leg strength and agility...the skying part might work okay, but the landings........

I personally like the Laker chances. They have Jackson..they have Kobe...they have Kwame...they had talent... Did I say 'had'? Oops, my bad.

Personally, I 'had' hemorrhoids but then I read Phil's book, and after I finished, he took them all back. That Zen thingy is pretty powerful stuff.

Finally, Larry Brown has his dream job. Getting pulverized daily in the New York tabs was just the thing he has coveted all his adult (that being the last five years) life. He is the best coach of large, massive, ego-driven manchildren that has ever walked the pine over to a accuracy-challenged referee to inform him that his mother was not married to his father. My prediction? Brown will be rushed to the hospital at some point during the 2005-06 season for emergency surgery to remove his contract from his rectum. I also predict he will not divulge how it got there.

Joe Vancil, I hear that you still play basketball. Joe, take it from the voice of experience. Retire while you are ahead and believe me, your game will improve significantly with the retelling of your exploits.  

And finally, Laker Dan, happy anniversary and I truly hope your wine-country trip coming up will be a memorable one. I just wish I was around to answer your inquiries about my personal choices once there. But I was in Erice, I think, at the time you emailed me, and for those wondering where the heck Erice is, if you find out, you will know where I have been for the last three weeks.

And Erice (A-ree-che) was a personal favorite, BTW.

JoMally-boy    

[WayOutWest]

Hi, everyone. How's it going?

Not like anyone has missed me, but I have just returned to the States after three weeks away.

Welcome back old man.  You're right, you weren't missed by anyone except me!  
http://www.phillyarena.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2437

As a lifelong Miami Heat fan it's going to be another season of fun Laker bashing.  I've been to a couple of Laker pre-season games and Christina Mihm is STILL the Lakers inside presence on both ends of the court, they are going to be toast.  The Lakers playoff hopes rest steadily on Kobe's shoulders and Amare's and Duncan weak little ankles, if you catch my drift.

 

[westkoast]

Hi, everyone. How's it going?

Not like anyone has missed me, but I have just returned to the States after three weeks away. I was so out of touch, I still have yet to even watch a King's game in the preseason and the little I have gleaned from news stories is that they have a ways to go in getting Wells and SAR acclimated to the Princeton Offense.

Some prognosticators are even saying the Kings will miss the playoffs. I say the guy who predicted that is an A**hole with a capital "IDIOT" in front of his name, but if he is right, I will just kill him for saying it anyway.

So Swoopes is gay. Saw the picture of her "significant other" in the paper today. They say the camera adds ten pounds to you. Makes me wonder how many cameras were actually on her. Point being, Cheryl could do better, but who choses who they fall for? That she is gay is no big deal to me in itself though.

Webber and Iverson are not yet playing important, joint minutes together yet this preseason. The Sixers are not going to be a factor unless these two get to understand each other's game, but with Allan Houston retiring because of his knee, I think it would be wise to keep a wary eye on Chris this season. If he can recover, this is the year we will find out. If he still is having trouble, the trouble is perminent.

Spurs should win it again. What.....no arguements?

Is it just me, or does it start to look like Shaq is done? Not done in the sense he is going to retire (no surprise if he announces that after this season, though), but in the sense that the work to stay in shape and with his "shape" itself, it just seems to me that his motivation to show up the Lakers and Kobe came and went last season and this season he is going to let Wade and company handle the stress of winning the games. If I were coaching opposing teams, I would test O'Neal on defense heavily and for all four quarters.

Suns sans Stoudamire = short term problems. That he had micro surgury on his knee = long term problems. How much did they sign him up for in the off-season?
Hope he recovers sufficiently, though, because he is a heck of a player, but sky-highers like him are all leg strength and agility...the skying part might work okay, but the landings........

I personally like the Laker chances. They have Jackson..they have Kobe...they have Kwame...they had talent... Did I say 'had'? Oops, my bad.

Personally, I 'had' hemorrhoids but then I read Phil's book, and after I finished, he took them all back. That Zen thingy is pretty powerful stuff.

Finally, Larry Brown has his dream job. Getting pulverized daily in the New York tabs was just the thing he has coveted all his adult (that being the last five years) life. He is the best coach of large, massive, ego-driven manchildren that has ever walked the pine over to a accuracy-challenged referee to inform him that his mother was not married to his father. My prediction? Brown will be rushed to the hospital at some point during the 2005-06 season for emergency surgery to remove his contract from his rectum. I also predict he will not divulge how it got there.

Joe Vancil, I hear that you still play basketball. Joe, take it from the voice of experience. Retire while you are ahead and believe me, your game will improve significantly with the retelling of your exploits. 

And finally, Laker Dan, happy anniversary and I truly hope your wine-country trip coming up will be a memorable one. I just wish I was around to answer your inquiries about my personal choices once there. But I was in Erice, I think, at the time you emailed me, and for those wondering where the heck Erice is, if you find out, you will know where I have been for the last three weeks.

And Erice (A-ree-che) was a personal favorite, BTW.

JoMally-boy

Hello JoMaL...just to let you know your name has been mentioned a few times since you took off on your trip.  We missed ya and your sarcastic jabs.  For a minute I thought the trip changed you and then I saw the swipe at the Lakers and let out a 'phew'

The Kings not making the playoffs? I laughed out loud reading that.  I think they can win the Pacific and guarentee themselves a great seed.  I dont expect them to come out of the gate on fire with Wells/SAR on the same page as the rest of the squad but they are better than most of the western confrence save 4 teams.  They were better than most of the WC last year and they will be better than most of the WC this year with SAR in the paint.  Last years Sonics run was a fluke IMO, Suns are hurting without Amare, Houston is still a question mark, and then that leaves teams like Portland/Lakers/Clippers/Utah/Golden state all of which the Kings should do better than.

As for the Lakers and our teams matchup tommorow you'd be suprised to learn that their pre-season defense looks twice as good as the  defense they played all last season (it was so horrible last year its not saying that much).  So far they have been able to apply full court pressure and force teams into starting their offense late.  Been quite effective for the most part, Utah had alot of trouble with it.    I will be very suprised if PJ decides to do this for 40 minutes against the Kings though.  The Kings move the ball too well for that to be an effective strategy for the whole game.

btw, you didnt miss too much.  We spent a whole week talking about the dress code and how it does/doesnt help the image the NBA and its players currently have.

[JoMal]

Welcome back old man.  You're right, you weren't missed by anyone except me! 
http://www.phillyarena.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2437

 

Wow, WOW. It must be frustrating for you to carry the load of this board while I am off galivanting around the globe, following the senior discount trail.

Don't you just hate it when you have to EXPLAIN to your fellow daboder's that you are joking? Maybe a Sarcasm 101 refresher course is in order here, but if you are going to long for the pearls of wisdom B-Ball Pro used to hurl at us at msnbc, we may be facing some hard acts to follow this season.

<secret aspiration - I kind of miss that board. There were some posters, such as Chief and B-Ball Pro, that I miss quite a bit and, I hope, people here will understand, for completely different reasons>

BTW, WOW, what is going on with the prospect of getting to a game as a group? I still do not know if I will be able to make it to San Antonio for a game, but as it happens, it looks like I WILL be in Los Angeles on business around the last week in March, though timing regarding that would be needed to attend a game. However, I certainly will be easy to find. I will be staying at the Westin Bonaventure downtown.

As a lifelong Miami Heat fan it's going to be another season of fun Laker bashing.  I've been to a couple of Laker pre-season games and Christina Mihm is STILL the Lakers inside presence on both ends of the court, they are going to be toast.  The Lakers playoff hopes rest steadily on Kobe's shoulders and Amare's and Duncan weak little ankles, if you catch my drift.

WOW, your loyalties seem a bit jaded. Who are you Shaqqing up with, exactly, these days? I hear that Christina likes to take it to the hole, but no one can penetrate her middle. If the Lakers are going to be toast this season, I hope you like it burnt, because there is a chance it will be roasting a bit at Staples.

WOW, a baseball bat, a hidey hole near the visitor's arena entrance in Los Angeles, and Amare or Timmy's legs loping by.

Aim low, aspire high, WOW.

[JoMal]

Hello JoMaL...just to let you know your name has been mentioned a few times since you took off on your trip.  We missed ya and your sarcastic jabs.  For a minute I thought the trip changed you and then I saw the swipe at the Lakers and let out a 'phew'

The Kings not making the playoffs? I laughed out loud reading that.  I think they can win the Pacific and guarentee themselves a great seed.  I dont expect them to come out of the gate on fire with Wells/SAR on the same page as the rest of the squad but they are better than most of the western confrence save 4 teams.  They were better than most of the WC last year and they will be better than most of the WC this year with SAR in the paint.  Last years Sonics run was a fluke IMO, Suns are hurting without Amare, Houston is still a question mark, and then that leaves teams like Portland/Lakers/Clippers/Utah/Golden state all of which the Kings should do better than.

As for the Lakers and our teams matchup tommorow you'd be suprised to learn that their pre-season defense looks twice as good as the  defense they played all last season (it was so horrible last year its not saying that much).  So far they have been able to apply full court pressure and force teams into starting their offense late.  Been quite effective for the most part, Utah had alot of trouble with it.    I will be very suprised if PJ decides to do this for 40 minutes against the Kings though.  The Kings move the ball too well for that to be an effective strategy for the whole game.

 

Gee, westkoast, I never thought of myself as being sarcastic, just rude.

The predictors of all things NBA have the Kings either winning the Pacific, being the third or fourth best team in the West, or coming in ninth. Wells is either the "Answer" or the "Question", but not both. SAR's is going to start, unless Thomas does. This is Bibby's team now, but he can't lead if he can't find his shot. Peja is the best, purest shooter the NBA has ever seen, but apparently the Kings don't know that. Miller will be running the offense; Miller will be running for cover. Adelman will meld all the parts together and win lots of games; Adelman will not wear his team out by having them run back on defense, but will instruct them to stay on their side of the court until play is over at the other end.

Look out Western Conference, the Kings are making another championship run. Too bad, Eastern Conference, you only get to play the Kings twice.

I think they have agreed that the Kings will actually have to play 82 games this season but they have to wait a bit to confirm that.  

The Laker/Kings Vegas game should allow us to observe the sharpshooting combo of Bibby and Peja trying to maintain their 37% shooting percentages this preseason, but that was before Mike shot 1 for 11 against the Suns the last game.
On the bright side, the Kings' defense looks much, much better so far....to other teams.

Can't wait until the season begins and this stuff starts to really matter.

btw, you didnt miss too much.  We spent a whole week talking about the dress code and how it does/doesnt help the image the NBA and its players currently have.

OOH, OOH!!!  Let me weigh in on this hot topic regarding the changing of the dress code for the NBA. Put Dennis Rodman in charge of what players should wear.

[WayOutWest]

Wow, WOW. It must be frustrating for you to carry the load of this board while I am off galivanting around the globe, following the senior discount trail.

It's been frustrating just getting on the board.  Work has been clamping down on internet usage.  This site gets blocked now and again.

Don't you just hate it when you have to EXPLAIN to your fellow daboder's that you are joking? Maybe a Sarcasm 101 refresher course is in order here, but if you are going to long for the pearls of wisdom B-Ball Pro used to hurl at us at msnbc, we may be facing some hard acts to follow this season.

It was surprising more than anything.  The guys around here are pretty sharp and we haven't had a Drama Queen moment around here in a long time so I figured a little joking around would be fun.  All I did was stir up bitter memories of the Legend from Peoria.  I miss the little 'tard'.

<secret aspiration - I kind of miss that board. There were some posters, such as Chief and B-Ball Pro, that I miss quite a bit and, I hope, people here will understand, for completely different reasons>

The old board was a riot.  B-Ball Pro, Cheif, Sassy and here alter ego Viper all provided their own form of entertainment but all in all Cheif is the poster I miss most.  There are some MIA's that are greatly missed as well.  Ro and jw to name a few.

BTW, WOW, what is going on with the prospect of getting to a game as a group? I still do not know if I will be able to make it to San Antonio for a game, but as it happens, it looks like I WILL be in Los Angeles on business around the last week in March, though timing regarding that would be needed to attend a game. However, I certainly will be easy to find. I will be staying at the Westin Bonaventure downtown.

Those queers, cause I know they're not steers, from Texass couldn't get off their fat lazy arses and setup the get together.  I've got a plan ticket to burn by Feb 06 and I figured SA would be perfect.  I can't think of another city in America where a $7.00 cab ride is all you need to see all the important sites.  Plus time with the local tards and a Spurs game would have been fun.

WOW, your loyalties seem a bit jaded. Who are you Shaqqing up with, exactly, these days? I hear that Christina likes to take it to the hole, but no one can penetrate her middle. If the Lakers are going to be toast this season, I hope you like it burnt, because there is a chance it will be roasting a bit at Staples.

Depending on how mid-season looks I could reveal my lifelong loyalty to the Pacers or Suns.  Kwame has been painful to watch, but people are getting hyped on him because of his ESPN higlights.  Don't kid yourselves, he sucks arse.  I do see glimpses of brilliance overshadowed by twice as many glimpses of incompetence and weakness.  Brian Cook is another weak player who gets lots of props from Laker fans cause he hits the occasional jumper.  Cook has desire but no smarts and no size.

I expect the Lakers to be better than last year because of PJ steering the ship for the ENTIRE season.  The players know what to expect all year long, unlike last year when they changed coaches, systems and personnel.  The offense looks horrid, too much Kobe going one-on-three and in some cases one-on-four.  Lamar is looking better being a playmaker but he's still not sure about when to switch gear from play maker to scorer.  I'm hoping one of the new young guards can have a break out year but I'm not holding my breath with Kobe dominating the ball.

WOW, a baseball bat, a hidey hole near the visitor's arena entrance in Los Angeles, and Amare or Timmy's legs loping by.

Aim low, aspire high, WOW.

I've become more of a gambler this year so I'm thinking of a pieces of ice on the game floor.  I could get an Amare or a Duncan but on the flip side I could land me a Bryant or Odom.  The thrill is worth the risk.

[JoMal]

It's been frustrating just getting on the board.  Work has been clamping down on internet usage.  This site gets blocked now and again.

 

That's too bad. My posting is mainly based on how busy I get at work and how much I really want to say. Basically, I try to be reeeeal quick.

It was surprising more than anything.  The guys around here are pretty sharp and we haven't had a Drama Queen moment around here in a long time so I figured a little joking around would be fun.  All I did was stir up bitter memories of the Legend from Peoria.  I miss the little 'tard'.

Serious posts take a long time to write (see above). I find that adding too much thought into my posts leads to way too much angst around here.

The old board was a riot.  B-Ball Pro, Cheif, Sassy and here alter ego Viper all provided their own form of entertainment but all in all Cheif is the poster I miss most.  There are some MIA's that are greatly missed as well.  Ro and jw to name a few.

Yes, all the posters here know me way too well. Some of those you mention as well as some others were so easy to pluck up at times, it was actually too much fun and time consuming. I wish I had saved some of the posts I shared with Chief. I found them to be classic; he's very good.

Those queers, cause I know they're not steers, from Texass couldn't get off their fat lazy arses and setup the get together.  I've got a plan ticket to burn by Feb 06 and I figured SA would be perfect.  I can't think of another city in America where a $7.00 cab ride is all you need to see all the important sites.  Plus time with the local tards and a Spurs game would have been fun.

Yell "STAMPEDE"! in downtown San Antonio and the sound of cowboy boots and faggy hats swishing by automatically makes you think of the Village People. I am surprised they weren't interested in hosting a bum party.

Depending on how mid-season looks I could reveal my lifelong loyalty to the Pacers or Suns.  Kwame has been painful to watch, but people are getting hyped on him because of his ESPN higlights.  Don't kid yourselves, he sucks arse.  I do see glimpses of brilliance overshadowed by twice as many glimpses of incompetence and weakness.  Brian Cook is another weak player who gets lots of props from Laker fans cause he hits the occasional jumper.  Cook has desire but no smarts and no size.

I expect the Lakers to be better than last year because of PJ steering the ship for the ENTIRE season.  The players know what to expect all year long, unlike last year when they changed coaches, systems and personnel.  The offense looks horrid, too much Kobe going one-on-three and in some cases one-on-four.  Lamar is looking better being a playmaker but he's still not sure about when to switch gear from play maker to scorer.  I'm hoping one of the new young guards can have a break out year but I'm not holding my breath with Kobe dominating the ball.

Does Jackson really think he and Kobe can mend fences and face the NBA schedule together without distracting the effort of the rest of the Lakers? It is one thing to say it, but Jackson seemed to put much of the blame on how things went wrong in LA before on Kobe's shoulders.

I've become more of a gambler this year so I'm thinking of a pieces of ice on the game floor.  I could get an Amare or a Duncan but on the flip side I could land me a Bryant or Odom.  The thrill is worth the risk.

In that case, be brave and do it. Though I really would hate to see Odom get hurt.....

[westkoast]

"The offense looks horrid, too much Kobe going one-on-three and in some cases one-on-four. Lamar is looking better being a playmaker but he's still not sure about when to switch gear from play maker to scorer. I'm hoping one of the new young guards can have a break out year but I'm not holding my breath with Kobe dominating the ball."

I noticed that in the game before Utah but some of that seems to do with them being out of position in the triangle and causing Kobe to have to free lance and/or him getting the ball too late in the shot clock.  In the Utah game they did a much better job as far as the triangle is concerned and you could see the spacing was there for them to make the right plays.

Smush looks good so far, I think he can be a breakout player for the squad.

Speaking of media hype for Kwame (jesus christ stop f'in showing that ONE strong move he made to the basket for a dunk) I feel so bad for Bynum.  They interviewed the kid and he seems like he has a good relative in his corner keeping his head on straight.  He wants to goto school, he wants to prove he works hard to the fans, and he just seems so excited to be a pro basketball player...something alot of these madonnas must have forgot.  However, the LA media is going to hype him up so much and talk about him so much that I don't feel he will develop as well as he would if he went somewhere else.  He made a freaking bank shot over Ostertag and you would have thought he hit a championship game winner by the way Joel Myers was talking about it.

[JoMal]

I feel so bad for Bynum.  They interviewed the kid and he seems like he has a good relative in his corner keeping his head on straight.  He wants to goto school, he wants to prove he works hard to the fans, and he just seems so excited to be a pro basketball player...something alot of these madonnas must have forgot.  However, the LA media is going to hype him up so much and talk about him so much that I don't feel he will develop as well as he would if he went somewhere else.  He made a freaking bank shot over Ostertag and you would have thought he hit a championship game winner by the way Joel Myers was talking about it.

Andrew Bynum in 2005-06, pre-career hype = Darko Milicic in 2003-04, pre-career hype.

Uh oh.