Well, thanks to Cassell's and other injuries, needing to feed families, an aging backcourt, still no center, the Wolves have been bounced from the playoffs.
Weird, no Kobe or KG in the playoffs this year. Don't worry - the wild-n-crazy rumor mill has started concerning Garnett wanting to go to the Lakers, but I digress...
Poor LeBron. Thanks to the stupidity of the new Cavs ownership doing coaching and management restructuring in the middle of a playoff race - they're a loss and a Net win from being bounced themselves - after having the #4 spot for so long. Only way they make it is if they win out and the Nets lose out.
And of course, the rumor is that Nike edicts he be a Laker or Knick so he can cash in.
Sad what happened to both these teams. Everyone expected the Wolves to be where Seattle is now and no one really expected the Cavs to collapse like they did. Can't blame KG or Bron for these.
Saw in the papers yesterday that Lebron could sign for the $5m Exception on the promise that Nike makes up the difference - it can and will happen would be my bet
Vince Carter is making his trade earlier this year look like the deal of the year - Nets are on a roll but will still get bounced in Round 1 if they face Shaq & Wade.
Another bad thing with the Cavs is that they basically gave away their first round pick (possibly a lottery pick) this year for nothing to the Bobcats... see if you can make sense of this (from nbadraft.net):
Charlotte receive Cleveland's 2005 (unconditional) first-round pick (taking Jahidi White 062204) via Phoenix receives future Cleveland first-round pick (lottery protected) Wesley Person trade 100197) -- The Bobcats gained Cleveland's first-round pick in the 2005 NBA Draft (without condition). When Charlotte acquired a first-round pick from Phoenix on June 22 through the expansion selection, the Cavaliers were permitted to keep the pick if it fell within certain draft positions. With their trade for Jiri Welsh, Cleveland was forced to remove all restrictions on the '05 pick, giving the selection to the Bobcats.
But anyways, it's amazing that the Cavs have gone from arguably the #2 team in the East to maybe the biggest disappointment. Paxson will likely be gone, and it's a question of how Cleveland will add more pieces around Bron... ie if big Z is gonna stay, what the situation is with Redd, etc
It would break my heart to see LeBron miss the playoffs while that piece of garbage Vince Carter gets in. If NJ squeaks into the eighth spot, here's hoping that Wade utterly humiliates VC, possibly with Globetrotter moves.
So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn't go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there's a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it's closed. So there's me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they've got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopkeeper and his son... that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really, but sure enough I got the M&Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show.--- Del Preston
Hee, Bernie Bickerstaff tricked the Clippers into basically giving the Bobcats the second pick in the draft last year, and tricked the Cavs into giving up their draft pick as well. So they get two lottery picks this year, and one of them will be no lower than fifth. Go Bobcats!
And... yeah. Dwayne Wade > Vince Carter any day of the week. Rest assured if the first round is Heat-Nets, Wade's gonna have a lot of fun.
(edited by ekedolphin on 19.4.05 0135) “Hi, Haley. Look, I found all these free swords. They were in my spleen.” --Elan, The Order of the Stick
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Rest assured if the first round is Heat-Nets, Wade's gonna have a lot of fun.
Actually, assuming the big fella comes back in time for that series (and if Shaq can walk, Shaq will play), since New Jersey barely has anything resembling an interior defense, HE'S the one who's gonna have some fun with the Nets. Although I expect the 3-headed, 18 fouls to give defense to be used with Collins, Kristic and Jabari Smith (Smith in particular is a walking, talking 6 fouls to give).
I'm optimistic about the playoffs, but I know it isn't going to be a cakewalk. Not with Detroit and Indiana out there.
(edited by Blanket Jackson on 20.4.05 1036) "Meet the kite-eating tree you son of a bitch!"
Originally posted by KawshenFinal game of the season here, there's only one playoff spot left. Here's the situation:
It's NJ at Boston and Cleveland at Toronto.
If the Nets win - the Nets are in. If the Cavs lose - the Nets are in. If the Nets lose and the Cavs win - the Cavs are in.
Sucks for the Raps, eh? If they win, they help get Vince Carter in the playoffs.
So do the raptors roll over and play dead for King James to potentially screw Vince and the Nets ? I wouldn't put it past them.
And what about the Celtics ? Tonight's game means nothing as did last night's game when Pierce and Walker both sat in the 4th quarter. Only Celtic Pride is on the line and that hasn't been evident around Boston for many a year....
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Rivers has already said he's pretty much gonna clear out the bench tonight, so bye-bye Cavs playoff hopes. :(
"Lita holds a Stone Cold Steve Austin home pregnancy test. What will the Bottom Line say? “Hell Yeah” or “Eh-EH”?" - Raw Satire, 6/15/04 (Apparantly ours said "Hell Yeah", 03/08/05)
Originally posted by whateverRivers has already said he's pretty much gonna clear out the bench tonight, so bye-bye Cavs playoff hopes. :(
Well, the Cavs have no one but themselves to blame for pulling a late season tank job for the 2nd year in a row. And I'm saying this as someone who would much rather see the Cavs in the playoffs over a NJ team led by Vince "I'll tank the season, forcing my current team to trade me for 40 cents on the dollar, then go back to be a 30 ppg scorer for my new team" Carter.
Buzz on the radio is that they have to make an all-or-nothing play for Phil Jackson now. They need the stability/credibility he would bring in order to lure free agents and keep LeBron happy. Lord knows I'm all for it, but will Jackson be game?
"Lita holds a Stone Cold Steve Austin home pregnancy test. What will the Bottom Line say? “Hell Yeah” or “Eh-EH”?" - Raw Satire, 6/15/04 (Apparantly ours said "Hell Yeah", 03/08/05)
Originally posted by whateverMalone was also relieved of his coaching duties.
Buzz on the radio is that they have to make an all-or-nothing play for Phil Jackson now. They need the stability/credibility he would bring in order to lure free agents and keep LeBron happy. Lord knows I'm all for it, but will Jackson be game?
I think that Jackson would jump at it if they can figure out a way to keep Z and add oh, I don't know, Michael Redd? I think Jackson would love to win a title with LeBron so he can stick it to Kobe and prove that he can win with a team that wasn't right on the brink of a championship when he took over.
Phil Jackson has more rings than he has fingers....do you REALLY think he cares about proving himself to Kobe, or anyone at this point? Given the nonsense he just went through in LA (and the Reinsdorf/Krause stuff in Chicago), you'd think that Jackson would want an ownership/GM situation that was entirely stable before he took the job.
So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn't go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there's a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it's closed. So there's me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they've got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopkeeper and his son... that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really, but sure enough I got the M&Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show.--- Del Preston
Originally posted by Big BadPhil Jackson has more rings than he has fingers....do you REALLY think he cares about proving himself to Kobe, or anyone at this point? Given the nonsense he just went through in LA (and the Reinsdorf/Krause stuff in Chicago), you'd think that Jackson would want an ownership/GM situation that was entirely stable before he took the job.
Yeah, I do, actually. Jackson has a pretty impressive ego _ which you can't blame him for _ and I think that the chance to work his magic on a team that is in the situation that Cavs are in would appeal to him. Anytime Jackson is mentioned among the great coaches, the fact that he took over two teams that were right on the verge of greatness is brought up as a mark against him. If he were to take the Cavs to a championship, it would shut a lot of people up.
But then on the other hand, even if he won championships in Cleveland, Phil detractors would still point out that he has always had very good players on his teams. Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe, LeBron ...
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