This heat team is better than last year's boston team, boston took the lakers to 7 games, there is no way we would get crushed by LA. You are severely underestimating not only the impact wade and lebron are gonna have, but are talking of Bosh as if he doesn't. He is one of the top 15, top 10 depending on who you talk to(if you subscribe to hollinger's efficency stats, top 5) players in the NBA. Every single one of these players is better than their equivalent on boston when they became the big three, let alone this past season.
Not so fast on that either. Mike Miller is better than alot of what Orlando has. So is Udonis Haslem.
Dude if you really believe that then you have zero idea how sports gambling works, lets pretend the Heat do mesh well in year 1, the Lakers would still be the 2nd best team in the league? And Vegas has some big plan to make lots of money by banking that AT WORST the 2nd best team doesnt win it all. Really.
I saw the games. So did you. but they don;t matter now, since dawg tells me that Orlando was not "trying"
Ask yourself this....on the bolded part.. WHO are you talking too? it seems YOU don't know how sports gambling works. They don't make money on a side. They make money by balancing their books. It is a FACT that by making the Heat a 8-5 favorite, that they are BEGGING to get money on the lakers. Just a fact.
Oh James Dolan doesnt care about Okafor's contract so much as the salary cap ramifications from that contract would hamper any team. Also, I doubt you guys would give up Oden. If he can get healthy and continue to develop his post game he could live up to that lofty draft status in my opinion. Hes a tremendous player on the defensive end. The closest thing I have seen to him defensively was Ben Wallace and Wallace didnt have the size/bulk that Oden has even though Wallace benched like 500LB. Bayless pretty much has been a disappointment as a 4th overall pick. The Knicks have just as much talent/expirings they could move and I have to believe that Randolph is better then anything the Blazers would actually move. You always take a good big man over a good wing player... Curry Azubuike is a non guaranteed deal Toney Douglas Anthony Randolph I tend to agree. It definitely would annoy the hell out of me if my team didnt have the potential to become an elite team. Still, I would much prefer a more interesting league where players have less power. I tend to agree. The only team challenging the Heat in the East for the foreseeable future would be a Knicks team that could roll out Paul-Gallo-Melo-Amare-whoever at SG. Youre going to need 4 great options to beat 2 elite options and 1 great options. I hate to say it but its true. The problem with Howard will always be his FT %. As long as its that low, teams can always foul him and now your best player cant make a FT that puts pressure on the surrounding players. IF Dwight is ever going to go from a decent offensive player to a great offensive player the best thing he can do is hit 75% of his FT's. take away the option to foul and make teams stop him. Until he does that, I'm not sure you can count him as anything more then a 3rd option offensively for a championship team. What the hell did I ever do to you bro! Eh, IF the knicks are able to get Melo and Paul with Gallo and Amare I could easily envision a scenario where both teams may get 2-3 championships over the next 6 years and the Lakers may sprinkle in 1-2 more as long as the current cast is together. Their length with an odom-Gasol-Bynum frontline is a difference maker. You would think so but apparently not enough for some people!
If they trade for CP3 they will HAVE to unload jameer nelson and rashard lewis, two of their better players. Looking at their roster right now, the count down for best players is probably Wade/lebron wade/lebron CP3 howard Bosh Vince Carter Haslem Mike miller Redick and then the rest don't really particularly matter. Orlando would ahve to trade what would give them a better supporting cast in order to land CP3. UD is better than any big other than howard that orlando has, miller is a better redick than redick. Q rich is probably better than james jones, but we're getting pretty far down the list at that point Point is Miami has the top 2 players, the 5th, and 5 out of the best 9. You give WAY too much credit to orlando's supporting cast considering the pieces they would need to trade, which would probably be even more than just jameer and rashard, but im being generous.
Fact huh? Yep Vegas is hoping we all put money on the Lakers because its not like the public isnt pounding the Heat or nothing, and the public usually gets laughed at while holding their ticket wondering how the hell they were so wrong. Vegas wants even money and will gladly take your juice, they set the odds that way. To say they are "begging" you to take L.A is a stretch, to proclaim its a fact they want money on the back to back champs is just dumb.
even if you give vince carter undue credit, we still have the next 2 best players after him by far. Orlando hasnt nothing really comparable to Haslem, and miller is a rich man's redick.
Boik, in the end, i still think Orlando and Portland are the only realistic trade partners.... But you are right...New York is the only tam with a realistic chance at their own big three. again...you gotta sellout on a Melo trade. that is step one.
Last years Celtics team was a little different in that they played spectacular overall team defense and made every rotation. How the Heat gel will be something to watch. There has to be some level of chemistry. Also the Celtics had enough length on the frontline to really affect Bynum. Kendrick Perkins is a lot better defensively and overall then Joel Anthony is. I agree that the Heat are far more talented with Wade, Bosh and Lebron all in their primes and KG/Allen/Pierce all over 31 but again, it may depend on how the Heat fill out their roster...
Well, the reason why they lower the odds is too make that particular bet less appealing, and make bettors consider putting their dollar on another, less favorable team. The lakers could be considered one such team
well, orlando isnt my team so i'm not sure if it will be pietrus or richardson. carter and lewis on the other two. who do you think starts pietrus or richardson
lets hear the Section 126 plan (seriously) I dont believe Portland and Orlando are anymore realistic then NY especially if NY is where Paul and melo want to go.
the heat have already filled out their roster for the most part. And the celtics didnt have any chemistry issues having never played with each other in theri lives, 315 have played with each other in a significant number of games, plus just the natural chemistry of being buddies, plus all three of these guys are known for playing unselfish basketball. i dont think chemistry is gonna be any kind of issue
Pietrus will be the starter imo, Richardson should only start vs Lebron. For whatever reason Lebron has always struggled a bit vs Q.
You are just wrong. The back to back champs are the Lakers. The Future bet line OPENED the day after Lebron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh signed. They installed the Heat as 8-5 favorites. when they had 4 guys under contract. Think about it. By that act alone, they are trying to get money on the Lakers. They DO NOT make money if all the money goes on one side and they have to drop the line to an even lower level than 8-5. YOU DO NOT balance books by dropping the line on the favorite. That is called, "chasing your juice" and is how line makers get fired. Their ideal setup is for plenty of money to come in on the lakers. THAT IS WHY they made the Heat a 8-5 favorite. In SHORT..they are BEGGING for people to take the Lakers.
This is a serious question, as i don't know the answer, who starts at power forward for the Magic if they trade lewis? Bass?
I tend to agree that it wont be an issue, especially if the big 3 want to make it work but they have to be willing to accept the coaching like the celtics big 3 were willing to accept coaching. I agree and its a point I raised a few pages ago. I cant see why New Orleans would want Nelson when Collison averaged 17-8-8 when Paul was out. They will want wing players and a center/shotblocker to put next to west. Their wing players are pretty marginal at this point though Marcus Thornton was an offensive force as a rookie when he was given the run.
thats because they got swamped with miami money. miami is the number one bet team according to bodog with LA close behind. the odds drop dramtically after that. Makes sense. If I can get Boston at 12/1 I only need to plunk down 100 to win the same amount as if i put down 750 on the heat (i think the calc is correct, just did it off the top of my head)
Just playing around, but if we keep Carter and unload Nelson and Lewis and Gortat, will we be able to go for a Paul/Melo/Howard trio?
Actually the player the Magic should be trying to get more then anyone else at PF would be a Luis Scola type. Someone who can do a lot of the dirty work, rebound, get some cheap hustle points, someone who can intimidate in the paint a bit so Dwight doesnt get stuck with so many cheap fouls. Basically he needs his Oakley.
can you or someone else give me a quick scouting report on him? i know very little about him other than what his stats show, and they show someone who rebounds at a lower rate than joel anthony(who is a bad rebounder) minus the ability to block shots
Here is my plan: I call Denver and do not say NO to ANY proposal they throw at me. Except of course for Amare. he is the only untouchable. If I get that done...you need a ball handler of course. You either tough out the year (Melo WILL NOT LEAVE NEW YORK) and then go into free agency, or you move on Parker. But you have to start on a superstar. melo is that guy. I would just worry about that. That alone is enough for the 5th seed in the east. You get the ball handler and bench pieces, and you are a ECF contender. Joe Johnson resigning really screws you.That ridiculous contract he got was a killer.
I still dont know who in their right mind is taking the last 3 -4 years of Lewis' deal at like 17M per? Really, who in their right mind is taking that deal on? Isiah Thomas isnt a GM anymore.... Hate to tell ya, I think you guys are stuck with that unless someone really gets hooked on the pipe.
They tried to get the hustle guy(granted minus the paint intimidation) by offering a lot of money to Haslem, but he took less to play with the 315. So not really a success on their part.
which means........ books are un-balanced and a linemaker is fearing for his job. nevermind the fact that taking anything less than 6-1 on a future bet is ridiculous.
Heat vs Magic in the playoffs would definitly be the series to watch in the eastern conference no doubt. Would be very entertaining.
Very good hands. Good post defender. Terrible help defender. Good on the offensive boards but bad on the defensive boards. Not reliable at 15 feet. Very good with power moves in the paint. Does not alter any shots. Better than average at running the court.
agree. you can never predict injuries. i think the thunder at 15-1 is actually an interesting bet. likely you lose but it would be an interesting addition or hedge to money on a favorite like LA. If you like the Heat I think coupling the bet with a hedge on Orlando or Boston wouldnt be a bad idea. You can basically cover your bet with 10-20%