NBA training camps

All over the league, NBA training camps will be opening tomorrow. Thank heavens! As a Blazer follower I have many interesting story lines to watch - the arrival of Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez being the biggies. How coach Macmillan distributes minutes will be the next most interesting.

One question still haunts me: what does all this have to do with camps or camping?

Also, what's the big story going into your team's training camp?

I thought they began today?
big story in Bulls camp: Ben Gordon hasn't agreed to any offer yet, but will attend camp. Dude seriously overvalues himself, but is a total class act and any team would be lucky to have him around.

Big story in Warriors camp: will Monta get punished for messing up his ankle/shoulder by scootering (wtf?) around? If so, how?

they should just be happy he's not Jay Williams part dos. But penalize him by making him wear lead shoes the throughout camp. His vert will only be 48" then.

OMG! Greg Oden suffered a minimally sprained ankle during his first team practise! OMG! This obviously portends the Coming Worldwide Depression.

http://bojack.org/images/sambowie3.jpg

Nothing is certain in life, but the Blazers could lose a key player to injury and still be a fantastic team. The player it would hurt most to lose is Brandon Roy. He is more vital than Oden for the team's future excellence.

Agreed. Should be a fun team to watch, regardless. Are they gonna get more national TV exposure this year?

didn't get a good look at them last year. another lakers-blazers rumble is long overdue

in Grizzlies land, we're in the midst of an epic Darko Milicic-Marc Gasol-Hamed Haddadi center battle.

awes

I picture bony elbows, flying high.

it's good to finally see some highlights of oden dunking on people in an nba uniform

I look forward to his thundering blocks from the weak side.

dude looks crazy fragile though

This guy us back!
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-10/42796894.jpg

*is

The Talented Mr. Bynum.

D Rose very impressive in camp, reportedly. Fellow players marvel at his quickness. Source from within the team and another from outside both say he's been the best player there (yeah not saying much, I realize). Almost assuredly will start opening night.

^mind you post-draft both Paxson and Vinny of the Black were espousing the "bring him along slowly" school of though.

this season is gonna be way better than even last season

D Rose very impressive in camp

It will fun to hear the play-by-play announcer saying, "Derrick pumps; he pumps again. Gusher!"

Did you guys hear that Magic Johnson faked having AIDS.

lol hwatt

http://content.ytmnd.com/content/f/2/f/f2f5b24ef2634073a79a9311be969e4d.jpg

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/1010/nba_g_artest_412.jpg

so...if a suspension doesn't cause you to miss any more games than you were already going to, but does cause you to lose $3 million, you basically just got fined $3 million, right?

Is that a koan?

(Answer to your question is: yes.)

bill walker was in my drem last night - pretty psyched abt this dude

n/h ?

Bulls are perplexed as to how to play with a guard who is, y'know, athletic. Sefalosha threw a pass from 6 feet away to Rose on the break that, after Rose leapt for the alley oop (y'now, like NBAers are wont to do), arrived at his ankles.
Deng may be the most overhyped player in recent memory. Dude should give 20% of his paychecks to Antoine Walker.

Friend wants to bet $100 Toronto vs Lakers in Finals, with me giving him Vegas odds. Should I take it?

Tell him to bet it in Las Vegas. They'll give him Vegas odds, too.

Las Vegas can even out its losses by accepting thousands of bets on all sides of the equation. You would either win $100 or lose a ridiculous amount. Unless you feel totally comfortable with losing the bet, don't take it.

wahts the odds?

I don't know. I never bet on games.

But since the Celtics are the reigning champs and their '08-'09 roster will still include Pierce, KG and Ray Allen, and because the Western Conference is still the most competitive top to bottom, I would expect that any Finals pairing that omits the Celtics would be at least 12-1 odds.

hey are we doing fantasy basketball this year? might still be time to throw a league together.

I always thought Deng was overrated too. When Paxson deemed him off-limits in Pau Gasol trade talks a couple of years ago, my reaction was, um, why

In other Bulls-Grizzlies connections, Im thinking O.J. Mayo is going to have a very Ben Gordon-like rookie season on the offensive end, 12-17 jumpshot explosions alternating with 5-17 jumpshot implosions. (He is much better defensively, though.)

I would try to do fantasy, probably.

OJ can play above the rim a lot moreso than BG too, no? Paxson says he hasn't fallen in love with his own draft picks, but I think it's pretty obvious he overvalues every single one of them.
I never was seriously considering taking the Lakers/Raptors bet, cause like I tell this friend, gambling is for losers. Wanted to get some reaction on him picking Toronto.

deng is a solid borderline allstar who would be perfect on a v good team cause of his versatility and low-mistake style of play

totonto could be v good if jermaine oneal somehow gets healthy - which we all know will never ever happen

an oneal/bosh frontline is absolutely terrifying defensively and oneal adds the inside presence theyve been missing on offense - bargnani can slide over and play some 3 and 4 where hes much more effective - bosh owns the high post and theyve got shooters and a preternaturally mistake free distributor on the perimeter

sounds good to me

yeah i thought the flaw in my friend's line of thinking lies with O'Neal being a force. You never know though.

deng has little to no defensive instincts, doesn't understand the concept of passing, is awkward with the ball, and has a grand total of two moves. compare him to another borderline all-star small forward like tayshaun and he doesn't fare well. he would be good on a very good team, but he's got a helluva price tag at the moment.

id take deng over prince every day of the week

I'm probably overly critical of him cause of his "promise" and the fact that Bulls never seem to get fluid, athletic guys who can have a good one-on-one repetoire (not that Tayshaun would fit that bill, by any means).

deng im sure will look better picking his spots in a real offense w/a legit 1st option

like you know michael beasley

haha
i'm also sick of Nocioni. Please someone, take him away.

taking that left turn at albuquerque, one day at a time

good for him

Latest stir from Blazers is that coach Macmillan is strongly considering naming a 19 yr old kid named Nicolas Batum, a rookie from France that they drafted late in the first round, as his starting small forward to begin the season.

That's because the guy who started that position most of last year (Martell Webster) has a badly sprained ankle. Truth is, Batum would be a stopgap. But it's funny how stopgaps can sometimes become something longer term.

Anyway, coach likes Batum for his defense, which is always nice to hear about a rookie.

saw Batum's big breakout game in our preseason game against the jazz, he's like the wet dream of every ESPN draft analyst. "Plays bigger than he is." "Incredibly long." "Nose for the ball." "A young Tayshun Prince." "An athletic freak."

people were really talking up batum a couple years ago, saying all that ^^ stuff, acting like he'd be a high lottery pick in 2008. i think he fell b/c of a bad year in france, but it'll be interesting to see if he can contribute this year

This article about the Bobcats is great:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkByUQQQO20Py4C1W35Kohc5nYcB?slug=aw-bobcats102008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

here is a working link

why aren't we talking about jonathan bender retiring two years ago?

Jonathan Rene Bender (born January 30, 1981 in Picayune, Mississippi) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA.

Jonathan Bender has Donald and Willie Mae as his parents. He took frequent trips into New Orleans with his father until Donald died when Jonathan was 12. By the time he was 13 years old, he was six foot seven.

>hey are we doing fantasy basketball this year? might still be time to throw a league together.

we are!! see other thread- get on ilh'ers!

Sounds like DeMarcus Nelson is your opening-day point guard for the Warriors. He seems like he might be pretty good!

some preseason games on ESPN tonight

I am sure both teams will play hard, no matter who is on the floor. ;)

Time to revive thread!

Local Blazer scuttlebutt is that Oden is slimmer and quicker starting camp this fall. This is very good news. He bulked up a lot in the weight room during his knee rehab and it seemed to slow him down a bit on the floor last season.

It is fun to have a good team to look forward to watching. I am curious to see how well Houston does this year, too. The Lakers, of course, will be even queerer than usual with Artest there to give Odom some pointers on acting strange.

a little extra drama in lakerland will be great! can't wait

this season is gonna be way better than even last season

CHECK

if lamar, andrew, and fish are in as good shape as they say they are put me down for another. the bench has nowhere to go but up and i think the point guard competition is all to the good. don't know this thomas kelati fellow tho

I'm pretty excited about following the Warriors this year. Especially since the Knicks are boring now and the Clippers are probably going to be pretty good.

The Grizzlies and the Warriors are only teams that seem like guaranteed lols.

that's good news for Odom; it'll take pressure off his knees

Taj Gibson very impressive in 1st Bulls preseason game. Granted his competition was as stiff as wet paper, but he played with more confidence, patience, and understanding than, for instance, lol Tyrus Thomas.

re: knees. Odom == Oden??

err yeah. good news for Odom is that he will probably deck Artest before the year is over. I read Duncan also slimmed about 15 lbs to reduce the pressure on his knees.

Odom decking Artest would be a special treat!

Anybody have NBAtv HD added to their cable? Nothing but "Real Training Camp" so far, which is very light on actual training footage and heavy on 10 minute uninterrupted shots of, say, Odom standing around.

cspan for hoops

I’ve heard in the rumor mill, from a few objective insiders, that Stephen Curry has been giving Monta the business in practice. Specifically, Curry’s been pulling and nailing mid-range jumpers at will.

wonder if Curry might be worth gambling a fantasy draft pick on. I doubt it, but could be a good waiver pick up. I had both S-Jack and Crawford on my team last year; never again. fool me once, etc.