nba 2012-2013 NBA Regular Season

quote Demonfurby

It's smart. They would've had no flexibility in free agency if they signed him to a max deal. Now they can try to add to their team when Martin's contract is up. Hell, he may take a pay cut to stay with easily the best team he's ever been on and they would STILL have money to spend on a big name free agent. And that's only the financial side of it. Martin can play without the ball in his hands. What was the biggest problem with the Thunder's "big 3"? They ALL need the ball in order to be effective offensively. Getting rid of Harden frees up possessions for Durant and Westbrook and makes their offense more efficient.Nothing stupid about it. Trades like this is why the Thunder have the most promising future of any team in the league.

Plus Harden's a bitch and I'm going to enjoy watching him and Linn in the same backcourt.

quote Jecht44

Agreed, OKC got a steal out of that trade. Lamb is gonna flourish. The Lakers still dont have good 3 point shooting so Im praying whatever Mile Brown cooks up, perimeter defense is near the top of the list.
As for Lakers vs Heat if it does happen, the Lakers have some major advantages. Dwight is gonna destroy them in the paint UNLESS Lebron guards him (which is gonna happen). I expect Pau to play like the player we traded Kwame Brown for. With Nash spacing the floor and running the plays, Kobe and Pau can run off the ball and catch and shoot. Kobe is near unguardable when he gets to his hot spots. Wade will play good defense on him but Kobe when comfortable will score over anything. The key to the Lakers winning is keeping Lebron out the paint which Dwight is gonna do his best to avchieve. The one thing that worries me is the bench. We havent seen the full potential of this bench since the rotations are all wacky in preseason.. But if Jodie Meeks can remain consistent and Antwon Jamison can find his game, they could anchor the second unit well. Miami's bench has improved alot but really only specialize in spaced out shooting. I honestly cant form a proper opinion until I see how well both teams function in the first few months.

quote sublimetool

^ i always thought nash was a good 3-PT shooter, but yeah with him, kobe and dwight are gonna have hay-days...

pretty disappointed thunder couldn't cut a deal with Harden... even though he didn't do much in the finals this last season besides flop around and choke, but i liked him... haven't heard of Jeremy Lamb, and have never liked Kevin Martin, even when he was on the Kings, which is my team... him and shawn marion have the ugliest form when it comes to shooting a basketball, they seriously look like 6th graders putting one up

quote tyranitar24

It's going to take a long time to determine the winner of that Harden deal. Thunder are making a risky move, Harden may have been a ghost for the all of the Finals, but to not give them at least one more shot is kind of shocking to me.

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I would have expected one more attempt before splitting the team.

quote tyranitar24

Boston may have lost this first game but damn is that bench better than it was last season. Once they gel, they're going to be improved. Heat need to watch out.