Ok this is for Bagels and all the rest of the NBA nuts here. Im asking you guys to help inform me on things around the league I may have missed. Be as in-depth as you want. Talk about any of the 30 teams here, doesnt matter to me. As an NBA junkie just reading the standings and stats doesnt tell me nearly enough about whats going on.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The Hawks are terrible
Scottie Pippen is still an embarassment to the league
Duhon is way better than Derrick Rose
The light came on for Tyrus Thomas and hes awesome
Ben Gordon is completely legitimate NBA player
Noah brings energy
Kevin Mchale is aiming for coach of the year
Stephon Marbury is hitting his stride

Aaron Gray is the most dominate big man ever to lace up sneakers.

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Rose is better than even the most ardent supporters of him being drafted #1 thought. I don't think it would shock most if he ends up at the same level as Chris Paul or Deron Williams.
The team however is terrible and I wouldn't recommend buying a jersey of any player on the team not named Rose. There will likely be a major overhaul of the team in the next month or two.

The Celtics are probably better than last year. Rajon Rondo has closed the gap in how good he is as compared to some of the others.

Kobe Bryant hasn't raped anyone this year but it's still early.

People seem to be huge believers in the Lakers because they say Bynum is coming in to his own. I'm not so sure.

Lebron James is doing everything he can to make it clear that he wants to go to New York when he can.

Devin Harris has been a steal for the Nets. The Kidd for Harris trade may go down as an all-time dumb move.

The Trailblazers young team is starting to come in to it's own. They should continue to improve.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I thought I would end up being right about Rondo. From the only game I saw this season of his, the Bulls game, he just still looks really talented but really raw. He still needs to add alot of discipline to his game. I see him continuing to improve. It would help if he had a better coach though.

You really think the Bulls will do a major overhaul? It seems like the refusal to do that has been Pax's big weakness.

Trailblazers seem pretty good, but Oden's stats are pretty weak? Have you seen many of his games? If he playing better than his stats would indicate?

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I don't see how they can't do it at this point. His hand is forced. There is actually some talent on the Bulls but not the right talent to work with Rose. I also think he's going to try and position themselves for a chance at the Lebron/Wade/Bosh/Melo derby that is coming.

Here's a pretty cool clip of Rose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAA8mLz8aJ0

By the way, the block was a goaltend.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good call on Harris, Rick. He has single handedly led them to some victories and has been really impressive.

And bryan, the Hawks have been great. They took out Orlando and New Orleans on the road and had two close losses to the Celtics, one of them w/o Josh Smith. I think once the integrate Smith back into the flow after his absence you will see that they are the 3rd best team in the East

The Cavs, to me, have been really impressive. I thought the addition of Mo Williams would help them but they have been nearly unstoppable. Beating teams by 20+ on a routine basis. There is no question that the East hierarchy is the Celtics & Cavs, followed by Hawks, Pistons and several other pretenders.

The Spurs have started slowly due to a myriad of injuries, mainly ones to Ginoboili and Parker. They're all back now though, and the play of backup George Hill and Roger Mason in their absence might prove to be valuable come playoff time. I think they might still remain a middle of the pack team but come playoff time they will be very dangerous and I certainly wouldn't want to play them in the first round.

The Lakers have been dominating in the West despite a few recent setbacks, which I attribute to a full season of playing with Bynum and Gasol together.

The Suns made another bold move in trading for Jason Richardson. In the short run it appears to have paid off but I wonder if their window is closed forever

As for the rookies, Rick is right in that Rose has surpassed any expectations you could have had for him. He clearly plays at a pace much higher than everyone else on the court and is making good decisions with the rock while also shooting a good percentage. I think one they clear out some dead weight and get some pieces around him that complement him, he will be someone who leads the Bulls to a championship or very close

That goaltend almost ruins the highlight for me. Almost...

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This is my signature...

The best part about that clip was something I read in a Bill Simmons column also. He's blowing guys off the dribble that are playing 5 feet off him at times. Thats unreal. So Im assuming somewhere in Bulls threads Nas has admitted he was wrong on Rose?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Youve been successfully baited Bagels.

Is it safe to say despite Kevin Love's good rebound numbers that McHale made yet another mistake in trading Mayo? So far he looks the part

It looks like it to me, and when the NBA Previews came out, the Memphis Grizzlies' guard, the Portland TrailBlazers' Greg Oden & the Miami Heat's Michael Beasley were all mentioned ahead of the Bulls' own Derrick Rose among candidates for the Rookie of the Year. I don't care if he missed a year due to microfracture surgery, but Oden is NOT A ROOKIE! Unfortunately for Mayo, the Grizzlies are dreadful at the box office and fans are missing out on a pretty good ballplayer...

one thing about Rondo that frustrates me is the fake behind the back pass that turns into a layup where he travels...every time.

Rose has more talent and potential in his pinky than Rondo has in his entire body. If he is ever separated from any of the big three for a whole season, I think you'll see a different player. He's better than Duhon though...

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

GREAT point, CoF...I totally agree

I know plenty of others travel and carry but that one bugs me all the time because its so blatant

Mayo is arguably the ROY so far. Rose will ultimately be the better player.

Brandon Roy is the shit and Greg Oden is depressed cause he sucks.

Oklahoma City might end up in single digit wins for the season

Knicks are clearing out space for Bosh and LeBron.

Bulls should trade everyone but Rose, try and rip off Minnesota for Jefferson or get Bosh, Toronto has to know he's bolting in a year.

The rest of those Simeon guys Rose went to hS with have already funked out of college and one is in Jail on Robbery charges.

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Everyone in the league travels. This is no surprise whatsoever and I dont think you can discredit Rondo for it when guys like Iverson and Wade have made careers of it. How many times did Wade get calls in the 2006 Finals traveling? Rondo is clearly a very talented PG and should make the all star team soon.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Rose, Rondo, and Harris seem to be the top pure PGs in the East.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

that particular one is so blatant, it reminds me of another Celtic. Remember the sports Illustrated picture of Bob Cousy doing his move? It was a frame by frame photo that clearly showed he traveled when he made the move...I'll take Rondo over Wade for worst travel.

Plus I still think he's garbage compared with Iverson and Wade. I'm not saying he's not serviceable, but then so was Kenny Smith...

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

i'm disappointed with the sixers, big time.

give them some time to gel

Coming from a lifelong Saints, Cubs, and Sixers fan? At least you have been here before.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I think they're better without Brand. Just my opinion.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

doesn't get any easier...

Theres talk of Marbury joining the Celtics. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3804977 I think this would be a terrible decision by them. Hes washed up, and has repeatedly shown to be a team cancer. Ubuntu would suffer.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I have to think that the three amigos would tell Marbury to shut the F up if he got out of line or his ass would be punted as soon as he messed with the dynamic.

They also have Cassell, not exactly known as a peacemaker. Granted he doesn't play, but still

I'll repeat what I said in another section. Marbury will be fine on the Celtics until the end of this season...then he'll become Starbury again. Oh, and his mother can go get hit by a bus anytime.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

i'll definitely take a 7 game winning streak *without* elton brand being healthy, but it's a shame they lost a close one today against the mavs. they seem to be playing better. i like louis williams. iggy needs to continue to improve if they're going to have a chance at a post season appearance, but i still don't know that they belong there yet.

then again it's only january. let's go sixers!

I actually really like their team, especially defensively. I don't think they're contending for a title, but I think they'll get a lower seed and could cause problems for one of the top 3. Miller is playing great. They're tough inside even without Brand. Only disappointment really is Dalembert.