Berto

I wouldn't be able to handle a Mark Jackson hire. He's my least favorite basketball related person on the planet. That being said, I don't really have any suggestions beyond stating the obvious: hiring someone right now is a stupid idea. Any responsible management team would want the full array of candidates at their disposal. Most of those coaches are currently employed.

OT: The NBA employee responsible for the use of "Return of the Mack" for commercials/broadcasts is a hero.

Reading over 6 pages dedicated to the value of Kyle O'Quinn brought back some neat memories. This place would never be the same if arguments over the importance of a 10th man ceased to exist. I like the guy - and there's always room on a team for a hardworking big - he's just not a difference maker in terms of being on the team or not.

Everyone is "injury prone" when it comes to getting elbowed in the face. With that being said, hopefully he has a speedy recovery.

Ball Junkie and a MagLeeto reference - I've gone back in time to 2008.

It was nice hearing the Clippers broadcaster mistakenly say "Olapedo" for a quarter.

I missed the game. How much of the outcome was based on Brooklyn being awful?

Do you guys actually watch preseason games in there entirety? It would be a minor miracle if I made it to the second half of one of these things. I almost put them on the same level as WNBA games, but I wouldn't want to disrespect players capable of making layups.

I'm sure JD did.

Fair enough. I was mainly objecting to the notion those players struggled early in their careers, but point taken. I have a hard time associating the expected growing pains of 18 year old superstars in the NBA with the very real struggles most NBA rookies experience. I know Mr.Assists was merely trying to stunt the expectations of a spectacular season from Oladipo, it's just that guys like Kobe and Lebron are playing in separate sandboxes from everyone else, and their struggles would be a resounding success for 99% of all the rookies to ever play in the league.

Pacific Rim is the only summer blockbuster I've loved since Star Trek (09) and The Dark Knight. I've been lukewarm on all the other big spectacle stuff. I wish more people like Guillermo Del Toro tackled these projects so some thematic vision could replace the dull blueprints all these things follow in look and feel. (I'm looking at you Zach Snyder.) Pacific Rim was a mash-up of a thousand other things, yet it still felt fresh because Del Toro put his own stamp on it.

Both Kobe and Lebron were All-Stars by their second year in the league. I don't think even the best projections would put Oladipo in that kind of company.

Never disagree with Clairvoyant Bill.

People still argue about the pros vs. college stuff? Most of the upper echelon players in college basketball either never make it to the NBA, or they can't survive very long once they do. And those are the best players in college (there aren't many). Most college teams have rosters full of guys that don't play much ball after they graduate. The worst NBA team still has at least 10 professional players on it (let's say the 11th and 12th man shouldn't be there), that still leaves two times the amount of pro players that even the best college team will have. The NBA team wouldn't even have to try very hard to win rather easily. I remember when people were saying Alabama could give Jacksonville a run for their money. The thing is, they'd have to call the game off early, otherwise, they'd be putting the health of the college players at risk.

I like how Overeem kept walking straight into those high and front kicks with that nonchalant attitude of his. One would think he would've stopped doing that after Browne threw several of them, and after he got knocked out in his last fight for basically the same reason. And I hope Chael Sonnen gets more fights against strictly standup fighters, because I don't want him to go away.