Million dollar athletes with poor eating habits disgust me. I mean, you have an excuse as a rookie, but this is JR’s 4th year in the league!

I love Monta’s game and his inclusion on this list. I’d stay away from BD next year in early rounds of fantasy drafts.

Even though the Raptors have a WL record of 7-14 there’s no denying that Calderon’s performance over the entire season has been instrumental in getting his team to the playoffs, albeit inside of a weak conference.

Speaking of the playoffs, I’m curious if home-court advantage really is significant. With regards to Lebron, media reports that he’s playing despite battling back spasms/back pain so that his team can secure home court advantage. I don’t buy that gimmick…I think the guy was aiming for an MVP award. I’m not a medical expert, but playing a Lebron with a messed up back significantly raises the risk of him suffering further injury. I’m also not a statistician, but weighing the relative importance of home-court advantage to a healthy Lebron for the Cavs seems like a no-brainer. Personally, if I were the coach, now that Lebron is pretty much out of the MVP race, I would rest him BIG time, make sure he’s healthy and ready to perform come playoff time (in 9 days), take out the Wiz in the 1st round 4-1 and prepare the Celtics in the 2nd round.

A. Carter = 23 minutes, 9 points, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, -9 while on the floor
JR Smith = 26 minutes, 24 points, 4 threes, 3 boards, +18 while on the floor

I know that some people didn’t want to give JR Smith any props, but he and Najera (who deserves plenty of props as well) were HUGE last night and Denver wouldn’t have won without them.

I’m not counting the Warriors out yet, but it’s gonna be tough…

Dexter – Is LaMArcus really at 245 right now? He doesnt look it to me. I even went to the game the last time the Blazers came into town, but I was pretty far away heh. Obviously, if he turns into a Sheed minus the headache the Blazers will be something special.

Brandan Wright’s length is ridiculous. He’s one of the few guys I’ve seen who can meet Josh Smith at his apex. And he’s got a surprisingly good feel for the game. Biedrins & Kirilenko? I would LOVE to see those 2 guys play together!

As for JR Smith, I have to disagree. Looking at his stats is only part of the picture. He’s been a selfish and immature player for most of his career. In the last 3 months, he’s improved immensely. However, it’s hard to take it too seriously considering he’s playing for a contract.

I think he’s a decent player, and I think he has the potential to develop into something special. But Byron Scott and George Karl, two decent coaches, have both talked about JR’s many issues. It’s going to take more than a half a season of good play to overcome his history – at least for me to give him props.

I’m a huge Biedrins fan, and Brandan Wright’s coming along too. Keep those two guys around, they’ll make for a great front-line in a couple of years.

Good point on the upside/polish argument.. I totally agree. One thing I will say though is that Joe Smith was never able to dominate the paint because he never topped 235 lbs throughout his career. Even now, I believe he only weighs 225.

With that said, Lamarcus came in as a rookie weighing around 230. He is playing now at 245. That’s why people who have watched him closely can see a clear improvement in his low post game. His defense in slightly underrated, but I think the most underrated thing about him is his work ethic. I can easily see him getting up to 250-255 lbs. in a couple seasons, if not next season.

Greg will be a tremendous post presence, but it’ll take years before he can fulfull his potential. I think it’s Lamarcus that’s gonna make the game easier for Greg for his first couple of years.

And to answer your question, the closest comparison I have to Lamarcus is former blazer Rasheed Wallace, who by the way weighs 230 lbs. and has no trouble defending premier power forwards. Their fadeaway jumpers are so similar, it’s freaky. Lamarcus doesn’t have the 3 pt range like Sheed’s, but it’s getting there. Actually, I’ve heard a lot of people refer to Lamarcus as a “Rasheed Wallace, minus the headache.”

I wasn’t trying to say that Tyrus Thomas is going to be a better player than Aldridge nor that the Bulls got the better end of that trade. Clearly, Aldridge is superior. I was just pointing out the types of forwards that get drafted in the top 5 these days.

Ty Thomas is a guy with major upside but no polish whatsoever. Aldridge’s game is nicely polished, but I don’t think he has the major upside that I would like (and expect) from a top 2 pick. That’s why I mentioned Rudy Gay. He’s got polish AND major upside, and I think he’ll challenge Roy as the top player from that draft class in a few years.

This is coming from a Warriors fan who watched them draft Joe Smith #1 overall in 1995, ahead of Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett. Nice polish to Joe’s game out of college, but little upside. Again, I’m not saying that Aldridge won’t be better than Joe Smith, but I see a resemblance. At least LaMarcus is a little longer, but Joe was never able to dominate in the paint because he wasn’t big enough and strong enough, and I wonder if Aldridge will suffer the same fate. Of course, if Greg Oden turns out to be as good as some people think, that will help LaMarcus out a LOT (Joe Smith had a washed-up Rony Seikaly, Felton Spencer, Andrew DeClerq, and Todd Fuller to play with).

I’m not trying to hate. I like Portland and I like Aldridge, I would just like to see more from him before I give him some props. If I were to shout out a Portland forward right now, it would be Travis Outlaw. I’m curious tho…do you have a comparison for the type of player that you think Aldridge is going to be?