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djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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The ShowGirl: Hey everybody, Chad Ford will hop in shortly to answer all those NBA questions. Send 'em in now!
Chad Ford: Hey everyone. Thanks for coming. It was great to see the NBA in full swing last night. Lots to talk about. Let's roll.
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Wayne (Cleveland): What did you think of the Cavs last night? Do you think they'll make the playoffs, and does Lebron have a good chance at winning the MVP?
Chad Ford: I picked LeBron as my favorite for the MVP last week and he did nothing to disappoint in the opening game. If he's going to start shooting like that ... he's unstoppable and the Cavs will be scary good.
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Greg (Los Angeles): What about the Bucks? Two impressive victories on back to back nights. Do you see them suprising people and getting into the playoffs?
Chad Ford: Once they made the Magloire trade, I thought they were a legit playoff cotender. If T. J. Ford can stay healthy and keep playing the way he's playing ... and they can keep getting solid performances from Andrew Bogut, they'll be a playoff team. The Central division is DEEP.
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Keith (San Antonio, TX): How bad does Nene's injury really hurt the Denver Nuggets? Are they still a playoff contender and the favorite to win their division?
Chad Ford: I think it's really going to hurt. He had a great pre-season and looked like a contender to be a breakout player this season. The Nuggets are now very thin on the front line and neither Marcus Camby nor Kenyon Martin are Iron Men. They'll miss games with various injuries and when they do, Denver will struggle. Tough blow for Denver and Nene. They must be jinxed. Remember that Voshon Lenard went down with a season ending injury in their first game last season.
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Jeff (LA, CA): I know it's just one game, but the Clippers will win the Pacific Division. Your thoughts?
Chad Ford: Let's not get ahead of ourselves ... however if the Kings keep playing this bad, someone has to win the division, though my guess is that both the Suns and the Warriors are ahead of the Clipps in the West.
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Chirs (Bloomington, IN): Chad...can Chris Duhon turn out to be the best player out of Williams, Boozer, Dunleavy, Battier? His starting began the bulls turnaround, his shot is improving, and he is already team capt.
Chad Ford: It was one game Chris. An impressive one, but one game. Still, what I think is interesting about your question is that once again the question of how good are Duke players is going to be raised. That was a loaded team yet all the players that came out of it are just good, not great.
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Brad (Albuquerque): Hey Chad..what's up with Mello taking a possible game winning shot with ten seconds left when he couldve held for a last second shot?..How come he's gone downward while Lebron is gaining MVP status?
Chad Ford: What a terrible decision and really, a pretty shaky game for Melo. He's not in the same universe with LeBron right now. If they redid the draft, Melo would probably have been drafted fourth behind LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I think all three will end up being better pros that Melo.
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Jim (Detroit): Chad, the Pistons two weakest spots last year were there bench and offense. Last night stats: Bench, 30 points, 15 rebounds. Offense: 108 points, 56% shooting, 30 assists. Plus, there defense is just as good as before. I know they were playing the sixers, but don't you think they should get even better as they get more used to the offense and the bench gets more minutes?
Chad Ford: The Pistons are going to be great. I don't think there's any question about it. It looks like Flip is going to fix their offense, their bench is deeper (picking up Mo Evans could turn out to be a big steal) and they're still playing great defense. None of this is a surprise. The reason many aren't picking them is because Indiana and Miami improved greatly in the summer as well. All three will be great this season. It's not disrespect. Personally, I think Indiana has a slight edge over Detroit ... but it's very slight.
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Greg (Los Angeles): Is Darius Miles finally going to play up to his talent level this year? It sure looked like it last night with 32 points and 11 rebounds.
Chad Ford: This is why I'm always uncomfortable with writing that young players are busts. Miles just turned 24 years old. Who knows whether he can keep playing like he did last night, but it's possible. He has the talent, and he's still got a long career ahead of him. With that said ... a disappointing start for Kwame Brown in LA.
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Matt (Tucson): Chad, Why didn't Larry Brown get Channing Frye into the game last night? Why bother drafting a guy that high if you don't intend to develop him?
Chad Ford: Welcome to the Larry Brown era Knicks fans. Darko Milicic will now be taking your calls ...
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Fred (Atlanta): So let me get this straight... our best 3 players were swingmen, we passed on Chris Paul for a swingman, and we traded away all our draft picks for a swingman. Isn't there a problem here?
Chad Ford: Apparently Billy Knight believes you can win it all with five long athletic swingmen on the floor. I love Joe Johnson as a supporting player on a good team. But as the lead guy? I think you're going to see a lot more games from him like you did last night. He's not a point guard or a lead scorer.
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Darryl (Berkeley, CA): Chad, you're the only person with some faith in the warriors. After last night, Dunleavey still looked like his unconfident self, but Mikeal Peitrus is seriously the best defender on the team and has really improved his offense too. Do you see Dunleavey being traded and Peitrus taking over the starting spot?
Chad Ford: No. Not after the Warriors signed him to a $44 million extension. It was a curious decision because Dunleavy was one of their best trade assets. As it stands, he's very difficult to trade (because of base year compensation rules) both this season and next season. However, I agree that given the team's offensive firepower, playing a great defender like Pietrus makes a lot of sense.
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King, NJ: Hey Mr.Ford, It looks like the NETS are overhyped,they looked real bad last night against the bucks. Can they make noise in league with what they have now, or should there be a trade to make them better? Thanks for answering
Chad Ford: Let's not get carried away after ONE game. First of all, I think the Bucks are for real as long as TJ Ford can stay healthy. Two, it's one game. I still like the Nets and think they'll win the Atlantic. That will give them an automatic 3 seed ... so no need to panic ... yet.
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jason (winston-salem, nc): What are your impressions on the rookie point guard class so far. Does anyone stand out yet?
Chad Ford: Deron Williams was great last night for the Jazz. He's a perfect fit in their offense. Even though he didn't start, he will soon enough. Chris Paul has also been good and I believe, over time, will become the leading Rookie of the Year candidate. I think both players could be All-Stars someday. Raymond Felton is somewhere behind those two, but he did have an impressive preseason.
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Keith (Atlanta, Ga): Kobe hit another game-winning shot last night. I know he's go NO support on the frontline and a point guard named "smush" feeding him the rock, but how good are his MVP chances if he keeps up these performances?
Chad Ford: It just depends on how well his team plays. Kobe is a top five player in the league. However, the media rarely pick their MVP candidate from a losing team. If the Lakers surprise people and make the playoffs, he'll get serious consideration ... though I think everyone's itching to give it to LeBron.
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John (Portland, ME): Speaking of point guards...is Delonte West going to have a breakout year? He looked great last night!
Chad Ford: Sure did. Maybe the Celtics don't have a point guard problem after all. I thought West and Chris Duhon's performances were the big surprises for opening night.
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dave (LA): Hey chad. You say kobe is a top 5 player. Who are the other 4?
Chad Ford: Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Shaq
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David, Seattle: What's Vladimir Radmanovic's agent smoking? He turned down a $42 million dollar offer from the Sonics this summer and isn't half the player that Tayshaun Prince or Caron Butler is. Both of them just signed for slightly more.
Chad Ford: I agree. He should've taken the money and run. However, I think the reason he didn't was because he really would prefer to go to a team where he had a chance to start. By taking the one year tender, he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. That was worth something to him. I was not impressed at all with the Sonics last night.
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Jeff (NC): Is Gerald Wallace gonna break out this season, and be the player who was ranked #1 coming out of high school?
Chad Ford: No. Not until he develops a solid jump shot. Still, I think the Bobcats are going to prove once again that they are going to play every team tough, every night. I'm not sure it will net them more than 20 to 25 wins, but you have to love bad teams that play their butts off every night. Props to Bernie Bickerstaff and the team for that.
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Reality: Chad, Reality calling. You ever hear of a guy named Dwayne Wade? How about Tracy McGrady? Or Dirk, Nash, Kidd, Vince, Arenas? I'd rather have any of them on my team. If Kobe landed on my team I'd throw up. He's the Queen of Spades, the death card. He's a locker room cancer.
Chad Ford: Here we go .... this is why I hate these questions ... it's all about definition. I'm talking about the five most dominant players on the court. I'm not talking about personality. However I agree that Wade, Nowitzki and T-Mac would be in the next five along with Amare (at least the guy we saw at the end of last season) and Nash as being in the top 10.
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DoubleDribble (Orlando, FL): As a Hawks fan, I need to see a projected Top 5 for the 2006 Draft
Chad Ford: In the next few days you'll get a top 100 ... but here's the top five as I see them going into the year:
1. Rudy Gay, SF, UConn
2. Andrea Bargnani, F, Italy
3. Rajon Rondo, PG, Kentucky
4. Daniel Gibson, PG, Texas
5. LaMarcus Aldridge, F, Texas
Chad Ford: I've got to run everyone. Thanks for coming to the chat. We'll do it again next week, same time, same place.
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11/3/2005 10:03 PM