Why is it that only certain teams participate in the NBA's summer league?

Seems like it would be better if they had every team in and as long as I'm asking that question why don't they have any kind of playoff system in place after playing the games.?

It would be really cool if they put teams in divisions just like the regular season but switched it up kind of like an alternate reality thing.

It just seems like a real shame that our young players came out of this thing 5-0 and don't get a chance to really win anything or enter into a playoff system that, while the competition is not as fierce, would give them some semblance of a playoff experience.

Also there's a good chance that they'll be the only team this year to come out of it with a perfect record. Thanks Toronto.

Anyway I'm interested to hear everyone's take on the summer league. Seems like a good opportunity to keep the NBA in the public's day to day sports eye is lost here.

I guess I'm asking Grunge, Orange, and Tom this question. It seems like we've got a bunch of people who want to "shake things up" and don't really know what the consequences could be for those actions.

If you look at any of the bottom feeders in the league you know they have problems and what is the result of those problems? Bad chemistry due to trades, coaching changes, and unhappy players. I can't understand how after losing in the first round for the longest time these people want to all of a sudden jump ship and get a new coach, get a new gm, and all this other bs when so far they have not only done their jobs well, they've actually exceeded expectations that everybody has put on this team.

Nobody thought we'd compete in the second round against the Lakers but guess what? We did. When Yao went down everyone thought we were done. The ONLY reason we were able to compete after that was because of hard nosed play, young athletic talent, and good coaching. Yeah we didn't win but 7 games with the eventual champion and THE ONLY TEAM TO TAKE THEM THAT FAR is pretty good in my book.

All of the things that made that possible came through the trades made by Daryl Morey. Aaron Brooks became one of our main scoring threats. Could Rafer Alston have done that? Maybe for a game but I wouldn't bet on it. So please tell me that these trolls always come out because I'd hate to start blasting these people if it happens annually. If this is a first then I applaud all of you in dealing with these vagabonds because I could not.

What are the realities of making a trade with Boston for Rondo and Allen? Could we make that work? Would we want to make that work?

I know Allen got cold in the second round this year but he's arguably the greatest shooter ever in the NBA and Rondo showed alot of promise by almost averaging a triple double in the playoffs.

I for one think that would be a steal if we could make it work but who do we give up?

McGrady? Brooks? Landry? Hayes?

I'm not too  up to snuff on this kind of stuff so I thought I'd see what the our pulse is on a deal like this.

With the big trade the Cavaliers became even more dangerous. They have shaq in their front court now and no matter what you may think about his inside game these days - Is it dwindling? Is he getting old? - The fact remains that Shaq cannot be ignored down low. the only thing missing from this team is consistent play from Mo Williams and Delonte West. If they had performed in the playoffs we may be talking about a pretty much locked repeat.

We also know that Shaq is huge on nicknames. He gets them everywhere he goes. Now I hate to build up to something if it's not going to have any punch, so I apologize if this has already been said. I'd like to propose Shaq's new nickname for the Cavaliers.

The Big Shaqalier

It's pretty obvious but when I thought of it I thought it fit pretty well with the nicknames he's had in the past. Sorry again if this seems to corny or someone has already suggested it.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"We'll be back here for Game 7."

-- Cavs guard Daniel Gibson, making a vow to the Cleveland crowd

Does that worry any of you guys? Or should anything he says be overlooked since he comes off the bench? (Pending West's hip, of course.)

Good win btw. Rafer Alston is your best friend right now. Keep letting him shoot. He'll win the game for you. I gotta say that I'm getting excited about the possibility of this one going seven games. If anyone can do it it's gonna be you guys even if I am a Magic fan of old.

Imagine you are a young boy or girl and you have an aging grandfather. Not too old but old enough that you know he's your grandfather. Now imagine that you don't know anything about what he did for a living and you never see him but when he's over to visit or you go to visit him.

Now imagine that man is Charles Barkley.

Am I the only one who thinks that would be awesome?

First off I should let you all know that, as you can see, I'm a Rockets fan first. I've watched a little of what I could catch of the Cavs this season and I think I would like to count myself as a fan. ( I think I need to see more games before I can honestly say I'm a fan though)

I'm also a Magic fan. I've been with them since around 1993. Penny Hardaway used to be my favorite player.

Also I'm not here to tell you why Orlando will win or why their better. I think anyone that looks at playoff games like this and sees that each one was basically decided by a posession can see that either team is not clearly better than the other. Having said that I'll give you my questions.

1. If Orlando does win the series who would you guys root for in the Finals? Of course you'd like the Cavs to be there but any true basketball fan will still watch the games and root for one team over the other, as I'm doing now that the Rockets are out of it.

2. If the Cavs pull off the miracle and take the series, which I still believe to be possible, who would you guys rather play? Of course the media wants Kobe/Lebron but I'm not convinced that Cavs/Nuggets wouldn't be a great series either.

3. What do you guys attribute to the Cavs not being able to hold on to built leads in the second half against the Magic? Is it the 3 point shooting? Laziness? Seems like you guys never gave up a lead in the first two rounds and comes off as  uncharacteristic of this team.

Thanks for any feedback from you guys and best of luck from here on out. I can't say that I'm rooting for you to win it (unless you make it to the Finals) but I'm definitely not rooting against you.

Now that my guys have been bumped from the playoffs I'm turning my basketball alliegances to the Orlando Magic.

I've been a Magic fan for awhile starting with Penny and Shaq. I"ll admit I've been a little out of touch for awhile but I've been playing close attention to the game this year and my two favorite teams are making huge strides in the playoffs this year. So I hope you guys will have me over here at TQC. Go Magic!

Forget all the injuries, and let's think positive here. Fast forward to next year opening round in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Your Houston Rockets are the number one seed in the West and our starting lineup for the first game is:

Aaron Brooks - PG

Shane Battier - SG

Tracy McGrady - SF

Ron Artest - PF

Yao Ming - C

I know the probability of this lineup staying in Houston for next year is up in the air. I know the speculation of us being the number one seed in the West is unlikely given the nature of the game. I know that we've had so many injuries to these guys that it's hard to be optimistic that they're all healthy throughout the season, much less going into the playoffs. I don't care.

I like to imagine this exact scenario happening. As much as it may be a pipe dream. I know that if we were fielding that starting 5 with everyone healthy the possibility of a championship in Houston is very likely. For now we'll just have to wait and imagine.

I live in Waco and I have trouble getting info on my rockets from time to time. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on internet radio stations that are dediacated to Houston sports and/or the rockets. All I get over here are Dallas stations and I get tired of hearing Dallas whine about the mavs. I even tried to call in and see if they'd turn their temporary alliegances toward the Rockets since they're the only texas team left and the guy was a dick about it. So I'd like to find a quality station where I can hear some people talk about a REAL basketball team. Thanks in advance.