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I dont think so...Sometimes a trade drops in your lap and you don't say no BUT, I think given the way the Bulls played this post-season...I think I'd saddle up with this group one more time and hope to keep them healthy...I'd try to keep Marco Belinelli to add to a backcourt of Rose/Hinrich/Jimmy Butler (No way they'll give up on their own draft pick, Marquis Teague)...I'd rather see them keep Nate Robinson but there won't be enough $$$$ or playing time/shots to keep all of them happy...But Deng is critical to that team's success...You're talking about an All-Star under 30 years old, remember...I won't say 100 percent chance no way, but I'd be damn reluctant...

A lot. You heard him say some days he can and some days he can't. I take him at his word. When he can't, Miami is going to be less imposing...But I think with Chris Bosh playing this way, and Battier and Ray Allen and the young kids coming along...I think Miami would win anyway, even with a diminished Wade...but it ain't a certainty with him limping around...If he's healthy there's no question, not in my mind.

Because over time it seems proven to me that players have to endure over a period of time (Magic and Bird are the exceptions) to win NBA Championships...They've got to survive difficult losses (Jerry West, Oscar, Jordan, LeBron, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, David Robinson, etc) and battle for years to make it all the way through and I don't think Memphis has done that just yet...I think they've got another step to go, and I think the Spurs, who we KNOW understand that process, are just going to be better collectively on the bigger stage. It has nothing to do with Xs and Os or any of that...I just expect the Spurs, like they did in the last round, to emerge victorious at the end...

Even the Spurs said after yesterday's game they know they won't be that hot again--pros understand that...And Memphis is going to play better...And even though I'm solid with my pick of Spurs in 7, 7 games means the Spurs are going to lose three times and one of those, I think, is tomorrow night here in San Antonio...This is why IT'S A SERIES and not single elimination. All of us overreact to one game...But the Spurs just went up 2-0 last year on OKC and lost, and Memphis lost each of its series openers in these playoffs and still won those series...So I'm reading NOTHING into Game 1...nothing.

We were just tossing this back and forth yesterday before the Countdown show...Who else will want him that has money and shots to offer? Atlanta? Is there a Western Conference team where he fits? Problem for the Knicks is, they're so overcommitted in terms of salaries...The frontcourt alone (Carmelo, Amare, Chandler) swallows up the salary cap. Can they get better if they commit another $40 million to JR Smith? Is he worth it in the post-season when people earn their salaries? Can a team depend on JR Smith and have a realistic shot of making it to the conference finals, which ought to be the minimum required of the Knicks these days? I don't think so...

I would think we're about even...How could one be a bigger fan of his team than the other? I've been rooting for the Bulls my entire life and he's been rooting for the Celtics his entire life...We're no different than most of the boys/men in the world (and some girls/women too) who follow their teams from the time they're 5 or 6 years old and stay locked in for life...And it's not just those two teams. Bill follows the Red Sox and Bruins with the same loyalty, though I'm not sure where he stands on the Patriots...I'm as loony about the Bears and Cubs and nearly as much so about the Blackhawks...so I think Simmons and I are pretty typical of guys who grow up fans of their teams...

Didn't people say that about the playoffs at least a couple of times when the Bulls won? Pro basketball isn't the NFL, isn't the NCAA Tournament. It's not about upsets, it's about seeing whether the best teams in basketball can survive multiple 7-game series and prove they're what we think they are...It hasn't been terribly exciting, I'll agree with you there...but I don't find it boring...The Bulls were a good story while they lasted, as was Golden State and Steph Curry...The Memphis games (until yesterday) all are exciting and down to the wire...Injuries have dramatically impacted the post-season, which has a lot to do with your disappointment probably, but we're only halfway through...I'd give it a C+ or B-minus minus right now! LOL

Spurs and Grizz do...I think...that's why you have playoffs, to answer those questions definitively...7-game series usually do that, as opposed to single-game elimination...

Totally fair question...I think Miami is a great team, no matter where it plays...especially with the emergence of of the young guards, Shane Battier having grown more comfortable playing there, the addition of Ray Allen and Birdman...so I don't want to minimize what Miami did this year, but you make a valid point. The Western Conference is harder, period. This isn't arguable...The Warriors might have been the third best team in the Eastern Conference but finished, what, 6th in the West? It would be a much more difficult road to navigate, yes, but I think Miami would still be in the Finals because they're the best team in the NBA...as long as D-Wade holds up...makes it possible somebody could trip them up if he's severely diminished...

Good afternoon everybody! Coming live to you from San Antonio...we'll get right to the NBA playoffs but don't be afraid to get into other stuff, though it is a fairly quiet period on the sports calendar...