The NBA thread

[Cormacaroni]

Thunder-Clippers tonight! Should be a thriller.

[Great Rumbler]

Thunder-Clippers tonight! Should be a thriller.

That's the match up I'm hoping for in the Western Conference finals.

[Cormacaroni]

not really a stretch...

The Celtics are quietly almost as bad as the Lakers, despite having a lot more depth on paper and less injury woes. I am finding it a real struggle to keep watching. I'm sure they will turn it up a bit in the playoffs but they are not exactly even a lock. Irving was amazing again tonight, just completely shredded them. It is revolting that D-Will is starting ahead of him in the ASG....

[TakingBackSunday]

God the East is pretty terrible other than the Heat and the Knicks

[Stoney Mason]

Thunder-Clippers tonight! Should be a thriller.

I know its not a nationally televised game but I wish teams on the west coast would sometimes schedule their games earlier. When I was a kid I never ever watched those games obviously because it was so late and going to work creates the sames issues as an adult.

[Stoney Mason]

God the East is pretty terrible other than the Heat and the Knicks

I don't know that I would separate out the knicks as much. Hell the nets have almost caught them.

[Cormacaroni]

Seriously, all you hoop heads need to move to Japan - it is the perfect timezone to enjoy every minute of every game. I have League Pass on the 360, comfy couch...it is the bomb. All i have to do is stay off twitter and I can happily watch all day long

[Cormacaroni]

awww no CP3 tonight so you have to give the edge to the Thunder here, even in LA

OTOH, Westbrook vs Bledsoe

[Beezy]

God the East is pretty terrible other than the Heat and the Knicks

I don't know that I would separate out the knicks as much. Hell the nets have almost caught them.

They've had their problems since Felton got injured. He should be back soon.

[Smooth Groove]

“Obviously, this isn’t working,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports.

“We need to go back to basics,” Bryant said. “We need to put guys in positions to do what they do best. We need to strip it down. Steve Nash is best in pick-and-roll. Pau is best in the post. I’m best from the free-throw line extended down. Let’s go back to basics.

“We’ve got to evaluate what’s going on. Management is looking at it. The players are looking at it. I’m looking at myself. I’m shooting a low percentage right now, and I’ve got to look at that.”

This didn't last long, LOL,

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8863675/kobe-bryant-wants-blame-los-angeles-lakers-woes-not-simple

This is why I think McMenamin is a joke

[Smooth Groove]

LA fans are clamoring again for Phil to return.  While it would be hilarious to see the Lakers continue to fail even with PJ back, I don't think he's ever coaching the Lakers again, unless they can miraculously obtain Lebron or KD.  PJ is just not the type to take a risk like this.

[etiolate]

I think Phil being afraid of the risk of coaching a team with Kobe, Dwight, Pau and Nash says all that needs to be said about Phil's actual coaching skill.

[Cormacaroni]

eh, what? Phil interviewed for the job and basically said yes, but with a bunch of rockstar conditions

[pilonv1]

Phil isn't stupid enough to come back now. There was a time and place and it was early November.

[Mandark]

Cormac: Although his camp denied he made those demands.  I don't think that was ever settled one way or the other.

Besides the issue of whether Jim Buss would swallow his pride to that degree, they already spent $11 million to buy out Mike Brown and they'd have to shell out another $12 million to get rid of D'Antoni.  Assuming Jackson wants at least as much as last time he coached ($12 million/year), they're suddenly paying close to fifty million damn dollars just at the head coaching position the next couple seasons.  I don't see that happening.

Also, lolz for Jackson revisionism.  Yeah, what an awful coach that dude is.

[ToxicAdam]

I turned off that Celts-Cavs game shortly after half. Ugly basketball. At least I got to see the one lone highlight of Gee destroying the rim.

[Steve Contra]

Also, lolz for Jackson revisionism.  Yeah, what an awful coach that dude is.

Tom Brady is a mediocre quarterback and Phil Jackson is a crappy coach. Sports according to Etiolate.

[Stoney Mason]

[Cormacaroni]

Blake had a hell of a game but Bledsoe and Crawford sucked by their usual standards. Blake's post game and passing are so much better. A lot of folks are seeing the relatively low scoring and assuming he has regressed or stagnated but that is not the case

[TakingBackSunday]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8868438/nba-lebron-james-first-half-mvp

I wasn't aware of how incredible Durant's shot percentage has been.  Lawd.

[Cormacaroni]

Durant had a true shooting percentage of OVER 100% in the second half last night

not even sure how that is possible, i think he broke it

[Stoney Mason]

Dwight Howard out for the second half of the grizzlies game with shoulder injury.

[Cormacaroni]

Mark Cuban rubbing hands

[Stoney Mason]

In order to move forward and turn around their disappointing season, the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to let go of their past frustrations with a team meeting Wednesday.

Prior to the team's shootaround in preparation for the Lakers' game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni invited members of the team to air their grievances, according to a team source.

Several players spoke up, including Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, the 17-year veterans who make up the Lakers' backcourt. Bryant asked Dwight Howard if he was bothered by playing alongside him, according to the L.A. Times, which first reported the meeting.

"I hope it is (a positive thing)," D'Antoni told reporters before the game. "That's the purpose of just trying to move forward, and hopefully it is. We'll see. We're in a rut right now, so the time to stand up, draw a line in the sand would be now."

Bryant acknowledged he could be "hard to play with," according to the Times, and challenged Howard to speak up if he had a problem with it.

Howard was "despondent" and did not offer much of a reply to Bryant, according to a team source.

While a coaching change and injuries up and down the roster have contributed to the Lakers' 17-24 record at the season's halfway point, another major factor in the Lakers' difficulties has been the lack of rhythm between Howard and Bryant.

Following the Lakers' 95-83 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday, Howard complained to reporters about getting only five shots, while Bryant, meanwhile, shot 7-for-22.

Howard apologized for his comments in Chicago following Wednesday's shootaround, calling them "immature."

One example of the rocky relationship between the two Western Conference All-Star starters, according to a league source, was a game this season when Howard harped to a teammate about the disparity between his and Bryant's shots while sitting on the bench. The teammate called Bryant over so Howard could tell it to Bryant's face, but Howard refused to speak up.

"Obviously our problems were the chemistry was not clicking," D'Antoni said. "You try, 'OK, I'll push that guy, I'll pull that guy,' and you hope things overcome that and it didn't. It didn't. Now you get down to brass tactics and open your heart up and let everything be raw and see if we can solve some of the problems or the issues and just go forward."

Lakers forward Antawn Jamison, a 15-year veteran who said he has "seen it all" in his time in the league, said this could be a make or break point for L.A.

"Now we're at the wall and we're going to find a way to help each other over that wall, or we're going to let the wall push us back even farther," Jamison said.

D'Antoni said it's an issue of the entire team coming together.

"We've got an All-Star team out there," D'Antoni said. "Have you ever watched an All-Star Game? It's God-awful because everybody gets the ball, they go 1-on-1 and then they play no defense. That's our team. That's us. We're an All-Star team and we haven't learned there's a pecking order. There's the one guy, the two guy, the three guy and the four guy. It might not be the same guy every night, but somebody has got to accept being the fourth guy. If you've been the first guy all your life, that's hard to accept. That's what happens in All-Star (Games) and that's what happened with us. Like I said, with today's meeting, hopefully we've overcome a little bit of that. I hope. We'll see."

Added Jamison: "Let's just have fun, man, and enjoy this journey and just pull for each other and realize that this is a special team. The first half of this season has been an embarrassment. We've been the laughingstock of the NBA. So, let's turn that embarrassment into one of the best stories in sports history and turn things around."

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8875019/los-angeles-lakers-hold-team-meeting-air-grievances

[Cormacaroni]

just for that Ricky - you CAN have an extra slice of cake and watch Power Rangers tonight

[Smooth Groove]

"We've got an All-Star team out there," D'Antoni said. "Have you ever watched an All-Star Game? It's God-awful because everybody gets the ball, they go 1-on-1 and then they play no defense. That's our team. That's us. We're an All-Star team and we haven't learned there's a pecking order. There's the one guy, the two guy, the three guy and the four guy. It might not be the same guy every night, but somebody has got to accept being the fourth guy. If you've been the first guy all your life, that's hard to accept. That's what happens in All-Star (Games) and that's what happened with us. Like I said, with today's meeting, hopefully we've overcome a little bit of that. I hope. We'll see."

at Dantoni complaining about too much talent

[Stoney Mason]

Toronto Miami game close and going down to the wire.

edit: Going to OT.

[Cormacaroni]

"We've got an All-Star team out there," D'Antoni said. "Have you ever watched an All-Star Game? It's God-awful because everybody gets the ball, they go 1-on-1 and then they play no defense. That's our team. That's us. We're an All-Star team and we haven't learned there's a pecking order. There's the one guy, the two guy, the three guy and the four guy. It might not be the same guy every night, but somebody has got to accept being the fourth guy. If you've been the first guy all your life, that's hard to accept. That's what happens in All-Star (Games) and that's what happened with us. Like I said, with today's meeting, hopefully we've overcome a little bit of that. I hope. We'll see."

at Dantoni complaining about too much talent

He's probably right though. I mean, obviously this goes beyond just injury woes or Xs and Os, 'cause we've seen a variety of scenarios so far and nothing has worked for long. Dwight is not used to playing with anything other than 3 pt shooters basically. Kobe, Pau and Nash have worked these issues out to varying degrees but Howard has not.

[Stoney Mason]

There are so many problems with that team its honestly hard to know where to start. I think it's just fundamental issues. The pieces don't fit or they aren't quite as good as advertised.

[Stoney Mason]

[benjipwns]

Best part was when the Pistons ran the last play but forgot to put any three point shooters on the floor.

[TakingBackSunday]

lebron triple-double woo!

[benjipwns]

I MISS MY PER DIEM SO BAD THOUGH, Kevin Pelton is insightful but nowhere near the writer Hollinger was...

Between him, that other BP guy and Zach Lowe at Grantland, it's close but you're right, it's not the same. Hollinger would also get his takes out so fast after something happened and he was pretty good on twitter.

Speaking of Lowe, from the discussion he and Simmons had on the Lakers:

Simmons: It's just a shame the Lakers can't get Nikola Vucevic, Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington and Mo Harkless for Dwight.

Also this:

[Smooth Groove]

http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/112148/kobe-bryant-joins-twitter-reinvents-himself-again

kills grantland crap

this is the kind of material that gl strives to be but far less contrived

[Cormacaroni]

Thunder - Warriors was great. Durant was in God Mode for most of the game but the rest of the team kept making crazy errors and let GSW back in. Collison would have dunked that last play that Perkins turned over fo sho.

[Phoenix Dark]

In order to move forward and turn around their disappointing season, the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to let go of their past frustrations with a team meeting Wednesday.

Prior to the team's shootaround in preparation for the Lakers' game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni invited members of the team to air their grievances, according to a team source.

Several players spoke up, including Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, the 17-year veterans who make up the Lakers' backcourt. Bryant asked Dwight Howard if he was bothered by playing alongside him, according to the L.A. Times, which first reported the meeting.

"I hope it is (a positive thing)," D'Antoni told reporters before the game. "That's the purpose of just trying to move forward, and hopefully it is. We'll see. We're in a rut right now, so the time to stand up, draw a line in the sand would be now."

Bryant acknowledged he could be "hard to play with," according to the Times, and challenged Howard to speak up if he had a problem with it.

Howard was "despondent" and did not offer much of a reply to Bryant, according to a team source.

While a coaching change and injuries up and down the roster have contributed to the Lakers' 17-24 record at the season's halfway point, another major factor in the Lakers' difficulties has been the lack of rhythm between Howard and Bryant.

Following the Lakers' 95-83 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday, Howard complained to reporters about getting only five shots, while Bryant, meanwhile, shot 7-for-22.

Howard apologized for his comments in Chicago following Wednesday's shootaround, calling them "immature."

One example of the rocky relationship between the two Western Conference All-Star starters, according to a league source, was a game this season when Howard harped to a teammate about the disparity between his and Bryant's shots while sitting on the bench. The teammate called Bryant over so Howard could tell it to Bryant's face, but Howard refused to speak up.

"Obviously our problems were the chemistry was not clicking," D'Antoni said. "You try, 'OK, I'll push that guy, I'll pull that guy,' and you hope things overcome that and it didn't. It didn't. Now you get down to brass tactics and open your heart up and let everything be raw and see if we can solve some of the problems or the issues and just go forward."

Lakers forward Antawn Jamison, a 15-year veteran who said he has "seen it all" in his time in the league, said this could be a make or break point for L.A.

"Now we're at the wall and we're going to find a way to help each other over that wall, or we're going to let the wall push us back even farther," Jamison said.

D'Antoni said it's an issue of the entire team coming together.

"We've got an All-Star team out there," D'Antoni said. "Have you ever watched an All-Star Game? It's God-awful because everybody gets the ball, they go 1-on-1 and then they play no defense. That's our team. That's us. We're an All-Star team and we haven't learned there's a pecking order. There's the one guy, the two guy, the three guy and the four guy. It might not be the same guy every night, but somebody has got to accept being the fourth guy. If you've been the first guy all your life, that's hard to accept. That's what happens in All-Star (Games) and that's what happened with us. Like I said, with today's meeting, hopefully we've overcome a little bit of that. I hope. We'll see."

Added Jamison: "Let's just have fun, man, and enjoy this journey and just pull for each other and realize that this is a special team. The first half of this season has been an embarrassment. We've been the laughingstock of the NBA. So, let's turn that embarrassment into one of the best stories in sports history and turn things around."

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8875019/los-angeles-lakers-hold-team-meeting-air-grievances

Good lord he is child's play. Lakers better trade him or he's gone ASAP.

[pilonv1]

Thunder - Warriors was great. Durant was in God Mode for most of the game but the rest of the team kept making crazy errors and let GSW back in. Collison would have dunked that last play that Perkins turned over fo sho.

Awesome game, I fucking love my team.

[etiolate]

My issue with the Dwight Howard stuff is a lot of it sounds like its coming from Kobe people. You can't really trust anything you hear coming from LA when it comes to anything Kobe related.

[pilonv1]

I would agree but Dwight has a few priors in this area

[Cormacaroni]

Thunder - Warriors was great. Durant was in God Mode for most of the game but the rest of the team kept making crazy errors and let GSW back in. Collison would have dunked that last play that Perkins turned over fo sho.

Awesome game, I fucking love my team.

D-Lee has been a beast. If Curry had shot normally on threes it could have been a blowout.. Then again you could say much the same for Westbrook. GSW can hang though, no doubt about that. They could be pretty damn scary in the playoffs.

[Smooth Groove]

My issue with the Dwight Howard stuff is a lot of it sounds like its coming from Kobe people. You can't really trust anything you hear coming from LA when it comes to anything Kobe related.

just look at the many details leaked from that recent meeting

u know a team is in trouble when this stuff doesn't stay behind closed doors

[TakingBackSunday]

 

[Great Rumbler]

[Steve Contra]

Oh lord.

[Eric P]

i can't

edit pelICan't

[TakingBackSunday]

The New Orleans Jesus Ball and Ice Cream Cone

[pilonv1]

The New Orleans Jesus Ball and Ice Cream Cone

[naff]

  Pity they didn't change to The Brass

[benjipwns]

[benjipwns]

It also represents the legend of the mother pelican pricking her own breast to feed her young in times of need, doing whatever it takes to endure.

[Stoney Mason]

New York at Boston. Round 2 Cheerio Gate on TNT.

[Cormacaroni]

Pelicans are actually pretty bad-ass animals but still

[Flannel Boy]

If I were good at photoshop, I'd turn that into a logo for the Republican party.

[Cormacaroni]

New York at Boston. Round 2 Cheerio Gate on TNT.

what's the over/under for Melo shot attempts - 40?

[Cormacaroni]

This year isn't even interesting for me anymore....the interesting stuff is what management does. It's beyond a coach to fix it. Dwight or Kobe need to go but you'd get pennies on the dollar for Dwight now and Kobe's contract is untradeable. Pau will likely have to go given his depression but they won't get much for him - I saw a trade floated by Tom Haberstroh on EPSN for Wilson Chandler and somebody else on the Nuggets bench  

And does Nash really want to be rebuilding? Even with D'Antoni. The Lakers can't get younger either because they haven't any young talent or picks, beyond what Pau or Dwight might bring in. Or Nash, I guess - he is likely the most tradable of all of them! It's not like they'll get Anthony Davis or anybody that will get them back in serious contention. If Howard hadn't signed that 1 yr extension it would all be different - he'd have inked an extension with the Lakers already and everyone would be resigned to him staying and therefore more inclined to compromise.

[Flannel Boy]

The Lakers are done. There won't be any turn-around. If they win more than 35 games this year, I will slam my penis repeatedly in a door until it turns purple and falls off. Best bet I've ever made.

It's a bet that lacks upside.

[Cormacaroni]

Pierce snubbed for the ASG, seems salty about it

[Stoney Mason]

[Smooth Groove]

Sorry, Lakers fans.  Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Shaq ain't walking through that  door

[Stoney Mason]

A little surprised Randolph and Noah made it.