Author Topic: The NBA thread (Read 1532762 times)

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5280 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:14:17 PM »

Fucking layup clinic.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5281 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:16:34 PM »

Harden was a beast down the stretch

pilonv1 · « **Reply #5282 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:18:31 PM »

Mavs were too soft inside. Couldn't get it done

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5283 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:20:46 PM »

Quote from: pilonv1 on May 05, 2012, 10:18:31 PM

Mavs were too soft inside. Couldn't get it done

Doesn't help when the guards are so easy to blow by and don't help matters by playing too close.

But, obviously, the Mavs missed Chandler. And he's being wasted on the Knicks.

pilonv1 · « **Reply #5284 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:33:00 PM »

Still if they end up with Deron and someone inside to help Dirk I think it was probably worth losing Chandler

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5285 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:34:12 PM »

So do they blow up the team now, or try to acquire a competent big man? I'd imagine the Mavs would have been quite better with Chandler in the paint, offensively and especially defensively

Seems like the Mavs need some new blood though, everywhere

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #5286 on:** May 05, 2012, 10:50:16 PM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on May 05, 2012, 10:34:12 PM

So do they blow up the team now, or try to acquire a competent big man? I'd imagine the Mavs would have been quite better with Chandler in the paint, offensively and especially defensively

Seems like the Mavs need some new blood though, everywhere

It's been pretty clear from the start that the moves leading up to this season were to try to bring in Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5287 on:** May 05, 2012, 11:36:02 PM »

Quote

Tyson and Eddy
The divergent careers of two former prep phenoms

A 29-year-old Chandler has the flu. The illness — along with the injuries to Iman Shumpert and Amar'e Stoudemire — evaporates whatever slim chance his Knicks had of upsetting the Miami Heat. In his first season in New York, Chandler brought a defensive presence to the Garden unseen since the early days of Patrick Ewing. Chandler is an NBA champion, a gold medalist in international play, and the newly anointed Defensive Player of the Year. He is the backbone of the Knicks, their anchor, and last resort in the middle. He is integral to the Knicks' present and future. He is the epitome of the player who blossoms late, finds his role, embraces it, and is celebrated for it.

A 29-year-old Curry is healthy for the first time, really, in years. He is in street clothes, inactive, and watching the series from Miami's bench. He is on Miami's roster, but rarely actually plays. His career has been defined by a few ups and many more downs, horrible personal tragedy, and untapped potential. He is a forgettable part of the Knicks' past, an insignificant piece in Miami's present, and has an uncertain basketball future. He is generally known as a nice1 and affable guy, traits that are enviable off the basketball court, but ones that can be detrimental on it.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7887970/the-divergent-careers-miami-heat-eddy-curry-new-york-knicks-tyson-chandler

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5288 on:** May 06, 2012, 10:49:07 AM »

top five in minutes and their PERs

Dallas
1   Dirk Nowitzki   23.0
2   Jason Kidd   17.1
3   Shawn Marion   11.6
4   Jason Terry   12.9
5   Vince Carter   6.4

OKC
1   Kevin Durant 23.3
2   Russell Westbrook 22.7
3   James Harden   28.0
4   Serge Ibaka 21.4
5   Derek Fisher 14.1

And for the hell of it the Knicks top nine in minutes and their PERs
1   Carmelo Anthony 12.8
2   J.R. Smith   26   10.0
3   Tyson Chandler 10.1
4   Amare Stoudemire   17.5
5   Baron Davis   12.9
6   Landry Fields   7.3
7   Steve Novak      4.3
8   Mike Bibby      7.5
9   Jared Jeffries      3.0

The one player above average loses fights to fire extinguishers.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5289 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:18:52 PM »

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5290 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:25:06 PM »

Carmelo crazy hot today.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5291 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:29:28 PM »

Awful foul call on the 3 attempt

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5292 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:34:54 PM »

Heat don't get the sweep

Beezy · « **Reply #5293 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:44:52 PM »

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5294 on:** May 06, 2012, 06:57:19 PM »

Knicks > Mavs

Joe Molotov · « **Reply #5295 on:** May 06, 2012, 09:26:40 PM »

Trade Dirk for Melo.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5296 on:** May 07, 2012, 10:04:18 AM »

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/13910/questions-surround-spoelstra-after-defeat

You know the issue for me isn't that game. Spoelstra did nothing more out of the ordinary than he always does in any game. The question for me is why does it take a game like that for writers to notice things when he's been this way ever since the big three era started.

Quote

Out of all the interviews and speeches Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gave on his championship tour last year, the sharpest blow came when he said his Mavericks knew they were going to win the NBA Finals when his coaching staff noticed the Miami Heat weren’t making adjustments.

This is not a new thing. I've never seen a coach as unprepared to adapt to the current game situation as him. Whatever gameplan the Heat bring into a game they are going to stick with it no matter. They might change for the next game but if the other team also changes then they are screwed because they aren't going to re-adapt. He's awful and the Heat win despite him. Not because of him. It baffles me that writers don't write about this every single day.

Watching his huddles are the funniest thing ever because he almost never says anything remotely related to the game that is going on. It's all Pop Psychology stuff.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5297 on:** May 07, 2012, 09:40:03 PM »

Acolyte of Riley, terrified to make any change without getting sign-off from Sauron up in the stands....

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5298 on:** May 07, 2012, 10:54:38 PM »

Spurs are crazy deep and balanced.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5299 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:01:40 PM »

They look unbeatable, really. I can get enthusiastic about the Celtics beating the Heat a few times, if there are meltdowns and injuries, but there's no f'ing way they will beat the Spurs so

The Lakers of course are the one team that no-one counts out 'cause 2 7-footers but I don't see it. The Thunder will win a few games but ultimately get out-coached. The Spurs just need to remain healthy and it's theirs.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5300 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:27:25 PM »

I'm so tired of people freaking out whenever the Heat lose a game. They're up 3-1 against a bad, injured Knicks team. They'll beat them tomorrow night. Who cares

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5301 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:33:04 PM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on May 07, 2012, 11:27:25 PM

I'm so tired of people freaking out whenever the Heat lose a game. They're up 3-1 against a bad, injured Knicks team. They'll beat them tomorrow night. Who cares

Nobody is "freaking out". Pointing out the obvious isn't "freaking out". The bad habits that you show against bad teams are the same bad habits you tend to show against very good teams. Hence Miami getting their ass kicked in the finals last year.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5302 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:38:23 PM »

It's a reasonable worry, given the championship expectations for the Heat. Match-up adjustments will make a big difference in the Finals at least, and Spoelstra just is reluctant to make them for whatever reason. The players keep saying 'championship or bust' so it seems fair to assume that jobs will be lost (Bosh, Spoelstra...?) if they don't win it all this year. The prob is that they have an easy ride through the East but will likely have a tough time against the Spurs in the Finals (if that's how the West shakes out - that's how I think it will, anyway). So they are setting themselves up for UNBELIEVABLE fan disappointment and media hate if they lose badly in the Finals, I think. THEN you'll see some freaking out

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5303 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:43:12 PM »

Their path to the finals on the east side is so ridiculously easy now that even though I'm a fan, the chaos loving side of me wants them to somehow fail and not make it because it would be funny.

I think the big three in the west (Spurs, Thunder, Lakers) all present interesting matchup challenges versus the heat. It wouldn't be crazy for one of those teams to beat them imo but once you start talking about multiple championships before you've even won one, that sets the expectation levels for the media and dumb fans to pounce. And yeah I agree. The fall guy if they don't win will have to be Bosh or Spoelstra. So their jobs are truly on the line.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5304 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:51:56 PM »

btw Baron Davis is really fucked up. He should probably just retire.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/baron-davis-suffers-very-serious-knee-injury-might-231948030.html

At one point in his career he was an amazingly fun player to watch play. For a short period I think he was my favorite player in the NBA.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5305 on:** May 07, 2012, 11:54:41 PM »

Yeah, that's sad. He needs to go to the Suns, or retire.

It's pretty obvious that playing with major back problems is going to lead to major joint injuries but he played anyway. Just hope it doesn't leave him with a permanent limp etc.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5306 on:** May 08, 2012, 05:17:31 PM »

It's been a close series but the Clippers just play better down the stretch because they have Paul. And Z-Bo hasn't played remotely as well as he did last playoffs.

Also top 20 players so far in the playoffs according to PER

1   Joakim Noah, CHI      29.21
2   LeBron James, MIA      28.91
3   Rajon Rondo, BOS     28.56
4   James Harden, OKC      28.31
5   Chris Paul, LAC        28.00
6   Andrew Bynum, LAL      27.26
7   Dwyane Wade, MIA     27.14
8   Roy Hibbert, IND      26.97
9   Tony Parker, SA     26.27
10   Darren Collison, IND     24.59
11   DeJuan Blair, SA     24.29
12   Spencer Hawes, PHI   24.08
13   Ian Mahinmi, DAL      24.04
14   Gary Neal, SA     24.00
15   Derrick Rose, CHI      23.78
16   Kevin Durant, OKC      23.70
17   Dirk Nowitzki, DAL      23.40
18   Russell Westbrook, OKC   23.03
19   Kobe Bryant, LAL     22.76
20   Tim Duncan, SA      22.68

etiolate · « **Reply #5307 on:** May 08, 2012, 06:16:33 PM »

Yeah ZBo has been a letdown. I expected him to show up far more than he has.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5308 on:** May 08, 2012, 07:32:28 PM »

Rondo best guard in the playoffs, sounds fair. ('The Big Three' needs to be retired for REAL - it's been Rondo's team for at least 2 years). Interested to see what he can do against the Heat without a dislocated elbow.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5309 on:** May 08, 2012, 10:56:35 PM »

So I'm guessing Van Gundy is going to get fired?

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5310 on:** May 08, 2012, 10:59:51 PM »

of course - he fired himself weeks ago by going to the press with the story that Howard was trying to oust him. There's no way he can stay on now. He has a whopping guaranteed salary for next year so he is farting through silk either way

etiolate · « **Reply #5311 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:39:32 AM »

32 shots for Kobe? Jeebus.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5312 on:** May 09, 2012, 02:40:18 AM »

Pretty miserable first round so far. If it wasn't for Grizz-Clips, I'd be sawing at my wrists right now. Nothing else is interesting.

etiolate · « **Reply #5313 on:** May 09, 2012, 02:51:37 AM »

Mavs/Thunder was kind of interesting because the games were close early on. Then the Mavs were like fuck it.

The overall problem is there's 16 teams but only like two or three real contenders with Rose out, so most of the series outcomes are meaningless.

Mandark · « **Reply #5314 on:** May 09, 2012, 03:48:26 AM »

There are five teams that wouldn't shock me if they won it all, but if the Spurs were coming off a championship rather than getting bounced in the first round last year, I'd be giving them the respect they probably deserve.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5315 on:** May 09, 2012, 04:14:28 AM »

Ginobili and Duncan were pretty badly hobbled in that series, in hindsight. They are both moving way, way better this year.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5316 on:** May 09, 2012, 11:41:56 AM »

Beezy · « **Reply #5317 on:** May 09, 2012, 12:34:13 PM »

I'd love another Knick upset against Miami tonight, but I don't think it can happen with their PG problems. I'm just hoping that they play their hardest again.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5318 on:** May 09, 2012, 02:24:01 PM »

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/the-dream-teams-very-bad-day/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nyt%2Frss%2FSports+%28NYT+%3E+Sports%29&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimessports

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5319 on:** May 09, 2012, 08:25:07 PM »

Miami on cruise control. They should be crushing the Knicks given the injury situation. Maybe there will be a 3rd quarter burst.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5320 on:** May 09, 2012, 08:37:13 PM »

New theory - LeBron feels sorry for all the bad press Melo is getting and is trying not to embarrass him too badly

Beezy · « **Reply #5321 on:** May 09, 2012, 10:02:15 PM »

Woodson's faith in JR pisses me off. He'll keep him in the game no matter how shitty he plays. Shit shots, lazy passes, dumb turnovers, dumb fouls. He can string together a combo of these and still doesn't get benched.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5322 on:** May 09, 2012, 10:09:22 PM »

always been the problem with JR...coaches see him light it up a few times and live in hope that it will happen every time they're down big

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5323 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:01:11 AM »

So Blake crumples with a potentially season-ending knee injury and Memphis boos him, jesus. I don't get 'fans' sometimes. This is someone playing his ass off and putting his body on the line for THEIR ENTERTAINMENT. Someone who walked on crutches for half a year with a similar injury. Sure, he gets paid, and you don't have to LOVE him...but booing him all the way off the floor? What the fuck?

etiolate · « **Reply #5324 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:05:53 AM »

I missed the second half of that game. Blake got hurt?

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5325 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:34:36 AM »

Yeah, hyper-extended left knee, the same one he injured before his rookie season. I'm guessing he'll be able to play but will be significantly hobbled by it.

Paul also re-injured his groin. Luckily for the Clips, they have 2 more chances to close out. They'll need 'em.

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5326 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:39:09 PM »

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Clutch FG% since 2000*
LeBron 0.460
Wade 0.415
Kobe 0.397
Pierce 0.387
*min 650 "clutch" shots (shots occurring during the 4th quarter or overtime, with less than five minutes remaining, and neither team ahead by more than five points) including playoffs.

[close]

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5327 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:43:42 PM »

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5328 on:** May 10, 2012, 02:49:45 PM »

Poor Pau Gasol. He's Blake's Shawn Bradley.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5329 on:** May 10, 2012, 08:09:33 PM »

Boston is hamstrung by Pierce's injury so the Hawks have a good shot at beating them tonight and setting up a game 7. Seriously, the Heat's path to the Finals just couldn't get any easier. Yet last night a friend of mine told me he had no idea who was going to come out of the East

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5330 on:** May 11, 2012, 12:26:41 AM »

I can't believe the Lakers have let the Nuggets turn this into a series.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #5331 on:** May 11, 2012, 12:38:11 AM »

Boston shouldn't sleep on the Sixers.

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5332 on:** May 11, 2012, 12:59:27 AM »

Quote

Bill Simmons ‏ @sportsguy33
I like Mike Brown's plan of keeping Kobe out there in a blowout and trying to get the Nuggets sick. He's thinking ahead.

Bill Simmons ‏ @sportsguy33
I think Pau Gasol is saving his legs for the Olympics.

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5333 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:39:10 AM »

Quote from: BrandNew on May 11, 2012, 12:38:11 AM

Boston shouldn't sleep on the Sixers.

eh

OK, Boston is banged up (Pierce has been getting through it somehow but Allen is ineffective), but basically Philly can't score. This series against the Bulls has been an aberration for them in that regard. Their main asset is defense, and Boston are better at that (#1 in defensive efficiency). So Boston basically comes out ahead in both offense and defense. They don't have enough to beat the Heat but they should still beat the Sixers.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #5334 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:40:51 AM »

Cormacaroni · « **Reply #5335 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:47:19 AM »

Really worth watching KG's comments

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7917831/boston-celtics-kevin-garnett-sarcastically-thanks-atlanta-hawks-michael-gearon-jr-giving-some-extra-gas

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5336 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:03:24 AM »

Pretty interesting

Quote

A player of Wade’s size shouldn’t be capable of denying forwards and centers. What sets Wade apart from all the great shooting guards in NBA history isn’t his ability to score, but his ability to prevent others from scoring.

More to the point, Wade might be the best shot-blocking guard the league has ever seen.

Wade added another two blocks to his name on Wednesday, and he had one of the best shot-blocking campaigns of his career, swatting 1.3 shots per game despite battling an assortment of minor leg injuries and playing a career-low 33.2 minutes per game.

How remarkable is that?

Consider the following. Wade blocked more than four times as many shots as the average shooting guard (0.3 blocks per game). On a per-minute basis, he blocked shots more often than Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, LaMarcus Aldridge and, yes, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, too. Said another way, you could tally up all the combined blocked shots by reputable defenders Tony Allen, Kobe Bryant and Avery Bradley this season -- and they still wouldn’t have more blocks than Wade this season.

Historically, we have no precedent. Wade is the only guard in NBA history to average a block per game over his career. The late Reggie Lewis trails Wade with a 0.9 blocked shot average and ranks second all-time. Other known shot-blockers such as George Gervin, Michael Jordan, David Thompson and Vince Carter all look up at Wade in the blocks category.

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #5337 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:38:37 PM »

Kevin Garnett is nearly 36. His PER of 23.8 in the playoffs is his highest since 2004.
Come on.

CajoleJuice · « **Reply #5338 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:56:06 PM »

With regards to that Wade article: Jordan through his age 31 season was at 1.0 blocks a game, right where Wade is now (at 30).

Stoney Mason · « **Reply #5339 on:** May 11, 2012, 02:38:52 PM »

So you're saying Wade is gonna buy a crappy team and run it into the ground.

News:

Author Topic: The NBA thread (Read 1532762 times)