The RPG Duelling League
Social Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: Veryslightlymad on June 19, 2009, 05:47:48 PM
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OK. Right now this is a filler topic, so the next time I'm on, I can look at it and say "Oh, yeah! I'm gonna talk about the draft!" which should be interesting, because the NBA draft is generally the one area where I tend to really suck at making predictions. (And if you kept track of my predictions last year, you'll notice that I could probably make better predictions if I picked at random. This is for the REGULAR SEASON.)
Anyhow. Lakers won the championship. Chris Paul laughably got on the All-Defense team 1 while Chauncey Billups didn't get on either team one or team two, despite vaulting his team up something like 12 places for opponents points per 100 possessions. Criminal.
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So is Shaq worth much for the coming year? There was buzz of him going over to Cleveland.
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If Shaq can play at the level he did this past season, he's still got a lot to offer a team that wants him.
However, his contract is 20 million dollars, still. So whoever takes him on has to figure out a way to get him. Other interesting players who might get moved in a trade include T-Mac, Vince Carter, and probably a host of unknowns that we won't even consider up for grabs. Oh, maybe one of the Wizards' big three, more likely Antawn Jamison.
Time for some draft thoughts:
The draft doesn't make any sense. Every year, someone comes out and says "Well, it's not a very deep draft". And I've heard that about this year's draft, but last year, Kevin Love was taken in the top 5, and this year, Tyler Hansborough is looking to be picked anywhere from 11 to the mid-20s. I don't know how you can look at Love's career and Hansborough's and say "Kevin Love is a better all-around basketball player" to the extent that he's a top 5 pick. So I think, yeah, this is a good draft class. The idea that this is the "Worst draft in recent memory" seems laughable, given the 2006 NBA draft where basically three good players were had. (Two by Portland!) This does not seem like a bad draft to me.
So who do I think will be better than advertised?
~Well, it depends on who is doing the advertising. The one player that, I for sure think will do better than anyone predicts is Johnny Flynn, who is still regarded as a lottery pick. The dude has an aggressive, competitive edge and some seriously quick hands. He displays the kind of grit I like to see in my point man, so I'll be watching him this season.
~I've mentioned before that I kinda like Hansborough as a player, although supposedly, he's something of a dick in real life. As low as he'll go, he's bound to be a quality pickup for whoever nabs him... these will be teams on the verge of the playoffs anyhow, or possibly teams that made it already. They're basically looking for a solid bench guy, and Hansborough should be more than capable of that -right now-, which means he's got to have a lot of value for where he'll be taken.
~Sam Young. I've made no effort to hide how much I loooooove taking older, experienced players in the draft, especially ones that work hard and know their goddamn defense. Sam Young fits this bill pretty nicely, and seems like he could be one of those players that fills an everyman Posey/Battier type role. Every team wants one of those two guys, whether they know it or not. If Sam Young can keep working hard, and, more importantly, working SMART, he'll be a big, unexpected bonus to whoever takes him in this draft.
~Jonas Jerebko. A European player who plays defense and has improved his shooting over the years he's been in the league. This guy is my prediction for this year's sleeper pick. He could go as far as the second round, so there's some great value there.
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That's about it for people I feel confident about. Everyone else is either talked about enough already, or is just too unknown for me to evaluate. You can mock me later if these picks all turn out terrible.
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I'm really optimistic about next season. I'm hoping that the Harden pick works out well for us, and personally it sounds like, while some lamented on not getting Rubio, but he sounds like a bit of a trainwreck and has some issues even getting to the U.S.
I'm really hoping that the Thunder can make the playoffs. They have the talent, it felt like they had the talent last year too, but it just didn't work out. Here's to the sophomore seasons being amazing! :)
Also, I swear to god, reading ESPN makes my blood pressure rise. If I see anyone talk about the Zombie Sonics ever again I am going to drain someone's blood and steal their organs and blend their brains.
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/me writes a letter to Merril Hoge suggesting a topic for his next column.
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Not Skip Bayless?
Oh wait, it's Dekar who wants to throw Skip Bayless out of a moving airplane, not you! >_>
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It's everyone who wants to throw Bayless out of a moving airplane.
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I'm really optimistic about next season. I'm hoping that the Harden pick works out well for us, and personally it sounds like, while some lamented on not getting Rubio, but he sounds like a bit of a trainwreck and has some issues even getting to the U.S.
I'm really hoping that the Thunder can make the playoffs. They have the talent, it felt like they had the talent last year too, but it just didn't work out. Here's to the sophomore seasons being amazing! :)
Also, I swear to god, reading ESPN makes my blood pressure rise. If I see anyone talk about the Zombie Sonics ever again I am going to drain someone's blood and steal their organs and blend their brains.
Well, it's not the players' fault that the Thunder have a gigantic assdouche for an owner, but it's not helping their teams' likeability. They did the fucking thing from Major League, what do you expect?
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Every ESPN Commentator or writer sucks except for Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Friend. TNT and NBA TV have pretty much the best all-around crew out there.
Let's talk about the Draft! And Trades! And what few signings I know about!
ATLANTA HAWKS:
Drafted Jeff Teague and Sergiy Gladyr. (Your guess is as good as mine.) Picked up Jamal Crawford for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.
~Pretty good moves. They seem to need a guard like Bibby in their system, so they picked up Teague as a prospective Bibby, and picked up Crawford to add some scoring and ballhandling. Crawford is easily better than Law, and Speedy is basically a nonfactor bum of a player. Atlanta did a pretty reasonable job, here.
BOSTON CELTICS:
Drafted Lester Hudson.
~Who the fuck is Lester Hudson?! Some research tells me that he's short and can't handle the ball particularly well. Flipside is, he can score a bunch of points at the college level and he was taken with the 58th pick. There's not a lot you can expect at 58. Boston hasn't had time yet to do a whole hell of a lot. Let's see how the rest of their offseason goes. Right now, it's kind of dull.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS:
Drafted Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown
~If I hear another WHOAMG DRAFTED A COLLEGE RIVAL thing, I'm going to punch the entire ESPN fuckwit staff in the nards. No one cares, and Henderson is STILL from a Carolina College, so it's still homerism, even if it's a "Rival" of much of the staff of the Bobcats. You're all stupid. That said, Charlotte did a really good job. Their main problems are at the wing and with extra size. They couldn't really get great size, so they got a couple of young, promising looking wings (one at each position, no less) to play with. Good work, Charlotte.
CHICAGO BULLS:
Drafted James Johnson and Taj Gibson.
~I hear good things about James Johnson, but Chicago is a playoff team, and they don't seem to need help in the "forwards" department, except for maybe some nice post-up scoring (which they have needed for half a decade or more.) Taj Gibson supposedly can sort-of do that, but he's not really expected to wow anyone in the post, and he's supposedly kind of frail. If I were Chicago, I'd have drafted someone with a good shooting touch instead.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS:
Drafted Christian Eyenga and Danny Green. Traded Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace for Shaq. I think they traded that other draft pick no one cares about, too.
~Who the fucking FUCK is Christian Eyenga? He's from a league LOWER than the main league in Italy. Cleveland essentially drafted a player out of Italy's D-League. In the first round. I just.... man, that's just weird. Danny Green is another unknown to me. But apparently he's seasoned and is a small forward, so I guess he's the sub of whoever is subbing for LeBron. Probably decent value for a second-round pick. As for Shaq, well, he doesn't have the speed to guard Dwight Howard, but he does have the size. More importantly, he can help give Howard fits on the other end of the court. Ilgauskas can step out and force Howard to guard him for perimeter shots, and Shaq will do just the opposite. This is basically a big push to try to get past Superman, the one person in the East that Cleveland is legitimately afraid of. I think it'll help. It's not like they gave up a lot for Shaq.
DALLAS MAVERICKS:
"Drafted" Rodrigue Beaubois, Nick Calathes, and Ahmad Nivens.
~Welp. Beaubois is talented as heck, but seems like he's kinda dumb. If he's teachable, he should be a hell of a pick. Calathes is a supposed "Combo" guard, which screams "Hey, we need someone to eventually replace Jason Terry". Ahmad Nivens, on the other hand, screams "Oh, shit! We need a replacement right now to Brandon Bass!" Dallas..... I dunno. They made a strongish run at the playoffs last season, but I don't consider them a championship team. Right now they look to be replacing a few cogs that they're missing or will be aging. With Dirk aging and up for contract in 2010, I'm not sure that this is the right strategy. They pay a lot of money to merely be a good team. And they are good. Just not GREAT.
DENVER NUGGETS:
Drafted Ty Lawson. Sort of. (Traded a pick next year to Minnesota)
~Ty Lawson will make an excellent back-up point guard to Chauncey Billups. There's really nothing more to say here.
DETROIT PISTONS:
Drafted Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, and Jonas Jerebko. Signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.
~Well, Austin Daye seems like a crappier version of Tayshaun Prince. And Tayshaun's been losing some of his luster in recent years anyhow. Summers is a solid pick, as was Budinger, but oh, yeah, they traded him. Jonas Jerebko is one of those guys that I like a surprising amount. All in all, I think Detroit wasted their first pick, and kept two very solid players in the second round. We'll call it a wash, maybe?
Ben Gordon is a really good player in a lot of ways, and has improved his defense considerably, which will let him guard shorties like himself. He's still kind of a douche, and 11 mil a year is overpaying him. Gordon is one of the few players that can be absolutely impossible to guard from time to time, but the flipside is, he's also one of those players that merely THINKS he's impossible to guard, and he can shoot you right out of a game. His going cold for a few stretches during the Boston series almost certainly destroyed all the positives his getting hot during different nights that series built up. Also, I don't understand how he fits with Rip Hamilton. Either trade Rip or GET A TRUE FUCKING POINT GUARD. Dude deserves better than this bullshit.
Charlie V is.... well, I've never really liked him, to be honest. He's still fairly decent for his position, and I guess the Pistons wanted another talented big man to shoot threes instead of play inside like he ought to with Rasheed Wallace possibly on the way out. Anyhow, the Pistons paid him a bit less than I thought a team would wind up paying him, so that means that they might actually get enough value out of him to be happy with the decision. I can't say I really like the direction this franchise is heading in.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Drafted Stephen Curry. Acquired Acie Law and Speedy Claxton for Jamal Crawford.
~If the Curry Pick does nothing other than troll the annoying fanbase of the New York Knicks, then the pick was worth it. In reality, I really, REALLY like Stephen Curry, and I think that he'll be a fine player at the NBA level. I think people that are concerned with him not translating well are batshit insane. Why is it when a point guard plays the two and averages 3.4 assists, everyone thinks he's a great passer, but if a 2 guard plays the point and averages 6.whatever assists, he's incapable of playing the 1?
Curry will be a good fit with Ellis, and more importantly, a GREAT fit with Don Nelson. Neither Curry nor Ellis is a true point guard, both are insane little scorers, but the good thing is, they score the ball in completely different ways. Acie Law will probably back up BOTH players. Speedy Claxton cannot play in a Don Nelson system. For my money, I think Golden State could be really good if they got a nice "point forward" kind of player this summer. We'll see what happens.
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I'm going to bed. I'll post the rest of the teams when I wake up.
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LET'S RUN THIS SHIT INTO THE GROUND.
HOUSTON ROCKETS:
Bought the Rights to Jermaine Taylor, Sergio Llull (GREAT name), and Chase Budinger.
~This is a hell of a move by a really smart front office. "Hey, there's some real talent out there that no one actively wants to hold for themselves? Let's just buy the damn picks." I love when teams do that, and I hate when OTHER teams let them. It's a double-edged sword. This is a really great move for Houston, but the big news is that T-Mac is a walking bruise, and Yao Ming might not play a game of basketball again let alone this season. Houston is in a lot of trouble. I feel so bad for them, because they're really the best-built team in the league. The front office there is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Maybe they'll get a more durable star some other year. Good luck to you, Rocket fans.
INDIANA PACERS:
Drafted Tyler Hansborough and AJ Price.
~Good thing Granger is locked up long term, eh, Indiana? Actually, I think Hansborough is going to be a solid player in the NBA for years to come. Not really a superstar like he was in college, but I don't see why he'd be a failure. People will blast Indiana for reaching for him at 13, but I'm not sure I agree 100%, since I think Hansborough would be undervalued if he were picked LOWER. I like how the conventional wisdom is that teams need to be built around taking big risks. I'd question the sanity of that. Actually, I'd like to ask "When has that ever worked?" If you answered "Hardly ever!" you'd be absolutely right. Hey, let's take a big gamble on a bone-headed super athlete who will never contribute to the league, but might win a slam dunk contest or something. (I'm sorry Gerald Green. You're actually a pretty cool guy.)
LA CLIPPERS
Drafted Blake Griffin. Kicked Zach Randolf to the curb of Memphis for Quentin Richardson. (Who came from New York, for those keeping score)
~Congratulations! You drafted a freakish super-athlete with a work ethic! That's something I like in my #1 picks. Also, I think Griffen and Kaman would make a pretty formidable duo. Arguably one of the best front-courts in the league, although, hilariously, not the best in LA. More importantly, you got rid of the festering disease of Zach Randolf, who cannot possibly contribute to the positive development of Griffin. Randolf is the epitome of empty stats. Q-Rich is pretty decent, too. Congrats, LA. Maybe if Baron gets all motivated this season you can be a serious threat. You have playoff-level talent, despite your horrendous last season.
LA LAKERS
Drafted Chinemelu Enolu. Traded a bunch of picks for money so they could re-sign Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom.
~Well, Ariza might walk anyhow. I really like Ariza, but odds are he's going to be paid WAY more money than he's worth this year, so if he walks, then I guess that's not the biggest of deals. Odom is the real important piece and Vujacic and Walton should be able to sub for Ariza's minutes assuming EITHER of the two gets out of their little funk. Lakers are not in any trouble without Trevor Ariza. As for Chinemelu Enolu, god DAMN that is a sweet name.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Drafted Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carol, and Sam Young. Traded Darko Milicic to New York for Q-Rich, but then traded him to the Clippers for Zach Randolf.
~This is a really goddamn solid draft for the Grizzlies on paper. I guess Rubio heard from the other Spanish players that Memphis was a hell hole, and he wouldn't play here. (Incidentally, he WILL play for Minnesota. Fuck you, ESPN, he has said nothing about not wanting to play in Minnesota. STOP MAKING SHIT UP.) Anyhow. Thabeet is arguably under-valued, if that makes a lick of goddamn sense. I'm not saying he should be the #1 pick. I'm saying, there's a group of people who point to him as #2 as a sign of how weak this draft is, but really, he's a damn good defensive center. I've seen video of this kid, and when he blocks shots, he comes down with the ball or deflects it to a teammate. That is way the fuck better than blocking the shot out of bounds. And with his huge block total, that is insane. Absolutely insane. This kid will win Defensive Player of the Year a few times before he retires.
Carol and Young are really good picks. You might say they're "VSM picks" because I like taking proven commodities instead of taking huge gambles. And these seem like the kind of versatile defending type players that fill a Shane Battier or James Posey kind of mold. How players like that can still be undervalued in this league is absolutely beyond me.
My problem with the Grizzlies' moves, (aside from the obvious Zach Randolf thing) is their lineup looks something like this now.
MARC GASOL/HASHEEM THABEET/HAMMAD HADADDI/CHRIS MIHM
ZACH RANDOLF/HAKIM WARRICK/DARREL ARTHUR
RUDY GAY/DEMARRE CAROL/SAM YOUNG
OJ MAYO/QUINTIN ROSS/GREG BUCKNER
MIKE CONLEY/MARKO JARIC/MIKE WILKS
See any positions of need there, Memphis?
YOU NEED GUARDS YOU IGNORANT FUCKS. ACTUAL GODDAMN GUARDS. WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE TWO SMALL FORWARDS AND TRADE FOR ZACH GODDAMN RANDOLF?! WHY NOT JUST KEEP Q-RICH AFTER YOU GOT HIM, BECAUSE HE AT LEAST MAKES A LICK OF SENSE ON YOUR TEAM. JESUS.
Fuck the Grizzlies.
MIAMI HEAT:
Drafted Patrick Beverly and Robert Dozier.
~Second round picks. Can't expect -too- much with 'em, I guess. I think they'd have done better picking up Budinger with the 42nd pick, but maybe Beverly will turn into something good when he comes over. Miami didn't exactly have a lot of options, but then again, they didn't exactly turn lemons into lemonade, either.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS:
Drafted Brandon Jennings and Jodie Meeks. Extended an offer to Ramon Sessions and let Charlie V walk.
~Sessions is the better player. YEAH, I SAID IT. So they made the right choice there. I can't wrap my head over why they'd pick Jennings, though. Ridnour/Sessions is a pretty solid PG rotation, if a bit underwhelming, but more importantly, I can't picture a universe where Scott Skiles actually puts up with Brandon Jennings. He is just not a good fit for the coach, so I guess they're hoping that he turns into a really good NBA player or something, because Skiles isn't usually a permanent resident. I hope they don't feel too stupid for drafting the next Sebastian Telfair. Meeks, on the other hand, I think is quite a solid pick-up.
Milwaukee lacks size now that they let Villanueva walk. And given what he signed for with the Pistons, I think they could have kept him if they'd just gave him an offer. Bad move letting him get away.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES:
Drafted Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, and Hank Norel. Traded Mike Miller and Randy Foye to Washington for [Rubio], Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and Oleksey Pecherov.
~I love their new GM. Hands down winners of the draft, Minnesota proves they are not stupid by taking the best players available, and saying "Fuck it!" to positions of need. They don't have the assets right now to draft for need. They need to collect goodies. And collect they did. Rubio probably stands the best chance of being a superstar of anyone in the draft, including Griffin. Despite what jerk-offs at ESPN would have you believe, he's actually fairly happy to play for Minnesota. If they can work something out to get him out of his Joventut contract, he will play, and he will start. More importantly than getting Ricky Rubio from Washington. (Hahaha. Washington.) They managed to get two very solid players in Etan Thomas (when he's healthy) and Darius Songaila. So they easily won their trade with Washington, even though Washington got enough to make a lot of noise next season. Trades are funny like that.
My big issue with the Wolves right now is their shooting. They need some wings something fierce. This is why Wayne Ellington was a hell of a pick for them. Given what he has to compete with, he ought to get some big minutes right away, which is always a good way to boost your confidence and career. Still given their methodical new approach to team-building, I can seriously see them collecting these assets in the future. Minnesota has become the new Portland.
NEW JERSEY NETS:
Drafted Terrence Williams. Traded Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to Orlando for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tonie Battie.
~No real complaints here. Jersey decided to go with youth, and now is solid everywhere except for up front. Hopefully they'll be able to get somewhere in the future.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS:
Drafted Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton, sort of.
~True Story. I have heard numerous people saying that they shouldn't have picked Collison because he's too much like Chris Paul. And yet, the #1 knock on the Hornets is that they have NO decent backup to Chris Paul. So... how is this a bad pick? It's just further proof that analysts have no idea what they're doing. The Hornets need a bench. They got some major help there. Good job, New Orleans.
NEW YORK KNICKS:
Drafted Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas. Sort of. Traded Q-Rich for Darko Milicic.
~The best part was seeing the annoying Knicks fans at the draft reacting to missing out on Curry and trading for Darko. "WHY WOULD YOU DOOOOO THAT?!" Classic.
What's there to say about the Knicks that hasn't already been said? Yes, they're sort of moving in the right direction. Jordan Hill was a good pick once Curry was off the board. HAHAHA you missed out on Curry. I dunno how to quantify New York anymore.
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More to come.
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I wonder how much cash Toronto threw at Turkoglu so that he would skip out on going to a potential championship team and instead play in the cellar of the Eastern Conference.
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Since I have an annoying habit of missing the latter half of teams, I'm going to post my season predictions BACKWARD. I guess.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS:
Most people's pick for "Most improved team in the NBA", and why the hell not? Last season they were riddled with injuries, and this season it sounds like they have a healthy group together. While I'm not sure that they needed to replace their coach, Flip Saunders is pretty darn good, and, in hindsight, I kind of miss having him here in Detroit. He likes his Zone defense, which is good, because I can't see the Wizards ever playing a man-to-man system. Mike Miller and Randy Foye, while not stellar players by any means (Miller is at least OK), are decent pickups. Probably not worth the loss of the Rubio pick, but the Wizards are in the very odd position of wanting to win RIGHT NOW, despite having won so few games last season. I also like having Fabricio Oberto, who is a tough competitor who knows his spots. Washington needs a consistent player like him. If Arenas is even a shell of his former self, they should still be in pretty good shape. Jamison is still really good, and Caron Butler, when healthy, is easily the second-best small forward in the league. Did you hear that, Paul Pierce? I'm saying "Go fuck yourself" but being subtle about it.
UTAH JAZZ:
What do people see in this team? They come back with the same solid roster they've been trotting out for seasons now, but it's more than a little apparent that this crew is never going to win anything. Beyond THAT, Boozer seems to want out. Kirilenko has emotional problems. You can still get some good value for these guys, so I don't understand why the Jazz don't make a few trades and blow up really fast. With Williams, they should have enough talent to draw valuable free agents and not fall into a big rut, but they seem hell-bent on being merely a "good" team. Well, that's fine. Expect to see the Jazz in the playoffs, but you're crazy if you think they'll do anything special.
TORONTO RAPTORS:
Well, they made a big splash by picking up, of all people Hedo Turkoglu. I'm not sure how Turk fits in with the general scheme of the Raptors, but it seems like they could use a legit big man with some MUSCLE more than him. Still, he'll be starting for sure and despite a bit of hype last season, Turk is still a pretty darn good player. He likes to handle the ball a bunch, and I dunno how that is going to work with Jose Calderon on the same team.
This is a good season to watch if you're a fan of Italian players, as both Bargnani and Bellinelli will be starting for Toronto, and Il Mago has proven that he's a considerably better player when he's in the opening lineup. I think he'll get out of the sophomore slump that he had been in and finally start showing some flashes of the good player I still think he can be. Bellinelli has been showing some signs of putting it together, and Toronto, unlike Golden State, seems to want to give him time to shine, which I think will work out very well. You'll recall that I was very big on Bellinelli a few years ago, and I still think that he could make a splash sometime soon.
Toronto is a very interesting team. The big question is if Turk can take them to the playoffs, and I'm inclined to think "Well, yeah. Maybe." They have a better roster than Detroit does, now, but I don't see them pulling in more than a seventh or eighth seed. It will be a dogfight with Charlotte.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS:
They finally got rid of Slappy, and I really, really feel good about that. I no longer feel like a horrible person for professing my love of the Spurs, who have been the most consistently well-oiled team in the league for the past decade. With luck, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan can stay healthy, and then there's the new edition of Richard Jefferson, which I think has been overhyped, but combining his vast superiority to Bruce Bowen (especially the Bowen of the past few years) with the expected health of the big three, and I think the Spurs have a legit chance of taking the title this year, although I don't think I have it in myself to bet against the ridiculously stacked Laker team. Another pickup that people don't mention too much, but I think will help a team like the Spurs quite a bit is the signing of Keith Bogans. Eventually this team is going to get really old, really fast, but I don't think this is the year for it. Still, when it does happen, it will be a sad day in the world of sports. The Spurs are one of the great teams of our generation, and are fairly emblematic of the 200X years of basketball.
SACRAMENTO KINGS:
This will be my team in NBA 2K10 in about four days. Why? Because they are the worst team in the league, and beyond that, they seem like they have the least amount of options to improve themselves, going forward.
That said, they actually do have a bizarre commodity that I think a lot of teams would like. Their two main big men, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes, are both pretty solid and seem like the kind of guys who actually could get better as they stay in the league. They also have Kevin Martin, who is ridiculously efficient, and will probably be the "Most underrated player in the league" for a long time, because really, who pays attention to the Kings? Anyhow, Tyreke Evans seems like he'll be somewhat decent, but I absolutely HATE them picking him. There were a bunch of good point guards on the board, and I think that the Kings needed one above anything else. They had zero chance of working out the Rubio contract, because they're horribly broke. But given the way Johnny Flynn has been looking in Minnesota so far, I think they missed a huge pickup. Their bench also leaves a lot to be desired.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS:
Well, they haven't exactly wowed me with any of their offseason moves, but then again, they really didn't need to, as the Blazers have one of the more solid rosters in the league, and as one of the younger rosters (with one of the better coaches) they really don't have anywhere to go but up. As a team that won 54 games last season, that's still saying quite a bit. Greg Oden has, at least in the preseason, looked really good, which could be the biggest bonus for this team. It's true that, up until now, Pryzbilla has been the better player for them, and they've done much better with him on the floor, but last year was essentially Oden's rookie Season, and I think that he will have a pretty darned impressive year this season, too. While not an eye-popping move, getting Andre Miller was a strong move that I think will help them, but at this point, there's really not a lot they need help with. Thanks to Kevin Pritchard's inspired team-building, this should be a playoff contender for years to come.
PHOENIX SUNS:
Their decline will continue, but lucky them, there's really no teams that have a reasonable chance of picking up the slack. With Houston's broken roster, there's even a reasonable chance that they'll get into the playoffs again. The downside is they have lost a lot of what made them a good team. Their originality and "spark" have basically been extinguished, and Nash continues to break down as the years go by. (Although he's still a ridiculous passer and shooter when he's actually on the floor. I actually feel bad for Nash in a way. For a long time I thought the press was basically fellating him, but he deserved the chance to play and lose with a good team. The management at Phoenix has basically destroyed the chance he'll ever get another even matchup with the elite teams in the West again. Their loss to San Antonio a couple of years ago was probably the last real hurrah of the Phoenix Suns.
Robin Lopez broke his foot, so expect Amar(')e Stoudamire to stink up the center for a while (compared to how much better he'd be if he were starting at his native PF, I mean.) Actually, they might start Channing Frye there. I'm actually a little interested to see what Frye can do with playing time and with a point guard like Nash. If he can't shine in Phoenix, then there's something wrong with this boy.
PHILADELPHIA 76ers:
Elton Brand is healthy, but if you've been watching the preseason, you'd know that he's doing a whole lot of nothing for the roster. Which is a shame, because Elton Brand was really talented and strikes me as a standout sort of guy.
This team seems like it's going to fall off. I've heard a lot of talk about this being Lou Williams' year to break out, but I don't think I've ever seen a sign during Williams' tenure as an NBA player that he will ever have a breakout year. I'd be sinking my resources into trying to develop Jrue Holiday, but even he's been having his troubles in the Preseason. Iggy has been doing the main ball-handling, but he's sort of like a poor man's LeBron James when it comes to this sort of thing. This team is going to miss Andre Miller. Of the playoff teams from last year, Philadelphia is another one that I see falling off the map. They're right in the mix for "bottom of the top" of the East with Toronto, Detroit, and Charlotte.
ORLANDO MAGIC:
They will be interesting to watch. Turk for Carter is, as far as I'm concerned, pretty much a wash, but there have been other positives that I hear from Orlando. For one, I LOVE Brandon Bass, and I think that taking him in at PF or possibly even an undersized Sub for Dwight will give teams an absolute headache on the inside. They are going to need to foul a lot, and with further bench depth like the Warlock and Foyle, there's really going to be an issue with teams trying to stay big against the Magic.
JJ Redick looks like he's ready to finally get some big boy minutes, and I think he'll be just fine with them, but he's still a defensive liability. Jason Williams, if he has anything left in the tank, is a good pickup for Orlando, because he can still get hot from time to time.
The biggest News is Dwight Howard's claim on his free throw shooting. He claims he's 70% now, which, if that actually manages to hold true, would put him into serious consideration for MVP. Or maybe he can just start hitting the little midrange shot that we all know he has, but never remembers exists. In his one preseason game, he only shot 50% from the line, but he had 17 total attempts, so that's a fairly large sample. He MIGHT have improved his percentage a little, but 70%? A Magic fan can dream.
OKLAHOMA CITY:
I don't get the folks who seem to think that this team is going to make the playoffs anytime soon. For one thing, they still could use a bench. And Kevin Durant needs to eat something. I think they should have picked a point guard in the draft, because I don't think Russel Westbrook is a true point man (which I think would fit OKC much better). On the other hand, last night he had 10 assists. Assuming Westbrook did INDEED improve his point guard skills a lot, then this team actually has gotten quite better. They've had a lot of problems at center, and I think that will be somewhat ameliorated this year with Etan Thomas and Nenad Krstic bringing up the middle. Mostly, I'm happy to see Krstic back in the league, because I missed the guy and his incomprehensible last name. I also like Sefolosha for reasons I can't entirely explain.
Still, this team is at least a year off the playoffs, probably two. But with a bright young player like Kevin Durant, they could have a positive future.
NEW YORK KNICKS:
If they weren't loud, obnoxious, and inexplicably arrogant regarding their dismal little franchise, I'd probably feel sorry for the fans of the New York Knicks. As it stands, I'm just going to sit back and laugh at them for being stupid enough to think that they have a legit shot at LeBron James or D-Wade.
There's this TERRIBLE misunderstanding that many people have, where they assume people want to play for the Knicks. This is really not the case. At all. Pretty much no one wants to play in New York. The city isn't a huge basketball town, and really, it never was. The team is historically below average, and I think that, most of all, players want to go to a team where they feel like they can win. I don't see LeBron leaving Cleveland, because Cleveland has done pretty much EVERYTHING to keep him there, and always try to bring in players to help get something going. They've been one of the best teams in the league for years now, and not all of that is because of James' amazing talent. Plus Cleveland has some new, partial Chinese ownership, which I know LeBron is savvy enough to realize is potentially very lucrative for him. China has an enormous growing basketball fanbase.
But why am I talking about Cleveland instead of New York? Oh, that's right. Because New York is planning for the big star they'll pick up next year, but I really doubt they'll actually get anyone special. I think Danilo Gallinari will have a solid "first" season, but other than that, there's not a lot to look forward to with this franchise. There's just... too many teams in the East that are better, and I can't see them making the playoffs this year, or having enough REALLY good players on the floor to want to move to. Do you think anyone looks at Chris Duhon and says "That's the Point Man I was born to run with"? Exactly.
MORE TO COME.
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If the Knicks somehow manage to bribe LeBron into coming to NY, how does he fit in there? I mean, isn't the rest of the team still shit as a hangover from the Isaiah Thomas years?
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Pretty much. The only guy they have that's worth anything is David Lee, but for whatever reason, they seem hell bent on selling high on him while they still can.
Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari might each turn out into something good, but here's the thing: They're both Small Forwards. If LeBron comes over, they're completely superfluous. This is why I laugh at New York's ability to draw stars. They don't have any short of a lot of cash. And yeah, that can go a long way in a tortured economy, but the big names are going to want to win.
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Pretty much. The only guy they have that's worth anything is David Lee, but for whatever reason, they seem hell bent on selling high on him while they still can.
Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari might each turn out into something good, but here's the thing: They're both Small Forwards. If LeBron comes over, they're completely superfluous. This is why I laugh at New York's ability to draw stars. They don't have any short of a lot of cash. And yeah, that can go a long way in a tortured economy, but the big names are going to want to win.
Well, if they trade Lee high and Chandler/Gallinari turn into decent prospects, maybe they're hoping to grab LeBron and buy their way into the elite? It's the only thing I can think of.
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I see Miami's willingness to not go out and get Wade some help is going to provide one of two scenarios.
1. Wade doesn't renew and gets whooshed aweay to another team.
2. The Heat are attempting to throw James a LOT of money and try and bribe him into a Miami jersey.
~
eh, who knows!
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I'd say they're saving up cap space not for LeBron, but rather someone like Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudomire, or Joe Johnson. Those are much more realistic options, and Miami's generally considered a pretty desirable location for players to go so it's a sound strategy.
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Bosh is one of the few players I could see moving. Maybe Stoudamire, but I wouldn't make that risk as a GM. JJ is a mercenary who'll go where he can get the dough.
If Wade does move, I think it'd be to Chicago, but I, for some reason, thought that Chi-town wasn't clearing cap space like crazy like so many other teams do.
EDIT
By "make that risk" for Stoudamire--- Amar"'"e has basically the same diagnosis for his eyes that Rip Hamilton does, but isn't anywhere near as committed to wearing the gear.
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NEW ORLEANS HORNETS:
Well, last night they got a serious drubbing by the Spurs, but that's not that big of a surprise because if you didn't think the Spurs were going to be really good this season, you're some kind of crazy person. After watching their game tonight, I finally got to get a good look at Emeka Okafor and how he plays inside, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed. Okafor was having a pretty easy time scoring in there, so I'm thinking he'll be somewhat of an upgrade over Tyson Chandler. As for if he'll be enough to boost the standings of the Hornets, well, that's probably stretching it. Some of their key players just played pretty terribly, notably James Posey and Peja. (Who, according to some floozy's twitter that the team made her delete, has a "
"great cock".)
What's more important to understand here is outside of Chris Paul, David West, and Okafor, there's not a lot here to really get excited about. Their bench is really thin, and the other two fifths of their starting five aren't super impressive, either. Look for this team to be one of a small handful fighting for a bottom playoff spot.
NEW JERSEY NETS:
First off, I love me some Devin Harris, and I also really like Brooke Lopez. But this team probably isn't going to improve its record on a year after dumping Vince Carter.
This is a pretty interesting team, because you have Harris and you have Courtney Lee in your starting back court. Defensively, that's a pretty fun back court. Maybe they struggle some against bigger tougher offensive guards, but both of these kids play pretty nice defense, which, from Carter is about the only place outside of "age" where you could say Lee is an upgrade. With Carter gone, Harris is going to be a bigger focal point for opposing team defenses, and I'm not really sure that he's quite good enough to take this kind of punishment night in and night out. One on one, he may as well be unguardable, because he's just so fast and can get anywhere on the floor he pleases.
The good news for the Nets is that Yi Jianlian just had a fantastic game. If the light turns on for him at all, he could be really dangerous. The decision to dump Carter and "go young" was probably a really good one for this team. I think they're on the rise, although they might fall this year, first.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES:
I love the direction of this franchise. Their talent doesn't all fit well together, but they have a great selection of young players. They have so many guys that I look at as commodities, that they can sit around and wait for a really good deal. I think when this team finally trades one of their young pieces, they'll probably be fleecing their trading partner.
Jonny Flynn is really good, maybe better than I've given him credit for, and is my PRE SEASON prediction to win "Rookie of the Year". This is true even with a capable backup like Ramon Sessions, who could be starting for a handful of teams. There's really no chance of them making the playoffs this year, but the organization feels like it's being run competently, which is way more than can be said when it was being ran by Kevin McHale.
I read a scouting report on ESPN where the scout mentioned he was damn sure that one of Jefferson's go-to moves had to have been taught to him by McHale, and that wouldn't surprise me at all. I think McHale would make a much better coach, and specifically a big-man coach, than he would a GM. He was one of the best forwards of all time, and a lot of this was technique and smarts. I'd love to see some more McHale moves be spread to the younger players throughout the league. If he can add some of his style of play to different big men out there, that'd be a great way to add to his legacy.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS:
Many people's pick for worst team in the league, although for my money, that'd be the Kings. Milwaukee is one of those teams that just doesn't have the pieces together to do anything really dramatic for some time to come. They need to get lucky again with a draft (which is sad, because Bogut himself was a #1 pick) if they want a chance to get ahead in the league.
Outside of Bogut, who I think is incredibly underrated, partly because as a #1 pick, he'll draw inevitable comparisons to Chris Paul and Deron Williams, who both became big stars in this league, but as a basketball player, the Aussie does a lot of things on the court that I like. His inside game is actually pretty darn good, and he's a terrific passer. He's got size and he rebounds, but he's not a guy who'll carry a team, and unfortunately for the Bucks, neither is Michael Redd.
Another player I'm a big fan of is Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who has hands down the best name in the NBA. He's a great roleplayer, but I think that says something about your team when your most notable players are a tier 3 star, Andrew Bogut, and a great roleplayer.
MIAMI HEAT:
Word is that Beasley has earned the starting job, which is pretty weird to me, because I don't see what Beasley did during his tenure to actually earn it. He has some scoring ability, I guess, but I'd rather see some rebounding and defense from my starting power forward. Haslem has a toughness that I don't think Beasley will ever develop during his tenure in the NBA, but that's a strong claim to make about a 2nd year player. (Really, it's more of a compliment to Udonis Haslem).
Hopefully they'll show enough improvement from the young guys this year to make Dwyane Wade want to stick around. Really, I don't see why he'd be one of those players with a pressing need to win NOW, because he already has and he's also incredibly young. I'd think he'd want to stay in a place like Miami where he indisputably gets to lead a team, and the fans adore him, and he can carve out a real legacy. Plus, although they're not really making many moves, I think that the franchise does want to improve.
They wound up being left with Quentin Richardson, who can help Wade a little on the scoring front, and Daquan Cook looks like he's improved a bunch, so this team might actually be pretty respectable come playoff time. They won't win, and they'll have a 5th or 6th seed like they did last year, but I think it has to feel better to constantly be in that second tier of teams than those playoff bottom-feeders. One or two moves, and this team could build itself back up to glory. Wade gives them that kind of luxury. All they really need is a good point guard, and the league is getting more and more of them.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES:
I need a new team to be the target of my old "LOL KNICKS" jokes, and that's the Memphis Grizzlies. So without further ado:
LOL GRIZZLIES
POP QUIZ, HOTSHOT: What do LeBron James, Jose Calderon, Rajon Rondo, Russel Westbrook (I seriously underrated him. Good pick up, OKC.), Deron Williams, Aaron Brooks, and Baron Davis all have in common?
If you guessed "They each got more assists last night than the entire Grizzlies TEAM", then you're RIGHT.
LA LAKERS:
Well, let's see. What happens when you take what was easily the best team in the league last year, who ran away with the Championship, and then add a significant upgrade defensively, which is the one area where they could be said to still need improvement?
I say you Repeat for a title. Granted, the season has 82 games, and a whole lot can happen, but really, there's no reason at all for the Lakers to do worse, and anyone who tells you that Ron Artest is going to cost you a few games is crazier than Ron-Ron is. Artest is a lot of things, but when it comes to basketball games, he's goddamn tough. And although he has a (rightful, in my view) strong opinion about his skills, he doesn't have any problem with being one of the later options on a team. When he came over to Sacramento, he was a huge part of their success that year, and they fought the Spurs as hard as anyone did.
Anything else I say about the Lakers will just be me gushing. The only big story is Artest. This is a great basketball club that is at the top of the league until someone takes them down a peg.
LA CLIPPERS:
Baron Davis doesn't look fat! One thing that's definitely worth noting is that I think he's motivated this year. Be it because he gets to play with someone who can help right away like Blake Griffin, or be it because last year was something to be ashamed of, I think he's come to play. And that can be a lot of trouble for a lot of teams, particularly when Griffin gets back.
Eric Gordon looks like he did last year, but that's OK because he looked pretty damn good last year. I imagine he won't turn out too differently than the other Gordon, Ben, but really, who cares. He's in a great situation where he can play beside Davis, who is just so damn big, they can switch which positions they have to cover.
Some of what they got from the Wolves is pretty underrated. Craig Smith is a guy who can help you win a few games, but asking him to do much more than that is probably not a good idea. Sebastian Telfair has struggled a bit so far, but I think he's pretty damn good as far as a backup point guard goes. Given how thin the Clippers have been at this position for a few years, I have to think that a motivated Davis + Telfair has got to feel good for their fanbase (Consisting entirely of Billy Crystal.)
INDIANA PACERS:
I overrated this team last year, but I'm not going to do it again. This team won't make the playoffs.
Not that I want to bad-talk them, because they've had a bad turn or two in their day, and they have a few things to look forward to. They locked up Granger which is really good for them, because he just had an all-star type season and the kid just seems to get better and better. That's the real important part for them.
No, what bothers me about the Pacers is I don't really like their young players, and mark it right now: This is the year I gave up on Mike Dunleavy Jr. The young guys, though.... Branden Rush was a kid who I really thought was going to be better than he turned out. Roy Hibbert just doesn't look good, although he played well against the Hawks.
Still, Granger is a great starting block, and I still like Troy Murphy and TJ Ford, so there's that. They just... are going to need a few more pieces if they want to compete in a completely revitalized Eastern Conference.
HOUSTON ROCKETS:
I expect a big year out of Louis Scola, but that's about the entire thing I can say on this team. They're just too riddled with injuries to really compete, which is all kinds of sad, because they have the kind of roleplayers and bench that would put a team over the edge into championship territory. I feel so damn bad for Yao Ming, because he's truly special and a joy to watch, but his giant body and the Chinese National Team have probably cut his career tragically short.
There's not a lot to be said other than that. The McGrady/Yao combo should have, by all rights, worked better than it did. Especially with the roleplayers of this team. Houston fans have to feel a lot of heartbreak, because their front office does a lot of things absolutely right. They might have one of the best front offices in the league.
Chase Budinger was a really good pick, at least.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS:
Well... uh.... Stephen Curry is good. We know that much. He's a better passer than I think he ever got credit for, and I don't think pairing him up with Ellis is hopeless except for defensively (and when has Golden State ever gave a shit about that?), since Curry passes and scores on the outside, and Ellis looks for his own shot on the drive. Corey Maggette is going to lose them a few games, and if Jackson really wants to keep up with his "Trade me to a contender" bullshit, then he might, too.
That actually really angers me about Jackson. Ok, I hate when guys are like "Wah. Trade me to a contender." Especially when they're third tier guys like Jackson is, and especially when they ALREADY HAVE WON the fucking championship. Grow up. You want to cement your goddamn legacy? After you win a bloody championship, pull a bottom feeder like the Warriors into the limelight again. You're the damn man on this team.
I love the young players on the Warriors, although Monte Ellis is apparently a huge bonehead. Once they get rid of the chaff (Maggette), they'll possibly be exciting in a few years, but then again, I expect them to keep up their rich tradition of grooming great players for other teams.
DETROIT PISTONS:
Well, Ben Gordon is, for now, working well with Rip Hamilton, which is great news for the Pistons, because a happy Ben Gordon is a serious upgrade over a disgruntled Allen Iverson. Another good sign for the Pistons is the improved play of Will Bynum, who as a pass-first point guard, will probably see a lot more playing time this season. So the Pistons might not have fallen off as far as I thought they would.
The really bad news for the Pistons is on the side of their bigs. They just lost so much depth up front. It's nice to see Ben Wallace looking somewhat revitalized, and with the backcourt this team has, he doesn't need to score, which is great news. But they're missing an awful lot of talent up front. I sort of like Chris Wilcox, but I've never been a big fan of Villanueva, who I think is basically all of Rasheed Wallace's worst traits (save attitude), and almost none of his better ones. If any signing bothers them in the years to come, it's going to be this one.
Nevertheless, the team isn't really BAD, I guess. The real question is if it can handle a stronger Eastern Conference?
DENVER NUGGETS:
There was a time when I never thought I'd say this, but I really like the Denver Nuggets. Maybe it's Chauncy Billups. Maybe its Birdman. Maybe it's seeing the "team first" light go off in Carmelo Anthony's head, or the sudden healthiness of Nene or the Magnificent pickup of Ty Lawson on draft day. But whatever it is, this is a really good, really exciting team.
They are a top three team in the West. They gave the Lakers their best battle last year, and this year, they'll be right there again. Most seasons, I want to say there are about four teams that could reasonably win the championship, but this year, at least in the early stages, I want to say there are at least six. Denver is one of them.
For whatever reason they're going to be a shock to a lot of teams this coming season, but they won't be a surprise to me. This unit has grown into one of the NBA's elite teams, and seeing it turn around, particularly Carmelo Anthony, has been one of the nicest things to watch in the past few years of the league.
STILL SIX MORE TEAMS AND AWARD PREDICTIONS TO COME.
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I'm compelled to smash a TV, then go out and buy a TV and smash that.
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DALLAS MAVERICKS:
Look like they'll actually be pretty good this year. Somehow, people have been so afraid of overrating the pickup of Shawn Marion, it looped back around to where they are underrating it. More important to the team, I think, is the revitalization of Eric Dampier, who suddenly seemed to remember he could play basketball, and NOT be part of a 2-headed monster center, and instead just be.... a really damn good center. If he can keep that up for a whole season (which is asking probably too much. He's had some absurd games early on), the Mavs actually look pretty darn dangerous again. Despite the presence of Jason Kidd, I actually found myself rooting for the Mavs last time I watched them, which is impressive because they were against my beloved Lakers.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS:
You're crazy if you think their weak start is at all indicative of how they'll play the rest of the season. They have to adjust a major new piece into their team, they're without Delonte West (Either a starter for them or their sixth man), and TWO FUCKING GAMES isn't enough to get a sense of anything.
That said, Mike Brown is really exposing how much of an idiot he is. On offense, you actually CAN sort of run Big Z and Shaq together, since Ilgauskas is an outside shooter (who smartly added a three-point shot to his arsenal---proving he can do things Shaq can't in his fight for minutes) And Shaq will pound the ball inside. On defense, this is ridiculously stupid, though. The two just... cannot exist together defensively. They're just too big, too old, and too slow. I mean, assuming they actually got down to the other end of the court, I sure as shit wouldn't drive the ball inside, but really, there's no excuse for these two to be on the floor at the same time, ever.
Mike Brown should be buying the FINEST HOOKERS to suck Mo Williams' dick, because any credit Brown got as a coach last year is attributable almost entirely to having a scoring option that's not LeBron.
CHICAGO BULLS:
I think they'll be OK, despite the loss of Gordon. They're basically a talented young team (again!) with young players that will improve (some more!) and somehow manage to be this team every single year, which baffles me.
It's bigger than you'd think that Brad Miller and John Salmons get to spend the entire year with the team, because both of these guys are good players and you'd be amazed at what a little training camp or two will do to gel folks together. Janerro Pargo was a terrific pickup in the offseason.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS:
God DAMN this is an ugly team to watch. They don't score the ball, but they defend, and I guess that's how Larry Brown likes it. Gerald Wallace has been putting up some insane numbers, and this is probably a fringe playoff team if he can stay healthy. That's a pretty big if, because concussions are the sort of thing where if you get one, you're much more likely to get another, and pretty soon they can add up and really destroy a career. (In my very, VERY brief stint as a hockey fan, I was big on Eric Lindros. I feel robbed.)
Actually, Charlotte reminds me a lot of a poor man's 2004 Detroit Pistons, if that makes any sense. Same coach, same team without any top tier stars (Although hindsight will show that Chauncey Billups is fantastic) but a lot of players who can do lots of things well.... hmm... I like the Bobcats, and I love their new Away uniforms. I'm interested to see what they do in the offseason, because this is a team I feel is built intelligently, but it definitely lacks star-power.
BOSTON CELTICS:
I hate the fucking Celtics.
That said, they're incredibly dangerous looking, and while I picked the Lakers to win a Championship, the Celtics are pretty much right there, and are one of six or seven teams I think has a legit chance at taking home the trophy this year. (For my money, probably the second best of them all, too.) Rondo has continued his absolute excellent play, and I owe a big chunk of my assorted Fantasy success to his numbers. Sheed is fitting in shockingly well, and picking up Rasheed Wallace in the offseason is a proven way to win a championship. At least for now, Garnett's not what he used to be, but WHO THE FUCK IS? He's still really good on defense, and he'll get his offense done, just maybe in a different way. Their bench impresses the hell out of me, and their big man rotation is absurd when you realize that Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins are ALSO both pretty darned good. The only likable member of the whole squad is Ray Allen, and even he's not enough to make me want to do anything but spit on this franchise and take a good, long whizz into Boston Harbor, because seriously Boston Sports Fans are unlikable troglodytes. BUT. All that said, this is a really, really good basketball team, and that should surprise no one.
ATLANTA HAWKS:
According to my file of NBA2K10, the Atlanta Hawks are this year's NBA Champions, so you could say I saved the best for last.
Really, though, they're going to be a playoff team, but they don't have that magic final piece which will elevate them into a title-contender. Still, I'm really impressed with a lot of the young guys on this team, and I like the way they're put together.
Worth noting is that, as far as I know, Josh Smith has taken zero three-point shots this year, which if he sticks to that, is huge for his game, because everyone knows he's not a credible threat from deep, and they're going to give him that shot any time he wants it. When Smith plays to his strengths, however, he's really potent on offense and especially on defense, and can be a huge benefit for his team. If the light has really turned on for him like it looks like, then this team has some serious growth potential. Not "Championship contenting" growth, but they're probably the fourth best team in the East, which means a whole lot more now than it did the last few years.
LET'S PREDICT US SOME TROPHIES!
NBA MVP:
I'm gonna say Dwight Howard this year, because media attention has been focused on him an awful lot, and Steve Nash will tell you that that can be all the difference you need to win a major award in the NBA.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
I've been saying "Jonny Flynn" for weeks, but now that it's prediction time, I'm going to change to Stephen Curry. He's a much better passer than advertised, even though he was moved over to PG in his last year in college. More importantly, and yeah, I know, it's only been three games, but he's shooting an ungodly 57% from the field as a guard. He's got a great sense of knowing when it's HIS time to score, and when it's a TEAMMATE'S time to score, and that's huge for a player this young. Curry GETS basketball.
COACH OF THE YEAR:
God help me, this award is going to go to George Karl and there is nothing I can possibly do to stop it. The Nuggets are going to be huge this year, and someone has to get the credit, and it won't be "JR Smith being the starting 2" and it won't be "Carmelo looking like a legit MVP" and it CERTAINLY won't be "Chauncy Billups is the most underrated player of our generation." Oh no. The credit is going to go to George "I didn't have an under the rim inbounds play until Chauncy made me" Karl.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR:
Too early to say, because really, you can get an awful lot of good in trades as the season goes on, but right now I'm gonna go with ERNIE GRUNFIELD out of Washington, because you gave up a #5 pick that stayed overseas anyhow, and got a starter and a sixth man and a lot of hype about being a potential contender that's not entirely blowing smoke.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Kevin Garnett is a good bet if the Celtics keep up what they've been doing.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:
A lot of players are looking like they're going to have breakout years, but for my money this award is going to go to Il Mago. With the attention of being a #1 pick many thought was a bust, when Andrea Bargnani starts showing that, yes, he's really good at basketball, people are going to take notice.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR:
Ben Gordon looks like he'll be huge for the Pistons.
BEST NAME IN THE NBA:
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
BEST COCK:
Peja Stojakovic
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Let's go Heat and Magic!
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Well, Philly's season is now officially a publicity stunt.
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I'll get to that concept when I deal with their crappy team.
Well, folks, we've had another month for the teams to really establish themselves and show some of what they got, and that means it's time for the...
END OF NOVEMBER RUN DOWN
ATLANTA HAWKS: For a brief while, the Hawks were at the top of the league, which seems to lead a disturbing amount of credibility to my file of NBA 2K10. Luckily, I believe in coincidence. At any rate, the Hawks are showing other teams time and again that they're for real. I'm not sure I'm quite yet prepared to call them an elite team, but they're making it harder and harder to argue against them. Between the much improved play of several of their core players, and the underrated acquisition of Jamaal Crawford, the Hawks are really improved from last year, and that was a year where they looked pretty good.
BOSTON CELTICS: What's there to really say about the Celts that hasn't been hashed and re-hashed? They had a good team. They picked up Rasheed Wallace, who is playing pretty well for them. Garnett isn't horrendously injured and the wheels haven't fallen off of Pierce or Allen, and Rajon Rondo has made some huge strides in the past two years. They might not be my pick for eventual champions, but no one would -really- be surprised if they took home another trophy.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS: They have an anemic looking offense, but hopefully Jax can help bring that back up. Since he's the de-facto scorer on the team now, maybe he'll quit his bitching and pull this young team into the playoffs for the first time ever. I'd actually like that. This was an interesting trade for the Bobcats, because they gave up two very solid pieces to get Jackson, and at first glance, it looks like they got the ass-end of the deal, but if anything, they got a steal. I'm prepared to say that Acie Law is probably worthless.
CHICAGO BULLS: This is not looking like the team that took the Celtics to 7 games in the best playoff series of last year. On the OTHER HAND, they are 7-9, and early on is when the Bulls traditionally struggle to find their rhythm because that's when they have an extended road trip for the circus. So I'm inclined to say that the Bulls are one of the teams that is better than their record indicates. Joakim Noah has been playing fantastically, and I will be more than a little upset with the coaches if he's not selected as an all-star this year. The kid has earned it, PPG can get fucked.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: I sure hope people are worried less about the whole "Shaq" thing, now that Cleveland is rolling again. Really. Last season was almost a fluke given how insanely well they played at home. Expecting the same results is a little far-fetched. Anyhow, as long as they have Lebron and legit help for him, which Shaq, Williams, Gibson, West and Ilgauskas can claim, they can be considered an elite team. LeBron is, once again somehow having a better year than last year, which is absurd. I was figuring that the MVP would go to someone else because I have a thing against repeats, but James is having a career year in FG% and in Assists. Flipside, these are two stats you can almost certainly attribute in part to Shaq. Having him around will give you easy looks and he's still going to score when he gets the ball from a passer like LeBron.
DALLAS MAVERICKS: I find myself rooting for the Mavs sometimes again this year, despite the continued presence of Jason Kidd. This makes me really happy, because there are still some players on this team that I love to watch. Rodrigue Beaubois has a great name and has been playing OK, letting Terry do his thing. Tim Thomas has his stroke back and is lights out. His scoring isn't high, but it's very, very efficient. Also notable is Erick "Contract Year" Dampier playing with fury, although he's cooled off from his ridiculous start to the season.
DENVER NUGGETS: One of those teams that I consider elite even though maybe I'm not agreed with by other people. There's not much change in Denver from my last post in this topic. They might not have the -best- record, but they have a damn impressive record, and they continue to look like they're clicking. I'm still very impressed with the Ty Lawson pick.
DETROIT PISTONS: Well, I'm not entirely sold on the idea of them missing the playoffs just yet, because a lot of their early losses were games where Prince or Rip Hamilton. So instead of dealing with that, I'm gonna take this opportunity to gloat about my prediction that Jonas Jerebko would be a decent NBA Player. There's been some value in this draft with some lower level picks, so I kind of scoff at all the folks who said this was a weak draft. Maybe on the "all-star players" front, but for "Solid rotation players who will have long careers" I think the class of 2009 was pretty damn solid.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Kind of sucks that they had to trade Stephen Jackson, but they got two good pieces for him that, were this a decent team, I'd say they had the better end of the deal. Unfortunately, that's not how the world works sometimes. Raja Bell is a solid, smart player. He's the kind of guy that you could stick on a team that was on the cusp and maybe he'd turn you into a contender. Golden State is not this type of team. Worse, they picked up Vladdy-rad, who is another solid player, but the problem is, they have a really talented power forward sitting on their bench, and with the addition of a three-point shooting power forward that fits Nelson's system, the Warriors now have even more incentive to retard the development of their young pieces. Dumb, dumb, DUMB.
HOUSTON ROCKETS: Even taking into account their largely underrated pieces, you have to say that these guys have exceeded expectations. I guess I was wrong about the impact that Trevor Ariza would have, but really, this is a team that isn't going to be any more than a cusper without the addition of some real elite-level talent. It looks like Tracy McGrady might have to go, and if he's got anything left in his legs, he might be able to help a team immensely, as well as fetch a valuable mix of goods for the Rockets, who just fucking DESERVE something good to happen to them.
INDIANA PACERS: Well, in theory they could vault up a spot into the playoffs, but they really probably wont. The plus side for Indiana is that Roy Hibbert has been trying to prove me wrong by being a.... ....maybe not good. But a decent basketball player. Luckily for my accuracy, Brandon Rush is still absolutely terrible and they should really put him on the fucking bench, because his percentages are abysmal and they get WORSE when he gets more minutes. I just don't like this franchise right now. We'll see if they do anything smart next year.
L.A. CLIPPERS: Well, Griffin is still out, but the good news is that the Clippers are an impressive only a slightly below average 8-11. So maybe the team will play better next year? I'm not going to bother to analyze them further, because so much of their future is invested in Blake Griffin.
L.A. LAKERS: The Lakers didn't have Pau Gasol for most of this season, but they're still the #1 team in the NBA. I'll let that sink in. There is no reason for me to think this is anything but a repeat champion at this time, but I'll say there are a few teams that have a real shot. Luckily for those people who were hating on the Lakers' bench, Shannon Brown showed up to say "Hey, I can give you a highlight play a night and be a huge sparkplug when the team needs one." Still the greatest show on Earth.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: Iverson lasted two days. LOL GRIZZLIES
MIAMI HEAT: Jermaine O'neal is playing like he isn't DEAD, and Dwyane Wade is playing like the grim reaper. I harbored a lot of resentment for Wade and his reckless (frankly dangerous) style of play after he killed my Mavs a few years back, but it's hard to watch the kid play and not be astonished over just how good he is. Mario Chalmers is developing, and that's another feather in Miami's cap. Realistically, this isn't a team that's really going to do any damage in the playoffs, but they'll get there for as long as Wade is on the team, and if the team can get any help for Wade (shouldn't be a stretch), then they can be right back in the thick of it.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Holy shit, they're on pace to make the playoffs. There's a lot of praise being thrown on Brandon Jennings, and at this point, he deserves every bit of it. I'm more impressed with how a control freak like Scott Skiles is so willing to pass him the reigns. I think that speaks volumes for both the kid and his coach. However, I want to make sure that someone else doesn't go without notice. Andrew Bogut is quietly having the best year of his career, and this is a big reason why Milwaukee is in the playoff hunt again. (Bogut is the only center in the East I would support taking the back-up C All-star spot.)
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: They suck and are at the bottom of the league, but we pretty much all saw that coming and I think that with a team this raw, they deserve a little time to develop. The glory of this year is that the two real bottom-feeders have the legit excuse of being young and developing, and they'll use their high draft picks to get yet more talent. So I'm not going to complain about them or New Jersey (who I'll get to in a second.) The real idiots are over in New York and Philadelphia.
NEW JERSEY NETS: Well, they're 0-18, but I hope they don't do something crazy like fire Lawrence Frank, who is a damn good coach. They have two of the best reasons for being so abominably bad. They are a young team that has to take time to develop, and they've been absolutely riddled with injuries. It's hard to say that Jersey's record is their fault when they played at least one game without four of their five starters, and without their sixth man. The entire core of this team has been injured or sick for the entire season, so there's not a lot you can say about the Nets just now. I hope that the injury doesn't revert Yi to his play from the past few years, because he was looking damn solid before he went down.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS: They kind of suck! There's not really a lot I have to say here. The management has tried to surround Chris Paul with talent, but they've been rolling snake eyes time and again. This team just seems to have lost what magic that it had from a few years ago. Which ties right in with today's discussion of
NEW YORK KNICKS: Who are terrible aside from David Lee and Danilo Gallinari. And they're also batshit if they think they'll pick up Wade or LeBron in the offseason. However, they might be able to lure away someone like Chris Bosh. The BIG target that New York should be going for right now is Chris Paul. I'm pretty sure they won't be able to make a play for him until the season after next, but with a lot of cap space, a REALLY good Marksman, a hustling player like Lee, and the coach who got a point guard to back-to-back MVPs and is credited with changing how modern NBA teams play offense, New York has got to look like a tempting place to go if you're CP3. If you're on a playoff team, though? Not so much.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: I touched last time on how I underrated Russel Westbrook, but I want to be considerably more clear this time. I was completely wrong on Westbrook, and he is a damn good Point Guard and a huge reason why OKC is in the hunt for a playoff spot. Now, I'm not going to come out and say he's fantastic, because his turnover number is way too high for a Point Guard and his field goal percentage could stand to improve a lot. But these are things that I'm vaguely confident that he can get over. OKC continues to develop young talent alongside each other, and I see good things in their future.
ORLANDO MAGIC: On top of the East, and that really shouldn't come as a surprise to you. They got Carter, they got Jason Williams (without me noticing!) and JJ Reddick has improved his game a LOT from his first few years. Add that to the squad that went all the way to the finals last year, and you have a pretty textbook description of an Elite Team.
PHILADELPHIA 76ers: See what Shale just said if you want my take on the AI thing. They're not going to win their way back to the playoffs, but they might be able to get a few fans to start coming back to games. I really hope he and AI2 can play together this time around, because Iggy was starting to show some great chops out there, and should really be the #1 guy on this team. I'd be depressed to see a talent like that wilt in the presence of Allen Iverson.
PHOENIX SUNS: Are cooling off from a torrid start, but they're still playing fantastic, and without kidding you, Steve Nash would be my selection for MVP if LeBron James wasn't somehow having a career year in two major statistical categories. I feel really weird saying the Suns are good and saying that I think it's legit this time, but it's starting to feel that way. Frye plays really well with Stoudamire, because he can let Amar"'"e stay inside where he damn well belongs, and he's developed himself as a threatening outside player. I give a lot of credit to Frye. He was on the verge of being out of a career, and somehow found a niche as a starter on an elite team.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS: Greg Oden has started to show why he was the number 1 pick, and more impressively, he's been playing well alongside LaMarcus Aldridge, and not been slowing down Joel Pryzbilla. When you think of Portland, you don't instantly think "Bigs!" because they have such a great set of wings in Fernandez and Roy and Outlaw. Blake and Miller give them two very solid point guards who have different things to offer. This team just oozes talent from so many different sides, and while they're not quite what I'd call an elite team, it should be clear to everyone that they're the tiniest of steps away and they are not losing ground. I absolutely love the management of this franchise.
SACRAMENTO KINGS: Tyreke Evans has played fantastic, and this team is, almost magically, 9 and 8 to start the season. Omri Casspi has also been playing very well. Perhaps the biggest positive sign for the Kings is that they've been doing this without Kevin Martin, and there's really no reason for him to be unable to coexist with Evans when he comes back. Tyreke is the kind of player who has to control the ball to play his best, and Kevin Martin likes to get himself open by coming off of screens and such. I just wish Evans was this useful in NBA 2k10. Instead, he's my eighth man.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: Well, count me among the people that thought that the Spurs were going to turn around with the Jefferson trade (to be fair, I also thought that DeJuan Blair was going to be a huge shot in the arm, after seeing his ridiculous Preseason play. He has been playing quite well. Just not AS well.) It's looking more and more like the team is simply too old, though. Which is a shame, because individually, I think any of their three guys has a lot left to offer, but collectively, they just aren't getting it done.
TORONTO RAPTORS: They have forged an identity as a shoot-out team, and it's not working for them. I love how much Bargnani has improved offensively, but this team is absolutely hopeless if they can't turn around their defense somehow. And unfortunately for them, I just can't see that happening with their personnel.
UTAH JAZZ: Utah is the same boring goddamn middle-of-the-pack playoff team they've been for the past three or four years. I really don't have anything to say about them right now that wouldn't be rehashing of what I have said before.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: Yep. They're not quite off to a great start, but I think they'll turn around. They might not be as good as some of the analysts (myself included) were saying they'd be, but I think that they will show the pessimists up. It's more likely to me that this team makes the playoffs than say, Milwaukee or Charlotte, but you never know.
~~~~~~~~~~~
TROPHY PREDICTIONS!
NBA MVP: LeBron James. Howard has not done as well as I'd hoped, despite his team's stellar record. LeBron James is, in some respects, having a career year. Which is like, the scariest basketball related sentence I can think of, outside of "Delonte has gone off his meds"
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: It's really hard for me to pick between Evans and Brandon Jennings at this point, but I'll go with BRANDON JENNINGS because he's really been special, and I have an easier time seeing Milwaukee hold on than I do Sacramento pulling ahead.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Skiles really deserves this if Milwaukee makes the playoffs at all, because he has grown considerably to give Jennings the kind of freedom that he needs to flourish, while still being the tough, defense-first coach he's always been. Between the old D and the new "being less of a dick", Skiles has really had the most impressive coaching season so far. Certainly, he's had the most tangible effect of any given coach on his team, except for maybe Alvin Gentry.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR: Making up for an abysmal showing in his first year, this year's Exec of the Year is STEVE KERR for admitting his past mistakes, and somehow fixing the Suns. Alvin Gentry is a Coach of the Year candidate, and Channing Frye has been an absolutely HUGE pickup for a paltry 1.9 million per year. I give Kerr a lot of credit. He could have let himself continue to be a laughing stock, but he's turned it around.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Good news, New Jersey! The most improved player of the year is CHRIS DOUGLAS-ROBERTS.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: Well, Ben Gordon still might win if he goes back to the bench, but right now, the year's best Sixth man is JASON TERRY, which means that I have changed my prediction on every single award, now that some games have finally been played.
No joke awards this month, folks. I'm beat.
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C'mon, Nets! Where's the consistency?
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Dude, losing 19 games in a row is extremely consistent.
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And then they went and screwed it up.
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No no no no no NO NO NO. FUCK.
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No no no no no NO NO NO. FUCK.
I feel bad for Greg Oden. Really, really bad. This is just ridiculous.
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I feel bad for that whole team. I mean, their injury situation is so bad the COACH ruptured his Achilles tendon. >_>
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Injuries suck, and Oden was staring to play at a higher level this year too. Oh well, there's always next year for the 3rd year grandfather.
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I feel bad for that whole team. I mean, their injury situation is so bad the COACH ruptured his Achilles tendon. >_>
I was under the impression he actually plays during practices, and that's how that happened. He DOES have a championship ring.
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Yeah, that's how it happened, but he was playing during practice because they were already shorthanded because of the other injuries. At least that's how it was reported in the stories I was reading.
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WHY GOD, WHY?
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This is just ridiculous.
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So, how many players can you have on IR before the NBA just excuses you from the season? At what point does the Commissioner say, "Okay, guys, you've made your point. Go home and get some rest."
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4787825
Uh oh.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4787825
Uh oh.
Why can't they be called the Washington Bullets anymore? This would make so much more sense.
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God damn, Arenas is a stupid fuck.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4788689 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4788689)
WHAT THE FUCKING HELL.
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Agent Zero is a silly bitch.
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So I watched the Thunder in person two nights ago. Westbrook played pathetically bad aside from the crazy number of assists; he really benefits in being able to throw the ball and KD catches it. KD is as good as advertised. Damn. Their biggest problem from my view is that, aside from KD, they seem to struggle with rebounds. I'm not sure how many offensive rebounds Utah had but it was the primary reason they were even in the game. ALSO the free throw shooting it burns. 50%.
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Wow. I just went and checked Portland's injury report because I wasn't aware of how bad it was.
Juwan Howard as the starting center.
Holy Toledo.
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Wow. I just went and checked Portland's injury report because I wasn't aware of how bad it was.
Juwan Howard as the starting center.
Holy Toledo.
The Blazers are down to eight active players right now. Yeah. Rudy Fernandez should be back in the next couple weeks, hopefully.
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You never know, they could still pull through. Didn't Golden State win a game with a six-man rotation last year?
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Oh, they've been winning games, I'm just... god damn it's frustrating.
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You never know, they could still pull through. Didn't Golden State win a game with a six-man rotation last year?
Oddly enough we beat Golden State with what was effectively a 6 man roster. Shav played just over 1 minute and Jeff played 9 minutes. Oddly enough... it was one of the most fun games I've been to all year. Random fact for that game. Portland ran a 9 man rotation in game 1 of the season. Two of those players saw action that game.
Some observations, predictions, and all around random junk.
-The East looked to even the playing field last year. This year it's back to assing it up. The 11th place team in the West would be 6th in the East. Atlanta considered making them look like a new and improved 4 team conference, but nope... it's still 3 good teams, 2 mediocre teams, and a lot of shitastic teams.
-The 2-7 teams in the West are all on a 1 game losing streak. Considering they win between .588 and .676 of their games that is pretty weird. (This also includes none of the 6 playing each other.)
-Lebron is the clear MVP of the league. Kobe is putting up career numbers (impressive this late in a career) and he is still simply not as good as Lebron. Unfortunately for King James. Artest/Odom/Gasol and maybe Bynum are ALL better than anyone Lebron has on his team. (LOL Mo Williams padding stats by catching and shooting 3s from Lebron all game.) People can call Lebron names for leaving Cleveland if they want, but the team has seriously not done shit to help him. (Hey... here's Shaq! Oooh... it's 2009 not 1999.)
-Tyreke Evans is a fucking stud. I am sorry for ever doubting you. Once he learns to shoot a little better... damn.
-I now believe in God. Random chance cannot explain Portland's run of injuries as of late. Pissing off the bigman is the only logical reason.
-Bayless is a dick... possibly. A buddy of mine heard him talking shit about Brandon Roy while in Portland the other day. Either A. He heard it out of context or B. Bayless is a cocky prick who doesn't realize how damn good Roy is. (He is a cocky prick either way.)
-Lakers should run away with another NBA title. Sad times.
-I have been banned on 6 of the 7 SBN forums I've gone to. Oddly enough, I have not sworn or called any names at all. People just don't like blunt truths.
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/01/06/arenas.suspended/index.html?cnn=yes (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/01/06/arenas.suspended/index.html?cnn=yes)
Gilbert Arenas suspended for bringing multiple (unloaded) guns into the locker room.
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On the plus side for Portland's woes, I was able to snap Martell Webster up out of Free Agency in an important fantasy league last week. >_>
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Steve Blake is coming back this week, and El Guapo and Batum should be back next week.
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Steve Blake is coming back this week, and El Guapo and Batum should be back next week.
So now our 5 small men 2.5 big men lineup will be an 8 small 2.5 big lineup!
Oh well, hopefully we can hold the 6-7 spot and grab Spurs or Mavs in round 1 of the playoffs. Neither team can use their size to totally exploit Portland.
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Well, Fernandez's return is pretty important because he spreads the floor, a lot.
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So I had Phoenix/Atlanta going on the background, not really paying attention to it, and at one point I glance over and watch Jamal Crawford bury the Suns at the buzzer. Neat.
I can't remember the last time I saw a game-winning buzzer-beater three live (as opposed to on the highlight reel). Some part of my brain tells me the Celtics did it once at some point over the last two years in the playoffs but I'm not entirely sure.
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I saw Kobe drop a 3 against the Heat to beat them at the buzzer. Wade had given them the 2 point lead, but it just wasn't enough. Fucking Kobe...stop being so good!
~
Anyways, that was the last buzzer beater I saw live.
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Guys, why is it you can beat the Magic by 15 but lose to the goddamn Wizards?
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Class act:
D Wade just donated 800,000 bones toward the Haiti relief fund.
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Guys, why is it you can beat the Magic by 15 but lose to the goddamn Wizards?
I see your "loss to the Wizards" and raise you "drop a 20-point lead and then score four points in OT against the Timberwolves."
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So the Thunder have the same number of wins right now as they did all of last year. Woot woot.
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Now, I'm not going to look it up, but for those of you who have: I once heard an anecdote about a reporter seeing Shaq coming out of the shower and describing his dong as a "summer sausage." Would you say this about Greg Oden?
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So the Thunder have the same number of wins right now as they did all of last year. Woot woot.
I had a dream last night where the Thunder traded Kevin Durant to the Lakers.
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Good news, everyone! The Timberwolves are apparently not going to trade anyone. That means that their ultra-successful roster of 6 point guards and 9 power forwards can continue to excel.
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They'll probably aim for Ilgauskas in FA next offseason. That'll give 'em a nice Z/Al/Love rotation and let them stick Gomes at the 3.
They really should trade Rubio for a quality SG, though (I wonder how available Joe Johnson is). Then they could stick Brewer at the 3 and bring Sessions/Ellington/Gomes off the bench.
EDIT: Wait, JJ's contract expires this year, so they could conceivably grab him out of FA too.
Flynn/Johnson/Brewer/Jefferson/Ilgauskas with Sessions/Ellington/Gomes/Love off the bench...that team could actually make the playoffs.
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Atlanta will do any any everything to hold onto Johnson though.
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So, does this mean that the Wizards have basically given up?
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Watched the All-star game. Very impressive. The whole time I couldn't stop thinking, "Wow, look at them sink all those free throws!"
...maybe I need to cut back on the Celtics games.
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Is the All-Star game played under modified rules like the Pro Bowl? Cause... 141-139. Damn.
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What game did YOU watch? That was competitive as hell, and there were some monster jams by Wade, LeBron, Howard, and Bosh. (and one by Deron Williams that had me out of my seat.)
Thoughts on the trade:
I love the Mavericks again. <3
EDIT
Rob: Very little defense is played and the All Star game pretty much showcases the best Offensive talent in the league.
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I didn't watch it. I was drinking beers on the roof at the time. I simply asked if they were playing under rules that limited defensive options because that is a very high-scoring game.
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I was talking to Miki on that part. The game ended with a bunch of free throws, but before that it was pretty wild. He makes it sound like an 80 80 four hour snooze fest.
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No, that was mostly just a dig on Celtics not named Ray Allen. I am genuinely surprised these days to see a trip to the line that produces 2 points. Hell, just last week the Celtics missed 9 in a row!
Nah, the game was good, if silly. About 5 plays' worth of in-the-paint D played in the first 3 quarters, but it got nice and competitive around the end of the third (I mean, it was competetive earler, but only in the "can you top this?" sense).
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Typical All-Star game goes like this Rob
Q1: Fast breaks and dunks, ball is spread around so everyone can get some points
Q2: More fast breaks, more dunks, and more spreading around the scoring
Q3: The best dunkers and fastbreakers put up some ridiculous plays. By now everyone should have scored. (Unless you're Nash or Kidd apparently...)
Q4a: In a game that somehow became a blowout, see Q3
Q4b: In a tight game, the players who are healthy/the best play most of the quarter, with defense and all that good stuff now counting.
Scoring by Q
1: 71
2: 74
3: 82
4: 53
Lebron should seriously consider going to Miami in the off-season. Him and Wade could probably be only the second duo to break the "need a big man" title rule. (The first and only being MJ/Pip)
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The other thing about All-Star game defense is that both sides are fielding an entire team of guys who see double-teams every night - some of them, like LeBron, on almost every play - and still average 1.5 points per shot. Even if both teams cracked down and played hard-nosed defense to the best of their abilities for four quarters (something the vast majority of NBA teams only do in the Playoffs anyway), the game would still be in the 120-119 range, if not higher, because even a perfect defensive possession will still cough up points a significant majority of the time. Basketball is the opposite of Exalted (and football): perfect defenses can't stop perfect attacks.
Not to mention that the All-Star game rarely features exceptional defensive players to go up against its exceptional offensive players. Really, really good defensive players at the NBA level aren't the ones who rack up tons of steals and blocks, they're the ones that influence opponents' spacing and shot selection with physical (usually read: dirty) play and encyclopedic knowledge of the game. Those guys don't make the All-Star teams and they're the only ones who have even a chance of limiting the effectiveness of guys like LeBron, Dirk, Carmelo or Wade.
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Shane Battier is an All-Star in SPIRIT. ;_;
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Marcus Camby. Yay. I think we got taken in that deal, but at least the contract is expiring.
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Marcus Camby. Yay. I think we got taken in that deal, but at least the contract is expiring.
Really?
It seems like a very lopsided trade in the Blazers' favor to me, considering their current status. Camby is a wildly overrated serviceable defender, an excellent rebounder and a good character guy. Doesn't Portland desperately need to rent a center this year?
I was under the impression either Miller or Blake had to go, and Miller is certainly the player I'd have kept between those two. Outlaw I suppose is the wildcard there, but wasn't he (like so many of the Blazers) hurt anyway, and probably outgoing when his contract expired?
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IIRC, all three members of that trade are on expiring contracts. So it was a trade with no ramifications beyond this season, when Camby clearly fills a bigger need than Blake and Outlaw for the Blazers - if they really want either back next year, they can just sign them as free agents. The Clippers presumably just did it for the cash, since it's not like their season is going anywhere this year.
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Like you said, Camby's overrated. And I'm a fairly big Outlaw proponent, even though he's kind of streaky.
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*Slaps Rob* This trade was awesome in so many ways.
1. We have a serious problem with minutes and guards. "Luckily" this hasn't been a huge issue due to injuries. But if Blake/Rudy/Roy/Bayless/Miller were all healthy for more than 2 games... there would be problems. I'm not a big Bayless fan by any means, but Blake was definitely the better option to ship out.
2. We have Batum/Webster at SF.
Things Outlaw does better- Create his own low percentage shot, hit baseline 3s
Things Webster/Batum do better- EVERYTHING ELSE.
Don't get me wrong... I don't dislike Outlaw, but he's stuck on a team that has far better 3s. Also in Los Angeles Outlaw will get to shoot at will.
3. We don't want to miss the playoffs this year. Without a Center that could happen. With Camby we should keep that 7-8 spot and at least not go backwards from last year. Also if everyone sans Przybilla is healthy at the years end... this is a serious upset team in round 1.
Long story short. Camby isn't great, but he's leaps and bounds ahead of Howard and we gave up absolutely nothing for him. Plus this will give LaMarcus another 6 minutes off a game and Howard another 20 off, both which will add up by the years end.
Now... getting healthy.
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Oh also. Camby is gonna be 36 and will have to sign a new deal. If he likes it here, we'll take him for vet min please. He'd be a solid backup for next year as well since Przybilla is going to miss at least 1/3 of that season as well. (I'm assuming that he's gonna be one of those old guys who hang around on a potential title team to go for a ring.)
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The Heat do nothing as far as trades go...
I hope Wade doesn't dip out after this year.
...
Or if he does...at least let him go to Orlando!
PLEASE!!!!!!!
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Lebron needs to fail to get a title this year, get pissed at Cleveland, and go to Miami with Wade. That would be the most fun team to watch ever!
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On behalf of the entire city of Portland:
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
All the air in the Rose Garden left at once. I was there, I would know.
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How bad is it that I just assumed that was referring to a catastrophic knee injury?
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It's about as bad as blowing a 25-point lead at the half.
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Okay, this time it's an injury related
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
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25 point lead halfway through the third fucking Q. Was also there. Even when Utah was creeping back in it I never really felt like it could happen. Damn.
On a random side note. Blazers are now 0-4 when I bring a date to the game. Maybe it's time I stick with bringing friends instead of dates.
Ahh well, good win today.
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What the fuck, Boston?
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What the fuck, Boston?
That's what you get when your entire team is a bunch of come-lately mercenaries.
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Reminds me of when the Lakers decided to buy the old versions of Malone and Payton and just expected things to magically work. What I wanna know is why old teams think adding over the hill role playerish talent will make them better. I would also like to know why just about all of the experts seem to think this plan will work every time.
Yes, I'm looking at you as well San Antonio and all the idiots who KNEW that they were the clear number 2 in the West this year.
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Okay, now our players who are already injured are getting double injured.
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The next big right wing conspiracy will be that God is smiting the Blazers for being located in a liberal hippy city.
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Middle America is just jealous because Portland is more interesting on its own than all of it combined.
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But but but... Dallas has that big stadium with that big TV screen!
Well, here's hoping to the Blazers pass the Spurs and get healthy enough to put up a fight against Denver/Dallas in round 1. I mean losing to Denver by 12 on the road isn't too awful considering a lack of Camby, a Roy who still isn't playing like himself, and an LMA who missed more opens jumpers than I thought possible!
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I'm less worried about the Lakers than I am about the Nuggets. They're more of a matchup problem, and LA can't win in the Rose Garden.
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They can... as long as Kobe isn't playing. That team is so much scarier for us without him. They actually work the ball inside to their mismatches instead of letting Kobe go 11/32 against us.
Kobe didn't understand it when he was with Shaq and he still doesn't understand it. He is not the most efficient guy on the floor and against a team with no center he should not be doing the work.
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*waves a Thunder flag* Go KD!! ^.^!
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This is my playoff seeding dream.
Utah 2
Dallas 3
Portland 6
OKC 7
Portland has been bitch slapping the Mavericks around all season. The Mavericks are also a weak team in general IMO and have been lucky enough to avoid any long term injuries to anyone who matters.
Utah meanwhile scares the hell out of me. They're on a heater and the style of game they play annoys the hell out of Nate's offensive and defensive schemes. (Gee after 20 fucking years of Sloan doing this you'd think Nate would adapt to it better.) However, OKC is 3-0 this year against Utah and I would love for the Thunder to send Utah home.
A second round matchup of Portland vs Sea... OKC would be awesome, especially with Portland being at home!
Chances of this happening are... not great, but possible. Denver is losing like hell and should end up 4-5. If Phoenix would find a loss or two then they'd stay at 4-5. San Antonio is looking at the 8 spot, and OKC has a tougher remaining schedule than Portland. Utah is kicking ass and Dallas is not. Sooo... to be honest, these are the spots I would pick each team at, but since all 4 have to go right, even if I'm 75% sure on each of them finishing in the spot I have them... combined that's still not good. (So yeah in English, I think this is the most likely way for it to end, but because there are dozens of possibilities, most like = 20-25%.)
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If the Heat keep this run going, they might jump up to the 5th seed! Which would mean playing Atl or Boston in the first round of the playoffs. Boston has not been looking so good as of late, and the Hawks knock the Heat out of the playoffs every freaking year!
Magic look good enough to go all the way again, barring any crazy injuries.
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If the Heat keep this run going, they might jump up to the 5th seed! Which would mean playing Atl or Boston in the first round of the playoffs. Boston has not been looking so good as of late, and the Hawks knock the Heat out of the playoffs every freaking year!
Magic look good enough to go all the way again, barring any crazy injuries.
Yup... another 2 team year in the East. I suppose the Cavs OR Magic could get upset, but there is no way both are.
The West would become interesting if the Blazers/Spurs can knock off the Lakers in round 1. Then it'd be anyone's race. Should be some damn good matchups in the West regardless.
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FUCK YOU RON ARTEST.
I hope Ron Artest dies by internal bleeding caused by anal lacerations by way of horse rape.
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PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS (And Awards as determined by VSM)
Welp. I'm gonna go ahead with my awards, first.
Most Valuable Player:
Anyone other than LeBron James at this point would be absurd. In a different year, yeah, Kevin Durant has been playing amazing. But James has just been... inhuman. This award is going to be his for about as long as he wants it.
Rookie of the Year:
Have to go with Tyreke Evans. If you've been listening to me throughout the year, you've seen me warm up more and more to this guy, and finally, I'm prepared to say that the Kings really scored an amazing little gem of a player. I was really miffed at them not taking a Point Guard, but Evans is showing himself to be a legit future superstar. This is a kid you can cheerfully build a playoff team around. Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings have also both been sensational.
Coach of the Year:
I'm sticking with my earlier statement that this should go to Scott Skiles, for all the reasons I've said earlier. When Skiles came to the Bucks, they had very poor chemistry and were floundering. Against all odds, he turned the keys to the team over to a rookie point guard that many thought would be hard to control, and managed to get the team gelling together even with a long absence of Michael Redd. Many good coaches can be considered for this award, and I wouldn't be too upset if it went to Nate McMillan who had probably the most adversity to pull through, and still got into the playoffs, but my vote would still go to Skiles.
Executive of the Year:
Another award that I've changed on many, many times, I have to give this to Donnie Nelson. Nelson has picked up some seriously good pieces in Marion, Butler, Haywood, and yes, DeShawn Stephenson. Roddie Boubois turned out to be a pretty damn savvy draft pick, and once again, the Mavericks look like a big goddamn deal. I still wouldn't be upset if the award went to Kerr, or even Cleveland's Danny Ferry. But Nelson feels like the proper choice.
Most Improved Player:
Ah, fuck it. I don't even care. I want to see this handed to Andrea Bargnani but I predict that it will go to someone along the lines of Joakim Noah (who would certainly be a solid choice.)
Sixth Man of the Year:
Jamaal Crawford has been consistently great for Atlanta.
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PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS!
Lakers over Thunder 4-1
Thunder are damn good and getting better, and Durant is really, really special. Unfortunately, the Thunder just do not match up well with the Lakeshow at all, and are slumping lately.
Mavericks over Spurs 4-2
People have been sleeping on the Mavs, which is a huge mistake, for my money. Furthermore, this team was basically built around the idea of dealing with the Spurs.
Suns over Blazers 4-0
Sorry, Blazer fans. I really like your team, but you've just gotten too beat up. I'd like to give you a game--or two! But really, the Suns are still a good team and you just don't have anything left.
Nuggets over Jazz 4-3
Man. This is going to be really boring anyhow. Jazz have been consistently horrible in the playoffs when they're not in Utah, and I think Denver has every incentive to win one for their coach. Flipside is, Jazz are the very definition of consistency and the Nuggets have been floundering under Dantley. So.... if they win, I won't be surprised.
Cavaliers over Bulls 4-1
Bulls are scrappy and tough and will win at least one game. The Cavs, however, are really tough.
Magic over Bobcats 4-0
No one on this team can stop Superman.
Hawks over Bucks 4-1
Milwaukee is too beat up, and the Hawks are actually pretty goddamn good.
Heat over Celtics 4-2
The Celtics remind me an eerie amount of Detroit around the time when Wade absolutely killed us in the playoffs, and I think Miami is tougher than a lot of people give them credit for. One thing I will never do again is underrate the absurdity of Dwyane Wade. This will be this year's big first round upset.
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THEN
Lakers over Nuggets 4-0
Having won one for George, the Nuggets will completely fall apart as the Lakers finally realize that yes, they are in the playoffs, and have a clear shot at more glory.
Mavericks over Suns 4-2
This is my pick for most exciting series of the playoffs, because I think that both teams are underrated right now, and both play a really watchable style of basketball. In the end, I think the Mavs win simply because they're much, much hungrier.
Cavaliers over Heat 4-1
Another exciting series. James vs Wade would be absolutely epic, and would help relieve some of last year's blueballs over not getting a Lebron v Kobe duel. In the end, the Cavs just have more weapons than Miami.
Magic over Hawks 4-1
No one on this team can stop Superman.
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THEN
Lakers over Mavericks 4-3
I really want the Mavericks to take it all this season and just shut everyone up, but I'm not betting against the Lakers for anything.
Magic over Cavaliers 4-3
No one on this team can stop Superman. Flipside, no one on Orlando can stop James, so Cleveland will stay really competitive. In the end, I don't see how Cleveland has added the pieces it needs to deal with Howard.
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FINALLY
Lakers over Magic, 4-2
Pretty much last year. For whatever reason, Pau Gasol plays Howard as well as anyone in the league. furthermore, the Lakeshow has an improved perimeter defense in Ron Artest, which can hurt whichever outside weapon the Magic are leaning on in whatever game. People may yawn and say "Lakers again? Blah" but in the end, I think this will be a pretty decent playoffs.
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I could see Chicago winning Game 1, and in the process, SHOCKING THE WORLD.
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Sure I'll bite and join in with VSM
MVP: Lebron James. Of course, letting the fans vote does lead to stupid things, but the fan vote is minuscule and Kobe should only beat Lebron by a little in the fan voting. Lebron murders Kobe among anyone with a brain, which hopefully the real voters have.
ROY: Evans. First off, I called Hardin and Curry future journeymen. Hardin I stick with, but Curry I apologize to, even if you're in a system that lets you play and lets you shoot, you're legit son. Evans is still better though. Jennings is a distant third. "BUT HIS TEAM IS WINNING." Who cares, swap him with Curry or Evans and they'd win anyway.
COY: Dear God just let Sloan win it one time. He's put up with injuries, Boozer, any everything else this year. Kobe was less deserving of his token MVP than Sloan is of finally getting one.
Exec: Umm... I think Dallas is pretty overrated going in, but can't argue with that has been done with that team.
MIP: Don't care, I'll say Aaron Brooks via his Oregonness.
6th Man: Crawford seems to be the popular choice and since I think this award is stupid I could care less about it. (I think 6th men who play MORE than their the guys they sub in for shouldn't count. Those aren't 6th men, those are starters that the coach uses in a "tricky" way.)
Playoffs
VSM and I view the Lakers in very different lights this year. They've been the 8th best team in the West over the last 30 games and I don't believe in an "on" switch.
Lakers over Thunder 4-3
Lakers are beat up and not as good this year. Ariza was an efficient 4th option, Artest is not. Bynum won't be 100%, their bench is in shambles and so on, but the Thunder have no real answer for Gasol/85% Bynum. Still think it goes the distance though.
Spurs over Mavericks 4-2
My upset for the round. Granted this relies 100% on Parker/Manu staying healthy. If those 3 are 95% and Hill is good enough to at least play, I think they hold their home court and steal one on the road. If Parker or Ginobli turns out to not be 100%, then Dallas should be able to take this one down.
Suns over Blazers 4-1
Suns play a style that allows for them to lose games. Blazers sans Roy can actually play the fast break game decently, but the Suns are still the superior team. Not sure if I see a sweep since the Suns struggle on the road, but it definitely does not look good for Portland unless Batum, Rudy, Bayless AND Martell all go nuts in the series.
Nuggets over Jazz ?-?
More injury questions. If Boozer/Andre are good to go, I think Jazz win this in 6. If Boozer/Andre are meh... Nuggets win this in 7. If Boozer/Andre are out then Denver can probably take this down in 5. Millsap is good, but if he starts the Jazz bench becomes garbage. Martin should be good to go. I'll go somewhere in the middle as my official vote and say Denver 4-3.
Cavs over Bulls 4-0
Cavs are on another level... I spose the Bulls might steal one, but I somehow doubt it.
Magic over Bobcats 4-0
I think Magic will want to show domination as much as the Cavs do
Hawks over Bucks 4-1
Yawns, the East is boring. EVERY West series looks to be interesting, if any of these 3 East series go to 6 I will be amazed.
Heat over Celtics 4-2
I'd call this an upset... but over the last 2 months the Heat have been the far superior team. Nobody on the Celtics can stop Wade and the Celtics do a good job of stopping themselves.
Conference Semifinals
Nuggets over Lakers 4-2
Carmelo is Kobe+ right now. He doesn't get teammates involved as well, but umm.. Billups >>>>> Fisher at that. Denver can force Kobe into tougher shots, nobody can do that with Carmelo right now without a double, and doubling him let's Smith and Billups run free. The scary part about LA is their dual 7 footers, but Denver has a lot of defensive minded bigs to throw at them, bad news for Lakers.
Suns over Spurs 4-3
Awesome rematch, but Suns are too good right now and take advantage of the home court.
Cavs over Heat 4-1
Cleveland is in a different tier than Miami this year. Sorry Heat.
Magic over Hawks 4-2
I almost never give a team a series on the road, but my gut says that's how this series will rol!
Conference Finals!!
Suns over Nuggets 4-3
The Nuggets don't match up as well against the Suns as the Lakers. Unlike Gasol/Bynum, Amare is just 100% beast right now. The outside shooting of the Suns and the fast pace also nulls the interior D of the Nuggets. That said, winning in Denver is a bitch and this goes to 7.
Cleveland over Magic 4-3
I'm predicting a lot more 7 gamers than we usually see, but there are some good matchups this year. The Cavs haven't added much this year, but everyone seems to be a bit better. West, Hickson, and co all seem to be a bit more capable and Lebron has even managed to improve somehow. Will be an awesome rematch series though.
Finals!
Cleveland over Suns 4-1
Cleveland's defense is well suited to deal with the Suns (sans Shaq but whatever) and NOBODY on the Suns team can come close to stopping Lebron. In my playoffs the suns have the benefit of only having to get through Melo in terms of amazing offensive guys. Roy is dead and Parker/Ginobli are 1 tier below the tops. Without someone to at least slow down Lebron, the double will have to come, which means trouble. (Because of this the Carmelos could also upset in WCF, but ehh... they don't have the Cavs D.)
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Playoffs
VSM and I view the Lakers in very different lights this year. They've been the 8th best team in the West over the last 30 games and I don't believe in an "on" switch.
I also don't believe in an "on" switch. I see it as more of a dimmer switch. I think the Lakers will struggle to put away OKC as well as they should be able to given how they overmatch them completely in the paint, but after 5 games in the series, I think they'll start to find their groove a little.
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My poor Celtics. :( I think they will get past the Heat (because I believe they actually do have someone up to the task of containing Wade (http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1071)), but there's no way they take Cleveland out, so.
I hope Atlanta somehow comes out of the East, it would be awesome seeing guys like Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford shooting for a title.
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Playoffs
VSM and I view the Lakers in very different lights this year. They've been the 8th best team in the West over the last 30 games and I don't believe in an "on" switch.
I also don't believe in an "on" switch. I see it as more of a dimmer switch. I think the Lakers will struggle to put away OKC as well as they should be able to given how they overmatch them completely in the paint, but after 5 games in the series, I think they'll start to find their groove a little.
Time will tell! Actually when I went into this I did not suspect seeing the Suns as my WCF team... it just sort of happened, that's how silly the West is this year.
Also... last year a buddy of mine told me all year that Orlando was "fools gold." It was like his mission in like to shut me down when I said that they were the biggest threat to the Cavs. They then made the finals and I was kind enough never to bring it up to him.
This year he has been saying the same things about the Suns... so we shall see!
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Phoenix has two big things this year that make them more legit than say, last year.
One is Goran Dragic. He's been around, sure, but he's developing nicely, and he really gives Phoenix something they've needed for a long time--a capable backup for Nash. The bench in GENERAL in Phoenix is surprisingly good, and full of credible scoring threats.
The other big deal is Channing Frye. I really like teams that have a mix in their big men, and Phoenix is one of them. They have a VERY dangerous post scorer in Amar'e, and Frye gives them a more-than-just-credible outside threat. It really loosens up Phoenix's game, and the Suns are a team where the looser they can play, the better.
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Wow, I think we might have found someone that can defend Wade.
I expect we'll lose Game 2 after Garnett gets suspended for it, but still.
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Nothing like a Game one racking up a bunch of T's. I'd missed the playoffs.
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The NBA playoffs makes me wonder why I don't watch more basketball. The Jazz/nuggets game was pretty damn great, at least the quarter (Late third-fourth quarter) I saw of it.
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The NBA playoffs makes me wonder why I don't watch more basketball.
Because more basketball isn't like the NBA playoffs.
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That. I like watching the playoffs, but ye gods the regular season can be a grind.
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NBA season's like and NBA game: starts off good, gets dull in the middle, and is a lot of fun/a total drag at the end depending on the score/standings.
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AWARDS
Most Valuable Player
Lebron James, obviously. They could give this award out at the beginning of the season instead of the end for as long as this guy wants to dominate. There's no metric you can use that outputs a different result; best player on the best team (both by far), most efficient, most statistically spectacular, most visually spectacular (Wade perhaps challenges here). When Lebron really turns it on, it's like watching an NBA player playing high school players - and then you remember those "high school" players are among the top one or two hundred basketball players in the world.
Rookie of the Year
Speaking of obvious choices. Tyreke Evans mauls Brandon Jennings (and most other rookies, ever) statistically, so the difference in team records never enters as a tipping point. And Stephan Curry plays for the Warriors, so a pace-adjusted look at his production exposes it as good, but hardly great.
Coach of the Year
Scott Brooks has done an amazing job with the Thunder this year, but I have to give it to Nate McMillan for shepherding the Blazers to a sixth seed despite the most injury plagued season in the league. Hell, Nate himself got injured this year and they still pulled through.
Defensive Player of the Year
Last year, I though Chris Andersen should have gotten the award for nearly equaling Dwight Howard's block totals in about half the minutes. But Andersen has fallen off, as overachieving role players are wont to do, while Howard continues to dominate the D.
Sixth Man of the Year
???
Most Improved Player
???
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
ROUND 1
EAST
Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Chicago Bulls (8)
The Bulls will play hard, gritty basketball.
The Cavs have Lebron James, who may or may not have been infused with JENOVA cells before he was born, because that is some Sephiroth shit right there.
When you consider that the Cavs would most likely win this series without Lebron - they almost won their last meeting when he sat the game out, despite also being sans Shaq-who-actually-looks-halfway-like-Shaq and having nothing to play for - this becomes the most absurd series in the postseason.
Cavaliers in 4
Orlando Magic (2) vs. Charlotte Bobcats (7)
Who in the hell do you think the Bobcats are?!
Because seriously, I have no clue. They're a "roll d20" team, completely unpredictable. They beat the Cavs handily this season, something almost nobody could do. But they lost games to the bottom-feeders, and it's not like they consistently hung with the top teams, either. Stephen Jackson has always been a lolrandom player, so that's no surprise, but I'd expect more consistency from a Larry Brown team.
About the only sure thing is that the Bobcats will play physical and ugly up the game, if they can. That's worked against Dwight Howard in the past.
Ultimately, Orlando's consistency and the beastliness of Howard should carry the day here. But then, Vince Carter exists, so...
Magic in 5
Atlanta Hawks (3) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (6)
If Andrew Bogut were playing, this would be my pick for the first round's most likely upset. Bogut's horrific injury changes everything, though, and I just don't think the Bucks have enough inside to do more than put a brave face on things.
The Hawks have more talent and a lot more experience. They are healthy going into the Playoffs against a team missing probably its best player.
On the flip side, they have Mike Bibby and the best active player on the other team is a point guard, so, hey, look forward to Brandon Jennings starting off his career with some extremely flashy playoff 'per game's, and maybe even going off like crazy to win a couple.
Hawks in 6
Boston Celtics (4) vs. Miami Heat (5)
Boston sucked up the end of the season worse than the Lakers, without the recent ring and undeniable talent to back it up. Their big three looked more like an average three, Rasheed Wallace looked like 1.5 Rasheed Wallaces and played like .05, and they couldn't play in the 4th quarter.
The Heat turned it up in the second half of the season - but they're not as smoking as they look. Their schedule was so soft you could sell it as pillow down, and I'm not talking memory foam.
Ultimately, I think Boston is better, but I don't think they'll win. Give Tony Allen and Jermaine O'Neal their averages and Game 1 would have probably gone the other way. I'd expect O'Neal to give his average more often than Allen.
Heat in 6
WEST
LA Lakers (1) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (8)
The Lakers have sucked it up for the second half of the season, coasting even when, by rights, they actually *did* have a lot to play for, what with losing home court to both of the meaningful East teams and coming within a couple of games of sliding behind Dallas. Nor have they impressed, well, EVER this year, getting curbstomped by the Cavs in a pair of showcase games and losing the season series to their rivals from last year, the Nuggets, 1-3, including a loss in LA where Carmelo Anthony didn't even play.
On the flip side, Durant is the only Thunderer I think is worthy of the hype; maybe it's a style thing, but Westbrook and Green don't impress me much. OKC doesn't have the talent to hang with the Lakers for a series. Especially when they've been slumping, too.
Also, the NBA Playoffs are only a couple of steps removed from professional wrestling; if the Thunder actually could win, they'd get screwed.
Lakers in 5
Dallas Mavericks (2) vs. San Antonio Spurs (7)
The storied matchup returns! Dallas's talent against San Antonio's championship savvy! Dirk vs. Duncan in a matchup of two of the three best 4s of their generation! Kidd vs. Parker in a rematch of an NBA Finals!
All of which would be more exciting if the Spurs weren't in their worst season since Duncan joined the team and the Mavericks weren't the most absurdly stacked team in for-freaking-ever.
Mavericks in 5
Phoenix Suns (3) vs. Portland Trailblazers (6)
The Blazers won the season series, and McMillan is my pick for CotY.
But Phoenix is playing the best basketball in the league right now. Not only are they beating their opponents, they're absolutely destroying them; their last two games against playoff contenders with tons to play for? A pair of blowouts in which the Suns never appeared to break a sweat.
This still could have been a great series, since Portland is stacked with talent when healthy. But - when healthy. I have a ton of respect not just for their coach but for their players, especially perennial winner Andre Miller, but I just don't see them having enough in the tank to win this without Roy, or even seriously challenge.
Suns in 5
Denver Nuggets (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5)
Denver got the best matchup it could have had (except, perhaps, OKC) when Phoenix followed up an embarrassing whupping of the Nuggets with a back-to-back embarrassing whupping of the Jazz.
Denver has more talent, good matchups, and won the season series handily. Carmelo Anthony has played some of his best ball against Utah, and that's when going against Andre Kirilenko.
Who is out. As, after last night, Mehmet Okur may be. The Jazz are injury-plagued at exactly the wrong time, and Deron William's greatness and Jerry Sloan's consistent excellence aren't enough to make up the gap.
At the same time, if the Nuggets pull ahead of the Jazz, they're more likely than perhaps any other playoff team to let up the throttle and blow some easy games.
Nuggets in 6
ROUND 2
EAST
Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Miami Heat (5)
Wade gets the chance to audition in the King's Court, trying to court him to Miami with the newly generous salary cap.
I say that not because it has a snowball's chance in hell of happening, but because it has more of a chance of happening than the Heat have of beating the Cavs in a seven game series.
Or, really, at all.
If you match Lebron and Wade, Cleveland is better at every position including every single bench player. By, like... a lot.
(Boston winning would make no difference in my prediction.)
Cavaliers in 4
Orlando Magic (2) vs. Atlanta Hawks (3)
On the one hand, Vince Carter. Can I really believe he won't spectacularly fold in the postseason, giving his first reasonable opponents the win?
On the other hand, Mike Bibby. Can I really believe he won't give up an extra 10 ppg and 10% efg% to the opposing point, giving his first reasonable opponents the win?
On the gripping hand, both these overhyped scrubs have great teammates who can make up for their high levels of fail. Of these, Howard is the best, but Atlanta has more.
This should be a great series, but ultimately I have to give it to Superman.
Magic in 7
WEST
LA Lakers (1) vs. Denver Nuggets (4)
The Nuggets handily won their season series against LA; in two of those games, they never even struggled. They also match up fairly well and are sort of built to beat the Lakers. The Nuggets should also get George Karl back in this series, after playing only OK under Adrian Dantley.
The Lakers beat the Nuggets in the playoffs last year with minimal help from the officials. They're more talented, with Pau Gasol being the biggest difference-maker, and they have the weight of their vast market behind them. Phil Jackson consistently outcoaches George Karl anyway, so I'm not sure how much Karl's return matters.
Both of these teams are shadows of what they were last year, the Lakers offensively and the Nuggets defensively. If one gets their act together and the other doesn't, it will be a stomp for whichever team is on the ball. If neither or both do, it should be a competitive series.
Lakers in 7
Dallas Mavericks (2) vs. Phoenix Suns (3)
The hottest team in the NBA in Phoenix, the most talented team in the NBA in Dallas, the rematch of long-time friends and comrades Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, a storied rivalry...
And unlike the Dallas-San Antonio matchup, this one should live up to the hype.
This should be the best series of the year, by a lot. Both these teams are championship caliber and have played like it. Both are so deep and talented they've been able to rest their starters. Neither has a crippling weakness in personnel or psychology. Both are well coached. Both have a former MVP who remains a legit superstar. Both have a great supporting cast.
In the end, I have to give the tiniest of margins to home court, and figure the Suns have been marginally more screwed than the Mavs over the years.
Mavericks in 7
CONFERENCE FINALS
EAST
Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Orlando Magic (2)
The two best players in the NBA! Unfortunately, they don't match up, so it's not as cool of a rivalry as if they were both centers or both swingmen or something.
Howard's dominance is almost unchallenged... except that Shaq, for all he's nowhere near dominant these days, seems to match up very well with him. Ilgauskas's ability to spread the floor should also help, at least somewhat.
Lebron is more consistently unstoppable, and this year I think he finally has the supporting cast to win this matchup.
Stan Van Gundy is, I suspect, the better coach here, but not necessarily the better postseason coach.
If the Mavs/Suns matchup last round wasn't the best of the playoffs, this might well be, because these are probably the two best teams in the NBA.
Cavaliers in 7
WEST
LA Lakers (1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (2)
Dallas is more talented, hotter, and has a better best player.
LA sometimes fields eight players on the court at once.
This series comes down completely to how fair this year's playoffs are going to be. Dallas wins every matchup except shooting guard, most by a large margin.
The league will have to cheat more for the Lakers than they have since 2002, maybe more than ever, to make this series anything but a curbstomp.
Mavericks in 6
NBA FINALS
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Dallas Mavericks
Dallas has more aggregate talent.
Cleveland has by far the best player.
Both teams are stacked from top to bottom, starters to bench, but the Mavs are moreso.
Both teams have great starting lineups, but the Mavs have a bit better one.
Both teams had a very tough matchup on their way here, but Cleveland's came more recently.
I think Rick Carlisle wins the coaching matchup with Mike Brown. It should be a good coaching duel, though, especially since Brown was Carlisle's assistant during the latter's best years in Indiana.
Ultimately, I can't help but expect Lebron to will the Cavaliers to a title this year, since they should be in reach of one and maybe even favored for it. Home court should seal the deal.
Cavaliers in 7
(If the Magic won last round, I would give it to the Mavericks in 7 after almost as tough a series, especially interesting because Gortat might end up being an X-factor and the Mavs tried to sign him.)
(If the Lakers won last round, I would give it to the Cavs in 6. Could be as few as 4 or 5, but the Lakers would have to have found some of their rhythm to get this far and they have enough talent to at least make it a series.)
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You know, I never understood why the MVP always goes to people on the great teams. I mean, most of the time the team is good enough that if you took the "MVP" off it they would still at least be competent. If you're going to give it out that way rename it to most outstanding player or something. Most valuable ought to go to somebody that clearly brings his team way higher than the sum of it's parts.
In fairness in this case LeBron probably does fit, the Cavs have never put together a great team around him really. I just feel like ranting about the most misnamed award in sports. >_>
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Well, if the Blazers can take the series to six games, there's a good chance Brandon Roy can return. I hope that he does so by running in through the crowd armed with a folding chair.
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Much like Dr. Horrible or Conrad Bennish, Jr, WE SHOCKED THE WORLD.
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You know, I never understood why the MVP always goes to people on the great teams. I mean, most of the time the team is good enough that if you took the "MVP" off it they would still at least be competent. If you're going to give it out that way rename it to most outstanding player or something. Most valuable ought to go to somebody that clearly brings his team way higher than the sum of it's parts.
In fairness in this case LeBron probably does fit, the Cavs have never put together a great team around him really. I just feel like ranting about the most misnamed award in sports. >_>
Long Answer:
Well, to be the most valuable player you have to account for about 20 wins yourself if you look at Win Shares in recent years. This means the only way an MVP could be on a bad team is if he took a ridiculously crappy team and turned them into a mediocre team the following year, proving his value.
Wade was in the running one year when his Heat went 41-41 because that team would have probably gone 20-62 without him. It was the only time I can think of a guy from a non 50 win game having a legit shot at winning the MVP.
Finally, the Most Valuable Player doesn't always go to the best player in the NBA. Steve Nash was a 2 time MVP and was probably never the "best" basketball player alive, but he could improve his teammates like nobody ever has... he's also the best shooter OF ALL TIME.
Short Answer:
Because value in the NBA is determined by wins. You can't be valuable if you lead your team to a 20-62 record unless you believe that team would go 0-82 without that player.
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Oh... and may Charles Barkley choke on a hot dog and get over the fact that the Blazers passed on trading for him 20 years ago.
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he's also the best shooter OF ALL TIME.
Pfft, maybe in statistics, but there's only one greatest shooter of all time. There's Larry Bird and there's every other person, human or alien, who will ever play a variant of basketball in this or any other dimension.
But yes, LeBron deserves MVP in any sense of the word. The Cavs without him probably would make the playoffs, but only because they're in the East, which in a non-LeBron universe would be called the "Get Sodomized by the Orlando Magic Conference."
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Ehh... Bird being the best shooter of all time just doesn't fit to me. He couldn't even shoot the long ball for half of his career and it's not like his FG% was astounding even when he didn't shoot 3s. He was an amazing FT shooter, but he still can't match Nash.
The one advantage Bird has is that he had to shoot in higher quantities, which lowers your percentages in some categories. However, FT% doesn't go damn via quantity and 3 pointers do only if you're a guy who goes from only taking wide open set threes to having to create your own. (See Rudy Fernandez.) Nash definitely doesn't get to cherry pick wide open 3s all day.
So yeah... I definitely have to agree with the stats here. Hollinger did a quick, albeit simple, analysis of shooters once to confirm my beliefs. The problem is I'm not an insider and the word file a friend sent me has long since been deleted.
Player 2-Pt% 3-Pt% FT% CSR
Larry Bird .509 .376 .886 1.770
Ray Allen . 482 .396 .893 1.770
Dana Barros .488 .411 .858 1.757
This is all you get without insider. It also weights FT% too much. Regardless, those guys are all rank 7-10 since the 3 pointer was brought to the NBA. Nash meanwhile has .495, .432, and .903, giving him a ridiculous 1.830. (Quantity isn't an issue on the long ball either since Nash has attempted twice as many as Bird.)
So yeah... the only place Bird is a better shooter than Nash is from 2 point land by 1.4% and I bet offensive rebound putbacks alone could account for that 1.4% (Bird has 1200 more of those than Nash in his career.)
Bird was the superior defender and the superior volume scorer... but I honestly don't think anybody has ever matched Nash in the raw efficiency of his shooting from anywhere on the court. Thankfully he gave us a miss at the end of last nights game!
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The dumbest NBA award hands down is Coach of the Year, which typically goes to whoever coached the team that exceeded preseason win expectations by the largest margin. This leads to results like Sam Mitchell somehow winning in 06-07, then getting fired less than two years later.
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I definitely agree with this Hinode. Mike Brown winning it was also a joke. Jerry Sloan has also never won it because HE IS ALWAYS GOOD, people just expect excellence from him now.
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Nobody will be a better shooter than Larry Bird until someone else can do shit like this:
During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he had a Christmas present waiting for him. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after releasing the ball, Bird said to Person, "Merry fuckin' Christmas!", and then the shot went in.
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Word is, Camby was just resigned for two more years about ten minutes ago.
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Good, good. Broke some FA hearts, but it's good to see Portland keeping a good house.
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Updates
Lakers v Thunder- Good God Durant... learn to shoot like you did all year and you got a legit shot in this series. And don't gimme that Artest crap because he is missing pretty nice looks as well as contested looks. Either way, home court holding so far for each team so this could go to 7 like I predicted! Waiting for Laker fans to cry about the FT disparity between the teams in game 3. (Ignoring that the Lakers took over 30 three pointers and Kobe was willing to settle for turnaround Js all game long.)
Spurs v Mavericks- Spurs took home court, now just gotta hold it and they can win in 6. We'll see how the old guys hold out. Game 3 for that one will be fun to watch. Duncan is a stud despite being 600.
Suns v Blazers- Well Blazers got their token win of the series, but looking like 4-1 is likely. LMA is just NOT NOT NOT a first option guy vs real teams, Andre is good but not All-Star caliber, and everyone else is filler for Portland. With Roy and future Oden this is perfect. Without those 2... we are not a playoff team.
Denver v Jazz- Well... with Okur and Andre dead I wouldn't expect Jazz to be 1-1, but Deron is just godlike... borderline bluelike (if Lebron didn't hold that division all to himself.) Denver still probably takes back home court and wins in 7 though, but should be an exciting series.
West has 3 good series going and then Portland... sigh.
Cleveland v Chicago- "I spose the Bulls might steal one, but I doubt it." I should stopped halfway through that sentence. Should still be 4-1, but Cleveland should be worried that the theme of "every Cav not named Lebron is playing like shit" is back like last year.
Magic v Bobcats- Magic not playing particularly well and winning easily. Should sweep. And yes I reserve the right to switch whether I call a team by their first or last name each time.
Hawks v Bucks- Kinda like Portland v Phoenix. I see Bucks stealing one, but that's about it.
Miami v Boston- Well... this look to be the one series I'm pretty sure I got wrong all together unless Miami goes NBA finals mode and starts dominating after 2 games.
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You forgot Camby. I wouldn't call him filler, since he's currently out-rebounding Dwight fucking Howard.
Blazers, please stop playing so badly. You are killing me inside.
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You forgot Camby. I wouldn't call him filler, since he's currently out-rebounding Dwight fucking Howard.
Blazers, please stop playing so badly. You are killing me inside.
True, but right now Camby is Przybilla+. His offense has been fucking horrid. How do you shoot 2/10 when all you do is take point blank shots? Oh right, you miss 3 FUCKING LAYUPS IN 5 MINUTES.
Meanwhile Bayless is quite the opposite. He's been scoring this series, but he has to be the worst off the ball defender in the NBA. If Phoenix is taking a wide open 3 when he is in the game 9/10 times it's because he got caught in no mans land and wasn't doubling the ball or getting back to contest the 3...
My solution. BaBy! BaBy will be a 7 foot rebounding machine that can drive to the basket at will! (Okay I guess you can do this with any scoring guard + 7 footer... but how many have the fucking name BaBy?)
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Well fuck, Miami...
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Thank fucking god.
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Go Thunder. Holy shit.
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Thank fucking god.
He didn't quite come back at halftime with a chair... but Roy definitely hit some clutch shots after being ineffective most of the game. Hopefully he comes back next game actually ready to play and we might have a series again!
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That was awesome!!!! Now if they can beat the Lakers at home!!
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Thank fucking god.
He didn't quite come back at halftime with a chair... but Roy definitely hit some clutch shots after being ineffective most of the game. Hopefully he comes back next game actually ready to play and we might have a series again!
Well, his just being on the court does so much for the other players on the floor. Aldridge was not getting double-teamed the whole time, for one.
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Thank fucking god.
He didn't quite come back at halftime with a chair... but Roy definitely hit some clutch shots after being ineffective most of the game. Hopefully he comes back next game actually ready to play and we might have a series again!
Well, his just being on the court does so much for the other players on the floor. Aldridge was not getting double-teamed the whole time, for one.
True enough. Granted Aldridge was actually hitting that turn around jumper. He's been missing that all series. Roy definitely alleviates some pressure, but LMA finally decided to show up on his own as well.
And... go Thunder. Man the blueout and whiteout were both pretty sick.
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Thank fucking god.
He didn't quite come back at halftime with a chair... but Roy definitely hit some clutch shots after being ineffective most of the game. Hopefully he comes back next game actually ready to play and we might have a series again!
Well, his just being on the court does so much for the other players on the floor. Aldridge was not getting double-teamed the whole time, for one.
True enough. Granted Aldridge was actually hitting that turn around jumper. He's been missing that all series. Roy definitely alleviates some pressure, but LMA finally decided to show up on his own as well.
And... go Thunder. Man the blueout and whiteout were both pretty sick.
Well, Brandon Roy is like the main character of a sports movie. When he comes back everyone on the team automatically gets better.
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Brandon Roy spams Cheer.... LMA now has OHKO damage.
It's a shame game 7 wasn't at home. If Portland somehow managed to win the series at home the after parties would be insane. I guess if we won 5 and 6 they could be... but Thursday night just isn't the same.
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It's my running crew's karaoke night at the Alibi that night, so that could have worked out well for me.
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Why is Thursday the karaoke night for every damn bar in the Portland metro area?
Oh and to stay on topic... damn. That start was awesome only to be followed by 42 minutes of pure garbage. Oh well, go Thunder tonight I guess.
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It's Fridays and Saturdays at the Boiler Room. I usually go there around eight to eat hot wings and get wasted.
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And there goes my bracket.
Being a Mavs fan is a sure way to fill yourself with heartache.
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So who comes out of the West now? The Lakers have not looked that great against the Sonics, but Denver looks set to go down to Utah (who I can't see going much further with their injuries), and who knows what will happen in Suns/Spurs.
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All I can say is that it looks like it's either LeBron or Howard's year to get a ring.
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So who comes out of the West now? The Lakers have not looked that great against the Sonics, but Denver looks set to go down to Utah (who I can't see going much further with their injuries), and who knows what will happen in Suns/Spurs.
I'm sticking with Phoenix, but I agree with Rob that the East should win the finals easily enough.
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Poor Thunder.
And to think, they could be headed back to L.A. if Ibaka knew how to box out. Something that will invariably get lost in the shuffle of the Lakers advancing is Kobe bricking the potential game-winner. >_>
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The way I've seen the Lakers for the past couple years, Kobe Bryant is the Wizard of Oz and Pau Gasol is the man behind the curtain.
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Dirk and Bosh should go to the Heat.
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If Wade decides to leave because he's realized he can only carry a team for 82 games and that is his limit, I don't think it's going to matter HOW much cap space they have.
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The way I've seen the Lakers for the past couple years, Kobe Bryant is the Wizard of Oz and Pau Gasol is the man behind the curtain.
Don't try to tell the media or anyone in LA this. They see it as Kobe Bryant is God and he lets Gasol do some good things every now and then.
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Upadates now that Round 1 is over!
MVP: Correct, duh
ROY: Correcy again, duh
COY: Knew it was too good to be true for Sloan to win ever. Oh well Brooks is okay.
Exec: Bucks guy deserved this as well I suppose
MIP: Correct, Brooks deserved it
6th Man: Correct, another duh
Playoffs
Lakers over Thunder 4-3
Actual Lakers over Thunder 4-2
Was a boxout away from being spot on here. Oh well, down 1 point.
Spurs over Mavericks 4-2
Actual Spurs overs Mavs 4-2
Yeah... Dallas fails. Down 1 still.
Suns over Blazers 4-1
Actual Suns over Blazers 4-2
Blazers stole a road game I didn't expect which is fine by me. Down 2.
Nuggets over Jazz 4-3
Jazz over Nuggets 4-2
Oops, Denver countered with some minor injuries and Deron is fucking batshit crazy. Minus 3 here so down 5.
Cavs over Bulls 4-0
Cavs over Bulls 4-1
Meh Bulls stole 1, whatev. Off by 6.
Magic over Bobcats 4-0
Magic over Bobcats 4-0
Bobcat fail! Off 6 still.
Hawks over Bucks 4-1
Hawks over Bucks 4-3
Props to Bucks for putting up a fight. Off by 8.
Heat over Celtics 4-2
Celtics over Heat 4-1
And my fuckup of the first round! No excuses here like I had with Jazz/Nuggets either.
Off by 13 games total and 2 bonus fail points for missing 2 series. So -15!
Let round 2 commence!
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GORAN DRAGIC!
That was... wow. Just wow.
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That was like watching somebody play NBA Jam. I kept expecting the net to catch fire every time he hit a three.
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Loved the three with time winding down. Nice little wrap up to the game.
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Jazz can't buy a break. Oh well, here's hoping the Suns can stop the Lakers.
*is hoping for a SunsvMagic Finals*
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5mv713WA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNGMEqW4psE&feature=related
Miss the Goran Dragic show? Have a replay.
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LOL @ Spurs
and LOL @ Dallas for losing to the Spurs
And LOL @ my friend's dad for the "Phoenix is fool's gold" talk.
:-( @ Lakers crushing Jazz
:-( @ Boston hanging with Cleveland
And triple LOL @ Hawks. 28ppg, really? Orlando could seriously win this serious without scoring a point in the 4th quarter.
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I fail to see why the only remotely interesting series of this round deserves a :-( for being interesting.
If anything, :-( @ everyone BUT Cavs/Celts for being boring sweepfests that haven't even been close (outside of parts of Lakers/Jazz).
Hockey playoffs are blowing basketball playoffs clear out of the water. Shame they're being broadcast on Versus, thereby pretty much guaranteeing they'll still get outviewed by the NBA.
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Fun fact: I get both NBA and NHL Network, but not Versus. This means I can watch 100% of NBA playoff games and a bunch of NHL reruns, but not 95% or so of NHL playoff games!
Not exactly a good way to make me care about non-Olympics hockey.
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I didn't really notice while the game was going on because I was too busy rooting for the Celtics, but I've been watching ESPN highlights since that have focused on LeBron, and...wow. It's amazing to see how many times last night he just stopped trying. Not hustling, taking himself out of the play...that was a Randy Mossish performance.
Cavaliers are done if LeBron's going to play in a way that forces guys like Anderson Varejao to try and crate their own shot.
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Yeah, it's no surprise Pierce was getting the kind of offensive production he was last night. He's been guarding LeBron, and for the first 4 games that took a real toll on his shooting. Not so last night.
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Like Kilga said, last night Lebron was guarding himself.
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I'm pretty damn sure his elbow is still bothering him. It's childish, but maybe he figures that in his condition, he simply CAN'T win so he gave up? I wouldn't put it past him.
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I'd peg it to these in no particular order;
Elbow problems
An off night
Discouraged.
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Elbow problems don't explain dogging it back and forth, unless they've extended to his knees. Bad shooting is one thing, zero hustle and energy is another.
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Bad shooting is one thing, zero hustle and energy is another.
See: Pierce, Paul.
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Lebron is a punk.
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I'm not entirely sure what the hell is up with him right now. If I was the best player in the NBA and I was playing for the Blazers I'd be jacked every goddamn day. How do you get even a LITTLE bummed out in his situation?
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I'm not entirely sure what the hell is up with him right now. If I was the best player in the NBA and I was playing for the Blazers I'd be jacked every goddamn day. How do you get even a LITTLE bummed out in his situation?
Being the best player alive by a decent margin and not even making the finals year after year would definitely bum you out. Also having failure as management would suck.
-Lakers suck few years back? Oh hai! Management gets Kobe one Pau Gasol. They also pick up Artest this year after losing Ariza. Odom doesn't hurt either.
-Howard is beastly, but can't do it on his own? Oh hai! Management surrounds him with loads of shooter to perfectly compliment his game.
Both are happy campers.
-Carmelo has a crappy experiment with AI, but then they go out and get him Billups, Nene, and Andersen. Decent support and they make a nice run last year, not so much this year, but yeah Melo is kinda 2nd tier superstar as is. Regardless, management does a good job of surrounding him with a supporting cast that fits with him.
Then you get the other superstars.
Wade- Sure they had that title run, but since then they have put absolutely nobody on his team. Granted this could change with their insane cap space if he stays so at least they are thinking ahead. (Future status with team: Unknown.)
Bosh- Management puts pretty much the worst defenders alive on his team. They go 30th in league in defense. (Behind Nets.) His future status with the team is unknown due to this.
Lebron- Management fear he might leave so they just throw together random big names.
Mo Williams- Okay this one works alright, but Mo IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE a good second guy. He's clearly a third.
Shaq- Shaq's a huge names... but he's also 2 years too late to be effective... good job management
Jamison- He underachieved over and over with the Wizards. See Mo Williams in terms of being a number 3 guy, not a 2 in any way.
West- Heh... West just isn't that great
Varejao- Another guy who is okay at his position, but not great.
Basically they've taken a ton of random guys they could get and thrown them together. There is no rhyme nor reason to this team.
Kobe has 2 legit 7 footers paired with versatility guys in Odom and Artest. Not to mention Artest can take the hard assignments night in and night out to let Kobe do what he wants.
Dwight has a shit ton of shooters to go with him that all play decent team defense. Excellent schema.
Lebron has a bunch of guys that were thrown together to try and make him happy. It's like a 3 year old put this team together thinking it'd work because they have Lebron.
Sooo yeah... I could definitely see how he'd be getting annoyed of this. I can also see why Wade/Bosh/Lebron might leave their cities. Their teams are busy paying Jermaine, Turkeyglue, and Shaq insane amounts of money. Yes, some of these moves will open up cap space (and other involves Turk), but getting someone good with this space is never a guarantee.
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This is what I said at the start of the season. It's like watching the post-2001 Sixers all over again.
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Let it not be said LeBron didn't try tonight.
Let it do be said that the NEW YORK KNICKS chants in the 4th quarter were a beautiful touch.
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I'd say it's more like "Chicago Bulls" myself. Nobody's going to go to New York if they have another option.
Also, Miami is a weird case. Big names aren't gonna want to sign if Wade isn't staying, because then they're just stuck holding Wade's bag. And Wade isn't going to stay unless they get someone else.
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Who do you guys like to win it all now?
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Suns.
Alternately, a meteor could win Lakers/Celtics.
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Suns/Magic final would make me very happy.
Lakers/Celtics finals would make me sad beyond belief.
Suns/Celtics or Lakers/Magic would be okay as long as the Suns or Magic won it.
Basically... I'm tired of the Lakers and Celtics.
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Still holding out hope for the Celtics to take it all. I'm currently in the process of convincing myself they're a matchup nightmare for Orlando. Progress is slow but steady.
If not the Celtics, then the Suns, because I want to see Nash win a ring. I'm tired of Kobe and Vince Carter does not deserve a championship (as neat as it would be to see Rashard Lewis get one).
Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI7p29HL49Y
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Tired of the Celtics? They've only been relevant for like three years. <_<
I mean, I know people are biased against Boston sports but come on.
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Three years of relevance is six years too many.
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I pulled for the Celtics over the Lakers a few years back and I'd do it again, but this year I'd much rather have a different finals.
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I think this NBA Playoff year will be called "2009-2010: Dwight Howard's Rape Buffet."
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Cheering for Suns due to Nash, anti-cheering Lakers for fairly obvious reasons. Don't get Celtics hate, but not a huge fan either, so both eastern teams slide somewhere up the middle.
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Cheering for Suns due to Nash, anti-cheering Lakers for fairly obvious reasons. Don't get Celtics hate, but not a huge fan either, so both eastern teams slide somewhere up the middle.
It's mostly Boston hate, a city that's had wildly successful sporting teams over the past ten years combined with the most obnoxious, terrible fanbase in all of sports.
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a city that's had wildly successful sporting teams over the past ten years combined with the most obnoxious, terrible fanbase in all of sports.
What? Philadelphia has won two things in the past decade and one was the Aerna Football championship. That's hardly "wildly successful".
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No trust me, Boston fans are far worse than Philly fans.
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Also, ESPN only gives a disinterested handjob to Philadelphia sports, as opposed to a full-on deepthroating with gagging noises over Boston.
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Yeah. I was pretty much going to say that at this point I'm pulling for anyone BUT Boston.
If Boston wins, the only way I won't go completely batshit is if Rondo wins the Finals MVP Trophy. I hate Rondo, but god damn it, he is easily the best player on the Celtics.
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No trust me, Boston fans are far worse than Philly fans.
Boston fans don't do shit like this (http://www.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/04/phillies-fan-charged-with-intentionally-vomiting-on-cops-kid/1).
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Suns > Magic > Celtics >>> Lakers. Pretty apathetic about the middle two.
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No trust me, Boston fans are far worse than Philly fans.
Boston fans don't do shit like this (http://www.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/04/phillies-fan-charged-with-intentionally-vomiting-on-cops-kid/1).
Bill Russell hates you guys pretty well.
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Also, that fucker was from New Jersey. They don't count.
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Suns > Magic > Celtics >>> Lakers. Pretty apathetic about the middle two.
Suns > Magic >> Celtics >>> Lakers.
Fixed!
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Sixers get the #2 pick. Woo?
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As long as it wasn't Jersey or Minnesota.
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Okay, after seeing this, I've decided Washington totally deserves their pick.
(http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0518/nba_g_pollin1_576.jpg)
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Originally I was going to say that Orlando was reliving the 2009 Cleveland playoffs experience, but... well, Cleveland at least didn't get swept last year.
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(http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3135/kgkillssvg.gif)
Pretty accurate depiction of this game, decent summary of the series.
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Yeah, this is shaping up just like Bruins-Flyers!
wait...
(p.s. Garnett's gotta be pretty happy that was Stan and not Jeff.)
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The Magic should be ashamed of themselves.
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I quickly shifted from rooting for the Magic to making fun of them.That was hilariously pathetic.
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The Magic should be ashamed of themselves.
Not all of them. If I were DH12 I'd be more frustrated than aggravated. Stan Van, Nelson, Lewis and VC, though, yes, especially VC. What a waste of talent that guy is.
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Howard should feel pretty embarassed that he had his game revealed as being so one-dimensional, I think. Dude needs a hook-shot or a finger roll or a short jumper as a go-to move.
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Game 3: 3/10 from field, 7 points, 7 rebounds 39 minutes
Games 2: 9/13 from field, 30 points, 8 rebounds 39 minutes
Game 1: 3/10 from field, 13 points, 12 rebound 5 blocks, 7 turnovers 39 minutes
Basically, aside from game 2 Howard has not been good. At all. Granted in game 2 he almost willed that team to a win on a night when Lewis/Carter/Nelson decided to suck. Regardless, Howard was really killing the offense in games 1 and 3.
Carter and Nelson were both solid in game 1, but Howard and Lewis blew.
Howard was awesome in game 2, but the other 2 blew.
In game three all four blew.
Lewis... orly?
Oh and Phoenix needs Frye to not be shooting 1/18 on the series (1/14 behind arc I think)... what happened to that 12/22 against the Spurs?
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Basically, aside from game 2 Howard has not been good. At all.
Can't deal with single coverage. He's like Fezzik in The Princess Bride!
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Or is he like the Sundance kid and he can't shoot while standing still? (Ahem FTs)
Also, let's see Orlando win 4 in a row. Would humble KG a bit and we all know how I feel about Rasheed.
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Also, let's see Orlando win 4 in a row.
Excuse me, but are you seriously saying that Santa or whoever should get in the way of us Boston fans' god-given right to win championships every other year or so? Don't you understand that we deserve to win just for being us? (Also, Vince Carter? really?)
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I'm saying anyone but Boston. I'd take LA over them, because Sheed is the man I hate most in the NBA.
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Also, let's see Orlando win 4 in a row.
Excuse me, but are you seriously saying that Santa or whoever should get in the way of us Boston fans' god-given right to win championships every other year or so? Don't you understand that we deserve to win just for being us? (Also, Vince Carter? really?)
Rasheed Wallace is a punk ass thug.
Kevin Garnett is a punk ass thug.
Nobody on that team is really fun to watch except for Rondo, who is showing signs of being a punk ass thug. (An amazing one though.)
Orlando is just a way more fun team to watch and they aren't filled with guys who bark at opposing players or throw basketball at the heads of rookies when they aren't watching. (Oh and who also said he'd throw games to get a coach fired.)
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You know who I hate?
Paul Pierce
Why? Because he is a gawd damn flop artist. He is NOT hurt! Stop pretending to be hurt. It's fucking getting old, quick.
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You know who I hate?
Paul Pierce
Why? Because he is a gawd damn flop artist. He is NOT hurt! Stop pretending to be hurt. It's fucking getting old, quick.
Dude, watch the replay, it's as clear as day Howard came down on his shoulder and overextended it.
Also, Howard gives a dude a fucking concussion and you're complaining about fake injuries?
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Paul Pierce learned from Danny Ainge, the biggest flop artist maybe ever.
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Oh I ain't denying Pierce has it in him. It's just that on that play in particular it was pretty clear from the way his arm got bent that he got hurt.
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I think the expression I'm using is "cry wolf."
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You know who I hate?
Paul Pierce
Why? Because he is a gawd damn flop artist. He is NOT hurt! Stop pretending to be hurt. It's fucking getting old, quick.
Let me guess: you think it was a rubber knife, too.
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To be fair to the Celtics, that second T on Perkins was straight up bullshit.
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The first one is pretty likely to be revoked, too. Replay pretty clearly shows his elbow slipped because he was pulling up another player, for all that it looked intentional at first glance.
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One of them DID get revoked. He's going to have to be on his best behavior next game, though.
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Good. The refs had a hard-on for giving him the ol' T all game, glad to see he's dodged a suspension for now.
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I'm not just talking about that one fall, Pierce ALWAYS pretends to be hurt. Sometimes he will even go into the locker room and then magically come back out and play seemingly without injury.
It's amazing!
~
Also, gawd dammit the Lakers won. =(
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Clearly Pierce is Wolverine in disguise. Would certainly explain his being able to play right after getting stabbed. >_>
Tonight? Calls seemed okay for the most part, possibly a little slanted in Boston's favor (I didn't think Nelson's flagrant was a flagrant), but I don't think they made a huge difference, so I'm happy with how Boston came away with the win, if for no other reason than because most anti-Celtic sentiment is going to look like whining (well, more whining than what is normal for an anti-anyone sentiment).
And God damn do I love Nate Robinson. Starting PG for my NBA Live 2006 franchise. <3
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Now that the series I am apathetic about is over, go Suns~
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Well I'm done watching Basketball for this year. I hope the Lakers weep Boston and end this shitty year.
Gooooooooooooooooooo '11.
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Must be nice to be Kobe Bryant. People and analysts illogically think that you are the most clutch player in the NBA. You try and prove them wrong by practically airballing TWO game winning shots in crucial playoff games, and BOTH times your so called "non clutch" teammates save you with a layup.
Pretty sure in game 7 of the NBA finals the Lakers will be down by 1 with seconds left, Kobe will throw up an airball and Gasol will take it out of the air and dunk it. The world will then praise Kobe for having the insight to oop it to Gasol and will be given the next 7 NBA finals MVPs. And yes, I might be a little bit bitter because that dude runs better than anyone ever should. Let's look at his career.
1. Get to play with by far the most dominant player in the NBA and grab 3 titles
2. Get into arguments with that player, BLOW A FINALS WITH EPIC 35% FG SHOOTING WHILE NOT GIVING SHAQ THE BALL, and somehow blame Shaq and get him run out of town.
3. Play on a shitty team for a while to get some guady individual stats like 35ppg and 81 point games for 3 years
4. Pick up Gasol for effectively nothing
5. Win a title with the whole world ignoring Gasol's brilliance and Ariza's game saving plays on multiple occasions.
6. This year's garbage!
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It's all part of Gasol's plan to obfuscate himself. If people realized this they'd change their plans around HIM.
EDIT: I really enjoyed this:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/president-obama-mentions-hed-like-to-see-lebron-ja,17512/ (http://www.theonion.com/articles/president-obama-mentions-hed-like-to-see-lebron-ja,17512/)
However, President Obama said that as a basketball fan, and as the man with ultimate authority over the CIA, FBI, and the most powerful military in the history of the world, he personally would counsel James to strongly consider Chicago.
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:( Suns
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So when do the NFL training camps open?
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Must be nice to be Kobe Bryant. People and analysts illogically think that you are the most clutch player in the NBA. You try and prove them wrong by practically airballing TWO game winning shots in crucial playoff games, and BOTH times your so called "non clutch" teammates save you with a layup.
Pretty sure in game 7 of the NBA finals the Lakers will be down by 1 with seconds left, Kobe will throw up an airball and Gasol will take it out of the air and dunk it. The world will then praise Kobe for having the insight to oop it to Gasol and will be given the next 7 NBA finals MVPs. And yes, I might be a little bit bitter because that dude runs better than anyone ever should. Let's look at his career.
1. Get to play with by far the most dominant player in the NBA and grab 3 titles
2. Get into arguments with that player, BLOW A FINALS WITH EPIC 35% FG SHOOTING WHILE NOT GIVING SHAQ THE BALL, and somehow blame Shaq and get him run out of town.
3. Play on a shitty team for a while to get some guady individual stats like 35ppg and 81 point games for 3 years
4. Pick up Gasol for effectively nothing
5. Win a title with the whole world ignoring Gasol's brilliance and Ariza's game saving plays on multiple occasions.
6. This year's garbage!
Some guy on Something Awful (Dokmo) is a professional analyst, but he's mum on where exactly he does his statwork. He actually posted some lategame stats throughout the season and it added up to Kobe actually being about as "clutch" as all that. (His fg% actually increases by quite a lot late in the fourth in close games.) However, there WAS a player who had higher bumps than Kobe----LeBron James.
So it's not all bunk.
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Gooooooooooooooooooo meteors!
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Must be nice to be Kobe Bryant. People and analysts illogically think that you are the most clutch player in the NBA. You try and prove them wrong by practically airballing TWO game winning shots in crucial playoff games, and BOTH times your so called "non clutch" teammates save you with a layup.
Pretty sure in game 7 of the NBA finals the Lakers will be down by 1 with seconds left, Kobe will throw up an airball and Gasol will take it out of the air and dunk it. The world will then praise Kobe for having the insight to oop it to Gasol and will be given the next 7 NBA finals MVPs. And yes, I might be a little bit bitter because that dude runs better than anyone ever should. Let's look at his career.
1. Get to play with by far the most dominant player in the NBA and grab 3 titles
2. Get into arguments with that player, BLOW A FINALS WITH EPIC 35% FG SHOOTING WHILE NOT GIVING SHAQ THE BALL, and somehow blame Shaq and get him run out of town.
3. Play on a shitty team for a while to get some guady individual stats like 35ppg and 81 point games for 3 years
4. Pick up Gasol for effectively nothing
5. Win a title with the whole world ignoring Gasol's brilliance and Ariza's game saving plays on multiple occasions.
6. This year's garbage!
Some guy on Something Awful (Dokmo) is a professional analyst, but he's mum on where exactly he does his statwork. He actually posted some lategame stats throughout the season and it added up to Kobe actually being about as "clutch" as all that. (His fg% actually increases by quite a lot late in the fourth in close games.) However, there WAS a player who had higher bumps than Kobe----LeBron James.
So it's not all bunk.
Well, there's also a page for game winning shots over a 5 year period. Not many are TRUE game winners. Their idea of a game winning shot was
1. 2 point, 1 point, or tied game
2. Under 24 seconds on the shot clock
This way you are changing the lead in some form whenever you make a shot with less than 1 shot clock duration left in the game. This way before this year, when I think Kobe did okay here, but Kobe has an astounding 25% FG percentage in this area. Of the top 50 players in makes that was 2nd worst behind only Billups.
Now league average is only like 30 IIRC in this area, because these are not easy shots to make, but 25 is pretty fail.
Lebron has led in makes, with a 34% clip, which isn't too awful, but still not as good as Carmelo who has 13 makes in 27 attempts.
Also if you look, Kobe had 56 attempts, 1 assist and 5 turnovers.
Lebron had 50 attempts with 6 assists and 4 turnovers. At least passing appears to be an option for Lebron.
(Paul Pierce to his credit has 34 shots and 9 assists.)
Finally, Kobe is 12/15 from the line. Tiny sample size, but 80% isn't any higher than Kobe's normal average. Lebron's 14/20 sits a bit below his sad FT percentage.
Long story short, the three guys I would want shooting the ball in the clutch are Carmelo, Lebron, and Ray Allen. Granted some of Allen's makes could be coming off those dimes from Pierce, which means that Boston could have the best 1-2 punch in the league in the clutch.
http://www.82games.com/gamewinningshots.htm
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Oh, and of course Travis Outlaw with his 6/7 from the field deserves some attention!
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After looking at that chart, I've decided that the absolute best thing to do for the Lakers in end-of-game situations is for most of the shots in the fourth to come from Kobe, but the last play should be him dishing to either Gasol or Fisher.
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http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010/05/artest_control.html
A matchup to watch, to be sure.
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My favorite part of that article is that if you quote creatively, you can do this:
"'He likes to bang you," Paul Pierce said...
'Paul, I'm sorry I pulled your pants down,' Artest sang.'"
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So, New York has turned to asking a bunch of actors to try and persuade LeBron to sign with them. If this was my team, I'd be pretty embarassed. Of course, none of their arguments have anything to do with basketball, just how LeBron should want to live in New York.
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So tonight we are going out and celebrating Game 6 with a some basketball fans. I'm hoping for an exciting game!
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And Boston looking to pull another choke act...
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At least the majority of fans here will be happy.
Bleh.
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37 to 17 FTs... take away intentional fouls and it's 33 to 17. (I think 2 IFs? Maybe 3.)
Either way, another NBA finals 4th Quarter, another 20+FTA for the Lakers.
Gasol was also the MVP of this series, but there's no way in hell he will get it.
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Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! Fun game to watch, but terrible result.
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Also, RON RON, MAKIN' THREES IN THE CLUTCH! YEAH BABAAAAY
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At least the majority of fans here will be happy.
Bleh.
That's the DL, sea of Lakers fans.
<_<
Anyway, yeah, seconding Ciato. Very fun game, not the result I wanted but oh well, I'm not too emotionally involved in basketball so it was fun. Plus at least the Lakers' win was totally a team thing, and not just OMG Kobe best player ever 45 points lulz. Great defence.
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HAY GUYS LET'S RIOT!!!!!
Ugh, couldn't the Lakers throw the game and save the city some money on unnecessary cleanup and law enforcement? Yes, this is my contribution to the topic.
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LA riots again. That place is like the warmup for the Apocalypse.
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http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/06/kevin_pritchard_fired_as_trail.html
What the bloody hell is Paul Allen thinking?
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Well fuck.
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So now that it's been over for a few weeks, what did you guys think of the past season?
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The word that comes to mind is heart-breaking.
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Exciting, even if I hated how it ended. I'm very glad we stuck it to everyone that thought Miami would bounce us in the first round - never mind everyone that thought Cleveland and then Orlando would surely put down - for all that I like Dwayne Wade a lot better than LeBron James (which, of course, made watching LeBron completely stop trying in Game 5 of the conference semis so much more enjoyable), and Game 7 of the Finals is a successful season as far as I'm concerned given the circumstances under which we lost.
Sadly, a crappy ending to the season has continued into a crappy offseason and coverage Brett Favre would be jealous of while most of the rest of the country really doesn't want to hear about it until something meaningful actually happens. Ugh.
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Exciting, even if I hated how it ended. I'm very glad we stuck it to everyone that thought Miami would bounce us in the first round - never mind everyone that thought Cleveland and then Orlando would surely put down - for all that I like Dwayne Wade a lot better than LeBron James (which, of course, made watching LeBron completely stop trying in Game 5 of the conference semis so much more enjoyable), and Game 7 of the Finals is a successful season as far as I'm concerned given the circumstances under which we lost.
Sadly, a crappy ending to the season has continued into a crappy offseason and coverage Brett Favre would be jealous of while most of the rest of the country really doesn't want to hear about it until something meaningful actually happens. Ugh.
I would call it a consequence of when the offseason is. sports media are starved for content, as all they have during the summer on non-Olympic years is baseball and golf, both middling as car as popularity goes.
I
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Annoying.
It's petty, but Kobe Bryant gets to chalk up another title to his legend, despite the fact that he damn near blew 3 separate rounds with his inability to know the slightest thing about team play down the stretch. Instead he gets his 5th title and second MVP... despite shooting 40% in the finals. I wonder if that's the worst an "MVP" has ever shot. It doesn't bother me so much that he won the MVP as that he was going to autowin it regardless of how amazing Gasol played in the series.
As for my favorite teams... well Portland dealt with injuries all damn year, managed a decent playoff seed, and then watched Roy get injured anyway. Then we go and fire Pritchard because management is jealous of him. Cool. Oh well, if we succeed next year Blazer fans will still know it was KP who did it and not the Vulcans.
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I would call it a consequence of when the offseason is. sports media are starved for content, as all they have during the summer on non-Olympic years is baseball and golf, both middling as car as popularity goes.
Perhaps, but when there's the final round of a golf tournament, a 15-inning game and the All-Star selections in baseball and Takeru Kobayashi getting arrested all in the same day, and SportsCenter's top story is "LeBron isn't doing anything right now", there's some serious issues in the sporting news world.
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Takeru Kobayashi
serious
No.
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I would call it a consequence of when the offseason is. sports media are starved for content, as all they have during the summer on non-Olympic years is baseball and golf, both middling as far as popularity goes.
Perhaps, but when there's the final round of a golf tournament, a 15-inning game and the All-Star selections in baseball and Takeru Kobayashi getting arrested all in the same day, and SportsCenter's top story is "LeBron isn't doing anything right now", there's some serious issues in the sporting news world.
Baseball, golf and competitive eating probably have less fans combined than basketball, honestly.
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I'm pretty sure baseball is still the #2 sport in America, actually.
EDIT: In comparison to professional basketball, anyway. Combine the pros with NCAA and basketball might overtake baseball.
EDIT 2: Little bit of Googling around suggests they're neck-and-neck. I didn't think basketball had come that far, but hey. Even with that, though, I would think baseball's All-Star announcements is more important news that LeBron not doing anything (hell, I would say the announcement of the NHL's All-Star teams is more important news than Brett Favre not doing anything).
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I was pretty pleased with the season. Obviously was heartbroken when the Thunder lost in the first round, but they've come a long way from their terrible 23-59 season and I'm really happy about that. I think having a group of youngsters is quite awesome. I'm really looking forward to next year! I hope they can do better in the playoffs.
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I always figured it's something like College Football > NFL > High School Football > College Basketball > MLB > NBA >> NHL, although it's possible the UFC has overtaken the NHL by now. That said, I think basketball is a bigger business (that is, makes more money) than MLB, since baseball seasons are so drawn out that it's less flashy and explosive a sort of play. Could be wrong though.
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NFL is number one by miles and it isn't close. Preseason games beat the World Series for ratings, the draft got 20 million people this year, etc. NFL>College football>NBA sounds right.
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That said, I think basketball is a bigger business (that is, makes more money) than MLB, since baseball seasons are so drawn out that it's less flashy and explosive a sort of play. Could be wrong though.
The long drawn-out season is what makes baseball so much money, since they have 32 teams selling tickets for 162 games every year. I think baseball parks have the higher average attendance capacity than basketball arenas, too.
Basketball has an entire round of playoffs on baseball, but I believe the World Series has higher ratings than the NBA Finals over the past several years.
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Well, I was thinking in terms of advertising and the like. Baseball is probably the only sport that makes money based on actual attendance in actual stadiums, because they DO actually use their bloody parks most of the time.
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Looks like, comparing the 2009 World Series with the 2010 NBA finals..
They look about equal, to be honest. Game 7 is way better than Game 6 of the World Series, but otherwise the World Series has a slight lead.
(Note, both of these were much better than the previous year's ratings, where the NBA possibly comes out on top.) Regardless it's close.
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That's why I said "over the past several years". Celtics/Lakers Game 7 is obviously going to draw a lot of attention, and even then, with the ways the Yankees/Phillies ratings were going, I wouldn't have been surprised if they have had a comparable Game 7.
Taking a look at the past 10 years, here are the average ratings for each.
NBA Finals:
2001: 12.1
2002: 10.2
2003: 6.5
2004: 11.5
2005: 8.2
2006: 8.5
2007: 6.2
2008: 9.3
2009: 8.4
2010: 10.9
World Series:
2000: 12.4
2001: 15.5
2002: 11.9
2003: 12.8
2004: 15.9
2005: 11.2
2006: 10.1
2007: 10.8
2008: 8.5
2009: 11.7
I'm not sure how "close" I would consider those numbers.
I also feel a bit dirty going to these lengths to argue that baseball announcing its All-Stars is more important news that LeBron James doing nothing.
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I am totally shocked that baseball is somehow still this popular. I would like to see a regional breakdown. I suspect it's more an East coast thing.
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Possible. I expect a demographic breakdown would be more informative. (Remember! Old people outnumber us.)
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FACT: Old people love baseball. It's relaxing to slowly die to.
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I don't have regional breakdowns of those numbers. The best I could offer you is the markets that were directly involved. In baseball, for example, the spike in 2004 and the drop in 2008 are both unsurprising, given the former was Boston ending 86 years of futility and the latter involved Tampa Bay (which, combined with the Marlins' shitty attendance, would actually seem to suggest old people don't care about baseball much at all, but I wouldn't be able to argue that stance one way or the other with any sort of conviction).
I'm guessing baseball will actually maintain this popularity, if not see an increase, given the influx of exciting young talent outside the major northeastern markets with guys like Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Tim Lincecum and most recently Stephen Strasburg (and Bryce Harper on the way). With the way we seem to be moving on from the PED debacle (or at least starting to), the only thing that I can see killing baseball at this point is Pujols getting busted. He and Griffey are the last two names every fan in the country wanted to see on any list of that sort, and Griffey has been able to leave quietly.
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Possible. I expect a demographic breakdown would be more informative. (Remember! Old people outnumber us.)
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I don't have that either. :C
EDIT: Some other attendance figures. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports_attendance_figures#Top_10_in_average_attendance) Football being #1 is no surprise to anyone, I'm sure, but baseball's on the list while basketball isn't.
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To be fair, attendance is largely a function of the arena the sport is played in. You'll note the Canadian Football League shows up on that list, and anyone living here will tell you that the CFL isn't in the same league (haha) as the NHL for popularity. The NBA can't possibly be on that list because basketball arenas just aren't big enough.
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To be fair, attendance is largely a function of the arena the sport is played in. You'll note the Canadian Football League shows up on that list, and anyone living here will tell you that the CFL isn't in the same league (haha) as the NHL for popularity.
And yet there are are more pro football teams in Canada than pro hockey teams.
I've never understood that.
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Because the infinite wisdom of Gary Bettman has decreed that Tampa Bay, Phoenix, and Nashville are stronger hockey markets, and the infinite wisdom of Gary Bettman must never be questioned.
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And yet there are are more pro football teams in Canada than pro hockey teams.
I've never understood that.
It's a lot easier when you're a league in a single country (and you totally block out the '90s from your mind, f*** you Larry Smith). There have been equal or more Canadian CFL teams than Canadian NHL teams at all times since before Gary was even born.
Bettman's still a bonehead, though. ;D
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To be fair, attendance is largely a function of the arena the sport is played in. You'll note the Canadian Football League shows up on that list, and anyone living here will tell you that the CFL isn't in the same league (haha) as the NHL for popularity. The NBA can't possibly be on that list because basketball arenas just aren't big enough.
Indeed. It's all about the question you ask. If your metric was, say, consecutive sellout games, you have a different picture as well.
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I'd be curious to see international numbers for American baseball vs American basketball.
Total money spend on clothes and goods would be interesting as well.
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CHINA SMASH
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5359255 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5359255)
So the word is LeBron is making up his mind Thursday. He's going to do a one-hour thing on ESPN. But here's the cool part: he's selling the ad space and giving the money to charity.
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Exciting, even if I hated how it ended. I'm very glad we stuck it to everyone that thought Miami would bounce us in the first round - never mind everyone that thought Cleveland and then Orlando would surely put down - for all that I like Dwayne Wade a lot better than LeBron James (which, of course, made watching LeBron completely stop trying in Game 5 of the conference semis so much more enjoyable), and Game 7 of the Finals is a successful season as far as I'm concerned given the circumstances under which we lost.
Sadly, a crappy ending to the season has continued into a crappy offseason and coverage Brett Favre would be jealous of while most of the rest of the country really doesn't want to hear about it until something meaningful actually happens. Ugh.
Ahem. Quote from Adam Schefter's twitter. I don't care if this a joke or not, but...
Brett Favre is buying up advertising time on Lebrons special to publicize his own "will he or won't he" 1 hour special
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That would be awesome if it's true.
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So Bosh goes to Miami!
(And KD signs a five year deal with the Thunder~~ I know, no one cares. :()
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5359255 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5359255)
So the word is LeBron is making up his mind Thursday. He's going to do a one-hour thing on ESPN.
If he's staying in Cleveland, it would be totally awesome if half the show was just the equivalent of the Bureau of Tourism pointing out all the great things that you can do there.
As it is, my money's on him joining the Harlem Globetrotters. >_>
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That would be awesome if it's true.
Favre really has happily moved into supervillain/parody range in the past year, so more power to him in that case.
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Wade and Bosh in Miami. Good for them, Wade deserves it.
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I see Miami's willingness to not go out and get Wade some help is going to provide one of two scenarios.
1. Wade doesn't renew and gets whooshed away to another team.
2. The Heat are attempting to throw James a LOT of money and try and bribe him into a Miami jersey.
~
eh, who knows!
You must have thought I was crazy when I said this bit if gibberish.
Now who is crazy!!!!!!!!
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Wade and Bosh in Miami. Good for them, Wade deserves it.
I personally don't want to see teams succeed when their plans have essentially been "sandbag a season to attract big names in the future." It's very... disrespectful.
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[21:28:44] <Kilgamyon> LeCrab to Heat.
[21:28:45] <Kilgamyon> Lame.
Wade and Bosh in Miami. Good for them, Wade deserves it.
I personally don't want to see teams succeed when their plans have essentially been "sandbag a season to attract big names in the future." It's very... disrespectful.
Hey, I didn't say the Heat deserved it. >_>
EDIT: I should probably recant my previous stance about Wade deserving it, too, if this really has been planned since 2007 or so. What a bleh way to rush for a ring. At least Boston had to trade a lot of pieces to get their Big 3 instead of just throwing money at them.
EDIT 2: This (http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html) would be the ultimate awesome if not for Comic Sans.
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You can thank Wade for all of this, actually. He should become acting mayor in Miami for what he has just accomplished for the city.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebrondecision070910
Easily the best article about it all.
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And just when I thought the Lakers were too hard to hate because of Pau, a new contender emerges!
I just have to say that I <3 the fact that KD isn't a drama queen~
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I just have to say that I <3 the fact that KD isn't a drama queen~
Really, I feel like Phil Jackson kind of got in his head during the playoffs with that talk about favorable officiating.
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I didn't begrudge Allen Iverson for leaving a doomed team in favor of one where he might have had a chance at winning something, and I feel the same way here. That said, if you're going to leave the team that started your career - and your freakin' hometown to boot - how about not twisting the knife on national TV? Dick.
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Oh for sure. The way LeBron made his annoncement was wrong. Waaaaaaaay over the top and way too much publicity for this kind of thing.
But, honestly screw Cleveland. Look at how the fans and team handled the situation. That is not the way to respond to yer valued free agent leaving the organization. The president of the Cavs sounded like a whining spoiled baby who just lost his favorite toy.
Actually he sounded more like a slave owner who had his best and hardest working slave run away from his farm to go work at a neighboring farm in opposition.
Lebron didn't HAVE to stay. So, stop hating the kid for making a choice. Hate him for the way he handled it, but not for ultimately leaving.
Also, no one said anything about KG and Ray Allen joining with Paul Pierce in Boston. Was that because those two superstars were already aging and not in their prime? in fact I was happy to see KG get a ring, but afterwards turned back into the Boston hating machine that I was always accustomed to being.
Bosh and LeBron deserve a ring people. If that means, they need to take back seat and ride in Wade's coat tail then so be it. Bwa hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
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People didn't say anything about KG and Allen because they were trades rather than free agent signings. Boston actually had to give up more than just money in order to get them. There were a ton of people questioning that move when it happened, thinking that giving up Jefferson and Green (along with everyone else, for all that Gomes was the only other player in that deal worth anything at the time) for a guy on the wrong side of 30 and maybe a championship was a really stupid idea. Miami didn't have to give up anything for this; all they had to do was not resign their expirings and they had the cap room.
Boston was criticized, however, for tanking the season prior, and there was a good amount of satisfaction across the nation taken in their landing the #5 pick. Of course, that has happened in this thread to Miami for this past season, so it works out.
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Actually Miami is giving up more then just money for these players. Both LeBron and Bosh are sign and trade players meaning the Heat have given up future draft picks as well.
It doesn't matter, this was going to happen sooner or later, so might as wll do it while they are still in thier prime rather then in thier decline.
And Miami has never tanked while Wade was on the team, fyi. The team was the number 5 spot in the East and had a 12-1 record going into the playoffs!
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I don't think people really begrudge him for leaving Cleveland. People begrudge him for thinking "Hmm, what is the douchiest, most heartbreaking way I can possibly do this while maximizing the amount of attention whoring?"
Brett Favre just wishes he thought of having a one-hour special first. "Man, Lebron is a GENIUS!"
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And Miami has never tanked while Wade was on the team, fyi. The team was the number 5 spot in the East and had a 12-1 record going into the playoffs!
They had the worst record in the league for a big chunk of time in 2008-2009. They tanked hard. Also, having the number 5 spot in the East? Nothing to brag about when the East is a three-team conference, not to mention that they wouldn't have made the playoffs at all if they were in the Western Conference.
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That was the season Wade was injured. It's like if LeBron or Kobe wasn't playing with their team and seeing how well off that team did.
edit: Sorry, my mistake. That was two years ago. haha
No, you are talking about Wade's MVP season. Yeah, he did tank it up real bad.
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You're not differentiating between "Wade" and "the Heat." WADE played his best, THE HEAT, primarily management, were already intentionally tanking things. If Kobe Bryant got injured, the Lakers would still play well because the Lakers weren't intentionally making their team worse to clear salary cap space (and because Pau Gasol is the REAL reason the Lakers are so good), basically tanking two seasons.
Fortunately, the Heat play in the Eastern Conference, where the playoffs are basically a gimme.
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You're not differentiating between "Wade" and "the Heat."
In fairness to Scar, for several years in a row there, there was basically no tangible difference.
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Having him shoulder the entire team has taken a lot of tread off his tires, that's for damn sure.
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I don't care how it gets done I just want to see Miami or Orlando get (some more) rings. I wasn't the biggest LeBron fan out there I won't lie, but now that he is a Heat, let Triami begin!
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Wait, a member of the Heat is just called "a Heat?"
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I can't think of what else he'd be called. A degree?
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I've been trying to think of something, but I can't come up with anything. It had simply never occurred to me that the players were "a Heat" because it's so... bad.
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A Temp?
A Cels?
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A Hot.
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Members of "the Heat?"
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I'm not sure what's sadder, that Billy King has a job or that he's probably a legitimate step up for the Nets.
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From how things looks right now... we have the following
East:
Miami, Orlando, and Chicago. Everyone else can just take the season off. Yes yes, I know that Boston went to the finals blah blah blah. Doesn't matter because they ran incredibly well in the injury department, ran into a Cleveland team that didn't seem to care, and matched up wonderfully vs a better Orlando team. Also another year on that team does not help in the least. So yeah. Miami is obvious as the team to beat unless the BFFs start fighting ala Shaq and Kobe. Orlando is still Orlando. Chicago improved their interior scoring and 3 point shooting... which they needed. We'll see how the defense is though and I also want to see how long it is before Noah and Boozer get into it!
Sleeper teams: None. Atlanta is still just Atlanta and nobody else improved enough to matter.
West:
Lakers, Blazers, OKC, Utah(?), Dallas
West is a bit more interesting. Lakers are still the favorites, but some other teams could make it interesting. Most of these teams have big IFS though and I expect that by playoff time we'll be ignoring 2 of them as legitimate contenders. Houston and Spurs are left off because of age and frailty. They might both be good, but have no real shot at going deep. Denver left off to avoid West bias! (And because it feels like this team missed their shot. Some aging players and Carmelo possibly going apathy mode are bad things.)
Lakers: Duh
Blazers: Need to avoid injury to GO. Camby is good, but aging. This is a huge if though. Also, Roy needs to be healthy for the playoffs.
OKC: Needs Durant to make another defensive improvement and Westbrook to make another offensive improvement. Might have it in them.
Utah: Needs Jefferson to learn to submit to D-Will. Another big if.
Dallas: Needs to learn that the playoffs is more important than the regular season.
Sleepers: The obvious Spurs, Nuggets, Rockets... but meh, none impress.
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So I guess everyone is buying into the whole Boozer going to be relevant without D Will?
I mean, sure now he has D Rose, but...it's not going to be the same. Plus, I just don't think Boozer is all that good. And if he was good I think he is on the decline of his career at that.
So we have Miami and Orlando...my two favorite teams.
Next season is going to kick ass!
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I dunno, Boozer with the Bulls could be a good fit. He's one of the few teams out there that I think he actually works well with. Granted... Chicago still shouldn't be able to compete with Miami or Orlando.
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Boozer is definitely on the back end of his run, but I think he can really bring it when necessary. I personally am not going to denigrate him after seeing that shit in person.
I'm still not over it.
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Of course now that I have been actively looking for a D Wade jersey, (My dad has a white one, but it is a large and really looks too big on me) there isn't one on the gawd damn planet.
No local store has one and no online sites have my size. Plus I want the authentic one.
I mean, I could have gotten one earlier, but I wanted to make sure he was staying in Miami.
This will be my second NBA jersey following my Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway jersey I bought all those years back. (Ok, I didn't buy it since I was still a little git, but whatEVer.)
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I've already picked up my Chris Paul Blazers jersey!
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There is nothing I wouldn't hump to make that happen.
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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/07/heat-are-sold-out-so-ticket-staff-is-fired/1
Dear god the Miami Heat are run by assholes.
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House is back with the Heat!
Wide open perimeter shots...yes please!
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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/07/heat-are-sold-out-so-ticket-staff-is-fired/1
Dear god the Miami Heat are run by assholes.
I think I would have cut the Blazers loose again at this point. After te sandbagging, I mean.
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Please let this happen. (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/08/03/shaq.celtics/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2)
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Please let this happen. (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/08/03/shaq.celtics/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2)
Celtics lead the league in O'Neals! (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010/08/its_official_ce.html?p1=News_links)
Won't be boring!
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He'll probably be a much better fit for them than he was for the Cavs. He really slowed them down a lot.
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Please let this happen. (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/08/03/shaq.celtics/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2)
Celtics lead the league in O'Neals! (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010/08/its_official_ce.html?p1=News_links)
Won't be boring!
Man if you took 10 years off the ages of this Boston team... they'd probably be the best team the league has ever seen.
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Rondo would be in diapers!
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And Scar reveals he spent ten or more years wearing diapers.
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Please let this happen. (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/08/03/shaq.celtics/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2)
Celtics lead the league in O'Neals! (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2010/08/its_official_ce.html?p1=News_links)
Won't be boring!
Man if you took 10 years off the ages of this Boston team... they'd probably be the best team the league has ever seen.
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/08/05/oneal_will_be_quite_an_attraction_in_celtics_center_ring/
Let the jokes begin.
Instead of a bench, the Celtics will have a couch. No, make that easy chairs and hassocks. All team meals will be Early Bird Specials. A typical player anecdote begins, “So I said to Dr. Naismith . . .’’
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Nothing wrong with that! I was a late bloomer.
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14 year old Rondo with Allen/Pierce/KG/Shaq would probably still take it all down. Be kinda fun to watch.
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Gawd dammit Haslem.
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Wow, you know the Olympic team is shitty when I haven't even heard of the three guys they cut from the team to make it under the roster restriction.
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JaVale McGee I can understand, but you really don't know who Jeff Green is?
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Apparently, he plays for OKC but isn't Westbrook or Durant, which means his primary job is to be one of three guys whose job is to pass it to Westbrook or Durant. So no, I don't really pay attention to him.