Official NBA Discussion Thread

[He who knows more than Nation]

Danny Green, Gary Neal and Patty Mills will ALL be overpaid by some really stupid team and they will not be as effective as they are for the Spurs. Seriously, the Spurs are the greatest Front Office arguably ever. Given what they have done, whom they have drafted, the fact they perfected and reinvented the Foreign farm system, pick high character guys, value bin vets and have a coach that is probably as inviting as a starved fighting pit bull, the amount of success they have endured during the Duncan era and the fact they've gone over the tax threshold only twice...fuck. Like I said before, if they made a great movie about Billy "I had a nice 3 year run and sold my secrets for cash" Beane, there needs to be a friggin trilogy about the Spurs F.O.

And BTW, I LOVE, absolutely LOVE how fucking dumb BSPN is in calling itself out:

How about San Antonio? 17 straight wins.

If it's a Miami or Lakers team on a string like San Antonio is doing, people would be talking about it like it's the greatest thing. It's just..it's amazing how they still go under the radar despite their excellence.

This is like OJ Simpson saying he hates Nopes that murder their white ex-wives. I fucking HATE ESPN. I wish the NBA would go back to NBC, MNF is awarded to CBS and I could care less about MLB as they seem to be perfect for ESPN.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

lmao, can you imagine if somehow the Sixers get to the finals? That would be the lowest rated, most lopsided finals ever. What a joke. Their fans are Blue too. They acted as if they had won the NBA finals in that game 6 over Chicago, when in reality, the Bulls played AWFUL in all five games without Rose and they still struggled to beat them. They were around until the finals minutes of every game and basically gave it to the Sixers.

How the Celtics allowed the 6ers to tie this series is beyond belief. But RONDO is GR8 OMFG. :/

 

[PeepShow]

lmao, Rondo is playing great. Him and KG are keeping them in this series. Pierce is coming up short constantly and Ray Allen can't seem to even walk down the court anymore, let alone knock down a shot.

 

[Hometown Kid]

I fucking HATE ESPN. I wish the NBA would go back to NBC

Fuck yeah! Never mind that ESPN is full of shit-eating smurfs, but it's a real shame that John Tesh theme music isn't played for NBA games anymore. Brings back all sorts of fun memories of 90's ball, especially for the Sonics for me.

EDIT:

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MNF leaving would suck simply 'cause then there'd be no more Rachel Nichols during football. ):

 

[PeepShow]

Fuck yeah. How the hell did I miss that part of your post, Enzo?

LONG LIVE NBC!!!

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Ahhh the memories...

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

Well, FINALLY LBJ won his team a playoff game in the fourth quarter. Will he keep it up? I dunno, but we'll see.

AWESOME game tonight between Spurs and Clips. Clips played so well and honestly they lost on a really poor shot choice from Paul. Three years ago he would have made that step back and floated one in for the win. I think he was looking for a call. Great defense from Danny Green on that. Bring on the Thunder because that was the first time this post season that post season excitement has really hit me.

 

[NinoBrown]

40-18-9-2-2

Those are Bron in Cleveland numbers

 

[Luke Flywalker]

^Ehh, Wade had a better second half overall...

...but I said it last night in the 4th, win or lose, Collison is the player of the series. I legitimately died @ him muscling the ball from LeBron the possession after Bron finishes strong and flexes like he's Lex Luger...


You can put it down to mental errors for the Pacers more than you can the Heat doing anything right (minus LeBron attacking the paint). You go without your bigs until 4 minutes when they've only got 4 fouls a piece and you blow your 3rd 5+ point lead in the 4th. Had Indiana played smart and not played like Miami has most of this series... they'd have found themselves in a position to threaten that game last night.



Enzo... Spurs looked good last night, especially in their little comeback in the 4th... but (and I'll get to the controversial side of this in a second) the refs botched 2 fouls on Chris Paul in the last 17 seconds on his final 2 shots... HORRIBLY. The first, I can understand them saying he lost control of the ball and the foul wouldn't have mattered much anyways, but that second drive, he was fouled by whoever was guarding him (drawing a blank) and Timmy as well...

But the Spurs got shafted 3 straight possessions earlier in the game after Paul thought he was fouled on that 3 (and he WAS)... and didn't call a technical at any point of him throwing his arms around, yelling at the ref, TOSSING THE BALL AT THE REF (funny, they ejected/fined Rondo for less)... they finally got him for bitching mid-defense... but it was far too late. But he did have a case, he was CLEARLY fouled... but he shouldn't have fallen over like he did... and that's why flopping, while it will help you 80% of the time, is fucking stupid.



However, and argue that the Spurs were off all you'd like (they weren't really), what the Clippers did last night was a SAMPLE of what the Thunder are capable of doing. There won't be any blowouts... but the Thunder can make those shots that the Clippers struggled to hit. Blake Griffin's best night shooting is damn near the entire Thunder team on their worst night... and that posed ALL SORTS of problems for the Spurs last night. I'm looking forward to the matchups in this series though...

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

^^^Broski, did LeBron tie you up and make you watch while he raped your mom? You realllllyyyyyy hate the guy. That performance was AMAZING. He might not have showed up in a couple of fourth quarters, but WTF about Wade laying a big stinking egg with a 5 point performance? It would kill you to give the man some props. Kobe has been the biggest bust in the playoffs thus far, ride that jabrone a bit. Had LeBron been on those Lakers squads, he'd have two rings also. The talent and coaching around Kobe might be he most overlooked thing in the mans legacy.

And I won't argue the Spurs were off, but it was mainly the fact that it was a back to back with a team desperate to stay alive. But the Clips played exactly how a team that has nowhere to go plays...balls out. But here's the thing, everytime the Clips made a strong strike, the Spurs striked back harder. I commend them for giving their all and the LA fans for being classy for the first time in city history. If the Clips had a real coach, this series might have gone 6 games. I noticed Stan Van was fired today. He's an automatic upgrade over Vinny Del Nope.

As for the Thunder. Still not worried. We are things the Thunder aren't:

• The best passing team.
• The best scoring team.
• The best coached team.
• The deepest team.

That's not in the series, that's of all the teams left in the playoffs. And it's not opinion, it's fact.

The Spurs have swept two teams with better front courts than the Thunder, that's a non issue.
They took Chris Paul out of the first two games completely. Russell Westbrook isn't Chris Paul and he will be kept in check. Danny Green was an absolute masterlock on Paul at times. And Tony Parker owns Westbrook. He absolutely shat on him this season.The Thunder have more to fear from the Spurs PG than the Spurs theirs. Again, it will be a great, great series, but this Spurs team is the most dominant playoff team since the 01 Lakers and the Thunder are on the cusp and if it was any other team, I'd take the Thunder all day, but you're not going to find one bookie, "expert" (of course they pick the Spurs now, fuckin jabrones) or anyone with a fair basketball IQ picking the Spurs. The Vegas odds were something absurd last time I checked.

I'm not trying to be a homer, I'm being as objective as I am subjective. It is what it is; a strong veteran team with the perfect balance of young legs, experience and depth against a rising young team that, if kept together, is a legitimate contender for years to come. It just isn't their time yet. But hands down, this will be the most entertaining playoff series of the year.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

^I wasn't even trashing Bron for the game, it was a spectacular game... but Wade played a better 2nd half in that game than Bron did and was the reason they really got back into the game and stayed there.



Anyways, Stan Van going to the Clippers would be idiotic. Yeah, it's an upgrade immediately, but this is someone who ruins PG's... the Clippers don't want to run Chris Paul outta... town... so quickly. Their best bet is to find continuity and another shooter. Caron Butler's the worst best player I've seen in a long time. When healthy, he's as good as anyone... but he's never fucking healthy, and it ruins him. How many times has he broken that fucking hand in the last 4 years? 12?



All I'ma say about the Thunder is, THIS is the epitome of this team:

[video=youtube;t_bvo06zoI8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_bvo06zoI8[/video]


Westbrook's good for a big shot at any time... they're so grimy defensively and they'll take away even some of your smartest passes... and Durant's just... WOW.

I'm really not in the belief that the Thunder will take this, I have said on Twitter that the Spurs should already be holding the trophy and that the WCF should just be the Finals and the East should be eliminated... but I really can see this series going either way. Westbrook has started to play bad Westbrook again... losing his temper, not controlling his emotions, going on a fucking shooting spree and not looking at KD for an entire half... but the fact I've seen him play responsibly at any point in the playoffs this year tells me he can do it.


And while we're on the topic of future possibilities... Steve Nash joining the Thunder next year and rolling Westbrook to SG and letting Nash distribute... man!

 

[Luke Flywalker]

You'll like this, Enzo:

"Interesting fact that I saw on Basketbawful last night...every time an 8 seed beats a 1 in the NBA Playoffs, a Texas team wins the title."

 

[NinoBrown]

This Orlando situation is worse than Lebron's Decision. Fuck Dwight Howard, you get the coach and GM fired and now you want to leave more than ever? I'd trade him as soon as the finals are over.

 

[Hometown Kid]

Who would give anything close to value to Orlando after everything Dwight's done? They should have traaded him before the season started, at least then they could have let some of their younger guys get some minutes and a chance for them to try to find something, they could have gotten at least a Pau level player, which is a lot better than what they'll get now, and they could have gotten a lotto pick or two to have something to build around.

The best Orlando could hope for now is that they can talk ol' MJ into trading the #1 pick for Dwight.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

^^I'm positive you are being strictly hypothetical, but economically you can't trade any draft pick for a maxed out player. And while I don't think Howard is the hands down best big man like many think (personally I'd rather have Love over D-White) he's worth much more than the #1 pick. Why? Because he's proven. Anthony Davis could be the next Hasheem Thabeet (BAM!) instead of the next Dwight. I don't think any decent gm would take that deal if it were even economically possibly.

Plus Jordan's a cheap sonuvabitch and is probably the most incompetent executive in the sport's history. Dude makes enough money off of slave labor and it almost looks like he owns an NBA team because MJ can do that.

 

[Hometown Kid]

I was just joking, brother. My only point was that MJ's the only exec stupid enough to give the Magic anything worth a crap for Dwight. NO other sane GM will offer any sort of combination that fits with the cap and gives the Magic anything good. Dwight's an Ochocinco in Cincy level headache, and he's pretty much guaranteed to walk. If the Magic would have unloaded him before the season, it would have been smart for Dwight and Orlando, now there's no chance he gets moved, he has a diva rep, and Orlando won't get anything for him.

I agree about Love being better than Dwight, even Love was in the East. The Wolves had a way tougher road, even as far as opposing bigs were concerned, and Love was still the better player. I would have voted him MVP if the Wolves had made the playoffs, tbh.