That was Battier doing what he all know he does best. He puts on a clinic in man-to-man defense. And I've noticed LeBron taking more charges this year than in previous years. He's truly at the top of his game right now. I still believe their best chances to win would be to keep Stoudemire and Anthony playing together as little as possible. Their skill sets are far too similar to coexist on the court. Jeff Van Gundy mentioned early on that Carmelo is at his best when he's surrounded by shooters; putting him on the floor with Stoudemire and Chandler shrinks the range of the offense and reduces ball rotation. Too many foolish New York turnovers and Miami's excellent shooting was the theme of game 1.
Fuck Fuck FUCK!!!!!! <a class="postlink" href="http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/28/video-derrick-rose-suffers-knee-injury-vs-sixers-helped-off-the-floor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... the-floor/</a> Words fail me, so I'll just stick to profanities. Fucking shit!!! CUNT!!!!!!
Magic Johnson said last night during NBA Tonight that the compressed schedule hurt Rose a lot more because of his relentless, attacking play style. Playing with that kind of intensity is contingent on proper rest. And he's not the only one; read the accompanying article by Michael Wilbon:
The danger of the compressed schedule is not significant. This year teams played 66 games between Christmas) and April 26 (123 days). Last year teams played about 59 games in the last 123 days of the season and 23 games in the first 60 days. That's an extra game every 2.5 weeks, trading off not having to play in 16 extra games. This season's schedule is a lot safer and more forgiving than the normal schedule. If this season saw more injuries or worse injuries (doubtful), the shortened camp and lack of individual preparation between October and December were much more likely to be the causes. Wilbon was doing the typical media blame game thing, like a soldier who waits until the battle ends then appears to bayonet the wounded. If they played this schedule every year after a planned preseason, the players would make less money but everyone else would benefit.
I fully agree that the absence of a preseason played a role in the injury frequency this year, but don't you think there's some merit to what Hamilton said? If you look at last year's schedules, a team rarely plays 7 games in 10 nights prior to the All-Star break, and sustaining that kind of pace for 4 months has to be torturous. To look at things another way: instead of the regular season being compressed, the grueling part of it was extended by 2 months. Additionally, because the season played 20% less games, it meant they mattered that much more, so players couldn't afford to play less minutes on some nights as needed, like they ordinarily could. The teams best able to do that were the ones with the deepest rotations, so it should surprised nobody that the Bulls and the Spurs took their respective conferences. Even the commentators (I forget who they were) during today's SA-Utah game made a point to mention how well Gregg Popovich managed the Spurs' minutes this year, because the lockout made it that much more important. When you break down the numbers, 1 game in 2.5 weeks doesn't sound like very much. But when you consider that - in that same 2.5 week span - an extra game also means an extra travel day or two, it trickles down to everything else, most notably practice time and rest/recovery. Everything's shorter, everything's rushed. In a few weeks, that's not so terrible. But over the course of a 4-month regular season, everyone's pretty much on fumes because of inadequate rest. Figuratively speaking, the league's been sprinting a marathon, and now we're seeing what happens on mile 20. I understand that Wilbon has a biased perspective on this particular injury, but there remain some very important points in that article. I don't think it's mere coincidence that Rose and Howard, who have both been nearly 100% healthy so far in their careers, have suddenly been hit with season-ending injuries. And that goes for the rest of the players he cited. In spite of no preseason, Ray Allen (among the other Celtics veterans) were noted by Doc Rivers to have been in midseason form on Christmas Day. It's not as if the lack of preseason games and organized practices precluded the individual players from keeping themselves limber and ready to play when the season started. Then again, it's almost May and Andrew Bynum is still on the active roster, so maybe that debunks everything. Not only that, but he just blocked his 7th shot of the game against Denver, and it's only midway through the 3rd.
One additional point: I don't think the pacing of this year's schedule was necessarily a bad thing, only different. Should they decide to adopt a similar schedule in the future (there have been whispers about it), I think this year drove home the point that teams can no longer be as top-heavy as they once were. The rosters best equipped to handle schedules like this are the ones that have the most top-to-bottom talent. An argument can be made that such a move would increase parity in the NBA, which the Bobcats would undoubtedly be in favor of.
JProctor is correct. An extra 7 games over 4 months is not that significant. Wilbon is a moron, and like most journalists, cares more about narrative over actual facts. What WAS significant was the lack of a preseason, training camp, and the ability for players to practice at team facilities and have contact with team doctors. Even then, the number of total NBA man-games missed this season was roughly the same as any 66 game stretch during previous seasons. Once again, this narrative just doesn't correspond with reality. Here is a list of various NBA stars and the amount of minutes they averaged per game; Tim Duncan, 2011 minutes: 28:23, 2012 minutes: 28:11 (:12 less) Tony Parker, 2011 minutes: 32:23, 2012 minutes: 32:06 (:17 less) Al Jefferson, 2011 minutes: 35:53, 2012 minutes: 34:00 (1:53 less) Kobe Bryant, 2011 minutes: 33:53, 2012 minutes: 38:30 (4:37 more, but still less than he played in 2010) LeBron James, 2011 minutes: 38:47, 2012 minutes: 37:30 (1:17 less) Dwyane Wade, 2011 minutes: 37:06, 2012 minutes: 33:12 (3:54 less) Carmelo Anthony, 2011 minutes: 36:12 2012 minutes: 34:06 (2:06 less) I could go on and on. Also keep in mind these are completely random superstars I chose. Seriously, there is no evidence for star players having to play more. In fact, they appear to be playing less because of the increased schedule, with the notable exception of Kobe. (Who sat out a bunch of games during the end of the season to make up for this) If anything, it was fringe guy playing more. So someone who averaged 15 mpg is now playing 18 mpg. However, that's not a big deal, let alone "tortuous". It should surprise people even less considering the Bulls and Spurs took their respective conferences in 2011. So the two conference champions in 2011 repeated in 2012. This is evidence of what, exactly? That the Bulls and Spurs are outstanding teams with great coaches that beat opponents through a combination of unselfish superstars and incredible depth? If anything, this appears to be good evidence that the schedule this year made very little difference in terms of results. He also did a great job managing his players' minutes in 2011, when Parker and Duncan played a virtually identical amount. (See above) Again, what is this evidence of? Once again, this is empty rhetoric. It doesn't stand up to the actual facts. The stuff about "extra travel day or two" is also completely wrong, since the NBA schedule this season was designed in a way to have teams play more home games consecutively and more road games consecutively, instead of constantly alternating as much. Ergo, players this season actually had fewer travel days than they did last year over 66 games. Cherry-picking two guys is silly. I could also point to Andrew Bynum, who had his first healthy season as a key starter ever, or to guys with injury concerns like Chris Paul, who were healthy throughout. As much as I love Ray Allen, he is also 36 years old. You're surprised that a 36 year-old guy who is playing his 16th year year in the league got injured? Really? It's not even close to the same.
Apologies for the lack of substance in my last post, a combination of painkillers(goddamn back problems)/a couple of beers/FURIOUS ANGER got the better of me. Goddamnit...just thinking of the playoffs now depresses me. The Heat must be stopped at all costs!...unfortunately, I don't see anyone in the east beating them now(short of a minor miracle from the Celtics). In the west I can see either the Thunder or MAYBE the lakers(just due to the Kobe factor). I just don't see the Spurs making it.
No reaction to one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history? Chris Paul proved once again why he has been the most clutch player in the NBA for the past several seasons.
Chris Paul last night is what I point to when people ask me what Rose was doing in the game that late in the 4th quarter.
Additionally, these were my first-round predictions before the postseason started. Bulls in 5 Heat in 5 Celtics in 5 Pacers in 6 Spurs in 5 Grizzlies in 6 Lakers in 6 Thunder in 6
I dont see the connection. The clips were trailing that whole game and the Bulls were up by 12 with just over 1 minute left. You can always put a guy back in if the other team makes a run.
Three changes. Atlanta is looking good. 80% of the teams that have homecourt advantage and win game 1 go on to win the series. I don't know if they're going to win in Boston, but they're going to win at home, especially with Ray Allen out. I just feel like the Knicks have at least 2 wins within them. I just want two wins please God. Miami shouldn't have such a cakewalk into the EFC Finals. Melo has to have something in there, some fire, some hate that won't let his team go down like a bitch. Plus Chandler has an idea of how to shut down the Heat, he just beat them. The Clips get 3 wins, because that is a demoralizing loss for the Grizzlies. That shit just does not happen. Chris Paul is too good and the bench is now inspired to play much better. I doubt they can keep Blake Griffin down every game like they did in this one. Not exciting that 3 out of 8 games are predictable.
I know you probably didnt see Game 1 because Either your eyes were still too swollen from crying about DRose or your face was still buried in the pillow while fate was fucking you & the Bulls right in the ass, but Carmelo's arms aren't long enough to pull 2 wins out his ass vs the Heat. Carmelo put the ME in Carmelo.
No, I watched, it was a vicious anal raping with LeBron wearing a sandpaper condom. I'm just hoping the seires can be competitive. The Heat are still going to win.
I never understood why people hang on Carmelo's nuts so much. So he can score. You know who else could score at will? Cedric Ceballos. That's right, he's a more skilled version of Cedric Ceballos.
To be fair, Cedric Ceballos was pretty damn good back in the day. A superior, more skilled version of Ceballos sounds like a great basketball player to me! But yeah, I made a post about it before the playoffs started, but I don't see how anyone thinks the Knicks have much of a chance. The series is either a sweep or goes 5 games.
It's more to the point that you don't let up in a playoff game. Obviously Philadelphia didn't have a Chris Paul to throw at the Bulls, but lets say the Sixers cut the lead to five, or three, or one. That's motivation you can use in the next playoff game, especially if you are going to your home court in a couple of days. I didn't watch the end of the Heat-Knicks game, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe they took Lebron out of the game, despite an insanely bigger lead, for that exact reason.
Plus we're talking about a non contact injury that all the retired athlete analysts are attributing to injury compensation like I mentioned before. I get pissed at all the people in Chicago that are ignorantly ranting about Thibs being stupid, or this or that. That shit could have happened anywhere, at anytime. You also don't let up. Maybe you should with 20 minutes, but Reggie Miller was calling the game, that's all I'm saying. With his presence there, anything could happen in very little time.