I see what you're saying and agree with the spririt behind it but you're telling me the Spurs in the Finals is more exciting than Kobe Bryant going for his 6th ring? There are historical implications here, "legacy" implications, the fact he's still going to be playing for a few more years after this. He's going to be playing like a man possessed. The On-Court drama is what I'm looking for here. Kobe shooting in LeBron's face and giving him his Kobe/Rape Face. I want to see LeBron's reaction to that. I want to see Andrew Bynum finally stepping up, punking the shit out of Joel Anthony or even better swatting LeBron's shit then copping an attitude. Or Chris Bosh trying some shit on Bynum and getting punked out. The San Antonion Spurs don't have any swag. I want a team on the court that has some swag, some stank, some attitude, some fire, and most importantly some hate. OKC has swag, attitude, stank and fire. I'll be happy if they make it also.
Please. The Lakers are the Knicks with a better Carmelo. And individually, some of the players play better defense. If they were smart, they would run the offense through Gasol & Bynum, but they're not smart.
As I noted in this post, the Lakers averaged 1.4 more points per contest than their opponents during the regular season. Statistically, that is not an especially good team. Rather, it's a decent team that makes the playoffs but has no real chance of contending there. By contrast, Denver averaged 2.9 more points than their opponents, and a "surprising" team like the 76ers averaged 4.2 points more. Look, the Western Conference has 2 elite teams, the Thunder and the Spurs, and then 6 fairly good teams. The difference in regular season record between the 3rd seed Lakers and the 7th and 8th seed Mavs and Jazz was a whopping 5 games. In that same post I linked above, I predicted that the Nuggets had a great chance to beat the Lakers because LA simply wasn't that good. And I was right.
The NBA doesn't reseed after each round. Thus, the playoffs are set up according to the "expected" winner. The sixers let one slip away. If they can't win on a night where Pierce is 3/11 (and the team was 2-18 from three), I don't like their chances when he's on. Also the sixers don't have an answer for KG on either end. He's playing some of his best ball in a long time, and they looked helpless. Heads up play by rondo to realize that he had room to break away at the end rather than go to FTs. Edit: doubly so since apparently Philly had a foul to give.
I couldn't be happier for Afflalo. Me and a few of my friends got to meet and play against him back in 2007 when he was working out in the LA area before the draft. Whereas most basketball players are intensely stupid and short-sighted, he struck me as focused, hard-working, and understanding exactly what he needed to do to be successful in the NBA. He has already over-achieved tremendously in his career, and hopefully, Afflalo gets to showcase his play in the second round of the playoffs. I know you're a Celtics fan, but when your team wins by a single point at home after decent (Allen, Pierce) or great (Rondo, Garnett) performances from its top 4 players, is it really fair to say their chances are higher than they were before the start of the series? Yeah, they're up 1-0 now, but I think that game proved how hard-fought and close the series will be.
Both Pierce and Allen played worse than their stat line indicated. Pierce is still clearly hobbled (although getting stronger with each game) and Allen was largely a non-factor (especially sunce most of his seven three pointer attempts were poorly guarded. He normally hits those). Avery Bradley also played uncharacteristically terribly on defense, maybe because he's undersized compared to the Sixers perimeter players. The Sixers had the celtics on the ropes time after time, and couldn't close. Up by thirteen...let them get back. Up by six...let hem get back. Up by seven...let them ge back. The opportunity was there for Philly, they just let it slip out of their hands with each easy layup for Rondo (the Sixers bigs failed on help defense) or completely unguarded 18 footer they gave Garnett (c'mon, he's Kevin Garnett, you know he's gonna hit those). The Sixers want to play small so they can outrun Boston, but that makes it increasingly hard to stop Garnett or deal with Rondo when he inevitably gets into the paint. I think the Sixers will need to hold Boston under 90 points to win, which is a tough task. I don't know why everyone seems so excited about MWP being back tonight. They might be better off without him. He's a very poor shooter who doesn't realize he's a poor shooter (and thus takes too many). Overrated on defense due to reputation. The only big plus is size, since he tends to guard bigger/tougher than his height would indicate.
Agreed. He is no longer the elite defender he used to be. Watching the Lakers play the Nuggets in the first half now, does anyone seriously think either team has a legitimate chance in a seven game series against the Thunder? The Nuggets have a good backcourt and quality shooting but average defense and a very weak frontcourt. The Lakers have good defense in the paint, excellent rebounding, and a strong frontcourt, but they can't guard the perimeter or stop dribble penetration, and have a very average offense on the whole.
The argument for the lakers is largely that when Kobe and Bynum play well, the lakers usually win. However, it's rough having your team's fortune depend on what side of the bed your center woke up on. If Bynum/Gasoline half ass it, the Thunder will run them out of the gym.
KOBE! KOBE! KOBE! Wait...17 points? 8 assists? Did someone kill Kobe Bryant and replace him with a cylon who passes the ball? Or did he switch bodies with Steve Blake ? 19 points for Blake? Man, so great they picked this guy up last month. Andrew, Pau, welcome to the playoffs. MWP acted like he's been here the whole time and he's been suspended for 20 days. I'm so excited for the next round... *This is where TNT puts up the scoring average for Durant, Westbrook and Harden.* OKC is going to Boomrape the Lakers. I repeat. Boomrape. That is a form of rape where one wakes up the next day with their assholes hurting, a pouding migraine, and half their clothes missing. Also known as a Miami Heat fan's Sunday morning. Well unless Bynum and Gasol play like they care for 4 quarters. Ibaka and Perkins aren't THAT good. Perkins is probably one of the best post up defenders, but if Bynum and Gasol play their best, and Blake isn't scared to shoot half the time, it will be a competitive series at best. Who knows it they will, and there is the possibility of Brown getting out-coached.
I actually don't think this is true at all. Also, you're giving Kobe an awful lot of credit in a season where he shot his lowest field goal percentage since his sophomore NBA season and a career-low 30.3% from 3 point range. Anyways, Gasol had an amazing game with 23 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks, and a ridiculous 11 offensive boards. (Granted half of them were on one play...) That being said, the guy is almost 32, suffers from fatigue, and isn't quite the same player he was a few years ago. Don't expect a performance like that every night. And that's also because as much as anyone on the Nuggets, I blame the loss on JaVale McGee. The guy did an awful, piss-poor job of boxing out both Gasol and Bynum, or defending either of them in an effective manner. McGee has the longest wingspawn of any player in the entire NBA (even Al Jefferson's monstrous arms don't come close to McGee's ridiculous 7' 6.5" reach), and yet, Bynum and especially Gasol dominated him with their length. It's funny; despite both his parents being professional basketball players, McGee is usually the dumbest guy on the court. As for Steve Blake, he proved again that a smart, hard-working white guy with no speed or athleticism can have success as long as he doesn't turn the ball over and hits that corner three. The only three he missed was also the only one that wasn't attempted from the corner. I was hoping that the Nuggets won just so I don't have to hear more idiot Lakers fans prattling on about their team or read any more articles sucking Kobe's dick. However, I think there is a reasonable chance that the Thunder beat Los Angeles in either 4 or 5 games, which would be amusing.
So has this playoff series shown JaVale McGee to actually not be an intelligent person? I know there was that excuse floating around that he was just on the hapless Wizards and had bad coaching. He doesn't LOOK dumb, as some other players (and people) just look stupid. I haven't watched enough of him to know.
JaVale McGee has always been like this. Consider this video. He's a strange, strange man and has some of the most interesting hi-light reels in the league. On any given night, it's a good bet that McGee will make both the best and worst play in the game.
Hmm...well i got most of the teams right, at least(again, this was done BEFORE Rose and Noah got injured). Let's try this again: Semi-Finals Celtics in 7 Heat in 6* OKC in 6 Spurs in 6(vs Grizzlies) Spurs in 5(vs Clippers) *I really had to think about saying either 5 or 6 games for Miami. The Pacers are a good young team but when the Heat turn it on they're going to get ripped to shreds.
McGee is by far the most unintentionally hilarious player in the NBA. I'm actually at a loss of words to describe his utter ineptitude(while simultaneously coming through in the clutch). It's something I'm just in awe of. I love the fact that he's playing on a playoff team now so hopefully we'll see more of his...style...in the playoffs for years to come.
I think that 90% of basketball players are "not intelligent" people, based on interviews, the tendency of many to go broke a few years after retirement, the events of the most recent lockout, and their unwavering support of Billy Hunter. However, I mean "intelligent" in terms of play on the court. Guys like Andre Miller and Aaron Afflalo play smart basketball. JaVale McGee doesn't. He gets poor position, doesn't recognize offensive sets and is thus slow to react to them, doesn't box out properly (an element of technique and understanding position on the court as much as anything), and has a bizarre, undisciplined offensive game. When Flip Saunders was heading the Timberwolves during Garnett's prime, he won Coach of the Year and was considered a great. When he had mixed success with a past-their-prime Pistons team after Larry Brown, he was considered okay. And coaching the Wizards, many considered him bad. I think it's all exaggeration based on circumstances. Saunders is a decent coach. Maybe slightly worse than George Karl, but not even a Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan can turn an erratic, dumb player into an intelligent, consistent one.
How many shots have the Grizzlies missed in the last three minutes? I haven't counted, but it has to be in double digits. They've given this game away in the 4th.
I didn't watch the game. Were Mayo and Conley really as awful as their statlines indicated? Regardless, I agree with you that the Spurs probably beat the Clippers in 5, maybe 6 games. Tony Parker versus Chris Paul will be an even match-up, the Spurs' bigs will neutralize Blake, and their perimeter shooting and ability to get the rim will be too much for the Clippers. In unrelated news, this Heat-Pacers game is really quality, exciting basketball. Even better than I expected this series to be.
It was a very close(albeit very ugly) game for the first three quarters, then in the last five minutes the Grizzlies offense evaporated into thin air. Easily a dozen shots in a row missed, not including all the brick free throws. Since I don't have a dog in this fight, I was hoping for an epic end of the fourth quarter. Ah well.
Quotes like this are why I can't stand Boozer: <a class="postlink" href="http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/11/quote-of-the-day-wow-carlos-boozer-just-doesnt-get-it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... nt-get-it/</a> Really, you played well? Because you only got THREE points in a game that was decided by one. Oh, and by the way, EVERYONE ON YOUR FUCKING TEAM thinks the championship is all that matters. Ask your (at the moment) crippled MVP who can probably still beat you in a one-on-one. God, we need to trade this douche.