NBA Season Thread

[Wasatch]

In what is probably on the leaderboard for the feel good story of the year in the NBA, D-league callup Sundiata Gaines (who was called up on the 5th & today would've been the last day of his 10-day contract) hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn't even play until the 4th quarter tonight, but he scored 9 points with the last 3 being the biggest (& hopefully getting him another contract )

Pretty cool to see this guy once again come through in the clutch, as he did numerous times in UGA's improbable SEC basketball tournament win.

I was lucky enough to be at this unbelievable game! I?ve seen a lot of Jazz games in my life when they?ve tried to come back and win it by playing each final position with a foul and shoot contest, but I?ve never seen one pulled out quite like this, especially from a week year old rookie! Jazz fans were ecstatic last night and they actually hung around the arena, at midnight; this hasn?t happened in a very long time!

This is why the D League is fantastic

Really the first great story to come out of the D League and the NBA is capitalizing on the story!

[TFoA]

NBA denies Hawks' protest, Cavs win stands.

The protest wasn't granted because it didn't have a clear impact on the game. Yeah that makes sense, since it's completely normal to have less than 24 seconds on a shot clock. Completely normal, no impact at all.

[Sodboy13]

So, anyway, the Bulls lost by 17 Monday to a Warriors team with only 8 active players - 3 of them D-League call-ups. But hey, that's good enough for the 8 spot in the East, so expect Vinny to get a contract extension any day now.

[The_Admiral]

Deep thought: how long is John Salmons considered to be playing out of position before he simply becomes bad at his position? Why are the Bulls so bereft of shooting guards? It's as if they retired the entire position for that one guy who used to field it. Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, Lindsey Hunter; all play the point, all ride the bench, terribly constructed team, why bother winning games.

[MDC]

Deep thought: how long is John Salmons considered to be playing out of position before he simply becomes bad at his position? Why are the Bulls so bereft of shooting guards? It's as if they retired the entire position for that one guy who used to field it. Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, Lindsey Hunter; all play the point, all ride the bench, terribly constructed team, why bother winning games.

Which is why I am really hoping they steal someone like Joe Johnson in the Free Agency party this offseason

[NJTank]

The Nets are now 3-38 at the midway point. Its almost to the point where it may be fun to see them set the record for worst season ever, it is getting laughable.

[Sodboy13]

I still think the Nets have too many games against god-awful Eastern Conference teams to make a serious run at 9-73. Even a bumbling outfit like the Nets is going to fall backward into a win in that cesspool, especially once all the other lost causes start tanking for lottery balls.

Then again, I was certain the Lions would stumble into a win in '08, so what do I know?

[TFoA]

The only teams that the Nets have a decent chance of beating are the Knicks (for some odd reason), the Sixers (played em close all season), & the Bulls (because the Bulls at their worst are amazingly worse than the Nets at their worse.). Other than that, they're basically everybody else's guaranteed W. When the Milwaukee Bucks are blowing you out on a regular basis, you are in some serious trouble.

It's weird, the Nets have a young core with pretty high potential, & players that aren't bad at all (Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, & CDR come to mind immediately), but aside from those guys they're a grease fire & they can't stop anybody. When you give up 102 points a game & only score 90, you are in some serious toruble.

There was a period where I agreed with Sodboy about them lucking into some wins. They don't even have luck on their side, they've lost a pretty good amount of close games. Now I think that they actually have a legitimate shot at <9 wins this year. It's crazy.

[NJTank]

This is going to be published in the next edition of Webster's Dictionary

hor·ri·ble

Pronunciation: \ˈhȯr-ə-bəl, ˈhär-\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English orrible, horrible, from Anglo-French, from Latin horribilis, from horrēre

Date: 14th century

1 : marked by or arousing horror <a horrible accident>

2 : extremely bad or unpleasant <a horrible mistake> <horrible food>

3 : The New Jersey Nets

? horrible noun

? hor·ri·ble·ness noun

? hor·ri·bly \-blē\ adverb

[CDixonDesign]

The Bobcat's winning streak came to a screeching end in Atlanta tonight, if only we played as well on the road as we do at home, we'd have a well above .500 team...it's horrible...

[MDC]

Yes, the 6'3'' point guard did in fact hit his shoulder on the backboard

[TFoA]

The Bobcat's winning streak came to a screeching end in Atlanta tonight, if only we played as well on the road as we do at home, we'd have a well above .500 team...it's horrible...

I'm just glad the Hawks finally put a beating on the Bobcats for the first time since...ever. Seriously, I can't remember the last time the Hawks had an easy win over the Bobcats, if they ever did. I honestly think that Charlotte leads the overall season series which is sad because up until this year, the Bobcats haven't been that good. But I guess that's how it goes.

[raysox]

The Nets are so bad, they probably will get like the 5th pick in the lottery, and suck next year, too.

[Cujo]

Allen Iverson has been voted BY THE FANS to start the NBA All-Star game.

This is a guy who came off the Memphis bench to start the season, retired 'casue he wasn't good enough to start anywhere, only to come back a couple weeks later for a team who's definitely more interested in putting asses in seats than winning games.

But this is nothing new. These are the same fans who would vote in a washed-up Penny Hardaway and always-injured Grant Hill year-in and year-out.

[DustDevil61]

And don't look now, the Suns are setting. As of today, they are 8th in the West.

[Wasatch]

Allen Iverson has been voted BY THE FANS to start the NBA All-Star game.

This is a guy who came off the Memphis bench to start the season, retired 'casue he wasn't good enough to start anywhere, only to come back a couple weeks later for a team who's definitely more interested in putting asses in seats than winning games.

But this is nothing new. These are the same fans who would vote in a washed-up Penny Hardaway and always-injured Grant Hill year-in and year-out.

I?m with Ray Allen when he says the fans should only count for many 50% of the All-Star vote.

[jimbojohnny56]

Fans 33.3% Players 33.3% Coaches 33.3% and The Media 0%

Then you would probably have something close to a true All Star Team.

[infrared41]

Anyone who knows me around here knows that I haven't had much use for The NBA since the early 90's. That said, I decided to watch The Cavs play the Lakers last week because there was nothing else on. To my surprise, I actually found myself enjoying the game. So I decided to watch their next game against OKC. And once again I enjoyed watching it. So I decided to watch them play The Heat last night and damned if I didn't find myself enjoying the game yet again.

To make a long story short, I think I am slowly getting back into the NBA. So who should I be paying attention to etc? Outside the really big names, I have no idea who anyone is anymore. The last time I followed the NBA closely at all Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still playing center for The Lakers. That should give you an idea of how long I've been away from the game.

[The_Admiral]

Keep your eye on Oklahoma City, because there's a lot of talent there (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, et al.) that's gonna get seriously good pretty soon. On my Bulls, Derrick Rose has been shooting at a 73% clip and Joakim Noah is far and away the league's most improved player; exciting stuff from those two but the rest of the team is like the Island of Misfit Toys so whatever. Other point guards to watch are Deron Williams for the Jazz and Chris Paul for the Hornets, though their championship prospects are dim in a conference where the Lakers' dominance is sort of a fait accompli. Rookie of the Year is a two-horse race between Sacramento's Tyreke Evans and Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings, but good luck finding any of their games on the national slates (though I think a Bucks game or two has been flexed into an ESPN slot owing to Jennings's dominance. He scored 55 a while ago!) The Atlanta Hawks have a lot of talent but are almost certain to lose Joe Johnson at the end of the year so if they don't win the East they're going to be set back a bit; I'd look for them to make the biggest splash at the deadline.

So yeah I'd say overall that there's some good stuff going on in the league this year, though I'll admit my devotion to the NBA has been less than fanatical since 2004-2005, which was the last time I really had a lot of fun following basketball. The Bulls were finally back, and the Pistons were the best villains you could ask for. What a compelling team that was. I miss them.

[dfwabel]

Keep your eye on Oklahoma City, because there's a lot of talent there (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, et al.) that's gonna get seriously good pretty soon. On my Bulls, Derrick Rose has been shooting at a 73% clip and Joakim Noah is far and away the league's most improved player; exciting stuff from those two but the rest of the team is like the Island of Misfit Toys so whatever. Other point guards to watch are Deron Williams for the Jazz and Chris Paul for the Hornets, though their championship prospects are dim in a conference where the Lakers' dominance is sort of a fait accompli. Rookie of the Year is a two-horse race between Sacramento's Tyreke Evans and Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings, but good luck finding any of their games on the national slates (though I think a Bucks game or two has been flexed into an ESPN slot owing to Jennings's dominance. He scored 55 a while ago!) The Atlanta Hawks have a lot of talent but are almost certain to lose Joe Johnson at the end of the year so if they don't win the East they're going to be set back a bit; I'd look for them to make the biggest splash at the deadline.

So yeah I'd say overall that there's some good stuff going on in the league this year, though I'll admit my devotion to the NBA has been less than fanatical since 2004-2005, which was the last time I really had a lot of fun following basketball. The Bulls were finally back, and the Pistons were the best villains you could ask for. What a compelling team that was. I miss them.

Durant= Good to Very

Westbrook= Good to Very

Hardin= Good to Very; He can PLAY!

Green= Good

OKC still needs more size. Durant is looking to be the next George Gervin (high in points, poor percentage). His PPG are outstanding but all else is substandard. He fails to move without the ball, which Scott Brooks should bust him on, and his rebounding, assist per minutes and +/- are awful. 3 APG for his 40 MPG is terrible as much as he has the ball.