2011-12 NBA Season

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Speaking of Seattle...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016980415_arena10m.html

Seattle city officials have been approached by a private group looking to build a basketball arena in the Sodo District near Safeco Field in the hopes of attracting an NBA franchise, according to two sources who have been briefed on the talks.

Seattle Hornets? Seattle Kings?

That's what the article says. If built, you'd have a row of sports venues, CenturyLink, SafeCo and the new one (Microsoft? Should be...) in a row north to south. Too bad, because while the current venues are relatively closed to downtown, none are actually IN downtown.

For its faults, KeyArena is located a short distance away from downtown (a 2-minute ride by Monorail) and in a semi-residential neighborhood with nightlife. Seattle's SODO is full of warehouses, train tracks, machine shops, Starbucks headquarters, and sports venues. There's nothing happening outside of 9-5 or game days. Of course, a modern stadium would bring 82 more events per year (assuming NBA and NHL), so maybe it'd be okay after-all.

There's been a ton of arena gossip since the Sonics left, but this is the first plan I've heard city government actually comment on. Granted, our current mayor is worthless, but at least there's some semi-official movement here.

So yeah, if an arena gets built in the next couple of years, goodbye Kings or Hornets.

[The_Admiral]

Looking around at Seattle Center, there's some crappy-looking football stadium just east of KeyArena. Would it be possible to raze that stadium and build the arena there so they can stay in Seattle Center? or is that dumpy football stadium a national landmark or something?

[Magnus]

Nets owner running for Russian presidency

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Looking around at Seattle Center, there's some crappy-looking football stadium just east of KeyArena. Would it be possible to raze that stadium and build the arena there so they can stay in Seattle Center? or is that dumpy football stadium a national landmark or something?

You know, I've been in that stadium one time, time at the finish line of a half marathon. During the summer, a marching band practices there. I think musicians play there during an annual Labor Day music festival, but I haven't been (good musicians too, like Bob Dylan).

The thing is, there are plenty of places to build new. The location you identified, and that I'd be into is perfectly situated as a monorail ride away from downtown, close to parking, and right next to Seattle's most well known landmark. Plus, it's proximity to Paul Allen's EMP (and a Dale Chihuly museum under construction) means they can go crazy on design and it would be okay.

The stadium district is a good plan, but I think Seattle Center is a better one.

Most important though, is that we're finally seeing real, public progress that's good for my city, the NBA and potentially the NHL.

[The_Admiral]

The new arena in Tulsa would've looked really neat in Seattle Center.

Wasted on Tulsa. Even had a starchitect!

[rvrdgsfn]

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/09/seattle-is-working-hard-to-build-an-nbanhl-arena-video/

According to the video, Seattle is pretty close.

[rams80]

The only thing that made Oden over a Durant a bad call was the fact that the Blazers had to know of Oden's knee problems and if they didn't then they were dumb. So brash or stupid, take your pick.

You don't take a chance on an injury prone player when you have a guy right behind him who's just as good.

Oden's knee problems didn't surface until after he was drafted.

[See Red]

The only thing that made Oden over a Durant a bad call was the fact that the Blazers had to know of Oden's knee problems and if they didn't then they were dumb. So brash or stupid, take your pick.

You don't take a chance on an injury prone player when you have a guy right behind him who's just as good.

Oden's knee problems didn't surface until after he was drafted.

But he did have some durability concerns in college, didn't he? I remember, at the very least, his wrist. One of the big reasons I liked Kevin Durant over Oden at the time was because it was obvious Kevin Durant was going to be great... that wasn't the case for Oden. Also, whenever I watched Oden... his big strength was his defense, but the guy was constantly in foul trouble -- and what Oden brought to the table wasn't really that valuable in the NBA anymore. His defensive low post dominance would be neutralized by a team with a big man with range. Durant, a small forward, was a better rebounder than Oden in college and a much better scorer. With Durant's size, range, and skill set, it was obvious he was going to be impossible to defend in the NBA.

[floydnimrod]

The only thing that made Oden over a Durant a bad call was the fact that the Blazers had to know of Oden's knee problems and if they didn't then they were dumb. So brash or stupid, take your pick.

You don't take a chance on an injury prone player when you have a guy right behind him who's just as good.

Oden's knee problems didn't surface until after he was drafted.

But he did have some durability concerns in college, didn't he? I remember, at the very least, his wrist. One of the big reasons I liked Kevin Durant over Oden at the time was because it was obvious Kevin Durant was going to be great... that wasn't the case for Oden. Also, whenever I watched Oden... his big strength was his defense, but the guy was constantly in foul trouble -- and what Oden brought to the table wasn't really that valuable in the NBA anymore. His defensive low post dominance would be neutralized by a team with a big man with range. Durant, a small forward, was a better rebounder than Oden in college and a much better scorer. With Durant's size, range, and skill set, it was obvious he was going to be impossible to defend in the NBA.

Wasn't there a knock on Durant's strength going into the draft?

[See Red]

The only thing that made Oden over a Durant a bad call was the fact that the Blazers had to know of Oden's knee problems and if they didn't then they were dumb. So brash or stupid, take your pick.

You don't take a chance on an injury prone player when you have a guy right behind him who's just as good.

Oden's knee problems didn't surface until after he was drafted.

But he did have some durability concerns in college, didn't he? I remember, at the very least, his wrist. One of the big reasons I liked Kevin Durant over Oden at the time was because it was obvious Kevin Durant was going to be great... that wasn't the case for Oden. Also, whenever I watched Oden... his big strength was his defense, but the guy was constantly in foul trouble -- and what Oden brought to the table wasn't really that valuable in the NBA anymore. His defensive low post dominance would be neutralized by a team with a big man with range. Durant, a small forward, was a better rebounder than Oden in college and a much better scorer. With Durant's size, range, and skill set, it was obvious he was going to be impossible to defend in the NBA.

Wasn't there a knock on Durant's strength going into the draft?

Yeah, but he's a professional athlete. If that's a guys only knock, you take him considering he has world-class strength and conditioning coaches at his disposal.

[pmoehrin]

The only thing that made Oden over a Durant a bad call was the fact that the Blazers had to know of Oden's knee problems and if they didn't then they were dumb. So brash or stupid, take your pick.

You don't take a chance on an injury prone player when you have a guy right behind him who's just as good.

Oden's knee problems didn't surface until after he was drafted.

But he did have some durability concerns in college, didn't he? I remember, at the very least, his wrist.

The thing with Oden was that the Blazers had to know his knees were in bad shape the day they drafted him or they had an incompetent medical staff. You don't go from having perfect knees to needing microfracture surgery in three months time. That's a surgery that's done on somebody with chronic knee problems. Its not something that develops overnight. I'm pretty sure even the Ohio State training staff knew that Oden's knees were far from being 100% They may not have know to the extent of how bad his knees were or may have figured that by the time it would become an issue for him he would be long gone from Ohio State, possibly even a combination of both, but they had to know something.

I think what happened with Portland was a case of recent history working against them, because they drafted the rookie of the year in the previous year's draft who had even bigger concerns about his health. If your strategy is were not going to take health concerns very seriously because we've had success with that approach, I could understand the rationale. And its also tough to project out sometimes what a guy will be like health wise. What made this different though was what they turned down to get Oden. And it was pretty split. 1/3 of the people had Durant rated higher, 1/3 had Oden and the other 1/3 had it as a dead heat. I'm sure though had the other 1/3 known about the injury concerns with Oden, probably would have been swayed to take Durant. I myself had Oden but no clue about the knee problems. Had I known it may have been different.

[Still MIGHTY]

It has begun:

[knnhrvy16]

Some good stuff to hear for Jazz fans in this article:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=304&sid=18432204

I really love the fact that Al Jefferson is stepping up into a leadership role. The guy is a horse, and epitomizes that hard-nosed Jazz style of play. Seems like the team is really meshing right now, which is what was desperately needed last season. I'm VERY excited to watch 'em play this year.

[lilgump]

The football stadium at the seattle center, it is pretty much a dump, but it is the home field for pretty much the entire Seattle Metro High School football teams, thats where they all play.

And I've never been to a big event at Key Arena, so I cant comment on traffic, but I'm sure its terrible in that area. Its pretty bad near the Clink and Safeco, but at least it is a lot more spread out and you have differnt routes. I think a new arena down there would be perfect.

[BigMac12]

It has begun:

I still can't believe such a photo exists.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Has the Lakers' "5" always looked like that? Looks like an upside-down "2."

[DustDevil61]

Some good stuff to hear for Jazz fans in this article:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=304&sid=18432204

I really love the fact that Al Jefferson is stepping up into a leadership role. The guy is a horse, and epitomizes that hard-nosed Jazz style of play. Seems like the team is really meshing right now, which is what was desperately needed last season. I'm VERY excited to watch 'em play this year.

The Jazz are looking good, especially considering where they've been...I'm also excited to see them play. One thing I'd like to see is Okur with all these bigs, as he can spread the floor. Ty Corbin has made some changes to the system and has emphasized defense, and it's going to be interesting. The team has a lot of talent and youth, and the organization appears to be heading in the right direction.

I'm not sure what to think about the recent signings of Jamaal Tinsley and Josh Howard, but if they fit into their roles properly, no one (including me) will care. It seems as though Utah is giving them (especially Tinsley, who spent a year out of the NBA if I recall correctly) a second chance, so to say. There's a risk with their health, but it seems minimal, as Howard is in Utah for just this year, so far. I don't know how he'd be here with many spots taken up, but I'd love to see that young Paul Carter land a spot on the team.

[Still MIGHTY]

Has the Lakers' "5" always looked like that? Looks like an upside-down "2."

It does look kind of odd, doesn't it? But that is a 5. Compare Kobe to Steve Blake.

[TFoA]

Predictions!

Got the Heat winning it all.

• A Thunder-Heat Finals would be off-the-charts. Durant & the rest of that incredibly talented squad vs. The mWo? Sign me up. But of course, if the Heat get to the Finals again, they won't lose.
  
• I've learned not to pick against the Spurs, at least in the regular season. They're like a slightly older version of the Patriots in the NFL. As long as that core still has legs and Pop is still coaching, the Spurs will continue to win on a regular basis.
  
• Same with the Celtics. Until they retire (or they're just plain done), not gonna pick against this group of Celtics doing big things in the regular season.
  
• LA-LA Playoff Matchup? Check please.
  
• If the Warriors can play just a morsel of defense, they'll make the playoffs. I think they will.
  
• Not much is gonna change in the East. Same teams, different seeds.

LOTTO TEAMS:

• The Wolves are gonna be mad fun to watch. They're also probably not gonna even come close to making the playoffs again. Good news for the Hornets who are probably gonna end up having a very nice rebuilding effort on their hands.
  
• The Bucks could sneak into the playoffs if Bogut can stay healthy and Jennings continues to improve.
  
• The Pistons are the worst team in the league.
  
• They'll probably prove me wrong, but I really can't see the Blazers making the playoffs this season, even with Gerald Wallace & Raymond Felton.

Can't wait to look back on this in the summer and think "Wow, what was I thinking?"

[The_Admiral]

The Spurs are one of those teams I see the compressed schedule devouring. Either they win a lot of regular season games and wind up gassed against a 6/7/8, or Pop balances everyone's off nights at the expense of a strong regular season record and they run into the Thunder or Mavericks.