2013 NBA Playoffs

[Lights Out]

Duncan has been turning back the clock this year, he's been a joy to watch. 17 and 10 today.

[TorinK29]

Milwaukee was close in the game tonight until sometime in the third quarter that the Heat figured out that they were not playing for a charity event.

[TorinK29]

might as well throw in my prediction as well:

Thunder over Knicks in 6 games.

[Rockstar Matt]

Man, the Lakers offense and defense was terrible today. We're lucky to have only lost by 12. I thought that the 3 pointers made by the Spurs and the Laker turnovers were the difference today.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Man, the Lakers offense and defense was terrible today. We're lucky to have only lost by 12. I thought that the 3 pointers made by the Spurs and the Laker turnovers were the difference today.

I think they did pretty good, considering they don't have a #1 scoring option. Steve Blake shouldn't be in the position to take those shots, but that's where they are. They were withing two in the mid-third, and hurt themselves with turnovers, missed shots, etc.

If I were the Lakers, I'd be happy it was a competitive game for as long as it was. Get Steve Nash out of there, and they might steal one or two in LA.

[Rockstar Matt]

We took way, way too many jump shots. That's why our offense was sputtering. Dwight Howard only missed 4 shots tonight yet he only got 12 FG attempts. With Kobe out, he and Gasol should be getting at least 20 shots. If he did take at least 20, and continued to make them at the high percentage (.67), he would have made 5-6 more baskets, equalling, at least, 10-12 more points. Now, it's a whole new ballgame.

Also, the Lakers must stop turning the ball over so much. It's far better to play safe, than to try to make a risky pass. That's what killed them today. By anyone's standards, holding the Spurs to just 91 points is a good game. And the Spurs big 3 all had bad shooting nights, especially Parker.

We can make this a long tough series for the Spurs if we pound them down low with our bigs.

[pmoehrin]

Probably one of the most boring days in NBA playoff history today.

You could have turned every single one of these games off mid way through the third quarter if not earlier and not missed anything.

[dbadefense1990]

Probably one of the most boring days in NBA playoff history today.

Agree. At least last year at this time, the whole basketball world has Rose's torn ACL to draw back on. What story lines have evolved after the Game 1's this last weekend for today?

And the playoffs don't even get interesting until, generally, the conference finals. Everything prior to then, sans a few upsets, is just a crapshoot.

[ninersdd]

After celebrating 4/20 by smoking weed and watching his old team, the Knicks win, could Phil Jackson be interested in the Cavs job?

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=9198158&top&wjb=

[Kramerica Industries]

No chance in the world that happens.

[pmoehrin]

After celebrating 4/20 by smoking weed and watching his old team, the Knicks win, could Phil Jackson be interested in the Cavs job?

http://m.espn.go.com...198158&top&wjb=

I think he might take it if they gave him complete control over the roster. He may even be willing to coach for two or three years as part of the deal, but I would still say the chances are pretty slim of that happening. There's at least a couple teams out there that could offer Phil a similar deal that he would take over Cleveland in a heartbeat, mainly Sacramento/Seattle.

I do think he will be back in the NBA before the start of next year in the front office for somebody. Coaching not so sure. If he does coach he's going to be his own boss, he's only going to do it for two or three years and will probably have a head coach in training helping him out as a high level assistant that will take over the team once he decides he's had enough coaching. He's basically looking for the same deal Pat Riley got in Miami and if your an NBA team with a GM opening or see your GM as being expendable there's no reason not to at least talk to Phil Jackson.

[The Six]

"Bled is one of the best guards in our league," Paul said, "and I've said it all season long, he should be a starting point guard in this league next year. I'm enjoying playing with him right now, 'cause there's no way he's going to be here next year because we probably won't have enough money to pay him."

If I didn't know better, I'd say this is Chris Paul subtly confirming he'll be back with the Clips next season.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

"Get a once-in-a-generation player" is luck, not a draft strategy. Yes, Phil got great results from great players, but he also has the great players to begin with. I'd like to see how he reacts to having to build a team, rather than being given a great roster to work with.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Kobe's awesome: http://extramustard.si.com/2013/04/20/16-classic-kobe-quotes-to-get-you-through-the-postseason/?eref=sihp

“[smush Parker is] the worst. He shouldn’t have been in the NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. So we let him walk on.”

- October 10, 2012, in an Orange Country Register story that reflected on the 2005-06 season

[The_Admiral]

I prefer Kobe's unbridled contempt for his peers to LeBron's buddy-buddy crap.

[dbadefense1990]

I prefer Kobe's unbridled contempt for his peers to LeBron's buddy-buddy crap.

Same here. It's also the philosophy practiced by Magic, Bird, Jordan and others. You have to hate the absolute crap out of your opponents, despise them, wish them the worst of fortunes, to be better than them, and your opponents to learn from the mistakes and better themselves.

LeBron, however, destroyed that mentality with his buddy-buddy philosophy, of playing hard but also being friends with the supposed rivals. This sentence sums up LeBron's toxic preachings in today's NBA:

"Don't feel bad I won; in a couple of years, we'll join a super pact so that we can destroy the upcomings of rookies and young players, and absolutely shatter the mental spirits of those who are not a part of our conglomerate empire."

"Hail James. Hail Wade. Hail Bosh. ALL HAIL THE GLORIOUS MIAMI HEAT EMPIRE!!!"

[DG_ThenNowForever]

LeBron may end up remembered as the better player, but Kobe's far more interesting. He played in Jordan's shadow at the beginning of his career and is ending in LeBron's. I don't know that he was ever considered unequivocally the NBA's best player (he's only won it once), but his career matches up better than most.

And Smush Parker is a chump!

[dbadefense1990]

And Smush Parker is a chump!

So let's see how Parker's career ended up post-Lakers: D-League followed by China. Then he called out Kobe at a Rucker Park pick up game.

He's basically in the Kwame Brown-legion of losers who were certified scrubs and washouts in their career. What a space of Laker space he was.

[Kramerica Industries]

Kobe nearly carried that cast of schmucks past the Suns in the 2006 playoffs (would've if not for basketball Tim Thomas going nuts), and they would've probably beaten the Clippers in the 2nd round, too. It's amazing how Kobe uplifted that team so much farther above their capabilities.

[Saint Zephyr III]

After celebrating 4/20 by smoking weed and watching his old team, the Knicks win, could Phil Jackson be interested in the Cavs job?

http://m.espn.go.com...198158&top&wjb=

I think he might take it if they gave him complete control over the roster. He may even be willing to coach for two or three years as part of the deal, but I would still say the chances are pretty slim of that happening. There's at least a couple teams out there that could offer Phil a similar deal that he would take over Cleveland in a heartbeat, mainly Sacramento/Seattle.

I do think he will be back in the NBA before the start of next year in the front office for somebody. Coaching not so sure. If he does coach he's going to be his own boss, he's only going to do it for two or three years and will probably have a head coach in training helping him out as a high level assistant that will take over the team once he decides he's had enough coaching. He's basically looking for the same deal Pat Riley got in Miami and if your an NBA team with a GM opening or see your GM as being expendable there's no reason not to at least talk to Phil Jackson.

The only reason I would see Phil Jackson joining would be if the Cavaliers are in fact making a serious play for LeBron next summer. The prospect of Irving-James would be enough to get him out of retirement Im sure...