2013 NBA Season News and Discussion

[Blueobelisk]

...........I think the Knicks lost because all the solid players had to be out full time. I think Melo played straight from halftime.

Problem is unlike Miami that has four good scorers NY only has Mello, and while Tyson Chandler is good defense and JR smith is good, they won't score enough or be good enough to rotate people around.

Sigh.

I hope Dallas gets swept. Would make me feel better.

[Shalamahara]

I agree there are many other players who flop.Lebron just seems to do it more consistently,and being that hes such a good player and DOESNT need to flop to win,i think thats what makes alot of people even more irate.But i agree,the NBA in the off season need to make flops come with a tech foul.Its really starting to get out of control.And i swear,if lebron and wade flop their way through the playoffs and win this year,...im done watching basketball.I hope they make it all the way to the finals and LOSE again

[CollateralGaming]

I hope Dallas gets swept. Would make me feel better.

Hi My Love!

[Rivenda]

NBA ARE YOU REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADY?
Because.....
In the 2012 draft..
One man..
Will surprice..
In the 2012 draft..
There's a dane...
With the name..
Jonas Zohore...
Get ready for...
The next...
Michael Jordan..
----
So Bulls... Tonight it's kickass time. Better beat those 76ers.

[conscript]

I agree there are many other players who flop.Lebron just seems to do it more consistently,and being that hes such a good player and DOESNT need to flop to win,i think thats what makes alot of people even more irate.But i agree,the NBA in the off season need to make flops come with a tech foul.Its really starting to get out of control.And i swear,if lebron and wade flop their way through the playoffs and win this year,...im done watching basketball.I hope they make it all the way to the finals and LOSE again

LeBron isn't flopping his way to wins. LeBron didn't absolutely bury the Knicks last night by flopping. He buried them by hitting shot after shot after shot in the 4th and completely dominating the defensive end. Melo is shooting 34% in the series when guarded by LeBron. That is reason #1 the Heat are winning destroying them. It has nothing to do with flopping, which happens for both teams like when JR Smith laid on the floor last night like Joel Anthony shot him when he set a pick. LeBron doesn't do it anymore or any less than any other super star in the NBA. Kobe has made a career of jumping into guys (and a Championship off fixed refereeing but that isn't his fault). Paul is the master of exaggerated contact. It happens in every game, with every team, from star players to bench warmers. It is part of the game at this point.

[Windry]

Being a Laker fan, oddly, I find myself hoping that they lose to Denver tonight. Actually, better yet, I hope they beat Denver tonight, and sit out Kobe, Gasol, Bynum in game 4. I just think it'd be terrible if the Lakers went into round 2 against OKC with Metta World Peace still having 2 games on his suspension.

[buck008]

It's interesting how fast everyone turned on LBJ. People used to love this guy when he played for Cleveland, he could do no wrong. The Decision, and one trip to South Beach with his talents later; and everyone hates him. He was still an arrogant punk and maddeningly inconsistent in the playoffs there. He really doesn't flop any more than anyone else. He just doesn't. Wade has thrown himself into the lane with reckless abandon since college. These guys still are who they've always been. Now they're the basketball Yankees so everyone hates them. For a variety of reasons, James emerged as the mustache twirling public enemy number one. That's the real reason guys like Jibjabb in this very thread argue so vehemently against his MVP this season. People just loathe him. Marginalize his accomplishments, and write him off as someone who needs his ultra-talented team to thrive. The dirty little secret of that thinking is that the rest of the team isn't that good. Not to carry James and make him look like a superstar. It's Wade, Bosh (who was over rated when we got him), and a few role players. LeBron needs Wade, but not for his talent. Wade has all the intangibles (the drive, the heart, the iron will) that James lacks. The only other guy like that in the league right now is Kobe. You just feel like he'd fight you if he lost at checkers. Other guys have shown flashes. Dirk last year was a great example.

So I'll sit back and watch everyone scream about how over rated James and my Heat are, as they eviscerate what's left of the Knicks. Want to know why Amar'e was so pissed he punched through glass by the way? The Knicks played game 2 about as well as they could play and were never even close to a position to win it. Yea they didn't have Lin or Shumpert, but this series was supposed to be closer than that. I don't know how the rest of the playoffs will unravel, but I can already tell everyone here that should the Heat win, then the narrative will be that they didn't deserve it. Got lucky. Rose blew out his knee. Boston and San Antonio were too old. Indiana and OKC were too young. So win or lose, they can't really win this year. Maybe ever.

[stopbeingdumb]

You know, honestly I think the Knicks are going to win game 3 without Amar'e (I did pick Heat to win in 5), and that's going to be incredibly bad for the locker room. I think most viewers and fans are already leaning towards trading Amar'e, and if the Knicks were to win a game while he's out... we'll never hear the end of it.

Sadly it didnt happen. I wanted the heat/knicks to go deep in the series, hopefully wear out the heat. But meh, knicks are plain garbage. I agree Amare, needs to get gone.

[stopbeingdumb]

As a C's fan, i don't hate Lebron, but i do love seeing him choke. He hard to root for, even when my team is out of it. He needs more of an image say like, Durant or Duncan.

[Windry]

It's interesting how fast everyone turned on LBJ. People used to love this guy when he played for Cleveland, he could do no wrong. The Decision, and one trip to South Beach with his talents later; and everyone hates him. He was still an arrogant punk and maddeningly inconsistent in the playoffs there.

That's not true, and you should know it. Most people who hate LBJ today, (outside of Cleaveland), hated him since he came into the league. Lots of people were rooting against the Cavs back then in the same way they root against the Heat. It's not because he's the best (though we acknowledge he's the best), it's cause he's arrogant, rude, and unsportsmanlike.

People hate the Yankees, but very few hated Derek Jeter when he was in his prime (compared to how people hate on LBJ right now). People hated the Spurs, but very few hated Tim Duncan (again, comparatively).

Now if your argument is that MJ and Kobe were the same, I agree.

Being a Laker fan, I absolutely hated Kobe in 2002-2004. He was arrogant and held our team hostage. He demanded all sorts of things like the staff wash his car and whatnot saying "You should treat me well, it's my contract year." He also basically said, "Get rid of Shaq or I'm not resigning with LA." So yes, Kobe also went through his phase of arrogance. The thing with Kobe though, is he matured out of it, and most fans forgave him.

LBJ is still in his arrogant phase. Take last year's defeat for example: in the press conference after the loss he goes on a rant, saying something like, "People can hate on me, but they're going to wake up tomorrow and still be the same shitty people with their shitty lives, and I'm still going to be King James." I just don't understand how anyone could root for a guy like that. I think if he does mature out of it, and does take in a couple slices of humble pie, he would win over a lot more fans.

In terms of Michael, I think he started and left the league arrogant, and if memory serves me correctly, people HAAAAAATED MJ when he was playing for many of the same reasons. People probably hate MJ to the same level of LBJ, or at least it was pretty close. MJ certainly heard A LOT of boo's everywhere he went. It was really after he left the league that he became this legend that he is today. I also think that most people who compare MJ to LBJ didn't even see MJ play.

---------- Post added 2012-05-04 at 02:09 PM ----------

Sadly it didnt happen. I wanted the heat/knicks to go deep in the series, hopefully wear out the heat. But meh, Knicks are plain garbage. I agree Amare, needs to get gone.

I'm a person who roots for several teams at a time (though Lakers always being my #1 of course), and over the course of this season, I've started to root for the Knicks. I really do feel bad for Amar'e, but I think it would be in the Knick's best interest to trade him.

Unfortunately, I don't know what they could get for him. The only thing I could think of is if they went begging to the Celtics to take Amar'e and a 1st round for Rondo (salaries don't match, but the C's will be way under the cap next year). Of course I believe they still want Chris Paul, and CP3 still wants to play there, but the Clippers would be bat shit crazy to trade away CP3 for Amar'e, especially since they have Griffin. Though I guess they could try to make a 3 team trade somewhere.

I also think that Lin will not play this series period. I think the Knick's GM and owner are secretly not letting him play. Why? Lin, Barron Davis and Mike Bibby are all unrestricted free agents this year. Knicks are over the cap, and I believe they do not have bird rights with any of them (maybe with Davis, but definitely not Lin). That means NY can only offer Lin their mini-midlevel (3 years $9M). Right now other teams out there have some doubt on how Lin will play coming back from surgery. If Lin comes back and has a good game in game 4, other teams like the Nets will definitely offer him something at least $5m per year, and Lin will be gone.

[jreg]

Being a Laker fan, I absolutely hated Kobe in 2002-2004. He was arrogant and held our team hostage. He demanded all sorts of things like the staff wash his car and whatnot saying "You should treat me well, it's my contract year." He also basically said, "Get rid of Shaq or I'm not resigning with LA."

As a Laker fan, you might wanna be grateful for his approach - it's what kicked ownership in the ass to start grabbing pieces for those two championships recently. Also:

So yes, Kobe also went through his phase of arrogance. The thing with Kobe though, is he matured out of it, and most fans forgave him.

...has nothing to do with maturing. If he doesn't win those two rings, people would hate him as badly as they did in those rocky 2002-2006 years. It's all about what you've done for me lately and winning cures all. People love and loved MJ because he won, despite the reality of his persona; he's an arrogant asshole with a me-first attitude and holds grudges like it's his business - check his HoF speech.

[Skarsguard]

There stuck with Amar'e. Really they need to ship out C.Anthony to be honest he take's to many shots and doesn't play D. Nobody is going to take Amar'e with the contract that he has left but Anthony's contract is tradable and I would trade him while he is worth it.

[mirodin]

I don't think they need to trade anyone. Since Melo got there last year they had 20 games to adapt then came the lockout, os no practice, then they got 3 new PG, not to mention the constant injuries to Melo and Amare, ow and the coaching change. What they need is to figure out how they gonna make Melo and Amare work on the floor. Both Melo and Amare showed improvement on D under coach Woodson, so if that continues and they move some pieces they could be in good shape for next year.

[conscript]

Being a Laker fan, oddly, I find myself hoping that they lose to Denver tonight. Actually, better yet, I hope they beat Denver tonight, and sit out Kobe, Gasol, Bynum in game 4. I just think it'd be terrible if the Lakers went into round 2 against OKC with Metta World Peace still having 2 games on his suspension.

I hope the Nuggets drag that thing to seven so Artest can be back for round two. They are absolutely going to need him to beat the Thunder. Two-three games without him could be devastating.

---------- Post added 2012-05-04 at 09:23 PM ----------

It's interesting how fast everyone turned on LBJ. People used to love this guy when he played for Cleveland, he could do no wrong. The Decision, and one trip to South Beach with his talents later; and everyone hates him. He was still an arrogant punk and maddeningly inconsistent in the playoffs there.

The Decision enraged so many people, but I think more people, outside of Cleveland, are still harping on the "not one, not two, not three" statement. That is beyond stupid. It was a big introductory event with the fans. What do people want him to say, we are going to go out and give it our best shot? He was playing it up with the fans. EVERY single player promises their fans a Championship. All of them. He got so much criticism for that it is absurd. The Decision was a stupid move, but really was it any different than televised signing days for players that have never proved themselves in college, or "I'm going pro" press conferences that players or in the case of Kentucky, the entire starting five, in college have? It isn't. He was already a proven star. He was one of the five biggest superstars on the planet. Not in the US, in the WORLD. Cleveland fans have no right to be angry. Your owner did nothing to support a top two player in the NBA. LeBron dragged that horrible team to a Finals appearance. Dragged them. They never get past the Pistons in the playoffs with LeBron just absolutely taking over.

People will always try and put an asterisk next to the Championship if they win it just because of the rabid hatred of LBJ like no other player. People worship Kobe. He RAPED a woman. I repeat. He RAPED a woman. Allegedly because who doesn't have consensual sex with a mega star like him? But he paid an undisclosed settlement so there was probably some fire under that smoke. LeBron has never done anything even remotely that bad. Jordan has enormous gambling issues that led him to actually get suspended for a year (or retire for a season if you want to buy that). Kobe has the rape case. LeBron has the Decision which is so completely incomparable to the major black cloud over the last two mega stars it is comical. But Kobe shook the rape, changed his number. Jordan shook the retirement/gambling, changed his number. Maybe LeBron needs to change his number again to shake the Decision curse.

[Skarsguard]

Lakers are getting crushed atm I'm not watching that game just looking at the score. I wonder if there trying to lose on purpose so they don't have to play OKC without WMP.

[Windry]

I really get sick and tired of people hating on Kobe because of the rape case.

Being accused of a crime does not mean a person committed that crime.
Hello...? America? "Innocent until proven guilty?"
I tried to follow that case, and from my understanding, the district attorney dropped the case because the girl refused to testify and they knew they wouldn't be able to convict Kobe.

Facts about the female accuser:
- According to her own roommate, she was suicidal, and twice tried to end her own life a few months before meeting Kobe.
- They found another man's sperm and pubic hair in the underwear for the rape kit (which means she had sex with more than 1 person that night).
- She admitted to lying to the police about all the facts surrounding the incident.
- She was on anti-psychotic drugs for schizophrenia

I would completely understand people hating on Kobe for the rape if he was convicted, but he wasn't, and people still talk about it as if he was.

---------- Post added 2012-05-04 at 09:20 PM ----------

Lakers are getting crushed atm I'm not watching that game just looking at the score. I wonder if there trying to lose on purpose so they don't have to play OKC without WMP.

Ya they were down by 24... the cut the lead to 5.
If they do win this game though, I seriously hope they consider sitting people for game 4.
A six round series is all we need to get MWP back. The first game of his suspension was against SAC in the last game of the season.
If the series were to go to 7 games, MWP would be playing in game 7.

---------- Post added 2012-05-04 at 10:06 PM ----------

OK, nvm, Lakers lost. It's all good. Lakers in 6!

[Jibjabb]

For a variety of reasons, James emerged as the mustache twirling public enemy number one. That's the real reason guys like Jibjabb in this very thread argue so vehemently against his MVP this season. People just loathe him. Marginalize his accomplishments, and write him off as someone who needs his ultra-talented team to thrive.

Lol ok just ignore all the facts I gave to why Kevin Durant had a better season. To imply that me saying he should finish 2nd in MVP voting this season is "hating" on him is rediculous. Once again Durant had more points, more rebounds, more blocks, shot better from 3, shot better from FT, played in more games, lead his team to a better record, in the better western conference, with less all stars as his supporting cast. Yes just ignore all of that. I do hate Lebron but that has nothing to do with me believing Durant was the MVP over him.

That's not true, and you should know it. Most people who hate LBJ today, (outside of Cleaveland), hated him since he came into the league. Lots of people were rooting against the Cavs back then in the same way they root against the Heat. It's not because he's the best (though we acknowledge he's the best), it's cause he's arrogant, rude, and unsportsmanlike.

LBJ is still in his arrogant phase. Take last year's defeat for example: in the press conference after the loss he goes on a rant, saying something like, "People can hate on me, but they're going to wake up tomorrow and still be the same shitty people with their shitty lives, and I'm still going to be King James." I just don't understand how anyone could root for a guy like that. I think if he does mature out of it, and does take in a couple slices of humble pie, he would win over a lot more fans.

How do I thumps up this post!? Cleveland hated Lebron cause of the decision a very large portion of people hated him well before that, it was just never represented in the media before as they were still doing there Lebron 24/7 love-fest. Only a select few like Skip Bayless were saying what many of the rest of us had been saying for years.

The guy has played two bad series in his playoff career and two strange games. He played bad against the spurs in the finals when he carried the worst team ever to the finals, played bad against the mavs last year and had those strange games against the celtics.

So you are saying he plays great normally until he gets to the NBA Finals... How is that not classified as a choker? Thats the very definition of it

[Rivenda]

Woauw Bulls.. What the hell?
I know Rose is out, but in regular they did more than expected imo.. Cmon Bulls..

[conscript]

Woauw Bulls.. What the hell?
I know Rose is out, but in regular they did more than expected imo.. Cmon Bulls..

The Bulls suck without Rose. They have next to no offensive weapons without him (which is why the Heat crushed them last playoffs and would have done it again this year). Philly played about as bad as could be imagined yesterday. Before the 4th they were shooting like 30% from the field. That game could have been a lot uglier than it ended up. In the regular season they can skate by an easy schedule filled with the terrible Eastern teams and you can beat a team on any given night with super defense. Doesn't work like that in the playoffs. You need guys who can score and create shots for themselves. Without Rose, the Bulls just don't have that in any meaningful way.

Good to see Denver win. One more game closer to MWPs return. Hopefully he comes back in Artest mode, minus the punching, and plays lock down defense.

[Rivenda]

The Bulls suck without Rose. They have next to no offensive weapons without him (which is why the Heat crushed them last playoffs and would have done it again this year). Philly played about as bad as could be imagined yesterday. Before the 4th they were shooting like 30% from the field. That game could have been a lot uglier than it ended up. In the regular season they can skate by an easy schedule filled with the terrible Eastern teams and you can beat a team on any given night with super defense. Doesn't work like that in the playoffs. You need guys who can score and create shots for themselves. Without Rose, the Bulls just don't have that in any meaningful way.

Good to see Denver win. One more game closer to MWPs return. Hopefully he comes back in Artest mode, minus the punching, and plays lock down defense.

Seems like he really derserved the MVP last season. Hard to follow the Bulls without a gamecard. Why tho they have to be that expensive. Can't afford all of them lol.
So basic is Bears without Cutler... They can't win without him. Kinda sad, but there you go. I just hope the Bulls with make beat Philly. Would be sad to see no Chicago teams going in the 2th round of playoff.
Guess it's time to start rooting on Chicago Fire lol.