2013 NBA Season News and Discussion

[chadwix]

Last name gotta be a J. But dr J is legit, i allowed abdul-jabber (he is really regretting that hypen now if he reads this forum).

[Jibjabb]

I cant remember the last time I have been so unexcited to watch the playoffs. Sure there will be some good West matchups and storylines. Can the Spurs come through this year, will OKC fair ok without Harden, is Denver legit, how much of a threat is Memphis etc. But the East is going to be one big snooze fest. There were 3 teams that in my mind had a shot at beating Miami (doesnt mean I think they would but if they were playing well they had a chance). That was New York, Boston, and Chicago. Now lets look at those 3 teams. Stoudemire out, Rondo out, Rose out.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Wheelz]

I cant remember the last time I have been so unexcited to watch the playoffs. Sure there will be some good West matchups and storylines. Can the Spurs come through this year, will OKC fair ok without Harden, is Denver legit, how much of a threat is Memphis etc. But the East is going to be one big snooze fest. There were 3 teams that in my mind had a shot at beating Miami (doesnt mean I think they would but if they were playing well they had a chance). That was New York, Boston, and Chicago. Now lets look at those 3 teams. Stoudemire out, Rondo out, Rose out.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

And heat playing like beasts atm.
Although it has been fun to watch lakers fight their way back up, I'm hoping to see them play well at play offs, especially Kobe with his killer instinct.
The east is a complete bore.

[Skarsguard]

Tim Duncan is great he probably is the Mvp of the last two decades I mean the Spurs went from lottery pick to winning 4 championships and never missing the playoffs to having mvp's and finals mvps since he was drafted.

[blackyfrost]

Tim Duncan is great he probably is the Mvp of the last two decades I mean the Spurs went from lottery pick to winning 4 championships and never missing the playoffs to having mvp's and finals mvps since he was drafted.

they went 59-23, the next year the same team has issues because robinson misses all but 6 games so they were gifted one of the top picks, then duncan gets to play with a healthy robinson as a rookie (twin towers is what they were called)

duncan came to a championship caliber team from the start. he's never been a top tier player imo, he's always been on that level below them. he's extremely consistent and has a solid all around game, but there is a reason the LOADED teams he's been on EVERY SINGLE YEAR get slapped around in the post-season usually, they have no player like lebron who can just take over on both ends

spurs are a top tier organization but they've been lucky to end up with a LOT of great talent
if anything, they haven't done enough with the talent they've had.

and the past 20 years, it's gotta be shaq. shaq gave duncan fits, shot like 43% against him vs 50% for his career. nobody could guard shaq 1v1
shaq had that extra gear and might get you 35/20 and duncan has never been at that level, but old shaq vs old duncan isn't close, duncan 10/10
he's underappreciated BECAUSE he's peaked lower than some but his consistency isn't something that's easy to replace

that's how lebron is, he has that peak that the greats can hit but his consistency almost makes everything else he does look less great than it is. 30/10/10 for lebron is "eh, good game" and for anyone else it's a career game usually

can't win without consistency and duncan always brought that though. he's an all-time great but never once played on a bad team

---------- Post added 2013-03-25 at 07:21 PM ----------

I cant remember the last time I have been so unexcited to watch the playoffs. Sure there will be some good West matchups and storylines. Can the Spurs come through this year, will OKC fair ok without Harden, is Denver legit, how much of a threat is Memphis etc. But the East is going to be one big snooze fest. There were 3 teams that in my mind had a shot at beating Miami (doesnt mean I think they would but if they were playing well they had a chance). That was New York, Boston, and Chicago. Now lets look at those 3 teams. Stoudemire out, Rondo out, Rose out.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

makes no sense. boston's record without rondo improved. knicks record without stoudemire was better. bulls WITH rose were never a threat (remember 4-1? heat got better, bulls lost their bench)

heat aren't going to be challenged period unless lebron dies. people don't realize how efficient they are. they have beaten every team in the NBA at least once, they're about to win their 27th in a row and they lead the league in shooting, top 10 defense, #1 3pt shooting bench, etc

they're too good

[Skarsguard]

you haven't been paying attention to the Spurs then and how is winning 4 national titles a let down Kobe has 5, Shaq 4, Lebron has 1, Wade has 2, KJ has 1, D.Rose has 0, KD has 0. Most basketball analyst has Tim Duncan as the best power forward ever and a top 10 player. Shaq couldn't win in Orlando he tucked tail and went to L.A, Lebron tucked tail and went to Miami and KJ tucked tail and went to Boston meanwhile Duncan stayed in S.A. Yeah Duncan hasn't had a top 10 active player with him since Robinson left until Parker these last 2 years. Kobe had Shaq, KJ needed Paul P, Lebron needed Wade and Bosh, everybody needs somebody else to win championships but to say the Spurs get slapped around every playoff is funny because like I said they won 4 rings and went to game 7 last year in the western conf title game. Lebron got slapped around 0-4 against the Spurs in the Finals I know because I watched every minute of that series.

[OscaR]

they lost 4-2 last year.

[Skarsguard]

oh yeah game 6 that's right still its not like they got swept or anything.

[Spectral]

Claiming that the Spurs have been loaded is pretty wild. Have a look at the '03 Spurs, a team that won 60 games and a title:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAS/2003.html

Their second best player was a 20 year old Parker, averaging a 15 and 5 and shooting 46.4%. Their third best guy? I don't know, maybe Robinson's corpse, then averaging an 8 and 8 and shooting 47%. You'd have a tougher time finding any champion ever that's been more carried by a single player than the '03 Spurs were by Duncan. During the playoffs, he dialed it up, averaging 25-15-5-3, leading the playoffs in scoring, rebounds, minutes, and blocks. The Finals were punctuated by a monster near quadruple double, with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. Keep in mind, this was a low tempo team that deflated his stats.

I don't know if I've ever seen a dumber NBA-related claim than saying that Duncan was never a top-tier player. Yet another example of him being the most unappreciated player by the general public, ever.

[blackyfrost]

Claiming that the Spurs have been loaded is pretty wild. Have a look at the '03 Spurs, a team that won 60 games and a title:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAS/2003.html

Their second best player was a 20 year old Parker, averaging a 15 and 5 and shooting 46.4%. Their third best guy? I don't know, maybe Robinson's corpse, then averaging an 8 and 8 and shooting 47%. You'd have a tougher time finding any champion ever that's been more carried by a single player than the '03 Spurs were by Duncan. During the playoffs, he dialed it up, averaging 25-15-5-3, leading the playoffs in scoring, rebounds, minutes, and blocks. The Finals were punctuated by a monster near quadruple double, with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. Keep in mind, this was a low tempo team that deflated his stats.

I don't know if I've ever seen a dumber NBA-related claim than saying that Duncan was never a top-tier player. Yet another example of him being the most unappreciated player by the general public, ever.

if lebron puts up duncan's numbers, it's a B on the heat index

that's the scale duncan is on and he's NEVER been on that level. either he's a 2nd tier or lebron is above the top tier

that spurs team was a top 10 offense and defense and if lebron puts up duncan's offensive #s this year, he's having a BAD year. duncan wasn't terribly efficient that year. bowen locked down the perimeter (got away with murder in the playoffs btw), duncan and robinson clogged the lane and parker/jackson shot well enough to open the lane

duncan wasn't even better than garnett that year

he didn't carry that team, that team was full of people that the average dipshit fan doesn't know anything about. bowen was an elite defender, parker got jackson open shots all year and they were pretty efficient overall as a team

you don't need big names to be loaded. look at the heat this year. their biggest difference maker going forward couldn't get a job 3 months ago and now he's a VERY integral piece in the heat's run for a repeat (chris andersen)

so fuck no duncan didn't carry his team that year, they had an elite coach, a star PG who was just coming into his own, a legend who played solid while not spectacular in robinson and a few guys on the wing who did exactly what they were paid to do

fuck they got out of the first round ONLY because the nobodies on the spurs hit open 3s. duncan got WAY too comfy passing out of a double team and not even looking for his shot, so they quit coming at him as early and they lost 2 games because of it

the way he played that year is how lebron plays right now except lebron CAN get you 30 or 40 if they double late, duncan can't and never could

you know what you're gonna get with duncan, but if someone else doesn't explode on offense, spurs just can't win a lot of games vs playoff teams

[Jibjabb]

what the hell are you talking about? Duncan clearly was the reason those teams were good, Parker was pretty much a nobody at that time hes much better and more intregal to the teams success.

How can you say if Lebron put up Duncan's stats it would be bad? Duncan just in that season averaged almost 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Lebron would be happy to get half of that. And if Im not mistaken Lebron played against Duncan in the finals. Compare their numbers against each other I will be intrigued who you think was the better player in that series. Lebron gets more help to win than most any other championship winning player in recent memory.

And you also cant honestly believe the Celtics are better without Rondo or that the Bulls were never good if healthy. I despise Rondo yet I realize hes important if they want a chance at beating the Heat a team they were beating 3-2 just last season. And the 4-1 series the Bulls had was 2 years ago... the team is different now. Rose, Noah, and Boozer have all improved and have grown more accustom to playing with each other as that was Boozers first time with the team. I mean you can just look at your beloved Heat and see that in their first season together they werent as good as they are now after having time as a team. But as I said Im not necessarily saying I'd pick either of those teams to win. But they could make it interesting, now it wouldnt be. They'd win probably 1 game thats it.

[Skarsguard]

Duncan's career is avg 20ppg 11 Reb pg and 3 Apg and that is what he is avg this year. Lebron has a himself which is a top 10 player and Wade and Bosh which are top 10 or at the least top 15 players in the league Duncan has never had that. Manu is great but he has never been a top 15 player in the league Robinson was already old when Duncan got there and he wasn't a top 10-15 player at that time either. After the 97-98 season Robinson was avg 15ppg and 9 reb per game Bosh the last 2 years is avg 18 and 8 and Wade is avg 22 and 5apg 5 reb per game. Does Duncan score as much as Lebron or Kobe no that is why the Spurs have always done so good is because Pop spreads the ball around Spurs are no 1 is Ast this year which is crazy because their PG is the best scorer on the team. Spurs didn't win as much rings because they also had the Lakers to deal with which was an equally great team if not better during those Kobe/Shaq years where the Heat has nobody great in the East to give them trouble in the Playoffs I mean Pacers are pretty damn good but not great. When playoffs come this year West has top 4 out of the 5 teams Heat is the only one in that top 5 from the east they should smooth sail to the finals with no trouble.

[blackyfrost]

Duncan's career is avg 20ppg 11 Reb pg and 3 Apg and that is what he is avg this year. Lebron has a himself which is a top 10 player and Wade and Bosh which are top 10 or at the least top 15 players in the league Duncan has never had that. Manu is great but he has never been a top 15 player in the league Robinson was already old when Duncan got there and he wasn't a top 10-15 player at that time either. After the 97-98 season Robinson was avg 15ppg and 9 reb per game Bosh the last 2 years is avg 18 and 8 and Wade is avg 22 and 5apg 5 reb per game. Does Duncan score as much as Lebron or Kobe no that is why the Spurs have always done so good is because Pop spreads the ball around Spurs are no 1 is Ast this year which is crazy because their PG is the best scorer on the team. Spurs didn't win as much rings because they also had the Lakers to deal with which was an equally great team if not better during those Kobe/Shaq years where the Heat has nobody great in the East to give them trouble in the Playoffs I mean Pacers are pretty damn good but not great. When playoffs come this year West has top 4 out of the 5 teams Heat is the only one in that top 5 from the east they should smooth sail to the finals with no trouble.

duncan played his first few years beside robinson who was a 2nd team all-nba a few times and 2nd team all-nba defender during those few years. he's also played with tony parker and manu ginobli, both of whom have received MVP consideration and ginobli was considered the best bench player in the league for years and is still top 10 when healthy

they've had a great team since duncan got there. it was never duncan and a bunch of nobodies. they've been regular season heroes since 2007. they've lost to an 8 seed since 2007. they've choked away series leads since 2007.

that's a large chunk of duncan's legacy

[pld]

Durant is easily the #1 pick when it comes to FANTASY basketball. His averages are on-par with Lebron's but gets a nice boost in FT%.

Lebron is easily the best player in the NBA right now. You can stick Lebron on any team and it's as close to an automatic guarantee that the team will make playoffs (if not a deep run) as you can get. Some of the Cavs teams that Lebron played for were just bone-dry. I'm still amazed he carried them into the finals.

While I think KD is certainly a contender and will one day surpass Lebron as the best player in the NBA, it's hands-down Lebron at the moment.

[Skarsguard]

Durant is easily the #1 pick when it comes to FANTASY basketball. His averages are on-par with Lebron's but gets a nice boost in FT%.

Lebron is easily the best player in the NBA right now. You can stick Lebron on any team and it's as close to an automatic guarantee that the team will make playoffs (if not a deep run) as you can get. Some of the Cavs teams that Lebron played for were just bone-dry. I'm still amazed he carried them into the finals.

While I think KD is certainly a contender and will one day surpass Lebron as the best player in the NBA, it's hands-down Lebron at the moment.

Reason why KD isn't as good as Lebron atm is because Lebron plays D a whole lot better then KD does.

[Jibjabb]

Lebron is the new Kobe in defense. Sometimes play well but usually dont yet they will get tons of credit because they are big names. Nobody wants to vote the average player over the superstar on all defensive teams even if they are more deserving.

[Skarsguard]

Lebron plays defense and can shut some people down if he wants to KD doesn't play much D at all idk I think if him kinda like Dirk almost.

[Blueobelisk]

Skars is a moderator? Wtf happened these few days I was gone.

lol IDK myself

---------- Post added 2013-03-27 at 08:33 PM ----------

!!! Editting my post to make your own post. How devious.

I hope Miami beats Chicago and Pelicans next games. That way either my Spurs or Knicks will be the ones to stop that streak before they break any records.

Speaking of which, Knicks are dominating Memphis tonight after crushing Boston last night. Spurs need a little luck to beat Denver tonight, themselves.

---------- Post added 2013-03-27 at 10:20 PM ----------

Well Knicks won, they beat a real "contender."

It's close but its not in Miami's favor. Looks like Jibs home team will break the streak. I'm kind of sad about that...if Bulls had DRose and were full power I'd be okay with Bulls taking them down but...not like this. I'd rather Spurs put them in their place tbh.

[icedwarrior]

And Miami officially lose, 97 - 101.

[Neazy]

Spoelstra looked like he was about to fucking cry at the end of that game. I don't think he looked half that sad when they lost in the finals.