2013 NBA Season News and Discussion

[Deleted]

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/03/21/t...s=iref:nbahpt2

Derek Fisher will be playing for OKC. I would like playoff series LAL vs OKC please

[conscript]

Here is an amazing article on the long, long history of Golden State's management futility:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...-60-easy-steps

Some of that stuff is so comical it is depressing. Essentially flipping picks with Boston in a draft in the 70s in which the Celtic's drafted Parrish and McHale and the Warriors used their pick to draft a nobody, a long history of drafting and bringing in guys with cocaine problems so bad it ruined their NBA careers over and over again, the entire Chris Webber fiasco. Just hilarious how inept they have been.

After nearly every single postseason appearance since 1977, which is only like six but still, the Warriors have immediately blow up the team. Improving team, surprising playoff performance, blow it up! Amazing.

---------- Post added 2012-03-21 at 12:43 PM ----------

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/03/21/t...s=iref:nbahpt2

Derek Fisher will be playing for OKC. I would like playoff series LAL vs OKC please

That doesn't surprise me at all. They needed a backup PG and someone who could in theory come in and hit a shot for them. Fischer looks like a much better option for a team when he is playing 6-10 minutes off the bench then when he is playing 30 as your starter.

[mirodin]

45 from Ben Gordon, guess he still can shoot. And McGee getting the game-winning tip-in.

[Brewswami]

The streak ends at 6. Props to Boston for holding the Bucks to 40% from the field and only allowing three 3 pointers. 20 games left, Bucks are going to have to go 15-5 if they want to see the 6th/7th spot in the east (should be our goal after the trade).

[Twiddly]

What is going on with the Clippers? They just lost to a terrible team, and have just been having garbage games recently. Blake Grifen is looking incredibly over-rated in the last couple weeks. Kevin Love>Griffen....unless you want someone to dunk over a car of course.

As an aside, chris kaman's picture on his profile on espn.com makes him look like a zombie... creepy.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1982/chris-kaman link to his profile.

[mirodin]

The Clippers players want Del Negro gone, aprrently he lost control of the locker room, and players don't trust him anymore. I guess with McMilan and D'Antoni available the Clips will make a head-coach change soon.

[Skarsguard]

I wouldn't want either of those coaches if I was the Clippers.

[Jibjabb]

so I think we can all say that Bruce Bowen is now the worst player ever with a retired jersey

cmon San Antonio... smh

[Twiddly]

The Clippers players want Del Negro gone, aprrently he lost control of the locker room, and players don't trust him anymore. I guess with McMilan and D'Antoni available the Clips will make a head-coach change soon.

According to ESPN, Chris Paul and carmelo anthony are close friends, and carmelo told Paul all about how terrible of a person D'antoni was or something and how they should never use him.

No clue if its true or not, but it sounds believable. Anthony=coach killer.

[Skarsguard]

so I think we can all say that Bruce Bowen is now the worst player ever with a retired jersey

cmon San Antonio... smh

Yeah its a kinda weird that they retired his jersey but man he shut down everybody. Like Kobe would usually only score 17 against him on a good night.

[conscript]

What is going on with the Clippers? They just lost to a terrible team, and have just been having garbage games recently. Blake Grifen is looking incredibly over-rated in the last couple weeks. Kevin Love>Griffen....unless you want someone to dunk over a car of course.

As an aside, chris kaman's picture on his profile on espn.com makes him look like a zombie... creepy.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1982/chris-kaman link to his profile.

Vinny Del Negro. He was a bad coach in Chicago. He is a bad coach in LA. Absolutely none of the players he has coached has improved in any aspect. Griffin and Jordan are still team killingly bad at free throw shooting to the point that they must not be working on it at all. Griffin continues to have on court issues every game with the refs which should be coached out of him. Their offensive sets are terrible, their defensive sets are worse. If Chris Paul isn't able to absolutely take over a game they are done for.

If Vinny isn't fired it is because Sterling doesn't want to pay two coaches at the same time. He is a terrible owner, and a worse person but that is unrelated, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Del Negro stay around until season's end. Could you imagine if the Hornets can make the playoffs when it was Chris Paul and nobody else but these Clippers don't? Goes to show that coaching matters. The Bulls massively improved the minute Del Negro was fired and Thibs was brought in. Expect the same in LA next year lol.

---------- Post added 2012-03-23 at 09:57 PM ----------

so I think we can all say that Bruce Bowen is now the worst player ever with a retired jersey

cmon San Antonio... smh

I love Bruce Bowen, but I agree it is an odd jersey retirement. He played in a huge role in their championship teams, but you don't usually think of a defensive role player as a jersey retiree. I think he got it for his amazing bow tie collection and for kicking Wally Szczerbiak in the face (perhaps my favorite NBA play aside from Jordan's turn around jumper on the Jazz). Bowen was the dirtiest player in the modern era of the NBA.

[fixit]

My predictions: (Dwight Howard getting traded for Gasol and Bynum)
East-
1/heat vs 8/knicks 4/sixers vs 5/pacers, heat over sixers, heat over bulls
2/bulls vs 7/hawks 3/magic vs 6/celtics, bulls over magic
West-
1/lakers vs 8/grizzlies 4/mavericks vs 5/clippers, lakers over mavericks, lakers over thunder, lakers over heat in final.
2/thunder vs 7/nuggets 3/spurs vs 5/blazers, thunder over spurs

Hmm well i thought the Heat and Lakers would catch the Bulls and Thunder respectively, but its kinda out of reach being 5 games or so behind with only 16 left.
Im betting its still gonna be a Heat vs Lakers final even though neither of them have home court adv. They're the hungriest.
I didnt expect the Blazers overhaul at the trade deadline, but they may as well have mixed it up now and i respect them for having the guts after all their misfortune, they wouldn't have gone deep into the playoffs anyhow. The teams are so close this year in the West its awesome to follow, the Grizzlies are doing well and Zach Randolph returning will make them a playoff force. And it looks like Utah will claim the Blazers spot in the wests top 8 the way they are playing, Phoenix are playing great too but their remaining schedule is tough.
I cant see the Heat stopping Bynum and Gasol in the paint. Betting large on the Lakers!

[Skarsguard]

Hmm well i thought the Heat and Lakers would catch the Bulls and Thunder respectively, but its kinda out of reach being 5 games or so behind with only 16 left.
Im betting its still gonna be a Heat vs Lakers final even though neither of them have home court adv. They're the hungriest.
I didnt expect the Blazers overhaul at the trade deadline, but they may as well have mixed it up now and i respect them for having the guts after all their misfortune, they wouldn't have gone deep into the playoffs anyhow. The teams are so close this year in the West its awesome to follow, the Grizzlies are doing well and Zach Randolph returning will make them a playoff force. And it looks like Utah will claim the Blazers spot in the wests top 8 the way they are playing, Phoenix are playing great too but their remaining schedule is tough.
I cant see the Heat stopping Bynum and Gasol in the paint. Betting large on the Lakers!

Really? I don't think the Lakers have an answer for the Thunder or the Spurs in the west and I really don't think they could beat the Bulls or the Heat. Kobe will shoot them out of the playoffs in the 1st round against the Mavs is whats most likely to happen.

[conscript]

Hmm well i thought the Heat and Lakers would catch the Bulls and Thunder respectively, but its kinda out of reach being 5 games or so behind with only 16 left.
Im betting its still gonna be a Heat vs Lakers final even though neither of them have home court adv. They're the hungriest.
I didnt expect the Blazers overhaul at the trade deadline, but they may as well have mixed it up now and i respect them for having the guts after all their misfortune, they wouldn't have gone deep into the playoffs anyhow. The teams are so close this year in the West its awesome to follow, the Grizzlies are doing well and Zach Randolph returning will make them a playoff force. And it looks like Utah will claim the Blazers spot in the wests top 8 the way they are playing, Phoenix are playing great too but their remaining schedule is tough.
I cant see the Heat stopping Bynum and Gasol in the paint. Betting large on the Lakers!

I think the Lakers will get murdered by the Thunder and potentially by the Grizzlies and Spurs. The Nuggets are going to be a real threat too since that team is ridiculously deep. Don't count out the Heat passing the Bulls for the 1 seed in the East. They are only one game back in the loss column from the Bulls. They have played like four fewer games than the Bulls which is why they look so far back in the standings despite being one game back. The Lakers will be a good team in the playoff, but their bench is so horrible. They either start Sessions and have a functioning starting five that can distribute the ball or they start Blake resulting in Kobe jacking stupid shots the entire time Blake is on the floor but their bench is slightly improved. The Lakers are still fairly thin compared to the benches of teams like Denver, OKC, and now the Spurs since they added Jackson, Diaw, etc. The OKC bench might be the best in the game and that is with Maynard hurt. Hardin, Fischer, Thabo, Collison, Perk, etc.

Speaking of OKC, the Thunder/Wolvers game last night may have been the best game of the season hands down. If you have League Pass you should absolutely go back and watch that game.

---------- Post added 2012-03-24 at 01:32 PM ----------

Really? I don't think the Lakers have an answer for the Thunder or the Spurs in the west and I really don't think they could beat the Bulls or the Heat. Kobe will shoot them out of the playoffs in the 1st round against the Mavs is whats most likely to happen.

They need to start Sessions, which they did last game, and give him similar minutes to Kobe in order to keep it out of his hands. Kobe's attempts are way, way down in games where Sessions plays significant time and assists and points from the one spot are way, way up.

[Jibjabb]

geez playoffs are approaching a lot sooner than I thought they were. I still stand by my statement of only 5 real threats of winning a title. Bulls, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks. (sorry LA fans)

I really wish we could just skip the 1st 2 rounds of the eastern conference playoffs. West should be interesting but for the East i think everybody is just tapping their feet waiting for Miami to face Chicago. Id personally say its a toss up between the 2 teams if both are healthy (if Rose is hurt no chance Chicago)

[feellucky]

I think the Lakers will get murdered by the Thunder and potentially by the Grizzlies and Spurs. The Nuggets are going to be a real threat too since that team is ridiculously deep. Don't count out the Heat passing the Bulls for the 1 seed in the East. They are only one game back in the loss column from the Bulls. They have played like four fewer games than the Bulls which is why they look so far back in the standings despite being one game back. The Lakers will be a good team in the playoff, but their bench is so horrible. They either start Sessions and have a functioning starting five that can distribute the ball or they start Blake resulting in Kobe jacking stupid shots the entire time Blake is on the floor but their bench is slightly improved. The Lakers are still fairly thin compared to the benches of teams like Denver, OKC, and now the Spurs since they added Jackson, Diaw, etc. The OKC bench might be the best in the game and that is with Maynard hurt. Hardin, Fischer, Thabo, Collison, Perk, etc.

Speaking of OKC, the Thunder/Wolvers game last night may have been the best game of the season hands down. If you have League Pass you should absolutely go back and watch that game.

---------- Post added 2012-03-24 at 01:32 PM ----------

They need to start Sessions, which they did last game, and give him similar minutes to Kobe in order to keep it out of his hands. Kobe's attempts are way, way down in games where Sessions plays significant time and assists and points from the one spot are way, way up.

Luckily I live in OKC and get to see all these amazing games and that was definitely one of the best, OKC champs this year for sure!

[conscript]

geez playoffs are approaching a lot sooner than I thought they were. I still stand by my statement of only 5 real threats of winning a title. Bulls, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks. (sorry LA fans)

I really wish we could just skip the 1st 2 rounds of the eastern conference playoffs. West should be interesting but for the East i think everybody is just tapping their feet waiting for Miami to face Chicago. Id personally say its a toss up between the 2 teams if both are healthy (if Rose is hurt no chance Chicago)

Boston and New York/Milwaukee against Chicago and Miami in some combination is going to be potentially great. Even better if Philly slips to that 7th spot and New York takes that division. I think Chicago and Miami eventually win their series against whoever they play, but watching the last hurrah from the Big 3 in Boston will be great. Plus the Orlando vs Atlanta series again will be entertaining when the Hawks upset the Magic again.

The West match ups are so up in the air right now it is nuts. 4th through 10th are separated by 1.5 games lol. I agree with your list of teams with the potential to win a Championship. I am totally on the Memphis bandwagon, but I have to see more from them to buy that they are legit contenders and not just an upset threat in a round or two. I think any of the current lower seeds (Memphis, Denver, Utah even Phoenix if they get in) could be a real threat to beat the Spurs, Lakers, or Clippers.

[Skarsguard]

geez playoffs are approaching a lot sooner than I thought they were. I still stand by my statement of only 5 real threats of winning a title. Bulls, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks. (sorry LA fans)

I really wish we could just skip the 1st 2 rounds of the eastern conference playoffs. West should be interesting but for the East i think everybody is just tapping their feet waiting for Miami to face Chicago. Id personally say its a toss up between the 2 teams if both are healthy (if Rose is hurt no chance Chicago)

I really think the heat will be worried about the Magic. If D.Howard goes insane nobody on the Heat can guard him but if he doesn't play good then there done.

[buck008]

I really think the heat will be worried about the Magic. If D.Howard goes insane nobody on the Heat can guard him but if he doesn't play good then there done.

I think the way to beat the Magic is still to single Howard and shut down the 3 point shooters. He can go for 40 and 20 every night if no one else scores.

Those first round series in the East might be good for a game or two, but Miami and Chicago both close out short series in the end. Orlando/Atlanta would be entertaining. I do love how close the West is. I'm with Conscript, I think Memphis is primed to upset somebody. Especially if they end up against one of the LA teams.

[mirodin]

I really think the heat will be worried about the Magic. If D.Howard goes insane nobody on the Heat can guard him but if he doesn't play good then there done.

They can get a win or two, but that's it. Howard is horrid at the line and the Heat can prevent him even getting the ball, plus they can play like Atlanta and let him get 50 and the rest of the team 10 combined and beat them like that. Plus down the stretch Howard can't shoot free throws.