2013 NBA Season News and Discussion

[buck008]

I guess I just don't think Harden is good enough to be a primary scorer. I think he should have been ecstatic to hide behind the second best player in the league and another top 15 guy in Westbrook. I can't grudge a guy for wanting to make his money, but he's it in Houston right now. I don't think it works.

[Blueobelisk]

People are asking if Harden/Lin backcourt is one of the best in the League.

Best backcourts are:
1. Nets: Joe Johnson/Deron Williams
2. Lakers: Steve Nash/Kobe Bryant
3.

Uhh....
3. Christ Paul/whoever he's carrying

UHHHHHHHHHH...........

[fizzbob]

I guess I just don't think Harden is good enough to be a primary scorer. I think he should have been ecstatic to hide behind the second best player in the league and another top 15 guy in Westbrook. I can't grudge a guy for wanting to make his money, but he's it in Houston right now. I don't think it works.

why not? his FG% is great, he can score inside or outside, he can get to the line and he was the primary scorer with durant/westbrook on the bench and last year during the regular season he led he thunder in 4th quarter scoring

let's not forget that durant scored 3 points in 4 straight 4th quarters during the lakers/spurs series. they were able to come back because of harden

you saw boston without allen last night. they didn't have that guy. people don't understand he shot a career high in 3pt% last year, raised his career FG and FT% and overall, had a VERY good year. maybe it's a coincidence that without him they give up 120 to the heat and he scores 19 for the "bad guys"

here is the reality of the OKC situation...they're a small market team, they don't WANT to pay a luxury tax even though they're one of these most profitable franchises in the NBA right now and they are COMPLETELY OK with being a contender every year

they aren't going all in to win a ring, they're just wanting to remain competitive. harden gave you 18/4/4 off the bench which is huge. they'll miss it.

[conscript]

I guess I just don't think Harden is good enough to be a primary scorer. I think he should have been ecstatic to hide behind the second best player in the league and another top 15 guy in Westbrook. I can't grudge a guy for wanting to make his money, but he's it in Houston right now. I don't think it works.

Harden is one of the most efficent scorers in the league, second last year in EFGP behind only Tyson Chandler. He is also arguably the best screen players in the league. I think Harden will be just fine in Houston. Hell I think he will be more than just fine. Harden and Lin will be one of the most entertaining back courts in the NBA. I think Harden is the perfect guy to add to Lin. Lin is a decent shooter, mediocre creator at this point in his career. Harden is an excellent creator, good shooter. They are going to feed off each other like crazy.

[Blueobelisk]

Forgot to do this. Here are the Miami Heat rings:



I actually really like them.

[conscript]

People are asking if Harden/Lin backcourt is one of the best in the League.

Best backcourts are:
1. Nets: Joe Johnson/Deron Williams
2. Lakers: Steve Nash/Kobe Bryant
3.

Uhh....
3. Christ Paul/whoever he's carrying

UHHHHHHHHHH...........

Your #3 is incredibly accurate. Chris Paul could play with anybody and it would be good. Its hard to argue with considering them at least a top 5. Look at who else you have.
I agree with your two although who knows how each will mesh.
Dwayne Wade and no true PG.
Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight? lol
Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings? All that pair can do is see who can shoot the most to inflate their contract value when they both abandon Milwaukee this offseason.
Mike Conley and Tony Allen are decent.
Rondo and Lee/Terry
Irving and Waiters looked great last night

I think right now I would probably go 1-5 PG/SG combos as:
1. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson
2. Ty Lawson and Iggy
3. Kobe and Nash
4. Conley and Allen
5. Teague and Lou Williams?

After the first few it is a crapshoot. You have a group of players with young rookies (Irving/Waiters, Klay/Curry, Lin/Harden etc.) that need to prove something. You have a group with one veteran or one promising guy and then a wild card (Lillard/Matthews, Mayo/Collison, Paul/Whoever LAs 2 is). I can see Lin/Harden joining the argument of top 5 back court. I already think Harden is a top 5 SG in the NBA.

You have no idea how bad I want to declare Rubio and Roy a top 5 NBA back court right now. Like seriously. I am a massive fan of both those guys and am literally giddy over the prospect of them playing together.

[fizzbob]

People are asking if Harden/Lin backcourt is one of the best in the League.

Best backcourts are:
1. Nets: Joe Johnson/Deron Williams
2. Lakers: Steve Nash/Kobe Bryant
3.

Uhh....
3. Christ Paul/whoever he's carrying

UHHHHHHHHHH...........

nash and bryant looked great last night. lost to the mavs without dirk
deron is saying he's hurt and gonna get surgery after the end of this season.....sounds like he's making excuses to me and did you see him in the olympics? guy just isn't on a superstar level and never will be. he's inconsistent at best.

[Blueobelisk]

Actually I'm a little partial to Ginobli and Tony Parker on Spurs for top 5.

[conscript]

Actually I'm a little partial to Ginobli and Tony Parker on Spurs for top 5.

Ya but I went with starters only. Manu played like 20 minutes a game last year and is probably looking at that again this year with Danny Green splitting the rest of the time with him.

[buck008]

I totally admit that I base my Harden opinion on nothing. His numbers are good. This is completely a gut feeling on my part. Can't remember if i said it here or elsewhere, I thought OKC would resign Ibaka and let Harden go because someone would hand him a max deal and the Thunder couldn't (or just are too cheap to, who knows). I did think they would do something at the deadline this season though, not this early.

I think Wade and Chalmers/Allen is a good, if underrated and very nontraditional back court. Can't argue with what you guys threw out there though. Fizzbob, Kobe and Nash are two all timers. You can't be a prisoner of one game, they'll figure it out. Conscript, that Irving/Waiters duo could be scary, scary good in a few years.

[Blueobelisk]

Hey Conscript, if you buy league pass do they replay the games on all the channels or do they just like show the games as they occur live? I'd get League Pass if it meant I could watch the late Pacific games that I'm asleep for the next day, but idk if it works like that.

[conscript]

Hey Conscript, if you buy league pass do they replay the games on all the channels or do they just like show the games as they occur live? I'd get League Pass if it meant I could watch the late Pacific games that I'm asleep for the next day, but idk if it works like that.

On the television they are only shown as they are broadcast. The rest of the day the channel says off air or come back later. At least that is how it was on Dish. With League Pass Broadband though you can watch games from the past couple days whenever you want on the computer. League Pass Broadband might be included with your package if you buy it through the NBA or your provider like it was for my Dish last year. When I got LP this season I didn't have cable so I only have the online portion. If you have a decent internet provider though you can stream multiple games in HD. You can even quad box games on LP Broadband so its like watching NFL Redzone.

[Jibjabb]

Durant is making max. Westbrook is making max, not the Derrick Rose max he qualified for, but still max. They were asking Harden to take between $11 and 13 million depending on the report, while Durant and Westbrook will be making nearly $19 and $15 million respectively. Harden thinks he is a max player in the NBA, which he is. I can't fault the guy one bit for wanting to make as much money as he can on his first big NBA contract while wanting to be the guy on a team, not the third banana coming off the bench.

Oh man I couldnt disagree more. Harden a max contract? No chance in hell. There isnt a team in this league that can win a championship built around James Harden. He cant carry an offense for extended periods, he cant be a focal point, and he cant draw double teams to give his teammates open shots. Im not sure Westbrook is a max player either but hes certainly a lot closer than Harden is.

Personally I think OKC got a steal with this trade. 1st off Kevin Martin can play, Im not sure how many people have watched the guy over the years playing for the lowly Kings but he has serious scoring ability that shouldnt see a drop off in what Harden did. He cant however play the point as well but thats what Maynard is for. They also got 2 1st round picks from it as well. I cant definitively say they are a better team this year, but they are certainly better off. It was always either resign Harden or Ibaka, cant get both. They chose Ibaka.

---------- Post added 2012-10-31 at 04:47 PM ----------

I think right now I would probably go 1-5 PG/SG combos as:
1. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson
2. Ty Lawson and Iggy
3. Kobe and Nash
4. Conley and Allen
5. Teague and Lou Williams?

After the first few it is a crapshoot. You have a group of players with young rookies (Irving/Waiters, Klay/Curry, Lin/Harden etc.) that need to prove something. You have a group with one veteran or one promising guy and then a wild card (Lillard/Matthews, Mayo/Collison, Paul/Whoever LAs 2 is). I can see Lin/Harden joining the argument of top 5 back court. I already think Harden is a top 5 SG in the NBA.

Rose/Hamilton
Chalmers/Wade
Paul/Billups

Id take both of those over Lin and Harden any day of the week. All because one of that tag team is a superstar and Houston has neither.

And dont be surprised when Minnesota does nothing once again. If they make the playoffs (If) it will be a 7th or 8th seed to get demolished in the 1st round and I cant even say they will get that far. Im not sure where this hype is coming from.

Spurs, Nuggets, Mavericks, Clippers, Lakers, Thunder, are all clearly superior teams in my view. Then throw in things like the Grizzles, Rockets, Warriors, Blazers and the T-Wolves could potentially miss.

[conscript]

Oh man I couldnt disagree more. Harden a max contract? No chance in hell. There isnt a team in this league that can win a championship built around James Harden. He cant carry an offense for extended periods, he cant be a focal point, and he cant draw double teams to give his teammates open shots. Im not sure Westbrook is a max player either but hes certainly a lot closer than Harden is.

Half the league would right now pay James Harden a max 5 year deal. Harden is arguably the 3rd best SG in the league. Eric Gordon just got a max deal and plays the same position as Harden and is certainly not better, especially defensively. Roy Hibbert, not a max guy yet making max money. Max is a misnomer and always will be as long as it exists. LeBron, Durant, and Harden do not have the same contractual worth, yet they are going to make the same money as long as the ceiling remains so artificially low. Morey clearly thinks Harden is a max guy and will have a max deal done with him today, if they didn't get it done yesterday and I missed the story. More than half the league would pony up that kind of money for a top 5 SG in the league. I don't think you can win a Championship with James Harden as your #1 guy, but when it comes to him being your #2 guy, I think he is perfectly good at filling that role on a title contender and yes, the #2 guy on a title contender is worth max money in every situation.

---------- Post added 2012-10-31 at 01:39 PM ----------

Rose/Hamilton
Chalmers/Wade
Paul/Billups

Hamilton can't shoot, can't defend, is roughly 40 and injury prone. Chicago was dumbtastic for hoping he would help them at all. Rose is out for most of the season so that back court is actually Heinrich/Hamilton until Hamilton gets injured in game 12.
Chalmers/Wade aren't a traditional back court because the PG for the Heat actually plays the PF position now.
Billups is roughly 40, is splitting time with Jamal Freaking Crawford, and is simply not the same guy he was a couple years ago. Plus he is coming off a severe injury and also plays mediocre to non-existent defense now.

[jreg]

Chalmers/Wade aren't a traditional back court because the PG for the Heat actually plays the PF position now.

They can play traditional roles if they have to but the emphasis on position-less pace and space basketball in Miami means there's really no definable front and backcourt.

That said, Chalmers had 8 points, 11 assists and only 1 turnover last night and Wade had 29 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Pretty solid backcourt.

[chadwix]

It was great to see dwight coward miss 11 ft's costing the lakers the game. If he could make a ft, orlando would have at least 1 ring and we would still have a franchise.

[Blueobelisk]

That said, Chalmers had 8 points, 11 assists and only 1 turnover last night and Wade had 29 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Pretty solid backcourt.

Oh wow. He passed the ball to a teammate and clearly it was his pass/setup that was the reason they were able to get the ball in the basket.

Sorry but I hate Mario Chalmers lol. From the time he said:

Mario Chalmers: “[Rondo's] not the best, but he’s in the top five. There are a lot of great point guards in the league, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Steve Nash. There are a lot of great guards in the NBA so for him to say he’s the best is a pretty bold statement. I’d say that I am in the front end of the top 10. [By the end of my career] if I’m not the best, than at least one of the best.”

Source.

Arrogant "flower" as Conscript would put it thinks he's actually good just because he has monster teammates carrying him to championships.

[Byuiso]

Kobe must feel right at home seeing the best big man in the game miss FTs like its nothing.

[conscript]

Kobe must feel right at home seeing the best big man in the game miss FTs like its nothing.

I lol'd.

So James Harden looks pretty damn great so far against a decent defensive team in the Pistons. 19 points, 5 assists, 3 boards with a couple minutes left in the half. Lin has 6/5. They don't look half bad with Asik popping out to set picks.

---------- Post added 2012-10-31 at 08:39 PM ----------

Arrogant "flower" as Conscript would put it thinks he's actually good just because he has monster teammates carrying him to championships.

Lol I was wondering if you would catch my edit of your post. So were you happy that A'mare's Range Rover was destroyed in the hurricane? He tweeted a pic of it and it is in four feet of water.

[jreg]

Toronto's looking pretty good. Defence is much improved, and their offence is coming along. Could fight for that 8th spot this year. I'm really liking what I'm seeing with Jonas and Lowry. Both are bringing an extra intensity we lacked last year.