NBA Thread - 2010-2011

[Little Jerry Lawler]

After last nights game, I'm really convinced this Magic team is among the elite clubs in the league. They absolutely smoked the Spurs, and they really showed how balanced a team they are. They had 7 guys in double figures, and the new acquisitions look to have gelled marvelously. GD is right when he says they need more help on the front line though, I don't think Ryan Anderson and Daniel Orton can provide enough help off the bench when big Dwight isn't on the floor.

Also, has anyone else noticed how ridiculously uptight the league is this year? Too many technicals, too many ejections, shit is just ridiculous. The other night DeMarcus Cousins was fined and benched for this:

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Are you fucking kidding me? Dikembe Mutumbo would taunt someone after every block, and he was never fined, plenty of guys in years past have done things "worse" than this and no one batted an eye. Another incident that sticks out is Jameer Nelson getting ejected for talking shit at the Miami bench, I can only imagine how many times guys like Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Reggie Miller and Charles Oakley would get ejected.

Does anyone else think the league was been way too far up the players asses this year? Or am I just being way too critical?

I applaud Paul Westphal for what he did. There was a reason why teams passed on Demarcus Cousins. It was because of his immaturity and that wasn't the first time he has displayed that on and off the court. Westphal is doing this now while the kid is young so hopefully he can get some sense into him because he is a terrific talent but talent can only get you so far if you don't have the maturity to back it up.

I wouldn't call Orlando an elite team just yet. If they can pick up another big, then I give them a 40% chance of reaching the Finals but as of right now, I'll give them a 30% chance because the Celtics are still without Perkins and both O'Neals have been injured. That's plenty of bodies to stop Dwight Howard if they meet in the playoffs.

 

[Big Sexy]

The Orlando Magic are definitely going to get another big before the trade deadline. They seem to be content with playing both Jameer and Arenas at the point instead of together. I actually think Arenas will eventually become the starter at the point, or if he stays on the bench then I believe he'll still play more minutes then Jameer and Arenas will be the one to finish games. The Magic have a very big starting 5 with Nelson/Arenas, J Rich, Turkoglu, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard.

Because they are potentially keeping both Arenas and Nelson at the point it makes Chris Duhon expendable and I believe he will be the one to get traded for a back up center. Some names that have come up about possible trade targets for the Magic are Ronny Turiaf, Jeff Foster, Joel Pryzbilla, Nazr Mohhamed, and Tony Battie. All of those guys could get the job done as Howard's back up.

 

[jmt225]

Did Arenas even start? He only played 17 minutes, and only had 2 points.

Yeah, it wasn't the stat sheet that screamed out; just his presence alone. Arenas still has this aura about him when he's on the court that guys like Vince Carter and Rashad Lewis have long lost. His presence alone (for now, anyway) I feel is going to help the Magic out in the long run.

J.J Reddick had nearly 2x as many minutes as Gilbert last night, (and also played one hell of a game) I thought that was odd.

Yeah, Reddick's finally coming into his own. He's becoming more than just a 3 point shooter, which in turns helps him on the three point line since the opposition doesn't only have to worry about his 3-point shooting ability. Don't be surprised if JJ makes a huge splash in the postseason this year and becomes to the Magic what Manu Giniobili has been to the Spurs.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

I applaud Paul Westphal for what he did. There was a reason why teams passed on Demarcus Cousins. It was because of his immaturity and that wasn't the first time he has displayed that on and off the court. Westphal is doing this now while the kid is young so hopefully he can get some sense into him because he is a terrific talent but talent can only get you so far if you don't have the maturity to back it up.

I doubt that if he was a rookie that it would've been a big deal at all. When 'Bron and Kobe talk shit it's just part of the game, when Dwight nearly beats the hell out of Joel Pryzbilla it's a scrum, but when Cousins makes a "choke" gesture he gets fined and benched, hmmmmmm.....

Also, when you're in the pro's, it's not the coaches job to worry about his players maturity, as long as Cousins plays the game, comes to work, and doesn't do anything detrimental to the team, coach should be happy. I remember when being a thug meant being an "imposing figure" on the court.

And how 'bout them x-mas games? I loved watching two of my least favorite teams going down, especially the Lakers. I think Miami's proved they can get along just fine with the 3-man center rotation they've got, and they're still my pick to win it all. The stars showed up today to, 'Bron had a triple double and KD35 dropped 40, what a day....

 

[jmt225]

Yeah, the NBA has really become sissified the last few years. I mean, one of the most famous images in sports history (not just the NBA, but sports, period) is Reggie Miller doing the choke gesture towards Spike Lee. Hell, Reggie even grabbed his crotch. Did he get in trouble? No, fucking Spike Lee got all the flap for it. Imagine if someone did that to Jack Nicholson today at a Lakers game... they'd get suspended for sure.

But I think it's turning a lot of people off from the NBA just how sissified they've become. They so badly want to wash away the "thug" image after the Pistons/Pacers brawl that they really took away some of the best things about the sport, and the NBA is suffering in numbers because of it.

Anyways, Lakers/Heat was a real disappointment. Lakers during the regular season just play with no heart whatsoever. How can anyone be a fan of this fucking team? They're pathetic. Man, I really hope someone knocks them off in the playoffs this year. Teams like Dallas and San Antonio who play hard every single night... those are the teams that deserve championships, not pathetic pieces of shit like the Lakers.

Boston handed their game over to Orlando earlier in the day. I don't know what the fuck happened to them, but I was happy for Orlando. They played their asses off and it worked out for them in the end. And hey... how about that shot by JJ Redick towards the end of the game? I told you guys... look out for that motherfucker this year.

And Monta Ellis is the fucking man. He's been absolutely terrific all year long, and Christmas day was no exception. It's just a shame he doesn't have a better team around him, because I would love to see this guy in the playoffs.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Anyways, Lakers/Heat was a real disappointment. Lakers during the regular season just play with no heart whatsoever. How can anyone be a fan of this fucking team? They're pathetic. Man, I really hope someone knocks them off in the playoffs this year. Teams like Dallas and San Antonio who play hard every single night... those are the teams that deserve championships, not pathetic pieces of shit like the Lakers.

None of the 32 teams play hard every single night so I don't see any reason to call out the Lakers. The regular season doesn't matter much to them anyway because they know that they are team to beat every year. San Antonio always starts off slow every year and finish strong and the Lakers are no different. They deserved the last two championships and if they win again this year, they would have deserved this one as well and this is coming from a Spurs fan. We have the best chance to beat them because I never trusted Nowitzki and Dallas and never will. When Bynum gets healthy, you would have three 7-footers seeing lots of playing time. I don't even think the Spurs can match up with that so we have to find other ways to win.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

And Monta Ellis is the fucking man. He's been absolutely terrific all year long, and Christmas day was no exception. It's just a shame he doesn't have a better team around him, because I would love to see this guy in the playoffs.

Yep, you gotta love Monta Ellis. Easily one of the most exciting players in the league, hopefully that young Golden State team can develop and become a playoff team sometime in the future. They've got talented guys at nearly every position, and that backcourt is already great.

 

[Dean Winchester]

Yep, you gotta love Monta Ellis. Easily one of the most exciting players in the league, hopefully that young Golden State team can develop and become a playoff team sometime in the future. They've got talented guys at nearly every position, and that backcourt is already great.

But they do not play defense...they got a great offensive team but play no defense. Maybe they should ask the Phoenix Suns that offense does not win championships and they need a solid defense.

I doubt that if he was a rookie that it would've been a big deal at all. When 'Bron and Kobe talk shit it's just part of the game, when Dwight nearly beats the hell out of Joel Pryzbilla it's a scrum, but when Cousins makes a "choke" gesture he gets fined and benched, hmmmmmm.....

Also, when you're in the pro's, it's not the coaches job to worry about his players maturity, as long as Cousins plays the game, comes to work, and doesn't do anything detrimental to the team, coach should be happy. I remember when being a thug meant being an "imposing figure" on the court.

And how 'bout them x-mas games? I loved watching two of my least favorite teams going down, especially the Lakers. I think Miami's proved they can get along just fine with the 3-man center rotation they've got, and they're still my pick to win it all. The stars showed up today to, 'Bron had a triple double and KD35 dropped 40, what a day....

Yeah I miss the old skool NBA....not the thuggish fights but the tough defense that they played, especially in the 60s and 70s. They played hard nose basketball and not so lazy bum bum defense.

 

[Big Sexy]

Golden State isn't very good and are a long ways away from the playoff picture especially in the West. They have a great starting back court but no depth at the position and they are also very weak inside. None of their bigs are strong enough to defend any good low post scorer.

 

[jmt225]

None of the 32 teams play hard every single night so I don't see any reason to call out the Lakers. The regular season doesn't matter much to them anyway because they know that they are team to beat every year. San Antonio always starts off slow every year and finish strong and the Lakers are no different. They deserved the last two championships and if they win again this year, they would have deserved this one as well and this is coming from a Spurs fan. We have the best chance to beat them because I never trusted Nowitzki and Dallas and never will. When Bynum gets healthy, you would have three 7-footers seeing lots of playing time. I don't even think the Spurs can match up with that so we have to find other ways to win.

Bullshit, man.

Everybody and their momma were looking forward to that Christmas game, and the fucking Lakers didn't give an ounce of effort out there. It was absolutely pathetic. A team who does not give it their all, especially in front of their own fans, are pieces of shit, bottom line. These people pay their hard earned money to watch their team play in person, and when that team isn't give it their full effort out there... it's just pathetic, man. There are no other words for it, just pathetic. Fuck the Lakers, and like I said... I pray that this is the year it comes back and bites them in the ass.

And every game does matter, especially in the Western Conference, where the 7th seed can jump up to number 2 within a 3 game stretch (assuming if by the end of the year we have a similar situation to the past couple of years).

 

[Dean Winchester]

As of right now it looks like the Lakers will be knocked off in the 2nd round of the playoffs with the way they are playing. I think it might be Dallas or San Antonio going to the finals this season out in the western conference.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Spurs win yet again bringing our record to 28-4. Hard to project the next 50 games but I believe we can get around 57-58 games and get the #1 seed. Jefferson is much improved and we always find great role players. It appears Duncan is in the last stage of the career but his cast has stepped it up so he doesn't need to do much right now although that may change when it's playoff time.

 

[Khalifa]

Bullshit, man.

Everybody and their momma were looking forward to that Christmas game, and the fucking Lakers didn't give an ounce of effort out there. It was absolutely pathetic. A team who does not give it their all, especially in front of their own fans, are pieces of shit, bottom line. These people pay their hard earned money to watch their team play in person, and when that team isn't give it their full effort out there... it's just pathetic, man. There are no other words for it, just pathetic. Fuck the Lakers, and like I said... I pray that this is the year it comes back and bites them in the ass.

And every game does matter, especially in the Western Conference, where the 7th seed can jump up to number 2 within a 3 game stretch (assuming if by the end of the year we have a similar situation to the past couple of years).

No team puts full effort into regular season, and why should you? Sure the Lakers were pathetic on Christmas and almost every other game this year but that doesn't mean they don't deserve the championship. Spurs for the last couple years fucked around in the regular season changing there line ups every second night. Kevin Garnett said last year regular season wins doesn't mean anything. They are just going to look play each night as it comes and hopefully get a playoff spot. The only teams that put more effort in than anyone are the ones that aren't going to make the playoffs.

Lakers are obviously going to make the playoffs whether they are out of the seeds in late March, so up until then regular season games dont mean much to them. They are 3rd in a very talented Western Conference and they aren't even trying really. Isn't that saying something?

I would love them to play everygame as it's there last and I get frustrated when they get blown out to a team like the Bucks, but I would much rather them win a championship than beat the bulls regular season record.

 

[jmt225]

No team puts full effort into regular season, and why should you?

That's not true. You mean to tell me those 90's Bulls didn't put full effort into every single game? I'm one of the biggest Michael Jordan haters in the World, but even I admit that that motherfucker played his heart out every single night. And his teammates did the exact same thing.

And today, I watch Steve Nash play the same every single game. Doesn't matter if it's Game 7 in the playoffs, or the 37th regular season game of the year against a team like the Indiana Pacers. When you watch Steve Nash play, you see the same Steve Nash every single game. Same thing goes for guys like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Dirk Nowitzki, Derek Rose, Allen Iverson when he was playing, etc. However, you don't get that from Lakers players.

Spurs for the last couple years fucked around in the regular season changing there line ups every second night.

That was because of injuries, man. You know they've been injury plague these past couple of years. However, when they're healthy, they play hard every single night, and this year, the most healthy they've been in years, their record reflects their hard work.

Kevin Garnett said last year regular season wins doesn't mean anything.

And Kevin Garnett was full of shit. He only said that because he was hurt and frustrated. You watch Kevin Garnett play, doesn't matter who it's against or when it's occurring, he plays with an intensity and fire like no other in the league.



Look, I know it's important to sometimes pace yourself, but the Lakers are different from that. They just play with no heart or fire during the regular season, and I'm sorry, but it is pathetic, and it makes the league look bad. I mean, why have a regular season at all if this is how the players look at it?

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

Excellen Win tonight for the Knicks they handed the Spurs who has the Best Record in Basketball only their 5th loss tonight, Knicks Won 128- 115 Wilson Chandler had a Great Game and Led the team tonight with 31 points. Amare and Felton both 28 points Amare also had 6 assists and 3 blocks. Great Win tonight against one of the Best Teams in the NBA.

 

[The Other Hardy Brother]

Excellen Win tonight for the Knicks they handed the Spurs who has the Best Record in Basketball only their 5th loss tonight, Knicks Won 128- 115 Wilson Chandler had a Great Game and Led the team tonight with 31 points. Amare and Felton both 28 points Amare also had 6 assists and 3 blocks. Great Win tonight against one of the Best Teams in the NBA.

I agreed with Popovich when he said when you score 115 points you should win. Poor defense out there by the Spurs. Then there is the fact that he pulled his starters with three minutes to go like what was that about? He said he did it cuz they were all tired and he needed them against the Celtics. Except Rondo messed around and got a 12 point 10 rebound 22 assist 6 steal triple double and the Spurs lost that game too. 0-2 in their last two games lol.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

Tonight was the Start of a Pretty Big West Coast Trip for the Knicks beginning with the Suns tonight and Amare's First Game Back in Phoenix. The Knicks absolutely destroyed the Suns tonight 121-96 Knicks had 6 Players score in Double Digits, Led By Amare who had 23 and 9 Rebounds, Felton also had 23 and had his First Career Triple Double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. A Guy that has really impressed coming off the bench recently is Shawne Williams he had 15 tonight and shot 4-9 from Three, and is shooting a little less then 60% this year from three. Really Good win Tonight and we another big test this Sunday against the Lakers.

 

[Big Sexy]

After a rocky start the Pistons are finally starting to get it together and are only 1.5 games behind the 8 seed and 2.5 games behind the 7 seed. They have won 5 of their last 7 including a home win over Dallas and a win on the road last night against Orlando. They also had a lead very late in the game against the Celtics in Boston and stayed with the East's best team step for step but the C's pulled it out in the end.

I feel bad for Rip but it's obviously time to move on and hopefully some sort of trade can be made so Rip doesn't have to suffer on the bench. He could really help a team like Chicago compete for the East title.

I really like the changes that have been made to Detroit's line up. T Mac has been great at the point. He has had at least 5 assists in 8 of his last 14 games. Stuckey has improved since moving to the 2 spot, Tayshaun is always solid at the 3, Greg Monroe continues to improve inside, and Ben Wallace is now back from injury. They also have a lot of fire power off the bench with Ben Gordon, Charlie V, and Austin Daye. All 3 of those guys are capable of putting up 15-20 off the bench on a given night. I also like the energy Chris Wilcox has given off the bench. I see them finishing the season strong and ending up with the 7 or 8 seed.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

The Carmelo trade talks are heating up once again. And now, the Lakers are getting involved. Apparently the Lakers and the Nuggets are in preliminary trade talks over a deal that would send Melo to the Lakers for Bynum (wonder what jmt thinks about this one).

Carmelo doesn't seem to be bothered, he dropped 50 last night....

 

[Big Sexy]

Melo to LA would have potential to make that team ridiculous. Obviously you don't know how well Melo and Kobe would mesh together but if they play well together then they could be almost unbeatable in the West. The best part about this for the Lakers is the fact that the only real valuable asset they'd have to give up would be Bynum. The Nuggets apparently aren't interested in Artest or Odom. A starting 5 with Fisher, Kobe, Carmelo, Odom, and Gasol, and Artest as the 6th man would be spectacular. They'd obviously lose some size but that would just mean increased work loads for veterans like Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff. There are positives and negatives to the deal but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

 

[jmt225]

If Melo gets traded to the Lakers, it would just once again show how crooked the NBA is towards that organization. First, it was Shaq getting every call imaginable during their trilogy championship run, and then it was the Lakers getting Paul Gasol for absolutely NOTHING. If the Lakers now get Melo, with only giving up a worthless, overpaid piece of shit like Andrew Bynum... it just goes to show again that the Lakers have been getting their championships handed to them, not earning through good draft picks and smart free agency signings, like Boston, San Antonio, Detroit, etc. all did when they won their championships this decade.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

I think it'd be more of the Nuggets organization making stupid decisions than the league being "crooked", I hate the Lakers as well but they're one of the best organizations in the league, that's why they win all those damn titles. Not because the league wants them to, or whatever.

Also, would 'Melo still be your favorite player if he gets shipped to the Lakers? I honestly don't know how i'd feel about it myself.....

 

[jmt225]

Also, would 'Melo still be your favorite player if he gets shipped to the Lakers? I honestly don't know how i'd feel about it myself.....

He's not even my favorite player right now, to be honest. Ray Allen has pretty much been my favorite player since CWebb retired, but I'm just not a Boston Celtics fan, unless they're facing the Lakers that is. I like Monta Ellis over Melo these days now that he's finally healthy again, but since the Warriors aren't a playoff contender and won't be for some time, I just needed to find someone in the Western Conference to root for, and thus it was Melo and Nuggets. However, if he goes to the Lakers... all my love for him is pretty much completely gone. That's how much I hate that organization.

And man... if you watched the Lakers during their trilogy, Shaq got every call imaginable. However, now that he's past his prime, he hardly gets any calls (which is right, since Shaq fucking puts his shoulder down and rams through people, which has ALWAYS been illegal), yet he plays the exact same way. The refs and the league simply catered to him and the Lakers during that run (especially once Phil Jackson went to the team, since he's the biggest manipulator in sports). And bro... the Pau Gasol deal has crookedness written all over it. JERRY WEST was the person who made the trade, during his last year as Memphis GM. He handed away a Superstar big man to the Lakers for NOTHING. That was simply not fair to the rest of the league, or the Memphis organization.

Just think about this... what good draft picks have the Lakers made this decade? The answer is zero, yet they're won 5 championships in ten years. How does that make any sense? Every other championship team from the last decade were built off of good draft picks, basically, except for Boston, who still drafted Rondo and Perkins. The Lakers are a poorly run organization who gets everything handed to them. I don't know how anyone could argue against it.

 

[Khalifa]

He's not even my favorite player right now, to be honest. Ray Allen has pretty much been my favorite player since CWebb retired, but I'm just not a Boston Celtics fan, unless they're facing the Lakers that is. I like Monta Ellis over Melo these days now that he's finally healthy again, but since the Warriors aren't a playoff contender and won't be for some time, I just needed to find someone in the Western Conference to root for, and thus it was Melo and Nuggets. However, if he goes to the Lakers... all my love for him is pretty much completely gone. That's how much I hate that organization.

And man... if you watched the Lakers during their trilogy, Shaq got every call imaginable. However, now that he's past his prime, he hardly gets any calls (which is right, since Shaq fucking puts his shoulder down and rams through people, which has ALWAYS been illegal), yet he plays the exact same way. The refs and the league simply catered to him and the Lakers during that run (especially once Phil Jackson went to the team, since he's the biggest manipulator in sports). And bro... the Pau Gasol deal has crookedness written all over it. JERRY WEST was the person who made the trade, during his last year as Memphis GM. He handed away a Superstar big man to the Lakers for NOTHING. That was simply not fair to the rest of the league, or the Memphis organization.

Just think about this... what good draft picks have the Lakers made this decade? The answer is zero, yet they're won 5 championships in ten years. How does that make any sense? Every other championship team from the last decade were built off of good draft picks, basically, except for Boston, who still drafted Rondo and Perkins. The Lakers are a poorly run organization who gets everything handed to them. I don't know how anyone could argue against it.

Since I am too lazy to do the quote shit I'm just going to bold the quote that I disagree with.

Memphis were looking to ship of Gasol anyways, and the only other real interested team at that time was the Bulls. But the Bulls were not prepared to give up the pieces that they wanted so instead they got expiring contracts and cap relief and draft picks for him. The Grizzles weren't a strong team in the east and really had no other pieces to help Gasol over so they decided to rebuild, and did well getting OJ, Marc Gasol, Randolph and now have some solid bench players. They were definately not going to get those pieces with Gasol still in the picture.

I really think your just trying to find stuff wrong with the Lakers instead of admiring what they have done. Why should any team have to wait 3 or 4 years on draft prospects to reach the potential that they are supposed to live up to when it might not even happen? I would rather win a championship now than hopefully winning one in 3 or 4 years time, and that is why the Lakers do what they do. You get good pieces now, it's going to make the fans happy and it is going to make you happy. Also with the good young players that we get ( Brown, Ariza, Butler) I think it's fair enough to say you don't exactly need to get a player that hasn't proven anything when you can get good young players like these.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

So with the Carmelo deal where do you guys think this leaves the East? I don't think this makes them better than the Heat or the Celtics, but I do think it pushes them ahead of the Bulls and Hawks. Here's my "power rankings" or whatever...

1. Heat - My pick for the Champs this year, I don't see any team being able to stop 'Bron/Wade in the playoffs...

2. Celtics - Definitely can beat any team in the league on any given night, I think it's possible the Knicks could surpass the Celtics this year, but I doubt it, next year though, I think the Heat/Bulls/Knicks will be the top teams with the Celtics/Hawks just behind 'em.

3. Knicks - They need to add some depth, especially at the PG position, but also down low. Billups isn't gonna be around much longer, and even if they are banking on getting an elite PG through free agency, they need some fresh legs right now. I also think it will take a while for this team to get acclimated, they may not be better than the Bulls right away, it may take some time.

4. Bulls - Great team all around, but they need to add a 2 guard who can fill it up, someone like Stephen Jackson or O.J Mayo if they want to compete with the top teams in the playoffs, the defense and D-Rose can only take them so far...

5. Hawks - They just can't seem to get over the hump, they might need to make some moves, or swith up their gameplan, because the current group and system isn't taking them anywhere. They need something/someone fresh to propel them to the next level.