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NBA Regular Season 2014-2015: Injured Kobes and All Star Unibrows

Rhom

By Rhom,
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Calibandar Council Member

Calibandar

Posted
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Couple of things:



Watched a great match between Spurs and Blazers last night. Lillard was tremendous again, and so was Aldridge, who has really found the partner he needed in Lillard, one that makes him play even better. For me, Aldridge has slowly advanced past Love and Griffin in the best Power Forward category. This whole franchise has been turned around by Lillard coming in.



Interesting also to see the Spurs lose several big matches in which they are giving it all. They are doing their thing, but a few other teams are just doing them in.



On the Rondo trade, I think Dallas is taking a big gamble here. Rondo's been awful since he returned from his ACL injury last year. I've seen him play a few times this season and thought he was dismal. Dallas presumably wants to offer him a huge contract in the summer and I really question the wisdom of that. Is Rondo that much of a premium at this point, over Devin Harris, Nelson and Felton, that you just have to have him? what about Ellis at PG, and getting a shooting guard next to him, much cheaper than Rondo? Brandan Wright has been a very good backup center and they will really miss him. Crowder and Nelson are decent bench players. Plus some picks, I think this is a very decent haul for the Celtics. This is by no means the Rondo from 3-5 years ago.



He might be able to come back to his old self, and that is what they are gambling on obviously.



Re; The Heat. Watched a couple of Heat games lately and what a shell of a team that has become. They are much more reduced than I would have thought, watching them play without LeBron is really something else.


Outside of LeBron's leaving, there is the fact that Josh McRoberts has hardly played and he was supposed to be the new and crafty power forward. Luol Deng has performed well below the level that was expected him, he has become a league average small forward.


D-Wade is clearly doing much better this year than last and doing what he can to help his team come through, especially with Bosh out as well.


But they look thin, and very vulnerable.



I was thinking last night, would not the following scenario have been the best for LeBron? I know this was also an emotional decision, but could that not have been postponed one more year?



Let's say LeBron opts in this Summer, for 1 more year. He gets to play with Bosh, still in his prime, and Wade, now recovered from a horrible year. Now granted, LeBron would not have known in the summer that Wade would be better in 2014-2015, but it was not that unlikely, Wade still has something in the tank, especially if Wade would know this would be their final season. He gives this Heat team one more chance to win the title, and himself the best chance as well. After that, in summer 2015, he bolts for Cleveland. This allows Cleveland to keep Wiggins ( then with his rookie season under his belt), and Love can still come over, but this time, free of charge. I think this would have been better in terms of title chances for this year, because that Heat team would have been better than last year's, and clearly better than this year's Cleveland team. At age 31, he could still have returned to Cleveland next year and enjoyed many seasons there.



Finally, Brooklyn. Amazing to see how badly this team performs given the stars that they have. Zero steps forward have been made since last year, and Brook Lopez is as frail an NBA player as they come.


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Sir Thursday Council Member

Sir Thursday

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So the Rockets made their move to try and add some bench depth:



MIN->HOU: Corey Brewer


PHI->HOU: Alexey Shved



HOU->MIN: Troy Daniels, 2016 2nd Round Pick (SAC)



HOU->PHI: Rights to Sergei Lishchuk, 2016 2nd Round Pick (HOU)


MIN->PHI: Ronny Turiaf



They had to waive Francisco Garcia (who has been playing awfully) to make it work. I'm not 100% sold on the deal. On the one hand, it is a nominal upgrade - Garcia was playing awfully and Daniels barely saw the court this season due to inattention on the defensive end, so they're giving away two players who were surplus to requirements and bringing in two players who could be useful on the court. But both Shved and Brewer are poor three point shooters - an absolute must for the Rockets' system. This will severely limit their effectiveness on the offensive end and likely mean they can't earn more than spot minutes.



Brewer was brought in more for his defence, which is fair enough since the Rockets do need someone to spell Ariza (#2 in the league in minutes per game). I guess they'll put him in for brief spells and see if they can survive offensively with him on the court (maybe have him cherrypick? :P).



I guess I'm OK with Shved provided he's considered to be no higher than 5th in the Rockets' guard rotation. Isaiah Canaan has been playing really well when healthy and McHale should be rewarding him with some backup PG minutes. I worry that having Shved around will ruin that (he already gives a few too many minutes to Jason Terry at backup PG for my taste - backup SG would be acceptable, but I worry whenever I see Terry bringing the ball up without a proper PG or Harden on the court). If Shved is just there for injury cover then that's fine - when both Beverley and Canaan were out there was a big hole in the roster and someone like Shved is better than nobody. I just don't want him to be any more than that unless he suddenly develops a reliable three point shot and actually starts playing some defence.



ST


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Red Tiger Council Member

Red Tiger

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Josh Smith getting cut is rather a shocking. I guess Stan really hated him.

Smith wasn't any good. He shot poorly (39%), he rebounded well below his usual averages, was worse on defence than in previous years yet still picked up about as many fouls, kept shooting 3's even though he's bad at them.

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Ferrum Aeternum Council Member

Ferrum Aeternum

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Smith wasn't any good. He shot poorly (39%), he rebounded well below his usual averages, was worse on defence than in previous years yet still picked up about as many fouls, kept shooting 3's even though he's bad at them.

Now watch him sign with a West contender and start tearing shit up.

Had the unfortunate distinction of attending Griz/Jazz last night. What a stinker, especially on the defensive end. This team just loses its identity without Z-Bo in the lineup.

On the other hand, Vince Carter partied like it was 1999, so at least there was that.

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Red Tiger Council Member

Red Tiger

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Now watch him sign with a West contender and start tearing shit up.

Won't happen, he was at his best in the first half of 2010, he didn't shoot 3's, he stayed close to the basket, defended and rebounded like a monster and he dominated scoring-wise. But alas, old habits die hard, he started shooting 3's again and got further and further away from the basket. Buh-bye rebounds and efficiency.

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ebevan91 Council Member

ebevan91

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Now watch him sign with a West contender and start tearing shit up.

Had the unfortunate distinction of attending Griz/Jazz last night. What a stinker, especially on the defensive end. This team just loses its identity without Z-Bo in the lineup.

On the other hand, Vince Carter partied like it was 1999, so at least there was that.

3 losses in a row. Time to blow it up!

Hey at least my Cowboys won on Sunday and my Tigers won their bowl game yesterday.

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aeu Council Member

aeu

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Is anyone paying attention to Atlanta? Won 14 of last 15, only losing to Orlando (!) by 1 on a buzzer beater.



They won 5 games over the last 9 days: vs. Chicago, at Cleveland (by 29!!), at Houston, at Dallas, vs. LA Clippers. Wow!


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Ferrum Aeternum Council Member

Ferrum Aeternum

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Is anyone paying attention to Atlanta? Won 14 of last 15, only losing to Orlando (!) by 1 on a buzzer beater.

They won 5 games over the last 9 days: vs. Chicago, at Cleveland (by 29!!), at Houston, at Dallas, vs. LA Clippers. Wow!

Yeah, the Hawks are quietly dominating as of late. The East looks to be wide open, so why not them?

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Red Tiger Council Member

Red Tiger

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Is anyone paying attention to Atlanta? Won 14 of last 15, only losing to Orlando (!) by 1 on a buzzer beater.

They won 5 games over the last 9 days: vs. Chicago, at Cleveland (by 29!!), at Houston, at Dallas, vs. LA Clippers. Wow!

Witness them imploding in the playoffs a la the Pacers last year

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Calibandar Council Member

Calibandar

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Witness them imploding in the playoffs a la the Pacers last year

I don't think so. This is a better team than last year.

They have Horford back, and he just makes a great and very mature, solid frontcourt with Millsap.

They also have two good point guards now, with Schroder having stepped up.

Anyway, the Heat lose at home to the Sixers. D-Wade must be boiling. Life has suddenly changed quite a lot for Eric Spoelstra hasn't it? One minute you're guiding LeBron to a title,the next you're getting butchered in your own home, by possible the worst team in NBA history. Though Detroit seems intent on giving Phily a run for its money.

As for OKC, I am not pleased. Two losses against the Pelicans in the space of a fortnight, that worries me. A very narrow win over the awful Lakers, and now another home loss to Portland. Not good. Durant is required again. Westbrook hits 40 but it's not enough. Awful shooting from Roberson, Jones.

Also, Kobe Bryant finally sits a game for the Lakers, and as a result they beat league leaders Golden State.

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Jaime L Council Member

Jaime L

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Also, Kobe Bryant finally sits a game for the Lakers, and as a result they beat league leaders Golden State.

And per Zack Lowe, they get outscored by 13.3 points per 100 possessions with Kobe on the floor and they actually outscore teams by 11 points per 100 possessions when he sits. Those stats are just nutty.

Two thoughts: 1) I would never guess the Lakers had enough non-Kobe talent to beat a team like the Warriors and 2) Kobe's a trainwreck at this point.

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