400 replies to this topic

[Jaime L]

Maithanet, on 20 June 2012 - 02:22 PM, said:

I'm sure while watching the game last night, you were all left wondering "but what are the Wizards doing?"  The answer was apparently trading their own albatross contract (Lewis) for two longer term, slightly less egregious contracts.

Wow, thanks for bringing this back to reality Maith. While watching the NBA elite play the beautiful game, I'm now forced to be reminded of the squalor of the have nots including my own team trading its bowel obstruction for dysentery.

Grunfeld continues to impress. He seems to have craftily surrounded John Wall with a core group of veteran players that, if they play to their potential, will take the Wizards all the way to the first round of the playoffs in multiple seasons to come.

[Maithanet]

Jaime Bollocks, on 20 June 2012 - 03:12 PM, said:

Wow, thanks for bringing this back to reality Maith. While watching the NBA elite play the beautiful game, I'm now forced to be reminded of the squalor of the have nots including my own team trading its bowel obstruction for dysentery.

Grunfeld continues to impress. He seems to have craftily surrounded John Wall with a core group of veteran players that, if they play to their potential, will take the Wizards all the way to the first round of the playoffs in multiple seasons to come.

Building a champion.  And by champion, I mean division winner.  And by division winner, I mean, what division are they in again?

Perhaps Grunfeld's new goal should just be to surround Wall with as many high draft picks as possible.  We could find Kwame Brown wherever he is, sign Greg Oden to look old on the sidelines.  Maybe Sam Bowie will coach?  Jamarcus Russell could be waterboy.

[Triskele]

The consistent crap that Washington and Golden State churn out is impressive.  They must be trying to do it.  You would think that Washington and The Bay Area would be decent places for free agents.  Maybe not LA or New York or what have you, but not Portland or Utah either.  How those two franchises have managed to never be relevant in my 20+ years of watching basketball...I'm starting to think it's their goal.  My hat is off to them.

Edited by Trzysztof Trieślowski, 20 June 2012 - 04:23 PM.

[Jaime L]

Maithanet, on 20 June 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

Perhaps Grunfeld's new goal should just be to surround Wall with as many high draft picks as possible.  We could find Kwame Brown wherever he is, sign Greg Oden to look old on the sidelines.  Maybe Sam Bowie will coach?  Jamarcus Russell could be waterboy.

That would at least be entertaining. I'm sure Michael Olawakandi could use the work.

My only real hope for the future centers on whoever them getting at #3 (Beal, Robinson whomever) turning out to be a James Harden or LaMarcus Aldridge type star. That plus John Wall's continuing improvement is really the only hope to break out of their current social strata. I mean the thing about getting Nene and Okafor is that they're good enough to fuck up the Wizards ability to get high lottery picks of which is really the only way bad teams get superstars but almost assuredly not good enough to get them to the second round of the playoffs so we seem destined to at best fall into that hellish NBA middle class limbo barring us holding a winning lottery ticket at #3 and/or the lightbulb going off for Wall.

[Maithanet]

Jaime Bollocks, on 20 June 2012 - 03:37 PM, said:

My only real hope for the future centers on whoever them getting at #3 (Beal, Robinson whomever) turning out to be a James Harden or LaMarcus Aldridge type star. That plus John Wall's continuing improvement is really the only hope to break out of their current social strata. I mean the thing about getting Nene and Okafor is that they're good enough to fuck up the Wizards ability to get high lottery picks of which is really the only way bad teams get superstars but almost assuredly not good enough to get them to the second round of the playoffs so we seem destined to at best fall into that hellish NBA middle class limbo barring us holding a winning lottery ticket at #3 and/or the lightbulb going off for Wall.

It's true.  It looks like the Wiz want Beal, because they have a real need at guard opposite Wall, and that would allow them to grow together.  If they get Beal and he turns out to be a good player, then the Wiz could indeed be in the playoff hunt this year and next.  But again, unlike the NFL where anybody has a shot in the playoffs, in the NBA a first round exit is almost a curse.  You won't get anyone good to improve and you are still well behind the Big Boys.

The only good thing is that Okafur and Ariza are only two year contracts, so it's not like they'll be weighing them down forever.  But it nonetheless begs the question of why the Wiz are doing this.  I understand getting NeNe to get rid of some problem players and provide some support for Wall.  But now we have a core of older, overpaid veterans and young guys who may or may not make it in the league.  That's like a formula for poor development.

[Calibandar]

Truly shit results for OKC, and three times in a row. In each game they have looked like winning it, and especially in game 3 they totally gave it way. Some really long bench time for Westbrook and Durant in game 3 totally brought the Heat back in the game, and when Westbrook came back on at last, he didn't regain his scoring numbers.

Last night as well, OKC is really looking like a two man team here, whereas with the Heat all the team members are scoring. I'm surprised by how the Heat are taking OKC apart in this series, each game is tight but there seems to be an inevitability to the Heat winning that gives me very little hope that OKC will win game 5. They've had the games in their hand each time sofar, and every time the Heat prove more mature amd more efficient. The series is lost.

[The WaterDancer Knight]

What is an "albatross contract" ?

[BLU-RAY]

The WaterDancer Knight, on 20 June 2012 - 11:25 PM, said:

What is an "albatross contract" ?

A contract that hangs around a franchise's proverbial neck like an albatross, weighing them down and obstructing their ability to not suck donkey balls.  For albatross, see The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

In this case, the albatross contracts are Okafor and Lewis (hahahahaha, Rashard Lewis, HOW did he not get amnestied?).  Ariza, IMO, is at least a real basketball player.  Hell, he was the starting 3 on an NBA champ.

[Triskele]

Chad Ford or one of the ESPN guys a few years ago had a column on the five cardinal rules of signing a free agent (for example, don't out-bid yourself).  But supposedly the Orlando Magic broke all five when they signed Lewis.

[Horus Bergeron]

Calibandar, on 20 June 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

Truly shit results for OKC, and three times in a row. In each game they have looked like winning it, and especially in game 3 they totally gave it way. Some really long bench time for Westbrook and Durant in game 3 totally brought the Heat back in the game, and when Westbrook came back on at last, he didn't regain his scoring numbers.

Last night as well, OKC is really looking like a two man team here, whereas with the Heat all the team members are scoring. I'm surprised by how the Heat are taking OKC apart in this series, each game is tight but there seems to be an inevitability to the Heat winning that gives me very little hope that OKC will win game 5. They've had the games in their hand each time sofar, and every time the Heat prove more mature amd more efficient. The series is lost.

OKC is basically what the Heat were last season.  Miami has learned their lessons, and OKC is learning them now.

[aeu]

Quote

OKC is basically what the Heat were last season.  Miami has learned their lessons, and OKC is learning them now.

Yeah. Before the finals someone was saying "OKC seems to be ready, but they never really had this coming-up-just-short experience that most teams need to have before they win it all eventually."  It seems to be true so far, OKC appears to be almost there, but not quite...


Nice article from Simmons regarding Westbrook and OKC:

http://www.grantland...at-boy-competed

This part basically summarizes the whole series.

Quote

Looking back, the Zombies blew three straight winnable games because of the proverbial "little things." Oh, and because they couldn't buy a call if their life depended on it. But especially because of the little things.

[Jaime L]

DVD ROTS, on 20 June 2012 - 11:45 PM, said:

A contract that hangs around a franchise's proverbial neck like an albatross, weighing them down and obstructing their ability to not suck donkey balls.  For albatross, see The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Finally buying the whole Stanford thing.

Quote

(hahahahaha, Rashard Lewis, HOW did he not get amnestied?).  

I'm not entirely sure Grunfeld is aware such a thing exists.

aeu, on 21 June 2012 - 10:48 AM, said:

Yeah. Before the finals someone was saying "OKC seems to be ready, but they never really had this coming-up-just-short experience that most teams need to have before they win it all eventually."  It seems to be true so far, OKC appears to be almost there, but not quite...

I think the key thing for them tonight is they can't get down on themselves or the refs. There's the risk that at the first hint of adversity a young team like that folds. Hopefully they can stay cognizant of the fact that they're right there with the Heat and if they play just a little bit smarter they can be the better team. They're certainly more dynamic and multifaceted whereas it is clear at this point that everything the Heat does rides on Lebron's shoulders. He makes everything they do work and allows Battier to shine one game and Chalmers the next. And just repeat after themselves "remember what we did to the Spurs...remember what we did to the Spurs..."

[Jaime L]

Except for the stars, everything in this series has gone against expectations. I would've neverexpected the Heat to dominate the Thunder in FTs, 3's and bench play...but here we are. Even the ghost of Mike Miller is on fire.

Other thing I realized: I loathe Mario Chalmers. I mean I now loathe all the Heat role players but Chalmers especially for his false swagger. Goddamn, let's go Thunder.

[Triskele]

There is plenty of time, but it feels so over.

[Jaime L]

Trzysztof Trieślowski, on 21 June 2012 - 09:03 PM, said:

There is plenty of time, but it feels so over.

This is really bad.

C'mon James Harden...

Edited by Jaime Bollocks, 21 June 2012 - 09:08 PM.

[Rhom]

Trzysztof Trieślowski, on 21 June 2012 - 09:03 PM, said:

There is plenty of time, but it feels so over.

It does have the air of inevitability, does it not?

Now think about the 2-3-2 format I was bitching about last week.  How different would this series look if tonight was at OKC in a 2-2-1-1-1?

[Jaime L]

If they can get it under 10 by halftime....

[Triskele]

Durant needs to just gun and go unconscious.  Shoot over the D.  Shoot the J.  Shoot it.

[Jaime L]

Trzysztof Trieślowski, on 21 June 2012 - 09:12 PM, said:

Durant needs to just gun and go unconscious.  Shoot over the D.  Shoot the J.  Shoot it.

He's taking your advice.

[kalbear]

It really sounds like the okc youth is hurting them more and more.