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NBA 2013-14 - A Clash of Kings


Jabronius Maximus

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So James v George appears to be the new heavyweight tilt in the NBA (sorry Durant). The conference finals will be very interesting. Or at least it'll be full of royalty-themed promotions.

Also, Chicago columnist tears into Derrick Rose. Ohh boy, things are on the verge of turning ugly in Chicago. To their credit, the management appears to be taking a proactive approach in wanting to rebuild. That seems to be the right move at this point.

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I don't understand all the celebration of the Pacers' perceived depth. Scola is useless, Watson is a detriment, and Mahimi isn't noticeable.



I liked Psycho-T, and Gerald Green, and hell even D.J. Augustin (or whatever) didn't throw up clunker 3-attempts all the time.



There is the starting five (don't like Lance, too unpredictable), and then there's all the shiteating shiteaters.


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Steph Curry. What can you say? When he's healthy he's fucking amazing.



However, the star of the game between the Spurs and the Warriors is Grep Pop. It's unbelievable how tightly run and well oiled that team is. Lose three starters beat the Warriors anyway, no problem. I'm in awe of the man. Greatest basketball mind of our current era.


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24 turnovers and as Reggie Miller stated, most of them were just sloppiness and laziness and not really Spurs pressuring the ball. They are a pretty stacked team offensively so they can still do some damage, but, from the few games I've seen from them this year, they take an awful lot of long jumpers. Curry is a stud, carrying my fantasy team.

Also, Belinelli had a game. I was surprised Bulls let him go. Who the fuck is Patty Mills?

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I can't figure Golden State out this year. Sure, the West is nasty. But on paper they were so potent. Upstart last year with Lee getting healthy and Iguadala coming in. Yes, Iguadala has not played much, but that was supposed to be the icing on the cake, so WTF? A majorly depleted Spurs team goes in and wins it.

It's been said so many times before, but you have to tip your hat to San Antonio. They are pro's pros at every level.

The longer the season goes on with the Warriors playing like this, the more likely it seems to me that losing Carl Landry and Jarrett Jack has set them back a bit. Curry has ridiculous on/off court numbers this year, and part of that (I think) is that their bench is nowhere near as good as it was last year. Landry and Jack were both legitimate 6th man of the year candidates last season, and allowed the Warriors to have a potent offensive lineup on the court all game long.

Now, having Iguodala and a healthy Bogut should have mitigated that by pushing other players into the bench units, but it doesn't seem to have happened that way. Iggy's been injured and the players behind Bogut (J O'Neal, Armstrong, Ezeli) are 'hold down the fort' type players rather than game changers. They brought in Speights to try and fill the Landry role but I don't think he's quite dynamic enough.

That's my read on it, anyway.

Re. Patty Mills: I believe one of the Spurs assistant coaches is also the coach of the Australian national team. That's one of the reasons why Mills ended up with the Spurs (he started off his NBA career in Portland). If you watched any Spurs playoff basketball last year you should recognise him - he was the guy on their bench with the ridiculous towel-waving moves.

ST

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Hibbert and Howard hate each other, I likes it.



In other news, it is apparently now acceptable to tackle Lance Stephonson when he's driving with no foul called. That's fucking awesome.



Wait, is that... DANNY!?! DANNY GRANGER!!!!



One of my favorite players. He signed my Pacers uni in 2007. I don't care what anyone says, he's better than Lance. Granger was the only thing worth watching on this team for a long time.


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Ohh boy, things are on the verge of turning ugly in Chicago. To their credit, the management appears to be taking a proactive approach in wanting to rebuild. That seems to be the right move at this point.

I saw them play OKC and the Rockets the night before that game. If that is any indication, they are in for a looong season but at least they have some time to figure out what adjustments to make, most importantly, finding another person for the backcourt. It's a shame Derrick Rose is out because of his knee. I liked this new look Chicago Bulls squad with him leading the charge. I think he's been the league's best point guard for a while now, barring injury and no disrespect to Chris Paul. Sadly, people are already likening his career to Penny Hardaway's tough break years ago.

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Lance Stephenson, you had my curiosity. Now you have my attention... best move I've seen all year for a layup on a drive from beyond the 3 point line.



The beating will continue until the opposition improves. Paul George has turned James Harden into his bitch.


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Lance Stephenson, you had my curiosity. Now you have my attention... best move I've seen all year for a layup on a drive from beyond the 3 point line.

The beating will continue until the opposition improves. Paul George has turned James Harden into his bitch.

Well that was a beatdown, huh? Just a master class in how to defend well. Transition defence and closing out on three-point shooters was awe-inspiring from the Pacers tonight, really took the Rockets out of their game. It's not very often that anyone says this, but as a Rockets fan I'm almost glad that we're in the Western Conference so that we only have to play the Pacers twice per year. We just match up SO badly against Indiana right now. Really felt not having Lin tonight - with Harden shackled so effectively by George someone else needed to provide the penetration, but nobody was there to step up.

ST

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^ Yeah, I thought before the game that Indy matched up well but Howard was surprisingly effective in the beginning before it got away and he didn't care.



I'm a huge fan of the half-court press defense, and I think the Pacers would have a lot of success if they looked at a 1-3-1 zone scheme. Paul George is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and Dr. Hibbert takes no shit under the rim.



Exciting time to be an Indy sports fan.



Meanwhile, a depleted Lakers team is giving the Timberwolves all they can handle early. Good for me, so I can talk shit to some of my friends.


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So Dwight Howard absolutely destroyed Andre Drummond and the rest of the Pistons front line last night. As in, he eviscerated them in the post in a fashion that I didn't think it was supposed to be possible in today's NBA. Check the highlights, it's like watching something out of the 90s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJVoneymAc. I would hope that everyone has grown out of thinking that D12 doesn't have a post game (which is a stereotype that's several years out of date) but if they haven't that video ought to convince them.



Given how poor his early experiments in the post were early in the season, I had almost given up on getting anything out of Howard in the post. But this isn't a one game fluke - he was able to get some pretty effective post game going against Roy Hibbert(!) the previous night in Indiana as well. It seems as though all the work he's putting in with McHale and Olajuwon is finally starting to pay off - try and guard him with single coverage at your peril!



ST


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So bizarrely (or not so much if you think about it) the Raps are a lot better after the Gay trade. With the state of the East I could actually see them taking a first round series right now as they wont have to play Miami, Indy or Hotlanta.


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