NBA Thread

[Jaime L]

The Rockets streak defies all logic at this point. You look at them and there's no way you say that personnel is good enough to have the second longest streak ever. All the other teams have upper tier hall of famer after hall of famer. Rockets got Mcgrady and that's about it. But they've taken the whole "different guy stepping up every night" to a ridiculous extent. Rafer Alston (Rafer Alston!) goes for 30, Luis Scola becomes a machine, Battier shuts down Kobe, Mutumbo plays like a man a quarter his age and some guy they sign to a 10 day contract scores 14 points in the fourth quarter of a close game. They haven't even had Carl Landry either. He was one guy I could point to as a big time up and comer and a reason for the streak. It's like it doesn't matter who they put in..they just win.

That said, the Rockets were the most impressive team I've seen all year. The way they suffocated the Wizards, a team that doesn't have trouble scoring, was unlike anything I've seen in a while. The Rockets seem to be one of the best examples I've seen of the sum of the whole being exponentially more than the sum of the parts.

Anyone watch the Denver-Seattle game? Saw in ESPN that the Nuggets scored more than 160 in regulation. Even the pre-Shaq Suns wasn't able do that.

168-116. That just blows my mind for so many reasons. One, scoring 168 against a Juco team would be impressive. Insane that they could do that in regulation. Two, I can't believe this Nugget team remains on the outside of the Western playoff picture looking in. Still! In a 7 game series, I think I'd take them over anyone in the East. They're ridiculously difficult to defend. Just inconsistent. Three, does this mean this Sonics team goes on the list of worst defensive teams ever? Least we can make a case, right?

[dits]

And the dream is over. The key to the Rockets' success has been their defense and when faced with a better defense, they faltered.

[Commodore]

[Greywolf2375]

And the dream is over. The key to the Rockets' success has been their defense and when faced with a better defense, they faltered.

no, the dream isn't over, just the streak. In their last 23 games they're still 22-1 - not too shabby. They saw what worked against them - C's defense on McGrady was impressive and no one else stepped up like they had in the previous games.

New game tonight against NO - start a new streak against a quality team. See if you guys can figure out what to do with Paul aside from take a tire iron to his knee....

Course...really happy to see the C's come back from a hug deficit last night, win a close one and come through in a big way. Definitely no hangover from the previous night. Texas trip was supposed to be telling and so far it is. Got a day to regroup and then into Dallas - weird to say this, but I'm hoping they can keep focused on that game and not be peeking around the corner to NO as well.

[Jaime L]

Quietly, the Pistons, and not so quietly, the Celtics, have been racking up big wins over cream of the crop Western powers. Think those two teams have differentiated themselves from the rest of the Eastern Conference as being at least Western Conference worthy. Seems like whenever a Western Conference team makes it through the battles against other Western conference teams and thinks it has a break on a roadtrip East only to get walloped by the Pistons on their first stop. :Last night they "held" the Nuggets to 120, and scored 136 themselves. Pistons are sneaky good on offense. Brutally efficient and, grudgingly I admit, a contender.

Course...really happy to see the C's come back from a hug deficit last night, win a close one and come through in a big way. Definitely no hangover from the previous night. Texas trip was supposed to be telling and so far it is. Got a day to regroup and then into Dallas - weird to say this, but I'm hoping they can keep focused on that game and not be peeking around the corner to NO as well.

For the Celtics, beating the Spurs and Rockets back to back without Allen is impressive. Always pads the resume beating the defending champs and a team on a 22 game win streak. If they can beat the Mavericks, they'll have accomplished the rarest thing in the NBA, a sweep of Texas.

Also, the Spurs recent slide means they're now in 6th, occupying the panic spot that the Suns just vacated by their recent streak. In the Western Conference, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.

[Dirk Llama]

If they can beat the Mavericks, they'll have accomplished the rarest thing in the NBA, a sweep of Texas.

Has that even happened this decade?

Seriously, though, this Celtics team... It's remarkable. Really. Last year, the good teams could half-ass it against the Celtics and then just turn on the gas late and come out with a win. I remember some of my fellow Celtics fans always pointing that "Oh, but they had the lead until (whenever) in the fourth quarter." as a positive sign. But, shit that's what happens with bad teams. They lose games in the fourth quarter because talent usually wins out in basketball. It's not like baseball where the fucking wind can change a game.. To go from the shit the last few years to this right here, that's happening right now?

Danny Ainge deserves some fucking recognition for that. The man was patient. Got bashed in the press, repeatedly. People in the media said he was worse than Isaiah at one point. Seriously, I'm a Celtics fan, we remember that shit. I criticized the man, too. I always thought his half in/half out rebuilding plan (trade all the vets except Pierce, the most valuable one) was going to fuck the franchise over. He did (talked about it after the Garnett trade), in fact, try to trade Pierce/Pick to Portland for 3 (to pick Chris Paul)/Nick Van Exel (whose option would have been declined for cap space)/Travis Outlaw in '05. They talked about pretty intensely, shit, it almost happened (some of the rumor sites had it as a done deal). He wasn't going to take less than full value for Pierce. I can respect that. He's always been a pretty decent GM.

I'm losing my point. He inherited a roster of Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams, Tony Delk, J.R. Bremer, Kedrick Brown, Tony Battie, Walter McCarty, Shammond Williams, Vin Baker, Grant Long, Bimbo Coles and Bruno Sundov. Kept Paul Pierce and turned that out of the league bunch of scrubs into Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Tony Allen, Eddie House, James Posey, Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, Gabe Pruitt the white guys. Dude drafted Al Jefferson, too, a 20/10 guy. It's really a pretty nice job.

[Greywolf2375]

For the Celtics, beating the Spurs and Rockets back to back without Allen is impressive. Always pads the resume beating the defending champs and a team on a 22 game win streak. If they can beat the Mavericks, they'll have accomplished the rarest thing in the NBA, a sweep of Texas.

Done. They didn't run away with it, but they're showing some impressive work against the West. Being able to come back, winning the close ones against the west elite as the visiting team, really starting to get to the point where I'm gonna be disappointed if #17 isn't hanging from the rafters.

As long as Allens ankles can handle the stress, gotta like how they are looking.

[Jaime L]

Has that even happened this decade?

Heard the last team to do it was the 2001 Kings. Ain't that something? Means no Eastern Conference Team has done it, probably since Jordan played and the Mavs sucked.

Done. They didn't run away with it, but they're showing some impressive work against the West. Being able to come back, winning the close ones against the west elite as the visiting team, really starting to get to the point where I'm gonna be disappointed if #17 isn't hanging from the rafters.

They been impressive as of late, no question. Couldn't tell if they were for real based on the early season run. Could've easily just been a case of beating the snot out of the east during their honeymoon. They then struggled for a bit, among other things getting swept in a home and home against *cough* the Wizards...but have come back with a fury this month. What's telling is they've been grinding down very Western Conference good teams with their defense. That speaks well for a team that's going to have to get by the Pistons to get their shot at the Western Conference. Think just about everyone is pulling for 'em to do so.

[BLU-RAY]

JL, word is (and by "word", I mean Gus Johnson) that the Pistons really don't like Flip much, and might be having internal issues from that. Also that they don't D up as well as they did in the Ben Wallace heyday.

[Jaime L]

JL, word is (and by "word", I mean Gus Johnson) that the Pistons really don't like Flip much, and might be having internal issues from that. Also that they don't D up as well as they did in the Ben Wallace heyday.

This would please me. I can buy it. I mean I don't think 'Sheed's ever been a fan of Flip. The chance for a meltdown does exist, God willing. And I agree with you the defense is far less intimidating than than it was circa 2004-2005.

I'd argue though that they've made up for it by becoming the toughest team in the league mentally. Billups, Hamilton and Prince are like machines. And they're more efficient offensively than they've been without the offensive blackhole that is Big Ben. They're not as good as they were at their peak, but they still have the second best record in the game and what concerns me is the only teams that have shown an ability to get past them have all had that dominant superstar who flat takes over games. I'm hoping the talent and veteran savvy can accomplish the same end.

[aeu]

So, I was listening to a sports station on my way today and out of nowhere starts this discussion about whether the playoff race in the West is better than the NCAA Tournament. Apparently Sccop Jackson wrote an article defending this. Judging by the interest in these boards (and in RL), not many people agree with him. Besides, Scoop is a tool anyways so it's more than likely that he's wrong.

Having said that, HAVE YOU PEOPLE SEEN THE BACK-TO-BACKS BETWEEN LAKERS AND WARRIORS? 2 great games in two nights... First one ended on a last second shot, with Kobe hitting unbelivable shots down the strech, only to have Stephen Jackson matching him 3 for 3...Second game went to overtime...The intensity, the drama, the stakes (top spot for Lakers, playoff berth for Warriors), the fact that same teams played back-to-back...Not only it was playoffs in regular season, but it was waay better than many past playoffs. Some (not so random) observations:

- Kobe is making a strong case for MVP and actually made me change my mind. He deserves it. He tends to take too many shots from time to time (though he improved a lot on that front), but he definitely brings it when it matters. Lakers clinging to the top spot in the crazy West, with the amount of injuries they had, is unbelivable.

They lost their top 3 inside players. Currently the active roster includes only 2 big men: Playing all the minutes is Ronnie Turiaf (who is extremely likable, but should be at best the 4th-5th big guy in the rotation for a top team). He is backed up by DJ Mbenga (or something like that, who probably shouldn't even be in the league.) They still smack a team like Utah on the road and Utah pretty much never loses at home. It would be very very interesting to see how Gasol and Bynum will do when they come back. I guess they would have lost a bit from their previous levels (actually, Bynum would probably have lost a lot), but the way the rest of this team is playing, whatever those two can add might just be enough.

- Remember all that talk about Suns playoff chances being in danger? It seems like a distant memory now. Turns out the Shaq trade wasn't the one that backfired big time. Which brings us to:

- Really sad about Nowitzki, hate to see anyone have an injury like that, but I don't know how much of an effect it had on the playoff picture. Kidd trade was just not working out for them. They couldn't beat any team that's halfway decent since the trade. They might have clinched to a 7th-8th spot, but they would be a longshot to get out of the first round. Now that Dirk is gone, it would be hard to hold off GS and Nuggets. Only thing in their favor is that there is almost no time left and everybody has a crazy hard schedule rest of the way. If they can steal a game or two, they might just sneak into the playoffs. But it will be best for everybody (including them) if they didn't.

- Boston is really, really good. So is Detroit. For all the talk about the crazy tight Western Confernece, those two has to be the biggest favourites right now. West has upside (Lakers will get injured players back, Suns seem to be getting used to each other and improving, you would think San Antonio will step up in the playoffs yet again) but as of right now, East seems to have the edge in favourites.

[Exa Inova]

As long as Allens ankles can handle the stress, gotta like how they are looking.

Thats why I dont like Ray leading the team in minutes per game. WTF is Doc thinking?

AEU wrote:

So, I was listening to a sports station on my way today and out of nowhere starts this discussion about whether the playoff race in the West is better than the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA basketball sucks.

Remember all that talk about Suns playoff chances being in danger? It seems like a distant memory now. Turns out the Shaq trade wasn't the one that backfired big time.

They still need to play some D. Trusting Raja's and Hill's ankles to do the job is a hell of a risk.

Really sad about Nowitzki, hate to see anyone have an injury like that, but I don't know how much of an effect it had on the playoff picture. Kidd trade was just not working out for them.

For Kidd to be effective the Mavs need to run. That means Avery has to let them run and not over coach every possession.

Kidd cant shoot. They knew this all along. What he can do is push the ball and create easy baskets for offensively challenged players like Dampier. Just think about a standard fast break of Kidd running the point, Howard and Terry on the wings, Damp charging to the middle and Nowitzki pulling up for a 3 from the top. Thats what you want if you got Kidd and not Avery slowing shit up

Boston is really, really good. So is Detroit. For all the talk about the crazy tight Western Confernece, those two has to be the biggest favourites right now. West has upside (Lakers will get injured players back, Suns seem to be getting used to each other and improving, you would think San Antonio will step up in the playoffs yet again) but as of right now, East seems to have the edge in favourites.

Totally agree. Those 2 teams own the west.

[Greywolf2375]

Thats why I dont like Ray leading the team in minutes per game. WTF is Doc thinking?

They still need to play some D. Trusting Raja's and Hill's ankles to do the job is a hell of a risk.

Totally agree. Those 2 teams own the west.

Going to be interesting if those teams do meet up in the finals - could be a contest of whose ankles can support their teams enough. Will Allen hold up, will Hill have a bout of injury that has plagued his career?

I think the C's have a very telling game coming up. They smoked the Suns last night, and have NO coming to town tomorrow. It would still only count as one more in the W column, but beating them now will be an equalizer just like beating the Suns was last night. They need this one before going on a relatively easy stretch in the schedule that hopefully will get them to 60 wins.

[Exa Inova]

Going to be interesting if those teams do meet up in the finals - could be a contest of whose ankles can support their teams enough. Will Allen hold up, will Hill have a bout of injury that has plagued his career?

I think the C's have a very telling game coming up. They smoked the Suns last night, and have NO coming to town tomorrow. It would still only count as one more in the W column, but beating them now will be an equalizer just like beating the Suns was last night. They need this one before going on a relatively easy stretch in the schedule that hopefully will get them to 60 wins.

Am I right that NO is the only team the C's havent beaten?

I´ll bet they´ll (C´s') go all out to beat them. After that they'll give their stars as much rest as possible without risking losing their groove. The bench guys will get plenty of minutes.

Looking at their schedule they should get 7 wins at least which should give them 63w's for the season.

[Jaime L]

So, I was listening to a sports station on my way today and out of nowhere starts this discussion about whether the playoff race in the West is better than the NCAA Tournament. Apparently Sccop Jackson wrote an article defending this. Judging by the interest in these boards (and in RL), not many people agree with him. Besides, Scoop is a tool anyways so it's more than likely that he's wrong.

Having said that, HAVE YOU PEOPLE SEEN THE BACK-TO-BACKS BETWEEN LAKERS AND WARRIORS? 2 great games in two nights... First one ended on a last second shot, with Kobe hitting unbelivable shots down the strech, only to have Stephen Jackson matching him 3 for 3...Second game went to overtime...The intensity, the drama, the stakes (top spot for Lakers, playoff berth for Warriors), the fact that same teams played back-to-back...Not only it was playoffs in regular season, but it was waay better than many past playoffs. Some (not so random) observations:

- Kobe is making a strong case for MVP and actually made me change my mind. He deserves it. He tends to take too many shots from time to time (though he improved a lot on that front), but he definitely brings it when it matters. Lakers clinging to the top spot in the crazy West, with the amount of injuries they had, is unbelivable.

They lost their top 3 inside players. Currently the active roster includes only 2 big men: Playing all the minutes is Ronnie Turiaf (who is extremely likable, but should be at best the 4th-5th big guy in the rotation for a top team). He is backed up by DJ Mbenga (or something like that, who probably shouldn't even be in the league.) They still smack a team like Utah on the road and Utah pretty much never loses at home. It would be very very interesting to see how Gasol and Bynum will do when they come back. I guess they would have lost a bit from their previous levels (actually, Bynum would probably have lost a lot), but the way the rest of this team is playing, whatever those two can add might just be enough.

I feel like you're our board's own Lakers correspondent, Aeu. It's your local team, but you're not so in love with them that you become biased.

- Boston is really, really good. So is Detroit. For all the talk about the crazy tight Western Confernece, those two has to be the biggest favourites right now. West has upside (Lakers will get injured players back, Suns seem to be getting used to each other and improving, you would think San Antonio will step up in the playoffs yet again) but as of right now, East seems to have the edge in favourites.

It is strange how Boston and Detroit are having their way with the West. There's increasingly a feeling that the two best teams at the moment are actually back East. Kinda like 2006, but even that year I don't think most people would've put Detroit and Miami at the very top. Don't think we've seen this since '96-'98 when the West was the better conference, but they never won any titles because of Jordan.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

As good as Boston and Detroit are I´d suspect that the situation really favors them against good western teams. They pretty much locked their seeds couple months ago and after that it´s easier to play as you don´t have so much pressure. The western teams on the other hand are fighting to the end. Good example of the situation is Houston´s last 10 days. They got the 1st seed then lost 3 of 4 and dropped to 5th and now after 2 wins are back to 2nd.

[aeu]

They still need to play some D. Trusting Raja's and Hill's ankles to do the job is a hell of a risk.

Definitely. Steve Nash situation is especially worrisome. He was never a good (or maybe not even average) defender to begin with but nowadays, he is getting dominated routinely.

Another thing is and it's very hard to explain this, something just seems off about Nash. Not really about his play or stats, but general demeanor and body language. He was always quite intense, but I always got the impression that he's really enjoying this, playing with enthusiasm. All this year though, he just doesn't look happy to me. I don't know if it's the turmoil with the Marion / Amare bickering situation, effects from last years exit, injuries catching up to him or what.

But whenever I see him, he just gives that vibe that he's cranky and in a bad mood all the time. He seems like a man dutifully doing his job but not not necessarily doing it with passion or enjoying it. And all of a sudden, he seems much older. Dunno if that all made sense, or even if it's true at all, it's just a feeling I get.

I feel like you're our board's own Lakers correspondent, Aeu. It's your local team, but you're not so in love with them that you become biased.

It took some time, but I learned to appreciate the Lakers. Who knows, maybe I could have even liked them at some point, but unfortunately for our relationship, we ran out of time. If all goes as planned, I'm moving to to DC pretty soon. Those Wizards better lock up Arenas this off season.

[Rhom]

All this talk of great teams in the east... and then there's this story that the owner of the Knicks wants to keep Isiah on the sidelines even after hiring Walsh to run the franchise...

Is this man certifiable or just dumb?

[dits]

Dallas looks to be in big doodoo. This game with Denver is one they had to win and now they have the Nugs breathing even closer down their necks. Plus with Dirk gone indefinitely, looks like Dallas might miss the playoffs.

[Exa Inova]

Wow.

The play offs start in 2 weeks or so and this thread is on page 6.

So short update than with a few random thoughts:

Denver holds on to 8th and defeats NO in the first round. NO gets manhandled.

Dallas does SA (or is this a movie? NCFOM)

Suns steal a game in LA. Shaq commits a flagrant on Bryant but LA does um in in 6 (reason: Nash cant guard his own shadow and PJ will punish him by going with Bryant and Odom at the guard position, Vlad, Turiaf and Gasol make 5. The put a few fouls on Nash and the Suns' offence breaks down. Also Bryant will drive, drive and drive again, I mean, who can stop him?)

Utah beats Rockets after rockets blow a 2-0 lead.

East.

Celtics massacre the Hawks and get sued by pita

Pistons take care of Toronto (businesslike)

Philly will shock Orlando

I'm uncertain about the Cavs-Wiz. I dont like the Cavs chemistry and the Wiz are very injury prone and cant stop the King. Probably Cavs in 6.