NBA

[Arakasi]

Cavs are very susceptible it seems on the road against top teams that can take LBJ out of his game for them to go in a tailspin and choke. It's happened a lot of times, but the Cavs better either lock up home court or find some way to change their game plan or it will keep happening.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1711702' date='Mar 7 2009, 17.30']Cavs are very susceptible it seems on the road against top teams that can take LBJ out of his game for them to go in a tailspin and choke. It's happened a lot of times, but the Cavs better either lock up home court or find some way to change their game plan or it will keep happening.[/quote]
LeBron still can´t shoot from outside or post-up effectively. Therefore Cavs are in trouble against good defensive teams. They´re not gonna win this year.

[Arakasi]

He can post up pretty well, it is just that when inside he is going to be inevitably double teamed. I wonder why they don't just have LBJ act more like Chris Paul when teams decide to play him like that. Act as a floor general and just space things out and become more of a jump shooting team. Not exactly ideal but with their defense that is still a pretty good combo. Mo, Z, Gibson occasionally, West and Z are all quality range shooters. Of course he can try jacking up a bunch of 3s, but since he is such a streak shooter that is pretty much asking to lose if he has an off night.

Just too many games he gets forced out of the paint and then goes on his shooting outside. Which inevitably kills them unless he is hot. There has to be some third option besides jacking up long range shots or becoming a better range shooter (which I'm sure he'll improve at some point) that they can do now.

[Commodore]

That hesitation move D-Williams does is blatant carrying. It gives him a huge advantage over the defender.

[Arakasi]

Nice summary here of the awful trades the Suns have done recently.

[url="http://valleyofthesuns.com/2009/03/09/lottery-here-we-dont-come/"]http://valleyofthesuns.com/2009/03/09/lott...e-we-dont-come/[/url]

Kurt Thomas and 2 first rounders for a scrub and a second rounder is the worst of the lot.

Sweet game last night, well unless you're a bulls fan. Wade was just unreal.

[Dio]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1715464' date='Mar 10 2009, 14.48']Nice summary here of the awful trades the Suns have done recently.

[url="http://valleyofthesuns.com/2009/03/09/lottery-here-we-dont-come/"]http://valleyofthesuns.com/2009/03/09/lott...e-we-dont-come/[/url]

Kurt Thomas and 2 first rounders for a scrub and a second rounder is the worst of the lot.

Sweet game last night, well unless you're a bulls fan. Wade was just unreal.[/quote]
Yeah, I linked a Bill Simmons article last year on this subject. It was just as painful to read as this one.

[Exa Inova]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1711895' date='Mar 7 2009, 22.34']He can post up pretty well, it is just that when inside he is going to be inevitably double teamed. I wonder why they don't just have LBJ act more like Chris Paul when teams decide to play him like that. Act as a floor general and just space things out and become more of a jump shooting team. Not exactly ideal but with their defense that is still a pretty good combo. Mo, Z, Gibson occasionally, West and Z are all quality range shooters. Of course he can try jacking up a bunch of 3s, but since he is such a streak shooter that is pretty much asking to lose if he has an off night.

Just too many games he gets forced out of the paint and then goes on his shooting outside. Which inevitably kills them unless he is hot. There has to be some third option besides jacking up long range shots or becoming a better range shooter (which I'm sure he'll improve at some point) that they can do now.[/quote]
LBJ can post up decently. Not great.
problem is that this result in what you discribed, it turns the Cavs into a jumpshooting team. In a sense they already are but what they need is another player to command double teaming in the post so Bron can cut to the basket and finish or dish. Because in this scenario the defending team is already out of position due to the initial double teaming, after the second (or third) dish they can get any shot they want.

Come play off time it would be interesting to see which team will start double teaming James from the catch like the celts did with Johnson in the Atlanta series. I think that Altanta coped better this tactic than the Cavs will, mostly because their bigs have game and are mutch more athletic.

On the Suns:
I regret not posting this because it would have been a nice prediction (not a very difficult one but a valid prediction none the less) but I saw the Suns Lakers game which they won. in that game they showed their schedule for the next 5-7 games or so and I thought to myself they would be very lucky to win even 1. It showed their schedule until the they play the Cavs. So far they lost all, although I gave them a chance against Dallas because it was a home game against their most important rival at this time. Im quite sure they'll lose to the Cavs too before they can pick up things against the likes of Oklahoma, Philly, Washington and GS. After that they'll probably lose 4 in a row against Denver, Portland and twice against Utah.


Ive noticed a rather sad trend in myself. I dont care about eastern conference team below the top 3 because I dont think they matter. Rationally I know that a team like Detroit or Miami with Wade can be dangerous but in a 7 game series....
in the west its (of course) different. Any team of the first 9 can lose to each other. In a play off series not even the almighty Lakers should or would take the number 8 seed lightly.

[AutumnEvenings]

[quote name='Exa Inova' post='1715990' date='Mar 11 2009, 04.05']Ive noticed a rather sad trend in myself. I dont care about eastern conference team below the top 3 because I dont think they matter. Rationally I know that a team like Detroit or Miami with Wade can be dangerous but in a 7 game series....
in the west its (of course) different. Any team of the first 9 can lose to each other. In a play off series not even the almighty Lakers should or would take the number 8 seed lightly.[/quote]
This from the man who was telling me two months ago that my Jazz could count the season as a loss. :P

It's true though, and it's kind of scary. At this point, I think Phoenix is out, at four games behind Dallas. So now (except for LA, but I'm gonna include San Antonio), we're fighting for home court. Utah's got the Division (and therefore a lock on one of the top four) by half a game. It's ridiculous--if we lose (possible--Atlanta away after Indiana last night) and Portland wins (probable--Dallas in Portland), we lose that and drop and if Denver wins (extremely probable) tonight, I think that puts us just half a game ahead of [i]them[/i]. Not to mention Houston (might beat the Lakers) and New Orleans (should beat Washington). The whole thing is insane. One off night could knock you down 2-3 spots. And every team knows that. It's very intense, to say the least.

I'm feeling great about my Jazz though. We've done well on this road-trip so far, though the last three games (Atlanta, Orlando, Miami) are the toughest. Then Washington and Houston come here. We were at the Houston game last week--crazy loud good times. They'll be coming here [i]angry[/i], that's for sure. We still have a lot of tough games ahead of us though. I really hope we can hold on to our Division. I also kinda think it might be better for us to play in the LA bracket than the SA one, even if that means finishing mildly worse.

[Commodore]

As a die-hard Rockets fan for 20 years, the only thing I hate in this world is the flopping, slapping, pushing, Jazz and their dickhead fans. D-Wil is the only player on that team I respect, the rest are just bitches.

Utah has had our number the past couple years, but our two rings will always trump.

[Exa Inova]

[code]This from the man who was telling me two months ago that my Jazz could count the season as a loss.[/code]

Im not sure if I said it like that but if I did [b]I was wrong [/b]to underestimate them*. I do know that I said that they have no chance of beating the Lakers and I still stand by that. The Lakers would have to work for it but it will take 6 games tops.

[quote]It's ridiculous--if we lose (possible--Atlanta away after Indiana last night) and Portland wins (probable--Dallas in Portland), we lose that and drop and if Denver wins (extremely probable) tonight, I think that puts us just half a game ahead of them. Not to mention Houston (might beat the Lakers) and New Orleans (should beat Washington).[/quote]
Well, you did lose to Atlanta, the Hornets and Nuggets did win but Portland lost to Dallas (bad news for Phx) so you're up .5 on Portland and the Nugs.
Yup, thats intense!

And oh, Dallas could jump to 5th very easily

[quote]As a die-hard Rockets fan for 20 years, the only thing I hate in this world is the flopping, slapping, pushing, Jazz and their dickhead fans. D-Wil is the only player on that team I respect, the rest are just bitches.[/quote]

No, I respect them and even kinda like them but talent always win out. Not that they are untalented, far from it, but Kobe and co are more talented. And since Sloan has them working close to 100% always, there's not much room to amp that effort level whereas the Lakers can gear it up.
As to their fans, their stadium is always rocking. As a viewer I always enjoy games better where the crowd is in it.
That what so disapointing about the LAkers now. It used to be bright and colourfull but nowadays it seems that the brightness and freshness is gone and the secondtier crowd rows are in the 'shade'. As if the celebs on the first row said the bright lights damaged their complexions or made them look ugly and exposed.

Example of a dull stadium for a top team is New Orleans.

On Houston being owned by Utah, you're similar teams only Utah is more talented, especially without a healthy T-Mac.
After you calmed down, Commodore, you will see that Im right! Like most of the time*

[Ector]

[quote name='Exa Inova' post='1717015' date='Mar 12 2009, 03.56'][code]This from the man who was telling me two months ago that my Jazz could count the season as a loss.[/code]

Im not sure if I said it like that but if I did [b]I was wrong [/b]to underestimate them*. I do know that I said that they have no chance of beating the Lakers and I still stand by that. The Lakers would have to work for it but it will take 6 games tops.


Well, you did lose to Atlanta, the Hornets and Nuggets did win but Portland lost to Dallas (bad news for Phx) so you're up .5 on Portland and the Nugs.
Yup, thats intense!

And oh, Dallas could jump to 5th very easily



No, I respect them and even kinda like them but talent always win out. Not that they are untalented, far from it, but Kobe and co are more talented. And since Sloan has them working close to 100% always, there's not much room to amp that effort level whereas the Lakers can gear it up.
As to their fans, their stadium is always rocking. As a viewer I always enjoy games better where the crowd is in it.
That what so disapointing about the LAkers now. It used to be bright and colourfull but nowadays it seems that the brightness and freshness is gone and the secondtier crowd rows are in the 'shade'. As if the celebs on the first row said the bright lights damaged their complexions or made them look ugly and exposed.

Example of a dull stadium for a top team is New Orleans.

On Houston being owned by Utah, you're similar teams only Utah is more talented, especially without a healthy T-Mac.
After you calmed down, Commodore, you will see that Im right! Like most of the time*[/quote]


Houston and Utah play nothing alike. Defensively, Rockets guard the three point and try to funnel driving guards toward Yao. Utah's defense relies on taking advantage of referees by pulling and flopping . As for offense, Utah plays at a much faster pace and none of the Jazz players require a double team, unlike the Rockets who run the offense through Yao because he demands a double/triple team. Utah does have the worst fans in the NBA. Its understandable since they approve of Sloan basketball, and thus have no concept of respectable behavior.

[lumer]

I have nothing new to add to this thread but this!

Go Jazz! As a fan for more than 10 years it's really fun to see them on the rise again. As a fan from more than 5000 km, I get a chance to see them play only in the playoffs, so I can't wait for the season to end!

[aeu]

El-Amin did play in Israel. He was pretty popular in Turkey for a while as well, he played really well for a team which has a big following.

I think he is somewhere in Eastern Europe now. Ukraine maybe?

[lumer]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1718131' date='Mar 13 2009, 01.52']Dude - Did Khalid el-Amin play for you guys? I know that he ended up in Israel after winning the national title at UConn. I thought that he played for "Mackabee" somebody...please correct me.

Sorry - My post was college-centric. Doron Sheffer sniffed the NBA.[/quote]

you are confused a bit... Maccabi Tel-Aviv is the biggest team in Israel, but he didn't play for them - he played for a minor team called Ramat-Gan in 02/03. was nice but not spectacular.

As for Sheffer, his is a weird story. He sniffed the NBA, but didn't actually get in. He plated a few years in Maccabi Tel-Aviv and together with another Israeli called Katash were one of the best back-court in europe at the time, let alone an all-Israeli one. However, somewhere in 02 he kinda... snapped, left his pregnant wife (or was it wife and infant?) to go to India to "look for himself". Came back to Hapeol Jerusalem (my team in Israel) in 03/04 all "holy" and shit, but still with some solid basket ball. After a shit year in 04/05 he started to really act up, retiring and returning from retirement almost every year, each time saying "basketball is a waste of time, I need to find true meaning" or "basketball is my true destiny, my love for the game is great". I think last year he retired for good, leaving a sour taste for an otherwise pretty good career as an Israeli basketball player.

[Commodore]

I've concluded that Artest is not a thug, he just has multiple screws loose and isn't all there. We need a lip reader to interpret [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1Lx51dEvI"]this trash talk[/url] between Tru Warrior and Black Mamba.

This is why Kobe is the hands down MVP by the way. Artest and Battier shut down LBJ completely, Kobe destroyed them both.

And what was Artest thinking talking trash to Kobe, as if he needs any more motivation.

EDIT: Someone found the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLh1ED8XxU"]lost audio[/url]! Funny stuff!

[dalThor]

86 year-old owner of the Pistons Bill Davidson has died. The article I read said he purchased the team for 7 million bucks in 1974, it's worth 300 million now. He's the guy who when Magic Johnson was drafted called up the Lakers and offered to trade "the whole team" for him. While not the Lions, the Pistons really sucked way back when. He turned them into a championship winning NBA powerhouse. (Oh if Bill Ford could take a couple of lessons from him.) He was always a class act and very highly respected.

A quote from the comments on the Channel 4 Detroit article:
[quote]As a sub-contractor to Guardian Industries, I fondly remember going to the Office of the hill above the Palaces on a hot summer day in 1999. Mr. D was out front with a Ice Cream Delivery Truck Handing out Ice Cream to his employees and he took the time and made the effort to see that my group of Techies and I had our pick of flavors.
Now tell me what Billionaire doe's that type of hands on with his employees or contractors???
He was a Class Act all the way. Detroit will be less without him…[/quote]

He will be missed. RIP

[Arakasi]

[quote name='Commodore' post='1719191' date='Mar 13 2009, 21.36']I've concluded that Artest is not a thug, he just has multiple screws loose and isn't all there. We need a lip reader to interpret [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1Lx51dEvI"]this trash talk[/url] between Tru Warrior and Black Mamba.

This is why Kobe is the hands down MVP by the way. Artest and Battier shut down LBJ completely, Kobe destroyed them both.

And what was Artest thinking talking trash to Kobe, as if he needs any more motivation.

EDIT: Someone found the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLh1ED8XxU"]lost audio[/url]! Funny stuff![/quote]

Put LBJ on LA with that surrounding cast and put Kobe on Cleveland with his cast and see how they'd do. It's like Barkley/Kenny said on Inside the NBA the other night. Kobe with the Cavs would get 50ish wins, LBJ would get 70 with the Lakers cast/coaching. There is no comparison, LBJ will be the MVP. We've seen what Kobe does on teams with mediocre/average supporting casts. Absolutely nothing. James got to the finals with a crap team. (although yes in the east, but still Kobe could never even get past Phoenix)

[add-on]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1719438' date='Mar 14 2009, 11.32']Put LBJ on LA with that surrounding cast and put Kobe on Cleveland with his cast and see how they'd do. It's like Barkley/Kenny said on Inside the NBA the other night. Kobe with the Cavs would get 50ish wins, LBJ would get 70 with the Lakers cast/coaching. There is no comparison, LBJ will be the MVP. We've seen what Kobe does on teams with mediocre/average supporting casts. Absolutely nothing. James got to the finals with a crap team. (although yes in the east, but still Kobe could never even get past Phoenix)[/quote]
I just want to say [i]one more time[/i] that what Kobe did on those mediocre Laker teams, he did [i]in the West[/i], during a time when the West was as dominant if not more dominant than it is now. Comparing what Kobe did during that time to what LeBron did/does in the East is disingenuous at best.


That said, I agree on the MVP. Other people are having stellar years, but it would be a travesty for anyone but James to get it. He's a more complete player, and he does more for his team. I'm always a bit surprised, frankly, to hear certain talking heads on ESPN offer up other names. This should be a no-brainer, IMO.

[Sir Thursday]

[quote name='add-on' post='1719467' date='Mar 14 2009, 17.14']That said, I agree on the MVP. Other people are having stellar years, but it would be a travesty for anyone but James to get it. He's a more complete player, and he does more for his team. I'm always a bit surprised, frankly, to hear certain talking heads on ESPN offer up other names. This should be a no-brainer, IMO.[/quote]

People have been touting Wade because he has been insane recently (EDIT: 50 & 10 today against the Jazz! Mind you, it did got to triple overtime), but over the course of the year what LeBron has accomplished is more impressive in my eyes too. Having said that, I read a piece a while back that looked at the Cavs-Heat matchup and said that Cavs won because LeBron's supporting cast was stronger than Wade's, so for that reason James deserved the MVP. Struck me as kind of counterintuitive.


Sir Thursday

[Arakasi]

[quote name='add-on' post='1719467' date='Mar 14 2009, 11.14']I just want to say [i]one more time[/i] that what Kobe did on those mediocre Laker teams, he did [i]in the West[/i], during a time when the West was as dominant if not more dominant than it is now. Comparing what Kobe did during that time to what LeBron did/does in the East is disingenuous at best.


That said, I agree on the MVP. Other people are having stellar years, but it would be a travesty for anyone but James to get it. He's a more complete player, and he does more for his team. I'm always a bit surprised, frankly, to hear certain talking heads on ESPN offer up other names. This should be a no-brainer, IMO.[/quote]

I'm not comparing the East versus the West. I am comparing Phoenix versus the East. It's not like in those years they had to go up against San Antonio. They were either not making the playoffs at all or getting beat by the Suns. Yes beating the West is obviously better than beating the East, but getting to the finals against SA two years ago with that team is way more impressive than the results Kobe got with the Lakers between Shaq leaving and ripping off the Griz. Of course if the accomplishments were similar you give it to the west because the conference is way stronger. But the accomplishments are not similar. LBJ took a crap team on his back to the finals, while Kobe either missed the playoffs or flamed out against the Suns.

It's the same silly argument that is going on in college hoops atm. Sorry but being 9th in the Big East or 6th in the Big 10 doesn't mean you're automatically better or more worthy than a champion of a smaller conference. (sorry Jay Bilas) You have to look at what they did, and Kobe during that time despite his stellar stats didn't get his team anywhere. And it's not like every team in the west was great. Heck even the Clippers finished ahead of the Lakers one of the two years they lost to the Suns.

(And yes I am saying that if LBJ was with that team those years they would have gotten better results than they did with Kobe, they would have made the playoffs more years or have gotten further in them.)