NBA

[Arakasi]

Not like SA was the main threat to the Lakers anyway. They've been limping along even when Manu was playing well. I do wonder if rushing him back quickly caused this injury.

[Biter]

So, will LeBron get his first MVP this year?

Here are some current stats:

Rebounds:
1. Howard: 1036 (probable fourth consecutive season as rebound leader)

Assists:
1. Paul: 791 (probable second consecutive season as assist leader)
6. Wade: 570
7. James: 558

Steals:
1. Paul: 204
2. Wade: 172
6. James: 132

Blocks:
1. Howard: 218
15. (tie with Shaq) Wade: 102
20. (tie with Dampier) James: 91

Points:
1. Wade: 2268
2. James: 2190
3. Bryant: 2082

Offensive rating:
1. Gasol: 125.7
2. Paul: 124.3
6. James: 121.2

Defensive rating:
1. Howard: 94.4
3. James: 98.8
18. Paul: 102.9

Player efficiency rating:
1. James: 31.6
2. Wade: 30.1
3. Paul: 29.8

[Biter]

I know that I'm overly focused on stats, since I have no way of watching the games. But even just from media coverage, I got the feeling that this is LeBron's year.

[Arakasi]

It's Lebron easily. Wade has fallen off recently (as has his team) and well you can say the same for the Lakers. Kobe isn't playing very well recently.

[Exa Inova]

Maybe they'll do it just like they did a few years ago with Nowitski. wait until the first round is over to crown the season MVP.

Bron would be my choice also. Wade got miami into the play offs but they didnt overachieve and Kobe didnt really improve his team over last years performance even with a whole year with Gasol.

Anyhow, just a few weeks to check if we know a little about NBA basketball or if we're just raving loons like everybody else.

[Commodore]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1752074' date='Apr 10 2009, 23.36']Portland beats LA again in Portland. Eight in a row. It's a beautiful thing. Portland is playing very well heading down the stretch. 2nd youngest team in the league is over 50 wins.[/quote]


If Portland winds up in the 4/5 spot, that could be a very interesting 2nd round series with the Lakers.

[Arakasi]

As long as Houston isn't the other team in the 4/5 spot. Portland plays horribly against them.

[Arakasi]

Crazy what Orlando has done down the stretch. They had the 2 seed in their sights and then lost to Toronto, the Knicks and Jersey. Games that for no reason should they lose.

Also Utah and NO look to me to be one and dones for sure. Dallas if they can win today can move up to 6th, which should set up a possible instate matchup with Houston.

[Commodore]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1752896' date='Apr 12 2009, 12.55']Crazy what Orlando has done down the stretch. They had the 2 seed in their sights and then lost to Toronto, the Knicks and Jersey. Games that for no reason should they lose.

Also Utah and NO look to me to be one and dones for sure. Dallas if they can win today can move up to 6th, which should set up a possible instate matchup with Houston.[/quote]

Dallas has been looking solid lately, I wouldn't want to face them in the first round.

[url="http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/injured_manu_ginobili_only"]The Onion[/url] has an interesting report on Ginobli:

[quote]SAN ANTONIO—Having returned Tuesday after missing 19 games with an ankle injury, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili expressed frustration with his level of play, saying that his ability to draw offensive fouls by flopping to the floor with little or no provocation was still only at "about 85 percent." "The ankle is healthy, but my flailing and splaying still aren't where they need to be," said Ginobili, who has begun to practice windmilling his arms and falling backward during shoot-arounds. "I'm used to throwing myself 10, sometimes 12 feet down court. At this point, I'm lucky if I'm getting 8 on a good flop. My wailing is good, but I need to be hitting the floor a lot harder than the guy hit me, if I was hit. I can't catch myself with my hands like I did in the second quarter tonight. That was bush league." Ginobili then flung himself out of the locker room, slid backward onto a bus, and tumbled wildly into his suburban home.[/quote]

[Commodore]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1753096' date='Apr 12 2009, 17.48']Portland is the second youngest team in the league for God's sake. Anything they can get done in the playoffs this year will be great but the future is so bright it's amazing.[/quote]

Just imagine if they had drafted Durant instead of Oden.

[Arakasi]

[quote name='Commodore' post='1753104' date='Apr 12 2009, 19.02']Just imagine if they had drafted Durant instead of Oden.[/quote]

Wouldn't have helped them that much. Durant is a wing player with length. How many of those do they have already? Roy, Outlaw and Aldridge are all good wing players. It would have been a position they are already loaded at and probably would have forced a trade. Now Oden isn't great yet, but he is good and improving. It's still too early too make a case that Durant is better than Oden. He is now, but in 2-3 years? Don't know. I'm not betting on it.

Jon Barry is really annoying me, as is Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy's going off on random crap during his games makes me long for the TNT crew or for Hubie Brown, who is really excellent.

Barry's hard on for Boston is getting old too. I love how he goes on and on about how good they are on the road, and never seems to bring up that last postseason they could not win in Atlanta or Cleveland. His fanboism for Boston and anti Cleveland thing is getting tiring.

[Arakasi]

The main point is that Durant is not the type of player Portland needs. Now sure maybe they could have traded him or someone else for an improvement at point or down low, but wing players who can shoot is something Portland has tons of. They without Durant are the best offensive team in the league when you take pace into account. Their issue is they can't guard people, something that Oden is way better at than Durant. Oden's main issue now is staying out of foul trouble. Once he can do that better, he should progress quicker.

[Commodore]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1753150' date='Apr 12 2009, 20.23']The main point is that Durant is not the type of player Portland needs. Now sure maybe they could have traded him or someone else for an improvement at point or down low, but wing players who can shoot is something Portland has tons of. They without Durant are the best offensive team in the league when you take pace into account. Their issue is they can't guard people, something that Oden is way better at than Durant. Oden's main issue now is staying out of foul trouble. Once he can do that better, he should progress quicker.[/quote]

There is no team in the league that doesn't need a player like Durant.

Oden is a poor man's Ben Wallace, and that's all he'll ever be, at best as good as Big Ben.

The guy has no offensive game at all.

[Commodore]

The refs just gave a game to San Antonio. They let Finley get away with a go ahead three after a blatant shot click violation with 1 second left in the game. It wasn't even close.

It may cost the Blazers home court advantage and the Rockets the division title. Sad.

[Arakasi]

Well if Oden does turn out to be as good as Ben, who is one of the best defenders in the history of the NBA and pretty much was one of the main reasons Detroit won a title, than that wouldn't be too bad at all. But seriously Triskle is right, their offensive games are far different. Wallace is like a 40% free throw shooter and is pretty much afraid to touch the ball. Oden is unpolished for sure but he is showing signs of being a 20/10 guy in this league who dominates defensively, whenever he learns to stay out of foul trouble.

Durant gets the benefit of being on a crappy team. Call it crappy team syndrome or whatever you want, but guess what, even for mediocre teams someone has to score the ball. Durants numbers will drop a bit once he gets more help on that team, just like Jordan's did once the Bulls got good. Not to say he isn't a very good player, but I don't see how he would be of that much help to Portland unless they used him being there to make a trade. They are really clogged on the wings and are a bad defensive team.

Oh and looking at ESPN's site on their mvp ballots, ugh I hate the people who don't have Paul in their top 3, much less top 5. Sorry Howard you're good but you take too many nights off. Getting dominated in successive games by Brook Lopez and David Lee hardly screams MVP to me. Sorry Kobe your numbers are down and you're surrounded by the best supporting cast of any of the contenders plus a 1a to his 1 in Pau. Which to me leaves the only 3 possibilities as Lebron, Paul and Wade. Not sure what order those last two should go in after James wins, but either works for me. But any ballot without those 3 at the top is just wrong. (which leaves Chad Ford as the only guy on that site I agreed with)

[Arakasi]

Oh and one more thing. Stay classy Ray Allen. :thumbsdown:

[ZANNI_1276]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1753539' date='Apr 13 2009, 14.39']Oh and one more thing. Stay classy Ray Allen. :thumbsdown:[/quote]

What a douchebag huh?? I love Allen's quote "Yeah it was dirty, dirty when he hooked his arm and through me on the floor". Pleas note Ray Allen never mentions hitting Anderson in the balls/nutsack/family jewels, quite intentionally BTW and what may honestly be the biggest NANCY move I have seen in sports outside of a soccer match....It was nice that ABC kept showing Andy mouth the word "BITCH" to allen. I don't think anyone in the WNBA would pull something like that! :rofl:

On a side note it was delicious watching the Celtics lose by 30+ points, I don't care who was hurt, not playing or whatever, it made my Easter Pie that much sweeter, the sky bluer, the chocolate rabitts chocolatier...
BTW - People dog on the CAVS about not winning on the road, shit, I think the Celtics are worse...Jon Barry flies to every Boston game and personally showers, dries and massages each member of the CELTS (stress the [i]member [/i] part)

I find it ironic that the biggest "bully" type of team (ehhmmm KG vs Calderon or anyone under 6') does nothing but whine when they get served a big, steamy pile of shit they love to hand out...They all were complaining (even the Boston Media to Stern today in press confernce :rolleyes:) about the cavs dancing before the end regulation/the beatdown yesterday and how classless it was. Funny coming from the Celtics who when they are blowing people out at home they do the same routine during the BEE GEES "you should be dancing". THEY. Do. THE. EXACT. SAME. THING.
HEY BOSTON - You like apples....How about them apples!!!
God, i can't wait for the playoffs....

[Arakasi]

I don't know why, but Boston teams love to show the disrespect card. Its tiring in football and its just as annoying with the Celtics.

[ZANNI_1276]

[quote name='Arakasi' post='1753619' date='Apr 13 2009, 15.27']I don't know why, but Boston teams love to show the disrespect card. Its tiring in football and its just as annoying with the Celtics.[/quote]

True that my friend. This DISRESPECT card has become about as tiresome as Adam Sandler's comedies. Been there. Done that. No one cares anymore. Unless people start calling each others mothers names publicly and tossing racial slurs at eachother I have lost interest in the whole DISRESPECT genre of motivation/revenge... But for some reason these chowder heads get thier rocks off on it, perhaps it is a need to overcompensate.
And brother did they ever get disrespected yesterday on national TV.
When Rivers called that Time Out in the First quarter I thought he was going to stroke out. He was so mad he couldn't patch coherrent words together, then he had to wear the stupid mic. AHH, He is a better man than me because I would have pitched that mic into fourth row and then would have rained F-bombs galore on that group of no effort slackers (at least that is how they played yesterday).

(FINE PRINT NOTE: of course I do not want racial slurs...just an example)

Here is an interesting ?
Where does CP3 finish in the balloting for MVP, i think it was brushed on earlier but I put him ahead of Howard...This is the toughest year for the MVP. You can make a case for LBJ and Kobe but the second group in consideration are f^ing awsome - Paul and Wade be dead even? How would you rank the top 5 vote getters, I am talking 2009 MVP award, not the great debate who is better than whom.
Mine would look like this...
1. LBJ
2. Kobe
3 TIE - Wade and Paul (this isn't a cop out - i think both get the nod for thier herculean efforts)
4. Billups
5. Howard

[Ser Kevan]

The Oden/Durant subject is so tiresome. The Blazers have already met all expectation anyone I know had for the team at the start of the season. I'm proud Portland has the coolest team in the NBA. Nate really should be coach of the year. Even though Portland does not match up well with Houston, they still have a good chance of beating them in 6 or 7 games, more so if Yaos foot gives out like it does so often and he sits out a couple games. The Blazers can beat any other team in the west, even the Lakers...yes I said it.