NBA 2011-2012 Season

[Guest]

Is it wrong that I am enjoying the Heat's implosion?

No. What is wrong is even questioning it. Embrace your hatred.

LeBron isn't some terrible human being or anything, but he made himself into a sports villain.

It wasn't just "The Decision" as ugly as that was. It was "The Decision" after totally quitting on Cleveland in the freaking playoffs and then that utterly ridiculous extravaganza in Miami with the "Not 3, not 4, not 5..." championship prediction nonsense.

Do not be ashamed to enjoy Miami's loss. Savor it. Wear it like a badge of honor.

[Morpheus]

Obviously Lebron's talent can't be denied, even if he appears to have some mental blocks that cause him to fail in big moments, and he clearly is not a terrible human being, even if he has a somewhat unearned boastfulness with the "King" moniker and all the unfulfilled guarantees, but he just rubs me the wrong way, even more so than players like Kobe or KG who are complete assholes. The Decision was handled poorly, I don't necessarily have a problem with his leaving Cleveland, just the way he did it was a giant "Fuck You". Anyway, yes his continued failure to get a ring is amusing.

Obviously with The Heat as a team, it is easy to hate an overloaded squad that walks around with a sense of entitlement while continually failing to deliver.

[Maithanet]

I understand the Lebron hate, but I don't subscribe to it. He is still fighting the Lakers/Celtics duopoly in the NBA, and for that I will forgive his other transgressions. The Decision and the subsequent celebration were really stupid, but I didn't watch it, so who really cares?

I think that the Pacers are well suited to beat this Heat team, and I expect that Miami is done. West/HIbbert are making mincemeat of the Heat Bigs, and without an inside presence the Heat have to be lethal from 3 point range to keep up. They aren't consistent enough from distance to do that.

If the Heat do lose to Indiana, I think they should consider trading Wade. Not becuase he isn't good, but because he is. He is still very good, and could get good value, but he doesn't fit on this team, and they have too much money invested in a few stars to succeed. Imagine a starting lineup of Chalmers, James, Battier, Bosh and say, Tyson Chandler. Obviously, that is a step down in terms of star power, but I think that team could be better than the current heat squad. Defensively they would be nasty and Chandler would allow so much more in his pick/roll + rebounding. Would the Knicks trade Wade for Chandler? I don't know (do they even have the cap room?) but something like that might be needed to kickstart this team.

[Morpheus]

I think far more likely than Chandler would be trading for Dwight Howard whom the Magic are expected to unload this off season.

The Knicks need Chandler.

[Morpheus]

oops, double post

[Maithanet]

I think far more likely than Chandler would be trading for Dwight Howard whom the Magic are expected to unload this off season.

The Knicks need Chandler.

I agree, the Knicks need Chandler, but enough to pass on D. Wade? I don't know. Regardless, I'm sure it won't happen.

The reason I chose Chandler and not Howard is becuase he is a good, but clearly non-elite NBA player. Wade for Howard is getting good value, and the Heat would obviously improve with him in the lineup. I think that if the Heat could get a good, rather than elite, center for Wade, it would still be worth it.

[Morpheus]

Well, i think Chandler for Wade is not enough value for the Heat honestly, Wade is elite, so there would have to be more, another player in addition to Chandler. But Melo, Mr. isolation, would not be a good fit with Lebron, and the Heat already passed on Amar'e before he came to the Knicks. I don't think Wade/Melo is a good fit either for the Knicks, they play different positions but both need to score.

As a Knicks fan, Chandler is the only one of their top three that I have faith in to do what he needs to do, he is not much of an offensive power, but he is a defensive beast, and he will give you that every game. Amar'e is probably broken for good, I don't expect him to ever get back to what he was when he first arrived in NY. Melo can score but I don't like his game and don't see him as a leader or a playermaker for the rest of the team. Really the Knicks need a good point guard.

[Former Lord of Winterfell]

No. What is wrong is even questioning it. Embrace your hatred. LeBron isn't some terrible human being or anything, but he made himself into a sports villain. It wasn't just "The Decision" as ugly as that was. It was "The Decision" after totally quitting on Cleveland in the freaking playoffs and then that utterly ridiculous extravaganza in Miami with the "Not 3, not 4, not 5..." championship prediction nonsense. Do not be ashamed to enjoy Miami's loss. Savor it. Wear it like a badge of honor.

I love you man.

[BLU-RAY]

Wade for Chandler would actually be a bad deal for the Knicks also. Just because you have three guys on your team who all averaged 25-30 points per game on their original teams doesn't mean they'll do that now: there simply aren't enough possessions in a game for all three of Amar'e, 'Melo, and Wade to maximize their potential. I think it would actually turn into a worse version of the current Heat squad, because at least Chalmers is a replacement-level PG who isn't a scorer first (last night notwithstanding); if the Knicks started Lin/Wade/Melo/Amar'e/Jorts or something, they would be a mess.

More iso players isn't the solution for the Knicks, and Wade is a guy who needs to have the ball.

[Commodore]

The new CBA makes it extremely difficult to win a title with 3 max players because the rest of your team is scrubs (unless you have players on rookie contracts or have an amazing scouting department that can find cheap contributors ala the Spurs). Miami and LAL are finding this out.

OKC will find it out next summer when Harden and Ebaka's contracts are up.

It's impossible for Miami to add anyone to the big 3 in free agency, and no one wants their other players. They have to trade one of the big 3. And not for another max player, then you still have the same problem of no supporting cast. You need to cash in Wade or Bosh for multiple 2nd tier players.

[Commodore]

this Kyrie Irving commercial is awesome

[Guest]

this Kyrie Irving commercial is awesome

That was pretty cool, but there is a compressed version for TV I assume?

[Howdyphillip]

this Kyrie Irving commercial is awesome

That falls firmly in the camp of awesome. I like Irving a lot

[Calibandar]

Artest had a bad moment again last night. I was hoping the Lakers would lose the third game as well but they just pulled it off.

I hope OKC can win tonight and go back home with a 3-1 lead, they look the better side and they're the only team I give any chance at all against the Spurs anyway ( and I'm not particularly keen on the Spurs).

[Gold Storm]

Stern will pull his hair out if it is a Spurs Pacers final.

[Minaku]

Jeremy Lin becomes a restricted free agent on July 1st and the news says that contrary to Woodson's comments, he shouldn't expect an easy negotiation. It's hard to see how Lin can work with the current gravity wells longterm so I am not hopeful. I really want a Lin-Chandler duo but it looks like that'll be in my dreams. Those same dreams where he can go left and shoot pullup jumpers.

[Maithanet]

Stern will pull his hair out if it is a Spurs Pacers final.

We'll see if the Pacers can make a better showing than they did on Sunday. I thought the decision to keep Hibbert on the bench until 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter just because he picked up his third foul in the third quarter was very stupid. If he fouls out then you can't put him in, so you keep him out to make sure that doesn't happen? When Hibbert+West are on the floor, the Pacers are too big for the Heat on both ends. But once Hibbert came off, the whole defense fell apart.

Who knows who's coming out of the East. Are the Celtics really the best team left? The same Celtics that look only marginally better than the mediocre Sixers and Hawks? That would be disappointing, because the finals would be a joke.

Spurs-Thunder is going to be a good one. San Antonio is crushing everyone, but the Thunder have too many weapons to be dominated. Russell Westbrook is rapidly becoming my favorite NBA player; that guy can ball. I want the Thunder's youth and enthusiasm to win out, but my head says Spurs in seven.

[Morpheus]

Jeremy Lin becomes a restricted free agent on July 1st and the news says that contrary to Woodson's comments, he shouldn't expect an easy negotiation. It's hard to see how Lin can work with the current gravity wells longterm so I am not hopeful. I really want a Lin-Chandler duo but it looks like that'll be in my dreams. Those same dreams where he can go left and shoot pullup jumpers.

I am not completely sold on Lin yet as a starter, he showed some good and some absolutely horrendous game. It is unclear why he was out for so long, the surgery he had was not major, there were rumors about Woodson not wanting to use Lin but he denied those, and I can't think he preffered a hobbled Davis or a used up Bibby. It would have been good to see Lin under the pressure of late season and post season games to see how he held up and if he is worth keeping long term.

Ideally I would have him as the PG off the bench for now, but honestly there is little choice but to sign him. There aren't a lot of good free agent PGs and the Knicks can't afford what is available, Deron Williams is way too expensive and almost a lock for Dallas, and Steve Nash will probably want more than the Knicks have. I don't think Nash is a good option anyway, he is stil playing well, but we need long term durability on this team.

[Young Wolf]

Ah well, it was a good run. Lakers have to move one of their bigs, preferably Gasol, this offseason. I'd like to see them try to get Deron Williams, but I don't think they have the juice to pull that off.

[Jaime L]

Ah well, it was a good run. Lakers have to move one of their bigs, preferably Gasol, this offseason. I'd like to see them try to get Deron Williams, but I don't think they have the juice to pull that off.

It's gonna be a really interesting offseason because there are more marquee players being mentioned as possible trade candidates than I've ever seen: Howard, Wade, Bynum, Deron Williams, Gasol, Bosh. And because you have so many stars in play and so many title contending teams not satisfied with their current makeup (i.e.: Heat, Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics, maybe the Bulls) it's like every decent player in the league could be up on the block.

And the Lakers are really at the center of it all. They're one of the few NBA teams I've ever seen where it makes sense to trade quality (Gasol) for quantity (athletic, non-star type wing players). They'll still have Kobe and Bynum as the requsite stars you need to win a title but they, like Miami, need to become a better team with more complimentary pieces. Deron would be great, but like you I don't see him ending up in LA. They got fucked on the whole Chris Paul deal and now I don't know what they can do to upgrade their PG situation.

And do they move Bynum for Howard straight up?