NBA 2011-2012 Season

[Sir Thursday]

I am confused nickg. You like physical game, but want the flopper to get more calls?

And I have not watched him much when he is not playing my teams, but KevMart in the games I watched didn't go to the basket. He sat at the arc, while at the sime time launching himself toward a diffender and throwing up a half assed shot attempt.

When Martin was playing well in previous years, he would drive to the basket quite a bit. He's doing it less this year though, and I suspect that's because he doesn't have confidence in his ability to draw the foul any more. Don't get me wrong, he is still trying to draw them, but he's really not succeeding. The result is Houston being last in the league in free-throw attempts (fortunately they're near the top in terms of FT%, Chandler Parsons' ridiculously low number aside (31%!)). As a result, he has to rely a lot more on his shooting prowess to get points, and consequently is a lot less consistent. In seasons past, you could count on Martin for 20 a night, but this year there's a lot more variance in his contributions.

The nice thing is that we're winning without him :). The bench has been HUGE with a capital HUGE the last few games. I get the impression that they've taken the second unit aside and given them some focused coaching on the offensive end - it looks like it's really paying off. Patterson is starting to knock down his jump shots. Courtney Lee has been on fire, picking up for Martin's shooting slump. Budinger has started to drive to the hoop again...it's all coming together! Just got to get Martin out of his shooting slump and get Dalembert his mojo back, and this team will be dangerous.

ST

[Commodore]

Rubio vs. Lin, who do you take? I'm sticking with Lin (but I haven't watched Rubio, so this is completely biased).

Rubio, Larry Bird said he was one of the best passers he has ever seen. Love is also a great passer and they will be awesome in Adelman's read and react motion style offense.

Stern nixing the CP3 trade forced the Rockets to cut Lin, they didn't have enough space on their roster for him behind Lowry and Dragic. And guess who owns the Knicks 2012 1st round pick (which Lin is rapidly devaluing). The Rockets.

Houston was royally fucked by the league.

[Relic]

38 point on the Lakers is legit. I don't know what to say, really.

[Minaku]

Just wait for the Rubio showdown I guess.

[nickg]

I am confused nickg.  You like physical game, but want the flopper to get more calls?

And I have not watched him much when he is not playing my teams, but KevMart in the games I watched didn't go to the basket. He sat at the arc, while at the sime time launching himself toward a diffender and throwing up a half assed shot attempt.

No, no, not all. Sorry if it seemed like that is what I was saying, but that's not what I meant. To be honest, I am almost embarrassed by the way Kmart plays sometimes. If he gets fouled, and its a legitimate foul ( and I mean a foul, not where the offensive player will literally move to bump into a defender instead of going to the basket ) then sure I want it called.I guess I was defending Kmart a bit. I'm not going to be the guy that says he doesn't flop. There is no possible way to deny that. Hell, he flops when he is legitimately fouled, just to make sure he gets the call ( something else that annoys me, because it usually means he has no chance to actually make the shot ). He does camp at the arc quite often, too much for my liking especially this year. Last year, with Adelmans offense, there was so much more movement compared to this year. There are games where he really is aggressive, and actually earns his free throws, but I can't deny what you're saying either.

[grozeng]

38 point on the Lakers is legit. I don't know what to say, really.

Relic, just enjoy it. I think this is really going to help Stoudemire. Lin won't be averaging 29 points when Stoudemire and Anthony are back but he will make them fun to watch. I am worried that Anthony will ruin everything.

[Sir Thursday]

Something I think is contributing to Lin's success is that he has Chandler as his pick-and-roll man. Chandler sets very good screens, which is what is allowing Lin so much penetration to my eyes. I've been watching the T'Wolves game tonight (Lin vs. Rubio is a great matchup to watch, by the way), and very often Chandler would just obliterate Lin's man with the screen. Now part of that is Lin's angles, but a lot of it is Chandler making very solid picks. In addition, the threat of the lob to him makes it harder for help defenders to stop Lin on the penetration.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens when Stoudamire and Anthony get back, not just because they'll want their touches but also because it will often be those two with Lin on the pick and roll rather than Chandler. I suspect Lin won't do quite so well with them there.

ST

[Minaku]

What a heart-attack of a game. Lin getting triple teamed and smushed in the paint has me worried about the versatility of his scoring options though. He either sets up for a shot or drives. If he's going to flesh himself out as a PG he's going to need a bigger arsenal than what I saw. TWolves did a pretty good job of defending though.

[Howdyphillip]

I am a bit worried about my Mavericks. The off season stuff didn't help this team at all. I miss Chandler, Berea, and the host of other guys who left after the championship. I have been impressed by Dilante West and Vince Carter though. Both of these guys seem to be hitting their stride and are coming to grasp with Rick Carlise's style of play.

Lamar Odem is a bust at this point. This is a trade that made both the Mavericks, and the Lakers worse teams. He just doesn't seem to have the heart to play which is a shame because he is such a great player. He was the heart and soul of those championship Laker clubs. I kind of hope he gets back there one day.

Dirk is looking awfully unDirk like. He jacked up three game winning buzzer beaters last night against Portland, and missed the first two leading to OT and double OT. I have never seen his shot be as off as it is now on a consistant basis. Tonight, he let go of two bricks in a row. I hope he gets back in form in time for the playoffs,or it will be a quick exit this year.

[Sir Thursday]

What a heart-attack of a game. Lin getting triple teamed and smushed in the paint has me worried about the versatility of his scoring options though. He either sets up for a shot or drives. If he's going to flesh himself out as a PG he's going to need a bigger arsenal than what I saw. TWolves did a pretty good job of defending though.

Yeah, I thought the T'Wolves defended Lin pretty well. Truehoop has some numbers showing that Rubio was all over him. Trouble was, Fields and Shumpert stepped up and they didn't seem to able to contain those guys as well.

[Relic]

wow what an amazing finish to the knicks raptors game. That three was fucking money. Shumpert and Chandler did a lot of hard work in those last few minutes, and lin closed it in fucking...rock star fashion before a packed adoring crowd in an AWAY arena. amaving.

[Minaku]

LKFJLFSGLGKJS;LGJAFDAF JEREMY LIN

I'm trying not to have hope as a Knicks fan but uh, I am getting glimmers of it.

[Relic]

Haha, no no hope! focus on the now! the moment we look ahead we are doomed Min, doomed!

[nickg]

Well it sucks because im a rockets fan, but the Linsanity is certainly awesome. It really blows because I was hoping they would keep him over Johnny Flynn ( yeah he's worthless, wtf is our obsession with 09 busts )but it's great to see.

The only negative thing I would say about him is that he's having trouble with turnovers. BUT, this is the first legitimate amount of playing time he's had in the NBA. And he's starting, and fucking leading his team to victories. Its something he will eventually get under control. Dude is legit.

[nickg]

I have either hated the Knicks or not cared about them for most of my basketball-watching life.  I want to watch NY now.

It's going to be very interesting as Carmelo and Stoudamire come back.

Someone made a good point today (or perhaps this point has been made ad nauseum and I just noticed it today):  Stoudamire is a D'Antoni guy who thrived in a pick-and-role system w/ Nash.  Sure, Lin isn't Nash yet, but he does seem to be a good D'Antoni guy too, so this could be a great fit.

I had a pet theory (again, one that maybe isn't unique at all) that part of New York's problem thus far was that Carmelo and Stoudamire were a bad combo.  The reason I wondered this was because I think they're actually remarkably similar both in how they are good and how they are bad.  In my opinion they both have very complete and outstanding offensive arsenals for their positions, and that's great.  But I think they're both the types that don't do much else outside of their excellent scoring abilities.  Maybe the right guard is the guy to bring that all together?

At any rate, just as a basketball fan, the thought of Lin and Stoudamire running D'Antoni's pick-and-role with Carmelo as an outleck/kickout is so potentially great.

Stoudamire was back tonight. I agree though, I think Lin and Stoudamire are a fine fit. On the other hand, I am not at all a Carmelo fan. He's highly skilled, but I don't think he does much to make others better, and im doubtful as to whether they can all coexist. I guess you could say Carmelo isn't much of a winner. Denver was much better off without him last year. And NY didnt do squat with him.He's kind of like Kevin Martin ( even though he is far better offensively ). They can both be elite scorers, but bring little else to the table, especially on defense.

[Commodore]

I can't watch Lin without having violent thoughts toward David Stern

[Slurktan]

wow what an amazing finish to the knicks raptors game. That three was fucking money. Shumpert and Chandler did a lot of hard work in those last few minutes, and lin closed it in fucking...rock star fashion before a packed adoring crowd in an AWAY arena. amaving.

Shumpert and Chandler won the Knicks the game. Mostly Shumpert as Calderon had been making Lin look like an absolute chump on defense for 3 quarters. The Raps record may not look it but with a healthy Bargnani they are a playoff team. Dwayne Casey is doing an incredible job.

Lin I like though. He has a hell of a speed change once he turns the corner, he's a little out of control at this point but once he calms himself down with PT the turnovers will start dropping. He's a dog of a defender though and the Knicks won't ever be able to win it all with him playing major minutes (and that's not counting his awful FT shooting) much like how the Suns could never make it all the way because they had to keep hiding Nash.

EDIT:

Sorry, didn't see the game tonight. Just heard that Lin hit a game-winner. Didn't realize Stoudamire played. How did they look together for the first time?

Stoudamire was badly outplayed by Amir Johnson and Linus Kleiza. So not well.

[Ashkan Stark]

I don't really get why people say Rubio is better than Irving. Irving plays in a weaker team and he is just great. he is better than LeBron and CP3 in their rookie year. Rubio passes well but he is not a good scorer, he is not a 3pt shooter he is not a defender he is not all around. Irving first priorety is scoring because other guys are not good scorers. See him next year when Cavs are a better team.

Also this dude jeremy Lin is awesome but he will hit the rookie wall at some point.

Go Cavs. Hate the Heat!!

[A Murder of Ravens]

I know he is originally from Jersey and is more of a Jet fan than a Giant fan, but I'm sure he was happy to see the Giants win the Super Bowl. My question to GRR Martin is are you watching this kid play? I haven't watched basketball in over 20 years (since middle school), now I can't get enough. I also found Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s tweet and Spike Lee's retort humorous. All around a great story.

[A Murder of Ravens]

Why did my post get moved? You mention NBA and they put you in a ghetto... no but seriously. I was wondering what Martin thinks of Linsanity?