***Official NBA Thread***

[duffer]

well mcdyess is coming back to detroit...that's good news for the pistons...

Apart from Houston (where he spends most of the off-season) I don't think Dice returning to Detroit was in question, just a lot of overly hopeful teams.

Also really interesting hearing Stephen A say that he found out from LeBron that if he signs for a NY or LA team Nike are going to throw in $100m on top of what he earns from his usual contracts.

With Jay-Z trying to move the Nets to Brooklyn by then it wouldn't surprise me to see him move on then although being an Ohio guy it'd be a shame to see him leave his home team without getting them a Championship or two, although the lure of becoming a nailed on billionaire by going to NYC would be tough to turn down.

 

[Anil]

Apart from Houston (where he spends most of the off-season) I don't think Dice returning to Detroit was in question, just a lot of overly hopeful teams.

Also really interesting hearing Stephen A say that he found out from LeBron that if he signs for a NY or LA team Nike are going to throw in $100m on top of what he earns from his usual contracts.

With Jay-Z trying to move the Nets to Brooklyn by then it wouldn't surprise me to see him move on then although being an Ohio guy it'd be a shame to see him leave his home team without getting them a Championship or two, although the lure of becoming a nailed on billionaire by going to NYC would be tough to turn down.

lebron clearly needs the money...

 

[nightprowler10]

Yeah really hope he stays with the Cavs, have finally started liking them as a team.

 

[Anil]

conference standings

it is a very different situation from the last few seasons...the east seems to be much more competitve this season with teams up to the 13th placed bucks seemingly in a fight for a playoff spot while in the west, most of the spots already look settled(they might go up and down in the standings but will mostly stay in playoff contention) and the only team outside that could realistically break into the top 8 being dallas...

 

[Anil]

Yeah really hope he stays with the Cavs, have finally started liking them as a team.

With Jay-Z trying to move the Nets to Brooklyn by then it wouldn't surprise me to see him move on then although being an Ohio guy it'd be a shame to see him leave his home team without getting them a Championship or two, although the lure of becoming a nailed on billionaire by going to NYC would be tough to turn down.

it is difficult for the cavs to win a championship with only one star, even if that star is lebron, even jordan needed pippen and rodman...not too many cases of teams winning without a potent one-two punch...

 

[duffer]

conference standings

it is a very different situation from the last few seasons...the east seems to be much more competitve this season with teams up to the 13th placed bucks seemingly in a fight for a playoff spot while in the west, most of the spots already look settled(they might go up and down in the standings but will mostly stay in playoff contention) and the only team outside that could realistically break into the top 8 being dallas...

Yeah that said though looking at the Western Conference I can see any one of 7 teams winning the West if they get hot at the right time and also think Dallas, GSW and even the Clippers are all better sides than their records indicate.

In the East I can only see Boston, Detroit and Cleveland winning the Conference. Maybe Orlando as well. The drop off after that is significant for me. Although Washington have shocked me. Even without Gilbert they have All Stars in Caron, Jamison and other good players like DeShawn and Antonio Daniels. How they are 2-10 I don't know.

 

[Anil]

Yeah that said though looking at the Western Conference I can see any one of 7 teams winning the West if they get hot at the right time and also think Dallas, GSW and even the Clippers are all better sides than their records indicate.

i can't...the lakers are the hot favourites there...of the others, denver won't win, utah won't win, dallas even if they sneak into the playoffs won't win, portland won't win this season as well...i also have my doubts about phoenix, the only teams i can see potentially beating the lakers are a fully fit and healthy san antonio who can never be counted out, the hornets playing much more consistently than right now or maybe a fully fit and healthy houston...the warriors and the clippers might not be playing to potential but they are still not playoff teams....

In the East I can only see Boston, Detroit and Cleveland winning the Conference. Maybe Orlando as well. The drop off after that is significant for me. Although Washington have shocked me. Even without Gilbert they have All Stars in Caron, Jamison and other good players like DeShawn and Antonio Daniels. How they are 2-10 I don't know.

i am watching washington getting crushed by the magic...all their all-stars are primarily scorers, not one of them defend well and that's why for all of their offensive firepower with a fit arenas, jamison and butler, they have been a 1st round playoff team...the only real standout teams in either conference are the celtics and the lakers, as for the others, the magic, the pistons and the cavs compare well with most other teams in the west...and even though there is a significant dropoff after that, there are still good to very good teams in toronto, philly, chicago, the hawks and even d'antoni's knicks who have improved a lot(although they had only one way to go)...

 

[duffer]

I like a lot of the teams in the West, Lakers are the best team obviously but they can be beaten by an excellent team if they run hot and I see a lot of excellent teams there.

In the East I still think it's Boston and Detroit followed by daylight with Cavs and Orlando the only possible threats. The rest of them are good enough to compete with each other but I see a lot of teams in the early to middle stages of their development. In a couple of years time it'll be the stronger division but not yet.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

You can pretty much book Cleveland vs. Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. I don't see this backcourt situation working out in Detroit, Hamilton is struggling with it. Lakers to win the title, continuing the East-West trend since 2004.

 

[duffer]

Well, gues who missed practice a couple of days ago? Dearie me, it's somewhat justified being Thanksgiving day but wow, if any one player should have known what the reaction would've been it should've been him.

 

[Anil]

Well, gues who missed practice a couple of days ago? Dearie me, it's somewhat justified being Thanksgiving day but wow, if any one player should have known what the reaction would've been it should've been him.

yeah good thing they fined and benched him, hopefully he got the message...

and watching miami put on a good show in phoenix...57-44 at half-time, d-wade with a stellar 22 points so far...nash is sitting this out and phoenix right now resembles a rudder-less ship...

 

[Johnners]

Well, gues who missed practice a couple of days ago? Dearie me, it's somewhat justified being Thanksgiving day but wow, if any one player should have known what the reaction would've been it should've been him.

for those of us who don't know...who?

 

[Anil]

for those of us who don't know...who?

allen iverson

 

[duffer]

for those of us who don't know...who?

Haha, you seen this famous incident? A.I missing another one is every writer's wet dream really.

 

[duffer]

yeah good thing they fined and benched him, hopefully he got the message...

and watching miami put on a good show in phoenix...57-44 at half-time, d-wade with a stellar 22 points so far...nash is sitting this out and phoenix right now resembles a rudder-less ship...

Wade's been back to his best this season and it really shows, I suppose having Beasley there would help him considerably but health wise he looks as strong as ever. Their front court looks dire though, could really do with a good power forward or centre.

And yeah, this is Phoenix's last Hail Mary as far as winning a title goes because once Nash starts to declie they'll be nothing. Amare could possibly want to jump ship come 2010 but then again Phoenix will be able to offer much more than any other team because they own his bird rights but even if he stays they're on a major downturn now.

Looking forward to today's Lakers-Mavs game which is on here. Dirk has finally found his range and they look like a good team again.

 

[Johnners]

Haha, you seen this famous incident? A.I missing another one is every writer's wet dream really.

"We talking about practice man"

 

[Anil]

Wade's been back to his best this season and it really shows, I suppose having Beasley there would help him considerably but health wise he looks as strong as ever. Their front court looks dire though, could really do with a good power forward or centre.

And yeah, this is Phoenix's last Hail Mary as far as winning a title goes because once Nash starts to declie they'll be nothing. Amare could possibly want to jump ship come 2010 but then again Phoenix will be able to offer much more than any other team because they own his bird rights but even if he stays they're on a major downturn now.

Looking forward to today's Lakers-Mavs game which is on here. Dirk has finally found his range and they look like a good team again.

beasley has not made a huge impact to the heat so far...they have some good players in their team with beasley, wade, haslem, marion, chalmers etc but yeah they don't have any big men who are high-impact players....

in my opinion, phoenix made a big mistake trading marion for shaq and i don't think this particular avatar of the suns is good enough to win the title or even the west...

the lakers won but it was a very patchy performance from them...they need to tighten up a lot more defensively if they are to win the title...

 

[duffer]

beasley has not made a huge impact to the heat so far...they have some good players in their team with beasley, wade, haslem, marion, chalmers etc but yeah they don't have any big men who are high-impact players....

the lakers won but it was a very patchy performance from them...they need to tighten up a lot more defensively if they are to win the title...

Beasley hasn't had franchise player impact but just having him on the court as a legitimate threat on helps Wade immensely, teams have to be more reluctant with the double teams and their rotations become a lot harder to manage when it's more than just a case of putting their best defender on Wade and following him around like it had been for a long time now.

I watched the Lakers game too and while I thought they did very well to step it up when they needed to in the 3rd I thought the win came down to Dallas' ineptitude down the stretch than any super play from La. Mavs were fantastic in the first half and their offence flowed brilliantly on the break and in the half court.

Problem was in the third when the Lakers were smoking them they panicked and tried to go blow for blow with them and ended up having points put on them fast. This is where I thought Kidd would help them big time, as a veteran and a supposed Floor General he should've been prepared to slow the game down use up a lot of clock and just run some plays in half court (which they were doing really well for the first half thanks to Barrea's great penetration and good ball movement). Instead he choked, Dirk choked and the team followed. Not taking anything away from the Lakers but if I was a Mavs fan that loss would've infuriated me.

 

[Anil]

iverson really struggling right now in detriot...

 

[duffer]

Well they just curb-stomped the Spurs on the road tonight, 4th quarter was brilliant stuff from the Pistons. They really have all the hallmarks of an AI team now, when they're hot they are really hot and when they're not Minny will beat them. Still a lot of adjusting needed from them but I'm actually encouraged by the way they have played in the big games they do tend to lift.

But the Nuggets would probably be thinking they won this deal hands down, watching them obliterate Toronto today was just awesome, they were up 43 at one point today, and Chauncey had a +- of +48 But Nene has to be the revelation of the year, leading the NBA in Field goal percentage, excellent on the board and a top tier Centre defensively. Just praying he stays healthy as he's a beast.

Just showed the gulf in class between the conferences for mine, both teams probably of similar stature in each of their conferences (just below the absolute elite) and it wasn't even a contest, the Raps struggled against the physicality of the Western teams and the worst is yet to come for them when they go to Utah