***Official NBA Thread***

[andruid]

Why did the whole Eastern Conference pick this season to be so AWFUL! How does a rebuilding team, with a rookie coach, no interior defense to speak of, and who's only all star has yet to see the floor this season, actually deserve to be the 4th seed. With a losing record to boot! Come on Washington! Come on Brooklyn! Come on Detroit!

 

[Riggins]

hey the coach seems like a ****ing genius.

 

[andruid]

hey the coach seems like a ****ing genius.

Thank goodness for that.

 

[NUFAN]

Why did the whole Eastern Conference pick this season to be so AWFUL! How does a rebuilding team, with a rookie coach, no interior defense to speak of, and who's only all star has yet to see the floor this season, actually deserve to be the 4th seed. With a losing record to boot! Come on Washington! Come on Brooklyn! Come on Detroit!

Have you completely written off this year? Beside Wiggins, are there really that many great rookies coming in next years draft to make it better to finish the year with less wins? The 3 teams you've named are teams that I think should finish just above Celtics. Nets seem to be playing more to their potential lately.

 

[Riggins]

Nah everything you read says the draft is stacked.

 

[andruid]

Have you completely written off this year? Beside Wiggins, are there really that many great rookies coming in next years draft to make it better to finish the year with less wins? The 3 teams you've named are teams that I think should finish just above Celtics. Nets seem to be playing more to their potential lately.

Given the 7ft gap the Cs have in the center position, I don't see much of a future in making the playoffs this year. And yes, there is supposed to be apparently at least 5 really good players this round of drafting.

 

[NUFAN]

Stacked draft, nice.

Andruid would be happy with Asik for Bass?

 

[andruid]

Stacked draft, nice.
Andruid would be happy with Asik for Bass?

Yes he would. If only to prevent being swept out of the playoffs Miluwakee style. Throw in both Atlanta and Brooklyn imploding, and ending up with lottery picks and we are in miracle country.

 

[andruid]

I wonder just how pissed Derrick Rose is right now. Luol Deng is gone, Boozer is going in the summer and the best free agent likely to note is Melo.

 

[nightprowler10]

I wonder just how pissed Derrick Rose is right now. Luol Deng is gone, Boozer is going in the summer and the best free agent likely to note is Melo.

There's no way we were ever going to keep Lou. He turned down 10 mil/year and no way is he worth more than that. While he's a defensive beast and works well in Thibs system, his offense only comes once in a while unless it's a contract year. I just wish we had gotten a good serviceable player in exchange but I'm happy enough with the picks. You never turn down a Kings' pick.

I went to the Atlanta game on Saturday, not realizing it would be his last in a Bulls jersey. Gonna miss the guy out on the floor and I'm sure the guys will miss him in the locker room. Definitely leaving the avatar up as is. Hinrich is now the only player remaining from the Skiles era.

Should definitely provide the lockerroom leadership Cavs have been lacking.

I think we'll do okay without him. He wasn't the missing piece of the championship puzzle that he was touted to be. We have our core of Rose/Noah/Butler/Taj with some good picks in the loaded draft. I think Nikola Mirotic is due here next year (or the year after?) as well.

 

[Riggins]

There's no way we were ever going to keep Lou. He turned down 10 mil/year and no way is he worth more than that. While he's a defensive beast and works well in Thibs system, his offense only comes once in a while unless it's a contract year. I just wish we had gotten a good serviceable player in exchange but I'm happy enough with the picks. You never turn down a Kings' pick.

I went to the Atlanta game on Saturday, not realizing it would be his last in a Bulls jersey. Gonna miss the guy out on the floor and I'm sure the guys will miss him in the locker room. Definitely leaving the avatar up as is. Hinrich is now the only player remaining from the Skiles era.


Should definitely provide the lockerroom leadership Cavs have been lacking.

I think we'll do okay without him. He wasn't the missing piece of the championship puzzle that he was touted to be. We have our core of Rose/Noah/Butler/Taj with some good picks in the loaded draft. I think Nikola Mirotic is due here next year (or the year after?) as well.

Top 10 protected though, so you'll probably never see it!

 

[nightprowler10]

Top 10 protected though, so you'll probably never see it!

I don't know, DMC is cruising this season and will get AS consideration. They may end the season with just the right record.

Despite the recent streak, we're struggling to beat bad teams. Just went triple OT against Orlando ffs (though how good was the rook?) and lost to the only team with good players (though tbf Wizards are hot and beat Miami pretty easily last night).

Good to see Oden play and get a couple of nice buckets. The guy so obviously missed playing.

 

[andruid]

Great to see Oden back. Also Rondo was said to have played alright in his comeback. Pity we torched from 3point land. I doubt L.A get so many open 3s without Pau Gasol needing to be double teamed inside.

 

[benchmark00]

Durantula.

 

[Riggins]

I hope the Celts end up trading Rondo. He's probably my favourite player in the league since Steve Nash passed away and I would like to watch him on a contender (or at least a team not actively trying to lose games).

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

That Paul George dunk, man. Wow.

 

[benchmark00]

Boomshakalaka.

 

[andruid]

I hope the Celts end up trading Rondo. He's probably my favourite player in the league since Steve Nash passed away and I would like to watch him on a contender (or at least a team not actively trying to lose games).

Firstly the Cs are too undermanned presently to need to try lose, in fact its amazing how few the blowouts have been this season. Secondly the Celtics GM seems keen to build around Rondo this time round (like he did with Paul Pierce). He is the captain now, so I don't see anyone calling with a deal good enough to prise him away.

 

[Jono]

If the Pacers starting five could play 48 minutes a game and not get exhausted then the series would be a lot closer, but they can't and the series isn't as close as he seems to think The main problem for the Pacers is that they're playing as well as they possibly can in this series, and the Heat are barely in second gear.

His comments:

1. Miami is undersized
2. Indiana has the best centres in the league right now
3. Indiana's big men are doing a good job of defending the basket
4. He didn't necessarily think Indiana was going to win, they were just value.

1) Yeah, they're undersized. That's their thing. They have been undersized all season and they were undersized when they won the title last year. They play a style of small ball that's almost impossible to stop, high screen and roll with Lebron/Wade/Chalmers and a Bosh pick, Bosh will pop and Ray Allen and Shane Battier will be in the corners. If you help on the ball-handler coming off the pick then you leave one of the three point shooters open, if you switch on the pick then the ball carrier is guarded by a big man and can drive or they can kick to the small man on Chris Bosh, who's one of the best mid-range shooters in the game. It's a pick your poison scenario.

2) Um what? Firstly, Indiana have one centre, Roy Hibbert, and at his absolute best he's probably the 5th best centre in the league. What? :S

3) Roy Hibbert is a good defender and has lessened his tendency to get into foul trouble this season significantly, which is a very good thing. David West is strong, but a pretty average defender and Paul George just got decimated in the post by Lebron. Indiana are a good defensive unit but the Heat are an amazing offensive force, as good if not better on offense as Indiana are on defense.

Asian:


1) The Miami offense is not an unsolvable, unstoppable puzzle. Undersized can work during the regular season when you have lebron and wade and bosh and 3 point shooters, but the playoffs are all about matchups and adjustments. Expecting the same stuff to work against Indiana over the course of a series is a mistake.

2) From your response, I think I was misquoted. I said Indiana have one of the best front courts in the league. Hibbert is extremely underrated in both defense and offense. He is definitely not just "the 5th best center in the league at best". At the very least, Miami makes him look like the number 1 center in the league simply beacuse they are undersized against him.

If you watch the plays this series, Miami struggles to defend against Hibbert on the inside. They usually resort to just fouling him. And he's no slouch at the free throw line (.741% in the regular season).

It doesn't matter how much Miami can score, in the long run defense wins championships. And Indiana has strong inside and outside defense.


3) Indiana is not as bad at matching up to the heat one-on-one on defense as you make them out to be. But even if no one player can defend lebron (which is not surprising - it is lebron) my whole point is that Indiana is a much more balanced team than miami and their team defense can hold up. Even if West is the weak link in their defense, he more than moves up for it in the spacing he provides on offense due to his range and size.

On defense Lance Stephenson is extremely athletic. I've already talked about Hibbert's inside defense, and George Hill and Paul George are not bad defenders at all.

I don't necessarily disagree with him on any points (except that Hibbert is underrated on offense, I'd honestly say he's overrated at this point) but it doesn't change the fact that if they both play well Miami is the better team, significantly. "Play well" being the key words there.

Miami's biggest problem this series has been the disappearance of their three point shooting from the corners (which Indiana has taken largely away). Especially Battier and Allen. Look what happened when Mike Miller hit two threes in a row yesterday, Miami nearly took the lead in a 2 minute stretch. They miss that shooting more than they miss Wade and Bosh IMO, though they link to each other in ways. If George Hill knows that he doesn't have to worry about helping on Wade he can stay with Allen, Battier, or Chalmers and make sure they aren't getting clean looks. Bosh was never going to be successful in this series, his game isn't inside and he's too small to compete with the strength of Indiana. Vogel has been smart to take away the three-pointer, and if the Heat win tomorrow (I don't know if they will) it will be because Lebron James was the best player on the court.

The Asian has returned and told me to post this. He hasn't forgotten.

Indiana now has the best record in the NBA. They are the best team in the league. Why?
Well Paul George has improved to one of the top 5 players in the league.
Lance Stephenson has learned to look up and pass on the break.
And Danny Granger hasn't even really gotten into the season yet.

And of course there is defensive player of the year candidate Roy Hibbert.
"5th best center in the league at best"? You failed to see his potential.

Here is Si.com picking him for the East All Star starters over Carmelo
"[Hibbert is] the single most staggering defender in the league."
My ?14 All-Star starters: Why Roy Hibbert edges Carmelo and more picks*explained | The Point Forward - SI.com

Here is Jalen Rose saying Hibbert is one of the top TWO centers in the league along with Dwight Howard.
Jalen Rose Report Full Podcast 12/19/13 | Grantland Channel - YouTube

 

[NUFAN]

Asian has a point this season, but you get the feeling that the Heat are cruising into second seed and will be primed for the playoffs when Wade is back to full health.