NBA 2010-2011 Thread

[Giancarlo]

Hopefully I'll be getting some free tickets to a game from my summer internship. I might be able to pick the game too (obviously going to pick home opener). Fingers crossed!

 

[Omnis]

Those are probably nose bleed seats too.

You have to pay for Lebron,Wade,Bosh and Z somehow. Omni's,I bet your in for one hell of a show when you see any of these games,have fun. 👍

No, they're the lowest seats on the upper level, or somewhere behind the basket.

 

[Paulie]

I've gone to million games, all lower level tickets, but I never pay. And they come with parking, dinner pass, or bracelet to get any non-alcohol concession stands food & snacks for free. It's the company tickets from work.

Nice.

 

[Paulie]

Tracy McGrady is looking to probably sign with the Bulls, do you think he'll return to the form he had before he got injured, or become just like Penny Hardaway?

 

[a6m5]

Tracy McGrady is looking to probably sign with the Bulls, do you think he'll return to the form he had before he got injured, or become just like Penny Hardaway?

I don't know much about his condition, but based on the interest on him by the teams, I think it's safe to call it a long shot. Grant Hill made a come back years later, but he's half the player(or even less) he used to be, and he was a all-around skilled player. T-Mac used to be a good scorer, but I don't recall him being much else.



Edit:

T-Mac used to be a good scorer, but I don't recall him being much else.

I take it back.

 

[Paulie]

From 2000 right through 2008 he averaged over 20 PPG, 6 RPG and 5 APG. Pretty good stats, then he got ruined by injury and he hasn't showed signs of returning to form. Grant Hill is still a pretty good defensive player.

 

[a6m5]

Grant Hill is still a pretty good defensive player.

Yeah, defensively. I'll give him that.

 

[Paulie]

Woohoo, Toronto just signed Australian David Andersen! That makes me a happy Australian Toronto fan. I do have to wonder through, this will bring Toronto's total player count to 18, how many of these "other" players will ever even seen gametime this season? I just read too that Sonny Weems off the back of some impressive play last season is working out 2-3 times/day with range and passing being a focus of improvement for him. I so do hope the Raptors can make a surprise turn-around and make the post-season, pleeeeeease!

 

[JohnBM01]

So we've lost ourselves an Aussie? Maybe people think the 2009-2010 Houston Rockets were worse than the 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets. Enjoy Toronto and thanks for your work for my team!

I still want to see how well Patrick Patterson progresses with my Rockets.

 

[Paulie]

So should I expect Toronto to send some players off to the D-League before the season starts since they have so many players now? I don't think Patrick Mills has a team yet, he's a good player, just a little rough around the edges, with a good coach he could become a lot better I think. I watched him score over 30pts against Argentina. In that same game he gave up a lot of turn-overs. It doesn't sound like big Nate Jawai will be playing in the NBA this season either, poor bugger.

Is Linas Kleiza really any good? Toronto were making a semi big deal out of getting him.

 

[Giancarlo]

NBA teams can only keep 15 players on their team, whether or not they send them to the NBADL.

Kleiza's a good role player but nothing to get worked up over. Had a couple decent years with Denver.

 

[a6m5]

So should I expect Toronto to send some players off to the D-League before the season starts since they have so many players now? I don't think Patrick Mills has a team yet, he's a good player, just a little rough around the edges, with a good coach he could become a lot better I think. I watched him score over 30pts against Argentina. In that same game he gave up a lot of turn-overs. It doesn't sound like big Nate Jawai will be playing in the NBA this season either, poor bugger.

Is Linas Kleiza really any good? Toronto were making a semi big deal out of getting him.

As Gian noted, Toronto can keep only up to 15 players on the roster, regardless of how many they send down to the D-League, once the season starts(not sure of the exact date).

Blazers still have not announced their decision on Patty. He is our restricted free agent. Should he receive any offers from other teams, we have the right to match it. He battled our rookie PG Armon Johnson for the spot during the Summer League, and by observation of many, he lost to Johnson. But Patty still have the World Tournament to showcase his game more, even the Pre-season. Blazers could release him today, or in October. He's sort of in a limbo right now, until somebody offer him a contract.

Edit: Kleiza's pretty solid. I like his game.

 

[Paulie]

I read that Portland is notoriously bad towards their rookies, hence his lack of game time, is that an unfair analysis? I just want to see him get some game time to showcase his skills in the real NBA, like in that play-offs game against Phoenix where he scored 6pts in 6 minutes. He gets a lot of praise from other players for his speed, and I know he can shoot. The main thing letting him down is the fact he makes silly mistakes, which can lead to turn-overs. As I said, a decent coach could help him overcome that. Not that I'm suggesting Portland has a bad coach, I wouldn't know , but Mills certainly needs more work in that area.



................Come on Toronto sign Mills!

 

[a6m5]

You aren't exactly right, but you certainly aren't wrong. Maybe dead-on, actually.

Our offense consists much of stagnant, halfcourt offense. While extremely efficient, our players, coaches seemed to be ineffective outside their very small "box". We pass more carefully, so we rarely turn it over. But that also leads to no ball movement, nothing to get the offense flowing.

We got an former All-Star & Team USA Andre Miller last summer. He struggled in the system quite a bit. And if a proven veteran elite like he struggled, I couldn't begin to imagine what a struggle it must've been for Patty.

6 points in 6 minutes means nothing to me, when it came against a team that wasn't geared to defend you, and it most likely came in a "garbage" time(irrelevant minutes, desperation stretch for one of the teams). I have yet to see Patty play well, or even decently. I know that he has a jumper, but he seems really streaky. Of course, having said that, it's hard to shoot consistently when you are not getting minutes at all. My boss at work has taken liking to Patty, and he tells me he's seen Patty have some good games. I am aware that he had couple of epic games, one in D-League(I think he only played 2 or 3 there), one in the Summer League I think, his rookie year.

It is true that Blazers cut very little slack for rookies, this goes back to Rick Adelman-era(80's, early 90's), at least that's when I started following the team. Things of course changed a bit during our lottery years, but I think it's pretty typical for most winning teams.

And while I do blame Nate McMillan for our clumsy offense, he has given major minutes to Nicolas Batum(France), though it did come with the blessing of Brandon Roy, our #1 player.

I would love to see Patty succeed in the NBA, but as long as he is a Blazer, I think it might be tough for him. For a guy like him, he wants to find a struggling lottery team, short on point guards. He might be a future star, but I don't know, because he'll never get the minutes he needs on a team like ours.

 

[Paulie]

I don't know about future star, unless he works really hard, but certainly a very good 6th man, maybe a fairly respectable starter. When I see him play he usually plays well, because of his speed he's very good at driving to the hoop.

 

[JohnBM01]

I wonder how much the Houston Rockets will be effective if Yao Ming is too injured to go this season and make any impact. I will be watching Pat Patterson, but I wonder about most of the other talent on the Rockets.

 

[a6m5]

Here's one for Paulie, just in:

The Trail Blazers have signed Armon Johnson, a point guard from Nevada drafted in the second round. Details of the contract and how it might affect other roster decisions were not immediately available.

Johnson averaged 11.6 points for the Blazers' summer league team while earning praise from coaches for his defense. Check back later for more details.

Unless there is some big trade involving our point guard(s) is in the works, this most certainly means that Blazers have decided not to re-sign Patty Mills. Damn shame, as there were much time & effort invested by both Patty & the Blazers into one another.

 

[Paulie]

Yeah that sucks, Patty Mills scores more than that on an international level, what makes this Johnson fella so much better? Maybe the Bucks should sign him, Mills and Bogut, an Aussie duo, one small and fast, the other big and powerful, could work.

 

[a6m5]

Yeah that sucks, Patty Mills scores more than that on an international level, what makes this Johnson fella so much better? Maybe the Bucks should sign him, Mills and Bogut, an Aussie duo, one small and fast, the other big and powerful, could work.

Summer League stats are sort of irrelevant though. As long as you shoot well, at the point guard position, the team doesn't really care about your scoring as much as your defense, how you run the offense, etc.

I didn't catch one SL game this year, but from what I've read, Armon also played John Wall(2010 #1 pick, also pg) real well, and I'm sure that got him a lot of consideration as well.

Patty was pretty popular here, considering his limited(or non-existent) minutes. I'm sure all Blazer fans wish him well regardless of which team he ends up with.

Edit: Well, there you go.

Trail Blazers solved their 15th roster spot dilemma Monday afternoon, signing rookie point guard Armon Johnson to a contract.

Johnson earned the Blazers’ final roster spot with an impressive summer league performance in which he averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals while revealing physical, in-your-face perimeter defense. He also helped himself during a summer league scrimmage in which he held his own against No. 1 overall pick John Wall of the Washington Wizards.

“We feel Armon can help this team and are excited to have him on board,” Blazers general manager Rich Cho said in a release. “He’s a physical guard who can defend and we like his potential.”

Blazers scouts have called Johnson a “Nate McMillan point guard” because of his size (6-foot-3, 195-pounds), defensive intensity and solid half-court offensive game. Johnson, who was drafted out of Nevada with the 34th overall pick of the second round, excels most in pick-and-roll sets and has a knack for scoring with aggressive drives to the basket.

His long-range shooting is a weakness and he will need to learn the NBA game, but Johnson probably won’t be counted on as a rookie because the Blazers have Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless available at point guard.

The signing could mean the end of Patty Mills’ tenure with the Blazers. The second-year point guard entered summer league in a neck-and-neck competition with Johnson for the Blazers’ final roster spot and, clearly, Johnson won.

But the Blazers said during summer league there is a scenario in which the team would keep both players. Guard Rudy Fernandez has asked the team for a trade and the Blazers are actively pursuing trade options. Should a roster spot open up before training camp, it’s possible the Blazers could still sign Mills.

—Joe Freeman

Edit2: I just noticed a super funny joke for the Blazer fans. Jerryd Bayless. Available at point guard. I love the kid, but he is no point guard. Not even a combo-guard.

 

[Omnis]

We had a big laugh in class today. Our professor was wrapping up class and explaining how we are going to have Thursday off because he has to be in court in Miami. So he goes, "I don't know how long this thing is going to take, and, besides, you know how it is in Miami." He was referring to the traffic, etc. As soon as he said that, someone interjected "Say Hi to LeBron!" Oh man it was so funny.

 

[a6m5]

I guess you had to be there?

 

[Paulie]

It'd be quite funny if the professor is a Cavs fan.

 

[Omnis]

I guess you had to be there?

Yeah, you had to be.

 

[JohnBM01]

I've always wondered, a6m5, do you think your Trail Blazers can actually contend in the West and perhaps even play for the championship? Or are there still a handful of pieces missing for this team to even be at least a sleeper?

 

[a6m5]

I've always wondered, a6m5, do you think your Trail Blazers can actually contend in the West and perhaps even play for the championship? Or are there still a handful of pieces missing for this team to even be at least a sleeper?

If we can stay healthy, we COULD take the West. Reason being that we match up OK against anybody in the West, including the Lakers. But it doesn't matter, we are 1 huge piece away from beating anybody like Boston, and especially the Heat. Boston is close to joining the senior city league though, and superstars(Blazers get starstruck easily) don't really get their special treatment in the Playoffs, but we still have to stay healthy. I say a long shot.

Edit: And we either have to upgrade to a better headcoach, or Nate McMillan has to get better. He's decent, but our offense is laughable as soon as the post season hits. Our guys resort to one-on-one, and we don't have many players who could create, not that one-on-one would win any big game unless you are playing in elementary school games.

 

[Paulie]

Bucks have a good line-up this year too, ones to watch I think. Since we don't get much NBA coverage in Australia and it was only mid-season last season I started following properly on the interwebs, I was suprised to see just how good Bogut has become. He was averaging over 10 rebounds/game last season, by golly!

I see good ol' Shaq has signed with Boston this season, and the first games of the year are Celtics vs Heat and Lakers vs Rockets.

 

[Joker-GTBR]

I've always wondered, a6m5, do you think your Trail Blazers can actually contend in the West and perhaps even play for the championship? Or are there still a handful of pieces missing for this team to even be at least a sleeper?

If Greg Oden endiures the whole season, i think they have a chance

 

[a6m5]

If Greg Oden endiures the whole season, i think they have a chance

It's very unfortunate. He shows much promise, and he's quite a specimen, even in the NBA(where most everybody's an athlete), but "injury prone" doesn't begin to describe how much of the time he is injured. I think I read that he's played 82 games, not in the season(there are 82 games in a regular NBA season), but in three seasons.

Here's a Patty Mills update for Paulie:

Patty Mills done with Trail Blazers? Not so fast

In the span of 48 hours, Patty Mills’ future with the Trail Blazers has transformed from unlikely to possible.

Two days ago, the Blazers said they didn’t expect Mills to be a part of training camp. But that has changed, according to general manager Rich Cho, and Mills on Friday was traveling from Australia to the United States to continue his NBA career.

The Blazers issued Mills a qualifying contract offer over the summer and the second-year point guard is expected to sign it Sunday or Monday, cementing his place on the training camp roster.

“Since (Wednesday), Patty’s agent has told me he’s going to sign the qualifying offer,” Cho said. “He’s coming ... from Australia and he’ll be on the roster. He’ll be a part of camp.”

The Blazers already have 15 players tied to guaranteed contracts for this season, which starts Tuesday with two-a-day practices, so it’s unclear how Mills will fit. His contract is not guaranteed, so the Blazers will either have to waive him before the regular season starts or make a move to free up a roster spot for him. It seems unlikely he will make the team.

Outside of an e-mail reply Thursday, in which Mills said he was headed to Portland this week, he has not responded to multiple interview requests from The Oregonian. But he has posted updates on his twitter account, thanking “Oregonians” for their support and providing travel updates.

Mills played in 10 games for the Blazers last season, averaging 2.6 points in mop-up duty. He played on the Blazers’ summer league team in July and was part of a neck-and-neck competition with rookie point guard Armon Johnson for a roster spot.

Although Mills played well, leading the team in scoring (14.2 points per game) and assists (23), Johnson beat Mills out for the Blazers’ 15th and final roster spot.

But the Blazers insisted throughout the offseason that they valued Mills’ potential and said there was a chance he could make the team if they made a trade over the summer that opened a roster spot. There remains a chance that could happen during camp.

Super longshot, but best of luck to Patty. He's a good guy. 👍

 

[Paulie]

Good luck Patty, hope to see you on court in the NBA in 2010/2011.👍

 

[Omnis]

Greg Oden is so ugly he gets injured by looking in the mirror.