NBA 2011-2012 Thread

[Omnis]

I'd like the Clippers to whoop on the Lakers for a change.

 

[Villain]

Me too. It won't happen if CP3 heads over. Kobe is running out of years and there aren't many young players on the rise in that organization. If they get CP3 or Dwight Howard then the Lakers will continue to be a force for years to come. If they get both, then that's a scary thought.

 

[Paulie]

The Heat have signed Eddy Curry and Battier. Curry is illegedly in the best condition he's ever been, so given he can fulfill that inside presence the Heat needed they're an even stronger chance to win it now.
My Raptors on the other hand obtained Big Cat Magloire, if he can give them good minutes then it will certainly help having a decent player off the bench at Centre, and the veteran leadership he brings won't hurt either. C'mon playoffs...........

 

[Omnis]

LMAO. So that's why my roommates went nuts yesterday. They're huge Heat fans. The whole week they've been arguing about Shane Battier. One of 'em was like, "BRO WERE GONNA GET BATTIER BRO." And the other would blow up saying, "DUDE, SHANE BATTIER IS SHANE BATTIER. WTF."

So looks like he got egg on his face.

 

[Paulie]

Do you guys think we're nearing a time in the NBA where the teams that have invested in younger talent will starting bearing fruit due to the veteran teams getting too far on in their years? Unless something changes, teams like the Spurs, Lakers, and Celtics are all starting to become less competitive while teams like the Thunder and Clippers are on the up and up.

 

[Omnis]

Well, sure. All stars fade. Look at how bad the Bulls were when they lost... Toni Kukoc.

 

[Pupik]

Do you guys think we're nearing a time in the NBA where the teams that have invested in younger talent will starting bearing fruit due to the veteran teams getting too far on in their years? Unless something changes, teams like the Spurs, Lakers, and Celtics are all starting to become less competitive while teams like the Thunder and Clippers are on the up and up.

The thing is, the same 9-10 teams have won every NBA title in the past 30 years, which means the best teams can afford to sign the best talent in a regular basis. Sure, some smaller-market teams make a run for it every few years, but not with any level of consistency. Even then, Miami and Dallas have only recently cracked into that elite group...even the New York Knicks, which manage to sign lots of great talent year after year, falls prey to mismanagement despite the largest sports market in the nation. Things have align just right to win it all, and younger talent that matures just right usually gets snapped up by other teams which can afford to pay them what they want.

The owners don't have a revenue-sharing program in place, so the big teams survive on talent which is fed the biggest contracts (although most owners have other revenue-generating streams besides basketball). Owning a sports franchise is like owning a racing team, it's really hard to turn a large profit, but you do it based on ego and (hopefully) a love of the sport.

Oklahoma City is a bit of a wild card, because it's an entirely new market for the NBA, and like the San Antonio Spurs, the only pro sports team in that city. The owners can do more or less as they please, although they did move an existing franchise. But the Clippers are nearly always going to play second fiddle to the Lakers, although they're going to have to make the playoffs year in and year out until they get taken seriously.

 

[Omnis]

So CP3 might be a Clipper now. Lakers fans gotta feel crunchy.

edit: Scratch that. NBA doesn't want him in LA lol. Poor Chris Paul... stuck on the Hornets.

 

[JohnBM01]

A Chris Paul trade to the Clippers... hit a snag today. So CP3 is STILL a Hornet. No Lakers... no Clippers... no trade seems to be working for CP3 as of now.

 

[JohnBM01]

I hope you like your NBA hoops in the Midwest because NBA TV is supposed to show the Preseason game between Cleveland at Detroit this Friday Night. At least this will help get some of you excited for the new season.

 

[Blitz24]

Chris Paul has been traded to the Los Angeles.... Clippers (surprised I didn't say Lakers?)


LAC receives:
G Chris Paul
2 Future 2nd Round Picks.

NOH receives:
C Chris Kaman
G Eric Gordon
F Al-Farouq Aminu
Minnesota First Round Pick.

 

[Spacegoat]

As somewhat of a Hornets fan (I don't follow the NBA that closely), I'm sad to see CP3 leave the Hornets but I'm so happy he's going to the Clippers instead of the Lakers.

 

[cullenand]

As somewhat of a Hornets fan (I don't follow the NBA that closely), I'm sad to see CP3 leave the Hornets but I'm so happy he's going to the Clippers instead of the Lakers.

Unfortuneately it was inevitable. The Hornets organization isnt going to be winning anytime soon and CP3 wanted to win, cant blame him for that. As a New Orleans resident I am also sad to see him go. Not only because of his play on the court, but he was such a positive influence on the community and did so many things for charity.

 

[Stavingo]

As somewhat of a Hornets fan (I don't follow the NBA that closely), I'm sad to see CP3 leave the Hornets but I'm so happy he's going to the Clippers instead of the Lakers.

Yeah I'd rather the Clippers than the Lakers, they already got Kobe and enough stars anyway on the rise.

 

[PHCharls]

Hamilton is now with Chicago Bulls.

 

[Spacegoat]

The Hornets organization isnt going to be winning anytime soon.

Meh that doesn't bother me that much, I'm a Carolina Panthers fan aswell, so I'm used to supporting a team that doesn't win a lot.

 

[Pupik]

The Clippers are finally taking that step into being a serious contender.

Finally!

 

[JohnBM01]

This season may be the best chance in years for the Clippers to take down the Lakers. Or to paraphrase a recently-fired coach in another sport: a chance to end the monopoly of NBA basketball in Los Angeles.

Once all the trading and stuff is done, what team(s) do you think could be surprise teams to make some noise in the playoffs once Playoffs time come around? What about surprise players?

 

[Villain]

As somewhat of a Hornets fan (I don't follow the NBA that closely), I'm sad to see CP3 leave the Hornets but I'm so happy he's going to the Clippers instead of the Lakers.

You got good pieces from my Clippers. Chris Kaman is primed for a bounce-back season (he was injured last year) and Eric Gordon is going to play with all kinds of fury. Kaman's contract is up at the end of the season so NOLA will have a ton of cap room to deal and lock up Gordon with an extension. Hornets will also have two picks in the first round of the next draft and this has to be one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. Al-Farouq Aminu is a young forward and he's got huge potential (a first round pick-up by the Clippers).

CP3 will have his Clippers' press conference in half an hour. Next week are two preseason games of Clippers versus Lakers so it'll be fun to get a preview of Christmas Day. I love the moves that Neil Olshey has been making this offseason.

 

[JohnBM01]

Can you believe it? The first of the Preseason games begins THIS WEEKEND! My Rockets have a couple of Preseason games with the Spurs before we begin our season at Orlando (I'd be surprised if we win at Orlando because I just don't see that happening).

One of tonight's Preseason games (or maybe the only one) is the Cavaliers at Pistons. Get psyched, players... the NBA is BACK!

 

[JohnBM01]

Back in business! Teams that played Friday night have helped us NBA basketball fans feel happy with the return of NBA action. Here are results from the four Preseason games that were played on Friday night (Home winners in CAPITAL LETTERS):

* Philadelphia 76ers at Washington Wizards (103-76; Philadelphia Wizards)
* Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers (95-86; Chicago Bulls)
* Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (91-87; Cleveland Cavaliers)
* New Orleans Hornets at Memphis Grizzlies (97-90; New Orleans Hornets)

...well, no Home winners, unfortunately.


My Rockets begin their Preseason on Saturday night. Good luck to all of your team(s) once your team plays their first Preseason game. But again- BACK TO [NBA] BASKETBALL!

 

[Paulie]

No victory for the Raptors, came damn close though. Even though all I can watch is highlights, it was still easy to see not many teams are playing hard yet.

 

[JohnBM01]

Sorry for the Raptors. My Rockets won 101-87 vs. the Spurs this past Saturday night. We are at San Antonio on Wednesday to take on the Spurs in their 'hood. All of this leads up to our first regular season game at Orlando on December 26th.

Aren't you all glad the NBA is back?

 

[Pupik]

The Heat is on!

I think most teams are only getting 2-3 games each, so I'd imagine after a game to "dust off the cobwebs", they're taking them quite seriously from here on out.

 

[Villain]

No victory for the Raptors, came damn close though. Even though all I can watch is highlights, it was still easy to see not many teams are playing hard yet.

Honestly, the only thing that matters in preseason is that everyone is healthy and ready to go for the games that actually count. I wouldn't even imagine using them as a barometer for the upcoming season unless you want to see how a player who's recovering from a past injury is moving.

Aren't you all glad the NBA is back?

I've never been this excited for the season to start:

 

[Paulie]

Billups, Paul, Griffin and Jordan (Deandre that is ), Clippers will be a very tough team this year, I fully expect them to trash the Lakers in regular season as well.

 

[JohnBM01]

A back-to-back is pretty tough. What do you all make of the possibilities of back-to-back-to-back games? I think this will really test the endurance of teams and their players in the case of doing three games in three days. This is typical in baseball in playing series, but this has to be absolutely taxing for basketball players.

So what do you make of doing back-to-back-to-backs?

 

[Villain]

I think the Clippers play a back-to-back-to-back-to-back game this year. I like it because the Clippers have such a young team. IIRC, the only players in their 30s are Chauncey, Mo, and Caron. With such a young team (and young knees), frequent success is realistic.

I'm primarily a baseball fan anyways so I'm used to games being on everyday. One of my gripes with the NBA is the days without games and I don't know what to watch.

 

[JohnBM01]

Turns out... the Rockets picked up 6'11" Center Samuel Dalembert. We also signed Forward Jeff Adrien. So it looks like Dalembert will be our man to fill up the middle at Center. I still don't know if it will be enough for my Rockets to contend. However, it's better than nothing.

My Rockets will play their second and final Preseason game at San Antonio in just a few moments. How are your team(s) doing as we approach the start of the 2011-2012 season?


[UPDATE] Rockets just lost 97-95 after a late rally. But it's okay. I hope we can stop these Spurs in the regular season- when it matters most. Our Season Opener is at Orlando on Dec. 26, and our home opener is on Dec. 29 against the Spurs.

 

[Villain]

So I was watching last night's preseason finale LA vs. LA and I was shaking my head the whole time. It's insane. There was one play that happened and really struck a cord: the Clippers got a defensive stop and then ran the court. They set up like a standard offense and Chris Paul had the ball at the point. Lakers were ready for a pick'n roll but CP3 shot-fakes and kicks it out to Billups. Billups rises up to shoot and then throws the ball around the back of his defender and out to Caron Butler who sinks a three-pointer from the corner. This is only the second game these guys have played together and they've only been on the same roster together for 7 days.

This is the Clippers. This was my team taking apart another team. It's insane. I'm used to hearing names like Paul, Billups, Butler, etc. and having them leading the boxscore for the team that is stomping the Clippers on the throat. Unbelievable.