NBA: 2012-2013 Season

[a6m5]

I supposed you can teach, if they are willing to learn.

I said the Lakers was the only team that could potentially beat the Heat, but yeah, that gamble did not pan out. I stand by my prediction that, if Lakers doesn't come together, only injuries could potentially stop the Heat. They've been shopping Gasol, but short of two miracles happening, it won't do anything outside improving their regular season record: a) get a bona fide superstar in return. b) team completely clicking with his additon(pure fantasy at this point). If that happen, they should buy a lottery ticket.

I never followed Jordan when he was younger(I was in Japan, didn't even now what dunk was!), but I think Jordan himself is ultimately responsible for all of his game, including defense. He is a classic case of the guy who just "wanted it". He garnered so much respect, not only because of marketing, or for his skills. He was a competitor with a unbelievable drive, and did everything that needed to be done(including playing defense) to win.

I never heard about Pippen leading Jordan in defense. If that's true, that would be a shocker for me. My understanding was that Jordan showed Pippen how to play, and I assumed that defense was part of the curriculum.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Oh Pippen made Jordan work his butt off during practices. What better way to learn defense than playing against the player who personified it?

In fact, I'll go as far as to say Jordan would not have been Jordan if Pippen were a Super Sonic from the get go.

That said, man am I the old guy on the NBA thread? I was 5 when I witnessed his his third title and second 3 peat, but I remember them quite well.

 

[a6m5]

I know that they went pretty hard in practices.

Anyway, I do remember Jordan's run during the early 90's. I just didn't comprehend the games the way I do today. I know that my Blazers got killed in the Finals, but other than Blazers not being able to score as many points as the Bulls did, I have no idea why they lost.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Would you believe me if I told you Jordan was held scoreless for the first 10 minutes in game 6, and in fact benched when the back ups brought Chicago back from losing the game? He was brought in of course in the final minutes to ice it.

 

[a6m5]

I'll believe it. I've seen him struggle. Just not for long.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Yeah Stern actually told him to struggle to show kids he was human.

 

[Stavingo]

Good ol' David Stern getting things done

 

[JohnBM01]

Some random news notes...

* M. Speights, Wayne Ellington, and Josh Selby are now Cleveland Cavaliers. They were former Memphis Grizzlies. The also get a future 1st Round Pick.

* The Los Angeles Clippers signed a new 10-year deal in their leasing of the Staples Center. So anyone thinking the Clippers should stop sharing the Staples Center will have to be quiet for about, oh... ten years. Probably those who think they should play their games in Anaheim or San Diego.

* Carlos Boozer was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Kevin Durant was named the Western Conference Player of the Week. This was for games played between January 14-20.


By the way, I wish Anderson Varejao well after recently suffering a blood clot in his lungs. That HAS to be painful. Any injury of any kind is bad enough. Having something like a blood clot in your lungs is VERY scary.


Now some scores from last night...

* It was 105-90 in Detroit as the Pistons smashed the Orlando Magic.

* Boston has now lost four straight games as the Celtics fell 95-90 at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

* 110-102 was the score in Milwaukee as the Bucks held off the Philadelphia 76ers.

* First place in the West was on the line in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Clippers hosted the 1st Place Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Thunder won 109-97. So OKC retained 1st Place in the West.


Hope you all enjoy tonight's games.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Why would the Clips move to a new stadium? The Staples Center is one of the more modern complexes and is only going to keep getting improvement. That, and it's a prime location.

Edit: Coming soon to a theater near you: Jimmy B and the Bulls, starring Jimmy Butler, with costar Benny the Bull.

18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Came through for Chicago.

 

[JohnBM01]

Another bad night for the Rockets. Denver won 105-95 over us in a rare home game for us this month. We went from a... I think 55-52 lead at the half to being down by as many as 21. Rockets get gashed again. It's now been about 12 straight games being down by double digits.

The New Orleans Hornets will announce their new logo, colors, and things like that tomorrow; as they will become the New Orleans Pelicans. Their new colors will be some combination of red/blue/gold. The "Hornets" namesake of New Orleans will be replaced with the state bird of Louisiana. So I wonder if nostalgia would make a comeback so Charlotte can bring back the Hornets?


Congrats to all other winners from tonight's games.

 

[sumbrownkid]

a6 your Blazers better not choke this game.

 

[a6m5]

a6 your Blazers better not choke this game.

It's not choking if they didn't stand a chance from the beginning. It'd only be seven in a row, which is nothing in a lottery season!

 

[sumbrownkid]

All right your team is off the hook. Thank you for gifting that loss.👍

 

[a6m5]

They lose against so many crap teams, then beat Indiana by 20. That, is a team out of balance.

 

[Paulie]

A galant effort from the Raptors today pushed the Heat to overtime with Lebron getting a triple double and Wade scoring 35. It would have been awesome if Toronto beat Miami at their home court, but it wasn't to be. It did make for a very entertaining game though.

 

[JohnBM01]

More basketball, you say? Sure! Here are the Thursday night matches:

* Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic
* New York Knicks at Boston Celtics (NBA on TNT)
* Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns (NBA on TNT)

Also, the All-Star Reserves will be announced tonight. Enjoy some NBA hoops.


Here is a discussion question in case you want something to discuss... who do you think are some of the most underrated players and teams in the NBA right now? What team(s) or player(s) have been surprises to you so far this season?

 

[a6m5]

Maybe Golden State? For me, even San Antonio. While I don't believe for second they will win the West, their effort so far this season has been very impressive. They are still the role model franchise in the professionalism they display on the court alone.

 

[McLaren]

Maybe Golden State? For me, even San Antonio. While I don't believe for second they will win the West, their effort so far this season has been very impressive. They are still the role model franchise in the professionalism they display on the court alone.

I'll agree with Golden State. They've given all the top teams fits or upsets & are 26-15; 5th in the West.

Not sure I'd agree on the Spurs. I don't think anyone has ever underrated them, when they're always a Top 3 Conference team. I think it's just that they're considered "boring" because they don't make the news very often & actually play the game without distractions. They didn't even get that much attention after the Halloween deal or Stern getting pissed they sent 4 players home, and I imagine it's because none of the players responded on their own.

Pop runs a tight organization over there. 👍👍

 

[a6m5]

I'll agree with Golden State. They've given all the top teams fits or upsets & are 26-15; 5th in the West.

Not sure I'd agree on the Spurs. I don't think anyone has ever underrated them, when they're always a Top 3 Conference team. I think it's just that they're considered "boring" because they don't make the news very often & actually play the game without distractions. They didn't even get that much attention after the Halloween deal or Stern getting pissed they sent 4 players home, and I imagine it's because none of the players responded on their own.

Pop runs a tight organization over there. 👍👍

You gotta understand, I'm a huge fan of the organization. It's not so much that people underrate the San Antonio Spurs but with the talent they have, they are overachieving, they are not supposed to be hanging with the Clippers & Thunder at the stage their team is in. Their success is a product of players who actually take pride in competing, coach who not only run offense & defense, but keep the crew focused on the bigger picture.

They are smack in middle of the Western Conference race, and with their age & injuries, with any other club, we wouldn't expect them to be.

 

[McLaren]

You gotta understand, I'm a huge fan of the organization. It's not so much that people underrate the San Antonio Spurs but with the talent they have, they are overachieving, they are not supposed to be hanging with the Clippers & Thunder at the stage their team is in. Their success is a product of players who actually take pride in competing, coach who not only run offense & defense, but keep the crew focused on the bigger picture.

They are smack in middle of the Western Conference race, and with their age & injuries, with any other club, we wouldn't expect them to be.

Well, when worded like that, I can agree with it.

 

[a6m5]

I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from. Of course, this is nothing new for the Spurs, and it isn't the first year they've surprised me either. I thought they were done like two years ago, but they looked so good, they had me believing that they'd knockdown OKC in the conference finals last year. I just wonder how long they are going to keep this up!

 

[JohnBM01]

Come get your New Orleans Pelican loving! Here you go: http://www.nba.com/hornets/#/gallery/gallery/new-orleans-pelicans-logo-unveiling

 

[Spacegoat]

Honestly, I'm still not entirely sold on the Pelicans name, but the logo and the colours look great.

 

[Omnis]

Red, white, navy, gold is always an excellent color set.

 

[a6m5]

That would look great on their court, or arena, but it is way too busy for a actual sports team logo.

 

[Pupik]

Honestly, I'm still not entirely sold on the Pelicans name, but...

Read this, then. (Language Warning.)

 

[Spacegoat]

Read this, then. (Language Warning.)

Well, I stand corrected. Pelican's are awesome!

 

[sumbrownkid]

Yay the Pelicans!

Can't wait til Rose deuces on you to welcome the change.👍

@a6: The Spurs will always be there so long as Pops is still in charge. He refuses to go away, and rightly so. I get tired of OKC's and LA's primadonnas.

 

[JohnBM01]

Old news, but the 2013 NBA All-Star Reserves were announced. Here they are:

--- WESTERN ALL-STAR RESERVES ---
* LaMarcus Aldrigde (POR)
* Tim Duncan (SA)
* James Harden (HOU)
* David Lee (GS)
* Zach Randolph (MEM)
* Russell Westbrook (OKC)
* Tony Parker (SA)

WEST SNUBS:
Steph Curry (GS), Marc Gasol (LAL), Al Jefferson (UTA), Serge Ibaka (OKC)


--- EASTERN ALL-STAR RESERVES ---
* Chris Bosh (MIA)
* Tyson Chandler (NYK)
* Luol Deng (CHI)
* Paul George (IND)
* Jrue Holiday (PHI)
* Kyrie Irving (CLE)
* Joakim Noah (CHI)

EAST SNUBS:
Paul Pierce (BOS), J.R. Smith (NYK), Brook Lopez (BKN), Brandon Jennings (MIL), Carlos Boozer (CHI)


Congrats to all who got in as All-Star Reserves.


Tonight, my Rockets are part of a back-to-back: at the Hornets/Pelicans tonight followed by hosting the Nets tomorrow night. It will be Brooklyn's only visit to H-Town this season on Saturday. Good luck to all of your team(s).

 

[Stavingo]

Read this, then. (Language Warning.)

After reading that I'm sold on the name