NBA: 2012-2013 Season

[sumbrownkid]

I don't know what Tom Thibodeau does to make his men into warriors, but he just simply does it. Make him the next president of the United States.

This Bulls team is going to be in my heart and memories forever.

 

[a6m5]

I almost congratulated you! It ain't over yet. I hope they win.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Don't congratulate me, but the Bulls. And now you may.👍👍

 

[a6m5]

They pulled through, eh? Go Bulls! 👍

 

[Stavingo]

Wow Kudos to the Bulls 👍

They're so rugged and damaged

 

[a6m5]

It's beat to crap. 👍

 

[sumbrownkid]

The Bulls are that monster that refuses to die.

They are the Liquid Snake to your Solid Snake. Sure you may beat him, but he never goes away.

 

[Paulie]

That was a pretty awesome first round of the play-offs, now for rounds 2,3 and 4. Great job by the Bulls to overcome their injury woes and get through to round 2.
My predictions are Spurs, Grizzlies, Heat and possibly the Pacers.

 

[sumbrownkid]

I want Chicago to take at least two games from Miami, and seeing as how stubborn they are, I think they can do it.

 

[McLaren]

I want Chicago to take at least two games from Miami, and seeing as how stubborn they are, I think they can do it.

I believe they will. They've said in the regular season that the Bulls were one of the toughest opponents for the Heat to play; finishing 2-2 & a win & a loss at both home & away.
Very even teams here.

The question though is can the battered Bulls take on James should he decide to takeover the game or if Miami's bench pulls off a 3-point shootout support, as they've done before.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Well I hope Luol comes back and coughs on Lebron during the game. Let's see how viral Lu's flu is.

But lately I heard it's meningitis that he's been afflicted with.

 

[a6m5]

I read that it wasn't flu, but spinal tap. He claims that he was completely down & barely able to walk. We'll see. Is Rose completely out or what?

As for the series, if Miami actually come out to play, it will be a sweep. But we are talking about Miami Heat. They might come out underestimating the Bulls enthusiasm. They know they can just "turn it on", so they don't sense urgency or anything + I'm sure Wade/Bosh/Allen's knees are starting to get little sore by now.

My predictions are Spurs, Grizzlies, Heat and possibly the Pacers.

If Pacers had Granger, I'd have said 50/50, maybe in Pacers favor. With Granger out, I'm gonna have to go with the Knicks. I do like the Pacers though. I'd like to see Pendergraph(former Blazer rookie) hit K-Mart hard.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Rose is out for season as as I'm concerned.

It's getting annoying with the constant Rose speculation, especially when the Bulls just did the unthinkable.

But yet ESPN and others keep harping on Rose.

 

[a6m5]

I'm not critical on Rose like others(I'm a fan), but it's like Heat without James, or OKC without Durant. It is a big deal.

Edit: Who is that trying to stay on Durant, Tayshaun's dad?

 

[mr_geez]

What a great era for basketball fans , so many great players in the league, great rivalries, great storylines. I love NBA playoffs!

About Derrick Rose: I think it is wise that he doesn't want to come back this season, let's not forget what happened to Gilbert Arenas when he came back early from very similar injury in playoffs when he was with Washington Wizards and re-injured his knee. He was never the same again and is out of the league now.

 

[a6m5]

I don't know if you guys are watching this(3rd qtr), but Anthony is begging the officials to bail him out. I don't even see a hint of a foul, so I don't even know what he's talking about. I guess if you don't get out of the way & give him a shot, he thinks it's a foul as soon as there is a contact?

 

[mr_geez]

I think it was more frustration with referees giving him so many fouls through first 3 quarters. Indiana is a great defensive team and it will be very hard for Carmelo to get good looks while being sandwiched by Paul George and Hibbert, other guys have to step up and make the open shot (I'm looking at you JR Smith and Jason Kidd). Also Tyson Chandler is being outplayed by Kenyon Martin and it never is a good thing for Knicks.

On the other hand, it is not often when DJ Augustine steps up (I still can't believe that Bobcats took him and not Brook Lopez back in the day, it was almost as bad decision as Oden over Durant), so this series is far from over.

 

[a6m5]

I commented on Granger earlier, but I forgot about Paul George. Indiana looked good today, maybe they can beat NY. Maybe.

Did you guys see Carmelo get hit by a camera on the way off the court? He turns around & give that look that he wanted a foul? Get over yourself, you are soft!

 

[mr_geez]

Get over yourself, you are soft!

Yes , he is very soft. From growing up with single mother in Baltimore projects to being national champion as freshman at Syracuse, to getting absolutely abysmal Denver Nuggets team to playoffs in his rookie year, to being one of the best players with team USA at 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

 

[a6m5]

Yes , he is very soft. From growing up with single mother in Baltimore projects to being national champion as freshman at Syracuse, to getting absolutely abysmal Denver Nuggets team to playoffs in his rookie year, to being one of the best players with team USA at 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

I'm referring to how easily the Pacers have taken him out of the game mentally. You are critical of me calling him soft, but instead of giving me an argument on how "hard" he is, you give me his resume?

Single mom in Baltimore, give me a break. Some of the softest(especially mentally) comes from the toughest neighborhoods. What does winning NCAA have to do with toughness in NBA? Nothing. Denver was never a considerable Playoff threat(newsflash: half the league makes the Playoffs), which they also accomplished this year without Carmelo Anthony. Yeah, your All-USA player was definitely a big champ tonight.

 

[mr_geez]

I'm referring to how easily the Pacers have taken him out of the game mentally. You are critical of me calling him soft, but instead of giving me an argument on how "hard" he is, you give me his resume?

Single mom in Baltimore, give me a break. Some of the softest(especially mentally) comes from the toughest neighborhoods. What does winning NCAA have to do with toughness in NBA? Nothing. Denver was never a considerable Playoff threat(newsflash: half the league makes the Playoffs), which they also accomplished this year without Carmelo Anthony. Yeah, your All-USA player was definitely a big champ tonight.

Yeah , it was his fault that Knicks lost , especially considering NY was +7 with him on the floor.

Of course let's not forget how mentally weak he was when he scored 7 straight points to put away Boston, when they trimmed the lead to only 4 points in 4th quarter of game 6.

BTW I like how you connect complaining to the officials about calls with toughness.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1009/nba.complainers/content.2.html

 

[a6m5]

Yeah , it was his fault that Knicks lost , especially considering NY was +7 with him on the floor.

Of course let's not forget how mentally weak he was when he scored 7 straight points to put away Boston, when they trimmed the lead to only 4 points in 4th quarter of game 6.

BTW I like how you connect complaining to the officials about calls with toughness.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1009/nba.complainers/content.2.html

I am sorry, but none of the points you are bringing up means anything to me. Scoring seven straight points in one particular tight spot makes you un-soft? We've never seen bench players come thru in a similar fashion before? Maybe we should just agree to disagree. We obviously view this game very differently.

When somebody demands foul calls, just because they dare keep putting a body on you at the basket, you are soft. If I gave you the impression that any player who complains are soft, I am sorry, that was not my intention. I don't think Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant is soft.

 

[mr_geez]

When somebody demands foul calls, just because they dare keep putting a body on you at the basket, you are soft. If I gave you the impression that any player who complains are soft, I am sorry, that was not my intention. I don't think Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant is soft.

When Anthony whines about fouls he is soft but when Duncan or Bryant is whining about calls they are not soft, even though in both situations we have exactly the same outcome. Player from team A thinks he was fouled by player from team B while taking ball to the basket. I like your logic.

 

[Stavingo]

Damn didn't watch the game but this is silky smooveeee

 

[Paulie]

Ouch, I'm going for Memphis in that series but that was a nice dagger Durant threw. Good to see the Pacers get up in game 1, even though both teams are known to play dirty at times, I like how the dirty teams/teams I don't care much for are being forced to take each other out early.

 

[a6m5]

Like I said, Prince gave him way too much spacing. Those last handful of shots were outstanding though.

even though in both situations we have exactly the same outcome.

You are delusional. Comparing two leaders who was known to rise to the occasion(past tense, they are old now) & a player who has almost always lead the team to an early exit in the Playoffs?

Same outcome in your mind. Duncan & Kobe may complain, but no, lack of whistle on little body here & there play could not take them out of their game.

 

[mr_geez]

You are delusional. Comparing two leaders who was known to rise to the occasion(past tense, they are old now) & a player who has almost always lead the team to an early exit in the Playoffs?

Same outcome in your mind. Duncan & Kobe may complain, but no, lack of whistle on little body here & there play could not take them out of their game.

You know why Anthony's teams were eliminated early in all those years (except 2008/09 where they got to WC finals and were 2-2 against very beatable Lakers team, but then George Karl play offs coaching happened)?

Because Nuggets were a very poor ran franchise (in 46 seasons they got to conference finals 6 times, losing 5 of them) until they got the right guy as GM (Masai Ujiri), who made all the good moves (Melo trade, Felton trade, Nene trade, getting involved with Howard trade to get Iggy, good last few drafts) and have good foundation and cap space for the future.

You know how many times Denver Melo's temas were favorite in playoffs while he was there? None.

You know what Kobe Bryant achieved after Shaq went to Miami but before Jerry West gift-wrapped Lakers Pau Gasol (very similar trade to Kevin McHale giving away KG to Celtics for almost nothing)?

2004-05 : 34-48, didn't even make playoffs
2005-06 : 45-37, 4-3 first round loss to Phoenix with famous "Kobe not taking single shot in 2nd half of deciding game 7 because he was so mad" which lead to 31 point loss
2006-07 : 42-40, 4-1 first round loss to Phoenix, again!

Then BOOM, Pau Gasol comes to Lakers and they are back to contending status. Even though in those 3 seasons Kobe was playing out of his mind it didn't matter (check his stats from that era, especially advanced stats like Usage Rate, Win Share, True Shooting Percentage etc).

Tim Duncan situation is completely different. San Antonio had enormous luck on winning the lottery in single season when absolutely all the players were injured (David Robinson, Sean Elliott, Chuck Person, Will Perdue, Charles Smith), they fired Bob Hill (who famously flamed out during series against Jazz year before which they should have won) hiring Gregg Popovich (just one of the best coaches in NBA history, who btw was Teams GM and he fired Hill making himself the HC after promoting RC Buford to GM position, only one of the best GM's - HC combo in all pro sports) then selecting best PF in history of the game of basketball. You think Tim Duncan would have been so successful if he had been selected by Vancouver, Toronto, Golden State or New Jersey? So who is delusional?

What is Melo working with in NY? Team that is build around 3 point shooting and his or JR Smith iso plays with suffocating defense (staple of Mike Woodson coaching). NY had for years situation so awful that being competitive (2nd seed in East) is an achievement in itself (one of the worst owners in James Dolan, GM's like Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas for many years).

Again, Melo took team that plays heavy minutes to Jason Kidd (64 years old), Kenyon Martin (out of the league 2 months ago), Steve Novak (I have similar defense on court), Raymond Felton (so fat that he was billed "mr. one more cupcake" in Portland last season), Amar'e Stoudemire (ooops, he doesn't play because his knees are in so bad shape that no company wanted to insure his crazy big contract, basically untradeable at this point), JR Earl Smith III (one of the craziest players/people since Vernon Maxwell), Pablo Prigioni (36 year old rookie), Chris Copeland (29 year old rookie), Marcus Camby (guy who was starting C in last NY Knicks finals appearance in 1999) and Iman Shumpert (their defensive anchor besides Tyson Chandler who had the same injury as Derrick Rose and is not even close to being 100% healthy).

So yeah, a real juggernaut of a team eh? But of course it is Soft Melo fault and I am delusional.

 

[sumbrownkid]

The reason those Nuggets teams with Melo lost in the first rounds is because their defense sucked major ass.

Melo sucks at being a defender, and possibly I'd argue at being a team player. At one-on-one he can take on anyone. But in a 7 game series?

Not the smart bet.

Why do you think the Pacers beat NY? Again, Melo and the rest of his teams defense not up to par.

In other news, my Bulls are screwed for game 1. No Deng and possibly no Hinrich again.

 

[mr_geez]

The reason those Nuggets teams with Melo lost in the first rounds is because their defense sucked major ass.

Melo sucks at being a defender, and possibly I'd argue at being a team player. At one-on-one he can take on anyone. But in a 7 game series?

Geez, another misconception. Denver Nuggets were never a poor defensive team , in fact their Defensive Rating (it is points allowed per 100 posessions) was never lower than 15th (in last year of Melo in Denver, highest was 8th). Of course you may think it is not good, but you also have to consider pace of the game that they played, which was very fast (in fact they were top 5 team in pace in all years of Melo era) and that fact automatically inflated number of points allowed.

Another thing is Carmelo being a poor defender. I think you know what is coming, he is not a poor defender, because of his strength he can easily hold his own against majority of 4's in the league (he usually doesn't bite on pump fakes nor gamble for steals) while waiting for help defense to come from different places on the basketball court (usually from guy who is defending the least dangerous perimeter threat) ,plus it creates a big mismatch on the other end (thing Brooklyn Nets should have done with Gerald Wallace). He'll probably never be an elite defender, but his role on the team is not to be a defensive anchor. It would be stupid for him to expand so much energy on defense when whole offense resolves around him.

Please guys, basketball is such a great sport because it is not checkers, it is chess.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Melo is not going to be the elite defender, but he can at least put in more effort. In the playoffs your defense needs to be top notch. People keep talking about Miami's offense, when it's their defense really that makes life hell.

And that Nuggets defense is not misconception. When only the top 8 teams make it into the post season, and your defense is a paltry 15th then you're going to have issues. That was the main reason why Denver flopped all those years and flopped again against the Warriors. True, the Western Conference game is faster paced, but the last decade before 2010 the usual suspects were San Antonio and Los Angeles. Two teams that were a nightmare to score on in the paint when you had guys like Shaq and Duncan holding the fort.

George Karl is all offense but no defense. I know Melo is an offensive minded player, but the playoffs require him to be both.

Which is why I think it's going to be Pacers in 6. They are just way too big in the paint for Chandler alone to handler.

I agree with you basketball is a chess game though.