NBA: 2014-2015 Season

[a6m5]

I didn't watch the game last night, but I heard that the Blazers blew something like a 16 point lead in the fourth, then lost in O/T to the Mavs. I forgive you, @McLaren as you were at the game(I think it was this one). I hope you enjoyed your evening!

 

[Brett]

The Clippers had no answers for the Thunder today. And Choo Choo! All aboard the Mitch McGary hype train! He put in work today!

 

[JohnBM01]

Didn't follow the game at all, but I read on Facebook we failed against the Trail Blazers here in Houston. It was 108-98 in favor of Portland despite James Harden getting 45 points (season high for him). Bragging rights for Mr. a6m5 as my boys went down tonight. Can't win 'em all. Just ask the Knicks and Timberwolves.

Anyhow... it's time for my Rockets to return to being on the road. A three-game trip is coming up. Up next is our final two games before the All-Star Break (both games are nationally-televised), then . We're in Phoenix on Tuesday to entertain DCybertron's Suns. After that, we're getting some SoCal hospitality when the Los Angeles Clippers host my Rockets on Wednesday. Suns problems, Clippers problems. This road trip concludes on February 20 when we're in Dallas to take on McLaren's Dallas Mavericks.


My Rockets didn't win, but congrats to everyone who did win today/tonight.

[UPDATE] Forgot to mention this was a home game for HOU. Edits made.

 

[McLaren]

I didn't watch the game last night, but I heard that the Blazers blew something like a 16 point lead in the fourth, then lost in O/T to the Mavs. I forgive you, @McLaren as you were at the game(I think it was this one). I hope you enjoyed your evening!

Dude! It was such a good game. There were a couple times in the 3rd where we hit a 3 and then Lillard would come back early in the clock and just hit a pull up 3. Started off strong in the 4th with Dirk and Aldridge trading buckets and then it felt like we lost momentum when we were down 16 with 4-5 to go. Big plays and Dirk's 3 to tie sent the whole arena going crazy. I thought we might get screwed in OT since Lillard is the Clutch Kid, but Parsons & Harris definitely stepped up.


Awesome game to be blunt. Had to throw in that last pic. Pretty sure my voice is still gone.

 

[Paulie]

Quality win for the Raptors over the Spurs today, very much one of those playoff atmosphere/game styles.

 

[JohnBM01]

If San Antonio wins tonight, Gregg Popovich will pick up his 1,000th win as coach. We already had the likes of Coach K and Herb Magee reach 1,000 wins on the college front. But we're talking the NBA here. Pops can be the 9th coach in NBA history to accumulate 1K wins as coach. To do this, the black and silver boys will need to take down the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. I am a Rockets fan. So more than likely, us Rockets have sworn rivalries with the Spurs and the Mavericks as part of the NBA's Texas Triangle. However, I actually respect the San Antonio Spurs. So if and when San Antonio wins that 1K game for Gregg Popovich, I'll surely be proud of Pops for all he's accomplished.


On the Rockets front, Dwight Howard is reportedly out 6-8 weeks, but he'll be re-evaluated and could return sooner. No Rockets 'ball tonight. Enjoy some basketball tonight.

 

[a6m5]

Had to throw in that last pic.

I'm glad you had a good time. Even at the expense of my team. I wish you guys still lost, but you know.

If San Antonio wins tonight, Gregg Popovich will pick up his 1,000th win as coach.

Was that tonight? *checks score* Damn dude, tied up with 21 seconds left in the game. I like Indiana, but I hope San Antonio wins. Go Spurs!

Edit: Congrats Coach.

 

[McLaren]

I'm glad you had a good time. Even at the expense of my team. I wish you guys still lost, but you know.

Well, in spirit of that, we lost tonight. Lost Tyson & Monta early on with Dirk on limited minutes. Charlie V knocked down a bunch of 3's, but it wasn't enough. Oh well.

 

[a6m5]

Ouch, that's not good. Besides, I'd root for Dallas over the Clips.

I just read this on CBS. What a great(funny story).


Dominique Wilkins shares awesome Larry Bird trash-talk story
By James Herbert | NBA writer

February 9, 2015 11:05 am PT

Dominique Wilkins remembers his battles with Larry Bird. (USATSI)






Dominique Wilkins must have all the stories in the world. The Hall of Famer known as the Human Highlight Film recently shared a great one with the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett. The subject: Larry Bird, and how he treated Wilkins as a young player:

“One of the first times I ever played against him, I went out for the opening tip and I went to shake his hand. He just stood there and looked at me stone-faced with his hands behind his back,” Wilkins said recently.

“I was like, ‘Whoa.' Then we were getting ready for the tip and he says to me, ‘You don't belong in this league, Homes.' I couldn't believe it, but it happened so fast, I didn't know what to think.

“Then they had the ball and I was on him and he said, ‘I don't know why they got you guarding me, Homes. You can't guard me.' Then, whap, he hit a 3. Then he came down again and said, ‘They made a mistake putting you on me, Homes,' and he took another 3.”

Getting into the story, Wilkins began to act things out with his facial expressions.

“So now I'm hot,” he said. “I'm hot. I mean, I'm steaming.

“Then a little while later, I came down on a break and he was backpedaling. I just went right after him. I jumped up and he tried to challenge, but I took that right through the rim. He fell and hit the basket support.

“He got up and said, ‘I like you, rookie. You've got(guts).' I was happy for a second, and then he said, ‘But I'm still going for 40 on you tonight.' ”

He then paused the story, stepped back and smiled.

“But I got him,” Wilkins said. “He only scored 39.”

The Game 7 duel between Wilkins and Bird in 1988 is well chronicled and easy to revisit. This, though -- this is new, and it's classic Bird. Wilkins was the No. 3 overall pick in 1982. He was a great scorer as a rookie. He obviously belonged in the league. Bird just liked to try to intimidate people, and he talked more trash than just about anybody. That's not a bad welcome-to-the-NBA moment.

LINK

 

[Brett]

And Choo Choo! All aboard the Mitch McGary hype train! He put in work today!

Thunder win again last night. Also still room on the Mitch McGary hype train. Back to back double doubles for McGary. He put in more work last night.

 

[McLaren]

Is there even a reason to have Perkins anymore? Adams, as trollish as he is, contributes more on defense, & McGary (even though it's early) is doing more work. Brooks refuses to recognize Perk's strengths & as a result, he just gets abused which now gives the impression that he has fallen off his Boston days. I just don't see any reason to have him even start if he won't be utilized properly.

Brook Lopez would have likely been the same.

 

[Brett]

Perkins is useful in the right match ups. Against a team like the last few years of Miami, he served no purpose. The Heat had no one on the floor for him to guard.

Against Houston, when Steven Adams is resting on the bench, Perkins is very capable of frustrating Dwight. Perk is also useful against Memphis's Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. If San Antonio sticks with a Duncan/Splitter combo, then he can be useful. He has also put in some work against Portland at times. Really any team with two big men, Perk can serve a role. However, with what his contract has been, the money demanded greater production.

Perk also still sets some of the best, moving and still somehow legal (KG probably taught him), screens in league. He is also a good locker room guy. He is all about the team and building up the other guys to be at their best.

 

[JohnBM01]

Rockets on a back-to-back, starting at Phoenix tonight followed by at the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night. DCybertron's Suns doled out an all-you-can-eat buffet on my Rockets, oh... and check your defense at the door because this one was all about offense. The score may not reflect it, but we had to fight hard to preserve a strong lead. Red Nation still prevailed with a hard-fought 127-118 victory. And let me tell you something- the Suns have NOTHING to be ashamed of. Phoenix are well entrenched in the playoff mix for a reason. Solid players and tough talent on the Suns squad. Out of sportsmanship and respect, best of luck to the Suns in trying to stay among the top percentile in the Western Conference standings.

Phoenix is in the rear view mirror. Ahead for the Rockets... at the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night. We'll see how that one goes.


Congratulations to all other Tuesday winners. Before I end this post, I want to personally congratulate Gregg Popovich on knocking down win No. 1,000. I even got on the San Antonio Spurs' Facebook fan page and offered my congratulations there. San Antonio won 95-93 at the Indiana Pacers last night.

 

[Paulie]

Does anyone else fully disagree with Kyle Korver being an all-star?! The all-star game is all about the alpha dogs of the league, the best players on the planet. Kyle Korver is NOT that! He's just a really good role player who's shooting the ball out of his mind this season. Despite that, he averages what is it? Less than 15pts on a team where there are at least 3 players ahead of him on the defensive focus list? Korver's percentage numbers would drop dramatically if he were asked to be a team's star player. Maybe his scoring would rise slightly based on usage rate, but I bet he'd be little more than a 15ppg scorer on average shooting numbers, nobody would ever take any notice of him.
Kyle Korver deserves major recognition for the role he is playing on a very successful team. BUT!
Kyle Korver =/= All-Star

 

[Brett]

I do not have any problem with Kyle Korver being an All Star this year. The Hawks have been very good and he is a big reason why. His stats belie his impact on games. Opposing defenses have to constantly account for his ability to knock down threes and that leads to wide open looks for his teammates, be it from an assist from Korver, a hockey assist from Korver, or a hole in the defense because of the space created by guarding Korver so closely.

I also do not have an issue with Korver being an All Star because he plays in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have been dominating the East. Getting four All Stars is good recognition for how good they have been. However, it would be a different story if Atlanta was in the Western Conference.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Rockets failed against an undermanned Clippers squad by a 110-95 score. We didn't need Dwight Howard, and supposedly the Clippers didn't need Blake Griffin. James Harden couldn't toss a 3-pointer into Santa Monica Pier. Bulls:censored: m:censored:f:censored:ing performance by the Rockets. The Rockets can't keep having clunkers like this bulls:censored: night. I think we're heading into the All-Star Break stuck on 35 wins after dropping this game.


Congratulations to all other winners from Wednesday.

 

[Brett]

Really good win by the Thunder against the Grizzlies. With the win, the Thunder move into sole possession of ninth place in the Western Conference and one half game behind the Suns. The win was also a great way to lead into the All Star break and hopefully OKC will continue with this level of play.

 

[a6m5]

On Kyle Korver, I think All-Star game is a 🤬 circus at best anyway, but I I tend to agree with Paulie on this one.

@JohnBM01 made me laugh. I'm glad that the Rockets lost tonight, letting us tie yet once again. Just like last year, Blazers/Rockets race is real tight.

 

[Paulie]

Baynes with 12pts and threw a few hammers down in the highlight reel today. Dellavedova was also added to the Rising Stars game, huge coup for him. I'm not sure he really deserved it, but happy for him anyway.👍 Bogut actually scored in double figures today as well , 10pts/10reb. [/Aussie Update]
Great win for the Raptors as well, by 2 over the Wizards. Lou Williams did his thing off the bench.

I do not have any problem with Kyle Korver being an All Star this year. The Hawks have been very good and he is a big reason why. His stats belie his impact on games. Opposing defenses have to constantly account for his ability to knock down threes and that leads to wide open looks for his teammates, be it from an assist from Korver, a hockey assist from Korver, or a hole in the defense because of the space created by guarding Korver so closely.

I also do not have an issue with Korver being an All Star because he plays in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have been dominating the East. Getting four All Stars is good recognition for how good they have been. However, it would be a different story if Atlanta was in the Western Conference.

I hear what you're saying, he's a crucial piece to the (very good) Hawks team, but all of that describes what a role player is supposed to do, and I feel the All-Star game is for star players (which I feel Korver isn't).

 

[Brett]

Really good win by the Thunder against the Grizzlies. With the win, the Thunder move into sole possession of ninth place in the Western Conference and one half game behind the Suns. The win was also a great way to lead into the All Star break and hopefully OKC will continue with this level of play.

To expand on my last post, the Mitch McGary hype train died a little last night, as he was not able to continue with a third straight double double. However, Nick Collison tore it up and it was amazing.

I hear what you're saying, he's a crucial piece to the (very good) Hawks team, but all of that describes what a role player is supposed to do, and I feel the All-Star game is for star players (which I feel Korver isn't).

Kyle Korver is a star player for the Hawks, though not a star player of the NBA. He impacts every single Atlanta offensive possession just with his presence on the floor. Defenses are terrified of the guy. That is also not likely to translate to the All Star game.

However, in the terrible East, I can understand the best Eastern team, with extra emphasis on team since Atlanta does not rely on a singular star player, getting four players in the game. Korver would have no chance to make it on the team if Atlanta was in the West, but with the terrible state of the East, it is fine. It is good for the coaches to recognize a player that may not otherwise receive acclaim, but has such a large impact on games.

 

[JohnBM01]

This weekend is NBA All-Star Weekend. Here is what the standings look like once the games that matter return:


--- EASTERN CONFERENCE ---
ATLANTIC: Toronto 36-17, BKN (21-31), BOS (20-31), PHI (12-41), NY (10-43)
CENTRAL: Chicago (34-20), CLE (33-22), MIL (30-23), DET (21-33), IND (21-33)
SOUTHEAST: Atlanta (43-11), WSH (33-21), CHA (22-30), MIA (22-30), ORL (17-39)

E. CONFERENCE TOP 8: Atlanta, TOR, CHi, WSH, CLE, MIL, CHA, MIA
E. CONFERENCE REST: BKN, BOS, DET, IND, ORL, PHI, NY


--- WESTERN CONFERENCE ---
NORTHWEST: Portland (36-17), OKC (28-25), DEN (20-33), UTA (19-34), MIN (11-42)
PACIFIC: Golden State (42-9), LAC (35-19), PHX (29-25), SAC (18-34), LAL (13-40)
SOUTHWEST: Memphis (39-14), HOU (36-17), DAL (36-19), SA (34-19), NO (27-26)

W. CONFERENCE TOP 8: Golden State, MEM, POR, HOU, DAL, LAC, SA, PHX
W. CONFERENCE REST: OKC, NO, DEN, UTA, SAC, LAL, MIN


--- OTHER OBSERVATIONS... ---

CURRENT RECORDS:
...BEST WINNING PERCENT: Golden State (0.024, 42-9)
...WORST WINNING PERCENT: New York (0.189, 10-43)
...BEST HOME: Atlanta (25-3)
...BEST AWAY: Golden State (19-7)
...WORST HOME: Philadelphia and New York (7-19 each)
...WORST AWAY: New York (3-24)

CURRENT STREAKS:
...LONGEST WINNING: Chicago (4 straight wins)
...LONGEST LOSING: Los Angeles Lakers (6 straight losses)


This is how both conferences look once the important games return. Nobody's been mathmetically eliminated at this point, even among the sorry teams. So there's still hope for some teams to bounce back and put themselves within the upper percentile of the conference standings. Teams already in the upper perceentile needs to either maintain their position or perhaps better their position. Some teams simply won't improve or worsen their position. No matter what, the race to the playoffs will be back on when the All-Star Break concludes.

Good luck to all of your teams moving forward. And of course, good luck (and congratulations) to all All-Star Break participants.

 

[Paulie]

Dante and Dello are one hour away from their Rising Stars game! Hopefully the first of many all-star weekend appearances ahead for Exum.

 

[McLaren]

Does anyone else fully disagree with Kyle Korver being an all-star?! The all-star game is all about the alpha dogs of the league, the best players on the planet. Kyle Korver is NOT that! He's just a really good role player who's shooting the ball out of his mind this season. Despite that, he averages what is it? Less than 15pts on a team where there are at least 3 players ahead of him on the defensive focus list? Korver's percentage numbers would drop dramatically if he were asked to be a team's star player. Maybe his scoring would rise slightly based on usage rate, but I bet he'd be little more than a 15ppg scorer on average shooting numbers, nobody would ever take any notice of him.
Kyle Korver deserves major recognition for the role he is playing on a very successful team. BUT!
Kyle Korver =/= All-Star

I have to agree. Pretty much there because the team was voted as the "MVP" of the East & had undefeated month. But they are now 3-3 for this month showing that they were just on a hot streak & they're still not a Playoff experienced team.

It's alright, though. LOT of players got snubbed this year. People getting mad Dirk made it in over ZBo yet believe Bryant's selection was fine because it was "honoring" a legend.

 

[Paulie]

Go Team World! It's our birthday! Not sure how Andrew Wiggins got the MVP, it was clearly Rudy Gobert! I like Gobert, so freakishly huge but not un-co or slow.

 

[JohnBM01]

Enjoy the All-Star Game tonight, folks.

 

[JohnBM01]

Your winner is... the West! The Western All-Stars beat the Eastern All-Stars 163-158 last night. First ever West All-Star win at Madison Square Garden. The All-Star Break is over. Everything from all the hype and the beautiful Ariana Grande and such are all done. And so now, it's back to the games that matter. It won't be too long until teams lace 'em up and go at it again on the hardwood. It will be time to return to trying to make the playoffs to try to become champions. Every team wants to grab the O'Brien Trophy and show they are the #1 team in the NBA.

Congratulations to all the all star participants.

 

[McLaren]

That was such a boring game until the 3rd quarter. I know its the All-Star game and it was supposed to be laid back and fun, but it's also supposed to be about seeing the best of the best go head-to-head, not pass and see who can shoot 3s in a shoot around. A little D & effort won't kill them.

Dirk's alley-oop still the best highlight and the throwback to Vince. Re-Dirk-ulous!

 

[Paulie]

That was such a boring game until the 3rd quarter. I know its the All-Star game and it was supposed to be laid back and fun, but it's also supposed to be about seeing the best of the best go head-to-head, not pass and see who can shoot 3s in a shoot around. A little D & effort won't kill them.

Dirk's alley-oop still the best highlight and the throwback to Vince. Re-Dirk-ulous!

You know, I could have SWORN I saw Melo defend one of LaMarcus' shots (hand in face), too which someone yelled out (sounded like LaMarcus) "Get off of me!", then on the way back up the court it looked a hell of a lot like Aldridge deliberately slowed down to pass behind Melo and try to trip him up. Couldn't help but think to myself that it appeared LaMarcus Aldridge got offended by defence in an All-Star game, which kind of annoyed me.

 

[Aesthetics]

According to USA Today and Yahoo Sports...

Goran Dragic wants out of Phoenix...
Just...
🤬
And out of all the teams he wants to be traded too...
The LAKERS, Knicks, and Heat?!
FFS just good ol' Arizona sports luck there.

 

[JohnBM01]

The Rockets also expressed interest in Dragic, and he used to play for us. He could improve any roster as far as I'm concerned.