NBA Thread 2013-2014

gooDevil said:
Pretty ridiculous attempt to defend, deserved a flagrant. Shouldn't be suspended tho imho.
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He was clearly not trying to defend. These kind of plays really anger me (regardless of who is on the receiving end). If you wanna play tough play tough, but play the ball. If you're out there to try and injure somebody (and by the way, it could have been much worse if it hit his face, luckily James lifted his face just before the hit), then you shouldn't be on a basketball court. And if he was trying to be "tough", then may be he should have used his "toughness" to grab more than 1 rebound in 37 minutes against the worst rebounding team in the league.

In my opinion he should be suspended because the league should be tough in these situations, and by the letter of the law it's a no-brainer flagrant 2 imo (unnecessary, as there is no way in hell he was trying to play the ball there, and excessive, as an elbow in the throat of somebody going full speed at you is clearly excessive enough).

And if they're not suspending him, then Haslem will probably be waiting for him in game 3.
 
Aldridge has been outstanding in the 2 games at Houston. Lillard has played like a veteran. In comparison, Howard has been inconsistent, and Harden's drive and foul tactics have been nullified, as Portland are content to back off him as soon as he leaves the 3 point line, leaving Harden with no option but to chuck bad midpoint 2 after bad midpoint 2. Houston don't have reliable go to tactics, and Lin/Parsons are a bit marginalized in the system. Houston will win games in this series because they are normally great on the offensive end, but their defensive frailities sees them going home. In 6 games at the most.
 
adexkola said:
Aldridge has been outstanding in the 2 games at Houston. Lillard has played like a veteran. In comparison, Howard has been inconsistent, and Harden's drive and foul tactics have been nullified, as Portland are content to back off him as soon as he leaves the 3 point line, leaving Harden with no option but to chuck bad midpoint 2 after bad midpoint 2. Houston don't have reliable go to tactics, and Lin/Parsons are a bit marginalized in the system. Houston will win games in this series because they are normally great on the offensive end, but their defensive frailities sees them going home. In 6 games at the most.
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Aldridge is forcing Houston adjust their lineups to him already which is a problem. They are clearing out one side of the floor for him and letting him go one-on-one against Jones, Asik, Howard or whoever is defending him. Houston isn't sending any help, because they are so concerned about Batum, Matthews and Lillard from getting clean looks from three. Aldridge won't keep shooting this well, but Houston is almost certainly going to have to sacrifice some of their attention to the perimeter shooters of Portland in order to contain him and if Portland can make them pay for that it's going to be hard. Houston will have to win 2 out of 3 against Portland at the Rose Garden, which is one of the top-3 home arenas in the league. I don't see it happening.
 
AR87 said:
Aldridge is forcing Houston adjust their lineups to him already which is a problem. They are clearing out one side of the floor for him and letting him go one-on-one against Jones, Asik, Howard or whoever is defending him. Houston isn't sending any help, because they are so concerned about Batum, Matthews and Lillard from getting clean looks from three. Aldridge won't keep shooting this well, but Houston is almost certainly going to have to sacrifice some of their attention to the perimeter shooters of Portland in order to contain him and if Portland can make them pay for that it's going to be hard. Houston will have to win 2 out of 3 against Portland at the Rose Garden, which is one of the top-3 home arenas in the league. I don't see it happening.
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Aye, good points. Normally I'd count Houston as being able to outscore most teams in the league on their day, but they'll need more from Harden to overcome the deficit. Harden, and McHale.
 
Massive choke by Memphis here. They had the game in bag. Yes, OKC have defended well but some of the offensive play by Memphis has been quite poor. The last one minute has been amazing though. Starting from Westbrook's three to Allen's steal to Westbrook's four point play.
 
Memphis win and lead the series 2-1. Really good performance by them in overtime. Didn't think they had it in them to win it in OT but they did. However, that was incredibly stupid play by Tony Allen. God knows what he was thinking there.
 
Am I the only person who hates t-shirt/color nights in pro sports? All of these people in yellow are annoying me in the Clippers-Warriors game.
 
So far this has been the most competitive NBA playoffs I could remember. The only series that looks like a complete mismatch is the Miami/Charlotte series. And since Miami are playing at like 60% intensity at this point of the playoffs even that series might turn interesting.
 
Sammer's Hammer said:
Massive choke by Memphis here. They had the game in bag. Yes, OKC have defended well but some of the offensive play by Memphis has been quite poor. The last one minute has been amazing though. Starting from Westbrook's three to Allen's steal to Westbrook's four point play.
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They have done this shit in the past, blowing a long lead, and losing the series to the Clippers. Glad about the win though.
 
The Pacers and OKC look far off from their regular season form. Roy Hibert not performing the way he does normally only 18 points from & few blocks from 3 games are just no good. The series will be really tough for them as they havent found an answer to Jeff Teague. I hope they can rally and go through otherwise I cant see how the Heat will be dethroned.
 
Hamadovich86 said:
The Pacers and OKC look far off from their regular season form. Roy Hibert not performing the way he does normally only 18 points from & few blocks from 3 games are just no good. The series will be really tough for them as they havent found an answer to Jeff Teague. I hope they can rally and go through otherwise I cant see how the Heat will be dethroned.
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Well Indiana limited Jeff Teague to 7 for 20 shooting in their last game (hardly a dominating performance), and only just lost it in the end (the scoreline doesn't reflect how close it was).

George and Hill were just ice cold on the night (went 4 for 22 combined), and I doubt this will happen again on game 4. It will be 2-2 Tomorrow.

And I expect the same with the Thunder. They lost two very close games (Durant went 0 for 8 from 3 which is something you very rarely see), but they're still in my eyes by far the better team, and they will show that tomorrow.

Great teams are at their best when their backs are against the wall, and both will feel that way on Saturday, and will prove their quality.
 
Danny1982 said:
Well Indiana limited Jeff Teague to 7 for 20 shooting in their last game (hardly a dominating performance), and only just lost it in the end (the scoreline doesn't reflect how close it was).

George and Hill were just ice cold on the night (went 4 for 22 combined), and I doubt this will happen again on game 4. It will be 2-2 Tomorrow.

And I expect the same with the Thunder. They lost two very close games (Durant went 0 for 8 from 3 which is something you very rarely see), but they're still in my eyes by far the better team, and they will show that tomorrow.

Great teams are at their best when their backs are against the wall, and both will feel that way on Saturday, and will prove their quality.
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Thanks for the insight mate I can only watch the highlights for most games due to the time difference but its clear that both the Pacers and OKC need to step up to go through they cant afford such slip ups if they want to contend for the title.
 
Danny1982 said:
Well Indiana limited Jeff Teague to 7 for 20 shooting in their last game (hardly a dominating performance), and only just lost it in the end (the scoreline doesn't reflect how close it was).

George and Hill were just ice cold on the night (went 4 for 22 combined), and I doubt this will happen again on game 4. It will be 2-2 Tomorrow.

And I expect the same with the Thunder. They lost two very close games (Durant went 0 for 8 from 3 which is something you very rarely see), but they're still in my eyes by far the better team, and they will show that tomorrow.

Great teams are at their best when their backs are against the wall, and both will feel that way on Saturday, and will prove their quality.
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Oklahoma can get back in the series, but they need to make several adjustments. For one, their bench players are a non factor on offense, allowing the Grizzlies to contest shots from Durant and Westbrook. Westbrook needs to assist more, several times in the game he went for the shot when there was an open teammate that was ignored by the Grizzlies D. They also need to contain Z-Bo in the paint, who has been making mincemeat out of Perkins and Collison. Include more atlethic players that can contest shots from the perimeter, Conley/Udeh were sinking shots all night.

All signs point to Brooks ignoring the need to make adjustments.
 
Hamadovich86 said:
Thanks for the insight mate I can only watch the highlights for most games due to the time difference but its clear that both the Pacers and OKC need to step up to go through they cant afford such slip ups if they want to contend for the title.
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Some websites have full games for download, if you're interested. "Inside the NBA" by TNT's panel gives excellent breakdowns of each playoff series they cover.
 
adexkola said:
Oklahoma can get back in the series, but they need to make several adjustments. For one, their bench players are a non factor on offense, allowing the Grizzlies to contest shots from Durant and Westbrook. Westbrook needs to assist more, several times in the game he went for the shot when there was an open teammate that was ignored by the Grizzlies D. They also need to contain Z-Bo in the paint, who has been making mincemeat out of Perkins and Collison. Include more atlethic players that can contest shots from the perimeter, Conley/Udeh were sinking shots all night.

All signs point to Brooks ignoring the need to make adjustments.
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I'm not sure about having to make major adjustments. They have been playing like this for years to a great success.

About Z-Bo, he didn't really have a great night yesterday (he shot only 5 for 20). I think we're over-analyzing everything now just because the Grizzlies won two very close (OT) games. The Thunder are due to win a close game now (going 0-2 when you have the most clutch player in the league is against all the odds, and I'm pretty sure things will regress to the mean eventually), and it won't surprise me if they blew them out again.

I don't think Durant will leave Westbrook keep firing shots if he's having a cold night, when he thinks they are in dangerous of losing the series. I think he will take charge when needed and get them over the line in the end. He's done it countless times before.

Of course Westbrook will be much more dangerous if he can pass the ball better, but there is no way the coach can change that over 1 game. I actually think it might be detrimental to them because Westbrook isn't used to it, and the hesitancy will probably lead to more turnovers/missing more shots. I think they will just need to go like they're used to, and they're bound to shoot better, and get a little luckier at the end of the game.
 
Durant was shooting just as badly as Westbrook in the last two games. Durant: 12/28 & 10/27, Westbook: 11/28 & 9/26.

Perkins is 5/5 for the series. Give the man the ball!
 
Danny1982 said:
I'm not sure about having to make major adjustments. They have been playing like this for years to a great success.

About Z-Bo, he didn't really have a great night yesterday (he shot only 5 for 20). I think we're over-analyzing everything now just because the Grizzlies won two very close (OT) games. The Thunder are due to win a close game now (going 0-2 when you have the most clutch player in the league is against all the odds, and I'm pretty sure things will regress to the mean eventually), and it won't surprise me if they blew them out again.

I don't think Durant will leave Westbrook keep firing shots if he's having a cold night, when he thinks they are in dangerous of losing the series. I think he will take charge when needed and get them over the line in the end. He's done it countless times before.

Of course Westbrook will be much more dangerous if he can pass the ball better, but there is no way the coach can change that over 1 game. I actually think it might be detrimental to them because Westbrook isn't used to it, and the hesitancy will probably lead to more turnovers/missing more shots. I think they will just need to go like they're used to, and they're bound to shoot better, and get a little luckier at the end of the game.
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We're probably overanalysing this, true.
 
Danny1982 said:
I'm not sure about having to make major adjustments. They have been playing like this for years to a great success.

About Z-Bo, he didn't really have a great night yesterday (he shot only 5 for 20). I think we're over-analyzing everything now just because the Grizzlies won two very close (OT) games. The Thunder are due to win a close game now (going 0-2 when you have the most clutch player in the league is against all the odds, and I'm pretty sure things will regress to the mean eventually), and it won't surprise me if they blew them out again.

I don't think Durant will leave Westbrook keep firing shots if he's having a cold night, when he thinks they are in dangerous of losing the series. I think he will take charge when needed and get them over the line in the end. He's done it countless times before.

Of course Westbrook will be much more dangerous if he can pass the ball better, but there is no way the coach can change that over 1 game. I actually think it might be detrimental to them because Westbrook isn't used to it, and the hesitancy will probably lead to more turnovers/missing more shots. I think they will just need to go like they're used to, and they're bound to shoot better, and get a little luckier at the end of the game.
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Brooks needs to stagger his lineups and make sure that one of Westbrook or Durant is on the floor at all times. The 5 man bench units are getting destroyed without one of those 2 on the floor to command the defense's attention and open up space for other guys to exploit. Playing Perkins heavy minutes is a huge mistake in that he's playing right into Memphis' hands. Perkins is the worst started in the NBA and he's a massive zero on the offensive end who Memphis is completely ignoring in order to load up on Durant and Westbrook. He needs to play smaller units that can spread the floor and force Memphis to adjust to OKC. Jackson/Westbrook/Sefalosha/Durant/Ibaka or Jackson/Westbrook/Durant/Ibaka/Collison are both lineups that can play at a faster tempo, generate turnovers and spark transition. They'll sacrifice on the glass and inside, but they'll generate a lot more easy buckets for Durant and Westbrook.

Tactially Brooks isn't running enough sets with any motion or fluidity and instead the game is devolving into Durant and Westbrook isolations defensively, with which OKC's lack of floor spacing units, is making it easy for Memphis to load up on the ball and send 2-3 defenders at Durant and Westbrook. They need to run a lot more Durant/Ibaka and Westbrook/Ibaka pick and rolls at the top of the key. This generally will force Randolph into an awkward matchup where he is forced to defend Durant and Westbrook coming around a screen at speed in space. Some of the shots Durant and Westbrook are missing you expect they'll start to make, but Memphis brings out the worst in OKC and it is showing in this series. OKC made a nice comeback at the end, but these games are being played at Memphis' tempo and until they shit the bed in the fourth quarter yesterday and resorted to isolations instead of playing through the low and high post with Randolph and Gasol, they dominated the game. Even in overtime they simply out executed OKC and that trend is worrisome because the individual brilliance of Durant and Westbrook can bail you out most nights, but as the playoffs continue that will become too much of a burden to carry.
 
L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling told his GF he does NOT want her bringing black people to his games ... including Magic Johnson ... and it's ALL on tape.

TMZ Sports has obtained audio of Sterling making the racist declaration during a heated argument on April 9th with V. Stiviano ... after she posted a photo on Instagram posing with Magic.

Sterling rails on Stiviano -- who ironically is black and Mexican -- for putting herself out in public with a black person (she has since taken the pic down). But it doesn't end there. You have to listen to the audio to fully grasp the magnitude of Sterling's racist worldview. Among the comments:

-- "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?" (3:30)

-- "You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that ... and not to bring them to my games." (5:15)

-- "I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people." (7:45)

-- "...Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games." (9:13)

http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/26/donal...ple-racist-audio-magic-johnson/#ixzz2zzDLQw1l

Right, so, I don't like the Clippers now. I know it's not the player's fault, but I'm going to have to hate on that organization. I hope half his non-athlete employees resign.
 
I still hold a grudge against Magic for freezing out Isiah but Sterling is a tool of a particular sort, above & beyond being a racist obviously
 
Wiz dropped a tough one last night-but it took Dunleavy having a crazy game for the Bulls to win. Don't want to go back to Chicago 2-2. Sunday is huge.
 
Managed to catch those last few seconds of the Blazers vs Rockets game and my what a finish it was. That win gives Houston a lifeline in the series otherwise they would've been done for. The playoffs have been great so far with pretty much every series still up for grabs except the Charlotte Miami one.
 
FCBarca said:
I still hold a grudge against Magic for freezing out Isiah but Sterling is a tool of a particular sort, above & beyond being a racist obviously
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Ehhh, Isaiah was the one that freezed out Jordan in the All-Star which led to Isaiah being left off the Dream Team because Jordan didn't want to play with him, Magic had nothing to do with it.
 
elmo said:
Ehhh, Isaiah was the one that freezed out Jordan in the All-Star which led to Isaiah being left off the Dream Team because Jordan didn't want to play with him, Magic had nothing to do with it.
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Magic admitted he was part of the freeze out, despite long pretending to be a brother to Isiah. Friends like that, who needs enemies
 
Playoffs have been amazing so far. Miami will laugh out of the east, but the west is a monster. Whoever comes out will be exhausted, and eventually lose to the heat again. They get a huge edge because the rest of the conference is terrible.

What the hell has happened to Indiana??
 
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