NBA Thread 2013-2014

Eboue said:
Can't believe Lowry didn't pass the ball. Embarrassing that teams are still playing heroball after all these years.
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I kind of agree with that.. Though to be fair he made the two plays before that.. and he got to the rim on that last play as well but Pierce was never letting that shot go anywhere.
 
Eboue said:
Can't believe Lowry didn't pass the ball. Embarrassing that teams are still playing heroball after all these years.
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No kidding. Literally every Raptor on the court was a better option. The amazing thing is they took a timeout to draw up a plan to get one basket. That's all that's needed here. What's the plan? Er, get it to Lowry, who will then as the smallest man on the court attempt to drive through the entire Nets team. Right up the lane. There's no way they'll be ready for this.

Must have been the easiest block of Pierce's career. I'm sorry but with 6 seconds you've got to have a better plan than that. Raptors had it in their hands, threw it away. Hopefully they'll learn and come back stronger next year.
 
2014 NBA semifinals preview Indiana Pacers vs Washington Wizards

Season series: Pacers 2-1

November 29: Wizards 73-93 @ Pacers
January 10: Wizards 66-93 @ Pacers
March 28: Pacers 78-91 @ Wizards

Hibbert had consecutive scoreless outings and became a two-way liability because Pero Antic and Paul Millsap repeatedly pulled him away from the painted area.

Ariza has the foot speed and length to stay in front of the 6’9” forward, and in two of the three regular season games, George went a combined eight out of 36.

Beal edged Wall as the Wizards’ primary scoring option against the Bulls with an average of 19.8 points.

Evan Turner did not play in games six and seven against Atlanta.

After winning 22 games each at home and on the road, Washington won the first two games of the series at United Center. The Pacers may boast of a 35-6 home record in the regular season but got rattled twice by Atlanta in the confines of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/stor...-preview-indiana-pacers-vs-washington-wizards
 
gooDevil said:
I thought this was interesting.


http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10852199/challenge-donald-sterling

The alleged racist and misogynist rants of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will test the leadership of new NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Sterling's apparent misconduct raises legal questions about Silver's authority and possible punishments to be assessed against Sterling:

Q: Can Silver force Sterling to say whether the voice on the tapes is his?

A: Yes. Under the terms of Paragraph 24(m)(ii) of the "constitution" that governs the 30 owners of NBA teams and establishes the authority of the owners' commissioner, Silver can require Sterling to respond under oath to questions. The commissioner has "the right to require testimony and the production of documents and other evidence from any Member." As an owner, Sterling is a "member" of the NBA. Sterling and his lawyers could delay answering questions from Silver, but if Sterling refuses to admit or to deny that it is his voice on the tapes, he is in violation of the constitution and would face termination. He has no protection from the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment guarantee against self-incrimination, because he is not facing any charge of any crime.

Q: What penalties can Silver issue?

A: Under the provisions of the bylaws, Silver has two sets of powers that he may use. Under either, he can issue a lifetime suspension and a substantial fine. Under Paragraph 24(l) of the constitution that was adopted by the NBA owners on Oct. 26, 2005, he can issue a fine of up to $2.5 million, can suspend an owner indefinitely and can order the forfeiture of draft picks. This provision applies to situations that are not covered by specific rules within the constitution. In another provision, Paragraph 35(A)(c), Silver can issue an indefinite suspension and a fine of $1 million to any owner who "makes ... a statement having or designed to have an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of basketball." If Silver wants to hammer Sterling, he can assert that Sterling's statements are so egregious that they go beyond the misconduct contemplated in Paragraph 35 and allow Silver to assess the greater penalties found in Paragraph 24. Sterling can argue that he merely made a statement, but the statement at a minimum allows a lifetime suspension and a $1 million fine.

Q: Is it possible for Silver and the NBA to terminate Sterling's franchise ownership?

A: Yes. Under the terms of Paragraph 13 of the constitution, the owners can terminate another owner's franchise with a vote of three-fourths of the NBA Board of Governors, which is composed of all 30 owners. The power to terminate is limited to things like gambling and fraud in the application for ownership, but it also includes a provision for termination when an owner "fails to fulfill" a "contractual obligation" in "such a way as to affect the [NBA] or its members adversely." Silver and the owners could assert that Sterling's statements violated the constitution's requirements to conduct business on a "reasonable" and "ethical" level.

Any owner or Silver can initiate the termination procedure with a written charge describing the violation. Sterling would have five days to respond to the charge with a written answer. The commissioner would then schedule a special meeting of the NBA Board of Governors within 10 days. Both sides would have a chance to present their evidence, and then the board would vote. If three-fourths of the board members vote to terminate, then Sterling would face termination of his ownership. It would require a vote of two-thirds of the board to reduce the termination to a fine. Terminating a franchise would obviously be a drastic remedy, but the potential of the termination procedure gives Silver and the other owners vast leverage in any discussion with Sterling about an involuntary sale of his team.

Q: Sterling is notoriously litigious. Can he go to court to stop Silver from punishing him?

A: Not effectively. When Silver issues his punishment to Sterling, the decision is final. The constitution provides in Paragraph 24(m) that a commissioner's decision shall be "final, binding, and conclusive" and shall be as final as an award of arbitration. It is almost impossible to find a judge in the United States judicial system who would set aside an award of arbitration. Sterling can file a lawsuit, but he would face a humiliating defeat early in the process. There is no antitrust theory or principle that would help him against Silver and the NBA. He could claim an antitrust violation, for example, if he were trying to move his team to a different market. But under the terms of the NBA constitution, he has no chance to succeed in litigation over punishment.
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Thanks for this.

So basically they're not punishing him according to the "law", but rather as a specific case inside a "privately owned" league. So it's like the boss saying "I don't want you to work for me anymore, even if the laws don't ban what you did".. After all he entered that business, and the papers he signed which bans him from suing anybody were the same papers that brought him all that money from the NBA.

That's better for me, in the sense of expecting less leaks to come out outside the NBA (since the NBA is a special case here), although if you plant a microphone inside the locker rooms I bet more controversial recordings will come out and it will be tougher to deal with it. Hopefully it won't happen and we can go back to enjoying the game (with Sterling out of it in the Summer).
 
gooDevil said:
I may have to catch this Pacers-Wizards game, it's hard to believe they beat Chicago, who I thought would beat the Pacers.
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I'm actually thinking the opposite. I thought the Bulls will grind out the Wizards, but I thought they can't beat the Pacers because they don't score enough.

Now that the Wizards have won, I think there is a good chance they might beat the Pacers (in their current, unstable, state).
 
Danny1982 said:
I'm actually thinking the opposite. I thought the Bulls will grind out the Wizards, but I thought they can't beat the Pacers because they don't score enough.

Now that the Wizards have won, I think there is a good chance they might beat the Pacers (in their current, unstable, state).
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The way the Pacers have been playing I don't think that scoring enough is much of an issue for anyone.

I'm just hoping that last game was a step back to sanity. Hibbert won't be out on the perimeter this series, if we're going to have a prayer against Miami we need him to turn into the Hibbert from last season's playoffs.

So he has 4-7 games to make that happen. If it doesn't, won't much matter if we win or lose the series.
 
Danny1982 said:
Thanks for this.

So basically they're not punishing him according to the "law", but rather as a specific case inside a "privately owned" league. So it's like the boss saying "I don't want you to work for me anymore, even if the laws don't ban what you did".. After all he entered that business, and the papers he signed which bans him from suing anybody were the same papers that brought him all that money from the NBA.

That's better for me, in the sense of expecting less leaks to come out outside the NBA (since the NBA is a special case here), although if you plant a microphone inside the locker rooms I bet more controversial recordings will come out and it will be tougher to deal with it. Hopefully it won't happen and we can go back to enjoying the game (with Sterling out of it in the Summer).
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Yes, he's broken no law and no one is saying he has. But he had fair warning that any statements like that which would be damaging to the NBA could result in him losing his franchise.

To be honest though, I doubt anyone really gave that idea much thought. If you had presented this scenario to Sterling before it happened, I don't think he would expect the result to be so (potentially) severe.

But the man has all the wealth in the world, all the lawyers in the world, he could have figured out the answer by asking some lawyers. Considering what's at stake he's a fool if he didn't realize the potential consequences of being recorded making derogatory statements about a "race" (if you believe in that sort of thing).
 
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...-7-bad-news-youre-less-likely-to-win-round-2/

silver-feature-pacertoast-1.png

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gooDevil said:
Yes, he's broken no law and no one is saying he has. But he had fair warning that any statements like that which would be damaging to the NBA could result in him losing his franchise.

To be honest though, I doubt anyone really gave that idea much thought. If you had presented this scenario to Sterling before it happened, I don't think he would expect the result to be so (potentially) severe.

But the man has all the wealth in the world, all the lawyers in the world, he could have figured out the answer by asking some lawyers. Considering what's at stake he's a fool if he didn't realize the potential consequences of being recorded making derogatory statements about a "race" (if you believe in that sort of thing).
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I have exactly zero sympathy for the man, because he has a past history of racial discrimination. I'm only worried about this (private recordings with people unknowing) being politicized/used against other people in the future, especially seeing the swift punishment Sterling faced, and the fact that Silver made it all about the recordings and none about his past history.

Sterling should just sell the team, take his filthy money, and leave.
 
gooDevil said:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features...-7-bad-news-youre-less-likely-to-win-round-2/

silver-feature-pacertoast-1.png

silver-feature-pacerstoast-2.png
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I think that's a misleading stat. Teams that win 4-0 in the first round are usually the better teams, so they are bound to have a better chance of winning the next ties.

Miami for example are terrible and look very rusty after a long rest. They dropped the first game twice in the last two years when they had more rest than their opponent.

Won't be surprised if they lose tomorrow.
 
Danny1982 said:
I think that's a misleading stat. Teams that win 4-0 in the first round are usually the better teams, so they are bound to have a better chance of winning the next ties.

Miami for example are terrible and look very rusty after a long rest. They dropped the first game twice in the last two years when they had more rest than their opponent.

Won't be surprised if they lose tonight.
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Didn't read the article? :nono:

One may assume these results reflect selection bias: The teams that won their opening series in four or five games were presumably better, on average, than those that took longer to do so. But this is only part of the story. Suppose we look only at teams seeded No. 1 or No. 2 in their conferences. Since 2003, teams from this group that swept the first round won the second round 94 percent of the time. Those that required five games won the second around 77 percent of the time. And those that needed six games or seven games won the second round 62 percent of the time.1

Still not convinced this is a real phenomenon? We can further account for the effect of team quality by evaluating how a team performed relative to its regular-season power rating. Specifically, we can formulate a projected scoring margin for each second-round game based on each team’s SRS rating from the regular season and whether it has home-court advantage. (This is equivalent to a point spread.)2

We can then average a team’s margin of victory or defeat throughout the second round and compare it to what was expected from its SRS. The advantage of this approach is that it accounts for a team’s overall strength and that of its opponent based on each team’s regular-season performance.

This analysis produces some highly significant effects. On average since 2003, teams that swept their opening-round series outperformed their SRS projections by 3.0 points per game in the second round. Those that took the full seven games in the opening round did much worse than expected in the second round, by contrast, underperforming their SRS by an average of 5.7 points per game. These are enormous differences in the context of highly competitive playoff series.
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It's a nice change from the new 538's style of running a regression analysis and then calling subject matter experts idiots.
 
Eboue said:
Didn't read the article? :nono:





It's a nice change from the new 538's style of running a regression analysis and then calling subject matter experts idiots.
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I actually didn't see the whole link above the pictures.

I'm not sure whom you're referring to with "calling subject matter experts idiots".

I think there is an association, but I don't think it needed all that trouble. When teams struggle in the first round then it suggests that they're in less than perfect shape going into the playoffs, so no surprise that that form might continue into the next round, where they face tougher opponents.

However, imo it's still too weak a correlation to draw serious conclusions and predictions from. I'd rather rely on the "eye-test" and match-ups analysis to judge the chances of every team winning the series.

Otherwise, should Portland already start celebrating winning the West?
 
Danny1982 said:
I actually didn't see the whole link above the pictures.

I'm not sure whom you're referring to with "calling subject matter experts idiots".

I think there is an association, but I don't think it needed all that trouble. When teams struggle in the first round then it suggests that they're in less than perfect shape going into the playoffs, so no surprise that that form might continue into the next round, where they face tougher opponents.

However, imo it's still too weak a correlation to draw serious conclusions and predictions from. I'd rather rely on the "eye-test" and match-ups analysis to judge the chances of every team winning the series.

Otherwise, should Portland already start celebrating winning the West?
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538 and Freakonomics have an annoying tendency to call subject matter experts idiots. They run a few equations and draw sweeping conclusions that basically say "everyone who studies this is wrong".
 
I think the point of the study is to say that series going 7 games takes more out of a team and makes it harder for them. San Antonio was significantly better than Portland so even if San Antonio wins, it doesn't disprove the theory.
 
How good is Bradley Beal?

That Wizards backcourt would be the best in few years. Beal and Wall.
 
I'm pretty good at basketball but I'm not that good. One time I was invited to play my friend's weekly game. As soon as I got there and started to warmup, I knew I was by far the worst person on the floor. Everyone was nice to me but I played timidly, shooting only if I was wide open and generally trying not to screw anything up.


That's what I think of when I watch Roy Hibbert play.
 
Eboue said:
I'm pretty good at basketball but I'm not that good. One time I was invited to play my friend's weekly game. As soon as I got there and started to warmup, I knew I was by far the worst person on the floor. Everyone was nice to me but I played timidly, shooting only if I was wide open and generally trying not to screw anything up.


That's what I think of when I watch Roy Hibbert play.
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You left out the part where you're the tallest guy on the court and playing like you're the shortest.
 
The Pacers lost this one, but at least they now have a plan for game two. Give it to Hill and let him fire threes from everywhere.
 
Wiz continue their impressive road form. 4-0 away from home in playoffs. Wall controlled the game-Beal hit some huge shots. Great rebounding-Wiz really put it to Indiana. Nice win.
 
KeninDC said:
Wiz continue their impressive road form. 4-0 away from home in playoffs. Wall controlled the game-Beal hit some huge shots. Great rebounding-Wiz really put it to Indiana. Nice win.
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Wizards will wreck them. Their answer to stopping Wall would be to put George on him, which means Ariza and Beal would have their day spotting up for jumpers while Nene makes Hibbert look like his bitch.
 
elmo said:
Wizards will wreck them. Their answer to stopping Wall would be to put George on him, which means Ariza and Beal would have their day spotting up for jumpers while Nene makes Hibbert look like his bitch.
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Hope you're right. Wizards have really gelled at the right time. Beal has matured in each game. Very balanced team right now. Gooden was great-especially as Nene got into early foul trouble.
 
KeninDC said:
Hope you're right. Wizards have really gelled at the right time. Beal has matured in each game. Very balanced team right now. Gooden was great-especially as Nene got into early foul trouble.
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I think you'll beat them (unless something unexpected happens like injuries or suspensions). You're like Atlanta, but with better players. A tough match-up for them.
 
Danny1982 said:
I think you'll beat them (unless something unexpected happens like injuries or suspensions). You're like Atlanta, but with better players. You're a tough match-up for them.
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Danny-I'll hold you responsible if we lose the series :).

Right now everyone is making a contribution. Our backcourt is tough to contain-and Gortat/Nene are playing great. Don't want to get ahead of myself-but can't be happier so far with the playoff run.
 
KeninDC said:
Danny-I'll hold you responsible if we lose the series :).

Right now everyone is making a contribution. Our backcourt is tough to contain-and Gortat/Nene are playing great. Don't want to get ahead of myself-but can't be happier so far with the playoff run.
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:nervous:
 
Stopped watching before half-time. Pretty obvious OKC weren't gonna win. Damn the Clippers looked good. CP3 was ridiculous shooting 3's. I am a bit worried now. the Memphis series seemed to take a lot out of OKC. I think LA will go through.
 
ZDwyr said:
Stopped watching before half-time. Pretty obvious OKC weren't gonna win. Damn the Clippers looked good. CP3 was ridiculous shooting 3's. I am a bit worried now. the Memphis series seemed to take a lot out of OKC. I think LA will go through.
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LA would make the Finals, IMO. The Thunder and Brooks aren't smart enough to go all the way. The don't move the ball well and have too many turnovers for an elite team. In the playoffs you need to be tighter than that.
 
Stat of the day:

Only 4 times in NBA history that a team that was swept in the regular season managed to beat that team in the playoffs...

Hope I was right in what I said about stats earlier.. :nervous:
 
gooDevil said:
The Heat must go to sleep laughing, watching the Pacers and Thunder struggle.
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I don't.. :nervous:

The thing is, I still don't see the Miami Heat that are good enough to 3-peat, which makes worry more about the Heat than the other teams.

First half hasn't been that reassuring either.
 
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