*NBA THREAD* Abe will be missed (8 Viewers)

[the moops]

Boston bad loss at Charlotte. Next 9 of 12 on road too.

Spurs minus Parker,Duncan,Ginobli,Jackson go into Chicago and blow out the Bulls. Impressive.

And Barbosa done for the year. Only 3 guards left. Time for some d-league call ups. That little win streak could set the franchise back a couple years. If they had #### the bed since Rondo went down, it would have been easy for them to blow it up. Not so much now that they're basically locked into a playoff spot.

I have a feeling Ben Gordon is going to be a Celtic.

Not sure there is anyway for them to take on that 12 million dollar deal. And damn, what a ####ty signing that was.

 

[boubucarow]

de ColoGreenLeonardDiawSplitterAmazing.

For whatever reasons, Bulls have not been a good team at home. Examples include home losses to the Hornets, Bobcats and Suns. They play with much more energy on the road.

When I saw the Spurs were resting their best players, I knew the Bulls would lose. That is what this year has been like.

 

[Dought Man]

Where did all the Melo haters go? Are they on timeout?

I dont care how well he scores in the regular season. Can you really win playoff series with Melo as your #1 guy? They will run into a team who realizes they can just frustrate Melo and turn him into a jump shooter...and his team goes home in round 1 or 2. All those transition 3's go away come playoff time.I'm not sure a lot of other good players would really want to play with him either. He's the Dominique Wilkins of his generation.

Unless they face the Heat you mean, since two weeks ago you told us the Heat would fall in Round 2 if they faced the Knicks.

I still stand by that. Knicks over Heat...but it will likely have to happen in conf finals and the Knicks aren't getting there.

 

[BassNBrew]

Boston bad loss at Charlotte. Next 9 of 12 on road too.

You can't contained Mullens, much less stop him.Of course Michael will trade him for a box of rocks with an expiring contract that's worthless to us anyway.

That is all he is worth. He had a ridiculous night, but he generally sucks. He is shooting 38% from the floor on the season. That is gross

Gross to you, above average starter mat'l for us.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Where did all the Melo haters go? Are they on timeout?

I dont care how well he scores in the regular season. Can you really win playoff series with Melo as your #1 guy? They will run into a team who realizes they can just frustrate Melo and turn him into a jump shooter...and his team goes home in round 1 or 2. All those transition 3's go away come playoff time.I'm not sure a lot of other good players would really want to play with him either. He's the Dominique Wilkins of his generation.

Unless they face the Heat you mean, since two weeks ago you told us the Heat would fall in Round 2 if they faced the Knicks.

I still stand by that. Knicks over Heat...but it will likely have to happen in conf finals and the Knicks aren't getting there.

And the Heat will just luck out again. Can't believe this mediocre squad of talentless hacks is gonna back into the Finals for a third straight year. When will someone finally expose them for the fraud they are, right?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Where did all the Melo haters go? Are they on timeout?

I dont care how well he scores in the regular season. Can you really win playoff series with Melo as your #1 guy? They will run into a team who realizes they can just frustrate Melo and turn him into a jump shooter...and his team goes home in round 1 or 2. All those transition 3's go away come playoff time.I'm not sure a lot of other good players would really want to play with him either. He's the Dominique Wilkins of his generation.

Unless they face the Heat you mean, since two weeks ago you told us the Heat would fall in Round 2 if they faced the Knicks.

I still stand by that. Knicks over Heat...but it will likely have to happen in conf finals and the Knicks aren't getting there.

In what ways do you believe the Knicks are a better team?

 

[Dought Man]

Miami's defensive philosophy is to play small and have four guys with a foot in the paint. They give up a lot of good looks from 3, and all the Knicks want to do is shoot long jumpers. I just think the Knicks could win a very close hard fought series against Miami if they shoot it well.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Miami's defensive philosophy is to play small and have four guys with a foot in the paint. They give up a lot of good looks from 3, and all the Knicks want to do is shoot long jumpers. I just think the Knicks could win a very close hard fought series against Miami if they shoot it well.

Miami playing small mean LeBron on Melo... that means a tough day for the Knicks offense. They don't have anyone else that can create. Smith? I'm sure Miami would love him jacking up shots all game. Knicks don't have anyone that can take advantage of their lack of size and hurt them inside. Knicks are also a poor offensive rebounding team so it'll be tough for them to take advantage of Miami's weak rebounding.Just don't see how NY can get it done. They'll probably get a game or two where they shoot the lights out from 3 but thats it.

 

[Kev4029]

Miami's defensive philosophy is to play small and have four guys with a foot in the paint. They give up a lot of good looks from 3, and all the Knicks want to do is shoot long jumpers. I just think the Knicks could win a very close hard fought series against Miami if they shoot it well.

Miami playing small mean LeBron on Melo... that means a tough day for the Knicks offense. They don't have anyone else that can create. Smith? I'm sure Miami would love him jacking up shots all game. Knicks don't have anyone that can take advantage of their lack of size and hurt them inside. Knicks are also a poor offensive rebounding team so it'll be tough for them to take advantage of Miami's weak rebounding.Just don't see how NY can get it done. They'll probably get a game or two where they shoot the lights out from 3 but thats it.

Lebron, in my recollection, has not guarded Melo especially well in their careers.ETA:Just about Melo's career averages.

 

[SoBeDad]

Miami's defensive philosophy is to play small and have four guys with a foot in the paint. They give up a lot of good looks from 3, and all the Knicks want to do is shoot long jumpers. I just think the Knicks could win a very close hard fought series against Miami if they shoot it well.

Miami playing small mean LeBron on Melo... that means a tough day for the Knicks offense. They don't have anyone else that can create. Smith? I'm sure Miami would love him jacking up shots all game. Knicks don't have anyone that can take advantage of their lack of size and hurt them inside. Knicks are also a poor offensive rebounding team so it'll be tough for them to take advantage of Miami's weak rebounding.Just don't see how NY can get it done. They'll probably get a game or two where they shoot the lights out from 3 but thats it.

Lebron, in my recollection, has not guarded Melo especially well in their careers.ETA:Just about Melo's career averages.

Miami creates easy points off of TOs, but the Knicks don't turn the ball over much this year. Kidd (and Felton) are good ball handlers.

 

[the moops]

Miami creates easy points off of TOs, but the Knicks don't turn the ball over much this year. Kidd (and Felton) are good ball handlers.

It is amazing how few turnovers they have as a team. It is almost equally as amazing how few assists they have.I guess when you dont pass the ball, you dont get either the positive or negative outcomes

 

[SoBeDad]

Miami creates easy points off of TOs, but the Knicks don't turn the ball over much this year. Kidd (and Felton) are good ball handlers.

It is amazing how few turnovers they have as a team. It is almost equally as amazing how few assists they have.I guess when you dont pass the ball, you dont get either the positive or negative outcomes

The Knicks have the fewest turnovers, but are near the bottom in assists. They're almost unchanged from 2011-2012 in assists, but they reduced TOs by about 3.5. Maybe the Kidd effect. This makes them a little better than last year.

 

[simmonjm]

Miami creates easy points off of TOs, but the Knicks don't turn the ball over much this year. Kidd (and Felton) are good ball handlers.

It is amazing how few turnovers they have as a team. It is almost equally as amazing how few assists they have.I guess when you dont pass the ball, you dont get either the positive or negative outcomes

The Knicks have the fewest turnovers, but are near the bottom in assists. They're almost unchanged from 2011-2012 in assists, but they reduced TOs by about 3.5. Maybe the Kidd effect. This makes them a little better than last year.

Getting rid of Jeremy Lin is likely the main cause for decrease in turnovers

 

[SoBeDad]

Wow, Kobe has 2 points with 3 minutes left in the game, and the Lakers are winning! He is 0-3 from downtown - he's in a tremendous slump from beyond the arc. Is something wrong with his elbow? He is contributing in other ways - 8 assists (and 8 TOs).

 

[simmonjm]

Rockets are a fun team to watch very much like the Knicks the way they chuck up 3s. Harden such a warrior rolled his ankle doing euro step went to the locker room and is somehow back in the game like nothing happened.

 

[rascal]

So Kobe has 4 pts on 1-8 shooting with 8 TOs and the Lakers are still beating the Suns.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Miami won tonight by double digits but Norris Cole has a minus 28.

 

[got_nugs]

Miami won tonight by double digits but Norris Cole has a minus 28.

But....his hair....and that bus!

 

[Good Posting Judge]

LeBron had one turnover tonight. That is just stupid.

 

[got_nugs]

LeBron had one turnover tonight. That is just stupid.

Pretty big difference from the dude that told everyone to go bowl themselves and now. Amazing to watch.

 

[Vicktimized]

Miami's defensive philosophy is to play small and have four guys with a foot in the paint. They give up a lot of good looks from 3, and all the Knicks want to do is shoot long jumpers. I just think the Knicks could win a very close hard fought series against Miami if they shoot it well.

Miami playing small mean LeBron on Melo... that means a tough day for the Knicks offense. They don't have anyone else that can create. Smith? I'm sure Miami would love him jacking up shots all game. Knicks don't have anyone that can take advantage of their lack of size and hurt them inside. Knicks are also a poor offensive rebounding team so it'll be tough for them to take advantage of Miami's weak rebounding.Just don't see how NY can get it done. They'll probably get a game or two where they shoot the lights out from 3 but thats it.

Stoudemire is shooting 58 percent from the field so far. He and Chandler can and will absolutely hurt Miami inside, off the pick and roll.The Heat and Monstar James are the East favorites and it isn't close, but NY is IMO the team that has the best chance to upset them because they don't turn it over, they rain 3's which creates a lot of variance in a series, and Melo is one of the very few players James doesn't simply own defensively.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

 

[BassNBrew]

Miami won tonight by double digits but Norris Cole has a minus 28.

Saw that in the stat book. How is that humanly possible in unless you're be subbed out on every offensive possession. You could put me on the court with Labron/DWade/Matuski/KobeJayrok and I wouldn't be -28.

 

[BassNBrew]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

 

[Dought Man]

Mozgov must have had some clogged pores....

 

[tommyGunZ]

Rick Fox, tell us how you really feel about Dwight Howard

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Rick Fox, tell us how you really feel about Dwight Howard

Q: He got Orlando to the Finals as the No. 1 option. Fox: “He’s a 20-, 22-point scorer when he’s a No. 1 option. When he’s a No. 1 option he’s a 20- 22-points average scorer, not 28. Being the No. 1 option, he never averaged 25, 26, 27 points a game -- that’s what the top scorers are doing -- he doesn’t. So why would you give a big guy in the post 20-25 looks at the ball if all you’re going to end up at the end of the day is 20 points, 24 points?

oof.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

I wouldn't go that far. Lebron still has work to do IMO to get into the top 10. He is by far the best player we have seen come into the league though since then.

 

[TobiasFunke]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

I wouldn't go that far. Lebron still has work to do IMO to get into the top 10. He is by far the best player we have seen come into the league though since then.

The work he has to do to get into the Top 10 is basically not get hit by a bus. If he takes the court for 3-4 more years and doesn't magically devolve into Trevor Ariza he's easily one of the all-time greats.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

I wouldn't go that far. Lebron still has work to do IMO to get into the top 10. He is by far the best player we have seen come into the league though since then.

The work he has to do to get into the Top 10 is basically not get hit by a bus. If he takes the court for 3-4 more years and doesn't magically devolve into Trevor Ariza he's easily one of the all-time greats.

I don't disagree. A few more Finals MVPs are needed though to even speak his name with MJ's.

 

[hxperson]

Gotta admit Gay has been much better in the clutch than I expected. Part of me is sad to think that, if we had drafted him instead of Bargs, we might have made some noise in the 2007 or 2008 playoffs paired with Bosh.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Gotta admit Gay has been much better in the clutch than I expected. Part of me is sad to think that, if we had drafted him instead of Bargs, we might have made some noise in the 2007 or 2008 playoffs paired with Bosh.

He's been great at the end of games Hopefully he'll either a) figure out that he isn't a good 3pt shooter or b) learn how to shoot.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

Few titles to go. I definitely think, unlike Kobe...ever, it's a possibility given his defensive prowess and the way he can take out the opposition's best player when he needs to.

 

[Gr00vus]

Gotta admit Gay has been much better in the clutch than I expected. Part of me is sad to think that, if we had drafted him instead of Bargs, we might have made some noise in the 2007 or 2008 playoffs paired with Bosh.

He's been great at the end of games Hopefully he'll either a) figure out that he isn't a good 3pt shooter or b) learn how to shoot.

A is not going to happen, you might want to find religion and pray for B.

 

[Gr00vus]

It's lebron's league now. Everybody else is just a spectator.

Big Jordan fan here. James just took over as the GOAT.

I wouldn't go that far. Lebron still has work to do IMO to get into the top 10. He is by far the best player we have seen come into the league though since then.

The work he has to do to get into the Top 10 is basically not get hit by a bus. If he takes the court for 3-4 more years and doesn't magically devolve into Trevor Ariza he's easily one of the all-time greats.

I don't disagree. A few more Finals MVPs are needed though to even speak his name with MJ's.

If keeps playing at the level he's been playing the last couple of years the MVPs will come as a side effect. Unless he gets hurt he'll land in the top 3 all time conversation with Jordan and Chamberlain.

 

[Moe.]

The Zach Lowe interview with Dirk that is up on Grantland right now is fantastic. I don't know if they just appreciate the type of questions he asks or what but he seems to get great answers from people. How much do you think a guy like that typically gets paid? Whatever it is I feel like it should be double.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Gotta admit Gay has been much better in the clutch than I expected. Part of me is sad to think that, if we had drafted him instead of Bargs, we might have made some noise in the 2007 or 2008 playoffs paired with Bosh.

He's been great at the end of games Hopefully he'll either a) figure out that he isn't a good 3pt shooter or b) learn how to shoot.

A is not going to happen, you might want to find religion and pray for B.

I shall pray to Ra for B then. Toronto has had a decent track record of 'fixing' shots; most recently with Derozan and Davis. Of course they were young guys willing to put in the time and effort. Not sure if Gay will.

 

[TobiasFunke]

The Zach Lowe interview with Dirk that is up on Grantland right now is fantastic. I don't know if they just appreciate the type of questions he asks or what but he seems to get great answers from people. How much do you think a guy like that typically gets paid? Whatever it is I feel like it should be double.

Zach Lowe is one of the best things to happen to NBA fans in the last couple years. If he started his own pay website I'd cough up a pretty decent chunk of change for access.

 

[Moe.]

Rough break for Nerlens Noel. The NBA's age-limit is a crock of ####.

 

[Joe Summer]

Hedo Turkoglu busted for steroids

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Rough break for Nerlens Noel. The NBA's age-limit is a crock of ####.

Awful. At least he's insured, and ACL surgery's come a long ways. But the NCAA is fundamentally crooked.

 

[Premier]

He's still a top-5 pick, IMO. Probably takes him out of running for #1, but the draft is 4.5 months away. As a Magic fan I'd love to have him.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Melo and Gay sure put on a show tonight What a terrible game.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Melo 5 of 24. Knicks lose at home to the Raptors.Melo ball or bust. Not much has changed in New York.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Melo 5 of 24. Knicks lose at home to the Raptors.Melo ball or bust. Not much has changed in New York.

And that is why they are not a serious contender.

 

[tommyGunZ]

He's still a top-5 pick, IMO. Probably takes him out of running for #1, but the draft is 4.5 months away. As a Magic fan I'd love to have him.

But doesn't he play the same position as Vazquez?

 

[tommyGunZ]

Rough break for Nerlens Noel. The NBA's age-limit is a crock of ####.

Awful. At least he's insured, and ACL surgery's come a long ways. But the NCAA is fundamentally crooked.

Yep. I hope Clowney sits out and sues them.

 

[Britney Spears]

Watching Lin try to cover Paul is funny and sad.

 

[SoBeDad]

Melo 5 of 24. Knicks lose at home to the Raptors.Melo ball or bust. Not much has changed in New York.

And that is why they are not a serious contender.

Melo suffered a contusion to his right biceps early in the game. It gave him a "dead arm" but didn't stop him from shooting. This game was an aberation for Melo, he'll be fine. Jason Kidd's offense has tailed off dramatically; not surprising given his age. They're better than last year.