2009-2010 NBA Season Thread

[FRpilot]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

why the hell did the knicks claim jason williams off waivers? white chocolate is no more. unfortunately, i'd rather have AI over jason williams. at least AI is selfish, can score, and sells tickets. white chocolate lost his crazy passes ages ago.

i'm sure he can still do his "crazy" passes and handle the rock, it's just coaches rather have him tone it down and make the simple plays instead of the And 1 streetball stuff. he was more controlled when he played in memphis for a few seasons and with the heat.

he was pretty accurate and can be incredible with his passes and he can handle the ball better than a lot of nba PGs. that's why many coaches want him as a backup, and some teams even as a starter. but other than that, he's not really good at scoring, defending, or shooting the 3. I'm sure it drove rick adelman crazy when he was with the kings coming down a fastbreak 3 on 1, and he pulls up for a 3 pointer 5 feet beyond the 3pt arc to try to get the crowd into it when he should go for the easy 2.

as to your original question... mike d'antoni.. run and gun offense, fast breaks, no defense necessary system. jason williams can handle the rock better than chris duhon, nate robinson, and larry hughes if he can stay healthy and would fit perfect and wow the new york crowd! but he won't make a difference. haha

btw, i noticed you're from nyc. are you one of those knicks fans who wanted the knicks to draft stephen curry? i don't care much for him, but i would still take him at 7.

[AkademikONE]

The season schedule was announced today, and here are some must-see games:

Oct. 27: Opening Night (TNT)
This is a replay of sorts of last year's opening night, when the then-defending champion Boston Celtics received their championship rings before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, the venue is The Q and there will be no rings, but there will be some "Diesel" power, with Shaquille O'Neal making his Cavs debut. The Lakers gets their rings prior to TNT's nightcap against the Clippers. Those who purchase the NBA package also can check in on Washington-Dallas and Houston-Portland.

Oct. 28: Opening Night continued (ESPN)
What is this -- the Worldwide Leader showing an overt Left Coast bias? The mothership beams two games from the far side of the Mississippi into your homes: New Orleans-San Antonio followed by Utah-Denver. The burning question here: Which will end first, Jazz-Nuggets or Game 1 of the World Series?

For this Opening Night, Part 2, there are 10 games in all on tap, including the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, with Vince Carter now aboard, hosting Philadelphia; the Cavs playing the second night of a back-to-back, in Toronto; the Celtics also getting the early back-to-back treatment as they host Charlotte; and the Pistons deciding whether it'll be Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton or Ben Gordon coming off the bench as they open at Memphis.

Oct 29: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
Richard Jefferson is expected to attend, wearing black. If he changes his mind, expect to be notified by e-mail.

Oct. 30: Chicago at Boston (ESPN); Orlando at New Jersey; Golden State at Phoenix
Based on what happened between the Bulls and C's in April, we should expect this one to go two or three overtimes, at a minimum. Also, Vince Carter returns to The Swamp, and several hundred witnesses are expected (when Jason Kidd played his alumni game at the Meadowlands, the place was maybe half-full, prompting Kidd to say it reminded him of his first home game with the Nets). For the Warriors and Suns, it'll be a night for both teams to wonder what might have been had the Amare Stoudemire trade talks on draft night moved forward. Over/under on Stephen Curry's playing time (Don Nelson has this thing about rookies; just ask Anthony Randolph): two minutes.

Oct. 31: Philadelphia at New York
On Halloween night, the Knicks come disguised as an NBA team with high hopes for the immediate future. The "We Want LeBron" chants should start about midway through the second quarter.

Nov. 1: Orlando at Toronto
Hedo Turkoglu's old teammates will get an up-close look at why he spurned Portland to sign in a more international city. The 1 p.m. local time tipoff means the game will be on in prime time in Turkey, where the folks can listen to their expatriate brethren in Canada go nuts for the Raptors' new small forward. (Interestingly, the teams play another Sunday matinee at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 22 and finish their season series Jan. 6.)

Nov. 3: Washington at Cleveland
We'll see what Gilbert Arenas and/or DeShawn Stevenson can come up with between now and this particular Tuesday to restoke what was recently one of the East's better rivalries.

Nov. 4: Boston at Minnesota
Another homecoming of sorts for Kevin Garnett, who hopefully will have said something for public consumption by then. For the record, KG has not spoken publicly since March 25, violating the league's media access guidelines.

Nov. 6: Cleveland at New York (ESPN)
This is LBJ's first appearance at what Knicks fans hope will be his future home since he had a triple-double in February that was later rescinded when the league ruled Ben Wallace should have been credited with what was initially called James' 10th rebound.

Nov. 11: Cleveland at Orlando (ESPN)
The last time these teams faced each other, Dwight Howard went for 40 and LeBron James stormed out of the arena without saying a word. This time, it'll be Shaq, not Zydrunas Ilgauskas, getting the defensive assignment against the youngster he feels stole his nickname.

Nov. 12: Cleveland at Miami (TNT)
It'll be Jamario Moon's homecoming, but the real action should come beforehand in the visiting locker room, when The Big Cuyahoga likely will have something new to say about Stan Van Gundy and/or Dwight Howard and their meeting the previous night.

Nov. 13: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
It'll be Friday the 13th, and if we know Denver coach George Karl, he'll be wondering what sort of bad luck will befall him. If he chooses to defend Kobe Bryant with Arron Afflalo, Karl will find out quickly.

Nov. 14: Oklahoma City at San Antonio
Both teams are off the previous night, which means Spurs general manager R.C. Buford probably will take his former assistant Sam Presti out to dinner and Presti will get carded. (The guy looks about 19 years old.)

Nov. 19: Chicago at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
This will be one of the defending champs' nine appearances on TNT. They're also scheduled to appear six times on ABC, 10 times on ESPN and zero times on NBA TV (although it's a safe bet they'll turn up on quite a few Tuesdays, when fans get to vote for the game they want to see). Other teams getting the max treatment of 10 ESPN appearances are the Cavs, Celtics, Spurs, Suns and Trail Blazers.

Nov. 22: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers
TiVo alert. If we are correct in our above reference to the Thunder being a sleeper team, this will be one to watch: Kevin Durant versus Kobe (unless Scott Brooks makes the unwise decision to let bearded rookie James Harden check No. 24).

Nov. 26: Orlando at Atlanta (TNT); Chicago at Utah (TNT)
For your Thanksgiving feast, we offer Dwight Howard back in his hometown and the Bulls on the next-to-last stop of their annual early season road trip, in which they will not play any home games between Nov. 14 and Dec. 2.

Nov. 29: Memphis at L.A. Clippers; New Jersey at L.A. Lakers
Busy day for the work crew at Staples Center, as they will spend the late afternoon changing the floor. Probably a busy day on StubHub, too, as local season-ticket holders look at the caliber of competition and try to find something better to do with their Sunday.

Dec. 2: Detroit at Chicago
Ben Gordon's alumni game, but you'll need to purchase the NBA package if you want to watch it. NBA TV is broadcasting nationally that night and has chosen to televise Sixers-Thunder and Rockets-Clippers (NBA TV also passed on Suns-Cavs, Shaq's first game against his most recent former team).

Dec. 3: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
We've been hearing all summer how the league has morphed into the haves and the have-nots. Well, then, it should be a delight to have two haves going against each other in the national spotlight.

Dec. 15: L.A. Lakers at Chicago
You can expect some speculation about whether this will be the final time Phil Jackson coaches a game in the Windy City -- unless he makes that speculation moot before then by announcing his plans for 2010-11.

Dec. 16: Toronto at Orlando
It'll be the third meeting of the season between the teams but Turkoglu's first in his old building.

Dec. 21: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA TV)
Shaq plays another alumni game, and we can all wonder along with Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace just why Suns owner Robert Sarver sold so low on one of his prime assets.

Dec. 25: Merry Christmas to the fifth degree
For the second straight year, the NBA serves up a quintupleheader: Heat-Knicks at noon (ESPN), followed by Celtics-Magic and LeBron-Kobe on ABC, and Clippers-Suns and Nuggets-Trail Blazers as the nightcap doubleheader on ESPN.

Dec. 26: Washington at Minnesota (NBA TV)
The chances of Ricky Rubio playing in this game seem to be dwindling with each passing day, but at least we can be certain Mike Miller and Randy Foye will get a first-hand reminder of how cold it can get in Minneapolis around the holidays. (Richard Jefferson will have similar thoughts as he plays his alumni game in frigid Milwaukee.)

Dec. 27: Dallas at Denver
Nuggets fans could get a close encounter with Mark Cuban, provided the Mavericks' owner is willing to visit Denver after his postseason rant toward Kenyon Martin. It could get ugly.

Jan. 5: Houston at L.A. Lakers
Trevor Ariza will be given his championship ring, then see if he can avoid being held scoreless by Ron Artest. On the other hand, if Bill Simmons' opinion turns out to be on the money, all of El Lay will rue this virtual swap of small forwards by then.

Jan. 8: L.A. Lakers at Portland
If history holds, it'll be raining in the Pacific Northwest and the Lakers will lose -- they've dropped their past eight at the Rose Garden. For those fans with the means to go on a long NBA-related weekend sojourn, it should be noted that LeBron James will be in town two nights later.

Jan. 18: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
It's a daylong smorgasbord of Martin Luther King Jr. Day games, and TNT's tripleheader concludes with a pair of good ones: Dallas-Boston followed by a rematch of the NBA Finals.
[+] EnlargeKobe Bryant
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesNBA Finals rematch: Kobe's Lakers will try to handle Dwight's Magic ... again.

Jan. 22: Portland at Philadelphia
Andre Miller returns to where his complaints about Tony DiLeo helped cost the former front office executive his head coaching job. Up the road in New York (and on ESPN), Kobe Bryant tries to one-up his 61-point Madison Square Garden outburst from last season.

Jan. 29: L.A. Lakers at Philadelphia
Once per season, it is "Boo Kobe Bryant" Night in his hometown, and the Friday night crowd in Philly should be especially fired up.

Jan. 31: L.A. Lakers at Boston (ABC)
It's a rematch of the 2008 Finals in the building where the Lakers suffered their most humiliating defeat in many years, in Game 6 of that series.

Feb. 4: San Antonio at Portland (TNT)
Looking into the crystal ball, we foresee a late night of television watching while the snow piles up outside and a snow day from school awaits the kids the following morning.

Feb. 7: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
If you are not spending the final hours before the Super Bowl overdosing on the football pregame show, this should provide for two and a half hours of solid counter-programming.

Feb. 9: Oklahoma City at Portland
Another fan choice night on NBA TV, and it could be a close race between this Kevin Durant-Greg Oden faceoff and the second Mark Cuban visit to Denver.

Feb. 11: Orlando at Cleveland; San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
The last two games before the All-Star break, coming exactly one week ahead of the NBA trading deadline.

Feb. 14: All-Star Game, Dallas (TNT)
This one will be held in the Cowboys' new stadium and is expected to attract a record crowd. David Stern's doomsday-is-approaching news conference will be the night before, followed by LeBron James' promised dunk contest debut.

Feb. 17: Miami at New Jersey; Chicago at New York
On opposite sides of the Hudson River, Bobby Simmons, Trenton Hassell, Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries could be showcased one last time before the trade deadline.

Feb. 18: Boston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
This is the late game of Turner Sports' doubleheader, and those who tune in will get to hear Charles Barkley's take on who did well at the trade deadline.

Feb. 21: Cleveland-Orlando (ABC) and Boston-Denver (ABC)
The NBA makes one last push to capture the casual fans' attention before their thoughts turn to pitchers and catchers. Atlanta-Golden State and Utah-Portland (both on ESPN) will be among the choices for late-night viewers.

March 3: Cleveland at New Jersey
LeBron James visits the Meadowlands again and, if he's talking, might let us know he's not likely to be playing for Jay-Z & Co. If so, across the river, the Knicks might rejoice, even if they are losing to the Pistons by 27.

March 7: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
The dog days are interrupted by another meeting of last season's NBA finalists, and we get to see Kobe and Artest on Vince Carter instead of Trevor Ariza versus Hedo Turkoglu.

March 14: Boston at Cleveland (ABC)
Best record in the East at stake? Probably so.

March 17: San Antonio at Orlando (ESPN)
The number of intriguing West versus East matchups usually dwindles to a precious few by this point in the season, but the Spurs also will face the Cavs and Celtics over the final two weeks of March before Orlando visits San Antonio on April 2.

March 24: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Best record in the West at stake? We wonder whether the Spurs can stay on the Lakers' heels this long, but it is certainly possible.

April 1: Dallas at Orlando (TNT)
It's April Fools' Day, and Marcin Gortat (who claims to have the fastest car of any NBA player, a BMW with a performance engine) laughs all the way to the bank.

April 4: Cleveland at Boston (ABC); San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
It's pretty much a given at this point that these teams are incapable of playing anything other than riveting games when they face each other -- and as a sidebar, Rasheed Wallace and/or Kendrick Perkins should be nearing the technical foul limit by this point.

April 11: Orlando at Cleveland (ABC); Portland at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
It'll be the final weekend of the season, and it seems likely there will be playoff positioning implications for all four teams.

April 14: San Antonio at Dallas
This one appears to highlight the final night of the regular season, with 28 of the league's 30 teams in action. The only idle franchises will be Denver and Sacramento.

[enkei2k]

Originally Posted by FRpilot

btw, i noticed you're from nyc. are you one of those knicks fans who wanted the knicks to draft stephen curry? i don't care much for him, but i would still take him at 7.

yea, actually i did want them to draft curry, but honestly i had no idea who this kid was until they kept talking about him. plus the fact that stephen curry is actually better than the current eddy curry we have on the roster.

[hmooblis]

YouTube - John Wall DUNKS ON Jerry Stackhouse!!!

[FRpilot]

John Wall!!! Going to be great!

[AkademikONE]

BUMP.

Pre-season starts soon.

[enkei2k]

Zilvia fantasy bball anyone?

[PHLIP]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

Zilvia fantasy bball anyone?

No thanks, I don't do fantasy ANYTHING.
I am waiting impatiently for baseball to go away and basketball to begin.


Looks like the league will at least begin the season with replacement refs, it will be interesting to see how this works out.

[imnotmatt1189]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

Zilvia fantasy bball anyone?

i'd be down!

[PHLIP]

Season starts tonight with The Celtics at The Cavaliers, followed by the Clippers against the Lakers in a Lakers' designated home game.
Anyone else excited?

[aziankingz]

knicks to the finals this year!!!

[PHLIP]

Originally Posted by aziankingz

knicks to the finals this year!!!

If you sold whatever must have been smoked to make you talk like that, you'd be a rich man.
The Knicks current organization is committed to remaining profitable and don't care if they lose to do so.

[AkademikONE]

[blasting_speed]

Boston @ Cleveland was one crazy game. LJ busting his ass off again. Good game though. We'll for sure see both team in the finals again this year.

LAC @ LAL, i kind of think the Lakers played horrible. I know that good competition brings out the best in you, but they played bad.


IDK if you guys asked this question yet but..... Lakers going 21-0???? What do you guys think???

[AkademikONE]

Cleveland is the same damn team. Give the ball to Lebron and see what he can do. Boston did look great out there.

Andrew Bynum looked great out there, nice statline as well. Artest will take some time to get used to the offense
and his new teammates. He's not used to being so open all the time. I also forgot that LA had Gasol, but he's injured
right now. Kobe was Kobe. This season is gonna be great.

Lakers 21-0? I highly doubt it, I say 17-4 up to 21 games.

[Dutchmalmiss]

Lakers still look like an in-development team with Artest starting, but they look good doing it haha. Bynum had some footwork which was encouraging my faith in him for the rest of the season, barring any chances of any more injuries.

[enkei2k]

Cavs off to 0-2 start. I'm liking this season already.

[AkademikONE]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

Cavs off to 0-2 start. I'm liking this season already.

So far they're off to a perfect 0-2 season.

I'm sure they'll get into the thick of things within 10 games.

[BOROSUN]

orlando is beasting, right now. undefeated in on the pre. will see...

[PHLIP]

Originally Posted by AkademikONE

So far they're off to a perfect 0-2 season.

I'm sure they'll get into the thick of things within 10 games.

I know this won't last, but I DO find this to be quite entertaining.
Also, Shaq is back up to his old shit already, deciding that having adventures and being a PR dude is more important than, well... PLAYING BALL!!!
[link]

[AkademikONE]

The UPS man had a surprise for me earlier today:

[revat619]

Originally Posted by AkademikONE

The UPS man had a surprise for me earlier today:

Sweet jacket!!! Where did you get that!?

[AkademikONE]

The Rockets are beastin'. Ariza FTW!

Originally Posted by revat619

Sweet jacket!!! Where did you get that!?

I ordered it last week before the season started, in the NBA.com store. I checked again 2 days later and
they were all sold out I guess, lol.

[blasting_speed]

Laker time!

I guess they really need P. Gasol to pull them through these games. They seem to be struggling to beat some of these teams. I do understand that everybody wants to beat the champions but the Lakers being champions should knocking these guys down no sweat.

[articdragon192]

When you're missing a key player, it does become a bit harder.

[AkademikONE]

...it builds character though. They've gone the past 3 games without Bynum and all the games
without Gasol, yet they're 6-1.

[revat619]

Originally Posted by AkademikONE

They've gone the past 3 games without Bynum and all the games
without Gasol, yet they're 6-1.

OFT!

My brother and I were JUST talking about this. When they get Bynum and Gasol back and they're running at full strength, the steam rolling of other teams should commence.

oh and fyi, the Cavs are NOT winning the East and the Magic or more than likely not gonna win it either (hell, i don't care if its early, they just lost to OKLAHOMA by 30). I'm calling a Laker/Celtic rematch.

[AkademikONE]

Originally Posted by revat619

OFT!

My brother and I were JUST talking about this. When they get Bynum and Gasol back and they're running at full strength, the steam rolling of other teams should commence.

oh and fyi, the Cavs are NOT winning the East and the Magic or more than likely not gonna win it either (hell, i don't care if its early, they just lost to OKLAHOMA by 30). I'm calling a Laker/Celtic rematch.

It sure looks that way so far. Rasheed Wallace has been a great pickup by Boston. Artest is also slowly, but surely,
finding his role on the team, and once he does, and once Bynum and Gasol come back... watch out.

Mbenga with his first career double double. Awesome game from Congo Cash. He's been a great backup
center since Gasol and Bynum aren't available.

[blasting_speed]

Word D.J. Mbenga has been playing awesome basketball. ahahahah Its funny seeing him trying to do 13 foot fade aways though. lol.

Phil J. was saying that he's actually a better player than he's been playing. Too bad the Lakers run deep. He'll never see much game time.


Did you guys hear that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has some rare form of Leukemia???

[PHLIP]

Hornets axe Byron Scott:

Hornets fire Scott as coach after slow 3-6 start - NBA News - FOX Sports on MSN

Why is it that Coach of the Year always seems to be out a job within 2-3 seasons of winning it?