2008-2009 NBA Season Thread

[revat619]

Originally Posted by BOROSUN

well...he's in a team that can produce hence, the lack of need to score a lot. not to mention the mins he gets with the rust only 15 games = less production. besides producing...marbury is very productive on the 1 with the 2nd unit. how can he be not a factor.

and you said he was a non-factor based on his 14 games. isn't that judging way too early? YES

OMG.... Dude, you're impossible. Seriously. I've exhausted way too much energy trying to explain a simple fucking concept to you. I'm done.

In other news, the Lakers are looking good.

[OptionZero]

GENIUS IDEA ALERT!

ESPN's Marc Stein talks about a shift in playoff format:

This is the only fantasy basketball I'm playing all season. So please indulge me.

Please join me in imagining how the first round of next month's playoffs would look if the NBA suddenly adopted the new D-League format which allows division winners to pick their first-round opponents.

Please join me because it might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.

Switching to this format at the big-league level would undeniably be one of the most radical playoff changes in the history of American sport. It's one thing to try it in the D-League, in which first-round matchups are a one-game series … and no team possesses any significant home-court advantage … and the stakes are so modest. In the NBA? It would be as aggressive as anything commissioner David Stern has ever tried.

Yet Stern told ESPN.com on Friday -- without making any promises or pinpointing any sort of timetable, since there isn't one yet -- that the league's competition committee would eventually decide whether to formally consider such a system in the NBA … after the way it functions in the D-League can be studied.

It is a thoroughly intriguing idea once you get past the initial shock. The regular season would certainly mean more if we went to a pick-your-opponent scheme because division titles would mean more, compared to the present where divisional races are fairly pointless. You could argue that playoff-bound teams outside the top four in each conference would have less to play for late in the season without any formal seedings to clinch, but there would also no longer be any incentive for teams to try tank their way into a more favorable first-round matchup based on standard seedings, as we sometimes see.

Best of all?

The various permutations involved in trying to forecast which teams might chose whom would pump some needed intrigue into an 82-game season that is often slammed for being too long. The disrespect factor -- inflicted upon teams sitting 5-through-8 that get hand-picked by a higher seed which basically just told the world it wants to play that team -- pumps in even more intrigue. Furthermore,the actual process of finalizing first-round matchups would finally give the NBA its own version of the college game's Selection Sunday. Which certainly couldn't hurt.

Will it happen?

prolly not.

Should it happen?

uh . . . hell yeah

[Phlip]

Time for the stretch run here, folks.
The LeBrons dropped a game last night, but they've only lost consecutive games once all season.
I am personally banking on them having the HELL beat out of them in the playoffs, along with Phil coaching that "playing DOWN to the competition" out of the Lakers, as I am still a bit salty about driving an hour and a half to see them lose to the fucking BOBCATS Tuesday.
The west this year looks a lot like the east last year, a team head and shoulders above the rest and a clusterfuck between 2 and 8.
The top of the east looks like the west in most previous years, 2-3 teams up top, and several with credible chances to swap position between 3-8 seeds...
On both fronts, teams that normally were not in the playoffs are either in or have a chance while teams who normally are IN will have a long vacation this year.
Anyone else ready for the playoffs?

[ANVIL]

im ready... still hoping suns will make it and dallas will fall out

[BOROSUN]

not me...i'm freaking shipping.

[enkei2k]

just looking forward to who my hometown knicks will draft (if they even have picks this year) fuck the italian stallion or whatever the hell they call him, he's terrible. all he does is shoot 3's and miss.

playoffs are always exciting to watch. i'm hoping someone from the east not called celtics or cavaliers win it.

[ANVIL]

Magic FTW then.

[bboyt3nsk]

It would be interesting to see the magic make a run here at the end and be in first. But the Lebrons/Williams will pull through, I believe. I was very mad at the fact that the lebrons/ williams lost to the wizards but everyone has their off days, even the Lakers. If the lakers hadnt have lost to the Bobcats that I would have felt a lot worse.
If the Lebrons/ williams get knocked out early id like to see a Howards vs. Kobes

[ANVIL]

^^ your references to team names are retarded

[ALTRNTV]

Howards? Kobes? Williams?

The only legit one is The Lebrons.

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by AkademikONE

Howards? Kobes? Williams?

The only legit one is The Lebrons.

Thanks, I am glad I could contribute that one.

[Phlip]

Just got in the house to the Magic beating the DOG shit outta The LeBrons...
Jamal Mashburn and Avery Johnson talking about the Iverson trade like Dumars WASN'T looking at his expiring contract as a good enough reason to tank this season.
Funny thing, folks, The LeBrons have done well enough this season that THE LeBron is not going ANY fucking where, and I would chance saying the same about the resurgence of D-Wade and The Heat. Looks like that sweepstakes is down 2 people, things being as they are, as the teams they are on can win AND pay them best.

[revat619]

Why the fuck are we tied with the Rockets right now? I swear, i love the lakers, but they're soooo annoying to watch when they dont even show up to play....

[94cc0rd]

it's lookin prety good right now...

kobe turned it on...

remember those rumors about LO for artest?

boy am i glad that didn't happen...

[revat619]

yeah they FINALLY turned it on. Yeah, i'm glad that trade didnt happen either.

Oh btw, who else thinks Vujacic is gone next season. He's been fuckin up preeetty bad...

[yudalicious]

really frustrating... as a rockets fan.
i don't understand adelman's sub pattern, he plays yao pretty much the entire 1st and 3rd quarters... what's worse is that the rockets don't consistently go to him in the post. This game he wasn't doubled before the catch and he wasn't fronted at all. He's a bit TO prone but he's still the best low post offensive player in the game by large. It's frustrating watching the Rox play, great teams execute their plan down the stretch, the Rox panic and start getting 24 sec violations.

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by yudalicious

really frustrating... as a rockets fan.
i don't understand adelman's sub pattern, he plays yao pretty much the entire 1st and 3rd quarters... what's worse is that the rockets don't consistently go to him in the post. This game he wasn't doubled before the catch and he wasn't fronted at all. He's a bit TO prone but he's still the best low post offensive player in the game by large. It's frustrating watching the Rox play, great teams execute their plan down the stretch, the Rox panic and start getting 24 sec violations.

The problem is that the Rockets do not have a big-name killer shooter with McGrady out and barely have the shell of one remaining with him in... Teams don't double team Yao as much because NO ONE ELSE on the team will really beat them. Furthermore, Yao being the best post up guy offensively is exposed when one notices how damn near fucking USELESS he is when forced to FACE the guy he is defending.
I am pleased with a win, met with a loss by the LeBrons, but I am still not pleased with The Lakers playing down to their competition still. I like how they turned it on, considering Kobe got PISSED in the first half and went off, then how he was basically acting as point guard, even without the ball in the second, DEMANDING that they keep going to Pau with the advantage.
I like how they came off in this one...

... if only they could have done that Tuesday when I was sitting at center court and 10 rows in.

[yudalicious]

Originally Posted by PHLIP

The problem is that the Rockets do not have a big-name killer shooter with McGrady out and barely have the shell of one remaining with him in... Teams don't double team Yao as much because NO ONE ELSE on the team will really beat them. Furthermore, Yao being the best post up guy offensively is exposed when one notices how damn near fucking USELESS he is when forced to FACE the guy he is defending.
I am pleased with a win, met with a loss by the LeBrons, but I am still not pleased with The Lakers playing down to their competition still. I like how they turned it on, considering Kobe got PISSED in the first half and went off, then how he was basically acting as point guard, even without the ball in the second, DEMANDING that they keep going to Pau with the advantage.
I like how they came off in this one...

... if only they could have done that Tuesday when I was sitting at center court and 10 rows in.

Teams actually still double Yao alot consistently. From watching every nationally televised Rockets game and a ton of un-televised ones, the Rockets offense basically run off of him, which is why I don't get they still refused to go to him repeatedly, when there was no hard doubling or fronting (which is his and the Rockets achilles heel, they seem to recognize the defense and process it in their heads 1 second too slow).

He did a decent job against Pau last night, Pau did alot of damage against Scola or whoever when he was not in. Yao has the most trouble guarding mobile PF/C hybrids or centers that can space the floor and shoot it well (hence why the Jazz have the Rockets number, with Okur and Boozer), and he will not come out to challenge the pop/roll person so if you have a PF/C that can shoot, you're gonna wear him down on defense, that's why in the second half Lakers went exclusively to it w/ Kobe and Pau when Yao was in... considering the results, it wasn't that bad, the Rockets defense rarely ever loses them games, it's that their offense is just pitiful. The execution is horrible.

And yes. The most frustrating thing with being a Rockets fan is that our Kobe isn't Kobe, and he's been a shell of his former self. One second he says he's good to go, he's feeling better than ever, next he says he's gonna have season ending surgery. WTF. All I really want is the rockets to get out of the first round, then I'll be satisfied watching the Lakers for the rest of the playoffs.

[BOROSUN]

i really like artest....i wish we had someone like him on the knicks. bring that toughness back to ny.


what team you think will pull an upset in the playoffs? first rnd, semi, conference finals,championship final.
NBA.com Playoff Picture

my vote is on the heat on 1st rnd. wade has the eye of the tiger.

[yudalicious]

Originally Posted by BOROSUN

i really like artest....i wish we had someone like him on the knicks. bring that toughness back to ny.


what team you think will pull an upset in the playoffs? first rnd, semi, conference finals,championship final.
NBA.com Playoff Picture

my vote is on the heat on 1st rnd. wade has the eye of the tiger.

I have a love hate relationship w/ him. He's often misunderstood and villainized and tries his hardest on the court and is not scared to take it to anyone. You gotta love him for his effort and intensity. But at times he goes into Kobe mode, the problem is, he's not Kobe offensively. Defensively he's great when he locks down, but sometimes he gambles alot and gets beat, I wish he'd gamble less and just concentrate on keeping his man infront of him.

Upset, I think Wade can make some noise.

[hmooblis]

quick question... if your playing zone defense and a guy screens you for his teammate to get open/ get the ball, can the screener move at all? even if your not guarding him and trying to get to the open man? what if hes turned with his back to you giving the screen? is there a such thing as a shooters screen where the guy can move?

reason why i ask is cause when i play ball with my friends they constantly do this. they call this boxing out but i think its bs to do this off the ball and when they're giving screens if they're faceing you or not.

[94cc0rd]

that's an iffy subject cuz the guy can always say he wasn't setting a screen and just moving around...

but to answer your question, no there is no such thing as a screen where the guy can move... no moving screens.

if he's obviously setting a screen, and moving around at the same time, call that shit out... if he looks like he's just standing in the way, then unfortunately he can deny it by saying he wasn't setting a screen and just moving around...

[yudalicious]

Originally Posted by hmooblis

quick question... if your playing zone defense and a guy screens you for his teammate to get open/ get the ball, can the screener move at all? even if your not guarding him and trying to get to the open man? what if hes turned with his back to you giving the screen? is there a such thing as a shooters screen where the guy can move?

reason why i ask is cause when i play ball with my friends they constantly do this. they call this boxing out but i think its bs to do this off the ball and when they're giving screens if they're faceing you or not.

hard to tell with just written descriptions... it's iffy, ya can't move while setting the screen but he can claim he's rolling... but boxing out? eh?

[BOROSUN]

most moving screen violation is called because the screener was late to set a screen. you need it to set it up before the player reaches to you.

and you CANT EXTEND YOUR FUCKING ARMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

box-out is mostly on the paint and when the ball is up. he can't be boxing you the while the ball is still on play. only when REBOUNDING or recieving the ball while is up!!!! box-out with your back on the opponent and arms extended.


BUT, if you're playing streetball who really cares.

[hmooblis]

thanks for the advice guys, so a screen is a screen and that person isn't allowed to move at all and also aggressive boxing while the ball is still in play is not allowed right? even when he's using his backside? also what about when the ball is shot and it hasn't even touched the rim yet?

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by hmooblis

thanks for the advice guys, so a screen is a screen and that person isn't allowed to move at all and also aggressive boxing while the ball is still in play is not allowed right? even when he's using his backside? also what about when the ball is shot and it hasn't even touched the rim yet?

If one is trying to gain post position, then he will take a position very similar to boxing out, but his hands will be down, he will be positioning back against you with his feet and ass, and you have the right as a defender to pressure back, without your hands of course.
Boxing out starts the instant the ball is in the air, for a shot or over a fronting defender, looks the same, with the exception being that hands will be in the air but STILL off of the other guy.

[monkz2332]

Bulls are in 8th place.
I knew they were gonna make it.
I also know they are gonna lose the series to the cavs.

[ANVIL]

fuck the suns. they need the trade some people, get a new coach or something. fuck. yesterdays game was probably their biggest game of the season and they lie down. i think its time to trade nash and someone else for some better defenders. build the team around barbosa and amare and hope they learn to defend better with different people around them in a different system

[94cc0rd]

lol @ the lakers giving up a huge lead to the clippers and barely winning the game...

[Phlip]

Originally Posted by 94cc0rd

lol @ the lakers giving up a huge lead to the clippers and barely winning the game...

"Ask any racer, any real racer. It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile; winning's winning."