Alrighty, It's the 2012 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Young Drachma]

I'm all for some Linsanity in Game 4, even if Melo will get in the way. Especially if he goes HAM after being out for a few months. But again, doubtful.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by korme

Brooklyn revealed their color scheme and logos today:



Not bad, but nothing very exciting either. I am a fan of plain, but these are SUPER plain

Dola

This looks like clip art. Fine with the black/white color scheme change, but feel like they could've used all of their billions to hire a proper designer to make them a logo that doesn't look so shitty.

But I imagine there will be updates and with the lead time, one figures the uniforms should be decent. If nothing else, it'll be street gear and I think that's all Jay-Z was trying to do in the first place.

I do like the small shields as secondary items, but...in general, I feel like the identity needs to really be fleshed out.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by whomario

Can you amnesty a player you trade for ? I couldn´t find anything in the wording that would prohibite that (states only that the contract has to have been signed before the CBA started, not that it has to be with the team currently at) and since you can use it whenever you like as long as the CBA runs ...
That would be a sort of an out-clause for a team that hasn´t used it yet and trades for him, just see for a season what he has left in another situation and then make a decicion next year.

If you're referring to the Knicks, as far as I know, you can only amnesty one contract anyway, and they already did that with Chauncey Billups.

[Groundhog]

I think it may need a trim of one more colour to make it stand out and not look like someone printed out a B&W print of their logo.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

If you're referring to the Knicks, as far as I know, you can only amnesty one contract anyway, and they already did that with Chauncey Billups.

no, i´m referring to any team that would trade for him and still have their amnesty

[SirFozzie]

You know that line from the Godfather movies.. "just when I thought I was out they pull me back in...". That's the Celtics
There is NO way they should be in this game without Rondo.. never mind leading by four with two to play

[chadritt]

The Hawks are without 2 centers, one of whom is an all star. I cant see the games since im working until 8 pacific every night but im assuming thats not helping.

[larrymcg421]

I am clearly a jinx to the Celtics. Since 2008, the Hawks and Celtics have played in 9 playoff games. The Celtics have lost every game I have attended (0-4) and won every game I have not attended (5-0).

[EagleFan]

By all means, attend more Celtic games.

[SirFozzie]

that's ok.. don't feel like you're obligated to.. the arena experience sucks compared to watching from home anyway..

[larrymcg421]

I am planning on attending game 5, but the good news is they should be up 3-1 if tradition holds, so I can watch them lose game 5 and then they'll win the series in game 6.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by whomario

no, i´m referring to any team that would trade for him and still have their amnesty

No you can't use it on a player you traded for.

[RainMaker]

There is nothing more depressing than getting my playoff tickets and looking forwar to a long and fun experience. Now I get to watch the Bulls give up 108 points to the Sixers.

I still like our chances in the series, but I miss Derrick.

[larrymcg421]

[whomario]

It´s back !






Another sucky loss for the Mavs. Got to give them credit for playing much better than in the regular season, but the execution down the stretch sucks. It´s like they suddenly forget about spacing and passing angles and rush things ...

[whomario]

terrific piece on Roy Hibbert and also putting a good assesment on the age long discussion/stetement of "but he´s so tall, shouldn´t he be better ?" : How the Indiana Pacers' All-Star center, Roy Hibbert, avoided becoming a stiff - Grantland

[molson]

This Celtics team is really enjoyable. Well, Rondo's a nutjob but there's a guy like that in every group, you just gotta try to keep his ass in line.

[Big Fo]

Kentucky's Anthony Davis has been added to the list of players who might play in the Olympics this summer. With Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge injured we don't have a lot of power forwards and centers to choose from.

SI.com link

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by whomario

terrific piece on Roy Hibbert and also putting a good assesment on the age long discussion/stetement of "but he´s so tall, shouldn´t he be better ?" : How the Indiana Pacers' All-Star center, Roy Hibbert, avoided becoming a stiff - Grantland

Thanks for the link. Been a big Hibbert fan for some time. Was excited when the Pacers drafted him and really have enjoyed seeing him take the next step this year.

[miami_fan]

So the Knicks are serious about trading Amare Stoudemire? The MVP candidate from a year ago is now an unwanted piece? Wow

[Groundhog]

Can someone wake me when the 2nd round begins?

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

So the Knicks are serious about trading Amare Stoudemire? The MVP candidate from a year ago is now an unwanted piece? Wow

When was Amar'e an MVP candidate? He's always been a numbers guy who benefitted from having the best playmaker in the game on the court with him most the time.

[stevew]

Davis will shine with international goal tending rules. I'm nearly positive you can stuff or clear anything that hits the rim.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by stevew

Davis will shine with international goal tending rules. I'm nearly positive you can stuff or clear anything that hits the rim.

Yup, as soon as the ball is on the rim it's fine.

[Neon_Chaos]

Mavs are doing a perfect impression of the 2006 Heat.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

When was Amar'e an MVP candidate? He's always been a numbers guy who benefitted from having the best playmaker in the game on the court with him most the time.

Amar'e Stoudemire: Why He Should Win NBA MVP Over LeBron James | Bleacher Report

Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire for MVP – Believe it! | TheSportsJury

NBA Awards | Amare MVP, Griffin Rookie Year | SportsGrid

I am not saying I agreed but people were talking about Amare as an MVP candidate.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Amar'e Stoudemire: Why He Should Win NBA MVP Over LeBron James | Bleacher Report

Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire for MVP – Believe it! | TheSportsJury

NBA Awards | Amare MVP, Griffin Rookie Year | SportsGrid

I am not saying I agreed but people were talking about Amare as an MVP candidate.

Note though that those were all written early (going back to December) and most importantly, all written pre-Melo trade. He played nowhere near that level for the last few months of the season.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Logan

Note though that those were all written early (going back to December) and most importantly, all written pre-Melo trade. He played nowhere near that level for the last few months of the season.

True, but they were written. They also represent a large segment of the basketball community who felt that Amare was at least the first piece of a title contender. To go from where he was at the time of those articles to where he is now is well ......Joe Johnson-esque.

[Crapshoot]

Today, in racist douchebaggery from the NY post:

New York Post Columnist Goes Full-Racist on Jay-Z’s Brooklyn Nets -- Daily Intel

[korme]

Joe Johnson is so overrated that he is now underrated. He's a baller.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Today, in racist douchebaggery from the NY post:

New York Post Columnist Goes Full-Racist on Jay-Z’s Brooklyn Nets -- Daily Intel

Stupid. It seemed to me that they were bringing back a more classic Brooklyn logo which was kind of cool. A writer clearly trying to make an issue of something that isnt there.

I wonder if that writer even realizes that Jay-Z isnt really a "gangsta rapper" anymore?

[stevew]

That he was never a gangster rapper

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

That he was never a gangster rapper

Probably the closest to the truth. He did have some edgier stuff in his younger days but nothing remotely close to the Snoop/Dre/2-Pac days.

[Young Drachma]

Jay was never a gangsta rapper. It's such a term for west coast gangsta rap, none of that east-coast style drug rap anyway. But the FOX ilk use that term for anyone who swears or even raps, probably. So painful to hear them talk about it.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Today, in racist douchebaggery from the NY post:

New York Post Columnist Goes Full-Racist on Jay-Z’s Brooklyn Nets -- Daily Intel

wow

[whomario]

Originally Posted by korme

Joe Johnson is so overrated that he is now underrated. He's a baller.

he is. Would be a wonderfull No2 player or part of a well flowing offense, definitely not a guy you will go deep with as your No1 option or when you just run stuff through him.
And fact is that he will only get worse from now on out, his FTs have been dropping last few seasons again, he´s stepping out further shooting the ball and creating less offense off the drible than ever.


as for Amare : Anybody can see that he´s just not having the physichal ability. Wether this is a one-off due to the lockout, injuries and other factors or a permanent thing is the big question.
His biggest asset has allways been his physichal ability, that nice 15-20 foot jumpshot notwithstanding...

Offensively he actually still scored at a high rate at the rim (actually the same as last year and on better %) but his attempts and percentages for 3-9 feet dropped off totally (from 4.8 tries and 45% to 2.2 and 32%).
He actually scored more of his points on assists this season, so propably getting him a class PG would be important.

The problem with him is that you need him to score a bunch to make up for his weaknesses and that he´s at his best offensively when he´s also most detrimental on defense : Playing at Center. Even this year (albeit in limited minutes, 16% of the teams minutes there while he logged 44% of the teams minutes at PF) he´s been leaps better offensively at Center, his per48min numbers via 82games: 32/14 on 57% eFG
at PF : 23/10on 45% eFG
(the team gave up 6.5 more points per 100 posession with him at C compared to him at PF. Of course that also has to do with Chandler then not playing, but still)

[korme]

New New Orleans owner Tom Benson trying to change name of New Orleans to Spirit or Angels, looks like

[korme]

dola

Angels and Spirit Are the Two Leading Names for a Hornets’ Rebrand | New Orleans Hornets | Hornets247.com

[stevew]

I would think Spirit is probably going to result in a legal battle, as the Spirits of St. Louis still collect about 14million a year for not playing in the NBA.

[Chief Rum]

Hmm... Angels doesn't really strike me as a basketball team name.

It works for baseball, but even that, I think is more based on it having been used for decades now and we're just used to it.

I think it would make for a cruddy name for a New Orleans basketball team.

I think Knights would be pretty good.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by stevew

I would think Spirit is probably going to result in a legal battle, as the Spirits of St. Louis still collect about 14million a year for not playing in the NBA.

Doubt they'd sue, they're too busy collecting those big paychecks and the only thing ending their golden goose is the NBA finding someone who wants to put a team in the Savvis/Scottrade/Whateverthey'recalling it now Center.

Wonder if MJ will try to get that Hornets nickname for Charlotte.

[Young Drachma]

Ryan Anderson wins Most Improved. If Linsanity hadn't gotten hurt, this award was his but...so it goes.

Magic's Ryan Anderson wins Kia Most Improved Player Award | NBA.com

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Ryan Anderson wins Most Improved. If Linsanity hadn't gotten hurt, this award was his but...so it goes.

Magic's Ryan Anderson wins Kia Most Improved Player Award | NBA.com

Re: Lin, does it count as "Most Improved" if you're a pretty darn good basketball player, but no one really gives you a chance because you're Asian?

I suspect the only thing that "improved" was the open-mindedness of a few NBA execs.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Re: Lin, does it count as "Most Improved" if you're a pretty darn good basketball player, but no one really gives you a chance because you're Asian?

I suspect the only thing that "improved" was the open-mindedness of a few NBA execs.

Dude was the 13th man on a roster last year. This year? Far from that once he started playing. That kind of ascent just doesn't happen. Yeah, he's Asian and that helps for marketing purposes. And playing in New York helped immensely from a media perspective.

But again, the ascent from nobody to capable NBA starter almost overnight?

It was a movie.

[LloydLungs]

"Spirit" and "Angels" are both lousy. Spirit is terrible; Angels is alright in a vacuum but it's already taken in the world of major professional sports and really doesn't have anything to do with New Orleans at all other than the Saints being our NFL team. I think we really need a re-brand but I feared Benson wanting to turn the NBA team into Saints Jr.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Dude was the 13th man on a roster last year. This year? Far from that once he started playing. That kind of ascent just doesn't happen. Yeah, he's Asian and that helps for marketing purposes. And playing in New York helped immensely from a media perspective.

But again, the ascent from nobody to capable NBA starter almost overnight?

It was a movie.

Yeah, but did his ability actually improve much? I doubt it. Aside from the natural experience he may have gained from playing in NBA training camps and practices, he was probably about as good last year as he was this year--just no one knew it last year because no one gave him the chance.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Re: Lin, does it count as "Most Improved" if you're a pretty darn good basketball player, but no one really gives you a chance because you're Asian?

I suspect the only thing that "improved" was the open-mindedness of a few NBA execs.

Or in Ryan Anderson's case, the Magic decided to play him 10 more minutes per game this season. He was already good.

This is one of the dumbest awards in sports.

[Chief Rum]

Oh, and I agree 100% Lin is an amazing story; movie-like for sure.

I guess what I am saying is that naming Lin Most Improved would be like doing the same to Jackie Robinson in 1947, had he been a little used bench guy in 1946. Not like Jackie Robinson wasn't awesome in 1946, just no one was going to give a man of his race a chance in that year.

Not saying the ones who passed on Lin equate with the racist bigots in baseball in the 40s, but the decision to not play a player because of a factor outside of his ability is much the same.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Or in Ryan Anderson's case, the Magic decided to play him 10 more minutes per game this season. He was already good.

This is one of the dumbest awards in sports.

Heh...yeah, I guess that's true. It is kind of a dumb award. Improvement should seemingly be more about getting better, not just getting more time.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Yeah, but did his ability actually improve much? I doubt it. Aside from the natural experience he may have gained from playing in NBA training camps and practices, he was probably about as good last year as he was this year--just no one knew it last year because no one gave him the chance.

The thing is...he wasn't that good last year. He worked out all last year and the extended lockout helped him develop. This article from the Mercury News chronicles how he worked to get this good to even be able to play at the level he did this year.

In the popular fable of Jeremy Lin's life story, the villains are the NBA scouts and executives who overlooked the Harvard-educated, Asian-American point guard from Palo Alto.
Such a storyline, while convenient, undercuts a key aspect of Lin's rocket ride to stardom. The New York Knicks sensation is thriving not because his skeptics were wrong. Lin is thriving because he realized they were right.
He really was too willowy to survive the muscled forest of an NBA defense. He really was lacking a consistent jump shot.
So Lin rewrote his scouting report, reinventing himself shot by shot and pound by pound.
"That's the lesson here: If you don't like the way things are going for you in a sport, don't cry about it. Don't whine to the coach. Do something about it," said Doc Scheppler, who helped Lin refine his shooting fundamentals.
Over the span of more than three body-transforming months, Lin doubled the amount of weight he could squat (from 110 pounds to 231 pounds), nearly tripled the number of pull-ups he could do (from 12 to 30) and abandoned the shooting form he'd been using since eighth grade (he's now among the most accurate point guards in the NBA).

He did so by crisscrossing the Bay Area all summer, honing his shooting touch with Scheppler in Los Altos Hills, building up his lower-leg strength with trainer Phil Wagner in Menlo Park and sculpting his upper body with E.J. Costello at 24 Hour Fitness in Pleasanton -- often
on the same day.

"He's got the mental makeup of a Hall of Famer," Wagner said.
Despite a rough game Thursday night -- eight points and eight turnovers in a loss at Miami -- Lin remains one of the hottest stories in the history of American sports. He has been invited to participate in Rising Stars Challenge, a game Friday that features rookies and second year players as part of this weekend's NBA All-Star Festivities.

The only thing being ignored now is the work that went into becoming an overnight success.

Once you see that, you realize the mythology is just that and he did what anyone who wants to be good at something -- hype or not -- has to do. He busted his ass to do it.