The Thread of the 2010-11 NBA Season(IBTLo)

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I was there on Saturday and you guys should have never blown that game. 21 point lead in the 3rd, up 15 going into the 4th. Then outscored 34-9.

Rose went off in that 4th, but still, the Pistons were just so poor on fundamentals. Didn't box anyone out, didn't get the ball to their hot shooter, and didn't really play any sort of defense. I thought they should have switched to a zone and forced the Bulls to shoot from the outside (which they can't).

We are the worst defensive team in the NBA. If we didn't have Ben I shudder to think how bad it really could get.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

We are the worst defensive team in the NBA. If we didn't have Ben I shudder to think how bad it really could get.

I'd think the Raptors are the worst defensive team in the NBA.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I'd think the Raptors are the worst defensive team in the NBA.

Our front court consists of a 36 year old, 6'9 center, Charlie V. and a 6'10, 195 kid who should be playing SG not PF.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Our front court consists of a 36 year old, 6'9 center, Charlie V. and a 6'10, 195 kid who should be playing SG not PF.

lol, yeah that's not great. I just shudder about Amir Johnson, Bargnani, and Calderon.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

lol, yeah that's not great. I just shudder about Amir Johnson, Bargnani, and Calderon.

Yeah that isn't much better.

Raptors/Pistons will be epic pillow fights this season no doubt.

[RainMaker]

Noah is averaging 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a game so far. Real happy we didn't put him in any Carmelo deal and have him locked up for a long time.

[Coffee Warlord]

Don't go nuts yet, we've played 2 games. Rose is also averaging something like 34 points a game, I somehow doubt either will stay at that level.

(though I am happy Noah wasn't traded away - I think he's a big asset to the team)

[RainMaker]

I think Noah will lead the league in rebounding. He would have been real close last year if he had been healthy and he's added some strength and has a PF who will draw attention away from the paint.

[whomario]

speaking of rebounds, how about Reggie Evans pulling down 30 rebounds the first 2 games while scoring 2 points. Of course, on the other hand you have Bargnani starting off with 7 boards in his first 65 minutes of the season ... Those 2 surely complement each other

[MikeVic]

Yeah this Raptors team is crazy.

[Neon_Chaos]

Deng with 40 was nice.

And Scottie Pippen's wife is so goddamn hot.

[whomario]

Bargnani : 28/2
Evans : 6(!!)/19

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

Deng with 40 was nice.

And Scottie Pippen's wife is so goddamn hot.

Yes on both accounts.

Bulls are looking pretty good with one caveat: As someone previously stated, the lack of a consistent outside shooter is going to hurt the Bulls sooner rather than later. Portland was able to really bog down the Bulls when they ran a zone defense on 'em, I have a feeling teams are going to run a lot more zone against them. We'll see if they can adapt.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by whomario

Bargnani : 28/2
Evans : 6(!!)/19

In all seriousness, doesn't Evans have a shot at the rebounding title if he stays healthy? That's all they're asking him to do. The 6 points will probably be a season high...

Can I somehow combine Bargnani and Evans into a 28/19 PF?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Yes on both accounts.

Bulls are looking pretty good with one caveat: As someone previously stated, the lack of a consistent outside shooter is going to hurt the Bulls sooner rather than later. Portland was able to really bog down the Bulls when they ran a zone defense on 'em, I have a feeling teams are going to run a lot more zone against them. We'll see if they can adapt.

I thought Deng improved from the outside. And they also have Kyle Korver. At least in NBA2k11, that was enough for me. Korver hits 3s like mad.

[whomario]

Tiago Splitter played hist first game yesterday for the spurs after recovering from an injury. Looked a bit rusty and needs to adjust some, but it´s a start Should start over Blair pretty soon, who´d benefit from more PnR situations with the 2nd unit.
They also play their rookie James Anderson and undrafted FA Gary Neal off the bench, going to be interesting how Duncan/Manu/Parker elevate those guys assuming they stay healthy. Definitely a different approach after years of playing washed up veterans in those spots.

also, George Hill gets fouled (flagrant foul!) early in the 2nd quarter and hurts his shoulder and couldn´t shoot the free throws and while he wouldn´t have returned anyway by the sound of it : by rule he wasn´t allowed to return at any point in the game regardless. I get the idea of the rule (bad FT shooters faking injuries late in games) but come on now, there´s got to be a middle ground here...

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Yes on both accounts.

Bulls are looking pretty good with one caveat: As someone previously stated, the lack of a consistent outside shooter is going to hurt the Bulls sooner rather than later. Portland was able to really bog down the Bulls when they ran a zone defense on 'em, I have a feeling teams are going to run a lot more zone against them. We'll see if they can adapt.

Yeah, they could still use another shooter. I still think they are feeling out the new offense and Korver and Deng will be used much more from the outside as they move on. Boozer can also step back and hit mid-range jumpers.

My biggest concern at the moment is that they are sending other teams to the foul line a lot. They are giving up 41 free throws a game right now and only getting to the line 28 times. That gap has to close or they'll get beat by teams that knock down free throws against them like the Thunder did.

[Groundhog]

Mike Conley. Wow. What the hell are the Grizzlies thinking? They overpaid for Rudy Gay, but at least he's one of the top 10 or so SFs in the league. Conley's "improvement" (outside of his first 3 games this season, or his "contract week" as it's being called) over his pro career so far?



Yup, totally looks like this kid is ready to explode! This means that, a) Mayo is probably gone now, and b) will they be able to give Gasol the money he's worth?

lolz

[Groundhog]

John Wall was 1 steal away from a triple double today (...and 2 turnovers).

[DeToxRox]

"This game is played with passion," Kuester said. "You're in this game to win, so, yeah, four games in and I'm pissed. I'm not happy. We want to win."

Kuester repeatedly said during his postgame news conference that he needs someone on the team to be a leader, that the coach's voice alone is not enough to inspire a team to victory.

"We have to collectively somewhere, somehow find another voice besides my own that is going to lead us and also have that passion," Kuester said. "It can't be when things are going good. It has to happen when things are going rough, and it can't just be one person."

Prince said he understands Kuester wants more from the players, but the players need more from their coach as well.

"He's right but, at the same time, it goes both ways," Prince said. "We can sit in here and get on each other and be vocal, but like I said, the right thing's got to come from him as well as us.

"It goes both ways. If he wants to say we've got to be more vocal, then he's got to do some things better, too. Everybody has to do something better."

Ben Wallace didn't have much to say when asked about Kuester's desire for someone to step up and lead.

"Come on now," Wallace said. "I'm not going to touch that. I'm going to let that one marinate for a little while. You can write what you want to write about that.

"Next question."


I'd say the Pistons season will be entertaining if nothing else.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Mike Conley. Wow. What the hell are the Grizzlies thinking? They overpaid for Rudy Gay, but at least he's one of the top 10 or so SFs in the league. Conley's "improvement" (outside of his first 3 games this season, or his "contract week" as it's being called) over his pro career so far?



Yup, totally looks like this kid is ready to explode! This means that, a) Mayo is probably gone now, and b) will they be able to give Gasol the money he's worth?

lolz

The money was a bit much it seems, but he was about the only one who showed up today vs the Lakers, as they blasted the Griz pretty badly

[Shkspr]

I don't know. If Conley really is averaging 14 points and 6 assists a minute like that chart claims, it's a pretty good deal.

[DeToxRox]

Charlie V and KG feud:

The Detroit Pistons' Charlie Villanueva and Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett were whistled for technical fouls at the same point in the third quarter of Tuesday night's game.

The first post came shortly after 2 a.m., after the Pistons landed in Atlanta for Wednesday's game against the Hawks. (The tweets have been edited slightly.)

“KG talks a lot of crap. He's probably never been in a fight. I would love to get in a ring with him, I will expose him.”

Then, about 20 minutes later: “KG called me a cancer patient. I'm pissed because you know how many people died from cancer, and he's tossing it like it's a joke.”

Then, shortly after that: “I wouldn't even trip about that, but a cancer patient -- I know way too many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place for those.”

Of course, we can't be sure that the “KG” he is referring to is Garnett, but we can guess that it is.

Also cannot confirm exactly where the “cancer patient” reference came from, although Villanueva suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss over the entire body.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I don't know, it's hard to doubt KG in a fued with a guy who can't even grow his own hair. Come on!

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

I don't know, it's hard to doubt KG in a fued with a guy who can't even grow his own hair. Come on!

I'd side with KG if he did something that could get the Pistons out of CV's contract.

[MikeVic]

Isn't CV's lack of hair a medical thing?

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Yeah pretty sure he's an alpaca.

[molson]

Gotta love Twitter. I'm sure this is relatively tame for on-court trash talking.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by molson

Gotta love Twitter. I'm sure this is relatively tame for on-court trash talking.

Yup, so long as worse can be said, it must be okay to say.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Yup, so long as worse can be said, it must be okay to say.

Not what I said at all. Actually, "worse" would be OK too. It's a basketball court, not your grandma's house.

Or maybe they should start calling technicals for hurt feelings?

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by molson

Not what I said at all. Actually, "worse" would be OK too. It's a basketball court, not your grandma's house.

Or maybe they should start calling technicals for hurt feelings?

Just saying that just because worse can and almost certainly has been done, that shouldn't just excuse the behavior or that CV doesn't have a point.

I'll be sure to point out your posts to the defense attorneys you go up against, so that when you try to prosecute an involuntary manslaughter charge, they can bring up, well, hey, it ain't murder, right, your Honor?

[whomario]

Trash talk centering on in-game/basketball stuff just is part of the game and makes for great stories and shots (just recently in "Once Brothers" there was a journalist saying *Reggie Miller loved playing against Petrovic because that guy could talk trash in 4 languages* followed by a great shot of Petrovic getting past Miller for a jumper and then jawing at him) , but i just hate guys taking the topic away from basketball.

KG allways strucks me as a great teammate but a terrible oponent in that he has very little class and dignity to him. I dunno ...

Of cource the cancer patient is directed at Villanueva´s looks/medical issue regarding hair loss, what else is there ?

as for action on the field : The Heat look really, really good ... And don´t punch me now but they are kind of fun to watch, too ...
Rondo 17 assists and 0 turnovers, that guy´s passing ability is unreal
. Especially considering people sag off of him as much as possible (which in general makes for worse passing angles)

Watching Portland play is like watching plants grow ... The Bucks are in trouble, i guess that´s what you get for messing with chemistry and cohesion.

Odom and Gasol are impressive right now,

btw : i picked Howard in the pick-one-challenge on NBA.com and the game gets postponed, WTF ?)


super random thought : I just found out that the current manager of the german soccer National Team (not coach, more like GM) Oliver Bierhoff, who i hate a lot in that role, is married to the woman that drove the car with Petrovic in it in 1993 (which she barely survived). Holy hell, the world is small ...

Also, lucky for her that she wasn´t croatian or fell in lover with another croatian (or even a celebrity from croatia) later in live...

[Gary Gorski]

Originally Posted by whomario

Rondo 17 assists and 0 turnovers, that guy´s passing ability is unreal
. Especially considering people sag off of him as much as possible (which in general makes for worse passing angles)

Actually I think this is the thing that leads to so many quality assist opportunities for Rondo. If you don't pressure the basketball you give him all day to look over the defense and find open players. Sure, sagging on him may prevent him from making a pass directly in front of him but it does nothing to prevent a pass to either side where he's going to hit Allen or PP for 3 or even Garnett at the high post.

The sagging is because he's so quick and a relatively poor jump shooter but teams don't seem to realize that he's making them pay just as much by finding the guys who can shoot and having no defense in the passing lanes to them. If he's got a wide open passing lane he's going to hit the guy in the right spot and then its catch and shoot. If there would at least be a hand in the passing lane it would force him to adjust how he's making the pass and perhaps not allow the pass to be perfect and thereby throwing off the shot or forcing the guy catching the ball to not be able to shoot off his cut and allow the defense to recover to the shooter.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Gary Gorski

Actually I think this is the thing that leads to so many quality assist opportunities for Rondo. If you don't pressure the basketball you give him all day to look over the defense and find open players. Sure, sagging on him may prevent him from making a pass directly in front of him but it does nothing to prevent a pass to either side where he's going to hit Allen or PP for 3 or even Garnett at the high post.

The sagging is because he's so quick and a relatively poor jump shooter but teams don't seem to realize that he's making them pay just as much by finding the guys who can shoot and having no defense in the passing lanes to them. If he's got a wide open passing lane he's going to hit the guy in the right spot and then its catch and shoot. If there would at least be a hand in the passing lane it would force him to adjust how he's making the pass and perhaps not allow the pass to be perfect and thereby throwing off the shot or forcing the guy catching the ball to not be able to shoot off his cut and allow the defense to recover to the shooter.

Of course it´s not black and white Sure it´s easier to pass the ball to either side with the defense he´s facing, but very often those aren´t passes leading to sure-fire points because the other guy will more often than not still have his man guarding him.

Let me rephrase : It´s amazing how he can get guys easy looks right at the rim (or moving forward) with the way other teams guard him. He gets just as many assists leading to shots right at the rim or within 15 feet as the other elite playmakers.

Defense is hardest to play once someone gets by the initial defender

I mean, how many point guards with no outside shot or at least really, really good scoring ability are there in the NBA (and are playing a good role, not even a key one ?) ? Of course, playing in a system that just works does help, but still i´m inclined to say that Rondo is simply special despite his limitation and doesn´t have an advantage because of how he is played.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by molson

Not what I said at all. Actually, "worse" would be OK too. It's a basketball court, not your grandma's house.

Or maybe they should start calling technicals for hurt feelings?

They already give technical foul for hurt feelings.

[DeToxRox]

lol @ KG's explanation:


Garnett's statement claims that he didn't call Villanueva a "cancer patient," but rather said, "You are cancerous to your team and our league." The statement goes on to add, "I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease." It remains to be seen what the response will be (if any) from the Celtics or the league on this issue.

That would be the strangest in game trash talking ever.

[Groundhog]

Garnett is the ultimate example of a dude who has bark that is immeasurably bigger than his bite.

[DaddyTorgo]

I can understand it though: "You a cancer" vs. "You got cancer?" - prolly easy to mistake the one for the other.

Not saying I think Garnett is necessarily telling the truth, just saying it's plausible.

[Groundhog]

I have no doubt that Garnett said he looks like a cancer patient because, as horrible as it sounds, he does. It's the kind of stupid thing that someone like KG would say in the heat of the moment.

[RainMaker]

Back when I lived in Minnesota, I was able to sit 5 rows behind the T-Wolves bench and can tell you that KG never shuts the fuck up. I have no doubt the story is true.

The weird thing about KG is that most people talking trash do so sort of playfully. No one is going out there throwing out racist slurs or other personal attacks. But KG seems to not have gotten that memo.

[Groundhog]

I think the only way KG is able to get himself to play so intensely and motivated is to actively hate every single person on the other team the entire game.

[DaddyTorgo]

Bullshit - Bogut shoves KG in the chest after a made basket and doesn't get thrown from the game and instead it's a double technical??

NBA refereeing is so close to ruining the enjoyment of watching the game.

BTW...Rondo has just tied Stockton and Magic with 81 assists through the first 5 games of the season. Still a chance for him to be #1 all alone.

[RainMaker]

If Bogut was 6 inches shorter, KG would have retaliated.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

If Bogut was 6 inches shorter, KG would have retaliated.

LMAO

[Groundhog]

To be fair, KG had just told Bogut that he looked like someone that died on United Airlines Flight 93.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

To be fair, KG had just told Bogut that he looked like someone that died on United Airlines Flight 93.

LOL

[LloydLungs]

Wow, my Hornets looking good in early regular season! Seriously though, 4-0 and no gimme wins in there (Bucks, Nuggets, at Spurs, at Rockets). Very, very early, but I love this team so far. They're doing everything that a well-coached team would do. Looks like the best Hornet bench since the team was in Charlotte. Monty Williams is a very impressive young coach, I think.

Superfriends coming to New Orleans on Friday. I think this team takes back to back losses this weekend (the classic "play balls-to-the-wall and barely lose to Heat Friday, then lose back-to-back while exhausted on Saturday"). Even if so, I'll still be feeling good about them.

[Neuqua]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

To be fair, KG had just told Bogut that he looked like someone that died on United Airlines Flight 93.

[RomaGoth]

The Pistons are just awful.

[stevew]

I don't see anyone beating the Lakers this year. They'll roll the Heat in 5 games. Barring any major injuries, of course. They absolutely have the perfect roster consistency right now.