The NBA Thread

[dave from knoxville]

If my college bracket is any indication, these are random.

1 San Antonio Spurs Home 36.6
2 Chicago Bulls Home 34.2
3 Boston Celtics Home 31.5
4 Denver Nuggets Home 31.2
5 Dallas Mavericks Home 29.9
6 Los Angeles Lakers Home 28.8
7 Miami Heat Home 28.7
8 Memphis Grizzlies Home 28.6
9 Oklahoma City Thunder Home 28.4
10 Orlando Magic Home 28.2
11 Portland Trailblazers Home 26.8
12 New Orleans Hornets Home 26.7
13 Philadelphia 76ers Home 25.3
14 Golden State Warriors Home 24.9
15 Utah Jazz Home 24.7
16 Houston Rockets Home 23.9
17 Los Angeles Clippers Home 23.8
18 Phoenix Suns Home 23.7
19 Dallas Mavericks Away 23.5
20 New York Knicks Home 23.5
21 Charlotte Bobcats Home 22.9
22 Los Angeles Lakers Away 22.6
23 Indiana Pacers Home 22.5
24 Miami Heat Away 22.4
25 Milwaukee Bucks Home 22.2
26 San Antonio Spurs Away 21.9
27 Atlanta Hawks Home 21.6
28 New Jersey Nets Home 21.3
29 Detroit Pistons Home 20.9
30 Boston Celtics Away 19.3
31 Oklahoma City Thunder Away 19.2
32 Orlando Magic Away 17.7
33 Toronto Raptors Home 17.4
34 Washington Wizards Home 16.7
35 Chicago Bulls Away 16.6
36 Atlanta Hawks Away 16.4
37 Phoenix Suns Away 16.1
38 Minnesota Timberwolves Home 15.4
39 Houston Rockets Away 14.3
40 Denver Nuggets Away 14.1
41 New Orleans Hornets Away 13.8
42 Utah Jazz Away 13.7
43 Portland Trailblazers Away 13.5
44 New York Knicks Away 13.3
45 Sacramento Kings Home 12
46 Memphis Grizzlies Away 11.8
47 Cleveland Cavaliers Home 11.6
48 Philadelphia 76ers Away 11.3
49 Milwaukee Bucks Away 9.3
50 Sacramento Kings Away 8.3
51 Charlotte Bobcats Away 8.2
52 Indiana Pacers Away 6.8
53 Golden State Warriors Away 6.6
54 Toronto Raptors Away 6
55 Los Angeles Clippers Away 5.9
56 Detroit Pistons Away 5
57 Minnesota Timberwolves Away 4.1
58 New Jersey Nets Away 4.1
59 Cleveland Cavaliers Away 3.7
60 Washington Wizards Away 0

[njkaters]

Belmont is the trendy upset pick, but I really like Wisconsin. They don't turnover the ball and they matchup really well against future round opponents if they get past Belmont. On paper they look like a team that can make at least a run to the elite eight but that first round matchup is going to scare a lot of people off.

The Dean of our English department is Kathy Byrd. Her father is veteran Hall of Fame sportswriter Ben Byrd. Her BROTHER is Rick Byrd, Belmont's coach. I wish him all the best.

Also, those Wisconsin fans overwhelmingly voted in that prick for Governor, so fuck them.

I'm a Wisconsin fan/resident who didn't vote for Scott Walker but I take your point...most Wisconsin alumni probably voted for him despite (or maybe because) living in the most liberal part of the state for 4+ years.

[Greggulator]

Hope everyone got to watch Lakers/Suns 3OT after The Best Show. Ridiculously well-played game.

Also: Wisconsin is my least favorite NCAA basketball team. They play the most dreadful style of basketball imaginable. But they have this guy Bruiserwitz who looks like Seth Rogan who has become my favorite basketball player left in the tournament. I can't believe this guy plays D-1 basketball.

[Dave]

please take a moment to read this interview i did with tom while attending a nets game earlier this week: http://www.negativedunkalectics.com/2011/03/nba-will-expose-you-tom-scharpling-and.html

[buffcoat]

The later rounds of the NCAA Tournament only get fun after Duke has lost.  And this year my alma mater outlasts them by at least 22 hours, maybe more.

[dave from knoxville]

Weird weird night last night. Here's this week's update.

1 San Antonio Spurs Home 32.5
2 Chicago Bulls Home 31.1
3 Denver Nuggets Home 28.6
4 Boston Celtics Home 27.6
5 Dallas Mavericks Home 26.8
6 Los Angeles Lakers Home 26.4
7 Oklahoma City Thunder Home 26.3
8 Miami Heat Home 26.2
9 Memphis Grizzlies Home 26
10 Orlando Magic Home 25.4
11 Portland Trailblazers Home 24.5
12 New Orleans Hornets Home 23.7
13 Philadelphia 76ers Home 23.3
14 Golden State Warriors Home 22.6
15 Los Angeles Clippers Home 21.9
16 Houston Rockets Home 21.9
17 New York Knicks Home 21.6
18 Phoenix Suns Home 21.5
19 Utah Jazz Home 21.1
20 Dallas Mavericks Away 21.1
21 Charlotte Bobcats Home 20.8
22 Indiana Pacers Home 20.5
23 Miami Heat Away 20.1
24 Los Angeles Lakers Away 20.1
25 Atlanta Hawks Home 19.6
26 Detroit Pistons Home 19.3
27 Milwaukee Bucks Home 19.3
28 San Antonio Spurs Away 19.2
29 New Jersey Nets Home 18.7
30 Boston Celtics Away 17.1
31 Oklahoma City Thunder Away 17.1
32 Toronto Raptors Home 15.8
33 Orlando Magic Away 15.7
34 Washington Wizards Home 15.3
35 Chicago Bulls Away 15.2
36 Phoenix Suns Away 14.4
37 Atlanta Hawks Away 14.4
38 Minnesota Timberwolves Home 14.2
39 New Orleans Hornets Away 13.4
40 Portland Trailblazers Away 13.1
41 Houston Rockets Away 13.1
42 Denver Nuggets Away 12.8
43 Utah Jazz Away 11.9
44 Sacramento Kings Home 11.3
45 New York Knicks Away 11.2
46 Memphis Grizzlies Away 11.1
47 Philadelphia 76ers Away 10.8
48 Cleveland Cavaliers Home 10.4
49 Milwaukee Bucks Away 9.1
50 Sacramento Kings Away 8.2
51 Charlotte Bobcats Away 8.2
52 Indiana Pacers Away 6.8
53 Golden State Warriors Away 5.8
54 Los Angeles Clippers Away 5.6
55 Detroit Pistons Away 4.2
56 Cleveland Cavaliers Away 4
57 Toronto Raptors Away 4
58 Minnesota Timberwolves Away 3.6
59 New Jersey Nets Away 3.3
60 Washington Wizards Away 0

[jbissell]

The final post from freedarko.com is up now.

[amazingjourney]

It seems like I find out about cool sports blogs whenever they are shutting down or close to ending.

Can anyone recommend any other NBA sites or general sports blogs to read. . . I want to get in on the ground floor of something!

[senorcorazon]

The final post from freedarko.com is up now.

Can someone explain why they're shutting down? I know it's probably a ton of work and they're busy, but just wondering if there was some other reason.

[Greggulator]

It seems like I find out about cool sports blogs whenever they are shutting down or close to ending.

Can anyone recommend any other NBA sites or general sports blogs to read. . . I want to get in on the ground floor of something!

Negative Dunkalectics is well-placed to replace Free Darko as the thinking man's guide to the NBA. They're currently doing a preview of the NBA playoffs through the prism of classic emo albums. (And more Rites of Spring and I Hate Myself as opposed to what people have dubbed emo these days.) They also just interviewed Tom by going to a Nets game w/ him. I can't stress enough how much I like these guys.

Also: True Hoop on ESPN.com. That's the first thing I read every morning, save for work e-mails.

[jbissell]

The final post from freedarko.com is up now.

Can someone explain why they're shutting down? I know it's probably a ton of work and they're busy, but just wondering if there was some other reason.

I haven't seen any specific reason. I know Shoals writes for a bunch of different places these days.

Though I haven't been a consistant reader of the blog the last year or so, it was a big influence on me rekindling my love with the NBA around 2006. It was mostly a happy accident, finding them through the McSweeney's pieces.

[amazingjourney]

It seems like I find out about cool sports blogs whenever they are shutting down or close to ending.

Can anyone recommend any other NBA sites or general sports blogs to read. . . I want to get in on the ground floor of something!

Negative Dunkalectics is well-placed to replace Free Darko as the thinking man's guide to the NBA. They're currently doing a preview of the NBA playoffs through the prism of classic emo albums. (And more Rites of Spring and I Hate Myself as opposed to what people have dubbed emo these days.) They also just interviewed Tom by going to a Nets game w/ him. I can't stress enough how much I like these guys.

Also: True Hoop on ESPN.com. That's the first thing I read every morning, save for work e-mails.

Greggulator, thanks for the recs.

Let me add that I checked out the Holding Court podcast because of the Best Show connection-- and I love it!

Also, I think that you, Greg, are the only candidate with that certain spark of spontaneity that could pull off the protege position.

[Chris L]

I did not except the actual Darko to outlast Free Darko.

[Gilly]

I feel pretty good about my preseason predictions...

Miami v. Chicago (East finals)
Lakers v. OK City (West finals)
Miami over Lakers (Finals)

[Greggulator]

I think the Lakers might take a hit tonight. I don't have the sound on but Bynum's knee looked like it popped real bad.

Also, Tom talked up Matt Bonner tonight at the end of the show. Have you guys seen these:

http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/fundamentals_of_the_game_with_coach_b.html

It's this really bizarre (and funny) video series that The Red Rocket made this year. I haven't seen these get passed around so much and I don't know why they haven't. I love them.