Author Topic: The NBA Thread  (Read 137155 times)

hardweek

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Chrissy in MN

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #661 on: February 23, 2012, 07:38:40 PM »
I would just like to point out that the Wolves have already matched their previous seasons win total at 17.  Although they aren't contenders, it's pretty exciting for us Wolves fans here.  After several miserable seasons, it doesn't take much to make MN fans happy.

Mr. Spacely

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #662 on: February 24, 2012, 01:40:47 AM »
Re: Wolves.

It's so crazy that David Kahn is having a long, hard laugh this year. Maybe not a "last laugh," per se, but a laugh nonetheless.

Also, Kevin Love is great. Best PF in the game.
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dave from knoxville

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #663 on: February 24, 2012, 06:21:05 AM »
Midweek update

1   Miami
2   Chicago
3   Houston
4   San Antonio
5   Memphis
6   Orlando
7   Oklahoma City
8   Dallas
9   Boston
10   LA Clippers
11   LA Lakers
12   Denver
13   Minnesota
14   Philadelphia
15   Indiana
16   New Orleans
17   Cleveland
18   Portland
19   Sacramento
20   Atlanta
21   Golden State
22   Phoenix
23   New Jersey
24   New York
25   Toronto
26   Detroit
27   Milwaukee
28   Utah
29   Washington
30   Charlotte

Greggulator

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #664 on: February 27, 2012, 07:29:36 PM »
Re: Wolves.

It's so crazy that David Kahn is having a long, hard laugh this year. Maybe not a "last laugh," per se, but a laugh nonetheless.

Also, Kevin Love is great. Best PF in the game.

Kahn stinks. Who is the team's third best player? Michael Beasley? He just resigned Darko. Let that sink in.

He gets credit for drafting Kevin Love but that really wasn't that big a risk in that draft. That draft stunk.

Drafting a teenage stud who was really good in the second best pro league and held his own in the Olympics for the silver medal team isn't that big a risk. Kahn gets credit for that move but it wasn't genius move.

The Jonny Flynn pick was terrible. And the Wayne Ellington pick isn't the greatest pick either, even though he's not that bad.

That whole team is a credit to how great Kevin Love is. He's a Top 5 player in the league right now and has a great point guard. With any sort of skilled GM, they'd be where the Thunder were two years ago.

He gets points for drafting
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Gilly

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #665 on: February 28, 2012, 12:24:14 AM »
Kevin Love was drafted by McHale. I think GMs fall into 4 categories: Truly great ones that turn a garbage team into a great one by crafty wheeling and dealing, average GMs that have a couple good breaks, average GMs who have a couple bad breaks, and the GM that is just downright awful and finds ways to turn good breaks into bad ones. You can't really define someone until after their tenure but I think Kahn will end up falling under average w/ good breaks. An awful GM wouldn't have drafted Rubio or would have traded him for pennies on the dollar instead of waiting on him to come to Minnesota. For the record, I'd rank McHale average with a couple bad breaks. The Joe Smith debacle most likely cost him a championship or two and he'd have a totally different legacy.

jbissell

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #666 on: February 28, 2012, 04:19:58 PM »

He gets credit for drafting Kevin Love but that really wasn't that big a risk in that draft. That draft stunk.

Are you nuts? In what world did that draft stink?

Rose, Westbrook, Love in the top 5 is very impressive. Not to mention potential guys on the rise like Gallinari, Gordon, Hibbert, Ibaka, Batum. And a whole bunch of solid contributors like Mayo, Lopez, Ryan Anderson, DeAndre Jordan, Darrell Arthur, etc. And then of course the ever tantalizing potential of Anthony Randolph and the ridiculous JaVale McGee. Hell, Joe Alexander is the only lottery pick that made absolutely no impact.

Mr. Spacely

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #667 on: March 01, 2012, 02:14:07 PM »
Greggulator is out-of-control! (I love it).

In other news, I'll soon be making my annual trek 15 miles westward to the 300 section of Staples Center to see the Los Angeles Kobe Bryants in person. I'll be sure to report back on all my heckling of Mike Brown and Derek Fisher.

Interesting trivia about Staples: It's actually owned by the group that owns the LA Kings hockey team, and the Lakers and Clippers lease it from them. That's probably the only time in this town that hockey is ever on top of basketball.
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Greggulator

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #668 on: March 03, 2012, 12:20:35 PM »

He gets credit for drafting Kevin Love but that really wasn't that big a risk in that draft. That draft stunk.

Are you nuts? In what world did that draft stink?

Rose, Westbrook, Love in the top 5 is very impressive. Not to mention potential guys on the rise like Gallinari, Gordon, Hibbert, Ibaka, Batum. And a whole bunch of solid contributors like Mayo, Lopez, Ryan Anderson, DeAndre Jordan, Darrell Arthur, etc. And then of course the ever tantalizing potential of Anthony Randolph and the ridiculous JaVale McGee. Hell, Joe Alexander is the only lottery pick that made absolutely no impact.

I overstated saying it stunk. Thanks for correcting me.

But seriously -- Love had some knee thing which kept him from going further. But every single NBA stats nerd swears that rebounding is the easiest stat to translate from college to the NBA -- see Paul Milsap, DeJuan Blair, etc. Love was dominant as a freshman for a Final Four team. Taking him over everyone else who went after him was a pretty obvious pick.

So kudos for taking two picks that anyone in their right mind would have taken. Thumbs down for taking picks that made no sense and are going to prevent an absolute superstar power forward and transcendent point guard from having any sort of big run.

If Presti was the Wolves GM, they'd be set.
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Gilly

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #669 on: March 03, 2012, 07:04:42 PM »
It doesn't help my case that Kahn is a decent GM, but once again, he didn't draft Love. McHale did.

Greggulator

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #670 on: March 03, 2012, 11:59:21 PM »
It doesn't help my case that Kahn is a decent GM, but once again, he didn't draft Love. McHale did.

So Kudos for making one good draft pick of about 18. And for signing Darko to an extended deal. Any minute now he's going to put it all together. The Wesley Johnson and Darko inside-outside game is going to light the league on fire.

Seriously -- the Wolves ANGER me. They have three guys I like a lot (I'm super high on Derrick Williams) but have such a dummy running things that it's going to be ruined.
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Mr. Spacely

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #671 on: March 04, 2012, 10:42:16 PM »
The Wolves have Pekovic/Nod from Superman II banging bodies in the low post. That should get Kahn at least SOME immunity from you.
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Mr. Spacely

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #672 on: March 04, 2012, 10:44:51 PM »
Oh, and solid win today from the Lakers. Not the most fun game to watch, obviously, but Kobe's just such a transcendent player these days. He's arguably more fascinating now -- on the cusp of his twilight -- than he's ever been.

That said, no way the Lakers are beating the Heat in any kind of 7-game series. Even in a loss, I was very impressed with Heat D and execution. They're all so strong and fast.
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Greggulator

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #673 on: March 05, 2012, 01:57:07 AM »
What an awesome day of basketball!

* I caught only some of the Celts/Knicks game and missed the end of the 4th. But it was great. I have a bad habit of always sleeping in on Rajan and then he puts together one of the great box scores in league history. He's such a bizarre person. He's one of the great team basketball players in years and truly wants to set his teammates up, but he looks like the most miserable person. The NBA commercial that for some reason uses Primus kind of works well.

* I can't believe that we've entered into "the Watch Kobe at his peak while you still can" phase. It seems just like yesterday when he was a high school senior one year my junior and rumored to be coming to La Salle University. It's also weird to admit that I kind of like the guy now, after spending so much of my adult life hating him. But he had some crazy post moves to get open jump shots today -- just a testament to how smart he is and how much effort he puts into getting ring number five. It's also great to see him chump the Heat, especially after D-Wade's cheap shot on him at the All-Star game.

The Heat are way better than the Lakers. It's not even close. But I'll be more surprised to see LeBron win a ring than I would be to see the Heat lose to the Knicks or whoever in Round 1.

* I went to my first Sixers game tonight. It was SO much fun. I've hated going to their games the past few years because of how dreadful it was -- a boring team in front of 8,000 people with non-stop awful jock jams and light shows. But the new owners are REALLY making an effort. The pre-game video entrance was maybe the best I've ever seen -- it was artistic and subtle as opposed to the typical fare and tied in the history of the team with its current roster beautifully while also capturing the same with the city. They turned down the noise a lot -- they only had defense and Let's Go Sixers chants pumped in during game time. Technotronix and that fare is acceptable to me during timeouts. I'm going to go to a LOT more games now that I have a lot more free time.

The game itself was great. The Sixers are soooo frustrating. They are a tremendously well-coached team. They move the ball fantastically well and have incredible depth and versatility. Andre Iguadola is so much better in person than on TV. He really did a great job when he was guarding Derrick Rose -- he forced Rose to go towards his left and kept him on that side of the court, as opposed to letting Rose start from the top of the key. But they won't ever beat a great team with the roster they currently have. They don't have a guy who can dominate on any isolation plays, which you need constantly in the playoffs since it's so much harder to get a shot off.

The Bulls are tremendous. They, too, are very well-coached. No one on that team is ever out of position. Their coaching staff was great running their sets differently so Rose could be in his comfort zone and start the offense where he wanted. When they managed to make those adjustments, he showed why he's the MVP -- he can get to the rim whenever he wants, he almost always makes the right pass and he now also has a consistent outside shot. And he's somehow sleepy while putting together a 35-point game.

* Watched the last half of the Nuggets/Spurs. I am really going to miss the Duncan/Parker/Manu era. Parker is having a secretly awesome year. Manu made his return from injury and was rusty but did all the Manu things which I've loved -- weird passes from insane angles, great ball hawking on defense, a willingness to take a tough shot. The Spurs are a pleasure to watch and have been since I can remember.

The Nuggets could be this year's Memphis. They're hanging in their despite their injuries. Ty Lawson is very, very, very good. I also love Kenneth Faried. He has such a great motor and he's ALWAYS smiling. He's so happy to have the ability to play basketball for his career and it shows. He's going to be a pretty good off-the-bench big man for about the next 10 years. I hope he never loses his personality.
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njkaters

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Re: The NBA Thread
« Reply #674 on: March 05, 2012, 11:06:57 AM »

The Nuggets could be this year's Memphis. They're hanging in their despite their injuries. Ty Lawson is very, very, very good. I also love Kenneth Faried. He has such a great motor and he's ALWAYS smiling. He's so happy to have the ability to play basketball for his career and it shows. He's going to be a pretty good off-the-bench big man for about the next 10 years. I hope he never loses his personality.

Agreed on the Nuggets; I've watched quite a few Nuggets games this season and I love their style. Faried was probably one of my favorite college basketball players (I only really watch the Tournament) over the past few years and he's actually built on that energetic play in the pros, which doesn't often happen.