The NBA Thread

[Gilly]

I've been rooting for the Jazz since Rubio went down since the Wolves get their pick if they make the playoffs. I almost gave up hope a week ago when they lost a couple in a row, but with the matchups left, the 8th seed is theirs to lose. Austin Rivers here we come.

[Greggulator]

I am so excited for the Bobcats to lose out the season and cement themselves as the worst basketball team of all-time.

It has been a spectacular season for the Bobcats. Last night's game against Orlando was tremendous. They came out to play but were just outgunned by a Dwight Howard-less Magic squad. They got down by double digits early and folded up the tents.

They have absolutely no talent on the team. Any veteran on the team is a shlub -- Corey Maggette wouldn't get more than eight minutes per game on any playoff team. Gerald Henderson is probably their best player and also wouldn't get more than eight minutes on a playoff team.

The young players are going to wash out unless they end up in a better spot. BJ Mullins has some skills (his stint on the Thunder did wonders) but he still wouldn't get off the bench for an actual decent team. Kemba Walker and Bismack have potential but are so woefully lost in an absolutely terrible situation.

I feel awful for them. The team DOES care. They just don't have anyone who can play. It's like watching a Little LEague team with an inexperienced coach who gets rooked in the player selection process by some ruthless coach. But MJ is the textbook reuthless coach. SIgh.

[jbissell]

I am so excited for the Bobcats to lose out the season and cement themselves as the worst basketball team of all-time.

I hope JR breaks 60 tonight.

[Gilly]

Everyone talks about how much of a crap shoot the draft is, but I think the reason so many prospects fail is because most of the time a bad situation is created for a player either by being asked to do too much on a bad team, being placed out of position on a bad-mediocre team or wasting away on the bench of a good team. It is very tough for prospects to get anything close to resembling an ideal situation.

I really wish the NBA would expand the D-League. College basketball is a joke right now, there's no development going on there, just running systems of blue chip players. That said, the D-League is a bigger joke. Each D-League team is the affiliate of 3 NBA teams and very few teams have sent down lottery picks to get NBA training. Why would they? The player isn't going to learn how to play their system anyway. The only sport that doesn't have a true minor league system out of the big 4 (I'll begrudgingly include the NHL as "big" since they help my case) is the NFL and that's just because of the huge rosters. Expand the D-League, expand the draft from 2 rounds to 4 or 5 and it would be very hard to argue that the NBA wouldn't be the best league around. The quality of play would skyrocket.

[Greggulator]

Even the NFL could use a real minor league system. College football is pretty much a completely different sport at this point... largely in that it's fun to watch with varied offenses and defenses whereas the NFL bores me to absolute tears.

The NBA also places way too much emphasis on height and body frame. The Classical had a piece on Avery Bradley today -- he fell through the cracks because he's 6'2" but doesn't have the ball-handling skills to run point guard. The Celtics had to play him because of injuries and he's emerged as an absolutely remarkable defensive player.

[Mr. Spacely]

Time for some bracketeering!

WEST
SAS over Utah in 6.

LAC over Memphis in 7

OKC over Dallas in 5

LAL over Denver in 6


SAS over LAC in 7

LAL over OKC in 7


SAS over LAL in 6


EAST
Chicago over Philly in 4

Atlanta over Boston in 7

Miami over NYK in 6

Indiana over Orlando in 4


Chicago over Atlanta in 6

Miami over Indiana in (can't decide)


Miami over Chicago in 7


FINALS: SAS over Miami in 6

[Drew D]

The NBA also places way too much emphasis on height and body frame. The Classical had a piece on Avery Bradley today -- he fell through the cracks because he's 6'2" but doesn't have the ball-handling skills to run point guard. The Celtics had to play him because of injuries and he's emerged as an absolutely remarkable defensive player.

Yes!! I've been saying this too for a while.  I love when a player deemed "too small" for his position ends up proving GMs wrong.  It happens year after year.

[buffcoat]

Charlotte is now officially on pace to be the worst team in the history of the league.  Go Bobcats!

Congratulations, Bobcats.  I'm not the world's greatest predictor, but I had faith in you all along.  I got a little scared during the "winning streak," when they won two out of four games in March, but they came through in style - how many teams can look at 23 remaining games, realize they have to lose all of them to get the record, and then deliver?

How does an NBA franchise, even a bad one, manage to equip itself with such a lack of talent?  Even compared to other terrible franchises.

[jbissell]

I really wish the NBA would expand the D-League. College basketball is a joke right now, there's no development going on there, just running systems of blue chip players. That said, the D-League is a bigger joke. Each D-League team is the affiliate of 3 NBA teams and very few teams have sent down lottery picks to get NBA training. Why would they? The player isn't going to learn how to play their system anyway.

Earlier in the season I heard an interview with someone related to the Nets front office discussing the D-League and how it has been sorely underutilized. The Nets made a deal with the Springfield team to be their sole affiliate. The team controls all of the business side, while the Nets control the coaching and player decisions. Despite the Nets being generally lousy, it seemed like they were pretty successful in that aspect this year with Gerald Green's surprising comeback. Apparently Houston has a similar agreement in place. I'd imagine a few more teams will start to catch on to this model because it definitely could provide a competitive advantage.

[jbissell]

My first round predictions

Bulls over Sixers in 5
Heat beat Knicks in 6
Pacers sweep Magic
Boston over ATL in 6
Spurs sweep Jazz
OKC beats Mavs in 6
Lakers over Nuggets in 7
Grizz top Clips in 7

[Mr. Spacely]

I guess the Knicks thought the playoffs were starting next weekend?

[jbissell]

My first round predictions

Bulls over Sixers in 5

Still think this will happen but the news about Rose fucking sucks.

[gravy boat]

I guess the Knicks thought the playoffs were starting next weekend?

And the Grizzlies thought they play only 3 quarters in Game 1.  Sh%t.

[Chris L]

Just coming here to post D-Wade throwing Mike Bibby's shoe out of bounds; probably the last great Bibby-related highlight anyone can remember.

[JON IN PHL]

Wade is such a douche.