General NBA watching thread 2010-11 edition

[dude1394]

Dang...that shaq is a funny sob...What a wild ass hat he's got...

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Don't capitalize a grammar error. It just looks really bad.

Oops. Sorry, grammar police..

[Underdog]

Magic send 4 players home with stomach virus

See, this is why you NEVER go a$$ to mouth...

[aquaadverse]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Riley says a lot of things. I mean seriously, is that all we're going on here? Jerry Jones said he wasn't going to fire Wade Phillips before the season was over. Lebron said numerous times that staying in Cleveland was his "first choice."

It's not like Riley can publicly say (or even hint) that he wants to coach again. To do so would not only be an insult to Spolestra, but would create clusterf*ck of confusion and uncertainty within the organization and the locker room.

Didn't he say the same thing before he fired Stan Van Gundy? I could be wrong, but I seem to remember him saying something to that effect.

SVG lost that team, primarily because of Shaq. He didn't want to return then, either. And he had a lot of trouble in the beginning. He had to make adjustments. Not work them as hard in practice. Loosen up on the some of the old school stuff. There were a lot of players on that team who knew Riley the coach. He had only stepped aside 2 years prior. Now it's been 3 years. The NBA culture is different. Think Riley tweets? Spo does.

He fulfilled his promise of bring a title to Miami, no what opinion you might have about the method, and no longer has to listen to the people that used to criticize him by saying he only won in LA because of his close relationship with Jerry West and the Showtime Roster he was handed.

Riley is a great coach, but that doesn't mean he's driven to do it. His coaching resume was Laker broadcaster to assistant coach to head coach in less than 2 years. He never coached in college, overseas or spent years as an assistant. He wants to win and be considered the best at what he does and right now what he does is run the Heat organization. If it would have been the difference between getting or not getting James and Bosh he would be coaching right now, that's not the same as wanting to coach. He can be more effective in his current position wheeling and dealing and pulling strings.

He's 65 and has made himself a perfect position. If the Heat win a title his fingerprints are all over it. He can hang in his luxury South Beach digs and take a bow for the results of his hard work. He can come down from on high and speak as an icon. Simply pulling out a pen and making a note during a game is a big deal.

I was pretty amused at all the stuff people were saying about how astute the Zen Master was when he made his comments of how the situation was SVG II.

That was probably better than Riley was hoping for. Reggie Miller correctly commented that Riley could have taken a lot of the current pressure off his coach and team by coming out with a strong statement that he would absolutely not be coaching the Heat and Erik Spoelstra will remain the coach this season. Get rid of the "have no intention" ambiguity.

My personal opinion is he hasn't done it because he wants to see how how the team and Spoelstra responds while bleeding off some of the attention and scrutiny to what he will do. It's early on and there is little danger they won't make the playoffs considering the Eastern Conference competition. If they work through it themselves the confidence and trust it generates will be pretty valuable going forward. I'd be less than surprised if it turned out that 30 minute one on one Spo had with James after the Mav beat down was Riley's idea.

This stuff is chess and rotations and substitutions are checkers. Spoelstra is his boy, they have a long history and relationship. If you've ever mentored someone or had your kid do something you played a major role in helping him accomplish you know that carries a great deal of satisfaction and you aren't looked at like a hypocritical vulture that spouts slogans about loyalty and family. Whenever/if this team reaches the finals it won't matter who the coach is, they got there because of Riley and his legacy is probably up there with Auerbach as far as total scope.

[DMOC]

Kevin Love has a 20/13 game ...

... at halftime in Timberwolves vs Cavaliers.

I have not seen him play much and I need to figure out why he gets so many rebounds.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Magic send 4 players home with stomach virus

See, this is why you NEVER go a$$ to mouth...

you are one BAAAAADDDDDD dog...

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Shawne Williams with 14 points for the Knicks against Toronto...

[fluid.forty.one]

dammit clippers

[dude1394]

CPIII will be here soon.

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by dude1394

CPIII will be here soon.

Won't David Stern trade him the the Knicks or the Heat first?

[dirno2000]

Speaking of the Knicks, can we finally but to bed the whole Amare is only good because of Nash thing?

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Speaking of the Knicks, can we finally but to bed the whole Amare is only good because of Nash thing?

Never!!
Shut up!!

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

Never!!
Shut up!!

Absolutely worthless contribution, masquerading as something of value. Please try again.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Speaking of the Knicks, can we finally but to bed the whole Amare is only good because of Nash thing?

Yeah, but he's only good now because of that new point guard they got.

I only say that somewhat tongue in cheek as I've always been a huge fan of Felton, dating all the way back to his days at North Carolina. However, even I'm a little surprised at how well he's playing given that this is by far the most efficiently he's ever scored. I think there is a little something to the phenomenon known as D'anflation, and I'm really hoping the Knicks don't end up with Paul in a couple of years because Felton is thriving in that system.

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

Yeah, but he's only good now because of that new point guard they got.

I only say that somewhat tongue in cheek as I've always been a huge fan of Felton, dating all the way back to his days at North Carolina. However, even I'm a little surprised at how well he's playing given that this is by far the most efficiently he's ever scored. I think there is a little something to the phenomenon known as D'anflation, and I'm really hoping the Knicks don't end up with Paul in a couple of years because Felton is thriving in that system.

Yea I've always thought that if anybody "made" them (Nash/Amare/Marion) it was Dan Tony. That system was perfect for them.

I thought Felton was an underrated signing myself. If Duhon could put up numbers there you had to think that Felton could. Very reasonable contract too.

[FINtastic]

One fun fact about Felton is that his AAU coach was none other than Dan Dan Tony, who is also currently one of the assistant coaches on the Knicks staff.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Absolutely worthless contribution, masquerading as something of value. Please try again.

If you thought that post is masquerading as something of value, then you are an idiot and you have no business policing this board.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Won't David Stern trade him the the Knicks or the Heat first?

I was about to say the same thing.

Paul is now owned by Stern. No way Stern does a deal with Cuban.

If Stern was a good manager he'd just keep all the contracts together until the team can be purchased. Any trade will be considered favoritism at its worst.

Plus what bugs me the worst is that it just seems like a huge conflict of interest for the NBA to own a team and employ the refs that call their games. I dont think they will be winning a lot of games with the upheaval but still its not legitimate business practice

[b_o_r]

Looks like Peja was the best player on the Hornets!

[LonghornDub]

The media have proclaimed that the Heat's "players only" meeting in Dallas has lead to their turnaround (4 straight wins).

Of course, the media ignored that the Heat played a Joe Johnson-less Hawks team and three crappy teams during that stretch. The Heat have been pounding bad teams all year, so I'm not sure what's changed. And now the Heat are stuggling with the Bucks. Go figure.

[mavs777]

The Raptors record of 8-13 is good for 8th in the east

[mavs777]

last 3 games for Shawne williams.

22.7 minutes per game, 68% FG, 83 % 3 point percentage (10-12), 13.3 PPG

[DMOC]

Amar'e is playing really good basketball - and most is because of his own ability, not because of D'Antioni's high paced offense. There is some inflation because of D'Antoni but not enough to warrant Amar'e being bad w/out Nash.

[Dim499]

Lamar Odom just launched a three pointer with 17 on the shot clock and 24 seconds left in the game with the Lakers up 4 and the Wizards not intending to foul.

Please lets all remember this for the rest of his career. Lowest bball iq in the league.

[Dirkadirkastan]

Originally Posted by DMOC

Amar''''''''''''''''''e is playing really good basketball - and most is because of his own ability, not because of D'Antioni's high paced offense. There is some inflation because of D'Antoni but not enough to warrant Amar'''''''''''''''''''''e being bad w/out Nash.

fyp

[Underdog]

Wow, Minny just dropped 40 points on OKC in the 1st quarter...

[mavs777]

Beasely is legit wonder if they think about trading Wesley Johnson for a 2 guard or to get a draft pick or 2

[DMOC]

Amar'e with yet another dominating game. He's making a good case for best PF in the league.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Wow, Minny just dropped 40 points on OKC in the 1st quarter...

and then 17 in the 4th for the L

[spreedom]

Originally Posted by DMOC

Amar'e with yet another dominating game. He's making a good case for best PF in the league.

Absolutely not. They've played a cupcake schedule so far, and more than a handful of his direct matchups have had career nights against him. Amar'''''e is Amar''''e. Explosive dunks off of perfect feeds, disappointing rebound totals (wait for him to fall back down to earth there) and terrible man defense. Don't let the blocks fool you -- Amar''''''''''e still can't guard anybody.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Wow, Minny just dropped 40 points on OKC in the 1st quarter...

It must rock to be a 1 quarter team!

[dirno2000]

Originally Posted by spreedom

Absolutely not. They've played a cupcake schedule so far, and more than a handful of his direct matchups have had career nights against him. Amar'''''e is Amar''''e. Explosive dunks off of perfect feeds, disappointing rebound totals (wait for him to fall back down to earth there) and terrible man defense. Don't let the blocks fool you -- Amar''''''''''e still can't guard anybody.

You're right about his defense and rebounding but you just described Tyson Chandler offensively. You don't score 26 a game on explosive dunks off of perfect feeds. His offensive game is way more advanced than you're giving him credit for.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by dirno2000

You're right about his defense and rebounding but you just described Tyson Chandler offensively. You don't score 26 a game on explosive dunks off of perfect feeds. His offensive game is way more advanced than you're giving him credit for.

He's Chandler+ an above average mid-range game and some post moves that arent oops. Is that a pretty good evaluation of Amare?

[rabbitproof]

Iggy is beast.

[mavs777]

"I see you still dont have a stylist. Still wearin' that BS on TV"

KG to Sager... lol

[DMOC]

Dwight Howard with 26 first-half points. 6-6 from the free throw line?

And I will be interested in seeing how much Amareeee regresses after the schedule gets tougher for the Knicks.

[fluid.forty.one]

umm the Lakers have had the 2nd easiest schedule so far and, after tonight against the bulls, their next 5 or so opponents are a combined like 31-70something. wtf? Do they just have an insanely hard second half of the schedule or something?

[mavs777]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

umm the Lakers have had the 2nd easiest schedule so far and, after tonight against the bulls, their next 5 or so opponents are a combined like 31-70something. wtf? Do they just have an insanely hard second half of the schedule or something?

Its because of the division they are in other than the Lakers no one is over 500. Phoenix, Golden State, Sacremento, and the Clippers are a combined
29-58 (33.3 %) Knicks have had a extremely easy schedule so far and after today (which they are losing right now, it gets very hard)

VS Denver
VS Boston
VS Miami
@ Cleveland
VS OKC
VS Chicago
@ Miami
@ Orlando
VS Indiana
VS San Antonio
@ Phoenix
@ LA Lakers
@ Portland
@ Utah
VS Sacramento
VS Phoenix
@ Houston
@ San Antonio
@ OKC
VS Washington
VS Miami
@ ATL

[GermanDunk]

LOLkers

[Usually Lurkin]

Amare with the triple double tonight: 10-11-36