Basketball Thread

[theeboredone]

You really don't know your bball history do you? Miami's rivals from the past include the Bulls and Knicks. If anything, both teams resurgence should hopefully result in future playoff meetings, which in turn = rivalry. Also, if anything, Boston and Orlando should be some other rivals for the Heat.

I think Maaan already linked that earlier. Griffin is ridiculous.

Also, I am calm. No need to post images like that. I get annoyed when people post stupid things.

 

[Velox]

Dude, don't base how good the roster of the Laker's is on just this season -____________________- It's okay with Miami because they've been completely revamped. I seriously can't believe you doubt Artest and Fisher. They'll certainly be there when the Laker's need them, especially fisher.

and I hope you're right about Miami, I would like to see them do well but every game I've seen of them, everytime Wade/Lebron dishes something out to an open two, the rest of the team always comes up short.



Speaking of Fisher, why does everyone flagrant foul Scola?

 

[theeboredone]

Look, I appreciate what Fisher brings to the table come play off time in terms of clutch ability, but you know what people don't think about? If we had a better PG who could play with the younger guys and not shoot an abysmal 30% during the regular season, we wouldn't be in close games. I mean, Kobe had to guard Westbrook last year, because he was ****** Fisher all over the face. If we had a PG who could contain him, then we wouldn't need a last second Fisher or Kobe shot. Fisher was horrible last year also during the regular season. It's annoying to see him go 1/5 or 2/8 every game. Artest and Fisher are not "good" players. Matt Barnes is a good player. Shannon Brown is a good player. Fisher and Artest are not.

I think people seem to forget that exactly how bad Artest was in the playoffs. Except for his stellar D on Durant, his shot was always off save game 7, and he got ***** by Deron Williams and Jason Richardson. Pierce took a while to get going, but even he averaged 20 while shooting a healthy % in the finals.

And why should Miami get an excuse because their roster is revamped? You play with what you got. If you're not helping the team, get benched. Miami has a lot of three point shooters, and you got arguably the top 2/3 players in the NBA.

 

[Velox]

Dude, Artest did wonders while he was in Houston, I assure you, he's a great player, sometimes his shooting is off but alot of times it's really on, he's just somewhat inconsistent. I don't know what you're talking about. Fisher makes a lot of really smart plays, don't focus too much on the fact that he isn't the quickest in the league.


I said Miami is exempt from being critiqued this season (like the Lakers) because the only data to draw upon for them is from this season.

 

[theeboredone]

Lol you kidding me? Artest was a big reason why Houston lost every game in general. The guy shoots teams out of ball games if he's a primary option. Oh and just moments ago, he air balled an open 3 in a close game right now with the Bucks. He is 2/7 and Fisher is 1/5. This has been going on ALL season and LAST season. If we had better or more consistent shooters, we wouldn't be in these situations where there is a need for a last minute shot. Fisher for sure is a smart player (drawing charges and steals), but he lets his man blow by him so much, which results in rotation of the bigs, and open shots. Artest is a solid defender, but he struggles a lot sometimes. Like I said. Don't lecture me on the Lakers. You don't watch their games, I do. You're basing your thoughts on playoffs and reputation. The regular season matters too. I guarantee you if we had better players then Fisher and Artest last year, or if they found a consistent shot, Lakers would have seized the best record in the NBA.

Barnes replaces Artest and hits a 3. Ho hum.

Edit: Wow, Lakers played such sloppy basketball. Losing to the Bucks without Jennings and Maggete is just inexcusable -_-. Why does LA do this?

 

[Velox]

I'm basing my thoughts on watching playoff Lakers and a long history of watching Artest in Houston.. correction.. and I think I'll let Phil Jackson be the judge of this argument...

 

[theeboredone]

Effin Earl Boykins. 8/12. 4/5 from 3. Why do the most random players destroy us?

Kobe got ejected via double technical. Wish Gasol would show this much fire.

 

[The Real Gamer]

You really don't know your bball history do you? Miami's rivals from the past include the Bulls and Knicks. If anything, both teams resurgence should hopefully result in future playoff meetings, which in turn = rivalry. Also, if anything, Boston and Orlando should be some other rivals for the Heat.

I'm not going by history I'm simply going by the current facts. And the fact of the matter is that most of the Heat community currently feels as if the Mavs would pose the best rivalry match in the finals.

 

[theeboredone]

Most of the Heat community? You mean the community that recently jumped on over the summer? LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jVy2WAjy9A

Just playin. But seriously, not all rivalries are made through finals. Most likely, Orlando, Boston, and Bulls are gonna be your rivals for a long time to come. Not some team you see twice a year.

 

[tko112]

if the Magic can play like the way they played the Spurs, they can go back to the Finals

 

[theeboredone]

They hit a lot of open threes tonight. Similar to how they got hot in the playoffs two years ago and upset Cleveland (Rashard was ridiculous). Orlando lives and die by the 3...just like Phoenix tonight. A lot of missed open 3's. Except Dudley.

New Miami Big 3: Bosh. LeBron. Arroyo.

 

[Masmasher@]

damn suns got shut down defensively by the heat. alot of turnovers in the final quater though they didnt go without a fight

 

[theeboredone]

A lot of those turnovers were unforced though except the part where Dragic kept getting trapped in the first quarter. Took him a while to figure out what was going on.

Refs were pretty bad in general. They were letting them play, but then would make bogus calls. Nash "hitting" Chalmers in the eye. Chalmers pushing Dragic off and Dragic getting called for a reach end lol. On the other end, Bosh got hip checked on a drive and threw it up with no foul called.

 

[The Real Gamer]

Lakers are predicted to win tonight.

Spoiler

David Aldridge: Lakers. Miami is good, but the Heat’s achilles’ is lack of size. The Lakers have the best, deepest big man core in the league. And Kobe.

Fran Blinebury: Lakers. Size matters. The first two games this season against the Celtics showed that a team with size will cause big problems for the Heat. Now that Andrew Bynum is back in the lineup, nobody is bigger and better up front than the Lakers. And, oh yeah, then there’s Kobe, who just might have something more than ho-ho-ho to say on Christmas.


Art Garcia: I’m going with the champs for two reasons: Kobe and Bryant. Black Mamba loves the biggest stages and the biggest challenges, so a Christmas Day top billing plus a foe genetically engineered to take down the Lakers is all the motivation needed for the pride of Lower Merion. LeBron, D-Wade and the rest of the SuperFriends are finding their stride, but Kobe remains the big brother in a rivalry that begins Saturday
.
Scott Howard-Cooper: Lakers. Because that’s how it turned out when I just flipped a coin. There’s no real reason. It’s a December game that won’t mean anything in the big picture unless either team sweeps the season series in a convincing manner. The league and the network were so insistent on making the matchup happen that they sent the Heat on a two-game trip to the West – Dec. 23 at Phoenix and Dec. 25 at L.A. I can’t ever recall that much travel for that few games.

Shaun Powell: Love the way LeBron has played in a pair of pressure-cooker environments: Cleveland and New York. But the Staples Center doesn’t qualify, because half the crowd won’t show up early enough to work themselves into a healthy boo. Plus, the Lakers will use this game to showcase their total team, now that Andrew Bynum‘s back. Did I forget to mention Kobe gets up for these Christmas Day games? My bad.

John Schuhmann: Afternoon games (it’s a 2 p.m. start in L.A.) and Christmas games are so hard to predict, because the likelihood that one of the teams comes out flat seems to be much higher than it is for night games. Even if both teams are sharp, this one should be somewhat ugly, because they’re both playing well defensively. It’s hard to imagine the Lakers, who should be plenty motivated, letting the Heat get the upper hand at Staples. But I think Miami has been the better team in recent weeks. Meaningless and mostly baseless prediction: Heat 90, Lakers 87.

Sekou Smith: I’m going with the Heat. If I thought the Lakers cared anything at all about statement games in December, I might buy into them trying to conjure up some angst for these upstarts from Miami that want to steal their title. But you don’t play in three straight NBA Finals worrying about things like that. I expect this game to be filled with all the requisite Christmas Day drama. The Heat have more to prove. I’ll be much more interested in the individual matchups (LeBron James and Ron Artest, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol) than I am in the final score.

 

[Masmasher@]

todays match is gonna be a little underwhelming
lakers gonna show up but the heat got a high chance of taking it

 

[theeboredone]

Lol, I called this. Lakers never play well on Christmas. Great Heat defense, but I can't say enough about Artest continuing to struggle (3-4 missed lay ups) and Gasol playing no defense and being a pansy once again on the boards.

I think Bynum looked pretty good out there minus the pick and roll defense and rotation. We should be starting him now alongside Gasol from now on.

 

[Enzo]

get ****ED UP lakeers
- BLM from SFL

 

[Masmasher@]

yeah today was a good day for basketball
orlando with the shocker over boston. howard didnt show up offensevely but defensively he had a good showing. jamere and bass put in work and turkoloo chipped away the lead with a few threes in the end

pierce needs to stop whining so much about fowls lmao

heat pulled away and didnt look back i missed the second half to see tron though how much did the big three have?
gasol and artest hardly showed up

 

[theeboredone]

Play of the game was when Artest stole the ball, led a break, dribbled it off his knee, and dived into the Miami bench.

 

[Heart Break Kid]

Knicks all dai! Lol I look forward to who were gonna play firtst round. F LA though, glad they lost, even thpough Lebrons a ***

 

[The Real Gamer]

I missed the game since I was on vacation so I just finished watching and WOW did my prayers get answered...

Not only did the Heat murder the Lakers, Orlando beat Boston!!!

EPIC win!

 

[RATED]

Play of the game was when Artest stole the ball, led a break, dribbled it off his knee, and dived into the Miami bench.

I facepalmed hard at that. I was watching the game and my stepfather and me facepalmed at it.

 

[The Real Gamer]

^I guess Artest got a little TOO excited for the game

Another great play was when D Wade missed that open dunk and then proceeded to fall nearly face first into the ground...

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

So yeah, they beat us, and then they beat Boston.

I'm going out and saying it: Orlando is as scary as they were a couple years ago again.


In other news, Spurs begin our next 10 game win streak.

And Blake Griffin records his 18th consecutive Double-Double. I'm thinking of a word...
http://www.thekoalition.com/listen-...ft-rick-ross-bon-iver-and-nicki-minaj-monster

 

[The Real Gamer]

The Magic are currently in the process of getting the team up to speed but once their core players get comfortable, they're going to be really scary.

Crap as if Boston wasn't enough for the Heat to worry about.

 

[theeboredone]

I didn't know if Arenas was so out of shape lol. I watched both Spurs and Boston games, and the guy looked gassed every 5-7 mins he was on the court. He really is a wild card for now, cause he lit it up vs the Spurs but didn't do shiz vs Boston (lot of easy shots missed).

It's hard to keep telling myself he's only 28. You figure with the decline he's had, he would be 31.

 

[Jane]

blake griffin is indeed a mother****in monster. i love watching the clippers play cuz of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqzF_0LWwHg

^i woulda lold hard if he did hit the rim

 

[The Real Gamer]

Blake Griffin is such a beast I'd be scared ****less if I had to guard him in the paint.

 

[theeboredone]

A lot of people don't seem to remember he sat out his first year with a broken knee cap...a very sensitive area in terms of what's used for jumping and what not...really happy for him though he made it back 100%

 

[LAW2222]

Griffin makes the clippers one of my favorite teams to watch.
he's such a monster. The first time i noticed him was that game against the knicks where he was going off a few weeks back

 

[theeboredone]

Spurs played some good defense, but Lakers continue to suck all over the court. Gasol is not living up to his hype. How do you not score on Bonner? He's regressed to being a total softy. Maaan, I hope you watched this. I've been talking crap about Gasol all year, and this was another reason why.

Bynum is looking good for the most part. Time for him to start.

 

[The Real Gamer]

theeboredone what is going on with the Lakers right now? 3 game losing streaks happen every now and then but apparently (I've been reading in the Lakers forums a bit) Lakers fans are freaking out because they feel the team is lacking motivation.

What's your take on the issue?

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

It's my understanding that Kobe's in another of his whiny moods, Phil is calling out the team, and everyone feels ugly.

But yeah, I went to see this game with a viewing party. XD

Needless to say, we straight up dominated with the exception of the 2nd quarter. Tim and Manu shot only 4-19, and as a team, we shot only 28% from the 3-point line. I was ecstatic after this performance to say the least. Probably our most quality win of the season. Glad to see G-Hilly playing physical with Kobe, and super hyped to watch Dejuan Blair do what he's been doing whenever he gets real playtime.

Bynum did look good though. Kobe shot you guys out of the game, but our defense is the main reason. And I've never liked Gasol, but you're right, he should be scoring on Matt Bonner. :\



All in all, fantastic night for the Spurs. My boy the Grizzly Blair is a beast. :D

 

[theeboredone]

theeboredone what is going on with the Lakers right now? 3 game losing streaks happen every now and then but apparently (I've been reading in the Lakers forums a bit) Lakers fans are freaking out because they feel the team is lacking motivation.

What's your take on the issue?

I would say Motivation is 33% attributed to what's going on. There are guys on there who go hard every night...mainly the guys who came over this year (Barnes and Blake), and you also have Kobe. Kobe did shoot them out of the Spurs game last night, but honestly, Fisher, Brown, and Blake wern't helping either. Blake has been a huge disappointment. I don't know how many times I've seen him pass up open looks. It's ridiculous. Dude needs to be more aggressive.

The other part I would attribute it too is simply getting out played and lack of team chemistry. There is a lot of inner turmoil going on, and it all starts with the leaders. Kobe is pissed off, and I know he has a great desire to win, but he needs to realize shooting our team out of the Spurs game is not the way too go. Gasol is getting KILLED on the defensive end by random bigs, and he's getting dominated when he's on the offensive end. It looks like he's lost some of his mechanics or fundamentals, because he has had a lot of trouble backing ANYONE down. I mean how the hell does Bonner push Gasol out of the paint while he's in the midst of backing him down?

Overall, LA is just playing ugly all around. Defense has been better, but their offense is completely lost right now. Kobe isn't 27 and he can't carry the team anymore. You can't get much worse then this for a contender, so I do expect them to get better.

I'm just really mad at Gasol right now. He should have dominated that match up and an aging Duncan last night. People hype him so much to be a top 3 PF...in all honesty, right now...I would take Dirk, Bosh, Boozer, Al Jefferson, Amare, KG, and Big Baby. Gasol is giving them nothing right now, and we can't use that excuse of "oh he's burned out', because Bynum has been back for 7 games, playing 15 mins a night. I wish someone would smack him across the face and tell him to get mad. He's a softy right now. He's regressed. He's not what he was in the NBA Finals. Gasol needs to become a true leader of this team, and tell Kobe to give him the damn ball. Seems like the only people who have the balls enough to say that to him are Fisher and Phil.

EDIT

LA finally got a good win, playing some good defense and pounding the ball inside. Bynum made his first start and had 18 points. Too many turnovers though.

Also, KG left the game with a leg/knee injury...moments after that, all the Heat fans came out and started rejoicing...smh.

 

[tko112]

this is how the Lakers should play, granted that they shot well throughout the game,

i know its just one win, but the Lakers really needed it

wise move to finally start Bynum

 

[The Real Gamer]

Yeaaah keep it up Heat!! This team went from winning only 7-14 (.500) in the month of November to winning 15-16 (.938) in December, while their only loss was by 2... From Dallas.

If the Heat keep it up they could easily have the best record in the East soon. Boston is old they can't keep winning games non-stop they will eventually hit a slump. They just recently lost to Toronto of all teams.

 

[theeboredone]

Toronto beat Dallas WITHOUT Dirk...Boston lost to Detroit...but I think that had more to do with being deflated from the loss of KG then anything else. Plus they are still missing Rondo.

I'm hearing rumors that KG might be out for the season...as a Laker fan, I really hope that's not the case.

 

[The Real Gamer]

I'm hearing rumors that KG might be out for the season...as a Laker fan, I really hope that's not the case.

PLEASE let this be true... Omg if KG really is out for the season then I'll really starting to see the wheels turning for the Heat.

 

[theeboredone]

^ Some fan of the game you are. Good to see you have no confidence in your team beating Boston at full strength LOL. And I can't believe you would wish a season ending injury on someone. As much as I hate LeBron, I would never want to see him go down with a season ending injury.

 

[The Real Gamer]

It's nothing personal against KG at all I'm sure he's a nice guy and everything (lol) but just from a Heat fan standpoint this only works in our favor.

And trust me there are plenty of people that want one of the big 3 to get injured. >.>