Basketball Thread

[KrazyGlue]

Lakers: 46-20
Celtics: 46-17

Lakers could catch them also, but being behind 3 losses could be tough. You're right, the Celtics should hold on if they stop losing but if the streak continues, they could quickly lose that position. Celtics have the tiebreaker due to a better conference record, and it's even more difficult for the Lakers to come back there, so the Lakers probably need an outright better record. I think the Celtics have a better chance of having homecourt advantage than the Lakers, but it's not at all out of the question that the Lakers can get it. But they'd have to dramatically outplay the Celtics, for instance Lakers go 13-3 and Celtics go 12-7.

 

[theeboredone]

Yeah, that's why I've stated before it's wishful thinking. Lakers have to play the Mavs twice (including tonight), Portland, Spurs, Memphis, and OKC. It's going to be no cakewalk for them. If anything, I'd wish Chicago, with Boozer out sputters a bit as well, but they've been down that road before. Lakers might just end up with HC first two rounds, and then have to play Spurs and whoever from the East on the road.

 

[The Real Gamer]

Heat play the Spurs again on Monday. Will be very interesting to see how much better they play than they did a bit earlier during their slump. They're a whole different team when they're confident.

Unfortunately I missed the game today against Memphis but WOW they really put the beat down on them! 0.0

Number that jumps out the most in the box score: Mike Bibby with 17 points. 5-5 on 100% 3 point shooting. If Bibby keeps this up he'll definitely become the #1 3 point option over Mike Miller.

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

Spurs are playing fairly complacent ball right now. Honestly, I'm okay with it, we're preparing for the playoffs.

Also, Washington dropped clutch basket after clutch basket tonight. Arizona got jacked up by championship ball. :O
I'm so happy Gus Johnson was commenting the game.

So many great games today, can't wait for the Bracketology debut tomorrow night, followed by The Fab Five premiere. Basketball night folks. Feels good.

 

[Suspect]

I REALLY hope houston somehow makes it into the playoffs :/

Playing the spurs tonight doesnt help that

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

Well, they're only 3 games out of the 8th seed if they lose tonight. Memphis is a good team, but I don't know what their remaining schedule looks like.

Other than that, they're about 5 games back from Portland and New Orleans, two very solid teams. I don't think they'll choke down the stretch, so Houston's only chance is to play their way in, which is possible. As far as I know, the Rockets still have most of the players who went on that 18 game win streak, so they're capable. lol

 

[The Real Gamer]

Spurs are playing fairly complacent ball right now. Honestly, I'm okay with it, we're preparing for the playoffs.

I'm just hoping for a really good game and a solid performance from both teams.

Should be a good game either way...

 

[theeboredone]

Number that jumps out the most in the box score: Mike Bibby with 17 points. 5-5 on 100% 3 point shooting. If Bibby keeps this up he'll definitely become the #1 3 point option over Mike Miller.

Lol, don't get your hopes up. Remember Mike Miller's 32 point game? Yeah....look how that ended up for him.

Steve Blake still not being aggressive. Had a few chances to take some floaters and easy shots, but opted to pass. He was deadly from 3 though. I knew that whoever won the battle between Bynum and Chandler would win the game. Bynum playing great basketball right now to the point Phil is putting him in late game situations.

Kobe sprained his ankle pretty badly. Ugly twist. Wasn't the same when he came back.

Bynum vs Howard on Monday. Doubt Bynum is going to win that battle, but we just need him to box Dwight out.

Edit: This sounds weird, but ever since the AS break...seeing the Lakers play, I've been really calm, even when games get tense. Even though they lost to Miami, I just had this confidence that they would be okay. I knew they would come out and win this game tonight vs the Mavs. It was close the entire way, but I just knew it. Though I did feel that way about the Miami game, I just didn't feel as bad compared to Pre-AS break where they were playing so badly. I honestly think Lakers are playing championship basketball right now. The Magic will be a good test.

 

[The Real Gamer]

Lol, don't get your hopes up. Remember Mike Miller's 32 point game? Yeah....look how that ended up for him.

Lol completely forgot about that game... What a fluke. :\

Well at least that's 2 good shooting games in a row for Bibby. Lets see how long it continues.

The game against the Spurs will be a HUGE test for the Heat... Definitely the biggest so far past the All Star break.

 

[theeboredone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im9voO0-HNI

That's how bad it was. And to be honest, it was a foul too. I was watching this game at home, on the big screen, and one of the angles they showed clearly had Marion hitting him on the wrist.

 

[Jane]

Also, Washington dropped clutch basket after clutch basket tonight. Arizona got jacked up by championship ball. :O
I'm so happy Gus Johnson was commenting the game.

hahah i was at a tourney all day so i didnt know who won...

So i finally get home like at 3am, turn on sportscenter, and see an image with all the conference champs so far, and see a big blue "W" in the corner, and im like ffffuu...

Then i see "PAC10 OT thriller" and im like fffffffuuuuuu!!

Whatever though, im a washington fan (aside from when they play my boys) and isai thomas is a fierce beast. Hopefully they also get far in the tournament

 

[The Real Gamer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im9voO0-HNI

That's how bad it was. And to be honest, it was a foul too. I was watching this game at home, on the big screen, and one of the angles they showed clearly had Marion hitting him on the wrist.

Holy crap how did he not break his ankle? I guess that just looked a lot worse than it was.

 

[theeboredone]

Yeah he came back later on, but he had no burst or lift. He just looked ugly out there. Not as bad when he suffered back spasms last year vs the Spurs and Mavs.

 

[KrazyGlue]

March Madness brackets are set! Make your picks everyone!
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/564166/2011_ncaa_basketball_bracket.pdf

What I don't understand is how the **** Florida is a 2 seed.

 

[HondaFoo]

Hey guys, I made an online March Madness bracket group on ESPN.com, just for SWF users!

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=62576&entryID=911583

It's named Smash Bros
Password is kenandisai

 

[KrazyGlue]

Awesome, I joined it.

A lot of the guys around here seem more focused on the NBA but hopefully some people will join.

 

[theeboredone]

I'll give it a shot. It'll be a first bracket so I'll just go with Vegas.

 

[HondaFoo]

The NBA...pssshhh

 

[theeboredone]

Wow, Celtics gave a BEAT DOWN to the Bucks.

 

[ahchoomattchu]

I think you mean the Celtics.

That game was pretty bad/ugly.

 

[theeboredone]

Oh wow, didn't notice I typed Spurs haha. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Jane]

The NBA...pssshhh

I KNOW RIGHT?

nice group, i will join shortly.

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

High Level Ball...pssshhh

Fix'd for accuracy. :D

Plus, I can only watch so many full-court presses. XD
(For anyone watching that Arizona/Washington game, they tried a press in the backcourt where 4 people went to trap an Arizona player. He passed it easily and they got a cheap And 1 layup. I wept.)



At any rate, I love the Madness, I'm joining the group now. Saves me the trouble of having to make a group of my own!

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

Double posting because why not? Finished up the bracket. I love the picks I made, but every time I look over it, it all seems wrong. XD

I've got nobody higher than a 3 seed making the Elite 8, and overall I feel like I picked too much chalk.
That said, I'm never wrong, and I'm crazy enough to pick BYU in the Championship game losing to Ohio St. Come at me!



Edit: The Bucks were awful tonight, but I loved this quote about it on ESPN.com:

"Compare the Bucks terrible performance Sunday night vs BYU's sizzling Jimmer Fredette vs New Mexico Friday.... Fredette scored 4 less points (52) than the Bucks did in TOTAL (56) -- and he hit the exact amount of field goals in 33 LESS attempts; AND he had 4 more threes (7) in the SAME amount of attempts (14)."

 

[The Real Gamer]

Heat play the Spurs tonight at 8! Good luck maaaan!

EDIT: Lol you know it's gonna be a big night when Joel Anthony gets a dunk. XD

EDIT2: This is the best defense I've seen from the Heat against a top 5 team. Wow.

EDIT3: Heat have held the Spurs to 39 points at half. Bosh as of late has been playing some great basketball. This team needs to keep the focus in the second half and they'll have their 2nd W in a row against a top 5 team!

EDIT4: And Boston lost!! **** yeah!

 

[theeboredone]

Heat summing up a team's NBA season in two short weeks.

 

[The Real Gamer]

Heat summing up a team's NBA season in two short weeks.

I'm telling you this is one of the most bipolar teams in NBA history.

One stretch of games they're blowing 24 point leads to lose and get blown out by 30 then in the next few games they play like they're the best team in the NBA...

I think it might just be all in the Heat's head... Who knows.

EDIT: BACK TO BACK FAST BREAK DUNKS BY LEBRON AND WADE!! GAME OVER!

THE HEAT ARE BACK BABY!

 

[KrazyGlue]

Lol Celtics. They just don't even care about the regular season anymore. They're just waiting to get healthy for the playoffs. Though I do wish they would put a little more effort into getting the #1 seed.

 

[The Real Gamer]

Lol Celtics. They just don't even care about the regular season anymore. They're just waiting to get healthy for the playoffs. Though I do wish they would put a little more effort into getting the #1 seed.

If they keep that attitude up they're gonna end up at the #3 seed which could make things a lot tougher for them in the playoffs than if they were number 1.

I feel a big streak coming for the Heat. When they get confident like this they always go on big streaks. Such a satisfying win. Spurs beat the Heat by 30 so the Heat strike back and beat them by 30 the next game... And Bosh had 30 points.

 

[Jane]

...and nets fans are VERY happy

 

[Velox]

lol, I saw that clip, it was hilarious XD

 

[The Real Gamer]

^lolololololol

 

[theeboredone]

Wow, Lakers are playing so poorly offensively. Nothing is falling and Gasol is not backing down Anderson. Only two people who came to play tonight is Fish and Bynum. Kobe says he's fine, but he just doesn't look right on his fade away shots. Everything is short.

Edit: Looks like that offense got going in the second half. Defense stayed strong, and Kobe had a good third quarter. Bynum matched up really nicely vs Dwight. Really happy for him.

Also, I honestly do think the key to Miami's success is Bosh. If he can continue playing inside out, it's going to open up the Heat's game so much. In fact, I would consider giving him the ball in the clutch to create.

And TRG, chillout. The Heat were never gone. Teams go up and down. The last thing I want to hear from you is cursing out the team for losing a game or two lol.

Boston shouldn't be relaxing. They've worked so hard to get the first seed, why falter now? They should just keep that memory of Game7 in their head.

and LOL at this...try to figure out what's wrong with this.

 

[Nike.]

If they keep that attitude up they're gonna end up at the #3 seed which could make things a lot tougher for them in the playoffs than if they were number 1.

I feel a big streak coming for the Heat. When they get confident like this they always go on big streaks. Such a satisfying win. Spurs beat the Heat by 30 so the Heat strike back and beat them by 30 the next game... And Bosh had 30 points.

Didn't you jump off the cliff a week ago?

Spurs knew that the Heat were coming back for vengeance. Totally okay with the loss (and props to Pop for not throwing in the towel early). Mavs game on wednesday is far more important.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Assuming they win their first rounds:
4. Arizona
5. Texas

The game would be on sunday, which is when I'll be waking up in a hotel room at WHOBO. I gotta decide if it's worth driving home late saturday night x)

 

[Maaaaaaaaaan]

Good news Nike, odds are that won't happen.

Oakland is an underseeded team, and Texas is a mess just waiting to collapse lately. I don't see Memphis taking down 'Zona though, even if they are a streaky 3-pointer team.

Join the ESPN group! There's only 6 of us still! XD

 

[theeboredone]

I'm really getting tired of LeBron using that excuse of "we need to catch up to the elite chemistry wise." Wtf? You guys have been together for a full season now. That's just you guys being lazy and making excuses. Boston has to rework their chemistry, because I'm not even sure who's still on that team from last year, Chicago's two big men have been hurt and in and out of the line up, Dallas is still getting used to playing Stojakavic, Beaubois, and Brewer. And didn't Orlando practically send their core packing to get J-Rich and Arenas?

 

[The Real Gamer]

And TRG, chillout. The Heat were never gone. Teams go up and down. The last thing I want to hear from you is cursing out the team for losing a game or two lol.

It is a responsibility and a duty of mine as a Heat fan to be upset when my team blows a 24 point lead to lose the game.

Plus it's not the fact that they lose games it's just the WAY they lose them. The majority are always close until they blow it in the end, which is incredibly hard to watch and I'm just an over-emotional guy at times.

Didn't you jump off the cliff a week ago?

The team surprised me by going on a 5 game losing streak then surprised me yet again when they went on to beat a hungry Lakers team and then blew out both the Grizzlies and the Spurs.

You just can't have emotions to be a fan of this team... Maybe that's why Spo is so good for the job.

I'll have to work on not getting so worked up after losses.

I'm really getting tired of LeBron using that excuse of "we need to catch up to the elite chemistry wise." Wtf? You guys have been together for a full season now. That's just you guys being lazy and making excuses. Boston has to rework their chemistry, because I'm not even sure who's still on that team from last year, Chicago's two big men have been hurt and in and out of the line up, Dallas is still getting used to playing Stojakavic, Beaubois, and Brewer. And didn't Orlando practically send their core packing to get J-Rich and Arenas?

Whaaaat dude what LeBron said was legit this team has been all over the place in terms of in-game chemistry (especially when it comes to closing out games). Everyone except for Wade and LBJ are just now starting to find their true identities on this team, and that even includes Bosh.

There's a reason the Heat are one of the worst teams in close games.

 

[127crazie]

Aww man, Kevin Love's double double streak ended. Well, at least now I can go back to watching... the Timberwolves lose over and over again. Sigh.

 

[KrazyGlue]

Boston shouldn't be relaxing. They've worked so hard to get the first seed, why falter now?

I agree.

They should just keep that memory of Game7 in their head.

Ironically, they lost game 7 due to exactly what they had been so careful to avoid: a postseason injury.

I'll have to work on not getting so worked up after losses and wins.

 

[The Real Gamer]

You'd need to see me in person to realize how much harder losses affect me than wins. They affect me for days in between games and especially when friends start the **** talk.

Most of my posts after wins is just a result of post-game euphoria that lasts for an hour or two.