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November NBA Season Thread - It's finally time
- Thread starter DMczaf
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Ninja Scooter
Member
Mehmet Okur says hello.
Ninja Scooter
Member
he got poked.
Loki said:
I only saw the highlights, but much of it was a continuation of last year's first round war, which was badly unheralded (all people kept yapping about was Shaq vs Yao). There's legit hate between these clubs, which you don't see too often these days.
Truelize said:
:lol You're on a roll...
Spurs, TWolves and Pistons are the three clear favourites for the title...not overwhelming favourites mind you, but in my eyes there's clear separation between them and the rest of the pack. Barry is such a huge pickup for the Spurs...I was over the moon the moment I heard that news. Could be the move of the off-season if they go all the way.
Raptors game in 30 minutes...going up against the Pistons. I know we're not a contender, so I kind of wish our second game was against a regular ol' playoff team, not the big daddy himself, but I guess we're going to be thrown into the deep end and we'll see if the Raps can swim.
Flizzzipper
Member
How soon everyone forgets that if it wasn't for injuries the Pacers would have smoked the Pistons last season.
Pacers = unstoppable
Pacers = unstoppable
Wow. We can determine the outcome of a particular teams season after only one game?
Face it, losers -- The Bobcats will be LUCKY to eclipse 11 wins this year. This isn't my opinion, but a fact that is held by quite a diverse lineup of names from GM's to pundits.
The Sonics, however, are rebuilding. I can recognize this. Afterall, they can't win 65+ games every year.
Face it, losers -- The Bobcats will be LUCKY to eclipse 11 wins this year. This isn't my opinion, but a fact that is held by quite a diverse lineup of names from GM's to pundits.
The Sonics, however, are rebuilding. I can recognize this. Afterall, they can't win 65+ games every year.
Fifty said:It's not their frontcourt tonight.....It's the backcourtRip has about 50 steals, and Billups is hitting everything.
Pistons are just too damn good. Great front court, great back court, great bench, great coach. It's the Pistons' title to lose this year, same way it was the Spurs title to lose last year (which they did with that horrible shooting against the Lakers in the 2nd round :lol )
Matrix said:Rockets better beat the Grizz tonight....ummmm just cause of this..WTF!
:lol Reminds me of that nurse shot Alexandre Daigle took in his rookie year. :lol
Ben Wallace was making some terrific steals and blocks as well...his defensive instincts are absolutely unreal. That said, the Raps bench (which I think is medicore) managed to get them back into this game pretty well.
BTW, can someone get me unbanned at chat already????
This second unit is outstanding tonight! Against the champs no less. Bosh is the Raps go-to guy now. I've watched only 1 and 3/4th games, but we're playing just as good with Vince on the bench. I can say with some confidence that we can move him.....I just don't think the offers (if any) were good enough. Bosh can be a superstar, and Woods is just impressing the hell out of me. First against Yao, now against Wallace...he's getting the job done. Our second unit seems to be embracing their role, as Mitchell is giving them a much better chance to shine than our last coach did. Let's hang on for the win!
Yeah, big props to our bench, esp. Palacio making some nice drives to the bucket. Since that he's *almost* turned the ball over on two occasions, one on the slip and another when the ref made that bad out-of-bounds call, but I like the effort. EVERYONE is contributing tonight except Vince, but he'll find his stroke. Hah, he just made a fall-away shot as I typed this.
We've been a bit sloppy tonight, but have definitely improved since our game against Houston. If we can patch up some defensive holes and cut down on the turnovers, and Woods continues to contribute the way he has tonight, we're in good shape. It's too early in the season to make any predictions, but the Raptors have blown me away with their success. Woo, Carter turning it on late in the fourth... pad those stats, baby... oh fuck, air ball. Oh well, it looks like we've secured the win.
Key players: Bosh, WOODS, and Rafer. If we can get 10 and 10 out of Loren over the season, watch out.
We've been a bit sloppy tonight, but have definitely improved since our game against Houston. If we can patch up some defensive holes and cut down on the turnovers, and Woods continues to contribute the way he has tonight, we're in good shape. It's too early in the season to make any predictions, but the Raptors have blown me away with their success. Woo, Carter turning it on late in the fourth... pad those stats, baby... oh fuck, air ball. Oh well, it looks like we've secured the win.
Key players: Bosh, WOODS, and Rafer. If we can get 10 and 10 out of Loren over the season, watch out.
Hey, Vince still had 5 dimes and 7 boards. Thing I like about him is that he doesn't force shots up just because he's struggling. He made some great finds in the fourth, on drives where he could've just thrown it up and prayed for a shot to drop in. At the end of the day, the difference between the good and great players is that they make their shots towards the end of the day, and his last three makes all threaded the hoop like a needle.
I'm stunned by tonight's win though...I figured the bench would be weaksauce (they didn't play well at all on Wednesday), but they set the pace and ran the Pistons off the floor at times. Great contributions from everyone that touched the floor. Bosh had some sick offensive moves, six of them I've never seen him pull off before. Loren Woods has shut me the fuck up...17 and 15? WTF? Palacio shut me the fuck up as well with his play tonight. Rafer was merely solid tonight. Mo Pete made a couple timely buckets. Lamond had a couple good makes. Marshall had some great boards in the first half. Just an incredible performance by the team tonight. I'm absolutely shocked...they flat out beat Houston, and they flat out beat Detroit. It's simply bizarre.
I'm stunned by tonight's win though...I figured the bench would be weaksauce (they didn't play well at all on Wednesday), but they set the pace and ran the Pistons off the floor at times. Great contributions from everyone that touched the floor. Bosh had some sick offensive moves, six of them I've never seen him pull off before. Loren Woods has shut me the fuck up...17 and 15? WTF? Palacio shut me the fuck up as well with his play tonight. Rafer was merely solid tonight. Mo Pete made a couple timely buckets. Lamond had a couple good makes. Marshall had some great boards in the first half. Just an incredible performance by the team tonight. I'm absolutely shocked...they flat out beat Houston, and they flat out beat Detroit. It's simply bizarre.
^ But it rocks, don't it? It gives a lot of hope for the rest of the season.
Phoenix absolutely tore it up tonight against the Sixers. Three of their main scorers putting up 20+, Q-Rich with 15. Nash must be in heaven being on the court with four other guys who can all fly through the roof and score like it's nothing. I really want to see this team when they come to Toronto. I'm sure they'd beat us, but it would be a very entertaining game to watch.
Lakers vs Spurs 10:30 tonight on The Score, guys! God, I LOVE NBA BASKETBALL.
Edit: LOL@Deke refusing to wave the finger after a swat on Stromile Swift :lol
It gives a lot of hope for the rest of the season. Phoenix absolutely tore it up tonight against the Sixers. Three of their main scorers putting up 20+, Q-Rich with 15. Nash must be in heaven being on the court with four other guys who can all fly through the roof and score like it's nothing. I really want to see this team when they come to Toronto. I'm sure they'd beat us, but it would be a very entertaining game to watch.
Lakers vs Spurs 10:30 tonight on The Score, guys! God, I LOVE NBA BASKETBALL.
Edit: LOL@Deke refusing to wave the finger after a swat on Stromile Swift :lol
Chesapeake Silt
Member
MUTOMBO > YAO.
Does SA still have Bowen? Does their starting 5 still include Bowen, Duncan, and Nesterovic? It'll be interesting to see how Kobe fares against them now that he'll have all of their attention. Or does Barry start now with Bowen relieving him? I wanna see if Kobe can get to the line 15+ times for the third straight game.
Spurs, Wolves (if they all stay healthy and Spree doesn't let his concerns about his family's sustenance get in the way of his play) and Detroit are head and shoulders above the rest of the league. My early top 4 picks for each conference:
East:
1) Detroit
2/3) Indiana/Miami (Indiana will rock once they get healthy and Miami's gonna gel at some point; look for a 21/5/5 season from Wade)
4) Who the hell knows, really. The rest of the east is wide open, unless I overlooked somebody. Don't even mention NJ or Philly as being head and shoulders above anybody else after those top 3.
West:
1) Spurs
2) T'Wolves
3) Houston (they have all the pieces, just need to play solid defense)
4) Dallas/Utah/Denver (normally Dallas would be above the other two, but they still can't play a lick of defense until proven otherwise; they have some nice young talent, though, so maybe that'll change)
Spurs, Wolves (if they all stay healthy and Spree doesn't let his concerns about his family's sustenance get in the way of his play) and Detroit are head and shoulders above the rest of the league. My early top 4 picks for each conference:
East:
1) Detroit
2/3) Indiana/Miami (Indiana will rock once they get healthy and Miami's gonna gel at some point; look for a 21/5/5 season from Wade)
4) Who the hell knows, really.
The rest of the east is wide open, unless I overlooked somebody. Don't even mention NJ or Philly as being head and shoulders above anybody else after those top 3.West:
1) Spurs
2) T'Wolves
3) Houston (they have all the pieces, just need to play solid defense)
4) Dallas/Utah/Denver (normally Dallas would be above the other two, but they still can't play a lick of defense until proven otherwise; they have some nice young talent, though, so maybe that'll change)
Yeah, Yao definitely doesn't look very good on the court. He looked bad against Detroit, even worse against Toronto, and from what I've seen tonight he's been a non-factor. YOU'RE 7'5" YAO, DON'T YOU DARE GO BRADLEY ON US.Matrix said:
Yeah I saw the alley Tracy converted, Posey was all over his arms and face. No call, weak.Dmczaf said:
Eh, you gotta feel for McGrady, trapped on a team with two guys who are supposedly all-world centers (past tense for Deke), but one is softer than triple-ply Charmin and the other has so much butter on his hands that his teammates were put on a regimen of Lipitor as a precaution. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who's who.
Ned Flanders
Banned
Ironic that you guys beat me to the punch here..but I'll say it anyways:
Memo to the NBA, its fans, and the networks- Do not hitherto refer to Yao Ming as a "star" player in the NBA. Do not vote him onto the All-Star team. Do not air segments regarding his life outside of basketball or his alleged "progress" in practice/off-season et al. Do not do any of these things until he EARNS THEM.
DCX says don't comapare him to Bradley, but the more I see him play, the more I think he mirrors Bradley. He's slow of foot, tires easily..gets pushed around, gets his shots swatted, and his face posterized with authority all by players 8+ inches his inferior. He rarely imposes his size and dunks only when directly under the basket despite his immense reach. The only time he doesn't seem Bradley-esque is when he squares to shoot, gets iso'ed so he can work some post moves, or makes the occassional sharp pass. He's not consistent, almost never dominating, and clearly NOT A STAR for anything other than his freakish build and cultural significance. He's almost a joke.
People say he steps it up against Shaq, but to me it seems that it occurs that way because Shaq is one of the few guys teams trust to guard him one-on-one, which is seemingly the only way he can be consistently effective. You swarm him with the occassional double or collapse a zone around him and half the time he can't even make the outlet pass, much less a bucket.
I don't hate the guy and I really wish he would step up and impress me. But I think the well has run dry as far as all the unearned star credibility for Yao Ming. It's time he earned the moniker and earned those All-Star selections. Every time I see him swatted by an undersized power-forward or dunked on by a second string 2 guard, my reservations that that day will arrive grow considerably.
Go Spurs.
Memo to the NBA, its fans, and the networks- Do not hitherto refer to Yao Ming as a "star" player in the NBA. Do not vote him onto the All-Star team. Do not air segments regarding his life outside of basketball or his alleged "progress" in practice/off-season et al. Do not do any of these things until he EARNS THEM.
DCX says don't comapare him to Bradley, but the more I see him play, the more I think he mirrors Bradley. He's slow of foot, tires easily..gets pushed around, gets his shots swatted, and his face posterized with authority all by players 8+ inches his inferior. He rarely imposes his size and dunks only when directly under the basket despite his immense reach. The only time he doesn't seem Bradley-esque is when he squares to shoot, gets iso'ed so he can work some post moves, or makes the occassional sharp pass. He's not consistent, almost never dominating, and clearly NOT A STAR for anything other than his freakish build and cultural significance. He's almost a joke.
People say he steps it up against Shaq, but to me it seems that it occurs that way because Shaq is one of the few guys teams trust to guard him one-on-one, which is seemingly the only way he can be consistently effective. You swarm him with the occassional double or collapse a zone around him and half the time he can't even make the outlet pass, much less a bucket.
I don't hate the guy and I really wish he would step up and impress me. But I think the well has run dry as far as all the unearned star credibility for Yao Ming. It's time he earned the moniker and earned those All-Star selections. Every time I see him swatted by an undersized power-forward or dunked on by a second string 2 guard, my reservations that that day will arrive grow considerably.
Go Spurs.
DCX
DCX
Really? I mean for as much as Yao suffers from the Bol/Muresan/Bradley syndrome...he has more skills than all of them combined! He has a good touch, has a great presence, when he decides to use it...he is reminded me more of Ewing than anyone else. It's pretty bad that Ewing is training him....Ewing was a soft center, that when he applied himself became a very mean/aggressive dominant center. Yao's nature is kind and to get him to be aggressive is changing his whole outlook on life itself...good luck, i agree he is over hyped, not really a star, he's as much as a star as Juwan Howard is or Tim Thomas, but never a Bradley please!!Ned Flanders said:
DCX
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