New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[steve williams]

Same here and the damned Heat looks as awesome as usual plus they may have that kid who looks like an old man as potential center.. Can anyone say 3-peat and hate themselves for even thinking so

bite your tongue

 

[jadis]

Same here and the damned Heat looks as awesome as usual plus they may have that kid who looks like an old man as potential center.. Can anyone say 3-peat and hate themselves for even thinking so

i won't say it nor would i think it. as much i hate the heat, i have no respect for them. different from those lakers who fought boston in the magic/kareem and kobe/gasol era. there was hate yes, but i had respect for them. i took the nail real hard last june bec the spurs were oh so close to giving the heat the dagger. this season, i'm focusing on the return of d-rose, the addition of scola to the intact pacers who were 1 game away (they now have to focus to getting the best record in the east to have home court ad), and how the boston trio can help the nets. getting more opponents stronger is a good thing in the east. i feel the spurs will have their last tank of gas. i am not thinking of any 3-peat.

 

[JackD201]

Don't forget about the return of a healthy Danny Granger and an improved Stephenson as a 6th. I'll have my eye on the Bulls. I'm more afraid of them than the already much scarier on paper Nets. I believe one of these three will be in the Eastern Finals against the Heat unless the Heat only finishes 4th or 5th. No way that's gonna happen. The Knicks looks interesting as well, Bargnani may or may not help get them better spacing but for them to count in my book it is Chandler and Stoudemire that have to improve on offense with their backs to the basket. They can't occupy the same midrange jumper space Mr. Ball Hog takes.

If Lin can find a way to cut his turnovers and improve his sorry 3-pt percentage, the Rockets will be real contenders. I think they have a shot actually but their playoff experience is suspect to me. I can see them breaking down under pressure.

 

[rblnr]

i won't say it nor would i think it. as much i hate the heat, i have no respect for them. different from those lakers who fought boston in the magic/kareem and kobe/gasol era. there was hate yes, but i had respect for them. i took the nail real hard last june bec the spurs were oh so close to giving the heat the dagger. this season, i'm focusing on the return of d-rose, the addition of scola to the intact pacers who were 1 game away (they now have to focus to getting the best record in the east to have home court ad), and how the boston trio can help the nets. getting more opponents stronger is a good thing in the east. i feel the spurs will have their last tank of gas. i am not thinking of any 3-peat.

Agreed on all counts. Thought of Heat winning again is going to wreck my breakfast! Biggest ? of course is if Wade can keep the wheels on for another season.

Scola is a big deal for the Pacers and it would make them seriously tougher if Stevenson improved his shot over the summer and plays closer to his potential. Still think they need someone to organize them on offense, this was/is especially evident when teams clampdown in crunch time.

I can't see how the Knicks will be elite in the East. Not a Carmelo fan as I've said many times before nor of the way the whole team is constructed. Don't think much of Woodson either. . You're lucky if you get 40 games from Amare and who passes to Bargnani waiting outside the arc?

 

[FrantzM]

Guys

I would like to share your enthusiasm. THe Heat look like the same team they were last year plus they may have a bonafide center. Respect or not they will, again tear through the East. D Rose may not be fully ready, the injury has been serious by all accounts and a year may not suffice. As for the Nets and it seems I am in the minority, I am not sure that Pierce and Garnet will be that great. Hope is on the Pacers to disturb the Heat, else 3-peat. The West has no answer to the Heat, San-A should have won last year, they didn't and may not ever get that chance OKC looks befuddled and lost with the , loss , of Hayden, The Rockets maybe but we have to see how D12 plays in this lineup. All-n-all: The EHat have only themselves to beat IMHO.

 

[rblnr]

I'm not that high on the Nets either

 

[steve williams]

I still don't consider the Rockets in a position to win it all let alone the West

 

[rblnr]

I think if Dwight plays to his potential, which is about 18pts/20 Rebs a game -- they can. I'm serious about the 20 rebs too -- with the lack of big men out there, he should come close to that

 

[steve williams]

I think if Dwight plays to his potential, which is about 18pts/20 Rebs a game -- they can. I'm serious about the 20 rebs too -- with the lack of big men out there, he should come close to that

I remain skeptical

 

[MylesBAstor]

I remain skeptical

+1

 

[jadis]

I think if Dwight plays to his potential, which is about 18pts/20 Rebs a game -- they can. I'm serious about the 20 rebs too -- with the lack of big men out there, he should come close to that

I think the only reason now for DW to have a disappointing or failure of a season is if his back problem flares up again. Motivation wise, in his own free choice, he chose lesser money to play for Houston so I think he is motivated to be with the Rockets. What I'm looking at is how McHale holds together a winning formula game in and game out. And he needs to get his players primed up physically as well. And one cannot overlook the fact the Miami's success has been due in part to its great physical conditioning and absence of major injuries to its core. That conditioning contributes a lot to its lightning quick defensive rotation that chokes any great offense, and superior quickness in ball movement entails fantastic speed as well on its players.

 

[jadis]

I actually like the old format more than the 2-3-2.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-considering-change-nba-finals-234113744--nba.html

NBA considering change to NBA Finals format

BRIAN MAHONEY (AP Basketball Writer) 1 hour ago AP - Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NBA Finals could return to a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

The league's Competition Committee voted unanimously to recommend the change from the current 2-3-2 system and owners will vote on it next month at their meetings.

''The idea was raised at the Competition Committee and was well-received and the committee ultimately unanimously voted to recommend the change in format,'' NBA spokesman Tim Frank said Sunday.

If approved, it hasn't been decided if the change would begin with the 2014 finals.

The Competition Committee's vote was first reported by the Boston Herald.

The format was switched beginning in 1985, a recommendation Commissioner David Stern has said came in part from former Celtics boss Red Auerbach to reduce the cross-country trips between Boston and Los Angeles.

Critics argue it gives home-court advantage to the lower-seeded team in Game 5, which is often a pivotal game in a best-of-seven series.

Last season, the Miami Heat became just the fourth team to rally from 3-2 down by winning the final two on their home floor.

All other rounds in the NBA playoffs use the 2-2-1-1-1 format.

 

[steve williams]

I prefer 2-2-1-1-1

 

[JackD201]

I have this thing for underdogs so it's 2-3-2 for me.

 

[WLVCA]

The Finals format won't matter next year.

Clippers crowned champs after a 4 - 0 sweep in the Finals.

 

[jadis]

The Finals format won't matter next year.

Clippers crowned champs after a 4 - 0 sweep in the Finals.

Doc is going to be one celebrated coach if that happens.

 

[jadis]

Probably D12's last talk. On with the games.


Dwight Howard explains in detail his reasons for leaving Lakers to join Rockets

Brett Pollakoff

Sep 29, 2013, 11:00 PM EDT
27 Comments
Houston Rockets Introduce Dwight Howard Getty Images

Both the Lakers and the Rockets have opened their training camps for the upcoming season, which means the summer’s drama involving Dwight Howard and his free agent decision is now officially behind us.

At media day in Houston, Howard made the cold but realistic statement that he left the Lakers because he wanted to win — something tangible that went above and beyond the emotionally-charged points about not getting along with Kobe Bryant, not liking his fit in Mike D’Antoni’s system, or not being comfortable with the championship-level pressures of playing in Los Angeles.

Howard expounded upon his reasons for leaving, and if you set aside all of those intangible arguments, it’s tough to say he didn’t make the right decision.

From Sam Amick of USA Today:

“A lot of people say, ‘Well, if you would’ve waited a couple years, then this could’ve been yours (with the Lakers),’ And I’m like, ‘In a couple years, I’m 30,’” Howard said. “I don’t want to wait. I’ve been in the league 10 years. I don’t want to wait for things to happen. I want to be aggressive, to make things happen. And I’m looking at all these young guys who are just ready, and they’re missing one piece. And I’m like, ‘I could be that piece, and I don’t want to miss my chance.

“James Harden doesn’t come by every 10 years. It doesn’t happen. It’s no knock on other players who I played with, but you’re talking about all these guys who are young and are going this way, going up, so I’m like, ‘Man, this is a great spot for me. A great town, great organization.’ They’re going this way (points up).”

“Other teams have more history, but yesterday’s scores don’t win today’s games,” he said. “You’ve got to look at the now. What’s in the now? What can we do now? Nobody cared about what I did eight years ago, they want to know what I can do now, and it’s the perfect team for me.”

If you’re one of the people that feels negatively about Howard over the way he’s carried himself the past two seasons, then you should go read the entire interview. Howard comes across as level-headed and focused, and even explains his feelings about how the news of his decision came out — which is fairly amusing, considering he’s complaining about it to the man who broke the story.

Howard makes salient points, and the reality is that anyone who watched his interactions with his teammates last season knows that despite all of the injuries, Howard was never a good fit in Los Angeles. No matter how things play out in Houston, it’s already clear he made the best personal decision possible.

 

[jadis]

A few weeks before the NBA begins and we get a lot of TALK. Even from long retired players. But when I saw the Big O in his Bucks days, I thought he was playing in slow-motion.


Kareem says Oscar Robertson better than Jordan or LeBron

Kurt Helin

Oct 3, 2013, 7:18 PM EDT
27 Comments
0826-oscar-robertson-608

While most current NBA fans give Michael Jordan the nod in the hypothetical “best player ever” competition, but a lot of that is simply due to timing — most hoops fans alive today saw him play, or have heard the mythology of his era at least.

Basketball is a game that is hard to compare across eras and generations and most of us didn’t see the greats of the 1960s or 1970s play. Those that did have the same bias for the players of their generation as people who came of age in the 1990s do for Jordan.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on ESPN’s Collin Cowherd radio show on Thursday and was asked about the greatest — and he went with the first major star he ever played with (transcription via LakersNation).

“LeBron is awesome, MJ was awesome — but I think Oscar Robinson would have kicked them both in the behind,” said Abdul-Jabbar when asked about James and Jordan. “Absolutely. Oscar was awesome. He had brains. [...] He had all the skills.

“He could rebound and box out guys four and six inches taller than him. He was ruggedly built. He had fluid, quickness, and just understood the game. No flair, he just got the job done every night. Who’s going to average double figures in points, assists and rebounds?”

I don’t think anybody sane questions that Oscar Robertson belongs among the all-time greats. He is a perfect example of why the “rings” argument is a poor judge of a player — he carried bad teams pretty far, not winning until he was past his prime but Kareem joined him in Milwaukee. Robertson AVERAGED a triple double 1962, he was ridiculously good. He should be front and center in the Hall of Fame. But he also played in an era when the pace of the game was much faster, which boost his per-game numbers.

How does he stack up to Jordan and LeBron? I don’t know. I wasn’t alive when Robertson was at his peak and the grainy Youtube footage of him likely does not do his game justice.

It’s easy to say Jordan is the best or LeBron could challenge them, or that Magic Johnson belongs in the conversation, because we saw them — not in an unbiased way, but we saw them. We can form conclusions we just can’t with Robertson.

By the way, the guy always shortchanged in the GOAT conversation in Kareem himself.

 

[steve williams]

Kobe Bryant has left Lakers camp for Germany to get more platelet-rich plasma therapy on knee...

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....a-therapy-on-knee/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

 

[steve williams]

NBA suspends Nets coach Kidd 2 games for DWI

NEW YORK (AP) — Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd was suspended Friday for two games for pleading guilty to driving while ability impaired.

The NBA announced Kidd will miss the first two games of the regular season. The Nets open at Cleveland on Oct. 30 and host the defending champion Miami Heat on Nov. 1.

``The decision is consistent with what the league has done in the past,'' Nets general manager Billy King said in a statement, ``and we look forward to Jason leading our team versus Orlando and the rest of the year.''

Kidd pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge after he crashed into a utility pole on eastern Long Island. If he fulfills his community service, his plea will be reduced to a violation.

Kidd, who retired as an NBA player after last season, was hired to coach the Nets - the team he took to two NBA Finals as a player when the franchise played in New Jersey.