2006/07 NBA Thread

[jonnycomelately]

I don't think I can stomach another Spurs-Pistons series so here's to rooting for the Carlos Boozer Bowl, Jazz v. Cavs. I do not honestly think this will happen but one can only hope. The league is shooting itself in the foot left and right anyways why not root for possibly the lowest rated NBA Finals ever just to round out the carnage. I think it won't even take two games into the Utah series before Bruce Bowen takes out either Deron Williams or Andrei Kirilenko.

[livid]

It's hard to argue with that, VP, because the Nets do lack size, but I'd argue that they have more depth than most people give them credit for. Yeah, they're not as deep as teams like the Spurs or Pistons but most teams aren't. And the reason I said it was because I truly believe that if all 3 guys in Jersey played like they can (even if Jefferson was better and he was obviously still affected by his knee injury) then I could see them being a very dangerous team and one that can definitely win a championship. However, like you said, it's all moot now and I look forward to seeing the Cavaliers win the series against the Pistons. I think that this might be when LeBron steps his game up and shows everybody what he's made of. Then again, I thought he did that last year in the regular season and thought he deserved the MVP, moreso than Nash, so who knows what will happen. But if it's Detroit-San Antonio, I'm not gonna watch as that would just generally be a boring series to watch as they play boring styles of basketball. Well, I can't say the Pistons for sure as I haven't seen a whole lot of them recently, but the Spurs, man I hate the Spurs.

[Trey]

I'm personally rooting for a Spurs-Pistons match-up, I enjoy their style of basketball.

[VerbalPuke]

I'm rooting for a Pistons/whoever match up. Nobody in this neck of the woods are worried about the ratings, and I think some people might be a bit hasty calling the Pistons "boring". Remember that Larry Brown was the coach during the last run against the Spurs, and he had a very archaic (albeit effective) style of coaching which made for boring games. Flip Saunders is a more offensive oriented guy and definitely coaches a more up tempo style of game. That still doesn't mean the Pistons can't grind it out and win some games with less than 90 points.

And I also enjoy the Pistons style of play, I love watching spectacular defense. It's when the the two teams play mediocre defense and clank shots left and right that make games boring.

[livid]

I like the fast paced style of basketball that Don Nelson is known for. I appreciate good defense but I guess it's more exciting to me when people are running up and down the court all the time.

That and the Triangle but that's just because I'm a Lakers fan.

[Green Demon]

It will be intresting to see if Flip can finally make the adjustments and get one of his teams to the Finals, the talent is obviously there so we shall see. Obviously being from the Cleveland area I want to see the Cavs make it to the Finals and whatever happens there happens, but Detriot is a really good team so it is going to be hard to do. The key for us is to try and split on the road the first two games and play well at home like we usually do (not including game 5 vs the Nets). The dream matchup for me in the Finals would be Utah vs. Cleveland, altough I think Cleveland fans are over the Boozer debacle now it would be great to stick it to him in a series espeailly to get the titile. If we can get some of the guys to step up around Lebron like Pavlovic has been doing then this should be another hard fought between the two teams which I could easily see going 6 or 7 games.

[VerbalPuke]

It is interesting that there are still some nice subplots left between these four teams. I don't know if I can think of any for San Antonio, but you have the obvious Boozer/Cleveland animosity, the Pistons/Spurs re-match, and Pistons/Jazz for the fact that we let Okur go there, and now there's a chance he gets back to the finals against the team he first made it there with.

I think Cleveland is going to play Detroit tough, like they did last year. I think having Webber as opposed to Wallace helps us more this year however. Webber is broken down, but he can at least make his free throws, and is an excellent passer who can create opportunities for his teammates. I think the Pistons should focus on making Lebron beat them, while shutting down Lebron's teammates. Sort of like the method used against Shaq, he'll get his points, but if you can hold the rest of the team to minimal points scored then you can ensure a victory.

[Trey]

I give Flip Saunders no credit whatsoever for anything he does. That team pretty much runs itself, anyone who takes a coaching for dummies crash course could run that team.

As for Pistons/Spurs, it reminds me a lot of Big Ten basketball. Bill Simmons compares Big Ten basketball to women's basketball because it's about shooting, executing, technique, and defense. All of those things make me think of the Spurs/Pistons series personally, and even if it isn't the highest scoring game, I can enjoy watching the match-ups, coaching changes, game-plans, etc. That's why I don't think Flip can win a title, he's either facing Jerry Sloan or Gregg Popovich (who, by the way, formally dated my cousin. Not relevant, but I thought was cool), either of them would wipe the floor with him. The Pistons so far have got past the Magic and my Bulls. I love my Bulls, but the Pistons know how to win in the post-season.

But so does Sloan and Pop, they are great coaches. Sloan would have a ring if it wasn't for the Jordan guy and Pop has what, 3 already? They can win in the post-season and are excellent and making changes to the game-plan in between games to give their teams the advantage. The Pistons are going to be a tough out, I just don't think they're coaching will be good enough against another veteran playoff team.

[OGpistolpete]

Damn the Detroit magazines are so fucking biased.

First they say Chauncy Billups is better than Larry Hughes, so Detroit gets the edge at Point Guard. I will give them that. Rip Hamilton is better than Pavlovic, I will give them that. The only edge that Cleveland got is LeBron over Prince, which is no doubt correct. They then gave Rasheed over Gooden, which I think may be arguable, but Rasheed is still the better SF. They acted like Gooden is no match for Wallace though, which really pissed me off, because Gooden is a great SF for any team, and really contributes to Cleveland in all ways, shapes, and forms. But next these fucking retards said that Chris Webber has the edge over fucking Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Webber is fucking 6"10, and Ilgauskas is fucking 7"3! That should be a main factor, not to fucking mention that Ilgauskas averages better in almost everything, and if he dosn't, Webber is beating him out not even by .010. Then they said Detroit's bench is better, which totally isn't true. Cleveland has Gibson, Marshall, Jones, and Varejao. Detroit has McDyess and Hunter (who still isn't even very good.) I don't see how Detroit edges out Cleveland, when the Cavs starters play less minutes per game than Detroit, which shows that Cleveland has some depth in their roster. Then they give Flip the edge of Brown in coaching, which is bullshit because Flip just picked up where fucking Larry Brown left off and Brown had to fucking pull Cleveland together to make them good because before Cleveland could barley take all their talent and win games, but it was Mike Brown that brought that talent together and made Cleveland the superstar team that they are.

FUCK YOU DETROIT FREE PRESS

[livid]

One, Gooden plays the 4 (PF), not the 3 (SF). Two, Rasheed Wallace > Drew Gooden and that's not that arguable, Rasheed is a better player. I see your point about the Webber/Ilgauskas because Ilgauskas should have the edge there. However, Cleveland's bench isn't as deep as Detroit's because you failed to mention Flip Murray, Dale Davis (older yes, but can still contribute), Nazr Mohammed (who could start for most teams at Center), Jason Maxiell (a very good PF who's still young and can give good minutes off the bench) and Carlos Delfino is a very good player to come off the bench too. He is, by no means, starter material but he's a good role player who can contribute off the bench.

However, it's very clear that Cleveland has an advantage in that they have the best player on the court in LeBron. But Cleveland is by no means deeper than the Pistons. Hell, that's one of Detroit's strongest areas is that they have a lot of players who can contribute. And this is coming from a guy who would love to see the Cavs win.

[JStarr]

He does have a point about the Brown/Saunders comparison, though. The Pistons are one of those teams that damn near coach themselves, which is about the only way Flip could ever get this close to an NBA Finals. He had almost the exact same kind of team in Minnesota that Mike Brown has now, trying to get a superstar and a bunch of spare parts to the promised land. Even when Saunders had a spectacular PG in Cassell and a perfectly legit scorer in Sprewell to complement Garnett, that team still couldn't get out of its own way most nights. Brown has LeBron figuring out that "hey, these other guys aren't too shabby and I can rely on them instead of trying to dominate the ENTIRE game." Brown should be winning Coach of the Year honors within the next couple. Flip should be painting someone's house.

And eight "fuck"s in one post? Jesus, man, I know you're a fan, but get back on the medication. Quickly. :blink:

[livid]

True, very true, as the Pistons are so savvy that they don't really need a hands-on, actually knows what he's doing type of coach and Flip is perfect for that since he doesn't know what he's doing. That's one of the reasons why I didn't argue that was because in terms of coaching ability, I would definitely take Brown over Saunders. That being said, LeBron does have to dominate most of the game though. As good as Gooden and Hughes are, they're not consistently good enough for LeBron to be able to not be the go to guy. In an ideal world, LeBron would have someone to compliment him in the way that most teams have (even Kobe has Odom) but I don't think either Hughes or Gooden fit that mold. They're good players, but they're not putting fear into anyone as you can easily knock Gooden off the post and Hughes is just all over the place now. I understand they've been having Point issues, but I don't think that Hughes is the answer, not long-term at least.

[Mofoticon]

The Pistons bench is very overrated, not counting Mcdyess who plays more than webber now anyway.....I'll take Varejao, Marshall, Snow, Gibson, over Delfino, Hunter, Maxiel, Flip Murray

[VerbalPuke]

Overrated? By who? The Pistons bench is what it is, and people know that. You know what McDyess can do, and that is score, rebound, play defense, and provide veteran leadership. Dale Davis is our goon, our enforcer of sorts and does what he's supposed to do. Flip Murray provides a spark at times, and while not the greatest option, does provide scoring at times. Delfino could be a better scorer, but his intangibles are his hustle (getting loose balls and forcing steals), rebounds, and the energy he can provide for the team. Maxiell is the same way, a young energy guy who can also give you scoring off of the bench, and is a good rebounder/shot blocker.

I'll gladly take that crew over Snow, Marshall, and Gibson. Varejo is a nice energy guy like Max, but I wouldn't say he gives the Cleveland bench an edge.

Edit - And I forgot to mention Lyndsey Hunter, who is in the estimation of many, one of the better on the ball defenders in the league. Definitely not a scorer, but another guy who will create opportunities for his teammates by making plays with his quick hands.

Edited May 21, 2007 by VerbalPuke

[OGpistolpete]

41-35 at the half.

LeBron has done jackshit, and we are winning thanks to our "decent bench and starting lineup".

Rip Hamilton is the only reason Detroit is still in this. Their bench depth is really showing today.

[livid]

One game doesn't prove anything in regards to whether or not their team has more depth or not.

[OGpistolpete]

Fuck LeBron not doing shit. Also I thought the Refs played a pretty biased game.

[Green Demon]

Lebron made the right play at the end and Marshall was so wide open it wasnt even funny but just didnt hit the shot. They went for the win and that is right move when you are on the road it just didnt work out in the end. This game should give them alot of confidence for the rest of the series and if Cleveland can steal game 2 then this series will be wide open going into Cleveland.

[VerbalPuke]

Scoring 76 points in game one should give them a lot of confidence? Losing in a game where the Pistons played their worst game on basketball to date in the playoffs? They should be confident about that?

[Green Demon]

They will probably have confidence since they showed that they can play close to the Pistons even when Lebron has a terrible game. I realize that some of Lebron trouble was due to the Pistons defense but I doubt you are going to see him score just 10 points again. Along with that Sasha altough not a star player by any means usually shots better then he did last night as well. They were wide open shot from being up 1-0 and taking away the Pistons home court advantage. Even though I dont think the Pistons will play as bad as they did last night the Cavs D defiantly had an effect on them. The whole reason that I am saying that the Cavs probably gained some confidence was because if you would have told me they would lose by only 3 when Lebron scored only 10 points I would be surpised that it was anywhere near that close.

This whole series is going to be a grind em out type series and atleast for me as a Cavs fan will be fun to watch and I wish I didnt have to wait till Thursday for game 2.