2010/2011 NBA Thread

[Maxx]

Plus fuck Manu Ginobli.

[maninblack]

Nobody ever talks about how great the Duncan Spurs dynasty is. It's because Tim Duncan isn't too flashy I guess. I have a lot of friends who hate him because they think he's so boring. I just consider him one of the best of the game, and a true role model. He's an absolute winner. The Onion articles about him are hysterical though.

It's hard to talk a lot about a team that never won consecutive titles, especially when the Lakers had a 3-peat in between Duncan's first two titles and have made the Finals 3 straight times since his last one. It's amazing to think that Kobe's won 5 titles and lost two other times in the Finals during Duncan's stellar career. The Spurs never were able to string together a couple of years where they were the dominant team like LA did and that's why they get lost in the shuffle.

I'd also partly chalk it up to the Spurs not having a big media market to boost their image. The Lakers and Celtics have their dragon's horde of NBA championships AND that rivalry between them, but they also have the benefit of playing in cities with a huge media presence that amplifies the importance of their achievements. Much like how the NY media amplified how terrible the Knicks were.

Edited December 14, 2010 by maninblack

[naiwf]

I should probably take back all of the things I said about Stoudemire not being much of an upgrade in the offseason. The difference between this team with him and Lee is staggering. I'm not convinced that this team wouldn't be 9-16 instead of 16-9 if you simply put Lee with this supporting cast. Amar'e may not be much of an upgrade defensively, but he at least puts in the effort and blocks a shot or two per game, and unlike Lee he actually looks invested in winning on both ends of the floor. The offense pretty much hinges on the opponents doubling him or not, and the early season MVP hype is well deserved at this point. In 25 games he's already proven to be the best Knicks player since Ewing's prime.

[maninblack]

Speaking of former Knicks, Starbury's second season in China has so far been rocky. His team lost by more than 20 points yesterday.

And Steve Francis is now playing for the Beijing Ducks.

Edited December 16, 2010 by maninblack

[bill_da_bill]

The Celtics-Knicks game last night was AWESOME.

Not a real fan of either team, but I dislike the Celtics so I was pulling for the Knicks in that one. A ton of fun to watch though.

[gunnar hendershow]

If that game taught me one thing it's that teams this season are going to have a tough time going into a raucous MSG. If the Knicks can work out a three-team trade for Melo, watch out.

And by watch out I'm referring to everyone except Boston and Los Angeles.

[naiwf]

Rondo's out for the next 2 weeks. Noah will miss 8-10. The Knicks might be able to sneak up to the # 5 spot with or without Melo, but could be dangerous if they do pick him up and match up with a team like Orlando or Chicago instead of Boston or Miami.

[naiwf]

So Ginobili hit a true buzzer beater last night (after he walked ) and then won the game tonight by banking in a circus shot with about 4 seconds left. All this was AFTER Melo hit 2 layups seconds apart to take Denver from -3 to +1in the waning seconds. Oh yeah, the second layup came after the Spurs botched the inbounds pass and it landed in Melo's lap right under the hoop. As if that wasn't exciting enough, for the second time in as many nights a team thought they won at the buzzer but didn't. Melo got called for a charge as he made what would have been the game winning shot, but it was waved off thanks to Manu getting in his way just in time. The last couple of nights have provided some of the craziest finishes to games you'll ever see.

[bill_da_bill]

It's been games that are fun to watch too. I'm more into the NBA this year than I have been in some time.

[ROZAY]

I should probably take back all of the things I said about Stoudemire not being much of an upgrade in the offseason. The difference between this team with him and Lee is staggering. I'm not convinced that this team wouldn't be 9-16 instead of 16-9 if you simply put Lee with this supporting cast. Amar'e may not be much of an upgrade defensively, but he at least puts in the effort and blocks a shot or two per game, and unlike Lee he actually looks invested in winning on both ends of the floor. The offense pretty much hinges on the opponents doubling him or not, and the early season MVP hype is well deserved at this point. In 25 games he's already proven to be the best Knicks player since Ewing's prime.

I think I was the only Knicks fan I knew that was happy to get STAT this off-season. Granted, it's not a LeBron or Wade type acquisition, but I figured he would thrive again in D'Antoni's system whether he had Nash leading the way or not. Amar'e is pretty underrated to me as far as what he can bring to the table. He's always been one of my favorites, and when healthy and motivated the guy can definitely be a game changer. I was actually initially pissed off that we didn't take him back in the 2002 draft, so it's all kind of come full circle for me when they picked him up in July.

That being said, I'm hoping and praying we can get Carmelo either from a trade or just outright signing him this off-season, provided there isn't a lockout next year. Love Amar'e, but I'd rather have Melo leading the way.

[naiwf]

Orlando's basically blown up their rotation today.

IN

Gilbert Arenas

Earl Clark

Jason Richardson

Hedo Turkeyglue

OUT

Vince Carter

Marcin Gortat

"The Most Overpaid Man in the NBA" Rashard Lewis

Mickael Pietrus

2011 1st rounder + cash

I don't think this makes their team any more dangerous this year, but dumping Carter and Lewis is a plus longterm.

[rocksta]

Dumping Vince and his huge expiring contract doesn't really help them long term.

[naiwf]

Dumping Vince and his huge expiring contract doesn't really help them long term.

http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/26507248

VC was only due $4 million guaranteed next year according to the link above. It's worth dumping him and Lewis if the team makes Dwight Howard decide to stay. If they stood pat and got bounced in the 2nd round of the playoffs this year they were tempting fate that Howard might opt to become a free agent in 2012. With the emergence of "megateams" and both Melo and CP3 wanting out of "one man shows", Orlando needs to convince him to stay. If he ends up pulling a Shaq and leaving in the midst of his prime, the Magic are doomed.

[bill_da_bill]

I think the deal helps Orlando out, so long as Arenas doesn't implode and they can find team chemistry.

Carter and Lewis have fallen off the last couple years and just lack the explosiveness they once had. Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas are definently still explosive and both have the ability to take over a game scoring which Carter and Lewis weren't showng the ability to do. And Turkoglu is a wild card, he was one of the biggest reasons they made it to the championship and maybe he's just one of those guys that fits a specific system like Orlando's.

I like the moves for Orlando, and I like the message doing something like this sends to their fan base as it appeared obvious they weren't prepared to hang with the Celtics and Heat. Not sure they are going to even with the new additions, but I think they're better prepared.

[bill_da_bill]

I don't know if anyone here plays fantasy basketball, but I did a breakdown of the trade's from today on my site. Thought it might interest anyone that does play.

Edited December 19, 2010 by bill_da_bill

[phatman]

Been a phoenix fan I was disappointed in losing Richardson... I don't think Carter will do much in Phoenix's system but his expiring contract is a good thing... Wasn't fussed with Pietrus, would have preferred a shooter like Redick... Gortat will definately help our rebounding woes though and getting rid of Turkoglu was a bonus... I have a feeling this trade could lead to the trading of Nash also, as Phoenix gets on with the rebuilding straight away...

[naiwf]

The only contending team that could really use Nash at this point is Miami and they don't have anything to offer Phoenix. I can't really imagine Phoenix dumping him on a terrible team, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him.

[SeanDMan]

Could see he he wants to play for the Raptors.

[gunnar hendershow]

From the perspective of the Wizards, we traded one bad contract for another. We don't need another PF, and we definitely don't need another undersized player. But that said, finding a place in the rotation for Rashard Lewis to play more of a SF spot is definitely a better option than keeping Gilbert. When this team starts, hopefully, truly competing in 2 years they would then be in a position where Lewis represents an expiring contract. I'm being optimistic with this, but this was the only way to get rid of the Arenas contract

[naiwf]

http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/26733823

Portland may end up shutting down Brandon Roy for the year. That franchise is cursed. I REALLY bet they wish they'd drafted Durant now.