NBA 2013-2014 Season Thread

[Tyrone]

Paul George has been diagnosed with a concussion after the collision with Wade last night.

EDIT: $5K fine on Stephenson for his flop as wel

[Quom]

Seriously, whoever said that the Playoffs would be boring just because all the underdogs got knocked out is crazy. This has been some fucking wonderful basketball. I'm not even mad that Miami won today, after an amazing game like that.

No, it's boring. I'm sick of seeing the same teams and the same players in the finals. I wanted someone new to get behind.

Also it looks like we might be stealing Joerger from Memphis. I can't see Love sticking around if there is a coach that asks him to put a body on his man and not to act like a petulant child when things don't go his way. The draft sucked for us. None of the teams Love would re-sign with got anywhere near where they needed to be for a trade to make sense.

[Maxx]

NBA might not be the league for you then, unfortunately. How many teams have won a title?

[Rafael]

8 teams, I think.

And Cleveland might trade their top pick for Kevin Love.

[Quom]

Wiggins or Parker or Exum and Deng would be a good trade for us I think. Especially if we could manage to dump some of our shitty contracts into the deal.

Also I don't care if the teams don't win. I would just like it if the conference finals weren't locked in before the season started. Although this is fantasy as much as my wish that the NBA realised planes were a thing now and seeded all teams based on final record rather than conference.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Quom

[Cole]

It'd be boring if they weren't the best four teams this season in my opinion, a case could be made for the Clippers as well but after the fiasco with their owner that wasn't going to happen. It's also to be said that they couldn't find that key third scorer, you need more than just two all-stars to win a title these days. All of these teams have great depth.

I called it from the start of the playoffs, and wanted the Raps to even just win one series but nah.... Yeah tons of upsets early, but the cream eventually rises to the top... that's why the 4/7 series solves all questions. In my opinion.

I'd rather see entertaining teams that are gonna battle each other for a good series then have an underdog make a run and then shit the bed in the conference or nba finals.

[Meacon Keaton]

I wanted someone new to get behind.

Tired of Rubio?

[HC]

Seriously, whoever said that the Playoffs would be boring just because all the underdogs got knocked out is crazy. This has been some fucking wonderful basketball. I'm not even mad that Miami won today, after an amazing game like that.

No, it's boring. I'm sick of seeing the same teams and the same players in the finals. I wanted someone new to get behind.

Also it looks like we might be stealing Joerger from Memphis. I can't see Love sticking around if there is a coach that asks him to put a body on his man and not to act like a petulant child when things don't go his way. The draft sucked for us. None of the teams Love would re-sign with got anywhere near where they needed to be for a trade to make sense.

Not stealing at all. He's being handed over on a silver platter.The owner wanted to fire Joerger mid-season but got talked out of it. He wants to clean house, but they don't want to fire him now because they'd have to pay him for the rest of his deal, and Joerger wants out now that Levien is gone because they were tight. Giving Minny permission to interview him makes sense in that if they want to hire him it solves everyone's problems.

I agree on the boring playoffs though. Same old shit.

[Quom]

I wanted someone new to get behind.

Tired of Rubio?

Don't think such a thing is possible, at least unless he goes bald, gets fat or shaves off the beard and looks funny.

[gunnar hendershow]

Serge Ibaka, you're the real MVP

[HC]

Serge Ibaka, you're the real MVP

Wrong!

[Krone]

Damn, just checked the score on my phone. San Antonio looks to be mauling OKC alive. Who's been the big player for the Spurs?

[Benjamin]

Seriously, whoever said that the Playoffs would be boring just because all the underdogs got knocked out is crazy. This has been some fucking wonderful basketball. I'm not even mad that Miami won today, after an amazing game like that.

No, it's boring. I'm sick of seeing the same teams and the same players in the finals. I wanted someone new to get behind.

Also it looks like we might be stealing Joerger from Memphis. I can't see Love sticking around if there is a coach that asks him to put a body on his man and not to act like a petulant child when things don't go his way. The draft sucked for us. None of the teams Love would re-sign with got anywhere near where they needed to be for a trade to make sense.

No it's not. Why should we give a damn if it's the same teams or not if they are playing the best basketball at the moment? Why would I want the Clips or Washington to be there, when they'd be killed by whoever they face in the conference finals as well. The past four games of the conference finals have been great. Heck, if Serge hadn't been injured, this OKC / Spurs game would be tight as fuck, but the fact that Thunder only have one good big is terrible for them.

[HC]

Seriously, whoever said that the Playoffs would be boring just because all the underdogs got knocked out is crazy. This has been some fucking wonderful basketball. I'm not even mad that Miami won today, after an amazing game like that.

No, it's boring. I'm sick of seeing the same teams and the same players in the finals. I wanted someone new to get behind.

Also it looks like we might be stealing Joerger from Memphis. I can't see Love sticking around if there is a coach that asks him to put a body on his man and not to act like a petulant child when things don't go his way. The draft sucked for us. None of the teams Love would re-sign with got anywhere near where they needed to be for a trade to make sense.

No it's not. Why should we give a damn if it's the same teams or not if they are playing the best basketball at the moment? Why would I want the Clips or Washington to be there, when they'd be killed by whoever they face in the conference finals as well. The past four games of the conference finals have been great. Heck, if Serge hadn't been injured, this OKC / Spurs game would be tight as fuck, but the fact that Thunder only have one good big is terrible for them.

Because parity is a good thing for a league to have. The more competitive a league is, the more fan interest there is across the country, not just in Miami or San Antonio. The NBA lacks parity at the moment, and it's boring if you're not a fan of the elite teams or a basketball purist who just loves to watch a good game. Having abominations like the 76ers running around also reflects poorly on the league. No one's arguing that the Clippers or Wizards should just be there, which is where you're missing the mark with the "but they're not good enough" argument. It's that the league should be a bit more competitive is all. It's a particular problem in a sport like basketball where having a few superstars trumps everything else, given only 5 guys are on the floor at a given time.

[Plubby]

I think it's more overall roster size rather than players-on-a-court thing. 5/12 is different to hockey, which is 6/20, which is different to football which is 11/a gajillion.

Also important is the relative size of the salary caps - which allows to overpay for stars and not require to spend genuine cap space on depth.

[Benjamin]

Seriously, whoever said that the Playoffs would be boring just because all the underdogs got knocked out is crazy. This has been some fucking wonderful basketball. I'm not even mad that Miami won today, after an amazing game like that.

No, it's boring. I'm sick of seeing the same teams and the same players in the finals. I wanted someone new to get behind.

Also it looks like we might be stealing Joerger from Memphis. I can't see Love sticking around if there is a coach that asks him to put a body on his man and not to act like a petulant child when things don't go his way. The draft sucked for us. None of the teams Love would re-sign with got anywhere near where they needed to be for a trade to make sense.

No it's not. Why should we give a damn if it's the same teams or not if they are playing the best basketball at the moment? Why would I want the Clips or Washington to be there, when they'd be killed by whoever they face in the conference finals as well. The past four games of the conference finals have been great. Heck, if Serge hadn't been injured, this OKC / Spurs game would be tight as fuck, but the fact that Thunder only have one good big is terrible for them.

Because parity is a good thing for a league to have. The more competitive a league is, the more fan interest there is across the country, not just in Miami or San Antonio. The NBA lacks parity at the moment, and it's boring if you're not a fan of the elite teams or a basketball purist who just loves to watch a good game. Having abominations like the 76ers running around also reflects poorly on the league. No one's arguing that the Clippers or Wizards should just be there, which is where you're missing the mark with the "but they're not good enough" argument. It's that the league should be a bit more competitive is all. It's a particular problem in a sport like basketball where having a few superstars trumps everything else, given only 5 guys are on the floor at a given time.

I understand that, but that's not the issue everyone seems to be having with this particular Playoffs. They're not rooting for a particular team, they want just any team besides the top two seeds of both conferences. If that team made it to the conference finals, those same fans also wouldn't give a damn about that team, just as long as they win. It's a gripe I've always had with American sports' fans, in that they don't really care if it's the two best teams out there competing, as long as it's the teams that they want to win, regardless of their level of skill and talent. It's why I always get frustrated in the UFC thread when someone says something like "Eh, I won't miss Jake Shields or Jon Fitch or GSP, they were boring fighters". How can they be boring if they're the best? What do you expect to be watching when you watch an MMA fight, or a basketball game, other than the highest level of talent possible?

[HC]

I understand that, but that's not the issue everyone seems to be having with this particular Playoffs. They're not rooting for a particular team, they want just any team besides the top two seeds of both conferences. If that team made it to the conference finals, those same fans also wouldn't give a damn about that team, just as long as they win. It's a gripe I've always had with American sports' fans, in that they don't really care if it's the two best teams out there competing, as long as it's the teams that they want to win, regardless of their level of skill and talent. It's why I always get frustrated in the UFC thread when someone says something like "Eh, I won't miss Jake Shields or Jon Fitch or GSP, they were boring fighters". How can they be boring if they're the best? What do you expect to be watching when you watch an MMA fight, or a basketball game, other than the highest level of talent possible?

I'm having trouble understanding your argument. Maybe people root against these teams because they always win. I'm sure these people have their own favorite teams, they're just not in the playoffs or have already been boucned. The same reason WWE fans root against Cena winning the title a fourteenth time. Obviously basketball isn't scripted(just the lottery ) but you get the idea. Being the best isn't as cut and dry as you're making it out to be. If Miami were to get upset by the Bobcats, then they wouldn't be the best, would they? It would take them down a peg or two, and that's the point. Why should we care that the two so-called best teams make it to the title game(I'm still confused as to what constitutes the best)? If our particular team is out, we root for the underdog. Everyone likes an underdog. It makes things more interesting. I hardly think this is strictly an American thing.

As for the UFC thing, regardless of whether or not I personally think guys like Shields are exciting, that complaint stems from most fans' preference for fighters that like to stand and bang. Skilled or not, Shields grappling someone for three rounds doesn't draw the same reaction as two big ass clumsy heavyweights knocking each others brains out.

[Benjamin]

Oh, it's not an American thing, it's more of a thing with fans of American sports, I think. Maybe it's because I have a much bigger group of friends who watch soccer, so this underdog sentiment doesn't feel as prevalent to me there as it does with people I know who follow basketball.

Why should you care? Isn't that what we want to see? Who the best team of that season is? I don't think you can use pro wrestling as an analogy, though, because in that field, the story is more important than the win-loss record, and if the WWE were to put on a satisfying story as to why Cena should become champ (like they did with Rock/Cena 2 or Batista/Cena at WM26), then fans would definitely be happy with a Cena win. But in sports, it shouldn't be about which story is more compelling, when the sport itself is such a compelling thing, and especially in basketball, where a little facet of the game is interesting and tiny little details in strategy could help determine if a team wins or loses.

Sure, it would be fun for the underdog to win, but nine times out of ten they won't. Saying that the top 4 teams playing the highest level of basketball equals to being boring just because they've been there and done it before is a bit of a ridiculous statement.

[HC]

Oh, it's not an American thing, it's more of a thing with fans of American sports, I think. Maybe it's because I have a much bigger group of friends who watch soccer, so this underdog sentiment doesn't feel as prevalent to me there as it does with people I know who follow basketball.

Why should you care? Isn't that what we want to see? Who the best team of that season is? I don't think you can use pro wrestling as an analogy, though, because in that field, the story is more important than the win-loss record, and if the WWE were to put on a satisfying story as to why Cena should become champ (like they did with Rock/Cena 2 or Batista/Cena at WM26), then fans would definitely be happy with a Cena win. But in sports, it shouldn't be about which story is more compelling, when the sport itself is such a compelling thing, and especially in basketball, where a little facet of the game is interesting and tiny little details in strategy could help determine if a team wins or loses.

Sure, it would be fun for the underdog to win, but nine times out of ten they won't. Saying that the top 4 teams playing the highest level of basketball equals to being boring just because they've been there and done it before is a bit of a ridiculous statement.

I disagree, but alas. I'm sure plenty are fine with Miami/San Antonio II. It just doesn't grab my attention, and I'm just sharing why some people feel that way. It's all apart of the plan, so to speak. Sports is an entertainment industry. Storylines are HUGE in sports. Maybe it shouldn't be about the storylines from a purist standpoint, but there is absolutely no disputing it is. Why was Tim Tebow such a big deal? Tune into ESPN for a reminder on the importance of storylines and how they sell. Johnny Manziel will be every other story.

And as for the Cena thing, you know as well as I do people would complain about a Cena title win even if it was the result of the greatest, most complex storyline of all time.

[Plubby]

It's not unique to American sports - it's called Tall Poppy Syndrome and it happens all over the world. Sports leagues wants parity, because it sells like megabucks. Teams want to win all the time. Smart people get ahead of the system (usually with spots of extreme luck. See Duncan, Tim. or Crosby, Sidney for an example from a different league) and then we clamour for change to re-level the playing field.