NBA Finals Discussion
May 19, 2009 by Evil E
Your 2009 NBA Champions.
Congrats Lakers.
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After watching this video, I’m starting to worry about putting money on Denver. It looks like David Stern and ESPN have a little extra riding on a LeBron vs. Kobe matchup. Boooo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQX0lnN0P4Y
David Stern always gets what he wants.
Sure he has done alot of great things for the game, most significantly taking it global.
BUT one thing is for sure, especially recently, the NBA has become alot more ENTERTAINMENT and alot ALOT less basketball.
Looking at the way these playoffs (and the previous playoffs: Spurs-Suns-Donaghy comes to mind) are called by the refs its seriously leaning alot more towards the WWE than the UFC if you get my drift.
Yeah Evil… take this 25K home!!!… I did not want to write anything exactly to not jinxing you but now after you have written I can openly root for you!!!… I messed my 2nd week (missed one daily pick made couple of funny choices like Sheed’s last game) and while I also have only used Howard from all four remaining teams maybe for the 1st time I won’t be able to finish in the 99 percentile…
There are too many other players in the top 50 who did not pick Lakers, Cavs, Nuggets either… The winner should definitely be lucky with the best players’ top performances and pick them when they are having 15-20 points above their averages… Kobe is averaging only 37 points and his highest score was the 2nd Houston game (49)… he should have at least one 55+ points game… Is it too early to pick him?… what about him using the 1st game at Staples and making a statement after his sub-par performance Sunday?!
Yeah, it’s too early for me to pick Kobe. I’m deciding between Gasol and Bynum. I like the fact that Bynum is coming off a strong game so he has some confidence now, but it’s tough to trust him for obvious reasons. In order to gain points, it might be a wise move to pick against the majority now. Right now more people are picking Nuggets players…
Hey E …..For what it is worth I’m starting Gasol today for the simple reason that LA are at home , and I don’t trust Bynum not to get into foul trouble so it is genuinely posible that Pau could have 12-15 rebounds to add onto his score…..On the conspiracy theory , I don’t think the NBA can afford to allow its referee’s to favour LAL in this current Tim Donaghy climate , I’m mean they even apologised to Dallas for game #3 and with instant replay I’m sure there will in fact be contentious “No Calls” as against phantom fouls on Kobe……time will tell.
My dumbass went with Bynum. My reasoning was that I trust Gasol to have a big game on the road, but not Bynum. I thought this was the safest game to play AB, but it turns out he can’t be counted for anything at this point. 12 measly fantasy points for Bynum, but on the other hand, 30 for Gasol and 19 for Odom wasn’t that special either. Anyone who picked Kobe or Melo is going to soar up the rankings.
As for the game, Fisher hit some CLUTCH threes. I have no clue why Anthony Carter was in the game at the end there. Just to throw the inbounds pass? Nice move Karl. This is gonna be a great series tho…
Clippers get the #1 pick!!! Randolph or Kaman has gotta go now.
Grizzlies get the #2 pick. Do they gamble on Rubio when they already have Mike Conley?
Thunder get the #3 pick. I think this worked out well for them, as they’ll be able to take the giant Thabeet to anchor their defense.
Kings fall to #4. Udrih is wack, so I think they should trade up to #2 to take Rubio.
Anyway, have you guys seen this video of the 1985 lottery selection?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgJE7C5wiU
I just saw this, and there are several factors that point to a David Stern/ New York conspiracy. Fast forward to the 3:00 mark when things get moving.
-The envelope that Stern picks for #1 has a BENT CORNER. What’s up with that?!?!
-After getting the #1 pick, DeBusschere just happens to pull out a pre-made Knicks jersey with Ewing’s name on it.
-Another rumor is that the Knicks envelope was frozen ahead of time so Stern could feel which one it was.
I agree that the league is under close scrutiny these days, but I don’t put anything past Stern after watching this shady selection process. Seriously, do any of you trust him? Personally, I can’t wait for a new commish.
1-for-9 shooting for Fisher tonight and the Lakers lose. He’s looking like one of their X-factors for sure. Superb game for Ariza, but another weak game by Bynum.
You’ve gotta give it up to K-Mart for playing well despite a broken finger. Nene battled foul trouble again, but should do better in Denver. HUGE shots from Kleiza off the bench. Melo is stepping up big time and Billups is just badass.
In the Drive to the Finals game, I picked Gasol tonight (37 total points). I haven’t picked a single Nugget player yet, while most people in the Top 50 have picked 2 or 3 Nugz already. So if Denver advances, I should have a leg up there.
As for the Orlando – Cleveland series, I’m still kinda shocked from Game 1. I STILL don’t trust Stan Van Gundy or Rafer Alston, but they’re getting the job done.
Very interesting article explaining Denver’s ties to Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV:
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/45463022.html
nice read. thanks for that.
No point in rambling on about LeBron’s game-winning three, it was simply unreal. The real question is: who is going to win this series? Cleveland has no clue how to guard Rashard Lewis, and I give Lewis props for showing off his variety of offensive skills rather than just jacking up threes all night long.
One of the more interesting stories of game 2 was Sasha Pavlovic playing 22 minutes after not playing at all in game 1 and LeBron suggesting he play more. I somewhat agree with the move, since he’s bigger and more athletic than Wally and thus he has a better chance of guarding the likes of Lewis and Turkoglu, but I’ve never been a fan of Sasha. He’s CAPABLE of making big plays, but he’s just as likely to screw up. Of course, the Cavs simply don’t have many options.
It’s way too late to give him minutes and I don’t even think he’s on Cleveland’s playoff roster, but one guy who I think may have been able to help right now is Jawad Williams. He played just 20 regular season minutes for the Cavs, but has good size (6′9, 220), strength, and athleticism, and was an excellent defender at the college level, where he started several years for North Carolina. If they had looked forward to this potential matchup problem with Orlando, they would have been wise to give Jawad more minutes down the stretch and then put him on their playoff roster in place of Kinsey. Why don’t teams consider stuff like this?
Rashard has really shown me something in these playoffs. I always thought of him as not much more than an excellent three-point shooter who happened to be 6′10″. Now I’m wondering if there is anyone in the league short of a healthy KG that can stay with this guy. He really looks as quick as an SG out there. I was begging for Doc to try Pierce on him thinking that Pierce had the speed to not get blown by and the strength to not get backed down. Wasn’t the case, I saw that matchup only a few times all series and ‘Shard got right into the paint and went to work on the smaller player.
After my Bynum biff in the Drive to the Finals game, I’m back in the Top 100, currently #98 overall. I picked Mo Williams last night and Gasol the night before, but I still have the following players at my disposal:
LeBron, Big Z, Delonte, Varejao
Turkoglu, Alston, Pietrus, Lee
Kobe, Odom, Ariza, Fisher
Melo, Billups, Nene, JR, K-Mart
I’m deciding between Billups and Nene for Saturday’s game. It’s time to start moving on up!
What is this?
NBA.com and Autotrader partner up for a fantasy game every year. Winner gets $25K for a new car. You didn’t know about it? It’s easy to finish in the Top 250, but winning it is another story…
Posted in August…
DON’T SLEEP ON: Mickael Pietrus
“If anyone wants one of those retro Warriors jerseys with “The CITY†on the front and “PIETRUS†on the back, just let me know. I bought it a few years ago fully expecting the “French Michael Jordan†to have a breakout season. While Pietrus flashed plenty of potential as a Warrior, he never really achieved the breakout season that I expected. But fear not Magic fans, because the 26-year old is about to enter his prime. His career stats are very mediocre, but when MP gets consistent minutes and plays with confidence, he can fill up the stat sheet and be a difference maker on both ends of the floor.”
http://www.rotoevil.com/nba/team-preview-magic
Well, Pietrus didn’t put up the regular season numbers that I expected due to A) injuries and B) Courtney Lee’s surprisingly solid play as a rookie, but my boy is stepping up big time when it matters most.
His defense on LeBron has been about as good as it gets, and in his last 10 playoff games, he’s made 15 treys while shooting 52% from the field. Right now the Magic and Lakers are up, and you don’t need to look further than Pietrus and Ariza for the reason why. It pays to have long, athletic forwards who can play superb D and make outside shots.
As for the Cavs, I realize that Delonte’s defense is important, but is he really that effective when he’s forced to play 45 minutes every game? There’s some dude at the end of the bench named Daniel Gibson who played pretty damn well in last year’s playoffs, but he seems to be in coach Brown’s doghouse.
Lebron is in trouble! its raining 3s in Orlando… down 1-3 and still figuring out how to stop those 3s… I dont think they can win this series, they would have been swept if Lebron missed that 3 pointer from game 3… time to move out Lebron?
Yeah man, the Cavs are in serious trouble. Before the series started, I was much more confident in Mike Brown’s coaching abilities compared to Stan Van’s, but now my opinion has reversed.
I doubted the Cavs LAST season because I didn’t think Brown was a good coach, but when the Cavs got to the Eastern Finals last year and then steamrolled thru the regular season I assumed that he was better than I thought. But he’s making so many questionable decisions in this series.
For starters, why do his players continue to collapse on defense and swarm players when they drive to the basket, when the Magic CLEARLY want them to do that so they can kick it out to their shooters spotting up? I mean, when a team continues to drain threes left and right on you, you expect the coach to say something and make some changes. Yet it’s happening over and over again.
Also, after Game 3 I brought up Daniel Gibson and questioned why he wasn’t getting a chance to play. What do you know? Boobie gets 21 minutes in game 4 and hits a couple of threes. But that’s beside the point. As Barkley said during halftime, you can’t just move players in and out of the rotation like that. Does Brown really think it’s a good idea to barely play a guy for 8 straight games and then suddenly put him back into the rotation?
And then there’s the issue of giving up dunks to Dwight Howard. How does Ben Wallace commit just 1 foul? As a guy that opposing teams like to foul, he of all people should know that his job is to send Dwight to the line. If he’s not willing to do it, then send in Joe Smith or Darnell Jackson. Actually, the guy I’d like to see mixing it up is JJ Hickson, but he’s another guy the Cavs left off their playoff roster.
Again, why the hell is Tarence Kinsey on their active roster when he basically brings the same things to the table that Gibson and Wally do? But I digress… I don’t really care if the Cavs lose.
As for them moving out LeBron… you mean TRADE the freakin Mayor of Cleveland? No way it’s gonna happen. Even if they’re 90% sure that LeBron is going to leave, I don’t think they’ll trade him. That’s like waving a white flag. If LeBron leaves via free agency, then they can blame it on him going after the fame and fortune or whatever. But if they attempt to trade him.. how do they explain that to their fans? I mean, if I was a Cleveland fan and I was 99% sure LeBron was going to bail, I would still cross my fingers for that 1% to magically work out. Know what I mean?
I didnt mean the Cleveland will be trading him, what I mean is Lebron deciding to leave Cleveland… (sorry was in a hurry typing at office hehehe…)
back to the series… I think Rashard being able to hit 3s makes it very hard to guard Dwight inside… how much more if Jameer is still playing…
How about that Denver meltdown to start the 4th last night? Ouch!! That series is now LA’s to lose. I can’t believe what’s happening in this Cavs series. I don’t remember too many people projecting Orlando to win this one. Cavs have to win three straight with two of the games being at home. Not like they’ve never done it before. Gotta do a better job closing out on the shooters and like you said PUT DWIGHT ON THE LINE!! He’s shooting FTs well by his standards but he’s likely in for a correction sooner or later. Make him earn those points! The Magic are one tough team when the threeball is going in. They shot 45% on 38 threes last game, no wonder they got the win!!
Anyone watching this? It’s halftime and the Cavs pissed away what looked to be a sure-fire victory. Cleveland can’t stop these guys!! Only reason I’m rooting for the Cavs is because of my preseason bet. As a fan I’d love to see Bron go fishing.
Somehow I slept thru the ENTIRE game and woke up to hear Kenny and Charles talking about LeBron’s ridiculous 4th quarter. I’m going to watch it on DVR right now.
Picked Bron-Bron last night in the Drive to the Finals game, but I’m still just in 94th place. However, I have big-game Billups going tonight…
I was wondering if you would pick Bron last night. Kilgore Trout passed me with my Ariza goof the other night. Who do you have left?
I hope you can win it E!
Thanks man. After using Billups tonight, I’ll have:
CLE: Varejao, Gibson
DEN: JR, K-Mart, Birdman
ORL: Turkoglu, Alston, Lee, Pietrus
LAL: Kobe, Odom, Fisher
Not sure how that compares to others on the leaderboard. For awhile I was tracking that but I gave up. I’m hoping we get three Game 7’s so people have to dig deep.
E, who are you leaning towards for Game one for Drive to the finals?
I’m leaning towards Odom for game 1, but I also like Fisher and Ariza.
Currently in 77th place. What about you?
Im going with D Fish for Game 1. I think he will have an all around good game (total 20 fantasy points)…
Jameer Nelson is gonna play! If he can be even remotely effective, it’s going to give Orlando a huge boost. I’m picking the Lakers in 7, but it won’t be easy.
Even before the blowout
I had the Lakers in 5 max, and would not be surprised if they swept the Magic.
My main reason is the Magic NEED to hit 3’s, spread the floor, and run, to get Dwight going. Even when Dwight got his 40, they hit 12 threes. And looking at the Cav’s: 6′0 Mo Williams, 6′3 Delonte West closing out on the three point shooters, compared to the Lakers: 6′8 Ariza, 6′10 Odom, 6′7 Kobe, plus the Lakers can afford to play Dwight 1 on 1 in the post with Bynum, Gasol, and even Mbenga. The Lakers with the triangle are a very organized offense compared to the “give the ball to LeBron – have him stare down Pietrus for 20 secs and shoot the jumper” offense the Cavs had, which was easy to run on. The Lakers just have to look a few years back on what Detroit did to them. Shut down Kobe, let Shaq get his, game-set-championship. Shut down Lewis/Hedo (which, although i LOVE Delonte, the Lakers match up better to) and let Dwight use all ONE post moves he knows. Pietrus and Lee are GOOD defenders (not even close to Battier/Artest however) but LeBron did his damage, and Kobe can not only slash (which he’s only been doing the last 3 games counting today) but hit the jumpshot and post up (two things LeBron can’t do, fundamentals man c’mon!)
I believe it was Bill Simmons who pointed out the previous Big Men Orlando (Dwight) has faced. Dalembert, Ratliff, Perkins, Scalabrine, Big Z, Andy, and Big Ben. It’s easy to play help defense against those guys. You have to pay attention to Bynum (as seen in the first 3 mins where he had 2 dunks) and Gasol will outwit Howard (taking the charge, and the versatility of his game)
Part of the blow out can be excused away by the “finals shock” but the Lakers give matchup problems in the same way Orlando gave Cleveland problems. Unless Rashard puts on 40 pounds or they play Gortat and Dwight together, the Lakers are Longer and Quicker (its impossible to be Stronger with Dwight on the team)
After today, are you still set on Lakers in 7?
Yeah, Lakers in 5 seems more likely now, but one reason I picked 7 is because I knew the majority were saying 6 or 5 and I like being different. The fact that I didn’t expound on that means I wasn’t really “set” on it. I just threw it out there.
I didn’t see the beginning last night. Gonna watch it on DVR today. Of course the Lakers are much longer than the Cavs, and that’s a major plus for them. Being able to win the rebound battle is essential for the Magic.
I would really like to see Gortat and Howard play together more often in this series. Besides making them bigger in the frontcourt, that would move Turkoglu over to shooting guard (with Lewis at the 3), which would force Kobe to guard Hedo or a PG. Kobe was unreal last night, but not having to work hard on the other end (as pointed out by JVG) helps him a lot.
E,
Can you crank out Dwight Howards FG% or eFG% without dunks?
Thanks.
Over/Under 43%
Im gonna say under which is a huge gamble. Considering his fg% is very high and most his shots are very close to the rim.
I was surprised that Orlando brought Nelson back considering they were seemingly peaking as a team. Jameer looked good when he first entered the game, but the boxscore shows that Orlando PGs shot 5-18 and that Nelson has a -19 +/- in 23 minutes. PG is supposedly one of the major advantages for the Magic and I question the logic of bringing back a guy who hasn’t played since Feb. 2.
It’s hard to take much from a blowout like this, but early in the 4th quarter Kobe had 15 field goals. The Magic had 19. Kobe was out of his mind in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and it’s unlikely that he can keep up that level of play, but Lee looked too small/slow and Kobe didn’t look stoppable. If they can’t force Kobe to become a jump shooter this series is over. Check out his shot chart, only 3 of his 16 made field goals were from beyond 15 feet! He’ll score 40 every game if he’s getting that many looks inside the free throw line.
It’s probably fair to give Orlando another game and explain that one away as NBA Finals gitters combined with an incredible Kobe performance, but based on what we just saw I can’t say I’d be terribly shocked if the Magic were 0-8 in NBA Finals games by the end of next week.
I don’t know where to post this, but I feel like you need to see this, E!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2eFdO7H7cU
Haha, great video. Byron Scott could have passed for a rapper back then, but Worthy had the most style!
This is why I dislike Kobe “Bitch” Bryant. Everyone on the Lakers is scared of him. He makes a mistake and no one says anything, but if anyone turns the ball over or takes a diffcult shot he shuns them. He COMPLETELY RODE Andrew Bynum last night in the game 3 loss. I’m not trying to say he should give him a hug, but you dont get into a teamates face unless you can back it up with your own examples/actions. Let your hall of fame coach with 9 rings do the coaching… Kobe is so arrogant. He has an awesome/incredible mid range jumpshot and is a very very good player, but I can’t say he’s great because he doesnt make the players around him better like the greats do/did.
If you were to have watched Kobe “grow up” over the past 13 years, you would of have seen how mature his game has become. I agree with E, that Kobe IS definitely helping his teammates grow, mature and ultimately be better basketball players. This statement could not have been said as early as last year. The biggest piece of evidence is how he performed in the Olympics and the difference he (and Kidd) made. Look at how Melo’s game has evolved since the summer. Defense was never part of his game until that summer, and Kobe and Kidd had ALOT to do with it. Not only is Kobe “very very good” but he is great. Avoiding all MJ and LeBron comparisions, Kobe is hands down great.
Its sad what living in the media capital of the world can do to one’s repuation. Look at what happened to Kobe after an alleged “sexual harassment” case –that held no weight once it went to court. Compare it to DWade and all of his surrounding allegations, openly cheating on his now ex-wife, yet no one is talking about them, ESPN isn’t doing a “Inside” report on Wade. In my opinion its because the average age of Florida is 65, compared to Hollywood, people live for this kind of drama.
When did he get in Bynum’s face? I must have missed that (I fast-forwarded thru some of it). Bynum is definitely one of those guys that needs positive reinforcement, but I disagree with your overall opinion of Kobe. Over the past few years, it seems like he’s become a much better teammate, and even if he’s not the most encouraging, he certainly makes guys better by giving advice on what to look out for and such. I still don’t like the guy, but if he wasn’t arrogant, he wouldn’t be Kobe Bryant.
Anyway, game 3 was fun. What bothered me most about game 2 was how JJ Redick played so many minutes in crunch time. He made 1 three (out of 6 attempts), 1 layup (after driving and dishing 5 times in a row), and maybe 1 defensive stop, but about 8 mistakes and turnovers. JJ is like a poor man’s Eddie House, and if his shot isn’t falling, he has no business playing in crunch time during an NBA Finals game.
So what happens in game 3? Redick doesn’t play at all. Thank goodness.
HUGE games for Rafer and Pietrus. I would love to watch a video of Alston’s former And1 teammates watching this game. I’m sure a few of them are still friends with Rafer and support him, but you know that most of those guys are serious HATERS. They’re envious that Skip was the only one of them to make it in the league, and during games (especially big ones), I bet they talk isht about him the whole time.
If Courtney Lee had just made that layup, this series would be very different right now.
Drive to the Finals update:
38th place overall with 1384 points. The top 18 teams have over 1400 points, so the grand prize appears to be out of reach. However, a Top 25 finish is still possible, especially if this series goes to a 6th game.
For game 5, I’m deciding between Alston and Pietrus. Much like Rafer, I thought it was bullshit that Jameer Nelson played the entire 4th quarter and overtime in game 4 while Alston rode the pine. Again, Stan has mishandled the PG minutes. Will he make up for it by giving Alston more minutes in game 5 (and will Rafer respond?), or will he spite Skip for calling him out and give Jameer more PT? If it’s the latter, then Pietrus is the safer pick.
Want to see how close I came to winning $25K?
-On 4/27 I picked Horford (7 points). I had considered Millsap (24 points). I would have gained +17 points.
-On 5/19 I picked Bynum (12 points) and on 5/25 I picked Carmelo (23 points). If I had reversed those picks, Melo had 49 points on 5/19 and Bynum had 19 points on 5/25. I would have gained +33 points.
If I had made those simple changes, I would currently be in 1st place overall with 1434 points.
daaaam SO CLOSE!@