NBA Playoffs discussion
April 17, 2008
The playoffs are here! Come inside to discuss…
This year’s playoffs are shaping up to be one of the most exciting of all-time.
I hope y’all are strapped in and ready to go!
OK, I’ve changed this post and will simply update the photo (along w/ video in sidebar) as the playoffs go on and add my comments whenever I see fit. So feel free to comment on anything and everything in regards to the Playoffs.
Barbosa in game 2: 0-7 FG, 0 points, horrible defense, -18 while on floor
Thanks a lot LB!
I don’t remember the last time I was soooo frustrated… the main reason - It seems I made a BIG mistake by picking Phoenix and Dallas but watching these teams ZERO effort on defense irritates me tremendously… it’s kind of watching the all-star game… it’s terrible!!!… Chris Paul is very very good but come on… these stats are ridiculous!!!
We’ll see how Dallas plays tonight…their defense has been piss poor thus far for sure. I think Kidd is going to have a monster game at home.
Very impressive win by Houston. Nice to see Skip to My Lou back and in charge. I hope all those streetballers are watching and taking notice rather than being jealous haters.
Carl Landry is awesome. Before last year’s draft, I remember “scouting” him as a potential 2nd round pick for the Warriors, but the Rockets swooped him up. It’s too bad, cuz GS still needs a player who can bang like that. It doesn’t surprise me that all these young, athletic, beefy, power forwards are playing significant minutes for playoff teams:
Jason Maxiell, Paul Millsap, Carl Landry, Brandon Bass, Leon Powe, Andray Blatche…where’s Ronny Turiaf been?
All of those guys were 2nd round picks except for Maxiell (25th overall in ‘05), but all have excelled and been invaluable to their current teams. When will GM’s learn? Despite dominating the college game, most of those guys fell because they were considered “undersized” power forwards. However, in my mind, they’ve proven that they can make up for it with the right blend of power and athleticism.
I did not watch the game in Utah last night (we can plug here the usual complaining from a person leaving on the east coast) and was kind of surprised this morning!?
I absolutely agree… I really like Landry and I don’t know why Adelman doesn’t give him more minutes… After the Yao injury he was a very popular pick but everybody dropped him seeing his 10-15 mpg… the 4 games before last night he had 8, 11, 10 and 12 mpg and Hayes had 26,16,23 and 23… last night it was the opposite 23 minutes for Landry and 16 minutes for Hayes… I simply think Landry is the better player… not only he is 3 inches taller but he is also more athletic…
after watching the Spurs crushed the Suns, I am now betting my money on them for the western conference title… I believe no one in the current season can stop parker…
and yeah, I would love to see the Sixers win the series against Detriot… they have checked Igoudala (double team everytime) but the rest of the team stepped up! can the Sixers sustain this? I don’t know, but I am sure Detriot will shot the ball a lot better next game… interesting series isnt it? hehehe….
I can’t believe the Suns are going out like this. At the same time, it validates my initial reaction to the trade, which was that the negatives of losing Marion were going to outweigh Shaq’s positives.
http://www.rotoevil.com/nba/shaq-for-shawn-marion
Giving Gordan Giricek major minutes is a joke and he’s obviously not helping much, so they may as well give DJ Strawberry a shot. He can’t shoot it like Giricek, but at least he’ll play D and give them some more athleticism and energy.
One of my favorite things about this year’s playoffs is how we get to hear excerpts from the coaches’ pre-game and halftime speeches (and get to see the HUGE difference between the home and away team locker rooms!).
I just wish I had witnessed a Flip Saunders speech before, because I never would have put $ on the Pistons. Flip is wack! It’s not even WHAT the coaches say so much as their demeanor when saying it and how the players react (or in the Pistons case, NO reaction). Certain guys are just way too positive when you can tell how worried they are (Flip, Karl), while others simply exude confidence and energy (Byron Scott).
I give Mo Cheeks a lot of credit because Philly is playing their asses off. Andre Miller is showing why I chose him as my #1 guy deserving of more props, the youngsters Thad Young and Lou Williams are playing great, and Reggie Evans is ballin outta control! Where did Reggie’s offense come from???
check out the Hawks! series is now tied!
Although I haven’t watched game 4 (which I will definitely be watching tonight), it seems that bibby and j smoosh! are the missing links on game 1 and 2… also one thing I noticed on game 3 the hawks push the ball whenever there is a chance to counter the half court defense of the celtics…
j smoosh and johnson are heating up… can’t wait for game 5!
Does KG deserve a suspension?… maybe no or maybe yes… but my underdogs lover’s heart says yes, yes, yes!
To be more specific… does “slight” pushing/shoving a referee deserve a bigger penalty than a bench player simply stepping 2-3 feet on the court and never getting in the melee… I believe the answer is YES!… there is another rhetorical question - why all these things have to mess with the game… but that is the reality?!
Crazy.
Mike D’Antoni is not returning to coach the Suns next season! He says that he and Steve Kerr aren’t on the same page, so I imagine more changes are ahead for Phoenix. Even if most if the players are the same, we could see a completely different Suns team next year.
Thoughts?
I like Mike D as a head coach, and from 7 Seconds, it seems like the rest of the coaching staff complements each other and works well together. I imagine at least 1 or 2 will follow Mike to his next destination.
NOW what do you do if you’re the Suns? Shaq is 36, Hill is 35, Nash is 34, and Bell is 31. The improvement of DJ Strawberry and Alando Tucker is going to be key because they don’t have enough money to land a top free agent. Obviously Amare & Diaw is a nice power combo going forward, but I think they need a tall shooter to complement them. Perhaps they should draft Ryan Anderson?
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ryan-Anderson-1150/
I thought I like D’Antoni too… but after I read his words “I am not here to develop players”… in my mind he is no longer among the good guys… how come a coach can say something like this?!… I believe one of the most important tasks for EVERY coach in EVERY sport (it doesn’t matter college, high school or professional) is to develop players…
Particularly in these series he made so many mistakes so I am having no problems with his departure…
I totally agree with you when you say that the development of EVERY player (as well) in every sport at every level is important. Everyone deserves the necessary attention for improvement, but there’s a fine line, especially at the Pro level.
You can’t spend all your time developing young talent if you want to win now. And obviously, the playoffs aren’t the time to bump up a rookies minutes. As I said above, I thought Gordan Giricek playing major minutes was a joke.
In 80 total minutes, Giricek shot 6-18 from the field (1-4 on threes) for 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. In 80 minutes! Gordan is definitely not in there for his defense, but if that’s all the offense he can give you, then why is he even playing?
That’s why I wanted to see Strawberry in there. But if D’ Antoni didn’t feel comfortable putting the rookie in, then it’s hard to second guess him. Of course it would have been nice to see him play more minutes in the regular season (so maybe coach would have trusted him by now), but at what expense? There is no room for error in the West. If you give rookies too much time to let them play thru their mistakes and learn, that could result in a loss, which could be the difference between the #1 seed or #4 seed or the playoffs and the lottery.
Don Nelson at one point said he questioned his decision to play Brandan Wright extended periods for certain games. He thought that resulted in a couple of losses, and who knows, maybe it did. Some fans (myself included) would have preferred to see MORE minutes for the long lanky forward, but it’s hard to question a coach in cases like this.
Striving for success in the NOW and present time while thinking about your future long-term prospects is one of my favorite things about sports. It’s a delicate balance.
In the NBA, I believe the Pistons have done a better job at this than anyone else. Their backup unit of Stuckey, Afflalo, Hayes (and Herrmann!), Maxiell, and Amir is young and talented. The Pistons have kept their veteran core intact and have been able to win in the East for a long time, but at the same time they’ve continued to bring in top talent at every position.
The advantage of being in the East is that they are able to play their young guys and still win. So three years from now, I know the Pistons are still going to be a top 5 team in the East (there are few teams in the West that you can say that about). But Joe Dumars deserves a lot of credit for this (I still think Flip needs to go), because it’s not an easy thing to do!
I don’t think D’Antoni meant the playoffs… as you suggested he could play DJ during the season… definitely at the pro level it is slightly different but when you say something so extreme (he didn’t even mention the “fine line” you are talking about… or something similar) I don’t see any reason to try defending him… in fact if I am a GM I will think twice before hiring him… OK - everybody wants to win a championship but what about the medium and long term goals for this organization…
Talking about the coaches… Everybody is praising Popovich… the best coach blah blah blah… I am sure I am not the only one who really hates this hack-a-shaq thing… it is so STUPID… if I were D’Antoni (especially in the 5th game after trailing by 3-1) I will immediately do the same with Bowen… you want to ruin the game let’s ruin it together…
I also agree with Nash that this hack-a-shaq thing disrupts the rhythm… that doesn’t mean there it is an excuse to turn the ball 5 times during the game and twice in a row in the last minute…
What do you think of the Avery firing in Dallas? Who should they get to coach and what other changes can you see coming?
In my opinion, Avery is the perfect candidate for the Chicago job. Lots of youth to develop, and Avery is known for getting the most out of players. He has some questionable in-game calls, but overall I think he develops players well and this is what the Bulls need. Well, that and a decent PG.
“An NBA source said D’Antoni is first on Dallas’ wish list to replace Johnson.”
I don’t see Mike going to Dallas. The rumors of him going to Chicago make more sense to me. I would love to see Gordon, Deng, Thomas & Noah running & gunnin. Of course, Hinrich is the big question mark in that scenario. I bet D’Antoni is up to the challenge tho.
Tough break for Avery, but he won’t have trouble finding a new job. No clue what Dallas is going to do. Josh Howard took a big step backwards this season. I don’t like the makeup of their roster. Not even the talent so much as their age (too many old guys) and personalities (kinda boring?).
Perhaps the Celtics aren’t as unbeatable as many thought. Go Hawks! (now I see why so many people jumped on the Warriors bandwagon last year).
Big props to Houston for accomplishing everything they did this season. All of their players and coaches deserve a lot of credit. What’s strange tho is that I still don’t like the T-Mac/ Yao duo. With the exception of Mutombo & Hayes, all of their key pieces are under contract for next season, so I don’t see them making any major changes.
But they still haven’t gotten past the 1st round! What does this team need to take the next step?
Awesome 1st half for the Detroit - Orlando series. This is gonna be a WAR.
ALL of the frontcourt battles are fierce. Barkley is saying that Rashard Lewis is going to be huge if Prince guards Hedo. I think he CAN be but that’s no guarantee. Detroit is going to try to bully Rashard and Turk around. They better, because they D-Ho will be doing the same back. Flip Saunders is going to have to prove his coaching ability here on defense.
On offense, it should be the Chauncey Billups show. He hasn’t been his dominant self for extended periods yet in the Playoffs, but I see it coming. Jameer Nelson looks ready to go, but I don’t think he can hang.
Did y’all see Keyon dooling try to jam that ball home HARD? Pound for pound, Keyon is a crazy athlete.
well on the 2nd half the Pistons defense is just too much for Orlando… I also wanna point out how effective the 2nd unit of Detriot…
the biggest upset is comin up in a few hrs… GO HAWKS!!!
Detroit’s bench has been solid all season long, but the guy who hadn’t played much but looked GREAT in game 1 was Theo Ratliff. It was great to see the veteran “leather-slapper” provide quality minutes. It looks like he may have just moved ahead of Amir Johnson in the rotation and should be helpful not only against the Man-Beast, but KG & Perkins in the next round if they face Boston.
So whatsup people? I want to hear who y’all think/want to meet up in the Finals. The Lakers are the favorites in the West, but I haven’t picked them all season long so I’m not going to start now. I’m putting underdog money on Utah and would love to see New Orleans go all the way. In the East, I’m still pulling for Detroit.
Lakers / Cavs baby talk about star studded. I think NO will get by San Antonio but will be beat up by the time they play the lake show. In 5 playoff games Kobe has not really exerted any energy so I think his legs are fresh. Lakers/Celtics is what alot of people are screaming for but I think if Cleveland can sneak one in Boston they can take the series. The Wiz series pumped up Lebron it’s like when you hit Bruce Lee and made him bleed.OK I’m READY NOW! Thank Dc for waking up the monster. I thought Orlando could beat D-Block but i forgot their 1 and 2 are horrible. No one can touch Billups or Hamilton defensively and they can throw too many people at Howard (dice,sheed,ratlif,maxiell) there only inside presence. Last i checked that’s 24 fouls oh yeah you have Walter and Amir (36 to 6) You get Howard in foul trouble and it’s a wrap. Unless Orlando hits 3’s like they did in Game 1 against the Raps i see them maybe taking one game. I think Pop and the Spurs are just resorting to dirty tactics to win and it’s lame. In WWF terms they have resorted to knocking out the ref and getting the chair lol. Evil E I think Detroit will make it to the finals also. Boston/Cavs is going to be a physical series and who ever walks out of that will be so beat up and have to play a physical Pistons good luck. I do think Delonte could hold up againt Chaunce defensively. As long as the Spurs don’t make I’m happy. Respect them but the hack a Chandler/Shaq is garbage. Oh Evil i remember you mentioning Chandler nickname since he is from the CPT how about TC Towers?
Haha, I love the Bruce Lee comparison! The Magic got a couple of tough breaks last night: the Billups three that shouldn’t have counted and that bogus foul call on Dooling at the end, but oh well. Rashard Lewis had a nice game scoring-wise, but the guy is too soft & lazy on D to have a large impact on the game, which is why everyone questioned Orlando for paying him $120+ million.
It’s nice to see Fabio Herrmann getting minutes because I think he deserves it and the Pistons might actually need a boost from him at some point. “Baby Eater” Maxiell is so nasty it’s not even funny…
Hornets! Not much to say about CP3 that hasn’t already been said. Yeah, I like TC Towers, but the guy I wanna talk about is Julian Wright. The rookie is really starting to show his versatility and athleticism. Consider the biggest strengths of some of the top forwards from the draft.
#8 B. Wright - length & athleticism
#9 Noah - hustle & defense
#12 T. Young - strength & athleticism
#14 Thornton - offensive repertoire
#13 Julian Wright is a mixture of ALL of those things. He’s already an impact player on D w/ the potential to be a stopper and he’s got a lot of skills & upside on offense. You can tell that he plays w/ a lot of passion & energy and it looks like he’ll be one of the top backup forwards next year.
Man, I wish the Warriors had gone after JULIAN instead of Brandan Wright!
Aside from the Billups three the Magic would have lost. Did you see the two possessions by Orlando under two minutes horrible. The Magic are still a little green another year of experience could help. Lewis and Turk were pretty wild and with Howard they had 17 turnovers. Detroit had 9 as a team. Also I think Keyon Dooling SUCKS since he was a Clipper. Aside from being a big point guard he brings Nothing to the table.
Julian Wright was a good pick under the radar. I like how Scott developed him you did not really hear his name until the playoffs. With the difference in number of games you see alot of rookies burn out but Scott has him playing good ball at the right time.
He deserved coach of the year.
Here is the million dollar question since we see how Chris Paul is just torching the league right now. Since you cannot hand check no more and rules have opened up the game for smaller players to domniate (i.e. Monta Ellis)
You have the number one pick who do you take?
Rose is looking more enticing now.
Also how about a summer moves section? I feel like Cuban is going to blow up the Mavs. I like Artest on Dallas and do you think Josh “Token” Howard would be a good fit on the Warriors?
denver was so stupid when they did not pickup artest when they had a chance…. yeah Howard can be a great addition for the Warriors but I still believe what they need is a legit center.
re spurs vs noh, how can the spurs even up the series? it so obvious what the noh is trying to do with the spurs offense - double team duncan, clogged the lanes for ginobli and parker and let bowen or finley take the shots! and the spurs guards sucks! they are shooting miserably… they did checked david west the last game but they forgot that cp3 can carry the team by himself… oh well maybe the “hack a chandler” thing was a good idea after all… hahaha…
about julian wright, I will be watching him next fantasy season, I just hope he will have more playing time from now on…
finals prediction - detriot vs lakers
I’m not sure if Julian will get enough minutes to be worth drafting next year, but if Peja gets hurt, he’ll have a lot of value.
I used to think Josh Howard was the isht, but now I’m not so sure. The guy is already 28 and I question how much more he’ll improve. His maturity level still lags behind and after shooting 42.9% 3P in ‘05-06, he shot just 31.9% this year. That being said, he’s still a special talent and Capt. Jack would be the perfect mentor for him.
Biedrins is a legit center, but he needs a beefy, athletic POWER forward to play alongside. Harrington is not the answer and neither B. Wright nor O’Bryant qualify as beefy. I would give up an arm and a leg to get Maxiell or Millsap, but gems like that are found in the draft. Draft Express currently projects Richard Hendrix to go #29 (to the Pistons no less), with Paul Millsap being his best-case comparison:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Richard-Hendrix-229/
Rich - I still haven’t seen enough of either Rose or Beasley. It depends who has the #1 pick I suppose. I don’t think Miami needs Rose since they already have Wade.
I certainly won’t say that the Spurs guards suck. In fact, I’m expecting Ginobili to have a BIG game 3. Mo-Pete’s defense has been surprisingly solid, but Manu is ready to explode.
Yeah, I agree that Denver should have gone after Artest. I heard they didn’t want to give up Kleiza. I like Linas too, but c’mon, landing Artest would have increased their chances of winning tenfold.
If Detroit can win tonight and start hammering that nail into the Magic, that will be HUGE for the next round. Carlos Boozer has got to step up!
I just don’t think one person can guard CP3. A 12/1 assist ratio is amazing and the fact they are a half court team I wonder what the Spurs can do. They are actually beating the Spurs in their own game. Yeah Manu probably drops 30 in game 3 and has a sleeping bag at the free throw line tonight.
After last night it’s hard to see the Cavs getting past Boston. I think Big Z can be a factor but when your a legit 7 you can’t settle for jumpers. How about Rondo this guy is awesome reminds me of Parker. Once he locks up his mid range game he is going to be great. I mean Boston drafted him for his defense and the offensive game will come.
Detroit has awoken they will take game 3 lose game 4 (free throw differential will probably be 40 Orlando to Detroits 20) and smash Orlando in game 5 (they rely on the 3 just a bit too much)
I like Biedrisniz but your right a beefcake at 4 will definitley help him out (he can rake up alot of weak side blocks) I felt bad not cause i’m a fantasy owner of him for the past few years but they never pass him the ball. All his points are garbage points or putbacks. And whever Nellie decides to shake things up he is always the odd man out GIVE THE MAN THE BALL.
evil - actually i am referring to bowen and finley… spurs will not win a game if this two guards keeps on missing their shots… a spurs fan and i really hope manu explode the next game but i dont think manu alone can bring his team to win the series…
thats why i dont like biedrins he’s too thin… he just create mismatches for the team and i think thats the reason why he is in/out of the game this season… adding a beefy 4 will just complement biedrins but not the whole team in my opinion.
Ahh, yeah Bowen & Finley need to knock down shots, but at least they can rely on Brent Barry still. Manu “has a sleeping bag at the free throw line.” HAHA.
Rondo’s physical tools are off the charts, but his scoring touch is awful. And I’m not just talking about his horrendous outside shooting. The guy can get into the lane easily at times, but he really struggles to finish at the rim. But yeah, those things can be improved, and if he does, he’ll be a top notch PG.
This Billups injury has me worried a bit. I tweaked my hammy once and it bothered me for a long time. That just means it’s time for Rodney Stuckey’s coming out party!
Also, I don’t think it’s a surprise that the league is going to review the use of replay for shot clock violations after what happened, but it’s nice to hear Stern say that the use of Hack-a-Shaq will be reviewed as well. Stern indicated he had a problem with “the idea that, ‘Hey, look at me, I’m going to hit this guy as soon as the ball goes into play, even though he’s standing under the other basket.’ I think that conversation has been started again, by the media, by fans etc. We’re going to look at it again.”
Damn - That was an awesome battle between Paul & Parker!
It was.
But that dunk article is looming. San Antonio’s mere double-digit dunks as a team for the season is showing in the post-season: I thought their experience would ride them through, but their lack of athleticism and their age (particularly Timmy D’s) is really showing.
But Timmy plays team ball. You can see he realizes he’s a half-step behind playoff tempo this year, and he’s making the necessary adjustments. Normally, he’ll feel someone out on the post. Not anymore. He’s gone back to college ball fundamentals: looking for the slasher if he doesn’t get a shot off in 2 seconds or less on the post, running on-ball screens above the elbow where’s he’s essentially out of scoring position, etc.
No ego. What a fucking leader. He’s a basketball God.
Problem is, Paul’s a basketball demon.
HOLY JEEBUS!
D’ Antoni has accepted the Knicks offer!!! I guess the dude wants a challenge, but what is he thinking?
hahaha… well lets see what will be his first move as a knicks coach…
damn… this playoff is really unpredictable… all series are even except for magic n pistons, which could have been the same though… it should have been a magic win, what a sorry lost… all the team have done a great job adjusting their game to counter their opponents strategy… and we see players stepin up for the team…
and speaking of adjustment… putting bowen on peja did work… and noh should start changing the way they double team duncan as bowen and finley are starting to hit their shots! and aside from that duncan is a good passer, the team’s ball rotation is superb!
go spurs! hehehe…
D’Antoni needs to go read Faustus, or something.
Damn, I know home court advantage becomes more important during the playoffs, but this year it’s ridiculous. It seems like nobody can win except at home.
I wonder if I’m right about that, though. Which playoff year saw the highest overall home winning percentage across all teams? Which saw the lowest?
yeah, this year playoff theme is like - “win one on road and you win the series”…
I’d like to give Robert Horry a shout out for setting a new NBA record: 238 career playoff games!!!
Talk about a winner… He’s made the playoffs in ALL 16 of his seasons and won 7 rings with 3 different teams. Statistically, his best season was ‘95-96. He only scored 12 points per game (a career-high) and shot just 41% from the field, but check out his other stats: 5.8 boards, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.5 blocks, 2.0 threes.
Nice job Bob (added video to sidebar).
ouch! those clutch 3s really hurts! nice vid…
Man, how awesome was that halftime conversation between KG & Bill Russell? Russell gave him the ultimate respect and you could tell how happy it made KG. I suddenly want KG to win it all (not that I didn’t before), and Bill thinks he’s going to get at least 2 rings.