Let's talk NBA

[bigpimpatl]

Who cares - basketball has turned from a team game into a bunch of guys playing for themselves. No interest.

pretty much this.

I'm not nearly as big an NBA fan as I was. I'm just not a fan of the 1v5 mentality and superstars planning years in advance where they want to play. It seems staged and fake.

I'm glad the new CBA addressed some of the competitive balance issues plaguing the league. And i'm still going to follow my team (orlando Magic) even though we will be rebuilding for the next 5 years. But I hope David Stern or whoever the next commissioner will be during the next labor negotiation will push for more competitive balance.

 

[dougp]

Lol, what are you so defensive about?

Let's just say that all my bans on AT come from NBA threads, in particular playoff ones that I start. I'm just saying that my tune isn't going to change so there's no point arguing with me about it.

 

[zerocool84]

Two years Spurs win the West but come up short. They're too old now to play all those playoff games and go all the way. Pop is one of the best coaches ever and makes no name scrubs play well but Timmy and Manu just are too old now and Parker can't carry the team himself.

 

[dougp]

Two years Spurs win the West but come up short. They're too old now to play all those playoff games and go all the way. Pop is one of the best coaches ever and makes no name scrubs play well but Timmy and Manu just are too old now and Parker can't carry the team himself.

Let's see what they can do with a legit backup PG (De Colo) - some potential depth at SF and post-offense as well. Who knows, I'm just along for the ride no matter how far they go. It'll be a good year, regardless.

 

[rchiu]

People are expecting them to play in the Finals or get knocked out by OKC. You honestly don't think they can at least play OKC in the playoffs?

Listen, their fit won't be that great because their entire starting lineup needs the ball but you can't deny their talent.

I find it hard to believe that they can't win more than 55 games at least with that kind of talent. They upgraded the PG and C spot. They added more bench depth.

I think 2nd seed for Lakers.

I don't get why people think their starting lineup needs the ball, they got the perfect mix, better than Miami, at least on paper.

You have all star (or arguably best player at their respective position) at Point, at scorer, at Center. Nash can distribute and score if he needs to. Kobe now doesn't have to have the ball in his hand at all time and take difficult last second shots, which was one of the problem last year. Howard will benefit when Kobe draws double team and bunch of passers/shooter in Nash, Kobe, Gasol, even world peace to create space. You have the perfect role player in Gasol, perfect enforcer/lock down guy in world peace. On paper, they have much more complete team compared to Miami with bunch of scorers. No real/great point, no real/good big (Bosh sucks, Gaso is a better rebounder, passer), their best player, Wade, Lebron, now Allen and Lewis are all scorers and really need ball in their hand.

Yes Lakers haven't play a game yet as a new team, but at least on paper, they are so complete they are scary. The only problem they have now is the bench, and coach, and time together as a team.

But I agree, OKC is a great team with lots of experience together as a team. It would be interesting to see who wins out in the West.

 

[djnsmith7]

The Lakers are going to be a very interesting team this season. I wonder how much Pau's role will change on offense. I don't think Dwight will want him in the paint when they're both on the court. Everyone knows Dwight owns the paint. With Dwight's back problems, he may not see a lot of playing time the first half of the season.

 

[Sureshot324]

I don't get why people think their starting lineup needs the ball, they got the perfect mix, better than Miami, at least on paper.

You have all star (or arguably best player at their respective position) at Point, at scorer, at Center. Nash can distribute and score if he needs to. Kobe now doesn't have to have the ball in his hand at all time and take difficult last second shots, which was one of the problem last year. Howard will benefit when Kobe draws double team and bunch of passers/shooter in Nash, Kobe, Gasol, even world peace to create space. You have the perfect role player in Gasol, perfect enforcer/lock down guy in world peace. On paper, they have much more complete team compared to Miami with bunch of scorers. No real/great point, no real/good big (Bosh sucks, Gaso is a better rebounder, passer), their best player, Wade, Lebron, now Allen and Lewis are all scorers and really need ball in their hand.

Yes Lakers haven't play a game yet as a new team, but at least on paper, they are so complete they are scary. The only problem they have now is the bench, and coach, and time together as a team.

But I agree, OKC is a great team with lots of experience together as a team. It would be interesting to see who wins out in the West.

Dwight Howard is a huge upgrade but I don't think Steve Nash is a good fit for this team. He does need to dominate the ball to play his game. They would be much better served by a defensive point guard who can knock down the open three. Playing in LA is going to be a waste of Nash's talents.

 

[Anubis]

my law and order reruns are going away in 2 weeks

 

[vi edit]

I dunno...the whole Kobe iso-ball thing might have been okay 5-10years ago when he was still young and explosive. But it's just not getting things done now. Injuries, age, more athletic defenders..ect. He needs more space.

Nash driving, Kobe sitting about 15-18 feet out, Howard on the low post and Gasol hanging out below the elbow at about 8 feet...talk about options and a defensive nightmare. Those are three guys that can command a double team and have three very unique spaces on the floor with one of the best (albeit old) distributers in the game.

It's similar to what Miami can do with the ball, except they are more post heavy instead of ranged shooting. And Nash is obviously a dime dropping upgrade over anyone short of Lebron on Miami.

Where I see LA being weak is transition game where that age will show up badly. They'll try and mitigate it with better finishes through passing and offensive rebounding.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Nash running the point will work on any team. Period. What player in the NBA doesn't like shooting wide open jumpers? Kobe is either going to get wide open shots or Nash is gonna hit him right on the money as Kobe makes his cut. That's not even mentioning the sick alley-oops that Nash is gonna get to Howard. Oh they're now playing Nash for the pass.. Bad move, Nash is drilling a 3 in your face.

The LA Lakers are your next NBA champs.

 

[Red Storm]

Speaking of freaking League Pass...

They always try to auto-renew me each year (as if they're some kinda porno site) so I canceled it. I bought a few weeks ago for the upcoming season but it never gave me the option to set my teams. What it did do was lock me into the teams I picked last year. NBA's support is the worst ever, in answer to my question they just linked me to the main league pass page and told me to buy it. Any ideas? Maybe cause it's the same account?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I also say Howard=Bynum. Bynum is a much better offensive player but Howard affects the game with sheer size and athleticism. I say it equals out.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I also say Howard=Bynum. Bynum is a much better offensive player but Howard affects the game with sheer size and athleticism. I say it equals out.

I'd say Bynum is better but only when he decides to play.

 

[Red Storm]

I'd say Bynum is better but only when he decides to play.

Howard is the better player by far when it comes to the two most important attributes of being a center: Defense and rebounding. When Bynum is being lazy or moody it's not even up for debate.

 

[thing1thing2]

The most interesting team to watch will be Lakers, mainly, cause no one really knows how they'll all gel together. I'm hoping that they do and give OKC and Heat a run for their money. I'm all for good games.

The other problem is DTV and TWC are still at it, from what I heard even with DTV's league pass, Lakers games will be blacked out. Hope they can get their act together before the reg. season starts.

 

[child of wonder]

Kevin Love broke his hand at workouts this morning and will be out 6-8 weeks.

GOD FUCKING DAMNIT.

 

[CPA]

Nuggets will be 2013 NBA Champions

/thread

 

[dougp]

Kevin Love broke his hand at workouts this morning and will be out 6-8 weeks.

GOD FUCKING DAMNIT.

And it matters why? The Timberpups weren't going anywhere - maybe this will be incentive to tank for them. Was it his shooting hand?

 

[child of wonder]

And it matters why? The Timberpups weren't going anywhere - maybe this will be incentive to tank for them. Was it his shooting hand?

Yes they were. They were going to visit the Spurs in the nursing home every Monday.

 

[HendrixFan]

Nash running the point will work on any team. Period. What player in the NBA doesn't like shooting wide open jumpers? Kobe is either going to get wide open shots or Nash is gonna hit him right on the money as Kobe makes his cut. That's not even mentioning the sick alley-oops that Nash is gonna get to Howard. Oh they're now playing Nash for the pass.. Bad move, Nash is drilling a 3 in your face.

The LA Lakers are your next NBA champs.

It can work, but I don't know if it will work. Nash is clearly the key to making everything fit together well, even at his age. He never relied on athleticism so age diminishing his physical skillset doesn't really apply.

The big question mark is Kobe. He will have to be option number three on this team for the Lakers to do well. I don't know that he will accept that role, or even the role of number two. If Kobe isn't onboard, or if the Lakers feature him, they are toast.

Defensively I have questions about whether or not they can get stops when they need to. Howard is an upgrade over Bynum defensively, though probably not to the extent most would think. Kobe is a year older and another year slower, his defensive prime has long since passed him by. Nash was always a sieve defensively, and the Lakers have always (at least for 10+ years) struggled to stop opposing wing guys. Nash does not help in that regard.

If you rewatch any of the game from the last two years of Lakers playoff elimination series you will see a terrible, awful, useless wing defense that gets eaten alive. The bigs protecting the basket safety net they were supposed to have was of no use when their wing stoppers were so poor.

Mike Brown can coach D, but does he have the pieces he needs?

 

[HendrixFan]

Speaking of freaking League Pass...

They always try to auto-renew me each year (as if they're some kinda porno site) so I canceled it. I bought a few weeks ago for the upcoming season but it never gave me the option to set my teams. What it did do was lock me into the teams I picked last year. NBA's support is the worst ever, in answer to my question they just linked me to the main league pass page and told me to buy it. Any ideas? Maybe cause it's the same account?

I've auto renewed a few years now and there is usually a gap between the renewal and when you get to pick your teams. I haven't picked yet.

 

[amdhunter]

This will be my first year following Basketball, as I had little interest in the sport until the very end of last season.

I am wondering who to root for, Brooklyn Nets or NY Knicks.

 

[edro]

Chicago is the only speed bump to another Miami championship.

 

[zerocool84]

This will be my first year following Basketball, as I had little interest in the sport until the very end of last season.

I am wondering who to root for, Brooklyn Nets or NY Knicks.

Nets

Only reason to root for the Knicks left to Houston.

 

[blamb425]

Chicago is the only speed bump to another Miami championship.

Boston still exists. And they are a much deeper team than last year.