Official 2012-2013 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Slew Foot]

I may have said this before, but you can bet that Stern/Silver are scheming to make sure the Lakers get Wiggins.

 

[lupi]

Miami amnesty miller, guess birdman used up the white player exemption.

 

[preslove]

Miami has a ton of good shooters. They need another rebound/post presence.

 

[Red Storm]

I may have said this before, but you can bet that Stern/Silver are scheming to make sure the Lakers get Wiggins.

Laughable.

 

[dougp]

Miami has a ton of good shooters. They need another rebound/post presence.

What was Miller's salary compared to Battier? Miller is not someone I'd amnesty ...

 

[darkewaffle]

The Nets will be nothing if not interesting this season. Curious to see if they can really mesh and looking forward to seeing a lot of the up and coming teams in the East develop.

 

[Red Storm]

What was Miller's salary compared to Battier? Miller is not someone I'd amnesty ...

I don't know his salary but according to Zach Lowe of Grantland, amnestying Miller saves the Heat $15M this season.

 

[preslove]

What was Miller's salary compared to Battier? Miller is not someone I'd amnesty ...

Battier makes over ~$2.5 million less and is a better defender.

 

[dougp]

I don't know his salary but according to Zach Lowe of Grantland, amnestying Miller saves the Heat $15M this season.

Looks like the Heat will continue to owe him $12.8mm over the next 2 years.

Battier makes over ~$2.5 million less and is a better defender.

It's hard to not be a better defender than Miller, but Battier is a shell of himself - I'd rather have Miller on the floor taking the shots. Without him, would they have two championships? Battier only showed up to 1 Finals game. Taking a gamble that Battier + Allen will be better than Miller is the likely gamble.

 

[HopJokey]

Looks like the Heat will continue to owe him $12.8mm over the next 2 years.



It's hard to not be a better defender than Miller, but Battier is a shell of himself - I'd rather have Miller on the floor taking the shots. Without him, would they have two championships? Battier only showed up to 1 Finals game. Taking a gamble that Battier + Allen will be better than Miller is the likely gamble.

Luxury tax savings though.

 

[dougp]

Luxury tax savings though.

I understand the move, I just think it was a bad decision. He's been "that guy" in the Finals for them for both championships, and Battier disappeared for 6 games this year. At this point, the only "reliable" 3pt shooter off the bench is Allen as Battier has arguably been streaky most of his career (still above average 3pt shot, but can go cold in a bad way.) This changes their small ball lineup, but who knows - Riley knows what he's doing.

 

[lupi]

miller going to Memphis, and the heat are still reigning champs.

 

[HendrixFan]

Teams that got better this offseason:

Rockets
Clippers
Bulls (simply Rose returning though they shit the bed with Boozer's amnesty)

All other potential playoff teams just got marginally better or worse. The Wizards can have a breakout year and make the playoffs. The Nets did not improve. I don't like their changes at all.

 

[dougp]

Teams that got better this offseason:

Rockets
Clippers
Bulls (simply Rose returning though they shit the bed with Boozer's amnesty)

All other potential playoff teams just got marginally better or worse. The Wizards can have a breakout year and make the playoffs. The Nets did not improve. I don't like their changes at all.

Rockets improved because of D12? Eh, Harden and D12 will co-exist as well as Kobe and D12 did. They'll make the playoffs, but the Rockets still lack perimeter defense and a scorer off the bench.

 

[HendrixFan]

Rockets improved because of D12? Eh, Harden and D12 will co-exist as well as Kobe and D12 did. They'll make the playoffs, but the Rockets still lack perimeter defense and a scorer off the bench.

Kobe can't play with anyone. He always always always always makes players worse that are around him. I'm no big Howard fan but Kobe's terrible style of play puts the shackles on anyone around him.

Harden's biggest strength is his ability to knife through the center of the lane. I've never seen another player get through that part of the lane like he does. It is incredible. Howard isn't a heady player so you don't see him coming in weakside very often. He crashes down the center of the lane. The two of them will put quite a bit of pressure on any defense.

What the Rockets lack in perimeter defense will be made up with interior defense. The Heat have such a good perimeter D that their complete lack of interior D is rendered irrelevant. The opposite can be true for the Rockets. Especially with Asik coming off the bench. I don't expect the Rockets to run past opposing teams' second unit, instead they will grind past them slowly.

Lin could be a second unit kind of scorer if he gets more consistent, and if not he might be a valuable trade chip in getting that kind of sixth man. The Rockets have picks stockpiled to help land that type of player that can put them ahead of the other teams out West. It isn't like OKC has any bench guy, nor does Memphis, nor does SA, who can come in and light things up. The Clippers are the only viable team that does in the West, but that is offset by how mediocre or unpredictable bad Griffin and Jordan can be.

 

[Blackjack200]

Teams that got better this offseason:

Rockets
Clippers
Bulls (simply Rose returning though they shit the bed with Boozer's amnesty)

All other potential playoff teams just got marginally better or worse. The Wizards can have a breakout year and make the playoffs. The Nets did not improve. I don't like their changes at all.

I'm no basketball expert, but how do you figure that adding Pierce and Garnett doesn't improve them? They may be old, but they're still good players.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Teams that got better this offseason:

Rockets
Clippers
Bulls (simply Rose returning though they shit the bed with Boozer's amnesty)

All other potential playoff teams just got marginally better or worse. The Wizards can have a breakout year and make the playoffs. The Nets did not improve. I don't like their changes at all.

Wait, Boozer is going away?

As a huge Bulls fan I want to say "thank you very much"

About a F'in time!!!!

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

But if Howard and Harden both like driving the center of the lane how does that help each others game? I think it would work if Howard would limit his offensive touches and concentrate on rebounding and defense. I really don't see these two being complimentary to each other offensively at least not like Howard and Dirk would have been. Hell I think a guy like Birdman would work better with Harden. Harden drives double comes and Birdman cuts to the rim from the weak side for the easy score.

 

[dougp]

Kobe can't play with anyone. He always always always always makes players worse that are around him. I'm no big Howard fan but Kobe's terrible style of play puts the shackles on anyone around him.

Harden's biggest strength is his ability to knife through the center of the lane. I've never seen another player get through that part of the lane like he does. It is incredible. Howard isn't a heady player so you don't see him coming in weakside very often. He crashes down the center of the lane. The two of them will put quite a bit of pressure on any defense.

What the Rockets lack in perimeter defense will be made up with interior defense. The Heat have such a good perimeter D that their complete lack of interior D is rendered irrelevant. The opposite can be true for the Rockets. Especially with Asik coming off the bench. I don't expect the Rockets to run past opposing teams' second unit, instead they will grind past them slowly.

Lin could be a second unit kind of scorer if he gets more consistent, and if not he might be a valuable trade chip in getting that kind of sixth man. The Rockets have picks stockpiled to help land that type of player that can put them ahead of the other teams out West. It isn't like OKC has any bench guy, nor does Memphis, nor does SA, who can come in and light things up. The Clippers are the only viable team that does in the West, but that is offset by how mediocre or unpredictable bad Griffin and Jordan can be.

Bellineli? And if Manu starts, Green is off the bench as well, so there's a scorer there. If Patty Mills could get some play time, his scoring off the bench is rather high as well.

I don't know a single "LEGIT" Rockets fan that likes the D12 pickup.

 

[Blackjack200]

I hope brokenvisage is enjoying this thread.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Bellineli? And if Manu starts, Green is off the bench as well, so there's a scorer there. If Patty Mills could get some play time, his scoring off the bench is rather high as well.

I don't know a single "LEGIT" Rockets fan that likes the D12 pickup.

I like Belineli over Neal any day. Much more versatile player should fit in nicely with a high IQ team like the spurs.

D12 is such a perplexing player. Physical specimen with a bird brain.

 

[Red Storm]

D12 is such a perplexing player. Physical specimen with a bird brain.

Yep. Simmons wrote a good article about it, said teams that could go after Dwight felt like they had to even if they necessarily didn't want to just because of the physical specimen he is.

 

[HendrixFan]

Wait, Boozer is going away?

As a huge Bulls fan I want to say "thank you very much"

About a F'in time!!!!

Sadly no. They shit the bed with his amnesty by passing on it.

 

[HendrixFan]

I'm no basketball expert, but how do you figure that adding Pierce and Garnett doesn't improve them? They may be old, but they're still good players.

Garnett is 87 years old. He can only play stretches at his peak form and is a severe injury risk. Pierce is a shell of his former self and glides on name only. Most troubling for the Nets will be integrating those two with DWill, Johnson and Lopez. If there is a group of players that doesn't fit together well it is these five. It seems like a bigger clustertuck than the Lakers last year. Mismatched parts galore. None of them are terribly efficient players either so unless they distort reality and manage to get more shots than are physically possible they won't be boosting each other. They will be sucking away shots from each other. Yet not really stressing a rotation defense.

The Nets embarrassed themselves last year in the playoffs. They were a superior team but still lost quickly to the Bulls. I predicted a fairly easy win in that series because I felt they could pick up their level of play in the playoffs (as teams ALWAYS do) much more than the Bulls could. They didn't. At all. In response they add three pieces of rotten fruit, well past their expiration, who will not be able to raise their game for two months of playoff basketball.

Then you throw in the idea that defense matters and all these guys are slow footed at their position and the Nets will be a sieve. Mark it. Teams will run right past them. They are a $170M train barreling out of control.

For the Spurs, Belineli can be an offensive punch for them but brings little to no defense to the table. Meanwhile everyone else on their aging roster is even older and will regress further. Whatever Belineli brings will be offset by dropoffs from the core guys. For all the Leonard talk during the Finals and him being ready to be a superstar, I don't see it. Let's see how he does when he isn't the third or fourth guy the defense is paying attention to before we start to critically evaluate his ceiling.

 

[lupi]

Greg Oden signed with Your NBA Champions.