Official 2012-2013 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Slew Foot]

As long as the Lakers lose and their idiot fans and homer Commissioner shut up, all is good

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Just checked espn.com. Looks like Heat is all but crowned champs this year now.

That's what they said the year Dirk made Lebron and Wade his Bitches.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

OKC really missed the boat on the Harden deal. Even if Westbrook went down they'd still have enough with the beard and Durant to win against SA. Now it's anybodies series.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

OKC really missed the boat on the Harden deal. Even if Westbrook went down they'd still have enough with the beard and Durant to win against SA. Now it's anybodies series.

I was pretty sure San Antonio was going to take it last year, only for them to collapse after a 2-0 start. If they can stay healthy and face an OKC team less Westbrook and Harden? It's their series to lose. That said, they're going to have a tough out in either Denver or Golden State; I think they'll win either series, but it won't be a sweep, which means less rest for an aging team. If they're hit with an injury to a key player, Miami really has no credible threat.

 

[HendrixFan]

There's no timetable for a return, and apparently the doctors say he "maybe" able to play in the playoffs when he recovers.

Depends on the severity of the tear, but given that he was playing on it (at an elite level) and walking on it for a few days I would guess that it is the less serious kind.

I'm still hoping Rose will come back and take the Bulls to the new level. Although I do believe they can get pretty far this year even without him.

I'm becoming more and more puzzled by his absence as time passes.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/4/24/4257684/derrick-rose-injury-return-chicago-bulls-nba-playoffs-2013

It has been nearly two months since he has been cleared to play. Reports of his work in practice are that he looks 100%, and he is seen dunking off of his left leg and shooting of his left leg during pregame warmups. That isn't good enough for 5-10 minutes a game during this series to get him back into the motions? From there if he doesn't experience pain then 15-20 minutes in the next series could happen.

OKC really missed the boat on the Harden deal. Even if Westbrook went down they'd still have enough with the beard and Durant to win against SA. Now it's anybodies series.

I would have picked Durant, Ibaka and Harden over Durant, Ibaka and Westbrook easily. Why OKC decided Westbrook had more value than Harden is baffling. You can find PGs who shoot 40% on high volume and turn the ball over at an incredible rate pretty easily. Harden gets teammates involved and actually helps a team run offense. He is/was more of a PG than Westbrook could ever be. And he has more size.

Either way, I don't think OKC loses too much with Westbrook out. He is guaranteed to blow a game by himself if a series goes to 6 or 7 games. Without Westbrook the Thunder can go back to playing offense, and I mean real offense, like they did after losing the first two against the Spurs in last years' WCF. The Spurs couldn't stop the Thunder when they were busy passing the ball, and Westbrook is THE BIGGEST reason the Thunder go away from that.

 

[Vdubchaos]

It has been nearly two months since he has been cleared to play. Reports of his work in practice are that he looks 100%, and he is seen dunking off of his left leg and shooting of his left leg during pregame warmups. That isn't good enough for 5-10 minutes a game during this series to get him back into the motions? From there if he doesn't experience pain then 15-20 minutes in the next series could happen.

It needs to happen FAST. It will take time for him to be 100% game ready.....

Also Not only Bulls, NBA NEEDS Rose!!!

 

[HendrixFan]

It needs to happen FAST. It will take time for him to be 100% game ready.....

Also Not only Bulls, NBA NEEDS Rose!!!

He has been cleared for practice for four months and cleared for game play for two. Why he isn't out there trying 5 to 10 minutes a game against second teamers is absolutely incomprehensible. He was one of my favorite players, now I question him and I don't like it.

 

[Vdubchaos]

He has been cleared for practice for four months and cleared for game play for two. Why he isn't out there trying 5 to 10 minutes a game against second teamers is absolutely incomprehensible. He was one of my favorite players, now I question him and I don't like it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Adidas wants to make a big show out of the whole thing....or NBA.

I think he is a great person.....and trust his instincts. I'm SURE there is a GOOD reason.

besides, Bulls don't really need him JUST YET. I just hope he doesn't bank of being 100% the day he returns.....

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I don't disagree, their chances of going anywhere in the playoffs were pretty low, even with Kobe.

the only story I remember hearing about the Lakers prior to the playoffs is that it was potential bad news for the Spurs because the Lakers were supposed to match up favorably against them, but that was it...ie the Lakers could potentially play the spoiler, but that's it.

That's what they said the year Dirk made Lebron and Wade his Bitches.

Not quite, I remember plenty of analysts commenting that the Heat didn't have the team chemistry quite worked out yet (ie it was still more Wade's team that year than LeBron's), not everyone thought as highly of the heat back then. Since then things are quite different; its clearly LeBron's team now, and if anything they've also upgraded their roster.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Not quite, I remember plenty of analysts commenting that the Heat didn't have the team chemistry quite worked out yet (ie it was still more Wade's team that year than LeBron's), not everyone thought as highly of the heat back then. Since then things are quite different; its clearly LeBron's team now, and if anything they've also upgraded their roster.

I really REALLY wish Wade would go to the Bulls and show Lebron and his arrogance/ego a big FU.

Besides, it's his home town..it's where he belongs!

I'm not a big heat fan at all (quite the opposite) but I still think Heat is Wades team.....and always will be.

I also don't think Wade enjoys playing in Lebron's shadow. Especially since James' arrogance is thru the roof at this point....

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I really REALLY wish Wade would go to the Bulls and show Lebron and his arrogance/ego a big FU.

Besides, it's his home town..it's where he belongs!

I'm not a big heat fan at all (quite the opposite) but I still think Heat is Wades team.....and always will be.

I also don't think Wade enjoys playing in Lebron's shadow. Especially since James' arrogance is thru the roof at this point....

I don't understand this attitude at all. I get not liking the Heat. But I don't understand this idea that LeBron is arrogant. He always comes across as being a great student of the game, being humble, being interested in getting his teammates involved, taking responsibility for failure as well as success... And, let's not forget, he's the best player since Michael Jordan, and it isn't even close. You're allowed to be arrogant when you're head and shoulders above everyone else. Kobe is arrogant, and we're fine with it because he's had a long career of demonstrable success. Brandon Jennings is arrogant and we scoff because he hasn't done anything yet. LeBron has earned the right to be arrogant, and yet he's one of the more humble players in the league. So, honestly, what are you on about?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I don't understand this attitude at all. I get not liking the Heat. But I don't understand this idea that LeBron is arrogant. He always comes across as being a great student of the game, being humble, being interested in getting his teammates involved, taking responsibility for failure as well as success... And, let's not forget, he's the best player since Michael Jordan, and it isn't even close. You're allowed to be arrogant when you're head and shoulders above everyone else. Kobe is arrogant, and we're fine with it because he's had a long career of demonstrable success. Brandon Jennings is arrogant and we scoff because he hasn't done anything yet. LeBron has earned the right to be arrogant, and yet he's one of the more humble players in the league. So, honestly, what are you on about?

Prime Kobe > Lebron
Not even close IMO.
Prime Jordan> all

 

[Vdubchaos]

Prime Kobe > Lebron
Not even close IMO.
Prime Jordan> all

Agreed

And yeah, the guy that goes by the name of "the king" is not arrogant AT ALL.

Quite humble

:biggrin:

 

[Blackjack200]

Agreed

And yeah, the guy that goes by the name of "the king" is not arrogant AT ALL.

Quite humble

:biggrin:

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Prime Kobe > Lebron
Not even close IMO.
Prime Jordan> all

I agree about Jordan (let's face it, everybody does). But prime Kobe never matched the production you're getting from LeBron the last couple years. Kobe was an otherworldly scorer, but he did it on 45% shooting; LeBron's up to 56% this year. LeBron leads across the board in stats; rebounding, assists, blocks, steals. Kobe's a great on-the-ball defender; LeBron is great on and off the ball. Kobe is amazing in the clutch, but even in his best scoring "only great player on a mediocre team" years, he kept getting bounced from the playoffs in the first round. The same year Kobe dropped possibly his best statistical line (31.6 ppg, 5.4 ast, 5.7 reb), he got ousted in 5 games by Phoenix in Round 1; LeBron put the Cavs (the CAVS!!!) on his back and led them to the NBA Finals. Sure, they got swept, but he had just as much help as Kobe did. And he's only gotten better since then.

So, yeah, I disagree.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Agreed

And yeah, the guy that goes by the name of "the king" is not arrogant AT ALL.

Quite humble

:biggrin:

So your entire argument that LeBron is arrogant stems from a nickname he got as a teenager? I'll grant you that LeBron has shown some amazing displays of arrogance, but a lot of that happened when he was basically a child. As he's grown more mature, all of that nonsense has faded away. Kobe's still acting as though he's basically the coach of the Lakers (which I'm totally fine with, by the way; Kobe's entertaining as hell). The NBA is a league driven by arrogance; LeBron is remarkably humble by the standards set by virtually everyone else.

 

[Blackjack200]

In all seriousness, in my opinion, to say that Lebron is "not even close" to Kobe is asinine. Not just in my opinion, but in the opinion of this professional sportswriter who seems to feel that Lebron is already beyond Kobe and has a chance to rival Jordan by the end of his career.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20130304/lebron-james-michael-jordan-all-around-great/

To sum it up, his list goes like this:

1. Jordan
2. LeBron
3. Magic
4. Robertson
5. Bird
6. Kobe
7. West
8. Pippen
9. Havlicek
10. Drexler
11. Kidd
12. Pierce

(Note: He only included players whose game he thought was comparable to LeBron's in some way, so Kidd is in there because they are both superb passers.)

Of course, if anyone has a link to a professional sportswriter that thinks that LeBron is "not even close" to Kobe, I'd be happy to read the article.

 

[dougp]

Wonder why Gervin isn't on that list ...

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Wonder why Gervin isn't on that list ...

Elite scorer who never passed the ball, doesn't really fit the theme of people with the same type of game as LeBron.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

In all seriousness, in my opinion, to say that Lebron is "not even close" to Kobe is asinine. Not just in my opinion, but in the opinion of this professional sportswriter who seems to feel that Lebron is already beyond Kobe and has a chance to rival Jordan by the end of his career.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20130304/lebron-james-michael-jordan-all-around-great/

To sum it up, his list goes like this:

1. Jordan
2. LeBron
3. Magic
4. Robertson
5. Bird
6. Kobe
7. West
8. Pippen
9. Havlicek
10. Drexler
11. Kidd
12. Pierce

(Note: He only included players whose game he thought was comparable to LeBron's in some way, so Kidd is in there because they are both superb passers.)

Of course, if anyone has a link to a professional sportswriter that thinks that LeBron is "not even close" to Kobe, I'd be happy to read the article.

That's a ridiculously stupid list. I'd have Duncan and Dirk in the top 10. Surely ahead of Pippen and Pierce.

As far as Kobe vs Lebron I put much more value in clutch play than I do stats. Also Kobe's will to win was off the charts. I just can't put Lebron on that level until I see him become clutch like all the greats have been. I truly believe Lebron is benefiting tremendously just from the insane amount of talent on the heat. In all honesty I could probably carve out a few points a game playing on the heat and I suck. When the chips have been down Lebron has folded like a cheap lawn chair.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

That's a ridiculously stupid list. I'd have Duncan and Dirk in the top 10. Surely ahead of Pippen and Pierce.

He was apparently only including people with a game comparable to LeBron's, hence the lack of any true bigs (Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Hakeem, Duncan, Garnett, Malone, etc). It's a silly list regardless.

 

[dougp]

Elite scorer who never passed the ball, doesn't really fit the theme of people with the same type of game as LeBron.

2.8 assists is never passing the ball? For a SG, that's not terrible ... and he shot 51%. Pierce wasn't much higher than that.

 

[preslove]

Without Westbrook, I don't know if OKC makes it through the Clippers/Grizzlies.

the only story I remember hearing about the Lakers prior to the playoffs is that it was potential bad news for the Spurs because the Lakers were supposed to match up favorably against them, but that was it...ie the Lakers could potentially play the spoiler, but that's it.


Not quite, I remember plenty of analysts commenting that the Heat didn't have the team chemistry quite worked out yet (ie it was still more Wade's team that year than LeBron's), not everyone thought as highly of the heat back then. Since then things are quite different; its clearly LeBron's team now, and if anything they've also upgraded their roster.

They're roster is much better. They have Ray Allen, shane battier, Udonis Haslem is 100%.

I'll be pretty surprised if Miami doesn't win this year. The question is whether they can the year after, with all the luxury taxes.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

2.8 assists is never passing the ball? For a SG, that's not terrible ... and he shot 51%. Pierce wasn't much higher than that.

Carmelo Anthony averages more assists than that and he's pretty much the definition of a chucker. I wouldn't have put Pierce on that list myself, although I'm not sure who you put in his place. Dr. J? Elgin Baylor? Worthy? Cousy? None of them really played a similar style to LeBron. Pierce just kinda gets the nod by default.

 

[preslove]

That's a ridiculously stupid list. I'd have Duncan and Dirk in the top 10. Surely ahead of Pippen and Pierce.

As far as Kobe vs Lebron I put much more value in clutch play than I do stats. Also Kobe's will to win was off the charts. I just can't put Lebron on that level until I see him become clutch like all the greats have been. I truly believe Lebron is benefiting tremendously just from the insane amount of talent on the heat. In all honesty I could probably carve out a few points a game playing on the heat and I suck. When the chips have been down Lebron has folded like a cheap lawn chair.

Sincerely writing that, while trying to say Kobe is SO MUCH BETTER than Lebron demonstrates, rather succinctly, how much of a moron you truly are. Shaq was arguably more important to the first three championships than kobe, you mouth-breathing mongoloid. And those teams were stocked with talented role players. The latter kobe championship rosters had two great big men that would have started at center by themselves on any other team.