Don't Ask Me Bout The NBA Playoffs

[RunawaySlave]

Haven't seen one game yet. Since I don't have cable anymore


Funny thing is...I don't seem to miss them that much. It's
almost as if basketball season.....just disappeared

 

[cranrab]

i'm sure somebody on here has a link to streaming games, if you ever regain your interest.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Being that I use Verizon, I actually have the capability to watch games online with ESPN360. Can watch them live or on rewind. Probably would too, if my rig was up to par. Have watched a few NBA games on my monitor, but it's not the same. For one thing, a simple glitch can ruin a fantastic moment, when you hear something before you see it. I hate that.


But it's like I said, I don't even miss them. In fact, I FORGOT the playoffs started. It wasn't until your comment about the Lakers being up 2-0 that I remembered

 

[RunawaySlave]

So today, I'm getting my first chance to watch the playoffs. Watching the Mets/Bravos game primarily. But each and every time I turn to ABC.....there's a commercial on. I'm talking 4 or 5 times too, not just once or twice

So on the 6th try, I finally see some basketball action. Within 10 seconds there's a phantom foul call on Ben Wallace (so Lebron doesn't get his 3rd foul or something), but the euro he supposedly fouled gets to LEGALLY use his off ARM to push Lebron off of him and get his shot off without getting blocked.

Then on the next time possession, I'm watching as Gilbert Arenas runs through the lane and falls down when somebody touches him. Then gets back up takes an off balance 25 footer....brick

I've seen enough. Back to baseball for me

 

[xfactor]

You just missed a BRIEF altercations between Stevenson and James. Stevenson gave LeBron a "flagrant" foul and they almost got into it...

LeBron then comes down and hits a 35 footer from the left wing.

The NBA ain't like it used to be as far as the physicality but this series is quite entertaining.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Don't really care about the physical-ness. I just want to see some good plays. Not just 1-on-1 bail out jumpers

I did see Lebron go to the hoop and dunk lefty. That was nice, but it still an INDIVIDUAL good play

and I'm damn sure tired of flops. Next muthafukka flops I wanna see him get stomped while he's down there

6'11" 260 Lb dudes should not be falling down backwards.

 

[cranrab]

You just missed a BRIEF altercations between Stevenson and James. Stevenson gave LeBron a "flagrant" foul and they almost got into it...

i'm glad you put that in quotes because it didn't merit a flagrant. not by a longshot. it was clear that deshaun stevenson DID have bad intentions (look how he wound up to deliver the shot), but he made a legit play on the ball too.

playoff basketball for the bitches who don't like it.

BTW, i'm @ the so-called journalists who can't seem to get to the bottom of the "bad blood" between those 2.

 

[cranrab]

and I'm damn sure tired of flops.

flopping is still as disgusting as it ever was.

but the new wrinkle that has been added this season is the HUGE INCREASE in "touch" fouls. literally. if an offensive player swings his arms through with the ball and the defender should happen to touch the arms, it is now a PF.

and dumb bastards have the nerve to claim this NBA is a better product.

 

[DiamondDeuce]

Oh shit they just said George Karl will be returning next year as coach.

 

[cranrab]

George Karl will be returning next year as coach.

then some people will (finally) be packing their bags.

because something's gotta give.

any of you noticed marcus camby's frustration since G2? that poor bastard wasn't getting any touches from his teammates. the only time he touched the ball was when he created the opportunity for himself (rebounds) or inbounds passing. so that dude has been BRINGING UP THE BALL himself so he can remember what the ball feels like.

 

[DiamondDeuce]

then some people will (finally) be packing their bags.

because something's gotta give.

any of you noticed marcus camby's frustration since G2? that poor bastard wasn't getting any touches from his teammates. the only time he touched the ball was when he created the opportunity for himself (rebounds) or inbounds passing. so that dude has been BRINGING UP THE BALL himself so he can remember what the ball feels like.

Well if he were smart... which is a stretch.
He would get rid of J.R. Smith...seems like that nigga caused Karl a lot of headaches. Try to work shit out with your 4 best players Mello, AI, Camby, KMART.

Bring in a VETERAN with a great work ethic and locker room prescence that the boys HAVE TO RESPECT. Bring Alonzo Mourning in as a player/coach.
That way he can school the other players on work ethic, playing with HEART, and playing fucking defense!!!

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Well if he were smart... which is a stretch.
He would get rid of J.R. Smith...seems like that nigga caused Karl a lot of headaches. Try to work shit out with your 4 best players Mello, AI, Camby, KMART.

Bring in a VETERAN with a great work ethic and locker room prescence that the boys HAVE TO RESPECT. Bring Alonzo Mourning in as a player/coach.
That way he can school the other players on work ethic, playing with HEART, and playing fucking defense!!!

Well if I were running the team, I would have gone after Kurt Thomas (who is doing good things in San Antonio.) and put him at the 3, moved K-Mart to SF and Melo to the 2. When Nene is in the game, move Camby to the 3. A.I. would run the point. Now you have a big enough squad to be in half court sets.

I wouldn't mind them bring in Zo either, but Camby still has to get moved to the 4. He a weak-side shot blocker and being a post defender does not work to his strengths.

 

[cranrab]

I would have gone after Kurt Thomas (who is doing good things in San Antonio.) and put him at the 3, moved K-Mart to SF and Melo to the 2. When Nene is in the game, move Camby to the 3. A.I. would run the point.

can you post that again? i'm having a difficult time with that configuration.

all the soap opera stuff aside, the origin of the nuggets' matchup problems with the fakers is lamar odom at SF. by putting kenyon martin on tobe, the nuggets aren't willing to gamble with carmelo anthony on lamar odom. result? matchup nightmares like allen iverson on vladimir radmanovic.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

can you post that again? i'm having a difficult time with that configuration.

all the soap opera stuff aside, the origin of the nuggets' matchup problems with the fakers is lamar odom at SF. by putting kenyon martin on tobe, the nuggets aren't willing to gamble with carmelo anthony on lamar odom. result? matchup nightmares like allen iverson on vladimir radmanovic.

PG-A.I.
SG-Melo
SF-K-Mart
PF-Camby (If KT is brought in he plays PF)
Center-Nene (If KT is brought in Camby plays C)

Now there is no match-up problem. But the issue is that Melo is getting bodied at the 3. Luke Walton should not have the numbers he is having.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Are you kidding?? Anthony would get SMOKED trying to play the 2! He can barely guard SFs! I would be more apt to play him at the 4 where he will have a quickness advantage over other PFs. He could actually hold his own in the paint against some bigs, but that would take some work on his part and he hasn't shown much of a work ethic

Melo is more of a SF/PF tweener than a SF/SG tweener. A good SG should be able to create his own shot once in awhile and Carmelo Anthony has shown, if nothing else, that he needs a good (meaning unselfish) PG to set him up for shots

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Are you kidding?? Anthony would get SMOKED trying to play the 2! He can barely guard SFs!

..and that my friend, is the problem. It comes down to Melo having to man up and take the challenge of guarding him on the perimeter. He also has to face up more and go off the dribble.

The thing is Kobe has to guard him as well. Kobe has gone on record as saying that guarding Melo is hard because of the size. I NEVER liked the whole cross match-up thing. Let dudes go in there and earn their check on defense.

This is why I think the league is bitch-made now. Remember when you didn't assign one man as a "defensive stopper" and everyone took pride in defense? Or "Sith Lord" Stern didn't change rules to protect Euros and certain other players that will remain nameless??

 

[cranrab]

The thing is Kobe has to guard him as well.

except for momentary switches, i haven't observed this occuring for any extended stretches.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

except for momentary switches, i haven't observed this occuring for any extended stretches.

What I'm saying is that if you move Melo to the 2, Kobe would have to guard him when he is on offense. Kobe doesn't like to guard/be guarded by physical players but Stern and his Gestapo wouldn't let it get too physical anyway. (hence the Stern/rule change jab I threw out.) I mean GOD forbid that playoff basketball get a little physical, right?

But Melo would have to take the challenge of guarding him when he has the ball.

 

[RunawaySlave]

That's true, Melo could play the Adrian Dantley, down low, post up all day. Even of the bigger off guards.

But I could not see him playing any kind of defense against a team like Golden State. A semi-quick guard like Davis becomes lightning fast with Anthony guarding him. And there are alot of backcourts in the league like that now. Toronto would be another team he'd have to sit down against.

I don't think he'd last a season playing SG. I mean, Lebron can't even do it and he handles the ball all the time

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

That's true, Melo could play the Adrian Dantley, down low, post up all day. Even of the bigger off guards.

But I could not see him playing any kind of defense against a team like Golden State. A semi-quick guard like Davis becomes lightning fast with Anthony guarding him. And there are alot of backcourts in the league like that now. Toronto would be another team he'd have to sit down against.

I don't think he'd last a season playing SG. I mean, Lebron can't even do it and he handles the ball all the time

Then you go back to having him at SF and Iverson at the 2. It's that simple. Karl is NOT adapting. Phil Jackson (or rather Tex Winter) makes the necessary adjustments to win. You don't have to go with this lineup all the time, just when it's necessary.

 

[RunawaySlave]

George Karl wasn't really brought in to win a title. You want a title, you don't hire a George Karl (or a Larry Brown). Karl was brought in to bring the Nuggets out of the doldrums there were in at the time. If you remember, they had all these high profile, high salary players, but had this incredibly stagnant offense (Leonard was out for the season and Greg Buckner was their best SG??). For whatever reasons, the coaches at the time couldn't get the offense started. So they brought in Karl.

I'm not fan of Karl (hardly), but I believe he's done was he was hired to do. Get the offense started and find somebody who could hit an outside shot.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

George Karl wasn't really brought in to win a title. You want a title, you don't hire a George Karl (or a Larry Brown). Karl was brought in to bring the Nuggets out of the doldrums there were in at the time. If you remember, they had all these high profile, high salary players, but had this incredibly stagnant offense (Leonard was out for the season and Greg Buckner was their best SG??). For whatever reasons, the coaches at the time couldn't get the offense started. So they brought in Karl.

I'm not fan of Karl (hardly), but I believe he's done was he was hired to do. Get the offense started and find somebody who could hit an outside shot.

And now the fans are hungry for a the Nuggets to get out of the first round and contend for a title. Karl's plays, while nice to look at, don't get the job done. What will most likely happen is that the team will start off with a losing streak and he will get fired. The fans in Denver want to bring in a new coach as soon as the season is over. They DEFINITELY do not want to lose Allen Iverson..

 

[cranrab]

Good Bye And Good Riddance To The Toronto Euros!

 

[DiamondDeuce]

And now the fans are hungry for a the Nuggets to get out of the first round and contend for a title. Karl's plays, while nice to look at, don't get the job done. What will most likely happen is that the team will start off with a losing streak and he will get fired. The fans in Denver want to bring in a new coach as soon as the season is over. They DEFINITELY do not want to lose Allen Iverson..

I can see that scenario happening.
But wouldn't they dump Karl only if they had a BETTER coach in the wings? Because the type of team that they have only a veteran coach with at least Finals experience would garner the respect of the current players.

Jeff Van Gundy
Hubie Brown
Lenny Wilkens
Avery Johnson might be available soon

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

..when the Nuggets got back in the game, who was guarding Kobe?

I believe it was Carmelo Anthony.

Why didn't Karl stay with that matchup?

'cause he's a moron.

When they made another run in the third..I believe they used a front line with Nene at Center and Camby at PF.

Why didn't Karl stay with that lineup?

'cause he's a moron.