2008/2009 NBA Season Thread - Page 2

heLL pAso, Yes the Heat were NBA champs in 2006. To paraphrase Sarah Palin...Dallas was simply not Mavericky enough against D-Wade, his caddySHAQ, ZO, and Jason Williams his one healthy season in Miami.

Awesome win by Houston in Dallas. I loved that Adelman left Alston and T-mac on the bench, basically forcing the team to learn to win with a reserve squad...and I think our reserve squad could probably get a 4th seed in the East.

I loved Brooks. Brooks is going to be a legit point guard. He was quick, made some great passes, and could blow passed the Dallas defense for easy lay ups. I did not love seeing Artest running the point with Brooks out there during the fourth, but he only made one bad shot in that stretch, so no real complaints yet...until doing it loses us a game.

You mean the Heat were given the title in 06 with Wade's 20 trips to the line per game.

TheCynic, No...Dwayne Wade led his team to the title by way of his well deserved...MVP performance. D-Wade is the only player taken in the 2003 draft currently with a NBA Championship ring. Miami won because Dirk Nowitski and the Mavericks failed to perform in the clutch even with a 2-0 Dallas lead. Miami won the next 4 games in a row, winning the NBA title in 6 games.

Right. Cause every time Wade got breathed on, he shot 2.

TheCynic, D-Wade got fouled because he is fearless driving to the hoop and he consistantly dared Dallas to stop him without fouling. The problem with Dallas is they couldn't do that, so they lost.

According to the Finals refs, you're right.

Fleed, what do you want from this guy? He's a cynic.

I keed, I keed.

D-Wade went to the line because he was aggressive. If Dirk never played like a total bitch in the Finals, afraid to attack the basket, while settling for jumpers, the Mavs would have swept the Heat. It's funny how all Mavs fans forget the countless times Dirk went to the line throughout the playoffs. Fucking hypocrites.

Devildoubt, A Cynic...?No he is...TheCynic!, likely the King Of All Cynics!!!

Even by Knicks standards, the MSG soap opera has started strongly this year. I'm surprised by just how stone cold and ruthless D'Antoni has been with Marbury. Yes, clearly Marbs has been, perenially, a poisonous locker room presence, but -whether sincere or not- he made all the right noises coming into this season and I didn't expect to see him languishing on the bench for two straight games.


While I sort of admire D'Antoni's hard line commitment to his system of play, he's playing a dangerous game here. He cussed out the Garden's pro-Marbury contingent in the first game of the season, and a few more losses like last night's deafeat to Philadelphia is likely to see the more fickle anti-Marbury folk switching sides.

Ricardo Brady, Stephon has been MarBURYED. He has been deactivated...not only out of uniform...off the Knick bench entirely. Eddy doesn't CURRY favor with D'Antoni either, he also rides the bench.Just think...the pro-Marbury Knick fans will be replaced by fans of new players that the team will add in future drafts...as well as young players currently on the roster like 2nd yr PF Wilson Chandler, Rookie PF Danillo Gallinari, 3rd year SG Nate Robinson, and vets like PG Chris Duhon an unselfish PG a pass first/shoot later kind of player that D'Antoni craves.

Well, that's certainly what the Knicks / D'Antoni seem to be gambling on, and fair enough. They have to get rid of Marbury altogether though, be it via a trade or a buyout. If the Knicks get into losing ways, nobody's going to accept that they've got $21 million dollars worth of healthy and extremely talented basketball player in street clothes.

Looks like Iverson is coming to Detroit and Billups and McDyess are going to Denver. Such mixed feelings, Iverson better fucking deliver!

Got a link James? I saw a quick mention of that last night, but nothing solid. I'm kind of confused as to why Detroit would make the move. Clearing space for 2010 while being competitive? The East is much stronger, and losing 2 big pieces can't be good.

Denver on the other hand. Wow, a legit distributor PG that can make clutch shots (I think Billups is a little overrated, but he does deliver when needed) and an inside defense presence. They could sneak into a 7th seed in the West.

Its been coming in as breaking news on ESPN, I can't find any links yet.


Chauncey is probably past his prime and the Pistons desperately need to freshen up the starting 5, but I have little faith in Iverson. Time will tell if they are just opening up the position for Rodney Stuckey.

Edit: Heres the link

Wow. That's an interesting trade for both teams.

Poor McDyess can't escape. He keeps ending up back in Denver!

I'm pumped to see Iverson run the Pistons show.

According to Ball Don't Lie McDyess may retire instead of accepting the trade.

Boy, I bet Billups can't wait to join up with that defensive beast known as Denver.

Wow. Presuming this comes off, Iverson -with his blue collar style of ball- is going to be God In Detroit, if only until he jumps ship at the end of the season.

Detroit is going to have a monster cap opening at the end of this season, with Iverson and Wallace's contracts coming up. I'd like to point out that D Wade, L-Bron and Chris Bosh will all be on the market.

They aren't on the market until 2010, but 2009 has a decent crop as well. Dumars could easily grab a nice 2009 free agent (possibly Marion?) and then have a nice big chunk of cap room for 2010. Rip has an option for 2011, and Dumars could package him in a sign and trade as well.

As for the 2010 class of free agents, I don't see Bosh moving. He's said publicly that he wants to end his career where he begins, as long as management is trying to improve the team. Colangelo is building a great team in Toronto, and Bosh is a god (as godly as a non-hockey player can be) in Toronto.

I'm stoked about Aaron as well. I read an article that stated from some inside Rockets source that one day, during practice, Aaron just all of the sudden "got it" and started playing PG the way the Rockets were asking him. The guy has all the talent in the world to be a great PG.

The game tonight against the Celtics will be telling. They ended our 22 game streak last season and were total dicks in the preseason game this year, so we have plenty of incentive to come out guns blazing. However, teams that play like the Celtics, that is to say highly physical and/or athletic, tend to give the Rockets the most trouble (see the Grizzlies this preseason and in season opener). So it will be interesting to see how we deal with that. Luckily this team is so deep Adelman ought to be able to field a lineup that can deal with just about any style of play.

But if we get knocked out in the first round by Utah again, I'll join you in jumping off the Astrodome. God I fucking hate the Jazz.

Tonight's game is going to be great. I think there's definitely some bad blood boiling between the Rockets and Celtics going back to last year when Rondo tried to get into it with Rafer. I'm not so worried about playing physical teams anymore. In the past it was always tough, but now we have some legit physical players, as well as enforcers.

Who on the Celtics is going to try and pull some shit on Rafer with Artest back there? Did you see how quick he jumped in during the Dallas game. I think Adelman is fine with Artest getting some technical fouls, because in the long run the league is going to figure out "We can't push around the Rockets or Ron will rip our throats out."

Plus, we have Scola and Landry (and soon again Battier). Those guys don't let easy shit come into the paint. Garnett will not like playing us tonight. My only worry is if T-Mac continues to be banged up, how will his defense slide. I would rather he concentrate on defense (he's a really good defender, and not given enough credit there) and only worry about scoring when we need him to. If T-Mac scores 20 points a game, hell even 15, we are fine, as long as he is spending the energy holding the Paul Pierces, Rip Hamiltons, etc to the same 15. Our team is just that deep.

While I agree that Tracy is an underrated defender, I don't think the results would be good if he concentrated mostly on defense. If we really just wanted that, Shane Battier would be a better option when he is healthy. I think McGrady is fine in the role he plays now, just in smaller doses and in situations where it is warranted. Tracy is a great distributor and scorer when he has the drive and health. If he only played about 30 minutes a game and just saved his strength for the 4th quarter, I think he could be very effective in finishing games out for us. But he can't sustain defensive intensity or offensive intensity for very long (plus his knee seems to really have slowed him down this season).

Eric Cordo, The more I see G Mario Chalmers play...the more I want to see him become the starting PG of The Heat. Michael Beasly and Udonis Haslem along with the best player of the 2003 draft class...D-Wade, Miami should become at least a playoff team by 2010. I think they still need to tinker a bit with the roster...subtract Shawn Marion and add a solid replacement through free agency. The only player I would like to see more of is Dorell Wright. I remember when Pat Riley was convinced he would be a building block type of player.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3702897

Suspending Steve Nash and not T-Bag for this shit is one of the stupidest things I have seen in a sport known for rampant stupidity. Stu Jackson is an epic clown. Idiotic.

So Cuban, a guy who treats six figure fines like they're parking tickets, is being charged with securities fraud on some stock information that saved him 750 grand? If the allegations are true... not smart.

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/...tions-details-

Evidently the confidential conversation involved a 'PIPE' offering (hehe). Cuban became angry as PIPE offerings are, evidently, shady. He dumped the shares, which is a no-no because he had -SECRET INFORMATION-.

Fucking Christ. You got Henry Paulson doling out billions to his buddies, and the SEC is digging up some incidental shit from four years ago. Quality work, guys.

No T-Mac for three goddamn weeks. I wouldn't be so worried if Battier could play back to backs yet, but he won't be allowed to until after T-Mac comes back. I'm going to say this is a blessing in disguise, and gives the team time to gel. As long as Luther Head isn't starting in his place. Von Wafer has been fantastic when given playing time, I want to see him out there.

Carmello had 33 points in the third quarter last night. 33 points in a single fucking quarter! Impressive.

Anyone else read Ball Don't Lie? If you don't I suggest you check it out. It's the Yahoo basketball blog ran by JE Skeets (The Basketball Jones), and it's damn good, even if a little light on content compared to other sporting blogs. Their daily videocast (is that right?) goes up around 11CST, and is always entertaining.

Ron Artest sort of called out T-Mac the other night after the Hawks game. Artest had a great game playing hurt. When asked how long he would be able to keep playing with his hurt leg, Artest said something to the effect of "I'll keep doing my best until T-Mac comes back. Then maybe I can get some rest." Yeah, Artest is gutting it out and being effective on 2 torn tendons (ligaments?) while McGrady has a "sore knee" and will miss 3 weeks.

Keep that bitch accountable, Ron, you crazy-as-a-shithouse-rat motherfucker you.

Any comments on the J-Rich trade to the Suns? Is there anyone out there that can tell me a thing or two about him?

About J-Rich? Loves to shoot 3's, and at a high percentage (40+). Can explode when need be, but a solid 20 point a night contribution to the Suns line up. Can play solid perimeter defense. Suns definitely got the best out of that deal, but I still don't see it making a huge change in their attitude.

My Blazers just beat Boston, and we didn't even have Roy playing.
It's a good, proud night.

Dear Daryl Morey,

Tell T-mac to sit his ass in a training room until he can play at 100% and commits to driving into the lane. Also, have him come out and publicly state that his ridiculous All-Star vote total is indeed ridiculous, and endorse Brandon Roy and Chris Paul.

If T-Mac does not comply, leave him alone with Ron-Ron. Then trade him.

Thanks,
Houston

Why the fuck is that annoying bastard Vitale calling an NBA game? ESPN is such a cesspool for any decent sports coverage. The worst part is they keep stroking Lil' Dickie V's ego showing clips of NBA players fawning over him and saying how these players are worldwide stars, All Stars, millionaires, and they all want to talk to Dickie V.

No, they want face time on ESPN to better increase their national coverage and marketability. Most of these guys spent maybe one year in college, and likely barely know who that old yelling insane bald guy is.

Re: Rockets v Boston-- I'm not sure what the hell Rivers thought he was doing last night by taking the one guy actually shooting (Pruitt) out of the game for a guy who couldn't hit a shot if he was aiming for the fucking Atlantic (House). Why put House on the court if he's not hitting shots?

That aside this 2-6 slump is probably necessary, as the C's need to address their glaring weaknesses (in particular depth of the bench). Eye-openers are a good thing, so long as they take the opportunity to actually do something about their flaws.

It's not like this is how the rest of the season will go, though, so the current C's slump is kind of made worse by the instinctual doom and gloom preaching of most Boston sports writers/fans.

Glad to see the Rockets finally win a game against a tough opponent, but I already can't stand seeing some writers this morning calling Houston a "great team" for beating the Celtics. I also read that the Rockets are great "despite T-Mac sitting out."

Actually, we're playing better because he is sitting out. He's not healthy, and only hurts us when he plays. Give Von Wafer those minutes, and watch him blossom

As for the Celtics, they need a shooter bad. They have Pierce (who is more of a slasher really) and Ray Allen, but not much after that. Memphis release Shaun Livingston, and though he was known more for creating than jump shots, I think Boston should give him a look. They have nothing to lose, and he's a better back up PG than Eddie House any day of the week.

They're doing some kind of announcer swap where their NBA guys call college games and their college guys call NBA games.

That's just dumb, and Vitale explained exactly why it was dumb at the end of the game.

"I'll be honest with you, I haven't watched many NBA games in several years."

Then why in the FUCK are you in the analyst seat? The only analysis provided all game was "You're crazy if you don't think Lebron is the greatest player in the history of the world omg look at his pecs and those biceps." Then he negated even THAT by saying he doesn't even watch the fucking sport he's calling. All you're doing is screaming like a 12 year old. When JR Smith dunked at the end he went off on his "Dippsy doo dunkaroo" bit, but it was literally about 15 or so made up baby talk words long. Pissed me off to no end.

I would love to hear someone like Jeff Van Gundy just go off on Dick Vitale during a game sometime (if they were on the same broadcast). I mean just rip him to shreds over his ridiculous schtick.

It was nice of the Rockets to show up last night and end this losing streak, but if they continue to play down to the level of competition then this is going to be a lonnnng season.

And, oddly enough, I think having Ron Artest on the team this year is sort of hurting the Rockets, but not in any way I would have EVER expected. I think his devotion to the game and his hard work ethic have effected TMac, but only marginally. Were this years past and McGrady was as hampered as he is right now with injuries, Tracy would have just shut it down for a month or two and come back when he could contribute. But he sees Artest out there, gutting it out through injuries and actually being PRODUCTIVE despite his restrictions and McGrady wants a piece of that publicity. So he goes out there when he isn't 100%, or really even 75%. The end result is a guy who looks like he is dogging it most of the game, but is really just hurt. Word to the wise, Tracy. No one is going to laud your toughness for playing through injury if you can't help the team while you're doing it. If a journeyman like Von Wafer can outperform you right now, you need to just shut it down until you can be of real help.

If the C's don't go for Marbury, Livingston is a good pick. I'm in the minority here (I think), but the C's don't have any game-based reason not to go for Marbury. If anything, money's the only definite con to picking him up, and he'd be a great back-up PG.

But PG and shooting aside, the C's real problem is that they have absolutely no size on their bench. What they need is someone who can come off the bench and stand with the Ilgauskas, Howards, Gasols, and Wallaces of the NBA.