(2011)-2012 NBA Season

[gblews]

No, Westbrook is just immature and wears his emotions on his sleeves waaaaaay too much. He'll get over the assist business quickly. He does need to grow up some. He tends to be the fly in the ointment, yes.

Yes, one of the little negative bi-products of all that youth. Notice, you don't see teams winning championships because of their youth.

The Lakers went through something similar back in the day -- a festering animosity between the team's two stars. The Lakers were able to win in spite of the problems between Shaq and Kobe. Part of the reason was because of the presence of a head coach who was able to get those two to put aside their personal feelings for the good of the team.

Perhaps these little incidents really are nothing and will eventually end (though every time I see Westbrook come down and pull up for a 3, two or three feet behind the arc without one pass, I wonder), or perhaps they are only just the beginning of a poisoned relationship between Westbrook and Durant. If the situation does get worse, eventually the question will then be; can the team win in spite of this problem. In order to to this however, the team will need a leader who can point the way despite dueling stars. The question right now is; does their head coach have what it takes to get the team to the Finals even if Westbrook continues to act out on court.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

It's not the beginning of a poisoned relationship. They were hugging it out the very next night. I'm sure they'll have bumps along the way. However, when the grind of having back to back to back games all season long hits next spring, youth and depth--the Thunder's second team is very, very good--will be a huge advantage to them. Does Scott Brooks have what it takes? Oh good grief, yes. I've been extremely impressed with the coaching and leadership of the Thunder organization. 3 years ago, the year they came from Seattle, they were horrific. Waaaaay below .500. A year later they made the playoffs. The year after, the conference finals. This year? Who knows? I'd say the organization knows what it's doing.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Well, da Bulls picked up from last year. Down 15 to Atlanta in the 3rd and winning by a couple.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Bulls are doing better than my Thunder. What a difference a new year makes. Westbrook played well but the rest of them su-u-uuuuucked tonight. Not nearly enough hustle and a terrible shooting night for Durant. Perhaps they started to believe their own press. No more games until Friday. Time to get back to basics. Man, they stunk up the joint against Portland tonight. No way to sugarcoat it. They need an ass chewing.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'm sure the Thunder will be just fine. Great teams can have shitty games any time, even against bad teams, but generally don't have more than one in a row.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Dwight Howard broke a record set by Wilt Chamberlain for most free throws in a game. Basically, Golden State decided to foul him in every single play. There's an ESPN article (you have to pay for) that argues, even with Howard's free throw shooting, intentionally fouling would let them be a more efficiently scoring team than almost any team in the league.

 

[gblews]

Dwight Howard broke a record set by Wilt Chamberlain for most free throws in a game. Basically, Golden State decided to foul him in every single play. There's an ESPN article (you have to pay for) that argues, even with Howard's free throw shooting, intentionally fouling would let them be a more efficiently scoring team than almost any team in the league.

I'm a little surprised that Mark Jackson would have resorted to the tactic. It usually doesn't work. Opposing teams used to do this to Shaq sometimes, most notably that clown, Don Nelson, when he was with Dallas. The Mavs almost never beat the Lakers back then. And Dwight, I believe, is a somewhat better free throw shooter than Shaq was.

The tactic also gets the team (that is fouling) in foul trouble so that every foul is a shooting foul that much sooner for other players who are, presumably, better free throw shooters than a Dwight or a Shaq.

In addition, it takes the fouling team out of what it does against all of the other teams in the league. The team is no longer practicing sound defensive tactics or even a defensive game plan since all they are doing is grabbing a guy when he gets the ball -- not a tactic a team wants to practice especially in games. All in all, it really is dumb.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ The Venus De Milo would be a somewhat better free throw shooter than Shaq was

 

[Alidar Jarok]

In the Warriors defense, their center wasn't in the game so they didn't have anyone to defend against him.

Generally, fourth quarter fouling is a little better because the stakes are higher.

 

[poundpuppy29]

I take it the NBA isn't very popular on this board I love the Celtics but I don't think they are going to win the championship this year

 

[Alidar Jarok]

They're certainly number four when it comes to American sports (although I think we have a large group of Canadians fueling Hockey comments).

Celtics are looking old. That's good for me because I want the Sixers to do well. You have any thoughts on what your GM said about trading your big three?

 

[gblews]

I take it the NBA isn't very popular on this board I love the Celtics but I don't think they are going to win the championship this year

I don't think there is a ghost of a chance they'll win the championship or even get to the Finals. They might not even make the playoffs.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I forgot to post this awesome dunk. Adre Iguodala from the Sixers-Pistons game:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xps791bZa1k[/yt]

 

[tomalak301]

I saw this last night and think it might be one of the greatest dunks I've ever seen. Really should follow Blake Griffin a lot more than I do.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpGJI2Njrg[/yt]

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Awesome. Love those Blake Griffin dunks.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, that one was pretty good.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think the Sixers may easily be the most underrated team in the league this season. They smoked the Bulls tonight 98-82.

 

[gblews]

I saw this last night and think it might be one of the greatest dunks I've ever seen.

Good lord... Sickest dunk I've seen since Mamba was a pup.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Not a big NBA fan.
But I heard about this this morning.
Mark Cuban Fined for criticizing officiating.

"Look, I haven't said a whole lot about the officiating in a long, long time, but I haven't seen it this bad in a long, long time," Cuban told ESPNDallas.com in the Mavericks' weight room after the loss. "Guys miss calls; that's part of the game. You're not always going to have a great crew. Officials have got to learn that's part of the game. "But these were officials that have been part of the league for years, and it was just off-the-charts bad. And, if no one ever says anything, nothing ever happens."

Seems more like an observation.
If I were him I'd appeal on 1st amendment rights.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The First Amendment only applies if the government is censoring speech, not the NBA.