malice
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Post by malice on Feb 22, 2013 0:00:26 GMT -5
Really rather disappointed my last rant didn't stir up a bit of action...
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MelbFORCE
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Post by MelbFORCE on Feb 22, 2013 6:06:30 GMT -5
Tbh if you're not a Laker lover then you're a hater...and its easy to poke fun at the situation right now if you're a hater...somewhat reminiscent of the Lakers 2003 when Shaq, Bryant, Malone and Payton failed to win a title together
Yeah those trades...you'd do it if you were in charge, Kobe is not getting any younger and they cant really afford to try to rebuild the slow way
Lots of finger pointing by fans everywhere...D'Antoni seems to have less success when he has ball dominant scorers (Melo, Kobe, Howard) and more success when he has more of a 5-pronged attack (ie. Suns mid-2000s).
I was predicting a poorer year for Gasol after an Olympic year...but the team has also hardly played together as a whole
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malice
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Post by malice on Feb 24, 2013 0:37:40 GMT -5
Tbh if you're not a Laker lover then you're a hater...and its easy to poke fun at the situation right now if you're a hater...somewhat reminiscent of the Lakers 2003 when Shaq, Bryant, Malone and Payton failed to win a title together I don't mind people hating on LA. It's... kind of a salute to their successes. But hate for the reasons that are there: don't make 'em up (which was my point earlier). That team had a 56-26 record, ripped through the Western Conference in the playoffs... before melting down vs the Pistons in the Finals. But for an injury to Malone, they could well have won. Testament to the franchise that this was considered a "failed season". Yeah those trades...you'd do it if you were in charge, Kobe is not getting any younger and they cant really afford to try to rebuild the slow way LA never really have built "the slow way" anyway... never needed to - and I doubt they will any time soon.
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ua
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Post by ua on Apr 22, 2013 8:27:27 GMT -5
Time for the obligatory playoff prediction post. We are one game in and so far the home teams are a perfect 8-0. Since writing on a phone is a pain in the butt, I will break this up into two posts at least.
1st round. Miami over Milwaukee Sweep. New York over Boston in 5. Brooklyn over Chicago in 6. Indiana over atl in 5.
OKC Over Houston in for. San Antonio over the Lakers in five. Denver over Golden State in seven. Clippers over Memphis in six.
Second round.
Miami over Brooklyn in six. Indiana over New York in 7. San Antonio overt Denver in five. OKc Over Clippers in six.
Conference finals. Miami over Indiana in 7. San Antonio over Oklahoma City in 6.
Championship. San Antonio over Miami in7.
I know I know I am a big homer. Everybody and their grandmother is picking Miami to win the championship, I thought I would be a little different just for the fun of it.
I am not forgetting how brutally the Spurs let me down last year in the playoffs, So I am aware that I am taking a big leap of faith that they actually fixed those problems.
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ua
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Post by ua on Apr 22, 2013 11:21:14 GMT -5
First-round. Some short random reasoning for why I picked the way I did.
The Lakers perceived advantage at big man is Nothing compared to the Spurs advantage at guard and small foreword. I feel cheated that Kobe can't play but those are the breaks. I will save the Laker defense Played with some more guts than I thought they were capable of in game 1.
Houston's defense is worse than I thought.
Memphis is a really good team, They were unlucky to draw the one team in the west that really has their number in the clippers.
Losing David Lee for the season is a killer for golden state. Even with Denver winning game one, I was going to pick Golden State to win the series If not for the loss of Lee.
I think all four top seeds in the East will advance. Not much to report there.
2nd round.
Brooklyn could be an interesting test for Miami. On paper they have advantages at center and pg. If Reggie Evans turns into a rebounding machine It could potentially take some steam out of Miami's transition game.
Not really sure why I like Indiana to beat New York. Mello Is awesome but I think Indiana's depth and defense can give New York a ton of problems.
San Antonio has gotten a really fortunate draw in the playoffs this year. In the first Round the Spurs dodged Houston Who I think would have given them more trouble than the Lakers. And in the second round both Golden State and Denver are racked with injuries Just as San Antonio is getting everybody back from injuries.
Okc Versus the clippers should be a lot of fun. I guess this one could go either way but I have had Oklahoma City penciled in for the Western conference finals all year.
Conf finals. This is where one could say that my homerism Comes into play. Speaking strictly as a fan, The Spurs must avenge last year's conference finals defeat And anything else would be absolutely Unacceptable and that's all there is to it. We got Leonard for the sole purpose of guarding durant and LBJ, So now is the time to see if that is even going to be realistic. I like the Spurs depth better. Losing Steven Jackson before the playoffs could be a problem: His shooting was poor In the regular season but he has a way of playing big in the playoffs Especially when everybody else on the team goes into the tank. It amazes me that Perkins plays Duncan so tough But I expect Timmy to overcome that, dammit.
It may be wishful thinking to think Indiana can push Miami to 7. Call me crazy but I am not sold on Miami's depth. LeBron and Wade are just so crazy good that it's hard to pick against them. If there is one team In the east that could take Miami down I think it's the Pacers. Let's see if they learned anything from their immaturity from last season.
Finals.
Again, Sorry but I can't help believing in my team. When Dallas beat Miami a couple years ago, I noted at the time that Dallas had a huge coaching advantage over a Somewhat green Eric Spolstra. Since then however, I have grown to admire and respect the job he has done in Miami. Pop Will have to be on top of his game or Spo Will clobber him. Spo Has a real knack for correctly rotating extremely Specialized role players around his superstars. The Spurs have 12 players that are virtually interchangeable Within the system, So in a way Spo's Job is a little bit harder, But as I indicated he seems to really have his team figured out.
For my sake I hope it works out. San Antonio must have the slowest closing window in history, Nevertheless it is closing. I'm sure I will gripe and whine if and when they get knocked out I love the playoffs though because I get a chance to sit back and enjoy the game rather than constantly worrying about statistical Fantasy stuff.
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ua
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Post by ua on Apr 26, 2013 13:01:17 GMT -5
Wow Westbrook might be out for the season for knee surgery? You have to wonder now if they can even get past Memphis Or the clippers in the second round.
San Antonio's road to the finals is there for the taking. Just don't blow it.
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ua
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Post by ua on May 6, 2013 13:37:20 GMT -5
Second round.
I should have known better than to pick the clippers to beat Memphis. Without Westbrook obviously OKC could be in a world of trouble. Oklahoma one game one, But I think they will ultimately lose the series.
I also should have known better than to pick Denver over Golden State. As we know in San Antonio all too well, Denver is mentally soft when it comes to the playoffs and when they get desperate they start playing dirty. As for the Warriors versus the spurs, I can't see San Antonio needing more than five games to take care of this series. Maybe six but I would be surprised.
Brooklyn was a big disappointment. Joe Johnson needs to retire, It's starting to get embarrassing.
I still think Indiana beats New York. No way New York should have struggled that much against Boston.
End of the road for Chicago against Miami. Interesting the pressure Derrick Rose must be feeling right now.
LBJ Wins another mvp. No comment.
Marc gasol Defensive player of the year? Who's radar was he on? Was that just so LeBron wouldn't get everything?
Waiting patiently for the nba Draft lottery. ...
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spurs champs
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Post by spurs champs on May 6, 2013 21:05:21 GMT -5
Miami lost tonight
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Post by ardamus42 on May 7, 2013 11:50:23 GMT -5
Draft is going to be key here i can see the first 3 picks shaping This offseason
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MelbFORCE
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Post by MelbFORCE on May 7, 2013 22:29:19 GMT -5
There doesn't seem to be a clear #1, people are saying Trey Burke, he doesn't strike me as #1 pick material. McLemore seems like an excellent prospect but apart from that I don't think there are any outstanding guys in the lottery.
I hope my Pistons take Oladipo or Muhammed. Preferrably Muhammed, I think they need that go-to scorer that he can possibly turn out to become. Monroe, Knight, Drummond etc are not guys I'd call go-to scorers. At the same time they could use a strong wing defender and Oladipo fits that mould.
Aussies watch out for Dante Exum and Ben Simmons in the future. I work for a team in the SEABL and we almost signed Simmons (would have still been eligible for the NBA draft as long as it was a non-money contract), but instead he went to high school in the USA,
Thon Maker is another with big potential, and Deng Adel is a long-shot smokey imo - he's currently killing it for Waverley in the Vic Youth Champioship Men (Big V)
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ua
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Post by ua on May 8, 2013 13:12:39 GMT -5
Nerlens noel seems to be the closest thing to a no brainer big man. For fantasy purposes, i have read he may miss much or all of the coming season. What a drag.
Pre draft rookie combines are starting up next week. The info we get out of those things usually only serve to further muddy the waters, but its something to do i guess. Draft lottery already right around the corner, Tuesday, May 21. Spurs got away with the heist of the year in game 1. Hopefully they got it into their heads that GS needs to be taken very seriously. This half ass crap that was all that was needed vs the hopeless lakers wont work with the warriors.
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pm24
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Post by pm24 on May 9, 2013 20:52:55 GMT -5
There doesn't seem to be a clear #1, people are saying Trey Burke, he doesn't strike me as #1 pick material. McLemore seems like an excellent prospect but apart from that I don't think there are any outstanding guys in the lottery. I hope my Pistons take Oladipo or Muhammed. Preferrably Muhammed, I think they need that go-to scorer that he can possibly turn out to become. Monroe, Knight, Drummond etc are not guys I'd call go-to scorers. At the same time they could use a strong wing defender and Oladipo fits that mould. Aussies watch out for Dante Exum and Ben Simmons in the future. I work for a team in the SEABL and we almost signed Simmons (would have still been eligible for the NBA draft as long as it was a non-money contract), but instead he went to high school in the USA, Thon Maker is another with big potential, and Deng Adel is a long-shot smokey imo - he's currently killing it for Waverley in the Vic Youth Champioship Men (Big V) You're completely right about Exum and simmons. Exum is already being project as a top 10 pick for the 2014 draft by draft express, and starred alongside some other top highschoolers in the nike hoop summit. He has continued to grow from being a 6'4" pg/sg in the u19 world championships to now being 6'6", and given his dad (cecil exum) was about 6'6", there's a chance he could become taller and be a great pg/sg/sf type player. I know less about Simmons (except that he is Dave Simmons son), which is probably because he has had less coverage, but remember hearing he was in demand following the u19 world championships. I believe Simmons is a year behind Exum in NBA eligibility, but he's ranked as a possible lottery or maybe even no.1 player of 2015 and has length for a SF at 6'9". All this is pointing towards an exciting future for the Australian national team. With a couuple more years of maturation I can forsee a Australian squad along the lines of: C: Bogut/Baynes PF: Baynes/Jawai??/Ogilvy?? SF: Ingles/Newley/Simmons SG: Dellavedova/Newley/Exum PG: Mills/Dellavedova
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pm24
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Post by pm24 on May 9, 2013 20:57:55 GMT -5
GS are looking very dangerous at the moment, and I think the coaching battle between Pop and Jackson is just as engrossing as the on-court action.
The changes in strategy, and lineups make the series all the better.
I've been so impressed with GS, particularly given they are playing like this while having lost their allstar pf in David Lee.
Could they come out of this as the Western Conference champ and seriously challenge Miami??
They have enough damaging shooters to be potent, and Bogut is now playing better than he has in a while, especially defensively. I can see them become tough for any team to handle at the moment, particularly if Thompson and Curry keep shooting like they have and Barnes and Jack keep contributing.
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ua
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Post by ua on May 11, 2013 18:04:01 GMT -5
Golden State has played quite admirably But I think they will be hard-pressed to win another game in this series. Game four is probably their best shot. It seems to me that the Spurs defense just about has Golden State figured out. As good a job as Mark Jackson has done I think he is running out of ideas. Not a knock on Jackson at all, He is a good but inexperienced coach Leading good but inexperienced players. They are not ready to be a finals level team. Danny Green has been giving curry fits, And now that his ankle problems are back in the play Where he is a game time decision, Even if he plays he won't be 100%. Parker will not be 100% either so maybe that will even out. Thompson is having more and more trouble with Leonards defense. No useful David Lee hurts, And with splitter back and shaking off the cobwebs of injury That advantage at the big's for the spurs only increases that much more.
Even if they were to beat San Antonio I don't see them getting by Memphis or Oklahoma. It has been a successful season for them though, I think they are on the right track for the long-term. And just to throw another name out there, alex Len Is a pretty highly ranked rookie big man, Too bad he just had surgery and will be out 4 to 6 months. He will probably be ready to go around the start of the regular season But it appears we can forget any chance to see him play in the summer league or preseason. Anthony Bennett is out a few months due to surgery also. Seems like all the quality big man will be season opening gambles.
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leaguegod
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Post by leaguegod on May 12, 2013 17:27:33 GMT -5
Boguts D has been exceptional in game 4
warriors pulling away in OT, looks like a best of 3 series coming up
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