2007-08 NBA Thread

[DBAHO]

 

Loving it; they're watchable again!--I don't expect us to be in the top of the East or anything, but this coaching change is apparently going to do us a lot of good.

O-Bie's actually a pretty underrated coach. He got Boston to the conference finals, and then got Philly to a winning record and got fired because he rubbed some players (Iverson) the wrong way. Still the season for the Pacers depends on the health of Tinsley and O'Neal. At least Dunleavy and Granger have emerged nicely though.

[StrangeSox]

2007: The Year Chicago Sports Teams Fell Off A Cliff

[Brian]

I'm hoping Paxson and/or Skiles get fired for this mess. Ben Wallace continues to be the worst player in the NBA with regards to production vs contract.

 

Gimme a break. This is the same team last year and the team most people are picking to win the East. How about this, blame the players!!

Ben Wallace is worthless right now probably because he is trying to play hurt. I'm all for him sitting out a week if it means he heals up.

Kirk looks a step slower than last year, Nobody is getting to the basket and the free throw line. Skiles and Pax aren't turning the ball over and getting beat down the court giving up fast breaks!

Remember when Deng never missed from 10-15 feet? Those were the days.

[RockRaines]

4 games into the season and we want to fire the coach and GM. Hmmmm.

[Steve9347]

The Bulls will be fine.

 

In fantasy basketball news, I just pulled off Richard Jefferson for Amare Stoudemire. My team now has the sickest three players in the PF, C, C spots, as well as a well-rounded group elsewhere that shall not be defeated this season.

 

PG Allen Iverson

SG Josh Howard

G TJ Ford

SF Gerald Wallace

PF Al Jefferson

F Damien Wilkins

C Dwight Howard

C Amare Stoudemire

Util Ronnie Brewer

Util Brendan Haywood

Daniel Gibson

John Salmons

Raja Bell

 

Sure, Amare's going to miss a game now and then because of the knee, but man, this team cannot be touched; all facets of the game are covered.

Edited November 7, 2007 by Steve9347

[Palehosefan]

My God I hate watching the Hawks play. I force myself to when I watch Marvin play, but it's disgusting. It's like watching an un-organized AAU team, which is really saying something. Is there a worse teammate than Josh Smith in the NBA? He's 5/12 tonight which is actually a good shooting day for him, and he still thinks he's Jordan. I would like to see an IQ test taken by him and a sack of bricks, would be a good contest.

 

If they can trade away Smith, and AC Law proves to be an NBA PG they might really have something. Al Horford was a good pick, partially making up for Shelden Williams.

[DBAHO]

Whoever traded Stoudemire a 1st round pick for Jefferson a 6th-7th round pick, is well an idiot Steve. But if you can get away with it.........

 

Josh Smith is fantasy gold palehosefan, but I've heard he's not a model teammate either. At least he's not jacking up 3's with alarming regularity so far I suppose.

 

And the Magic move to 4-1. Still very early days but the signs are good. The big difference is not only obviously Rashard Lewis and Dwight's improved FT shooting, but Hedo Turklogu is playing as a borderline All - Star right now.

 

And the Magic are actually allowed to shoot the 3 ball this year, unlike the past 2 with Brian Hill in charge. They look better offensively, but Stan Van Gundy's keeping the strong defense they had last season in check as well. Very happy with him as coach so far.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

My God I hate watching the Hawks play. I force myself to when I watch Marvin play, but it's disgusting. It's like watching an un-organized AAU team, which is really saying something.

 

This is true. I've caught a couple of their games myself. They have soo much talent on that team, but it seems like absolutely zero coaching is going on. I still haven't looked up who their coach is because I was meaning to after watching how they basically just played like they were in the playground and relied on their talent that first game.

[Rowand44]

I'm hoping Paxson and/or Skiles get fired for this mess. Ben Wallace continues to be the worst player in the NBA with regards to production vs contract.

Ridiculous.

[DBAHO]

Mike Woodson is the coach of the Hawks.

 

They have too many 2's/3's/4's and not enough unselfish players on that team.

 

They should do a sign and trade deal with Smith in the off-season for their 2 main needs, C and PG.

 

Oh and a good coach would help too. Seems like they just have no system.

[whitesoxfan101]

The winless Trail Blazers defeat the unbeaten Hornets, go figure. David West with 34 and 18 though, he's a beast, but Peja used up all his magic shooting last night it appeared this evening.

 

And wow, what an ending, LeBron hits the 3 to tie it at 101-101 with 6 seconds left, but Deron Williams drives for a layup to win the game with just a second left, and Utah takes it 103-101. LeBron finished with an incredible 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists, had 3 steals and 2 blocks, and had a triple double by the 3rd quarter. However, he was a mediocre 12-27 from the field and an abysmal 7-15 at the free throw line, which probably cost Cleveland the game. Deron actually had a poor game (4 for 12 from the field, 8 turnovers), but managed to make up for it with the winner and had 15 points and 12 dimes.

Edited November 8, 2007 by whitesoxfan101

[fathom]

My God I hate watching the Hawks play. I force myself to when I watch Marvin play, but it's disgusting. It's like watching an un-organized AAU team, which is really saying something. Is there a worse teammate than Josh Smith in the NBA? He's 5/12 tonight which is actually a good shooting day for him, and he still thinks he's Jordan. I would like to see an IQ test taken by him and a sack of bricks, would be a good contest.

 

If they can trade away Smith, and AC Law proves to be an NBA PG they might really have something. Al Horford was a good pick, partially making up for Shelden Williams.

 

Any team that employs Mario West is fine by me.

 

[fathom]

Ridiculous.

 

Obviously, I'm not calling for it to happen right now or during the season. However, I honestly believe Paxson will really come under fire if this team underachieves this year. It's disappointing how this team went from a team with an unlimited ceiling just a few years ago to a team that seems to have lost their fire and isn't exactly young anymore. It seems like every year, the same problems exist with this team: no true point guard and no low post offensive player.

[whitesoxfan101]

Say what you will about the Bulls, but the only team in the NBA younger than them is the Hawks, and it's not by much. So yes, they are still very young, but with all the experience they have, youth is no excuse.

[fathom]

Say what you will about the Bulls, but the only team in the NBA younger than them is the Hawks, and it's not by much. So yes, they are still very young, but with all the experience they have, youth is no excuse.

 

Assuming that Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, and Wallace are your starters next year, wouldn't that be 4 guys who would be under contract for at least 10 million a year? The young guys with cheap contracts are no more. It would be really nice if Tyrus can step up and be a dependable starter.

[Steve9347]

Say what you will about the Bulls, but the only team in the NBA younger than them is the Hawks, and it's not by much. So yes, they are still very young, but with all the experience they have, youth is no excuse.

That number is greatly scewed by Joakim Noah, Tyrus, JamesOn Curry, Thabo Sefolosha, and Aaron Gray, only one of whom actually sees solid minutes.

 

However, still a very good point.

[DBAHO]

Obviously, I'm not calling for it to happen right now or during the season. However, I honestly believe Paxson will really come under fire if this team underachieves this year. It's disappointing how this team went from a team with an unlimited ceiling just a few years ago to a team that seems to have lost their fire and isn't exactly young anymore. It seems like every year, the same problems exist with this team: no true point guard and no low post offensive player.

The problem is fathom, how many "true" point guards are there in the NBA, ones that actually pass first and shoot second? And how many of them are available.

 

Hinrich would be in the top 10 in the NBA for PG's I would say, so I don't see that as a problem area for them.

 

The issues the Bulls have is Gordon taking too much of the offensive load, and the player who needs to do that is Luol Deng. For mine, the Bulls would be a better team if they had taken Andre Igoudola and matching him up with Deng. They'd be better defensively, and Deng would have to carry more of the offensive game on his own shoulders.

 

And I wasn't a fan of the Wallace signing when it happened, just simply because of the age and injury factor. For a young team that was trying to move forward, Wallace looked more like a short - term signing to try and the Bulls in the NBA finals last season, and maybe this season. It didn't fill the need for a low post scorer, and it almost looked like to me that they were trying to hurt the Pistons.

[southsider2k5]

My God I hate watching the Hawks play. I force myself to when I watch Marvin play, but it's disgusting. It's like watching an un-organized AAU team, which is really saying something. Is there a worse teammate than Josh Smith in the NBA? He's 5/12 tonight which is actually a good shooting day for him, and he still thinks he's Jordan. I would like to see an IQ test taken by him and a sack of bricks, would be a good contest.

 

If they can trade away Smith, and AC Law proves to be an NBA PG they might really have something. Al Horford was a good pick, partially making up for Shelden Williams.

 

It makes you appreciate the jobs that Scott Skiles and John Paxson do. The Hawks are a more talented team from player to player if you ask me. The difference is that the Bulls put stock into a players character, how they work with others, and the stuff between the ears. It really shows as the Bulls probably get more out of their level of talent than any team in the NBA right now.

[T R U]

And the Magic move to 4-1. Still very early days but the signs are good. The big difference is not only obviously Rashard Lewis and Dwight's improved FT shooting, but Hedo Turklogu is playing as a borderline All - Star right now.

 

Yeah Turk has been huge for us so far, its very nice to see.. He basically putting up 21 pts. 8 reb. and 5 ass. a night shooting 45% from 3

 

I don't think he will keep it up, but in overall production he has been our best player so far.. I like they way we have looked and I hope this is what we will see from the team the entire year..

[whitesoxfan101]

It makes you appreciate the jobs that Scott Skiles and John Paxson do. The Hawks are a more talented team from player to player if you ask me. The difference is that the Bulls put stock into a players character, how they work with others, and the stuff between the ears. It really shows as the Bulls probably get more out of their level of talent than any team in the NBA right now.

 

Your half right. It shows how great a job Skiles does that his teams are high character and get the most out of what they have. The fact that the most this team has though is somebody that loses in the 2nd round and can't win the east though shows how mediocre a job Paxson does, the talent level here isn't good enough.

Edited November 9, 2007 by whitesoxfan101

[RockRaines]

Your half right. It shows how great a job Skiles does that his teams are high character and get the most out of what they have. The fact that the most this team has though is somebody that loses in the 2nd round and can't win the east though shows how lousy a job Paxson does, the talent level here isn't that good.

The lost to the Pistons who have one of the best start 5's in basketball.

[whitesoxfan101]

The lost to the Pistons who have one of the best start 5's in basketball.

 

And they'll lose again to Detroit or Boston in the semis this spring. People in Chicago accept the fact the Bulls are going to lose in the east semis every year though because they are high character and their GM hit a big shot in 1993 though, and that's sad. I wish Skiles had more talent to work with.

[RockRaines]

And they'll lose again to Detroit or Boston in the semis this spring. People in Chicago accept the fact the Bulls are going to lose in the east semis every year though because they are high character and their GM hit a big shot in 1993 though, and that's sad. I wish Skiles had more talent to work with.

And you base this on what? They gave detroit a good run last year, and should again be in the mix this year. In the playoffs all it takes it a streaky team, otherwise Cle wouldnt have nearly gone as far as they did. They shouldnt have even been close to the championship.

[whitesoxfan101]

And you base this on what? They gave detroit a good run last year, and should again be in the mix this year. In the playoffs all it takes it a streaky team, otherwise Cle wouldnt have nearly gone as far as they did. They shouldnt have even been close to the championship.

 

The Bulls don't have a single go to guy, player who can create his own shot, or top 25 NBA player on their roster. They don't get to the free throw line enough, have small guards, have bigs who are either too short (Wallace), old (Wallace again, Smith), or skinny (Tyrus, Noah). They also have only one true point guard and lockdown defender, and he's always in foul trouble, are too small as a team to guard Boston or Detroit, have nobody you have to double team, let opponents get to the free throw line too much, and always have at least one guy on the floor you don't have to guard unless Joe Smith and Tyrus are in at the same time.

 

Other than that though, I could see this team winning a championship. After all, Ben Gordon could get taller, Hinrich could learn how to not foul, Luol could get more athletic, Ben Wallace might get younger, Tyrus might gain a work ethic, and Joakim Noah might stop shooting the ball sideways.

Edited November 9, 2007 by whitesoxfan101

[BigSqwert]

The Bulls don't have a single go to guy, player who can create his own shot, or top 25 NBA player on their roster. They don't get to the free throw line enough, have small guards, have bigs who are either too short (Wallace), old (Wallace again, Smith), or skinny (Tyrus, Noah). They also have only one true point guard and lockdown defender, and he's always in foul trouble, are too small as a team to guard Boston or Detroit, have nobody you have to double team, let opponents get to the free throw line too much, and always have at least one guy on the floor you don't have to guard unless Joe Smith and Tyrus are in.

 

Other than that though, I could see this team winning a championship. After all, Ben Gordon could get taller, Hinrich could learn how to not foul, Luol could get more athletic, Ben Wallace might get younger, Tyrus might gain a work ethic, and Joakim Noah might stop shooting the ball sideways.

So tell how us you really feel.