Official 2008-2009 NBA Thread

[rangercal]

I agree, and I apologize if I wasted your time or whatever. Don't jump down my throat or anything. I wasn't wrong anyway, so ya.

 

you are until you prove otherwise.

[SoxFan1]

you are until you prove otherwise.

I'll get back to this soon enough. I'm just really lazy right now.

[rangercal]

I'll get back to this soon enough. I'm just really lazy right now.

 

[SoxFan1]

I don't get it.

[WHarris1]

Best argument.

[Balta1701]

Friggin Celtics.

 

Does this mean the Bulls could have beaten Orlando too?

[T R U]

Orlando deserves to lose

 

They have barely been able to keep sizable leads with little time remaining all playoffs. They need to pull their head out of their ass and finish games.

[rangercal]

Orlando deserves to lose

 

They have barely been able to keep sizable leads with little time remaining all playoffs. They need to pull their head out of their ass and finish games.

 

no heart

[fathom]

I haven't seen many Rockets games this year, but since when did Brian Cook becoming a defensive lineman? Holy cow, he looks so heavy. I'm thrilled he's still cashing a big paycheck though, as he's a great kid.

[MexSoxFan#1]

Orlando should have by all rights beaten Boston 4-1 except for the fact that they can't finish games...anyways,both teams are battling for the right to get stomped by the Cavs.

[T R U]

no heart

 

Gimme a break, winning on the road without Howard and Lee in Philly to clinch that series was enough to show me they have heart.

 

I don't know what your definition of heart is, but having a huge lead and letting the other team back in it is more of laziness and not finishing than it is heart. If they didn't have any heart, they would have lost to Philadelphia.

[GoodAsGould]

Gimme a break, winning on the road without Howard and Lee in Philly to clinch that series was enough to show me they have heart.

 

I don't know what your definition of heart is, but having a huge lead and letting the other team back in it is more of laziness and not finishing than it is heart. If they didn't have any heart, they would have lost to Philadelphia.

 

Maybe they were able to beat Philly because the difference in talent level was enormous, if anything with all the blown leads maybe they are just poorly coached.

[Brian]

Stan Van Gundy being called out big time this morning. If he loses, he is most likely gawn.

[Chisoxfn]

Stan Van Gundy being called out big time this morning. If he loses, he is most likely gawn.

He's an excellent coach and would be a signficant upgrade over VDN. SVG is a better three letter acronym anyway.

[whitesoxfan101]

Friggin Celtics.

 

Does this mean the Bulls could have beaten Orlando too?

 

Of course they could have beat Orlando. I said before the playoffs the Bulls would be better off playing the Magic and I stand by it, even though the Bulls gave a much better series to Boston than I anticipated (and should have won the series). Realistically, the Bulls would have made the Eastern Conference Finals this season if they had a real coach in my opinion, although that's MUCH more a statement as to how bad the East it is how good/improved the Bulls are. The Magic/Celtics series isn't particulary relevant though, as the winner simply earns the right to be defeated in dominant fashion by Cleveland in either 4 or 5 games.

 

As for Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard, Dwight is right that the Magic were being stupid and trying to dribble the air out of the ball last night, but in SVG's defense, he's not the first coach to fall into that trap and he won't be the last. In fact, that trap is the single biggest reason you see so many 4th quarter leads blown in basketball, teams get too worried about the clock and stop playing their game. If Stan is fired, I am with whoever said the Bulls should take a look, he's 10 times the coach VDN will ever be. I think Stan will be fired if Orlando loses this series after those comments from their best player, but I doubt the Bulls would look at him though unfortunately.

Edited May 13, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[Balta1701]

Realistically, the Bulls would have made the Eastern Conference Finals this season if they had a real coach in my opinion.

Well, Duh. The C's series proved that. They'd probably have won it in 5 with solid defensive schemes.

[whitesoxfan101]

Well, Duh. The C's series proved that. They'd probably have won it in 5 with solid defensive schemes.

 

The fact that the Bulls were THAT close to the Eastern Conference Finals is a scary statement about the East. LeBron James might be playing in the next 3 to 5 NBA Finals unless something drastic happens, which might be enough to convince him to stay in Cleveland.

Edited May 13, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[Chisoxfn]

Some rumors involving the Bulls:

 

-Hinrich for Mike Miller (Twolves)

-Gordon to the Wolves in a sign & trade

[Balta1701]

The fact that the Bulls were THAT close to the Eastern Conference Finals is a scary statement about the East. LeBron James might be playing in the next 3 to 5 NBA Finals unless something drastic happens, which might be enough to convince him to stay in Cleveland.

I wouldn't write anything in stone just yet...there's going to be some major reorganizing in the NBA soon driven by this economic collapse that has hit the NBA particularly hard. I really don't know where all the trouble spots are, we know some of them (Sacramento, Memphis, etc), but there are probably a bunch of others that are in bad shape that are going to be moving people for less than we think they should take. For all we know, Cleveland might be in that boat. On top of that, there's shaping up to be another major lockout to start the 2011 season. Throw in the draft lottery's lottery-ness, and the fact that some of those teams out west (Dallas, San Antone) are getting old, and this league is going to be in a lot of flux these next 2 years.

[Balta1701]

Some rumors involving the Bulls:

 

-Hinrich for Mike Miller (Twolves)

-Gordon to the Wolves in a sign & trade

Talkbulls mentioned those 2 days ago

[whitesoxfan101]

I wouldn't write anything in stone just yet...there's going to be some major reorganizing in the NBA soon driven by this economic collapse that has hit the NBA particularly hard. I really don't know where all the trouble spots are, we know some of them (Sacramento, Memphis, etc), but there are probably a bunch of others that are in bad shape that are going to be moving people for less than we think they should take. For all we know, Cleveland might be in that boat. On top of that, there's shaping up to be another major lockout to start the 2011 season. Throw in the draft lottery's lottery-ness, and the fact that some of those teams out west (Dallas, San Antone) are getting old, and this league is going to be in a lot of flux these next 2 years.

 

I know what you are saying. I just look at the summer of 2010, and if LeBron stays in Cleveland, they are still THE dominant team out east. The only way that could change is if somebody signs a couple of 2010 guys (such as New York getting Bosh AND Wade, or something like that), but I don't see that happening. Your point about the NBA being hit especially hard by the economic collapse does hold water though. The entire face of the Western Conference the last couple of years and the next few more was changed by an entirely finance driven trade (Gasol to LA), so more moves like that are possible and thus I shouldn't be crowning Cleveland just yet for the future. Cleveland I can't imagine is a team that would be in the financial trouble boat though, they sell out every game and have huge TV ratings, plus make incredible revenue and sell a ton of apparel due to James. I hope the major lockout doesn't happen, I remember the 1998-1999 one and that sucked big time.

Edited May 13, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[LittleHurt05]

Ex-Bull Corie Blount sentenced to year in prison for marijuana, gotta love the judges response to his claim that it was all for personal use.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4163416

 

HAMILTON, Ohio -- Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati star Corie Blount was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday in a plea arrangement resulting from drug charges.

 

Blount, 40, had pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court last month to two felony counts of marijuana possession after prosecutors dropped two trafficking charges.

 

Blount was arrested Dec. 4 after sheriff's deputies intercepted 11 pounds of marijuana sent to him at a relative's house. Investigators said they found another 18 pounds in a subsequent search of his home.

 

Although Judge Craig Hedric did not sentence Blount to the maximum 10 years in prison, he rejected Blount's claim that the marijuana was intended for personal use and to share with friends.

 

"Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much," Hedric told Blount.

 

Hedric fined Blount $10,000 and ordered him to surrender two vehicles and $34,000 in cash seized in the bust.

 

Blount was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1993. In an 11-year NBA career, he also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

[SoxFan1]

I could be completely wrong, as I admittedly don't EVER watch the T-Wolves, but wouldn't Mike Miller be even MORE of a defensive downgrade from Ben Gordon?

[Balta1701]

I could be completely wrong, as I admittedly don't EVER watch the T-Wolves, but wouldn't Mike Miller be even MORE of a defensive downgrade from Ben Gordon?

Link

Defense: Miller is a non-descript defender at the wing. He’s often criticized for being soft, but he’s more average than anything else. Miller gives up an above average amount of points at the wing, but opponents don’t shoot extremely high percentages against him. Miller’s biggest weakness on defense is his lack of physicality. His foot speed is better than advertised, but he isn’t fast enough to simply play off his man and try and react to his initial move. Miller attempts to use his size and length to disrupt his opponent’s shots, giving space to drive and reacting to his moves. He is better guarding small forwards than 2-guards, although offensively he is mostly used as a guard.

[dasox24]

I could be completely wrong, as I admittedly don't EVER watch the T-Wolves, but wouldn't Mike Miller be even MORE of a defensive downgrade from Ben Gordon?

As hard as that is to imagine... Yes, he probably would be a downgrade. But, he's a great shooter and we'd only have him for 1 year. So, if Gordon is out of our price range, the positives of trading for Miller would be: 1) He'd clear just under $10M from the cap after next year, which would still give us enough space to sign a big name in 2010; and 2) At the same time, it helps lessen the blow of losing Gordon's scoring in the short-term (next season), while bridging a gap in talent from good scoring wing in 2009 to good scoring big man in 2010.

 

If all would go according to plan after next year, then we'd lose Miller's shooting, but gain a true all-star PF. It's really not a terrible alternative to straight up losing BG.

Edited May 13, 2009 by dasox24