Official 2009-2010 NBA Thread

[whitesoxfan99]

Shannon Brown should be ashamed.

[Felix]

wow. this dunk contest is horrible.

I'm glad I chose to watch speed skating instead then.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Shannon Brown should be ashamed.

 

He should be killing everyone. His first dunk attempt would have been nuts if he made it.

[MurcieOne]

The TNT crew is really hammering the horribleness of this dunk contest

[Buehrle>Wood]

DeRozan's dunk was sick.

[chw42]

These two dunks in the finals have been such crap.

[MurcieOne]

what a travesty. . . seriously, no more dunk contests.

[danman31]

Derozan should have won.

[chw42]

what a travesty. . . seriously, no more dunk contests.

 

Absolutely horrible.

[Felix]

I turned it on in time for the finals. It's a joke that Robinson won. Neither were outstanding, but I thought DeRozan was clearly better.

[kjshoe04]

The Dunk Contest was really lame but everything else was a whole lot of fun tonight. This is one of the my favorite sports nights of the year. Just plain fun.

[SoxAce]

The Dunk Contest was really lame but everything else was a whole lot of fun tonight. This is one of the my favorite sports nights of the year. Just plain fun.

 

I have to agree with this. Though I was mad my boy Stephen Curry didn't win the three point contest. I hope Dwight, LeBron, etc.. save the dunk contest next year. DeRosan just gave Nate Robinson the title.

Edited February 14, 2010 by SoxAce

[Rowand44]

That dunk contest was brutal. Seriously, at this point the best way to do the dunk contest might be to just keep raising the hoop and see who can actually dunk on the highest rim.

[Kyyle23]

I just want one thing out of this All Star weekend, I want Derrick Rose to be a salesman with the best salespitch possible.

[Quin]

The Dunk Contest was really lame but everything else was a whole lot of fun tonight. This is one of the my favorite sports nights of the year. Just plain fun.

 

I watched everything else and fell asleep during the dunk contest. I laughed when Steve Nash went for the block in the skills competition.

 

 

I just want one thing out of this All Star weekend, I want Derrick Rose to be a salesman with the best salespitch possible.

 

Yes.

 

Also, the Cavs are reportedly close to getting Stoudemire. For some reason, I don't see that working with LeBron there.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Quinarvy

[Jimbo's Drinker]

The pefect solution for the Tyrus Thomas problem

http://statestreetsports.wordpress.com/201...r-tyrus-thomas/

[chw42]

The pefect solution for the Tyrus Thomas problem

http://statestreetsports.wordpress.com/201...r-tyrus-thomas/

 

I'd like to be the guy inside that raptor.

 

Oh and a nice game from Derrick. 8 points/4 assists/3 steals isn't bad for only 15 minutes of play.

Edited February 15, 2010 by chw42

[SoxAce]

All-Star game was alot more competitive than in recent years, though there wasn't as many "spectacular" plays/dunks as well. Nice to see Derrick have a strong game, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one drooling seeing him assist Bosh and Wade.. :wub:

[Cowch]

All-Star game was alot more competitive than in recent years, though there wasn't as many "spectacular" plays/dunks as well. Nice to see Derrick have a strong game, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one drooling seeing him assist Bosh and Wade.. :wub:

 

Yeah the whole time I was thinking about how awesome that would be. Also when he assisted Lebron....awesome. I'm happy that Rose had a good game.

[Palehosefan]

DALLAS – Since everything’s bigger in Texas, as Dirk Nowitzki reminded the crowd before the start of the biggest All-Star Game ever, let’s focus on another thing that became even bigger as a result of tonight: The idea of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James playing together in Miami next season.

 

“I don’t know if it would work,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups in Friday’s media session of the two potentially pairing up, but they sure seemed to function well together on Sunday. Wade scored 28 points, added 11 assists and five steals, and narrowly edged out Cowboys Stadium for Game MVP honors, while James added 25 points, six assists and five boards as the East held on for a dramatic 141-139 win over the West.

 

“We can dream, can’t we?” said Wade provocatively, no doubt looking forward to the possibility of James joining him on South Beach to dominate the league.

 

James was more subdued about the possibility.

 

“[Wade]’s a great player,” said James. “You love to play alongside guys as great, guys that want to win, guys that compete at a high level every night. So we’ll see.”

 

Nonetheless, the chemistry between the two was undeniable. Wade and James continually found each other in transition and on drives to the basket, assisting each other five times and using their quickness to help force 23 West turnovers – nine as a result of their own steals.

 

“You see the connection that we both have,” said Wade. “Especially going to the basket [for] lobs and finding each other. I’ve played with him for a lot of years from the Olympics to the All-Star Game and it’s special every time. LeBron makes the game easier for all his teammates -- you see it in Cleveland, so I get to be his teammate for one day and I’m enjoying it. He’s one of the reasons I’m up here with the MVP award.”

 

As good as the game was, it took a back seat to the spectacle of 108,713 fans piling into Cowboys Stadium, setting a new record for a crowd at a basketball game. The gathering was about 10,000 more than anticipated, with Mavs owner Mark Cuban saying that an unexpectedly large number of walk-up, standing-room-only tickets sold on Sunday provided the difference.

 

The small city of fans didn’t leave disappointed, though perhaps they would have liked the finish better if it didn’t bear such a resemblance to the 2006 Finals. Once again, Wade made the big plays late to emerge victorious in Dallas, with the major difference being that Cuban was able to walk away smiling from this one. The Mavs’ owner, along with Cowboys czar Jerry Jones, was beaming all night as a result of the event’s success.

 

In particular, the series of highlight-reel plays provided by Wade and James left everyone thoroughly entertained. Wade alone had seven dunks, while James supplied a pair of back-to-back reverse slams that had the fans -- most of whom watched on a pair of Texas-sized TV screens above the court rather than on the distant hardwood below -- oohing and ahhing.

 

As good as Wade and LeBron were, it’s easy to forget that another high-profile 2010 free agent, Toronto’s Chris Bosh, was the one who supplied the winning points with two free throws with five seconds left, giving him 23 points and 10 rebounds for the game.

 

Fittingly, a fourth member of their stellar 2003 draft class, Carmelo Anthony, was the game’s other key player. He scored 27 points and added 10 boards to lead the West and missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer over Wade at the buzzer.

 

Anthony and West coach George Karl both said the final play was designed for either Anthony to operate at the top of the key or for Nowitzki, who had tied the game with free throws on the previous possession, to catch it in the corner. Anthony played a West-high 29 minutes despite missing action with an ankle sprain as recently as a week ago, saying that once the game started his competitive juices took over.

 

But it was the superstar power of Wade and LeBron’s East side that prevailed. Those two and Bosh soaked up so much of the spotlight it made the other players afterthoughts -- to the point that the PA announcer referred to reserve Al Horford as “Al Harrington.”

 

While we still don’t know if Wade and James will play together more than just once a year after this summer, it did force us to ponder a brave new world where the two megastars team up to crush all comers.

 

“I don’t think you needed to see tonight to understand that would scare any of us in this league,” said Stan Van Gundy, who had a front-row seats for the Wade-LeBron pairing tonight as coach of the East and would have plenty to lose from the pairing in his day job as coach of Eastern Conference contender Orlando. “[Two] incredible talents, obviously.”

 

So it’s fitting, perhaps, that we were treated to such a concept in the brave new world of All-Star games. The league can’t possibly go back to 20,000-seat arenas after selling five times as many seats in Dallas, can it? One presumes that after next year’s affair in L.A.'s Staples Center, the NBA will start emulating the NCAA Tournament’s model of holding the event in mega-domes -- sightlines be damned -- and taking advantage of the hoards of paying customers that Cuban and Jones proved were out there.

 

“This was a historic event,” said Wade. “It felt like we were on stage. [When] we went out there to warm up, we were like kids.”

 

Sure, everything’s bigger in Texas. But I suspect that after tonight, this game’s about to get bigger everywhere else too.

http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id...possible-future

 

That would be "ok" for me as a Heat fan. But I still think it's going to be Bosh and Wade in Miami next year.

[GoodAsGould]

http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id...possible-future

 

That would be "ok" for me as a Heat fan. But I still think it's going to be Bosh and Wade in Miami next year.

 

Id prefer its Bosh and Wade in Chicago next year

[Quin]

All-Star game was alot more competitive than in recent years, though there wasn't as many "spectacular" plays/dunks as well. Nice to see Derrick have a strong game, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one drooling seeing him assist Bosh and Wade.. :wub:

 

When Bosh had a slick behind the back pass to Rose I was like "See how well you play with Derrick!"

 

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_100215.html

 

"We're in a tough situation waiting 'til the summer with a lot of guys on one-year deals," Lee agreed. "A lot of it (his free agency opportunities) is going to come down to what happens with LeBron, Wade and Bosh. The trickledown effect will be from there. There's about 17 teams with cap space planning to get one of those three guys. There's only three cities they can play in, maybe two if one goes with another. I'm excited where I am and want to finish out the year strong and see where the chips fall. I think (being an) All-Star changed the perceptions of a lot of things. All I can do is keep getting better and see what happens. Rose is an unbelievable guy. He's played the last month as well as anyone in the league. His ability to get to the rack and finish and make the other guys around him better makes him one of the best point guards in the league.

 

"Chicago is a great city," Lee offered. "I grew up in St. Louis and used to come to watch MJ play when I was little, so I have good memories."

 

Apparently, Lee is kinda open to Chicago (I think he wanted to sign here last year). Depending on what the Bulls do the next 3 days, if we have enough money, signing Lee and a Joe Johnson/Rudy Gay or something wouldn't be a bad offseason nab.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Quinarvy

[Felix]

The hot rumor is now Tyrus Thomas to the Timberwolves: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-t...o&type=lgns

 

I can't say I'd like this idea unless we already had a deal in place for Al, mostly because Thomas isn't the third big man we need. We need a defensive center that's a legit 7 footer, and while Thomas is certainly athletic enough, I don't think it makes sense to add him to play alongside Love/Jefferson.

 

That being said, if it only cost expiring deals/bench players, it wouldn't hurt. I certainly wouldn't give up one of our firsts or any real talent, however.

[HuskyCaucasian]

The hot rumor is now Tyrus Thomas to the Timberwolves: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-t...o&type=lgns

 

I can't say I'd like this idea unless we already had a deal in place for Al, mostly because Thomas isn't the third big man we need. We need a defensive center that's a legit 7 footer, and while Thomas is certainly athletic enough, I don't think it makes sense to add him to play alongside Love/Jefferson.

 

That being said, if it only cost expiring deals/bench players, it wouldn't hurt. I certainly wouldn't give up one of our firsts or any real talent, however.

If we can dump Thomas and Hinrich, I'd be very happy. I still love the Hinrich to Boston trade, even if it was only idle speculation.

[southsider2k5]

The hot rumor is now Tyrus Thomas to the Timberwolves: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-t...o&type=lgns

 

I can't say I'd like this idea unless we already had a deal in place for Al, mostly because Thomas isn't the third big man we need. We need a defensive center that's a legit 7 footer, and while Thomas is certainly athletic enough, I don't think it makes sense to add him to play alongside Love/Jefferson.

 

That being said, if it only cost expiring deals/bench players, it wouldn't hurt. I certainly wouldn't give up one of our firsts or any real talent, however.

 

I love the idea of adding first round picks to go along with the free agents we can sign. It really helps us get deeper for the forseeable future. They just have to get at least one of the big guys in free agency.