This "week" in the NBA

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Vince Carter is out of his fucking mind right now.

 

The Nets will make the playoffs.

 

Shaq needs to keep his big ass healthy.

 

The Suns won't mkae it out of the first round.

 

The T'Wolves aren't as bad as people think they are and should be good again next year after they get some free agents.

 

The Celtics look like the real deal.

 

The 76ers are going to play a tough first round series and then gracefully bow out.

 

The Pistons might have something for the Heat.

 

I'm not convinced by the Rockets right now.

 

The Sonics aren't going to be for real when the playoffs start.

 

The Pacers play very hard and can hang with ANY TEAM in a 7 game series.

 

The Mavericks might get far in the playoffs this year and surprise alot of people.

 

Andre Miller has pretty damn good vision and will determine how far the Nuggets go in the postseason.

 

Just my thoughts at the time.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I agree with all of the above, except:

The Suns won't mkae it out of the first round.

The Celtics look like the real deal.

The Mavericks might get far in the playoffs this year and surprise alot of people.

The Sonics aren't going to be for real when the playoffs start.

 

The Suns are definitely championship contenders, and if there's anything last year's Lakers taught us, it's that you don't really need defense to get to the NBA Finals. Winning it, however, is another matter entirely.

 

Not sure about the Celtics, but I have a gut feeling they'll be lucky to get out of the first round. Mavs also have the same problem on defense, and as for the Sonics, keep in mind their #2 and #3 scorer has been out for a bit, come playoff time, like Ripper said, they should be a beast.

 

EDIT: Also forgot-

I'm not convinced by the Rockets right now.

Not sure about you, but the Rockets play good ball on both sides and have been in it or beat most of the so-called top teams. They'll definitely make it at least to the divisional round.

[Brett Favre 0]

I agree on your points with the Sun, Soncis, Celtics, and Rockets, but I do believe the Mavericks will surprise people. Their defense isn't bad anymore. Avery Johnson is a good defensive coach and will get into player's faces. Dirk is also playing out of his mind, and they still have Howard, Finley, to go along with Stackhouse, Daniels, Keith Van Horn, Terry; part of those listed are part of a bad ass bench.

[Jericholic82 0]

wow cant belive the Nets are coming back like that. good for them. Since Im not a real bball fan, I just root for the knicks and if not them the nets so cool.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I have doubts about the Suns because if you feel the way you do about the Sonics, the Grizzlies will give the Suns trouble. They might beat them, but there are teams that I would be afraid of in the West, namely the Mavericks and Nuggets. They should bring back the best-of-five first round series.

 

I've never seen T-Mac or Yao Ming do much in the playoffs yet, so I'm holding judgement on htem yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they beat some people up in the playoffs, but I'm not 100% convinced by these guys yet.

 

The Celtics are on of the two really hot teams in the East right now who caught fire at the right time. I'd rather go with a streaking team than a slumping team when the playoffs come around.

 

I think the Sonics aren't as good as their record. They might be the #3 seed in the West, but I can't see those guys going to the Finals. I might have been a little harsh on them before because I couold see them in the WCF, but I don't think they're achampionship team.

 

The Mavericks don't have bad defense anymore. They might not have become the Pistons yet, but they have a bunch of scorers and their defense is better.

[Brett Favre 0]

With T-Mac's scoring, Yao's presense, and JVG's defensive philosphy, the Rockets will be dangerous. McGrady has put up big numbers in the playoffs. In 18 games, he's averaged over 29 points, nearly 7 boards, 5 assists, on 43 percent shooting. He's also had nearly a steal and a half, and over a block per game.

[The Czech Republic 0]

With T-Mac's scoring, Yao's presense, and JVG's defensive philosphy, the Rockets will be dangerous. McGrady has put up big numbers in the playoffs. In 18 games, he's averaged over 29 points, nearly 7 boards, 5 assists, on 43 percent shooting. He's also had nearly a steal and a half, and over a block per game.

Obligatory mention: if the Rockets, Bulls, Pistons, Celtics, or Spurs win the championship, it will be one of the same teams to have won a title since 1984. Throw in the 76ers and it's one of the same teams since '81, because you can add another Celtics win in there as well.

[The Electrifyer 0]

I wish Steve Kerr was still in the league and played for Detroit last season. Then that streak where him and Robert Horry were on every NBA Championship team from 1994-2003 would still be alive. Now that was a cool streak.

[alfdogg 0]

The 8:00 game on ESPN Wednesday is now Bulls at Pacers, instead of Spurs at Wolves. I have no clue why they changed it.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Bigger playoff implications and bigger media markets, probably

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Well it's official now

 

This is the worst laker season ever and for only the third time ever they will finish behind the Clippers

[Guest]

The Lakers also will probably get a better draft pick, which they desperately need.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Well it's official now

 

This is the worst laker season ever and for only the third time ever they will finish behind the Clippers

Are you sure this is the worst win-loss record of all time?

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Well it's official now

 

This is the worst laker season ever and for only the third time ever they will finish behind the Clippers

Are you sure this is the worst win-loss record of all time?

Actually the 1974-75 team went 30-52

 

I just meant that this was the worst because of the circumstances(Made Finals last year, losing Shaq and Phil and finishing behind Clippers)

[Cuban Linx 0]

Well it's official now

 

This is the worst laker season ever and for only the third time ever they will finish behind the Clippers

Are you sure this is the worst win-loss record of all time?

Upon checking it isn't, the Lakers 34 wins this year beats out their 33 wins from 1994 and 30 from 1975, they also have 19 and 25 win seasons if you want to go back as far as the Minneapolis Lakers.

 

EDIT: Beaten to it by Kurt Angle Mark

[Guest Vitamin X]

And to think at one point this season they were the #5, #6 seed in the West.

 

I can't imagine how much worse it could have been had they lost Bryant to the Clippers (or jailtime) as well.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Also, this bears mentioning:

``You go through the whole season and you figure out in Game 81 that you pretty much saw every way we could possibly lose a game and we invented a new one tonight.'' -- New Orleans coach Byron Scott, after his team blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost to Minnesota 102-99 Monday night.

[Youth N Asia 0]

*GASP!*

 

Darko gets a start tonight for the Pistons

[bobobrazil1984 0]

they've got nothing to lose, they might as well. help his confidence out a bit. After almost losing Rip and Rasheed last game i dont blame LB for letting starters rest.

darko sucks but one big problem with the whole project is that he was a sort of perimeter player in europe (despite being 7 ft), and LB and Co. is trying to reprogram him into a low post presence. i read some quote from him where he said he would see tapes of himself from serbia and he doesn't even remember how he did taht stuff. LB isn't the right coach for him, not that i think he'd be great, but i think he could have developed into a soild 7 to 10 pt bench addition by now. LB has had clashes with all the europe players, mehmet okur, carlos delifino and of course darko.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Darko for MVP

 

Stats:

31 minutes(career high)

7-11 FG (2-4 FT)

16 points(career high)

5 rebounds

2 assists(1 turnover, 4 fouls)

3 blocks

[bob_barron 0]

The Nets are one win away from the playoffs.

 

Insane

[alfdogg 0]

Bulls and Knicks are neck-and-neck right now, Bulls can clinch homecourt against the Wiz with a win. WGN's not carrying it, so I have to follow it on Yahoo.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Ben Gordon hits again! 6.5 secs left for the Knicks to answer.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Forget Reggie Miller.... BEN GORDON is the new Knick killer.

[mike546 0]

What is that, three game winning shots in the last 5 seconds for the Bulls this year against the Knicks?

[Guest news_gimmick]

I think we can thank Jamal Crawford for bringing the suck when it matters the most. New York can have him! GO BULLS

[The Electrifyer 0]

Seriously, that missed 3 and the missed free throws really cost NY. We have Ben *cough*ROOKIEOFTHEYEARPLEASE*cough* Gordon anyways.

[alfdogg 0]

Hopefully now that the Bulls have their spot secure, they'll sit a few guys tomorrow and allow the Pacers to secure the 6 seed.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Darko for MVP

 

Stats:

31 minutes(career high)

7-11 FG (2-4 FT)

16 points(career high)

5 rebounds

2 assists(1 turnover, 4 fouls)

3 blocks

dang. thats pretty good. the fact that it was the frikken Hawks I'm sure didn't hurt him though. Still it was the perfect situation to give darko some real non-garbage minutes. It was a meaningless game, but his playing time actually mattered in the context of the game, which i'm sure helped his confidence. LB should start him again for the last game of the season (if Rasheed still sits out), just to see if if he can give a consistently OK performance given the time.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Darius Miles puts up a career high 47 points on 57% shooting in a loss to the Nuggets, a shame he couldn't do something like that back when the games actually mattered.