This week in the NBA

[Guest Vitamin X]

Someone should make a Knicks thread. We keep clogging this one every week.

 

Seriously! Can we have just one NBA thread where it's not all about the Knicks and their contracts. I gave up caring about them.. wait, I never did.

 

Every single week, guys. Fuck.

[Dangerous A 0]

Perhaps we should just make it all about the Lakers instead.

[jwpeer 0]

I wonder if Jerry Sloan is getting tired with all his failed point guards ever since Stockton left.

 

Utah has Okur and Kirilenko...if only they'd had Chris Paul instead of Deron Williams, they'd be a dangerous team.

 

Ray Allen is the most overrated player in the nba, there's no way he's anywhere near the player that Michael Redd is, but he gets about twice the credit and twice the publicity.

 

Milwaukee is looking really good, and they have some clutch ability. If Magloire and Bogut can get some sort of rest near the end of the season and turn it up for the playoffs, they can be a force. They're going to be twice as good next year with some more seasoning. T.J. Ford, michael Redd, Bobby Simmons, Magloire/Joe Smith (One of those guys is getting traded) and a 2nd-year bogut with some improved conditioning and strength. An actual contender imho.

[Dangerous A 0]

Dangerous team? I'd think they'd be ahead in their weak ass division by at least 6 games, if not more.

[jwpeer 0]

Dangerous team? I'd think they'd be ahead in their weak ass division by at least 6 games, if not more.

 

Hahahaha. That's true. That's really the only thing holding Utah back. Poor defense/leadership from the point guard position. Okur's been rebounding insanely well this year, and has such a great variety of ways to score, AK47 is the best defensive player in the league (His arms are inspector gadget-esque)

 

it's just Mcleod and Deron Williams and Palacio are...well just not even all 3 combined what Chris Paul could do for that team.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

... Ray Allen is the most overrated player in the nba, there's no way he's anywhere near the player that Michael Redd is...

Say what now?

[Dangerous A 0]

Utah trading up to get Deron Williams and passing on Chris Paul will haunt that franchise for at least a decade, if not longer.

 

I think Chris Paul can become an MVP candidate next year if things work out well in NOK.

[jwpeer 0]

Utah trading up to get Deron Williams and passing on Chris Paul will haunt that franchise for at least a decade, if not longer.

 

I think Chris Paul can become an MVP candidate next year if things work out well in NOK.

 

 

Very possible. I kinda think he'd like being in Utah more anyhow. I mean...look what he's done to david west's career, he's even helped Kirk Snyder look good. Paul could probably be an MVP candidate THIS year with people like Harpring, Okur, and Kirilenko around him.

 

 

But I disagree on the haunt the franchise...Utah has enough pieces and a smart management that they can be a successful club even after making a mistake. Deron Williams still might be a decent player (I really don't know what his problem was/is this year to actually look worse than he did in college)...and there are always more point guards in the draft. I think Kirilenko/Okur are more irreplacable than Paul would be...I worry that NO-OKC is going to struggle getting anywhere unless they can find a solid big man.

[Ripper 0]

Atlanta not drafting Paul when they needed a point guard is still haunting me. All of the local media was saying Bogut or Paul before the draft. Then Marvin Williams played well in the pre draft camps and I got worried and deservingly so.

 

Although, mark my words, Marvin Williams is going to be a great player. Its just the team needed a point guard and passed him by.

 

And I persoanally don't think Paul would have played as well in Utah. Call me crazy, but I think alot of the point guard failures in Utah since Stockton retired is Jerry Sloan. He is notoriously tough on his players, and a rookie point could fold under the pressure of playing for him. Not that I blame him. You "coach" the greatest point guard ever for over a decade, its tough to try and coach some rookie.

[jwpeer 0]

I really didn't understand Atlanta taking Marvin Williams. Bogut OR Paul would have been more of a difference maker. Bogut + Pachulia with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith/Childress would have been a great foundation and they could have gotten a point guard later....or get Chris Paul and been good now (With a little less size)...but there was no real reason to take Williams (I personally don't buy him as a superstar, he looked way too passive of a player at North Carolina...Rudy Gay is going to turn out the same way I feel, they have all this long athletic talent, but they don't seem to be consistent nor do they ever make the BIG play.)

 

 

 

 

That's an interesting point about Sloan, and it's possible. But if they stick with Deron Williams next year, and he can grow and adapt to the style...it might pay dividends.

 

Yet, I think Sloan is also responsible for how tough Kirilenko is, and how Okur has improved. In the last year Okur has become a much more aggressive defensive player/rebounder than when he was in Detroit. But Sloan is really brutal on rookies (Kirk Snyder, Kris Humphries, Deron Williams)...but I think unlike Larry Bornw he doesn't dislike them, he just expects so much out of them, and if they can prove it to him I don't doubt they'd get playing time.

[Ripper 0]

Watching Marvin play(and being suprised that he has such a great jumpshot. I mean really...with consistant three point range) I think he will be very good with alot of minutes. He is a beast on the boards, he is already a pretty good one on one defender, and while he can't create his own shot yet, he is getting there.

 

My problem will always remain that he, Josh Smith and Josh Childress(and All Harrington and Donta Smith) all play the same position. Dumb dumb draft by the Hawks. Now you have a Number two overall pick that can't get minutes because his position is crowded.

 

By the way. Has anyone noticed how anytime Bill Walton does a Mavs game he makes sure to take a shot at the now retired Shawn Bradley for being a "stiff that can't play". What the fuck is that all about. I think deep down inside, Bill knows he is the single most overrated player in the history of the NBA and that if people look, he and Shawn Bradley's numbers aren't that far apart and if it weren't for his rings, he would be nothing more than a redheaded Shawn Bradly.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Don't diss my boy, Ripper.

 

Also, I never want to read aobut the Knicks again. Congratulations, you're the Boston Red Sox of basketball, and you're not even good at that.

[Ripper 0]

Don't diss my boy, Ripper.

 

 

Walton or Bradley?

 

Ripper - always was a fan of Shawn Bradley.

[alfdogg 0]

For all the people complaining about Thomas' GM abilities and Brown's coaching, just be thankful it's not the other way around.

 

And I think Chris Paul should have made the All-Star team ahead of Ray Allen, but Allen smokes Redd in pretty much every way imaginable.

[nogoodnick 0]

Same shit different day. Sebastion Telfair attempted to board team plane with gun in his FUCKING PILLOWCASE! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!

 

BREAKING NEWS RE: TELFAIR

 

By Jason Quick

The Oregonian

 

Trail Blazers guard Sebastian Telfair has been fined by the team, and could face further disciplinary action from the NBA, after a loaded handgun was found on the team’s private jet Saturday at Boston’s Logan Airport.

 

Telfair, 20, had hidden the Smith & Wesson handgun in a pillow case, but it was discovered during a sweep by Transportation Security Administration personnel as the team prepared to fly from Boston to Toronto, according to TSA spokesperson Jennifer Peppin.

 

“He said it was an accident,’’ Peppin said.

 

The Blazers said the gun is registered in Oregon to Samantha Rodriguez, Telfair’s girlfriend of five years. Telfair, who declined to comment Wednesday morning at the team’s shootaround in Oklahoma City, told team officials that he inadvertently grabbed his girlfriend’s Louis Vuitton handbag, which contained the gun, when the team left Portland on Feb. 7 for its five-game trip.

 

Peppin said the matter was immediately turned over to the Massachusetts Port Authority, who determined on Tuesday that no charges would be filed.

 

However, the Blazers fined Telfair an undisclosed amount for violating league and team policy, which bans firearms on team transportation. The NBA on Wednesday said it is still reviewing the case.

 

“While we had to allow the legal process to run its course, and we’re grateful it appears that the authorities have determined Sebastian initially made an innocent mistake, he clearly compounded the situation by making the wrong choice by not notifying the team’s traveling security agent about his situation immediately” Blazers president Steve Patterson said Wednesday. “He has apologized profusely, but he knows he must be held accountable for his actions. He will pay the price for his error in judgment for violating both team and league policy. The organization has also learned a lesson from this issue and is taking steps to tighten security for all carry-on items on our team plane.”

 

Blazers coach Nate McMillan did not punish Telfair after the incident, playing him 22 minutes in Toronto on Sunday and 23 minutes Monday in Charlotte.

 

“We are just seeing what the league is going to do now,’’ McMillan said Wednesday.

 

The team plays tonight in Oklahoma City, its last game before the All-Star Break. The Blazers season will resume Feb. 21 in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

[jwpeer 0]

For all the people complaining about Thomas' GM abilities and Brown's coaching, just be thankful it's not the other way around.

 

And I think Chris Paul should have made the All-Star team ahead of Ray Allen, but Allen smokes Redd in pretty much every way imaginable.

 

You really would rather have Allen than Redd on your team?

 

I watched every seattle playoff game last season...and Ray Allen is a defensive liability. Redd is a much stronger player physically, and while not an all-pro defender, is certainly significantly better than Allen.

 

Allen may have the 'smoother' shot, but I feel that Redd is much more proficient in making his teammates better and working within the framework of an offense.

 

 

I just never liked the way Ray Allen has played the game, he doesn't really make anyone better, he runs up and down the floor and hits some shots, but he's never really done anything to garner all this praise.

 

Redd and Allen have identical 3 point percentages, very similar rebounding and assists numbers... Allen's turned the ball over a little bit more.

 

Statistically they're almost identical players, and taking that into account I'd have to take Redd over Allen every time.

[Rendclaw 0]

That is un-fucking-believable.

 

I just cannot come up with any words to comment on this fine bit of idiocy.

 

As far as all the Knick talk goes, they are not going to be good for at least three to five years, and no well-reasoned piece of logic anyone here comes up with is going to alter Cena's Writer's fandom. Its almost like me and Vitamin X last year arguing about Kobe.

[alfdogg 0]

If I could have had one in the offseason, I would have taken Redd simply because of the age factor, Allen's approaching his mid-30's I believe. But right now, I think Allen is the better player...you are right that they're similar stat-wise, but I think I'd rather have the ball in Allen's hands when it's crunch time. Pardon my hyperbole earlier.

[Guest Vitamin X]

That is un-fucking-believable.

 

I just cannot come up with any words to comment on this fine bit of idiocy.

 

As far as all the Knick talk goes, they are not going to be good for at least three to five years, and no well-reasoned piece of logic anyone here comes up with is going to alter Cena's Writer's fandom. Its almost like me and Vitamin X last year arguing about Kobe.

 

That's nothing like it. I don't even remember what it was we were arguing about, and even then, it was a difference of opinion between you and I, if anything. EVERY WEEK this turns into "Knicks Talk".

 

Although I certainly wasn't wrong about Kobe being able to be a #1 guy for his team, if this year proved anything. Hell, I'm even more right for talking about the injuries and coaching keeping the Lakers down last year, and of course the lack of a true inside presense and good point guard. At least we have (sort of) the second one now. They need a reliable big inside, and they were looking for it in Kwame, but, uh... yeah...

[jwpeer 0]

If I could have had one in the offseason, I would have taken Redd simply because of the age factor, Allen's approaching his mid-30's I believe. But right now, I think Allen is the better player...you are right that they're similar stat-wise, but I think I'd rather have the ball in Allen's hands when it's crunch time. Pardon my hyperbole earlier.

 

 

I would agree that in crunch-time Allen is probably a little more able to create his own space for a shot.

 

 

I'm just such a fan of what Milwaukee has done with their team, I really like all the individual players they have and am really impressed with how they're working together. If anyone is going to become an excellent team following the pistons model of success, it's going to be Milwaukee assuming an appropriate level of development they have all the pieces to create a very dynamic -team- of basketball players.

[Guest]

Atlanta not drafting Paul when they needed a point guard is still haunting me. All of the local media was saying Bogut or Paul before the draft. Then Marvin Williams played well in the pre draft camps and I got worried and deservingly so.

I do not understand that to this day. He could have really helped them.

 

Williams will be a good player as well, but he never will be that guy for the Hawks.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I miss the old days when the Trailblazers would sign fuck-ups who at could at least win some ballgames.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Crazy trade idea: Why don't the Bulls offer something like Ben Gordon, Tim Thomas and their two first round picks this year for Kevin Garnett? Wouldn't this be something that could help out both teams?

 

Minnesota would have a good, young player, two lottery picks and plenty of cap room heading into the summer. It's not like they are going to compete anytime soon... why not let Garnett go have a chance somewhere else and get out from the weight of his contract?

[Guest]

If they traded Garnett, I think they can forget about competing. Forever.

[Cuban Linx 0]

I'd say Telfair's topped Stoudamire's 'weed wrapped in tinfoil through a metal detector' incident as the teams #1 airport-related retarded act. Sneaking a loaded gun onto a plane for god knows what idiotic reason, that's some real stupidity even by recent Jailblazer standards. So much for cleaning up the teams image...

 

At least the Rasheed/Bonzi/Damon-era Blazers could actually win a game in between the stupidity, it's harder to look past the off-court antics when the team is now dead-last in the conference, can't score, can't defend and regularly gets hammered by 20, 30, even up to 45 points.

[The Czech Republic 0]

I miss the old days when the Trailblazers would sign fuck-ups who at could at least win some ballgames.

And I miss Arvydas Sabonis.

[Dangerous A 0]

Ripper has to be loving the Hawks beating the Lakers. I was in disbelief at that one. Then again, the Hawks have also beaten SA and Detroit this year. This one was more surprising because it was in LA, but still shows that youthful legs can be dangerous if they put things together. That and LA blew a ton of free throw oppurtunities.

[alfdogg 0]

The Hawks are 2-0 against the Pacers so far. They play each other next Friday.

[Ripper 0]

I loved it.

 

But this game will seal the deal on them trading Al Harrington. He got into foul trouble and thus allowed more Minutes for the Josh's and they responded with 21-15 for Smith and 20-7 for Childress. Plus Marvin William was able to chip in 12. Josh Smith had 2 HUGE blocks that pretty much sealed that game for them. His shot Blocking is one of the more impressive things I have ever seen.

 

Al Harrington is good as gone now. Royal Ivy just bought himself 4th quarter minutes. Salim Stoudimire is probably one of the best shooters in the league, but his inability to pass or really handle the ball outside of setting up his own shot is going to keep him on the bench. If he was in phoenix or a team with a low post threat, he would be a 20+ point a game scorer. The guy can flat out shoot.

 

The funniest thing last night I noticed was everytime a Laker made a mistake, Kobe would have this "you fucking fuck up" look on his face. Everytime he fucked up he would clap and say lets go really loud and just run down court. That has got to be annoying. Smush Parker missed to free throws and Kobe did that stare at him of disbelief then clapped his hands with the angry face at him. Then he went up and missed two, and I swear you could see a smirk on Parkers face.

 

I personally think they just don't like that dude.

[Brett Favre 0]

Don't diss my boy, Ripper.

 

Also, I never want to read aobut the Knicks again. Congratulations, you're the Boston Red Sox of basketball, and you're not even good at that.

 

Lets talk about Tyson Chandler's contract.

 

I think JJ Redick is going to be a Ben Gordon type player.