NBA Roundtable Discussion

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Well compare a big time elite program of UNC to... Texas. Texas is a good team and a good school but nowhere the prestige UNC has in basketball. So a guy barely cracking an UNC rotation could be a regular starter for a school like Texas. Not really a fair comparison. Don't get me wrong though, I don't agree with Ripper that Durant is just a Marvin Williams.

[alfdogg 0]

The Knicks knew that the Bulls were playing for the Big Macs. They were just upset the score wasn't 100-99 or something and had to whine about everything and anything, in this case "running up the score".

And if it was a close game, Isiah would just claim they were screwed by the refs, as he usually does. Those guys have to be the center of attention, no matter what.

[Brett Favre 0]

They were running up the score period. They were jacking up 3s with like a minute left. Whether or not it's for big macs is irrelavant, because I sure as hell know that if some "punk" like Nate Robinson did the same thing for the fans at MSG, everyone here would be on his ass. Correct, it had everything to do with the score being a 30 point difference, and that's exactly the reason as to why you don't do that.

 

And please, don't get me started on Scott Skiles. The guy was throwing shots at Eddy Curry before and after the game. He's a piece of shit who knew exactly what he was doing in running up the score.

 

Alf, what coach doesn't complain about the refs? Phil Jackson does that shit all the time. When Isiah does it, more times than not its justifiable (if you saw the Utah game, geez man, I wish I could show you the technical they called on Curry after Okur flopped to the ground when no elbow touched him).

 

And Chad Ford is a dumbass. No one should take him seriously. This is the same guy who comes up with like 6 team trades during the trading deadline.

[alfdogg 0]

P.S. - Before I'm accused of bias towards the Knicks, I should point out that the Cavs performed a similar act against the Pacers last month. I didn't have a problem with it then (I would've mentioned it if I did), and I don't now.

[alfdogg 0]

Well, I guess I didn't beat the "If the Knicks did it you'd all complain" wave, but my point still stands.

 

I never said Isiah was the only coach to complain about the refs, and I'm well aware of Phil Jackson's antics. But I don't know of any coaches who play that card as frequently as those two.

 

As for Nate Robinson, yeah, I probably would be more on him, if they would honestly consider running up the score after the way they complained about George Karl earlier in the year.

[Ripper 0]

Well compare a big time elite program of UNC to... Texas. Texas is a good team and a good school but nowhere the prestige UNC has in basketball. So a guy barely cracking an UNC rotation could be a regular starter for a school like Texas. Not really a fair comparison. Don't get me wrong though, I don't agree with Ripper that Durant is just a Marvin Williams.

 

 

I have said it before and I will break it down again.

 

Marvin Williams is a 6'9" Athletic guy that can handle the ball like a guard, has a great midrange and long range jump shot(although he doesn't take many NBA 3's) with so so back to the basket game. He isn't a great passer, and is a decent on the man defensive player that shows flashes of being even better with experience. He is also a decent rebound that will eventually be good for 8-9 rebounds a night. His biggest problem is lack of aggresiveness at times and he is streaky.

 

Kevin Durant is a 6'10" athletic guy that can handle the ball like a guard(although Williams definately is a better ball handler) has a great midrange and longish range jump shot(although, once again, I kinda give Williams the edge in his jumper, though Durant is better at getting his jumper off when it isn't off a kickout). He is a better passer than williams, and is a bad on the man defensive player that shoes flashed of being even better at it with experience. He is a pretty good rebounder, but with his frame I don't see him being good for any more than 8-9 rebounds a night at best. He is aggressive, and works to get his point.

 

Marvin Williams has the better build, is the better ball handler, and probably the better shooter. Durant plays like a superstar though and uses his skills and will take it at his defender while Williams has a tendacy to just settle for the jumper or outright disappear at times.

 

Their games are more than just simular. Its the same game with one being twice as aggressive as the other. When marvin randomly gets aggressive and shows that no 4 man can deal with his ball handling and speed and no 3 man can deal with his bulk, he is just as dominant as you can expect Durant to ever be. But he doesn't do it that often which puts Durant on a different level than him.

 

I am not in any way trying to say Marvin Williams is as good as Kevin Durant. Marvin Williams playing at his potential (which he does do from time to time) is just as good as Kevin Durant (who plays to his potential almost everytime he touches the floor) and neither of them are a Lebron or a Dwayne Wade or a Chris Bosh for that matter...which is why Chris Ford is crazy.

 

If marvin had come back to UNC with a year of being the man, he would have put up Durant like numbers. If I am not mistaken, the entire starting UNC squad from that year made it to the NBA. At least 4 of them did. Durant wasn't QUITE playing with that level of talent.

[Brett Favre 0]

Well, both of them will be number 2 picks (if Oden declares), so it's not a stretch to say they are similar. I think Durant is better, but not by much. Marvin Williams is going to have a great season next year.

[Ripper 0]

That broken hand really screwed him over this year. It was like he never really got his confidence back, although these last couple of games with josh Smith suspended, Josh Childress and Joe Johnson injured, he has been very aggressive....when Tyronne Lue decides to pass him the ball.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Didn't Ripper say that there is no way the Hawks wasn't going to make the playoffs this year? I can't take anything serious he says about the Hawks, because he's so goddamn biased.

[Guest]

I thought they were going to make the playoffs too.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I thought they were going to make the playoffs too.

 

I thought they were going to maybe slip in the 8th seed, but I knew there was a good chance they weren't going to make it. They don't got a good coach, that's been a problem with the Hawks for years.

[Ripper 0]

Because Joe johnson missing 22 games and counting, Josh Childress missing 24 games and counting, Josh Smith missing 10 games and counting, Speedy Claxton missing 37 games and counting, Salim Stoudimire missing 17 games and counting Marvin Williams missing 19 games ZaZa Pachulia missing 10 and Tyronne Lue missing 17 games had no bearing on their record what so ever. Thats roughly 98 points a game. No one in their top EIGHT rotation missed less than 10 games this year. And they have a 9 man rotation.

 

And they were still 2 games out of the playoffs up until about 2 weeks ago when Joe Johnson went down for the season.

 

And they did that with the worse coach in basketball.

 

Call me bias all you want but I would like to see any team lose their top 8 scorers for that much time and win 30+ games.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Don't get me wrong. I was not in any way saying Marvin sucked or anything like that. If he lives up to his potential, I see him as being an excellent PF, multiple All-Star type. Durant is just potentially even better. The question of course is whether Durant is drafted to a team that knows how to use him and that knows how to coach him up to play up to his potential. The teams are lottery teams for a reason, so we'll see.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Because Joe johnson missing 22 games and counting, Josh Childress missing 24 games and counting, Josh Smith missing 10 games and counting, Speedy Claxton missing 37 games and counting, Salim Stoudimire missing 17 games and counting Marvin Williams missing 19 games ZaZa Pachulia missing 10 and Tyronne Lue missing 17 games had no bearing on their record what so ever. Thats roughly 98 points a game. No one in their top EIGHT rotation missed less than 10 games this year. And they have a 9 man rotation.

 

And they were still 2 games out of the playoffs up until about 2 weeks ago when Joe Johnson went down for the season.

 

And they did that with the worse coach in basketball.

 

Call me bias all you want but I would like to see any team lose their top 8 scorers for that much time and win 30+ games.

 

Knew you would come with the injury excuse.

[alfdogg 0]

It's pretty valid in this case. I didn't have them in the playoffs, but that's a lot of games.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

It's pretty valid in this case. I didn't have them in the playoffs, but that's a lot of games.

 

Maybe so, but I don't buy the whole injury excuses. Never have, never will. I've seen teams get past team injuries and go on to have succesful seasons. The biggest problem in ATL is Mike Woodson.

[Ripper 0]

It's pretty valid in this case. I didn't have them in the playoffs, but that's a lot of games.

 

Maybe so, but I don't buy the whole injury excuses. Never have, never will. I've seen teams get past team injuries and go on to have succesful seasons. The biggest problem in ATL is Mike Woodson.

 

 

I don't disagree with Mike Woodson being the biggest problem in Atlanta at all, but please name on team where the top 8 players on the team all missed that many games and still had a sucessful season.

 

I think they would have made the playoffs despite Mike Woodsons ineptness if they could have gotten any combination of those guys back.

 

The Hawks have a .500 record with a healthy team and like I said before the season, a .500 record would get you in the playoffs in the East. With a coach that is about half as retarded as Mike Woodson, I would put them over .500.

 

And Porter, I am not saying Marvin is better than Durant, because, he simply isn't because he is such a passive little pussy more times than not, but when you see him agressive, I think you see what Durant will give you most nights in the NBA. And that player is not better than Wade, Lebron or Bosh like Ford was trying to say.

[Ripper 0]

I played with the NBA's new/old ball today, and honestly, what the fuck what they were thinking. That ball feels NOTHING like the old ball and I agree, it feels quite cheap and crappy.

 

For that 6 hours of NBA experience that I had, i have to tell ya, that leather ball had a great feel to it. It felt better than any ball I had ever touched. I thought that the new ball at least tried to simulate that, but it feels worse than the synthetic outdoor ball I play with now.

[KingPK 0]

Bill Simmons gives the Celtics the lambasting they deserve in one of his best columns in a while. How people aren't revolting at the rumors of Doc Rivers getting a contract extension after posting what will be the second WORST record in the HISTORY of the franchise and has had progressively worse records in the three years he's been coach befuddles me. It's the Pitino Era all over again as the fanbase and media is so beaten down and apathetic that people are actually rooting for them to tank in order to get a CHANCE (not a guarantee, a chance) at the #1 or 2 pick and Oden or Durant. The media lets these guys skate because they talk to them instead of deservedly railroading him like they did with Pitino and the fans just go with it.

 

It's fucking SAD when the winningest franchise in NBA history (and of all of American pro sports to boot) has been rendered so irrelevant in a decade and people just let it go.

Edited April 13, 2007 by KingPK

[Guest Vitamin X]

Good, fuck the Celtics.

[Failed Bridge 0]

as much as I hate to admit it the Celts are the second winningest (is that even a word?) franchise in American Pro sports to the Yankees. I don't know if Doc Rivers is the problem but he's certainly not the solution. I do however know that Danny Ainge needs to be sent packing. The Celtics hired him the year after losing to the Nets for the second straight time in the playoffs and since then have been back only once I believe. That roster has had so much turnover its ridiculous. Its like a child with a copy of NBA 2K just throwing out trades one after the other. He's also responsable for what I felt was a very good coach in Jim O'Brien leaving. Not only did O'Brien turn chicken shit into chicken salad at first but he helped Walker become a leader and Pierce reach his true potential (if you recall Pierce was having difficulties when he first entered the league). I'd peg Ainge as public enemy number one before joining a mob to lynch Doc Rivers.

[alfdogg 0]

[Black Lushus 0]

Yao almost makes it look effortless, just like Hakeem used to do...I like that spot at the end where he ran half the length of the court and dunked. It's always funny to see centers doing that.

[alfdogg 0]

I was mostly posting it for the song, but yeah, I watched that play over a few times, as well.

[Black Lushus 0]

oh...well I'm at work so I had my speakers muted. I'll re-check at home!

[Ripper 0]

Yao's baseline fade away is the most unstoppable shot in the NBA. He should just take that 20 times a game.

[Broward83 0]

 

YAO MING... YAO MING YAO MING YAO MING... YAO MING..... YAO MING!

[Golgo 13 0]

That song is awful. Sorry Alf.

[Just John 0]

The Yao behind-the-back dribble against Portland never gets old.

[Guest Vitamin X]

This was always my favorite Yao Ming moment:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAmKppkDVBA