This week in the NBA

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

It happened to Tim Floyd, too!

 

Stupid Bulls. On a day when the town is abuzz with the shitty Bears blowing out the Packers, the Blackhawks getting back on track after a skid, and a minivan crashing into the studio during the 10 o'clock news, the poor moribund Bulls try to get any attention they can get.

 

What? Where? How did I miss this?

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Never mind. I love youtube.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Fun game to watch; I was hoping to see a few Josh Smith blocks, though. I tried to get a Kennedy-esque "PENALTY!" chant going when Indiana got in foul trouble early in the first, but it didn't catch on.

[Ripper 0]

I enjoyed the game, but the refs were too interested in being the stars. And they did have the real alcohol in the suite last night and only had freakin beer. So despite the Hawks win, I was a little disappointed in my outing.

[alfdogg 0]

Mike Mizzolini (I'm sure I spelled that wrong, but it's the guy who sits in with Stephen A. Smith on his ESPN radio show) claims that Tim Legler is "showing no respect" to the Celtics by ranking them #3 in his power rankings behind the Pistons and Spurs.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

No no no no no no no no no. I can't deal with this any longer.

[Cartman 0]

I dunno I agree with Legler. They lost to the Pistons (Phenominal game) and have yet to play the Spurs. I think the Celtics can definitely play at the level of those two teams but until they get some wins against them and the other top teams in the NBA they are ranked just fine for me. It sucks that they don't get to play the Spurs until February though. I really anticipate their two matchups as is could be a preview for the Finals.

 

 

[Brett Favre 0]

The Spurs and Pistons have beaten better teams, so they're ahead of them.

[Ripper 0]

The spurs have beaten...who exactly?

 

Bottomline, no one has really beaten anyone because there are all of 5 good teams in the league.

 

Suns, Spurs, Celtics, Pistons are the best teams in the league right now. Then there are the others who are all just inconsistant as hell.

[Brett Favre 0]

They beat the Mavericks, Jazz (I know they're struggling but they're still good, and SA didn't have Duncan), Denver, Portland (who's good now), and the Lakers.

[alfdogg 0]

The Spurs are multi-time champions who have beaten everyone there is to beat over the last five years. They don't have quite as much to prove as the Celtics do, I would say.

[Ripper 0]

Oh I don't disagree with the ranking at 3. Spurs are the champs and their record says they are the best seeing as they have had injuries and the Pistons have beaten the Celtics so by default they are number 2, and the celtics are ahead of the suns because they have the leagues best record, but I am just saying that pretending the Celtics haven't played anyone isn't really cool seeing as neither has any of the other top teams. Most of the league is mediocre right now.

[Rendclaw 0]

Personally the Celtics are a touch overrated because they have been feasting on the weaker teams to get the record they have had, an only now are playing the higher echelon teams. I'd place them at #4 behind the Trail Blazers.

 

I'm watching the replay of the Pistons/Pacers game tonight. The Pacers' new style of basketball (Phoenix-lite) might be good enough to beat most teams on any given night, but we all know that the Pistons are one of the premier defensive teams in the league, and that style is not going to work very well unless you are shooting the lights out.

 

I was amused to see a shot of Kid Rock with a hot-ass blonde. You know he tapped that a few times after the game.

 

Sheesh, 9:25 left in the game and its already garbage time as all five positions are taken by the Pistons' younger bench players.

 

EDIT: Fuck, Walter Hermann with a Dr. J-esque palming reverse layup.... wow.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I feel like I'm seeing a lot more games than usual that have a guy putting up massive rebound numbers. I think yesterday's games had a 17, a 20, a 21, and a 22.

[Brett Favre 0]

Kyle Korver was traded to the Jazz for Gordan Giricek and a first rounder. I like the trade for both teams. The Jazz don't need anymore rookies, and Korver gives them the outside threat they've been missing.

[Ripper 0]

Personally the Celtics are a touch overrated because they have been feasting on the weaker teams to get the record they have had, an only now are playing the higher echelon teams. I'd place them at #4 behind the Trail Blazers.

 

But once again, who are these better teams that they could be feasting on? I repeat, there are 5 good teams in the league.

 

They have beaten every team in the Eastern Conference except Detroit (who they lost to with last second free throws). They also have beaten the Denver, Warriors and lakers by double digits (the 4, 5 and 8 seed in the west). Plus all th teams that were supposed to be good that ended up having a bad start (like Chicago).

 

Not only have they beaten ever playoff team not named detroit that they have played, they have kicked the shit out of them.

 

So to maintain the belief that they haven't played anyone, you have to be saying 10 of the 15 teams that are in the playoffs as of right now don't matter. Thats a tad bit ridiculous.

[tominator89 0]

Kyle Korver was traded to the Jazz for Gordan Giricek and a first rounder. I like the trade for both teams. The Jazz don't need anymore rookies, and Korver gives them the outside threat they've been missing.

 

I assume Andre Miller is the next 76er to be traded?

[Precious Roy 0]

I assume Andre Miller is the next 76er to be traded?

 

The Cavs should do everything possible to try and get Miller. Larry Hughes and Daniel Gibson aren't point guards. They could be really, really dangerous with 'Dre back there. I don't know what they have to trade though, all their picks are going to be in the 20's and the 6ers already got loaded with mediocre draft #'s in the Iverson deal. Varejao and Gibson are probably the most desirable but they're also pretty important to the Cavs and most importantly both of them seem to have really good chemistry with LeBron. Drew Gooden is a guy they could part with, he's really talented and plays hard but he's also inconsistent and seems to be overmatched sometimes, I don't know if he'd appeal to Philly.

[KingPK 0]

Celtics are 3-0 on this West Coast swing after beating Utah. Tomorrow is 80's throwback night against the Lakers, so you know what that means:

 

 

SHORT SHORTS~!

[Rendclaw 0]

Oh great... the return of nutters.... wonderful.

 

Rip, I am not disagreeing that the Celtics are a very good team, but as I said, 4th ranking in the league at best. I did say they only recently started playing the better teams, and not the majority of the middle-to-lower echelon teams that they got their record off of. They are not quite yet good enough to beat either the Pistons or the Spurs in a seven game series. This year is a good story and they will make the playoffs, but this verbal fellating of the Celtics is getting ridiculous.

 

I think that it all comes down to when their big three can do better about playing together. Paul Pierce still jacks it up just a little too much. I think once they really get used to each other, they are going be really dangerous. Rajan Rondo I think is the true X factor more than anything.

 

The Eastern Conference is still behind the West, even though Garnett and Allen going to the Celtics evened it out somewhat. Beating every team in the East is not that big of an accomplishment, *especially* with a team as talented as the Celtics are right now. The West still is the measuring stick for a good team, and so far they are doing well.

 

And without actually looking at the win-loss records, I would say that 10-12 of the teams in the league truly don't matter to a talented team. I hate to bash Alf's team, but the Pacers don;t matter as much to a team like the Pistons as much as say, the Cavs do, but that has more to do with what happened to the Pistons last year. I just watched the Pistons beat the Pacers twice on home-at home games on consecutive nights.

 

And as far as Andre Miller goes, that cat can be dangerous. Cleveland should do almost anything possible to get him if they are serious about winning a championship.

[milliondollarchamp 0]

The first round pick is protected, according to Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski.

 

The pick can start in 2009 and the Sixers have seven years in which to make it. There are different protections for each year, according to Stefanski.

 

Teams protect picks in case they are in the situation to receive a high choice, thus not losing it.

 

Stefanski estimated that the Sixers are $10 million under next year’s salary cap, which may be the most room any team has in the league.

[Ripper 0]

But with what you said, how can you put them behind Portland who has beaten the same group of people? Or the Pistons whose only "good" opponent so far has been the Celtics. I don't understand the "yeah, but"'s with the Celtics record but not with the Pistons, or for that case, the Spurs have lost to every good team they have played except Orlando. And the Celtics are demolishing the teams that are beating the Spurs and Pistons.

 

I don't see how you could possibly put them 4th.

 

I see it as

 

1a: Spurs

1b: Pistons

1c: Celtics

2: Suns

3: Whoever you want to put here. It doesn't really matter.

 

There is no real separation between the top 3 teams in the league right now.

 

[mike546 0]

Wouldn't it make sense to put the Lakers at 4 instead of the Suns, considering they've beaten them twice this year and have very similar records?

[Guest]

It's pretty much like this.

 

1. Celtics

1. Pistons

1. Spurs

 

The end. The Suns don't have the interior defense to be mentioned with any of those three.

[Rendclaw 0]

I would have to agree with King there. If the Suns were even just a little bit better defensively, I would put them at #1, with the Spurs right behind them. As much fun as it is to watch at times, trying to simply outrun and outscore teams isn't enough. They score 109 points per game, but allow their opponents 103. A bad call here, a missed shot there, and you can lose as many games as you win. They haven't gotten to the promised land yet under this system, and with Steve Nash getting older, other players wanting to be traded and the like, I don;t think that they will. Conference Finals? Sure, almost every year, but no further.

 

My top five teams goes like this (without the silly 1a stuff):

 

1: Spurs. Until they either go on a major losing streak or Duncan goes down again, this is their spot to lose. Though if they keep losing to teams that they should win against like Toronto, they just might get knocked off their perch.

 

2: Pistons. I know, call me a homer, but an eight game winning streak and winning 17 out of their last 20 still is exactly that. They had a bit of a slow start to the season for them, but they have picked it up in a big way. Their defense is starting to approach the level of when they won the title in 2004. I just would be happy if they started beating teams they have problems with, like Utah.

 

3: Trail Blazers: As dangerous as this team is right now, I personally think that they are overacheiving big time. Everyone wrote their season off when Oden went down, and what they are doing right now is nothing short of amazing. I just don;t think they can keep it up, but 12 straight is 12 straight. Big props to them for not folding.

 

4: Celtics: I took a look at their schedule, and my hypothesis was correct in that the majority of teams they played to this point were middle to low end. Their three losses came to the upper echelon teams in the East; Pistons, Magic, Cavs. They just avenged those losses to the Magic and the Cavs, and being 3-0 on their Western road trip nets them this spot, especially after beating a very good Utah team, even though they are having their problems right now.

 

5: Lakers: I was going to put Phoenix here until I looked at their last five games. The Lakers are 4-1 over that stretch with two quality wins (Utah and Phoenix). Phoenix was 3-2 over that same stretch, and beating the Clippers twice on a home-at home just is not quite good enough. mike546 is on the money with his comment.

 

Is that objective enough?

 

Going strictly by record, its Boston, Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix and New Orleans. New Orleans?? Wow.

 

And as far as proving my point about teams that don;t matter, as of this moment there are ten.

 

East: Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte, New York, Miami.

 

West: Sacramento, Clippers, Seattle, Memphis, Minnesota.

 

I could even throw in Philly and Cleveland for argument's sake. There's my 10-12.

[Precious Roy 0]

Oh man, I thought you were trying to be funny earlier when you put the Blazers in your top 5. Portland at #3 is just laughably short sighted. 12-0 is impressive, but come on. If they end up much better than a .500 team I will eat my hat. Portland ahead of Phoenix?!?! Los Angeles??! Dallas??? Even New Orleans looks like a better bet this season. And you would throw in Cleveland as a team that "doesn't matter"??! On what planet???

[Guest]

My top 5, in order, is...

 

1. Spurs. They haven't been healthy in weeks! And they're still picking up win after win after win.

 

2. Pistons. You have to have a lot of big players to beat them. The only teams that have that sort of size are the Spurs and Lakers. And the Lakers aren't THAT good.

 

3. Celtics. We'll see tonight if they can beat a good team on the road.

 

4. Dallas. Don't forget about them.

 

5. Lakers. They're not beating teams, they're destroying them. Their last two losses were by a combined total of 6 points. Many of their wins were much worse before the scrubs came in. Especially the New York game that our bench choked away.

 

The Suns...I still don't know about. Grant Hill's gonna get hurt. They lost to THE FUCKING T-WOLVES and HEAT. It's hard to gauge them accurately until they learn to defend the post, and use their bench. They're falling into the trap of only playing 8 guys again. Even in wins, someone's abusing them down low.

[chaosrage 0]

My top 5, in order, is...

 

1. Spurs. They haven't been healthy in weeks! And they're still picking up win after win after win.

 

2. Pistons. You have to have a lot of big players to beat them. The only teams that have that sort of size are the Spurs and Lakers. And the Lakers aren't THAT good.

 

3. Celtics. We'll see tonight if they can beat a good team on the road.

 

4. Dallas. Don't forget about them.

 

5. Lakers. They're not beating teams, they're destroying them. Their last two losses were by a combined total of 6 points. Many of their wins were much worse before the scrubs came in. Especially the New York game that our bench choked away.

 

The Suns...I still don't know about. Grant Hill's gonna get hurt. They lost to THE FUCKING T-WOLVES and HEAT. It's hard to gauge them accurately until they learn to defend the post, and use their bench. They're falling into the trap of only playing 8 guys again. Even in wins, someone's abusing them down low.

 

Spurs lost to Toronto, Memphis, and Sacramento. They're playing Memphis again tonight and they're down by 12. And the Suns beat the Spurs.

 

[Guest]

The Spurs didn't have Tony Parker in their loss to the Suns. And losing to the T-Wolves and Heat are the two worst losses you can possibly have.

 

The Suns just have to prove one thing. That they can guard a post player. If they could, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Because I would have placed them right behind San Antonio.

[alfdogg 0]

No offense taken, Rendclaw.

 

And once again, the Spurs and Pistons don't have to prove that they can beat the elite teams. They've been doing it for YEARS. The Celtics have been together all of two months, and only last night beat a legit threat in the West on the road.

 

I still like the Spurs, until someone beats them in a series. But the Pistons team I saw this weekend, particularly on Friday night, could easily win another title. I'd just be concerned about another ECF meltdown, as I mentioned before.