This week in the NBA

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

You'd fit right in on a Kings board...

 

The bottom line is, we could have won it in Game 7, but we choked. If we were worthy, we would have won it... If the Suns were worthy, they would have, too.

 

Slim's right. I still to this day think that the Kings were the better team in 2002 and should have won the whole thing, but it's their fault they lost. Sure the refs made some dubious calls in Game 6, but the thing would have been over in 5 if someone would have guarded Robert Horry and game 7 was all theirs for the taking. It took a chokerific performance in the 4th and OT to let that thing get away.

[Brett Favre 0]

Well that's pretty unfair don't you think? They should have won even though the referees screwed them over in Game 6? What the hell is that?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Well that's pretty unfair don't you think? They should have won even though the referees screwed them over in Game 6? What the hell is that?

 

 

Bad calls and bad referees are part of the game. You don't make excuses based on officiating.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

The sort of people who cry about "unfair" are the sort of people who don't want to deal with the fact that they or their team couldn't close the deal, and want approbation from other people.

[Brett Favre 0]

Or just want a fairly officiated contest.

[Ripper 0]

Um, I am sorry, but all this "the spurs were the better team" stuff is pure bullshit.

 

The suns weren't the better team iether. They were two completely evenly matched teams and the ball happened to bounce the Spurs way thanks to:

 

A: Steve Nash(who had 31 points at the time and shooting the ball incredibly well) busting his face and missing all the important plays at the end of game one. Shit happens, and there is no way of saying that Suns would have won had he not busted his face. But to pretend that had no bearing on the game is just silly. The Suns had one turnover and one just busted play on the three plays he was out to close out the game.

 

B: There happened to be this guy that is now in prison that called ALOT of really REALLY bad calls on the Suns in game 3 of that series. Once again, maybe its a coincidence, maybe he really did think all those horrible calls he made were the right ones, but still. He single handedly kept Amare on the bench during that game and the Spurs can't guard AMare.

 

C: The suspensions. I am not arguing if they are right or wrong, but once again, to pretend this had NOTHING to do with the series outcome is ri-goddamned diculous. The series 2-2 and the Suns most unstoppable player in the series and his backup(who wasn't doing much anyway) can't play? The Suns were up 15 in the 4th of that one and just wore out with Kurt Thomas sucking wind and missing shot after shot in the 4th until they had to go to a even smaller lineup and lost the game. Out load every commentator, and writer wondered if this game would wear them out for the next game.

 

Now, part of C was Mike D'Antoni's fault for not using his bench all year long and not having the trust in them in that game, thus wearing out his remaining rotation guys for the next game.

 

But once again, to look at all that and say "Whatever, the Spurs were just the better team" is just plain silly. Play that series 10 times and the Suns win 5 and the Spurs win 5. Neither one of them could stop the other. The addition of Raja Bell defensively was what evened the squads up.

 

 

A recap: Game one: Spurs win by 5 when Nash busts his face and they execute down the stretch. Game 2: The Suns blow them out of the building. Game 3: In another grind it out game, the Spurs win by 7 by making their freethrows at the end. Amare only gets to play 21 minutes(and scores 21 points) because of ALOT of dubious foul calls. Game 4: SUns win by 6 and Robert Horry pulls a Jojo English. Game 5: Spurs beat the Suns without their leading scorer by 3 points. Only 6 Suns play(well...7 if you count Pat Burkes 3 minutes). Game 6: Spurs win by 8.

 

 

I don't see how you can look at that and find the "better" team.

 

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Or just want a fairly officiated contest.

 

 

Look I'm a Kings fan and 2002 was the second most crushing defeat I've ever had to deal with as a sports fan (behind the 2003 ALCS), but I'm not going to make excuses for a team that had every opportunity to win the series outside of one poorly officiated game.

 

Game 6 was the worst refereed game that I have ever seen in professional sports and the phantom Bibby foul was beyond suspicious but I'm not dense enough to think it was some sort of set-up by the league. Referees make bad calls. It's just a part of the game. I don't think there was anything unfair about the Kings-Lakers or Suns-Spurs series.

[Ripper 0]

Game 6 was horribly officiated but the Kings missed...no...airballed two WIDE THE FUCK OPEN midrange shots that could have won the game. They were screwed in game six and choked in game 7. Simple as that.

 

I do think its kinda unfair to say "So what they were screwed in game 6" but they had plenty of opportunities. Like it was said before, that was the only "What the HELL" game of the series and they should have had it put away in 5 games.

[alfdogg 0]

Just a couple things.

 

1) The Spurs may not be able to guard Amare, but Amare can't guard anyone, either. Maybe he stays in the game and Duncan puts up 30 or 40 on him.

 

2) Horry's "JoJo English" was him dipping his shoulder into Nash and Nash leaping melodramatically into the scorer's table. Anyone watching this with an open mind can tell that this was mostly an acting job on Nash's part. Unfortunately the acting was so good that it brought Amare and Diaw off the bench for a suspension. And again, leading up to that moment was the Suns making the comeback behind, among other things, a lot the same "dubious" officiating that was seen in game 3.

 

3) As far as the rotation being tired out, that's all on D'Antoni. He had plenty of capable players on his bench that he didn't even use (albeit none that could fill Amare's shoes in Game 5.)

Edited January 23, 2008 by alfdogg

[alfdogg 0]

JoJo English, not JoJo White, haha.

[Ripper 0]

Hey now. Those capable players he kept on the bench were Jalen Rose(who they could have used) Pat Burke...HA and Marcus Banks(also could have used, but they weren't missing guards.

 

The problem with that game was that Kurt Thomas had to play 36 minutes and was just DONE by the 4th.

 

And yes, Duncan would have put up 40...thats what he does against the Suns because they don't double him.

 

Parker can't stop Nash, Nash can't stop Parker, Amare can't stop Duncan, Duncan can't stop Amare. Raja can slow down Ginobli, Ginobli actually makes Raja more effective with his gambling for steals. They can't stop Barbosa, Barbosa couldn't stop any of them. It was a completely evenling matched game.

 

Once again, I would like to stress, I am not saying that the Suns definately would have won the series. I have no idea who WOULD have won. But to completely ignore teams top star having to sit out the last 50 seconds of a tie ball game where he is the leading scorer because of a busted nose, a NBA official who single handedly made 6-7 HORRIBLE, WTF inducing calls in game 3 who also happened to get arrested and sent to prison for fixing games, and the suspension of the teams leading scorer and his backup, reigning MIP player missing another game and then to say that the Spurs were CLEARLY the better team...I just don't see it.

 

They are two teams, evenly put together who were giving us the best playoff matchup of the year. Shit happened that prevented the two full teams to go at each other and see who the best was going to be during that series.

[Precious Roy 0]

This is something we did last year at midseason and thought it would be fun to try again.

 

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East?

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West?

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title?

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all?

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season?

 

6. Who's the MVP so far?

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment?

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most?

 

1. Detroit, but Boston is neck and neck. Probably a 7 game coin toss.

 

2. San Antonio, because they are who we thought they were. Phoenix hasn't proven it in the playoffs yet, and Dallas....I'm down on Nowitzki after last year and the collapse in the finals.

 

3. S-P-U-R-S

 

4. I would have said LA before the Bynum injury. Cleveland, but they aren't really a darkhorse being as they were a finalist last year. I guess I'd have to say Denver, not that I really think it could happen, but you have to respect their talent level if everyone is healthy. Utah or New Orleans I just can't see happening this year, and Portland could win 60 games and I still wouldn't consider them a true contender. Nobody in the East outside of Detroit, Boston and Cleveland remotely resembles a championship team.

 

5. Kevin Durant. A rookie that can come into the league and be a 20 point scorer and go to offensive player is a pretty rare thing, especially one who should be a sophomore in college. Sure, his team doesn't win much and he has some terrible nights shooting the ball, but he's pretty far ahead of his peers at this point. Al Horford is runner up, he's been a consistent, near double double presence for a decent Hawks club. Sean Williams is my darkhorse, but I don't think he'll be consistent enough to really move into the picture.

 

6. Chris Paul

 

7. Chicago by far. They came into the year as a favorite in the East and a lock for a top 4 playoff seed, and at this point all they have to show for the season is a fired coach and strife amongst the players. Miami will be a popular answer, but between Shaq being old and injury prone, Wade coming into the year hurt, and bringing in guys like Smush Parker and Penny Hardaway (neither of whom lasted into the new year it should be noted) I didn't expect them to be all that good this year. I didn't expect them to be this bad, it's amazing to me that a team with Wade can lose 14 straight games, but they really are pretty bad beyond him, Haslem and J-Will when he's healthy. Ricky Davis has been a huge bust for them.

 

8. As a Knicks fan, yeah, we're not lacking in "storylines" or "situations". It's like Vince Russo is booking our team. The only thing we're missing is pyro and ballyhoo.

[naiwf 0]

For all you people that are picking New Orleans as a darkhorse, have you forgotten that they have no bench? Without an acquisition or two, I can't even see them getting out of the first round with that lack of depth.

 

Well the only darkhorses with a chance at doing anything this year are New Orleans and the Lakers. I don't really see how Dallas is a darkhorse when they were in the Finals 2 years ago, and the # 1 seed in the West last year. The Hornets will probably lose in the 1st round of the playoffs, but there aren't a whole of options to choose from

[Guest]

If there aren't a whole lot of options to choose from, you could just put nobody. I put Dallas as a darkhorse because they lost to the fuckin' Warriors last year in the first round. Not very many have taken them seriously since.

[naiwf 0]

That's true. I think everyone assumes that either Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix or San Antonio is winning the title and that the other 25 teams are just playing for the last 11 playoff spots and ping pong balls. It would take a minor miracle for all 5 of those teams to lose in the postseason.

[Guest]

Yeah. I'd be really surprised if any of them lost early, unless one of the Western teams suffered a major injury in the regular season that cost them playoff position and subsequently home court advantage.

[Precious Roy 0]

To the people naming Boston as the favorite to win it all...

 

I'm as impressed as anyone by what they've done this year, especially by the fact that their success has been predicated moreso on their defensive effort rather than their ability to outscore people with their trio of all-stars. Doc Rivers should be coach of the year, and KG has to be an MVP favorite......but I just don't think this team will win it all as presently constructed. They could, but Detroit/San Antonio will be a tall order, especially the Spurs. The main reason is Rondo and the lack of depth. Rondo is a liability on offense and is way too much of an unfinished product to be asked to play 30+ minutes at point for a team that hopes to win it all. Maybe he can capture lightning in a bottle and put it all together come playoff time, but from what I've seen he's been extremely inconsistent but the talent of KG, Allen and Pierce has made up for it. The margin for error is much smaller in the postseason. As for the bench, after Posey they're very thin and one dimensional. Eddie House can score but that's about it, and Glen Davis shows flashes but he's an undersized rookie PF and they don't want to play KG at center/have him at primary post defender more than they have to. Their lack of depth at PG and C is a concern.

 

Now, if they go out and add a couple veterans before the trade deadline we're looking at a different picture. Damon Stoudamire has been rumoured, Earl Boykins is unsigned, Chris Webber is unsigned, Gary Payton wants to play for Boston again, I'm sure they'll make a couple moves, but right now they've got some unresolved issues.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Boston will probably end up with Sam Cassell or Damon Stoudamire before too long. It just depends on what happens in the trade market before their potential buyouts. That will go a long way towards solving their bench and PG issues.

[Precious Roy 0]

If they get Cassell I'd probably have to give them the nod in the east. Stoudamire would be a fine addition too, but Cassell would be the best case scenario. I still think they'd need to add another big as well though.

[alfdogg 0]

Guess the Bulls have given up on the whole "salvaging the season" thing.

 

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng will be "shut down" for "a significant period of time" because of his sore left Achilles tendon, interim coach Jim Boylan said Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

 

Deng, the team's second-leading scorer, was inactive for Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers. He missed three games with the same injury earlier this month and sat out the Bulls' victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday when it flared up again.

 

Boylan wouldn't guess as to the length of Deng's absence, but said it will be weeks, not days, according to the Tribune.

 

The Bulls are already without guard Chris Duhon, who is out with a bone bruise in his left knee.

 

Deng is averaging 17.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Bulls (16-24). His 47.8 percent field goal shooting percentage is the best among the Bulls' regulars.

 

"Since he's had the injury it's kind of stayed with him," Boylan said Saturday. "It gets better on occasion and he can play, and then it comes back.

 

"It's something we have not been able to get a full handle on, so it's a problem. But we have so many games, and not a lot of time to rest him."

 

Although his statistics are similar to last year's, he has not approached the All-Star level many predicted for him. He turned down a contract extension before the season and missed three games with a bad back in November after playing in all 82 a year ago.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Rasheed Wallace: Surprisingly Adequate Rapper

[alfdogg 0]

Well, this is a complete load of shit. I can't wait until we end Miami's losing streak on Saturday.

Edited January 24, 2008 by alfdogg

[Ripper 0]

You know I get sick of reading about how Joe Johnson should get some help in atlanta. Fuck that fucking fucker. Someone needs to get Josh Smith some goddamn help quickly. Triple double tonight with 3 steals and 5 blocks to boot. That is becoming the norm for him. He bust his ass night in and night out and a half retarded coach and a fucking whiney prima donna shooting guard keep sucking ass and costing the team games.

 

FUCK Joe Johnson.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Uh-oh. Them T-Dot boys are showing what they can do.

 

Again, fuck the fucking Maple Leafs. Toronto needs to focus it's energy on a team that deserves the love.

[alfdogg 0]

So, here are the starters for the All-Star game

 

East:

C: Dwight Howard

F: Kevin Garnett

F: LeBron James

G: Dwyane Wade

G: Jason Kidd

 

West:

C: Yao Ming

F: Carmelo Anthony

F: Tim Duncan

G: Kobe Bryant

G: Allen Iverson

[Guest Vitamin X]

Now THAT should make for a good All-Star game.

[nogoodnick 0]

Hooray for no TMac.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Boo for no Brandon Roy!

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Once again, the Heat snatch defeat from the jaws of victory...

 

Fifteen straight losses; this would be funny if it weren't so hilarious.

[alfdogg 0]

Boo for no Brandon Roy!

Hooray beer!