This week in the NBA

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

Clippers are finally buying out Cassell. Boston Globe says it is down to Celtics, Mavericks and Nuggets when he clears waivers in 48 hours. He'd probably get best playing time in Denver, but to me, I think Boston would be best for him. That could just be my Celtic bias though. Looks like the Mavs can give him the most money.

[Guest]

The Rockets looked like a real tough out, but now, they're just another team. They ain't that good anymore.

 

Cassell is going to go to the Celtics. He's a smart guy.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

By the way, let me point out that I am sooo happy that we get to hear arrogant Lakers fans back on their high horse this spring when the playoffs roll around. I know a lot of people around this board dislike the Pats and Yankees, but growing up on the west coast there was nothing worse than a conceited Lakers fan. Uggh.

[Brett Favre 0]

My hate dynasty goes from the Chicago Bulls, to the LA Lakers, to the New England Patriot/Boston Red Sox success.

[Ripper 0]

I do find it funny that so many commentators are writing the Hornets out of the playoffs because they have no playoff experience when the besides Bryant, Odom and Fisher, have never gotten out of the first round. The Hornets have Peja, and Bonzi Wells that have been out of the first round.

 

Yet for some reason, i am supposed to buy that the Lakers are the team to beat in the west. I just don't get it.

[Guest]

I still don't think the Lakers are the team to beat out here. Those guys that play in San Antonio are.

 

You know, the Lakers do have other guys with playoff experience. Luke was on the last Finals team, and Radmanovic made it out of the first with the Clippers and Sonics. I don't even think the Lakers and Hornets are on a comparative level as far as playoff experience goes.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I do find it funny that so many commentators are writing the Hornets out of the playoffs because they have no playoff experience when the besides Bryant, Odom and Fisher, have never gotten out of the first round. The Hornets have Peja, and Bonzi Wells that have been out of the first round.

 

Yet for some reason, i am supposed to buy that the Lakers are the team to beat in the west. I just don't get it.

 

 

Playoff experience is one of those old writer cliches that has little application in real life. I don't think a team gains any special ability because they have players who have been in that situation before.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Knicks basketball... It's fantastic!

[Brett Favre 0]

Experiencing the Finals really helped out Dallas last year.

 

In basketball it may be a bit helpful, cause when you look at championship teams, they usually threaten to get there the prior years (I guess that's more team chemistry than individual playoff experience, or a little of both). Unlike in baseball and football where a team can just catch fire in the playoffs.

[Guest]

I can't recall a single championship winning team over the past 10 or so years that has won it without a few players who "haven't been there before."'

 

I don't think playoff experience is overrated, when you get to the later stages. For the first round or two, sure. The players who have been in title-winning (or close) situations know what it's like to play upwards of 95 games in a season, and later into the year. Less experienced teams don't.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I can't recall a single championship winning team over the past 10 or so years that has won it without a few players who "haven't been there before."

 

 

It's correlation and not causation. The normal trajectory of a team is to get better over a few years, with players maturing and free agent acquisitions filling out a roster. Gaining playoff experience is just part of the process, but I don't think it plays any role in their ability to win in the postseason. I don't think a team stands a better chance just because a player has been in the playoffs before.

[Ripper 0]

Oh BS. Name a team that went from sucking to championship level. Every team has to have been there before.

 

Edit: As I say that I now think of the Kidd Nets going to the finals. but to be fair, they played a bunch of teams that had never been there before either. I honestly think they are the exception. Eany champion

 

 

And King, I did forget that Walton was a rookie on that last finals appearance and Rad was in the second round.

 

But my point is that the team will be counting on guys like Sasha, Bynum, Farmar and Odom. I say they are unproven playoff performers though. They might break out like a Tim Thomas a few years back or they might disappear like a Q Richardson did for the Suns.

 

Yet I keep hearing the talking heads call them the team to beat, completely ignoring that San Antonio is getting healthy. The same spurs that people have for some reason stopped saying are the team to beat in the West. Seems odd to me.

 

I don't see how you can place anyone above them in the west, record be damned.

 

 

[Ripper 0]

King kinda beat me too it, but seroiusly, you watch a team new to the the Conference finals have no idea how to handle it. Then you see the team that has been there before that knows whats going on and takes it to that other level. All championship teams have had to fight through someone that was their foe before. The Pistons and the Celtics, The Bulls and the Pistons, The Lakers and the Jazz, The Mavs and San Antonio...the suns still haven't gotten over their Spur hump (or that fucking Laker hump in the late 80's...goddamn assholes).

 

Playoff basketball is not like regular season NBA basketball. Teams with no experience at the Playoff basketball level usually aren't going to be able to win it.

[Guest]

I can't recall a single championship winning team over the past 10 or so years that has won it without a few players who "haven't been there before."

 

 

It's correlation and not causation. The normal trajectory of a team is to get better over a few years, with players maturing and free agent acquisitions filling out a roster. Gaining playoff experience is just part of the process, but I don't think it plays any role in their ability to win in the postseason. I don't think a team stands a better chance just because a player has been in the playoffs before.

That said, how far back does the correlation extend? The title-winning teams generally show that there is an added effect to having players with playoff experience.

 

The Nets were the exception as far as reaching the Finals goes, because there were a ton of other teams without playoff experience, and they just happened to be the best. Un-experienced teams don't necessarily know how to add 15 more games to their schedule, so I think it has a fairly large impact. By the end of the regular season, most of these teams are tired as is. Playoff experience isn't the most important thing, but it's still important.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

But how often does a team go from shitty enough to miss the playoffs to title contender in one season? It's not that often that a team with no playoff experience will be good enough to have a shot at winning a couple post-season series. How far did playoff experience get Dallas and Miami last year? Where was the playoff experience for the Pistons against the Cavs? The Jazz sure gagged their way to a Western Conference Finals appearance.

 

Look it doesn't hurt to have players who have played an extended season, or a coach who knows how to prepare a gameplan for a slowed down playoff atmosphere, but the notion that just being in the playoffs better equips you is overrated and cliche.

[Ripper 0]

But...how can you call it overrated when the example is there year in and year out.

 

the Jazz got to the West finals last year beating two teams that had never been there either. So they were better. Then they played a team that had been there before and lost.

 

Sure you are going to fine some good teams that miss the playoffs or get put out early, fine, thats basketball, but as the playoffs grind on, there are teams that know how to play there, by being there, and others that don't.

[Guest]

Those latter two teams didn't win titles, did they? No, playoff experience does not help you stop a huge 4th quarter from one of the best players in the game, but the past has shown that it's important. As far as Dallas and Miami go, like I said, I don't think it matters until the Conference Finals and later, when teams get more fatigued. In the cases you mentioned, which team won it all in the end? The one with the most playoff experience.

 

Plus, you DO realize that Derek Fisher and Mehmet Okur are both title-winning players, right? The Jazz didn't exactly go into the playoffs blind and all, what with their coach who's had the job for 20 years. Cleveland had their share of playoff experienced vets too, but I think I've made my point. Miami went the tried and true route by adding vets a few years ago, and they won the whole thing.

[Ripper 0]

I am just saying that late in the playoffs, talent be damned, I don't think the Hornets will take any of the more experienced teams. I think the Lakers have Kobe, who has the experience and Fisher is definately going to help, but they also have a entire roster of guys that have wet the bed in the last few years in the playoffs...maybe this is the year the get "it".

 

Grant Hill has never been anywhere in the playoffs and I think it will be interesting to see him if they go deep in. Will he suck? Will he play well? Who knows?

 

I just don't think you can call something overrated and cliche when it proves to be true almost 100% of the time.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I think that's just much more an effect of coaching than anything else. There aren't enough examples on either said to say "playoff experience matters" or "it doesn't matter." The Jazz lost to the Spurs last year because the Spurs were a better team because of their roster, their Tim Duncan, and their Tony Parker, not to mention a deeper bench and better in-game coaching and substitutions from Popovich. Of course, experienced players also understand the grind of playing the same team up to 7 times within 2 weeks, and staying healthy and productive up against the same squad, finding ways to figure out mismatches, etc., so I see that side of the "experience!" argument.

[Steviekick 0]

Those latter two teams didn't win titles, did they? No, playoff experience does not help you stop a huge 4th quarter from one of the best players in the game, but the past has shown that it's important. As far as Dallas and Miami go, like I said, I don't think it matters until the Conference Finals and later, when teams get more fatigued. In the cases you mentioned, which team won it all in the end? The one with the most playoff experience.

 

Plus, you DO realize that Derek Fisher and Mehmet Okur are both title-winning players, right? The Jazz didn't exactly go into the playoffs blind and all, what with their coach who's had the job for 20 years. Cleveland had their share of playoff experienced vets too, but I think I've made my point. Miami went the tried and true route by adding vets a few years ago, and they won the whole thing.

 

Fisher did provide a veteran presence, but I really can't say the same about Okur. It's a lot different being a bench player on a championship team to being the second/third option on a fairly young team who as a whole are in their first postseason run..

[jwpeer 0]

Yao Ming's out for the season, stress fracture in the foot.

 

Sucks, one less contending team in what were and still are looking like some of the best NBA playoffs ever.

 

 

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Tracy McGrady has got to be the most snakebit pro athlete this side of Chris Webber. Just when everything's finally looking up and it seems like he's finally going to have a real chance to rid himself of the "can't make it out of the first round" tag this goes and happens. Goddamn.

[Ripper 0]

He left Orlando because he felt that taking Dwight Howard meant the team didn't care about the right now and were building for the far far future and should have taken Okafor.

 

HA!

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

The Dwight/TMac pick-and-roll would have been pretty much unstoppable.

 

[Ripper 0]

Random Magic question...

 

Do any of you think that Fran Vasquez, who reportedly wants to finally come over next season, can ever actually play for the Magic, or will the fans be waiting outside the plane and stomp him viciously when he gets there.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Oh BS. Name a team that went from sucking to championship level. Every team has to have been there before.

Portland won the championship in their first ever trip to the playoffs... does that count?

 

 

I realize that's probably not what you're talking about, but I just wanted to get that in...

[Guest]

Lakers countered their pisspoor first half effort with a huge second half. Pulled away to win by double digits. Kobe's performance was the reason for that. Guy is the MVP.

 

The Luke Walton thing seems to have ended. After a really good year last year, he can't find the basket anymore. He got pulled about a minute into the third quarter for Vujacic, and didn't return. That'll be the end of him starting for however long Radmanovic will be out, which won't be long at all.

 

9 in a row is nice too, but even more nice is that this team is so far ahead of where I expected. I didn't think this team would've made the playoffs, but things certainly have changed. In all seasons that a Phil Jackson coached team has won 40 games before they've lost 20, they've gone on to win the NBA Title. And that just so happens to encompass all of Jackson's title winning seasons...a little food for thought.

[Rendclaw 0]

My thought is that Vasquez is going to be a bust. He is not going to adjust very quickly to the NBA game and is going to ride the pine for at least one full season while he TRIES to acclimate himself.

 

T-Mac busted out of Orlando because he was sick of the fans and press dogging him for shooting too much (when he was by far their best player), and then getting dogged for not shooting enough when he tried getting his teammates involved. Same thing Kobe went through two years ago and further out. Personally, T-Mac went down a couple of steps by forcing his way out, but he has rebounded nicely with the Rockets.

 

And speaking of that, I think we all called it early in the season. The Rockets aren;t going to make the playoffs without either T-Mac or Yao. If one of them goes down, that's pretty much it, this nine-game streak they're on notwithstanding.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

And speaking of that, I think we all called it early in the season. The Rockets aren;t going to make the playoffs without either T-Mac or Yao. If one of them goes down, that's pretty much it, this nine-game streak they're on notwithstanding.

 

13 game actually. Nice performance by the Rockets last night. Sure it was the Wiz, but a 25 point win and holding the opponent to 69 points is still pretty impressive. Adelman played Deke for 23 minutes and he seemed to be able to handle it with little difficulty, but for a lot of the game the Rockets went Golden State lite, with the tallest guy being 6'9" and basically swarm the ball handler. Scola and Landry at the 4 and 5 might actually match up pretty well with the smaller teams, and it eliminates the problems the Rockets had with perimeter oriented teams (see last year's playoffs when Yao was stuck on Boozer). I'm still not terribly optimistic, but at least they aren't going to roll over and play dead.

[MFer 0]

Well, if the Pistons make it to the Finals, I sure hope they don't play the Jazz cuz they OWN Detroit right now.

 

6 straight now I believe.