The NBA - basketball talk

It was against the Bulls and was all over Sportscenter, so I figured people would've known about it. People are saying it's one of the top 10 dunks, I'm not seeing it.

On the plus side, Blake Griffin is over-shadowing it.

edited 30th Jan '12 9:55:01 PM by Firebert

Even though I don't like Blake Griffin, that is a plus.

I haven't seen a TNT game yet. How has Shaq been? I heard he said shit right before a break, but that's about it.

So because of those two missed free throws against Miami, some Yahoo Sports writer has taken to calling D-Rose's performance in the game "embarrasing" and "humiliating". I've gotta come out and defend my point guard "I'm a man! I'm 40!" style. Those two free throws were the only ones he missed all game and he finished with over 30 points. He's about the humblest player in the league, and always blames himself for losses. He's only a couple of years older than me, but he's more mature than practically everyone out there. And to dump on him like that for missing so little? Even when he's not the only player on the court, in an away game, with his backup and partner out of action? Who the hell are you to talk? That's why people diss on Yahoo Sports writers all the time. "Because it's garbage. Now get your facts straight."

edited 1st Feb '12 4:36:33 PM by wanderlustwarrior

Well, the Raps got destroyed.

This is probably one of our worst losses in a good while.

Yeah, that looked like it hurt. The Hawks seem to be on a roll, especially Joe Johnson.

edited 1st Feb '12 7:26:42 PM by Firebert

New all-star rookie, Jeremy Lin.

Driving Asian ball fans wild, that one.

What do you guys think about the Rookie-Sophomore format change? I still don't intend to watch, but it seems more interesting to me now. Also, Luol Deng gets his all-star nod!

In non-Allstar news, people still seem to be dumping on Boozer day-to-day, even though he's stepped it up. Also, thoughts about OKC being given that game in Portland? Can't wait for them to play Chicago at the end of the month and in the Finals. May the best (Chicago-based) team win!

Chauncey's out for the season, which is a real downer for him and us fans of his. But he's going to give his career one more year. And now I can continue to hate on the Clippers.

edited 9th Feb '12 8:43:41 PM by wanderlustwarrior

Jeremy Lin outscores Kobe Bryant, 38-34, and the Knicks outscore the Lakers, 92-85. Knicks have now won four in a row. I'm not really a fan of the NBA, but this kid has been all over the news lately, and he may be the spark that professional basketball needs to gain a whole new audience.

Link to USA Today Article about the Knicks-Lakers game: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/story/2012-02-09/Lins-third-career-high-in-a-row-leads-Knicks-past-Lakers/53045018/1

Pistons won their fourth in a row, and Moose proves that there's plenty of good in this team, even if they crush other bad teams.

Bulls won their fifth in a row, completely without Derrick Rose. Deepest team in the league?

I wish this thread would be more active. Maybe I should bait the Heat fans for some friendly smack talk? But it's the regular season, so there probably aren't any Heat fans.

Dirk is back.

Oh, more on Lin. He was with the Mavericks during the Summer League/training camp. The Mavs offered a one-year contract. The Warriors offered a two-year contract. He went with the Warriors. Had he accepted the offer from Dallas, he would have been a champion (but would not be resigned anyway) last season, but would still be open to being picked up by the Knicks.

edited 10th Feb '12 10:50:45 PM by entropy13

Well, nice to see that the refs are willing to rob us in our own goddamn house. And of course, all the Lakers "fans" suddenly show up near the end of the game on ESPN.com.

edited 12th Feb '12 12:50:47 PM by NoChorus

Lin's also the first Harvard graduate to play Basketball in 60 years, since Ed Smith.

He even has his own entry on the Basketball page. I ask you this: do you think Jeremy Lin will be the Michael Jordan of this generation?

No, absolutely not.

I hate the fanboying over certain things on that page. I need to act on that split I mentioned, soon.

The kid's talented, though. Nobody can speak ill of that. It's more "how good is he?"

As for me, he's still a rookie - if he keeps this up for... 10 games in a row, and has the Knicks win each of them, then I'll start ranking him.

Another story going on right now: Ben Wallace will set the record for most games played by an undrafted player with his next game. This is his last season as a professional, and with the pistons, with whom he won a championship in 2004.

The previous record holder was Avery Johnson, former Mavs player who retired, became an assistant coach, became head coach, and became coach of the month 6 months after retiring. He coached the Mavericks to their first finals appearance in 2006, and currently coaches the Nets.

Not bad, there.

As good as the Knicks have been with Lin, can they match Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Memphis and Oklahoma City?

Is that an implicit way of saying the Knicks can't match up against us, the defending champs, or being a Miami fan (I'm assuming though, we'll never know for sure until you say so), you still cling to your "fact" that you won last year and that the Mavs have never been a threat this year?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Don't read too much into it. He only listed the title contenders.

The Bulls and the Thunder.

I'm pretty sure the others were just random teams.

We came so close to stopping Linsanity. I'm glad that we have heart, but shit Raps, can we beat a big team other than the Celtics sometime soon?

Edit: They hit the game winning shot with 0.5 seconds left.

edited 15th Feb '12 4:54:20 PM by NoChorus

Yeah - those were all random teams that mostly have good players in their own right. I want to see Lin take on the all-stars.

How close were you to beating him?

Breaking News: Miami's taking on Indiana right now. Current score: the Knicks have 39 and the Heat has 66.

edited 14th Feb '12 10:00:01 PM by Serocco

If it's any consolation, Calderon played just as "well" as Lin.

The Heat already won hours ago.

Wait, they did?

Jeremy Lin shot a game-winning point against the Raptors.

If he ever gets tired of the Knicks, the Bulls could do with a tandem at the point. And the Pistons could use a good point guard to match the MOOSE at the center.

...it's fun to dream...

He's also part of a team, and plenty of teams have winning streaks or players with several standout performances. I'm happy to see someone who seems to be a good kid doing well, but let's not anoint someone just yet. Just like Tebow was a good Christian quarterback, and I'm sure Lin can be a good Asian guard, we should hopefully recognize good players without getting caught up in making a cult of personality for someone, lest they do admirably but never achieve it (Yao), not reach impossible expectations (Yi Jianlian), or have it go to their head (Lebron).

Also, how many players have 6 championship rings and can force teams to devise a play set just for them. With respect to Bill Russell, "Hack-A-" Shaquille O'Neal and others, the level of greatness and respect Michael has achieved as a player is few and far between.

edited 15th Feb '12 11:11:23 PM by wanderlustwarrior

Hey, Lin might as well be the new Michael Jordan. He's had a 7-game winning streak thus far.

I think Lin's best feature so far is that he's a team Player. He's fully willing to use the opposing team's atempts to stop him at all costs to give his teammates ridiculous numbers of assist throws for their own goals.