NBA Regular Season 2010/2011

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Pacers are in the playoffs

Sea Devils

Interesting comments from Phil Jackson.

Besides explaining why he has no intention or desire to continue coaching, Phil Jackson vented Thursday night in his gathering with reporters covering the Lakers about a few items he thinks are wrong with the NBA game these days.

NBA commissioner David Stern shouldn’t expect that Jackson will have nothing better to do in future seasons than send the league office whining e-mails about the state of basketball, but Jackson obviously has some ideas. They basically all stem from Jackson’s passion for the game to regain some of its “flow.”

Jackson fondly recalled coaching in a Puerto Rican league where there were just two timeouts per half. You already Jackson prefers to let the game go for his players figure out how to handle adversity and change momentum on their own, but two timeouts per half?

“It was a wonderful game,” Jackson said.

Jackson called all the current interruptions in the NBA game — largely for TV purposes, he realizes — “irritating.”

“It’s a flow game,” he said. “It’s a game that should be played like soccer.”

Jackson also said as he reviews game footage in frame-by-frame replay he comes across countless occasions where referees miss calls right in the lane because of the strobe lights set up to aid photographers — temporarily blinding referees.

“They put their own referees in jeopardy,” Jackson said of NBA powers. He went on to say: “No one will admit it. How stupid are we?”

He said the increasing occasions to use replay review to help the referees isn’t necessarily moving things in the right direction. The game gets disrupted, and in that regard Jackson isn’t even looking forward to his final NBA postseason.

“You know the playoffs are going to be really tough,” he said. “They’re going to review everything.”

Jackson, 65, is an official old-schooler now, so it follows that he remembers a different game than most see now. Even though his coaching legend is what it is largely because of exposure provided by the NBA, he opined that the league is doing too much to “pay homage to TV.”

“I don’t know why we have to lose the integrity of our game,” Jackson said.

It remains to be seen how involved with the league Jackson will be if he takes a likely consulting or advisory title with the Lakers in the future. In his previous sabbaticals from coaching, Jackson said he didn’t watch NBA games. In 2004-05, he felt the pull when he started watching college basketball, saying that told him: “I’ve got the urge to coach again.”

I love the two timeouts per half idea but unfortunately I don't see it changing anytime soon since TV is putting a huge chunk of change in their pockets.I'd rather have them give teams longer timeouts, than the number of timeouts too.

DRose

http://www.slamonline.com/online/media/slam-tv/2011/04/video-von-wafer-gets-confused/

what a f***ing idiot :rolleyes:

anyway, on to bigger things. any predictions for the playoffs?

Sea Devils

Actually Doc Rivers might be the bigger idiot. He benched Rondo, Allen, KG, & Pierce yesterday, basically guaranteeing HCA for both Miami and the Lakers if the Celtics were to play them in a 7 game series

padraig_f

DRose wrote: »

anyway, on to bigger things. any predictions for the playoffs?

The East is set now:
Bulls vs. Pacers
Magic vs. Hawks

Heat vs. 76ers
Celtics vs. Knicks

For possible round 1 upsets, I'm looking at the Celtics-Knicks series. Celtics are 15-12 since the all-star break, Knicks are 14-12, and with recent form (Knicks have won their last 7), you could see them possibly stealing game 1 or 2 in Boston.

Assuming the Bulls and Magic win their first round series, the Magic worry me in the 2nd round. The Bulls match up badly against them - Noah's never been able to handle Howard very well, and at the other end, Howard's presence in the paint has stopped Rose getting to the rim. 3-point shooting, where the Magic are strong, may be the most effective way to counteract the Bulls defense.

Though not yet set, the first round in the West looks very interesting. No seeding upset would surprise me there. What price both finalists from last year going out in the first round? If the Lakers find themselves matched up against the Blazers, it could happen.

DRose

I think Doc needed to do that though. I watched the game against miami and the looked so tired and flat. there was no energy in the team what so ever.
As for the bulls potential 2nd round with the magic, i think we are well caplable of beating them. we won the season series 3-1 and Rose always finds a way. ALWAYS!!

ButtersSuki

Well.............as much as I disagree with Rivers' decision to bench the starters v Washington, you'd have to admit that he knows his team better than you or I - and as a unit they are OLD....and TIRED. If they beat Washington and lost a guy through injury they'd be royally screwed, so no biggie. And they don't fear going on the road so you have to back the coach on this one.

Against Miami the other night howvere they PLAYED old, which is something they've done a lot since the All Star break. They were out muscled and out run by the Heat and it was a bit embarassing at times.

I don't think Boston will fear anyone in the Playoffs; but now, I'm sure anyone is exactly quaking in their boots at the thought of facing them either. We can talk about the perkins trade all day and night and the only thing people seems to agree upon is that it was a mistake. But we are where we are (apologies for use of that awful phrase) and right now, they're without Perkins.

In their favour in the playoffs there are no back to back games so they can rest some bodies. As a Celtics' fan, I'd hope Shaq plays, more for his size than anything else as offensively, he's not the Shaq of old (that word again). Against that, if they play Miami in the 2nd round, they cannot turn the ball over as much as they are doing, Rondo has to start playing and they need to slow the pace of the game down to zero mph. Miami the other night just ran them off the floor, and if you play run and gun with the Heat, you will lose. BUT (and it's a bit but at this stage), if they play a slow, determined half court, pick and roll passing game (playoff basketball)...they are SMARTER than Miami. But Jesus Shuttlesworth needs to take more shots, KG needs to be the beast again and Rondo needs to turn up. Of the 5 times I've watched full Boston games this year, only Pierce stood out as a consistent performer. And they have NO bench.

Thing is, I fear for them either way as they can't seriously play the Heat, Bulls (more likely) / Magic (less likely) and the winner of the West back to back and win it all playing as they are now. If they do manage it, it will be a far greater achievement than 2008.

Sea Devils

I'm kinda bummed about how the Eastern 1st Round matchups worked out. Philly is basically a poor man's version of Miami in terms of how they play, and I expect Miami to destroy them. Boston's style of defense should vex the Knicks the way that the Spurs used to give D'Antoni fits in Phoenix. Orlando/Atlanta was a terrible mismatch last year, and Chicago should handle Indiana pretty easily.

The only slightly cool thing about the Eastern Conference is the historical matchup of the Knicks & Celtics. Other then that

WHIP IT!

Lads, as I've mentioned here before, this is my first season properly following basketball in 10 years or so... Can someone tell me what the fuss is about Kendrick Perkins and explain how a team like Boston can miss him that much?

I've watched him alot since the trade. He's a moody, physical presence and has a quite competitive nature. All good - but that appears to be it, no? To me, he's Horace Grant with less offense?? I guess he's one of those 'chemistry' guys that are good for teams and whose benefit can't be measured in the mere box scores...

Discuss...

padraig_f

Some light reading for you...

6. Oklahoma City
A few weeks ago, Kendrick Perkins said something interesting: he believed you need two quality big guys if you really want a good defensive team. His reasoning was that one guy alone couldn't protect the rim, defend the low-post and jump out on high screens. With two big guys, everything falls into place. Before Thursday's Bulls-Celtics game, Tom Thibodeau made a similar point: he said that, defensively, it didn't get any better than the Perkins-Garnett duo.

Now, I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this -- not just what Perkins said, but defense and what makes it work -- because the Celtics have unraveled over these last few weeks, and also because Perkins transformed Oklahoma City and unleashed Ibaka (who no longer has to defend everyone else's best low-post guy) as a devastating weak side shot blocker and general menace. The Thunder can go to war with anyone now.

5. Boston
This could be 450 words or 45,000. I will spare you -- we'll go for 450. Just know that I can't remember another deadline deal knocking a team from "favorites" to "also-rans." There's no historical precedent. The trade undermined everything the Celtics were about: size, toughness, togetherness, chemistry, friendship, relationships ... it erased their identity Jason Bourne-style. Whether it was true or not, this particular Celtics team really did believe in the whole "nobody has ever beaten us in a series when we had our starting five" mantra, just like they believed in "ubuntu" and their ability to protect that aforementioned six feet at all times. Well, how do you preach "ubuntu" after you just blindsided one of your core guys in a trade that didn't totally need to happen? So it's conditional ubuntu?

- The Contenders - Bill Simmons

Within the Bulls’ locker room, they will privately tell you: The belief changed when the Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Teammates remembered Rose’s vibe transforming the room, resonating with everyone. They have such great respect for the Celtics and learned so much from losing to them in the playoffs two years ago. The Bulls suspected they had completely closed the gap on Boston, but word of the Perkins trade ran through the room like a live wire on Feb. 24. The Bulls beat Miami that night and they’ve run off 20 of 23 games since the Celtics made the move.

With Perkins gone, everything changed for the Celtics and they knew it: the toughness, the tenacity, the presence in the post.

“He was tough,” Rose said. “We could defend on someone that was big. He was really tough to go around. … They’re different.”

Different doesn’t mean better. It means diminished. The Bulls beat the Celtics 44-22 in the paint, beat them badly on the boards, too. They assailed the Celtics the way the Celtics used to assail everyone else.

- Bulls’ message to Celtics: We can beat you - Adrian Wojnarowski

- Kendrick Perkins Is Allowing Serge Ibaka To Flourish Defensively

- Perkins looks like perfect fit for Thunder

- Kendrick Perkins brings big, bad screens to Thunder offense

- Celtics not intimidating teams this time around

“I’ve always said he’s the best low-post defender in the league,” Bryant said.

- Perkins talks, plays tough against Lakers

WHIP IT!

Hmmm, I remain to be convinced. Very interesting reading though.

Let's go, Celtics!

padraig_f

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M06-ZfDT5JE

Sea Devils

Wow. Both of them were barely holding it together

Hopefully it never happens but I'd be distraught if the Warriors left the Bay Area. I wouldn't care if it was Atlanta, Charlotte, New Orleans, or somewhere like that, but there's no way their fan base doesn't deserve this.

Some quotes from the Kings players too

Jason Thompson wrote:

If it was up to me, I would want to be here and the team obviously wants to be here as well.

Francisco Garcia wrote:

"No matter what happens, this is always gonna be our home, alright?!"

Tyreke Evans wrote:

"Sacramento Kings...This is my home. Hopefully we stay; you're the best fans. I love y'all.

Donte Greene wrote:

"We got the best fans in the NBA right here in Sacramento. Thank you so much for your support

moneyman

Yep, as an ardent Kings fan this is very difficult to take. The fans are not going down without a fight. Board of governors meeting is going on as we speak. Mayor Kevin Johnson will soon make his pitch for the Kings staying in Sacramento. Up to the owners now. Alot of them are undecided.

Ironically, Jerry Buss is probably our biggest supporter right now.

The sit-in after the game last night was class, as was the players coming out to the fans to interact and thank them for the support. No one wants this move to go down except the Maloofs.

Sea Devils

It just breaks my heart really:(. I'm hoping for a miracle for you guys at this stage.









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moneyman

Some great pictures there. Saw a very sad picture of a kid crying his eyes out and being comforted by his father at last night's game. I'll try to find it.

Has now came out that Ron Burkle is interested in buying the team. He's supposedly worth $3.5bn. Maloofs do not want to sell. Chris Webber also heavily involved and doing everything he can to keep the Kings in Sacramento. Rumour is that Burkle wants a team in Sacramento regardless of whether Maloofs will sell (NOH?).


EDIT: Here's the picture.

moneyman

Here's a press release from Burkle/Anderson group from the last hour.

We want to thank Mayor Kevin Johnson for his efforts to keep the Kings and the NBA in Sacramento. We were pleased to be a part of his presentation today and we are encouraged by the progress, energy and new resources behind the effort to keep the NBA in Sacramento.

The Maloofs have been strong owners and a positive part of the Sacramento community for years, but it is important that Kings fans and residents of the Sacramento region know that the Burkle Group is ready to commit the resources and expertise necessary to keep the NBA in Sacramento. Our group believes Sacramento is an important NBA market that can thrive with new ideas, new resources and an absolute commitment to delivering the best on and off-court experiences for fans.

This group, led by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle, is prepared to assist the Mayor by bringing significant resources and the best possible expertise in professional sports, facilities development and financing to bear in the effort to keep Sacramento as an NBA city.

The Burkle group, our local partners and other investors are looking forward to working together with the Mayor and other regional leaders to keep the NBA in Sacramento, deliver on a new facility and provide Kings fans in the region with decades more of great memories.

Is there still hope? Seems as though the Hornets in Sacramento could be a real possibility if the Maloofs push ahead with the move.
Johnson and co. fighting very hard for the cause.

#15

Very tough for Sacramento.

This is the worst thing about the US sports culture.

The Seattle move was a disgrace as well.

moneyman

Seattle move was definitely awful, but this one is worse. Over the last 25 years the Kings have had the highest sell-out percentage of any team in the NBA (76%). It can't be doubted that it's a viable NBA city.

With Burkle involved it will be inexplicable if the BOG and Stern OK the move. There is no reason it should go ahead, especially with the the resources now available for a new arena.


This is really worth watching. It was shown at the end of the Kings broadcast against the Lakers. Kind of sums up the highs and lows of the Kings time in Sacramento. The fans are unbelievable!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPqaSMjalpM

Sea Devils

Clay Bennett named head of the NBA relocation committee :eek:

I mean seriously...they could have picked ANYONE aside from Bennett and it would have looked better.

The owners and the league are incredibly full of crap, and I can't believe they've gotten so much support for the upcoming lockout :mad:

#15

moneyman wrote: »

Seattle move was definitely awful, but this one is worse.

I'm not sure about that. Sonics won a championship in Seattle. That's a pretty tragic case too.

I guess it's worse for you because you're a Kings fan, which is fair enough. Objectively though, I just think the Sonics' move probably felt as gut-wrenching to their fans as the Kings' move does to theirs.

DRose

that montage of the Kings is heartbreaking

DRose

Down 4 at HT. defence is all over the place

DRose

The last 2 minutes in that game were incredible! rose was unbelievable as usual, like a magical unicorn/bear lovechild and who else but Klutch Korver!

moneyman

#15 wrote: »

I'm not sure about that. Sonics won a championship in Seattle. That's a pretty tragic case too.

I guess it's worse for you because you're a Kings fan, which is fair enough. Objectively though, I just think the Sonics' move probably felt as gut-wrenching to their fans as the Kings' move does to theirs.

This is true without a doubt, but that's not the point I was making. Two wrongs don't make a right, but the Sonics owners were more justified in moving the team than the Maloofs are now. I think that's a fairly accepted point. Doesn't have anything to do with the feelings of one set of fans being stronger than the other - that's not establishable and would be almost completely irrelevant anyway.

#15

moneyman wrote: »

This is true without a doubt, but that's not the point I was making. Two wrongs don't make a right, but the Sonics owners were more justified in moving the team than the Maloofs are now. I think that's a fairly accepted point.

That's a large claim.

El Horseboxo

Bring them back to Kansas. The KC Kings were my first NBA game in the Kemper arena. Don't remember though. Was only 2. I hate that aspect of American sports. I lived in St. Louis when the Cards moved to Arizona and then i lived in Minnesota when the Stars moved to Dallas. Didn't support either team but pissed a lot of people off at the time.

RMDrive

Reports overnight that the Kings will remain in Sacramento.

moneyman

Yeah, huge turnaround since the BOG's meeting last week. Kevin Johnson has done an unbelievable job to get everyone together and increase revenue/sponsorship. It makes no financial sense for Maloofs to move the team now. Seems they have little support among other owners, doesn't look like their move would be approved.

Sea Devils

A pretty awesome gesture by the Sonicsgate makers at the Nuggets-Thunder game yesterday. They brought their cowbells along in support of the Kings.