NBA Offseason Thread 2013-2014

Felexicon

Felexicon wrote: »

It's going to be the Heat again unless James gets injured. Sorry to burst the bubble so early but it is what it is. Anyone wants to back the field against me I'll take a few

Bit much to say they've conclusively win it outright when they were VERY lucky to win it last season.

The 4-1 against the Bulls was a bit deceiving, Pacers could easily have won and we all know how game 6 went against the Spurs.
Call if what you want, but coming back like that isn't something that you'll do very often, nor would I be calling a team who were a whisker from losing the only winners this year ahead.

They're in it, so they can win it.
But I certainly wouldn't be backing them with a favs tag(I'm sure they're ridic low, every team has a value and I'd be looking for 6-8 to 1 on the Heat)

Thunder probably represent the best value, also the Spurs who could very well be the defending champions are 12s.
Ill probably have a small bet on the Clippers and Pacers.
Like 2012 and 13 the Clippers season will depend on how the big men rebound and shoot from the line.
Grizzlies just destroyed them on the boards last year and having a C who can barely make 1 from 2 makes the team one dimensional.
In fairness to Blake he did improve his last season but his rebounding needs to improve.

ButtersSuki

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Bit much to say they've conclusively win it outright when they were VERY lucky to win it last season.

The 4-1 against the Bulls was a bit deceiving, Pacers could easily have won and we all know how game 6 went against the Spurs.
Call if what you want, but coming back like that isn't something that you'll do very often, nor would I be calling a team who were a whisker from losing the only winners this year ahead.

They're in it, so they can win it.
But I certainly wouldn't be backing them with a favs tag(I'm sure they're ridic low, every team has a value and I'd be looking for 6-8 to 1 on the Heat)

Thunder probably represent the best value, also the Spurs who could very well be the defending champions are 12s.
Ill probably have a small bet on the Clippers and Pacers.
Like 2012 and 13 the Clippers season will depend on how the big men rebound and shoot from the line.
Grizzlies just destroyed them on the boards last year and having a C who can barely make 1 from 2 makes the team one dimensional.
In fairness to Blake he did improve his last season but his rebounding needs to improve.

In fairness to Griffin, he was on significantly reduced minutes last year due to the rotation Del Negro employed. His rookie stats of 20+ rebounds and 10+ rebounds were phenomenal. For a guy with a (relatively) limited skill set but freakish athleticism he can easily average that again given the right system and minutes under Doc.

Interestingly (and I posted on this previously), last year was the first year that no-one in the NBA averaged at least 20pts and 10rebounds since they started counting rebound in 1950-51!

Felexicon

Midday NBA preseason game on my day off. Get in. Lets go Lakers

buyer95

Felexicon wrote: »

Midday NBA preseason game on my day off. Get in. Lets go Lakers

What time is it on our time?

stuba

What does everyone make of Lebron opening up the Heat/Celtic rivalry again this year?? Albeit with the "Brooklyn Celtics" this time around.

GoldFour4

stuba wrote: »

What does everyone make of Lebron opening up the Heat/Celtic rivalry again this year?? Albeit with the "Brooklyn Celtics" this time around.

In a way I think it's fair but the circumstances are different with their moving being via trade..

Paully D

Certainly a regular season feel to the Bulls vs Pacers game last night. Plenty of trash talking. That series, along with Bulls vs Heat will keep us Bulls fans bubbling over this season.

Great to see Rose increasing his minutes by some distance (he played 32 last night, 23 was his previous high so far this pre-season) and of course contributing 32 points and 9 assists, 4-7 from 3 point range, was great. In all honesty he looks better than ever.

5-0 in the pre-season without getting to field our strongest line up and while I would read very little into that, things are looking promising.

ButtersSuki

stuba wrote: »

What does everyone make of Lebron opening up the Heat/Celtic rivalry again this year?? Albeit with the "Brooklyn Celtics" this time around.

Fair on one level and admirable that he's sticking up for a teammate, but considering how he publicly jettisoned Cleveland and doomed them to many years of mediocrity it's more than a little hypocritical on another.

KG must still think he's a Celtic too judging by his response!

PizzamanIRL

Spurs v Heat tonight rematch tonight. I'd say one or both teams will rest their main lads and not get into a serious battle over a preseason game.

smackbunnybaby

Greg Oden is 'back'!

ButtersSuki

Sad story, I remember when he disappeared:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/longform/bison-dele/?sct=nba_t13_a2

stuchyg

Only 5 days to go!!! Will avoid all media and watch bulls heat when I get home from work on my via xbmc. Have decided I'm a bulls fan since I'm going to see them on my honeymoon.

Paully D

stuchyg wrote: »

Only 5 days to go!!! Will avoid all media and watch bulls heat when I get home from work on my via xbmc. Have decided I'm a bulls fan since I'm going to see them on my honeymoon.

Excellent choice

ButtersSuki

Great trade for the Wizards, they get a better than solid starting centre who can run the pick and roll offence for an injured and older Okafur. Will help Wahington no end and likely push them over the line into the Play Offs in a week East. The John Wall Fan Club should be pleased!

In other news, check out the new Knicks Orange and Spurs Camo uniforms, both are pretty cool.

Dublin Red Devil

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Great trade for the Wizards, they get a better than solid starting centre who can run the pick and roll offence for an injured and older Okafur. Will help Wahington no end and likely push them over the line into the Play Offs in a week East. The John Wall Fan Club should be pleased!

In other news, check out the new Knicks Orange and Spurs Camo uniforms, both are pretty cool.

Don't worry, The wizards won't be making the playoffs. Wall will be watching it on TV like the rest of us

buyer95

Dublin Red Devil wrote: »

Don't worry, The wizards won't be making the playoffs. Wall will be watching it on TV like the rest of us

There are so many variables to consider in an NBA season, and one I have learned from following it is that there is no way of predicting accurately what teams will make up the final playoff places. There are 82 games to be played between now and next April. A team that looks great on paper, who many predicted would win it all but never gels(Lakers last year).A team that looks like a guaranteed playoff team but gets decimated by injury(Timberwolves), and a team that limps in because all around them teams floundered, but were never really good enough to be their(Bucks). So to rule out Washington, when they have a team that is as least as good on paper, as some of the other playoff candidates in the east, is mind boggling.

This is the year I can see John Wall making a major leap. He is already an extremely good point guard, but I can see him becoming an elite one this year.Wall was playing at an All-Star level for the final third of the 2012-13 season. Okafor being traded improves them out of the gate. He is out for an indefinite amount of time to start the season with an injury with no clear timetable for a return. Gortat, is an above average centre, who if nothing else,is likely to play more games then Okafor. Beal is a good player too. He struggled mightily when Wall went down last season (which coincided with Nene missing 2 months with Plantar Fasciitis), and Randy Wittman basically turned the offense over to him. Needless to say this had disastrous consequences. Beal shot 39.1 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from deep when Wall was off the court; those numbers jumped by 8 percent and nearly 16 percent, respectively, with Wall running the show. When Wall returned, Beal averaged 16.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.9 minutes per game after the All-Star break, shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and a scorching 45.5 percent from 3-point land.
Washington went 15-7 with the core three of Wall, Beal and Nene active, and in the 265 minutes they shared the floor, the Wiz scored at a rate higher than the Nets' No. 8-ranked offense while allowing fewer points per possession than the Pacers’ league-best D.
The Wizards are good enough to get into the playoffs. To dismiss them out of hand, and with no reasons given, just shows up your lack of basketball knowledge.