2013-14 NBA Thread part 1

The fact that the Suns were even playing for something tangible in Game 81 is remarkable.

Still doesn't make it sting any less. That loss to the Lakers two Sundays ago was killer. You just can't lose that game with how strong the West is this year. Suns also blew a 17-point lead to the Clippers, a 21-point lead in San Antonio and a 13-point lead in Dallas.

 

It sucks that they couldn't make it; such a fun team to watch. They'll have a ton flexibility in the offseason to make some moves and set themselves up really well for the future.

 

Warriors take a near-fatal blow to their hopes of being the upstart again -- Bogut has a broken rib and it doesn't sound like he will play against the Clips. That's too bad, he gives them hell but the Warriors have no defensive presence in the lane without him.

 

On a smaller scale, I think Phoenix had the same problem Indiana did -- an upstart team that plays well, but then starts to collapse under the pressure when something is expected of them, and much is at stake. It's unfortunate Phoenix wasn't playing in the East so it had some cushion.

 

That, and they're a perimeter oriented team that had trouble sustaining big runs unless the 3 was falling. They also are a horrible, horrible matchup for someone like Memphis. There isn't one Phoenix player who can even start to try to defend Z-Bo, or Marc Gasol for that matter. I like the foundation. I think they showed Bledsoe and Dragic can work well together. They're going to need to add some beef up front next year to be a serious contender.

Plus, that schedule down the stretch was really tough. vs. LAC, vs. OKC, at SA, at DAL, vs. MEM. Needed to make more hay against the weaker teams and not lose games to the likes of the Lakers. I thought it was over on Wednesday when Memphis rallied to beat Miami ... Suns really needed that two-game cushion, and they didn't get it.

 

Herb Kohl is selling the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million, 29 years after he bought them for $18 million.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10790404/milwaukee-bucks-announce-sale-team

These poor small-market owners just can't compete.

FWIW he did supposedly negotiate a pledge not to move the team.

 

I'd love to see details of that pledge. I presume it's no good if the city and/or county and/or state don't pony up the bucks (no pun intended) for a new arena, and all associated costs with running it.

 

The new owners have pledged $100 million toward a new arena and Kohl matched that pledge with $100 million of his own. That gets them about halfway to a new arena.

Also, as far as the $18 million purchase price in 1985, remember that the Bucks were then stuck in the Milwaukee Arena (capacity, 11,052; no club seats or suites), had no local cable channel in place to televise their games (they had a tiny TV deal on an independent channel for about 30-35 road games) and basically had no new arena or cable channel on the horizon at the time. The $18 million in 1985 was a true going rate for the team.

 

Yeah I saw that about the arena pledge. That's nice that three guys who are worth a combined total of $3 billion or more are willing to commit $200 million to the arena, while taxpayers commit the other $200 million (plus overruns!) and the team reaps all profits. Someone should build them a statue.

 

The Suns failed to make the playoffs despite having 48 wins. That's the fourth time that's happened in NBA history. Of those four instances, the Suns were the team three times. The first two times were 1971 (48-34) and '72 (49-33), when only four teams from each conference made the playoffs.

Strangely, the playoff qualifiers were the top two teams in each division rather than the four division winners and the third and fourth teams in each conference. Because of that, in 1971 Phoenix was out at 48-34 while the San Francisco Warriors (41-41) got in in the West. In the East, Atlanta (36-46) made it in and Boston (44-38) did not.

In 1972, the four best teams in each conference made the playoffs, but Phoenix (49-33) and Seattle (47-35) missed the playoffs in the West, while Baltimore (38-44) won the Central Division and Atlanta (36-46) took second and both made the playoffs. That season had a heavy advantage to the West, with the Lakers (69-13) and Bucks (63-19) and Bulls (57-25) all having better records than the East's No. 1 seed Boston (56-26).

The 1972-'73 season was the last time a second-place finish in your division guaranteed you a playoff spot. In 1973-'74, two divisions had three playoff teams and two divisions only sent their division champ to the playoffs.

 

Fine. Have them put up all the money. Then, for every event that's held at the new arena (concerts, Disney on Ice and other similar events, conventions, etc) have all the revenue go into the private owners' pockets. That will do nothing for the city and people like you will bitch about the rich getting richer.

Instead, they're donating $200 million of their own money toward a facility that will be city-owned. Evil fuckers.

 

Mmmm hmmmm. Arenas are always good business for the city. Just ask the arena owners!

It is hilarious that so many people who rail against government waste make an exception when it involves their favorite sports teams, even though those "investments" have proven to be consistent money drains.