All purpose NBA thread 07/08

Sessions with 24 assists.

 

Has to happen once a decade.

 

Horford is playing like a man recently.

 

Not look so pleased when he just lost in front of a sold out home crowd to a depleted rival, as fans are chanting for his ousting. Is that too much to ask? He was giggling like a school girl and when he stopped that, he started with the creepy smirk that he's so fond of.

And no, I'm not giving Doc too much credit. He hadn't been a great fit in Boston since arriving and Garnett and maybe even Tom Thibodeau deserve more credit for this year's turnaround. But Rivers has done a nice job this year with the handful of young guys (Rondo, Perkins, Powe, Glen Davis, Tony Allen) and he keeps the team motivated and focused...for example, he'll publically rip his backups if they fail to show proper intensity at the end of a 30-point blowout win. That kind of accountability and attention to detail may occur in other places, but has been missing from this franchise for years. Also, his biggest cricitism of the past few years (juggling minutes) has been a non-issue, even with a surprisingly deep roster and a couple of somewhat fragile stars.

 

I don't have to say congrats, dammit! [/pacers fans]

And speaking of the Pacers, I watched Isiah Thomas coach a string of very good Pacers teams to an 8 seed, teams that had the talent to be a 1 seed. Pretty much the same talent that went to Finals before that moron took over. I don't think he'd do nearly as well with Garnett, et al. as Rivers.

 

Recently?

 

I love the LeBron trash-talk the Wiz are doing. I love it because it's amazing that people still doubt the guy, and I love the fact that Arenas and Stephenson aren't just bowing down to him like most players do to the top guys in the league. Stand up to him, make him prove himself. The real beauty is that if they meet LeBron will probably average 40-12-9 for the series, and that's great too. Nothing better than seeing the best at their motivational peak.

 

If by pretty much the same talent, you mean a team without the same starting point guard (Mark Jackson), power forward (Dale Davis), center (Rik Smits), top bench scorer (Chris Mullin) and played without two valuable reserves (Derrick McKey and Sam Perkins) for part of the season, then yes, Isiah had the same group that went to the NBA Finals in 2000.

Not saying Isiah is anywhere near a marginal coach, or human being, but he didn't have the ready made veteran team that Bird handled for three years. Instead, he got the beginning of the grand Jermaine O'Neal experiment. Someday, some basketball genius will quantify the "clutch" meter for basketball and JO will be alone at the bottom.

Now, if you want to say that Isiah horribly underachieved with the talent that Rick Carlisle would coach to 60+ wins and the conference finals in 2004, have at it.

 

We're about to find out how good of a coach Rivers really is. This isn't the regular season anymore.
And Boston likely has a LeBron date for Round 2. I've said it all year, and I'll say it again: I'm still skeptical on whether or not this team can get it done when the pressure's rolling. This team has virtually NO big playoff game experience, and the few guys that do (granted they're great players) haven't ever had success when the chips are down.

 

I'm not saying Boston will roll over Cleveland. LeBron showed last year against Detroit that he can almost single-handedly lead his team to a win over a superior opponent.

But, first, I don't see these Boston players being crippled by playoff pressure. Pierce, Allen and Garnett all have better career numbers across the board in the postseason than the regular season. Maybe their teams haven't gone that far, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to say any of them have ever grossly underachieved; they've just never been on great teams. That's changed. Throw in Cassell and Posey and you have some more guys who have proven themselves in the postseason. Are there some guys in the rotation (Rondo, Perkins) who haven't proven anything in the playoffs? Sure but they haven't had the chance. No team has a full rotation of guys who are accomplished postseason performers.

If they lose to the Cavs it'll be a pretty horrendous loss. They have the far greater team. Maybe the only way they could lose is if the big 3 gags. But until that's happened, there's really nothing to suggest it will.

 

Boston is going to have trouble before they reach the championship game, with Cleveland. I'm not saying LeBron and Co. will take out the Celtics, but they'll make it interesting and weaken them for Orlando or Detroit.

 

Sir Chuck speaketh the truth on my beloved and woeful Bulls during a conference call today, as recapped by the Trib:

“They have a bunch of good, little pieces, but they should have made trades,” Barkley said. “Who is their best player? We start with that. Who is their best player? To be a great team in the NBA, you have to have at least one really good player. When you think about the Bulls, you don’t even know who their best player is.”

Also had a good line about Deng and Gordon turning down the contract extensions....

“When these guys turn down 10 million to 12 million (per year), I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ “ he said. “First of all, that’s highway robbery if you get that much money. They’re just good players, not great players.
“If you offer a good player 10 million a year, he should get a pen as fast as he can.”

“Hey, Luol Deng is a good player but he’s never going to be Pau Gasol and he’s definitely never going to be Kevin Garnett. And now you’re stuck. You’re up the creek without a paddle, plain and simple.”