NBA 2012: Running thread

9th year in the league with a Finals and an ECF. OK. Decent stuff. Great power stats in the playoffs (19.9 ppg, 14.4 rpg) but these are his FT percentages in 6 playoff seasons: .455, .542, .636, .519, .682, .588.

"Unless the only thing that matters at all is winning a title ... " Unfortunately, that is our society. Win or shut up.

LeBron was never going to be "legitimate" till he won a title. That's what made them losing in the Finals his first year in Miami pretty funny -- surrounded by a solid team yet they still couldn't get over the hump. Then last season happened, he rose up in the devastation of the Thunder, and LeBron is an entirely different player now. These 3 to 5 years in South Beach will by dynamic because he has no chip on his shoulder.

So again, it really doesn't matter what Howard does in the first 43-44 minutes of the game if he's the reason the team doesn't close out championship games because of a big weakness.

But I also have a soft spot for him or any Hall of Fame-caliber player that starts drowning in his own mess, as I did for LeBron after the Finals loss to Dallas, because, like you said, it's not all that should matter. But it is.

 

Although the center's role in the NBA has declined in importance since, oh, 1990 or so, Howard is still held to the Big Man standard which means they are either title-winning dominant or failures. Free throw shooting is of course totally mental, so inability to do it is the single best way of getting ripped by fans and media there is. Maybe he should try a belly putter.

 

Lakers fall to 9-13 after losing to 4-17 Cleveland.

Howard's +28 in the final 5 minutes of a 5-point game didn't quite come into play this time.

Howard registered 9 (13-22) of the Lakers' 15 missed free throws (25-40).

Seems like Bickerstaff was the right person and not D'Antoni.

 

Carmelo with 45 in a nice comeback win for the Knicks in Brooklyn.

 

Meanwhile, Nets take a 23-7 lead at home against the Knicks, control the game until the Knicks start creeping and crawling to get back into it by the 4th.

Kidd wins it with a 3-pointer (missed the and-1) with 23 seconds to play and then the Nets missed a couple of 3-pointers.

100-97.

Clippers and Bulls now for some late-night entertainment.

 

What the hell was Amir Johnson doing?

 

Who are the most disappointing players so far?

I'd say:

Pau Gasol
Kris Humphries
Jeremy Lin (until the other night)

 

Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard

 

Anyone who wears purple and yellow?

 

On the flip side, how bout the season Carmelo's having? Another monster 45 pt performance last night, he might challenge for the MVP this year.

The Knicks have been playing Carmelo at the power forward spot this year (similar to how Coach K used him on the olympic teams) and it's worked wonderfully. It'll be interesting to see how they handle it when Stoudemire returns, do they automatically move Melo back to his old spot? Because, fact is, the team's been playing a lot better with this smaller lineup without Amare.

 

There is a reason why Carmelo starts on the Olympic team. The guy is an amazing talent.

 

Carmello has stepped it up. Clearly the time spent this summer with Coach K has helped his game. He is approaching Bernard King territory with The Knicks.

Finally living up to the potential that all the experts said he had.