NBA 2012: Running thread

And they kept saying Avery Johnson preaches defense.

 

Miami was 9-8 in the first 17 games James was there. I was throwing dirt on the coffin too soon with that group, and I think we need to see how this team looks after a few more games before panicking.

 

Just saw some highlights from tonight's game at the Barclay Center. Seemed kind of dark in the arena as though the lighting needs some work. Was it just me?

 

Watched the whole game, didn't notice any darkness at all.

 

Granted, I haven't watched Toronto games on a frequent basis, but he has never impressed me. I guess I wouldn't put him on Darko's level yet but he has to be a huge disappointment. Colangelo's No. 1, right?

EDIT: Wow, I stand corrected. The Minnesota pregame analysts compared parts of his game to Nowitski and KG. I remember him being a good perimeter shooter, but not much else.

 

You have that right. Amazing start. Less impressive was the NBA-TV analysts speculating whether it would be Davis or Lillard for ROY - after two games. :

 

Elliotte's post served as a reminder Minnesota and Toronto are playing tonight on NBA-TV. Gonna check it out before Detroit and the Lakers.

The Pistons have an extremely young roster. They took Phoenix down to the wire the other night, but maybe Detroit is arriving at just the right time for L.A.

Los Angeles reminds me of the 1988-89 season. In Detroit, er Auburn Hills, Jack McCloskey had compiled a team with the right combination of talent and chemistry-mixture. He further enhanced it by trading Dantley for Aguirre. Conversely, Stan Kasten went for it all by signing Moses and trading for Theus. It completely blew up for Atlanta. Theus disrupted the offense so much he was exposed for the expansion draft.

 

Missed a portion of the second half watching a "60 Minutes" piece on David McCullough, but here's what I took away on the Raptors:

That is one heck of a guard tandem in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Lowry brings so much energy (especially impressive after playing in Brooklyn Saturday) and both guards snared some boards.

Bargnani? Didn't have a good shooting night, but I'm educated up that he normally is a good perimeter guy. However, as Jack Armstrong pointed out more than once, when he drives to the basket, he rarely dishes. Is he typically that selfish?

Toronto didn't have much of an inside game, at least tonight.

 

Pistons are going to be the ideal Homecoming Game opponent this year. They have some intriguing pieces - Drummond and Monroe could be a nice tandem inside - but it is going to take a while.

 

I think Detroit is going to be better than that but it was certainly the right tonic for L.A. last night. The Pistons looked intimidated and Brandon Knight had nothing. Howard outscored Detroit's starters.

Drummond is being brought along slowly which is the proper thing to do. I think he could be a steal for Detroit, considering his fall in the draft. Drummond had a deer-in-the-headlights look against Houston but he showed in preseason he could board, block, and finish.

Looking like a developmental year for Slava Kravtsov.

A 4-20 start doomed the Pistons last season and starting with this trip west does not help avoiding a repeat.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8597928/jj-barea-donald-sloan-first-receive-flopping-warnings

So did anyone have J.J. Barea in the "first to get tagged by the new anti-flopping rule" pool?