The 2010/2011 NBA Season Thread

[pilferk]

Best case scenario for the C's!
Series sweep, and now get to rest, and watch the 6ers hopefully make Miami work.
Not sure if Shaq was, or is going to be an option, but good to see them get past NY w/o him. Hopefully the rest is all he needs.
Among the contenders, C's seem to have the hot hand at the moment.

They get a few extra days rest, which should be good for them.  Can't hurt Shaq's progress...that's for sure.  Wonder if we'll see him this year at all.  Sure makes the Perkins trade sting a whole lot more.

I just hope the extra down time doesn't take away the "edge" they seem to have found down at MSG. 

[LongGoneDay]

Best case scenario for the C's!
Series sweep, and now get to rest, and watch the 6ers hopefully make Miami work.
Not sure if Shaq was, or is going to be an option, but good to see them get past NY w/o him. Hopefully the rest is all he needs.
Among the contenders, C's seem to have the hot hand at the moment.

They get a few extra days rest, which should be good for them.  Can't hurt Shaq's progress...that's for sure.  Wonder if we'll see him this year at all.  Sure makes the Perkins trade sting a whole lot more.

I just hope the extra down time doesn't take away the "edge" they seem to have found down at MSG. 

I think that they have a shot vs Miami w/o him, but what a boost that would be for them if Shaq was able to return and contribute!
I hope JO can stay on the floor, because he is playing better than I expected he could. It would be nice to have Shaq down low to slam Wade or LBJ to the floor and make them think twice about coming inside. Not that I think Wade would get that message.

Should be a hell of a series with or w/o Shaq though. I think going against LBJ brings out the best in Pierce, and I'm never concerned about KG being anything less than 100% into it, but yea, hopefully they can carry that momentum into Miami.

[D]

I think u Boston fans have to take the Knicks series with a grain of salt. They did struggle and easily could've lost first 2 games. Won last 2 cause Amare and Chauncey were injured.

so even though I give Boston slight edge over Miami, I think their performance could be a bit fool's gold cause they looked terrible first two games against NY.

[LongGoneDay]

I think u Boston fans have to take the Knicks series with a grain of salt. They did struggle and easily could've lost first 2 games. Won last 2 cause Amare and Chauncey were injured.

so even though I give Boston slight edge over Miami, I think their performance could be a bit fool's gold cause they looked terrible first two games against NY.

No doubt, I realize Knicks aren't exactly world beaters, and C's did look horrible first 2, but played progressively better throughout the series. The big 4 carried the team to a victory in game 3, but the bench finally stepped up, and game 4 was a team effort, which is good to see, no matter the opponent.
Green is starting to show what he is capable of at both ends of the floor. Even Curly showed flashes on D, haha.

Chauncey is a big loss because he's a smart, tested player, but if Rondo's on his game, he eats his lunch.
Melo and Amare don't play well together yet, I think Amare going down was the best thing to happen in Melo's mind because he could hoist up all the shots he wanted. It almost worked in game 3.

Still plenty of question marks, but Miami's got em as well. C's won't get away with all of the turnovers though, gotta clean that up against the elite teams or they'll make u pay. I'd like to see them get Murphy involved somehow. Underrated player, but maybe he's been rotting on the bench too long to contribute at this point..

[Bodhi]

Celtics will beat the Heat in 6 games.  They are too deep a team for the Heat right now even without Shaq, Miami is probably still a year or two away from being a true title contender. They have 2 great players, 1 good one and NOTHING else.

[D]

Mavs redeemed themselves last night. Mavs are playing fantastic defense. They are clearly the better team. series should be over.

LA will bounce back and get on a roll which is unfortunate, cause if LA played Dallas or Portland like NO, they would lose but I fully expect them to wake up and start steamrolling.


Miami have to be contenders. having 2 of the top 3 players automatically means u should compete for title. they have lost the copout of needing time when they did what they did.

[Bodhi]

Miami have to be contenders. having 2 of the top 3 players automatically means u should compete for title. they have lost the copout of needing time when they did what they did.

yeah normally 2 of the top 3 players would make you a title contender, and I guess they are a contender but I would surprised if they actually won the title this year.  They have probably the worst supporting cast in NBA history, if they even had a decent bench they would win the title going away.

[pilferk]

Miami have to be contenders. having 2 of the top 3 players automatically means u should compete for title. they have lost the copout of needing time when they did what they did.

Yeah, but......I'm not yet convinced.

I agree with you that they SHOULD be title contenders.  But from what I've seen out of this team, in this case it looks like the sum or the parts is less than the parts, themselves. 

The other thing is: Boston might be the best "closer" in the NBA, when it comes to games.  I think they play better than pretty much everyone in the last 3 minutes in close games.

Miami is exactly the opposite, so far, this season.   They're HORRIBLE closers in close games.  Sure, they can win by 10+.  But I'm not convinced they can win by 3.  And given Boston's defense, and how well they played Miami in the regular season, I expect a lot more 3 to 5 point games than I expect 10+ point games.

It'll be interesting.  I think the Celtics, ultimately, advance.  But Miami could easily surprise me by NOT playing like they have during the regular season.  I mean..given the crew they have, I expect so much more.  So I can't be surprised if they actually MEET those expectations.  On the flip side though, they haven't done it so far.

[pilferk]

yeah normally 2 of the top 3 players would make you a title contender, and I guess they are a contender but I would surprised if they actually won the title this year.  They have probably the worst supporting cast in NBA history, if they even had a decent bench they would win the title going away.

I'd argue the Cavs supporting cast was worse last year.

I'd also argue that the Knicks supporting cast, behind Amare and 'Melo was worse THIS year (which, I suppose, also qualifes the C's sweep)...especially after Chauncy went down.

And finally I'd argue that Orlando's supporting cast, behind Howard, might be worse than the Heats...but it's close.

[LongGoneDay]

Should also be noted that, after all of the talk of the Perk trade, JO played at a level in which Perk was not the least bit missed.
Don't get me wrong, sure wouldn't mind having Perk in the trenches as well, but JO is making his presence known thus far.

I also love how the "experts" dismiss the fact that the C's swept an inferior opponent in NY, when some of them predicted 6-7 game series, and some even had NY winning.
Beating any team on the road is impressive, especially in the playoffs. C's did it twice, in about as hostile environment as they will face.


Hoping my Spurs can rebound, and at least make it a series, but Memphis is looking tough.

[Bodhi]

yeah normally 2 of the top 3 players would make you a title contender, and I guess they are a contender but I would surprised if they actually won the title this year.  They have probably the worst supporting cast in NBA history, if they even had a decent bench they would win the title going away.

I'd argue the Cavs supporting cast was worse last year.

I'd also argue that the Knicks supporting cast, behind Amare and 'Melo was worse THIS year (which, I suppose, also qualifes the C's sweep)...especially after Chauncy went down.

And finally I'd argue that Orlando's supporting cast, behind Howard, might be worse than the Heats...but it's close.

I meant supporting cast for a supposed title contender, I dont think anyone thought the Knicks or Magic were going to make a serious push for a title.  I think you might be right with the Cavs supporting cast last year, they were supposedly a title contender and they were pretty bad. 

[Eazy E]

I hope the Heat just put the 6ers out of their misery tomorrow so we can get on with the matchup I'm waiting for: Boston Vs. Miami... hopefully the sweep will get Shaq back in game shape.  Agree 100% that Boston are outstanding in close games & the Heat are awful... but I think they will bring out the best of each other.

Anyways, I'm sure the Lakers can pull together and win their series, but - if Paul can work his magic twice more and knock them off, and the Spurs on the brink of elimination, are the Thunder now the favourites to win the West?  I think they can pull it off regardless.

[D]

Yeah but Jermaine played at a high level against Jared Jeffries........

Miami can't be graded the same way as far as supporting cast, cause most teams with a good supporting cast, don't have 2 of the top 3 and 3 of the top 20 players. so its harder putting that together plus throw in Udonis Haslem being injured. if he is healthy, i'd make them the favorites for sure. I think Wade will be the big thorn in boston's side. KG will eat Bosh alive, pierce has done well against Lebron but i can't see Allen guarding Wade.. Rondo may have some luck but I don't know.. throw in Wade gets the baby touch foul calls..........

I'
Id rank Lebron 1, Kobe 2, Wade 3

Bosh 15-20 range

Whereas in Boston, they don't have anyone in the top 10 but they have 3 *Pierce,KG,Rondo in the 10-20 range plus Allen probably in the 25-30 range and their bench with Big Baby,jeff Green,Delonte,Jermaine or Shaq whichever are all capable players.


Its funny, cause people talk about Miami's big men but yet don't realize that Dirk played with Damp for the past 5-6 years.

[gnr-4-ever]

http://youtu.be/QUL2chHSALU

[LongGoneDay]

Spurs aint dead yet! What a game!!

Heat are lookin mighty beatable after watching them struggle in a closeout game on their home floor.
Chalmers bailed them out big time, and they can pretty much bank on never getting a performance out of him like that again.

Spoelstra wrote up some head scratching plays at the end too. Hope my C's are ready, should be a great battle.

[Bodhi]

Spurs aint dead yet! What a game!!

Heat are lookin mighty beatable after watching them struggle in a closeout game on their home floor.
Chalmers bailed them out big time, and they can pretty much bank on never getting a performance out of him like that again.

Spoelstra wrote up some head scratching plays at the end too. Hope my C's are ready, should be a great battle.

I think the Spurs won that series last night when they hit that buzzer beater.  I'm also sticking with Celtics in 6.

[LongGoneDay]

Spurs aint dead yet! What a game!!

Heat are lookin mighty beatable after watching them struggle in a closeout game on their home floor.
Chalmers bailed them out big time, and they can pretty much bank on never getting a performance out of him like that again.

Spoelstra wrote up some head scratching plays at the end too. Hope my C's are ready, should be a great battle.

I think the Spurs won that series last night when they hit that buzzer beater.  I'm also sticking with Celtics in 6.

I hope you're right!
What a comeback that would be. Grizz looks real tough though. Randolph has been a beast.

Just tried buying game 6 tickets in Boston, but sold out instantly.

[faldor]

Id rank Lebron 1, Kobe 2, Wade 3

Admittedly, I haven't seen him play THAT much, but from what I've seen of Kevin Durant.  I'm not sure HE'S not the best player in the NBA.  Or at least, well on his way.

[LongGoneDay]

Id rank Lebron 1, Kobe 2, Wade 3

Admittedly, I haven't seen him play THAT much, but from what I've seen of Kevin Durant.  I'm not sure HE'S not the best player in the NBA.  Or at least, well on his way.

Absolutely. If I'm starting a team today and have one pick, Durant is it.
Wade second.

[D]

My Mavs exercised some big demons last night!

Can we beat LA? I don't know. gonna take alot of stuff going right. I bet anyone here, Statistically Dirk has a better series than Kobe.

Chandler must stay out of foul trouble, Peja needs to look like Sacramento Peja... we'll see.


Lebron is better than Durant right now. Durant scores and thats about it. he is a high volume shooter, not a great defender or rebounder or passer.

Lebron is distinguished at all phases of the game on both ends of the court.   Durant and Kobe/Wade at this stage is debatable though.  of course my top 5 is: 1.lebron 2.Kobe 3.Wade 4.Durant 5.Dirk

next 5: 6.Dwight Howard 7.healthy Chris Paul 8.Derrick Rose 9.Carmelo Anthony 10.  Deron Williams

next 5. 11.Paul Pierce 12.Kevin Garnett 13.Russell Westbrook 14.Amare Stoudemire 15.Manu Ginobli

next 5 16.Pau Gasol 17.Chris Bosh 18.Blake Grifin 19.Lamarcus Aldridge 20. Zach Randolph

next 5: 21.Steve Nash 22.Joe Johnson 23.Monta ellis 24.Danny Granger 25.Rajon Rondo

any oversights? I did this off the top of my head so u could probably flip flop here in there some spots.