OT: NBA 2005-2006 Season Discussion

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 7:55 pm

I thought it would at least give the scrub teams something to shoot for at the end of the year....but you're right, there is a reason there were 82 games prior. Relegation does sound like an even better idea. LOL.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:06 pm

It would be hilarious to see the Knicks with their $120M payroll playing the Arkansas Rimrockers.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:14 pm

sfz_T-car wrote:It would be hilarious to see the Knicks with their $120M payroll playing the Arkansas Rimrockers.

Not only play the Rimrockers, but end up losing to them too.

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:18 pm

sfz_T-car wrote:Dear Chris Ramsey:
Please tell me again why the NBA plays an 82 game season. TIA.

Personally, I'd rather see the Knicks and Bobcats battling it out to avoid relegation to the NBDL.

LOL! Relegation... excellent!

Hey! You finally got rid of that icon of that scrub! Maybe he'll stop playing like dogshit now... or at least like he did before Fortson dropped the hammer on him.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:35 pm

How dare you talk down on Zarko.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:50 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:How dare you talk down on Zarko.

My thoughts exactly. Zarko is big on intangibles and he's almost as athletic as half the guys boasting in the "How many of you guys are good athletes?" thread.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:46 pm

Uhoh....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2380201

Gives him 16 games to get acclimated...should be PLENTY of time with Nasty running the show.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:05 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Uhoh....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2380201

Gives him 16 games to get acclimated...should be PLENTY of time with Nasty running the show.

I'm one of those people who thinks maybe he just shouldn't play this season both for the good of team chemistry and his future....

That being said, what do I really know since no way in hell I would have picked the Suns to be playing as well as they have all season.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:22 pm

Well I'd agree with you, except that there is virtually no chance for the Suns to win anything without him. This is going to be one of those years where the Suns will have a good look at it since Dallas and San Antonio will beat the crap out of each other for a series and then have to completely switch it up to the Suns style. Of course this is all predicated on those three teams all advancing as they should. With Amare, I think they have a shot...without him, I don't think the Suns have enough size to compete with those teams over a 7 game series.

I'm not saying the Suns WILL win it with him, because he's probably only going to be 75 or 80% of what he was last year in the playoffs (which was arguably the best player last year)...but the Suns were a 5 man team last year...now they have a nice little bench and they are a lot more unselfish. Boris Diaw is a HUGE reason for this. Putting him and Nash on the floor with Amare is going to be ridiculous. They will be able to attack from any angle...it's really going to be fun to watch. Next year they probably won't even have Diaw...or Tim Thomas for that matter. Both are Free Agents at the end of the year. I think Boris MIGHT stay, but that's only because he loves the franchise, not because he can make more money staying. The Suns won't be able to offer him what other teams can/will this offseason. He's shown that it really was the Hawks that just made him look terrible. He's got an all around game that really will help Phoenix, especially when Nash leaves the game with a few min. left in the 1st and 3rd quarters for his usual breather.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:19 am

Well he's back...and he's still good. Not quite as explosive as before, but hey...what do you expect in your first game back. A nice 20 points in and 9 boards in 19 min. of playing time.

APOC · Post by **APOC** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:25 am

I just hope he gets back to the same level he was at in the Playoffs last season. I don't know how far the Suns can go this year, however next season (as health permits) I expect Phoenix to have a great year much like the 2004-2005 campaign.

Even though he had a good night for his first game back, I'm still hesitant to say he made the best decision as far as his career is concerned, avoiding further injury and surgery of course.

He's still a young guy with a lot basketball seasons ahead of him. He needs to be very cautious.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 2:22 pm

Which is pretty much why they are keeping him in the 15-20 min. range...

No way in hell he gets back to where he was last year at this time...maybe by the end of next year he'll be able to, but he just isn't explosive enough right now. Last night you could clearly tell he didn't quite have his legs...he got a few put backs, but he didn't look as fresh as he did the first night. Obviously he's gonna have to get his ass back into shape if he's gonna run with Phoenix. Worst case, he just gives the Suns an inside presence for about 20 min. a game this year. That's not exactly a bad thing. Like I said, they really have no shot without him to win it all...and a slim one with him at 75%.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:51 pm

Cavs are hanging in there pretty good... 5 wins in a row. Magic numbers are 2 for the playoffs, 9 for the fourth seed.

They're surprising me, I thought for sure they would start fading down the stretch without Hughes and Lebron getting beat on for 43 minutes a game.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:54 pm

So much for Amare improving. Might as well just shut him down now...he says he is only getting stiffer. Kiss the Suns title chances goodbye if he's not around at 80+%.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:32 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:So much for Amare improving. Might as well just shut him down now...he says he is only getting stiffer. Kiss the Suns title chances goodbye if he's not around at 80+%.

Yeah I was afraid of something like that. Grant Hill is the biggest cautionary tale in the history of sports for me...It just isn't worth it to rush back when your a young player.

If I was a Suns fan, I would be more than happy with just accepting the wonderful season they had that most people didn't expect and just go in and hope for some lucky breaks against the Spurs or Mavericks down the road.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:13 am

Whose minutes would he have taken?

Because as dominant as Stoudemire was, it seems the Suns have real good chemistry when Diaw is in the game, as Diaw works the two-man game real well with Nash or Marion.

Obviously Stoudemire is an MVP-type of player so he probably would draw double-teams and open up a lot of shots outside.

But without that inside presence, the Suns are shooting like 39% from 3-point range, which sounds comparable to what they did last year. So Nash is able to get wide-open looks for a lot of these role players like Jones and Bell.

Diaw isn't going to draw double-teams or the whole defense, which probably has helped in his productivity.

And it's not just some forward or center's minutes he'd take away. I'm guessing if he's spiking down dunks at the same rate as last year, all these players who've been so good wouldn't get as many touches.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:19 am

James Jones and Tim Thomas are the two guys who's minutes would take the biggest hit. Well, them and Kurt Thomas who is out until the 2nd round of the playoffs if they Suns even make it that far. There are plenty of minutes for him...but only if he's healthy. Diaw would stay on the court, with Marion, Nash and Bell...as the starting unit. There is a reason why Nash's assists have went down in the 2nd half of the year...it's because the Suns are using Diaw to initiate the offense quite a bit. Nash is the guy who creates the "confusions" most of the time...so if they actually used the "hockey" assist formula, you'd see Nash with a ridiculous amount of assists...you know, the passer before the passer, lol.

And by the way Wco...it is the forward and center minutes who he'd be taking away. Jones plays power forward a lot of times and Tim Thomas plays center or power forward. So that's where the minutes would come from. House, Barbosa, Bell and Nash all rotate in the two guard spots...and none of them would take a hit in minutes. If anything, Bell might get a few more minutes worth of rest...which is a good thing.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:59 am

With all those players doing so well, there must be great chemistry. You can't always put back in a great player into the mix without affecting that chemistry (every player being in good rhythm as far as taking the right shots, making the right pass, etc.) Maybe with Amare back, some of these players might get gun-shy, dump it into him and stand around.

BTW, I think Dallas is beatable. They are a scoring machine but their defense isn't as improved as the hype. Warriors win twice down there, the second time, with Richardson and little else. Warriors didn't stop them but the Mavs didn't slow down the Warriors either.

Spurs are another story. As Stackhouse charged earlier this year, Spurs are protected. That is unless they face Phil and Kobe.

Programmed2Kill · Post by **Programmed2Kill** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:59 pm

The Sixers make me cry.

I hate to say it...but whenever I see Iverson's face, hate becomes me. I'm tired of seeing him. It's not his fault....but oh well.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:56 am

"x-Cleveland"

That's weird. What the hell does that "x" mean?

It's been so long since I've seen that... in any sport... I think it means something good... I dunno... hmmm...

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:32 pm

Man, Chauncy Billups just went ape sh*t against the Suns. I cannot believe how much better that guy is in that system. He was always a decent scorer, but he never really became a good all-around player until he got to Detroit. They just laid the smackdown to the Suns in the second half after getting trounced in the first.

Oh well..it's a good measuring stick game for Phoenix...the Suns played pretty well on D until Chauncy started hitting absolutely everything he threw up there...the Pistons just played a dominating game in the 2nd half...that was one of the first times I've seen Phoenix just get shut down on the offensive end. It was surprising because it was fairly easy for them in the first half. I guess Detroit just turned it up a notch and it showed.

ubrakto · Post by **ubrakto** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:43 pm

I missed a lot of the first half, but it had the look of a typical Pistons game of late. Get punked in the first half and go nuts defensively and offensively in the second half. Detroit's now won 8 of their last 9 and most of them followed that script, including a game against the Bucks in which they were down 18 about five minuts into the 3rd quarter. As a Pistons fan it kind of makes me crazy the way they get so far down early in the game, but it's nice to know they're never out of a game.

I'd love to see a Suns vs. Pistons matchup in the Finals this year. I think that would be fun to watch.
---Todd

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:08 pm

The Pistons play real defense which is why they will always have a chance even though they aren't gifted offensively. It's a pleasure to see a team play real defense and not just the thug defense that can sometimes pass for the real thing. It's very hard to not see them coming out of the East despite whatever Miami or any other team does over there.

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:19 pm

reeche wrote:The Pistons play real defense which is why they will always have a chance even though they aren't gifted offensively. It's a pleasure to see a team play real defense and not just the thug defense that can sometimes pass for the real thing.

I'm not so sure... I somewhat agree with Mark Cuban that they and the Spurs get away with a lot of crap because of their reputation. Having said that, the Pistons don't have any outright dirty players like Bruce "Lee" Bowen.

Billups is fabulous, but I still think Detroit's best player is Ben Wallace. He is a complete pain in the ass to play against because he is so damn disruptive. He grabs every rebound in sight and swats shots to the moon. He is super strong and can push anybody out of the blocks. And most importantly, he is just completely indomitable... he will not let up one bit until the final buzzer.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:50 pm

Kazuya wrote:
reeche wrote:The Pistons play real defense which is why they will always have a chance even though they aren't gifted offensively. It's a pleasure to see a team play real defense and not just the thug defense that can sometimes pass for the real thing.
I'm not so sure... I somewhat agree with Mark Cuban that they and the Spurs get away with a lot of crap because of their reputation. Having said that, the Pistons don't have any outright dirty players like Bruce "Lee" Bowen.

Billups is fabulous, but I still think Detroit's best player is Ben Wallace. He is a complete pain in the ass to play against because he is so damn disruptive. He grabs every rebound in sight and swats shots to the moon. He is super strong and can push anybody out of the blocks. And most importantly, he is just completely indomitable... he will not let up one bit until the final buzzer.

I'll agree with the Wallace bit. His numbers may not be exactly what they use to be but his defensive presence is just huge. I thought he was the real MVP in the finals last year. Some of his good defensive work doesn't even translate into individual stats. (On a side rant, the NBA needs better official defensive stats than just steals and blocks) I haven't watched the Mavericks much this year and I keep hearing about an improved defense but having two players like Wallace and Wallace to clamp down on the inside late in the game is the difference between the Pistons and everybody else at this point. As Tim Duncan becomes less and less mobile, thats a problem to me for the Spurs. (Still not enough to stop them from also playing mean defense when it counts.) Bowen is fairly dirty. No doubt about that but he's carved his niche and thats important in a rep based league like the NBA.