NBA Season 2010-11

[dbdynsty25]

Why are you quoting yourself?

[Brando70]

Ha, meant to edit instead -- I had written "Chucky Atkins" instead of Chucky Brown.

[Brando70]

I'm also trying to understand why Michael Wilbon is employed by ESPN when he writes crap like this about the second game of the Heat-Bulls:

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/c ... id=6565541

Never mind that the score was even in a back-and-forth game; Miami went hard to the basket on virtually every possession early with precious little resistance. The Bulls' defense didn't come close to resembling what we've seen all season, not with Miami living at the lip of the rim.

Never mind that the Bulls held the Heat to 85 points, just three more than the other night and two points below the Bulls' season average. Never mind that the heat shot 47%, same as in game one, and actually shot worse from the three-point line in game two. Never mind that the Bulls defense forced 15 turnovers, only one fewer than game one. The Bulls defense clearly wasn't the same in game two

If only there was this wondrous invention where one could access information such as post-game statistics before sitting on the toilet to squat out a column.

[RobVarak]

He seems to have confused the Game 1 performance with an average Bulls game. They were definitely smacked around as compared to the first game, but they rebounded well enough to win. They just shot poorly, which was to be expected after knocking down everything in Game 1. Full credit to the Heat defense as well.

[Brando70]

The Heat definitely outplayed the Bulls and were way more physical in game two, but I just couldn't understand him laying so much blame at the feet of the Chicago defense when that loss was due entirely because of the offense.

I think the Bulls will split the Miami games. They will have to shoot better to win one of those games, but I don't see their defense letting them lose three in a row.

[Lancer]

Hard night for the Bulls tonight, tough enough to beat the Heat, but the refs too? Seems like some Stern magic for the Heat there in the 4th qtr.

But give credit to the Heat, BOSH came up big tonight. Wade was way off but bosh was unstoppable.

[dbdynsty25]

Where's Rod now? He's been awfully quiet after one fluke of a game. LOL. Must be new to NBA basketball...that stuff happens ALL THE TIME. You then get the bandwagoners jumping to huge conclusions:

I called it. CHI will win this series. I think the Bulls played to the Hawks level. The Heat are to the Bulls what the Celtics were to the Heat. It's extra motivation to them.

There's still nothing to say that Chicago can't win the series (they might want to learn to play offense however), but obviously it ain't over after a one game blowout.

[RobVarak]

Adjustments can get you far in a series (look at the way MIA has stayed away from iso's and shared moved the ball since game 1), but I'm not sure Thibs has enough in the tank to overcome the fact that Rose is never going to be able to score in the paint consistently against the size and quickness of Miami's D. Unless he has a play that makes Rose 6'7", they're going to have to focus on something borderline miraculous like getting Deng to be a scoring machine...tough when he's chasing LeBron away on the defensive end.

[Rodster]

Where's Rod now? He's been awfully quiet after one fluke of a game. LOL. Must be new to NBA basketball...that stuff happens ALL THE TIME. You then get the bandwagoners jumping to huge conclusions:

I called it. CHI will win this series. I think the Bulls played to the Hawks level. The Heat are to the Bulls what the Celtics were to the Heat. It's extra motivation to them.

There's still nothing to say that Chicago can't win the series (they might want to learn to play offense however), but obviously it ain't over after a one game blowout.

Still here

Don't want to jinx my favorite team LOL. So Heat will lose the series !

[dbdynsty25]

Wow...that was epic. Karma for the OKC fans wearing all blue...you know, the same color the VISITING MAVS were wearing. Idiots. Someone should get fired for that one.

[Brando70]

Adjustments can get you far in a series (look at the way MIA has stayed away from iso's and shared moved the ball since game 1), but I'm not sure Thibs has enough in the tank to overcome the fact that Rose is never going to be able to score in the paint consistently against the size and quickness of Miami's D. Unless he has a play that makes Rose 6'7", they're going to have to focus on something borderline miraculous like getting Deng to be a scoring machine...tough when he's chasing LeBron away on the defensive end.

They are also going to have a hard time beating the Heat when Miami shoots 50% and gets to the line a lot. Just too much Bosh in Game 3, and the Miami D has been terrific the last two games.

One thing that's clear is the pick and roll doesn't work that well against a team with the speed and size of the Heat, especially when there's not a regular scorer for Rose to dish to.

[RobVarak]

One thing that's clear is the pick and roll doesn't work that well against a team with the speed and size of the Heat, especially when there's not a regular scorer for Rose to dish to.

That's the consensus, as is the idea that the Bulls need to run more 1-4 for Rose. I don't see that as a solution though, given the way that the Heat are blitzing DRose and the lack of consistent shooting from another Bull.

Granted, I don't have a better idea, but I'm not sure that's the answer.

[RobVarak]

Heat are a better team, but that game was there for the Bulls. Thibs failed badly by just running isolation for Rose twice against LeBron with the game on the line. Stupid and very frustrating.

[Lancer]

wow, all the bulls fans after game 1 were ready to book tickets for the finals, how we stand after game 4. It's still not over, but I don't see the bulls winning 3 in a row now.

I wouldn't mind seeing the bulls win, I'm starting to dislike Lebron more and more this playoff season. Maybe he's just more cocky this season because he has a real team unlike his Cavs days. The jumping at the end was ridiculous too. I hope they get rolled by the Mavs.

[Danimal]

Tonight was the first full NBA game I've watched in years and it reminded me why I don't watch the sport. Isn't a foul a foul? Isn't traveling the same for everyone? Why are the refs so old they can't even keep up with a play?

[RobVarak]

It's the most impossible sport to officiate and has been for years. The size, speed and strength of the players has long passed the point where you could actually call the rules as written...but nobody's really come up with an alternative. It's a mixture of written and unwritten rules at this point.

The thing that blows me away is that they've never altered the court/basket dimensions despite the average size of players expanding about tenfold.

[greggsand]

It's the most impossible sport to officiate and has been for years. The size, speed and strength of the players has long passed the point where you could actually call the rules as written...but nobody's really come up with an alternative. It's a mixture of written and unwritten rules at this point.

Agreed. It's impossible to call every foul in an nba game (imagine calling every 'holding' call in football). Traveling is a slightly easier target, but still a call that the refs "swallow the whistles" in crunch time. Officiating is both the NBA's biggest flaw & the NBA's biggest scapegoat for losing teams throughout NBA history. I love this game! (really)

[Rodster]

The thing that blows me away is that they've never altered the court/basket dimensions despite the average size of players expanding about tenfold.

I've asked the same questions. I think the basket needs to be set higher, not sure about how to pull off the court dimension without affecting seating for fans. But in the new NBA and with the mic behind the basket i'm sure you won't get the same impact when Blake Griffin does one of his monster jams.

[wco81]

Average size of the players has expanded tenfold?

What were they, Lilliputians before?

Athletes have gotten bigger, stronger and faster in general. Why not make baseball diamonds bigger or the football field longer and wider? Why not have the 120 meter dash in the Olympics? Why not make it Tour of Europe?

Problem with making the basket higher is that it not only affects the great athletes but those players who develop shooting skills, since they're kids. NCAA artificially tried to limit the advantage of size and athleticism by barring dunking for years after Alcindor's career. But was the college game better during those years?

Both teams didn't shoot that well last night. Jon Barry says Wade and James are two of the best perimeter players of all time. But at times, the Heat offense was ugly, saved by Miller's shooting. Good teams are able to defend the rim fine. At its current height, teams have to be wary of players who can get to the rim if they take off a couple of steps inside the FT line or a step inside the side of the paint. They might have to get rid of the dotted circle if they raised the rims, which might not be a bad thing, but the current height of the rim means defending the paint against the slashers and the leapers is difficult. Yet teams do it.

If you want fewer dunks, you can watch the WNBA.

[Brando70]

That was a very tough loss to swallow last night. The free-throw disparity was annoying but not surprising (this is the NBA, after all), but it was difficult to see the Bulls shoot themselves in the foot in a game they should have won. They got careless with the ball, ran terrible offensive plays at the end of regulation, and Thibodeau probably did the worst job of managing his bench than in any other game this year.

Miami played well for sure -- great defense, tremendous game by LeBastard, and a great job coming off the bench by Mike Miller's bionic thumbs. But the Bulls definitely let one get away.

[fanatic]

I'm starting to dislike Lebron more and more this playoff season. Maybe he's just more cocky this season because he has a real team unlike his Cavs days. The jumping at the end was ridiculous too. I hope they get rolled by the Mavs.

I hear ya...

I've definitely come to the point where I'm not hating on the Heat like at the beginning of the season - after all, these aren't really bad guys, they just handled a tricky situation very poorly.

But, I can't help but cringe when Bosh and Lebron jump around/trash talk.

Chicago just took too long to run their offense. They needed more quick strikes. Give Heat full credit though.

[RobVarak]

Average size of the players has expanded tenfold?

What were they, Lilliputians before?

hy·per·bo·le   
[hahy-pur-buh-lee]
–noun Rhetoric .
1.
obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2.
an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

It's not that I don't like dunks. Compressing the modern players into the traditional playing space makes the game much more difficult to call. This is compounded by the fact that players strength today allows them to shrug off so many fouls.

It's not a realistic suggestion, as dunks pay the bills in the NBA, but it's not something I came up with on my own and it's been knocked around for at least 10-12 years.

Getting back to last night, I was very disappointed in Rose. His shooting is often poor, so I can forgive that. But the Bulls gameplan was clearly to get out and run. This is something he should have relished, but he was very indifferent and not pushing the ball up like he needed to. Watson was much more on-script, which was why Thibs gave him more minutes. He even played him with Rose, and I'm quite sure that was part of the reason. The Bulls' tempo was much better with him in the game.

The NBA playoffs are ruthlessly efficient at allowing the better team to advance, and it's probable that a Bulls win last night may not have made a difference. It's just frustrating that they were so close and couldn't take advantage.

[Brando70]

LeBron is a dickhead. A tremendously talented dickhead, but a dickhead nonetheless. I am still irritated that he tried to elevate The Sniffles Game to something bigger.

I tip my hat to LeBron's game, and last night in particular he played like a champ. But ever since The Decision, it's like he emerged from a cocoon into a fully formed d*****. My one consolation for the Heat possibly advancing is that I think they will lose to the Mavs.

[wco81]

The Finals will depend a lot on FT scoring. LBJ, Wade and Nowitski all have games predicated on getting to the line.

But I can't see the NBA giving a German guy more consideration over 2 young American stars who are a big part of the league's future.

Haslem will get away with a lot when he guards Nowitski, just as in 2006.

[RobVarak]

Haslem will get away with a lot when he guards Nowitski, just as in 2006.

Haslem is still a long, long way from 100% health.