NBA Playoffs, 2005

anchester · Post by **anchester** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:45 am

Is it me or is this the best Horry has ever shot. While Horry has always been clutch w/ 3's in the playoffs, I don't seem to remember him shooting that great of a %. Now he is hitting 50% of 3's. That is tough to beat.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:41 pm

For the Ginobli fans and detractors, a piece on how the NBA Finals are going over in Argentina.

www.slate.com/id/2121161/

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:46 pm

Man Ginobili was TERRIBLE down the stretch...he's basically the reason they lost tonight. Wow...how many turnovers did he have in the last 5 min? eesh

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:50 pm

Pistons played better in some ways than the games in Detroit. Good clutch shooting (especially 3s) , good team defense. That block by Ben Wallace was unreal.

Probably the best Finals matchup in several years.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:08 am

wco81 wrote:Probably the best Finals matchup in several years.

That's what happens when you end up with the two best teams playing each other at the end. The last couple of seasons had been weird because of the western conference imbalance but these two teams were actually the two best legit teams in the league this year. Can't wait for game 7. This has been my kind of series.

anchester · Post by **anchester** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:34 am

I hate to be a broken record, but manu's flops didn't work in the 4th quarter. Manu was flopping offensively and defensively almost at will. The refs are a huge determining factor. If they give manu the calls, that means the spurs offense is basically unstoppable, b/c either manu will get fouled going to the hole or they will have to double team, and spurs are deadly with open 3's. Also, he defensive flops were leaving guys open for some easy shots.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:49 pm

I guess Quentin Richardson is going to New York for Kurt Thomas. Should be interesting. Q gave Phoenix virtually nothing in the playoffs and they lacked a guy that can hit the boards. I hate Thomas, but he's better than Jake Voskul or Bo Outlaw.

The good news is that it virtually guarantees that Joe Johnson will be back because the Suns will be clearing some cap space. That is a very good thing.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:53 pm

The odds are pretty good that any trade with Isiah will turn out well for the other team. I don't like Kurt Thomas' contract situation though. His current runs until 2009 when he'll be 36. He's a pretty good complimentary player for now though. He can do the dirty work and can average a double double if given PT.

I don't like the Bucks whacking of Terry Porter but I'll withhold judgement until after the draft. The rumors were that Porter and GM Larry Harris couldn't agree on what to do with #1. If the Bucks end up picking Bogut, then I really don't like the Porter firing.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:58 pm

sfz_T-car wrote:He's a pretty good complimentary player for now though. He can do the dirty work and can average a double double if given PT.

Which is pretty much exactly what the Suns need. Q hurt them more than helping them down the stretch this year so having a guy who's gonna D-up and get some boards will be good for the Suns. I still don't like him as an offensive player, but the Suns dont' exactly lack firepower, even losing Q so that's not what I'm worried about. If he hits the boards and plays some D I'll (and so will all Suns fans) be a happy camper.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:58 pm

Well it's official...Q is on his way to the Knicks and Kurt Thomas to Phoenix.

Bring on the extension of Amare and the signing of Joe Johnson and they'll be off and running again next year.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:17 pm

Perfect, another SG/SF for the Knicks. What is Q's contract situation, I don't think he's a max player, which does make him a rarity amongst the Knicks' swingmen.

With the higher cap, the Suns should be in good shape.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:25 pm

I didn't realize this thread became a catch-all for all NBA discussions.

How about that new CBA?

The thing which seems to have drawn a lot of attention is the minimum age condition.

How much is the cap now?

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:50 pm

Anyone watch that Streetball show on ESPN? It concentrates on the 'AND 1' street basketball team.

I knew of street ball on the playgrounds but never knew they had their own league. I guess it could be entertaining but these guys want this to be a step towards the nba. Problem is that it's all offense and no defense in these leagues.

Like in the last episode, one of the older guys says that the younger guys complain too much about physical play. He gets pissed off and says that how can some of these guys think they'll make the nba when a guy like him, weighing 170lbs, backs into them since the avg nba player is 200+lbs.

It's an interesting show that I seemed to have missed out on until this week.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:09 pm

wco81 wrote:The thing which seems to have drawn a lot of attention is the minimum age condition.

Yes. It will be interesting to see what new straw man the NBA and the general public use to pin their whining on now that the "evil scourge" of high schoolers is gone.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:27 pm

Four random drug tests per year will make it four times as hard for the players to smoke weed.

I'm glad they got the CBA done before the draft. It was going to be a pretty dull off-season for trades and free agents with the risk of a lockout looming.

During Stern's interview during halftime of game 6, he was acting all smug because he said the new CBA would get NBA scouts out of high school gymnasiums. Yeah right Dave. And who was that guy singing in the background. In the words of Bill Walton, he was hooorrrrrrrible!!!!

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:48 pm

Like NCAA recruiters are more savory types at high schools.

Or the recruiting that goes on from the time some of these kids are leaving grade school.

Why does Stern have such a bug about forcing players to go to college?

Top recruits, even if they only play one year, can help their school go deep in the tournament. Schools which reach the Final Four reap millions, maybe over 10 million.

So schools like Duke and NC don't care if these blue-chipper only stay one year. They will still offer scholarships knowing there's a good chance they leave in one year.

Either Stern is doing the NCAA a favor or maybe players who come from a big program comes to the draft with way more hype and publicity than foreign players or most high school players.

FatPitcher · Post by **FatPitcher** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:52 pm

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/photo?slug= ... ov=reuters

Dioxin poisoning?

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 9:29 pm

wco81 wrote:Like NCAA recruiters are more savory types at high schools.

Or the recruiting that goes on from the time some of these kids are leaving grade school.

Why does Stern have such a bug about forcing players to go to college?

Top recruits, even if they only play one year, can help their school go deep in the tournament. Schools which reach the Final Four reap millions, maybe over 10 million.

So schools like Duke and NC don't care if these blue-chipper only stay one year. They will still offer scholarships knowing there's a good chance they leave in one year.

Either Stern is doing the NCAA a favor or maybe players who come from a big program comes to the draft with way more hype and publicity than foreign players or most high school players.

He's doing it because it's a perception issue and David Stern and the NBA have always been first and foremost about 'perception'. There are a lot of people who think high schoolers are either thuggish, or poorly skilled and not ready for the game despite the evidence to the contrary. There has always been some social mission that somehow NBA players should be going to college which is abjectly silly to me but hey that's people.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:57 pm

Duncan stepped up finally and that was the difference. Ginobli was the X factor and when he showed up, that was when the spurs won. Wouldn't call it a great series but maybe a great last 3 games. Spurs beat the Pistons tonight like how the Pistons beat other teams, answer big runs with their own and man up on defense when it counts.

For the first time in many years, A very enjoyable NBA season overall.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:05 am

It looked like the Pistons would pull away when they got up 9. Then they got foul trouble and Spurs could do no better than come out of the 3rd quarter tied.

In a close game, Pistons had been executing better with Billups and better overall FT shooting.

But Duncan had made the Pistons too aware of double-teaming him and they collapsed a little to much letting Spurs hit a couple of key 3-pointers.

The last 3 games went down to the wire, the way you expect the Finals matchup to be.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:08 am

I liked both teams....It was hard for me to pull for either side but I do think the "right" team won in that the Spurs are the more complete team. Good series. Could have gone either way and the Pistons probably gained the most respect you can in a losing effort. Makes last season not seem like a fluke like some people suggested. (Not me).

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:29 am

Agree with Reeche in that there was a lot to like about both teams. Game 7 wasn't an artistic triumph but it was hard fought. The better team won tonight but the difference wasn't much.

Maybe it's just me again but I was weirded out by the sight of Glenn Robinson on the podium after the game. Big Dog has been a good player for a long time but he is a lucky dog to fall into a championship after the "season" he had in 2004-5.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:36 am

At least the Suns lost to the eventual NBA Champions.

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:38 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:At least the Suns lost to the eventual NBA Champions.

OK, we'll give them the bronze then

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:42 am

Phoenix-Miami would have been a good series for the bronze.