OT: The NBA 06-07 Season Thread

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:09 pm

Pictures of the Cavs in a nightclub in Houston last Friday night, the very same night they played a game in Atlanta, so God only knows what time it was by the time they got to Houston, and of course, the next night (or actually, later that same day) they muster up a whopping 63 points in a 81-63 loss to the Rockets, in a game that wasn't even as close as the score would indicate:

http://www.indmix.biz/album06/120106/index.html

Yeah, those back-to-backs on the road in the NBA are BRUTAL!

My favorite picture is the one with Larry Hughes and his buddy holding up two fingers. I wonder if that means two more MONTHS until Larry's ankle is ready???

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:49 am

You guys really should watch Suns games. A nice 161-157 double OT win tonight. One hell of a game...that is a sh*tload of a points, even for a double OT game.

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:52 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:You guys really should watch Suns games. A nice 161-157 double OT win tonight. One hell of a game...that is a sh*tload of a points, even for a double OT game.

I agree. That was an awesome game to watch between the Suns and Nets. Best game of the year so far in my opinion.

And didn't the Suns play a game similar to this against the Sonics the season before last, where both teams got into the 140s or something?

Kruza

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:13 pm

Yeah...it actually is in the commercial for the NBA league pass, all the NBA guys talking about what a great game it was. The Sonics beat the Suns in that one 152-149 on a Ray Allen 3pt. shot that was about 30 feet away. That was another ridiculous game but this one was quite a bit better.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:17 pm

Sportscenter featured a lot of highlights from that game.

Kidd and Nash both went off (Kidd ties Wilt for triple doubles, third all-time).

But they showed at least a couple of times where Diaw backed Kidd down while at the other end, Kidd seemed to be going at Marion and others.

Did they not guard each other or were these switches?

Given their history -- both of them on the Suns at one time, both played for Mavs -- it seems they both get up for games when facing each other.

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:21 pm

Kruza wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:You guys really should watch Suns games. A nice 161-157 double OT win tonight. One hell of a game...that is a sh*tload of a points, even for a double OT game.

I agree. That was an awesome game to watch between the Suns and Nets. Best game of the year so far in my opinion.

And didn't the Suns play a game similar to this against the Sonics the season before last, where both teams got into the 140s or something?

Kruza

Hey you numbnut... you didn't rub the Pistons win in my face on the road against the Mavs like I thought you would... you're better than I thought, I was wrong about you.

Excellent games, offensively and defensively by Wallace and Prince. And smothering defense overall by the Pistons.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:34 pm

wco81 wrote:But they showed at least a couple of times where Diaw backed Kidd down while at the other end, Kidd seemed to be going at Marion and others.

Did they not guard each other or were these switches?

They were switches...Nash took Kidd to the left wing, switched onto whomever was playing Kidd with a pick and then Diaw went and posted Kidd up. Not sure why Frank didn't have someone double but I guess the fact that Diaw is such a good passer made that a difficult dicision. Diaw posted Kidd up three straight times on HUGE posessions and converted the baby hook each time. I probably wouldn't have doubled, but went to a zone or something so someone could at least help on Diaw. He's much to skilled in the low post for Kidd to defend.

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:10 pm

Kazuya wrote:Hey you numbnut... you didn't rub the Pistons win in my face on the road against the Mavs like I thought you would... you're better than I thought, I was wrong about you.

Excellent games, offensively and defensively by Wallace and Prince. And smothering defense overall by the Pistons.

What's up? Hey, thanks for the compliments. It looks like was wrong about you too.

Anyway, that's not my style to gloat over one regular season game. Besides, it's a long season and things can change quickly. This Pistons team has been too up and down for my liking. Just before this Mavericks game we had lost to the friggin' Bobcats and Blazers. It looks as if we're still finding ourselves.

Kruza

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:53 am

After watching the Suns/Celtics game, I'm convinced that I was right in LAST years NBA thread that Gerald Green is gonna be LEGIT. That guy keeps getting better and better...they just need to keep him on the floor. The Celtics are young, but they put up a hellova fight...but the Suns win again, even after the 3 hour marathon they played last night. Gotta love getting a few stops in the 4th and scoring on your last 7 possessions to win...the 9th in a row and 11 of 12. The Suns are back...just wish they didn't start 1-5.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:32 am

Boston one of the places Iverson may be traded. Hay what da hell. I'll take it if they don't include Gerald Green in the package.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:21 pm

jLp vAkEr0 wrote:Boston one of the places Iverson may be traded. Hay what da hell. I'll take it if they don't include Gerald Green in the package.

Latest rumored offering is Jefferson, West, Telfair & Ratliff for AI. I'm not too keen on giving up Jefferson (the C's are small as it is) but if I have to choose between Gerald or Al, I'll take Gerald because the league is getting smaller. I wish it was Allen instead of West but I'm sure the St. Joe's connection would factor in to the Sixers choice.

Iverson won't solve the problems the Celtics have but could be interesting for the few years he has left on his deal.

spooky157 · Post by **spooky157** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:30 pm

Should be interesting to see what would happen if AI did end up on the C's. He is soooo not a Boston type guy. He would wear out his welcome very quickly in Beantown so I wouldn't give up too much for a guy who will prolly have a year and a half of 'new-car-smell' goodwill before it all comes crashing down.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:56 pm

Very Bizzare season so far. The Bulls who were my sleeper pick are decidely average (although I think that type of squad is a better playoff team) and teams like the Jazz and Lakers are really surprising. That Atlantic division in the East is hilarious.

On a side note, I had some court side tickets for that Heat, Kings game last thursday. Best seats I've ever had at a sporting event. I never did like the rich but now I'm extremly jealous of them.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:45 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2694335

So long new ball. We hardly knew you....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/sport ... ei=5087%0A

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:02 pm

reeche wrote:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2694335

So long new ball. We hardly knew you....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/sport ... ei=5087%0A

Take a seat next to "New Coke."

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:00 pm

I actually have one of the new balls and I like it. Of course I haven't played much with the "old" ball, so I can't really compare them...but maybe the "new" balls will all go on sale and I'll pick up a few. They are very nice indoor balls. I wouldn't touch the blacktop with it though...it would get shredded.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:51 am

Yeah, I know I'm f'n up the thread width with this pic, but it's so tight, I have to do it anyway...at least it's only this page.

If anyone says Stat isn't on his way back...well, they didn't see this dunk over Okafor this past weekend. Holy crap.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:03 pm

That's an awesome pic.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:13 pm

Seconded - awesome pic. That's worth skewing the thread a bit

So much for that slow start the Suns posted early. The extended minutes everyone else got late last year while half the team was on IR is paying off. They can bring Amare along slowly, without him having to shoulder the burden he did prior to the injury.

In taking less shots and playing fewer minutes, he's shooting the lights out at 62% - so it looks like he's just picking his spots to score and letting the game come to him, instead of forcing the issue. Between him and Dwight Howard, the league has a couple of great young big men that come across as mature beyond their years.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:05 pm

If he's half as explosive as he was before the injury, he could still put up big numbers, especially in that offense.

LJ and Webber both had a lot of productive years after serious injuries.

Oh and are they really hyping the Iverson trade or what? He's probably a max contract player so he can't really go to a real good team which is one piece away.

So he'll probably go to a mediocre team and he doesn't make other players better so he's not going to win that much more than he would have in Philly.

Probably get to the playoffs and that's about it.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 2:53 pm

wco81 wrote:If he's half as explosive as he was before the injury, he could still put up big numbers, especially in that offense.

LJ and Webber both had a lot of productive years after serious injuries.

Oh and are they really hyping the Iverson trade or what? He's probably a max contract player so he can't really go to a real good team which is one piece away.

So he'll probably go to a mediocre team and he doesn't make other players better so he's not going to win that much more than he would have in Philly.

Probably get to the playoffs and that's about it.

Great examples there with Webber and LJ. I recall that LJ in particular had to reinvent his game after losing that incredible explosiveness he had prior to the injury. LJ just started working even harder to compensate for the step he lost, and sharpened his jumper and ballhandling skills since he couldn't just blow by the big men anymore.

The pending deal for Iverson is getting minute-by-minute ESPN coverage unheard of since Ted Williams' noggin went missing several years back. I read an opinion piece by "Scoop" Jackson on ESPN.com that started off reasonable, talking about Iverson's amazing longevity and drive, but ended up dropping the race card at the end of the article.

While I'm not so naiive as to believe that there isn't racism in the NBA, let's face facts. Teams are not passing on Iverson for the color of his skin. They are passing on him because of his consistent lack of maturity (remember PRACTICE?!?), his age (31), his questionable shot selection, the fact that he's a coach/GM killer and/or whatever the Sixers want for him in return. Iverson plays his damn heart out much more often than not, but he DOES constitute a measure of risk for any organization to take on. And yes, the contract is a big factor as well.

That being said, he'd look damn nice in a Knicks uniform, especially alongside Nate Robinson...

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:08 pm

Webber and LJ both had their Microfractures at the tail end of their careers though...Amare had his at least 5 years earlier than the rest of them. Amare says he's 80%...if that's 80%, then I cannot WAIT till he hits 100. When Amare starts, they are 12-1...and the only loss is because Barbosa missed a wide open layup to win the game @Utah a few weeks back, sending it to OT instead.

And Iverson isn't what the Knicks need...they already have 4 guards that are EXACTLY like him. Robinson, Francis, Marbury and Crawford...a bunch of shoot first stiffs.

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:28 pm

hellbent wrote:
wco81 wrote:If he's half as explosive as he was before the injury, he could still put up big numbers, especially in that offense.

LJ and Webber both had a lot of productive years after serious injuries.

Oh and are they really hyping the Iverson trade or what? He's probably a max contract player so he can't really go to a real good team which is one piece away.

So he'll probably go to a mediocre team and he doesn't make other players better so he's not going to win that much more than he would have in Philly.

Probably get to the playoffs and that's about it.
Great examples there with Webber and LJ. I recall that LJ in particular had to reinvent his game after losing that incredible explosiveness he had prior to the injury. LJ just started working even harder to compensate for the step he lost, and sharpened his jumper and ballhandling skills since he couldn't just blow by the big men anymore.

The pending deal for Iverson is getting minute-by-minute ESPN coverage unheard of since Ted Williams' noggin went missing several years back. I read an opinion piece by "Scoop" Jackson on ESPN.com that started off reasonable, talking about Iverson's amazing longevity and drive, but ended up dropping the race card at the end of the article.

While I'm not so naiive as to believe that there isn't racism in the NBA, let's face facts. Teams are not passing on Iverson for the color of his skin. They are passing on him because of his consistent lack of maturity (remember PRACTICE?!?), his age (31), his questionable shot selection, the fact that he's a coach/GM killer and/or whatever the Sixers want for him in return. Iverson plays his damn heart out much more often than not, but he DOES constitute a measure of risk for any organization to take on. And yes, the contract is a big factor as well.

That being said, he'd look damn nice in a Knicks uniform, especially alongside Nate Robinson...

I don't think there is anything about Iverson's age or game that has any factor at all on making a deal for him... he's one of the greatest players who ever lived, an instant Hall of Famer whether he ever plays again or not... and still at the top of his game with no end in sight. It basically does come down to just his antics. Someone is going to get him at what is probably going to have to be fire sale prices. I think it's just time for a change, for both Iverson and the 76ers.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:52 pm

Heh - I gotta concede that I don't think Iverson would help the Knicks record, it would just make them more fun to watch. Especially if they dealt Francis, Marbury, and Crawford out of town to get him. Then we'd see some more entertaining, if not necessarily winning, basketball out of the team. That, and statistically speaking, the chance of Isiah getting fired would go up even higher than it already is.

ESPN's wet dream would probably be Iverson getting dealt to the Cavs, Heat or Lakers - then they could talk about Iverson feuding with LeBron, Shaq or Kobe at the top of every broadcast.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:02 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Webber and LJ both had their Microfractures at the tail end of their careers though...Amare had his at least 5 years earlier than the rest of them. Amare says he's 80%...if that's 80%, then I cannot WAIT till he hits 100. When Amare starts, they are 12-1...and the only loss is because Barbosa missed a wide open layup to win the game @Utah a few weeks back, sending it to OT instead.

The better comparison (I think we talked about this once?) is Zach Randolph. Zach is a year ahead of Amare in his recovery and may be better than he ever was. Of course, dropping the weight has helped him gain some lateral quickness he never had before.

I think next season will be the true judge. If he wasn't playing now but was still rehabbing I would say this spring, but the long wear of the season will probably keep him in the 80% recovered range until after the next off season.