NBA Regular Season 14/15

astonaidan · 12-04-2015 11:52pm

nerd69 wrote: »

it kind of is ibaka and westbrook would still be far far better than goran and love. and thats if one of these teams manage to snag 2 of the premier free agents on the market. nyc have no appeal to teams at the moment and while the lakers are the lakers so they will get free agents i dont see any combination that makes them close to what the thunder are

I disagree, I dont think Westbrook Ibaka is that much ahead of Love Dragic better probably but not the situation that was painted. Id disagree regarding NYK, they have Phil New York and a load of money, they will be big players come 2016. Honestly see them getting Marc Gasol

nerd69 · 13-04-2015 12:05am

astonaidan wrote: »

I disagree, I dont think Westbrook Ibaka is that much ahead of Love Dragic better probably but not the situation that was painted. Id disagree regarding NYK, they have Phil New York and a load of money, they will be big players come 2016. Honestly see them getting Marc Gasol

we will have to disagree with dragic/love i dont think they are as good players as the other two and thats without getting into the friendships durant has built with the other two.

the knicks have always had new york and its done nothing for them i dont think they will be a successful franchise as long as dolan is there also the big city factor is not the same as it was, with social media you can now be the biggest star in the nba in a small market. phil has shown nothing as a gm as of yet and this year has hardly been confidence inspiring for the new regime. also fisher is not a good coach.

with regards marc i think he would be slow to leave the grizzlies himself and randolph work really well off each other i think he will stay personally but even if he goes to the knicks they gave tyson chandler away for free already i dont understand why they think gasol will work for them

astonaidan · 13-04-2015 1:58am

nerd69 wrote: »

we will have to disagree with dragic/love i dont think they are as good players as the other two and thats without getting into the friendships durant has built with the other two.

the knicks have always had new york and its done nothing for them i dont think they will be a successful franchise as long as dolan is there also the big city factor is not the same as it was, with social media you can now be the biggest star in the nba in a small market. phil has shown nothing as a gm as of yet and this year has hardly been confidence inspiring for the new regime. also fisher is not a good coach.

with regards marc i think he would be slow to leave the grizzlies himself and randolph work really well off each other i think he will stay personally but even if he goes to the knicks they gave tyson chandler away for free already i dont understand why they think gasol will work for them

The way I look at it players will always be attracted to New York cause if they bring a title to that city, they will be set for life.
Its to early to rate either Fisher or Phil this year, for me Phil did the right thing trading away all the starters it gives them a chance for number 1 pick which correct me if im wrong they dont have picks for a few more years.
Lets say they get Gasol pair him with Towns and Anthony, that their is a team who will easily make playoffs in the east and thats before adding any other players. I also dont consider Gasol a similar player to Chandler, Gasol can pass is perfect for the system, Tyson not the same boat at all

nerd69 · 13-04-2015 10:43am

thats fair enough and its definitely not an outlandish view by any means we will just have to agree to disagree for now it will certainly be interesting to see how the summer plays out

buyer95 · 13-04-2015 10:51pm

I'm a (long suffering) Knicks fan, and this season has been particularly awful. I've said this before, but judge Phil after this free agency. I havnt been impressed at all with Fisher, his in game adjustments have been poor. However he inherited a very difficult situation and again I'll reserve judgement until next season.
Astoidan, Marc Gasol is not joining the Knicks in free agency. He is in a great situation, in his prime, on s contending team who are more than willing to give him a max contract. However, it is nice to be looking into the off season with flexibility, and if we could nab Okafor or Towns in the draft, all of a sudden we become a much more enticing proposition for potential free agents. Bad season, move on and enjoys watching the playoffs. It can only get better

TheGoldenAges · 13-04-2015 11:04pm

The NBA Giving Westbrook the ol' superstar treatment by rescinding his technical last night so he can play tonight :rolleyes:

I'd be real annoyed if I was a Pelicans fan.

ButtersSuki · 13-04-2015 11:07pm

TheGoldenAges wrote: »

The NBA Giving Westbrook the ol' superstar treatment by rescinding his technical last night so he can play tonight :rolleyes:

I'd be real annoyed if I was a Pelicans fan.

I wouldn't. He'll take 50+ shots again tonight and cost his team a chance at winning through supreme ball hogging.

astonaidan · 13-04-2015 11:17pm

nerd69 wrote: »

thats fair enough and its definitely not an outlandish view by any means we will just have to agree to disagree for now it will certainly be interesting to see how the summer plays out

Think this summer could be even more exciting than last year tbh, and that was a good one, then that could be cause im a Lakers fan

TheGoldenAges · 13-04-2015 11:33pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I wouldn't. He'll take 50+ shots again tonight and cost his team a chance at winning through supreme ball hogging.

When Dion Waiters is getting substantial playing time because of injuries on your roster, you don't really have a choice though

nerd69 · 13-04-2015 11:33pm

astonaidan wrote: »

Think this summer could be even more exciting than last year tbh, and that was a good one, then that could be cause im a Lakers fan

there it is rebuild like a normal team you greedy franchise

NufcNavan · 14-04-2015 1:28am

For one night only, go Bulls!

TheGoldenAges · 14-04-2015 1:35am

The Knicks are beating the Hawks at the half?

padraig_f · 14-04-2015 3:01pm

Bulls 113 - Nets 86

I was gonna say it's good to have the starters back, but actually Noah sat this one out (he was in uniform on the bench, don't think it was anything serious). But it was good to have a relatively healthy looking Rose and Butler in the backcourt, which hasn't been seen much this season.

This was the first blowout of a team that wasn't the Knicks for a good while. And after being resigned to a 2nd round playoff exit for a while now, it gives me a little hope.

It's only the Nets....and despite me talking them up recently, their defending was awful last night. The Bulls always seem to go well when Niko or Snell contribute to the scoring off the bench, and last night Niko was hot, 6-11 from 3.

He said after:

"Some of my players said, ‘Niko, don’t think. Shoot the ball. Because you’re wide open. Don’t pump-fake.’ These guys, they’re right"

Yes, yes, yes. He does pump-fake too much, and pass up good shooting opportunities. This is fairly easily learned though I think, just an observation/feel thing.

The Bulls playoff opponents will go down to the last day. If Toronto win out, the Bulls will face the Wizards. They need Toronto to lose, and to beat the Hawks on Wednesday to move into the 3-spot and play the Bucks in the first round.

astonaidan · 15-04-2015 4:27am

nerd69 wrote: »

there it is rebuild like a normal team you greedy franchise

Whoa, whoa, whoa next year we might have Randle, Kobe and one of the draft picks starting, thats pretty home grown

astonaidan · 15-04-2015 3:38pm

Is their anyways Indiana can play Cleveland or is Celtic set in 7th

padraig_f · 15-04-2015 4:26pm

The Raptors lost to the Celtics last night, so the Bulls can win the 3-seed with a win over Atlanta tonight. Interesting to see if Atlanta play their starters, would help a lot if they didn't.

Bill Simmons was saying on his podcast that the Bulls should tank into the 4-seed, to get the Wizards in the first round and avoid Cleveland in the 2nd round. But I still want the Bucks, and would be excited to play Cleveland in the 2nd round.

padraig_f · 15-04-2015 4:31pm

astonaidan wrote: »

Is their anyways Indiana can play Cleveland or is Celtic set in 7th

Looking at results, the Celtics are 3-1 against the Pacers this season, so I think that means they own the tie-break, and can't be overtaken in 7th.

The Pacers probably need to win in Memphis tonight to make the playoffs, they're a game ahead of the Nets, who play the Magic at home.

padraig_f · 15-04-2015 4:43pm

Playoff scenarios here:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/04/15/view-nba-playoff-seeding-scenarios-with-1-day-left-in-regular-season/

That game against Indiana matters for the Grizzlies too. The Spurs/Pelicans/Thunder thing will be interesting too. Spurs vs. Pelicans, who both need to win, and the Thunder need the Pelicans to lose to make it in.

PizzamanIRL · 15-04-2015 8:10pm

I bet Anthony Davis didn't realise that this shot would have such an impact this far down the road

http://youtu.be/kmar9bLehVY

D2D · 15-04-2015 11:10pm

And we've reached Game 82. 14 games on tonight with the final playoff positions that need to be settled.

Hornets@Raptors - Midnight - LIVE on BT Sport
Hawks@Bulls - 1 am
Trail-Blazers@Mavs - 1 am
Jazz@Rockets - 1 am
Celtics@Bucks - 1 am
Thunder@TWolves - 1 am
Spurs@Pelicans - 1 am
Magic@Nets - 1 am
Wizards@Cavs - 1 am
Pistons@Knicks - 1 am
Heat@Sixers - 1 am
Pacers@Grizz - 2.30 am - LIVE on BT Sport
Nuggets@Warriors - 3.30 am
Kings@Lakers - 3.30 am

astonaidan wrote: »

Is their anyways Indiana can play Cleveland or is Celtic set in 7th

Nope, Boston sealed the 7th spot last night, it's Cleveland/Boston in Round 1

padraig_f · 15-04-2015 11:47pm

Just looking at some of the betting lines for the key games tonight to get an idea of who's favoured, and by how much:

Raptors -10.5 vs Hornets
Bulls -5.5 vs. Hawks
Thunder -14 @ Timberwolves
Spurs -5.5 @ Pelicans
Pacers -2.5 @ Grizzlies (!)
Nets -9 vs. Magic

I looked earlier and the Pacers were 1 pt underdogs, now they're 2.5 pt favourites, so maybe the Grizzlies are resting some players. -2.5 is nothing much in basketball though, and it's essentially a 50/50 game.

ButtersSuki · 15-04-2015 11:56pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Just watched the Golden State - LA game - is there a more exciting (offensive) back court in the league than Curry and Thompson? Looking forward to seeing them in the flesh in a few weeks (PLEASE DO NOT GET INJURED IN THE INTERIM!). Ok, my overdue predictions for the year:
East: 1) Cavs 2) Bulls 3) Wizards 4) Raptors 5) Hawks 6) Charlotte Hornets 7) Knicks 8) Heat( I really wanted to omit the Heat here, that pick comes down to how much you trust Bosh's ability to get back to his Toronto days.I think that Stan could find a way to get Detroit into the playoffs also.)

West 1) Spurs 2) Clippers 3) Grizzlies 4)OKC 5) Warriors 6) Rockets 7) Mavs 8) Trail Blazers (Suns won't be far away. It's just hard to see any of last years teams slipping out of the playoffs. The Blazers are the most likely to have a regression year imo, and I have a sneaky feeling about the Pelicans. Davis could possible drag his team kicking and screaming into the 8th spot.

MVP: It's too easy to say LeBron and though he is the best player in the league part of me thinks he will suffer from voter fatigue again. So, that, and Durant out for part of the season ruling him out I'd going to throw in a wild card - Joakim Noah. This is contingent on the Bulls winning the East (which I think they will) and the press hankering for a team player over individual style MVP a la the real old days. Wild card - either Chris Paul or Blake Griffin from the Clipps; and, and I'm not joking here - writer/cocah/commentator favourite Anthony Davis has a real shot at this if the Pelicans make the Playoffs.
Rookie of the Year: Smart - I think he's going to get major minutes in Beantown and in the ROY race that's a huge factor.
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis
Most Improved Player: Anthony Davis (again - if it's possible to win more than one award, this is the guy to do it). Or Blake Griffin (seriously).
6th man: Isiah Thomas
Breakout Player: Mason Plumlee (prob should have been ROY last year in hindsight - check the stats and the +/-)
Coach of the year: Thibs (or potentially Blatt)

East:
1. Bulls - obviously contingent on the 1st 5 staying injury free.
2. Cavs
3. Raptors
4. Wizards
5. Atlanta
6. Charlotte
7. Miami
8. Brooklyn

West:
1. San Antonio - you just can't knock them, the coach or their consistency.
2. Clippers - have to improve on Year 2 with Doc
3. GSW - I said they'd win the West last year, think they have a real shot this year again if Bogut in particular can stay healthy.
4. Houston - only this high due to OKC losing ground early but on their day could beat anyone, Think the Parsons loss will ultimately be something they regret
5. OKC - would have been way higher save for the current injuries, prob. 2nd to be fair but losing Durant and Westbrrok early will hurt them. That said, if you're going to lose guys to injury better now than any other time.
6. Dallas - look seriously good offensively
7. Memphis
8. Portland

The East will be a bit of a joke again this year with really only 2 teams competing for it while the West will see really good teams not make the Play Offs again - which is a shame.

Finals:

Bulls V someone from the West (lol). Really torn on this, my head says San Antonio but they're going to have to beat at least 2 really really good teams to get that far. I see anyone from San An, OKC, the Clippers or GSW legitimately have a shot at winning the West and ultimately, it all. I'm going to say San An or GSW, but this is a fricking coin toss.

Interesting how some things play out exactly as you expect and others, well….don't. :rolleyes:

D2D · 16-04-2015 12:12am

Heat/Sixers is a strange game tonight where both teams pretty much want to/have to lose.

Heat want to/have to lose as they need their pick this year as it goes to the Sixers if the pick falls beyond the top 10. If the Heat win and if the Nets lose to Orlando, a coin flip will decide which team is 10th and which team is 11th in the NBA Draft lottery.

Sixers want to/have to lose as they have the third worst record in the league and a Sixers loss and a Knicks win ties them for the second worst record, improving the Sixers chances of a top pick, along with the better chance of getting that Miami pick

#TANK

D2D · 16-04-2015 11:54am

- Brooklyn take the 8th seed in the East with a win over the Magic, Pacers lost to the Grizz.

- The Nawlins Pelicans nabbed the 8th seed out west last night with a win over the Spurs.

- Russell Westbrook won the scoring title - "Doesn't mean nothing," Westbrook said when asked about his first career scoring title. "Good job. Hurray. I'm at home. Watching other teams play. Doesn't mean nothing."

ButtersSuki · 16-04-2015 11:57am

D2D wrote: »

- Brooklyn take the 8th seed in the East with a win over the Magic, Pacers lost to the Grizz.

- The Nawlins Pelicans nabbed the 8th seed out west last night with a win over the Spurs.

- Russell Westbrook won the scoring title - "Doesn't mean nothing," Westbrook said when asked about his first career scoring title. "Good job. Hurray. I'm at home. Watching other teams play. Doesn't mean nothing."

I know Durant's injury had a massive part to play in Westbrook winning the scoring title but I can't recall a team with different back to back scoring title winners.

I reckon its last chance saloon time for OKC next year or the big boys will leave.

killwill · 16-04-2015 1:39pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I know Durant's injury had a massive part to play in Westbrook winning the scoring title but I can't recall a team with different back to back scoring title winners.

I reckon its last chance saloon time for OKC next year or the big boys will leave.

Westbrook is contracted until the summer of 2017 I think. And being an LA kid might actually be tempted to the Lakers. He had some kind words to say about Kobe the other day but maybe Im reading too much into that.
Is Durant going into his last season this year with OKC?

nerd69 · 16-04-2015 1:51pm

interesting idea to fix the draft on mike and mike yesterday, not sure if it works but its one of the better changes iv seen what do ye think?

abolish the draft itself and make it so that every team can go in and try to convince the guy out of college to sign with them but if you would have had the number one draft pick you can offer the most money if you would have had the number two you con offer the second most.

what i like about it is that it does not out and out reward tanking would a guy go to the sixers or knicks and be content with getting more money for loseing or would they take less to go to a team with a chance to contend and get there big money contract after the rookie deal ends.

the only fear i guess is would a team like the lakers be able to get around this due to the potential sponsorship money a guy can earn there even before he becomes a star

padraig_f · 16-04-2015 1:56pm

Hawks 85 - Bulls 91

That was intense. I wanted that game more than about any other this season, and the Bulls were down 18 at one point. I just hate the Wizards and didn't want to see them again after playing them last year. I wasn't afraid of them, just don't like them, and it would've been an unpleasant series. I also want a shot at Cleveland in the 2nd round. We may well lose the series, but I want the shot.

The Hawks played their starters, and they played with a surprising intensity. The Bulls did too, which was expected, but the intensity the Hawks players played with surprised me, with nothing on the line for them. Down 17 mid-way through the 3rd against a good team, I thought 'no chance'. But the players hung in there, got on a bit of a run, and then in fairness the Hawks did us a favour. They called off the dogs and sat the starters for the 4th quarter. It wasn't over though....the Hawks bench got hot, and it was a 2-point game with 2 minutes to go. Then the Bulls extra experience allowed them to close it out.

Star of the game was Aaron Brooks. He's got this great move where he drives into the lane, looks off to the weak side like he's going to pass it, and it just buys him an extra bit of space to go the other direction towards the rim. You can see it here around the 1:45 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ9BAx-VosI

Incredibly skilful player. He also made some big 3s and hustle plays in the 4th quarter to help close the game out. Been a great pickup this season, and with a lesser backup PG, we'd have lost this game (Rose sat out the 2nd half with knee soreness, which is a bit of a concern, but it sounded more precautionary, I'd expect him to start on Saturday).

Onto the playoffs, and I'm really looking forward to it now.

buyer95 · 16-04-2015 4:19pm

buyer95 wrote: »

Prediction times lads.

Playoff teams:

East: 1) Cavs 2) Bulls 3) Wizards 4) Raptors 5) Hawks 6) Charlotte Hornets 7) Knicks 8) Heat( I really wanted to omit the Heat here, that pick comes down to how much you trust Bosh's ability to get back to his Toronto days.I think that Stan could find a way to get Detroit into the playoffs also.)

West 1) Spurs 2) Clippers 3) Grizzlies 4)OKC 5) Warriors 6) Rockets 7) Mavs 8) Trail Blazers (Suns won't be far away. It's just hard to see any of last years teams slipping out of the playoffs. The Blazers are the most likely to have a regression year imo, and I have a sneaky feeling about the Pelicans. Davis could possible drag his team kicking and screaming into the 8th spot.

Surprise team (good): Pelicans

Flop team: Heat

Champions: Spurs over Cavs

MVP LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Jabari Parker
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis
Most Improved Player Bradley Beal
6th man: Taj Gibson
Breakout Player: Iman Shumpert
Coach of the year: David Joerger

Ah Butters I think you posted my predictions for the standings? Not to worry. Happy enough looking back now on my predictions.
Edit: Oh wait you were just quoting mine, sorry.

NBA Regular Season 14/15

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