The 2007-2008 NBA Season Discussion Thread
 

I am the shoot button.
I will take it to the hoop every time.
No man will stop me.
Except for Gilbert Arenas.

With the most talented draft class since 2003 coming in, the 2007-2008 NBA season is upon us. So let the basketball discussions continue here!

:orange:

Celtics will be a mid-round draft team next year.

Portland had a really good draft. Oden, notwithstanding, they've brought in a lot of great players and have completely changed the "jailblazer" tag they've had for the last several years.

This was a pretty damn good draft class this year.

I liked the Sixers draft a lot. Thaddeus Young has top 5 upside in the entire draft, and we got Jason Smith and Byars too.

The Sixers won't be good next season, but I don't want them to be. We don't have any shot at a championship for 5 years, and we are slowly putting together a lot of young pieces with high potential, so we can be a contender down the road.

IMO the Celtics made a terrible deal. Ray Allen is going to improve them in the short term, but not enough to win even the east. They could've had a young big man to build around like Yi or even Green/Brewer to play the 3.

The Sixers made the same mistake in the past of fooling themselves that they could win a championship and trading for guys like Webber and Glenn Robinson. The Celtics aren't going to win a championship now no matter what they do. So why trade away the #5 pick? Because Pierce demanded a veteran? Fuck Pierce. Trade him, they haven't won anything with him anyway. He's overrated.

I'm glad they did it though because I hate Boston.

Summer League starts today. I don't even know why I'm somewhat I'm excited about. Oh, I know: because of the draft.

Every single game's gonna be televised as well as webcasted online. I might not be able to watch Durant play today, but I think I'm gonna try to catch Oden/Aldridge later, as well as Sergio "Spanish Chocolate" Rodriguez.

There's some Team China bball goin' too, but too bad they have no games against the Bucks.

Oh yeah, and congrats to Tony Parker and Eva Longoria! Kinda married now! :D

Cool, I didn't know Summer League would be available to watch on webcast.


July 15 -- Oden vs Durant.

Not happening anymore. Oden is done. Tonsils getting removed. =/

But still, this is really one of the most intriguing offseasons in a while. Lots of things going on, and it's been fun keeping up. Oh man, and the Warriors may have gotten the steal of the draft in Marco Belinelli. What a show he's been putting on. :3

Very active offseason so far. Chauncey Billups re-signed with the Pistons, Rashard Lewis signed a deal with the Orlando Magic and Minnesota still hasn't traded Garnett yet.

It's a shame we won't get to see Oden and Durant play against each other in the summer league. It's cool though, we'll get to see plenty of that during the regular season. I like how Oden had 10 fouls in his first game and 9 in the second. I lolled at that.

The Portland Trailblazers bought out the rest of Steve Francis's contract, which makes the trade between NY and Portland seem to favor NY even more. Isiah comes out looking like a genius.


Any chance Steve Francis comes back to Houston?

Maybe, but do you really want him back? Since his first stint with the Rockets, it's been a complete downward spiral for him with both Orlando and New York, and Portland obviously didn't want him. He's not an old player by any means, so he can be effective, but are the risks worth the rewards.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe a return to the site of his glory days may put him back on the right track.

From the rumors I've read, I'm betting on him joining back up with longtime teammate and friend, Cat Mobley, on the Clippy Clips. But who knows? Actually, my dad met Franchise at a water park a few weeks ago and was able to talk to him for a bit. This was before the trade and draft. Yeah, he wasn't sure of his future then. =p

Speaking of seeing NBA players, I saw Jarvis Hayes at the theater I was at last week to watch Transformers. ^^

Also: Darko to the Grizzlies.

No post on the Tim Donaghy scandal yet, only one of the most serious offenses to professional sports in years? =o What will David do?

I'm interested if that Sun/Spurs game 3 really was a game bet on, because, oh man... Anyway, I'm with Bill Simmons in awaiting the "NBA Hardwood Classics: The Tim Donaghy Collection" DVD boxset. Like he said, this would've been an awesome story for a movie, but a movie only. =/

I'm not surprised. I've felt that some NBA games felt extremely scripted. This is more or less an indication of it.

Out of all the commissioners going through crappy shit right now, David Stern is the one I'd least want to trade places with. I don't envy is position one bit. For years, people have talked about games being fixed and/or manipulated to produce desired outcomes, but never had any hard proof. Well, that changed the second the feds exposed Donaghy.

Stern has brought the NBA through many a crisis during his tenure, this'll be his toughest one yet.

Worst fucking trade ever:

In case you didn't notice, the average age of the 5 players Boston will send to Minnesota in this shitfest of a deal is 22. Kevin Garnett, ONE MAN, is 31. Over the bloody hill in basketball speak, especially for a big man. Jefferson, Gomes and Green are all future All-Stars. Garnett will probably have a few more ASGs in him simply because it's the East.

Ugh. No wonder I don't like basketball. I pay attention to it, but only in hopes that maybe the Celtics will follow suit with the Pats and Sox and get back in the game.

Holy fucking shit, it happened: "the largest trade for any one player in NBA history has been completed." Way to go Kevin McHale. ;)

Yeah, Boston's not going for the long-term at all, they're going for the win now. KG, Jesus Shuttleworth, and The Truth... OMG. Sports Guy sums it up nicely in how one player's weakness will be made up by another. It's the best team any of them have played on, and they're all thirsty for a title. I'd say Boston should be excited, but it's up to you. Hell, I'm excited.

It would probably be the biggest upset in the whole Eastern Conference if they didn't go to the finals this year. With a line-up like that and three all-stars on their team, I'd be damned if they didn't go far. I'd be damned even more if they aren't first at the end of the season. I'd be damned even more than that if they get knocked out by the 8th seed SHOULD they get 1st seed in the East.

Who knows, it could be their most amazing season but it could end up as the 2nd (maybe first) greatest upset in NBA history. :|

But go Celtics. Now I have a reason not to choose you in NBA 2K8. I hate choosing teams with too much talent. I can't balance out points otherwise amongst players. T_T

I may need to change my name.

Celtic5 or something...

Or maybe something completely unrelated to Basketball... And dear god, if you do, PLEASE no numbers...

Hahaha:p

I'll probably stay with Timberwolf. I've used it for years -- and not just on this forum -- and it's become a part of me.

And unless you're a hardcore basketball fan, you really wouldn't make the connection or anything anyway.

Haha. Just turn the fatigue up, so when you gotta take the Big Three out, there'll be no one to replace them. It all balances out... unless the C's sign Wang Zhizhi. If that happens, it's all over in the East. It's all about Wang Zhizhi.

Edit: Oh, and oh shit, Flip Saunders was about to cross that Minnesota bridge, but it collapsed before he got there.

I'm pretty excited about watching the Celtics play. I think they're trying to put together a Rodman, Jordan, Pippen group with Garnett, Allen and Pierce.

Houston's looking interesting as well. Even though Steve Francis is probably going to start from the bench, he's going to be feeding the ball to McGrady and Yao.


40 Days until the regular season, a couple weeks until the preseason starts up.

20 days!

Yeah, Houston is looking interesting, especially with their logical personnel decisions. I mean, it's gonna be interesting starting 5 guards... or maybe 4 plus Yao. They got Skip-to-my-Lou, my boy Luther Head, Bonzi, Francis, Mike James, and now, Aaron Brooks. That's a lot of egos to keep happy. Oh, and there's also T-Mac...

So I'm cised for the season: my Wizards, the new-look Celtics, fantasy drafts, ... it's gonna be fun. To help the hype, I'll share some of the bball gems I've come across recently, but first some build-up:

YouTube Video

He sure loves his fruit juice.

Didn't wanna double post, but I will if it's been a few days, or in this case months...

Pretty predictable season so far. Probably the only thing that wasn't expected was the Bulls sucking so hard.

Anyway, God aka Steve Nash got his tooth chipped last night thanks to Carlos Boozer, and had a pretty entertaining interview. Props for having a sense of humor. Had it been someone like Kobe or Bron, I'm sure the reaction and resulting press coverage would've been needlessly grim and melodramatic, e.g., "Despite the pain and anguish of a broken tooth, Kobe reached down deep and found the winner within, scoring a bunch of points and blah, blah, blah."

YouTube Video

To be honest, I haven't really been into this season all that much. Like you said, it's been pretty predictable thus far. However, I did not think the Celts would be this good.. this soon, though. They have the best defense in the league and their average point spread is just amazing so far. They're blowing teams out on almost a daily basis.

But yeah, that Steve Nash interview was pretty hilarious. Good stuff!

"But we're gonna pick it up in the second half."

As a Canadian, he has lots of experience watching hockey players with no teeth, so, you know, he's got it down.

Houston's playing sub-par, and McGrady hurting his knee doesn't help. They haven't been scoring, with shoddy shooting from their bench (among other things - free throws and just general percentages).

On the subject of injury, Alonzo Mourning appears to be done for his career. He tore the patellar tendon in his right knee, and he thinks he's done, so I'd say he's done. Finishing your career because of injury isn't a great way to go out, and from everything I've heard and read, he doesn't seem too pleased about it either.

Corrected.

Haha, yeah. Boston been beast. Though my Wizards just beat them two games in a row. :p

Anyway, as for more surprises of the season: Portland "No More Jail" Trail Blazers, winning 18 of their last 20. Wow.

Oh, and the Hawks vs. Heat game gets a do-over. lol

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Kidd is off to the Mavs. :mad:

There goes the Nets. <_<

Well, it's looking more like a trade that needed to happen. Given all the rumors surrounding Kidd for the last who-knows-how-many years about trades, they at least got something reasonable (I think anyway).

But it's definitely looking like something for the future rather than for the right now (for the Nets). Harris has a great upside, but I don't know if here's completely there just yet. And you got two more first rounders, but that could take time to work out for the team as well.

Yeah... Other teams in the East at least attempted to trade and get better. Even though the Nets were amazing a few years ago, they weren't the same as they were back then, so I guess change is needed.

I was hoping that Kidd could at least get his 100th Triple-Double before he left, but it's too late for that now. :mad:

Kidd did a good job on Sunday showing why he wasn't put in the end of the game on Thursday against the Spurs. Speaking of that Thursday game, I can't get enough of the Dirk+Dampier EPIC FAIL:

YouTube Video

Guess I'll do the obligatory hey-it's-the-playoffs post. Damn the west stacked. The match-ups weren't finalized until the very last day, but they should prove to be interesting. Too bad Golden State didn't get in (*womp*womp*). I'm surprised with Philly and Atlanta getting in. I wouldn't have called either before the season started. Too bad they'll get powooned in the first round. Anyway, the brackets:

Left Coast:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Denver Nuggets

4. Utah Jazz
5. Houston Rockets

3. San Antonio Spurs
6. Phoenix Suns

2. New Orleans Hornets
7. Dallas Mavericks

Right Side:
1. Boston Celtics
8. Atlanta Hawks

4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Washington Wizards

3. Orlando Magic
6. Toronto Raptors

2. Detroit Pistons
7. Philadelphia 76ers

Will T-Mac finally get past the first round? No.
Can the Spurs beat the Suns without cheating? No.
Will Dallas be out in the first round again? Yes. EPIC FAILURE coming.

Of course, the first round match-up I'm most interested in is the Wizards/Cavs. It'll be the third straight time these two will meet in the playoffs. Cavs won 2 years ago in a fierce series, where LeBron got away with everything ever; but that's okay, he's allowed to travel and foul and whisper stuff in other players' ear at the free throw line now. Cavs won last year with the Wizards decimated by injuries. This time, the third time, the Wizards will win, thus igniting the rivalry. I'll be going to the first 2 Wizards home playoff games, so I'm cised.

Man, DC sports playoffs are hurting my wallet... 2 Caps games and 2 Wizards games so far. Also what's up with these "outs": Caps "red-out" and Wizards "white-out." I like the end of the accompanying email: "Be early. Be LOUD. Wear white!" ... as opposed to "Be White!" LOL.

I'll probably post some predictions later, but it's hard to say how the West will play out. Somehow I think the Suns or Lakers will come out on top and of course face Boston, possibly Detroit. We'll see. How nostalgic would a Celtics/Lakers finals be?

Also, if Kobe gets MVP, which is sounding more and more likely, I'm gonna flip. It really should be Chris Paul. And MIP has gotta be my boy, Hedo, just to make it 3 straight years the MIP has been on my fantasy squad.

Additional Spam:
Oklahoma City Landmasters, anyone? I need to own my own NBA team. Just getting post happy, but NBA owners apparently approved the Sonics move, so now it just depends on the litigation. Seattle is supposed to keep the Sonics name for a possible expansion team in the future, so Oklahoma City's gotta start brainstorming some names. =p

i can't see the cavs getting past the first round this time, ever since that trade they haven't been playing that well. cavs vs wizards should be an exciting matchup. i'm calling a 3pt game winner by arenas on game 6 to win the series (lol, i wish).

i'll be watching the magic vs raptors series closely as well, it should be raining treys every game. it should be a close series, possibly going into 7 games if the raptors can play like they did a couple months ago.

Nothing too surprising quite yet.

-Timmy hits a game-tying three to send their game to double OT where they win the game.
-Cavs and Wizards in a close one. Wizards can and will get this series.
-Iverson gets ejected. Smooth.
-Chris Paul should be MVP.
-Oh, 76ers beat Pistons in Detroit! :D :D :D

As much as I love the Wizards, I think Charles Barkley was quite right when he called them "the dumbest team in the history of civilization." Even I didn't think there was any need to get Cleveland all riled up and now it looks like all the talk is coming back to bite them now. They've come back from 0-2 before (against the Bulls in 05) but I'd need to see more out of this team, because I'm starting to get worried here.

As Bill Walton-esque as that sounds, it's true. It also doesn't help that the Wizards played terribly that Game 2. They need to cool their heads and stop going for the big physical hits (glad Haywood isn't suspended, otherwise we'd be finito). Game 1 could've gone either way... sure Cleveland is "supposed" to win at home, but Wizards are supposed to win at home as well, and I hope they do since I'm going to both games. I better not be disappointed.

Let's just call this what it is. The race for second place. Can't Beat Celtics.

True... though the Wizards can, as they have 3 of their 4 games this season. A Wizards/Celtics match-up next round would be huge because that' has surprising upset special written all over it. Eh, it'll be interesting fo' sho'.

Anyway, epic series so far. Everything's 2-0 or 2-1 so far, except for the Suns totally getting manhandled by the Spurs 3-0. Also a shocker: the Sixers are up on the Pistons 2-1. This might be the most exciting Round 1 of the NBA playoffs in years.

Anyway, I bore witness to one of the most epic beatdowns/:LeBronfail:s in the history of man in the Wizards' revenge-pwning the Cavs 108-72. The white-out thing worked out so much better than I thought it would, it was crazy. Anyway, we gotta even the series up tomorrow, and hopefully Soulja Boy will be back for the game:

http://images.sanemonkey.com/gff/sou...wizards_01.jpg



The "storylines" in this Wiz/Cavs series are mad entertaining. :p

Wow, no one cares about the NBA Finals being Celtics/Lakers? This is exactly the opposite reaction David Stern is hoping for.

Oh, I do. It's definitely the most epic and interesting NBA Finals series in a long, long while since I'd usually watch all the other rounds, then stop when it's the *yawn* cheating Spurs in the finals. (About that Laker's/Spurs game with the blown foul call the NBA reviewed... fuck that; the shot clock should have reset the play before anyway, thus eliminating the situation. :3:) Oh, I also just didn't wanna double-post in this thread for like the tenth time.

Anyway, Game 1 was huge. There was also the uber-dramatic moment when The Truth went down, ina bad-sounding injury. Then it was mad LOL as he came back under 2 minutes later! Ray Allen aka Jesus [Shuttlesworth] must have did some did some kind of miracle. I liked Simmons comment on future casts of this game on ESPN Classic: :tpg:

I don't really know who I'm cheering for. Celtics since their window for winning a championship is very small (this year or next year, I think). Lakers have a while since they're all on the good side of 30, but it'd be legendary to see Kobe win the MVP (though it should've been CP3), win the Finals, and win in China this year, 23-style.

I like how the Lakers can't ever seem to beat the Spurs in the playoffs without some kind of controversey ('sup Derek Fisher). But yeah, since my team is out, I'm definitely going with the Celtics, because I could never in good faith go with the Lakers and still call myself a Spurs fan.

Yeah, Game 1 had its moments, but I wonder if the Celtics can keep it up for this whole series. Kobe is just too awesome, so even though Boston does have a pretty solid team, I don't know how much of a chance they stand. I hope I'm wrong obviously, as the last thing I want to see is the Lakers win another championship, but if I was a betting man I'd put my money on the Lakers.

An excerpt from .hack//AI buster 2, which I just finished reading earlier today:

This story takes place in 2014. Well, they didn't see this one coming. The series has been amazingly EPIC/HUGE/GODLIKE/LEGENDARY/RIDICULOUS/ETC so far, including that out-of-nowhere biggest comeback in the history of man in Game 4. Bill Walton actually wouldn't be all that out of place to say that. The last 4 quarters of the year could be coming up. Will Doc stick with a lineup that works? Will Lakers play D? All this and more in the possible conclusion of one of the greatest finals in the history of earth.

EDIT: Also like how the refs stole what would've most likely been a national championship away from the Sacaemento Kings in 2002. Ha, cheating.

I stopped caring about basketball because I thought it was rigged. Thanks, vindication.

Additional Spam:
Good lord. The Celtics are up by 25. With 6:48 left in the third.

I can't say it's over yet, but shit. That's rough.

Not much has changed since then either, and it's now 7:10 in the 4th. I'm not a betting man, but I'd say this series is pretty much over.

YOU AND YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Good on the Lakers for the stiff upper lip. No stupid fouls, no idiotic reactions. No anger and misplaced pouting. Just playing it out.

Ha, finito. Pierce gatorade'd the court, and there's a random Boston Asian in front of their bench. Epic blowout.

I must say though, the highlight of this series was during the opening videos at about the 1:30 mark, when Michael Jordan flies to the basket with the ball in his right hand, brings it down, and switches it to his left to lay it in before landing... :tpg:

YouTube Video

Cue the Corner Stone Cues "Requiem for a Tower, Movement IV" highlight reel. GG.

Congrats to Paul Pierce. Of all the people on the Celtics, he really deserves this. His number will be up in the rafters of the Garden someday, and he is this Boston Celtics team.

This series, and this season for the most part, didn't captivate me like I thought it would coming in. It had it's moments, but overall, I don't think I watched all that many games this year. Boston was definitely the better team in this series, though. They showed the Lakers how to gain a lead and secure it. The Lakers are a team on the rise and will be heard from again (if Kobe doesn't demand another trade, that is) but Boston was just superior in every facet of the game.

I was really rooting for Boston's Big 3, KG in particular, to get a ring this year. He's a class act through and through and he's one of the most likable guys in the league. So, I'm especially glad to see him win one. Congrats to the Celts on winning it all and the Lakers for having a phenomenal year.

I guess the offseason is going to be all about Tim Donaghy and all this referee crap. However, there is the Summer Games this year, so here's hoping Team USA can bring back the gold.