[Tournament] 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!



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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!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Timberwolf

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

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Ryuu

Any chance Steve Francis comes back to Houston?

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.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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 was speaking idiomatically.

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.

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Originally Posted by C-Unit

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

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.

FELIPE NO

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:

Quote:

There was Russell vs. Chamberlain. There was Magic vs. Bird. Now this is Mehmet Okur vs. Mehmet Okur!

YouTube Video

He sure loves his fruit juice.

How ya doing, buddy?

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

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

Corrected.

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

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

How ya doing, buddy?

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

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

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.

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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 am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Rollins

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.

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Originally Posted by Denicalis

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:

SUPAMAN!:

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

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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. ) 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:

Originally Posted by Sports Guy

Unfortunately, the Celtics botched the timing of Pierce's dramatic re-entrance, having him return right before an extended TV timeout. (Note to ESPN Classic: When you show this baby, edit it so it seems like Pierce came out and went right back into the game.)

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.

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

Quote:

Boston is a town full of history; a history that included my dad's favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Dad grew up watching them during the 80s, at their height of excellence, when Larry Bird was their star player. Before 1986, they won sixteen national championships. Thirty years later, and they've never even come close to winning together.

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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...

YouTube Video

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

There's nowhere I can't reach.