@ Indiana and Miami fighting for the second place.NBA Thread 2013-2014
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
@ Indiana and Miami fighting for the second place.Pacers fans are used to disappointment.
Indiana will end the San Antonio's streak tonight!
If I'm not mistaken, the season finishes mid-May right? I will be in Atlanta from late May to early June and I was hoping to catch a game while I was there.
Regular season till April. Playoffs till June.
Ah thanks. I doubt the Hawks will make the play-offs, they are shit.
Atlanta might very well make the playoffs (they're 8th now, 2 games ahead of 9th with 10 games to go). Not sure they'll be playing in mid-May though.
I'll be in Atlanta from 28th May to 4th June. Would be great if there was a game during that week. I don't think Atlanta Falcons will be playing during that period either, or I would have tried to catch a 'football' game at the Georgia Dome too.
Atlanta Braves might be playing, only problem is that you have to watch Baseball. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Baseball is great. Braves fans are shitty but the ballpark is decent.
I don't mind tbh. I go to Atlanta every summer and spend all my time chasing women basically. I've decided that this time I want to do some tourist stuff, and seeing some sort of game would be high on my agenda.
Another round in the race for the 2nd place in the East today, and the winner is.....
The Indiana Pacers! Who finally have put their hands on the coveted 2nd place.
What the actual hell happened to them?!
The Indiana Pacers! Who finally have put their hands on the coveted 2nd place.
What the actual hell happened to them?!
Vogel said from the beginning that they would play every game like it was a playoff game. That shit wears on you over 82 games.
Eboue can remind me which year it was the Pistons came out on fire in the league under a new coach, set some ridiculous record of 22-3 to start or something. Their offense was fast and the starters played heavy minutes, they ended up with the best record in the league I believe. But by the time the playoffs came around they were burnt out and went out quickly.
Google says it was Flip Saunders, 2005-6 season, if I'm remembering right.
Eboue can remind me which year it was the Pistons came out on fire in the league under a new coach, set some ridiculous record of 22-3 to start or something. Their offense was fast and the starters played heavy minutes, they ended up with the best record in the league I believe. But by the time the playoffs came around they were burnt out and went out quickly.
Google says it was Flip Saunders, 2005-6 season, if I'm remembering right.
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Oops
Yeah I guess so. But it also looks like they're having some dressing room issues now as well.. As much as one would immediately think of Turner or Bynum, the new acquisitions, it looks like Stephenson is involved, and Hibbert is not happy. People are now theorizing about the effect of the loss of Granger, but I'm not sure just because Granger is gone, they're going at each other now.
They're going to win tonight though, it's a home game vs Detroit.
The game vs Miami a couple of days before the end of the season will decide the 1st spot.
Don't worry, we rarely get our predictions right here.
I've been told that, in the last offseason, Bird said that Stephenson would get his bumper contract at the end of the season, as they couldn't afford to give him one at the level he deserved without going over the cap.
Granger's was expiring and so we would be able to pay Stephenson, but the idea hadn't been to give all of that Granger money to Stephenson, as of the last offseason no one was talking about LS as a potential All-Star.
Bird and LS probably had something of a gentleman's agreement, and it could be that LS is now looking at the summer market and thinking he could pull in a near max contract, or if not then a lot more money than the Pacers want to offer.
Brining in Turner is especially strange, he plays LS's position and would probably be willing to accept the sort of money that LS was earmarked to make as of last summer.
If LS has basically told management they'll have to match the best offer in the summer if they want him to stay, and management don't seem willing, that would be enough to unsettle any dressing room.
Honestly though it's hard to see it being only that, as the meltdown is so total and complete. Their offense has gone to the worst in the league over their recent crap-streak, apparently.
Hibbert says some players are being selfish (he used the word selfish on his teammates, though didn't specify). He thinks he should get more touches during the game.
Either way, if the situation is like that it's not the ideal situation for a franchise really looking for a championship. Players prioritizing money, owner who doesn't want to go over the cap, dressing room issues close to the critical stage of the season...
They beat Detroit tonight, but only just (101-94). Could serve as a confidence building step for them though towards recovering from this slump. They need a leader though to pull the dressing room together.
By the way, is Greg Popovic the NBA version of SAF? (Duncan being Giggs). Every Summer they're written off as "too old", and they come back the next season even stronger! Much respect.
Either way, if the situation is like that it's not the ideal situation for a franchise really looking for a championship. Players prioritizing money, owner who doesn't want to go over the cap, dressing room issues close to the critical stage of the season...
They beat Detroit tonight, but only just (101-94). Could serve as a confidence building step for them though towards recovering from this slump. They need a leader though to pull the dressing room together.
By the way, is Greg Popovic the NBA version of SAF? (Duncan being Giggs). Every Summer they're written off as "too old", and they come back the next season even stronger! Much respect.
If you find any interesting articles on why the Pacers suck now I'd be interested to know it. I'm sure there are some stats that would be illuminating. But with such a poor offense the ball is probably not being shared very well.
I certainly haven't seen one of those Stephenson triple doubles in a while.
The Spurs are amazing, even their biggest fans must be amazed at their continued excellence. Pop certainly has to be considered the best coach currently in the game and one of the best all time.
I certainly haven't seen one of those Stephenson triple doubles in a while.
The Spurs are amazing, even their biggest fans must be amazed at their continued excellence. Pop certainly has to be considered the best coach currently in the game and one of the best all time.
Here is Hibbert's take on it:
And here are a couple of stats:
And here is the full article
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...-after-recent-loss-some-selfish-dudes-in-here
Two things though.
1- I'm not sure there is a lot of change that happened in the last month. They were always playing like this (pretty much) earlier in the season, but they were still winning. Not sure what's the decisive difference now. Probably a combination of fatigue/frustration due to dressing room issues?
2- But I do think Hibbert does need to be more involved. It's a waste of talent to have a 7'2'' center like him taking only 8 shots in a game.
Another good piece..
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...l-to-team-stop-airing-in-house-stuff-to-media
Seems odd since the team has heretofore looked to have great chemistry and to be the antithesis of the Artest-Jermaine O'Neal team that is so reviled now.
Just noticing that half of the top 10 rebounders are on bad teams. Used to be that list was chocked full of the best players in the game.
1. DeAndre Jordan 13.8 (Clippers)
2. Drummond 12.8 (Pistons)
3. Love 12.6 (Wolves)
4. Howard 12.3 (Rockets)
5. Cousins 11.6 (Kings)
6. Aldridge 11.1 (Blazers)
7. Noah 11.1 (Bulls)
8. Vucevic 11.0 (Magic)
9. Al Jefferson 10.4 (Bobcats)
10. Anthony Davis 10.2 (Sea Dumpsters)
1. DeAndre Jordan 13.8 (Clippers)
2. Drummond 12.8 (Pistons)
3. Love 12.6 (Wolves)
4. Howard 12.3 (Rockets)
5. Cousins 11.6 (Kings)
6. Aldridge 11.1 (Blazers)
7. Noah 11.1 (Bulls)
8. Vucevic 11.0 (Magic)
9. Al Jefferson 10.4 (Bobcats)
10. Anthony Davis 10.2 (Sea Dumpsters)
Caught a little bit of Spurs Vs OKC today. Durant and them look primed for a better challenge this season. Are they the favorites?
That list kind of is. Davis Howard and Love are all top 10 players. Cousins Aldridge and Noah are top 20. Jefferson is having a fantastic year. Drummond will soon be top 10.
I certainly agree about Love, Aldridge and Noah. Jefferson is good but hard to say when you're on such a bad team.
I'm thinking back to when that list would have had more future hall of famers than not. O'Neal, Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson...
The PER top ten:
1. Durant
2. James
3. Love
4. Anthony Davis
5. Cousins
6. Paul
7. Brook Lopez
8. Anthony
9. Westbrook
10. Griffin
Howard ranks 22, after Duncan and before Isaiah Thomas.
Players I'd take over Dwight Howard:
Durant, James, Love, Davis, Paul, Westbrook, Griffin, Harden, Curry, Nowitzki, Paul George, Cousins, Lillard, Rondo, Deron Williams...
I'd probably also take Irving, Wall, Klay Thompson or Tony Parker as I prefer guards and especially PGs.
PER is only useful as a very rough estimate.
Rondo, Cousins, Williams, Irving, Wall, Thompson, Nowitzki have no business being compared to Howard.
Rondo can't shoot, Cousins isn't close to Howard, Williams' years as an elite player have passed him by, Irving can't play defense, Wall has yet to play even a single full season at an elite level, Thompson is too limited a player and Nowitzki is too old.
Howard is the best big man since the Shaq/Duncan/Dirk/Garnett/Webber years and it's not close either.
Another day at the office for Miami and Indiana yesterday..
Both lost.
Both lost.
Damning with faint praise: he's not close to the dominance those bigs exhibited at their peaks. IMO.
He's a better defender than any of them. Definitely better than Webber and Dirk, up there with Garnett and behind the other two.
I'd agree with that somewhat, think Garnett shades him defensively.
To be fair to Howard he took the Magic to 2 Eastern Conference finals and one NBA final. Let's see what he does with a more talented team.
I agree PER isn't PERfect.
Sorry, couldn't resist. I have no idea how good PER is supposed to be, but it's an attempt at judging a player's overall impact at least.
Dwight Howard at his best is someone I would describe the way you described him, but I don't think he's at that level anymore after his back issues.
If he was still so great I think the Lakers would have been a much better team last season.
Indiana are being shite again.
Incredible how bad they've been. I might actually be surprised if they get past the 1st round let alone Miami in the conference finals
It really is stunning, I've never seen anything like it. Has a team ever lead the league in win % for 3/4 of the season and then ended winning some 25% of the rest of their games?
Just to put this in perspective, Miami has been terrible in the last month (they went 9-9 from March 4th till April 4th), and even despite that awful record, they still managed to cut Indiana's lead (which was 4 games at some point) and overtake them! With a 9-9 record!
It's not just a "decline" for Indiana, it's a near implosion..
However, having said that, sudden drops are also easier to recover from than gradual decline. Because you know the quality is still there (it can't disappear in 1 month), it's just that they need to overcome this slump mentally.. If they get their heads right, they can still get back to their best in no time, and Vogel was certainly trying to do that last night by benching all 5 starters in the first quarter, and then benching Hibbert for the rest of the game.
It's not just a "decline" for Indiana, it's a near implosion..
However, having said that, sudden drops are also easier to recover from than gradual decline. Because you know the quality is still there (it can't disappear in 1 month), it's just that they need to overcome this slump mentally.. If they get their heads right, they can still get back to their best in no time, and Vogel was certainly trying to do that last night by benching all 5 starters in the first quarter, and then benching Hibbert for the rest of the game.
However if they're worn out from over-exertion, they may not be able to recuperate fully until after the offseason.
I think benching the starters is the best bet.
I think benching the starters is the best bet.
I've stuck with the Spurs because they seem to be excellent at winning basketball games. I'm getting a Patty Mills tattoo.
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