The NBA Thread

[Babar]

Out of the three elite teams right now, OKC is my favorite. Durant is obviously amazing but guys like Serge I-block-ya and my main man big Perk are what makes this team so fun. A blocking specialist? That's even cooler than a three point specialist. I like the addition of D-Fish. He got a fair amount of shit while being on the Lakers' starting line-up, which is obviously an absurd place to be in at this point in his career. Now that he's a veteran backup point guard on a young and upcoming team makes him lovable again. It would funny as hell if he'd end up with more rings than Kobe.

[Ignatius]

You're an idiot, watch a different sport.

[Babar]

You're just plain mean. By all means keep watching basketball, it's a great game.

[Ignatius]

That was really mean! sorry

[Thermofusion]

I hate saying that I can't wait to see what happens to the franchise when they're a lottery team 10 or 12 years from now and the current crop of season ticket holders is long dead, but fuck em all.

At which point a dementia-beset David Stern will move the Thunder to an even more marginal market (I'm thinking Norfolk)

[Thermofusion]

[Babar]

I agree with the last guy. New Orleans are planning to abandon the Hornets name so it should be up for grabs for Charlotte in the near future. The Bobcats will become a funny footnote in NBA history and the Charlotte Hornets will rise again!

[Thermofusion]

It's looking possible! The new NOLA owners have stated they want to change the name to something that reflects their city. There was an article a week or so ago that said that Charlotte Hornets throwback gear is still bringing in about a million annually, and that's with a limited set of items (mostly limited-edition Charlotte Hornets fitted caps and an Adidas-made Larry Johnson retro jersey). The Hornets are still the iconic sports brand in Charlotte. You see people wearing Hornets stuff on the street, on the bus, even to Bobcats games. Nobody particularly likes the Bobcats name. And then there was this surprising tweet from the main Bobcats beat writer last night:

@rickbonnell: NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver is here. Says he expects to have a conversation with #Bobcats about the Hornets nickname.

I (and lots of old school Charlotteans) would be absolutely thrilled.

[Babar]

I hope it will go through. The Bobcats name is... seriously, cats? The basketball players are cats? They will never have loyal players because nobody would openly say stuff like "I'm a bobcat for life" "I want to retire as a bobcat" "I'm a bobcat".

[Thermofusion]

And not even a big, fierce cat! A smallish, scruffy one!

It's a bad name.

[Babar]

Speaking of names/logos/marketing, how do you like the new Nets logo?



I must say, I like it. A huge improvement over the fugly ones they had in Jersey. I'd like it more if they would have gone even more minimalist and dropped the B on the basketball. Good job, Jay-Z and Prokhorov. Too bad they are gonna su-hu-huuuck next year.

[Thermofusion]

I give it a solid "B" grade. I like the letter B on the basketball, and I think I like the shield. Is it gonna be monochromatic, or is that just a b&w pic?

edit: I think if I were gonna change it, I'd get rid of "Brooklyn", move the word "Nets" above the shield and make the basketball (with letter B intact) take up most of the shield.

[Babar]

Yeah, they will go with a black/white color scheme so I guess the Spurs' monopoly is over. Heaps and bounds better than their white/grey/ugly blue/red color scheme in NJ. In the pic there's BROOKLYN above the shield but I don't how much they'll use that. In all the other pics I've seen of the logo there is just the shield. I remember when this logo leaked from a patent office about a year ago



and everybody went crazy. I think it had nothing to do with the Nets but it somehow braced me for a really bad logo before the real one was revealed. I'm glad they proved me wrong.

[Thermofusion]

OK here's some of the merch:







Yeah, I like it (except for the stuff in that last photo...shudder). I guess I'd like to see a little color but the monochromatic minimalist thing they're doing is pretty cool.

[Thermofusion]

The more I think about it, the more I think Brooklyn's new branding is what would happen if Paul Dini got in the sports logo business.

[coldforge]

I find basketball stultifying but I kind of want to rep my new sports team with that baseball tee. That's a good look for sure.

[Greg Nog]

I hope it will go through. The Bobcats name is... seriously, cats? The basketball players are cats? They will never have loyal players because nobody would openly say stuff like "I'm a bobcat for life" "I want to retire as a bobcat" "I'm a bobcat".

Bobcats are awesome!  And pretty much the only attachment I have to my hometown's baseball team is that they're the Fisher Cats, and fisher cats are also pretty great.

[Babar]

Yeah, bobcat the animal is awesome and all. It's just too cutesy when they're regularly going against menacing creatures like bulls, grizzlies and RAPTORS.

[Ignatius]

Don't forget those brutal leprechauns.

[Captain]

Nothing can outmatch the might and unrelenting steadfastness of a Pacer!

...unless, of course, you happen to be a Clipper.

[Ignatius]

Pace cars keep drivers from getting hurt!

[Captain]

Pacemakers keep people from dying!

[Babar]

Don't forget those brutal leprechauns.

I won't.

[Ignatius]

Holy shit that Clips comeback was incredible. Obvs they needed the shooters to make those shots, especially Nick Young, but this is a reminder to never doubt Chris Paul's competitiveness. Or K-Mart's, for that matter. Damn.

[Thermofusion]

Nothing can outmatch the might and unrelenting steadfastness of a Pacer!

...unless, of course, you happen to be a Clipper.

Or a Jazz!

You know those Mormons, noted for their jazz.