The NBA Thread

[Ignatius]

Yeah, maybe. We'll see what happens when Mike Miller gets back into the rotation. Those 3 guys are all hitting nearly 50% of their attempts, though, so it's not like they're scoring by taking tons of bad shots at the expense of their less talented teammates.

[dumbfish]

How can you really dislike Ginobili? Because he's a flopper?

Yeah. Also, he hates bats.

[Babar]

What's the LPTJ verdict on the big Orlando deal? Let me break it down.

Orlando gets: Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Earl Clark.

Orlando loses: Rashard Lewis (Wizards), Vince Carter (Suns), Marcin Gortat (Suns), Mickael Pietrus (Suns).

Except for losing a solid back-up to the often fouled-out Dwight Howard, I like it. Most of all I like the cojones of the GM to actually do some sort of an overhaul since the current line-up clearly isn't working (lost 6 of last 7) and they aren't simply looking to make the playoffs, they're aiming for winning the championship. Plus, who knows what Howard will do in two years. Turkoglu was my favorite player in the 2009 Finals so it's fun to see him back in a Magic uniform. Lewis is a good player but not second-highest-player-in-the-league good so they're probably happy tearing his contract to shreds. This might flop big time but I'm not a Magic fan so I'm just excited seeing how it will turn out.

As for the Suns... Pietrus and Gortat can play D and that's what they need, Turkoglu wasn't working so they'll be glad getting rid of him. Eh, I dunno. Let's see how it turns out. Hopefully it turns out better for the Suns then for the Magic though.

[Captain]

I guess my question about the trade for Orlando: so... is Gilbert the main ball-handler now?  Back a few years ago it was Hedo who was playing the point-type position... then Jameer Nelson... I'm just a bit confused as to how this all works, I guess.

Exciting changes, though.

[Thermofusion]

I like the deal, too. It's an Adult Trade.

Have y'all talked about this bit of hilarity yet:

[Captain]

Ha-yeah, I heard about that.  Pretty bad... makes the Thunder look like a stroke of genius.  I'm throwing my hat in with the Brooklyn Fixies, for the record.

[Thermofusion]

I liked the "Brooklyn Queens Expressways" suggestion I read somewhere

[Ignatius]

How can you really dislike Ginobili? Because he's a flopper?

Yeah. Also, he hates bats.

H'm... Doesn't Derek Fisher play for the Lakers? AV used to bug me, so I guess I'm not immune to a touch of hypocritical distaste for the practice. But it seems like flopping has found some acceptability league wide (at least when it's called 'selling the foul') and so it's been a few years since I've felt compelled to explain why Ginobili's flopping is ok, but Raja Bell's is not. While I'm on the subject, Raja Bell still sucks.

As for the Magic trade, I think it's a good move. I don't really buy that they reached their ceiling or anything, but the competition is exceedingly stiff this year, and they might as well load up while they can. Then again, they might become the EC Mavericks, constantly making that one deal to complement their star in the pursuit of reaching  or exceeding the expectations set by a Finals appearance.

Hedo and Gilbert could suck spectacularly, and finessing the chemistry if those two insist on handling the ball might prove to be a much greater challenge than the distribution problems people insisted the Heat would run into. On the other hand, J Rich and Hedo can really stretch the floor when they're on... obvious upgrade over a struggling Rashard Lewis.

I'm looking forward to watching Vince Carter and Steve Nash play together.

[dumbfish]

My problem with the Magic trades is that the biggest upgrade is swapping Lewis for Bass, and that's a move that didn't require anything but a coaching decision.
And Gil's contract runs another, like, 70 years.

On flopping: I root for a team that has Pau and Fisher, so, yeah, glass houses. My dislike for Ginobili has more to do with his uniform than his game.

[Babar]

Yay! Dwight Howard got called for a 10 second violation! Here's hoping fans start counting down to give him the jitters.

[Ignatius]

You're a weirdo, babs

[Babar]

the voices in my head beg to differ

[Ignatius]

If your plan were executed and successful, Dwight Howard might end up with a historically low FT %. I guess that's kind of exciting...

[dumbfish]

Are we ready to remove the Lakers from the ranks of elite yet? Did that game mean that the Heat belong? Or did it just mean that the game meant more to the Heat than the Lakers? I tend to buy into the latter two more than the first.

Regardless of the implications, that was a nasty beatdown. Gasol couldn't get to any of his spots.

[Captain]

I'm not inclined to read too much into that game.  After all, the Lakers got blown out in similar capacity last Christmas... and went on to win the championship.  I suppose it goes without saying that playing well in December doesn't mean you'll play well come playoff time.

But I guess it shows that Miami is gelling a bit now--I mean, they could still take some steps backwards and fall apart or whatever... but they're looking pretty good.  With that much talent, I think they'd be a very tough team to beat in a best of 7 situation.

[Ignatius]

Man, I guess the Spurs can still play 4 quarters of defense when they get their blood up. The Lakers looked like they were gonna give a shit early on, but the Spurs brought fire for the first time in about a month, and they just competed.

Also BLAIRRR

Seriously, the dude shredded one of the biggest and best front courts in the NBA.

[dumbfish]

OK, I may have to reverse my position on Ginobili. A conversation about Power Balance bracelets, which use holograms and magnets to something something blah:

It turns out, Manu Ginobili has already destroyed this particular product, after hearing his teammate George Hill talk it up. Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell covered the exchange:
  “Have you heard of a placebo?” Manu asked.
Hill didn’t follow.
  “It’s a Spanish word,” Richard Jefferson chimed in, jokingly.

[Ignatius]

That's from the beginning of the season! He also posted a video to facebook of a weird streak in the sky over LA. While his followup google sciencing efforts came to the wrong conclusion, he was pretty determined to find a commonplace explanation. He thought it was an experimental aircraft scheduled to land on that day, it turned out to be Red Bull parachute people.

[Captain]

So.... the Cav's sure suck.

[Ignatius]

I heard AV was out for the season. Besides the Raptors, I can't think of a similar very bad team whose future looks no better than the present.

[FreddyKnuckles]

The only Nba story I have is that my girlfriend's dad peed on Phil Jackson.

[Babar]

What a day, yesterday. Here's the breakdown of the trade deadline:
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/24/pbts-trade-deadline-report-card/

I think Denver Nuggets is my favorite team in the east now. The kinda have a 10 man roster of good players but no superstar, should be entertaining. I have strong faith that they'll make the playoffs.
OKC vs. Celtics in the finals? Unlikely but certainly possible. It would be insane.
I haven't really been able to process all this. There are a lot of "new-look" games to watch in the coming days. Shit's about go deeeeoooowwwnnnnnnnn.

[Captain]

Some pretty serious trades... all I really want to talk about is the Cav's though.

I think Baron Davis will be a bad fit.  Davis can be great--when he's MOTIVATED.  The situation he's been thrown into is not very motivating.  So I expect nothing from him.  Vaguely, I have visions of him and JJ Hickson getting some sort of rapport... but I don't genuinely expect that.

Regardless, it was a rebuilding move and a necessary one.  I didn't think much of Mo Williams and I think he needed to be moved.  He was brought in to compliment LeBron and he couldn't quite do that.  Upwards/onwards et al.

Also, really exciting to see the Cav's win some games after that horrific losing streak.

Oh yeah!  I don't really like the Melo trade, I wanted to throw that in.  I could be wrong, but I just don't think it's enough to get the Knicks anywhere.  And Felton is a big loss.  But then again, if you get the chance to grab Carmelo Anthony, can you really say no?

[Babar]

I think it's a win-win trade. Clips got a 3-point shooter and a decent guard in Williams. Cavs got a draft pick that the Clips don't really need, plus Davis (who the Clips don't need either).

Speaking of the Clips, my new-look Celtics won an ugly game against them last night with Krstic looking very good. 6 offensive rebounds in 21 minutes? I'll take it!

[hannah]

Def gonna watch Knicks v. Heat tonight instead of the Oscars.