The NBA Thread

[DanielBurns11]

Hey buddy, telling a die hard sports fan to keep his pants on is a fast track to an early grave... j/k of course. I know there will be at least on more shot, and I'm very confident that this will all be over after game 5. But it was so close, it kills me.

[Thermofusion]

holy fuck this grizz spurs game

[Thermofusion]

Spurs ran some smart plays in the 4th. Really amazing comeback, they deserved that one.

[Ignatius]

The thing about the Gary Neal shot was that he had Manu very open on the wing, but he wanted to take it.

I think the most impressive shot down the stretch was George Hill's crazy over the shoulder layup.

[Ignatius]

I haven't had much attention to spare for the Nuggets/OKC game, but the few minutes I saw of the first half were awesome Full Speed No-Defense basketball. I thought they were going to have to sub in five guys at a time hockey-style to let them catch their breath.

[Ignatius]

This game is serious.

[Thermofusion]

The thing about the Gary Neal shot was that he had Manu very open on the wing, but he wanted to take it.

I actually did a fist pump when Neal made that shot, cause as much as I'm pulling for the Grizzlies I really would've hated to see the Spurs' excellent season end on a booth review (the Manu jumper). Great game.

[Ignatius]

Blazers/Mavs was mostly great tonight, and I'm sure I could come up with plenty to say about it, but there is one most important point!

Why did I fail to realize until now that DeShawn Stevenson has Abraham Lincoln tattoed on his neck?

edit: and I mean, like on his THROAT. So if DeShawn's looking at you, Abe's looking at you.

[DanielBurns11]

Honest Deshawn dude, aren't you hip to it?

Fucking awesome tonight Griz! Z-Bo is officially one of my favorite players in the league. Now please kindly gracefully lose to the Thunder ok thnx.

[Ignatius]

Man, on the one hand, I'm so upset. Manu gets injured in the last game of the reg. season - what could've happened in game one otherwise?Tim Duncan was useless for the majority of the series in spite of all the rest he got in the regular season... They got all kinds of ticky tack foul calls off the ball... We were RIGHT THERE.

On the other hand, they made the Spurs work SO HARD on every possession that an open 19 footer looked like a good shot. They closed out on shooters and packed the paint. I mean, the Spurs' guards had to commit to driving or shooting at the moment they got the ball - if they hesitated for a quarter of a second, the defense recovered. They were definitely tight anyway, but that kind of defensive pressure makes it hard to hit outside jumpers. And then we were up one, and Zach Randolph makes incredibly difficult shots every time down, and he makes it look easy! We just could not beat that team. I have to give them all the credit.

I don't know how they're going to look against the Thunder. OKC is obvs more athletic than the Spurs on the boards, and Ibaka is obviously a step or two quicker on help defense than either Duncan or McDyess. KD is a better scorer than regular Manu, let alone Manu with an elbow brace. Battier and Tony Allen won't be able to keep him from getting 30. And if he draws those fouls on the perimeter, it's even tougher.

But I haven't seen anyone execute team defense this well since the Spurs at the height of their glory. Even then, Manu and Tony were pretty weak on the perimeter. Memphis has Shane Battier AND Tony Allen. I can't think of too many teams that had two premier perimeter defenders in recent times unless you count Ariza and Kobe. And those Spurs' teams had dead weight at center and SF on offense. Memphis does not.

Anyhow I'm calling Grizzlies in 5.

[Ignatius]

Man I'm so sad. dumbfish told me about the clean break last June... I waited til the following April, and the 'best' Spurs team since 2006 lost in the first round. This is bad all around, guys.

[Ignatius]

Also I'm rooting for the Mavs from here on out. Dirk's been working hard for a decade.

[DCDave]

I am going to game 4 of Celtics-Heat.

[dumbfish]

Part of the halftime entertainment?

[Thermofusion]

And now, performing "Hymn to Hegemony", the Sons and Daughters of Northeastern Privilege and D-bag Choir

[Thermofusion]

(I keed)

[Captain]

Postseason is weird this year in that I fail to see a realistic frontrunner.  I mean, kind of.  After game 1, both the Bulls and the Lakers have faltered.  Boston looks like they're playing against Miami plus their own senescence.  Even OKC dropped one to Memphis.... it's cool, I mean.

Like Ignatius, my support is behind Dirk.  By the way, how insightful is Charles Barkley?  His picks are always so on target.

[justinh]

This postseason has been great, I think.  Now, if the next round could only be OKC/Dallas/Miami/Chicago I will be pleased.  The Grizzlies and Hawks have been great in the post-season as well.  So basically if it's anybody but Celtics or Lakes, it's good.

[Ignatius]

Charles Barkley has run up gambling debts in the tens of millions, so that's how insightful he is.

[Ignatius]

I think realistically that whoever comes out of the Dallas/Lakers series takes it all. They both play some d, LA's too big and Dirk's an unstoppable matchup for the likes of Miami or Chicago. The Bulls' confidence and defensive commitment looks slightly diminished from the regular season. I don't know that they're ready to handle playing as the favorite. Of course, if they make it to the NBA Finals, they get their underdog status back.

Memphis played their worst game so far last night, but they haven't lost in Memphis yet either. Critical game 3.

The Hawks winning would be cool!

[dumbfish]

Lakers playing so dumb. And JJ Barea is an amazing penetrating PG, apparently. Ugh.
Dirk going nuts I could live with, but not this.

[Ignatius]

haha JJ Barea. Artest knows this is only game 2, right?

[Captain]

Charles Barkley has run up gambling debts in the tens of millions, so that's how insightful he is.

Barkley also picked Memphis to upset your Spurs team.  PLUS, he wrote a book.

Watching that game in a bar in Texas almost makes me want to root against the Mavericks.  "I'm from DALLAS, bro!"  I guess I can't blame Dirk for a couple of dips though.

[Ignatius]

He looks pretty smart this year, but very few people have lost as much money placing bets as he has.

[Captain]

Charles Barkley also picked Orlando to beat Cleveland back in 2009.  But this is a pretty dumb argument.