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Discuss the 3 games going on tonight!

I hope Boston humiliates Miami.
Portland is going to steamroll Phoenix's 4 SF lineup.
LA will probably crush Houston, but it'll be good to see Yao back.

I hope Boston wins, Portland will beat Phoenix, and LA should beat Houston even if Kobe is limited to 30 minutes.

Watching Boston play D really shows me how far away the Hawks are to being an elite team. No easy shots for Lebron, unlike his trips to the highlight factory. Lebron pretty much does what he wants against the Hawks, but he has to work extremely hard to score against Boston.

My only comment so far is that the referees still have high opinion rating for Lebron. Maybe ESPN should do a survey on that.

evildallas wrote:My only comment so far is that the referees still have high opinion rating for Lebron. Maybe ESPN should do a survey on that.

I got a good laugh out of that Rondo block in the 1st quarter. LeBron would have to stick his arm through the net to get a goal tending call on one of his patented "chase down blocks".

I'm just happy Boston pulled it out since the refs started to look out for Miami during the second half.

I know it's just one game, but Chris Bosh seems to really be struggling to figure out his place in it all. That or he's not getting enough looks to be effective, not sure which.

HoopsGuru25 wrote:

evildallas wrote:My only comment so far is that the referees still have high opinion rating for Lebron. Maybe ESPN should do a survey on that.

I got a good laugh out of that Rondo block in the 1st quarter. LeBron would have to stick his arm through the net to get a goal tending call on one of his patented "chase down blocks".

Between that "block" and the charge called a blocking foul that nearly put Pierce back in his wheelchair it was a scary look at how the Heat will be officiated this year. The thing that annoys me most is how James and Wade both get away with wild hacks at the opposing ballhandler in the back court. They get a free pass and some of those hacks would have drawn a flag in football. It's crap like that which takes opponents out of their game and makes the Heat more effectively on D than they really should be. This is nothing new, they separately got free passes on that stuff before so no surprise that they still both get the free pass.

Maybe this thread should live on as a season game thread for the rest of the teams.

Vegas has Miami at over/under 64.5 wins. It's achievable, but they need to figure things out fast, and I agree that Chris Bosh looks out of place. I have no idea how some people expect him to average 20ppg.

The Houston and LA game has been outstanding.

The rest of the over/under win totals for the rest of the teams: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1059811

No miracle win for Houston though against LA late, good game. Better than the first and the game over on League Pass (free preview, can't decide if i want to buy this year) which had a monster run by Portland to break it open.

I like the idea of keeping one thread alive to talk other games throughout the season. Personally I feel the most kinship with the regulars here and a lot of us are basketball junkies watching other teams when the Hawks aren't on. And it's good to have a place to go and say did you see that play by _____ or can you believe how bad ____ is stinking up the joint tonight, etc.

Great idea, HMFFL.

Houston has a nice team this year, for sure. If Yao can stay on the court for longer than 24 minutes they could def challenge for a playoff spot.

Phoenix 4 SF lineup is gonna get destroyed for stretches this year.

Lets see how the Heat bounce back against the Sixers.

Some very good games tonight.

7:00 PM ET
Boston at Cleveland
Favored: Boston by 3.5

Detroit at New Jersey
Favored: NJ by 3.5

New York at Toronto
Favored: Toronto by 2

Miami at Philadelphia
Favored: Miami by 7.5

8:00 PM ET
Milwaukee at New Orleans
Favored: NO by 3

Chicago at Oklahoma City
Favored: OKC by 6

Sacramento at Minnesota
Favored: Minny by 4

Atlanta at Memphis
Favored: Memphis by 3

8:30 PM ET
Charlotte at Dallas
Favored: Dallas by 7

Indiana at San Antonio
Favored: SA by 9

9:00 PM ET
Utah at Denver
Favored: Denver by 3.5

10:30 PM ET
Portland at L.A. Clippers
Favored: Portland by 2.5

10:30 PM ET
Houston at Golden State
Favored: GS by 4.5

Wiz fan here and Gil will miss the first 2 games, which means he will be out against you guys also as he is in a boot

I'm interested tonight to see if Miami gets everyone's best shot, while it will make them stronger it is a long season and that supporting cast isn't that spry. Beyond that I want to see what the Jazz look like against Denver and the Clippers against Portland (both primarily for the PF additions).

Miami is getting Chris Bosh involved more tonight, but Lebron James has six turnovers early.

After 3 Miami was up by 26, but Philly has really been after it in the 4th trying to make a game of it. Cleveland-Boston down to the wire. And while the Hawks are at halftime I find myself mesmerized by the Pistons-Nets game.

Let me add that their crowd is really into the comeback and Avery Johnson is very intense.

Cavs up late against Boston. Garnett tried to intimidate Sideshow Bob. Varajeo didn't back down, but I kind wish he'd clocked him.

Wow, Utah got blown out and Shelden Williams played 28 minutes for Denver taking advantage of an opportunity presented by injuries. Good for him, it wasn't his fault he got drafted #5 by Billy Knight when he had late 1st round or 2nd round game.

I'm a little disappointed that there haven't been any crazy statlines so far.

ESPN is also reminding me why I hate their basketball coverage. They can't let a dead ball go by w/o fellating whoever the most marketable player on the court is(Durant and Griffin in tonight's case). TNT was only guilty of this when it came to Doug Collins/Kobe but it's status quo for ESPN.