Random Thoughts Thread

[jerseyjac]

Anyone here going to watch the World Cup?

Going to a nice party Sat. at my bro's in PA for the World Cup...We both are huge fans of Italy and obviously USA, followed by Argentina...boooooo on England, sorry Treiz you guys are going down!!!

We'll see this saturday!

(I hope I'm sober by the end of the 90 minutes)

And boo on the GoldenEye re-make, I don't mind the actual game but this is just typical Activision pulling their crap by adding the 'golden gun' and just making something seem appealing to sell, damn them! Can't they just make it like the old one? Like how Doom can be downloaded through the Xbox and it looks the same without and complications.

I'm buying a a Robert Green jersey ...statistics aside, I thought it was pretty even, even though I felt USA outplayed England by a nose...we looked tired in the end...but Rooney didnt touch the ball in the first 17 minutes???

UK version:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... bdued.html

[mikhailjordan]

So I'm watching game 6 and I don't understand how Kobe Bryant cant get any of the touch fouls that Rondo and Pierce do, like if you look at how close the Celtics are playing Bryant everytime he puts the ball on the floor there's a ton of hand-checking / holding / grabbing... NowI wouldn't mind if the refs called all the games allowing that kind of contact ONLY IF they called the game the same way for both teams.

Artest isn't being given half the leeway Ray and Tony Allen are when they're "defending" Bryant.

When the Spurs were good it was always a similar situation when teams played them as well Bruce Bowen would get away with murder and the other team wasn't allow to defend as intensely...

Something needs to be done because year by year the refs are getting worse.

[enetric]

there is no player EVER who gets more touch fouls than Kobe. EVER. My wittle heart bleeds for the bitch if he isnt getting the usual BS calls he gets.

[enetric]

Update" 40 of 48 game minutes gone by...Lakers 15 fta's....celtics KG only Celtic with fta's....5. On your own floor?

Pierce going to the line first time all night.

[SpeedyG]

Update" 40 of 48 game minutes gone by...Lakers 15 fta's....celtics KG only Celtic with fta's....5. On your own floor?

Pierce going to the line first time all night.

That's because the Lakers weren't playing close enough defense to be called for fouls

[enetric]

Ha! Did you see the 3 ft's they gave Kobiatch against Allen? What a horrid call.

Rondo cracks me up as a player. He does two things. Either come up with something spectacular...or he makes the worst decision possible.

Pierce finally stepped it up. KG was absolutely fantastic tonight.


Kobe had an absurd shooting run in the third quarter...but he was taking such tough shots that I think he took his team completely out of the game. the will say Gasol didnt live up to expecations base don box score...but when your star is content to take some bad shots make or miss like that for long stretches...the support guys will fall aspleep on you.

Celtics had to win this game. No way they were going to win 2 in LA. 1 will be hard enough. Pierce has to keep playing at a high level to get it done.

[SpeedyG]

I personally don't like Kobe's antics...but I hate the Celtics antics even more. Talk about a bunch of fake tough guys. Kenyon, if healthy, would have made that entire team his bitch. Hell, even Bynum, if he was healthy enough, would make that entire team his bitch.

By the way, am I the only sick and tired of the no-hands allowed in the NBA? Getting sick and tired of guys like Rondo, Westbrook, Collison, Robinson, Parker, (even our own Harris) getting wherever they want to go because no one is allowed to put a hand on them anymore.

[enetric]

Bynum? He's a puss!


KG is the equalizer here. He has an extra gear even in decline. Its not about tough...its about intensity. But Perkins, Sheed, Baby...yeah I am with you.

As for the no hands...I think you have to start with Kobiatch. Cant fart on that guy most nights. And when he tries to run into someone and they actually get out of his way and still make a good play he acts like someone just molested him like a bad after school special. I have never seen a star that good who sees so little physical contact or even double teams because of the immense talent of the guys he has played with in his career.

I want to puke every time I hear Mark Jackson fawn over him. I am sorry...but Lebron is better. Bigger, stronger, more of a team player, and from his rok year on...a SMARTER NBA player.

I eally hope he chooses well and gets his chance to win titles. I feel that's us. I feel we have the best talent for today and to make some great trades in the next few years after we are over the cap. We have so many tradeable assets. But if he does go elsewhere I just hope he wins.

[treiz]

We'll see this saturday!

(I hope I'm sober by the end of the 90 minutes)

And boo on the GoldenEye re-make, I don't mind the actual game but this is just typical Activision pulling their crap by adding the 'golden gun' and just making something seem appealing to sell, damn them! Can't they just make it like the old one? Like how Doom can be downloaded through the Xbox and it looks the same without and complications.

I'm buying a a Robert Green jersey ...statistics aside, I thought it was pretty even, even though I felt USA outplayed England by a nose...we looked tired in the end...but Rooney didnt touch the ball in the first 17 minutes???

UK version:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... bdued.html

Cold dude....cold....I'm still heart-broken by that debacle

[mikhailjordan]

Kobe has never received more touch fouls in a season than Paul Pierce, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade. Never.

Even biased Kobe haters have to admit that it's night and day when the Celtics and Lakers are playing defense. On one side of the court you're allowed to hand-check, grab, flop, and on the other you're allowed to flop and not do the other stuff... The referees have a bias and it's shown throughout this series from KG touching the ball last and the Celtics being rewarded the ball (no angle shows otherwise) to last night where the Celtics were given the ball again when it clearly did not hit the rim, these are calls you can't quite possibly miss unless your eyes are closed, you're (Please Use More Appropriate Word), or you have a personal preference / vendetta you're looking to fulfill...

Also big picture the problem that supporting such double-standards, like some of you are doing, presents is that you're essentially saying you're fine with the league governing each team with a different rulebook. Now if you are fine with that then don't complain the next time the Nets get shafted by the whistle...

Also the reason the Lakers took more free throws last game was two-fold:

1. They played terrible defensively giving up at least 10 uncontested layups.
2. The Celtics are a jump-shooting team that did their damage from the outside last game.

[enetric]

I will repeat. There has never been a star player who gets more BS whistles than Kobe. And none that cry more than when a clean block occurs and he actually doesnt get the call. I have seen more than my share of Kobe plays where the replay shows actualy NO CONTACT to ball or player and he got a call for being near the guy. Its a joke what he gets away with.

As for flops...yes flops are a joke. But when you have Pau, Artest and Fisher on the other team...no one EVER should be whining about flops!!!!!

As for the argument of how the game was called? The entire series has been a joke. No consistency. But lets not act like its all pro Boston...that's a complete joke.

One more thing. As hot as Kobe was in the 3rd quarter...as a team leader he did a horrible job of finding his teammates. People love to look at scoring totals and lay blame at only the feet of someone who scored less than their average. You have to look at the shots your star was taking. His clock management, his ball rotation...finding the open man and getting his confidence back into the game. Great players make others better. As great as Kobe is...he turns his leadership and direction of others on and off....just like his defense. 1st team all D my ass.

[mikhailjordan]

You're confusing Kobe with Wade, and if you want to talk about players that cry on the court see exhibit A: Flop King Paul Pierce (honorable mention: Chris Paul).

There's a serious inequity in the amount of hand-checking "good" and "bad" defensive teams are allowed,.. That's all I'm getting at.

Well that and the fact that consistent hand-checking is a much greater advantage than the BS block calls the Lakers are routinely awarded...

[Preludepunk27]

I really don't care about this finals, but obviously I'm watching them. Some things I've noticed:

1. I don't have a problem with the officiating ONE BIT...they're bad for both teams. I honestly haven't seen a big swing for one team or the other.

2. The Celtics, and I've been saying this for 3 years now, get away with more illegal picks than any team I've ever seen in my life. Literally, 75% of their picks are illegal...well EVERY pick Perkins sets and about 60% of KG's.

3. Kobe has no faith in his teammates this series. Granted, a lot of the guys on the Lakers I consider overrated, but if these guys are slow at the beginning of the game, how can people expect them to all of a sudden be legit late in the game after Kobe ignored them for over half the game. Even in the pro's that's hard to do.

4. Can we have ONE GAME this finals where both teams play well? I know this is the highest rated Finals in a while, but it's actually difficult to watch if you're a fan of the game and not just a fairweather NBA fan who is watching just because the 2 most historic teams are in the finals.

5. Anyone else kinda of glad Nate Robinson is playing well. Not that I like him, I just like seeing ex-Knicks do well when they leave that team.

6. I'm absolutely baffled that Perkins hasn't been T'd yet. He was averaging 2 a series and it's game 6 and he hasn't gotten one? Everyone on the planet knows David Stern has his lackeys meet with the ref crew to go over this kind of stuff before the finals, but come on.

7. Lebon to the Nets...book it!

[enetric]

You're confusing Kobe with Wade, and if you want to talk about players that cry on the court see exhibit A: Flop King Paul Pierce (honorable mention: Chris Paul).

There's a serious inequity in the amount of hand-checking "good" and "bad" defensive teams are allowed,.. That's all I'm getting at.

Well that and the fact that consistent hand-checking is a much greater advantage than the BS block calls the Lakers are routinely awarded...

Kobe. Top of the list. Without question. He gets calls on plays that he isnt even trying to draw contact. Pierce is a guy who excels at drawing contact. He looks to create contact. It his his bread and butter. Lebron is a freaight train when he goes to the basket. Makes his move their is no staying with him you cant help but either draw the block (which no one in their right mind is going to want to to do) or end up slaming into him. If you do not have position, and a guy is able to create contact...that is a good foul call...and its smart offense. Lets not confuse the ability to create contact with a guy who doesnt even have to. A guy looking fror an opening who gets touch fouls.

Wade does get calls he shouldnt I agree, but he doesnt come close to Kobe in terms of crying about calls on fadeaway's or finesse moves that arent hard contact. Kobe wants finger fouls on blocked shots and gets them. He gets calls when he flubs a shot and there is no contact at times. He is on a level of untouchable in this game like no other. And with the incredible talent he plays with on his team...he sees less double teams than any great star ever has making it even sillier the calls he gets. One on one finesse player getting calls like that on jumpers?

As for hand checking...I think too much is made about that period. If it is before the shot...I mean come on. THe NBA has gotten soft in that regard. Rewind 20 years when players who couldnt play D like a Mark JAckson would litterally put their hand on you and lean with al their might to push you back like a lineman. Its a different game today. Rules today are designed to make it easier for the Kobe's of the world, and not just him but the wanna be like Mike generation of self creators. And not one of them should be mentioned with Jordan, or Magic or Bird or a handful of the legendary centers including Shaq who are ahead of these guys on the all time great list.

[treiz]

Must....have....Nintendo....Wii....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raTts-iGixU[/youtube]

[SpeedyG]

As for hand checking...I think too much is made about that period. If it is before the shot...I mean come on. THe NBA has gotten soft in that regard. Rewind 20 years when players who couldnt play D like a Mark JAckson would litterally put their hand on you and lean with al their might to push you back like a lineman. Its a different game today. Rules today are designed to make it easier for the Kobe's of the world, and not just him but the wanna be like Mike generation of self creators. And not one of them should be mentioned with Jordan, or Magic or Bird or a handful of the legendary centers including Shaq who are ahead of these guys on the all time great list.

I think that's the reason why I want hand-checking back. It separates the men among boys. You really need to be skilled to really make an impact. But when you see guys like JJ Barea get a Bruce Bowen treatment in the playoffs, it has to make you think. I mean, Bowen gets routinely assigned to guys like Kobe, Tmac, Carter, Wade, Lebron...guys who you can D-Up on and still punish you, and Barea ran around him simply because well..he can run around him.

[enetric]

I agree with you. And its also a part of why I laugh at anyone being put on Jordan's level.

To me LBJ is the bet in the game because in addition to his talent at self creating, his size and strength that make him a unique hybrid of a player...he also has such fantastic basketball smarts...and simply uses it to make others better. But Kobe as great a player as he is...I do not find consistency in his ability to elevate his teammates. People like Jackson and Van Goofus sucking his ass on bad shots is the problem. We get lulled into a sugar coma watching the finesse and artisrty we actually begin to ignore whether or not he should have taken the shot in the first place.

Its bad enough you cant fart on the guy without a whistle...its another to see him making or missing horse shots while others are wide open and have to be insulted with Jordan level comments.

[SpeedyG]

I agree with LBJ having better smarts and feel for the game than Kobe. But pure talent wise? I still give it to Kobe. But then again, Kobe has had more years than Lebron. Once Lebron's fundamentals catches up to his physical and mental capacity of the game, sky's the limit.

[mikhailjordan]

I honestly don't think Lebron's feel for that game is all it's chalked up to be. From a passing standpoint it certainly is but he's still a major ball-stopper who refuses to move without the ball or work in the low post.

Lebron needs to be more willing to make passes that don't lead to assists.

[SpeedyG]

I honestly don't think Lebron's feel for that game is all it's chalked up to be. From a passing standpoint it certainly is but he's still a major ball-stopper who refuses to move without the ball or work in the low post.

Lebron needs to be more willing to make passes that don't lead to assists.

Nah he's got that in him. I think the problem is more with his cast. You need the 2nd player getting the ball to see the final pass for the "hockey assist" to work. He does need to develop more of a post game though. At his size and explosiveness, he can really make a living down there.