NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 2

[FAH1223]

It's just plain wrong that one of Dallas, Phoenix or Memphis (all of whom are at 14 or 15 games above .500) is going to miss the playoffs in the West, while Atlanta or New York (both of whom are at 11-13 games below .500) is going to make it in the East.

I think conferences have to be re-done

Put Memphis in the East

and then put some team like Detroit in the West

[dlts20]

Man the Pacers have looked like crap lately. Think about this. We just beat them, we always give Miami hell, and we are cap;able of beating every other team in the East ofcourse. Weve upgraded a ton with Dre & Gooden and will have Nene coming back. We could shock the world if things go right.

Unlike most, I always wanted to play Indy over Mia. We have always matched up great with the Heat but They still have super duper stars and guys who can dominante a series. Ill take going against Indy's talent all day over Lebron & Wade. Now that they look like crap, I truly believe that. Then you add in the fact that the Pacers pretty much go how Paul George goes but we have a guy in a Ariza who can play him lights out. George would have trouble with hm.

We also know that they dont have guys like Miami who can go for 40 and most of the time they wont score a ton. The key is the Witt-Wall-Nene thing. Witt has to make the right decisions if the floor spacing isnt right. Nene is still clearly our 2nd best player but Wall is clearly our best and you have to do whats best for him. Our team goes by Wall goes and if the spacing isnt right then I say start Gooden or Al. If you want to start Nene then fine but treat him kinda like Booker. Bring him out early like with 4-6min left so you can bring in the other bigs to space the floor for Wall. Then bring Nene back in to dominate the 2nd unit like Beal should be doing

[LyricalRico]

Man the Pacers have looked like crap lately. Think about this. We just beat them, we always give Miami hell, and we are cap;able of beating every other team in the East ofcourse. Weve upgraded a ton with Dre & Gooden and will have Nene coming back. We could shock the world if things go right.

[FAH1223]

The Pacers are frauds. Paul George is talking about this team not being hungry or motivated and these guys haven't even been in the NBA Finals. LOL.

Miami is winning the conference and will win it rather easily. If they play SA for the title again though, they are definitely not winning this time around.

[Illmatic21]

Man the Pacers have looked like crap lately. Think about this. We just beat them, we always give Miami hell, and we are cap;able of beating every other team in the East ofcourse. Weve upgraded a ton with Dre & Gooden and will have Nene coming back. We could shock the world if things go right.

I would almost not want that to happen, if it led to the man in your avy being retained

[FAH1223]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/johnschuhmann/status/450484965378383872[/tweet]

[Ruzious]

This is the time of year when fans get delusional. Playoffs are not the regular season. Playoffs are when the cream rises to the top - and it's the time when teams like Miami and Indiana destroy teams like Washington.

[mohammed10]

This is the time of year when fans get delusional. Playoffs are not the regular season. Playoffs are when the cream rises to the top - and it's the time when teams like Miami and Indiana destroy teams like Washington.

Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ruz! jk

While I tend to agree with you, the cream is still being whitted from the chaff in the East. Generously stated, Indiana is struggling and Miami looks older (at the very least, they are not firing on all cyliders - heck, no one in the East is!).

On any given night, we can give any playoff team a run for their money. Not delusions, just stating facts. Whether that happens the rest of the way remains to be seen.

[closg00]

The Pacers have looked terrible and they under-performed in their last playoff appearance IMO. I am beginning to wonder if they will step-up at all.

[Ruzious]

This is the time of year when fans get delusional. Playoffs are not the regular season. Playoffs are when the cream rises to the top - and it's the time when teams like Miami and Indiana destroy teams like Washington.

Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ruz! jk

While I tend to agree with you, the cream is still being whitted from the chaff in the East. Generously stated, Indiana is struggling and Miami looks older (at the very least, they are not firing on all cyliders - heck, no one in the East is!).

On any given night, we can give any playoff team a run for their money. Not delusions, just stating facts. Whether that happens the rest of the way remains to be seen.

Yeah, that's what Bucks fans were saying before Miami destroyed them in 4 - Wade is on his last legs, Bosh is soft, etc, etc. Splat.

[mohammed10]

Yeah, that's what Bucks fans were saying before Miami destroyed them in 4 - Wade is on his last legs, Bosh is soft, etc, etc. Splat.

Touche...

I am not calling for us to play either in the opening round. I'd rather we take our chances with Chicago or Toronto (who has pretty much owned us this year).

[FAH1223]

Miami was coming off a 27 game win streak this time last year.

The Pacers were better in the 2nd half of the year

The Spurs were playing .500 this time last year.

So it is true that the playoffs is a new season. But I don't see IND turning it on.

MIA is proven and should win the conference very easily with Wade healthy.

[Illmatic21]

There could be some playoff surprises this year, but I can assure you that the Wizards will not be involved. There is nothing about the construction of this team and it's coaching that gives me confidence in a 7-game playoff series.

The team I could potentially see shaking things up is the Nets

[Ruzious]

Yeah, that's what Bucks fans were saying before Miami destroyed them in 4 - Wade is on his last legs, Bosh is soft, etc, etc. Splat.

Touche...

I am not calling for us to play either in the opening round. I'd rather we take our chances with Chicago or Toronto (who has pretty much owned us this year).

I totally agree that the Wiz can beat anyone in the East other than Miami or Indy. I wouldn't put a lot of emphasis on how the Wiz have matched up against teams in the regular season. We've handled Brooklyn and got wooped by Toronto, but Brooklyn's got veterans who will get big calls in a close game, and Toronto has no playoff experience - so I don't thinks it's a slam dunk to rather play Brooklyn. And Chicago's got the great defensive coach and extreme hustle player in Noah. Still, I think the Bulls are the weakest team, because they lack offensive firepower. Augustine can be defended, and Butler's offense has never impressed me. I think Gortat and Nene match up well with Chi's bigs. If Beal at least proves to be a decent threat in the playoffs, the Wiz win, imo.

[dobrojim]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/johnschuhmann/status/450484965378383872[/tweet]

While it's partly true that defenses win championships, you gotta at least
have some ability to score the ball (weird new terminology we have in the last few years).

Indy is having trouble breaking the 80 mark. Hard to win that way no matter how good
your defense is.

Nivek, if you see this, please remind me (and rest of the board) what the four factors
generally most significant in winning games was. I wanna drop that on Glen.

[dobrojim]

This is the time of year when fans get delusional. Playoffs are not the regular season. Playoffs are when the cream rises to the top - and it's the time when teams like Miami and Indiana destroy teams like Washington.

Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ruz! jk

While I tend to agree with you, the cream is still being whitted from the chaff in the East. Generously stated, Indiana is struggling and Miami looks older (at the very least, they are not firing on all cyliders - heck, no one in the East is!).

On any given night, we can give any playoff team a run for their money. Not delusions, just stating facts. Whether that happens the rest of the way remains to be seen.

true but that's where the 7 game series issue becomes important. An inferior team
can win a game or 2, much harder to win 4 before the superior team does.
This ain't the NCAAs

[closg00]

Hahaha. Just look at the first 20 picks. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the players there are getting minutes with 2 notable exceptions: Ves and Singleton.

OUCH!! I think u just inspired a sig. Thx!

[Kanyewest]

Indiana moves don't look that good right now.

They gave Paul George the max. Looks like it could have waited-(FYI John Wall might be the 2nd best player in the East- or at least the best player in the East not on the Miami Heat). Although I really can't blame them.

They traded Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a first round pick for Luis Scola. Scola spreads the floor but the Suns would have won this trade if they had just traded Scola straight up for either Green or Plumlee. DJ Augustine is also tearing it up with the Bulls. I thought Vogel was one of the best coaches in the NBA but figuring that he couldn't get much from his bench especially in the postseason makes me wonder if Indiana needs to go in a different direction- or if it is just that Thibs and Hornacek are just so great that make even good coaches look dumb.

David West looks like he's declining. Even Hibbert isn't doing that great, as a 7 footer, he's only shooting 45% from the field. That's shades of the pre-out of shape Andray Blatche.

The Evan Turner trade doesn't look good now although it is possible for it to come together in the postseason.

Maybe it all goes away if Indiana steps up their defensive intensity in the postseason which they haven't really shown recently except the Miami Heat.

[Nivek]

Kanyewest: Good point on Hibbert. My numbers indicate he's been pretty average this season. I keep hearing tale of his phenomenal defense, but the numbers suggest his defensive impact may be overstated. What the numbers seem to be saying this season is that Indiana is terrific defensively both with and without Hibbert on the floor. And, he's not very efficient on offense either.

There's a reason that Evan Turner trade isn't working out:

Spoiler:

Turner isn't a good NBA player. In fact, he's well below average.

[FAH1223]

Hibbert and George taking shots at each other in the media

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/3/31/5 ... fish-dudes

Paul George thinks Gortat is Defensive Player of the Year. LOL!

Hibbert openly talking about PG, Lance not feeding the bigs or moving the ball.