PC Board OT thread

[bondom34]

Just took a look at josh smith’s first 4 games and last 3 games in the clippers series:

First 4 games: 31.6% TS + 70 ORTG

Last 3 games: 68.7% TS + 130 ORTG

It's not like i won't give smith his due at all, but that’s just staggering. Shaking my head at the clippers a little more after seeing that.

Literally everything had to go Houston's way, and it did. I can't imagine Smith ever has a stretch like that again, it was unreal.

[Clyde Frazier]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/warriors/status/600880192509218816[/tweet]

[bondom34]

Curry still looks like a HS kid!

[ceiling raiser]

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/05/20/2014-15-nba-all-defensive-team-official-release/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

DAJ made the all-defensive first team...

I think this is the second year it's been voted on by sportswriters/broadcasters (as opposed to coaches), and this is definitely not a good look.

[Dr Spaceman]

I think this is the second year it's been voted on by sportswriters/broadcasters (as opposed to coaches), and this is definitely not a good look.

I'll say that the playoffs have really really improved Jordan's standing in my mind. He's a lot better than he looked during the RS. QRich3 had an amazing post about how Jordan had all the tools to be successful but simply couldn't stay engaged and focused for long stretches during the RS. After watching him closely in the playoffs, I'm buying this.

That said, he's not quite this good. Gasol is definitely the more deserving candidate, and Bogut too although his health issues make that tough. Cousins would get a nod based on talent as well. So yeah, he shouldn't be on this team, and definitely shouldn't have sniffed DPOY, but just wanted to say I think much more highly of him after the playoffs.

[Dr Spaceman]

Here's my take on the Clipper collapse:

https://rootingforgoliath.wordpress.com/2015/05/20/advanced-heartbreak-and-probabilistic-reasoning-exploring-the-clippers-collapse/

Been sick the past week or so so I've had a ton of time to watch, think, and write.

[RSCD3_]

I think this is the second year it's been voted on by sportswriters/broadcasters (as opposed to coaches), and this is definitely not a good look.

I'll say that the playoffs have really really improved Jordan's standing in my mind. He's a lot better than he looked during the RS. QRich3 had an amazing post about how Jordan had all the tools to be successful but simply couldn't stay engaged and focused for long stretches during the RS. After watching him closely in the playoffs, I'm buying this.

That said, he's not quite this good. Gasol is definitely the more deserving candidate, and Bogut too although his health issues make that tough. Cousins would get a nod based on talent as well. So yeah, he shouldn't be on this team, and definitely shouldn't have sniffed DPOY, but just wanted to say I think much more highly of him after the playoffs.

Gasol's defense was a lot weaker than his 2013 campaign but i agree he was also kind of going through the motions to conserve himself for playing playoff level defense. Also Cousins can absolutely anchor a top 5 defense IMO

[Doctor MJ]

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/05/20/2014-15-nba-all-defensive-team-official-release/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

DAJ made the all-defensive first team...

I think this is the second year it's been voted on by sportswriters/broadcasters (as opposed to coaches), and this is definitely not a good look.

I'll say what I've said before: Writers and players/coaches each have their typical issues, and one isn't necessarily better than the other depending on the award, but for an award based around defense I'd definitely give it to the writers. What you absolutely don't want for an award that requires 1) resistance to voting by reputation and 2) understanding of cutting edge stats are players/coaches because that's precisely what's wrong with them.

I'll also highlight the grand finale of coaches voting:

POSITION PLAYER, TEAM 1ST 2ND POINTS
Forward LeBron James, Miami 25 2 52
Forward Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City 17 12 46
Center Tyson Chandler, New York 9 6 24
Center Joakim Noah, Chicago 8 8 24
Guard Tony Allen, Memphis 25 3 53
Guard Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers 15 7 37

2012-13 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
POSITION PLAYER, TEAM 1ST 2ND POINTS
Forward Tim Duncan, San Antonio 3 14 20
Forward Paul George, Indiana 7 13 27
Center Marc Gasol, Memphis 5 2 12
Guard Avery Bradley, Boston 10 5 25
Guard Mike Conley, Memphis 4 11 19

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses):
Andre Iguodala, Denver, 16 (2); Larry Sanders, Milwaukee, 16 (4); Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City, 15 (2); Luol Deng, Chicago, 11 (1); Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers, 9 (3); Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (6 (1); Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 6 (2); Kenneth Faried, Denver, 4 (1); Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City, 4 (1); Shane Battier, Miami, 2; Nicolas Batum, Portland, 2 (1); Corey Brewer, Denver, 2; George Hill, Indiana, 2; Mike James, Dallas, 2 (1); Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio, 2, (1); Tony Parker, San Antonio, 2 (1); Dwyane Wade, Miami, 2; Metta World Peace, L.A. Lakers, 2 (1); Eric Bledsoe, L.A. Clippers, 1; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City, 1; Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia, 1; Andrei Kirilenko, Minnesota, 1; Iman Shumpert, New York, 1; David West, Indiana, 1.

Note that that's Marc Gasol, the DPOY, get named to the 2nd team while being the centers with the 4th most votes behind Chandler, Noah, and Sanders. They made a choice to purposefully miscategorize Sanders in addition to the ever-so convenient tie on the first so as not to have the DPOY miss out on All-D accolades altogether when quite clearly the coaches were saying: Marc Gasol didn't deserve anything like DPOY consideration if they were saying anything at all.

Of course if the coaches had been willing to come out and passionately talk about what a joke it was that Gasol won DPOY that would be potentially problematic, but would at least make it a debate. Instead the apparent coach's opinion got buried and coaches gave up the award the following year. To me it was a really clear sign that someone in charge simply recognized that the voters were not taking their duties seriously.

Re: Jordan specifically. I think it's important to remember that Jordan is precisely the type of player that would be a lock if the coach's were voting. I'd think higher of the writers if they truly went a different direction, but the reality is that both groups would have been duped, and the reason is Doc Rivers, Doc Rivers, Doc Rivers. Rivers encouraged Jordan to take on a role that focused on hoarding individual stats rather than truly focusing on defense, and then he proceeded to go harder for Jordan's DPOY candidacy that you almost ever see anyone do. People should have seen through it and thought less of Rivers for it right away, instead that will probably come this off-season when people overreact to the Clippers' loss.

[Dr Spaceman]

More Reggie Miller: "James Jones couldn't have shot any better unless it had gone in"

He's so unbearable. Spent the entire 4th talking about how LeBron was going to destroy Millsap despite Millsap defending him well literally right in front of his eyes.

I mean, half the stuff this dude says is just blatantly wrong. Like him as a player, but I can't take him as a commentator anymore.

[E-Balla]

More Reggie Miller: "James Jones couldn't have shot any better unless it had gone in"

He's so unbearable. Spent the entire 4th talking about how LeBron was going to destroy Millsap despite Millsap defending him well literally right in front of his eyes.

I mean, half the stuff this dude says is just blatantly wrong. Like him as a player, but I can't take him as a commentator anymore.

I was killing Reggie and Webb in the thread for this. They were saying it as Millsap was literally guarding him well and didn't stop until Lereke missed 5 straight. I've come to accept that there's only like 5 commentators that deserve their jobs and care about their jobs. TNT is based in Atlanta you'd think they'd know Millsap was a quick footed 6-7 PF like Brandon Bass.

[bondom34]

I'm a huge Reggie fan as a player, but whoa.....sheesh.

[Dr Spaceman]

Lereke

Excellent.

I've come to accept that there's only like 5 commentators that deserve their jobs and care about their jobs.

Both networks have two quality play by play guys. Albert, Harlan, Breen, and Tirico are all extremely professional and do a great job. Breen's voice can be grating, but I just love the energy he puts into his broadcasts and it's easy to feed off, and he does an amazing job of selling tense moments.

But man the state of color commentators right now is so bad. Shoutout to Brent Barry, who I believe is brand new this year, who is legitimately very intelligent, can diagnose what's happening on the floor, and isn't at all afraid to use statistics. And honestly after most broadcasts I can actually say I learned something from Brent. He's fantastic. Jon Barry on the other hand is a disaster in every way, as is Reggie and god forbid when they let Chuck do commentary. Hubie is fine but doesn't add anything and is probably just trying to not stay bored during retirement. I do like JVG although I get why people think he's obnoxious. Everyone else ranges from mediocre to downright bad.

[Texas Chuck]

^ Every game not called by the Breen/JVG/Jackson crew I want to just turn the sound off. For me Breen is clearly the cream of the crop of the play by play guys. He does a great job of adding to the excitement of the big moments. JVG is by far the smartest analyst going and he's not afraid to criticize guys something all the former players are loathe to do. Jackson isn't great, but I don't mind him as much as most.


Now take my opinion with a grain of salt because those 3 guys were the soundtrack to the Mavs championship run in 2011 and so that may honestly be raising by opinion of them, but I've always loved Breen and both Van Gundy's.

I'd like to see Chauncey get a shot. Or maybe Nash if he wants to stay in the game.

[The-Power]

^ Every game not called by the Breen/JVG/Jackson crew I want to just turn the sound off. For me Breen is clearly the cream of the crop of the play by play guys. He does a great job of adding to the excitement of the big moments. JVG is by far the smartest analyst going and he's not afraid to criticize guys something all the former players are loathe to do. Jackson isn't great, but I don't mind him as much as most.

It's annoying as hell when JVG and MJ start ranting or discussing about some topic for hours and hours while the game is going on. I mean, even when great stuff happens on the court they simply don't care about it because they have to keep a random rant going. "Oh, a contested step-back three to tie the game with two minutes left, but let's get back to the important talk - man, it's unfair to criticize the coach for not drinking enough apple juice, I will never understand this kind of agenda and strawberry juice is better for your health anyway." Great entertainment and insight.

[Mutnt]

Reggie is nowhere near one of my favorite casters out there but he certainly doesn't come off as annoying as you guys are claiming he is, at least to me personally. I find Mark Jackson far more unbearable.

Breen/JVG/Jackson will probably call the Finals which is fine by me. I'd prefer someone else over Jackson but whatever.

[Dr Spaceman]

^ Every game not called by the Breen/JVG/Jackson crew I want to just turn the sound off. For me Breen is clearly the cream of the crop of the play by play guys. He does a great job of adding to the excitement of the big moments. JVG is by far the smartest analyst going and he's not afraid to criticize guys something all the former players are loathe to do. Jackson isn't great, but I don't mind him as much as most.

It's annoying as hell when JVG and MJ start ranting or discussing about some topic for hours and hours while the game is going on. I mean, even when great stuff happens on the court they simply don't care about it because they have to keep a random rant going. "Oh, a contested step-back three to tie the game with two minutes left, but let's get back to the important talk - man, it's unfair to criticize the coach for not drinking enough apple juice, I will never understand this kind of agenda and strawberry juice is better for your health anyway." Great entertainment and insight.

Yeah, their banter is great at times but it drags on for far too long most of the time.

Hate to say this but the coaching stint in GSW really deflated MJAX. He used to be pretty passionate and his catchphrases at least sounded okay when he acted like he enjoyed saying them. His comedic timing used to be pretty good as well. This season He's basically been mailing it in and hunting opportunities to take shots at guys he still has grudges against, you can just tell he doesn't care.

An underrated aspect of Mike Breen is that he has a knack for egging these two on and goading them into saying controversial stuff. He knows exactly what buttons to push to get JVG going without being controversial himself. JVG is a smart dude, but I hate how he acts like coaches are always above reproach.

Overall though agree with Chuck that they're the best current commentary group by a margin.

[Dr Spaceman]

Reggie is nowhere near one of my favorite casters out there but he certainly doesn't come off as annoying as you guys are claiming he is, at least to me personally. I find Mark Jackson far more unbearable.

I generally agree with you, but last night he was particularly annoying. Not sure if you watched the game, but he truly was above and beyond.

Reggie is mostly harmless. He's not going to contribute anything really, but he's also not going to actively sabotage a broadcast the way, say, Jon Barry does. He says a lot of things that are clearly wrong.

Slight negative on the whole I'd say. Usually I'm okay with him like you, but honestly he really really got on my nerves last night, especially with the Millsap stuff. I mean he was basically making fun of a player as he was playing excellent defense on the best player in the world.

[bondom34]

Reggie is nowhere near one of my favorite casters out there but he certainly doesn't come off as annoying as you guys are claiming he is, at least to me personally. I find Mark Jackson far more unbearable.

I generally agree with you, but last night he was particularly annoying. Not sure if you watched the game, but he truly was above and beyond.

Reggie is mostly harmless. He's not going to contribute anything really, but he's also not going to actively sabotage a broadcast the way, say, Jon Barry does. He says a lot of things that are clearly wrong.

Slight negative on the whole I'd say. Usually I'm okay with him like you, but honestly he really really got on my nerves last night, especially with the Millsap stuff. I mean he was basically making fun of a player as he was playing excellent defense on the best player in the world.

Yeah, I'd agree. He's not an overly aggressive homer, and doesn't seem biased, he just has a sort of way of speaking that I think goes w/ a lot of ex players. Its similar in a way to guys like Chuck or Shaq analyzing at halftime, its not really knowledgeable per se, but its from what they interpret possibly as players.

[E-Balla]

Reggie Miller and Jon Barry are the absolute pits and I honestly believe each All Star Saturday was made at least 10 times worse by Reggie Miller. JVG, Breen, and Jackson are great and I love Jackson and his stupid Jackson-isms (especially the long drawn out sequences at the end of the quarters. They're hilarious).

Brent and JVG are clearly the best though with Marv, Breen, and Tirico all being great too.

[Texas Chuck]

I'll add that I'm more interested in being entertained rather than being informed by my broadcast crew. Now its really cool when you get an ex-player or coach who really shares some next-level insight and point out some things that I'm not seeing. But since that so rarely happens I just want them to add some flavor to the experience.

My least favorite thing is the ex-player who reminds us 83 times in the broadcast that he used to play--and yes I'm talking about you, Chris Webber. Webber may be the worst analyst going right now. He never points out anything worth noting, he's extremely mono-toned the whole time, and he can't help but take subtle shots at the bigs he used to go at. Webber is way worse than Reggie imo.