no doubt
it was quite pleasing
i was worried when Horford got in foul trouble in the opening minutes
still......lakers aren't really the concern. they moved past Boston who lost to Thundarrrr into 3rd place....that means a date w/ Orlando in the 2nd round and there is no way they win more than 1 or 2 games in that series, i'm terrified of them

Well, I hope it shakes out well for your guys. They seem to be a fun team to watch. I haven't
watched much NBA this year. Getting ready to belt in for 2 months of playoff basketball though.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

how did you see it? was it on nba tv? or do you have league pass?

I watched the highlights on ESPN I usually watch SC every morning at
4:30 am so I can sort of have a Cliffs Notes version of what is going on in the league
before I go to work.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

oh i was just wondering...i mean i see you post in the NBA forum every now and then but didnt think you were hardcore enough to have league pass..I was just curious since it wasn't a nationally televised game...i thought maybe they put it on NBA TV or something

No, I stopped being hardcore probably 7 or 8 years ago. Right before
LeBron came into the league. I'll tune in for the playoffs though. I
still enjoy reading the thread.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Absolutely cant wait for tonight. I'm becoming a big believer in the Jazz and this should be a fun game. Atlanta/Cleveland is just as intriguing. It'll be nice to get to just chill and watch a couple of NBA games with some of the best teams.

As for the Spurs, it's obvius they need Manu, Duncan, and Parker all completely healthy to have a shot. But the point is that if they do have them, they DO have a shot. I hope Manu doesnt run out of gas before the postseason even starts though. With Hill and Blair making big contributions(especially Hill), they are probably the deepest they've been since 2005. The window might be closing, but it's not shut.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Terrible blow for the Bucks last night. Bogut had a really nasty fall and is out for the season. That sucks, because Milwaukee was a very interesting team heading into the playoffs.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

That was a fun 4th quarter of Cavs/C's. One overlooked angle heading into the playoffs IMO is that while Boston obviously shouldnt be the favorites, they are going to be a really tough out. That team is going to be hard as hell to eliminate. I think it will take a Game 7 in Cleveland to do it. I think alot of people forget that the C's took the Magic to 7 games last season without KG, better than the Cavs fared against them.

Nice to see Jesus in 1998 form today. There are very few games left like this he has in left in his tank.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Agreed. How good of a coach is Skiles?

The Lakers are starting to worry me. I'm not so sure they are making their Bulls run thru the season. Kobe looks like he lost a step or two since the start of the season.

_________________

I think Skiles is alot better than people give him credit for. He's won everywhere he's gone. He did a decent job with the Suns, took the Bulls as far as they could possibly go and now has turned that Bucks around. His big knocks are the early exits from the playoffs

_________________
"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

I agree with you Nas. I know I said a few pages back when talking about the Spurs chances in the playoffs that the Lakers were the only team i was really confident of. I'm not sure about even that anymore. Kobe does look like he's lost a step. In the past few days in the Atlanta game and in the Spurs game, he seems frustrated w/ both himself and his teammates, chippy...not himself. I though the Spurs were playing good defense on him for the most part. I think Van Gundy or Jackson might have mentioned it to, but I feel the same way- w/o Bynum in there, that really hurts them. One of the their big advantages imo is their size- Bynum, Odom, Artest, Gasol...w/o Bynum in the middle the Spurs were getting inside a lot. Plus the Lakers bench has really faltered of late. their bench gave them absolutely nothing yesterday, and w/o Odom off the bench now weakens it even more.

It's really looking like the final playoff spot in the East is going to come down to Sunday's game with the Bulls in Toronto. The Bulls are currently one game back, and Toronto has 3 games this week against 4 of the Top teams in the east (Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta). I think they lose all 3 of those, and the Bulls come into Toronto on Sunday in a tie for the 8th spot.

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Skiles is an awesome coach. In a league where there are precious few really great coaches, I would put him at the top of the second tier of coaches. I'd only take Popovich, Larry Brown, Phil Jackson ahead of him for sure. Nate McMillan, Rick Carlisle, and Rick Adelman are right up there too.

I agree DB on the playoff spot. I think the Bulls get it. We'll see. Jay Triano really is an awful coach. I started laughing out loud this morning when I was watching Sportscenter and Don Nelson stood up when they were up by 3 with a "Oh shit, if I actually do some coaching here, I can tie Lenny" look on his face and then ordered the foul on Bosh. That was priceless. He needs to retire.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

As for the Lakers, they are still the clear West favorites. I think Cleveland, Orlando, and Boston arent afraid of them though. I made a $50 bet with my buddy he took the Lakers to win it all and gave me the field. So I'll be rooting against them like usual, except with a reason this time. I think the Spurs and Mavs could beat them. They're too big even without Bynum to lose to the Suns or Jazz imo. I feel bad for Denver because I think the Karl situation could be detrimental to their chances.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yeah, Nellie's been semi-retired since about 2001.

_________________
Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

based on that, what about his comment that the players wanted it more than he did?

BTW... I'm a moron for forgetting Jerry Sloan. He should win COY finally. Him, Phil, Pops, and Brown make up my first tier.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

This isn't really a discussion about a game, but I didn't want to start a new thread about it.

Why is there always a discussion to bring Coach K in to coach in the NBA? The Nets were rumored to be offering him $12-$15 million to coach next year. That would make him the highest paid coach in league history. What could he possibly do to make that team better? He would likely tarnish his reputation if he made that jump also. You could make Vinny the coach of that team and probably get the same results within about 5 games. The Nets are about 4 players away from being a factor in the east, they should be spending that money to fix that problem first, then worry about a coach.

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I agree...I think the rationale is likely that the Nets are not at all relevant, and getting a big name like Coach K would be making a big splash. Perhaps the thinking is like Golden State- if you're going to be bad at least be entertaining. Not saying that Coach K would be entertaining, but at least it would generate buzz and sell tickets. I know, I think it's ludicrous to attend a game or get excited at all about a coach, but I think there really are a lot of people out there who would think getting a Coach K would get them into the playoffs.

And I can't see what job could possibly open up in the NBA that Coach K would even consider- maybe if the Lakers signed LeBron and Phil retired. You're right, he has it all now, why give that up at this point in his life/career

Coach K definitely would have a better impact than Vinny. I think he's worth 7-8 more wins a season than Vinny, although thats just a semi-educated guess since he's never coached in the league. Coaches do have a significant impact on the NBA contrary to popular belief.

I do agree though that it's stupid to offer him that much money, and likewise it would be just as stupid for him to accept it. I dont see why he would ever consider leaving Duke.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

absolutely insane game just ending now w/ the Jazz and Thunder

140-139 in OT

just play after incredible play

i don't care either...this game was about 10 times better than the national title game last night.

you know what, fuck JA Adande too for his ESPN article that the Thunder won't do anything because Durant didn't get a call on the final shot of the game.

The highlights from that Thunder/Jazz game were very exciting. Anyone who draws OKC in the first round has to be a little worried going into it.

Bosh got fucked up last night with that elbow he took. If he is out, Toronto is finished. Then again the Bulls will still have to win one game, so stay tuned...

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Yeah I caught NBA Fastbreak at 11:30 last night and it pissed me off. The host(some dude from Sportscenter) was asking Jamal Mashburn about the West and said "OK Jamal, we'll obviously take out the Thunder because of their youth and the Trailblazers because of their injuries, other than that who has a chance to do damage in the playoffs?"

That's kinda a bullshit statement from a host who is supposed to let the analysts do the analyzing. Nothing about OKC or Portland's play has demonstrated that either will be an easy out come playoff time.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Any team with Durant can be a tough out come playoff time

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i'm coming around to rpb's opinion....after kobe and lebron i'd rate Durant #3

So.... he might be better than Joe Johnson?

I'd still have Wade solidly ahead of him, but yeah he's right there. He has a great chance to be one of the best scorers in NBA history.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Just read the Dime. Yeah that was a stupid article to write. Kinda like I was saying about the Fastbreak question, I think it's bullshit that they would imply for any reason that some of these teams have NO chance. It's not like the Bulls/Raps fighting to be the Cavs sacrificial lamb. Everything we've seen from the Thunder makes them seem like a legitimate threat in the West, although personally I do agree they are a year or two away. If Bosh was smart he'd sign with them and they'd instantly be the favorites to win it all IMO.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

well yeah that, but to also suggest that a series will come down to officiating is ludicrous. yeah joke all you want about donaghy and all that crap, but the entire article is based on one call in one game. Durant doesn't get any calls???? he shoots like 20 FT's a game!!!