2013-2014 NBA Thread - IND @ WAS and OKC @ LAC on ESPN

[antidope]

 

[AEA18]

My main man rondo was out there being great

18 assists

And 0 turnovers. First time that's been done since '07.

 

[parada45]

I'm going to the Bobcats at Wiz game on Wednesday and remembered what Rose said lol

 

[bhzmafia14]

I'll rather see Golden State play the Spurs in the 1st round. I think they are more likely to upset them than anyone.

Spurs vs Warriors
Thunder vs Grizzlies
Rockets vs Mavs
Clippers vs Blazers

:x

 

[lawdog1]

I'll rather see Golden State play the Spurs in the 1st round. I think they are more likely to upset them than anyone.

Spurs vs Warriors
Thunder vs Grizzlies
Rockets vs Mavs
Clippers vs Blazers

:x

Crazy. There's literally no playoff match up that could happen in the West where you can say the lower seed has no chance. I think the weakest team out of the current 8 is the Mavs and I could even see them upsetting someone if Dirk were to get really hot.

 

[imlive365]

I'll rather see Golden State play the Spurs in the 1st round. I think they are more likely to upset them than anyone.

Spurs vs Warriors
Thunder vs Grizzlies
Rockets vs Mavs
Clippers vs Blazers

:x

GS played the spurs well last year also. In pretty sure they blew a higr lead in San Antonio in one of the games to

 

[bonafide hustla]

I agree but the gif was more in reference to the airball by Westbrook at the 32sec mark. Read this by some OKC reporters and I would agree.

Nuggets from my notebook from Sunday's loss to the Lakers
Pinpointing the cause of the Thunder’s problem was tricky before this game. Not after. I wrote about it for Monday’s paper. This team is no longer playing for each other. Too many guys have different agendas. Too many are doing their own thing. Too many are playing for the wrong reasons. Kevin Durant is gunning for his first most valuable player award. Reggie Jackson is playing for a lucrative extension this summer. Russell Westbrook is working himself back into shape. It’s selfish basketball, the kind we’ve rarely seen take shape in OKC. It doesn’t define all 48 minutes. But it’s seen in stretches. Far too many of them. The Thunder simply isn’t playing with the right focus. Winning simply hasn’t been the sole mission. Other objectives, various things for various players, are being targeted while winning stands as the greater goal. But that’s become a problem.
Kevin Durant’s triple-double was the unfortunate example of that in this one. He had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists after one quarter. And after checking back in with 7:58 left in the second, he spent the entire quarter padding his stats, searching for the assists he would need to notch the triple-double. It was obvious what he was doing, and it was a bad decision once the Lakers started mounting a comeback.
Durant took just one shot in the final eight minutes of the second quarter. It came with 43 seconds left. My guess is he felt comfortable enough with an 18-point lead to start manipulating the game and playing for numbers. It backfired. Because while he was padding his stats, the Lakers were storming back, cutting an 18-point deficit to two. Durant didn’t score in the period. Didn’t get to the stripe, either. The Lakers were taking command of the game, seizing all the momentum, and the best scorer on the planet got up just one shot while it was happening. That was a problem.
In Durant’s defense, he made some really good passes during that stretch. Deliberate, no doubt. But good nonetheless. He got teammates Derek Fisher, Caron Butler and Serge Ibaka quality looks. They missed. But that’s where Durant should have stopped passing it to them. Ordinarily, it’s ideal to continue to trust your teammates. But the Lakers were rallying and yet Durant continued to be consumed with getting his assists up.
I wonder if the MVP race is getting to Durant’s head. Forget what he says. Study his play. One night after LeBron James scored 61 points, Durant answered with 42 through three quarters. Today, Durant was hellbent on getting a resume-boosting triple-double. His missing free throws — perhaps the most mental thing in the game — at a relatively alarming rate. All these things are potential signs that it’s weighing on him. And how could it not? Despite what Durant or anyone on his team says, this award matters to him. A lot. It would be his first one and would be another step toward solidifying his place in the game’s history. It seems natural for this race to seep inside his head.

while i agree with this to some degree, dude is reaching with the gunning for MVP talks. How can their defense not be mentioned at all?

KD was passing based off being double teamed. His approach was the exact same as it was the entire first season at facilitator. These cats need to play some defense. I think Westbrook should focus more on defense and let KD run the offensive show. He's an absolute bulldog in terms of heckling his man, tracking down rebounds, etc. offensively, he can lean towards the transition game to get going because thats where he's most effective anyways. He needs to expend his energy elsewhere and having a bulldog harrassing the 1/2 positions is super valuable.

 

[dman14]

I'll rather see Golden State play the Spurs in the 1st round. I think they are more likely to upset them than anyone.

Spurs vs Warriors
Thunder vs Grizzlies
Rockets vs Mavs
Clippers vs Blazers

:x

Crazy. There's literally no playoff match up that could happen in the West where you can say the lower seed has no chance. I think the weakest team out of the current 8 is the Mavs and I could even see them upsetting someone if Dirk were to get really hot.

i think portland is the weakest. jump shooting, still a lack of depth, and not much experience. then again, winning at the rose garden is gonna be a tough task.
i could see dirk getting hot and winning a couple gms and making it interesting. veteran players, a go to guy in dirk in the clutch, and a damn good coach

 

[awwsome]

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

Just play defense Harden, you got it all

 

[CP1708]

You guys realize that every single year this same argument comes up about how tough the West is, the first round will be a war, we all get excited, etc etc, and every year the 1-2-3 seeds win their series 4-1 or some ****.

It usually ends up anticlimactic as a mutha, this year probably won't be any different. As much as we'd all like to see complete chaos, the top seeds generally advance in easy fashion.

 

[suberzat1]

Crazy. There's literally no playoff match up that could happen in the West where you can say the lower seed has no chance. I think the weakest team out of the current 8 is the Mavs and I could even see them upsetting someone if Dirk were to get really hot.

Yea I can say that to but I would put my money on the Mavs over the Blazers tho

 

[do work son]

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

Just play defense Harden, you got it all

I won't front like he's a great defender because he's not, but he's actually a pretty good low post defender. I've seen him play pretty good defense against David Lee, Wesley Matthews, lamarcus Aldridge last night etc

 

[suberzat1]

Rockets should have advance last year

 

[bhzmafia14]

You guys realize that every single year this same argument comes up about how tough the West is, the first round will be a war, we all get excited, etc etc, and every year the 1-2-3 seeds win their series 4-1 or some ****.

It usually ends up anticlimactic as a mutha, this year probably won't be any different. As much as we'd all like to see complete chaos, the top seeds generally advance in easy fashion.

eh, I think this year is a little different compared to previous years. It really depends on who matchups with who.

If we see the matchups I posted, I think each series can possibly go at least 6 games. If we see something like:

Spurs vs Grizz
Thunder vs Mavs
Clippers vs Warriors
Rockets vs Blazers

Then, I think you will see more series go 5 games. The right matchups have to fall in place.

 

[grandtheftbike]

Not sure if antidope can handle another gsw vs sas matchup

 

[Chester McFloppy]

As long as I get a Grizz/Clips matchup in the playoffs, I'll be happy.

 

[do work son]

You love Blake Griffin so much, it's disturbing.

 

[CP1708]

You guys realize that every single year this same argument comes up about how tough the West is, the first round will be a war, we all get excited, etc etc, and every year the 1-2-3 seeds win their series 4-1 or some ****.

It usually ends up anticlimactic as a mutha, this year probably won't be any different. As much as we'd all like to see complete chaos, the top seeds generally advance in easy fashion.

eh, I think this year is a little different compared to previous years. It really depends on who matchups with who.

.

We say that every year too.

We'll say it next year

And the year after

And the year....

 

[IATT]

the suns loss.. and now this lakers loss 

gerald green goes off (41 pts).. and yesterday it's jodie meeks (42 pts)

 

[Peep Game]

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

Just play defense Harden, you got it all

I won't front like he's a great defender because he's not, but he's actually a pretty good low post defender. I've seen him play pretty good defense against David Lee, Wesley Matthews, lamarcus Aldridge last night etc

That Harden/Lee matchup was hilarious, cause it was supposed to be an advantage for Lee, but Lee was getting stifled like Shaq was guarding him

 

[dman14]

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

Just play defense Harden, you got it all

I won't front like he's a great defender because he's not, but he's actually a pretty good low post defender. I've seen him play pretty good defense against David Lee, Wesley Matthews, lamarcus Aldridge last night etc

That Harden/Lee matchup was hilarious, cause it was supposed to be an advantage for Lee, but Lee was getting stifled like Shaq was guarding him

he's a solid low post defender. harden is very strong and rarely do you see guys back him down. it's just chasing guys off screens where he lacks the focus.

 

[awwsome]

he's a solid low post defender. harden is very strong and rarely do you see guys back him down. it's just chasing guys off screens where he lacks the focus.

& cheating off his man to get steals
& allowing penetration off the dribble
& help defense

But true he is strong and isn't easy to post up at all which is a great aspect when he switches on to 3's and 4's

 

[steebie j]

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

 

[do work son]

 

[markangelo]

 

James Harden is the first player since MJ to have 41 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists and and 6 steals.

Greatness

MVP love