Arena The NBA Thread

Yeah, I don't see Harden as a franchise centerpiece. Love him as the third best player, like him as second...but #1 option? Eh. Kevin Martin is a a pretty good player, maybe 60-70% of Harden, and you pick up some young pieces and draft picks and who knows what happens? Lamb certainly has all the physical tools to be a very good NBA player. Its gotta be disappointing for OKC fans to lose Harden, but this gives them a lot more flexibility going forward without losing too much.

 

martin is a great shooter but doesn't bring the intangibles and the ability to penetrate and dish that harden does. if someone can convince westbrook to kick the ball out once in a while when the entire defense collapses around him, instead of always thinking shoot first and taking off balance jumpers, this offense could be as dangerous as ever.

 

Now we get to see how good Harden really is. But I still think the Rockets got a steal here.

 

definitely not a steal. harden is talented and young, but i can't see any other team offering up two first rounders and a 20 ppg scorer. i think that's why okc jumped at this deal.

 

Before I post my hopeful, excited, happy post, there is this:

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...-game-time-decision-los-angeles-lakers-opener

It would probably be better to rest the foot for a game, but I would be shocked if Kobe actually missed the opener.

http://blog.pe.com/jim-alexander/2012/10/29/column-even-with-new-lakers-deals-some-still-shut-out/

Count me as those still shutout, as I've got DirectTV. A deal BETTER GET DONE! But, enough of that negative crap...







... the season begins tomorrow night! Set aside the fact that it's so great to have a full 82 game season again, I just can't wait to see the new look starting five (or starting 4 for tomorrow night if Kobe doesn't play) in action. It will take a bit of of time to get fully used to thesight of seeing Nash in a Laker uni (because it's just so damn bizarre that he's a Laker), but I'm sure as hell going to appreciate/soak in his time here in La La Land. Same, obviously, for Dwight (and hopefully his tenure with the Lakers ends in about 8-12 years), though it's less bizarre to see him in purple & gold. There's not a chance in hell that I'm going to pencil in the Lakers for a spot in The Finals, or even the Western Conference Finals (because they have, despite the addition of Jamison & Meeks, bench issues, to go along with the high risk of injury among the starting 5), but I do like their chances, and hope to see it happen. It will be like Christmas Day (back in the days in which I enjoyed Christmas) for me tomorrow, because along with the big picture stuff, there's all the little stuff I love to devour during a Lakers season (Jack appearances/who else among the courtside regulars is in attendance for any given game, how the TWC channel will look compared to FS West/Channel 9, lurking through The Laker Nation forums, etc.)


A few non-Laker related intrigue for me this season:

-Can Brooklyn be more than a shiny new franchise for NYC/the Eastern Conference?

-Over/under Charlotte Bobcat victories: 20

-What will become of the Sacramento Kings (ie: will they eventually be moved to Seattle)?

-The annual noise & hype over the Knicks, who may or may not get out of the 1st round of the playoffs

-The Heat... how will they defend their title?

-Can the Clippers have an even better season than the 2011-2012 campaign?

-Can Dallas make the playoffs, and if they do, can they get out of the first round?

-Marc Stein's weekly NBA power rankings article on ESPN (ok, this will be slightly Lakers related )

-Can Cleveland be a threat to make the playoffs?

-Will Indiana improve upon their increasing rise in the East or regress?

 

I think you're in a decided minority there. I daresay last year's truncated NBA season was the most exciting in years. Who cares about the NBA right after the MLB post-season just wrapped up and the NFL is in full-swing?

 

I can't stand that line of thinking, I really can't. So what if the NFL season is in full swing? People can't pay attention to more than one thing (especially since the NFL is only played 3 days a week? I really don't care if the broader sports consortium (ie: fans, the media ) doesn't begin to fully pay attention to the NBA around Christmas, enough people do notice/care from the very start. Damn it.

 

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/sto...s-season-opener-postponed-due-hurricane-sandy


I'm a bit surprised by this, considering that a lot of public transit around the area will likely still be unavailable for use.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400277721

A niiiiiiiiiiiiice win for Cleveland I must say.

 

Minus the 16-0 run to start the 4th quarter they allowed, yes, a very good win for Cleveland. Nice game for Andy, too.

 

L*kers lost.

 

loved watching the lakers lose at home on opening night to a mavericks team without their best player. this lakers team is a mess despite the talent level, mike brown remains a terrible coach.

 

A disappointing evening for sure, but considering the circumstances, there's no reason to overreact to the loss. Hopefully it doesn't take much longer for the offense to mesh out (which should be more up tempo anyway), and the free throw shooting (12-31 total, Dwight went 3-14) needs to improve. Kobe going 11-14, and Pau's double double were good to see.

 

Well, tonight the Grizzlies begin their quest towards dethroning the Heat, en route to their first ever Championship!

 

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/sto...lyn-nets-opener-postponed-due-hurricane-sandy

Not a surprise at all.


http://www.nba.com/lakers/features/121031lakerstvupdate

I've got DirecTV, and thus won't be able to watch tonight's game (they're in Portland). Sure, I'll have it on the radio, but it's really not the same... did that once for huge chunks of a home game a couple of seasons ago (due to weather issues affecting the satellite), and I found it difficult to get into the rhythm of the game. I'm doing my best to get not completely angry about this, but I don't know how long that will last.

 

From today's Bulls game:




Hehehe.

 

Blazers 1-0
L*kers 0-2

There is a God.

 

I watched the Grizzlies game last night and I fear they've gotten as good as they're going to get. They learned nothing from last year. They were 2 of 14 from three point land, which means their opponents don't have to respect any perimeter game and so they can just collapse their defenses in on the Grizzlies bigs. They did nothing this off season to address the three point shooting. And I saw that for some reason they go to Marc Gasol for three quarters and then go away from him in the fourth, which is when the Clippers took the game over.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...akers-stresses-patience-new-princeton-offense




It's never a surprise when the Lakers lose in Portland, as they're now 4-18 in their last 22 games there (and listening to the entire game on the radio wasn't too bad, except for all the ads for other tv providers claiming that they now have the new Lakers tv channel, whereas DirecTV still doesn't... BOOOOOOOOO). I'm not a huge fan of the Lakers going through yet another big offensive change to start a season (with major changes in their starting lineup to boot), but I also know/and recognize that it's 2 ******* games into the season, so all of this chatter & noise is a bit annoying*. Kobe shooting well throughout 2 games (11-14 on opening night, 10-20 in Portland) & Howard cleaning his game on Halloween (33 points, 14 boards, hit 15-19 free throws) is good to see, but naturally the less than stellar (and that's being nice) defense & and lackluster bench are causes for annoyance.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...angeles-lakers-game-time-decision-friday-game

If he doesn't start tonight, that means it's Steve Blake going against Chris Paul when the starters are out there... good grief.

*It will be that much more so if the Clippers beat the purple & gold tonight.

 

Tunick, I found a website where you can watch the game tonight online for free. PM me.

 

fun seeing rasheed hit that 3. knicks looked good.

edit: also harden looks like maybe he was a steal. holy crap.

 

Old teams look rusty thus far - that'll change.

 

Tonight's game is on ESPN, so I'm able to watch it (at a friends house for it, but still), but definitely PM that link because I'll likely need it for Sunday's game. Little over 7+ minutes to go in the 2nd, Clippers have a 8 point lead, and the Lakers offense continues to look disjointed... and Howard just picked up his 3rd foul. *grumbles*

 

GAM OVER KNICK!!!!!

 

sports guy to magic, "what suit are you going to wear when you represent the lakers at the lottery?"

lol

 

ESPN is reportig Anthony Davis has a mild concussion and is out of tomorrow night's game against the Bulls.