Arena The NBA Thread

You can view some pictures from last night's Spurs versus Nuggets game here:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/rx_sith/


Will post video later on today.

 

In all the excitement of the Heat's streak ending last night, I almost forgot about how the Laker game ended:


.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...51.html?utm_hp_ref=los-angeles&ir=Los Angeles



Now, should it matter that there was no call here? As I see it, no, because of Minnesota's Hack-a-Dwight strategy: Howard was fouled 4 times, 4!, between the 2:56-2:03 mark of the 4th quarter (Dwight made 1 of the free throw's twice, and missed both free throws twice). That's ridiculous... I don't care if it's "sound strategy", the Hack-a- fouling is always ruins the flow of a game, and reeks of desperation. Thus, give me a violin to play for Rubio & the rest of the Timberwolves.

 

maybe get a center who can make a ****ing free throw. it's that or sit him down like the clippers have to do with jordan at the end of games. but no, you're right, the refs should totally stop calling the game just because your coach is too helpless to counter the other team's strategy.

 

Dwight's shooting 49% at the line this season, so even if he were to work on that during the off season, I don't see a dramatic increase to the point where team's will not use the Hack-a strategy. I doubt it, but the NBA should look at the rule (something beyond not being able to use it within the final 2 minutes of regulation). As for the refs, at least the NBA is semi-consistent in not calling plays at the end of a game, though I'd imagine that too could change sometime in the future.

 

the nba has already come out and said that the refs missed the call. it's true that the refs don't want to decide the game unless it's a blatant foul, but that was a blatant foul.

 

I agree... never said it wasn't. It just made sense to me because of Minnesota's use of the Hack-a-Dwight... I loathed it when it was done to Shaq, and I loathe it now.

 

Here is the introductions plus the first 6 minutes of so of the Spurs and Nuggets game from Wednesday. I will post the ending later on today since it is taking forever to upload it on YouTube.

 

Alright, here is the final 2 plus minutes of the Spurs and Nuggets game from Wednesday. Enjoy.

 

uh yeah, your complaint is ridiculous. a team shouldn't attempt to exploit a glaring weakness in a player's game? really? btw, howard attempted 17 free throws in that game. twice in the 2009 finals he attempted 16. was it ok for the lakers to use the strategy then or did you "loathe" it?

 

Police may be looking for DarthTunick

3 of ex-Laker A.C. Green’s NBA championship rings stolen from his home

 

Hack-a-Dwight sure ain't as catchy as Hack-a-Shaq.

 

With Howard, couldn't you just call it the "Hack-a-Hack" strategy?

 

If this were Around The Horn, and you were Tony Reali, I'd be muted right about now for looking like a fool. Obviously my feelings on this changed a bit when Howard was traded to the Lakers, but honestly I didn't work up the distaste for the Hack-a strategy until earlier this month, when the Lakers played in Orlando... a lot of the 39 free throw attempts Howard had in that game came late in the 4th when the game was well out of reach for Orlando... maybe it was done to embarrass Dwight somewhat in his first game back there, but we'll never know.






With that loss last night in Milwaukee, in 15 back-to-back sets they've had this season, the Lakers have yet to win both of those games. If they don't do so on April 9th & 10th, then it will be the first time in the history of the franchise in which that's happened. Wow.



http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/mia.../heat-prez-pat-riley-tells-celtics-ainge-stfu


http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9111798/the-heat-hindsight








I have to give Simmons credit here for this (about the Miami/Chicago game on Tuesday night):


I considered the consequences of falling into the whole "ESPN dude takes an in-the-moment sporting event and blows it out of proportion" trap that tends to happen in this 365/24/7 era of covering sports. I even gave myself an extra day to chew on the following point (and this column as a whole).



He still of course calls that game the greatest regular season game in NBA history... I'm not so sure about that.

Shhhhhh!

 

*yawns* If these people haven't noticed by now, as a whole the NBA is the most difficult/inconsistent league in North America to officiate, or at least the league that gets the most heat about its officiating. Yeah, there's some odd no calls (particularly with Rubio's 3-point attempt) there featuring the Lakers, but I'm sure you could make such a tape* with ridiculous music about any team in the league over any stretch of games this season, and any future seasons to come.


*Perhaps the only real difference would be the lack of Bill Simmons in those videos. As it stands right now, the Jazz** have been the better team of late (winning 5 in a row, and presently have a half game lead on the Lakers for that 8th seed), and with 8 games to go, despite a schedule that only takes the Lakers out of the state of California once (to play in Portland), the Lakers can still very easily miss the playoffs.



**Dallas also been making a late, late surge, going 6-4 in their last 10 games, and presently a game & a half back of the Lakers.. a lead they could make shorter tonight if they beat the purple & gold at Staples. Also happening tonight (at halftime) will be the jersey retirement of a certain ex-Laker great:


.


I keep imagining how I'll feel during the ceremony, because of the conflict of emotions that will occur: Mindful of all the drama that centered around Shaq toward the end & at the end of his Laker career, the period of time (fall of 2004-sometime in 2009) where I loathed Shaq, but obviously (DUH) very happy to see this happen, happy the Kobe/Shaq/Laker organizational drama between all of them is over, happy to think about all of the great moments/joy Shaq helped to bring for the Lakers & the city, happening during a period of my life that was quite transitional (my last year of elementary school to high school graduation). It was one thing to appreciate/enjoy the Jamaal Wilkes jersey retirement and the Kareem statue dedication earlier this season, but obviously tonight's honoring of Shaq is on a whole different level. It will take a bit of time to get used to seeing his number/name up there, and since I'm only 26 years old, I shouldn't feel old in any sense of the word, but I can't help it. I feel like a piece of my adolescence is going up there in rafters along with that jersey.

 

So just out of curiosity, where is the Heat's fine for resting Wade and James against the Spurs the other night?

 

If Miami still had their winning streak going, there's not a chance in hell Coach Spo rests those guys.

 

melo putting on a show in miami right now. 40 points, six minutes left in the 3rd. close game too.

 

MELO

Also, I miss Shaq playing. :/

 

gasol looks really good tonight. such a weird up and down player. is he just a total headcase or what?

 

Well given, he's been seen as trade bait pretty much every year he's been a Laker...

 

yeah, you mean the last two years. his first three years as a laker he went to the finals every year and won two titles so i don't think he was too worried about being traded. he did seem to change drastically as a player after the nixed trade to the rockets though, so it definitely seems like it's a major factor. it feels like pau has to really feel loved in order to play good. exactly the kind of primadonna that is perfect for the lakers.

 

That actually began a little sooner that year during the playoffs, when Pau had a terrible series against New Orleans & wasn't much better against Dallas (then again, the whole team stunk up that Dallas series). I was at a friend's house for the game last night, and in the course of our discussion about how Kobe/Shaq/the '03-'04 season, he surmised that this offseason would be the offseason in which the Lakers cut the cord with Gasol. I'm not so sure about that, and even with his downgrade in consistent play since the spring of 2011, he could still bring some value to the team.








It was a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicely done ceremony. Glad to see the reaction Phil got from the crowd, and Shaq's inclusion of his "Can you dig it?!" line from the championship parades between 2000-2002. Of course, being the Laker nerd that I am, I loved it when Shaq gave shout out's to Nicholson, Dyan Cannon, Norm Pattiz, Penny Marshall (we share a birthday! ), and Jimmy "tight pants" Goldstein.






Naturally the game would have been a letdown if the Lakers hadn't won, but thankfully Kobe's triple double & Howard-Clark-Gasol-Blake playing well made sure that didn't happen.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ers-jersey-backward-seems-200003895--nba.html


I couldn't tell last night, and when Eeth pointed this out to me on FB earlier today, I thought he was full of it until I came across that article.

 

one flaw in durant's game is that if he misses a shot or turns the ball over he seems to just disappear for the next four or five possessions. his defense seems to suffer too, like he really has a hard time shaking off a bad play.

 

a well deserved honor for the glove.

also gallinari is apparently out for the season with a torn acl. a huge blow to a nuggets team that was rolling. i still think they'll make some noise in the playoffs.