Arena The NBA Thread

I realize it's not an equal comparison, but if philosophically it was alright for the Lakers to bring back Phil Jackson in 2005, then I don't see a problem with Mike Brown returning to Cleveland. He got a raw deal this season with the Lakers, and I'm happy to see him get another coaching gig in short order.

 

the idea that they're bringing him back to lure lebron is pretty funny though. didn't they fire him in order to get lebron to stay?

 

That they did... I honestly don't see why LeBron would even go back to Cleveland in 2014. Sure, the redemption story is rather tempting, but I don't see the folks in Cleveland fully embracing the return (some would, sure, but the majority of fans?). Staying & building a dynasty (ahhhhhhh!) in Miami makes sense to me.

 

given how much money each of them left on the table to make the current miami situation happen... i'd be shocked if they weren't willing to do that again.

 

But the main issue after the Heat Three Peat (and they will) is that at that time then D. Wade will be at the end of his career, so the Heat will have to get someone else, otherwise, LeBron might as well go somewhere else (I would think that the Lakers would want him badly).

 

Yeah the Lakers are setting things up so they can make a run at him in 14. Which I would hate to see, as a Lakers fan.

 

Aside from having to leave our anti-Lebron sentiments at the door, why do you feel that way? He's only the best player (arguably) in the association right now, and if Kobe's career is indeed done by next summer, who better to lead the franchise forward (potentially with Dwight) than him?

 

**** LeBron James coming back. It's Kyrie's team now. If LeBron's tired of dealing with an aging Wade in Miami, deal with it. Or go to the Lakers.

LeBron winning a title in Cleveland post-"Decision" is not how I want the major sports championship drought ended. This coming from a Bengal fan who will be rooting for James Harrison to help a Super Bowl run.

(And this post runs somewhat contrary to the original Star Wars trilogy, where forgiving the traitorous Chosen One leads to a happy ending...but still.)

 

this has been one helluva good game between the rockets and thunder so far. i'm pretty sure it'll go badly next game for the rockets, but given that right now they're trying to steal a game, it's possible that we could end up with a decent series here.

 

yeah, this feels like the playoffs. first time i can really say that this year.

 

well, i don't know i'd QUITE say the first time. that first denver/golden state game had that feel.

 

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=9207964&city=losangeles


Niiiiiiiice to see that he's ahead of schedule, and hopefully will help to make the Lakers bench less embarrassing than they were in game 1.

 

can someone tell me what happened to lin? i caught him going into the locker room but there wasn't any sound on and i missed what happened before that.

 

"chest contusion" was the explanation. nobody seems to know when it happened. rockets somehow hanging in, but they've really missed him in this second half. their offense has been out of sorts for most of it.

 

1st the NBA needs to make sure they can make the most amount of money with LeBraun going to LA.

 

wow... the rockets are really playing surprisingly well this second half. even with having been out of sorts so much. that they have a lead is somewhat shocking.

and i'm really curious as to when/how lin got hurt. that's... just kind of odd.

EDIT

well, that was a bad no call on perkins. really bad.

 

Nice no call in the Houston/OKC game.

 

yeah, that was terrible. the rockets had a ton of questionable calls go their way earlier in the game though. the rockets' zone pretty much took all of the intensity out of the game in the second half. and they basically got really lucky that the thunder missed about thirty wide open shots. i can't see them having that much success with the zone if they go back to it later in the series.

 

It was just at a critical time.

 

yea. i wasn't going to say that it was why houston lost... but it sure as hell didn't help them out any. i mean, that's at least a 3 point swing in OKC's favor, possibly a 5 or 6 point swing depending on if they score at the other end. and given how much they lost by...

but there are other reasons they lost as well. they played pretty bad that last minute and a half as well.

and then there's what you mentioned, tom, about the other calls they got earlier. it seemed like they got a couple of makeup calls after it as well.

 

Not that it would have mattered much, but it was incredibly frustrating that D'Antoni didn't play Hill (and Goudelock) until the 4th quarter last night. You're already down 1-0 in this series that 99% of people have you losing anyway, so why not roll the dice? Goddamnit. The Spurs may have won by only 11 points, but it could/should have been more, if not for some garbage time baskets made by the Lakers. Meeks couldn't play last night due to a sprained left ankle, Nash is going to need another epidural shot, and Steve Blake had to leave the game in the 4th with a right hamstring issue. Good ******* grief. Silver linings? At least the game (2) was broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, so I was able to enjoy my local announcers for the evening, and games 3 & 4 will be at Staples Center... 2 more games at least to keep tabs on the courtside regulars I like to keep track of.

 

well, the bucks look pretty much done at this point. i'll be shocked if they manage to win a game at the point.

monta ellis really doesn't look much like a benefit in most games to me. especially with how much he likes that 3-point line, and how poorly he shoots it. particularly this season.

 

LA Lakers

31 minutes ago
"Murphy’s Law Injury Season Continues" - http://bit.ly/11ImlBm

In a season in which nearly everything has gone wrong from an injury standpoint, we learned on Friday that Steve Blake would be out indefinitely with a moderate hamstring strain, while Steve Nash (back/hip) and Jodie Meeks (sprained left ankle) are doubtful for Friday’s Game 3.



Yup. You know how they've got different images of players/coaches on the tickets they send out to season ticket holders? This image should be the only one used for next season:


.

 

Glad to see that someone finally told the Grizzlies that the playoffs had already started and that they should step it up a bit.

 

there were some terrible calls at the end of that clips/griz game.