The NBA

[KerleyQ]

I have to admit loving the fact that SI and not ESPN got to publish the letter.  I'm sure that has to stick in ESPN's craw...that and giving credit to SI for breaking the story.  ESPN usually just ignores who broke the story first.

 

That was my first thought.  ESPN rides his jock like crazy for years, and he breaks the story with SI.  They had to be pissed.  

 

What kind of bugged me in all the coverage was twofold.  First, there was a whole lot of the "conquering hero returns home" kind of angle to some of the coverage.  Which, well, he did't conquer shit for Cleveland.  He went out and conquered for Miami, and now he's coming back to Cleveland.  It's not like those 2 titles transfer back to Cleveland with him.  Second, there's the whole everyone opt out thing in Miami.  By all accounts, Wade, Bosh, and Haslem were convinced to opt out after a meeting with LeBron.  Obviously, none of us know what was said in their meeting, but the overall narrative was that there was some agreement for everyone to opt out in order to try to restructure salaries and, ideally, get some more help in there, along with LeBron wanting a max deal for a year or two.  How much does this whole turn of events screw over Wade?  Bosh was going to be fine, someone was going to offer him money, and it turns out Miami was willing to pay him to stay put.  Wade, though - who's going to pay him $40+ million for two years at this point?  I said when they initially opted out that Riley likely made Wade some off the record promise to recoup that money, and if that's not the case, then LeBron did a really shitty thing to his "brother."  But I haven't heard a single reporter point out that this might have left Wade in the lurch.  It's all "LeBron returned to Cleveland, so everyone has to think he's better than rainbows, kittens, puppies, AND unicorns combined, got it?"  

 

I think it's likely LeBron had at least a pretty strong inkling that he was going to choose Cleveland.  It explains him not taking the FA period thing at all seriously (having his agent meet with teams while he vacationed).  So the whole opting out thing seems more bizarre, in retrospect. I thought it was bad enough when it was out there as him telling the other three "hey, guys, I want a max deal, and we need to get some help in here, so everyone opt out."  But it's worse if he was a driving force in that unanimous opt out decision and he had some idea that he might not stay.  

 

But, he did learn a little bit, since it seems like he let Riley know he was leaving ahead of time and didn't leave it to Riley finding out whenever he hit the internet that day.  So...progress? 

[Ohwell]

But I haven't heard a single reporter point out that this might have left Wade in the lurch.

I thought I did hear Wilbon and Bob Ryan (who was subbing for Kornheiser) mention Wade possibly getting screwed.

[KerleyQ]

I thought I did hear Wilbon and Bob Ryan (who was subbing for Kornheiser) mention Wade possibly getting screwed.

 

I'm glad someone at least mentioned it.  I see he's re-signing with Miami, I wonder what that deal is.  At this point, with most FA's snapped up, it probably doesn't matter much what he's getting paid this year.  Maybe Riley's still thinking of giving him back something similar to his last deal.  I know he signed Deng to a two year deal, so maybe his thought is that in two years they can re-tool again. (Side note:  That Deng signing killed me.  I love Lu, but with or without LeBron, I hate Miami. It's going to be rough seeing him in that jersey multiple times per season.)

[Jx223]

I see he's re-signing with Miami, I wonder what that deal is.  At this point, with most FA's snapped up, it probably doesn't matter much what he's getting paid this year.

 

I had heard yesterday on Sportsnation that Dwayne has signed a 2 year/$34 million dollar deal with the Heat.

 

Also here is some more basketball news:

 

Lance Stephenson has signed with Charlotte for 3 years/$27 million dollars. He took this over Indiana's 5 year/$44 million dollar deal. Lance had wanted a shorter term deal with Indiana, but they didn't want to give that to him, so he decided to go to Charlotte.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11221796/lance-stephenson-charlotte-hornets-3-year-27-million-deal

 

I will miss Lance playing for Indiana. In spite of his antics, I do really like him, and I think that he played well for Indiana. He was one of the very few Pacers ( along with David West and Luis Scola off the bench) during the playoffs that tried to be consistent. I think it's going to hurt Indiana to lose him, as he was one of the better scorers on their team, and he did lead the league in triple doubles.

 

But good for Charlotte, though. I think that this moves makes the playoff rankings in the East, even more wider open, they they already were. I think that Lance could end up helping Charlotte out a lot and possibly help them make the playoffs again next season.

 

Also I liked the news I heard about Paul Pierce joining the Wizards. I think that is a good move for him and them. They are an up and coming team, who I think has a good chance of doing well in the East next season. I could see them possibly making the ECF next year (depending on how things work out for Chicago, Cleveland and Indiana). They have really good young players, in Wall and Beal and really productive big men, in Nene and Gortat. Now they have a veteran basketball player with Championship experience in Paul Pierce. Plus Paul still has the ability to close like he showed this past season, in Brooklyn's series against Toronto. I definitely think this was a good move for him to go to the Wizards.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Jx223

[Ohwell]

The Wizards also signed Kris Humphries.  That should get some fannies in the seats for just a little while, just out of curiosity.

[topanga]

I have to admit loving the fact that SI and not ESPN got to publish the letter.  I'm sure that has to stick in ESPN's craw...that and giving credit to SI for breaking the story.  ESPN usually just ignores who broke the story first.

 

Which came first: LeBron being on the cover of SI or ESPN broadcasting LeBron's high school games?

 

The Hate or Not to Hate LeBron debate could go on forever. It sounds like he made the best decision for his family. Don't totally understand it, but I'm not LeBron or Savannah.

 

But I still don't understand why the owner or Cleveland fans felt like LeBron owned them something? Teams trade players all of the time--when they get injured, for cap space, when they're older or no longer productive. No one expects or asks for loyalty from teams. But when a player leaves, he's pissing on the team and the city. how is that fair? Lebron gave the first years of his career to Cleveland, played his ass off, and he never had a championship team around him. Why is he hated for pursuing a championship? KG did it, Ray Allen did it twice, Karl Malone tried to do it with the Lakers, Steve Nash tried to do it with the Lakers, Dwight Howard is trying to do it, Chris Paul is trying to do it, and it goes on.

Edited July 16, 2014 by topanga

[roamyn]

Topanga, as I explained upturned, it's HOW he left Cleveland. He didn't have the decency to let mgmt know until 5min b-4 his announcement, and then it was over the phone.

Also he KNEW, coming from a city that had Art Model sneak around, how fans would react to such sneaky, and self-important blow up events.

[benteen]

Topanga, as I explained upturned, it's HOW he left Cleveland. He didn't have the decency to let mgmt know until 5min b-4 his announcement, and then it was over the phone.

Also he KNEW, coming from a city that had Art Model sneak around, how fans would react to such sneaky, and self-important blow up events.

 

This I agree with.  I don't think LeBron has to feel obligated to go back (though I'm glad he did) but he handled his decision very poorly.  He shouldn't have done in publicly like that and he should have given the team that paid him for seven years more of a heads-up that he was going to leave.

[xaxat]

The NBA has submitted a plan to the competition committee for lottery reform. It's not as radical as the wheel, but the thing I like about it is that it would mean the return of the ping pong balls!

[ketchuplover]

Milwaukee now has Kendall Martin. Playoffs here we come!

[Magog]

Does anyone know when the NBA Schedule for the next season (2014-2015) will be released? The only thing I heard is that they're considering having the Spurs at Cavaliers being their opening game of the season. And since the Lakers are not going to be any better than last season (even with a healthy Kobe), Stephen A Smith might as well not cover the upcoming NBA season since he thinks that the NBA is kind of meaningless without the Lakers being in the hunt. I don't have any sympathy for "Laker Nation" & if they can stay this way for at least 10 years, I will be very happy. Besides, its not like the NBA is suffering or losing money & prestige because the Lakers aren't in contention like they usually are. I just wish that I can go one year of NBA Christmas Games without them being a part of it.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Magog

[ketchuplover]

Were Lakers' fans asking Where's the (Kobe) Beef last season? 

[Jx223]

Tonight during the scrimmage for Team USA, Paul George suffered a pretty bad looking injury. When he was trying to contest a shot by James Harden, he fell down, and it looks like he broke his leg. It was a very rough and painful looking injury. I hope that he ends up being okay and heals completely from this injury.

[DrSpaceman]

Man.....what an absolutely awful last 5 months for the Pacers. As of the All Star Break they were playing great and looked to be a serious title contender.

Now George is hurt, Hibbert can't hit his butt with his own two hands on the court, Stephenson is gone, Gasol is now on Chicago and Lebron yes changed teams, but is now in the same division

Best thing they could do is tank this year and hope they get a high draft pick to trade or draft the point guard they badly need in order to improve the offense.

[KerleyQ]

That was definitely one of the worst injuries I've seen happen.  I'm not a Pacers fan, but as a Bulls fan, I have a lot of sympathy for any team seeing their star go down like that.  It's gut-wrenching.  

 

The people at ESPN are total assholes, though.  I appreciated that the in game announcers, once they realized how bad it was, said they were going to stop showing it. (And kudos to Team USA for deciding to end the scrimmage, it was the right move.)  Then Sports Center came on.  And those assholes played it multiple times, knowing already exactly how bad it was.  Then they even got Kevin Ware on the phone to discuss his similar (so it seems at this time) injury.  I turned it off, but it would not surprise me to hear that they decided to run side by side footage of Ware's injury and George's to compare.  Seriously, ESPN, if you have to warn your viewers that it will be hard to watch, maybe you should just have some class and not show it.  So gross. 

 

Colangelo looked like he wanted to smack some of those reporters in the press conference.  He and Coach K both say "we're not talking rosters right now, we're not talking about decisions right now, it's disrespectful," and every single reporter asks some variation of "so what will this mean for the final roster?"  I was glad they held the players out of the media for the night.  You know every single one of those reporters was dying to get in Rose's face and ask him if he is afraid to play now.  

 

I also kind of question the ESPN reporter who tweeted about Irving crying in his father's arms afterwards.  Yes, we know you want to convey how upset these guys are, but we all saw their faces on the court.  Even Coach K looked ready to cry.  Stop thinking you need to get into these guys' faces and pick through their emotions to be the "first" to report some reaction.  This guy was their colleague, their friend, sometimes their opponent, someone they respect.  Let them have some time to react in private and let them decide what of their reactions they want to share with the public.  (And I won't even get into the assholes on Twitter making fun of Irving for crying...) 

 

Really hope to see George out there next fall, back to form.  

[FuriousStyles]

Yeah that was my reaction too...like did we really have to know that Irving cried in his dad's arms. I thought, yeah he's going to get ridiculed for sure.

Paul George is a rock. I believe Coach K called him stoic in the presser. I've seen more dramatics when players simply twist an ankle. I guess he must have been in shock or something.

I think a more comparable injury, at least when it comes to gruesomeness is Shaun Livingston. That guy had to battle for years to get back to the league and be a great player again. But yea, since D Rose is there (and the bigger star) people will want to here his reaction. But his face said it all. He didnt even want to go over there.

Im a Knicks fans, so y'all know im conditioned to hate the Pacers but im praying for Paul George to get better. The Pacers have taken blow after blow for like a year now.

If I were a player I'd be a little annoyed that it took THIS kind of thing to happen before the league decided to look at how close photographers and other things are to the court. Anybody with 2 working eyes can see these players werent given much room to not only land after a play at the rim, but even simply trying to chase someone down and then stop at a dime. Its like they have to be hurdlers too.

As powerful as they make cameras and recorders these days would it really kill those people to sit like 5 feet further back and just use the zoom in feature?

[roamyn]

Nothing is as gruesome as Joe Theisman's compound leg fracture.

And sometimes - when there's discussion of his career, an interview, or a countdown or discussion of, sports injuries- ESPN or SC replays it. I saw it in real time. I canppicture it in my head, I don't need to see it was on my t.v.

That being said, my prayers go out to Mr. George.

[xaxat]

I thought this ad was funny, but I really doubt Michael Jordan is laughing.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24KTBp8qQIo

 

Nothing is as gruesome as Joe Theisman's compound leg fracture.

 

Clint Malarchuck. 

[KerleyQ]

I think Jordan would laugh at that.  It seems to be pretty clearly making the point that the only way Scottie would even try to claim to be the best Bull ever would be because he has a short memory.  I mean, it's being said alongside a claim from Charles that "I'm a pacifist." 

[Magog]

Its too bad that Paul George is pretty much done for the upcoming season because of that horrible leg injury. He was the complete opposite of Lance Stephenson & Roy Hibbert for the Pacers during their struggles during their postseason last season. Hopefully, he can recover from this.

 

I understand why the Cavaliers had to make that trade to get Kevin Love. But, I'm pretty sad that Andrew Wiggings is not going to part of the Cavaliers. I have a feeling that he's going to be a very good player for the Timberwolves. He would of been very helpful for the Cavaliers in the upcoming season & I will definintely root for him in his career. I just hope that he doesn't end up with the Lakers, Heat, Bulls, Nets, Knicks, or Celtics when his rookie contract ends.

 

As for Kevin Love, I hope that he contribute in the upcoming seasons & doesn't become like Anthony Bennett (his rookie season), Stephon Marbury (bust), Tracy McGrady (constant choker), or Joe Smith (another bust).

[Jx223]

The NBA released their 2014-2015 tv schedule today. Here are some highlights from the schedule:

 

The first game that will be nationally televised will be San Antonio vs. Dallas on October 28, on TNT,  then TNT will show Houston vs. the Lakers later on that same night.

 

The games that will be shown on Christmas are:

Washington vs. New York (ESPN)

OKC vs. San Antonio (ABC)

Miami vs. Cleveland  (ABC)

Lakers vs. Chicago (TNT)

Clippers vs. Warriors (TNT)

 

Looking at the schedule it looks like Cleveland and Chicago are getting the most televised games. I also saw that New York and OKC are getting a lot of televised games, and that Portland, Houston, San Antonio, The Clippers, The Lakers, The Warriors, and also Phoenix are getting quite a bit of televised games. It looks like Miami is not getting quite as many nationally televised games as they got last year.

 

Here is the full NBA televised schedule up until April:

 

http://www.nba.com/schedules/national_tv_schedule/?ls=iref:nbahpts

 

Some additional information about different teams schedules from ESPN:

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11349332/nba-releases-2014-15-schedule

Edited August 14, 2014 by Jx223

[xaxat]

Imagine that, Cleveland at Miami on Christmas day. I'm sure no one saw that one coming. 

[Magog]

 

Imagine that, Cleveland at Miami on Christmas day. I'm sure no one saw that one coming.

 

I'm not surprised about that. I'm also not surprised that the Lakers are on Christmas Day again (playing at the Bulls). At least, it'll be on TNT this time, so that'll make it tolerable. I also don't get why the Knicks are on Christmas Day again (playing against the Wizards). I don't know why ESPN thinks seeing the young Wizards possibly kicking Carmelo & the Knicks butts on Christmas is entertaining. Its not like the Knicks are going to be title contenders this season or the next. 

 

Anyway, I'm happy that the NBA is finally showing the Spurs some respect by putting them on during opening night (against the Mavericks). ESPN could careless about them (since when has ESPN ever respect them), but the NBA is finally giving the Spurs some respect that it deserves.

[AimingforYoko]

Anyway, I'm happy that the NBA is finally showing the Spurs some respect by putting them on during opening night (against the Mavericks). ESPN could careless about them (since when has ESPN ever respect them), but the NBA is finally giving the Spurs some respect that it deserves.

I imagine networks are gunshy about the Spurs. You never know when Pop's going to sit his whole starting lineup.

[roamyn]

Televised events go by market size. San Antonio is a mid-market size. That's probably why stations don't show as much of them.

Cleveland is also mid-market. But , they have LeBron. The best player in the leagues. (I'm sad too abt Wiggins. He would've been a great up & coming player for them. I wish him well in MN).

[xaxat]

NBA owner thinks that the league has too many black fans. And his last name is not Sterling. 

[Jx223]

NBA owner thinks that the league has too many black fans. And his last name is not Sterling.

 

 

It's unfortunate to read about more stuff like this, and the Hawks are one of my favorite teams.  Since Bruce Levenson has decided he will now sell the Atlanta Hawks, because of this incident, I wonder who will end up buying them now.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Jx223

[AimingforYoko]

I don't know, but I guaran-damn-tee that they won't be paying $2b.

[topanga]

 

 NBA owner thinks that the league has too many black fans. And his last name is not Sterling.

I heard an explanation about this, and it sounded legit. Apparently, the owner was making a statement about the fact that Atlanta has a high unemployment rate among its black residents, and their disposable income is less than white fans. This is supported by economic data, although he said "my theory." The owner was giving his opinion from a marketing standpoint, stating that the team should try to increase its number of fans in the magic demographic, 18-49 year old white men, who spend the most money on sports merchandise.

 

I think it the email was worded badly, but I don't think it was racist. And that's the thing about e-mails. They're not manifestos or memos, so they're usually not perfect.

Edited September 10, 2014 by topanga

[AimingforYoko]

Hawks GM Danny Ferry's comments, his or just read off a scouting report, were far worse.

[xaxat]

CBS published the full memo for the Hawk's owner. It said in part,

 

 

My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a signficant season ticket base. Please dont get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arean back then. i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i would read comments about how dangerous it is around philips yet in our 9 years, i don't know of a mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.

 

What he said may not be racist, but even by his own admission, he is adjusting his business strategy to cater more towards the racial prejudices of his potential white audience. 

 

I don't think that's acceptable.

[KerleyQ]

Hawks GM Danny Ferry's comments, his or just read off a scouting report, were far worse.

 

Yeah, Danny's comments were atrocious.   Kudos to Deng for his awesome response to the matter.  

 

I think, though, that Danny's comments go hand in hand with the owner's statements.  In that I think that the whole "has a little African in him" was essentially code for "his skin is really kind of dark."  And when you look at that along with the owner's comments about the wealthy white fans being "scared off" by there being "too many blacks" at the games, and the desire to "diversify" their fan base, it's an overall ugly picture of what's going on behind the scenes with the Hawks ownership/management.  I mean, really, you're going to hold off on pursuing a free agent (an All Star, a great defender, hard worker, and all around good guy who's been the recipient of the league's humanitarian award) because the tone of the color of his skin might scare off the wealthy white fans you're trying to court?  Gross beyond words.  

[Jx223]

Congratulation to the USA men's basketball team who won the FIBA World Cup Gold Medal today against Serbia. :)

[xaxat]

NBA extends television deals. The new deal is about three times the value of the current one. The best part? It stays on ABC/ESPN and TNT. Silver didn't follow in the path of every other league and spread out the coverage over eight different networks. ("Fox Sports 1? Do I even get that channel?")

Edited October 6, 2014 by xaxat

[Jx223]

NBA extends television deals. The new deal is about three times the value of the current one. The best part? It stays on ABC/ESPN and TNT. Silver didn't follow in the path of every other league and spread out the coverage over eight different networks. ("Fox Sports 1? Do I even get that channel?")

This is a great deal for the NBA.

I am excited that the regular season is beginning in a couple of weeks. We also have some preseason games going on before then, if anyone wants to see early glimpses different matchups and teams who have undergone some major changes last season.

 

Here are some upcoming Preseason matchups on NBA-TV.

 

Tonight the 76ers and the Celtics are playing at 7:30pm EST

The Lakers and Nuggets are playing at 10:00pm EST. (These two games will be repeated on this network, for anyone who wants to watch the  Seattle/Washington NFL game live tonight.)

 

Tomorrow October 7 on NBA-TV

Bulls and Pistons 7:30pm EST

Warriors and Clippers 10:00pm EST

 

Wednesday October 8 NBA-TV

Knicks and Boston 7:30pm EST

 

Thursday October 9 NBA-TV

Memphis and Houston 8:00pm EST

 

Chicago and Cleveland play each other on October 20 at 7:00pm EST on NBA-TV. Even though it's a preseason matchup, I could see that game drawing a lot of interest, especially considering that there have been a lot of predictions stating these two teams will be at the top of the Eastern Conference this year.

 

There are some other preseason game that will be played but most of them won't be shown on Tv. Indiana will play two preseason games against Minnesota, but neither one of them will be shown on NBA-TV. I wish they at least one of these games were shown. I want to see how Indiana plays and I think that Minnesota could be an exciting team to watch this season, because of all the young talent they have acquired. Indiana does get some televised preseason games on NBA TV, including games against Cleveland(October 15th 7:00 pm EST) and against Dallas (October 17th 7:30 pm EST)

 

Here is the schedule for all the preseason games.

http://www.nba.com/gameline/20141008/

Edited October 6, 2014 by Jx223

[Jx223]

Kevin Durant will be out with a fractured foot injury from anywhere between 6-8 weeks. I hope he has a healthy recovery. I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens with the Thunder with him being out, last year when they had him and got Russell Westbrook back, they still could have used a lot of help with scoring. At least this injury is pretty early on, the regular season doesn't start until a couple of more weeks, so hopefully KD will be back early enough in the season. At least this didn't happen during playoff time.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11688088/kevin-durant-oklahoma-city-thunder-fractured-foot

 

Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards will also be out for 6-8 weeks due to a fractured left wrist. Kris Humphries of the Wizards will also be out for a bit (3 to 4 weeks) due to having surgery for nerve damage in his pinky finger.

 

Also I watched the Cleveland/Miami preseason game last night. Cleveland looked pretty good throughout the game, they did a good job of moving the ball around. The game actually went into overtime, and the starters were benched and the rookies/backups played. I thought the rookies/backups for both teams did a good job of making the game competitive during OT. I thought that Shabazz Napier looked pretty decent, he had 16 points/7 Assists/2 steals. Maybe he can help them put some points on the board, this season, they can definitely use whatever help they can get with scoring.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Jx223

[Magog]

Can Tuesday Night hurry up & get here already? I have to hear ESPN doing some stupid player ranking thing over a week ago & they ranked Kobe Bryant 40th on the list. Kobe made a big stink about it & I have to hear ESPN talk about it all the time ever since. Then they have to badmouth Kobe over taking too much money & causing the Lakers to not be able to sign another super star. I also have to hear that moron Jeanne Buss on ESPN yesterday boring me to tears. I'm surprised that Stephen A Smith didn't tell Jeanne in her face yesterday how much he hates her brother Jim Buss. I rather have Jim Buss & (especially) Kobe Bryant put Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless in their place than Jeanne Buss irritating the hell out of me. 

 

Frankly, I don't feel sorry for the Lakers that they can't get another superstar to help out Kobe. If they ever go through a championship slump like the Knicks (41 yrs & counting), I will be very happy. I can live with the Lakers not being relevant when it come to being championship contenders & I'm certain that the NBA will not be losing sleep over it. I know that some people on ESPN (mainly Stephen A Smith) are not happy about it. 

 

Now that Steve Nash is done for the year (back problems), Stephen A Smith might as well not bother watching the NBA this season since the Lakers won't be a championship contender (even with a healthy Kobe) for another season. 

[xaxat]

I loved the fact that the Clippers had the balls to run a bad ass ad during a Lakers game!

[Magog]

Even though I like Kobe a lot, but I cannot stand the Lakers, I just feel terrible that rookie Julius Randle broke his leg last night. 

 

I know that TNT has to promote LeBron's first game back to the Cavaliers on Thursday, but why is this occasion need to have basically a pre-game concert with Imagine Dragons & Kendreck Lamar with that unfunny Kevin Hart being there? It is so pointless & I certainly don't need to see Kevin Hart on TNT again. 

[Jx223]

I am excited that the NBA basketball season has finally started :) . I am looking forward to seeing how this season plays out. Also NBA league pass is having a free trial right now. The free trial started yesterday and will continue until next Tuesday November 4th.  Even if you don't have access to the League pass channels with a cable/satellite provider, you can still watch free games online. Here is a link mentioning the free trial, with the link to watch NBA League Pass games free online for the next week.

 

http://www.nba.com/leaguepass/broadband/?ls=iref:nba:lpbb:primarysalespage:buynow:button

 

I think that we have a good group of rookies this year and I am definitely interested in seeing them play. This is an early opportunity to watch some of them who probably won't receive much airtime this year on the major networks, because they are on teams that aren't very good right now. I am looking forward to seeing more of guys like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine and Dante Exum. Also it looks like Anthony Bennett has improved a bit from his rookie season with Cleveland, I think it's going to be interesting in seeing how he continues to develop as a player.  

Edited October 29, 2014 by Jx223

[AimingforYoko]

Stat of the first week: The Lakers are 0-4. The Los Angeles Lakers have never been 0-4.

[xaxat]

This Knicks team is developing a disturbing similarity to the disaster that was Isiah Thomas' last year coaching at the Garden. They start out really slow and fall behind by twenty. Then Carmelo says "Screw the triangle!", and starts jacking up shots (in a role formerly played by Nate Robinson, who recently opened in chicken and waffles restaurant in Seattle BTW.) and then find a way to lose a game that is no where close to being as competitive as the score would indicate. 

 

Next thing you know, someone is going to pull a Marbury and threaten to blackmail Fisher.

[topanga]

More silent protests by athletes. LeBron wore an "I can't breathe" shirt during warmups.  I don't think there's a strict uniform for warm-ups. Or is there?

[xaxat]

I'm kind of disappointed that Ty Corbin didn't decide to debut their new four on five with a cherry picker defense for us tonight.

[ketchuplover]

Jabari Parker is out for the season 

[AimingforYoko]

Boston to trade Rajon Rondo to Dallas.

And the West gets Westerer.

[xaxat]

I, like many others, have made fun of Tracy McGrady's perpetual comeback attempts. It's nice to know he can make fun of it too.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaY0Cuf64Pk

[xaxat]

The anonymously sourced reports about concerns that Blatt is losing the Cav's locker room are pretty funny.

 

There's only one person whose opinion of Blatt matters. And there is only one person (or people from his "camp") that could get that story out into the press. 

[wingster55]

May be a bit bold...but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hawks make the NBA finals the way they've been playing.

Really impressive. (My dream scenario would be Hawks vs Spurs in which my allegiance to both teams would be tested)

[Jx223]

May be a bit bold...but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hawks make the NBA finals the way they've been playing.

Really impressive. (My dream scenario would be Hawks vs Spurs in which my allegiance to both teams would be tested)

 

I am glad to see that the Hawks are playing very well. Paul Millsap has been playing great. Before this season began I had thought that Atlanta would probably make the playoffs again this season, but now it looks like they might could end up with a really high seed. Granted I know we have like 2/3 of the season left, but if they keep playing the type of basketball they have been playing, I could see things continuing to go well for them in the Eastern Conference.

 

While the West competition continues to get tougher, through trades of different players, the Eastern Conference just keeps getting more unpredictable. Atlanta is now on top of the conference. The two favorites from last year Indiana and Miami are struggling because they lost their best players. Cleveland with Lebron back isn't performing quite as well as expected. Charlotte is struggling badly, even though some analysts predicted earlier that they would make the playoffs again this year and possibly do better than last. New York is really suffering and currently has the second worst record in the league. Chicago, Toronto and Washington are all playing well, Jimmy Butler has been playing great for Chicago. Brooklyn is doing okay and Milwaukee is doing surprisingly well.

 

Milwaukee is another team that I am really impressed with. They have gone from having the worst record of all the teams in the NBA (even the 76ers) to now being at 500 and sixth in the conference. They have already won two more games this year, than they did for all of last year. I may not care for the way that Jason Kidd got the head coach position, but  I think that quite a bit of the Bucks improvement, may have to do with him. I think he's doing a nice job of coaching them. The young players on the team seem determined and they have been fighting to win games. And this is even after their top draft pick Jabari Parker went down with an injury. With the way things are currently going in the East, Milwaukee might actually make the playoffs, even without Jabari. If so that would be a major step up for them, going from having the worst record in the league to being in the playoffs in a year's time.

 

I am interested in seeing how the rest of the season shakes out in the Eastern Conference.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Jx223