NBA 2014-15 Thread

[Ski to Be]

Looks like the Mavs are done. The Rondo trade really hurt them. At least they did't throw max money at him and only rented him. An 8 second violation walking the ball up with nobody guarding you. Atrocious passing that game and shooting. I wonder who will sign him in the off season. If he doesn't want to bring it at the end of a contract year then when will he bring it.

[IVplay]

Clips move on, Warriors move on, Rockets move on, Grizzlies move on.

Then I have Warriors over grizzlies, and clips over rockets. Warriors win WCF and lose in the finals to the cavs.

[TahoeJ]

I'm actually kind of glad Draymond Green got snubbed for DPOY even though he had the most first place votes. Now he's going to have a chip on his shoulder throughout the playoffs.

BTW - pretty lame that Leonard wins that while playing 18 less games. That's nearly a quarter of the season.

[Danno]

Nothing "lame" about Leonard winning at all. I would have chosen him. Though there would be nothing lame about Green winning either (I actually expected it).

[TahoeJ]

Yeah, lame was the wrong word choice... I just think that's a ton of games to miss to win a seasonal award. Obviously they're both great defenders. You don't see any NFL players winning season-long awards when they only played in 12 games, for example.

[Danno]

well, yeah, missing games is part of the calculation, as it should be. But I think Kawhi is a bit more of a transformational defender, as in you really have to gameplan your offense for him. Green is amazing and versatile, but not quite at that level, IMO. That's not meant to be any slight to Green, just why I would have voted Kawhi even with the missed games.

[TahoeJ]

I'd say they're equally good just different. Leonard is the best perimeter defender in the league without question, while no other player can switch up on defense at both forward and center like Green and still be highly effective. It gives the Warriors a ton of versatility being able to do that. Against certain teams, when they can go small with him at center for stretches when Bogut takes a rest and still not have any holes on defense, they're just deadly on the offensive side (good luck guarding Curry, Thompson, Green, Iggy and Barnes / Speights all on the floor at the same time).

The voters who didn't even include Green on their ballot are fucking idiots - that's my bigger issue - and the reason he lost despite having more first place votes.

[digitaldeath]

Green didnt shut lebron down in the finals

[Danno]

Green didnt shut lebron down in the finals

wut?

[Danno]

I'd say they're equally good just different. Leonard is the best perimeter defender in the league without question, while no other player can switch up on defense at both forward and center like Green and still be highly effective. It gives the Warriors a ton of versatility being able to do that. Against certain teams, when they can go small with him at center for stretches when Bogut takes a rest and still not have any holes on defense, they're just deadly on the offensive side (good luck guarding Curry, Thompson, Green, Iggy and Barnes / Speights all on the floor at the same time).

The voters who didn't even include Green on their ballot are fucking idiots - that's my bigger issue - and the reason he lost despite having more first place votes.

well, every player was left off ballots. Yes, Green was left off more ballots than Leonard, but Leonard wasn't on every ballot, he was left off something like 20 ballots himself.

[TahoeJ]

Green didnt shut lebron down in the finals

Are you from the future?

[TahoeJ]

well, every player was left off ballots. Yes, Green was left off more ballots than Leonard, but Leonard wasn't on every ballot, he was left off something like 20 ballots himself.

That's stupid too, unless their reasoning was that Leonard missed too many games - which I'm guessing was part of it. Anyway, whatever, just shooting the shit - these voting awards are just a diversion between games and no one really remembers who wins them (other than MVP I suppose).

[Danno]

Are you from the future?

Maybe he thinks we're talking about Danny Green?

[GiBo]

Holy shit! How has no one commented on the dubs comeback last night?! That was ridiculous.

[plugboots]

This just in: Curry is good. They never make that call, but after 2 guys plowed into him on the 3 that sent it to overtime, I would have liked to see him sink another free throw to win the game with NOLA fans screaming.

By the way, anybody see any replays of that guy with a lot of hair getting a steal against Sacramento, then throwing it ahead to the other player who threw it over his head back to the guy that got the steal for a slam and his first NBA points?

[TahoeJ]

Holy shit! How has no one commented on the dubs comeback last night?! That was ridiculous.

Crazy. 3rd biggest comeback in playoff history. Man, the refs were *horrible* in that game. A couple of calls (especially the one towards the end of the 4th against Green) where everyone was just looking around confused.

[BmillsSkier]

I stayed up late after the Cavs win to watch the W's and man I'm glad I did. Nearly packed it in when they were down by 30! What a comeback. NO must still be gutted today.

[GiBo]

Crazy. 3rd biggest comeback in playoff history. Man, the refs were *horrible* in that game. A couple of calls (especially the one towards the end of the 4th against Green) where everyone was just looking around confused.

The intentional foul away from the ball call on Klay was the wierdest call I've ever seen. If it's an obvious wrap up of a guy, ok. But how the fuck do you call an intentional foul away from the ball when two guys run into each other? How does a ref read the mind of Klay there and say he bumped into the guy intentionally?

[TahoeJ]

The intentional foul away from the ball call on Klay was the wierdest call I've ever seen. If it's an obvious wrap up of a guy, ok. But how the fuck do you call an intentional foul away from the ball when two guys run into each other? How does a ref read the mind of Klay there and say he bumped into the guy intentionally?

Yeah, the TNT announcers were like, "Huh? What? Seriously?" So... how does that rule work exactly in terms of the fouled team getting a free throw and possession? They weren't even in the bonus yet. I assume that's a sub 2 minute rule or something? The NBA tweaks their situational rules so often I have trouble keeping track. Teams intentionally foul all the time in that situation - is the only difference that the ball hadn't been inbounded yet?

[GiBo]

You should've heard Fitzgerald on CSN. He was going off!

I think the ball had been inbounded.

A work mate said it's to stop the defense from grabbing the worst free throw shooter. But they do that all the time, so not sure that's it. I would love someone to explain it to me.

[TahoeJ]

A work mate said it's to stop the defense from grabbing the worst free throw shooter. But they do that all the time, so not sure that's it. I would love someone to explain it to me.

Yeah, I've heard that... but then I'm watching the Spurs play hack-a-DeAndre the other night and it's a little confusing when the rule kicks in or whatever. And likewise we saw the Pelicans do that with Bogut in game one.

[neckdeep]

Damn, when you intentionally jerk a player's arm out of socket on national TV, you might as well own it. I mean, you just did it in front of cameras covering every possible angle so raising your hands and acting like you were the guy getting fouled is just so fucking lame. I nominate Olynyk for the 2015 Isaiah Thomas award, the "honor" given to the dirtiest, sneaky fouler flopper who always plays innocent. I would have given it to Harden but deliberately pulling a guy's arm out of socket just takes the cake.

[BmillsSkier]

Cavs sweep! But fuuuuuck losing Love is no good. Wonder how long he's out?

[54-46]

Random thoughts:

Love: Seemed that Olynyk purposely grabbed Love's arm, but some have argued that he can do that without intending to hurt Love. (Intend the act, not the harm.) Stuff like that happens all the time. In context, it was dubious that Olynyk was doing it to draw a foul or gain an advantage to get to the ball, so why did he do it? Was it crappy judgment by Olynyk or did he yank Love's arm out of frustration? Either way, he deserves a suspension. Hope Love isn't out too long.

JR Smith: dude should get multiple game suspension. WTF? MMA backfist?

Cavs: Will have tough time against Bulls (I'm assuming) for a game or two without Love and Smith. Might swing the series. Well, that, and Rose ballin' again.

Spurs/Clips - Was happily surprised that Clips took game 4. They definitely needed the lift from the much-maligned A Rivers off the bench. First time I've ever seen that dude produce. Seemed like the Clips' superior athleticism wasn't being countered by the Spurs' usual execution. Spurs in 7?

Dubs - Signature comeback Thursday night, plus a solid win over the weekend. Things seem to be breaking right for them. If they play the Grizz and Conley does not play or is limited, then it will be a much shorter series, i.e. 4-1. Last time the two teams played without Conley, the Dubs got up 25 and then took their foot off the gas...

[Danno]

Random thoughts:

Love: Seemed that Olynyk purposely grabbed Love's arm, but some have argued that he can do that without intending to hurt Love. (Intend the act, not the harm.) Stuff like that happens all the time. In context, it was dubious that Olynyk was doing it to draw a foul or gain an advantage to get to the ball, so why did he do it? Was it crappy judgment by Olynyk or did he yank Love's arm out of frustration? Either way, he deserves a suspension. Hope Love isn't out too long.

No doubt the grab and pull was intentional, but I also have no doubt that there was no intent to injure. Looking at the replay, it seems pretty obvious to me what was going on. Guys do this stuff all the time in the trenches, and Olynyk was not trying to "gain an advantage to get to the ball", but he was doing it to prevent Love -- the guy he was locked up with -- from getting to the ball. I mean, he pulls right as the ball is almost within Love's reach, and then the loose ball is picked up by a Celtics player. So yea, he was trying to gain an advantage and got caught (and unfortunately injured someone), but the play doesn't look dirty to me. Given Love's injury and the stakes, I expect a suspension, but I think it would be unfair to give him a big one.