Here's to a big season- the NBA smack thread 2010/11

[Arty50]

maybe you should have picked him instead of wade . also, arty, you left a lot of points on the bench last night, you are aware that our league allows daily roster changes, right? fill up those starting spots every night if you want to win the cash.

love,

the benevolent comish

Yeah, I blew it and didn't realize this until yesterday. I'm all set for the next couple of weeks. Thanks though. Still, I'm tied right now. Also, Kirilenko...wtf?

[basom]

the rajon rondo opening night dime show v the south beach talents:

[strawjack]

i am a celts fan, but i did chuckle a little after last nights loss to the cavs.

[str8line]

Really interested to see how the Jazz do tonight vs. Phoenix after that fucking miserable game last night. I can't believe they even shot 38% from the field, it seemed like 25%. Never got in any kind of groove and even D-Will's mini-groove in the 3rd really did nothing for them. Scariest box score I can ever remember FG and FT percentage-wise.

The Wizards are picking up right where the Jazz left off last night. Wall is 3-13FG at the half. Will he explode in the second half?

[The Reverend Floater]

I'm telling you, dudes...it's just not the year of the Jazz.

[str8line]

I'm telling you, dudes...it's just not the year of the Jazz.

On the bright side, they won't fail due to over-confidence.

I ain't fazed one bit. It's just a little stagefright. They're gonna click and stomp.

[Steven S. Dallas]

I guess, but you kind of worry about their shooters. I haven't watched the Jizz yet but based on the roster it seems like they're pretty one dimensional, or at the very least have serious spacing problems.

God I'm so worried.

[The Reverend Floater]

I guess, but you kind of worry about their shooters. I haven't watched the Jizz yet but based on the roster it seems like they're pretty one dimensional, or at the very least have serious spacing problems.

God I'm so worried.

My thoughts exactly...and was actually going to post this initially but was trying to be sensitive to delicate flowers of the Wasatch.

Last year and in years past, the Jazz could spread you out with their shooters, leaving huge lanes for D-Will and allowing Boozer to have a lot of room for post moves and to take out the trash. Boozer was the perfect fit for this--rugged and very quick in the post.

Now you have considerably less shooting talent to spread that floor and while Big Gay Al is certainly a strong PF, Boozer he is not. The Jazz will always be a tough team and I never look forward to playing them, mostly because of Sloan. But I just don't see them being as strong as last year.

[Steven S. Dallas]

while Big Gay Al is certainly a strong PF, Boozer he is not.

As good as his low-post skills are, he's not a banger on the offensive end. Can Milsap play center?

[str8line]

As good as his low-post skills are, he's not a banger on the offensive end. Can Milsap play center?

It will be good to get Okur back to spread the defenses. Also, Kirilenko can do a good job of spreading the defense when his shots start falling from the outside. I never saw Jefferson play till this year, but his moves near the basket are incredible. He's gotta be one of the only people in the NBA that can be swarmed by three guys right at the post and still score. Plus he's not in top shape yet as they were talking about him being overweight just a couple of weeks ago. I bet he's going to average 25 and 10. Deron and Raja Bell were each 3-12 FG last night. Raja's career 41% 3 threat will be one of the keys to Deron's ability to take the lane and Deron won't have too many 3-12 nights.

The thing that scared me last night is that they just couldn't stop the Suns. I don't know if the Suns are just that good offensively(they might be), or if the Jazz really are that terrible. One thing for sure is that the shots were falling for the Suns and similar open shots for the Jazz just weren't falling.

One of the biggest things I take from last nights game is that Gordon Hayward is going to be a Kirilenko-type player, only smarter. He got 25 minutes last night. He's in phenomenal shape. He's a hustler and has great court vision. From every quote I've read it's obvious Jerry Sloan loves him.

Lastly, they need CJ Miles to get serious. The dude is an amazing talent. He entered the NBA at 18 years old. When he plays well he can bring a ton to the Jazz. But he's totally out of shape. Sloan won't stand for it for long and unless Kirilenko gets hurt I think all of CJ's minutes might end up going to Hayward.


Andrei Kirilenko, SF 32 5-13 1-1 8-10 0 2 2 4 2 1 3 2 -10 19
Paul Millsap, PF 34 9-13 0-0 1-3 6 7 13 1 1 2 1 5 -6 19
Al Jefferson, C 37 8-18 0-0 4-7 2 7 9 0 0 0 0 3 -14 20
Raja Bell, SG 37 3-12 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 4 1 0 5 4 -9 7
Deron Williams, PG 40 3-12 1-3 6-7 1 3 4 6 2 0 3 5 -16 13
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Earl Watson, PG 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 -2 0
Francisco Elson, C 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 -1 2
Ronnie Price, PG 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 +4 2
C.J. Miles, SF 15 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 -8 2
Kyrylo Fesenko, C 7 2-4 0-1 0-0 2 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 -1 4
Gordon Hayward, SF 25 3-6 0-2 0-0 2 4 6 0 1 3 1 2 -17 6
Jeremy Evans, SF DNP COACH'S DECISION

[The Reverend Floater]

I'm going to stop hating on the Jizz after this post, as much as I do truly despise that franchise. But Gordy, I think you're high on the crizzity crank meth cookie if you believe Al Jefferson to be a 25/10 guy. Why? Because no PF averages 25/10, let alone AJ who is a "B+" PF at best. Now DWill is an A+ player, obviously, and Sloan is undoubtedly the best coach in basketball. Period. But that's all you have on that teir and the competition is so damned deep these days, you really need more to be a threat to the conference.

As for Hayward, not sure everyone agrees with you:

"The frustration boiled over late Thursday when Williams got on rookie Gordon Hayward. The Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones describes the scene:

[Williams] screamed at Hayward loud enough for the entire building to hear as the Jazz went into the huddle for a timeout. Jerry Sloan immediately had a few choice words for Williams, and [Al] Jefferson could be seen counseling Hayward as the team exited the huddle."


I'm done. Go Codpiece!

[GoEhuge]

Fucking Delonte....

By ESPN.com news servicesBoston Celtics guard Delonte West and teammate Von Wafer were involved in a physical altercation on Friday, according to multiple media reports.

The two players were guarding each other in a game of three-on-three when West repeatedly fouled Wafer, according to Hoopsworld.com. Wafer headed to the locker room but was followed by West, who threw the first punch and the two wrestled, according to the Web site. A league source confirmed to Comcast Sports Net New England on Friday that an altercation took place.

The Celtics are gathering information on the situation, but sources told Hoopsworld that they are considering releasing West based on this and other incidents with teammates.

While Wafer did not directly address the incident, according to CCSNE.com he wrote on his Twitter account: "Today was a test! . . . I am a professional and will continue to conduct myself as one . . . God has a plan for me."

He later tweeted: "I love my team #we family."

The Celtics re-signed West, their former first-round draft pick, this offseason after he had been plagued by off-court issues in recent years. He is suspended for the first 10 games of this season after being found guilty of weapons charges in Maryland.

West has averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists per game in six seasons with the Celtics, SuperSonics and Cavaliers.

[str8line]

I'm going to stop hating on the Jizz after this post, as much as I do truly despise that franchise. But Gordy, I think you're high on the crizzity crank meth cookie if you believe Al Jefferson to be a 25/10 guy. Why? Because no PF averages 25/10, let alone AJ who is a "B+" PF at best. Now DWill is an A+ player, obviously, and Sloan is undoubtedly the best coach in basketball. Period. But that's all you have on that teir and the competition is so damned deep these days, you really need more to be a threat to the conference.

As for Hayward, not sure everyone agrees with you:

"The frustration boiled over late Thursday when Williams got on rookie Gordon Hayward. The Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones describes the scene:

[Williams] screamed at Hayward loud enough for the entire building to hear as the Jazz went into the huddle for a timeout. Jerry Sloan immediately had a few choice words for Williams, and [Al] Jefferson could be seen counseling Hayward as the team exited the huddle."


I'm done. Go Codpiece!

Alright, SMACK talk.

I may have been a little over-exuberant about AJ, but he did average 23 and 11 two years ago. Granted he got a lot of touches. But if he and D-Will click and defenses are drawn out by Bell, Okur, etc., and the Mormon prayers are answered, 25/10 might happen.

As for Hayward, I'm telling you the dude is a player. Why do you think Sloan, his two assistants and several other players immediately stood up for him when D-Will freaked? Deron was completely flustered by his own shitty play and took it out on the rookie when Hayward missed a rotation. Hayward was a huge spark every second he was in there and played super well on both ends of the floor.

After the game Charles Barkley said that the Jazz, OKC and Lakers were still his favorites in the West.

[Steven S. Dallas]

It probably bears repeating that Delonte West is clinically insane.

[basom]

It probably bears repeating that Delonte West is clinically insane.

am i the only one who's first reaction after hearing about this was genuine fear that if waived delonte might go postal and carry out a vendetta killing of wafer?


my take on al jefferson is that he is a superior low post player, few bigs play as well with their backs to the basket, and certainly not boozer. however boozer runs the pick/screen and roll to perfection. he is ideal in that roll. AL Jefferson is one of the worst bigs when it comes to the pick and roll, which is a focal point to the motion offense they (used) to run. so major problems arise, and i am not so surprised. sloan has (apparently) tried to tweak the offense to best use jefferson and no one has quite gotten it, including (especially) deron. hence bad lines all around, hence woodsy sending me text messages that he's on suicide watch.

go littlenecks

[str8line]

am i the only one who's first reaction after hearing about this was genuine fear that if waived delonte might go postal and carry out a vendetta killing of wafer?


my take on al jefferson is that he is a superior low post player, few bigs play as well with their backs to the basket, and certainly not boozer. however boozer runs the pick/screen and roll to perfection. he is ideal in that roll. AL Jefferson is one of the worst bigs when it comes to the pick and roll, which is a focal point to the motion offense they (used) to run. so major problems arise, and i am not so surprised. sloan has (apparently) tried to tweak the offense to best use jefferson and no one has quite gotten it, including (especially) deron. hence bad lines all around, hence woodsy sending me text messages that he's on suicide watch.

go littlenecks

Nice take. No doubt that Deron is freaking. His interview today was the most pessimistic I've heard him sound, and he ain't afraid to sound pessimistic when the situation warrants it. He wants the team to look at more film as a team and Sloan agreed with him in a later interview. I was a little surprised that Sloan didn't get defensive since the articles tone made it sound a little like D-Will was callin out Sloan.

I thought that if a few shots would have started dropping they would have been in the game last night. The offense didn't really look that bad to me. As I said in my earlier post the defense looked outgunned. Sloan put up a good synopsis at the end of the article stating that they missed 11 layups and that those misses and others resulted in too many fast breaks for a Suns team that likes to run.

BTW, Goran Dragic was really fun to watch last night. Great speed and energy with some spectacular plays.

[str8line]

A damn nice 3rd quarter of ball goin on right now in the Lakers-Suns game.

[The Reverend Floater]

My God, the Knicks look FUCKING TERRIBLE.

[concretejungle]

My God, the Knicks look FUCKING TERRIBLE.

MELO!!!!

[basom]

speaking of the knicks....

rondo trip dub with 24 assists v knickerbockers:

[Jackie Treehorn]

[AKbruin]

Just stating the obvious, but, good lord, ESPN's over-coverage of the Heat is obnoxious. I could honestly do without the latest status report from their correspondent in LeBron's anus.

(Yeah, I know. It's nothing new--see, e.g., Brett Favre, the Yankees & Redsox juggernaut, 2005 USC football, etc.)

[bluejet59]

When are they gonna stop with the T's? Rasheed couldn't even dream of playing under these restrictions - which makes me laugh. But come on, this is an emotional game and entertainment as well. Does anyone support this crap?
One more thing - a moratorium on cut away shots of Ray Allen's mom clapping for the year.

[concretejungle]

When are they gonna stop with the T's? Rasheed couldn't even dream of playing under these restrictions - which makes me laugh. But come on, this is an emotional game and entertainment as well. Does anyone support this crap?
One more thing - a moratorium on cut away shots of Ray Allen's mom clapping for the year.

Yes, as much as I hate the NBA refs they need to stop this whining shit. The Nugs, as a team, are the biggest bunch of whiners in the NBA and they only have 3 T's this year. I expected about 5 times as many although how long until CB gets T'ed up for a "ball don't lie" is a running bet between my wife and I.

Next up get rid of the flopping and we've got ourselves a sport.

[Arty50]

Lamar Odom...killing it!!!

"The Lakers got a scare late in the third quarter when Odom was hunched over in pain holding his left hand. He was tended to by the training staff and quickly returned to the game and made a 3-pointer, showing no ill effects."

Dude is shooting 75% from behind the big arc this season. Whaaaaat!?!?!?