NBA 2014 Playoffs and Offseason

[Count Yoda]

Woo! The Rockets won!

Another game Friday!

[byc]

Took me a while before I figured out what was going on. I'm not sure how nuking the forums is supposed to clean up the forums, because there's no actual prevention of those bad apples...

Anyways...

Rockets pull it out, but the team doesn't look at all. Howard is such a bad low post player that when he gets the ball to post, everybody else stops. Run the offense through Harden and let Howard bitch.

D'Antoni pulls ANOTHER "I'm taking my ball and going home". He's certainly an expert on that. He needs to stop coaching, because he seems to be terrible at it, even with the rules fitting his style and system.

[kalorama]

I've long thought D'Antoni was over-rated and basically built his rep by grabbing Steve Nash and holding on for dear life, and as far as I'm concerned, he and the Lakers deserve each other. But I thought Magic Johnson doing the happy dance on Twitter, like a teenage girl who's rival for prom queen came down with mono, after D'Antoni quit was a bit too much.

Stay classy, Earvin.

[JaggedFel]

Took me a while before I figured out what was going on. I'm not sure how nuking the forums is supposed to clean up the forums, because there's no actual prevention of those bad apples...

Anyways...

Rockets pull it out, but the team doesn't look at all. Howard is such a bad low post player that when he gets the ball to post, everybody else stops. Run the offense through Harden and let Howard bitch.

D'Antoni pulls ANOTHER "I'm taking my ball and going home". He's certainly an expert on that. He needs to stop coaching, because he seems to be terrible at it, even with the rules fitting his style and system.

Its just sad, Howard is really good on Pick and Rolls and sucks at post ups. He is dragging the team down with that. Also Harden should not be primary ball handler, he is a hog.

[byc]

Its just sad, Howard is really good on Pick and Rolls and sucks at post ups. He is dragging the team down with that. Also Harden should not be primary ball handler, he is a hog.

The Rockets have a lot of mis-mashed parts, but they kind of work because Howard is a good player, Harden is a great scorer, Parsons and Lin do a solid job of scoring, and now Beverly allows them to guard at least 1 of the guard positions with good pressure. Asik is a good defensive big man. The mis-mash comes from getting lots of good players together for a big trade for a star, but now that they have the stars, the Rockets need to trim the fat and focus on what they are weak at. I have no doubt Daryl Morey will address those issues in this upcoming off-season and future off-seasons, but right now, the Rockets team full of good players, 2 possibly great players, but no experience or chemistry yet. That's why I wasn't scare of them at all this year. In 1-3 years if they can keep the egos in check, I think they can be really dangerous. Howard might not have 3 years in him though at or possibly past his prime already plus injury issues.

[byc]

I've long thought D'Antoni was over-rated and basically built his rep by grabbing Steve Nash and holding on for dear life, and as far as I'm concerned, he and the Lakers deserve each other. But I thought Magic Johnson doing the happy dance on Twitter, like a teenage girl who's rival for prom queen came down with mono, after D'Antoni quit was a bit too much.

Stay classy, Earvin.

It's kind of interesting how Magic was silent for many many years, and all of a sudden in the last 2-3 years he's everywhere on social media talking about everything. It's like his empire has gotten so good at running itself that he's bored and doing whatever he wants.

I wasn't impressed by D'Antoni at first, because of my preference for post-up and iso play style of the 90's and early 00's along with Playoff basketball. As the league shifted towards wing and guard play with the rule changes, I started focusing on Phoenix more and read more about the system. It actually makes a lot of sense in many ways (you run so the defense isn't set, you take early 3's if you're open because it's a better shot than a contested post-up/drive into a set defense, go small for offensive mis-matches). But I think the success of Phoenix, who had Hall of Famer Steve Nash running the system, ended up hurting him because a lot of the league is running something similar, so those advantages aren't as great as they used to be. Plus, Nash was able to figure out how to run that system to the best degree we've seen yet (other than maybe Miami's version with LeBron, who actually won 2 NBA titles).

His particular version also was very personnel driven. He needed smart players to figure out when to take the shot and when not to, he needed HoF guard to run it (without Nash, his system has NEVER worked), he needed stretch 4 and 5s that can play inside when needed as well. D'Antoni, according to first-hand reports from certain players, did not practice defense or even have a philosophy. A philosophy is important if only to get the players on the same page, like when to double-team, when to switch on pick n rolls, which player to deny the ball, how to rotate defensively, when to start help defense, etc.

D'Antoni's biggest flaw is how he is completely unable to adjust his system to the players he has. The Lakers he had were old, so don't run. Howard is pretty good at running the pick n roll, so keep doing it (even if he complains because he's stupid and doesn't understand basketball). Gasol and Kobe can post and iso very well, so use them when appropriate. Blake doesn't run the pick n roll particularly well, so let him run picks, but shoot the jumper or pass to the open man, instead of the roll/pop man.

D'Antoni didn't have the players (mainly injuries), but the inability to adjust just kills me.

[Vibranium]

Bulls seem to want to make a strong push for 'Melo

as a Knicks fan, I say take him...please

[byc]

Bulls seem to want to make a strong push for 'Melo

as a Knicks fan, I say take him...please

Melo isn't the problem. The problem is lack of other players.

Amare - old and broken down
Smith - headcase
Felton - fat
Shumpert - young and inconsistent, but there's potential
Chandler - solid, but injury prone recently
Hardaway - young and has potential
Bargnani - he might work out in the right system, but he's not even a solid starter at this point of his career, lest we forget he's a number 1 pick
Prigioni - he's fine as a backup, but Knicks are asking him to do too much

So out of that, you have maybe 3 other solid contributors. Melo isn't the problem.

[Eli.C]

The Pacers' season might end today.

If so, this will go down as the most depressing season in my years as a fan. The Artest Season was bad for it's own reasons, but as it was happening, I remember a very large part of the fanbase still backing the team and having a very "Us vs. Them" mentality. But this team seems to have given up, and unless it was because Danny got traded, I can't figure out why and it sucks.

[byc]

The Pacers' season might end today.

If so, this will go down as the most depressing season in my years as a fan. The Artest Season was bad for it's own reasons, but as it was happening, I remember a very large part of the fanbase still backing the team and having a very "Us vs. Them" mentality. But this team seems to have given up, and unless it was because Danny got traded, I can't figure out why and it sucks.

It's a combination of factors I'm sure, unless after the season we discover from a "source" that a major event happened but wasn't reported.

I'm semi-gleeful at this entire situation, as the Pacers were talking so much trash for taking the Heat to a game 7 in the ECF. Like...really? You guys are getting uppity from that? It wasn't even the Finals.

[Paul W.]

With due respect to the Bulls fans, can you explain to me why Noah gets away with a foul on nearly every moving screen he sets? Seriously, is it because he does it so much and so obviously the refs feel like they can't call it on every play?

Yes, yes, I know that everyone in the NBA sets a moving screen, but Noah is ridiculous. Hip thrust, extend arms, and... roll!

[Eli.C]

It's a combination of factors I'm sure, unless after the season we discover from a "source" that a major event happened but wasn't reported.

I'm semi-gleeful at this entire situation, as the Pacers were talking so much trash for taking the Heat to a game 7 in the ECF. Like...really? You guys are getting uppity from that? It wasn't even the Finals.

You take pride in the things you accomplish. When you take the champs to game seven, making them take you dead serious along the way, yes, you crow about it, especially when you feel stronger in the coming season.

When you lose, you admit to your defeat and work to get stronger.

[kalorama]

With due respect to the Bulls fans, can you explain to me why Noah gets away with a foul on nearly every moving screen he sets? Seriously, is it because he does it so much and so obviously the refs feel like they can't call it on every play?

Yes, yes, I know that everyone in the NBA sets a moving screen, but Noah is ridiculous. Hip thrust, extend arms, and... roll!

It's ludicrous, isn't it? I mean, he's not the least bit subtle or sly about it. The most egregious one is when he puts his forearms together and thrusts them into the body of the pursuing guard as he corners the pick, like a blocking tight end.

[Paul W.]

It's ludicrous, isn't it? I mean, he's not the least bit subtle or sly about it. The most egregious one is when he puts his forearms together and thrusts them into the body of the pursuing guard as he corners the pick, like a blocking tight end.

Yes, that's exactly what he resembles, an offensive lineman.

[Jabare]

We are getting some great playoff games I love it

Bulls seem to want to make a strong push for 'Melo

as a Knicks fan, I say take him...please

come on man Melo's been the best thing to happen to the Knicks since the 90s