The 2008-09 NBA thread

[zuke583]

They\'ll take game 7, but I doubt they\'ll get much further than that.

i think they can beat the magic. it took them 6 games to beat philly. and i think chicago might actually be good. no way they\'re beating the cavs though

[Yoda]

Down with boston...in any sport...

How mature.

Just being realistic....

Red Sox - I can\'t stand them and the ego that they\'re fans have grown.
Bruins - Don\'t have as much of a problem with then, but love to see a #1 seed get knocked off.
Patriots - I\'m a Jets fan, so screw their coach and everyone else on the team.
Celtics - I actually was a fan when Bird played, but pro basketball bores the shit out of me.  I should be rooting for these guys because Pierce is a KU alum, but they and their fans feel like the trophy should be handed to them because they were so good last year.

[Drew_Kingsley]

What a great game last night. I was very happy to see Brad Miller hit two clutch free throws last night... not only preserve the victory, but also the "what-if" factor of Rondo\'s foul in Game 5. It\'s a shame that free agency will more or less eliminated the possibility of a true, long-standing rivalry between these two (or any two) teams. At least we can still watch Rondo and Gordon duke it out for years to come, regardless of which uniforms they are wearing.

[leith]

Down with boston...in any sport...

Yeah!

[Gordo]

Best...series...EVER.

I love the Bulls, always have. It\'s nice to see some serious play out of a team that nearly died with Jordan. Finally a resurrection I actually believe in.

I think Boston wins Game 7, but in another thriller, possibly some blood shed involved. Point is I don\'t care all that much if they lose. Well, I do, but they\'ve given us some serious hope for the future already and more post-season entertainment in one series than I\'ve had in the past decade. They definitely have a shot at beating Orlando (if they pull it out), but the Cavs will absolutely drop the hammer come ECFs.

So while I\'d love to see them get another series under their experience belt, I really don\'t think it will matter that much. This series, win or lose, will be enough to build on. And I can\'t wait to see D-Rose improve exponentially every season for the next 5 years.

It\'s crazy how much better the NBA has gotten in the past 5 years too. Just a stockpile of superstars and top-shelf matchups nightly. Yoda--the NBA is FAR from boring these days. I\'d argue it has surpassed the entertainment level of the 80\'s/early-90\'s, or is at least on level.

[skalnbyc]

Yoda--the NBA is FAR from boring these days. I\'d argue it has surpassed the entertainment level of the 80\'s/early-90\'s, or is at least on level.

Confirmed: Yoda is a sucker for men playing sports in shorty shorts.

[leith]

Best...series...EVER.

I love the Bulls, always have. It\'s nice to see some serious play out of a team that nearly died with Jordan. Finally a resurrection I actually believe in.

I think Boston wins Game 7, but in another thriller, possibly some blood shed involved. Point is I don\'t care all that much if they lose. Well, I do, but they\'ve given us some serious hope for the future already and more post-season entertainment in one series than I\'ve had in the past decade. They definitely have a shot at beating Orlando (if they pull it out), but the Cavs will absolutely drop the hammer come ECFs.

So while I\'d love to see them get another series under their experience belt, I really don\'t think it will matter that much. This series, win or lose, will be enough to build on. And I can\'t wait to see D-Rose improve exponentially every season for the next 5 years.

It\'s crazy how much better the NBA has gotten in the past 5 years too. Just a stockpile of superstars and top-shelf matchups nightly. Yoda--the NBA is FAR from boring these days. I\'d argue it has surpassed the entertainment level of the 80\'s/early-90\'s, or is at least on level.

When both teams in a game start consistently scoring over 110 points I\'ll say you have the beginnings of an argument.

The defensively minded game that has been around for the past decade is the reason the NBA lost so many fans. When teams are consistently shooting under 50% the entertainment value plummets.
Now that there are some actual scorers in the NBA again things are looking up.

[Gordo]

Part of what makes this class of superstars so great is their play on both sides. I can watch LBJ and D-Wade spat the shit out of someone, run the court, and dunk all over someone else at the other end, all night long. I love good defense--it makes high scoring nights special, and great individual performances more multi-dimensional.

I would stop watching the NBA if we had a bunch of Ben Gordons running around. Don\'t get me wrong, he\'s been key this whole series (except last night) on offense, but he plays ZERO defense and can consistently finish with ZERO assists. Game 1, for example. That said, it\'s nice to have guys like Benny G facilitating the true superstars of the game, the guys who own both ends of the court.

[zuke583]

Best...series...EVER.

I love the Bulls, always have. It\'s nice to see some serious play out of a team that nearly died with Jordan. Finally a resurrection I actually believe in.

I think Boston wins Game 7, but in another thriller, possibly some blood shed involved. Point is I don\'t care all that much if they lose. Well, I do, but they\'ve given us some serious hope for the future already and more post-season entertainment in one series than I\'ve had in the past decade. They definitely have a shot at beating Orlando (if they pull it out), but the Cavs will absolutely drop the hammer come ECFs.

So while I\'d love to see them get another series under their experience belt, I really don\'t think it will matter that much. This series, win or lose, will be enough to build on. And I can\'t wait to see D-Rose improve exponentially every season for the next 5 years.

It\'s crazy how much better the NBA has gotten in the past 5 years too. Just a stockpile of superstars and top-shelf matchups nightly. Yoda--the NBA is FAR from boring these days. I\'d argue it has surpassed the entertainment level of the 80\'s/early-90\'s, or is at least on level.

When both teams in a game start consistently scoring over 110 points I\'ll say you have the beginnings of an argument.

The defensively minded game that has been around for the past decade is the reason the NBA lost so many fans. When teams are consistently shooting under 50% the entertainment value plummets.
Now that there are some actual scorers in the NBA again things are looking up.

i blame pat riley\'s knicks

[skalnbyc]

I often like the players until they open their mouths in the after-game interviews.  I thought Kevin Garnett was a respectable guy for a second until he opened his mouth and sounded like a total jackass with terrible on-camera presence.

[SkyePrizm]

Best...series...EVER.

I love the Bulls, always have. It\'s nice to see some serious play out of a team that nearly died with Jordan. Finally a resurrection I actually believe in.

I think Boston wins Game 7, but in another thriller, possibly some blood shed involved. Point is I don\'t care all that much if they lose. Well, I do, but they\'ve given us some serious hope for the future already and more post-season entertainment in one series than I\'ve had in the past decade. They definitely have a shot at beating Orlando (if they pull it out), but the Cavs will absolutely drop the hammer come ECFs.

So while I\'d love to see them get another series under their experience belt, I really don\'t think it will matter that much. This series, win or lose, will be enough to build on. And I can\'t wait to see D-Rose improve exponentially every season for the next 5 years.

It\'s crazy how much better the NBA has gotten in the past 5 years too. Just a stockpile of superstars and top-shelf matchups nightly. Yoda--the NBA is FAR from boring these days. I\'d argue it has surpassed the entertainment level of the 80\'s/early-90\'s, or is at least on level.

When both teams in a game start consistently scoring over 110 points I\'ll say you have the beginnings of an argument.

The defensively minded game that has been around for the past decade is the reason the NBA lost so many fans. When teams are consistently shooting under 50% the entertainment value plummets.
Now that there are some actual scorers in the NBA again things are looking up.

i blame pat riley\'s knicks

Don\'t knock the 80s/90s knicks.  that was my team.  Ewing, Starks hitting bricks....man, takes me back to middle school/high school years.  God, how that team disappointed me.

They\'ll take game 7, but I doubt they\'ll get much further than that.

i think they can beat the magic. it took them 6 games to beat philly. and i think chicago might actually be good. no way they\'re beating the cavs though

I agree, they\'ll beat the magic. However, i think if the Cavs beat them, they\'ll go out fighting. They\'ll get hungrier the further they go......

[Gordo]

I often like the players until they open their mouths in the after-game interviews.  I thought Kevin Garnett was a respectable guy for a second until he opened his mouth and sounded like a total jackass with terrible on-camera presence.

No shit. He has looked like an absolute fool all series. Loc Doggin\' in a suit, mother-fuckin\' from the bench.

I agree, they\'ll beat the magic. However, i think if the Cavs beat them, they\'ll go out fighting. They\'ll get hungrier the further they go......

Cavs are way better than everyone in the East, no doubt they coast to the finals.

[zuke583]

bill simmons article on the celts/bulls series so far

[Drew_Kingsley]

bill simmons article on the celts/bulls series so far

This was a great article. Even though I\'m not a Simmons fan at all, it reminded me why he is a professional sports writer and I\'m not... this is everything I was thinking about this series (expect the parts about being a Celtics\' fan) that I had no chance of effectively putting into words.

I also like his idea about the five-year grace period after winning a championship... now if only he would follow his own advice when it comes to the Patriots, then I would be able to read his columns during football season without getting pissed off.

[Gordo]

bill simmons article on the celts/bulls series so far

This was a great article. Even though I\'m not a Simmons fan at all, it reminded me why he is a professional sports writer and I\'m not... this is everything I was thinking about this series (expect the parts about being a Celtics\' fan) that I had no chance of effectively putting into words.

I also like his idea about the five-year grace period after winning a championship... now if only he would follow his own advice when it comes to the Patriots, then I would be able to read his columns during football season without getting pissed off.

I didn\'t see this article posted here (came back on here to post the link), just read it, recited half of it out loud to my roommates, and enjoyed every bit of it. Great article.

Funniest line: "...then a WNBA player dunked on Paul Pierce." :lol: