Official 141 NBA Thread

阿島

HighlanderZ 發表於 2012-6-22 21:03
Congrats to the Heat and especially LBJ!

And I am glad Battier won a ring, as I always liked him s ...

His 3-pts shot is really important for Heats...

阿島

仍然不大接受 LBJ 攞到指環...

HighlanderZ

I am not a LBJ fan at all, but I must say I am pretty impressed by the way he has been playing since the ECF. Unlike in seasons past, not only he didn't fold when time was tough; he actually raised his level of plays and pretty much single handedly will the Heat to the Finals!

Now that he has won his first ring, I'd like to see how he defend this title. I bet comes next season OKC is only going to get stronger. We will see, I think the east should be pretty easy to get out of, but I bet IF the Heat make it to the Finals 3 years in a row, next time it won't be as easy once they get there!

OneBigBanana

Juwan5 發表於 2012-6-22 01:17
無啦啦比Juwan Howard 執番粒Championship ring. 真係恭喜佢!

It definitely showed that, you need to be good and lucky to win the champ. Many great players before him were much better but not as lucky either injury or playing against other better greats (MJ).  
It's great to see him winning one even he's no longer in his prime but I am sure he's a great teammate for them.

OneBigBanana

阿島 發表於 2012-6-22 08:50
His 3-pts shot is really important for Heats...

I think he made the difference (unfortunately Harden didn't show up for OKC). He defended KD most of the time so LeBron could save his energy. And his 3 pts shooting was just killed OKC's chance...

HighlanderZ

回復 OneBigBanana #1046 的帖子

Westbrook's inconsistant games is another obvious reason why OKC failed.

Having said that, I think one point that is being overlooked is, how the hell did the Thunder's defense allow the Heat's bench to play so well? Ok, I know Shane Battier can score some, and is a good one-on-one defender, but OKC let him loose most of the series, and he played like an all-star!

Another example is Chalmers. He went virtually disappeared in the ECF, but OKC kept giving him open looks in the Finals, especially in both game 4 & 5!

Finally, Mike Miller? The guy could barely walk, and he managed to score 23pts in game 5?

All in all, OKC's defense in the Finals, or the lack of it let them down this time. Hopefully they only get better and stronger in the next season.

Oh, and is anyone here following the free agency movement this summer?

OneBigBanana

HighlanderZ 發表於 2012-6-25 08:57
回復 OneBigBanana #1046 的帖子

Westbrook's inconsistant games is another obvious reason why OKC fai ...

The main issue of their defense was, LeBron sucked multiple defenders to him and left others wide open. Thabo is a good defender but too small to guard LeBron, and KD is not a strong enough defender for LeBron. That's why there were always 2-3 OKC players helping out on LeBron and left others shooting the threes. And the Heat were making them, when they were not before the Final series. Also, OKC didn't play any zone dedense neither didn't help.  That's just my opinion...  

OneBigBanana

2012 NBA Draft is on this Thursday...
What's your opinions on this year's class and predictions?
I think it's more or less one player draft which is A. DAVIS? Other than him, there are good players but no one else really stand out to be wow you kind of player.
So, my pick is A. DAVIS go to NO first pick... Other than that... Really no clue...  lol...

HighlanderZ

I did follow the draft a little bit, but since I never paid too much attention to the NCAA (even when I was living in the US), I can't say for sure what is going to be a star or what not, haha!

Having said that, the 2012 Free Agency period is upon us! Signing FAs, trades etc are going to happen!

So far all indications suggest KG is returning to the Celtics for 3 years over $34M, but Ray Allen isn't a guarantee in returning. In fact, the Heat are very interested in signing him. And assuming Mike Miller decides to retire, the Heat will charge hard at Allen!

The one FA I keep my eye on isn't D-Will (I don't think he is a winner any team should team around), rather Steve Nash! Is he going to look at the Heat for the vet minimum? NY? Or even a return to the Mavs?

And Pau Gasol's future is also in doubt in LA. Honestly, as a Lakers fan myself, I DO NOT think he should be traded at all! The "problem" with him this past year was that Mike Brown didn't know, and couldn't figure out HOW to utilize his skills. If we trade him away we are losing an important scoring option, and a skilled big-passer. We will see.

HighlanderZ

The Free Agent period has officially started. Players and teams are allowed to meet and negoiate for new contract.

The Raptors are reportedly offering Steve Nash a 3-year, $36M deal, while the Nets are trying to keep Gerald Wallace for 4-year / $40M... both are alright offers, but this next one got me say: WTF?!

The Rockets have allowed with Omer Asik on a 3-year, $25.1M deal! Asik only averaged 3 ppg and 5 rpg last season with the Bulls... wow! $25.1M for THAT? Really?

Juwan5

HighlanderZ 發表於 2012-7-2 10:32
The Free Agent period has officially started. Players and teams are allowed to meet and negoiate for ...

Some people may find it surprise but I am expecting Omer to receive a better offer. He might not be a good offensive player but he is a very solid denfensive player. Mid level salary should be enough for Omer. Somehow Rockets thinks he is worth more than a mid level salary.

Juwan5

HighlanderZ 發表於 2012-7-2 10:32
The Free Agent period has officially started. Players and teams are allowed to meet and negoiate for ...

Some people may find it surprise but I am expecting Omer to receive a better offer. He might not be a good offensive player but he is a very solid denfensive player. Mid level salary should be enough for Omer. Somehow Rockets thinks he is worth more than a mid level salary.

HighlanderZ

Danny Ferry has been on the job as the Hawks' new GM for less than 2 weeks. And in just ONE day, he managed to rid of TWO ridiculous contracts in Joe Johnson, and Marvin Williams, thus saved the Hawks' $80M in future salary! Wow! He IS good!

OneBigBanana

Well, crazier deals happened today that Hawks sent Joe Johnson to the Nets and DWilliams just agreed to be back to the Nets. And there are sources said that Kidd is going there too. If they can get Howard (not likely imo) then it's another scary team that stacks with stars...
Joe Johnson, DWilliams, Kidd, GWallace, and maybe Howard... Wow, the new owner really want to show everyone how to spend money...  

HighlanderZ

Scary, yes, but as in high payroll, not in terms of so-called stars, haha.

I hope I am wrong, and I wish they all prove me wrong on this, but a team with JJ, D-Will, and even D12 doesn't scare me a bit. These 3 guys have no winning track record, except for a slightly better playoffs history for D12! And like I said before, both D-Will and D12 are so uncoachable, they will soon tune out Avery Johnson, and even run him out of town. Yes, while on paper they look very good, but I am not convinced the 3 of them together can win anything, nor I think any of them give a damn about winning, seriously.

As for Kidd joining them? Unless he is willing to take just the Mid-level exception, I don't see it from happening. And paying Wallace $10M/year? Be my guest, I don't think he is worth that much, no way.

HighlanderZ

One more thing I want to add though. D-Rose is not expecting to return (if effective at all) until Feb, and then depends on where FAs are going to go for teams like the Celtics, Knicks (Field already signed with Toronto, I think), the Hawks, Magic and the 76ers etc. The landscape in the East could be very different from this year, so the Nets might have a chance to win a few more regular season games then people expect, but I project something like 47-50 if they don't get D12. If they do, it will be like 57-60, I think.

OneBigBanana

回復 HighlanderZ #1056 的帖子

I don't think their contracts are worth the money, but the Russian guy just wanted to show that he's willing to spend big bucks.  Even it's senselessly...  

HighlanderZ

^ completely agreed, but if I were him I would've spent more wisely...

So continue on with the signings. Jason Terry is heading to the Boston Celtics, and so it looks more and more like Ray Allen is heading to the Heat! If I have to pick an early off season loser, they have to be the Dallas Mavs! After gutting the team in hope of getting BOTH D-Will and D12, they lost Terry, and likely Kidd as well, and now they pretty much have no one else worthy except for Dirk.

HighlanderZ

Don't remember if I said it here or else where, I thought basketball-wise the Lakers are the best place for Nash, but I didn't think the Lakers could offer him the kind of salary he wanted... man, was I wrong?! The Lakers managed to pull a sign-and-trade and got Nash for virtually nothing (used the Odom trade exception). Man, suddenly the Lakers are right back in the conversation!

OneBigBanana

Seems like the two LA teams are stacking up good for next season...  And Mark Cuban's plan seems to back fired big time...