NBA Basketball 2007-08: The Thread Part II

[Headache in a Suitcase]

so the nba finally has a Finals that they can sell to the masses... and they're gonna put it on so that it ends when the majority of the population in the united states is asleep.

well done.

honestly... 9pm starts?

i understand if you want to put the games in LA on at 9pm. but the games in boston should start at 8.

i suppose it's better than 9:30 but eh... got knows there's goint to be hour long half times.

and to top it off, the scheduleing is just stupid.
game 1- thursday
game 2- sunday
game 3- tuesday
game 4- thursday
game 5- sunday
game 6- tuesday
game 7- thursday

they completely skip friday and saturday nights because friday/saturday is the lowest TV ratings... not that less people watch it, but more people watch it together... bars/parties, etc. tuesday/thursday/sunday more people will be at their homes, so the ratings will be oh so slightly higher. utterly ridiciulous.

 

[Hewson]

It ended up being quite the moot point thanks to the Celts's domination in the 4th quarter, but can anyone (Headache most specifically) ever say they've seen a guy called for a blocking foul while taking a shot?
That foul called on Pierce when hit hit the 3 late in the 3rd befuddled me. If you watch the ref on replay, he called a block...the guy shooting the ball can be called for a block?
Pierce's feet were set (otherwise a travel would have to have been called prior to contact), he leaned toward Hamilton after upfaking him, Hamilton slams into him as he releases the ball, and its a foul on Pierce?
Mind blowing.

 

[thetitans2k]

He might have thought that peirce lowered his shoulder when Rip jumped into him. But that was really just a brutal call.

 

[U2@NYC]

Ok, time for predictions, or not yet?

Lakers in 6.

I am hesitant about this since Boston has home court but Kobe has been too much on fire and KG hasn't.

 

[U2@NYC]

so the nba finally has a Finals that they can sell to the masses... and they're gonna put it on so that it ends when the majority of the population in the united states is asleep.

well done.

honestly... 9pm starts?

i understand if you want to put the games in LA on at 9pm. but the games in boston should start at 8.

i suppose it's better than 9:30 but eh... got knows there's goint to be hour long half times.

and to top it off, the scheduleing is just stupid.
game 1- thursday
game 2- sunday
game 3- tuesday
game 4- thursday
game 5- sunday
game 6- tuesday
game 7- thursday

they completely skip friday and saturday nights because friday/saturday is the lowest TV ratings... not that less people watch it, but more people watch it together... bars/parties, etc. tuesday/thursday/sunday more people will be at their homes, so the ratings will be oh so slightly higher. utterly ridiciulous.

The worst thing is that you will lose your chance to impress girls with your knowledge of the game while hitting on them at the bar.

But, hey, Thursday nights in NYC are hot!

 

[lazarus]

I always forget, is it 2-3-2 or 2-2-1-1-1?

If it's the first, Lakers in 5. The latter, Lakers in 6.

 

[speedracer]

2-2-1-1-1 for the first three rounds, 2-3-2 for the finals.

 

[No spoken words]

2-2-1-1-1 for the first three rounds, 2-3-2 for the finals.

I do not have a problem with the days the games are played due to the shitty HUT levels on Friday nights (No major sport plays Championship games on Friday night, for a good reason), but, switching the format to 2-3-2 for the Finals bothers me a lot. No 7 game series should be 2-3-2, at least in my opinion.

As for predictions, I think the Lakers are the better team, so, I'll go with them in 6. Lakers won in Utah and in San Antonio, so they can march into Boston and take one there.

 

[phanan]

Celtics in 6. They'll hold the home court and steal one in L.A.

 

[namkcuR]

No 7 game series should be 2-3-2, at least in my opinion.

Do you understand the reasoning behind the Finals being 2-3-2? They weren't always, it used to be 2-2-1-1-1, but in the Finals, it's East vs West, and that means more distance to travel each time you have to go back and forth. So, that you're only making two trips, one after game 2 and one after game 5. If the finals were 2-2-1-1-1, you'd be crossing the country after game 2, after game 4, after game 5, after game 6. All that traveling could cause fatigue, or cut into practice time, etc. It would just be a total nuisance in these series where two teams from opposite sides of the country are playing each other.

 

[CTU2fan]

Celtics in 7. I think both teams get a road win.

Absolutely everybody outside New England seems to be picking the Lakers, which is no surprise; the East team is always the underdog. I'm thinking Paul Pierce is going to have a monster series, he generally plays well against LA and I expect him to really go off in the game the Celts win at Staples.

 

[No spoken words]

Do you understand the reasoning behind the Finals being 2-3-2? They weren't always, it used to be 2-2-1-1-1, but in the Finals, it's East vs West, and that means more distance to travel each time you have to go back and forth. So, that you're only making two trips, one after game 2 and one after game 5. If the finals were 2-2-1-1-1, you'd be crossing the country after game 2, after game 4, after game 5, after game 6. All that traveling could cause fatigue, or cut into practice time, etc. It would just be a total nuisance in these series where two teams from opposite sides of the country are playing each other.

I do understand the theory behind it but disagree with the logic. You rarely see teams from opposite coasts play each other, and, regardless, these teams fly in chartered planes and do it all season long. Better an "extra" flight than someone playing three straight games at home. Most players would prefer 2-2-1-1-1 in the Finals, regardless of potential travel issues.

 

[LMP]

Do you understand the reasoning behind the Finals being 2-3-2?

No Eli, do you understand? I drink your NBA Finals, I drink it up.

I'm not a big fan of the 2-3-2 as well. It actually favors the "underdog" team, so what's the point of home court? Either way, still pretty excited for these finals. Hopefully they won't be as much of a let down as last year's lame Spurs sweep.

 

[Hewson]

Do you understand the reasoning behind the Finals being 2-3-2? They weren't always, it used to be 2-2-1-1-1, but in the Finals, it's East vs West, and that means more distance to travel each time you have to go back and forth.

Like the potential matchups of Chicago vs. Minnesota for example, brutal travel between the 2 cities.
Or maybe Orlando or Atlanta vs. New Orleans.

 

[zonelistener]

Like the potential matchups of Chicago vs. Minnesota for example, brutal travel between the 2 cities.

Six hours of Wisconsin can be pretty brutal. Have you ever been to Beloit?

 

[No spoken words]

Like the potential matchups of Chicago vs. Minnesota for example, brutal travel between the 2 cities.
Or maybe Orlando or Atlanta vs. New Orleans.

Apparently, you don't understand.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Lakers in 6.

i LOVE 2-3-2.

I think it fucking rocks. The 2-3-2 NBA finals setup will always remind me of the beauty of the Chi-town Bulls 90's title runs.

 

[Hewson]

Apparently, you don't understand.

Apparently...perhaps I should have talked about the Milwaukee vs Minnesota finals we're gonna have in 2011.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

It ended up being quite the moot point thanks to the Celts's domination in the 4th quarter, but can anyone (Headache most specifically) ever say they've seen a guy called for a blocking foul while taking a shot?
That foul called on Pierce when hit hit the 3 late in the 3rd befuddled me. If you watch the ref on replay, he called a block...the guy shooting the ball can be called for a block?
Pierce's feet were set (otherwise a travel would have to have been called prior to contact), he leaned toward Hamilton after upfaking him, Hamilton slams into him as he releases the ball, and its a foul on Pierce?
Mind blowing.

the ref had to have just given the wrong signal... as far as i know there is no block on the offense. be it a player control or a simple charge, the sign should be the one with the hand on the back of the head.

refs do get confused at times... probably because they're all degenerate mutants who suck at life. my favorite is when i see players get called for traveling who never stopped dribbling. or when a defensive player comes away from contact holding their head and the foul is called a block, as if the defender head butted the guy. i have asked that... "what did he do, head butt him?" the ref did not like my comment.

i've never gotten T'd up in the regular season though... spring and summer leagues yea... but no real T's. i have tried my best, but i couldn't get it done. i'm a failure.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Do you understand the reasoning behind the Finals being 2-3-2? They weren't always, it used to be 2-2-1-1-1, but in the Finals, it's East vs West, and that means more distance to travel each time you have to go back and forth. So, that you're only making two trips, one after game 2 and one after game 5. If the finals were 2-2-1-1-1, you'd be crossing the country after game 2, after game 4, after game 5, after game 6. All that traveling could cause fatigue, or cut into practice time, etc. It would just be a total nuisance in these series where two teams from opposite sides of the country are playing each other.

if the team's were traveling by train, bus and/or coach flight, then the travel time and distance would matter. but when teams are traveling by private chartered jet it really isn't an issue anymore.

that said i don't neccesarily mind the 2-3-2 format... but it should be consistant. if it's 2-3-2 in the finals, it should be 2-3-2 throughout the playoffs. if rounds 1 through 3 are 2-2-1-1-1, then the finals should be 2-2-1-1-1. and there's absolutely no reason to have 2 days between games.

also these teams don't really practice on the road, especially this late in the season. they have pre-game shoot arounds and walk thru's... that's it.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

your quote of the weekend from the new york post

At least Flip [Saunders'] coaching finally got Garnett to the big dance

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

the best thing about the lakers and celtics playing in the finals?

oodles and oodles of old laker/celtic replays on espn classic.

85-82, 3 minutes left in the third. now that's high quality basketball.

 

[namkcuR]

the best thing about the lakers and celtics playing in the finals?

oodles and oodles of old laker/celtic replays on espn classic.

85-82, 3 minutes left in the third. now that's high quality basketball.

Definitely some of the greatest games/series' ever played. However, I'd like to know why they're not showing any of the Celtics/Lakers finals series' from the 60s. Boston may have won every time but those were still some classic teams and classic series, and watching some of those games would serve as a good educational tool for those of us who were not around back then and have never been able to actually watch those guys(Russell, Cousy, Havlicek, Heinsohn, Sharman, Sam Jones, West, Baylor, Goodrich, Chamberlin, etc etc) play, no matter how familiar we might be with their names, stats, and styles.

 

[CTU2fan]

Agreed, I'd like to see some older games.

You know what's funny about those 80s games and the scoring? Everybody blamed officiating for the crappy offense for the last 20 years, that they let too much go. Well I'm watching these Lakers/Celts games and I'm seeing tight defense, hard fouls...hell if game 4 of the '84 finals happened today you'd have probably seen guys tossed. The guys just executed on offense then.

Re: the Pierce thing, ya maybe the ref just screwed up. I think the proper call was travelling on Pierce, Pistons' ball...but a foul? Maybe they were just trying to kill any talk of a conspiracy by the league to get a Boston/LA final I really really hope the refs let the Celts & Lakers decide this thing without inserting themselves into the story...I'm not hopeful though.

Edit: Oh and how could I forget...I was at an assembly at my daughter's school yesterday, all the first graders were getting little awards. So they're calling the kids up by name, and damned if there isn't an "Isiah Thomas" at my kid's school (he's not in her class so I didn't know). He was absent though...maybe the Knicks had him scouting?

 

[Hewson]

He may have been absent cause he was in the principal's offfice harassing the receptionist.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Definitely some of the greatest games/series' ever played. However, I'd like to know why they're not showing any of the Celtics/Lakers finals series' from the 60s. Boston may have won every time but those were still some classic teams and classic series, and watching some of those games would serve as a good educational tool for those of us who were not around back then and have never been able to actually watch those guys(Russell, Cousy, Havlicek, Heinsohn, Sharman, Sam Jones, West, Baylor, Goodrich, Chamberlin, etc etc) play, no matter how familiar we might be with their names, stats, and styles.

i would guess it's because of a lack of quality footage.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Agreed, I'd like to see some older games.

You know what's funny about those 80s games and the scoring? Everybody blamed officiating for the crappy offense for the last 20 years, that they let too much go. Well I'm watching these Lakers/Celts games and I'm seeing tight defense, hard fouls...hell if game 4 of the '84 finals happened today you'd have probably seen guys tossed. The guys just executed on offense then.

that's what so many people don't understand... now a days when people see both teams in the 100s they think nobody played any defense... yet back in the 80's the scores were in the 100s and they were playing damned good defense. there was considerably less one-on-one play, a ton more ball movement, off the ball movement, and everyone could shoot.

as for the officiating... the biggest difference between today and back then is that back then nobody really had the advantage, in the 90's the defense started getting the advantage, and now the offense has an incredible advantage. you can't guard anyone these days with all the rules they've put in.


oh, and it appears that flip saunders just got canned. shockingly enough, saunders couldn't get a team to the finals. i know, i know... it's hard to believe.

 

[thetitans2k]

I thought Flip Saunders was pretty good for that franchise. Joe Dumars is a great manager. So I'll trust anything he does.

 

[LMP]

When you get outcoached by Doc Rivers, it's time to go.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Apparently Doug Collins to the Bulls isn't a done deal after-all.

My sources tell me that Reinsdorf (who is very close with Collins and considers him like a second son) wanted to "take a step back" from the hiring process to decide whether or not it would be in the Bulls best interest to hire Collins.

We will see I guess...