NBA 10-11

[jim]

Spurs quietly putting together a very nice season so far. Thrill, what you see in them thats different from last year? I always fear Gregg Popovich coached team.

You know I'm not convinced they're much better. The Lakers have nothing to fear from anyone but Boston.



In other news, IT'S DERRICK ROSE NIGHT PHOENIX. I LOOK FORWARD TO WITNESSING YET ANOTHER FIRST-HAND POSTERIZATION OF A WHITE POINT GUARD TONIGHT.

To quote my dude Stacey King.

STOP THE BUSSES! GET OUT THE WAY DRAGIC!

Btw, if you haven't been paying attention, Chris Paul may be a better pure point guard, but if you want one guy to win you an NBA game at the 1 position, it's Derrick Rose. If you disagree, you're wrong.

D Rose is coming into his own, but Nash is showing everyone that he can play a little bit too.

[Maclowery]

Bulls game was [expletive] awesome. So was the Magic crowd booing LeBron every time he touched the ball the entire game - I thought that would only really last a quarter. hah.

Anyway, go Bulls. I told my buddy they would come back from that lead and blow it in late 4th - so awesome to pull it off like that after 2 ots! Ya Bulls!

[JunkBondTrader]

Bulls game was [expletive] awesome. So was the Magic crowd booing LeBron every time he touched the ball the entire game - I thought that would only really last a quarter. hah.

Anyway, go Bulls. I told my buddy they would come back from that lead and blow it in late 4th - so awesome to pull it off like that after 2 ots! Ya Bulls!

The last play in the first OT was crazy, Noah threw a pass with less than 2 seconds left, I thought they weren't even going to get a shot off.

Rose wasn't very efficient at 33 shots, but you know what, until Boozer gets in, I want Rose taking a ton of shots every night. We just don't have a better option offensively than him taking it to the hole one on one. Hopefully he'll be getting to the line a bit more though.

And just saw that Shawn Kemp video a couple pages back, my goodness that was awesome. That dude was so fun to watch.

[lukethedrifter]

BOSTON—In an impressive display of physical prowess, gutsy determination, and insatiable hunger, Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal proved all his doubters wrong Wednesday when the 38-year-old showed that he was still one of the most dominant big men around the basket of fries.


http://www.theonion.com/articles/shaq-s ... -of,18522/

[jim]

The circus trip is typically a disaster for the Bulls, but this year I have seen two of the best games I have seen in years. The Dallas game was the best game of the year, and then the game last night topped that. Given that they got into Phoenix at 3am after a tough game vs. Lakers, the Suns being fresh, getting buried in the first half ... really unbelievable. Rose and Deng with 50+ minutes, Korver off the bench with almost 50 minutes.

I didn't look at the schedule too much after this trip, but it's a good thing they are doing well on this trip. After they finish up at Denver and Sacremento they still have a tough stretch for the next two weeks: Orlando at home, away at Boston, home to OKC and the Lakers ... and then things get softer and Boozer should be back and getting into form.

I really like this team, it's far and away the most enjoyable team I have seen in years and years here.

[thrill]

After Weds night, I sounded like Thibs at Thanksgiving dinner. The throat was raw.

[Radbird]

Chris Andersen is back, so Nuggets basketball just got a lot more entertaining.

Birdman's return provides big boost

[jim]

After Weds night, I sounded like Thibs at Thanksgiving dinner. The throat was raw.

It's been varying degrees of raw all season. That guy yells more than any other coach I have heard.

[Maclowery]

Chris Andersen is back, so Nuggets basketball just got a lot more entertaining.

Birdman's return provides big boost

He's awesome. He's basically Rodman revisited, only with less violent elbows. All hustle and slop. I love it. He's my favorite non-star in the NBA, and I'm happy he's back. I also hate that he came back against my Bulls. But, his +/- was -11, so he didn't necessarily knock us out.


Side comment: I think the plus/minus thing is a cool stat to look at, but I feel like it's flawed by definition. A heavy-minutes starter might have a negative plus/minus simply because he played 40 minutes in a losing game. Reserves can see a +10 or something in limited minutes simply because they played against the other team's reserves, who stunk it up. Anyway, I feel that basketball can never be quantitatively analyzed (awesome words from a drunky at 2:35 am, ps) like baseball.

Case in point: Bulls rookie center Omer Asik is a very nice talent, and a great pickup. He's a 7 footer who defends well and scores if left unguarded. In tonight's last-second loss to the Nuggets, Asik was +20, very easily the highest +/-. Joakim Noah had a -9. So does that mean we should give Asik 35 minutes a game? Not so much. Sheldon Williams on the Nuggets was +17 in just 14 minutes, even though he really didn't do much on the court.

DrunkMac Moral: Basketball cannot be measured like baseball. Watch the game and you can see game-changing players, even if the stats don't notice.

[jim]

Basketball is much more of a team game, and I think you are right about the statistics. +/- is a good example, like most stats (even baseball) you can't just accept them on their own imo.

The Bird Man has some new, more colorful tatoos on his neck I noticed the other night.