Post: #326

(05-06-2013 10:32 AM)Jules D. McMillan Wrote:  I feel like changing my pick in the Knicks/Pacers series. The Pacers aren't the Celtics, you won't see them running out of energy and having 23-pt second halfs in games. If the Knicks don't make three pointers, they're toast. This is the problem with building a team around three point shooting alone. When you face a tough, physical defensive team and the threes are dropping, you have nothing else to fall on. The Knicks are overrated.

(05-05-2013 03:59 PM)at350zguyy Wrote:  

(05-05-2013 02:16 PM)Jules D. McMillan Wrote:  

Bosh isn't tougher than the Bulls big guys, but he sure as hell is crafty. He gets Gibson to bite on the shot fake a lot. Study some film on that individual matchup and you'll see.

I love the way Birdman plays. Similar style game to Noah, but way more athletic. He's tough as nails, and definitely a lot tougher than Carlos Boozer on the defensive end.

I saw what Bosh did to Gibson throughout the 2011 playoff series. But Bosh's matchup won't be against Gibson, it would be against Noah and he doesn't bite on shot fakes. Noah is also one of the most versatile bigs in the game on defense because he's able to guard both the perimeter and interior.

Birdman is a bench player, which means he won't go against Boozer, he'll likely go against Gibson and he's no softie on the boards.

Watch for the crossmatches. When Noah is out of the game, Gibson is assigned to Bosh. Birdman will come in and there will be a good chunk of time that he sees while Boozer is on the floor.

Regardless of what individual matchups happen, the biggest thing for the Heat is to make sure they make a concerted effort to rebound, especially on the defensive glass.

The one I'm most curious about now is that if Deng is still out, will we see Belinelli on Wade and Butler on James? I don't think Thibs will trust Marco guarding James 1 on 1, so it's likely that he slides over to guard Wade.

Post: #327

(05-06-2013 02:59 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:34 AM)iWin Wrote:  Can't believe people call Melo the best scorer in the game. These whole playoffs he's just been jacking and not looking to make plays for his teammates at all. Shot an abysmal percentage yesterday.

Well he technically was the best scorer during the regular season...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season&P...ory=Points

Second best in the playoffs...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Playoffs...ory=Points

This may have something to do with why people are saying he's the best scorer.

He's actually had that distinction waaaaay before this year(which was the first year he lead the league in scoring). The thing is that he has traditionally been very streaky and shot mediocre percentages. Before this year he was never really close to winning a scoring title, and didn't look elite last year. Compared to guys like Kobe, LeBron and KD to name a few his percentages are comparatively mediocre at best. I'm starting to think he's not an elite player when you look at his game in totality. He's a black hole on offense and scores purely off the volume of shots that he takes. When you're the focal point of the offense that's not impressive.

Post: #328

(05-06-2013 05:19 PM)iWin Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 02:59 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:34 AM)iWin Wrote:  Can't believe people call Melo the best scorer in the game. These whole playoffs he's just been jacking and not looking to make plays for his teammates at all. Shot an abysmal percentage yesterday.

Well he technically was the best scorer during the regular season...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season&P...ory=Points

Second best in the playoffs...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Playoffs...ory=Points

This may have something to do with why people are saying he's the best scorer.

He's actually had that distinction waaaaay before this year(which was the first year he lead the league in scoring). The thing is that he has traditionally been very streaky and shot mediocre percentages. Before this year he was never really close to winning a scoring title, and didn't look elite last year. Compared to guys like Kobe, LeBron and KD to name a few his percentages are comparatively mediocre at best. I'm starting to think he's not an elite player when you look at his game in totality. He's a black hole on offense and scores purely off the volume of shots that he takes. When you're the focal point of the offense that's not impressive.

Fair enough. But he has played a big part in getting his team as far as he has this year. And this year #1 scorer. I would definitely consider him elite. He took the Nuggets to the playoffs year after year. It was just too bad he had to go up against my Lakers just about every year. 2 years of which they became champions, so you have to cut the guy some slack.

Post: #329

(05-06-2013 06:35 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 05:19 PM)iWin Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 02:59 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:34 AM)iWin Wrote:  Can't believe people call Melo the best scorer in the game. These whole playoffs he's just been jacking and not looking to make plays for his teammates at all. Shot an abysmal percentage yesterday.

Well he technically was the best scorer during the regular season...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season&P...ory=Points

Second best in the playoffs...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Playoffs...ory=Points

This may have something to do with why people are saying he's the best scorer.

He's actually had that distinction waaaaay before this year(which was the first year he lead the league in scoring). The thing is that he has traditionally been very streaky and shot mediocre percentages. Before this year he was never really close to winning a scoring title, and didn't look elite last year. Compared to guys like Kobe, LeBron and KD to name a few his percentages are comparatively mediocre at best. I'm starting to think he's not an elite player when you look at his game in totality. He's a black hole on offense and scores purely off the volume of shots that he takes. When you're the focal point of the offense that's not impressive.

Fair enough. But he has played a big part in getting his team as far as he has this year. And this year #1 scorer. I would definitely consider him elite. He took the Nuggets to the playoffs year after year. It was just too bad he had to go up against my Lakers just about every year. 2 years of which they became champions, so you have to cut the guy some slack.

Melo is best as a scorer - that means catching the ball at his spots, one two dribbles, shot. Curling off a screen, lo, mid, high post. When he gets the ball deep on the wing facing the basket and starts to dribble the Knicks are in trouble.

There is no coincidence Melo's best year was '09 playing alongside Chauncey Billups, and this year playing alongside Jason Kidd/Felton/Prigioni. He is like a hot chick in that he needs a strong leader (point guard) to bring out the best in him. He needs a strong PG to lead the team and run the offense. Melo is not LeBron in that he can't get to the rim from the wing as easily as LeBron, nor pass as well as LeBron.

Post: #330

Gotta love how a new guy steps up in almost every Bulls game so far. Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli, and Jimmy Butler all knocking down huge shots down the stretch to steal game 1 in Miami. Huge win for them.

Post: #331

Tonight game was LAME

Heat will win the finals

Post: #332

Wow...what a game for the Bulls. This should wake the Heat up. Before I had the Heat in 6 but now I have them in 5 because they will "turn it up".

That 3 by Wade with a minute to go was the game. I am not sure what he was thinking there given that there was enough time on the shot clock and he's probably the worst 3 pt shooter amongst their top players (not counting the bigs).

Post: #333

Still calling Thunder winning the west.

Obviously Heat are favored for the finals.

Post: #334

I honestly think Chicago at full health is better than the Heat. All their strengths are MIA's weaknesses and they play extremely hard. Thibs has gotta be Coach of the Year. If only they can get that offense figured out, they're a perennial championship contender no question. It wouldn't shock me to see them win the series, though its extremely doubtful considering LeBron is probably going to have the eye of the tiger for the remainder of the series.

Post: #335

(05-06-2013 09:00 PM)TheRookie Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 06:35 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 05:19 PM)iWin Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 02:59 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:34 AM)iWin Wrote:  Can't believe people call Melo the best scorer in the game. These whole playoffs he's just been jacking and not looking to make plays for his teammates at all. Shot an abysmal percentage yesterday.

Well he technically was the best scorer during the regular season...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season&P...ory=Points

Second best in the playoffs...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Playoffs...ory=Points

This may have something to do with why people are saying he's the best scorer.

He's actually had that distinction waaaaay before this year(which was the first year he lead the league in scoring). The thing is that he has traditionally been very streaky and shot mediocre percentages. Before this year he was never really close to winning a scoring title, and didn't look elite last year. Compared to guys like Kobe, LeBron and KD to name a few his percentages are comparatively mediocre at best. I'm starting to think he's not an elite player when you look at his game in totality. He's a black hole on offense and scores purely off the volume of shots that he takes. When you're the focal point of the offense that's not impressive.

Fair enough. But he has played a big part in getting his team as far as he has this year. And this year #1 scorer. I would definitely consider him elite. He took the Nuggets to the playoffs year after year. It was just too bad he had to go up against my Lakers just about every year. 2 years of which they became champions, so you have to cut the guy some slack.

Melo is best as a scorer - that means catching the ball at his spots, one two dribbles, shot. Curling off a screen, lo, mid, high post. When he gets the ball deep on the wing facing the basket and starts to dribble the Knicks are in trouble.

There is no coincidence Melo's best year was '09 playing alongside Chauncey Billups, and this year playing alongside Jason Kidd/Felton/Prigioni. He is like a hot chick in that he needs a strong leader (point guard) to bring out the best in him. He needs a strong PG to lead the team and run the offense. Melo is not LeBron in that he can't get to the rim from the wing as easily as LeBron, nor pass as well as LeBron.

I agree, its somewhat disappointing how Melo's career has panned out considering the momentum his career had after his rookie season. I think most people thought they would be the top two players in the game respectively, but Melo really hasn't taken that next step and is far behind LeBon at this point. He simply doesn't impact the game consistently in any aspect other than scoring. In his current form, I don't ever see him getting a ring.

Post: #336

(05-06-2013 06:35 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 05:19 PM)iWin Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 02:59 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:34 AM)iWin Wrote:  Can't believe people call Melo the best scorer in the game. These whole playoffs he's just been jacking and not looking to make plays for his teammates at all. Shot an abysmal percentage yesterday.

Well he technically was the best scorer during the regular season...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season&P...ory=Points

Second best in the playoffs...

http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Playoffs...ory=Points

This may have something to do with why people are saying he's the best scorer.

He's actually had that distinction waaaaay before this year(which was the first year he lead the league in scoring). The thing is that he has traditionally been very streaky and shot mediocre percentages. Before this year he was never really close to winning a scoring title, and didn't look elite last year. Compared to guys like Kobe, LeBron and KD to name a few his percentages are comparatively mediocre at best. I'm starting to think he's not an elite player when you look at his game in totality. He's a black hole on offense and scores purely off the volume of shots that he takes. When you're the focal point of the offense that's not impressive.

Fair enough. But he has played a big part in getting his team as far as he has this year. And this year #1 scorer. I would definitely consider him elite. He took the Nuggets to the playoffs year after year. It was just too bad he had to go up against my Lakers just about every year. 2 years of which they became champions, so you have to cut the guy some slack.

I did for a long time, but he simply has not grown as much as I thought he would in other aspects of the game. His playoff winning percentage is the worst in NBA history.He had a chance in the Western Conference Finals in '09, but his team couldn't close it out to get to the championship. With that being said, he has been very good this season especially since he doesn't have to share the ball with Amare. He's definitely an indispensable player for the Knicks.

Post: #337

Watching Curry go to work is incredible to behold. I can't believe we might get two big upsets today against heavy favorites.

Post: #338

(05-06-2013 10:31 PM)iWin Wrote:  I honestly think Chicago at full health is better than the Heat. All their strengths are MIA's weaknesses and they play extremely hard. Thibs has gotta be Coach of the Year. If only they can get that offense figured out, they're a perennial championship contender no question. It wouldn't shock me to see them win the series, though its extremely doubtful considering LeBron is probably going to have the eye of the tiger for the remainder of the series.

Gotta disagree on this. Chicago at their full strength are a solid opponent for Miami but I wouldn't go as as far to say that they are better than the Heat. I agree that Miami's weaknesses are Chicago's strength but at their best Miami's defense is the most suffocating in the league (even better than Chicago). Today the Heat were lackadaisical in the 4th and putting Allen on Nate was a mistake.

Ever since the 2011 beating of Chicago both teams are much better (when fully healthy) but LeBron is that good right now that he alone makes the Heat a favourite in any series. The problem is that when Rose comes back, he's a ball-dominant player and if you shut him down like LeBron did in 2011 their offense sputters.

Also, I am sure even Chicago would be surprised if the Bulls won this series. If the Bulls win this it will be one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. This Bulls team has no business taking the Heat to even 6 with a pretty healthy Heat team except for Wade.

Post: #339

Motherfucking Spurs. I was gonna turn the game off but stuck with it. I think they should pull this out in OT. I really-really wanna see Spurs vs. Heat in the Finals.

Post: #340

What an exhausting game to follow. So many inexcusably bad errors by the Warriors, this was their game to steal. I don't think they'll go up by 16 against the Spurs again.

Post: #341

What I found shocking was the Spurs coverage on the high P&R. Curry was getting open look after open look from the top of the arc and it took the Spurs a long time to even make an adjustment where they forced Jack (also a good high P&R guy) to be the primary ball handler.

The Spurs missing Tiago Splitter was exposed last night with Bogut rebounding the way he was. Splitter is a smart passer and can play at the high post, which would drag Bogut outside the lane. As a result, we saw very little high-low sets with big to big interior passing.

Post: #342

I'm loving this Chicago Bulls run right now & hope it doesn't end!

Post: #343

The Bulls are the toughest team in the league by far! I don't understand why people felt this series would be easy for the Heat. The Heat historically struggle against teams with size and the Bulls have a lot of size. It's not a coincidence that the Heat have a losing record vs the Bulls since 2011. This series will be a tough six game series. Nothing will come easy.

I also agree that the Bulls are the better team when healthy. Unfortunately, I don't know if they have enough healthy bodies to get it done three more times in this series.

Post: #344

I was very surprised by the bulls win in Miami last night. Very good job by them. I didn't see the game because I thought Miami had it for sure. They may give Miami a run for their money, but at the end of the day, Miami still has this series, though I would like to see the Bulls take it.

And what a game and comeback between the GSW and Spurs. This it going to a be great series. I say Spurs take it though. The playoffs just got interesting folks.

Post: #345

(05-07-2013 04:26 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  I was very surprised by the bulls win in Miami last night. Very good job by them. I didn't see the game because I thought Miami had it for sure. They may give Miami a run for their money, but at the end of the day, Miami still has this series, though I would like to see the Bulls take it.

And what a game and comeback between the GSW and Spurs. This it going to a be great series. I say Spurs take it though. The playoffs just got interesting folks.

Yeah, the Spurs just showed GSW that they are not the Nuggets. What's with Jackson playing Curry 57 minutes? Dude was completely gassed in the 4th and the 2 OTs. I will stick with Spurs in 5 or 6.

Also, I expect Miami to comes out guns blazing. As I said previously, I had Miami in 6 but now wouldn't surprise me if they finish the Bulls in 5. If Chicago does beat Miami it will be the biggest upset or one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.

I am really looking for a Spurs Miami finals. Two teams that move the ball, good defense and LeBron in his prime.

Post: #346

(05-07-2013 06:23 PM)TheSlayer Wrote:  

(05-07-2013 04:26 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  I was very surprised by the bulls win in Miami last night. Very good job by them. I didn't see the game because I thought Miami had it for sure. They may give Miami a run for their money, but at the end of the day, Miami still has this series, though I would like to see the Bulls take it.

And what a game and comeback between the GSW and Spurs. This it going to a be great series. I say Spurs take it though. The playoffs just got interesting folks.

Yeah, the Spurs just showed GSW that they are not the Nuggets. What's with Jackson playing Curry 57 minutes? Dude was completely gassed in the 4th and the 2 OTs. I will stick with Spurs in 5 or 6.

Also, I expect Miami to comes out guns blazing. As I said previously, I had Miami in 6 but now wouldn't surprise me if they finish the Bulls in 5. If Chicago does beat Miami it will be the biggest upset or one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.

I am really looking for a Spurs Miami finals. Two teams that move the ball, good defense and LeBron in his prime.

That's what I'm predicting, Spurs and Miami in the finals, with Miami winning. I called Miami in 5 vs. the Bulls but after last night I'm thinking 6.

Post: #347

Where my Bulls fans? How bout game #2

Post: #348

Damn, what a blow out

Post: #349

How about Klay Thompson going off right now. 5-6 on 3's and not even halftime

Post: #350

(05-08-2013 09:40 PM)at350zguyy Wrote:  How about Klay Thompson going off right now. 5-6 on 3's and not even halftime

Klay Thompson looks identical to this Jewish-Cuban kid I used to work with. They look so similar it creeps me out. Another one was Derek Fisher. This F&B manager started working with us, and he was a spitting image of Derek Fisher. I didn't even bother mentioning anything to him about it because I'm sure he got it all the time and was probably annoyed with it.