2013-2014 General NBA thread

[moonpie23]

I guess if this it not specific enough for anyone, they can start an additional thread…..


will the Heat 3-peat?


battier just hit his 3rd trey….

[theAlaskanBear]

I guess if this it not specific enough for anyone, they can start an additional thread…..


will the Heat 3-peat?


battier just hit his 3rd trey….

I think, if only by sheer luck, the Heat probably won't three-peat. Chicago, Brooklyn can mount challenges, and I am interested to see how the Clippers do...probably too thin down low. Is Houston ready to make the jump?

I am watching the game as well, and Boozer has 19 of the 33 Bulls points. Rose had a couple of nice plays, but overall the Bulls have been lackluster. Miami has been textbook drive and kick for 3...and they are hitting them.

[CDu]

I think, if only by sheer luck, the Heat probably won't three-peat. Chicago, Brooklyn can mount challenges, and I am interested to see how the Clippers do...probably too thin down low. Is Houston ready to make the jump?

I am watching the game as well, and Boozer has 19 of the 33 Bulls points. Rose had a couple of nice plays, but overall the Bulls have been lackluster. Miami has been textbook drive and kick for 3...and they are hitting them.

This game has shown how critical Butler and Deng are to the Bulls. They are the two elite wing defenders assigned to James and Wade. But those two committed dumb early fouls and had to sit basically the whole second quarter. The Bulls can't beat the Heat with Dunleavy, Hinrich, and Snell playing the wing spots.

[moonpie23]

boozer stylin….

[moonpie23]

Points of Emphisis for officiating in the 2013-14 season...


3. Traveling.





hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[nmduke2001]

I was taking a look at the Bulls team and I believe that they could field one of the best defensive rotations in quite sometime. If healthy, I think this five could be real hard to score on:

pg - Hinrich
sg - Tony Snell (Don't laugh. Snell is going to be a lock down defender in the league)
f- Deng
pf - Gibson
c - Noah

Alternatively, Butler could slide in for Snell or Deng. I'm not sure how this team would do on the offensive end, but for 5 minutes a game or so, they could slow down most opposing teams, IMO.

[luburch]

I think, if only by sheer luck, the Heat probably won't three-peat. Chicago, Brooklyn can mount challenges, and I am interested to see how the Clippers do...probably too thin down low. Is Houston ready to make the jump?

I am watching the game as well, and Boozer has 19 of the 33 Bulls points. Rose had a couple of nice plays, but overall the Bulls have been lackluster. Miami has been textbook drive and kick for 3...and they are hitting them.

I assume you just forgot to mention the Pacers. I would consider them to be the biggest threat to the Heat.

[theAlaskanBear]

I assume you just forgot to mention the Pacers. I would consider them to be the biggest threat to the Heat.

I actually wrote the Pacers in, and then deleted them because of the bad taste it left in my mouth. Also, I am not sold on their PG situation. If Hibbert truly makes the big leap in improvement everyone expects, then sure they have a shot...but until then I will remain skeptical.

[luburch]

I actually wrote the Pacers in, and then deleted them because of the bad taste it left in my mouth. Also, I am not sold on their PG situation. If Hibbert truly makes the big leap in improvement everyone expects, then sure they have a shot...but until then I will remain skeptical.

Fair enough. I think the upgrades they made to the bench may be enough to put them over the top.

Nice start to the game for Redick. He has ten points in the first six minutes.

[mattman91]

I actually wrote the Pacers in, and then deleted them because of the bad taste it left in my mouth. Also, I am not sold on their PG situation. If Hibbert truly makes the big leap in improvement everyone expects, then sure they have a shot...but until then I will remain skeptical.

So glad to see JJ playing under a coach and system that allows him to do his thing. This is reminding me of 2005

[BD80]

Fair enough. I think the upgrades they made to the bench may be enough to put them over the top.

Nice start to the game for Redick. He has ten points in the first six minutes.

On pace for 6,000+ points this season

[vick]

So glad to see JJ playing under a coach and system that allows him to do his thing. This is reminding me of 2005

Also, he's back to #4. As things should be.

[Potato Head]

Chicago, Brooklyn can mount challenges, and I am interested to see how the Clippers do...probably too thin down low.

I think we can count Brooklyn out. Despite Plums, they've got a rookie coach and some dinosaur parts that I think will struggle to do better than they did last year, even in a weak conference.

[Des Esseintes]

I think we can count Brooklyn out. Despite Plums, they've got a rookie coach and some dinosaur parts that I think will struggle to do better than they did last year, even in a weak conference.

Maybe. Probably, in fact. But that's a loaded team. Though health is paramount, the starting five has serious quality at every position. And Kirilenko comes off the bench, for chrissake.

[theAlaskanBear]

I think we can count Brooklyn out. Despite Plums, they've got a rookie coach and some dinosaur parts that I think will struggle to do better than they did last year, even in a weak conference.

I was not a fan of the J. Kidd coaching hire, but I have started to come around on the Nets. I watched them a couple of times in the preseason, and and they impressed me. By dinosaur parts, I assume you mean KG? Pierce? I think they will thrive on the Nets, especially KG because he never had a reliable big in Boston since the Perkins departure. Lopez, Reggie Evans, Blatche...with KG this is the deepest front-court in the EC. Same with Pierce having Joe Johnson/Williams...more 3 point shooters, Paul Pierce no long has the pressure of taking all the big shots and making all of the big plays.

When you factor in a solid Nets bench -- Livingston, Kirilenko, Plumlee, Blatche, Evans, and Jason Terry...well the talent is there. They have a legit NBA caliber backup at every position. Will they stay healthy? If the answer is yes, then expect a big year.

[tommy]

Texhawk will be glad to know that former Jayhawk Xavier Henry has been terrific tonight off the bench for the Lakers, with 20 points. Henry, who definitely left too early after only one year in Lawrence, and after struggling his first few years in the league, may have found a home in LA.

The Lakers' bench broke open a close game, and blew out the Clippers in the fourth quarter.

[Dukehky]

For anybody who wants to kill a few hours rather enjoyably, watch Bill and Jalen's NBA previews for the teams. Some great predictions that are fun. Jalen said that MJ would play 1 game for the Bobcats this year. That when KD's contract is up he's going to Houston with Harden and Dwight, Westbrook will then go to the Lakers with Kevin Love. It was just a really fun series on grantland.com.

I think that some of the top teams are going to make some interesting trades this year because the Heat appear vulnerable and this may be the last chance to win a title for a few years. This is because I think LBJ is going to back to Cleveland and if he and Kyrie get together with some decent pieces, they're going to be dynamite, especially if Bynum can get healthy.

I like pro basketball, but I love basketball and last night just felt right with the sport being back. Plus with so many old Duke players in the NBA I have a vested interest in a whole lot of games. I like that the Bulls have 3 Dukies so that I can pull for a really good team and since the Heat have Battier, definitely have a chance to get another title (JJ on the clips). Things look good for a Duke 3-peat regardless. I wish Miles was still on the Pacers because then we'd have a player on arguably the top 5 teams in the NBA Heat, Bulls, Nets, Clips, and Pacers.

[CDu]

I was taking a look at the Bulls team and I believe that they could field one of the best defensive rotations in quite sometime. If healthy, I think this five could be real hard to score on:

pg - Hinrich
sg - Tony Snell (Don't laugh. Snell is going to be a lock down defender in the league)
f- Deng
pf - Gibson
c - Noah

Alternatively, Butler could slide in for Snell or Deng. I'm not sure how this team would do on the offensive end, but for 5 minutes a game or so, they could slow down most opposing teams, IMO.

You know that I hope Snell turns out to be an elite defender, and I think he has the athleticism, length, and desire to become one. But I think that he's probably a year or two away physically and in terms of experience from being an elite defender. He's certainly a step down defensively from Butler at the moment.

I'd say that a lineup of Hinrich/Butler/Deng/Gibson/Noah would be a nightmare matchup for opposing offenses. Great length, versatility, and defensive awareness. The downside is that none of those guys can create their own shot.

That's the one glaring flaw the Bulls have is that they still haven't found another scorer who can create his own shot. Boozer, Deng, and Butler are more than capable of finishing off of someone else's work, but they just don't excel on their own, which puts a lot of pressure on Rose to create offense.

[moonpie23]

watch Bill and Jalen's NBA

the only thing i EVER wanna see jalen do is apologize to coach k's face on national tv...

[Billy Dat]

Michael-Carter Williams set a record, for an NBA debut, with 9 steals last night!