Old men school young upstart. [Archive]

pfrduke

05-20-2008, 12:02 AM

The league office is inching closer to panic mode. They have a ratings darling fighting with a ratings nightmare as far as finals matchups go - the gulf between the likely viewer turnout for Lakers-Celtics and Spurs-Pistons is enormous.

phaedrus

05-20-2008, 12:13 AM

I don't remember the exact play-by-play, but I'm pretty sure the game was about over when Paul fouled out.

hc5duke

05-20-2008, 12:24 AM

I hate the Spurs so much.

You went to Spurs U. You hate A&M.

Edouble

05-20-2008, 12:49 AM

bdh21

05-20-2008, 08:28 AM

Dont worry! There's always The Stern Button (http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/07/word-of-day-stern-button.html) to save the day...

moonpie23

05-20-2008, 09:28 AM

yeah, i wouldn't worry about it......it has been decreed, CELTS V LAKERS...

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/07/word-of-day-stern-button.html

CDu

05-20-2008, 09:58 AM

I don't remember the exact play-by-play, but I'm pretty sure the game was about over when Paul fouled out.

You are correct. It was "foul and pray" time for the Hornets when Paul committed his sixth foul. There were 25 seconds to go and the Hornets were down by seven, and the Spurs had the ball. It would have taken an Reggie Miller-esque miracle for them to come back, even with Paul on the floor.

Now, if you want to talk about where Paul was in the third quarter (4 pts, 0 assists) when the team fell way behind, that's something to discuss. I think the strange thing was that the Hornets big comeback was largely fueled by Jannero Pargo, while the stars (Paul and West) had fairly quiet second halves.

CDu

05-20-2008, 10:00 AM

yeah, i wouldn't worry about it......it has been decreed, CELTS V LAKERS...

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/07/word-of-day-stern-button.html

I think it's going to be Lakers/Pistons personally. The Celtics have looked really bad so far in the playoffs. They've been fortunate to play two opponents who just didn't have the experience or the firepower to beat them in Boston. Detroit can match up well with Boston's big three (Prince can handle Pierce, Hamilton is better than Allen, and Wallace can compete with Garnett), they have the advantage at PG, and they may have an edge in bench depth.

slower

05-20-2008, 10:46 AM

This matchup has me salivating for one huge reason:

Will KG continue his punk/thug ways and push Sheed completely over the edge of sanity?

Should be classic!

Otherwise, I hope Detroit crushes them mercilessly.

moonpie23

05-20-2008, 12:19 PM

Will KG continue his punk/thug ways and push Sheed completely over the edge of sanity?

uhhh....sheed is way past that already...

Otherwise, I hope Detroit crushes them mercilessly.

and vice versa

hc5duke

05-20-2008, 01:16 PM

Will KG continue his punk/thug ways and push Sheed completely over the edge of sanity?

KG? punk? thug? Did I miss something during the season or in the playoffs? :confused: I would never have associated KG with those words...

moonpie23

05-20-2008, 02:29 PM

KG? punk? thug? Did I miss something during the season or in the playoffs? :confused: I would never have associated KG with those words...

that's just a piston's fan showing his colors...

weezie

05-20-2008, 02:50 PM

I think it's going to be Lakers/Pistons personally. The Celtics have looked really bad so far in the playoffs. They've been fortunate to play two opponents who just didn't have the experience or the firepower to beat them in Boston. Detroit can match up well with Boston's big three (Prince can handle Pierce, Hamilton is better than Allen, and Wallace can compete with Garnett), they have the advantage at PG, and they may have an edge in bench depth.

Now here's a smart fellow making a very intelligent comment. And while I disagree with another poster who accused KG of being a punk, I imagine KG will be hoping to rely more on his own scoring that Paul Pierce's!

Piston fan colors? Well....those would be red, white and blue.
Let's GO 'STONS!!!!!

slower

05-20-2008, 03:48 PM

that's just a piston's fan showing his colors...

Not a Pistons fan at all. I mentioned Sheed because he's a major-league head case and I love seeing him self-destruct.

Like most of the rest of America, I've always bought into the media hype of KG as a great warrior stuck on a crappy team. But having really seen him for the first time during the playoffs, I'm disappointed that he's so over the top.

Talking s#*t CONSTANTLY, engaging in the occasional cheap shot and his ridiculously punk habit of swatting away every shot taken after the whistle have killed all the potential goodwill I had for him.

I hope he never wins a championship.

Now, if you're a Celtics fan, go ahead and slurp it up and buy yourself a #5 jersey. Whatever gets you through the day.

SilkyJ

05-20-2008, 03:55 PM

that's just a piston's fan showing his colors...

what's a piston's fan? sounds weird.

I hate kobe cause he dissed philly back in the day in the media, so screw him. The spurs are tough to watch, but they do it right and tim duncan is a great guy, so I'm pulling for Spurs v Celtics, though my "objective prediction" is actually Lakers v Pistons...

Acymetric

05-20-2008, 04:30 PM

Talking s#*t CONSTANTLY, engaging in the occasional cheap shot and his ridiculously punk habit of swatting away every shot taken after the whistle have killed all the potential goodwill I had for him.

I actually love that he swats shots after the whistle. I hate it when players take shots after the whistle. I mean, I don't really mind that much, but I certainly don't like it, and if he wants to swat them away, I'll laugh along every time. Heck, I'd do it in a game too.

bdh21

05-20-2008, 04:49 PM

I actually love that he swats shots after the whistle. I hate it when players take shots after the whistle. I mean, I don't really mind that much, but I certainly don't like it, and if he wants to swat them away, I'll laugh along every time. Heck, I'd do it in a game too.

Last week I played pickup with a kid who always shot jumpers after a stoppage. It really started to slow our game down too. It's bush-league, and if I could jump that high I'd start swatting them away.

heyman25

05-20-2008, 05:59 PM

Duncan is a good guy but he thinks he never fouls. Ginobli travels constantly but its never called. NBA refs definitely give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt.Bruce Bowen gets away with a ridiculous amount of contact. I hope the Lakers smoke them. Gasol matches up well with Duncan. Kobe can definitely stop Ginobli. Parker has advantage over the Laker guards. If Odom steps up, Lakers in 7.

Troublemaker

05-20-2008, 06:20 PM

I'd like to see the Lakers advance here but the Spurs seem to matchup very well with them. The best player in the series is Kobe, but San Antonio has Bowen to slow him down. Then, the next three best players in the series are all Spurs, imo, with Gasol coming in 5th. Key matchup is Parker-Fisher since Odom and Kobe should be able to defend Duncan and Ginobili at least adequately. If Parker can have his way with Fisher, the Spurs will overcome the Lakers' homecourt advantage.

kramerbr

05-20-2008, 06:55 PM

A very slow time for Duke basketball I guess, when the NBA is the topic of conversation.

Cmon........UNC just signed a 3 star recruit, one of our main targets visited Florida and TOC is just around the corner....

phaedrus

05-20-2008, 08:02 PM

I see both series going seven, with the Spurs-Pistons getting a rematch in the Finals. Spurs finally win back-to-back, but likely the last of the Duncan era.

I hate when people claim the Spurs are tough to watch. Parker is lightning in a bottle. Ginobili's wild forays to the hoop couldn't be more exciting to watch. Duncan's not pretty, but he's one of the best passing big men in the game, and the Spurs in general are a direct contradiction to those who say the NBA is about selfish one-on-one play.

Can't really defend Bowen, except that what everyone says about his defense is what everyone says about Duke's defense. Tough, aggressive, "handsy". Probably gets away with a lot.

cato

05-20-2008, 08:28 PM

I hate when people claim the Spurs are tough to watch. Parker is lightning in a bottle. Ginobili's wild forays to the hoop couldn't be more exciting to watch. Duncan's not pretty, but he's one of the best passing big men in the game, and the Spurs in general are a direct contradiction to those who say the NBA is about selfish one-on-one play.

Everything you say may be true, but I am much, much more interested in watching a Lakers/Celtics final than a Spurs/Pistons one.

phaedrus

05-21-2008, 12:57 AM

Everything you say may be true, but I am much, much more interested in watching a Lakers/Celtics final than a Spurs/Pistons one.

I don't necessarily disagree with that, although the Celtics' low-octane offense hasn't been terribly compelling this postseason. The Spurs aren't the best team to watch, but they are far from the worst.

CDu

05-21-2008, 01:25 PM

I don't necessarily disagree with that, although the Celtics' low-octane offense hasn't been terribly compelling this postseason. The Spurs aren't the best team to watch, but they are far from the worst.

In terms of entertaining basketball among the four teams left, I'd rate it like this:

1. Lakers
2. Spurs
3. Celtics
4. Pistons

And I'd put the Pistons and Celtics a distant 3rd and 4th, and the Spurs a distant 2nd.

This year's playoffs started out with a bunch of teams who could score. LA, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, Utah, New Orleans, Dallas, Toronto, and Boston all topped 100ppg this year. Somehow, Boston stopped scoring points, and (less surprisingly) all of the rest of the teams fell by the wayside throughout the playoffs. Instead we have Detroit (17th in the NBA in scoring) and San Antonio (28th!) and a shell of Boston's regular season self, having scored less than 80 about as often as they've topped 90 lately. Good times.

Kfanarmy

05-21-2008, 01:51 PM

I guess no matter what team you are a fan of, home games are probably still exciting, for the wrong reasons.

Recognizing the relative equality of NBA teams, my personal observations having watched too many playoff games this year is that home field advantage is all about officiating and has little to do with the crowd. It is amazing how often it seems that a foul called against the visiting team isn't a foul on the home team. I'm not a fan of any of the teams left, but the Spurs-hornets games, LA-Utah games, and last nights game all convince me that officials have been told to or for some subconscious reason tend not to call fouls evenly, or more accurately, consistently against home and away teams. As a result, seeding plays way too much a part in the results.