Re: Random thoughts from around the league (An Onging Thread)

[steve3344]

Watched the Blazers rout the Cavs tonight 101-82 and hold Lebron to 11 points, 0 in the second half.

Cavs started out hitting their first 10 shots, then after that shot a horrid 21 for 75.

Portland's guards, Lillard and Wes Matthews outscored the Cavs guards Irving and Waiters 48 to 15 and held them to a combined 6 for 28 shooting while the Blazers starting front line evenly matched the Cavs bigs 42-42, a major accomplishment when two of those three are Lebron and Love.

Was a fun game.

If the season ended today, the Cavs, Spurs and OKC are out of the playoffs. But the season doesn't end today...

[steve3344]

Was checking out the Knicks/Wizards game tonight and saw J.R. Smith blatantly hit Glen Rice, Jr. in the nuts with his hand, clearly on purpose while Rice was closely guarding him. Ref couldn't see it and unbelievably called RICE for a foul even as Rice hit the deck immediately, like he'd been shot. Will be interesting to see if league suspends Smith, but they absolutely should. For those who didn't see it, hopefully you can find a video clip somewhere. Here is an excerpt from a NY Daily News article about the game:

"The Knicks, who began a stretch of four games in five nights, fell to 2-2 entering Wednesday’s game at winless Detroit. Derek Fisher could be without the services of sixth man J.R. Smith if the NBA determines that he intentionally struck Washington’s Glen Rice Jr. in the groin late in the fourth quarter. The Wizards intend to send a tape to the league, which could fine and/or suspend Smith, who in fact drew a foul on the play."

[steve3344]

WNBA star Brittney Griner attacked with knife in China:

http://nypost.com/2014/11/04/brittney-griner-slashed-in-knife-attack-in-china/

Knowing China's attitude towards those who break the law (especially ones who give the country a bad name) he'll probably get the death penalty. This week.

[beat]

Watched the Blazers rout the Cavs tonight 101-82 and hold Lebron to 11 points, 0 in the second half.

Cavs started out hitting their first 10 shots, then after that shot a horrid 21 for 75.

Portland's guards, Lillard and Wes Matthews outscored the Cavs guards Irving and Waiters 48 to 15 and held them to a combined 6 for 28 shooting while the Blazers starting front line evenly matched the Cavs bigs 42-42, a major accomplishment when two of those three are Lebron and Love.

Was a fun game.

If the season ended today, the Cavs, Spurs and OKC are out of the playoffs.  But the season doesn't end today...

Just to spice it up even more....for bron it was 0 over the last 3/4's.
And did you hear the ESPN guys run cover for him?
Saying guys like Waiters and even Irving need to play better and Bron was just proving a point by sitting back and letting them o all the shooting in the second half. Sounds like a leader to me !!

beat

[beat]

Steve

and what about Kobe firing up 37 shots in 44 minutes?

Can even the money and LA lifestyle keep him on this team all season?
We know he hates losing and even with a high pick in the draft the need a heck of a lot more than that.
But what team would he even go to, that is a contender and can afford him let alone want him?

If he's gonna play 44 minutes too many times he'll never make it to January.

beat

[steve3344]

Steve

and what about Kobe firing up 37 shots in 44 minutes?

Can even the money and LA lifestyle keep him on this team all season?
We know he hates losing and even with a high pick in the draft the need a heck of a lot more than that.
But what team would he even go to, that is a contender and can afford him let alone want him?

If he's gonna play 44 minutes too many times he'll never make it to January.

beat

beat - And no one else on the team took more than 13.  That's nearly TRIPLE the number of anybody else.  You won't see that very often.  Unless, of course, you watch Kobe's next few games! And by the way, he missed 24 of them. That's gotta be one of the larger numbers of missed shots in a game this year. Unless, of course, you watch Kobe's next few games...

[beat]

will he put up 50?

Shots that is not points

beat

[steve3344]

Yup, J.R. Smith suspended for one game - tonight's Knick/Pistons match - and justifiably so for his ridiculous slap/punch to the testicles of Glen Rice, Jr.

What a tool. Did he actually think no one would see it???

[steve3344]

Funniest flop ever. Lance Stevenson SLAPS HIMSELF in the face and then flops. Unbelievable:

http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/lance_stephenson_invents_new_way_to_flop_slaps_himself_in_face_video/17717231?linksrc=story_article_center_head_17717231

[steve3344]

Tonight in Houston we saw the Josh Smith that Detroit couldn't wait to get rid of:  3 points on 1 for 6 shooting in 23 minutes as Paul Pierce (21 points on 7 of 9 shooting) and Bradley Beal (33) led the Wizards to a 104-103 victory over the Rockets.  In a one point loss, Houston missed 9 free throws (61% from the line) while Washington hit 26 of 28.  Last night, when the Spurs beat Houston by 4, the Rockets missed 13 free throws (58%) while San Antonio was 21 out of 24.  They've blown both games at the line on back to back nights.  

And a quick look at tonight's box score showed me something I don't think I've ever seen before:  NO ONE on either team had more than 7 rebounds - and only one person (Gortat) even did that. That's amazing and almost unheard of.

http://www.nba.com/games/20141228/HOUSAS/gameinfo.html

[bobc33]

Klay Thompson had 37 points during a ten minute stint in the third quarter the other night. Didn't miss a shot and went 9 for 9 on threes? Has there ever been an outburst like that? Wilt, Michael, Dominique, Connor Henry, David Thompson?

I'm off to YouTube to check this out, talk about being in the zone this cat must have been far beyond white hot!

[steve3344]

Klay Thompson had 37 points during a ten minute stint in the third quarter the other night.  Didn't miss a shot and went 9 for 9 on threes?     Has there ever been an outburst like that?  Wilt, Michael, Dominique, Connor Henry, David Thompson?

I'm off to YouTube to check this out, talk about being in the zone this cat must have been far beyond white hot!

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/hca/01/26/the-list-best-quarters-in-nba-history/index.html

[steve3344]

http://www.blogabull.com/2015/1/31/7956711/signing-pau-gasol-was-a-mistake

[steve3344]

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/1/31/7956559/tim-duncan-lawsuit-business-adviser

[steve3344]

Legendary ref passes away:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/sports/basketball/norm-drucker-referee-who-felled-nba-giants-dies-at-94.html

My favorite part:

Drucker was a teacher and an administrator in the New York City school system while building his career as an N.B.A. official. An off-season job was a necessity. He recalled that when he went to Podoloff’s office to ask for a $10-a-game raise for the 1956-57 season, Podoloff pounded his desk and roared, “Are you trying to bankrupt the N.B.A.?”

[steve3344]

Have never seen a boxscore before where one starter had over 80% of the total starters' points. Westbrook had 49, four other starters totaled 12.

http://www.nba.com/games/20150304/PHIOKC/gameinfo.html

[steve3344]

One Blazers fan's observation on what losing Wes Matthews means to them:

Bill McDonald 7 hours ago
I admit it. After a Friday morning of handling the Wes Matthews injury pretty well, I finally gave into it and became a grouchy mess by Friday afternoon. If one more local sports guy had chimed in about the similarities between Matthews and Afflalo, I swear I would have lost it. One guy said that we had essentially just gone back to before the trade for Afflalo. Yeah, that's the ticket. Afflalo was the new Wes, and we were back to the concerns with our bench. Oh, sure there were some intangibles that Wes brought, etc...but Afflalo and Wes were basically the same sort of player, right? Boy, did they completely miss the point. Sometimes I can't believe our local sports guys. I just wish someone would pay me to be that dumb. Okay, here's my explanation.

Think of a band. There is something that a group of musicians has after they put in the years together. Let's just use the Rolling Stones as an extreme example. There are 3 guys in the Stones who you couldn't change without losing the band: Charlie Watts. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I believe there are three players you can't change without losing this team: Aldridge, Batum and Matthews. The Stones can replace Brian Jones with Mick Taylor and then Ron Wood and it's still the Stones. Just like you can add Damian Lillard to this starting five and it's still the team. The Stones also replaced Bill Wyman with another bass player - it was like plugging in Robin Lopez to be the bass foundation on this basketball team. Nobody said that it is no longer the Rolling Stones because Bill Wyman is gone. It's a different version but it's still the Stones.

But what you can't do is replace Mick, Charlie and Keith. Then it wouldn't be the Stones anymore. It's the same thing with Aldridge, Batum and Matthews from this Blazers team. Those are the three that have been together for the better part of a decade. They have developed the sort of chemistry you can only get after putting in the years. They move to their own language out there. They have developed their own music. You can see their familiarity with one another just as you can hear the shared groove of an old band.

In Stones terms, Aldridge is the star - the Mick Jagger- and Batum is Charlie Watts, an important guy who keeps the beat. But Wes Matthews? He is Keith Richards. He is the heart and soul of this team, just as Keith Richards is the heart and soul of the Stones. Now you could replace Keith Richards. You could even bring in Eric Clapton to be your Arron Afflalo, and the music will still sound good. They may even be great. But it would no longer be the Rolling Stones. Those aren't intangibles either. We're talking about the core identity of the starting five. We're talking about many years, and hundreds of gigs together. That's what we lost with Wes Matthews. We lost the band. Don't get me wrong: we still have a pretty good group. But we lost the band.

[steve3344]

Lakers win - fans pissed.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2414867-jordan-clarksons-game-winner-upsets-lakers-fans-hoping-for-better-lottery-pick?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Comments are pretty funny.

[bobc33]

[img][/img]

Just a little test here.

[steve3344]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/hawks-sefolsha-suffers-season-ending-injuries-arrest-article-1.2179920

Sefolosha done for the season after getting hurt obstructing justice and interfering with an arrest. What the F was he thinking?

Weakens Atlanta's bench.

[steve3344]

Blazers have been my second favorite team for a long time. Was a major fan of them during the Walton days and never saw a more unselfish team that those '77 and '78 group. In depth article on Portland's Wes Matthews' recovery from torn achilles tendon surgery is an interesting read.

http://www.oregonlive.com/ironman/#incart_special-report

And if that injury wasn't devastating enough for Portland, Aaron Aflalo may have suffered a serious arm injury last night late in the GS game:

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2015/04/trail_blazers_arron_afflalo_injures_right_arm_in_l.html#incart_2box

They can't catch a break. After a 30-8 start (just 21-20 since) to their season where they looked like a championship contender, they most likely won't make it out of the first round where they won't even have homecourt advantage despite winning their division.

[steve3344]

Houston's Josh Smith misses 14 free throws in one game. That's hard to do if your name isn't DeAndre Jordan:

http://www.nba.com/games/20150410/SASHOU/gameinfo.html

[steve3344]

Pacers came up a little short in making the playoffs but their starting front court of Hill, West and Hibbert came up A LOT short against Memphis' starting front court tonight, getting outscored by a whopping 65-11. Ouch.

http://www.nba.com/games/20150415/INDMEM/gameinfo.html

[bobc33]

Clippers and Spurs are playing some fierce, intense and spectacular ball in game 1. Should be a whale of a series.

[Sam]

Clippers pulled it out.  Big win for them.

Sam

[Sponsored content]