Year Round Basketball Thread + NBA Fantasy League

[SirSamuel016]

Seems this post is pinned so here are the 2025/26 award predictions that I've received so far! If you haven't sent already then feel free to shoot me your list!

 

[Lohnt]

Re: NBA thread

My first fav team was the Sacramento Kings that made it to the finals and almost beat the Lakers. I'm not sure why, but the fact that the entire team kicked ass impressed me. Even more impressing was the fact that they could play defense, I didn't really watch much basketball before but that really got me hooked since I used to play very defensively myself. Also Webber was the very FIRST captain of a basketball team that actually acted like a captain. He had his eyes all over the court, and honestly stole the ball when the rest of his team had already retreated. If there was ever a captain worthy of the title not based on stats, but on achievement it was him.

Currently I'm a Rockets fan; I've liked Tracy McGrady since he was drafted, and I just personally feel he's the best foward in the NBA regardless of stats. Unfortunately he's never healthy.
And of course it doesn't hurt that one of my national teams stars is playing for the rockets (Go Spanoulis! Keep that bench warm dude!) even if his stats do NOT reflect his ability.. I have no idea why he crashed and burned so badly in the NBA. I mean this kid was red hot just this summer with solid stats all around and high scoring every game. W/e though.

My current favorite player is Theodoris Papaloukas.. who doesn't play for the NBA, but he easily could since he's the best point gaurd in the game today (screw you Nash) he's also given up offers to play.
Other favorite players include: Doug Christy, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Tracy McGrady and in last years NCAA Mike Gansy and Kevin Pitsnoggle, both of whom did not get contracts unfortunately..

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: NBA thread

My favorite team used to be the Chicago Bulls. But that was back in the Michael Jordan days.

At the time I was watching the Bulls, though, I had a best friend who was an avid fan of Shaq O'Neal, who was at the time playing for the Orlando Magic. So I'd either be watching the Bulls or the Magic - and especially games with both playing against each other.

Eventually of course Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls, and even though he came back to play for the Washington Wizards, I wasn't interested in following him anymore, I guess, because I felt he was too old to win a championship anymore - and especially not without a solid supporting cast like what he had in Chicago. When he left the Bulls I decided to stop watching NBA but when I heard Coach Phil Jackson went to the L.A. Lakers, AND Shaq went there, I couldn't help but be curious and followed the Lakers for quite a few years. They didn't disappoint, even despite Shaq's bickering with Kobe Bryant.

I probably WOULD have stayed a Lakers fan - if it hadn't been for the Kobe Bryant scandal. Hearing so much about that fiasco put me off the Lakers, especially when Shaq left, and Kobe stayed. And if you weren't a Kobe fan, there's no way you can be a Lakers fan, 'cause he's their main man now.

So now I'm kinda without a NBA team and I'm just watching NBA games randomly. :/

 

[Ichimaru Gin n Tonic]

Re: NBA thread

Well, this is one of my sport back in highschool and college. While most people are fans of MJ and Chicago Bulls, my team was always Phoenix Suns and their player Sir Charles (Barkley). I even spent all my money that i got from teaching english to get an Air Max. But a pair of shoes can't do nothing about my skill on the court.
Another player that I like is Hakeem Olajuwon. Not only for his awesome blocks, rebound and tenacity, he also practice fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan.

How many more years do you guys think before another player like Michael Jordan made his mark on the court again?

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: NBA thread

Probably never. There was no one like Michael Jordan and I don't think there will ever be again.

Even if somebody gets better statistics than MJ I don't think it would encompass the entire scope of excitement and leadership he brought to the Bulls. If there was ever an ultimate "Mr. Excitement," MJ was the guy.

By the way, ichimaru, I met Barkley, heh. He was cool. He had come to UT (University of Tennessee) for a football game between the Vols and his alma mater (the Auburn Tigers) and I just happened to run into him at a restaurant before the game. He's bigger than he looks on TV even.

 

[Ichimaru Gin n Tonic]

Re: NBA thread

Probably never. There was no one like Michael Jordan and I don't think there will ever be again.

Even if somebody gets better statistics than MJ I don't think it would encompass the entire scope of excitement and leadership he brought to the Bulls. If there was ever an ultimate "Mr. Excitement," MJ was the guy.

Yeah, guys like that are Godsend. Unless they can clone him and his skill, the chance of seeing another player like that is very slim.

By the way, ichimaru, I met Barkley, heh. He was cool. He had come to UT (University of Tennessee) for a football game between the Vols and his alma mater (the Auburn Tigers) and I just happened to run into him at a restaurant before the game. He's bigger than he looks on TV even.

That makes you the second person to say that to me. My cousin lives in LA, he met Barkley and Hakeem after their game against the Lakers. Now i'm definitely jealous.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

My favorite team is, was, and always will be the Chicago Bulls!

By the way... Except for points per game, MJ isn't number 1 statistically in ANY category.

Anyway, I'm glad the NBA is in full swing, we're looking pretty good now that we've figured out how to play with Big Ben, I'm excited!

 

[Lohnt]

Re: NBA thread

The thing about Jordan is.. and I apologize because I can only explain this in RPG terms.. he was a warrior, he could take the whole team on his shoulders and lead them all the way through the finals. And I'm not downplaying his achievements, he was the greatest warrior there ever was.

But Kobe isn't a warrior, he's like a rogue; his achievments of 80 points proved just that in my opinion. Kobe is the best player at scoring points when the team needs them I've ever seen. And that is without a team, Jordan on the other hand had a pretty good team when he was winning championships, but his main feature was that he could win games, it wasn't about scoring with him (in my opinion).

Dwayne Wayde is a mix of Kobe and Jordan, but he's leaning more towards Kobe, because I see him as the next Allen Iverson, not the next Jordan (minus ego). Carmelo Anthony is the only player I see as having MJ potential, but he has an ego that will forever block him from such an achievement. And I think Lebron James is going to be something along the liens of Kareem Abdul, but not Jordan, where he will still wow us with his achievements, but he won't win as many championships doing so.

I think the days of Jordan are over, Eastern Basketball has affected the NBA too much, teams focus on defense and team responsibility, instead of star power. So even if someone did have the abilities of Jordan, he will never get to show them off because the game has changed too much.
On the other hand, centers seem to be making a comeback as the hot commodity, like way back when. With guys like Yao Ming and Nowitzky I can't wait to see how these guys that are incredibly dominant and talented change basketball in the future.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

I have to disagree that star power isn't in the mentality of NBA players nowadays. Hell I think most players think they ARE super stars. I agree that working more as a team and working on defense is more of a priority, but when we were winning 6 in 8 years, Da' Bulls were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. (Michael, Scottie, and Rodman all made All NBA defensive teams several times. Even defensive player of the year!) And Phil Jackson got them to play as a team with the triangle offense.

While all those things are more widespread nowadays, the champions always displayed those attributes, IMO.

 

[blasta]

Re: NBA thread

Allen Iverson recorded his third consecutive double-double 44 points 10 assists last night against the Sonics!

Just posting the Rankings links.

NBA Power Rankings
NBA Player Rankings
NBA Rookies Rankings

Also check out Gilbert Arenas blog one of the hottest scorers now and probably a lock for player of the month award.

"Kobe tried to stick me"
Gilbert Arenas Blog

 

[Luckas]

Re: NBA thread

I'm curious, what does people think about Andrea Bargnani in USA?

 

[blasta]

Re: NBA thread

I like him a lot and I get to see him every game because I live in Canada and his playing for my Toronto Raptors. He keeps getting better and better and I like that he can shoot the three very well now and he doesn't hesitate to shoot if his open. The other rookie Jorge Garbojosa is just so fundamentally sound he just does everything you need what a great veteran rookie does all the little things and stuff to help the team win.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

Haven't seen any Raptor games in Florida yet so I don't know what to think!

 

[tonitonton]

Re: NBA thread

im from van.. but i still think andrea has a LONG way to go even with the little blocks and 3pts he has... but i think he got the potentials... at least right now hes alot better than the start of the year

 

[blasta]

Re: NBA thread

Carmelo Anthony is back and man what a great first game he and A.I. had was sure fun to watch. Carmelo is showing no rust so far and been getting along with A.I. Denver also won tonight and Carmelo had 34 points against the Sonics and during the same game Allen Iverson became the sixth quickest NBA player to score 20,000 points.

Phoenix Suns has a 14 game winning streak going and its the second time this year they have a double digit winning steak, last one stopped at 15 I think.

Gilbert Arenas is lights out man it seems whenever its near the buzzer or end of quarter and he shoots a three it most likely goes in. Its like routine for him now his 11 for 11 so far and had two buzzer beating threes to win the game this season. People call him Agent Zero or Zero Doubt now because his been amazing this season and people should watch him play.

Agent Zero has seven 40-point games and three 50-point games this season. The 51 points he scored on Monday was a record point total for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: NBA thread

I actually saw that Nuggets game, a little of it at any rate. Carmelo Anthony does seem to be working well with Iverson so far, but it was also his first game back so I think Iverson may have deferred to him. But hopefully they'll see just how good their team's chances are of making the postseason and gaining a championship if they just work together and they'll continue to have good teamwork as they work towards that goal.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

It's easy to play nice for a little bit, but we'll see what happens as time passes. Will A.I. give Carmelo the ball for the last shot in the playoffs? Or will he shoot over 2 or 3 people like always?

It will be interesting to see what happens. Maybe AI can coexist with him. After all he helped force this trade because he knows his time is running out. At any rate, the Nuggets will be an interesting team to watch.[br]Posted on: January 24, 2007, 02:52:13 AM_________________________________________________I'm not a Kobe Bryant apologist by any means, but the fact he is suspended tonight, for what is CLEARLY an accidental elbow, IMO, is RIDICULOUS!

The way the NBA has cracked down on so many things is ridiculous. I know a lot of people paid to go to the Knicks game tonight in an anticipation of seeing Kobe, and now they'll have to wait until next year.

This is the most ridiculous thing the NBA has done in a very long time.

And let me just say that Kobe Bryant just got the same punishment that James Posey did for tackling Kirk Hinrich in the playoffs. There is no consistency in this matter at all. Completely ridiculous.[br]Posted on: January 30, 2007, 06:08:12 PM_________________________________________________So I want to know, after Kobe got suspended a game for an accidental elbow, what does Lebron get for an accidental clothesline? My guess... nothing.[br]Posted on: February 02, 2007, 09:06:18 PM_________________________________________________Woohoo we won again last night! It amazes me how much better Kirk Hinrich plays on the road than at home, but he was big last night. Luol Deng continues to get better and better. He attacked the basket all night and really took it to the Sonics.

I thought our defense was only ok. We did a great job holding down Ray Allen, and we really put the hammer down in the second half. We allowed WAY too many easy baskets though, and our rebounding was horrible. Of course the fact that Ben Wallace is clearly not ready to play yet had a lot to do with that.

I tried watching the Nets and the Magic, but the Magic just crushed them, and the Nets don't impress me much at all.

 

[miyi]

Re: NBA thread

What do you guys think about Kobe's 4 consecutive games with 50+ points huh? The only other person to do that is Wilt Chamberlain, of course, MJ did it only 3 consecutive games.

Here's a recap:

vs. Portland, he scores 65
vs. Minnesota, he scores 50
vs. Memphis, he scores 60
vs. the Hornets, he scores 50

As a result, the Lakers are currently on a 4 game winning streak. Kobe said that one of the reasons he's really hot right now is due to the debate whether he is a dirty player or not (in reference to his recent elbow suspensions).

I'm probably biased here because I'm a Laker fan, plus I live in Los Angeles, but c'mon guys, isn't these statistics impressive?

meh, there will always be Kobe haters, I guess.

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

These are impressive stats, but these aren't exactly the best teams ever he's putting these numbers up against. While 50+ is 50+ and is always impressive it smacks more of Kobe deciding he's going to do it no matter what, rather than there being an actual need too. If the Lakers can't beat those teams without Kobe scoring 50, then their is something wrong.

Oh, and elbowing in the face is a dirty thing to do. I can accept moving your arm out a little as part of your "natural shooting motion" but those two elbows were just dirty plays, period.

Even Karl Malone didn't do such blatant elbows!

 

[miyi]

Re: NBA thread

well, I have no comments about the elbow incidents, as I haven't seen those games myself...and I'm more interested in the stats..


You're absolutely right, there is something wrong with the Lakers...let's face it, his teammates suck! I've seen Kobe improved so much in the last two years. Critics always complain he doesn't pass the ball, well he's done that this year. He's distributed the ball in order to get his teammates involved. If you recall from the Suns first round playoff match up last season, he even went to the extent of being almost nearly passive, yet his teammates couldn't even contribute.

The problem isn't with Kobe, but the lackness in depth with this Laker team.

However, the Lakers has gotten better this year, but they've been plagued by injuries all year so their standings in the West is somewhat misleading.

I think Kobe is ridiculously underrated in this league. I mean instead of getting compliments about his impressive scoring performance, the focus is immediately towards his selfishness.

Can't he catch a break?

His shooting percentage in the past four games has been about 50 percent, well above his normal average. Clearly not an indication of selfishness with the ball, but more on scoring efficiency.

True, those teams he's played against aren't elite teams, but seriously, can you really deny that he's that good? Drop 50 at least once on the weakest team in the league, is impressive enough for any player, but to do it four consective times?

lol, sorry I didn't mean to get carried away. I'm just enthusiastic about this whole mess, not bickering with you.

EDIT: Kobe didn't extend his streak to 5 games...he fell 7 points short; Kobe scored 43 points, and his Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors, making this their 5th straight win, tying their season best streak.

Kobe's 4 consecutive 50+ point performance is only second best behind Wilt Chamberlain's 7 straight (he also did a 5 game and a 4 game streak on separate occasions).

Side note: before this 5 straight Lakers winning streak, this team has experienced the worst losing streak of Phil Jackson's head coaching career, 7 straight games!

I guess you can say that as the playoffs are getting closer and their playoff position becoming more significant, this is Kobe's way of demonstrating to his teammates a "sense of urgency" that they've been thoroughly lacking all year. (They're currently 6th place in the West, comfortably 2 games ahead of 7th placed Denver Nuggets).

I don't think he is a selfish player, although he has been before. But he's definitely "matured". I've never seen a guy who works as hard as Kobe (besides Allen Iverson), who cares nothing more than to win. How can you look negatively at that? Heck, even his teammates are "awed" by him. And what's so great about Kobe's overall maturity as a leader of his club this season is his supportiveness of his teammates, in and outside the court. He has been said to have created good "bonds" with his teammates, and that's still not enough to please the Kobe haters. Smush Parker has testified that Kobe has been a mentor to him, and the same can be said from Luke Walton. And you can see his good relationship with his teammates just by watching him with his team. A selfish player is someone who is typically disliked by his teammates. I don't see any evidence of that at all, and I watch Laker games on a regular basis.

It seems a bit unfair of all the negative scrutiny this guy has gotten in his career, and instead of pausing for just a moment and compliment him on his incredible performance, all we can bother to look at is his "dirtiness" as a player, of which he has already paid his dues (game suspensions and monetary fines).

To see the full story from ESPN, here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2812067

 

[Venom65437]

Re: NBA thread

I gave him his props for doing well! I don't personally have anything against Kobe at all.

You're right the Lakers aren't the most talented team in the league, but they're far from the worst. Lamar Odom is great when he wants to be.

It is too bad about the injuries for the Lakers this year, but even at full strength, I think they're pretty much where they would be anyway.