NBA Playoffs 2012 - Page 265

Bonzinator

Slovenia862 Posts

June 13 2012 19:49 GMT

#5281

On June 14 2012 04:46 thuracine wrote:
http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/the_seattle_supersonics_are_in_the_news_today/11003756

Good luck Seattle

No doubt, good luck to Seattle.

Qatol

United States3165 Posts

June 13 2012 19:52 GMT

#5282

On June 14 2012 03:48 dbg wrote:
okc crowds are the best >>>

which sort of brings up an interesting argument i had with a friend the other day about playing at home. are there any other advantages of playing at home other then the crowd?

for us non nba players we obviously prefer playing on certain nets and rims over others, but is this the same in the nba? have any players outright said they like to play at home because they are used to the net and rim?

it's kind of a weird question i guess since there's really no way to determine this because all NBA nets are the same.

Denver and Salt Lake City have a pretty significant home court advantage - altitude. It's a lot easier to get out of breath in high altitude, so it can be a bit of a shock for players who are used to playing at sea level.

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

June 13 2012 20:25 GMT

#5283

I've read from multiple sources that the home court advantage is also due to it being a hometown advantage. The players get to sleep in their own beds and not in hotels, they get to eat what they're used to, they're practicing in their own gym, etc. In general, they just feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, and there's always going to be the psychological effect of feeling like you're on friendly territory and not enemy territory.

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

June 13 2012 20:31 GMT

#5284

On June 14 2012 04:40 Itsmedudeman wrote:
Well, in the post conference they mentioned something about being tired, and really, in the 4th quarter they looked really sluggish. OKC was just runnin past them on both sides of the court, and you could tell that every time wade and lebron tried to get a good look they'd be stopped pretty easily and couldn't get anyone a look They came off a 7 game series while OKC had a few days off so that might attribute to their poor 4th quarter and 3rd quarter for that matter.

I was just talking to a friend about this, but the Thunder really are, as Spoelstra put it, relentless. The team is deep enough, young and full of energy, and they have Harden coming off the bench. As a result, their opponents are facing a constant, non-stop offensive onslaught and that can be tiring for anyone. OKC doesn't just score, but they score by attacking the other team with aggressive drives to the basket and by running Durant off of good screens set by strong bigs.

Depth and scoring is one thing, but the type of depth and scoring the Thunder have is impressive. Their length and athleticism just wears other teams down, and the Heat don't have the depth to deal with it. They're going to need to get some energy and production from guys like Cole, Miller, Jones, etc., which is concerning considering that they're not really those types of players outside of Cole.

Tyree

1508 Posts

June 13 2012 21:35 GMT

#5285

Why you put Allen Iverson in a same sentence as Wade is beyond me. Wade has a chip and finals mvp. No need to compare him with MJ and Kobe at all.

Why is this argument still made? Karl Malone does not have a ring and he is far superior player to 99% of the people who have a ring, including your boy Dwayne Wade.

Fish has 5 rings (maybe 6 with OKC now) is he a better PG than Stockton? Nash? Is anyone even insane to suggest that?

One player has a every disadvantage imaginable, but his sheer will to win and desire made him a instant icon and he dragged that sorry Philly team to things nobody else could. The other player is a notorious whiner, spends more time talking to refs, needed Shaq to get a ring. Now he needs LeBron James.

Iverson was known for pulling moves off that the human body should not be able to, he managed to cross the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. He was only defeated by one of the most dominant players the last 20 years, Prime Shaq in the finals.

...The same guy who had to help Wade get his own ring.

Cmon son, Iverson is a phenomenon.

Sadist

United States7291 Posts

June 13 2012 21:46 GMT

#5286

On June 14 2012 06:35 Tyree wrote:

Show nested quote +

Iverson is/was a liability on defense because of his size. When he was surrounded by good defensive players he was able to play passing lanes fairly well and thats about it.

The east was absolutely horrible when the 76ers made the finals that year. In fact the east was basically shit after the Bulls up until the pistons became good.

XaI)CyRiC

United States4471 Posts

June 13 2012 22:25 GMT

#5287

Random question, but why does anyone care what Jon Barry has to say? The guy has no credibility as a career backup guard who never won anything. Yet, there he is, show after show, smirking and trashing players and coaches who he couldn't guard or score against even in his "prime" (if you can really say he had a prime).

I know there are random analysts and writers like Wilbon and Broussard who do the same thing and haven't even played the game, but feel like they don't give off the same level of condescension that Barry does and usually aren't as harsh with their criticism. Barry can't write, fails to provide any significant insight or analysis, and sits up on a high horse/ivory tower offering questionable opinions like he knows what he's talking about.

Like I said, random, but the guy just irks me for some reason.

Aerisky

United States12129 Posts

June 13 2012 22:34 GMT

#5288

The scales of truth don't lie

Holy shit I googled Jon Barry, and + Show Spoiler [this] +

cracked me up hehehe. Doesn't exactly show his vitriol or whatnot, but :D superficiality at its best! I don't know the names of any of the commentators (except the really really obvious ones and JVG I guess if he doesn't count as really obvious) because I don't bother to remember the names but hm...this sounds awfully familiar...

Zim23

United States1681 Posts

June 13 2012 23:21 GMT

#5289

Jon Barry is a dumb POS, he is almost always wrong in everything. Actually that whole panel is pretty dumb and no one should be taking their opinion seriously.

Thunder are relentless, and their halftime adjustments this entire playoffs have been absolutely superb. How many times have we seen them losing the first half and then absolutely destroying 3rd quarters. They are an energetic, tenacious, and most importantly incredibly coachable bunch that make them so hard to beat, especially at home. Fantastic first game, can't wait to see more. (They should just stop playing Perkins, the lineup with Collison is excellent.)

Jerubaal

United States7684 Posts

June 13 2012 23:26 GMT

#5290

I wish we had the TNT half time show so we could have Chuck, Kenny and Shaq making apropos of nothing comments.

TieN.nS)

United States2131 Posts

June 13 2012 23:30 GMT

#5291

On June 14 2012 06:35 Tyree wrote:

Show nested quote +

"Every disadvantage imaginable" meaning height right? Sure he was under 6' tall, but his athleticism was otherworldly. There will never be another AI, quit acting like he was an overachieving chump instead of the genetic freak he really was.
And you're really gonna pretend Dwyane Wade didn't put up 34.7 ppg in that finals series in the best Jordan impersonation the NBA's seen and that Shaq wasn't 34 years old? Yes, AI overperformed and played with an intensity maybe on Jordan's level. Yes, all things considered, he was a greater player than Wade at this point in his career, but Wade has years left to play. Bonzinator was a clown for suggesting that comparing AI to Wade is an insult to Wade, but your post is just as bad.

You claim that he only lost to Shaq when he only took one game off those Lakers (I was ecstatic over that game btw, loved the David vs. Goliath promos they ran afterwards and the fact that they stopped the Lakers from going 16-0 those playoffs) when that was his only trip to the finals, that team easily could have been eliminated in the conference semis that year on a Vince Carter shot that missed by inches, and he never made it past the second round any other year. AI's one of my favorite all-time players, I loved him when he was playing, but your post makes me think you don't even watch basketball. Yeah, AI crossed MJ... so what? Is this you trying to give AI hoops cred by using The Worf Effect? He doesn't need that, he's an all-time great with actual accomplishments. It's an iconic highlight, but everyone gets crossed, everyone gets blocked, everyone gets dunked on. To list that as if it's a monumental feat makes it sound like all you've ever seen of AI is youtube highlight reels.

TieN.nS)

United States2131 Posts

June 13 2012 23:38 GMT

#5292

On June 14 2012 08:26 Jerubaal wrote:
I wish we had the TNT half time show so we could have Chuck, Kenny and Shaq making apropos of nothing comments.

Yeah, always sad when TNT coverage ends. ESPN/ABC try real hard to copy the dynamic but just come off corny. If they just picked up C-Webb he'd probably instantly make it palatable though, they should get on that.

Cloud9157

United States2968 Posts

June 13 2012 23:41 GMT

#5293

On June 14 2012 07:25 XaI)CyRiC wrote:
Random question, but why does anyone care what Jon Barry has to say? The guy has no credibility as a career backup guard who never won anything. Yet, there he is, show after show, smirking and trashing players and coaches who he couldn't guard or score against even in his "prime" (if you can really say he had a prime).

I know there are random analysts and writers like Wilbon and Broussard who do the same thing and haven't even played the game, but feel like they don't give off the same level of condescension that Barry does and usually aren't as harsh with their criticism. Barry can't write, fails to provide any significant insight or analysis, and sits up on a high horse/ivory tower offering questionable opinions like he knows what he's talking about.

Like I said, random, but the guy just irks me for some reason.

He was never really a great player, but he was still decent and had an okay shot.

The main reason(to me) is that he is the son of the famous Rick Barry. In addition, he usually has at least decent insight to a game. I've found his review of certain clips and games rather accurate and insightful.

edit: In regards to the AI debate above, the East WAS complete crap for the most part really. But to go further than that, the entire NBA really died off a bit after MJ left the scene. Just so happened that a lot of the greats he played with left around the same time as him.

NBA seemed pretty bad as a league in terms of competition from 2000-2003. Lakers dominated, and the East threw whatever team happened to come out on top vs the unstoppable Lakers. Wasn't until 2004 that teams started coming back a bit and slowly grew into excellent caliber from 2005-now. Would probably contribute Melo, Wade, LeBron, and Dwight Howard to it, among a few other greats.

TieN.nS)

United States2131 Posts

June 13 2012 23:52 GMT

#5294

On June 14 2012 08:41 Cloud9157 wrote:

Show nested quote +

Jason Kidd instantly leading the Nets to back-to-back finals appearances is definitely a testament to both how good he was and how completely godawful the East was those years. I wouldn't really say that the East has gotten that much better, just the top teams are able to compete with the West. The lower seeds are still pretty embarrassing. But yeah, that 03 draft class did wonders for making the East watchable.

ghrur

United States3786 Posts

June 14 2012 00:25 GMT

#5295

On June 14 2012 08:41 Cloud9157 wrote:

Show nested quote +

Idk man, the 2002-2004 Mavericks vs Kings were the highlights of my childhood and definitely competitive and exciting as hell. I wouldn't say the NBA was bad in terms of competition, just that the west dominated the East. The West was still extremely competitive and fun to watch.

Cloud9157

United States2968 Posts

June 14 2012 00:29 GMT

#5296

On June 14 2012 09:25 ghrur wrote:

Show nested quote +

Even the West seemed to just be a bunch of teams with 1 big star, but the surrounding cast was a whole lot better than the East.

Though the Kings were decent compared to a lot of other teams I guess. Bibby along with Brad Miller(decent center, played here in Chicago around 08 iirc) and the infamous Ron Artest.

Dirk was and always has been a championship-caliber player. He just dominated a lot more back then than he does now. Sonics had Ray Allen, Spurs were good, Lakers were a dynasty, and that is about all I care to remember seeing.

Chunhyang

Bangladesh1389 Posts

June 14 2012 00:42 GMT

#5297

On June 14 2012 09:29 Cloud9157 wrote:

Show nested quote +

On June 14 2012 09:25 ghrur wrote:

On June 14 2012 08:41 Cloud9157 wrote:

It was:

Divac
Webber
Stojakovic
Christie
Bibby

+ Miller, Clark, Jackson, etc. They were extremely "decent".

Re: AI was a great player. You could see it when you watched. He was prone to taking some bad shots though, kind of like Kobe. Courageous though. He's the only player who would drive at SHAQ. Jesus Christ, Iverson was crazy. No disrespecting that talent.

Adding: Turkoglu

TieN.nS)

United States2131 Posts

June 14 2012 00:46 GMT

#5298

Kings were the best team in all the land in 02. Simply listing players doesn't do that team justice, they were much greater than the sum of their parts. NEVER FORGET GAME 6.

Chunhyang

Bangladesh1389 Posts

June 14 2012 00:47 GMT

#5299

Also, OKC has been saved by the number of tremendous shooters they have. When they're being run ragged, when they've lost the offensive flow, when the defense is terrific and the shot clock's running down: screen, long three, bam.

That kind of play often leads to big blowouts. Not these guys though, they keep making the shots.