The NBA Thread

[Buscemi]

I'd cut Dajuan Wagner some slack. The guy's career was cut short due to what happened to his colon (he had ulcerative colitis). Doctors had to remove his entire colon just so he could survive.

Another guy that I'd cut some slack on is Sebastian Telfair. He only went pro as young as he did because his family needed the money (he grew up in poverty in inner-city Brooklyn) and he decided that getting an NBA contract and helping them was more important than improving his skills in college (he had committed to Louisville before he changed his mind and went pro instead). However, he has been nothing short of a disappointment in the NBA considering all the hype that surrounded him in high school and in streetball (hell, he was the basis for a book and a movie).

[W]

I forgot about the whole Dajuan Wagner thing. But Telfair? Isn't he a cousin of Marbury? What makes him different than all the other hyped guys that didn't go to college? Last year's All-NBA first team was Kobe, LeBron, Howard, Dirk, and Wade. Four of the five went straight to the NBA and were fine. I mean, LeBron's family needed the money, I'm sure Kwame's family needed the money, why cut Telfair the slack we don't cut Kwame?

They make a choice to go for the money and I support that they should be able to, but if they did pick the NBA and don't pan out, they shouldn't be spared the bad stuff.

[Geezer]

There's no way Sam Bowie wasn't the worst pick of all time. The guy had injury problems IN COLLEGE. It was pretty easy to see that he might continue to struggle with that as a pro. And oh yeah, they passed up the single greatest athlete of any of the 4 major sports. And oh yeah, the Bulls won SIX championships because of the pick. What happened to Portland?

[W]

You could argue that the Bulls won six championships when they made that draft day trade in 1987. Without Pippen he'd be probably win one or two.

[Geezer]

I'm going to assume the Hawks close it out in game 7 and I went a perfect 8 for 8 in round one. Doesn't really matter because I think Orlando wins whether ts Hawks or Bucks. Here's my picks for the second round:

Celtics in 7
and yeah, this was my prediction before tonight's game, and I have to stick with it, even though I did not like what I saw. They DOMINATED the game for 2 and a half quarters, Rondo played like a top 5 NBA STAR and then they just completely fell apart. They have the talent o beat the Cavs, they just need to bring it for 4 quarters, not 2 and a half.

Orlando in 5
They really looked strong against Charlotte, a team many were calling a sleeper. They will be rested and kick the ass of either the Hawks or Bucks.

Spurs in 6
I still love the team that has the historic playoff record on their side vs the team with the history of choking. P.S. I told you so.

Jazz in 7
The Jazz may be banged up, but Deron Williams is playing out of his mind right now. The Lakers just don't have the same intensity they had last year and they really have no answer for D-Will. Watch out for the Jazz to pull the upset that the Thunder were just a little too raw to pull off.

[W]

The Mavs got just as close to the title as the Packers did.

The only thing is the Mavs are a favorite team, not one I picked to go all the way...

[Geezer]

Yeah, well maybe I'm better and more knowledgeable when it comes to basketball over football. Who knows. Or maybe the damn Cardinals just won a fluky ass game on a facemask that wasn't called. Watch out for the Packers again next year... and the Ravens are going to be deadly in the AFC.

[Buscemi]

The Sporting News thinks that the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl this season simply because they managed to win a playoff game last season. There are probably a good five to seven teams better than the Cowboys.

[Shrykespeare]

Spurs in 6
I still love the team that has the historic playoff record on their side vs the team with the history of choking. P.S. I told you so.

Yeah, I know technically this series isn't over, but... fuck me sideways, I cannot believe what I just saw in Game 3.

In the 1st half, the Suns bench was TERRIBLE, and the starters weren't much better. How they were able to stay in the game is a testament to their defense.

But in the 4th quarter, holy shit. Richardson, Stoudemire and Nash sitting on the sidelines, and the Suns' bench players picked apart the Spurs STARTERS like a school of piranha. Barbosa had his best game in the playoffs, and Goran Dragic had the best game of his frickin' LIFE. 23 points in the 4th quarter for Steve Nash's BACKUP.

Richardson and Stoudemire did not play a single second in the 4th quarter, and Nash only came back in for mop-up time. Just unbelievable.

You know what? Screw what I said. This series is OVER. And revenge has never tasted so damn sweet...

History of choking? Is just that. History.

Boo-yaa.

[NSpan]

Dang... the NBA playoffs is the one time during the year I actually give half-a-shit about professional sports--and now my team is dead in the water.

Oh well. There's always the Superbowl. And READING! Who doesn't like reading?

[Buscemi]

I hope the Suns don't have to go to Los Angeles. California has been boycotting Arizona items like crazy (due to Arizona's strict immigrant laws).

[transformers2]

The Suns are my 2nd favorite team so I'm with you Shryke. I am so happy they are shitting on the Spurs. I hate the Spurs as much as I hate the Lakers if not more.

[W]

I don't see how anyone could really hate a team with Tim Duncan on it...

[Shrykespeare]

I respect Duncan's ability, but he takes every opportunity to whine to the refs about every single foul that was called (on him) or not called (on someone else ON him). I have absolutely no respect for Manu Fucking Ginobili, President and Founder of Flop Academy.

[Buscemi]

I watched some old games on YouTube, most notably the 1983 Detroit vs. Denver game where the final score was 186-184 after three overtimes. I want to see those days return.