Official NBA Season Thread: 2009-2010

[LSUMASTERMIND]

First things first, how many think the games are going to suck this year with replacement refs?
Or heres another thought, with replacement refs, teams and certain players wont get the favoritism they are used too because of non-existent relationship with the replacement refs, like they had with certain veteran refs like Danny Crawford and Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and D.Wade?

Will Shaq get Lebron over the hump against Orlando if they meet each other in the playoffs. Will the addition of Leon Powe and Jamario Moon help them.

Will Vince Carter destroy the chemistry of the Magic?

Will Blake Griffin be the Rookie of the year?

Will the Lakers repeat with Ron Artest? (That should be fun to see)

Will my team the Pistons make the playoffs, with the roster overhaul?

Will Bhelm and the Jazz finally realize that this isn't International basketball, lol?

Will the Hornets not suck it up this year? will they trade Paul?

Will Larry Bird finally lose his job after getting a pass all these years?

Heres my final standing and playoff predictions

East:
1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Orlando
4. Philadelphia
5. Atlanta
6. Detroit
7. Toronto
8. New York or Washington

West:
1. LA Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. Denver
4. Portland
5. Utah
6. Dallas
7. New Orleans
8. Houston

ROY: Blake Griffin
MVP: Dwayne Wade
COY: Nate McMillen
6th Man: Ben Gordon
Defensive POY: Dwight Howard
Most Improved Player:Michael Beasely or Greg Oden


Regular Season Starts October 27

Cleveland vs Boston
LA Lakers vs LA Clippers

[bhelmLSU]

Despite speculation all summer, the Jazz somehow kept everyone on their roster. Now if we can only keep them healthy...

Also added Maynor in the draft who is fitting in nicely and will backup Williams.

I am sure the Boozer trade rumors will continue all the way up to the trade deadline.

Also we added Ronald Dupree to our bench.

[Bengal B]

As great as he is Wade won't be MVP if the Heat don't even make the playoffs.

As much as I would love to see Shaq get his 5th ring with a finals victory over the Lakers, Kobe and Phil Jackson will take bring the bacon back to LA. LeBron has shown a tendency to choke in the finals. Can Shaq elevate LeBron's game as well as the rest of his Cleveland teamates? I hope so

[Cajun Sensation]

As a Knick fan, I'm ready to ffwd to the end of this season and see if we can somehow land LeBron.

I will, however be watching this season and really really rooting for the Hornets.

I think the Lakers will be very hard to beat out of the West but the East is alot more open.

[islstl]

East:
1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Orlando
4. Detroit
5. Philadelphia
6. Atlanta
7. Washington
8. Miami

West:
1. LA Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
4. Portland
5. Denver
6. Utah
7. Dallas
8. Phoenix

[islstl]

Originally Posted by Cajun Sensation

As a Knick fan, I'm ready to ffwd to the end of this season and see if we can somehow land LeBron.

Jay-Z and the Brooklyn Nets have already signed a secret agreement with bron bron.

[TigerBait3]

if cleveland is trying to look like the slowest team on earth theyre doing a damn good job.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Originally Posted by TigerBait3

if cleveland is trying to look like the slowest team on earth theyre doing a damn good job.

Man Im telling you. They cant just go 1 on 5 and expect to win with Lebron against teams like the Celts. It aint going to happen.
But Id like to change my prediction on 2 fronts.
Lebron will win Defensive Player of the Year
and someone else will win ROY.

[LaSalleAve]

Mavericks looked like crap last night. They should have never gotten rid of Brandon Bass, Drew Gooden is worthless, at least Bass could score sometimes, they both rebound well. Cuban said he thought this team was better than the team that lost to the Heat in the championship a few years ago. HA. Nice try Mark, i ain't buying it. I hope you are doing what you can to get D Wade in here next season.

[TigerBait3]

Opening Night 2.0 notes:

1. Dejuan Blair: What a steal. His knees may only last a few years, but what a get for the Spurs.

2. Ty Lawson: Perfect fit for the Nuggets. With defenses extending themselves in the NBA, Lawson thrives. He can beat his man whenever he wants to.

• The Jazz: Have to win on the road sooner or later. Williams is still the best PG in basketball.

[bhelmLSU]

I was pleased with the Jazz overall despite the loss especially without our deep threats Korver and Miles out.

I will take layups all day.

Milsap > Boozer

Going to be another great battle in our division this year with Denver, Portland, and the Jazz making the playoffs and fighting for home court.

Williams is a beast and I hope he stays healthy. Want to see more of our rook Maynor. BTW, the Jazz rookies were ordered by the Vets to carry Disney Princess backpacks to every road game this year. Maybe they can bring us some luck on the road.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Originally Posted by bhelmLSU

I was pleased with the Jazz overall despite the loss especially without our deep threats Korver and Miles out.

I will take layups all day.

Milsap > Boozer

Going to be another great battle in our division this year with Denver, Portland, and the Jazz making the playoffs and fighting for home court.

Williams is a beast and I hope he stays healthy. Want to see more of our rook Maynor. BTW, the Jazz rookies were ordered by the Vets to carry Disney Princess backpacks to every road game this year. Maybe they can bring us some luck on the road.

i was very impressed with the Jazz myself, except for 1 person Kirelinko. Carmelo beat him like he stole something mostly everytime he got the ball. Williams is a beast, he has it all. Milsap is a true dog down on the block. I think they will make some noise, if they can defend people.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

In the meantime, the Cavs are 0-2 after being thrashed by the Raptors. However they made a run at the end of the game, but it wasnt enough.

Here are the other scores:
1 2 3 4 Total
Cleveland 22 17 32 20 91 Final
Toronto 27 30 21 23 101
CLE: L. James 23 Pts, 11 Reb, 12 Ast
TOR: A. Bargnani 28 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 32 33 27 17 109 Final
Atlanta 29 37 29 25 120
IND: D. Granger 31 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast
ATL: A. Horford 24 Pts, 16 Reb, 4 Ast
Box Score - Recap
1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia 27 20 22 37 106 Final
Orlando 29 41 28 22 120
PHI: M. Speights 26 Pts, 5 Reb, 0 Ast
ORL: D. Howard 21 Pts, 15 Reb, 2 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
New York 23 24 15 31 93 Final
Miami 27 29 34 25 115
NY: D. Lee 22 Pts, 9 Reb, 2 Ast
MIA: J. O'Neal 22 Pts, 12 Reb, 4 Ast
Box Score - Recap
1 2 3 4 Total
Charlotte 13 18 10 18 59 Final
Boston 22 20 25 25 92
CHA: D. Brown 9 Pts, 4 Reb, 0 Ast
BOS: R. Rondo 10 Pts, 3 Reb, 11 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
New Jersey 25 30 23 15 93 Final
Minnesota 21 20 23 31 95
NJ: B. Lopez 27 Pts, 15 Reb, 4 Ast
MIN: D. Wilkins 12 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast
Box Score - Recap
1 2 3 4 Total
Detroit 24 29 18 25 96 Final
Memphis 20 21 16 17 74
DET: R. Hamilton 25 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast
MEM: M. Gasol 21 Pts, 15 Reb, 0 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
New Orleans 13 26 29 28 96 Final
San Antonio 19 38 29 27 113
NO: C. Paul 26 Pts, 1 Reb, 9 Ast
SA: D. Blair 14 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast
Box Score - Recap
1 2 3 4 Total
Sacramento 22 29 17 21 89 Final
Oklahoma City 39 29 21 13 102
SAC: K. Martin 27 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast
OKC: J. Green 24 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
Utah 30 25 25 25 105 Final
Denver 23 31 28 32 114
UTA: D. Williams 28 Pts, 3 Reb, 13 Ast
DEN: C. Anthony 30 Pts, 8 Reb, 5 Ast
Box Score - Recap
1 2 3 4 Total
Houston 26 26 35 21 108 Final
Golden State 28 34 19 26 107
HOU: L. Scola 21 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Ast
GS: M. Ellis 26 Pts, 3 Reb, 5 Ast
Box Score - Recap

1 2 3 4 Total
Phoenix 24 29 24 32 109 Final
LA Clippers 30 23 26 28 107
PHO: S. Nash 24 Pts, 1 Reb, 8 Ast
LAC: M. Camby 23 Pts, 11 Reb, 3 Ast
Box Score - Recap

[bhelmLSU]

Originally Posted by LSUMASTERMIND

i was very impressed with the Jazz myself, except for 1 person Kirelinko. Carmelo beat him like he stole something mostly everytime he got the ball. Williams is a beast, he has it all. Milsap is a true dog down on the block. I think they will make some noise, if they can defend people.

I agree with AK-47. He is our best defender and he struggled. I expect that to change and write it off as a bad night and Melo makes most look like a piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

I may need to change my MVP pick. Carmelo is playing his ass off after 2 games.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Interesting story!
LeBron's future hangs over Cavs' slow start - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

As soon as Mikhail Prokhorov reached agreement on the $700 million purchase price for the New Jersey Nets, sources say his emissaries were relentless in securing something they believed to be of the highest importance for the Russian billionaire: a sit-down with Jay-Z.

It is rare that an owner with such a small controlling interest in a franchise could inspire such dogged pursuit, but Jay-Z is no silent partner with the Nets. Immediately, insiders understood Prokhorov’s plans to woo Jay-Z pushed far beyond the music mogul’s global celebrity and Brooklyn roots. This was part of the Russian’s ambition to become intimately involved in the summer of 2010 and the most valued free agent in professional sports history: LeBron James(notes).

As the Nets floundered with legal red tape and financial issues that threatened the proposed Brooklyn arena, the threat of Jay-Z and a flashy new building would come and go over the years. Now, it could be a far more real threat than the blah New York Knicks and historic Madison Square Garden.

Suddenly, the Russian’s staggering $9.5 billion fortune and alluring charisma threaten to transform the fledging Nets into a fully loaded weapon again.

“Prokhorov and his people know that the way to LeBron is through Jay-Z,” one high-level source connected to the Russians and Nets said. “From the start, that’s right where they’ve wanted to go.”

[LSUMASTERMIND]

The shyt is about the hit the fan in the NBA. This is from the refs book thats in jail right now....
Crazy stuff, but something I have known about for a while. Who couldnt possibly know about this stuff after watching a game..

Ref excerpt doesn't read as tall tale for teams - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

Donaghy admits stars get preferential treatment, some refs have it in for some players and coaches, and a losing home team is likely to get a favorable whistle to make it competitive.

By understanding the dynamics of intra-league relationships and referee tendencies during his 13 years with the NBA, Donaghy writes he was able to gamble successfully on the outcome.

Ask around the NBA this week and you won’t find too many people outside the league office dismissing Donaghy’s claims.
read it last night and was laughing, and said, ‘Yep, that’s about right,” one team executive said. “I don’t think anyone is going to dispute the possibility.”

If the NBA’s own front-office people believe this, then how can fans simply dismiss it?

Consider Rasheed Wallace(notes), who has recorded a record number of technical fouls during his career-long battles with refs. He earned many of them, but he also claimed the refs had it in for him.

“Some of them cats are felonious, man,” ’Sheed famously declared, even before Donaghy became a felon.

Was Wallace targeted? Well, here’s Donaghy, according to Deadspin’s excerpt:

“To have a little fun at the expense of the worst troublemakers, the referees working the game would sometimes make a modest friendly wager amongst themselves: first ref to give one of the bad boys a technical foul wouldn’t have to tip the ball boy that night.

“After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our full attention on the intended victim, waiting for something, anything, to justify a technical foul. If the guy so much as looked at one of us and mumbled, we rang him up. Later in the referees’ locker room, we would down a couple of brews, eat some chicken wings, and laugh like hell.”

This is confirmation of what nearly every player in the league suspected.

The most damning allegations are against a fellow referee, who Donaghy names but I won’t. The allegations are uncorroborated and some comments attributed to the ref are not sourced.

The charge is huge though, a claim that the NBA used certain refs to determine games and extend playoff series.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Excerpts From The Book The NBA Doesn't Want You To Read - Tim Donaghy - Deadspin

Relationships between NBA players and referees were generally all over the board — love, hate, and everything in-between. Some players, even very good ones, were targeted by referees and the league because they were too talented for their own good. Raja Bell, formerly of the Phoenix Suns and now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, was one of those players. A defensive specialist throughout his career, Bell had a reputation for being a "star stopper." His defensive skills were so razor sharp that he could shut down a superstar, or at least make him work for his points. Kobe Bryant was often frustrated by Bell's tenacity on defense. Let's face it, no one completely shuts down a player of Kobe's caliber, but Bell could frustrate Kobe, take him out of his game, and interrupt his rhythm.

You would think that the NBA would love a guy who plays such great defense. Think again! Star stoppers hurt the promotion of marquee players. Fans don't pay high prices to see players like Raja Bell — they pay to see superstars like Kobe Bryant score 40 points. Basketball purists like to see good defense, but the NBA wants the big names to score big points.

If a player of Kobe's stature collides with the likes of Raja Bell, the call will almost always go for Kobe and against Bell. As part of our ongoing training and game preparation, NBA referees regularly receive game-action video tape from the league office. Over the years, I have reviewed many recorded hours of video involving Raja Bell. The footage I analyzed usually illustrated fouls being called against Bell, rarely for him. The message was subtle but clear — call fouls against the star stopper because he's hurting the game.

if Kobe Bryant had two fouls in the first or second quarter and went to the bench, one referee would tell the other two, "Kobe's got two fouls. Let's make sure that if we call a foul on him, it's an obvious foul, because otherwise he's gonna go back to the bench. If he is involved in a play where a foul is called, give the foul to another player."

Similarly, when games got physically rough, we would huddle up and agree to tighten the game up. So we started calling fouls on guys who didn't really matter — "ticky-tack" or "touch" fouls where one player just touched another but didn't really impede his progress. Under regular circumstances these wouldn't be fouls, but after a skirmish we wanted to regain control. We would never call these types of fouls on superstars, just on the average players who didn't have star status. It was important to keep the stars on the floor.

[bhelmLSU]

Yep

Very refreshing to finally hear what we already know.

I have always felt that the Jazz get the short end of the stick when it involved crucial calls in the playoffs over the years but I never worked myself up about it because we have been fortunate as well. We led the NBA in penalties 2 years ago and are close to the bottom each and every year. I am not going to say that the Jazz should have been in the finals any given season and it is conspiracy because we haven't.

But honestly, the NBA would hate for the Jazz to make it to the finals anytime soon. We do not have a superstar (even though Williams is one), we play defense, usually cause low scoring games, and swarm your superstar with an array of defensive stoppers and most importantly we are in a small national market. Utah fans are rabid but very concentrated.

It was fine for the NBA to have Stockton and Malone in the finals because they were a superstar duo with long successful careers exiting their prime. And they had built rivals in the West vs the Lakers, etc... and had a history with the Bulls.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Originally Posted by bhelmLSU

Yep

Very refreshing to finally hear what we already know.

I have always felt that the Jazz get the short end of the stick when it involved crucial calls in the playoffs over the years but I never worked myself up about it because we have been fortunate as well. We led the NBA in penalties 2 years ago and are close to the bottom each and every year. I am not going to say that the Jazz should have been in the finals any given season and it is conspiracy because we haven't.

But honestly, the NBA would hate for the Jazz to make it to the finals anytime soon. We do not have a superstar (even though Williams is one), we play defense, usually cause low scoring games, and swarm your superstar with an array of defensive stoppers and most importantly we are in a small national market. Utah fans are rabid but very concentrated.

It was fine for the NBA to have Stockton and Malone in the finals because they were a superstar duo with long successful careers exiting their prime. And they had built rivals in the West vs the Lakers, etc... and had a history with the Bulls.

Man why do you think they hated the Pistons reaching the finals and the beat a Lakers team with Kobe and Shaq on it as well.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0kw7qimO-M[/MEDIA]

The game in question in the excerpts, wow!

[TigerBait3]

im pretty sure the nba is not worried about the jazz or the pistons actually making it to the finals.

[LSUMASTERMIND]

lol....zing and that one kinda hurt...

[LSUMASTERMIND]

Here's what I see so far.
-The Celtics will be there in the end.
-The Lakers will be as well
-The Cavs made a few mistakes, first letting their assistant coach go to Detroit. Brown doesn't understand offense. Shaq needs to be played only in the 1st and 3rd Quarter
- Allen Iverson is a major embarrassment to himself and the league
-Kobe Bryant is going for the MVP this year
-There are some rookie point guards making some noise this year. Lawson being one of them, I was wrong about him and Jennings
-Chris Paul needs help, look for them to make moves in January.
-Whos worst the Knicks or Nets? will either team get Lebron
-THe Spurs have too much talent to be 3-3, maybe they are getting old, but Jefferson does nothing for that team.
-Steve Nash has come out firing like he is 25 years old again.

My Power Rankings
1. Celtics
2. Lakers
3. Suns
4. Heat
5. Nuggets
6. Magic
7. Spurs
8. Cavs
9. Rockets
10. Mavs

[LaSalleAve]

Anything in that book about the Mavs and Heat championship series?