The whole "LeBron staying?" discussion is rendered moot if this is true:
[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5189101]Cleveland Cavaliers evaluating coach Mike Brown, owner Dan Gilbert says - ESPN[/url]
[QUOTE=Bacchus;177321]Me either...
Maybe from now on, the team that advances in a playoff series should be the team Lionsfan deems most worthy rather than who actually wins. ;)[/QUOTE]
hahaahahaha hmmm, let's see. KG, Paul, Ray, Rasheed, Rajon, Nate, Micheal, I can keep going. vs. LeBron, Mo, Antwan, Shaq...... Yupp Cavs definitely have the better team.
Hey, have you not been watching the regular season? Anderson is a good player. West is also pretty good. Jemario Moon stepped up as well, especially in the game 5. It wasn't his fault that LBJ dropped out when they needed it. Here's to Vince hopefully getting himself a championship.
[QUOTE=mr.unamazing;177336]Hey, have you not been watching the regular season? Anderson is a good player. West is also pretty good. Jemario Moon stepped up as well, especially in the game 5. It wasn't his fault that LBJ dropped out when they needed it. Here's to Vince hopefully getting himself a championship.[/QUOTE]
I forget the source but I read something where the author nailed the issue... The Cavs are undoubtedly the best "regular season" NBA team, where everyone is moving at 2/3s speed and not incredibly worried about fighting for their survival. They are revealed as frauds in the playoffs, and often in the regular season against good teams.
Calipari announced he was staying at Kentucky...so it's probably just a matter of time before he announces he is leaving for the NBA.
The most recent rankings for the LeBron lottery:
1. Chicago
2. Cleveland
3. New Jersey
NY is not even on the radar.
[QUOTE=townie;177758]Calipari is one shady dude... I would not believe anything that he says.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, which is why I said we should expect him departing for the NBA any day now. :D
Of course, it just makes sense. NBA teams can't have their wins vacated because the agents gave their players gifts. Maybe he'll hire LeBron's mom to be his personal assistant. Less hassle for Calipari, and he can continue doing exactly what he does in the college level.
My thoughts about the last month of NBA action.
People around the NBA need to start taking the Celtics seriously. They steamrolled the Heat in round 1, then needed only 6 games to take out the East's number 1 seed. It is particularly enjoyable to see KG playing like we're used to seeing from him. The way they're playing now, with everyone looking energized, and up 1-0 on Orlando makes me think they have it in them to make another run at the title. Rondo, Ray, Paul, KG and Perk with Sheed, T. Allen and Davis coming off the bench has been a great 8-man rotation that has worked. Both Sheed and Tony Allen have had some very productive games for us off the bench.
The Magic are in BIG trouble if they don't win tonight. Perkins did a phenomenal job on Howard in Game 1, and I said before the series that Perkins is fully capable of defending Howard one on one. If their bombers (Lewis, Redick, Barnes and Pietrus) don't get hot, they are not going anywhere in this series.
Speaking of Perkins, can someone please explain to me how Anderson Varejao, the most notorious flopper in the league, gets named to 2nd Team All Defense while Perkins is left off the ballot of all but 3 voters? I didn't know that falling on your *** every time someone bumps into you and being a total ***** on the court gets you All Defense consideration these days. Perkins is one of the most underrated defensive players in the league. Howard can't bully him down low.
I don't know if LeBron will go back to Cleveland, I'm much more interested to see what happens with Mike Brown. I can't wait to see that idiot get fired. Best case scenario...LeBron leaves, Brown stays and I laugh when he gets fired within 20 games.
[QUOTE=Lionsfan780;177173]Congrats to the C's, good luck with the Magic you will need it. I think the Magic win in 5. I just hope anyone but the damn Lakers win the title.[/QUOTE]
What I actually meant to say was good luck to the Magic because they will need it. The Celtics will win in 5.
[QUOTE=Lionsfan780;178010]What I actually meant to say was good luck to the Magic because they will need it. The Celtics will win in 5.[/QUOTE]
Sure you did ;)
[QUOTE=GoldenWarrior;178123]Right now it looks like it's going to be a Celtic and Lakers rematch in the finals. Unless the Suns or Magic can break their momentum.[/QUOTE]
At least the Suns have their home court to look forward to. The Magic are down 2-0 and going on the road. They somehow have to steal a game in Boston. That crowd is going to be INSANE on Saturday. Wish I had a ticket...
Now we have a win to go with our home court .. . Amare played like he should have in Games 1 & 2. The whole team chipped in, except Channing Frye who could still not buy a bucket, and played aggressive defense.
We can win Game 4 and even it up making it into a 2 out of 3 contest. It is feasible. The next step then becomes winning one in LA.
Not counting Cleveland, there are 5 head coaching vacancies. Of course, he could also end up on a contending team as an assistant coach if they all get filled up. Some people will think that his entire philosophy was really just hand the ball to LeBron.
Personally I think I like that situation. Though I think he did a good job of developing Anderson to a respectable bench player from when he was drafted in the second round.
I do believe that the Lakers were sorely mistaken in thinking they were going to steamroll the Suns. Our bench outscored theirs 54-20 last night, Channing Frye found his shot, Goran Dragic proved his the successor to Steve Nash, and Kobe tried but failed to keep the Lakers in the game.
If we win Game 5, the momentum shifts entirely to Phoenix. The Suns can win this series to face with Boston most likely.
There is an old saying that goes "f--- around, f--- around, pretty soon you ain't gonna be around" and if you ask me, the Lakers blew a golden opportunity in the fourth quarter of Game 3 to kill the Suns' morale. It was a 2 to 3 possession game for much of the fourth quarter and for some reason, the role players were in panic mode launching up unnecessary threes. Gasol was virtually invisible. Last night, it was a lot of the same, both he & Kobe hardly had any touches in the fourth quarter and the role players squandered any chance they had. Phoenix's role players weren't gonna be hoisting up bricks for ever, and they were on fire last night.
Now, those guys have confidence that their shots are going to go down and their whole team has confidence in what it is they're doing defensively because the Lakers have settled for a lot of perimeter shots from guys that they don't want taking a lot of those shots. Games 2, 3, and 4 were all tight heading into the fourth quarter and Game 2 was the only game out of those three where the Lakers utilized the two man game between Gasol and Bryant to pull away. They need to get back to that down the stretch to avoid an epic choke job in this series because relying on guys like Odom, Artest, Fisher, and Farmar hoisting up 19-24 footers isn't going to get it done.
To be honest, I don't know why more teams don't use that approach against the Lakers because teams that have used it have been very successful with it in the past in the playoffs. I don't think Phil Jackson is very good at adjusting his game plan at all when a team throws a swarming zone at him. The Pistons did it in the Finals in 2004 and Boston did a lot of the same things in the Finals in 2008. It's either force Kobe into taking low percentage shots or force his teammates into low percentage shots... either way, your chances of winning go up dramatically as opposed to playing a straight man to man.
I'm not just saying this out of being a homer, but if it's a Celtics/Lakers Final, Boston is going to rampage on them if both teams play the way they have as of late.
Doc Rivers is a smart enough coach and Garnett, Allen, and Pierce smart enough players that they'll watch and learn how the Suns handled the Lakers. That is, if they face the Lakers. The momentum is with the Suns right now as the Lakers, particularly Kobe look hurt, angry, and frustrated.
I know it's never happened in the NBA before but could Orlando come back from a 3-0 series deficit and win the series vs. Boston ? I think if Orlando wins game 6 they will complete the comeback and win this series back home in Orlando. With that said I expect an EPIC game 6 in Boston and I think Boston will pull it out in a close one.
Boston better do whatever it takes to win game 6 or its over for them. I find it very hard to believe that I might possibly dislike a player more than kobe but kendrick perkins is getting close. I can't stand him. In fact the more I watch boston the more I dislike pierce, davis and garnett.
I have tremendous respect for Garnett ... Pierce has been on a trip since he first came into the league like saying he could outplay Jordan one on one only to get his *** handed to him by Michael when they played. He thinks he is the man but really the Celtics did not do much with just him. When both Ray Allen and Garnett arrived and Rajon was drafted they started to have a team.
Of course they have a team. You add 3 all-stars and of course you get better. Kevin has won an MVP. That doesn't mean that Pierce isn't a great player and for along period of time before KG came in a great captian. Look at his teams in the past in many cases they were worse then LBJ's. He is underrated if anything.
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