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NATE > Knicks

348K views 9K replies 149 participants last post by  Magic 
#1 ·
Season starts tonight!

New season = new thread.

Get your predictions in and what not. Some of you have done that already in the off-season thread.

Tonights predictions:

Wizards at Cavs
Celtics at Heat
Mavs at Lakers
 
#7,134 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

Spurs win 50th game for the 14th consecutive season. Yeah, don't hype that shit up for as ridiculous as it is ESPN/NBA/Yahoo, just leave it for one article as if it isn't one of the most impressive things in sports history. fucking *******, smh. LET'S GET 50 MORE ARTICLES ON THE HEAT'S RIGGED WINNING STREAK, THAT'S WAY COOLER TO TALK ABOUT 100 TIMES PER DAY.


yes I know why it works this way and you guys don't need to tell me. I just find it annoying and I'll complain about it every time because it's complete disrespect to one of the greatest coaches ever, one of the greatest players ever/greatest powerforward ever, THE BEST management team ever in that stretch, and one of the most complete teams year in and year out.
 
#7,154 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

it should have ended in orlando. I saw the end of that game and that was outrageous. Lebron's season average for fouls per games just shows how much of a joke this league can be at times. :kobe
It was kinda funny, back earlier in the season, the refs were forgetting to give him at least 1 foul per game. When he got to 5 or 6 games or whatever it was without a foul call, it started getting media attention. The first Heat game after that, he got a foul right at the start of the 1st. It was like... hey! look! see! we call fouls on LeBron too! :rolleyes:

The Orlando game was some bullshit yes, but their other wins have all been legit wins where they looked impressive for the most part.
I'm not denying how well they've played for the most part, I'm denying one game where the game felt really fucking rigged. seriously, there's a point where it calls like the refs are favoring one team and then another point where it just straight up seems like a screw job.
I often hear people say the NBA is rigged. That's foolish. The NBA is not rigged. What it is, is influenced. You still have to be a good team and make your shots to win in the NBA. David Stern couldn't take, say the Bobcats, and just decide to make them champs. There are times, though, when certain teams are helped along the way because it's good for business. In 2002, that team was the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2012, that team was the Miami Heat.

The league isn't stupid either. They know how to pick their spots. Not every game is influenced. Those refs know what they are doing. If the team they want to win is playing lights out, there is no need to help them, so they will call a relatively clean game.

You might ask... if the league wanted to help Miami win a title, then why didn't they do it in 2011? Well, they did try. Dallas was just shooting too magnificently for any amount of ref help in Miami's favor to make any difference. There was no stopping Dirk that season. Great outside shooting beats the refs every time. It's down in the paint where they can have the biggest effect on a game. If you're out there draining 3's, there is not much the refs can do about it.

Back to the 2012 ECF. Miami played great in game 1 and didn't need help, so you saw an evenly called game. 21 fouls on Miami to 19 on Boston. 23 free throws for Miami to 21 for Boston.

Then they got to game 2 and Miami was struggling bad. That was the night Rondo went off for 44/8/10; 2 boards away from a triple double. Stern and the league feared what might happen if the Celtics got a split in Miami and took the 1-1 back to Boston. Just a little bit of help from the refs wasn't enough in this game. That's why you saw Boston get called for 15 more fouls and Miami get nearly 50 free throws.

The league got what they wanted. They got Miami that 2nd game. So then they let the teams play a few fair games. Their concern was well founded because Boston took the next 3.

Game 3 fouls: Miami 24, Boston 24. Game 3 free throws: Miami 20, Boston 26.
Game 4 fouls: Miami 28, Boston 30. Game 4 free throws: Miami 24, Boston 20.
Game 5 fouls: Miami 21, Boston 21. Game 5 free throws: Miami 27, Boston 25.

3 evenly called games. 3 Boston wins.

Then game 6 rolled around and LeBron played the best game of his career, IMO. I don't know where it came from because I've never seen it before and I have not seen it since. LeBron actually played with killer instinct in that game. I genuinely despise the guy but I've never been particularly scared of what he can do on the court. He's soft. He chokes a lot. He's good at filling up a stat sheet but does not have the heart of a champion. They way he played in that game was downright terrifying. He wasn't out there laughing and joking like the clown he is. He was dead serious and it showed on the court. If he played like that all the time, he'd be a 5 or 6 time champion by now.

If I could see it, so could the refs. And they called an even game. 21 fouls on Miami to 19 on Boston. 22 free throws for Miami to 20 on Boston. But you can bet your ass if Miami showed signs of struggling that the refs would not have let them go out in game 6.

In game 7, I believe Boston was truly beaten by then and Miami didn't really need the help but the league wasn't taking any chances. They didn't want the Celtics to have any glimmer of hope and just kept them out of the game the whole way. 14 fouls on Miami to 24 on Boston. 27 free throws for Miami to 15 for Boston.

If Boston was just old and slow and could do nothing but foul the bigger, faster, driving team, you would have seen that foul/free throw discrepancy throughout the series. But you didn't. In the games that were called clean (1, 3-6), the total fouls were Miami 115, Boston 113. 116 free throws for Miami to 112 for Boston. 5 clean games and Boston came out 3-2 in those games.

In the 2 games the league absolutely had to have Miami win, there was a huge discrepancy in fouls and free throws. Miami only had 32 fouls called to 57 on Boston. Miami got 74 free throws to Boston's 46.

Over the span of 5 clean games, the difference in fouls was 2 and free throws was 4. In the other 2 games, there was a whopping foul differential of 25 and 28 on the free throws.

I may despise LeBron but I am not so blind that I do not recognize he is a great player. He has his weaknesses like being soft and having a knack for choking in the 4th but he's still a great player. He didn't win that title fair n square though. The only people truly blind here are the ones who think the league is without corruption. Stern is so far gone in his later years that he just flat out doesn't give a shit anymore. He's on his way out the door, so he doesn't care how bad he looks (the nixed CP3 trade, telling Pop how to field his team).

One can hope Silver will be able to turn things around and bring some credibility back to the league. It couldn't get worse because they have zero as it is now. Well, I'll be hoping but my hopes won't be very high.
 
#7,141 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

I'm not denying how well they've played for the most part, I'm denying one game where the game felt really fucking rigged. seriously, there's a point where it calls like the refs are favoring one team and then another point where it just straight up seems like a screw job.

I know it won't get rid of the streak in any way or make it any less meaningful as no reporter on any site even bothered to mention it which shows that they're SPINELESS, but it just doesn't come off as impressive knowing they should have lost that one. it's the same way as some people viewing the 2002 Lakers' championship as something that should have been the Kings'. No one can change the outcome, but it doesn't mean the outcome should have happened.
 
#7,146 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

if Stern wants to make his dream finals match up come true he'll force the Mavs to trade the Lakers Dirk for anyone not named Kobe/Nash. INSTANT TITLE. UNSTOPPABLE OFFENSE.
I'd be OK with this. DIRK.

Dirk looks so bossed up with the mountain man beard
Agreed. DIRK.

What do you mean anyone other than Kobe/Nash? Dirk & Dwight would be a nasty duo. You saw how great Dirk was with Chandler.

NBA should merge the Mavs & Lakers.

Nash/Collison
Kobe/Mayo
Marion/Carter
DIRK/Pau
Dwight/Brand

Might win 45 games as long as Pringles is coach.

And I agree abrown0718, DIRK's beard is BOSS.
DIRK.
 
#7,145 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

What do you mean anyone other than Kobe/Nash? Dirk & Dwight would be a nasty duo. You saw how great Dirk was with Chandler.

NBA should merge the Mavs & Lakers.

Nash/Collison
Kobe/Mayo
Marion/Carter
DIRK/Pau
Dwight/Brand

Might win 45 games as long as Pringles is coach.

And I agree abrown0718, DIRK's beard is BOSS.
 
#7,167 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

BILL THE GOAT RUSSELLS. 11 CHAMPIONSHIPS. 17 TO 16. CELTICS>LAKERS. WOO.
PREACH IT

Originally posted by Paul Pierce
"I really don't even care. I hope they [The Heat] lose every game the rest of the season. I just worry about what this team does."
Paul Pierce rules.
 
#7,157 ·
Re: "MONTA ELLIS HAVE IT ALL!"

Kobe listed as a starter tonight despite his ankle injury.

That's actually shocking to me. I was expecting him to miss at least one game and then come back.
I think that's a rather stupid decision. Playing in Indiana is difficult enough as it is. They might have lost even with a healthy Kobe. If ever there was a time to take a game off, this would be the time to do it. A loss tonight won't kill them.

Damnit... I wanted to see what the Lakers would look like with Nash running the show.
 
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