Nets really shit the sheets on that one. Not that they were going to win that series, but they could have made it interesting.
I suppose, but unlike various late-game lost leads by other teams in recent days, I don’t blame the Nets for this one. Everyone played well throughout the game. Miami’s defense got tougher toward the end, a few breaks fell the Heat’s way, and that’s all. Maybe Shaun Livingston could hard made a different decision during that play with under a minute to go, but even that was a tough thing to to in real time with Miami defenders collapsing around you. I think the Nets should be proud of themselves. I hope the team stays intact (I know nothing of contract situations. Just in terms of skills drop offs, I’d say Pierce definitely has another year left in him, while Garnett is borderline – if he decides to retire now, I’ll understand.)
I wouldn’t blame KG for retiring now. He’s got his ring, and he’ll get into the HOF, no question. Everyone wants to go out a winner, but I think he’s gone as far as he can go.
Pierce probably has another year left in him, but why?
Cripes, Portland, you could have at least waited until the 4th quarter to chump out. Another embarrassment in a poorly played series. At least they’re out of their misery. Hopefully, being bitch-slapped will teach this young team how much they need to ramp up in the playoffs next year. Now let’s see if SA can take it all the way.
The Spurs are still a well-oiled machine.
The momentum in the Wiz-Pacers series shifts so dramatically each day, and yet it never seems to carry over. On both sides, we just don’t know whether the team will show up ready to play.
Which is to say, as Bill Barnwell so often does, that momentum isn’t real. The Pacers are probably the better team, but they still can’t play well on a consistent basis.
Just what a seven game series between two teams that have some players but aren’t that good looks like, I think. That’s sort of the NFL parity model - “if we could play like this every game!” - yeah, if.
It really makes you appreciate greatness when you get this consistent exposure to goodness-or-worse.
The Nets will have to stay mostly intact. They have no pieces that anyone would trade for a young, good prospect, and they don’t have a first round pick until 2017. They mortgaged their future to win now with Garnett, Pierce, and Williams and they’re not getting a sucker to take those guys off their hands for equal value. Isaiah Thomas doesn’t work for the Knicks anymore
Looks like the Spurs and Heat are on for a rematch. At this point, I think only OKC or LA has a realistic chance of stopping that. The Pacers or Wizards have no chance against the Heat in the East, its pretty sad that once the Pacers faced issues, you could basically pencil in the Heat for the finals again. Just such a lack of real competition in the East.
In other NBA news, Steve Kerr has taken, contrary to months of reporting, the vacated Warriors job. It was available only recently due to Mark Jackson’s firing so it was probably the truth that he was considering the Knicks job for a while, but seriously, who wants that job? Harsh fans and media, a terrible owner, and Phil Jackson trying to make you into his puppet. Plus, nobody knows if Carmelo’s returning and even if he is, he’s not going to lead you to a championship. The Warriors have a pretty good team that’s young and still growing with a very supportive fan base. The only knock on them I think is that they play in the West which is really tough. But better than being a doormat in the East where you still can’t get into the playoffs
Kerr really did great for himself here: he’s never been a coach and he wound up with a five-year deal for about $25 million by leveraging the teams against each other. Stan Van Gundy has a great track record and he got $35 million to be coach and GM in Detroit, where they have a couple of nice pieces but really stink. Kerr got $25 million to get a team that is already really good. And yes, it does say something about how unappealing the Knicks situation is. They’re in New York and they have Phil Jackson, who is close to Kerr and made him his top priority, but their team and their cap situation are just that bad. They’re probably going to have a tough go of it with or without Carmelo. I don’t know if I hope the Bulls will get him.
Speculation has been that if Melo leaves, its either going to be to the Bulls or Rockets. I don’t know of their cap situation so I don’t know what’s more realistic, but assuming no money issues, what do you think would be better for him if he wants to win?
Houston
Pros:
-Better team, other stars to share load
-Good organization, smart GM
-Younger, no real questions about injuries
Cons:
-Tough conference
-Not with proven leaders
Chicago
Pros:
-Proven leader in Rose
-Great coach
-Good defense, helps to make up for his shortcomings
Cons:
-Rose injuries, no guarantee he’ll be close to the player he was
-Not really thrilled about their management, especially trading away Deng
-Weak in scoring, and Melo is more of a volume shooter and not as efficient
I think definitely it’d be tougher to win in the West. Blazers, Clippers, Thunder, Warriors are all ascending teams that should get better in the next few years while all you really have to do is beat Miami in the East and I think a Melo-led Bulls would get to the Finals
Both those teams should have plenty of money because Houston has cap space and Chicago traded Deng and will amnesty Carlos Boozer. And even though I was bummed to see Deng traded, it didn’t hurt them much if at all and it gave them the space to go after Carmelo, so I think it’s hard to fault them for that. They do tend to be cheap. My concern is that I’m not sure how the offense will look and I know Carmelo isn’t going to help the defense, but maybe that’s a worthwhile tradeoff.
Don’t you think Thibideau would be able to get Carmelo to play some defense though? That’s the only reason I think Melo to the Bulls will work. Thibs isn’t going to let him go through a game without playing hard
It’s an interesting question. Carmelo could potentially increase their offensive punch by about double and still not be worth the opportunity cost, since their defensive scheme is wound so tight that one guy floating through 10-15 possessions could pretty much let the air out of the whole thing. He’s an OK defender on isos and in the post, but he’d have to play a lot of 3 in Chicago. Or he could opt for the literal opposite and go somewhere where nobody on the roster plays perimeter defense. Tough call!
Anyway, speaking of next year and since, as a Sixers fan, my playoffs happen on May 20…
here’s a picture of Andrew Wiggins’ vertical.
After A’mare crippled any chance of new york working out for Melo i would imagine he would be adverse to joining another seriously injured star.
There is no ever-loving way I would sign in Chicago as long as I’m counting on the health of that piece of human porcelain, Derrick Rose.
But even without Rose the Bulls are better than the Knicks. They’re not a contender unless he’s healthy, though. On the other side, Houston should get better but their defense stinks now.
And the semifinals end:
Indiana 4 - Washington 2
Miami 4 - Brooklyn 1
San Antonio 4 - Portland 1
Oklahoma City 4 - Clippers 2
The second round was interesting at points, but we still end up with the Conference Finals matchups that pretty much everyone expected:
Miami - Indiana
San Antonio - Oklahoma City
As for my Wizards, they underachieved in the regular season but still made the playoffs as a 5-seed, then played up to their potential during the playoffs, soundly beating an offense-impaired Bulls team, and putting up a scrappy, but ultimately hopeless fight against a very good, if inconsistent, Pacers team.
I’m somewhat relieved that it ended that way for them. Even had they managed to move on to the Conference Finals, they had no chance against the Heat. It would not have been pretty. I think anyone would agree it was a good season for Washington; certainly a big step in the right direction.
I think the Clippers had a lot of bad calls go against them these last two games. I couldn’t believe Chris Paul was called for an offensive foul after Nick Collison jumped into him and toppled over. If Paul had gone up for a shot, instead of making a nice pass inside, it clearly would have been a foul on Collison.
Sad end for the Clippers, I had hoped they would at least go to the WCF. In the end, Durant and Westbrook were just too much for them, and lousy officiating doomed them. There were a few games where it could have been anyone’s, but OKC pulled off the close win.
The Clippers’ offseason will be interesting. Sterling’s apparently going to fight the NBA and will end up continuing to own the team for the foreseeable future, even though he’s banned from ever attending a game or making any decisions for the team. Its terrible news, it means the players and coach will continue to be in a state of limbo. Adam Silver did the smart thing to push Sterling away, I wonder if he’s going to consider the whole “allow all the players to be free agents” thing.
At this point, I don’t know what he has the power to do and what he doesn’t. I thought that a 29-0 vote could oust Sterling for any reason, but if he’s suing, he must think that he can win or gum up the process for a few years. I guess its not an open and shut case. The only way this ends in a good way is if the stress of it kills him, which I hope it does soon. All that whining and braying on CNN makes me hate him even more. I hate his stupid face, I hate his stupid voice, I hate his racism, I hate those Cardassian orbital bones clearly trying to push their way out of his face.
As much as I cannot stand Sterling, I don’t know if I’d feel good if they destroyed the Clippers and made them suck again. If it has to be done, it has to be done, but its fun to watch them. Its a good team that with some tweaks, can stay good for quite a few years.