NBA 2010 offseason

[jon abbey]

Mike Brown fired.

careful, Scott Brooks, you've got about a year left, the last seven NBA coaches of the year:

2003–04 Hubie Brown Memphis Grizzlies
2004–05 Mike D'Antoni Phoenix Suns
2005–06 Avery Johnson Dallas Mavericks
2006–07 Sam Mitchell Toronto Raptors
2007–08 Byron Scott New Orleans Hornets
2008–09 Mike Brown Cleveland Cavaliers
2009–10 Scott Brooks Oklahoma City Thunder

[jon abbey]

Mike Woodson also fired (actually his contract expired, but he's not being brought back).

[mshiflet]

Officially denied by Dan Gilbert. Only a matter of a time, I'm sure.

[Captain Hate]

http://www.break.com/index/we-are-lebron-video.html

Cleveland never misses a chance to beclown itself although I guess it's good that the fat POS Big Dawg has had his stomach stapled. I guess it could've been worse and mayor Frank Jackson been in there and anybody watching it would think Cleveland is being run by a homeless person. Most of the people are well meaning schlubs but the second most embarrassing was Tim Miszny, local scumbag lawyer whose ugly mug is on my television every freakin' day telling me "I'll make them pay". But the worst is Zack Reed, disgraced Cleveland councilman who has spent time in jail for *multiple* DUIs. I'm incredulous that anybody thought having him in there was a good idea; either they figured people would've forgotten his record or maybe he's one of Gloria James's drinking buddies.

[The G Man]

****AMBER ALERT***** LeBron Raymond James, Cleveland, Ohio, Age 25. Missing since 5/10/10. Last seen being taken to school by Rajon Rondo.

[The G Man]

WHO WILL SIGN LEBRON (1-Pay) $100 WIN
Series Name Sell Buy
NEW YORK 27 32
CLEVELAND 25 30
CHICAGO 23 28
NEW JERSEY 11 14
MIAMI 10 13
LOS ANGELES C 1 3
DALLAS 1 3

Source: wsex.com

[jon abbey]

I'd say Chicago are the favorites, but the coach is a factor. I don't think Calipari is leaving Kentucky, could the Bulls get Phil Jackson?

[The G Man]

I'd say Chicago are the favorites, but the coach is a factor. I don't think Calipari is leaving Kentucky, could the Bulls get Phil Jackson?

I don't think so unless he breaks up with Jeannie Buss, very unlikely.

I agree about Chicago being the favorites because they have a coaching vacancy and might convince the Cavs to take Luol Deng in a sign-and-trade and then sign a second FA.

Lebron-Wade-Rose could beat anybody even if the other two starters were Eddy Curry and Josh Boone.

How many championships would Michael Jordan had won if his coach was Mike Brown and not Phil Jackson? Nowhere close to six.

[BoBetter]

How many championships would Michael Jordan had won if his coach was Mike Brown and not Phil Jackson? Nowhere close to six.

Uh, Jordan would have never won a playoff series if he played liked Lebron did in the last 3 games. Jordan would have NEVER played like that. he also would have never let his teammates play like that, and probably would have stopped listening to the coach too.....

This revisionist history about how awful the Cavs were, and how they didn't have the team to win is really starting to piss me off. We'll see how good Boston really is when the other team actually shows up, and their star players play like they normally do.

Personally I still think Boston is about as good as their record was.

When a team that is built around one player, that player makes everything go, on the floor, in the locker room, on the plane, everything. When that player stops being that player, everything goes into panic mode, and is in disarray. All the players don't know their roles, so they start pressing and pushing the action (Hi Mo, Antwan, Shaq), then the coach is left totally unprepared, and has to scramble on the fly in the middle of the series. All of happened after a complete and utter blow-out (IN Boston).

So, please spare me the bullshit about the Cavs not having the roster, and Boston being so great. On defense alone, the whole team had to continue to scramble to make up for Lebron's missed assignments and him letting everyone dribble right past him every other play.

Sure they had match-up problems, but so did Boston! No one on that team could match-up with Lebron, if he's playing his normal game. That's the biggest match-up problem any team in the league can have.

Too bad we didn't exploit it......

[BoBetter]

So, about that rumor:

It seems like it's just a rumor, and stupid hearsay, that could have easily been made up, but something was freakishly wrong with Lebron. That I know. I've never seen him act that way, or play that way in the 9 years I've been following him. There has to be a reason.

let the Madness begin. Today Obama and Bloomberg made pleas to Lebron for their respective cities. Totally classless a day after the loss.

I already can't wait for it to be over. Cleveland has not and does not deserve this and it's been going on for years.

[Captain Hate]

This revisionist history about how awful the Cavs were, and how they didn't have the team to win is really starting to piss me off. We'll see how good Boston really is when the other team actually shows up, and their star players play like they normally do.

Personally I still think Boston is about as good as their record was.

I'm counting on Orlando completely destroying the Celtics and enjoying every second of it. They'd have been a tough matchup for the Cavs under any circumstance, one from which I'm not sure the Cavs could have emerged on top, because it seems that Van Jeremy has them peaking at the right time. Even with Howard picking up his obligatory dumbass fouls they've destroyed everybody in their path. Let Simmons lead his dumbfuck sheep with his simpleton cheers; those rank with the pink Sawx hats as prime reasons to hate all things Boston.

[The G Man]

How many championships would Michael Jordan had won if his coach was Mike Brown and not Phil Jackson? Nowhere close to six.

Uh, Jordan would have never won a playoff series if he played liked Lebron did in the last 3 games. Jordan would have NEVER played like that. he also would have never let his teammates play like that, and probably would have stopped listening to the coach too.....

This revisionist history about how awful the Cavs were, and how they didn't have the team to win is really starting to piss me off. We'll see how good Boston really is when the other team actually shows up, and their star players play like they normally do.

Personally I still think Boston is about as good as their record was.

When a team that is built around one player, that player makes everything go, on the floor, in the locker room, on the plane, everything. When that player stops being that player, everything goes into panic mode, and is in disarray. All the players don't know their roles, so they start pressing and pushing the action (Hi Mo, Antwan, Shaq), then the coach is left totally unprepared, and has to scramble on the fly in the middle of the series. All of happened after a complete and utter blow-out (IN Boston).

So, please spare me the bullshit about the Cavs not having the roster, and Boston being so great. On defense alone, the whole team had to continue to scramble to make up for Lebron's missed assignments and him letting everyone dribble right past him every other play.

Sure they had match-up problems, but so did Boston! No one on that team could match-up with Lebron, if he's playing his normal game. That's the biggest match-up problem any team in the league can have.

Too bad we didn't exploit it......

It looks like you are quoting Jon, but the quote was mine. As far as the rest of your post goes, it can't possibly be a response to me.

One of Mike Brown's deficiencies was figuring out how to maximize the offensive talents of Antawn Jamison. Shaq and Jamison only played four regular season games together, giving Brown a challenge going into the playoffs. He failed. Jamison couldn't play his driving/slashing game because Shaq clogged the low post.

I remember when the Rockets swept the Magic and the fans/press came down hard on Shaq. IIRC, there was a Miami Herald poll where 50% said "Shaq should leave." Shaq got pissed off and said he was out of there and signed with the Lakers. Lebron's reputation in Cleveland has been tarnished this week. I think he want to wipe the slate clean and be adored. That leaves Chicago and NY.

[mshiflet]

Today Obama and Bloomberg made pleas to Lebron for their respective cities. Totally classless a day after the loss.

Obama should know better than to fuck with a swing state like that. And I'm only half-joking.

[Captain Hate]

One of Mike Brown's deficiencies was figuring out how to maximize the offensive talents of Antawn Jamison. Shaq and Jamison only played four regular season games together, giving Brown a challenge going into the playoffs. He failed. Jamison couldn't play his driving/slashing game because Shaq clogged the low post.

This is a similar situation to when Wilt joined the Lakers and they fell short because Chamberlain being in the low post kept Baylor from driving the baseline and doing what he did best. It wasn't until Baylor retired and Jim McMillain took over his spot that LA was able to win championships; even though you were replacing a HOFer with a relative journeyman it was all about chemistry.

In Mike Brown's partial defense, Shaq's injury kept him from having any regular season gametime situations for figuring out how to get them to work and play well together. Also Antawn was one of the many Cavs that should look in the mirror and admit he could've played better in the series. I'm not singling him out for that treatment because there are others that it applies to more; but he deserves a share of the blame. As does Shaq...

I remember when the Rockets swept the Magic and the fans/press came down hard on Shaq. IIRC, there was a Miami Herald poll where 50% said "Shaq should leave." Shaq got pissed off and said he was out of there and signed with the Lakers.

In Shaq's defense, Hakeem was a tough player for any center to guard and Nick Anderson's free throw meltdown was more instrumental in them getting swept than anything he did. Plus the Rockets had a *lot* of weapons. Brian Hill was an ok coach but I think he had an extremely difficult time getting Shaq to play in a way that maximized his ability. We all talk about Phil Jackson as if anybody could do it but that's obviously not the case.

[The G Man]

In Shaq's defense, Hakeem was a tough player for any center to guard and Nick Anderson's free throw meltdown was more instrumental in them getting swept than anything he did. Plus the Rockets had a *lot* of weapons. Brian Hill was an ok coach but I think he had an extremely difficult time getting Shaq to play in a way that maximized his ability. We all talk about Phil Jackson as if anybody could do it but that's obviously not the case.

Maybe my post wasn't clear but I was putting blame on the Orlando press and fans for their negativity towards Shaq after the sweep, which he claimed at the time contributed to his decision to depart for LA.

Nick Anderson shot 69% from the line in 2005-6 and was around 70% every year up until that point. He shot 68% in the playoffs that year, not counting the four misses that messed with his head. His FT% in 2006-7 was 40% during the season, 0-2 in the playoffs.

[Captain Hate]

Maybe my post wasn't clear but I was putting blame on the Orlando press and fans for their negativity towards Shaq after the sweep, which he claimed at the time contributed to his decision to depart for LA.

I meant to add a sentence or two agreeing with you on exactly that point, although I think Shaq might be being slightly disingenuous on how much emphasis he put on that. Still it was a dumbass thing for the idiot fans and media to do which had no upside to it.

One thing I wanted to mention from a few days ago which iirc Jon brought up about LeBron chatting it up with the Celtics after game 6: I think the people in LeBron Inc that have his ear drilled him last year on what a dumbass thing it was to do from an image standpoint of not congratulating the victorious Magic and he took that message to heart. I've seen no evidence that LeBron isn't *extremely* conscious of his image in a way not unlike MJ and him being gracious was a reflection of that imo.

[BoBetter]

I will forever believe that the reason we lost that series is because Lebron wasn't Lebron.

[BoBetter]

I guess none of the national media is going to talk about or question his play during this series.

In my opinion, that game 5 performance was such an anomaly, that the NBA, the fans, and the media can not ignore it.

But I guess everyone has a bigger hard on for the "where is Lebron going?" story more.

I mean, honestly. Does anyone think he played all out, no holds barred, in game 6? I personally don't. He was not giving his best effort by any stretch. His numbers are a complete illusion. If he doesn't hit those 2 3's and doesn't get a couple of the many easy rebounds he got, everyone would have said he played about the same as he did in game 5.

[Noj]

I agree with you, Bo. Although I don't remember there being a lasting stink after Kobe quit in that series against the Suns years back, at least not one the media dwelt on so much as perked up to the idea that Kobe wanted to be traded.

There had to be some sort of decision made by LeBron, in response to something or someone, which culminated in his non-participation in the attempt to win the series. It's not possible to know everything that went on behind the scenes, but something went down.

The ESPN analysts have increasingly toned down the harshness of their criticism of his play. The night after Game 5 everyone was brutal, expressing exactly the same outrage as Bo. We all know LeBron's game, and he didn't bring it, but we may never know why.

[Captain Hate]

It's all part of the silver-haired fuck's "everything is fannnnntastic" bullshit that nobody will call him on because their access will be pulled immediately. For years the playoffs have been rife with underlying stories about the Mavs getting jobbed against the Heat, capricious fucking suspensions in series that have been extremely instrumental in deciding the outcomes, and unusually variable performances; yet nobody raises a goddamn stink.

We're in a quandry: Should we say fuck that shit and refuse to watch it or just satisfy our interest while knowing we're complicit in excusing it? I take some degree of pride in having almost totally ignored the Finals of the last two years.