NBA 2011-2012

[Steve Reynolds]

agree with that, Jon

how about Pierce having 2 shots @ 0.1 and 0.0 on the shot clock with reviews that took at least 5 minutes on the first and maybe 10 minutes on the second?

I think they made the correct calls on both - even though the Celtics won and the second shot was correctly overruled, how about that second circus shot going in after Pierce dribbles the ball off his leg and throws up a 3 point attempt?

I'm sure when it went in, you might have broken your TV set!

what are the odds that happens TWICE within minutes of each other?


then what was that last play the Knicks ran....?!?!

have to say that a big reason the Celtics made the run was some pretty iffy refereeing.....

[The G Man]

agree with that, Jon

how about Pierce having 2 shots @ 0.1 and 0.0 on the shot clock with reviews that took at least 5 minutes on the first and maybe 10 minutes on the second?

I think they made the correct calls on both - even though the Celtics won and the second shot was correctly overruled, how about that second circus shot going in after Pierce dribbles the ball off his leg and throws up a 3 point attempt?

I'm sure when it went in, you might have broken your TV set!

what are the odds that happens TWICE within minutes of each other?


then what was that last play the Knicks ran....?!?!

have to say that a big reason the Celtics made the run was some pretty iffy refereeing.....

Steve, I watched. All I could think was f**king Paul Pierce. We'll see though which city's fans (NY or Boston) gets the last laugh this weekend.

[The G Man]

Greg Oden to have operation on his "good" knee.
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... rgery-ugh/

Sad.

[Eyjafjallajökull]

If that "we're not even gonna try to offensive rebound" policy continues, I wouldn't be all too surprised if late April were to be the last time the C's meet the Knicks this season.

there's no way those teams are playing in the playoffs no matter what, that would require one of them to be a top 4 seed or both to win playoff series, neither of those things is happening.

As a fan of both teams (though on different levels of enthusiasm) I'm prone to put things more flowery than they actually are, so yes, I agree, even though I still had some hope left.

Pertaining the whole Pierce/refereeing debate: There were some pretty questionable (non-)calls on the Knick's side before that which, if they had been called, may have resulted in an altogether other outcome. I maintain that it's pretty useless to discuss the woulda-shoulda-couldas of a basketball game unless there was an universally discernable bias prevailing which was clearly not the case this time IMO. Bad refereeing? Yes, but both teams have seen way worse this season.

[jon abbey]

the Knicks just need more competent players, guys like Toney Douglas (this year's version) and Steve Novak shouldn't be anywhere near the court at crunch time. if Baron comes back OK (I am confident in this) and they get JR Smith, they will be very dangerous if they manage to squeak into the playoffs.

[jon abbey]

Harvard's Jeremy Lin goes crazy off the bench for NY, with career highs in minutes/points/assists/rebounds (25/7/5 in 36 minutes). that front line demands so much attention on every possession, even mediocre guards should be able to go nuts. just against the Nets, but still.

[faster]

Nic Batum goes crazy after missing a couple games with a knee bruise: 9/15 from deep, 33 points. And geriatric Marcus Camby grabs 20 boards for the third time in the last few weeks. Portland may be ghastly on the road, but at home they look legit.

[Harold Baines]

Great, great, great night at the Bulls-Bucks game. Son No. 1's game went to the wire, and we feared we'd miss the tip, but I smoked it over to MKE and we were there when Rose went OFF in the first quarter.

[Noj]

The Lakers floundered in Utah tonight, and the Jazz were the beneficiaries of some positively atrocious officiating. The Lakers give up more offensive rebounds than a women's college team playing against that Griner mutant who dunks without leaving the floor.

[Captain Hate]

Dirk and company were given a very warm welcome at the Q last night before the Cavs won behind Kryie Irving.

[The G Man]

Jon, is it time to start watching the Knicks again? I didn't watch tonight but I see that Lin's having another really good game and they are about to beat Utah with no Amar'e and Anthony leaving in the first quarter with an injury.

[jon abbey]

Lin has been awesome the last two games, outplaying Deron Williams and Devin Harris head to head. he's got a Barea/Tony Parker thing going on, nice dribbling/ball control and hesitation moves that somehow allow him to get layup after layup just via quickness.

also I doubt there's another team in the league besides Miami that has three defenders as good as Chandler/Jeffries/Shumpert. Jeffries drew 5 charges tonight, he can defend any of the five positions, Chandler takes the best post player and Shumpert one of the guards.

[jon abbey]

Chauncey Billups with a torn Achilles, season is over, career could be over.

[Enforcer]

That really sucks. My respect for Chauncey grows year by year. The Pistons started being a good team when he arrived and stopped the instant he left. His talent was part of it, but his leadership was maybe an even more important contribution. I remember once reading a quote where he made a sort of off-hand remark about people not realizing how much he had to do with keeping the peace between the various coaches and the players. At the time, I remember believing him, but I don't think I appreciated just how much of a buffer he was between the two. In hindsight, he was the guy who stopped things from getting toxic, probably on a daily basis.

I was in favor of moving Billups at the time if they could get a real elite talent in return. I didn't think they could get any better without shaking things up. But they didn't get shit in return. His departure will stand as the definitive dagger in the heart of the great Pistons teams of the 2000s.

[jon abbey]

he says he's not done, we'll see. if I remember correctly, his injury at the end of last year also came on a no-contact play, that can't bode well for his comeback.

and yeah, everyone who has any contact with him seems to have incredible respect for him. it's a bit surprising given that how long it took him to blossom in the league.

[Captain Hate]

he says he's not done, we'll see. if I remember correctly, his injury at the end of last year also came on a no-contact play, that can't bode well for his comeback.

From personal experience, the achilles can cut loose at any time without contact. There's no reason he can't come back from this; he'll just need to wear a wedge under his heel. Rehab will take a while though.

[Enforcer]

I don't know much about the injury, but the way Tim Legler was talking about it, pretty much nobody at any age ever comes back from that and plays anything like he used to. I hope Chauncey is the exception.

[faster]

Gallo out for a bit too, now. That's not good for the Nuggs.

In other news, I'm a full-fledged Rubio bandwagoneer.

[Captain Hate]

Dominique Wilkins won the comeback player award a year after he ruptured his achilles tendon. I honestly don't know WTF Legler is talking about. Dan Marino played a long time after rupturing his.

[jon abbey]

Wilkins was 30 when he did that, and of course one of the superfreak athletes of our time. Billups is 35 and not super athletic to begin with.

I'm not saying he can't come back, but not sure Wilkins is a great example.