NBA 2009-10 Regular Season Discussion Thread

Can you believe that the new season is already here?  Many experts are picking the Lakers to repeat.  Let's discuss. :)

^^^

I know. Injuries are hitting some teams hard, both here and in the NFL.

I really liked the effort of Boston last night, defeating the Cavaliers in Cleveland. I read that it was the first regular-season victory for the Celtics in Cleveland since Dec. 2004. I knew that each team has not won on the other's court for quite some time, but I didn't think it had been that long for Boston.

The most promising thing I saw in this game was the bench of Boston outscoring the Cleveland bench 26-10. This was missing last season. Hopefully, this will be a more common occurrence all season. At one point, the Celtics were trailing by fourteen (19-5), and the next thing I knew, the Celtics were leading by fourteen (61-47) after Garnett made that sweet six-foot jumper.

Although Garnett made a difference (13 and 10), I believe it was Wallace's 13 off the bench that really sparked the team. He hit a few threes which is nice, but I do hope he clamps down on defense. Defense is a mindset, and if this team hopes to win another Championship, there has to be a team commitment to getting it done on the defensive end. Garnett's already there; I hope all others are as the season progresses.

Are they just having fun over at ESPN?  I had to remind myself that it wasn't April 1.  I wonder who is in charge of listing the NBA standings at this point....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings

Andy,

That could be.  It would have been interesting to see how the Celtics would have fared against Cleveland, especially with Boston not having home-court advantage.  Then again, I would have loved to have seen how the 1986 Boston team would have done against the Lakers team that year.  Too bad we never got the chance to see that.

Barkley said that?  Hmmm.  The Rockets did very well yesterday, winning in the Salt Palace -- a very difficult place to play.  It's also where Garnett was injured last year.  At the time, the Celtics had a very good chance of winning that particular game against the Jazz.  What's the situation with Yao?  Is he out for the year, or a much shorter time (hopefully) than that?

John,

Isn't it odd how some teams match up against others?  The Nets played some teams quite tough last year (not Boston); and the Bobcats handled the Lakers very well.  Boston gets the Nets this week in New Jersey, in the second of back-to-back games.

I hope the Rockets give the Lakers a loss tomorrow night.  Los Angeles could easily have lost tonight's overtime game against the Thunder, but they prevailed in the end.

The Celtics defeated the 76ers by 31 points.  As good as they've been playing, I didn't see that one coming, especially on the road.

That was an impressive win by the Hawks (on the road) over the Trail Blazers last night.  Portland is not exactly the easiest place to play on the road.  It was good to see Atlanta work really hard to preserve the win at the end of the game.  And speaking of teams that play quite well at home but not on the road, maybe Utah can get some road wins (bypassing Boston next week, of course ) to build their confidence up a bit.

Boston squeaks by the Timberwolves tonight, 92-90.  They were really battling in this one, playing catchup for just about three full quarters until Eddie House hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at the end of the third quarter.

The Suns lost their first game (4-1), and the Nuggets remained undefeated and go to 5-0.  The Lakers won another close one in overtime (over Houston).  This was the second overtime game in as many nights for Los Angeles, who pulled out a close one against Oklahoma City last night.  The second game of a back-to-back is always quite a challenge for the road team.

The Dallas - New Orleans game is a lot of fun thus far.  It looks like Dirk has cooled off somewhat.  That was an amazing showing last night in the fourth quarter against the Jazz.  And earlier tonight, the Heat - Wizards game went down to the wire.  Man, I do love the NBA.

I'm not an 'Insider' over at ESPN, but when I read a rumor that LeBron may go to the Lakers, all I could say to myself was "Say it ain't so...".

If the Cavaliers fall short again this year, I don't see LeBron hanging around for another year.  I really can't say I would blame him, either.  But he could do oh so much better than the Lakers. ;)

I guess at this point, I don't mind LeBron in a Knicks uniform.  The Cavaliers visit the Knicks tonight (and it is on ESPN).  There is already much hype about his visit.  If I were a Knicks fan, I'd want him there yesterday.

Are the Suns for real?  Probably.  They sure are putting up a lot of points against just about everyone they play.  But tonight will be another test for them, playing the Lakers at Staples Center.  With Gasol out (reports now intimate possibly until Christmas, although Jackson is saying he is day-to-day), this Lakers team is more vulnerable than it was last year.  If the Suns win (which I doubt), they will have done something few teams can boast of having done recently, if ever: defeating both the Celtics and Lakers on the road within the same week.  My gut tells me that the Lakers win tonight, and then lose tomorrow night in Denver.

Last year, the Cavs split in Florida, while the Lakers went 0-2.  After last night's thumping of short-handed Orlando, Cleveland might have enough to squeak by the Heat this time around.  With Miami off to its best start in years, it could be a challenge for the Cavaliers.  If I had to choose, I would take Miami in this one.

Somehow, the Celtics defeated the Lakers while scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter last night (or early this morning).  I taped the game, as I often do when these two teams meet.  I watched the entire second half, and saw some defensive gems as well as some tentative play by both teams.  In some ways it reminded me of game three of the 2008 NBA finals, won by Los Angeles (by six points).  Boston and Los Angeles have now won on each other's court by one point.

I realize that the Lakers didn't have their field general last night, but it was still an important win for Boston.  Back when the Lakers won at the Garden by a point, Kobe had (IMO) one of his worst games ever against the Celtics.  Even though he scored the final two Lakers points, he was out of sorts in that game, even missing some key free throws down the stretch.

I am happy to see Nate Robinson coming to Boston.  I don't like seeing House go, but I do believe that the Celtics have made themselves a better team with this recent trade.  Giddens and Walker didn't play all that much, and I think Robinson just needs a new venue.  We'll see how this shakes out over the next few months, and especially as we approach the playoffs in May and June.

As unlikely a scenario as this would be, I am hoping that this year's Celtics can win it all.  Their play has been very inconsistent this year.  Sometimes, they look as though they can defeat anyone, while at other times, I don't recognize the team that is out there.  They can hold an Orlando team to 29 points in one half (in Orlando), and yet get blown out by twenty or so to the Wizards.  They've also lost to the New Jersey Nets in Boston.

They've defeated all of the 'greatest' teams this year (Cleveland twice, the Lakers, Dallas, Denver, Orlando, San Antonio, and Utah).  Of course, they've also lost to these teams.  {They haven't defeated Atlanta or Phoenix, but the likelyhood of Boston playing either of them is slim to none.}  Somewhat impressive to me is that they have defeated Cleveland, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Orlando on the road.

They finished fourth in the conference.  Back in 1968-69, they also finished fourth in their conference, finishing 48-34.  They also showed a lot of lackluster play throughout that year.  But, coach and player Bill Russell (and Co.) dug down deeply and played their hearts out (thank you, Hondo!), and defeated a heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers (55-27) team in five games, then a New York Knickerbockers (54-28) team in six games, and finally, the Los Angeles Lakers (55-27) in seven games, with the final game being won in Los Angeles.  That year, the Celtics were down in the Finals 0-2 and 2-3, and somehow ended up winning it all.  That particular game seven victory in Los Angeles is my greatest Celtics memory (my second favorite is coming back from a 1-3 deficit in 1981 to defeat the then Dr. J.-led 76ers in seven games), excluding things I have seen on VHS tape and DVD that predate 1967.  And I've seen a ton of Celtics footage over the years.

One thing Boston has going for them this year is that no one expects them to do anything in the playoffs.  They are also quite healthy, but I don't know how hungry they are.  Perhaps Doc Rivers' intent to retire at the end of this season will fire them up a bit.  I wish Bill Russell would take the team into the locker room, sit them down, and talk to them for about two hours.  I think he could motivate them to do some very good things in this year's playoffs.

Go Celtics!

^^^

You know, I too have started to dislike Noah given what he has said the past week or so.

I was pulling for the Mavericks, but now that they are down 1-3, I don't think that they can come back from that.

I think it is possible that the Thunder will unseat the Lakers in L.A., and win the series in six games.  And if the don't, they've still given the Lakers a good series.  That last game in L.A. was there for the taking, too.

Any chance the Hawks can defeat the Magic?  I don't think so.

I think the NBA champion will come from the Boston - Cleveland series.  But I'm not ready to concede that series to the Cavaliers just yet.  Both teams won on each others' court this year, and Cleveland has yet to get over this particular hump.

In the other East matchup, and assuming that Atlanta does get there, I don't see how the Hawks can defeat the Magic.  The Magic are looking both hungry and ready to try and take last year's failure to the next level.  But I think that the Celtics can defeat Orlando in a seven game series, so I don't see the Magic going all the way this year.

^^^

 

Yeah, I thought they'd give Orlando a series.  I didn't really care who won, since Boston is a combined 1-7 against the two teams this year.

 

I'm starting to think now that this year's conference finals is going to be nearly a carbon copy of what occurred last year.  For example, before the Lakers - Jazz series began, I told my son, "Utah's season is over."  I may as well say it now: Phoenix's season is over.  They may be good, but they are not great.  And to defeat the Lakers in a seven-game series, you cannot simply be 'good.'  Phoenix is finished.

 

As far as the East is concerned, I think this is a bit more difficult to predict as far as who will get to the Final.  I think that Boston, should they get by Cleveland, could give Orlando a series.  And I think that they (Boston) could defeat the Magic.  If Cleveland manages to get by Boston, I do not believe that the Cavaliers can defeat Orlando (just like last year's forgettable performance) in a seven-game series.  They have not looked all that impressive against the Celtics, and I don't think that they have the necessary tools to defeat a highly motivated Orlando team right now.

 

I have also given more thought to my statement regarding the winner of the Boston - Cleveland series taking it all.  If Orlando manages to get to the final, I believe that like last year, they will have another meltdown.  Their three-ball (living and dying by it as they often do) will IMO again be their downfall.  I also don't believe that this year's Magic (minus Turkoglu) team matches up all that well with the Lakers.  I think a Laker - Magic final has L.A. winning the series in five games.  I do think that Cleveland and Boston could defeat the Lakers, but to do that, they'd have to play them, and I'm not that confident that either team is going to get the chance this year.  Tonight's game six in Cleveland will tell me quite a bit about who will most likely end up facing the Lakers in the Final.

Well, that certainly was an interesting game last night between the Celtics and the Cavaliers.  I expected Boston to win by thirty points, but thirty-two?  I never expected that.  Game six should be quite intense.

 

Isn't it interesting too that both teams (games three and five, respectively) handed the other franchise their worst home playoff loss in history?

As many probably know by now, the Hawks fired their coach today. 

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5188712

Edited by Ockeghem - 5/14/10 at 6:45pm

Walter,

 

I jumped the gun a bit, relying on an ESPN report.  As you've probably heard by now, the Cavaliers are 'evaluating' Mike Brown (and the current situation of the team).  As of right now, he is still the coach of the Cavaliers.

That was a good win for the Celtics yesterday against the Magic. Boston lead for the entire game, which was nice. And when the Celtics went up by twenty points in the second half, I was pushing for a lead of thirty, since Orlando can get themselves back into a game rather quickly when their three ball is on. Thankfully, today their three ball was not too impressive (they were 0/9 in the first half from beyond the arc, and 5/22 in the game). But I look for that to improve.

 

Sheed has begun to earn his pay in the playoffs. His defense has been pesky, and more than this, his way of annoying key opponents (like Howard today) has frustrated players on a couple of teams. But what I really like is seeing him play a bit more at the post. And as a bonus, he's had a couple of recent games (against Cleveland and Orlando, respectively) in which he has made some killer three-pointers (two in each game) that have occurred at points where Boston has desperately needed them. He has had his share of misses as well, but I've not minded these as I think he needs to keep shooting these when the opportunity arises.

 

After the Celtics defeated Cleveland, my son asked me how I thought Boston would do in this series.  I told them I thought Boston would defeat Orlando in six games. Truth be told, I thought Boston would lose game one, but then bounce back to take four of the next five (as they did against Cleveland). Orlando should take game two, and there still could be a split in Boston (24-17 this year, a record which is borderline horrendous for them at home when they are having a relatively good year otherwise). The Celtics were tied with the Cavaliers for the best road record in the East, which tells me that they are getting it done where it matters most. Since they are the fourth seed (and will not have home court in any of the potential remaining playoff series against Orlando, Phoenix, or Los Angeles), they will need to play very well on the road. Their three straight playoff road wins against two of the three best teams in the NBA is something I am savoring.

 

Side note: We are a little bit closer to Kobe getting the Finals rematch that he has been waiting for since that thirty-nine point drubbing in game six of the NBA Finals nearly two years ago at the hands of the Celtics. The way Boston has been playing lately, I do hope that they get to play the Lakers in this year's NBA Finals.