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2006-07 NBA season (1 Viewer)

Chu Gai

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I have an allegiance or preference for more hard nosed basketball that focusses on traditional fundamentals.

Regarding my Wade bulking up comment, I think there 'optimal' weight/muscular ranges for different body physiques and looking at Wade this year gives me the impression that he might be a little too muscular and this is going to affect his injury proneness as the season goes on.
 

Casey Trowbridg

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I don't think the suggestion was to make the entire league in to one conference. I think the idea would be to still have conferences and divisions but instead of having conference playoffs with 8 teams from each conference you'd take the 16 teams with the top record regardless of what conference they are in. This way you wouldn't end up with a potentially very bad Atlantic division team as a #3 sead just because they won a horrid division.
 

Chu Gai

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Yes, but there have been some horrid NBA teams that made it to the finals like the 8th place Knicks back in 98/99, right? They beat some pretty good teams.
 

Kirk Tsai

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My open question was meant to suggest something closer to what Casey has posted, but I can see it being problematic after reading Scott's post too. If the league just seeds 1 through 16 without regard to conference, they would probably need to do something to equalize matchups. That's because under the current system, there is a sense of teams competing against those in their own division and conference. If it is a flat 1-16 seeding, the divisions don't matter anymore, and the system would make it very unfair for teams in a more difficult division than, say, the Atlantic.

I always thought the NBA playoffs let in too many teams. This gives the league more TV airtime and money. The old system with a first round 5 game series also sometimes created a lot of excitement, but they devalue the regular season by a lot. I don't know if there is a good intermediate between 16 teams in the playoffs and 8 (as in baseball), but I do believe that more than half the teams making the playoffs is excessive.

EDIT: ESPN has just posted Bill Simmon's latest NBA column...on the woes of the Eastern Conference.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/061129

Re: Wade
Before the season started, I read that Wade was already tired from his heavy playoff burden and Team USA experience. Now that the Heat has become almost entirely his show, Pat Reily cannot afford to let Wade play fewer minutes (he's averaging a career high 40 mpg). The combination of these factors should be worrisome. On scoring baskets, Wade and Lebron are two of the strongest wingmen I've seen. They don't have as many moves as Kobe or T-Mac, but their speed and power make them unstoppable around the basket.
 

Casey Trowbridg

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You can't look at the 99 Knicks being the lowest ranked team in the playoffs and still making it to the finals as proof of anything. That happened after a shortened 50 game season and had they played 82 who's to say the Knicks wouldn't have been higher than eighth? Around game 50 is when some teams get their chemestry down and since we don't really have any other seasons like 99 to compare it to we kind of have to set that one off in a category by itself.

As far as the unbalanced schedule the league has now working against the West if you just took the teams with the 16 best records by virtue of the fact they play tougher competition more often, at the end of the season we'll see how many Eastern conference teams really benefited from playing the Atlantic more times than the Pacific. I will be quite interested in seeing what a top 16 field would look like at the end of the year as far as the amount of teams from each conference.
 

Scott Merryfield

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The problem with that, as Kirk mentioned, is that if you play an unbalanced schedule, it's not fair for the teams playing in a tougher division, since they are playing more games against tougher opponents. The only way this works is if all teams play each other the same number of times. Then, in effect, you have created one big division. As I said above, I hated it when the NHL tried this.
 

Kirk Tsai

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Kobe has another one of those legendary quarters in the 3rd. He goes 9 for 9, 30 in the quarter, and 52 points after 3. The game was still competitive at halftime, with the Jazz down 12 points. He plays very little in the fourth and misses one shot.

I think this is the fourth time Kobe has had more than 50 points after three quarters. The only time he hoisted up a lot more shots in the 4th was the 81 game.

Oh, and the Lakers beat the Jazz.
 

Kirk Tsai

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The Suns outlast the Nets, 161-157, after two overtimes. It is the 4th highest total score in NBA history. Amidst all the scoring, the two point guards were the stars. Nash had 42 and 13, while Jason Kidd tied Wilt for the 3rd spot on the career triple double list with a monster 38-14-14. I didn't watch the game, so I don't know if either team played defense. :)

A few days ago David Stern also openly said that the new ball introduction was poorly planned. No word yet on whether the league would revert to the old ball.
 

Brian Perry

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I highly doubt it. I don't think many people would support PETA in an effort to ban balls made of leather.

It appears as though the headband issue has brought the Bulls together and they are playing very well now, having won six in a row. We'll see if that continues against some tougher competition (the Atlantic division is atrocious, after all) but at least they kept things together.
 

Andy Sheets

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I read somewhere that the new ball had something to do with an endorsement deal the NBA has with Spalding that was going to expire. I forget the details but it definitely wasn't an animal cruelty thing.
 

Nkosi

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So now the AI trade speculation really begins. From the looks of things it seems as if the damage between Iverson and the 76ers is irreparable. During tonight's game Sixers' chairman Ed Snider said the team would be looking to move AI.

I must say that I'm disappointed. AI and the city of Philly have been a perfect match. AI's bad attitude/ the team's coaching issues/ and losing all aside, I really put a lot of blame on GM Billy King. He has been unable to surround a one of a kind player like AI with the proper talent like they had during their finals run a few years ago.

So now the fun begins as we all begin to speculate where he could end up. Any ideas? Minnesota? Boston? Seattle? My beloved Knicks (I can only wish)? Where?
 

Jan H

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I don't see how the T'Wolves can get AI, Garnett's wishes aside. They haven't got squat to offer, apart from Foye and draft picks.

The Knicks have even less that Philly would want.

I think Iverson ends up out West. As a Laker fan, I'd be intrigued to see him in the same backcourt with Kobe (which would arguably be the greatest backcourt in NBA history), but the Lakers would have to give up the farm to get him, including Odom. That's not going to happen.

It should be interesting to see how much a team is willing to give up, and how little Philly is willing to take in return.
 

Brandon_T

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Keep in mind, the NBA contracts have to be within a certain percentage of each other, or at least the total of the contracts going each way, it does make things difficult. Word around Detroit is that back in the off season the Pistons considered a Billups for AI trade, but Dumars nixed it. Could there still be something to it? Who knows.
 

Kirk Tsai

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It seems to me that the Clippers, Bulls, and Celtics have the best group of guys to make a trade for Iverson.

It also seems very clear that a trade to Minnesota would generate the most buzz. Since Garnett has come out publically stating that he wants Iverson, I wonder if this could be a last stray type of situation for Garnett there. He's called out McHale to make a specific move, the first time I can recall in his career. The consequences of the Wolves NOT getting Iverson could be bigger than where Iverson goes. I think Minny should sell its entire future for Iverson (especially since that future isn't bright to begin with). This would also seem like the best fit with another star since KG does not require as many possessions/touches to be hugely impactful.

Don't know if Iverson has a whole lot of actual talent trading level. Since his contract is huge, the team that trades for him will obviously have to include some players with big, expiring contracts. A lot of those players are not great helps to teams anymore.

I think it's tantalizing for any fan to imagine Iverson in their team uniform, including the Lakers. But it's not at all clear that AI can change his game significantly to fit other teams. He's been, not unjustly, the center of the Sixers his entire career. This might create a lot of doubt for GMs around the league.
 

Nkosi

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You make a great point Kirk. I was thinking the same thing regarding Minnesota. If they are commited to KG then they have to try and win now. AI would be a/ the key piece.

If they fail to even try and get AI (and that's what I'm hearing out of Minny believe it or not) I think that shows their commitment to KG right there.

That could be the final nail in the coffin that sends KG over the edge. Then again, Minny could just be buying their time before doing something with Chicago (and NY's sure to be good draft pick). Still, what a shame if they waste KG's best years for some hopeful youth project/ movement that may not even pan out. Who knows?
 

Kirk Tsai

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KG is a pretty quiet marquee guy, so him coming out saying that he wanted AI (still the only star in the league to do so) really surprised me.

The NBA will go back to the old leather ball starting the New Year.

Injuries: T-Mac is out indefinitely, and Odom will be out maybe a month. Both the Rockets and the Lakers have started the season very well, but now their depth will be challenged. Bonzi Wells played for the first time tonight, but looked pretty out there. Other than that acquisition, the Rockets didn't seem to improve their bench very much; they struggled mightly last year without one of their big two. The Lakers, on the other hand, have a much better bench overall.
 

Chu Gai

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Is KG really calling out McHale or is it that the two have had some personal talks and KG is doing this with McHale's blessing?
 

Andy Sheets

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I don't know what's going through Bonzi's head. Everyone figured that he'd be playing his ass off to win a big contract next year but he's done the exact opposite: just sulking and letting himself get more and more out of shape.

Vasilis Spanoulis and Steve Novak have a lot of potential, IMO. Spanoulis has the kind of bull-headed attitude and willingness to penetrate and defend the Rockets have missed since Bob Sura went down, and Novak is one of the best pure shooters I've seen in ages. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything because Van Gundy hates rookies and would rather run his starters into the ground than play some guys that need some gametime seasoning. Luther Head has turned into a good player but if it wasn't for all the injuries last season he never would have made it off the bench at all.
 

Brian Perry

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Despite the players' moaning about the new ball, the facts are:

1. Scoring is up
2. FG% is up
3. FT% is up
4. Ball-related turnovers are down

The only legitimate negative I have heard (not counting the claim that the ball was rammed down the players' throats without their approval) is that Steve Nash said the new ball is rough on his hands.
 

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