NBA 2007-2008 season discussion (1 Viewer)

[Kirk Tsai]

The Rockets have now won 20 in a row, including 8 after Yao went down. They have some tough matchups coming up starting this weekend, but this is an amazing stretch.

The West is still very packed together, with 4.5 games separating the 1st and 8th seed. Almost every night there is a western conference game that could change the seedings. Last night the Hornets beat down the Spurs at home. And this following clip might be why Bruce Bowen has a bad reputation.
YouTube - Bowen kicks Paul in 500th consecutive game

 

[Andy Sheets]

Assuming the Rockets take care of business against Charlotte tomorrow, the Lakers/Rockets game on Sunday is going to be one of the biggest of the season so far and will, for a brief time at least, determine the #1 seed. Unfortunately I'm going to miss most of it because of a prior engagement. D'oh! I just hope Carl Landry makes it back for that game. The Rockets have kept winning but they've clearly been missing his energy and offense.

I don't know whether to be disappointed that so many troglodytes in the national media keep acting like 20 game winning streaks are no big deal, or to hope they keep it up so the Rockets have a steady supply of bulletin board material to keep them as pissed off at the world as they've been.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's nice to see you fans of Western Conference teams having something exciting to follow in the regular season. Personally, I've become bored with the Eastern Conference, since the contenders have pretty much locked up their seedings, so the teams just seem to be going through the motions (at least it seems that way with the Pistons). I can't wait until the playoffs start and there are some meaningful games to watch.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Now now Scott, aren't you excited about potentially 5 teams going for the 8th spot in the East? I mean, watching teams more than 10 games below .500 duke it out must have its entertainment value.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's as exciting as watching paint dry.

 

[Patrick Sun]

NBA: The true March Madness.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

You know, my favorite team has had a lot of success this year, that being the Lakers just in case anyone is new around here.

Anyway, for some fans the success of their favorite team is enough to either mask or make the flaws of the NBA that much more tolerable.

I am not one of these people, the playoff situation drives me nuts. You're going to have a 50 win team in the West miss out and a 35 win team in the East get in to the playoffs and these are supposedly where the best teams get to play for a title.

I don't like this or the tanking of games to improve draft positioning or lottery chances and of course David Stern doesn't think either of these is that big of a problem.

Of course, I will grant that the West being so competitive and one of these teams being screwed over in the end has helped put some attention back on the league, so Stern may be partially correct.

 

[Walter C]

That would explain how the Sixers were able to beat them on the road.

They will be extremely lucky to win 1 game in the 1st round.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yes, Flip Saunders publicly blasted the starters for their lack of effort, and it was deserved. I watched most of the first quarter, and then turned the game off because I could see the players just weren't into it (and I hate watching the team play that way).

 

[Jan H]

The Rockets story is absolutely incredible. They'll very likely be #1 in the West after the Rocket-Laker game on Sunday because it's also very likely the Lakers will be without Pau Gasol. Man, the Lakers will probably go 0-4 on their current road trip, thereby scrambling things up in the West even further. What a crazy year it's been.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Now, will the Rockets join the 2 other teams with 20+ win streaks, and win the NBA championship this season?

 

[Andy Sheets]

I'd love to see that but realistically it's going to be extremely hard because they're so small without Yao and they're going to be missing his low-post scoring in the playoffs. But I guess great defense can at least keep you in any game and they certainly have that.

 

[Jan H]

The Rockets continue to amaze, both with their astonishing good fortune (after the Yao injury), and their ability to persevere when undermanned.

Rhetorical question: Who the f*** is Rafer Alston??

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'll let fly a few fearless predictions: If the Rockets take this streak to 26 games, they're winning the championship. If they win 3 out of the next 4, they're coming out of the West. If they split the games, they have a realistic shot at home-court advantage, if they lose all 4, they will be in the lottery.

Who needs March Madness when the NBA is far more exciting, better coached, and better executed?

Continued good health to all. Knock on wood.

 

[Carlo_M]

Edit - wrong thread

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Dirk Nowitzki goes down; unclear when he'll be back. The Mavs could easily fall out of the playoffs this year if he doesn't come back very soon.

Lakers and Warriors played two incredible games back to back for a potential first round matchup preview. Hopefully with Gasol back the Lakers would have a slightly easier time. I feel confident in saying that the Warriors are the most exciting team in the league to watch. I don't know how their fans avoid having heart attacks by watching the team play.

 

[Walter C]

Looks like the Kidd trade is fixing something that wasn't broken. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record since the trade.

Looks like the Celtics are getting bored, after losing at home to the Sixers.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Actually, the Sixers have quietly beaten up many of the best teams in the league this year. I won't call them a contender but they're better than they usually get credit for.

 

[ZacharyTait]

Chris Webber retires as one of only 6 players in NBA history to average 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists a game. The other 5 are Kevin Garnett, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Billy Cunningham.

Bird, Chamberlain, Baylor and Cunningham are in the Hall of Fame and Garnett will easily be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Does Webber get in?

I say no and not because he's a Michigan man! He never won a championship and he was never considered one of the game's best at any point in his career plus too many injuries.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'm a little biased (bitter Michigan fan), but I cannot see Webber making the Hall of Fame for the same reasons you mentioned, Zachary. He never even appeared in the NBA Finals that I can recall, and those Fab Five teams at Michigan never won a Big Ten title, either.

I always considered Webber a player whose statistics were more impressive than the player himself -- similar to Bob MacAdoo, Adrian Dantley and Kelly Tripucka.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

My guess is that he's a borderline candidate in a few years, but I would vote for him if I had a vote.

He was considered one of the best big men during his prime. He was on one All NBA 1st Team, and several other All NBA teams. During his prime, he was probably the second or third best PF behind Tim Duncan, and battling KG for the second spot. He didn't go to the Finals, but his Kings was an elite team, and possibly could have won a championship if not blocked by the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. His impressive stats therefore also translated to team success. I don't know exactly where he fits in, but I would guess he's one of the 15 best power forwards of all time. To me, that's plenty enough of a resume.

The Mavs, Warriors, and Nuggets are within one game from each other right now for the 7th through 9th spot in the West.