NBA 2009-10 Regular Season Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

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

What's his name at the Clippers is already out for a couple of months.

^^^

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

Boston looks very tough, although I don't think that's a surprise considering how good they were last year before Garnett's injury. I think they likely would have repeated if not for that.

Rockets are 3-1 in an extremely harsh part of their schedule, despite Charles Barkley predicting they'll be the worst team in basketball. I love it when Barkley says stuff like that because the team almost always does the opposite of what he predicts

Unfortunately, I think my NJ Nets will be he worst team in the NBA this year. From what I've seen, they'll be lucky to win 20 game!

Originally Posted by Andy Sheets

Boston looks very tough, although I don't think that's a surprise considering how good they were last year before Garnett's injury. I think they likely would have repeated if not for that.

Rockets are 3-1 in an extremely harsh part of their schedule, despite Charles Barkley predicting they'll be the worst team in basketball. I love it when Barkley says stuff like that because the team almost always does the opposite of what he predicts

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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.

Barkley's been talking mess about the Rockets ever since he retired *L* I think he's bitter that he spent the twilight of his career wearing those stupid-looking uniforms and never got a championship out of it

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 think if LeBron leaves Cleveland, it will be for one of the New York teams, and Chris Bosh goes to the same place. I cannot see LeBron and Kobe together with the Lakers. I don't think it would work, either on the court or with the salary cap.

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!

So apparently the Mavs and Nuggets are going to lose. Never saw that coming. Cavs will probably win next game, I'm glad too. Noah has made me really dislike the Bulls. Damned near losing record, a couple years in the league and he feels he can talk trash all day and night? Please.

And what about the Thunder? This team could be amazing in a few years, not to mention right now. I don't think they can win in LA though.

^^^

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 East is following it's script. Boston vs Cavs, Magic vs Hawks. Then Cavs vs Magic for the rematch.

Who knows in the west. Suns went up 3-2, Lakers are up for grabs. It appears the Jazz and Spurs are going to finish up.

Might be seeing the champ from the east this year.