2005-06 NBA Season Discussion (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

I love how Artest now "agrees" to be traded to Sacramento. From an ESPN.com article quoting his agent:

"Ron Artest did not want to be traded to Sacramento weeks ago, and he does not want to be traded to Sacramento now.

"Basketball is Ron Artest's passion. In order for Ron to fully demonstrate his natural skills and abilities, to the best of his abilities, he not only must be in an environment that is conducive to his growth an development as a player, he must also ensure that his family is happy and content as well. Ron does not believe that will be the case if he were in Sacramento. Period. However, as mentioned earlier, Ron is deeply committed to the sport of basketball and desperately misses playing the game he loves. If the trade is made he will play for his new team, regardless of how he may feel about it."


With that attitude, I'm sure he'll be a great teammate in Sacramento. :rolleyes

 

[Lew Crippen]

Not limited to Sacramento.

 

[Hunter P]

It is done.

Welcome to Sacto, Mr. Crazy Guy.

I for one will be giving him a standing O at his first home game but I wonder how much of the arena will. I'm guessing everyone will be welcoming him since we are a bunch of homers here in the gentle city of Sacto. As long as you wear the uniform and play hard, you will be loved.

I will be watching Indy closely this year. I am curious if Peja will pull a Vince Carter and finally play hard again.

 

[Hunter P]

Key dates:

Tues, Jan 31 is the first home game in Sacto.

Friday, Jan 27 is the first home game for Indy, and it's on ESPN. Gonna be weird to see Peja in another uni.

March 17, the Kings visit Indiana.

 

[Jan H]

A couple of predictions:

At some point this year, both the Kings and the Pacers will wish they never made this deal. From a talent/health standpoint, the Kings made out like bandits. From a psychosis standpoint, the Pacers added by subtracting.

Kobe will score 70 in another game this year, and he may do it twice.

 

[ZacharyTait]

Detroit pushes their record to 35-5, same record in the 1st 40 games as the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

 

[Brandon_T]

Well the All Star starters are out and not one Piston is among them. Thats ok, this team isn't about individual accolades, and I am sure that Chauncy and Ben will be reserves. The only thing that really puzzles me is how does a Top 5 MVP candidate not start on the all star team? Wade is a fine player, but he isn't having the type of season that Chauncy is, but its fan voting so what do you expect.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

You answered your own question, Brandon.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Indeed—but stars get picked by (I think) stats and often fans are also influenced by last year’s performance (Wade in the playoffs, for example). This years starters:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Guards
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Allen Iverson, Sixers

Forwards
LeBron James, Cavs
Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers

Center
Shaquille O'Neal, Heat

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Guards
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Steve Nash, Suns

Forwards
Tracy McGrady, Rockets
Tim Duncan, Spurs

Center
Yao Ming, Rockets


As surprising as the lack of Pistons, is the inclusion of not one, but two players from Houston. The Rockets are playing at a .356 clip, dead last in the West. One can argue that they have been beset by injuries this year, but that fact should also help to reduce the votes for Yao and McGrady.

Of the starters, James (Cleveland, .600), O’Neal (Miami, .617), Wade (also Miami, .617), Nash (Phoenix, .652), and Duncan (San Antonio, .787) play for clubs with real title hopes.

Both Detroit (an awesome .864) and Dallas (would lead the league most years with .783) do not have any starters.

Personally I believe that Billiups should be ahead of both Iverson and Wade. And I don’t really believe that any Maverick player should be a starter.

It would not be unlikely for the championship series to be a Pistons/Dallas matchup. Would you rather have All Star starters or play to the ring?

 

[Hunter P]

No real glaring "WTD, were they thinking" sort of candidates this year. Not like previous years when they vote in people who have been injured the whole year and never played. I am curious on why they classify McGrady as a small forward. w/e:rolleyes

Of the Kings, I think Bibby might finally make it this year. I would have said nobody on the Kings should be even considered to be an All Star but Bibby had a monster month.

The Kings are 1-2 with Artest now but I see a lot of promise already. Bonzi and Shareef are finally back and playing and Peja is gone so now it's finally 5 on 5 on rebounding. Brad is out for a few more games with a broken finger tip. Now if we can only get Brad Miller to touch a weight or two to improve his 2 inch vertical.

When I saw them play Denver on Tuesday, I was surprised at how big and think Artest was compared to the other players. Of course being in the Western Conference you don't really notice this sort of thing. He dwarfed Carmello Anthony.

During the end of the game with the game close he posted up Kenyon Martin. Here's a small forward wanting to take on their star power forward. Not only that, but he didn't settle for a turn-around fade-away jumper like Peja would have done. He took him to the hole and he was successful at it. Finally.

I know it's still the honeymoon period but I think the period will last until at least the end of the season so I don't care.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Can someone please explain to me the logic behind this latest trade by Isiah Thomas? He trades away a contract that expires at the end of this season for yet another multi-year, anti-cap contract. Also, Rose is certainly not a Larry Brown type of player. Isiah's moves in New York have certainly been bizarre. It's almost as if he's trying to get fired.

 

[Hunter P]

If there's a bloated contract out there for a used up player then Isiah is going to trade for him.


In other news regarding Antonio Davis, it looks like he really is "The Dude Who Married A Slightly Crazy Chick." She was charged for throwing a coffee cup during a traffic dispute (probably caused by her.)
ESPN story here

 

[Jan H]

That is a moronic trade on both counts. Toronto needs whatever first-round picks it can get, no matter where Denver finishes, and the last player the Knicks need is Jalen Rose. I can't believe Larry Brown signed off on that deal, which he certainly must have. The good news for Laker fans is we won't be acquiring Rose, which was rumored out in these parts for awhile. Isaiah is the dumbest GM in recent memory.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Isiah needs to read this article on the proper way to build an NBA championship team. We Piston fans are so thankful that Isiah pissed off team owner Bill Davidson ater he retired and Joe Dumars ended up running the show.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Because that's been his position ever since he came to Houston. David Wesley is the Rockets' starting shooting guard.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Dallas beat Miami by 36 last night to take their streak to 13. This also makes Miami 0–7 against the best four teams in the league (Detroit, San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix). Looks bad for them come playoff time.

 

[Shane Martin]

So is Artest this generations' Dennis Rodman? Is it safe to say that?

In other news: I'm amazed at how good Dallas is playing. I gotta wonder if they are tough enough to play against SA when it comes down to it. I can't imagine that those 2 teams won't be in the West Finals. Unless Stoudamire comes back for Phoenix and transforms them..

Still my money is on Detroit at this point. Though I do get annoyed with the whole Bulls comparison that ESPN seems to do when they show their highlights.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Sorry Shane, but I can almost guarantee that Dallas and SA will not meet in the WCF. The only way that's possible is if the either Pacific or NW division leaders pass both teams up. Otherwise SA or Dallas will get the 1st seed in the West (very likely), and because the 2 and 3 seeds go to the other two division leaders, the other team will get the 4th seed, leading to an SA-Dallas match up in the second round. It's a shame, because it makes the second round likely to be more compelling than the third. That series will likely be the real WCF, with whoever emerges from the other bracket (probably Phoenix, especially if Amare comes back at full strength) being a good opponent but not as good as the loser of the round 2 series

Yet another reason the NBA just needs to straight up seed 1-8 the two conferences. It wasn't so bad when there were only two divisions so you ended up the 3rd seed instead of the 2nd, especially since home court was determined by record instead of seed, so 2 vs 3 only mattered in the first round match up. Now though if you play in a strong division you end up the 4th seed and meet the 1st seed in the 2nd round even if you have a better record than the two division winners. It really is punishing people for being in a tougher division and rewarding those in a crappy one. I mean come on, Denver at one game over .500 (25-24, .510), is seeded above San Antonio currently (38-10, .792). That's just not right. I mean, right now the Nuggets would be lucky to avoid being swept by the Spurs or Dallas, and yet one of those two teams will end up below Denver. Never mind the narrowly-averted disaster a season or two ago where you almost ended up with an Atlantic Division winner getting the 3 seed when they were under .500 and didn't even have one of the top 8 records in the Eastern Conference.

 

[Haggai]

Edit: Largely beaten to the punch on all points by Chris!

Dallas and San Antonio won't meet in the West finals, since they're in the same division. They're both way ahead of everyone else in West for the best record in the conference, so whichever of them wins their division will have the #1 seed, and the other one will have the 4th seed, which would mean they would meet in the second round.

The league should probably be willing to re-seed everyone once the second round starts, for that reason. The two best teams in the conference shouldn't have to play each other in the second round. For a mediocre team that wins a bad division to get to play the sixth seed in the first round is a decent reward for winning the division they're in, but they should have to play the conference's second best team in the next round, not the third best team. The league has justifiably NOT linked home court advantage to seeding for many years--division winners have never been guaranteed home court in the second round, they only get it if their record is better than their opponent's--so they should be willing to re-seed for matchups after the first round as well.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Remember, this is the same network that proclaimed this year's USC football team the 2nd best of all time and was hyping the Colts greatness this season, too. Hopefully, the Pistons season will turn out better than those ridiculous, premature overhypes. I cringe every time I hear "70 wins" or comparisons to the Bulls. So, yes, it is very annoying to compare the accomplishments of a team mid-season with past great teams that have won championships.