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NBA: Jordan Leading the Bobcats to the promised land.

15455575960101

Posts

  • jackisrealjackisreal Registered User regular
    545692_10150826907232223_127573752222_11522167_2035663436_n.jpg

  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    I just said "David Stern might think about banning him" - not that he'd actually do it. And that would only be because of his history. The elbow in and of itself doesn't warrant much more than say Bynum got for decking Barea. But it is Ron Artest we are talking about here. If I am David Stern, I am at least thinking about weighing that elbow against all the other things he's done and if I really want to deal with him again in the future.

    I don't think they'll ban him for life or something.

  • BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    jackisreal wrote: »
    545692_10150826907232223_127573752222_11522167_2035663436_n.jpg

    Fisher's next line: "Especially if you shoot 3 for 90 all game."

  • jackisrealjackisreal Registered User regular
    BubbaT wrote: »
    jackisreal wrote: »
    545692_10150826907232223_127573752222_11522167_2035663436_n.jpg

    Fisher's next line: "Especially if you shoot 3 for 90 all game."

    Kobe played great D!!

  • y2jake215y2jake215 certified Flat Birther theorist the Last Good Boy onlineRegistered User regular
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    I just said "David Stern might think about banning him" - not that he'd actually do it. And that would only be because of his history. The elbow in and of itself doesn't warrant much more than say Bynum got for decking Barea. But it is Ron Artest we are talking about here. If I am David Stern, I am at least thinking about weighing that elbow against all the other things he's done and if I really want to deal with him again in the future.

    I don't think they'll ban him for life or something.

    I know, I didn't think you actually thought he'd get kicked out of the league. I just don't think Artest has earned even close to a thinking about a lifetime ban.

    He honestly hasn't done a whole lot more than the Detroit/Indiana brawl (granted, that's a pretty big one). No other suspensions for (on-court) violence or anything, other than a 3 game ban for destroying a TV camera 9 years ago. He had that weird face grab on Barea last year, but it's not like this guy has a long history of dangerous hits.

    I'm not an Artest fan or anything, this one instance was dangerous as hell and deserves a long suspension. But I disagree that his past should be taken into consideration so severely.

    And @BubbaT, I guess a more recent example would be Sprewell choking PJ Carlesimo, then coming back a little later and punching him. He got a year suspension, which the PA got down to the remaining 68 games. He had a previous history of violence. It's debatable which offense is greater, one was televised and one behind the scenes, but I would not be opposed to a similar suspension for Artest (though I don't think it'll be that long)

    C8Ft8GE.jpg
    maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
  • jackisrealjackisreal Registered User regular
    I'm guessing MWP will be out for at least the first playoff series, but then I thought Kevin Love was going to get way more than 2 games for stepping on Luis Scola's face.

  • BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    jackisreal wrote: »
    BubbaT wrote: »
    jackisreal wrote: »
    545692_10150826907232223_127573752222_11522167_2035663436_n.jpg

    Fisher's next line: "Especially if you shoot 3 for 90 all game."

    Kobe played great D!!

    Great D or not, Kobe didn't force Westbrick to hoist it up 22 times.

    If a guy's playing great defense and stopping you from scoring and you're a point guard, maybe it's time to start getting other guys involved.

    Or heck, act as a decoy and pull Kobe away from the rest of the defense, freeing up more space for guys who aren't shooting 13% to attack.

  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    jackisreal wrote: »
    I'm guessing MWP will be out for at least the first playoff series, but then I thought Kevin Love was going to get way more than 2 games for stepping on Luis Scola's face.

    That's just it. There's never any rhyme or reason to this. There are some very loose guidelines that the league promulgates, and then it's up to Stu(pid) Jackson to rules lawyer each suspension as he goes.

    And based on Monkey's Theory of First Name Foodity, if a person has a first name that is also a food, they are probably not going to be some sort of thoughtful mental heavyweight who will give the appropriate amount of consideration to precedent or mitigating circumstances.

    That's why YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THIS ONE INCIDENT vs. YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THIS OTHER DISCRETE INCIDENT comparisons don't get us anywhere. It may make sense to us, in our constant search for consistency and justice, but the ultimate arbiter of all this, "Stew" Jackson, is capricious and inconsistent as fuck. The penalty will just be what it will be. Que sera, sera.

  • fortisfortis OhioRegistered User regular
    If I were comish I'd suspend him for the rest of the season and playoffs. Depending on how deep the Lakers go, more games next season.

  • So It GoesSo It Goes We keep moving...Registered User regular
    Can we take away his stupid fucking name now?

  • SabreMauSabreMau ネトゲしよう 판다리아Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Maybe instead of suspension the punishment could be that the league gets to change his name to an even goofier name, at least as far as the NBA is concerned. They don't have jurisdiction to change his legal name, but he'd have to wear a new jersey, and all the TV and radio announcers would be required to call him by the new name for at least a season.

    "Starting at Forward, from St. Johns, number 15, Little World Pony."

    SabreMau on
  • y2jake215y2jake215 certified Flat Birther theorist the Last Good Boy onlineRegistered User regular
    According to his twitter, he's all about the name puns. So, some suggestions:

    Metta World Piece of Shit. (this is my current loadout)

    Metta World Piece of Pizza. (this one worked better when he was fat as hell at the start of the season)

    Used this one yesterday on facebook, got a condescending "nice one" :(

    C8Ft8GE.jpg
    maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    According to his twitter, he's all about the name puns. So, some suggestions:

    Metta World Piece of Shit. (this is my current loadout)

    Metta World Piece of Pizza. (this one worked better when he was fat as hell at the start of the season)

    Form of Monkey! on
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    SabreMau wrote: »
    Maybe instead of suspension the punishment could be that the league gets to change his name to an even goofier name, at least as far as the NBA is concerned. They don't have jurisdiction to change his legal name, but he'd have to wear a new jersey, and all the TV and radio announcers would be required to call him by the new name for at least a season.

    "Starting at Forward, from St. Johns, number 15, Little World Pony."

    You mean like Tube is doing here on the forums occasionally? Yeah, I'd love for the NBA to change his name to "Zombies tossed my salad" (which is a forum nick here, but I find it hilarious).

  • y2jake215y2jake215 certified Flat Birther theorist the Last Good Boy onlineRegistered User regular
    7 games for Bad Ronald

    C8Ft8GE.jpg
    maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
  • Josh5890Josh5890 ChicagoRegistered User regular
    I thought it would've been 10-15 games.

    This space for rent
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    The interesting thing is - if the Lakers survive the first round (and OKC as well), they'll meet in the second round, just when World Peace finished serving his suspension. That ought to be fun.

  • y2jake215y2jake215 certified Flat Birther theorist the Last Good Boy onlineRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    The interesting thing is - if the Lakers survive the first round (and OKC as well), they'll meet in the second round, just when World Peace finished serving his suspension. That ought to be fun.

    Assuming Utah doesn't pull a Memphis and topple the Spurs

    y2jake215 on
    C8Ft8GE.jpg
    maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    What do you mean? The Lakers are 3rd, OKC is 2nd in the West. If they both survive the first round, they'll meet in the second round. It doesn't matter what San Antonio does in the first round.

  • SabreMauSabreMau ネトゲしよう 판다리아Registered User regular
    Even if Utah topples the Spurs, that wouldn't prevent Lakers from seeing the Thunder. For the Lakers-Thunder rematch to be derailed would mean Dallas, Denver, or Utah (if they squeak into 7th, seems doubtful) would have to knock down one of those two.

  • PhonehandPhonehand Registered User regular
    y2jake215 wrote: »
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    The interesting thing is - if the Lakers survive the first round (and OKC as well), they'll meet in the second round, just when World Peace finished serving his suspension. That ought to be fun.

    Assuming Utah doesn't pull a Memphis and topple the Spurs
    Not just a biased response but it seems possible. Utah is basically built like that Memphis team. Weaker on the wings, but with more frontcourt depth.

    pmdunk.jpg
  • y2jake215y2jake215 certified Flat Birther theorist the Last Good Boy onlineRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    What do you mean? The Lakers are 3rd, OKC is 2nd in the West. If they both survive the first round, they'll meet in the second round. It doesn't matter what San Antonio does in the first round.

    You're right - I got the playoff format confused with the NHL's, which re-seeds after each round
    Phonehand wrote: »
    y2jake215 wrote: »
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    The interesting thing is - if the Lakers survive the first round (and OKC as well), they'll meet in the second round, just when World Peace finished serving his suspension. That ought to be fun.

    Assuming Utah doesn't pull a Memphis and topple the Spurs
    Not just a biased response but it seems possible. Utah is basically built like that Memphis team. Weaker on the wings, but with more frontcourt depth.

    I could be convinced to agree with you. The lineup they ran out today (Hayward at SG, Millsap at SF, Favors at PF and Jefferson at C) was interesting, and could work against an undersized Spurs frontcourt. Especially since Harris is one of the few guys quick enough to stay in front of Tony Parker

    y2jake215 on
    C8Ft8GE.jpg
    maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    seven games in all likelihood means the first couple in the second round

    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    Even if that Utah team is built like Memphis - I doubt the Spurs will go out the same way twice in a row. The other matchups will be interesting though. I wonder if the Clips will survive the first round, and I actually don't want the Lakers to advance :).

  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    The Jazz are a big team, especially when they play Millsap at the 3. A lot of people were expecting them to flip at least one of their extraneous bigs for more backcourt depth, but it still hasn't happened.

    While they're comparable to the Grizzlies in roster makeup, they're nowhere close in quality. Last year's Grizzlies team was better than their regular season record, while this year's Jazz team is way worse.

    Don't forget that in the lockout-shortened season, not every team plays every other team the same number of times according to conference and division, which makes Strength of Schedule (SOS) stats that much more telling. The Jazz have had a very easy schedule and are almost certainly worse than teams that have had a rougher go of it, like the Rockets and Suns.

    Check out the strength of schedule stats yourself.

    The teams that have had the hardest schedules are at the top, while the teams with the lower SOS are at the bottom.

    Note that Dallas and the Lakers have had the toughest schedules, while the Bobcats had the second-easiest. Yes, the second easiest schedule while still notching only 7 wins. They are just that bad.

    And of course, right at the top you see Phoenix and Houston, two scheduling casualties that would have been shoo-ins during a long season, or if they played in the Eastern conference. A shame, really.

  • UnknownSaintUnknownSaint Kasyn Registered User regular
    So I'm thinking about brackets already, and I'm just totally stuck on Memphis / LAC. I know seeding isn't for certain just yet, but that one is just too close to call right now.

    I'm thinking the Clip joint can get it done even if Chris Paul has to drag their corpses through seven games, but part of me can see them imploding as well.

    Thoughts?

  • BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    So I'm thinking about brackets already, and I'm just totally stuck on Memphis / LAC. I know seeding isn't for certain just yet, but that one is just too close to call right now.

    I'm thinking the Clip joint can get it done even if Chris Paul has to drag their corpses through seven games, but part of me can see them imploding as well.

    Thoughts?

    I think it all depends on whether Randolph and Gasol can re-discover their games. Both of them have had poor Aprils, compared to last year when both entered the playoffs on fire.

    Memphis' perimeter play is improved from last year thanks to Gay staying healthy, but the weakness of the Clippers defense is still in the post. But MEM is going to need better than Gasol shooting 46% and Randolph shooting 43%.

  • PhonehandPhonehand Registered User regular
    The Jazz are a big team, especially when they play Millsap at the 3. A lot of people were expecting them to flip at least one of their extraneous bigs for more backcourt depth, but it still hasn't happened.

    While they're comparable to the Grizzlies in roster makeup, they're nowhere close in quality. Last year's Grizzlies team was better than their regular season record, while this year's Jazz team is way worse.

    Don't forget that in the lockout-shortened season, not every team plays every other team the same number of times according to conference and division, which makes Strength of Schedule (SOS) stats that much more telling. The Jazz have had a very easy schedule and are almost certainly worse than teams that have had a rougher go of it, like the Rockets and Suns.

    Check out the strength of schedule stats yourself.

    The teams that have had the hardest schedules are at the top, while the teams with the lower SOS are at the bottom.

    Note that Dallas and the Lakers have had the toughest schedules, while the Bobcats had the second-easiest. Yes, the second easiest schedule while still notching only 7 wins. They are just that bad.

    And of course, right at the top you see Phoenix and Houston, two scheduling casualties that would have been shoo-ins during a long season, or if they played in the Eastern conference. A shame, really.

    How have the Jazz had a very easy schedule? They are still in the top half of the league and right behind Houston and Phoenix. All three of these teams are very similar and I wouldn't say that any of them are shoo-ins.

    Some might disagree but I feel like they've underachieved. Their frontcourt situation is troubling and Ty Corbin has not had the best handle on it. Injuries have forced him to play an extremely effective big lineup (Millsap-Favors-Jefferson) in the last month. According to David Locke: "Now with the big lineup the Jazz defense has been beyond comprehension. With Millsap at the 3 the Jazz have outscored opponents 304 to 232 in 148 minutes."

    pmdunk.jpg
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Phonehand wrote: »
    The Jazz are a big team, especially when they play Millsap at the 3. A lot of people were expecting them to flip at least one of their extraneous bigs for more backcourt depth, but it still hasn't happened.

    While they're comparable to the Grizzlies in roster makeup, they're nowhere close in quality. Last year's Grizzlies team was better than their regular season record, while this year's Jazz team is way worse.

    Don't forget that in the lockout-shortened season, not every team plays every other team the same number of times according to conference and division, which makes Strength of Schedule (SOS) stats that much more telling. The Jazz have had a very easy schedule and are almost certainly worse than teams that have had a rougher go of it, like the Rockets and Suns.

    Check out the strength of schedule stats yourself.

    The teams that have had the hardest schedules are at the top, while the teams with the lower SOS are at the bottom.

    Note that Dallas and the Lakers have had the toughest schedules, while the Bobcats had the second-easiest. Yes, the second easiest schedule while still notching only 7 wins. They are just that bad.

    And of course, right at the top you see Phoenix and Houston, two scheduling casualties that would have been shoo-ins during a long season, or if they played in the Eastern conference. A shame, really.

    How have the Jazz had a very easy schedule? They are still in the top half of the league and right behind Houston and Phoenix. All three of these teams are very similar and I wouldn't say that any of them are shoo-ins.

    Some might disagree but I feel like they've underachieved. Their frontcourt situation is troubling and Ty Corbin has not had the best handle on it. Injuries have forced him to play an extremely effective big lineup (Millsap-Favors-Jefferson) in the last month. According to David Locke: "Now with the big lineup the Jazz defense has been beyond comprehension. With Millsap at the 3 the Jazz have outscored opponents 304 to 232 in 148 minutes."

    SOS is a verrry picky stat. Look carefully at those numbers. Even 0.001 difference is meaningful, and represents a quantifiable, easier schedule than any team that is 0.001 higher. No joke.

    While we're on the subject, I also think it's significant that the Jazz have not beaten a top tier playoff team on the road at all this season, save for once against the Lakers on March 18th at Staples. That's really, really bad. In fact, you could count their number of road wins against playoff teams on one hand this season.

    Still, I don't read "underperforming" into any of this. In fact, I think they have wildly overachieved given the youth of their roster and how poorly they were playing after Corbin took over mid-season last year. It's astonishing that Corbin could construct ANY kind of useable lineup out of that PF-heavy roster, let alone one that is dominant in limited minutes.

  • ElldrenElldren Is a woman dammit ceterum censeoRegistered User regular
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

    Not that much more experience

    Both teams need home court

    fuck gendered marketing
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Elldren wrote: »
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

    Not that much more experience

    Both teams need home court

    Yes, that much more experience. The Clippers' starters have just 23 games worth of playoff experience among them. All 23 games belong to Chris Paul.

    In contrast, the Grizzlies starters have 116 games worth of playoff experience among them, and they have all been to the playoffs before save for Rudy Gay, who was injured during the Grizzlies' historic run last season.

  • SabreMauSabreMau ネトゲしよう 판다리아Registered User regular
    Phonehand wrote: »
    The Jazz are a big team, especially when they play Millsap at the 3. A lot of people were expecting them to flip at least one of their extraneous bigs for more backcourt depth, but it still hasn't happened.

    While they're comparable to the Grizzlies in roster makeup, they're nowhere close in quality. Last year's Grizzlies team was better than their regular season record, while this year's Jazz team is way worse.

    Don't forget that in the lockout-shortened season, not every team plays every other team the same number of times according to conference and division, which makes Strength of Schedule (SOS) stats that much more telling. The Jazz have had a very easy schedule and are almost certainly worse than teams that have had a rougher go of it, like the Rockets and Suns.

    Check out the strength of schedule stats yourself.

    The teams that have had the hardest schedules are at the top, while the teams with the lower SOS are at the bottom.

    Note that Dallas and the Lakers have had the toughest schedules, while the Bobcats had the second-easiest. Yes, the second easiest schedule while still notching only 7 wins. They are just that bad.

    And of course, right at the top you see Phoenix and Houston, two scheduling casualties that would have been shoo-ins during a long season, or if they played in the Eastern conference. A shame, really.

    How have the Jazz had a very easy schedule? They are still in the top half of the league and right behind Houston and Phoenix. All three of these teams are very similar and I wouldn't say that any of them are shoo-ins.

    Some might disagree but I feel like they've underachieved. Their frontcourt situation is troubling and Ty Corbin has not had the best handle on it. Injuries have forced him to play an extremely effective big lineup (Millsap-Favors-Jefferson) in the last month. According to David Locke: "Now with the big lineup the Jazz defense has been beyond comprehension. With Millsap at the 3 the Jazz have outscored opponents 304 to 232 in 148 minutes."

    SOS is a verrry picky stat. Look carefully at those numbers. Even 0.001 difference is meaningful, and represents a quantifiable, easier schedule than any team that is 0.001 higher. No joke.

    While we're on the subject, I also think it's significant that the Jazz have not beaten a top tier playoff team on the road at all this season, save for once against the Lakers on March 18th at Staples. That's really, really bad. In fact, you could count their number of road wins against playoff teams on one hand this season.

    Still, I don't read "underperforming" into any of this. In fact, I think they have wildly overachieved given the youth of their roster and how poorly they were playing after Corbin took over mid-season last year. It's astonishing that Corbin could construct ANY kind of useable lineup out of that PF-heavy roster, let alone one that is dominant in limited minutes.

    I'm mostly just satisfied that we managed to take only one year off from the playoffs instead of the three years we were out after losing Stockton and Malone. This time, we've coming off a year where we lost Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Wesley Matthews, Ronnie Price, and Jerry Sloan. Only CJ Miles and Paul Millsap remain from the 2010 playoff team.

  • ElldrenElldren Is a woman dammit ceterum censeoRegistered User regular
    Elldren wrote: »
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

    Not that much more experience

    Both teams need home court

    Yes, that much more experience. The Clippers' starters have just 23 games worth of playoff experience among them. All 23 games belong to Chris Paul.

    In contrast, the Grizzlies starters have 116 games worth of playoff experience among them, and they have all been to the playoffs before save for Rudy Gay, who was injured during the Grizzlies' historic run last season.

    And well over half of those (and a ring) belong to Tony Allen.

    More experienced, yes.

    Not that much more

    fuck gendered marketing
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Elldren wrote: »
    Elldren wrote: »
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

    Not that much more experience

    Both teams need home court

    Yes, that much more experience. The Clippers' starters have just 23 games worth of playoff experience among them. All 23 games belong to Chris Paul.

    In contrast, the Grizzlies starters have 116 games worth of playoff experience among them, and they have all been to the playoffs before save for Rudy Gay, who was injured during the Grizzlies' historic run last season.

    And well over half of those (and a ring) belong to Tony Allen.

    More experienced, yes.

    Not that much more

    Are you seriously trying to double down on this? The difference between having key players having played playoff basketball before, and never playing it before? "Not a big difference." And how big a deal it is that Chris Paul is the only Clippers starter to have even had a post-season taste? "Not a big deal." Alrighty. :^:

  • BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Elldren wrote: »
    Elldren wrote: »
    Memphis / LAC may well be decided by whichever team gets home court advantage, which itself has yet to be decided in the regular season.

    The Clippers play the Knicks in an early game today (with Carmelo Anthony resting) while the Grizzlies play the Magic tomorrow.

    Home court advantage will be vital to the Clippers, a newly-constructed team filled with playoff newbies at the frontcourt spots, needing every advantage imaginable to advance, but less so to the Grizzlies, a team with far more poise and playoff experience.

    Not that much more experience

    Both teams need home court

    Yes, that much more experience. The Clippers' starters have just 23 games worth of playoff experience among them. All 23 games belong to Chris Paul.

    In contrast, the Grizzlies starters have 116 games worth of playoff experience among them, and they have all been to the playoffs before save for Rudy Gay, who was injured during the Grizzlies' historic run last season.

    And well over half of those (and a ring) belong to Tony Allen.

    More experienced, yes.

    Not that much more

    Are you seriously trying to double down on this? The difference between having key players having played playoff basketball before, and never playing it before? "Not a big difference." And how big a deal it is that Chris Paul is the only Clippers starter to have even had a post-season taste? "Not a big deal." Alrighty. :^:

    I think the lack of experience in the starting 5 would be a bigger deal if the Clippers didn't have 2 playoff-experienced vets coming off the bench in Mo Williams and Kenyon Martin.

    Martin played in the NBA Finals twice with NJ, and also reached the Western Finals with DEN. He's played 89 career playoff games. His PT has been ramping up as the playoffs have approached, he's playing 25 mpg in April. I expect him to play more minutes in the playoffs than DeAndre Jordan.

    Williams has played 30 career playoff games, and reached the Eastern Finals with CLE. Williams has been a prominent member of the rotation all season, averaging 28 mpg.

    Reggie Evans has played 27 career playoff games. Nick Young has played 5.

    That's about it for the rotation. I'll be surprised if Eric Bledsoe or Bobby Simmons get anything more than emergency minutes once the playoffs start. Everyone else is already out of the rotation.


    Also - Chris Paul is not the only Clippers starter with playoff experience. Caron Butler (62 starts this year) has played 31 career playoff games.

    BubbaT on
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Good spot with Caron Butler. I forgot about him, which is pretty much the story with Caron Butler and NBA fans in general. He just ain't on the radar.

    None of this is at all probative of the fact that the Grizzlies have a huge edge in terms of playoff experience over the Clippers.

    We're not much concerned with rotation vets playing limited minutes as an alternate source of that experience--it's just not practical nor applicable, because it's not a net positive in favor of the Clippers.

    The likely scenario is that Kenyon Martin will end up logging slightly more minutes as their main bench F/C...because DeAndre Jordan ends up being a liability on offense...because he lacks NBA playoff experience. Do you see what I'm getting at? Martin's experience getting rolled by the Lakers is not a net positive inasmuch as Jordan's lack of experience is a liability. It doesn't matter who they're pulling off the bench, they're still down a starter due to lack of experience.

    It's an issue with a starting center who looks lost and green out there, who you can't afford to give heavy minutes to in an even more rigorous playoff environment because he'll quickly get into foul trouble, or miss free throws, or not hustle back on defense, or not adequately spread the floor because he has no jumper, or any of the many reasons Del Negro wouldn't be able to play him as much as other starters.

    If he's playing in Memphis, I'm saying he gets discouraged easily. He starts fucking up. Goaltending calls. Careless fouls. He gets pulled and they're reduced to benching him. His lack of playoff experience doesn't encourage him to rise above.

    But in a game at Staples? I think it's a different story. He will ride a frantic wave of emotion created by a Clippers crowd that has not had the chance to go to a Clippers playoff game in decades. Jordan plays well. Foye plays well. Mo Williams will play well. These emotionally fragile, notoriously unreliable players find themselves in L.A. But in Memphis? The lack of poise and experience decides it.

  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Oh and lest we forget, there's another player Martin will be backing up who has just as little experience: Blake Griffin.

    So entertaining, so Twitter-worthy, so at times controversial, and with a usage that dwarfs a glorified shotblocker like Jordan.

    It's going to be such a sink or swim situation for this guy. I see in my crystal ball thunderous playoff dunks and efficient shooting nights as a Clippers 4 seed. Playoff disappointment and a first round exit as a 5.

    I want to see this guy succeed, but nobody knows if he will. In grinding playoff basketball where possessions matter (he can be turnover prone), free throw shooting matters (he's awful at it), all the little things matter, does Griffin start to create something of a legacy for himself? Man, I don't know. But I am excited to find out.

    I am so intrigued by this storyline, seriously.

  • ElldrenElldren Is a woman dammit ceterum censeoRegistered User regular
    I see a first round exit as either a 4 or 5

    but that's because I'm a Memphis fan

    fuck gendered marketing
  • Form of Monkey!Form of Monkey! Registered User regular
    Elldren wrote: »
    I see a first round exit as either a 4 or 5

    but that's because I'm a Memphis fan

    Well that's what's so great about sports. We won't know until they play! ;)

    Have you seen the ESPN playoff predictor thingy?

    http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/predictions

    Going by the standings, Memphis is at 58% as a 4 seed, 46% as a 5 seed.

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