NBA Season 2013-2014 (Sep.) FIBA World Cup

Close em out.

Fripper wrote:

The Spurs offense lately

IMAGE(http://38.media.tumblr.com/aece37b880b48fbe180e085910bde495/tumblr_n71sbirifb1qgiasao1_500.gif)

That about sums it up. The Spurs are incredible. The same team I found fundamental, but incredibly boring in the early 2000s, has somehow morphed into the vintage Suns on steroids with a half court offense that bests the best teams in NBA history. The are so beautiful to watch. All of the interior passing... man.

Enix wrote:

My prediction for Game 4: Bosh gets hot from outside early, and the Spurs have to decide whether to guard him outside or collapse inside and keep James and Wade from killing them in the paint. Spurs dither; Heat win.

Don't ever listen to this @sshole. He obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

Honestly, I was feeling pretty smug for a few minutes late night because Bosh was getting the ball.

Once Wade started driving and the Spurs had all 5 guys in the box, that was that.

I'm glad to see Diaw having such a great series. I loved him in Charlotte because he was the perfect Larry Brown guy, a guy who could do a little bit of everything. Paul Silas, however, couldn't stand Diaw. Charlotte's loss was SA's gain.

I love the idea that Popovich has nothing but absolute contempt for the rest of the NBA and only coaches out of spite. Because that's what it looks like he's doing.

Finish them!

38 and still unstoppable. Wow, Tim.

That's some pretty stuff.

It looks like the Spurs had another small facilities issue in the 1st quarter. They clearly forgot to put the small rim on the other side of the court.

Edit: they left the small rims on both sides.

I figured LeBron would come out early and be LeBron.

I didn't count on LeBron quitting after one quarter and the rest of the team not bothering to show up.

Of course, Miami just scored two straight times to cut the lead to 15. If any team can come back from a Spurs deluge, it's the Heat.

Beasly? He still plays?

Spurs are rolling. This is fun.

GO
SPURS
GO

So the Spurs are up 21 points and have only 2 points from Tony Parker? Whoa.

Enix wrote:

So the Spurs are up 21 points and have only 2 points from Tony Parker? Whoa.

It's a team game.

I don't understand how Miami looks so old.

Well, that was satisfying.

Seahawks win SB, Timmay ties Kobe in total rings (and surpasses him as an all-time great) by executing a Fatality on Bron-Bron.

God exists and He is good.

psu_13 wrote:

I don't understand how Miami looks so old.

I'm baffled by that, too.

The Spurs played like it was 2005.

The Heat played like it was a wayback alumni game that they'll play in 2034.

Enix wrote:

I didn't count on LeBron quitting after one quarter and the rest of the team not bothering to show up.

LeBron quit like...something that doesn't quit.

Dude was gassed after being The Entire Team in the first quarter. It is hard goddamn work carrying a team like that.

Ed Ropple wrote:
Enix wrote:

I didn't count on LeBron quitting after one quarter and the rest of the team not bothering to show up.

LeBron quit like...something that doesn't quit.

Dude was gassed after being The Entire Team in the first quarter. It is hard goddamn work carrying a team like that.

Yeah. I didn't know if LeBron had discovered another gear (that drive where he went from the 3 point line to a layup in two steps ) or if he would burn himself out. Turned out it was the latter. You could tell he was frustrated at not having a reliable supporting cast. Jordan needed and had Pippen. He had players like Hodges, Paxson and BJ Armstrong to knock down threes. He had other players on defense working hard. I think the "big 3" structure caught up with them. If I'm LeBron I seriously consider taking my talents elsewhere or using the opt-out clause as leverage to ask Pat Riley how serious he is about building a young, vibrant bench around he and Bosh.

The quotes from Lebron where he's talking about how the Spurs played as a team, the way NBA teams are supposed to play, and how beautiful it was was either some nice editing by journalists to make it sound like he was envious or, well, maybe he really was wishing he'd been playing for the Spurs this year. Either way, at least from the post-game interviews, I don't think he's going to be sticking around Miami unless they make some major changes in the off season.

Ed Ropple wrote:
Enix wrote:

I didn't count on LeBron quitting after one quarter and the rest of the team not bothering to show up.

LeBron quit like...something that doesn't quit.

Dude was gassed after being The Entire Team in the first quarter. It is hard goddamn work carrying a team like that.

"Quitting" probably wasn't the best choice of words there. He played as well as he could. (And, yeah, he was awesome in the first quarter. LeBron in Beast Mode is terrifying.)

That said, LeBron would have to have scored about 70 last night for the Heat to win. The rest of the team looked dead on its collective feet.

At one point, it looked like the Spurs ran the Haslem play -- whoever Haslem was guarding had a green light to shoot from wherever he wanted.

LeBron to OKC?
Let me dream.

boogle wrote:

LeBron to OKC?
Let me dream.

It's not entirely crazy. I mean, LeBron is friends with Durant, although we don't know how close. And they could easily cut Perkins loose and sign LeBron. Zach Lowe has talked a lot about the fact that OKC possibly took a gamble trading Harden under the impression that the cap wasn't going to rise as quickly as it is currently.

boogle wrote:

LeBron to OKC?
Let me dream.

They can barely afford the team as it is.

Vector wrote:
boogle wrote:

LeBron to OKC?
Let me dream.

They can barely afford the team as it is.

Things that I wouldn't mind losing/shooting behind a shed: Perkins, Collison

LeBron to LA seems more likely. Kobe's done after two years, and the rest of the roster is worth about the cash in my wallet. That'll give LeBron a couple of more years to scout out some potential teammates.

But I bet he stays in Miami. Florida's a good place to be -- it's always golf weather, and there's no state income tax. Plus if he trusts Riley and Spoelstra, it'll take the Heat less time to rebuild with what they have than it will for LeBron to rebuild somewhere else.

Remember that Miami's not that bad. They just ran into the one team they (a) probably couldn't beat and (b) was super motivated after blowing it last year.

Miami's going to get a lot worse if D-Wade takes his money. Dude's got a fork sticking out of him and his salary, plus the consistent lack of good picks, has caught up to them.

Ed Ropple wrote:

Miami's going to get a lot worse if D-Wade takes his money. Dude's got a fork sticking out of him and his salary, plus the consistent lack of good picks, has caught up to them.

If I'm LeBron that's my #1 concern. If Wade thinks the team is fine with him taking max money then LeBron should walk.

Now, I preface this with that it'll never, ever happen, but I would dearly love to see LeBron--who has a lot of perspective and is really sharp--decide to really prioritize those rings. Like, can you imagine the meltdown the NBPA would have if he took an MLE with the Clippers? I want this to happen just so I can watch NBPA president Chris Paul try to rationalize it against the three extra rings on his fingers.

Ed Ropple wrote:

Now, I preface this with that it'll never, ever happen, but I would dearly love to see LeBron--who has a lot of perspective and is really sharp--decide to really prioritize those rings. Like, can you imagine the meltdown the NBPA would have if he took an MLE with the Clippers? I want this to happen just so I can watch NBPA president Chris Paul try to rationalize it against the three extra rings on his fingers.

I want him to go a step further. I want him to strategically pick 2 or 3 teams and basically go on a ring-winning tour where he takes his talents to whomever is on the cusp. All for the MLE.