New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[WLVCA]

Watching the conference semifinals over the weekend i had this horrible but not unrealistic thought

Has anyone considered the NBA playoffs will be between Houston and Cavs

I am wondering if the Warriors can beat the Rockets even with a health Curry in the western finals

The real championship round will be when the Warriors and Rockets face off in the in the Western Conference final round as you noted.

Whichever team emerges from that series will beat any team the comes out of the Eastern Conference.

Not that I prefer Houston or Golden State, I think the Warriors are still better. Normally I would root for the newcomer/challenger but the Rockets are a hard team to like - especially for me.

Kevin Durant will be the difference maker - the other players on both teams match up fairly well but Durant stands head and shoulders above any player the Rockets can put up against him.

The Rockets will be hungrier but also feeling more pressure....and I know from experience that CP3, great player that he is, makes mistakes in critical situations in the playoffs. James Harden has been known to crumble under pressure in the playoffs, too.

Both coaches are great but Steve Kerr has won championships and Mike D'Antoni has not. I think Kerr is better.

Those are my predictions....for whatever they are worth.

 

[Steve Williams]

The real championship round will be when the Warriors and Rockets face off in the in the Western Conference final round as you noted.

Whichever team emerges from that series will beat any team the comes out of the Eastern Conference.

Not that I prefer Houston or Golden State, I think the Warriors are still better. Normally I would root for the newcomer/challenger but the Rockets are a hard team to like - especially for me.

Kevin Durant will be the difference maker - the other players on both teams match up fairly well but Durant stands head and shoulders above any player the Rockets can put up against him.

The Rockets will be hungrier but also feeling more pressure....and I know from experience that CP3, great player that he is, makes mistakes in critical situations in the playoffs. James Harden has been known to crumble under pressure in the playoffs, too.

Both coaches great but Steve Kerr has won championships and Mike D'Antoni has not. I think Kerr is better.

Those are my predictions....for whatever they are worth.

I hope you're right as Im not a Rockets fan let alone a D'Antoni fan having remembered how he ran the lakers into the ground

 

[jadis]

The Warriors are now using a lineup dubbed (no pun intended) as The Hamptons FIVE, because all four players went to The Hamptons a couple of years ago to recruit Kevin Durant. No more Pachulia or McGee as a 'quick' center. All five are deadly, and I cannot see how Houston can beat them 4 times in the playoffs. Both teams are charged up on the offense, and I have seen some games where Houston's defense showed up, but it will be very tough to stop the Warriors. Durant looks very hungry for another ring.

 

[jadis]

Houston vs Golden State. And Rockets have home court advantage. And this time they have a hot shooting and hungry Chris Paul who is in his first conference series.

 

[WLVCA]

Houston vs Golden State. And Rockets have home court advantage. And this time they have a hot shooting and hungry Chris Paul who is in his first conference series.

Never thought I would be rooting for Golden State but I am.....based on their being the lesser of two evils....in my mind anyway.

 

[jadis]

Never thought I would be rooting for Golden State but I am.....based on their being the lesser of two evils....in my mind anyway.

Same here.

Game 5 tonight. Old school rivalry. Hope the spirit of Red is around.

 

[jadis]

C's advance with a very tight win. Philly showed a lot of promise but the Celtics showed heart. Grit, hustle and hard work. Who would have thought rookie Tatum would put up SIX straight 20+ points in the playoffs? According to an analyst, he is already doing the numbers that Hayward was supposed to do. And Scary Terry is still scary. If he keeps putting 20 ppg we are in good shape in the EC. This is a young and hungry team.

Amusing sign seen at the TD Garden:

Process of Elimination.

And another comment from a fan site - Philly is as processed as processed cheese.

I'm 7000 miles away so I can't hold up signs and banners.

 

[WLVCA]

Excellent game and great victory for the Celtics - thought the 76ers had them there for a minute.

These two teams appear to be the future powerhouses in the Eastern Conference.

Good luck to Boston vs the Cavaliers.

 

[jadis]

Excellent game and great victory for the Celtics - thought the 76ers had them there for a minute.

These two teams appear to be the future powerhouses in the Eastern Conference.

Good luck to Boston vs the Cavaliers.

Thanks. My personal thought would be to do what the Pacers did, and little more. Boston needs to win the first 2 at home. The fans' support is a big thing.

 

[jadis]

I was told by my son last night that Dwayne Casey was voted by his fellow coaches as the Coach of the Year. That's not surprising to me as the Raptors got the first seed with most games won in the East. The next day I learned via social media that Brad Stevens got zero votes, zero. Wow. Having seen Brad all these years, I know he doesn't care too much about accolades and after that he still went on to coach a series win for the C's. Let the underdog story go on.

 

[jadis]

And then...Raptors fire Casey. I can't see how it is his fault that his 2 top contract stars play so well in the regular season and always disappear in the playoffs, specially against the Cavs.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23471720/toronto-raptors-fire-head-coach-dwane-casey-7-seasons

 

[jadis]

Kawhi spotted in a Dodgers game.

https://www.ksat.com/sports/nba/spu...gers-game-fuels-more-speculation-about-future

 

[WLVCA]

Seemed to me that was a pretty raw deal for Casey.....but I guess you can't fire the entire Toronto basketball team.

Not a single vote for Brad Stevens for Coach of the Year is suspect as well. But, better to remain alive in the playoffs and keep your job than win an award.

 

[jadis]

Not a single vote for Brad Stevens for Coach of the Year is suspect as well. But, better to remain alive in the playoffs and keep your job than win an award.

I agree absolutely.

Cleveland is -275 the favorite to win the series. The C's are heavy underdogs.

 

[Priaptor]

And then...Raptors fire Casey. I can't see how it is his fault that his 2 top contract stars play so well in the regular season and always disappear in the playoffs, specially against the Cavs.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23471720/toronto-raptors-fire-head-coach-dwane-casey-7-seasons

The regular season in basketball has become nothing but a grind to get to the real season, which is the playoffs.

Personally, I can hardly watch the NBA anymore. I used to have just off center seats 8th row for the Heat and had enough and gave them up in 2006.

I am not a big fan of where the NBA has moved since the days of Magic/Larry and MJ. I understand why it appeals to so many (high scoring, no defense, 3 point shootouts, enabling players like LeBron, Westbrook, etc) today, but watching no defense, 3 to 4 guys setting up at the 3 point line and having some minimally capable big guy on "defense" underneath to watch some one penetrate and then IF he has no shot just whip it out to a guys standing still at 3 point line with 5 feet of space to take the equivalent of a "set shot" is not basketball to me. Not allowing these guys to play defense kind of reminds me of what the NFL did with their penalties allowing for absurd offensive shows particularly with a spread offense; this is where we are with the NBA.

Personally, I would just use the 3 point game for the last 6 minutes of each half, allow them to play defense, reduce the regular season to 62 games and bring two more teams into the playoffs, which is "THE SEASON".

So the reason this guy gets fired is because he can't win during the real season.

OK I had my say. Having said the above, I do believe the current Warriors are amazing, enjoy watching them and they don't give space on defense and play fantastic team defense and offense.

 

[WLVCA]

You gave up your Heat tickets in 2006? That is the year Miami won their first NBA championship.

Not to denigrate Magic, Larry and MJ (they did rescue the NBA from a low ebb) but I think the NBA is enjoying its best era right now.

Of course that is a matter of opinion so to each his own.

 

[Priaptor]

You gave up your Heat tickets in 2006? That is the year Miami won their first NBA championship.

Not to denigrate Magic, Larry and MJ (they did rescue the NBA from a low ebb) but I think the NBA is enjoying its best era right now.

Of course that is a matter of opinion so to each his own.

You have to understand I played with some of the greats in Brooklyn with and against Dunleavy, Bernard King, Fly Williams, Mel Davis, Ernie Grunfeld, Lloyd (World B) Free, Bernard Hardin, Kevin Joyce and so many more. While I have lost touch with Walt Frazier I had the pleasure of hanging out with him for awhile and we talked basketball nonstop about what basketball is all about and we both had the same mindset. We “old timers” have a different perspective which is fine.

I truly understand why today’s game is so popular. As with other sports it has become more of an “event” where more than just sports fans go to. The lack of defense today and the spread out offense with 3 point shots brings a level of excitement in scoring which is what today’s fans want to see and it also allows one on one spectacular moves underneath by some great athletes.

What it lacks is the team dynamic (with the exception of Golden State) that reigned in what I like to call the Golden Age. When people played defense you didn’t let the opposition get the ball. MJ would literally be in his opponents shorts and they would have to work to get the ball. Today every player has no issue getting the ball and defense is being within 5 feet of your opponent.

I truly get all of today’s arguments and by no means want to rain on the parade but it seems like something has been lost; at least for me.

Yup I gave them up. Was paying a literal fortune, had season tickets since 87 when they first started, watched prices go up literally 10x and even then I was willing to pay UNTIL I heard Shaq complain how he was “tired and saving himself for the playoffs”. That was enough for me. Plus I was tired of all the trophy wives/girlfriends of the rich and famous sitting in my section on their cel phones waving and screaming to people in the crowd they literally just saw two minutes ago. Miami is a strange sports hub.

Incidentally I named my son Michael Jordan so that tells you something. One of my dogs is named Magic.

When MJ was playing I had my son watch every game we could and told him you are watching what people will refer to as the Babe of basketball.

And yes they did save the game from the likes of Michael Richardson, Orlando Woolridge and so many other druggies who didn’t give a damn. That was the low point of the NBA.

In any case I think we see Cavs against the Warriors again and the Warriors take out the Cavs easily. However I would love to see the Celtics win which would be amazing given their current state. Brad Stevens is indeed a great coach.

 

[WLVCA]

If you could play and keep up with Walt Frazier and World B Free, et al, I tip my hat to you.

I played in the Catholic Youth League with all the football players who couldn't make their high school basketball team. I thought that was rough play.

Loved to play basketball more than football....just wasn't tall enough or good enough for hoops.

By the way....your claim to fame is much better than mine.

 

[Priaptor]

If you could play and keep up with Walt Frazier and World B Free, et al, I tip my hat to you.

I played in the Catholic Youth League with all the football players who couldn't make their high school basketball team. I thought that was rough play.

Loved to play basketball more than football....just wasn't tall enough or good enough for hoops.

By the way....your claim to fame is much better than mine.

Walt was older than me but I “idolized” him and my buddy who was his friend got us together. It was actually a great time.

As to Lloyd (World B) Free, he was a year behind me when he played at Canarsie. He was a skinny kid when I played against him. I had two great games against him and how I got ranked.

Next time I saw him was several years later and he put on 40 lbs of muscle and was 6’3” his freshman year at Guilford and he had, can I say “matured” and was amazing. We played at a park in Vandervere Brooklyn and he was just awesome. He was there with Joyce, Lenny Wilkins, Mel Davis, Elgin Baylor and I just watched.

However Bernard was the best as was Fly as NYC basketball goes. I played against Bernard King when he was a Sophomore and other than Fly Williams from Madison Hs was the best I ever played against.

 

[Priaptor]

If you could play and keep up with Walt Frazier and World B Free, et al, I tip my hat to you.

I played in the Catholic Youth League with all the football players who couldn't make their high school basketball team. I thought that was rough play.

Loved to play basketball more than football....just wasn't tall enough or good enough for hoops.

By the way....your claim to fame is much better than mine.

One more thing. Fly recently died I believe from a drug OD. There is a book about him and his playground exploits. Read it. This was probably the most talented player to never hit it big in the Pros because he was a nut.

Bernard on the other hand was grounded and was a very smart guy.

The best guy in NY never played after his sophomore year as he was involved in some gangs and was thrown off the team and I will leave him nameless not to offend his name or family; but I never saw anything like this guy. 6’3” and could do anything. He literally ate up Moe Rivers like he didn’t exist, Moe being another amazing guard from Wingate HS. Unfortunately the person I am taking about died way too early and before the end of HS