Official NBA Discussion Thread

[Chitown Champ]

Lin, Melo, Stoudemire, Chandler, heck, put me as the last guy on the starting five and that's still a very good rotation. How does D'Antoni mess it up? I can't put all the blame on the coach as he isn't the one that physically plays the game, but the lack of chemistry on the team has been astounding. Good start to the Woodson era, we'll see if it continues against the Pacers next.

[Mex86]

Word is out now that Anthony and D'Antoni have been butting heads for over a year, and that D'Antoni asked owner James Dolan if he'd be open to trading Anthony before the deadline this year, and Dolan said no. Basically, Anthony never bought into D'Antoni's free-wheeling, ball movement offense - Anthony prefers the ball stops with him, and new coach Woodson tends to favor an offense that isolates the best shooters and lets them do their thing. It's expected that Lin will have a diminished role in the offense - he scored 6 points on 4 shots last night - while the emphasis will shift to Melo, Stoudemire, and even Baron Davis. Good luck with that... the Knicks are 34-42 since Anthony's arrival, and while he may be a great scorer, he's not a winner.

[Mex86]

Opening tip for the regular season is Tuesday night. The Lakers just completed an illustrious 0-8 preseason, but we all know that doesn't count, right? Still, one would've thought they might've managed at least one win. The starters have only played one game together, and Kobe may miss the opener with a sprained right foot. For those expecting a 60-win season from this superstar lineup - I think they will struggle in the early going.

David Stern announced he's stepping down as Commissioner in February '14. I think he was one of the best commissioners of all time, any sport.

[RickD]

I was excited to see Stern will be leaving. Never cared for him.

[Mickey Mental]

The Celtics season opener saw them surrender 120 points. I figured they would lose this game but thought they might actually play some defense. All the talk has been about Ray Allen leaving. I'm more worried about Avery Bradley not being around until December than I am about Allen. I do like a few of the new guys. I don't think this is a great team but I do think they're one of the deeper teams in the league.

Mex, are the Lakers' fans in for a major disappointment this season?

[RickD]

I think the Lakers will show some flash this season but they are a team in decline IMO.

[astrosfanatic]

David Stern announced he's stepping down as Commissioner in February '14. I think he was one of the best commissioners of all time, any sport.

Was he really that great? Sure, the state of the NBA when he took over was pretty poor. But how much of the turn-around belongs to him, and how much belongs to Jordan/Bird/Magic??? Honestly, I think he has underachieved as commissioner. For every good thing he's done, there's another thing that just makes you scratch your head. I am still pissed off about the trade veto last year with the Rockets-Lakers-Hornets. I don't know. I don't think he was great, but i also don't think he is on the level of Dud Selig.


In other news:

I am glad that the Rockets made the trade for Harden. Sure, he might not ever be THE guy to take a team to a championship. BUT he might be the guy that helps us land another all-star caliber player to make a better team. Even after we give Harden a max deal, we will still have room for another max deal for someone in the future. And for all the Rockets fans crying that Harden isn't worth a max deal, they need to realize that he would have gotten it somewhere else if not here in Houston. There's no guarantee we could have signed him this off-season, because a lot of other teams would have been in the market for Mr. Harden. I am not sure it will work out that he becomes the next big thing in Houston, but he is a good young player that has a lot of potential to become even better.

[astrosfanatic]

37 points and 12 assists in his debut for the Rockets. James Harden was a beast last night. The Rockets have a winning record! lol. I'll take it.


And the Lakers are 0 fer the year. I guess pre-season results can carry over into the regular season??

[Mex86]

Another 45 for Harden last night - one of the greatest two-game starts for a new team in history. Good for him - I think OKC will miss him. And I see that Jeremy Lin had a quiet 21-point, 10-rebound game.

How about the Knicks, coming together in the face of the disaster that hit NYC, and giving their fans something to cheer about as they whipped Miami 104-84 in their opener? Carmelo Anthony took the mic before the game and addressed the crowd, then rained threes down on the beleaguered Heat defense. D- Wade had tweeted beforehand that he didn't think the game should've even been played. Luckily, his opinion didn't count.

As for the Lakers, they are 0-3 for the first time since 1978. The Clippers ran them off the court last night - not a big shocker, with Nash sidelined, but still - the disturbing thing for Lakers fans is 1. How bad the bench already looks, and 2. how unmotivated the entire team looks.

It's one thing to lose with effort; another to look like you're going through the motions. The Lakers look D.O.A. Everyone's griping about the Princeton offense, but it's the defense - which looks like something hatched out of a two-year community college - which has been porous. Responding to criticism, Kobe told the fans before a practice to "shut up and let us work". So the fans complied - there was no booing at Staples last night; in fact, there was barely any noise at all. The fans' attitude seemed to be "All right - if you don't care, we won't either."

[RickD]

Lakers need another Magic Johnson!