Wow the Heat looked strong last night. Even with Lebron out most of the 2nd half, the additional scoring provided by Allen & Lewis makes a huge difference. They can afford to rest both Wade and James for short periods of time without looking lost on offense. I wonder if the Celtics can keep up that level if intensity for the entire year, or if they shot their wad trying to defeat Miami at home on their ring ceremony game. And I know its only the first game and I know the Heat lost their first game with the Big 3, but the Heat lost to the Celtics - one of the power teams in the Eastern Conference. LA lost to a Mavs team without Nowitzki. Nash looked lost and their defense was horrible. Question: Was KG's snub of Allen that big a deal?
Wait, you call that the Celtics having intensity? I'm pretty sure Pierce had to tell Rondo, "I need you to ball right now" because he was doing that passive Rondo thing that wasn't helping the team very much. Not to mention the fact he was Rondo-ing (his fake-out) folks and then passing, which basically = tossing free points away because the defender is looking in the opposite direction. On top of that fact the Celtics kept getting pushed down 10 points every 5 minutes. I started flipping channels after the first half, and I'd keep coming back, see the Celtics down 10, have Miami score and hear something like "That ends the Celtics 7 point run" from Marv. What? 7 point run and they're down 10, alrighty, changing the channel. I know one thing for sure this season, this will be an mortal lock: You fucking Heat fans are going to be absolutely insufferable. No, that was KG being KG. If Pierce left the team, he'd do the exact same thing. KG from top to bottom has been "You're not on my team, fuck you." Also, I completely expected the Lakers to lose to the Maverick's. I saw the first few possessions, Steve Nash looked old for a second and had the ball outright stolen from him. This is the guy that ran around Canada dribbling tennis balls just outright stolen from on the wrong side of the court. They're going to get better, but Dwight had back surgery and they need to get their new offense and bench worked out. We'll see how they are in December.
That was my point. If they cant get up for that game, like the Bulls did in '07 at the Heat's last ring ceremony game, how much do they have left? Pierce was carrying them for a while, but he went cold. They pulled close in the 4th because Barbosa went off. He was hitting everything. I think most Heat fans will be like the Heat team themselves=apathetic during the reg season. Check back in May. I dont have any problem with the snub, its the whack he gave Chalmers on the breakaway that makes KG douchey. Real early, but the Lakers did look old and disjointed. Gasol looked great, as usual. I expect their offense to tighten up, but can they win it all with that defense? I am anxious to see how OKC looks without Harden.
His use of "nigga" and his "thuggish ruggish bone" are completely unrelated. Does every white person who says the word "yacht" have a country club membership? I think not!
Fun fact: Anybody who uses the phrase "thuggish ruggish bone" is completely unqualified to say who fits it. Fun fact number 2: I thought the Heat were the best team in the league going into the season, and I might have underrated them. Unless they deal with injury...they're going to be very hard to beat.
Battier came out with 6 points in the first 4 minutes. That's pretty crazy. If you can get 6-10 from him, anything after that is just frosting. That team is scary. Fucking scary.
If you're not watching these Story Time with Jalen Rose videos, you're not living life. Like the time he stole Patrick Ewing's TV. This shit is hilarious, the animations make them money. Or the time Dikembe Mutumbo hazed him.
Yeah, shockingly, Miami is still really good. That being said, I saw a lot of good things from Boston. Pierce is going to have one hell of a season, and the bench looked great (Lee, Green, and Barbosa in particular). And this was without Bradley. Add in Bradley, and Wade is not scoring nearly as easily. I'm pretty pleased overall. Boston still looks like a good bet for second in the east (at least until I get a look at new look Philly). Downside: Rajon Rondo is still a volatile, inconsistent knucklehead. When his head is screwed on right, he's one of the three or five most unstoppable players in the league. But... There are the times he's afraid to play like himself (see the entire first quarter and a half), and the times he's actively detrimental (see end of game). As far as the "whack" I think you need to watch the replay again. There was no contact, Chalmers was just selling it.
James Harden has arrived in Houston, ladies and gents. 37/12/6 with 4 steals and 14/25 shooting should do nicely.
I got a feeling that a lot of people are going to score 37 against the Pistons. More impressive than the 37pts is the 12 assists!
I second that Gator. Its the Pistons. I'm going to make a prediction and say the Lakers go down 0-3. Fucking Mike Brown.
This is so sexy: That's James Harden's shot chart from last year. Things that stick out: He converts shots with pretty good efficiency. He takes GREAT shots. It's certainly possible that he won't get as many easy looks when he's not playing with the most athletic point guard in the league and the best scorer of my lifetime, but still: that's a sexy looking shot distribution.
Lets see how he does vs the Spurs tonight. Even though the Spurs almost fell to the fighting Unibrows last night. I love the post game interview with Kobe. Everybody else said "its early" or "we're still gelling". Not Kobe. "Im not happy around here" and "Everybody needs to maintain their sense of urgency". Unlike the Heat 2 years ago, the Lakers are not losing to top tier competition. And practice time together isnt going to change the fact that their exterior defense is porous at best. Too bad they had to postpone the Knicks-FuckNets game tonight. I think the fighting Jay-Zs are going to be better than the Celtics this year.
My bad. It was OKC vs the Spurs, not the Rockets. So Harder scores 37 = Houston win and OKC without Harden = loss to Spurs. Therefore, logically speaking, OKC is the "idiot" then. I am going to have to go home early and take a nap because I am going to stay up to watch the Clippers at the Lakers. It could get ugly. Nevermind, Ill just nap during the Heat/Knicks game. Like most of the Heat starters will be doing in the 2nd half...
I agree, my friend just texted me "Heats vs. Knicks throwing it out there" - "I hate New York and all but no reason to see the Knicks get boomraped. Rather watch Lob City and Khloe K cause Kobe Bryant to kill Mike Brown in the middle of the court." Yep, can't wait.
I think Nash is out because he fucked up his ankle and re-aggravated his knee injury without having the vaunted physical training/health staff of the Phoenix Suns. I don't think any lesser point guard would have him playing. Everyone keeps saying "Steve Nash can't guard Russell, Chris, Rose, or Rondo." Guess what? No point guard can guard them. Those 4 sure as fuck can't guard each other. Only bigger defensive stoppers can lock those guys down. So that really isn't an issue. Plus the way CP3 has been playing, he doesn't do anything besides pass until the 4th quarter anyway.
Steve Nash can't guard a plate of nachos. He was not good on defense when he wasnt 39. I dont think he needed the additional embarrassment of getting lit up personally while the Lakers go down in a heap.
Totally disagree. Have you ever even seen Nash post up at the bar with a beer and a plate of delicious smothered chips? If you get even a finger near that plate he'll slap it away. It's like he's got eyes in the back of his head.
Follows it up with 45/7/2 on 14/19 against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, no big deal...