eNe
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Everything posted by eNe
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Why am I here again?? Ok, I guess I saw it coming, as soon as Kobe was down, but after the first two games in SA I was hoping that maybe we can at least steal a game from them. But the last two games SA showed their true strength, and there wasn't much the short-handed lakers could've done. Btw, now Russel Westbrook is injured too. What kind of a season was this? Almost every contender besides Miami is dealing with injuries to key players. Nevertheless playoffs are awesome. I love the Bulls-Nets, and Clippers-Grizzlies series. And of course Steph Curry. I love his game, and I love the way he shows how stupid the coaches were to not pick him for the all-star game. Hats off to you young fella. -
The first big trade of the year just went through, with: Memphis getting: Ed Davis, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye Toronto getting: Rudy Gay, Hamed Haddadi Detroit getting: Jose Calderon This move seems like a salary dump for Memphis and Detroit, while Toronto are trying to improve their roster with a great scorer/athlete in Gay. However as soon as I heard the Gay to Raptors rumours there was only one question in my mind. . . How does this guy feel about the trade?
The draw for the group stages: Group A Porto Dynamo Kiev Paris SG Dinamo Zagreb Group B Arsenal Schalke 04 Olympiacos Montepellier Group C AC Milan Zenit Anderlecht Malaga Group D Real Madrid Manchester City Ajax Borussia Dortmund Group E Chelsea Shakhtar Donetsk Juventus Nordsjaeland Group F Bayern Munchen Valencia Lille Bate Borisov Group G Barcelona Benfica Spartak Moscow Celtic Group H Manchester United Braga Galatasaray Cluj What a travesty for Borussia Dortmund that they just sent them to Group D, even though Group H was also possible.
^ I was gonna reply when I first heard the trade, but for some odd reason Magic sending (arguably) the best center in the league, and their projected franchise player to the Lakers, or AI getting traded from Philly to Denver didn't seem newsworthy to me. Seriously though, Bynum has some question marks, but if he is healthy and dedicated, him having an amazing year (say 24/13) is really likely. If he just improves his passing a bit, he'll make Philly a serious headache for the top dogs of the east. Now as far as Lakers go, I'm not happy to see the NBA becoming a league of super teams, but at least none of these guys besides Howard are at their primes. Even though I'm a Laker fan, unless Miami makes it to the finals again, I won't mind seeing them eleminated in conference semis / finals.
Sixers Congratz Matt. To be honest with the way they were playing entering the playoffs I thought they had no chance even after Rose went down. And Iggy was money in the clutch. Garnett last night played out of his mind. 28 pts/ 14 rebs/ 5 blks. Too bad the referee's decided the outcome of the game in the final possession. For those who didn't see it: Hawks were inbounding the ball, and they were down by 2. Daniels fouled Horford before they inbounded the ball. Rules clearly state that it's 2 FT's + the possession. The refs came up with something like "the player was in the act of inbounding the ball", even though the ball was still in his hands, and bailed the C's out. One of the worst calls I've seen in my life. Kobe had yet another great game, but Laker bigs aren't joining the party. Nuggets unexpectedly forced game 7. However not an exciting first round at all. Except for the Clippers v Memphis series. Crazy game tonight. Hope CP3 delivers.
If someone were to tell me that: Chelsea would come back from down 2, and draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona, playing a man down, and Barça getting a PK during the process, I'd be like: OK buddy, maybe enough with fiction movies. Now I now why it's called the beautiful game. I understand where you're coming from SS, as Barca was clearly the better side. I gotta give Chelsea credit though. There is a reason why the games are played. With 10 players you shouldn't have expected equal possession/scoring opportunities. At the end Chelsea scored 3 times (twice at Camp Nou). That's usually enough at such a high level. Barcelona have no one to blame, but themselves. At the absence of Pique, and especially Abidal, it was obvious that Alves, and Puyol aren't high class defenders, and Valdes is mediocre at best. If your opponents come seriously only a handful of times, and scores at such a high rate, maybe it's time to point the finger at yourselves.
Very interesting trades last night. Lakers adressed their main weakness, the PG position with Ramon Sessions. He had caught my eye when he had that 24 assists game as a rookie, but he never had a breakout ever since. This trade was probably the best thing that could have happened to him (although there was this Rudy Gay to Wolves trade that didn't go through a couple of years ago, which would have been pretty epic). I feel kinda sad that Fish left, but I think he should have realized that he is not what he used to be, and accept his role as a backup PG. Kobe is probably pissed. IMO the best move came from the Pacers. Leandro Barbosa is legit. They may not be the favorites, but they'll definitely cause some headache. Also Portland threw the towel. I didn't see that coming. Sadly two of the best coaches in the league, D'Antoni & McMillan, got fired (well, more or less) during the week. nba.com called it the National Team curse (as both were assistants of Coach K). The bitchest move was done by Denver. After Nene signed a contract this year with them (when there were a lot of teams interested in him), they traded him, and to the Wizards of all teams. I think it's a good move for Wizards though. McGee may be really talented, but his stupidity would have meant losing Wall in the near future. Don't believe me? Lastly Matt, I'm really happy that Turner is performing this good. Starting was a real confidence boost for him.
I agree that the Thunder are the favorites, but I won't rule out Lakers just yet. It would be fun to watch how teams like Clippers & Blazers fair though. In East the picture is clearer, with two heavy dogs Heat and Bulls likely to come out, and Celtics being the only logical alternative. I'd like to say that I like the Bulls better though. They're more balanced than the Heat, and they adressed their biggest weakness (SG position) with Rip Hamilton. With the added experience they have pretty much everything that it takes to win (a superstar, team spirit, great D, hustling bigmen, youth and will). Great season is ahead. Never thought about your P-Jax to Knicks theory SS, but it makes ridiculously good sense. However I'm kind of on the opposite end here. I like D'Antoni, but I think the Knicks roster is all wrong for him. If NY wants to play Run&Gun, they needed to land a better PG (make it a much much better one). With Douglas running the point, and Melo creating plays they have no bright future whatsoever (even if they replace D'Antoni). Matt, I was lucky to catch Sixers vs Hornets the other night, and as I caught them, Jrue Holiday caught fire. I agree that with a lot of new rosters Philly is a lock to the playoffs this season as well. I'm not an OKC fan, and I want Westbrook out as well. I know it's not easy to get rid of such a talent, but he has proven that he'll simply never understand Durant is better than him. And they might get valuable pieces in return as well. I wonder what Magic would think for a Russell+Perkins for Howard offer? PS: I really like Curry, but he just twisted his ankle for the 7th time within a year. When you think that a couple of years ago OKC canceled the Tyson Chandler deal, this option doesn't seem that likely. Besides at the moment I'd say Russell's value is much more.
