NBA Basketball

[MWilke]

I have, love the Bulls, but their record is inflated by playing the worst division in the league. The same can be said for the Lakers to a degree.

The Bulls have the best winning percentage against teams north of .500. Miami and Boston had 40 games against teams above .500, the Bulls had 38. That's a pretty flimsy premise.

[barndog]

I was at Saturday's Bulls game - pretty great. The Bulls have been really great to watch the last couple of years - they took Miami to 6 games the year Miami won it all and Boston to 7 games the year they won. If Saturday's game is any indication, these playoffs are going to be fun. It's nice to see teams like NOH / Memphis / Oklahoma winning - definitely a bit of a changing of the guard going on now.

[AnthonyCinder]

Anybody out there a Nuggets fan? I don't usually get on the train of "the refs are ruining the NBA," but I think Denver has legitimate beef with the way that game ended on that non-call. Brutal.

[Matthew Taylor]

I have, love the Bulls, but their record is inflated by playing the worst division in the league. The same can be said for the Lakers to a degree.

The Bulls have the best winning percentage against teams north of .500. Miami and Boston had 40 games against teams above .500, the Bulls had 38. That's a pretty flimsy premise.

But they play less games against .500 teams than the Spurs or Mavs. By virtue that the Bulls play in the weakest division in the weakest conference, their record is inflated, doesn't mean they aren't a great team, they just had a pretty easy road to their record.

NBA scheduling:

1. 16 games against your division teams (every division has five teams; every team will play each team in their division twice at home, and twice on the road)

2. 30 games against teams in the other conference, once at home, once on the road.

3. Of the remaining 11 teams in a particular team's conference but not in that team's division, there are 36 games left. The team will play three games against eight of these remaining teams (one at home, two on the road and vice versa) and the team will play the remaining three teams four times (twice at home, twice on the road). The method for determining which teams play three or four times is rotated each season.

That said, Rose is playing out of his mind.

[Luzwei]

I think Portland has the best fans in NBA. I really hope they stretch Dallas to seven games. This is going to be a fantastic series. They match up each other really well.

[bigc]

I got free lower section tickets to go see Hawks v Magic tonight. Kinda looking forward to it. We seem to have a handle on them this year, and our home crowd has gotten pretty good the last couple of years.

[Bill Flaig]

Man. Great win by the C's tonight. Pierce with 38, Ray Allen with 32 (8 threes), and Rondo with a 15pts, 11rebs, and 20 asts. Just a solid game overall. And it was at MSG!

[Octopus Alaska]

Anybody out there a Nuggets fan? I don't usually get on the train of "the refs are ruining the NBA," but I think Denver has legitimate beef with the way that game ended on that non-call. Brutal.

Nugget's look like Criminals.

[AnthonyCinder]

Anybody out there a Nuggets fan? I don't usually get on the train of "the refs are ruining the NBA," but I think Denver has legitimate beef with the way that game ended on that non-call. Brutal.

Nugget's look like Criminals.

I mean, personally, I can't stand a number of players on their roster. JR Smith, Kenyon Martin, and the biggest fuck you goes to the Birdman.

But I like George Karl.

I just thought, whether I like them or not, the Nuggets got a bum fucking deal at the end of that game one in terms of officiating. I like several players on the Thunder, a team who I generally like a heck of a lot more than the Nuggets, but fair is fair, and that game was bullshit.

[Into the Void]

I think Derek Fisher is my least favorite basketball player ever. The sequence tonight where he clearly threw an elbow at Belinelli's face, immediately got a technical, and then proceeded to stare incredulously for thirty seconds and say "What? What? What did I do?" would be a prime example why. So sick of watching this whining shit and his fucking constant flopping.

[Luzwei]

Let's review it as of today.

Spurs in 5

Memphis in 6. I wish for such ending.

Blazers in 6

Dallas in 6 to my surprising. I thought about that like you, wishing for Portland to go through. Such a great crowd.

Nuggets in 7

Oklahoma in 5. Fucking impressive series and a great OKC team.

Lakers in 6

True dat!

Celtics in 6

In 4, and really impressive.

Bulls in 5

Very much true.

Magic in 5

I hoped for the same result, but Hawks in 6.

Heat in 7

The Heat are better than expected. That Philly team gave them a good fight, though.

[MWilke]

I have, love the Bulls, but their record is inflated by playing the worst division in the league. The same can be said for the Lakers to a degree.

The Bulls have the best winning percentage against teams north of .500. Miami and Boston had 40 games against teams above .500, the Bulls had 38. That's a pretty flimsy premise.

But they play less games against .500 teams than the Spurs or Mavs. By virtue that the Bulls play in the weakest division in the weakest conference, their record is inflated, doesn't mean they aren't a great team, they just had a pretty easy road to their record.

I didn't see you had responded till now.

You can't really compare schedules to teams in the West. I was mainly referring to your insistence that Orlando was going to beat the Bulls in the 2nd round. And using the Bulls' relatively weak schedule as a premise just wasn't in the numbers. If the Bulls had a weak schedule, everyone in the East had a weak schedule and the Bulls had the best record against winning teams.

[tmidgett]

That Spurs win the other night was insane-balls.

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

[placeholder]

That Spurs win the other night was insane-balls.

The Grizzlies are going to smash them in the face tonight.

Revenge!

[Luzwei]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

[tmidgett]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

They were baffled. Everyone expected Ginobli to get the ball back.

I mean, it's not an advanced calculation. Maybe the Grizzlies haven't been paying attention. Neal is a good shooter--him getting a semi-open look is better than Ginobli having to shoot while being double-teamed. But to actually write up the play that way, in that situation, is something else.

[AnthonyCinder]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

That was probably the most exciting single game of this year's playoffs so far, and I'm fairly indifferent to who wins that series. The Griz biffed it at the end of the 4th quarter there, but Pops is indeed a phenomenal coach.

[Luzwei]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

They were baffled. Everyone expected Ginobli to get the ball back.

I mean, it's not an advanced calculation. Maybe the Grizzlies haven't been paying attention. Neal is a good shooter--him getting a semi-open look is better than Ginobli having to shoot while being double-teamed. But to actually write up the play that way, in that situation, is something else.

I agree. That game was one one pure coaching skill and great shot.

[Luzwei]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

That was probably the most exciting single game of this year's playoffs so far, and I'm fairly indifferent to who wins that series.

Wait a minute. What about one Brandon Roy historic second half against Dallas? Down 23 early third???

[barndog]

Gary Neal. WTF. Is Popovich in the Hall of Fame yet? Dude is brilliant.

That guy was playing in Spain last year.

But, you gotta foul in that inbound. You just got to foul the guy catching the ball. I just hope this isn't a start of a downfall for the Grizzlies.

That was probably the most exciting single game of this year's playoffs so far, and I'm fairly indifferent to who wins that series.

Wait a minute. What about one Brandon Roy historic second half against Dallas? Down 23 early third???

Hang on - what about my Chicago Bulls going on a 16-1 run in the final 3:38 of game 1???