2012 NBA Playoffs

[BlackAsCoal]

I've always believe the Paul / Kobe pairing would have been a disaster.

In truth, Shaq and Kobe were about on equal footing .. but Kobe couldn't have that. Laker management saw Kobe has having more value so they dumped Shaq. It will always be his team as long as he's on the floor.

There were many players who though the same thing about Jordan. Couldn't help but admire his talent ..but they didn't want to play with him. Even Pippen has said some curious things about Jordan.

Such is the curious thing about greatness.

This is a very unusual place for Kobe than, he's at a stage where he needs to find all stars to be subservient to him, or else they can't play for the Lakers, this really makes sense why Kobe loves Pau so much, Pau Gasol is not assertive and has NO problem being the #2, somone like Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard coming to LA, not so much, neither of them would be his Lieutenant.

Remember Kobe even admitted emulating Jordan? So much that he even tried to repeat Jordan's amazing playoff game where he was sick and still won. And Kobe did a pretty good job last night. Scored around 30 points? But Gasol didn't pull his weight. And Bynum only did good rebounding. Not so much scoring. They are missing Artest.

I have a conspiracy theory. The Lakers have no worries they will win game 7. So they are throwing these games. Why? To use up some of Artests 7 game suspension. They are going to need him in the next round against Oklahoma. This is calculated. Watch and see. Game 7 is in LA, right?

And I hope I am wrong. I hope this is just the Lakers falling apart.

The Lakers may win game 7, but I doubt if their losing was calculated. It isn't the WWE and winning isn't that easy.

Kobe: Meta World Peace is the one guy I can count on.

Gasol: I'm glad he has one guy he can count on.

That doesn't help them going into the next round.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

:0) So very true.

But the trend in the NBA will still continue towards players choosing the teams and players they want to play with .. and we can thank Pierce, Allen, and Garnett for that.

What KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce did banding together and winning a title straight out of the gates actually set the bar kind of high, even Lebron, Bosh and Wade could not do it.

While most fans applauded the Celtics pairing and them winning a title .. I sense that most don't applaud the Miami pairing .. possibly because of the way LeBron did it.

I like the New York pairing of Carmelo, Amare, and Tyson .. but if Howard, Dirk, and Williams get together in Dallas, they could be formidable for several years.

OKC has homegrown stars, but if they add a strong forward like Josh Smith to that mix, they could be very tough to beat .. which is good for the smaller market teams.

People don't like Wade - He's a whiny flopper and a dirty player (breaking Rondo's arm; taking no responsibility).
People don't like James - B/C he has not guts and work ethic and he's the epitome of narcissism.
People don't like Bosh - He's soft and he wasn't even getting his Raptors into the playoffs. I don't think people want to hear about Soft Bosh being part of a "Big Three." But it's not all Bosh's fault. Of the three, he's easily the most likeable.

Yea, I read a New York Post article that called Amare, Tyson and Melo; New York's Big Three and I just laughed. I was squeamish when they called KG, Allen and Pierce the Big Three. I thought it was a bit disrespectful of the original BIG THREE, Bird, McHale and Parish (The greatest front line ever).

But I laughed b/c if I was NY, I couldn't ship out Amare and Carmelo fast enough. Chandler is their anchor on defense and then Lin is their motor on offense. NY management needs to stop pandering for ticket sales and jersey sales and just put a winner on the court and start the process of building a dynasty.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I guess the Hawks can find solace in knowing that passing on Chris Paul is only less worse than Portand passing on Michael Jordan for Sam Bowie and Detroit passing on Carmelo Anthony for Darko "Who" Milosevic :0)

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss. Other than we could have maybe traded him for someone else good because I don't think Carmelo is a winner. He might score but he doesn't play D or team basketball.

But certainly a mistake going with Darko. And letting Memo Okur go to Utah. Shoulda kept him.

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss?

Are you serious? It's rated as one of the worst draft picks in sports history .. not just NBA history. Joe Dumars should have been chased out of the front office with a team of snarling sled dogs for making that pick.

Anthony is playing MVP level basketball in New York. His play has overshadowed Stodamire and there is no question that it's now his team. Not only has his scoring won more than a few games .. so has his defense. Denver was not the right system to exploit his talents. He's the best pure scorer in the league, although Kobe is the best closer.

I agree with you on Okur .. who reminded me of one of my all-time favorite players, Bill Laimbeer. :0)

I used to think that the Pistons really could have had something had they drafted Melo instead of Darko. But now I realize that it just doesn't work like that. The sum of the parts is not the sum of the team. Melo wouldn't have played the great defense those Pistons were known for and he would have been a primadona on offense. He wouldn't be tenaciously setting screens for Rip to come off of like the other guys. An invaluable cog like Tayshaun Prince would have got lost in the fold.

 

[Article 15]

People don't like Wade - He's a whiny flopper and a dirty player (breaking Rondo's arm; taking no responsibility).

If Rondo had pulled that Cobra Kai move on Wade with the same result he would have been suspended for 10 games.

KG gets called the "dirtiest player in the league".

I've never seen KG do anything like that to a player.

 

[BlackAsCoal]

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss. Other than we could have maybe traded him for someone else good because I don't think Carmelo is a winner. He might score but he doesn't play D or team basketball.

But certainly a mistake going with Darko. And letting Memo Okur go to Utah. Shoulda kept him.

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss?

Are you serious? It's rated as one of the worst draft picks in sports history .. not just NBA history. Joe Dumars should have been chased out of the front office with a team of snarling sled dogs for making that pick.

Anthony is playing MVP level basketball in New York. His play has overshadowed Stodamire and there is no question that it's now his team. Not only has his scoring won more than a few games .. so has his defense. Denver was not the right system to exploit his talents. He's the best pure scorer in the league, although Kobe is the best closer.

I agree with you on Okur .. who reminded me of one of my all-time favorite players, Bill Laimbeer. :0)

I used to think that the Pistons really could have had something had they drafted Melo instead of Darko. But now I realize that it just doesn't work like that. The sum of the parts is not the sum of the team. Melo wouldn't have played the great defense those Pistons were known for and he would have been a primadona on offense. He wouldn't be tenaciously setting screens for Rip to come off of like the other guys. An invaluable cog like Tayshaun Prince would have got lost in the fold.

:0)

Of course Carmelo would have made Detroit better. Only some "fans" think he wouldn't .. people who actually know basketball know better. Eevn Pistion players longed for him.

Carmelo is playing good defense and there is no better scorer in the league. Knick fans love him.

Lin has to play better defense and stop turning the ball over so much.

Add a few pieces to the Knick mix and they'll be a 50 + winning team.

 

[BlackAsCoal]

What KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce did banding together and winning a title straight out of the gates actually set the bar kind of high, even Lebron, Bosh and Wade could not do it.

While most fans applauded the Celtics pairing and them winning a title .. I sense that most don't applaud the Miami pairing .. possibly because of the way LeBron did it.

I like the New York pairing of Carmelo, Amare, and Tyson .. but if Howard, Dirk, and Williams get together in Dallas, they could be formidable for several years.

OKC has homegrown stars, but if they add a strong forward like Josh Smith to that mix, they could be very tough to beat .. which is good for the smaller market teams.

People don't like Wade - He's a whiny flopper and a dirty player (breaking Rondo's arm; taking no responsibility).
People don't like James - B/C he has not guts and work ethic and he's the epitome of narcissism.
People don't like Bosh - He's soft and he wasn't even getting his Raptors into the playoffs. I don't think people want to hear about Soft Bosh being part of a "Big Three." But it's not all Bosh's fault. Of the three, he's easily the most likeable.

Yea, I read a New York Post article that called Amare, Tyson and Melo; New York's Big Three and I just laughed. I was squeamish when they called KG, Allen and Pierce the Big Three. I thought it was a bit disrespectful of the original BIG THREE, Bird, McHale and Parish (The greatest front line ever).

But I laughed b/c if I was NY, I couldn't ship out Amare and Carmelo fast enough. Chandler is their anchor on defense and then Lin is their motor on offense. NY management needs to stop pandering for ticket sales and jersey sales and just put a winner on the court and start the process of building a dynasty.

SOME people don't like Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Many others do.

KG, Allen, and Pierce won a title.

Bird, McHale and Parish were not the only Big Three .. nor were they the first.

Without ticket sales they can't pay salaries that bring the best to the Garden.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss?

Are you serious? It's rated as one of the worst draft picks in sports history .. not just NBA history. Joe Dumars should have been chased out of the front office with a team of snarling sled dogs for making that pick.

Anthony is playing MVP level basketball in New York. His play has overshadowed Stodamire and there is no question that it's now his team. Not only has his scoring won more than a few games .. so has his defense. Denver was not the right system to exploit his talents. He's the best pure scorer in the league, although Kobe is the best closer.

I agree with you on Okur .. who reminded me of one of my all-time favorite players, Bill Laimbeer. :0)

I used to think that the Pistons really could have had something had they drafted Melo instead of Darko. But now I realize that it just doesn't work like that. The sum of the parts is not the sum of the team. Melo wouldn't have played the great defense those Pistons were known for and he would have been a primadona on offense. He wouldn't be tenaciously setting screens for Rip to come off of like the other guys. An invaluable cog like Tayshaun Prince would have got lost in the fold.

:0)

Of course Carmelo would have made Detroit better. Only some "fans" think he wouldn't .. people who actually know basketball know better. Eevn Pistion players longed for him.

Carmelo is playing good defense and there is no better scorer in the league. Knick fans love him.

Lin has to play better defense and stop turning the ball over so much.

Add a few pieces to the Knick mix and they'll be a 50 + winning team.

Is that why the Celtics swept him in the first round last year and why he celebrated like crazy when the Heat didn't sweep him this year?

Melo is not a good defender and he isn't the best scorer in the league. Further, his team's scoring/winning/defense improves when he doesn't play. You're just a prototypical NBA "baller" fan that buys hype instead of looks at reality.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

While most fans applauded the Celtics pairing and them winning a title .. I sense that most don't applaud the Miami pairing .. possibly because of the way LeBron did it.

I like the New York pairing of Carmelo, Amare, and Tyson .. but if Howard, Dirk, and Williams get together in Dallas, they could be formidable for several years.

OKC has homegrown stars, but if they add a strong forward like Josh Smith to that mix, they could be very tough to beat .. which is good for the smaller market teams.

People don't like Wade - He's a whiny flopper and a dirty player (breaking Rondo's arm; taking no responsibility).
People don't like James - B/C he has not guts and work ethic and he's the epitome of narcissism.
People don't like Bosh - He's soft and he wasn't even getting his Raptors into the playoffs. I don't think people want to hear about Soft Bosh being part of a "Big Three." But it's not all Bosh's fault. Of the three, he's easily the most likeable.

Yea, I read a New York Post article that called Amare, Tyson and Melo; New York's Big Three and I just laughed. I was squeamish when they called KG, Allen and Pierce the Big Three. I thought it was a bit disrespectful of the original BIG THREE, Bird, McHale and Parish (The greatest front line ever).

But I laughed b/c if I was NY, I couldn't ship out Amare and Carmelo fast enough. Chandler is their anchor on defense and then Lin is their motor on offense. NY management needs to stop pandering for ticket sales and jersey sales and just put a winner on the court and start the process of building a dynasty.

SOME people don't like Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Many others do.

KG, Allen, and Pierce won a title.

Bird, McHale and Parish were not the only Big Three .. nor were they the first.

Without ticket sales they can't pay salaries that bring the best to the Garden.

Relative to Bird, McHale and Parish there is no other Big Three; at least as a front line. Magic, Kareem, Worthy were kinda like the Lakers Big Three.

 

[Billo_Really]

Relative to Bird, McHale and Parish there is no other Big Three; at least as a front line. Magic, Kareem, Worthy were kinda like the Lakers Big Three.

Elgin Baylor went into Boston Garden against Bill Russell in a playoff game and scored 63 points.

That's not just a high score, that's making a statement!

 

[Billo_Really]

Relative to Bird, McHale and Parish there is no other Big Three; at least as a front line. Magic, Kareem, Worthy were kinda like the Lakers Big Three.

Do I need to remind you, the Lakers big 3, beat Boston's big 3, 2 out of 3 times.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Relative to Bird, McHale and Parish there is no other Big Three; at least as a front line. Magic, Kareem, Worthy were kinda like the Lakers Big Three.

Do I need to remind you, the Lakers big 3, beat Boston's big 3, 2 out of 3 times.

Do I need to remind you that Bird was playing with a bad elbow in the first one and that in the second one McHale and Parish were playing on broken ankles and Len Bias had died. I really don't care about your simple minded Laker jocking.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I'm glad the C's pulled out Game 1. Two of the next three games were in Philly and they blew us out twice in the regular season there. Now we just need to keep the home court advantage and win Game 2.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I was disappointed with the Nuggets execution in the fourth quarter. They took some horrid shots. The Lakers won't have that luxury against Durant, Westbrook and Harden. Thunder in 5.

 

[sealybobo]

Relative to Bird, McHale and Parish there is no other Big Three; at least as a front line. Magic, Kareem, Worthy were kinda like the Lakers Big Three.

Do I need to remind you, the Lakers big 3, beat Boston's big 3, 2 out of 3 times.

Do I need to remind you that Bird was playing with a bad elbow in the first one and that in the second one McHale and Parish were playing on broken ankles and Len Bias had died. I really don't care about your simple minded Laker jocking.

No excuses. Us Pistons didn't care that Magic was injured when we won in 1989. No astricks on that championship.

 

[sealybobo]

I guess the Hawks can find solace in knowing that passing on Chris Paul is only less worse than Portand passing on Michael Jordan for Sam Bowie and Detroit passing on Carmelo Anthony for Darko "Who" Milosevic :0)

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss. Other than we could have maybe traded him for someone else good because I don't think Carmelo is a winner. He might score but he doesn't play D or team basketball.

But certainly a mistake going with Darko. And letting Memo Okur go to Utah. Shoulda kept him.

Carmelo wasn't that much of a loss?

Are you serious? It's rated as one of the worst draft picks in sports history .. not just NBA history. Joe Dumars should have been chased out of the front office with a team of snarling sled dogs for making that pick.

Anthony is playing MVP level basketball in New York. His play has overshadowed Stodamire and there is no question that it's now his team. Not only has his scoring won more than a few games .. so has his defense. Denver was not the right system to exploit his talents. He's the best pure scorer in the league, although Kobe is the best closer.

I agree with you on Okur .. who reminded me of one of my all-time favorite players, Bill Laimbeer. :0)

I know Melo is a great offensive player and it was probably a mistake. Joe got a pass because he won a championship. We made 6 or 8 straight Eastern Conference Finals. If we weren't enjoying that run and if we didn't win a Championship, Detroiters would be a lot more mad about Joe passing on Carmelo. But really its just an afterthought around here. And it will continue to be until Melo wins a championship, which I think will be never. I just don't see him winning it all. Like Reggie Miller or Iverson.

Do you know when it will go down as the biggest mistake in history? When Melo wins a championship. Until then its at least second to the team that passed on Jordan in the draft.

 

[sealybobo]

While most fans applauded the Celtics pairing and them winning a title .. I sense that most don't applaud the Miami pairing .. possibly because of the way LeBron did it.

I like the New York pairing of Carmelo, Amare, and Tyson .. but if Howard, Dirk, and Williams get together in Dallas, they could be formidable for several years.

OKC has homegrown stars, but if they add a strong forward like Josh Smith to that mix, they could be very tough to beat .. which is good for the smaller market teams.

People don't like Wade - He's a whiny flopper and a dirty player (breaking Rondo's arm; taking no responsibility).
People don't like James - B/C he has not guts and work ethic and he's the epitome of narcissism.
People don't like Bosh - He's soft and he wasn't even getting his Raptors into the playoffs. I don't think people want to hear about Soft Bosh being part of a "Big Three." But it's not all Bosh's fault. Of the three, he's easily the most likeable.

Yea, I read a New York Post article that called Amare, Tyson and Melo; New York's Big Three and I just laughed. I was squeamish when they called KG, Allen and Pierce the Big Three. I thought it was a bit disrespectful of the original BIG THREE, Bird, McHale and Parish (The greatest front line ever).

But I laughed b/c if I was NY, I couldn't ship out Amare and Carmelo fast enough. Chandler is their anchor on defense and then Lin is their motor on offense. NY management needs to stop pandering for ticket sales and jersey sales and just put a winner on the court and start the process of building a dynasty.

SOME people don't like Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Many others do.

KG, Allen, and Pierce won a title.

Bird, McHale and Parish were not the only Big Three .. nor were they the first.

Without ticket sales they can't pay salaries that bring the best to the Garden.

I googled it and the Bird Celtics are the original "big 3" You are correct. Didn't know that.

The trio of players of the Boston Celtics during the 1980s, consisting of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish
The trio of players of the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s, consisting of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman
The trio of players of the San Antonio Spurs NBA Franchise, consisting of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginóbili, and Tony Parker
The trio of players of the Boston Celtics NBA Franchise, consisting of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen
The trio of players of the Miami Heat NBA Franchise, consisting of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh

 

[sealybobo]

This is what us Detroiters call the Big 10

Mark Aguirre
Adrian Dantley
Joe Dumars
James Edwards
Vinnie Johnson
Bill Laimbeer
Rick Mahorn
Dennis Rodman
John Salley
Isiah Thomas

And to think we had trouble with Magic, Bird and Jordan??? That is how great those three were.

Although we did sweep the Lakers in the finals. And in 1990 we beat Portland 4 games to 1 in the finals, even though we gave up Rick Mahorn.

 

[sealybobo]

In 1990 the Pistons beat Jordan and the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. It went 7 games. If it weren't for Detroit, Jordan would have 7 rings at least.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

This is what us Detroiters call the Big 10

Mark Aguirre
Adrian Dantley
Joe Dumars
James Edwards
Vinnie Johnson
Bill Laimbeer
Rick Mahorn
Dennis Rodman
John Salley
Isiah Thomas

And to think we had trouble with Magic, Bird and Jordan??? That is how great those three were.

Although we did sweep the Lakers in the finals. And in 1990 we beat Portland 4 games to 1 in the finals, even though we gave up Rick Mahorn.

Exactly. When jockers bring up Magic's championships vs. Bird's championships; I have to remind them that he had to go through the Pistons and the early 80's Sixers that frankly had their own Big Ten. They were that good.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

In 1990 the Pistons beat Jordan and the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. It went 7 games. If it weren't for Detroit, Jordan would have 7 rings at least.

If it weren't for Len Bias dying and Bird's back degenerating, Bird/Bias would have had a hella a lot of rings and Jordan would have been an after thought. The Bad Boys never would have even gotten a ring either.