The Official NBA Thread 2011-12

[Killuminatii 71]

Shouts to art... wherever the fuck he's hiding.
Can't stand to watch the Lakers win it all, 'cause of
his hatred towards them.



Game 2 until sunday? goddamn... they should just have done a 1 day break so the action can keep going. Ugh, fire stern.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

He's probably out buying up all the Lakers merchandise he can find.. hehe

Here he is:

 

[Snowman]

Shouts to art... wherever the fuck he's hiding.
Can't stand to watch the Lakers win it all, 'cause of
his hatred towards them.



Game 2 until sunday? goddamn... they should just have done a 1 day break so the action can keep going. Ugh, fire stern.

Orlando and LA wouldnt mind playing on saturday, But you gotta remember sunday ABC los angeles is a big market plus majority of america is at home off work. my beef with that is weekend games should be on at 3:30 instead of 9. a lot of people (including myself) cant stay up and watch the whole game cause they gotta work 1st shift on monday. they should have it were they can draw the biggest ratings audience.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

^that makes sense.

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Orlando and LA wouldnt mind playing on saturday, But you gotta remember sunday ABC los angeles is a big market plus majority of america is at home off work. my beef with that is weekend games should be on at 3:30 instead of 9. a lot of people (including myself) cant stay up and watch the whole game cause they gotta work 1st shift on monday. they should have it were they can draw the biggest ratings audience.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeaaaaa. I never thought of it that way. There's gonna be mass ratings that day. 9pm ET is usually around the time when all of America is settled down from their religious rituals and shit. Everyone's at home lookin for something good to watch.

 

[S O F I]

the game is i think at 8pm ET so 5PM here

 

[ArtsyGirl]

9.30 in the morning here Monday.. Which is a public holiday

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Mayor of Orlando wants to bet Mayor of LA. ahahaha, funny shit.

Dear Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

Orlando and Los Angeles have many similar traits, from our beautiful weather to our theme parks including Disney and Universal Studios and even Shaquille O’Neal. And we both have Conference Championship teams aiming to be the NBA Champions. It is true, the Lakers have made this trip many times before. But, this year, the Magic have defeated legend after legend, including beating the Lakers twice during the regular season. Being in Hollywood you might be familiar with the Superman storyline. The Lakers, much like Lex Luthor, having been wreaking havoc on Western Conference teams on your quest for world domination. But, the Magic have a real life Superman in Dwight Howard. As you know, Dwight Howard has proven he is faster than the 76ers, more powerful than the Celtics and able to leap Cavaliers in a single bound. And, you know the story always ends with Superman defeating Lex Luthor. It is not a secret we haven’t done many of these wagers here in Orlando. Since you have more experience we will keep with your tradition of not wagering on food or humiliating booster outfits. I propose the following deal:The crown jewel of our City, Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando, is one of four places in the world that houses every species of swan. If the Lakers somehow win, we will name one of swans after you. Additionally, Amway Arena is the home of the Magic and if the Lakers win, we will give you a year’s supply of Amway cleaning products, to help clean up after what is sure to be an intense battle. Since the City of Orlando is facing a challenging budget year, we could use some office supplies. So when the Magic win, we would like a year’s supply of Staples products from the home of the Lakers – the Staples Center.Since Denver wasn’t able to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, we would also like a star of our own. And for fun, Florida is already known for our retirees, so we don’t need Jack Nicholson. Instead we would like Dyan Cannon courtside as we raise the NBA Championship Banner. I look forward to your response and a great finals series.Good luck and Go Magic!

Buddy Dyer
Mayor

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sp...yor-dyer-makes-bet-in-letter-to-la-mayor.html

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Here's a few more news/stories:

Game 1 between the Magic and Lakers drew an 8.9 overnight rating on ABC Thursday night, down 14% from a 10.4 for Lakers/Celtics Game 1 in '08.

lol, Kobe vs Lebron would have broken record ratings. Stupid stern.

According to reports out of Greece, the Spurs have offered Bouroussis a 3 year contract worth between 10.5 and 12 million. We’ve not received confirmation from anyone within the Spurs organization, so proceed with caution.

Good news for Yak.

Chris Bosh has put the Raptors in a tough situation...By saying yesterday "(When) I signed a three-year (extension in July of 2006)... I had a goal in mind, and that was to put myself in the best position (in 2010) ... " Bosh basically guaranteed that he will not be signing an extension with the Raptors this off-season and instead, will let things play out and will opt out of his contract next summer. At that time, Bosh can either re-sign with the Raptors, who can pay him about $30 million more over the life of a deal than any other team, thanks to the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, or he can take less to play beside a top 5 player like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade.

Leave toronto... go to NY with Lebron.

10 worst players who were once labeled as "The Next Larry Bird."

1. Adam Morrison: A 6′8″ white guy with floppy hair and a prebubescent mustache is bound to draw comparisons to Bird.

2. Andrew Gaze: The greatest Australian baller this side of Luc Longley was cut by the Sonics in favor of the legendary Scott Meents in 1990, and went on to play 26 games in the NBA with the Bullets and Spurs, scoring 46 points — total (1.7 per game).

3. Eric Montross: Prior to the 1994 Draft, Boston general manager M.L. Carr said the 7′0″ stiff was “cut from the same cloth” as Larry Legend.

4. Danny Ferry: You know it’s a sad day when Danny Ferry comes in fourth on a “worst” list. After refusing to play for the Clippers, Ferry signed an absurd 10-year, $37 million contract with the Cavs, and averaged seven points and three rebounds per game in 13 seasons.

5. Austin Croshere: Croshere averaged career highs of 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in 1999/00 while playing under Bird in Indiana.

6. Wally Szczerbiak: Once described as having a “Larry Bird game” along with “a Tom Cruise smile” (I feel a little dirty just writing that), Szczerbiak made one undeserved All-Star appearance in 2002.

7. Troy Murphy: Murphy might’ve ranked higher had it not been for his career season in 2008/09, when he averaged 14.3 points (45% from beyond the arc), 11.2 rebounds (second in the NBA), and 2.4 assists.

8. Keith Van Horn: The second overall pick in 1997 had his best years with the Nets, even appearing on the cover of NBA Jam ‘99, before playing for four teams in his final four years in the league.

9. Mike Dunleavy Jr. / Mike Miller: After putting up 5.7 points per game as a rookie, Dunleavy shed the bust label by registering a career best 19.1 points in 2007/08.

10. Christian Laettner: Laettner never emerged into the superstar many expected, putting up 13.3 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game for six teams.

www.lowposts.com » The Great White Hype

On opening night of the NBA Finals, Shaq posted a goofy photo on Twitter of what a Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy child would look like. After five years of this, Howard still doesn’t get the reason that Shaq revels in ripping him.

This is what van gundy and dwight howards baby would look like:

 

[ArtsyGirl]

haha.. So Lakers get a Swan named after them and some cleaning products? Wow thats exciting! LOL

 

[yak pac fatal]

david stern screwed up the finals but i remember him clearly saying if it isnt lakers vs cavs final that this year wont be a fail. so stern those magic would still bring in the ratings

 

[ArtsyGirl]

lol, Kobe vs Lebron would have broken record ratings. Stupid stern.

How is it stupid Stern?

 

[Killuminatii 71]

How is it stupid Stern?

He's pulled strings in the past... but didn't want to make it so obvious this year.

 

[yak pac fatal]

an article about shaq. kinda shits on him thou lol. i think they make valid points about him.

LOS ANGELES – The greatness of Shaquille O’Neal(notes) demands that his name, his legacy, never drifts far from an NBA Finals. Even when he’s long out of the league, that’ll still be true. For the immortals, the lifetime benefits include the exhaustive examination of the next generation’s stars to your standards.

How does Tom Brady measure to Joe Montana?

Kobe Bryant(notes) to Michael Jordan?

And, yes, Dwight Howard(notes) to Shaq.

Mostly, here’s how a burgeoning talent is born: A gifted young star emulates his idol and eventually becomes his peer.

So why does Shaq get such glee out of belittling and ridiculing those centers who came before and after him?

“Sometimes I wonder about his maturity,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. “He doesn’t need to do that. He’s achieved so much.

“I don’t know why he stoops to that.”

Abdul-Jabbar doesn’t need Shaq’s approval, but Howard is 23 years old and Shaq owes it to the league, to common decency, to be civil with this kid. His treatment of Howard has been kind of sad, especially considering that Howard grew up wanting to be him.

Howard marveled at Shaq’s strength and roared at his comedy and tried to emulate him in every way. They were drafted into the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick to the Orlando Magic and turned losers into NBA finalists. Howard always seemed to crave Shaq’s counsel, his respect, but Howard long has been the target of humiliating insults.

In the past year alone, Shaq called Howard an “impostor” and insisted that, “Everything he’s done, I’ve invented,” and on and on. On opening night of the NBA Finals, Shaq posted a goofy photo on Twitter of what a Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy child would look like. After five years of this, Howard still doesn’t get the reason that Shaq revels in ripping him.

“I can’t tell you why he’s said a lot of discouraging things,” Howard said Friday at the Staples Center. “I wish he wouldn’t say it because he’s one of the few guys that we all look up to.”

For most, O’Neal’s motives are transparent. Somehow, Shaq thinks it diminishes his own legacy if Howard achieves something significant sooner than he did.

“That’s why Shaq wants [Howard] to get swept in the Finals,” a league source close with Howard and O’Neal said Friday. “He doesn’t want Dwight to win a game because he didn’t win a game in the Finals when he got there at a young age with Orlando.”

It’s funny, but Jordan never takes offense that Bryant and LeBron James(notes) and Dwyane Wade(notes) emulate him. To Michael, it was an honor. He embraces it. He always believed that was his responsibility to pass wisdom and encouragement to the next generation’s icons. Julius Erving did it for him. And Michael does it for them.

Nevertheless, Shaq mostly has been about, well, Shaq. Now, at 37, Shaq still has a chance to get back to a contender, to get back into the championship chase. He was surprisingly spry for the Phoenix Suns this season, and with his expiring contract of $20 million next season, he will be an intriguing possibility on the summer trade market. Many league executives believe that Cleveland will revisit its trade deadline discussions with Phoenix and consider making a deal for Shaq this summer. Cavs general manger Danny Ferry knows his team needs a bigger, stronger force to guard Howard, especially in the final season before LeBron James’ free agency in 2010.

Where does Shaq want to go? Multiple league sources, including with the Lakers, believe Shaq wants a return engagement with the Lakers. They think that’s why he has spent this season trying to repair the damage done to his relationship with Bryant. He tried to buddy up on All-Star weekend when they were co-MVPs, but give Bryant credit: He refused to engage with Shaq on a revisionist make-believe about how it never was so toxic between them.

There’s little chance the Lakers would make a move for Shaq, and no chance Bryant would accept a return to that hell. Shaq’s rap last year about Kobe ended any chance at reconciliation. Bryant is three games away from winning his first title without Shaq, and all he’ll want to do next season is win another – without him.

Lost in that rap was the line, “That’s like Kareem saying to himself that he’s better than me.” Well, remember this: Abdul-Jabbar averaged 22 points and eight rebounds on a Laker championship team when he was 37 years old. When I asked him how that lyric made him feel, Abdul-Jabbar said, “The gratuitous insult? I considered the source and I slept very well that night.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar doesn’t need Shaq’s approval, nor his validation. Yet all Dwight Howard ever wanted was to be the next Shaquille O’Neal, and when did that become a crime for a young basketball player? Michael Jordan always had been secure enough in his legacy, his greatness, to embrace Kobe and LeBron.

So, yes, you have to wonder: Will Shaq ever be?

 

[yak pac fatal]

O.C. Register: Andrew Bynum has talked about working out with Dwight Howard before, and now Howard is suggesting it will happen. The two young centers both go to Atlanta, Howard’s hometown and where Bynum’s trainer is headquartered, during the offseason, so it’s logical.

Bynum is also good friends with Howard’s high-school teammate, former Laker Javaris Crittenton. Even though Crittenton was traded by the Lakers in the Pau Gasol deal last season, Crittenton showed up during the Lakers’ playoff run at one of the games.

“We’ve already talked yesterday (during Game 1) about working out together during the summer,” Howard said. “He wants to get a little bit more toned up, and I’ve got some workout regimens for him.”

Howard said he noticed Bynum shooting that nice jumper early this season and asked himself: “Is that really Andrew?”

Although Howard referred to himself and Bynum as “dinosaurs” given how few traditional big men exist in today’s game, Bynum said: “I see us as kind of the rebirth at that position. It gets people to the Finals.”

lmao this aint type of shit u should hearing during the finals. u wouldve never heard this during the jordan era especially will the finals r in progress.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

He's pulled strings in the past... but didn't want to make it so obvious this year.

Isn't it a good thing though..?

 

[Killuminatii 71]

Isn't it a good thing though..?

I guess, because he doesn't want to make it so obvious. But the NBA can use the ratings and the big business... especially in a city like LA.

With the 2 best players in the NBA playing in the finals... that's like a dream come true for Stern 'cause of the money, attention, and ratings the NBA would rack in.

 

[yak pac fatal]

I guess, because he doesn't want to make it so obvious. But the NBA can use the ratings and the big business... especially in a city like LA.

With the 2 best players in the NBA playing in the finals... that's like a dream come true for Stern 'cause of the money, attention, and ratings the NBA would rack in.

yup i remember readin the spurs/pistons final was one of the lowest or the lowest viewed finals ever. those 2 teams arent big market teams like LA/NY/Chi. imo that series was the best of the decade so far.

 

[S O F I]

Any concrete evidence of Stern fixing games?

 

[Snowman]

Any concrete evidence of Stern fixing games?

the truth of it wont ever come out, of course stern informs the ref's to fix these games, why did the NBA all of a sudden go from a best of 5 in the 1st round to a best of 7. and since then teams took advantage of it and went all 7 games. Going 7 means more money divided up to the teams and the NBA offices.