2004-05 NBA thread

[Footer Phooter]

Don't forget - they can get the 3rd seed by winning their division. It won't happen, but not as tall an order.

You're right. I hadn't thought of that. Although, they'd still have to get by Philly (5 games difference) and Boston (more than 5 games).

Basically, they'd have to get really hot. Don't see it happening.

[Metros Striker10]

You're right. I hadn't thought of that. Although, they'd still have to get by Philly (5 games difference) and Boston (more than 5 games).

Basically, they'd have to get really hot. Don't see it happening.

They're behind Boston by 5 games.

[Metros Striker10]

Basically, they'd have to get really hot. Don't see it happening.

They just beat Indiana by 11 points. They were even up by 16 at one point. Basically..they are FINALLY playing defense. There's another thing positive that I picked out of that Philly game. It started there...and continued tonight. Hopefully they carry it on.

Oh yeah, look how the Knicks are done because of CWebb. They were up by 10 twice and still managed to lose in the final seconds...with CWebb missing a lay-up.

[BorrachoNJ]

knicks suck. up 11 with a minute-and-a-half left.
it's tied right now after that kobe 3 but what a fucqing shame.



we're going into OT!

[Metros Striker10]

knicks suck. up 11 with a minute-and-a-half left.
it's tied right now after that kobe 3 but what a fucqing shame.



we're going into OT!

Hey, we got the win! That's all that matters right now! Man, 18 point lead over the Lakers at one point. Timmy Thomas is finally playing well. Ironically his play has improved after the deadline...and he was obviously one of the players NY wanted(s) out. Kobe was shut down in that last play. Luke Walton couldn't have made that shot, so I really don't know why he was crying about. He made that three...he should have taken that shot. Only 3 games behind Philly. We can do it!

Seriously, is there a rule for the media that states that if a team with a bad record defeats a team with a good record, they have to state that win was solely on luck and not the fact that the "worse" team is playing the way they should? I turn on ESPNEWS right after the game to see the highlights, and the guy is complaining that Walton should have taken that shot because Rose can't jump. What? I'm sure that if Rose was on the Spurs, those guys would never ever say something like that. Nazr on the Knicks was good for a month, and now this guy is supposed to give the Spurs the extra boost they need to win it all? Have they actually seeen him play? They call him a shot blocker...the guy is only good for unchalleneged rebounds and tip ins. That's it, but now he's a shotblocker. Why all the hype for him now? Geez. Can NY ever been seen through the media as a good team? Not even the Yankees get credit anymore.

[dark knight]

Bringing over from a different thread:

Stacey King ... Brad Sellers ... Ralph Sampson ... Patrick Ewing ... John Starks ... Latrell Sprewell ... Bernard King.

Just a bit of word association. Would take a real basketball freak to find the logical connection between each link in the chain.


the last 4 are all Knicks, but I assume you are thinking of something more obscure. I think Sellers and Stacey were Bulls scrubs at the same time. No idea about the sellers to Sampson to Ewing connection...

[JohnR]

the last 4 are all Knicks, but I assume you are thinking of something more obscure.

This isn't really a fair test because I'm asking you to read my mind -

1) Stacey King - Wasted Bulls first round pick ... thus
2) Brad Sellers - Even more wasted Bulls first rounder ...
3) Ralph Sampson - Another skinny 7' player who thought he was a guard ...
4) Patrick Ewing - The big college rivals, of course ...
5) John Starks - Patrick's partner on the mid 1990s Knicks ...
6) Latrell Sprewell - Another damn Knicks hothead guard ...
7) Bernard King - Another guys who played on Knicks & Warriors

A stream of consciousness thing.

[superdave]

Sampson was a great, if someone heart-lacking, player till he killed his knees. It's really unfair to lump him in with some of those other guys. He was good enough to be as good as Olajuwon when the Rockets made the finals in '86.

I always wondered why Uva not only never won an NCAA championship (those are tough to win) but never won an ACC tournament, and only made the Final Four when Ralph wasn't the team leader (Jeff Lamp was.) And why Uva made the Final Four the year after Ralph left (it was pretty flukey, but they made it.)

Later it came out from Uva people that he just didn't have that Michael Jordan-James Worthy winner's mentality. He was sort of a Sam Perkins type. That's fine if you're Sam and you have James or Michael as the team leader/best player. But if you're Sam AND you're the best player...well, you don't win any tournaments.

[afgrijselijkheid]

i get to watch my SUNS twice in march, including the game against the heat on the 25th! i also found out that canal+ will carry every game of the last two rounds of the playoffs

[dark knight]

All I remember about Sampson is that crazy last second shot he made in the playoffs - can't even remember the details - game 6 vs. Philadelphia? Lakers? Mavs?

[skipshady]

This isn't really a fair test because I'm asking you to read my mind -

1) Stacey King - Wasted Bulls first round pick ... thus
2) Brad Sellers - Even more wasted Bulls first rounder ...
3) Ralph Sampson - Another skinny 7' player who thought he was a guard ...
4) Patrick Ewing - The big college rivals, of course ...
5) John Starks - Patrick's partner on the mid 1990s Knicks ...
6) Latrell Sprewell - Another damn Knicks hothead guard ...
7) Bernard King - Another guys who played on Knicks & Warriors

A stream of consciousness thing.8) Chris Webber, like King, an enigmatic but immensely talented player for Warriors and Bullets

[needs]

All I remember about Sampson is that crazy last second shot he made in the playoffs - can't even remember the details - game 6 vs. Philadelphia? Lakers? Mavs?

Against the lakers in the western conference finals? Hadn't Hakeem been ejected from that game for fighting with one of the Lakers' big white guys? Rambis or Kupchak?

Sent Houston to the finals where Sampson could get into his famous fight with Jerry Sichting.

Which raises an interesting memory. There used to be a lot of fights in the playoffs, I distinctly remember Sidney Moncrief v. Danny Ainge after an Ainge closeline that spilled into the first rows of the crowd. Today, both players would get round-length or playoff-length suspensions as the press would go wild about this new generation of players who just doesn't know how to act and doesn't respect the game the way their elders played it....

Weren't Dr. J v. Bird and Tree Rollins v. Danny Ainge's finger both playoff games? Did the Celtics get in 90% of the playoff fights?

[Garcia]

All I remember about Sampson is that crazy last second shot he made in the playoffs - can't even remember the details - game 6 vs. Philadelphia? Lakers? Mavs?
Who could forget Michael Cooper on the ground with his arm over his face?

Man, the Rockets were down big, but came back in the Forum!

[Garcia]

Against the lakers in the western conference finals? Hadn't Hakeem been ejected from that game for fighting with one of the Lakers' big white guys? Rambis or Kupchak?

Sent Houston to the finals where Sampson could get into his famous fight with Jerry Sichting.

Which raises an interesting memory. There used to be a lot of fights in the playoffs, I distinctly remember Sidney Moncrief v. Danny Ainge after an Ainge closeline that spilled into the first rows of the crowd. Today, both players would get round-length or playoff-length suspensions as the press would go wild about this new generation of players who just doesn't know how to act and doesn't respect the game the way their elders played it....

Weren't Dr. J v. Bird and Tree Rollins v. Danny Ainge's finger both playoff games? Did the Celtics get in 90% of the playoff fights?
Piston Bad Boys were also involved. Heck, wasn't there on Finals game where Issah Thomas and Magic Johnson (best of friends who used to kiss beofre the tip :eek: ) went toe to toe? Man, I have all these on VHS with John Stockman and Hubie Brown (was that the main team?)on CBS! I actually taped them when I was a kid, but need to look for them.

[needs]

Piston Bad Boys were also involved. Heck, wasn't there on Finals game where Issah Thomas and Magic Johnson (best of friends who used to kiss beofre the tip :eek: ) went toe to toe? Man, I have all these on VHS with John Stockman and Hubie Brown (was that the main team?)on CBS! I actually taped them when I was a kid, but need to look for them.

I seem to remember fights being fairly common in the Finals in the 80s. There was some clothesline involving Rambis and McHale (I honestly don't remember who clostheslined who). Bird/Isiah, Sampson/Sichting, something involving Greg Kite.

With the Bad Boys, there was also Robert Parrish's punch to the back of Bill Laimbeer's head. I think that was a conference final.

Funny how all of these fights have been conveniently "forgotten" by all of the Golden Age of the NBA/Bird and Magic going at it for the glory of sport-type sportswriters.

Maybe if more fighting were allowed, the NBA would return to its glory days :)

[Garcia]

I seem to remember fights being fairly common in the Finals in the 80s. There was some clothesline involving Rambis and McHale (I honestly don't remember who clostheslined who). Bird/Isiah, Sampson/Sichting, something involving Greg Kite.

With the Bad Boys, there was also Robert Parrish's punch to the back of Bill Laimbeer's head. I think that was a conference final.

Funny how all of these fights have been conveniently "forgotten" by all of the Golden Age of the NBA/Bird and Magic going at it for the glory of sport-type sportswriters.

Maybe if more fighting were allowed, the NBA would return to its glory days :)
The sad thing was "The Punch".

Kermit Washington, who in a 1977 NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets threw a punch that almost killed the Rockets' All-Star forward, Rudy Tomjanovich.

http://flakmag.com/books/punch.html

[dark knight]

Is it lame to jump on the Nets bandwagon? There's something cool about a team with Ason Kidd and VC and a bunch of stiffs (okay, maybe Cliff Robinson deserves to be named) winning against some decent teams.

[skipshady]

The sad thing was "The Punch".

Kermit Washington, who in a 1977 NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets threw a punch that almost killed the Rockets' All-Star forward, Rudy Tomjanovich.

http://flakmag.com/books/punch.html
From what I understand, basketball in the 70s wasn't unlike hockey where every team had an enforcer and fist fights were more common.

Couple of "What's wrong with Webber?" columns on Page 2: Jason Whitlock (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/050303&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233) and Skip Bayless (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bayless/050228&num=0)
I like Whitlock, Bayless not so much, but they pretty much agree on Webber - he's too fragile to handle all the talent, money and intellect.

Also, Eric Neel on the Mavs (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/050302&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233) and Bill Simmons on the return of the 'Toine (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/050302&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233).

[Metros Striker10]

Is it lame to jump on the Nets bandwagon? There's something cool about a team with Ason Kidd and VC and a bunch of stiffs (okay, maybe Cliff Robinson deserves to be named) winning against some decent teams.

No. I'd rather stick to my Knicks who don't have anyone on the team that publicly say they want to be traded.

[BorrachoNJ]

yea stick to the knicks who got guns that say they're the best...

doh