DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs & Basketball Thread V

The one thing I took from last nights game, all the DRose supporters can take a leap. I know they're defending their boy, but all the "even though he's medically cleared to play doesn't mean he should come back to play when the Heat will be coming out of the East regardless" is crap.

If an unmanned Bulls team can beat the Heat with the streak on the line, they can beat them in the playoffs too. And those chances would be further improved if an 85% DRose played. Plus, there's no guarantee that the Heat stay 100% healthy too (maybe someone tears their ACL in the opening round like DRose did - wouldn't then open up the East even more?).

DRose looks more and more like a quitter every day.

4 weeks ago - "I'm only playing when I'm 110%"
3 weeks ago - "Only God knows when I'm going to return"
2 weeks ago - "I'm 85%."
1 week ago - "I don't know what number I am this week."

He needs to shut up.

I'll say this again

There is zero chance Chicago beats Miami 4/7 times in the playoffs. They'd be lucky to win twice.

With or without Rose playing?

And might I remind you, most within the media were calling for a 4-0, 4-0, and 4-0 sweep before the Finals.....and then the Magic rolled the Cavs.

Until it plays out, it's just a prediction. Maybe Rose comes back, maybe Lebron is hurt, maybe playerX shoots 7-10 behind the arc in game 3....who knows.

For the first time in NBA history, no player is going to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

So...

How come the Heat didn't get fined for sitting their stars against the Spurs?

Their players also weren't sent home and attended the game. And the team let the league know that the players were sitting.

Decide if your event is a sporting event, or and entertainment event...

David Stern wants the NBA to be an entertainment event... The sport doesn't matter... Winning titles doesn't matter...

The Spurs got fined because Popovich gave the league a big middle finger. No other reason.

That's why Pistons/Spurs was one of my favorite NBA Finals.

He just had to sit there and watch it. .

the Spurs are the best thing that ever happened to the NBA/Stern.

what Stern is doing to the NBA doesn't work if you don't have the Spurs/Popovich. The Spurs are the foil to the NBA going all star-studded extravaganza w/ rules in place to help the offense and hurt the defense.

Pop's has a plan. He has a system. The system works well even when he's missing his stars. He's able to take what players do well and fit them into that portion (and just that portion) of his system. His system is flexible enough to take advantage of the rule changes and defensive shifts to his system.

Noone can say that the NBA is just catering to the big markets and high profile teams/stars when the Spurs are sitting on 4 recent titles and contending every year. The same could be said in the 80's w/ the Bad Boy Pistons.

Totally agree. If the NBA was fixed, San Antonio wouldn't have made the finals as much as they have, and the Knicks would not be the running joke that they have been since Patrick Ewing retired.

You have to at least give the league credit for trying. They put the Bird rule, mid-level exemption, and the whole current team being able to offer the most into the CBA. The players circumvented the system by forcing the hand of their teams.

The league has since responded, which is why you probably saw OKC trade off Harden, and why the Heat are potentially going to have to break up their big 3 after next season.

I hate the entire idea of super teams, especially since my team will probably not be able to partake (unless LBJ comes back, and even then, it would still be difficult with the cap to add other big names) but I do credit the league for at least putting forth some kind of effort.

I kind of wish they would go back on some of these rules within the game, and let guards get after it on defense a little more. I really hate ticky-tack calls, and it 100% ruins the flow of the game. It seems like college players can get away with more these days.

There is a lot of revisionist history when it comes to what the NBA used to be like. People like to say that clotheslining a guy on his way up to the rim was just a "hard foul". That's not true at all, but there is something to the old days having a better all-around product.

I have my issues with reffing, and favortism/bias/etc but it is also the hardest team sport on the planet to officiate, and I don't think it's close.

I have another name for most "casual NBA fans"

It's called bandwagoners

I've soured on the league completely.

I still watch the Cavs, but can't find the passion to stay interested for longer than a quarter. Obviously losing has a lot to do with that, but I no longer hold any hope for the future with the Cavs inability to bring in star free agents during the time they had LeBron. I don't blame the front office for what happened, it's just the harsh reality that no stars want to play here.

I'll stay tuned in, but most of my following of the league will be through fantasy basketball. It is a passion that will not die.

Scott's gonna get fired. I think most would agree that all signs are starting to point in that direction.

So who do you guys want?

I'm actually suprised it hasn't happened yet...he is a horrible coach, wasting some pretty decent talent and for being a former guard, his offense is mike brown like and no defense at all. I don't even know who would be available. Maybe Phil would come with the assumption Lebron is coming back

It's mostly his fault, and that's because their overarching problem is the complete lack of defense.

Yeah he's had some bad breaks with injuries, but even when they are healthy those 3rd quarters are inexcusable, you can almost set your clock with how bad the 3rd quarters will be. I actually think van gundy would be great, people make fun of him, but he is a good coach, he's alot better than scott. I think he'd jump at this gig as well. Small part of me wonders if fratello would coach again or if the game has passed him by, I don't think it has but I think he likes where he's at. Another I'd throw a line to and see is Jerry Sloan, bad deal with that douche in Utah, I don't think he's ready to stop coaching. I expect him to be somewhere next year.

SVG for me.

I blame Scott but he's working with a very flawed roster

Kyrie - Made of glass and doesn't defend at all

Dion - Has been hurt and shaky at best

Gee - Complete bum

Tristan - Was a HUGE liability on offense to the point where I thought he was already a bust

Andy - Hurt

Zeller - Softer than charmin

Everybody else - D league scrubs

Who wins with that?

Scott has done some nice stuff ..... like working with Tristan, trying to make him into a productive PF. However, a head coach has to work on the whole team, and this team doesn't even try to play defense ...... they run up big leads and then pis ....err ..... fritter them away ..... they get lazy, and a great head coach would put his foot down right there. They played better when they upgraded the bench, but now those bench players seem to be falling into the rut set by the players who came before them.

I expect to see a change at head coach, and I have a hard time not justifying it. Scott has done some good work, but not nearly enough. The team appears to have tuned him out, and when that happens, the head coach is usually done.

He's a good coach, he's not a great coach.

It feels like they are ready to move on. I kinda hope they take the road the Bulls did with Thibideau. Not hiring another retread that will be fired in a few years. (Although Bulls fans and media think he walks on water)

I wanted better for Byron Scott.

I do wonder if Scott would have gotten the Lakers job instead of Mike Brown if he had just waited a year to get back into coaching.

as it is, I'd be fully on board with SVG. he's a good coach and he makes the most out of his players (who else has gotten much out of Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo, Hedo Turkoglu, etc.). I like coaches who figure out what their players do well and put them in position to do it. He's one of those guys.

Stat I read today.... Dwight Howard has missed more free throws this year (332) than Steve Nash has missed his entire 17 year career (322)

Just as long as he doesn't miss a free throw that costs the Lakers a playoff spot.

We (Cavs) need that pick from the Heat to turn into a mid 1st round pick instead of a last pick in the 1st.

Cavs and Suns battling for the 3rd most ping pong balls
either Cavs and Suns get a mid-1st round pick depending on what happens to the Lakers

The mamba is doing everything he can for us, churning out high assist numbers and triple doubles lately on a bad foot.

Hopefully he doesn't go "shot chuck Kobe" on us or we're screwed

With Nash out (back, hip, hamstring) that old man is beat up.

Kobe will be forced to be the facilitator, so we shouldn't see him chuckin' shots at least until Nash is back.

Man, when Weatbrick isn't an idiot the Thunder are fun to watch

5 assists in 1 quarter must be a personal record for him.

Look up Giannis Antetokoumpo. He's recieved a lot of buzz lately. He's a 6'10 PG: translation he'll probably be asked to bulk up and play SF.

Not that anybody was watching, but the Cavs blew another 20-point 2nd half lead and lost.

No comment on what happened in the 4th quarter