NBA finals

[MJ5150]

As a Sacramento native who's still hoping the Kings will once again reach those late-'90s/early 2000s heights, I appreciate your post.*



*Although I do know the Kings didn't originate in Sacramento

Oh wow, do I ever remember those teams in Sacramento from the 90's with Walt Williams, Mitch Richmond, and then Peja Stojakovich showed up as part of the European invasion into the NBA. Sacramento back then also had Seattle high school superstar Doug Christie who snubbed UW and went to Pepperdine. I remember playing against Doug at the state AAA tournament. He was good.

-Mike

 

[cheapbasslovin]

So Anyway, some of the NBA players are starting to act like the soccer players (football every else) who fall over at the slightest touch... trying to draw a foul.

6' 5" 230 lb man gets touched on the wrist while shooting and ends up on the floor. And then gets up and plays defense where he's grabbing, pushing, shoving and wrestling with another player...and not falling down.

Maybe the refs should call a foul for bad acting now and then.

But I'll be watching game 7, and the finals.

A couple things:

Starting to? This has been an escalating problem for a while.

Soccer reffing makes it pretty much mandatory to fall down to get a foul call. Some guys do just flop, but very often the culture of the sport is if you're upright you weren't fouled.

My big gripe with the NBA is the size and skill of the players has outgrown the court they play on. Since defenses are so big and fast the game has extended to either beyond 23feet or inside 10' which makes side to side play pretty much just swinging the ball around the 3 point line. I honestly think getting rid of the 3 point line (or moving it way back) would help make the game more interesting by reinstituting a midrange game. I miss the 18 footer.

 

[FilterFunk]

Oh wow, do I ever remember those teams in Sacramento from the 90's with Walt Williams, Mitch Richmond, and then Peja Stojakovich showed up as part of the European invasion into the NBA. Sacramento back then also had Seattle high school superstar Doug Christie who snubbed UW and went to Pepperdine. I remember playing against Doug at the state AAA tournament. He was good.

-Mike

The Kings also had Mike Bibby, Jason Williams, Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, and Bobby Jackson at various times. They were loaded, and fun to watch. They were one of the best passing teams I've ever seen. They just couldn't get past the Lakers.

 

[FilterFunk]

My big gripe with the NBA is the size and skill of the players has outgrown the court they play on. Since defenses are so big and fast the game has extended to either beyond 23feet or inside 10' which makes side to side play pretty much just swinging the ball around the 3 point line. I honestly think getting rid of the 3 point line (or moving it way back) would help make the game more interesting by reinstituting a midrange game. I miss the 18 footer.

I think Steph Curry at his best represented the pinnacle of the 3-point game. He's a relatively small player who truly made the 3-pointer a viable weapon. But his success spawned too many would-be shooters who jack up threes seemingly just because the line is there. The 3-pointer can be a game-changing "dagger," or a "why the heck did he shoot that?" kind of thing.

What would you think of leaving the 3-point line where it is, but only allowing a certain number of 3-point attempts (say, 20) per team per game? I know the NBA would never go for it, but it's fun to wonder out loud now and then!

 

[never-enough]

The Kings also had Mike Bibby, Jason Williams, Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, and Bobby Jackson at various times. They were loaded, and fun to watch. They were one of the best passing teams I've ever seen. They just couldn't get past the Lakers.

white chocolate!
Man Webber was a monster player.
the kings were a heck of a team back then, it’s gotta be frustrating to watch the team be so mismanaged for this long.
im from LA and I gotta admit some of those games against the kings were the best to watch.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Hoping for a Boston/GSW finals. But big props to Jimmy Butler for carrying his team in game 6.

I enjoy watching the playoffs, but also hate the “flop and whine” mentality. In this series, Lowry flops/whines a lot. Blech.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

I think Steph Curry at his best represented the pinnacle of the 3-point game. He's a relatively small player who truly made the 3-pointer a viable weapon. But his success spawned too many would-be shooters who jack up threes seemingly just because the line is there. The 3-pointer can be a game-changing "dagger," or a "why the heck did he shoot that?" kind of thing.

What would you think of leaving the 3-point line where it is, but only allowing a certain number of 3-point attempts (say, 20) per team per game? I know the NBA would never go for it, but it's fun to wonder out loud now and then!

I think that would be a nightmare to enforce. Anything that makes the refs have to change the way they officiate based on a stat is gonna go badly, IMO and IME. I don't know what the solution is, but I do know that I'm generally over the post game being primarily a tool to open the floor for chuckers.

 

[FilterFunk]

I think that would be a nightmare to enforce. Anything that makes the refs have to change the way they officiate based on a stat is gonna go badly, IMO and IME. I don't know what the solution is, but I do know that I'm generally over the post game being primarily a tool to open the floor for chuckers.

Yeah, you're right. It's either leave the line where it is, move it back, or lose it all together. It most likely will stay where it is.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

BOOYAH!

 

[GregC]

BOOYAH!

I was rooting for the Heat, but I have nothing against these Celtics.

On the flopping front, Smart showed he’s right up/down there with Lowry.

 

[GregC]

Overall, the game has changed. But there’s so much great young talent now, and their skill sets aren’t identical. Tatum, Brown, Giannis, Embiid, Young, Doncic, Booker (I think), Jokic, Morant, etc. I mean, check this out.


The NBA should continue to be fun to watch (for me, anyway) for a long time.

 

[slobake]

I was rooting for the Heat, but I have nothing against these Celtics.

On the flopping front, Smart showed he’s right up/down there with Lowry.

Faker Lowry

 

[slobake]

BOOYAH!

It's on. Celtics vs Dubs. The Celtics are a great team but I think the Dubs have the edge. I admit to being prejudice Either way, should be a great series.
Mucho respect for the Heat too, especially Jimmy Butler. They almost flipped the game at the end. What a comeback that would have been.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Looking forward to a great series. And for once I like both teams, so no villain schadenfreude will mar the watching. I really like both coaches, too. Should be fun.

Jimmy Butler was a beast in this last series. Too bad Herro wasn’t healthy. I was amazed when Smart came back from that sprained ankle so quickly. Also, I love everything about Al Horford.

One last thing: I absolutely can’t stand Stephen A. Smith. Since the finals will be on ABC, will I be subjected to his bloviating? Who does the play by play and commentary for ABC? I can’t keep track anymore.

 

[51PRI]

Looking forward to a great series. And for once I like both teams, so no villain schadenfreude will mar the watching. I really like both coaches, too. Should be fun.

Jimmy Butler was a beast in this last series. Too bad Herro wasn’t healthy. I was amazed when Smart came back from that sprained ankle so quickly. Also, I love everything about Al Horford.

One last thing: I absolutely can’t stand Stephen A. Smith. Since the finals will be on ABC, will I be subjected to his bloviating? Who does the play by play and commentary for ABC? I can’t keep track anymore.

I like both teams too and hope for a good and long series.
Stephen A. is hard to listen to but he called The Celtics in 7.

 

[3bc]

I agree, and the same thing happened to Doug Collins at Chicago. Both Doug and Mark seemed to take it well, however, and life moves on.

Phil and Tex completely revamped the way the bulls played basketball. If Doug had stayed, they might have still won in spite of him, not because of him. The triangle involved the whole team in ways Jordan did not under Doug. I loved Doug as a color guy and he seems like a good dude. But he was not going to run away with the NBA the way Phil’s Bulls did.

Same with Steve Kerr. He gave Steph and allay the keys. Mark Jackson was too old school, having Steph walk the ball up the floor and run plays. Kerr got people moving and shooting, and passing the ball. They improved dramatically in terms of pace of play, passing, scoring, efficiency, etc.

Mark Jackson was really old school and rigid and holding guys back. Michael eventually would have won with Doug Collins, just maybe not quite as much. I don’t think the warriors would have ever won with Mark Jackson.

in spite of the fact that I don’t like how spoiled Bostonians have become with their dominance in professional sports the last 20 years, I’ll probably root for the Celtics, some new blood and dominating defense.

I don’t know why I can never buy into warriors defense. The numbers always support how great they are defensively. But to me it always feels like their offensive firepower is the catalyst. They’ll be up 12-0 on you in 45 seconds, and get you out of your own game plan immediately and you start trying to play the game their way, which is impossible because they have the 2 best shooters of all time on one team, and you start taking rushed, bad shots. My eyes are not seeing great team or individual defense, just intense mental pressure getting people off what they should be doing. I expect a great series.

 

[roller]

Mike Breen is ESPN's usual NBA play-by-play man. He wasn't calling Game 7 last night because he caught Covid.

Breen usually works with Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

I personally enjoy TNT's bunch with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Stan Van Gundy... although the stats and graphics are better on ESPN's show.

Who does the play by play and commentary for ABC? I can’t keep track anymore.

 

[3bc]

Mike Breen is ESPN's usual NBA play-by-play man. He wasn't calling Game 7 last night because he caught Covid.

Breen usually works with Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

I personally enjoy TNT's bunch with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Stan Van Gundy... although the stats and graphics are better on ESPN's show.

It sure sounded like JVG had covid last night. Most of the NBA play by play and color guys are strong nowadays other than some of the fringe Chris Webber types. I 100% agree that SAS is unbearable. Every time he opens his mouth a train wreck hauling a giant load of hot garbage spills out all over.

Bill Simmons has a lot of provocative thoughts and commentary about the game of basketball, but they are about the game. SAS says nonsense in an attempt to be controversial, and it's always just about him.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Also, props to Derrick White for showing up big in this series. At 6'4" and 190, he got tossed around like a child in the lane and on screens, but he always got up and played ball. I'd have to say he was one of the big differences in the series.

 

[51PRI]

...SAS is unbearable. Every time he opens his mouth a train wreck hauling a giant load of hot garbage spills out all over...SAS says nonsense in an attempt to be controversial, and it's always just about him.

SAS would be okay if he would quit YELLING!