LAL-PHO is about to tip. I have no illusions about LA actually winning the series, I’m just hoping they can make it interesting. Taking Game 2 (like they did last year) would be sweet.
[quote]chillain wrote:
I’m not as sold on Durant. Not that he shouldn’t go #2 overall, and I’m sure he’ll eventually become a star as expected.
I just don’t see it happening immediately. In the college game, we already know he struggled on defense. And even though he scored with ease, I’m waiting to see how he does against guys like Artest, Bowen, Bryant, Marion. You know, those other freaks of nature who can defend NBA talent.
[/quote]
I got to see Durant play a lot this year. He’s got so much height and such long arms, that he can just shoot over any smaller defender. Think about how McGrady just rises over anybody to get his shot off… well Durant is 2 inches taller, with even longer arms and a very nice J.
He also has a more polished offensive game than any college senior I can think of. Very fundamentally sound. The main thing he’ll need to focus on (offensively) is getting to the basket/drawing fouls consistently.
I’ll be VERY surprised if Durant averages under 20 ppg in his rookie year. I think his rookie year will be much like Carmelo’s, but with a solid 8+ rebounds per game. His defense will take some time, but with the right coaching he could be a force at that end as well in a couple years. I see him getting 25+ points and 10 rebounds per game by his third season.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 recap:
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Raptors defeat 6) Nets 89-83 - Chris Bosh had 25 and 13 and Anthony Parker had 26 to tie the series up at 1-1. Huge win for the Raptors heading into Jersey. VC had 19 and 11, J-Kidd had 14 and 11.
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Bulls defeat 4) Heat 107-89 - Ben Gordon and Luol Deng had 27 and 26, respectively, to lead the Bulls to a 2-0 series lead. D-Wade had 21 and Shaq had 17, but were too far behind in the second half.
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Suns defeat 7) Lakers 126-98 - All five Suns starters scored in double figures (and 14 dimes for Nash), and Leandro Barbosa added 26 off the bench. It wasn’t even close the whole game. Kobe only had 15 on 5-13 shooting. He sprained his ankle in the fourth quarter, and left the game. Hopefully he will be okay for game 3 in L.A.
TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD(S) OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker. Their 25 and 26 points, respectively, helped the Raptors even the series up, and gave them momentum heading on the road.
[quote]chillain wrote:
I’m not as sold on Durant. Not that he shouldn’t go #2 overall, and I’m sure he’ll eventually become a star as expected.
I just don’t see it happening immediately. In the college game, we already know he struggled on defense. And even though he scored with ease, I’m waiting to see how he does against guys like Artest, Bowen, Bryant, Marion. You know, those other freaks of nature who can defend NBA talent.
[/quote]
Durant could afford to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle, he just looks too skinny to me. Plus, that would help him crash the boards better with some size on him.
On the other hand, KG could probably afford to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle as well without sacrificing his game, but he’s playing just fine with his body frame and will be heading to the Hall of Fame when decides to call it a day.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
chillain wrote:
I’m not as sold on Durant. Not that he shouldn’t go #2 overall, and I’m sure he’ll eventually become a star as expected.
I just don’t see it happening immediately. In the college game, we already know he struggled on defense. And even though he scored with ease, I’m waiting to see how he does against guys like Artest, Bowen, Bryant, Marion. You know, those other freaks of nature who can defend NBA talent.
Durant could afford to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle, he just looks too skinny to me. Plus, that would help him crash the boards better with some size on him.
On the other hand, KG could probably afford to put on 10-15 pounds of muscle as well without sacrificing his game, but he’s playing just fine with his body frame and will be heading to the Hall of Fame when decides to call it a day.[/quote]
Durant does need to bulk up, but I think he’s always going to look skinny. Garnett actually has gained about 30 lbs. since coming into the league. He’s over 250 now; only about 15 lbs. lighter than Nene. He still looks skinny though.
[quote]escot4 wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
Durant does need to bulk up, but I think he’s always going to look skinny. Garnett actually has gained about 30 lbs. since coming into the league. He’s over 250 now; only about 15 lbs. lighter than Nene. He still looks skinny though.[/quote]
Yeah, I guess it’s just his body type. Nene has actually lost 35 pounds, but still looks a lot thicker, probably because of his big upper body and arms.
This goes to show that no one single body frame is ideal for the NBA.
Damn… That Lakers game was a mess. I still believe they can best the Suns, they do have the talent, but they’ve got to really work harder as a team. Game 2 was kind of the mirror of Game 1, except, instead of the Laker’s having a barbosa to save them, Kobe sprained his ankle…
[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Damn… That Lakers game was a mess. I still believe they can best the Suns, they do have the talent, but they’ve got to really work harder as a team. Game 2 was kind of the mirror of Game 1, except, instead of the Laker’s having a barbosa to save them, Kobe sprained his ankle…[/quote]
Yeah that Kobe ankle sprain was the last thing the Lakers needed. I heard earlier today he’s good to go for Thursday’s game.
And yeah, they need to work harder as a team, they can’t just stand around and watch Kobe take all the shots, they need to get more involved from the start of the game.
[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Damn… That Lakers game was a mess. I still believe they can best the Suns, they do have the talent, but they’ve got to really work harder as a team. Game 2 was kind of the mirror of Game 1, except, instead of the Laker’s having a barbosa to save them, Kobe sprained his ankle…[/quote]
Nah. Lakers cannot beat the Suns in a seven games series. They will be lucky to win one or two games. They have size which can give the Suns trouble and they are a good defensive team but lack the individual defenders to shut down the Suns offense for 4 quarters.
There only great individual defender is Kobe (when he’s interested in playing defense) but who do you put him on? Marion? Rajah? Leandro? The suns are like a hydra. You focus on shutting one guy down and then another guy steps up and becomes the hero. Just have too many solid offensive players in every position.
The team that scares me as a Suns fan is San Antonio. They have the individual defenders to give Suns trouble in positions 2 through 5 and Parker gives Nash fits because he makes him play defense. I guess we’ll have to see. This is why they play the game and not just talk about it.
[quote]Tallguyy76 wrote:
Nah. Lakers cannot beat the Suns in a seven games series. They will be lucky to win one or two games. They have size which can give the Suns trouble and they are a good defensive team but lack the individual defenders to shut down the Suns offense for 4 quarters. [/quote]
I follow the Lake Show closely and the only part I can disagree with is the Lakers being a good defensive team. They’ve been giving up uncontested layups since the All-Star break. Strange for a Phil Jackson team to ignore help defense and the concept of team defense.
Yeah, PHO is so good at playing team ball at a fast pace. You don’t see much of either of those these days.
Agreed again. SA matches up well with PHO and they can win on the road. Once again the Western Conf will have some great series matchups.
[quote]chillain wrote:
Tallguyy76 wrote:
Nah. Lakers cannot beat the Suns in a seven games series. They will be lucky to win one or two games. They have size which can give the Suns trouble and they are a good defensive team but lack the individual defenders to shut down the Suns offense for 4 quarters.
I follow the Lake Show closely and the only part I can disagree with is the Lakers being a good defensive team. They’ve been giving up uncontested layups since the All-Star break. Strange for a Phil Jackson team to ignore help defense and the concept of team defense.
There only great individual defender is Kobe (when he’s interested in playing defense) but who do you put him on? Marion? Rajah? Leandro? The suns are like a hydra. You focus on shutting one guy down and then another guy steps up and becomes the hero. Just have too many solid offensive players in every position.
Yeah, PHO is so good at playing team ball at a fast pace. You don’t see much of either of those these days.
The team that scares me as a Suns fan is San Antonio. They have the individual defenders to give Suns trouble in positions 2 through 5 and Parker gives Nash fits because he makes him play defense. I guess we’ll have to see. This is why they play the game and not just talk about it.
Agreed again. SA matches up well with PHO and they can win on the road. Once again the Western Conf will have some great series matchups.
[/quote]
Yeah it is going to be great. Just so many great potential matchups. Can San Antonio beat Dallas? Can Dallas beat Phoenix or even Golden State? Can Phoenix beat San Antonio?
I went to Suns Lakers game 2 last night. The atmosphere was electric. If Kobe even thought about coming within 5 feet of the basketball the entire arena booed. I love this game!!
Wednesday, April 25th recap:
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Cavs defeat 7) Wizards 109-102 - LeBron had 27 and Drew Gooden had 24 points and 14 boards led the Cavs to victory. Antawn Jamison had 31 and 10 to lead the Wizards.
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Spurs defeat 6) Nuggets 97-88 - Tim Duncan had 22, Tony Parker had 20, and the Spurs held off a late rally by the Nuggets. Melo had 26 points and 10 boards, Camby had 10 and 18 boards.
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Mavs defeat 8) Warriors 112-99 - Jason Terry had 28 and Josh Howard had 22 points and 11 boards to lead the Mavs. Baron Davis was ejected late in the third quarter, and Stephen Jackson had 30 points before being ejected in the fourth quarter.
TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Drew Gooden. His 24 points and 14 boards took some of the load off of LeBron James and helped the Cavs take a 2-0 lead. At one point, he made six straight shots.
[quote]Tallguyy76 wrote:
chillain wrote:
Tallguyy76 wrote:
I went to Suns Lakers game 2 last night. The atmosphere was electric. If Kobe even thought about coming within 5 feet of the basketball the entire arena booed. I love this game!!
[/quote]
That’s sweet you went to the game, I’m sure it was awesome!!! The Suns’ offense runs like a well-oiled machine; so nice and smooth. I’m sure the crowd went wild after the Nash-Matrix alley-oop from half court. That was sweet!!
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Drew Gooden. His 24 points and 14 boards took some of the load off of LeBron James and helped the Cavs take a 2-0 lead. At one point, he made six straight shots.[/quote]
I was hoping you’d give it to Stephen Jackson last night. Dude was balling all game long and still made time to go out like the thug he is, lol.
GS lives and dies by the 3 only diffrence between games 1 and 2 is game 1 they fell and game 2 they didn’t
[quote]chillain wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Drew Gooden. His 24 points and 14 boards took some of the load off of LeBron James and helped the Cavs take a 2-0 lead. At one point, he made six straight shots.
I was hoping you’d give it to Stephen Jackson last night. Dude was balling all game long and still made time to go out like the thug he is, lol.
[/quote]
LOL chillain. He was running up and down the court during the game, then running his mouth when he got ejected.
I’m guessing $15,000 fine, what do you say?
[quote]KO421 wrote:
GS lives and dies by the 3 only diffrence between games 1 and 2 is game 1 they fell and game 2 they didn’t[/quote]
True true. Dallas only made 1 three the whole night, but the Warriors were off as well. Hopefully the Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson ejections don’t have a mental effect on the Warriors the rest of the series.
Thursday, April 26 recap:
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Pistons defeat 8) Magic 93-77 - Tayshaun Prince had 23 and Chauncey Billups had 21 to lead the Pistons and go up 3-0. Two 3-pointers in the last five seconds of the first half set the tempo for the second half for the game. Jameer Nelson had 27 to lead the Magic.
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Jazz defeat 4) Rockets 81-67 - Carlos Boozer had 22 and 12 boards to close the series gap to 2-1. Rockets only scored 25 points in the second half, and only 4 Rockets scored the entire game (both playoff lows). Yao Ming had 26 and 14.
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Lakers defeat 2) Suns 95-89 - Kobe had 45, and he finally got some help from his team in a much needed win for the Lakers to make the series 2-1. Amare Stoudemire had 24 and 10 boards and Leandro Barbosa had 20 off the bench.
TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Kobe Bryant. 45 points to lead the Lakers to a huge win at home over the Suns.
HONORARY STUD(S) OF THE NIGHT: Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom. Kwame had a playoff career high 19 points, and LO had 18 and 16 boards, to give Kobe much-needed assistance. They need to keep it up for the rest of the playoffs.
Game 3 of the Lakers v. Suns demonstrated exactly what the lakers have to do to win against the Suns. Aggressive, annoying, defense. Not opening the Suns up to 3-point shots, and contesting every point in the paint.
The Lakers were functioning as a playoffs basketball team last night. Rare.
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
chillain wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
I’m guessing $15,000 fine, what do you say?[/quote]
Dude, I was WAY off. NBA fined him $50,000 for his conduct.