Official NBA Thread

[Maro]

well Rubio may still be very young but he is very experienced. He played in every tournament in national level, he has been the pg of Euroleague and Spanish league winners Barcelona the last couple of years, etc.. You can consider him as a rookie but he is definitely not one. Walker, Irving, Fredette, etc... are rookies and make stupid mistakes all the time. Rubio does not.

He also has a lot of talented young players around him. If Kahn does not blow it up again, Timberwolves may have an exciting future. The lack of interest on giving Love the extension makes me think the other way though. I believe in 5 years, he'll have Darko as his star.

[ManilaYid]

well Rubio may still be very young but he is very experienced. He played in every tournament in national level, he has been the pg of Euroleague and Spanish league winners Barcelona the last couple of years, etc.. You can consider him as a rookie but he is definitely not one. Walker, Irving, Fredette, etc... are rookies and make stupid mistakes all the time. Rubio does not.

He also has a lot of talented young players around him. If Kahn does not blow it up again, Timberwolves may have an exciting future. The lack of interest on giving Love the extension makes me think the other way though. I believe in 5 years, he'll have Darko as his star.

I really hope that Kahn doesn't screw this and he should add more pieces to this exciting team. Me thinks a better bigman than Darko Milicic is a must for them to reach the playoffs.

[falstaff]

I really hope that Kahn doesn't screw this and he should add more pieces to this exciting team. Me thinks a better bigman than Darko Milicic is a must for them to reach the playoffs.

pekovic is already better. the teams primary need is a 2 that can create his own shot and score. some have argued that michael beasley can play that role, but the guy is a headcase and a 3/4 not a 2. these last few games beasley has been great off the bench, and if he accepts that lamar odom role, and the wolves are able to find a cheapish 2 either via trade or through free agency this summer they'll be fine.

our other rookie, williams, has looked awful. he needs to learn how to play against people that are just as athletic as he is. whenever he drives the lane hes knocked back and his release on drives is always way too low. lotta his shots are blocked.

[ManilaYid]

pekovic is already better. the teams primary need is a 2 that can create his own shot and score. some have argued that michael beasley can play that role, but the guy is a headcase and a 3/4 not a 2. these last few games beasley has been great off the bench, and if he accepts that lamar odom role, and the wolves are able to find a cheapish 2 either via trade or through free agency this summer they'll be fine.

our other rookie, williams, has looked awful. he needs to learn how to play against people that are just as athletic as he is. whenever he drives the lane hes knocked back and his release on drives is always way too low. lotta his shots are blocked.

I've watched a lot of Derrick Williams since he was in Arizona and when he came here to the Philippines to play an exhibition game with Kobe, Rose, Durant, and other stars of the NBA, was really impressed with his play. I just don't know why he can't get his game going on in the NBA. Maybe he needs some more time to get used to the pace of the game in the pros. He'll come good eventually.

[BlueCrew LA]

Yeah I know Derrick Williams family, cousins and all that. He was supposed to play for SC but committed for Arizona. Kind of a sore point in LA because the way recruiting works a couple other prospects dropped commitments when he jumped to Arizona. Anyways good player, I think we've gotten so used to players immediately coming into the league and lighting it up, reinvigorating a struggling team (which they'll be if they're a high draft pick). I didn't expect Minnesota to be this good, I didn't think they'd be bottom feeders but it's not the typical sort of environment a high draft pick comes into. So I think he's not performing but it's more glaring because how good the team is this season.

[ManilaYid]

I think it has something to do with the coach, Rick Adelman. Proven winner with his past teams like Sacramento and Houston. Really turned the T'wolves into darkhorses for a playoff spot.

[1van]

ahhh i am glad basketball is back.. next season will be much beter.. for betting and so on..

[Maro]

I think it has something to do with the coach, Rick Adelman. Proven winner with his past teams like Sacramento and Houston. Really turned the T'wolves into darkhorses for a playoff spot.

You can throw in the early 90s Blazers team too. That's where he made a name for himself. They played some great basketball with Clyde's leading the way.

I'm excited about Minnesota too because I believe the ppl there deserve better things. Love's willingness to stay there is an extreme plus, I hope they can throw in some good veterans into the picture in the next couple of years. The overall squad is very young and you need some veteran winner power in the locker room to show these young players the right path.

On the other hand, Chicago is struggling in Deng's absence. This shows that he is as important to this team as Derrick is. I just hope they will be healthy enough starting the playoffs. I dont want to see the Heat as the champions :/

[ManilaYid]

Here's Kevin Love doing his best Mario Balotelli impersonation

[falstaff]

yea it was bad. early on they were saying it was revenge for something scola had done the previous game, but that all sorta died down. as a homer, i dont think he shoulda been suspended, but as a fan of basketball of course he deserved it. its frustrating because the team finally reaches .500 and then their best player is gone for two games because he went all rodman. I guess we'll see a lot more beasley and williams tonight.

elsewhere, wtf is wrong with the knicks? i thought they were going to be pretty good with chandler. losing billups is really killing that lineup isn't it?

[1van]

love is suspended for two games? hmm i must take that into consideration if i wanna bet on the wolves these next two games..

[Bryce_Williams]

yea it was bad. early on they were saying it was revenge for something scola had done the previous game, but that all sorta died down. as a homer, i dont think he shoulda been suspended, but as a fan of basketball of course he deserved it. its frustrating because the team finally reaches .500 and then their best player is gone for two games because he went all rodman. I guess we'll see a lot more beasley and williams tonight.

elsewhere, wtf is wrong with the knicks? i thought they were going to be pretty good with chandler. losing billups is really killing that lineup isn't it?

As a Suns fan, this makes me laugh. Amare leaves, we suck and still have the same record as them last year, and I believe again this year. Serves you right.

[Maro]

yea it was bad. early on they were saying it was revenge for something scola had done the previous game, but that all sorta died down. as a homer, i dont think he shoulda been suspended, but as a fan of basketball of course he deserved it. its frustrating because the team finally reaches .500 and then their best player is gone for two games because he went all rodman. I guess we'll see a lot more beasley and williams tonight.

elsewhere, wtf is wrong with the knicks? i thought they were going to be pretty good with chandler. losing billups is really killing that lineup isn't it?

Actually Amare was playing pretty good since Melo trade. They did not mesh as ppl have hoped. Carmelo is playing too much with the ball and this reduces the effectiveness of Amare. And when Amare plays poor in offense, it also affects his defensive intensity. So he ends up as a Carlos Boozer imitation. I'm sure he would play a lot better if Melo is not there.

Dallas' defensive form shows that Chandler may get too much credit of the defense last season. Yeah, he is a great shot-blocker and one-on-one defender but he cant do everything himself. There is absolutely noone else playing defense in Knicks. That's why he looks like useless at times.

Their problem is indeed at PG. Just check out what happened with a even sub-par PG. 2 wins out of 2. You may say that the opponents were weak but hey we saw this Knicks team lose to Bobcats in Madison Square Garden.

Personally, I enjoy every second of their loss because they just sent away everything they have for one player. Seeing the 10-deep rotation in Denver (make it 11 deep if Chandler is back) and their success makes this even better. In the last 10 year, since Van Gundy's team was dismantled, Knicks present everything I hate about NBA basketball.

[ManilaYid]

I think the problem with the Knicks is that they have too many "Isolation" type of players (Amare and Melo) and lack good a good point guard that can play the Pick and Roll.

Its just a mess how that team is created. Iman Shumpert at point guard? Seriously?

[falstaff]

Amare isn't really an isolation player, is he? I thought the Knicks made a steal when they signed him, and tbh, they had no need for Melo. Melo should have gone to the Nets and actually done something. D-Will and Melo and that mediocre center they've got, Lopez, could have been great together.