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NBA - 2013-14 Regular Season - 1st Half

Dolfan in NYC

By Dolfan in NYC
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Niners Fan in CT

Niners Fan in CT

Posted
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It would be pretty sad if 34 wins would get 3-4 teams in the playoffs out East.

 

Yes but I'm trying to remember the last time the East was deeper than the West and it's not coming to me. Maybe 1998 or something..  I'd have to check. It's been forever. The Celtics made a run at the finals with Paul Pierce and ANTOINE WALKER in the early 2000's. Those Nets teams were crap. Iverson brought a fairly terrible Sixers team to the finals. LeBron's Cleveland team had no shot against San Antonio either..   I mean at least they have a couple REAL teams in Miami and Indiana but ugh...

 

Even so.. Celts in the playoffs makes me happy right now especially after all those Knicks fans were talking major shit last season.

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RandomAct

RandomAct

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I was reading something the other day about how teams in the East may have gone into the season in tank mode, but will get fucked out of the lottery by making the playoffs anyway.  The east is so shitty, that terrible teams will be playing in May, effectively dropping them in the bottom half of the draft, unless they have protected picks.

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AlfredoE

AlfredoE

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Well, Lakers just posted what looks like something Frank Miller produced  to announce the return of Kobe. 

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153631619540341

 

Kobe. Dec 8th. 

 

What in the This is SPARTA/300 hell?  That's too Hollywood, even for LA. :blink:

 

 

I think they're telling us that the new Laker jerseys can withstand all sorts of weather and are very durable. That jersey ripped and then sowed itself  back up. That's some magical jersey.

 

Who would have thought that the Lakers would be 10-9 with tonight's starting lineup of Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, Wesley Johnson, Robert Sacre & Pau Gasol. This Laker team has quite the collection of role players.

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sydneybrown

sydneybrown

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I've been thinking the same thing:  did ANYBODY aside from Alfredo and I think this Lakers team would be even close to a winning record without Kobe?  (And I even thought above .500 was a best case scenario.) What's even sicker is that if you factor in the entire league, the Lakers have the 13th best record.  And this is with literally on paper one of the third or fourth worst rosters this team has had since the 70s.  Robert Sacre STARTED and they STILL WON?

 

Now watch Kobe come back and they go on a five game losing streak...

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Brian Fowler

Brian Fowler

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4. DETROIT PISTONS, 9-10

The Good News: Andre Drummond! Andre Drummond!!! ANDRE DRUMMOND! SWEET JESUS, ANDRE DRUMMOND!!!!!!!

 

More Good News: ANDRE DRUMMOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Xhndndhgdhfdhjrtrhghvrh!!!!!!!!!!!! Pghrjpwlfkisjdmejfnjppplfejhfjrj!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Bill Simmons most recent column.

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RandomAct

RandomAct

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I've been thinking the same thing:  did ANYBODY aside from Alfredo and I think this Lakers team would be even close to a winning record without Kobe?  (And I even thought above .500 was a best case scenario.) What's even sicker is that if you factor in the entire league, the Lakers have the 13th best record.  And this is with literally on paper one of the third or fourth worst rosters this team has had since the 70s.  Robert Sacre STARTED and they STILL WON?

 

Now watch Kobe come back and they go on a five game losing streak...

This wouldn't shock me at all.  They've been playing good team basketball, with no concern over any one person getting their shots.  You know absolutely everything goes through Kobe now.  If he can work himself into playing in the system that they are running now, then great, otherwise, I don't seem this improving them by much.

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jaedmc

jaedmc

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I think they're telling us that the new Laker jerseys can withstand all sorts of weather and are very durable. That jersey ripped and then sowed itself  back up. That's some magical jersey.

 

I thought they were clearly likening Kobe to Christ, with the sunlight forming a cross as it sewed up the jersey and now he returns. Hallelujah. Kobe has risen.

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AlfredoE

AlfredoE

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When you play a good majority of your games at home against subpar teams, that's what a good start looks like. When they leave Staples Center and take on the brunt of their schedule, things will come back to earth.

 

Schedule should even out in February. They actually had a pretty tough start to the season and actually survived it playing the Clips, Warriors, Spurs and then getting the Houston/Dallas road trip. Then competition dipped down when they got Detroit at home and they really picked up winning games. They lost a few close games like the Wizards game, otherwise, we'd be talking an even crazier start to the season.  Lakers should have had 3 more wins if they would have closed out games better.

 

They have their annual 7-game road trip in February that should determine were they'll be, but I still think even at my peak expectations for this team, I still had them missing the playoffs and getting a lottery pick in that 10-14 range. Mostly because the West is loaded and like I said in a previous post, it might take winning 49 games to make the playoffs out here.

 

Lakers have a knack of having entertaining bad teams that end up winning above expectations, which explains why they've only missed the playoffs twice in the past 30 years. They won't tank, even if I suggest they do it. :) This is probably the worst roster the Lakers have started a season with. The down years Lakers had a vet group with Vlade & Sedale Threatt mixed in with Van Exel and the other bad year, they had Kobe/Odom/Butler until all of them got injured and Rudy T quit and they lost the season. This year's team starts with Pau Gasol, who struggled early, and a bunch of scrubs.

 

D'Antoni's done an excellent job with this team. I'm now removing him off my list of coaches named Mike that I hate.  I mean, FOR GOD'S SAKE, no one on here expected a team that played Steve Blake, Wesley Johnson, Jodie Meeks, Nick Young, Robert Sacre, Xavier Henry to be above .500 in early December. Wesley Johnson and Meeks have improved. Meeks use to miss everything near the basket and he's improved that aspect of his game. His 3-point shot has been his calling card, but now he's not a sure-bet to miss a layup like he use to be. Wes has been a solid SF this season and I'm not sure anyone saw that coming. He's been significantly better than Metta. Towel-waving Sacre turning into a rotation player! Steve Blake becoming a reliable starting point guard for the Lakers. The only 2 guys that I expected would play well were Farmar and Nick Young and they've actually surpassed my expectations. Farmar wasn't a fit in Phil's Triangle Offense, so Phil made the bench an up-tempo unit and it helped win 2 rings. Lakers wanted a better fit to Phil's system and so they went for Blake and let Farmar go. Blake struggled and the Lakers lost the up-tempo bench unit. They weren't the same that season. I can't recall the last time the Lakers had a Nick Young type of guard off the bench. Just a guy who might have off-nights, but every few games he'll give you that 20 point game. He's actually been better on the defensive end, which no one saw coming.

 

I can't recall the last time the Lakers have had multiple bench players put up 20 point games in 1 season. This season Young, Henry and Farmar have done it.

 

This team is far more enjoyable to watch than last seasons team.

 

Since Kobe's coming back against the Raptors, wonder if he'll drop some type of historical number on them.

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jstout

jstout

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That ending was awesome, but I think Lillard had a foot on the line on that game-tying 3. No biggie.

 

Dirk is just so damn solid, it's insane. He's like a guy I'd like to work with at work or something, a veteran who is so good at what he does.

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_MJ_

_MJ_

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Just if you're interested, NBDL games are broadcast live and free on YouTube. Watching my Delaware 87ers right now.

 

One thing I got to give Stern and the NBA a ton of credit for is embracing the internet.  I think they do their web stuff better than any of the other major leagues(MLB, NHL, NFL) in the states right now.  Plus, they don't go overboard when it comes to taking down NBA related highlights either.

 

Edit:

Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose had some thoughts about open seeding(the best 1-16 teams getting into the playoffs) here:

 

http://youtu.be/v8-QRbqFKys

 

About 13:30 in

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AlfredoE

AlfredoE

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Simmons article on the weak Eastern Conference teams was a really good read. Its always refreshing to read his stuff when he doesn't drown it with too many pop culture references, which he has a bad habit of doing on practically everything he writes.

 

Also, when you watch those Bill & Jalen videos, they're so much more entertaining than what you get on the ESPN show.

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_MJ_

_MJ_

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In theory, I would like the best 16 teams to make it, but I'm not sure about getting rid of the conferences altogether for open seeding.  I'm sure traveling isn't as grueling and inconvenient now, but it's still a factor. 

 

They definitely could get rid of divisions(who cares who wins the division?) or just seed base on record and still give out division banners if it means so much to the tradition bs(I think Jalen mentions it).

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