****The Official 2013-14 NBA Thread****

This video at 1:03 to the end is how I see the offseason going.

[video=youtube;Kfog6nS-N8I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfog6nS-N8I#t=63[/video]

 

Bad b****es, palm trees, water....and **** like that.

 

While I would love Love and agree that he'd be a perfect fit schematically, I don't think there's anyway to realistically fit him under the salary cap. I don't have any numbers in front of me or anything, but I'm guessing that while the big three will probably take discounts, they're still not going to be cheap. And whomever they bring in will have to also take a discount. I find it hard to imagine Lebron being the second highest paid player on the team, especially by a significant amount. So you'd probably need somebody who is not likely to command a max contract anyways and is then willing to come in at a discount from what he could get to play with a contender.

 

I don't think that Love nor Mello is a realistic option.

Sect, off top of your head, how do you think this offseason will unfold?

 

I could see Melo being realistic honestly. He's as close or closer to Lebron as Wade is...and if he honestly ever wants to win a title it's his best bet. However I do think its very unlikely.

 

I think we might pillage the wizards or go after a decent amnesty piece that shakes loose.

 

Nene, Ariza, Gortat it is.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4

 

I don't care who we play in the finals....but I'd love to see another Lebron/Durant finals matchup. So I'm pulling for OKC.

Plus Serge has made a slight of me, the way he's willing to play through his injury. Especially after seeing his team go down 2-0 when most guys would just shut it down and prepare for next season.

 

Not many amnesty guys available. I think there's only 3-4 teams that can still use it.

Boozer actually wouldn't be horrible for a bench role

 

I wonder if they'll consider Boozer. He will most likely be amnestied and has a relationship with Nick Arison. I don't know that there's much left in the tank and I think they need to look to get younger, but maybe at a minimum deal.

 

Certainly possible, I'd think it will depend on what other options are available, what the big three get, do we resign Chalmers and so on. The team could be reshaped in a MAJOR way, so I'd think finding players who fit together will be most important of all.

 

If Chalmers leaves in the off season the Spurs back up PG Patty Mills could be a good option.

 

Russell Westbrook has ridiculous athleticism.

 

So the series definitely has become more interesting than it was when the Spurs were up two games.

 

It's amazing the difference that one player can make. Ever since Ibaka came back, they have looked like a completely different team.

 

Interesting stat; in game 3, the Spurs shot 40% with Ibaka on the floor, 37% with him off the floor.

 

That is an interesting stat. I wonder how to even interpret that. Reason being that if you start off slow with Ibaka on the floor you may lose confidence and stay in that poor shooting mode when he goes to the bench.

 

That's surprising. I would not have guessed that. His presence seems to have to Spurs out of their rhythm. It'll be interesting to see how the Thunder play on the road in game 5.

 

The Thunder are such a weird team. Tonight they're blowing out the Spurs...and yet they still don't look like a team that can win a championship. They're a two-man team...but those two guys have no idea how to pass to each other effectively. If Ibaka can get hot from that elbow area, the offense is a little better. But because their offensive movement is so rough, they rely entirely on guys getting hot and winning one-on-one, and lord knows Westbrook runs crazy hot/cold. Heat fans have to be pulling for OKC here, I'd imagine...that'd be a five game Finals series.

 

Scott Brooks is smart enough to realize that he's not smart enough to alter these guys for the better so he lets them play. That's not good enough for a championship though. Rick Carlisle needed non-coalesced Heat team, an unbelievable run by Dirk, an amazing shooting performance by Terry, no PG in Miami, and Tyson Chandler to beat Miami. Scott Brooks has a worse team than when they made the finals in 2012.

 

Alright Thunder!

 

Yeah..but they are shooting nowhere near what they shot in the restricted area in games 1 and 2.

 

Coming here for my basketball IQ, I am currently mired in a squabble over who is a better PG Westbrook or Rondo.....I am saying Rondo (I am not a Celtics fan).....part of it is me ballbusting.....

So who is better you guys think? Westbrook? Should I just shut up.....

I am a college basketball guy...

 

Go home finyank, you're drunk.

 

Rondo is the better "traditional" PG, but Westbrook is by far the better all around player.

 

Who plays better defense?

 

Neither are very good on defense. Rondo is probably better on D.

 

Rondo is better but Westbrook has the ability to be really good at it if he ever dedicates himself or gets a coach that demands it

 

Rondo is the better:

A) BallHandler
B) Defender
C) Passer

Westbrook is the better:

A) Scorer
B) Teammate
C) Athlete
D) Shooter

Westbrook is the clear cut better player, and with better coaching, would become a SUPERSTAR. Rondo already had great coaching and never improved.

 

IMO Wesbtrook > Rose. You put him in the same situation, he produces same results as Rose has. I do think (This is hypothetically, obviously. Neither scenario is happening) Rondo is a better fit for this team as a true PG. Same reason I don't think Mello is a real possibility. We got enough scorers, a solid PG is what this team will need in the future as I think Rio leaves (ironically might end up in Indy, they need a PG and more likely to overpay in a knee jerk move this offseason) and as Sect revealed, teams have approached Miami about Norris.

 

Westbrook is already a superstar in my opinion. Rondo has been criticized by his own teammates for holding the ball to pad his assist stats correct?

Rondo doesn't have a Durant he's supposed to "defer" to and probably gets more opportunities with the ball in his hands generally.

Rondo is a better passer and defender obviously bit give me Westbrook all day every day.

 

Rondo to the Heat ---> Hell froze over.

 

All this is telling me is I need to shut my mouth now........

 

Great article on Bosh on Grantland.

Touches a bit on what Sect has been hammering at regarding him being an excellent mid range shooter

 

Bird man and Ray both miss shoot around. Game time decisions.

 

We know if Birdman is out we see more Lewis. Who steps up with Ray out do you guys think?

 

Norris. He's already giving Lance fits on D. When he's feeling it he's lightning in a bottle.

 

Well I meant in the rotation. You think we go with two PG looks?

 

Hard to say with this group. Depends on what we feel we need at the end. We've been purposefully doing small with Rashard to spread them out and force Hibbert to defend the perimeter. If he takes himself out of the game again though we could opt for Haslem late. Or shooters with Chalmers and Cole on the floor.

 

More D-Wade, particularly if we're winning.

We're in an odd conundrum tonight, as the more Wade plays, and the harder the team plays in general, the more important it becomes to win the game and get the extra rest.

I imagine we'll also see JJ for a spell if Ray is out, particularly against lineups featuring a non-scorer we can hide JJ on.