hope he gets cancer and looks like a cancer patient

LOL! My favorite post of the past few days.

Yeah, I think this is true. Doesn't mean they wouldn't have a chance in several years tho

PPG woya. Announcers are dumb. You know this
You also said Memphis vs Lolkers was going to be competitive, and YOU - WERE - WRONG
Love it
Exactly. Phi v Was is the equivalent of 2 years ago Ind v OKC. (With Durant playing the role of John Wall)
JETTTTOOOOOOOooo (I see the "banned". Very deserved, but lol)
hahaha
I liked Vic's response
This

and huge LOL @ kidcolin. despite charlie Vs motives in being offended, you think KG should be talking **** about cancer patients? that is 100% what he just did....

Arroyo is by far the weakest link, since he's actually a negative. Bosh is just "meh".

I believe contenders generally have 7.0+ PDs. That said, looking at the overall Pd isn't the best way to do it, since some teams sorta tank during the regular season (most notably Shaq's lakers in the beginning decade, i think the year they went 15-1 in the playoffs they only won 53 games or something, lol) and due to midseason trades, a teams entire season isn't the entire picture (it's more accurate to focus on the "team in the playoffs"). injuries, too.

that said, teams that make the playoffs with a barely positive PD have 0 chance of winning it all. zero

I mean, he's a player. he's going to say he thinks they played great defense, even if they didn't. doesn't make him ignorant, just makes him normal

lakers were better then their pyth, missed bynum for lots of the reg season. etc etc

im pretty sure that pistons team was SICK after the trade, like went from barely positive to +10 or so

IIRC, the heat jacked up the prices. so much so that they couldn't sell out the opener

With injuries, I think I take Brook. Without, obviously Bogut.

yeah, this

As I get more and more into NBA, (maybe soon I will achieve casualfan.jpgness!) I find myself wondering what is necessary to get to the next level.

I think I'm on the right track as I'm in two fantasy leagues, read up alot on stats and try to read blogs and twitters that are not members of the mainstream media. I've read all of this years TZ (thanks for the gamethreads clark) and try to look up things I'm unaware of. Of course, the most important part and the reason I'm trying to learn more in the first place, is that basketball is really, really good to watch, and I've spent far too much time already watching games - g/f has been nice and understanding with me sitting up on sundays/mondays for the NFL, but I fear adding the NBA schedule might end up giving me a LOT of free time if you catch my drift.

When I got into NFL I obviously didn't know **** as many of you may remember. While the **** hasn't turned to gold just yet, it's well on its way to at least achieving smellable status. As I kept reading and watching, I started to focus on more than the QB-to-wr-bombs or the interceptions, like LB coverage or OLvDL play.

So, for NBA, what would be good things to look for that the casual fan generally miss? What, in addition to things like reading TZ or advanced stats sites, is essential to learn and take into account when watching/analyzing a game? I'm sure many of you had an "Aha!" moment during your pokerplaying - is there anything similar you can think of with regards to basketball?

Thanks in advance.

CLIFFS: teach me to NBA plz.

Nutshot, THAKID isn't anywhere remotely close to Jetto. Jetto is awful. Thakid isn't even a bad poster! He's fine! So... Maybe he just clowns in your Yankees thread?

<3

wtf
I kinda like when the mods get all huffy and puffy

Meh, I love Rondo, one of my fave playas, but I still have to vote for Nash. He's the assist man until proven otherwise
Everyone can agree Rambis is the nut low of coaching, right?
Sick N2 pickup!
Everyone's powerrankings has Cs>Heat tho, right?

Wow KG. http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba...ory?id=5759196

Kidcolin- take off the homer glasses once in a while brahhhhh

Posting in TZ on your birthday, now that's dedication.

Don't hold back baby. Tell us how you really feel.

Also, +1.

My biggest problem with the KG story is that it's just so lame. I'm all for a little trash talking, but work a little harder and come up with something good, dude.

TZ4lyfe

while i love being self congratulatory about tzs awesomeness, i gotta say you are putting it on way too high of a pedestal.

Here's a rough sketch we came up with last year on learning about advanced statistics:

KGs comments just got pub on sportscenter

Oh I'm not saying its posters are all geniuses and living encyklopedias, but for sure I'll learn more by reading here than just watching the games.

...right?

def learn a lot reading here. just think the whole "taking it to another level" pursuit is a bit misguided. id suggest watching for entertainment.

outside of watching, when reading or thinking about nba, your post makes it seem like you have a good grasp on the pertinent stats and sites.

Supine,

+1 to what Victor is saying.

My picks:

Hawks -10.5
Nets -1.5
Magic -18
Pacers -2
Celtics -8
Rockets -5
Mavs +4
Jazz -10.5
Spurs pk
Warriors -3.5
Thunder -8.5
Lakers -5

Guess I need a lot of blowouts.

Well, my thinking is that by learning more, I might enjoy it more. When I watched NFL the first time I thought it sucked tbf, just short runs into a wall of men then a commercial break, ecxruciating if you've grown up watching soccer. I enjoy NBA as it is, I'm just wondering if there is certain things that you don't see at once and that maybe the stat sheet won't tell you.

Bobbos post from preseason


The Heat have been GOATish on D the first 4 games and just very good on offense. Again its very very early but its something to look at.
News flash! Heat are scary good.

happy birthday



cheddaaaaaaahhhh

thats very reasonable. actually, i shouldnt have told you how to watch. shoulda just said that most of us just watch for fun. certainly reasonable that someone would get more entertainment out of watching from a more tactical perspective.

heres what coltrane suggested long ago: watch how often defenders switch off on screens/picks. or watch how often the defender goes over the top or under a screen.

i think i argued, kinda half heartedly, that heat would be very good on defense. tbf, bobbo agreed they would overwhelm weaker teams on d, but size may give them huge problems. id say the jury is still out on if they can stop the giants.