Suns Versus Mavericks; Spurs Versus Nuggets [NBA Live Thread]

12/4/08

0	The Suns look horrible.

12/4/08

kantwistaye

0	If San Antonio wins this game they'll be tied with the Suns for the 8th seed in the West. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

12/5/08

Chris

0

kantwistaye wrote:

If San Antonio wins this game they'll be tied with the Suns for the 8th seed in the West. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

well, when you have lineups shifting each week its hard to develop an image. They are still finding their game, and its going to take time. Same crap happened in 2003, the started off below .500 and once they clicked they flew up the standings to 60-22. So how the "mighty have fallen", for the Suns maybe, but you can't start out 15-2 like the Lakers if 50% of a teams offense is hurt for a 1/4th of a season.

12/5/08

kantwistaye

0	That is true, and thankfully so. The NBA is in a better place with the Kobe, Roy, CP3, and Nuggets leading the West. Its much much more fun and enjoyable.

12/5/08

kantwistaye

0

Chris wrote:

well, when you have lineups shifting each week its hard to develop an image. They are still finding their game, and its going to take time. Same crap happened in 2003, the started off below .500 and once they clicked they flew up the standings to 60-22. So how the "mighty have fallen", for the Suns maybe, but you can't start out 15-2 like the Lakers if 50% of a teams offense is hurt for a 1/4th of a season.

The Spurs have been better without Ginobili and Parker. They might get up to 6th or 5th in the West, but their title contending days are over.

12/5/08

Chris

0

kantwistaye wrote:

That is true, and thankfully so. The NBA is in a better place with the Kobe, Roy, CP3, and Nuggets leading the West. Its much much more fun and enjoyable.

i agree. Tonight's game is very fun and enjoyable. Great offensive players. People want points, right? People hated Spurs games because they were always low scoring poopfests. Now they've been scoring more, and with nice plays and trick plays, but still fans don't like it. But what do fans really want? They don't know what they want.

12/5/08

Chris

0

kantwistaye wrote:

The Spurs have been better without Ginobili and Parker. They might get up to 6th or 5th in the West, but their title contending days are over.

and that is said year after year. After 07 title, everyone said San Antonio was done. Then they made it to the Conference Finals. You can't just bury a team... just like people saying Boston was a one and done team. Fools talk. And those who said the Lakers would take a long time to come back after 2004. Stupid. Smart teams/coaches always find a way. Spurs still have a chance, just like everyone else.

12/5/08

Pat

0	I was at the game Monday when they destroyed the Magic, and barely any of the Big 3 even played in the entire 2nd quarter. Orlando won't be a problem. The Cavs might be, but not the Magic.

12/5/08

Pat

0	And just for the record, the Spurs didn't even really win the game tonight. They won the 2nd quarter. Like Luke says, this isn't a sign that they're back at all. Winning essentially one quarter against a Denver team that has been playing over their heads for a while anyway isn't really a sign of another championship run. Their time has come and gone, as far as that's concerned.

12/5/08

Chris

0	Who ever said the Spurs were "back"? even i didn't. I said its going to take a while before they get the lineup in form to perform at its best, and as long as they make the playoffs, they still have that shot. All you need is 16 playoff wins. Even the Hawks could win the title. Unlikely, but there is always a chance.

12/5/08

evilgenius328

0

This game was no so much won by the Spurs as it was lost by the Nuggets. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the Nuggets forgot how to run the offense and settled for too many one pass jumpers, and too many one and done posessions. There was no intensity by the Nuggets throughout the entire game, and it was evident by the difference in offensive rebounds. It's hard to beat any team in this league when you give a ton of second chance opportunities, and the Nuggets lost this game because of just that.

12/5/08

evilgenius328

0

The Nuggets should handle the Kings rather easily, and then get some much needed rest. The one thing I noticed in last nights game was that they all looked fatigued and could not muster any sustained intensity that matched San Antonio.

On their coming stretch of games, I think that the games against Cleveland, Dallas and Portland are going to be important in determining just how far this team has come, and how much work they still need. I mentioned in a post on another site that I feel the Nuggets will struggle against teams with size on the front court, so the game against Phoenix could also be interesting as well, although Phoenix is far from the team that they once were. Realistically, the Nuggets should win 5 games on their upcoming stretch, and if they could pull out more than 5 of those games I would say that they are ahead of the learning curve and we should all have reason to be excited about their chances this season.

12/12/08

Chris

0

(Edited by Chris)

So... still no chance? days over? Eat your words, fellas. Spurs are now 14-8. Now leading the Southwest Division with Hornets losing, and on the Nuggets' rears for 2nd best in the West. Should i say look out Lakers? Maybe not yet, but the gap is closing. Sure the bottom 7 seeds are close, but to go from 2-5, and follow up 12-3, only having LA, BOS, and CLE to have better records in last 15, yeah. nuff said.

12/12/08

kantwistaye

0

(Edited by kantwistaye)

The Spurs days are still over. They can't defend Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum underneath and they have no one left to defend Kobe. It was a five game series last year and the Lakers are obviously better this year. I don't like getting ahead of myself with the Lakers, but no one in the West looks like they can challenge them right. If there was a team in the West that might be able to give them some issues, it would be the Nuggets. Unless someone in the West makes a move, its probably going to stay that way too. The Lakers, Celtics, and Cavs are in a league of their own right now.

12/12/08

evilgenius328

1

kantwistaye wrote:

The Spurs days are still over. They can't defend Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum underneath and they have no one left to defend Kobe. It was a five game series last year and the Lakers are obviously better this year. I don't like getting ahead of myself with the Lakers, but no one in the West looks like they can challenge them right. If there was a team in the West that might be able to give them some issues, it would be the Nuggets. Unless someone in the West makes a move, its probably going to stay that way too. The Lakers, Celtics, and Cavs are in a league of their own right now.

Yes, the Spurs days are over. They are an aging team that has become increasingly fragile in the past 2 seasons. Timmy and Manu cannot seem to remain healthy for long stretches of time, and the wear and tear of the regular season has diminished their play in the post season in recent years (I don't wanna hear about how they won the title a couple years ago. They needed cheating officials to get past Phoenix that season, and played significantly worse competition than is in the West now. Then they only had to beat Lebron James and his bobbleheads from the East to win the title. The competition is much stiffer these days, almost as stiff as Timmys back in May). With 3 of their main contributors being Michael Finley, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili, and those 3 players being significant injury risks, it would take an act of God (or another referee scandal) for the Spurs to even make noise in the Western Conference playoffs.

12/13/08

Chris

0

kantwistaye wrote:

The Spurs days are still over. They can't defend Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum underneath and they have no one left to defend Kobe. It was a five game series last year and the Lakers are obviously better this year. I don't like getting ahead of myself with the Lakers, but no one in the West looks like they can challenge them right. If there was a team in the West that might be able to give them some issues, it would be the Nuggets. Unless someone in the West makes a move, its probably going to stay that way too. The Lakers, Celtics, and Cavs are in a league of their own right now.

what the hell? And what makes you think the Nuggets can guard Gasol and Bynum any better than the Spurs? Bowen owns Kobe. Who on Denver will step up? I wonder. Carmelo will threaten to foul out every game versus LA. So no, Denver should be no threat to Los Angeles. And also, Gasol hasn't really been able to hold down Duncan. Ahem- Cavaliers and Celtics are way ahead of LA also. According to Hollinger's unbiased ratings, LA's chances of winning the title dropped 20% to a mere 7% chance of winning it all as of now, while Cleveland is over 50% followed by Boston near 25%. And for the 5-game series, game 4 was questionable, and the series wasn't as big of blowout as it looks. San Antonio often had double-digit leads on LA, they didn't have the spark off the bench to keep the lead. Remember, Ginobili played with a bad ankle. Ugh why do i drag this on. Just watch your rearview mirror, because objects seem closer than they appear. Spurs can still overtake the Lakers. Spurs had their injuries. 10 games of injury battered Lakers would drop them right under San Antonio. You guys keep forgetting it. Even Jubenator14 pointed that out. He counted them out but then forgot, oh crap, half the team is hurt. Now at full power, they are flying up the standings.

12/13/08

kantwistaye

0

(Edited by kantwistaye)
Chris wrote:

what the hell? And what makes you think the Nuggets can guard Gasol and Bynum any better than the Spurs? Bowen owns Kobe. Who on Denver will step up? I wonder. Carmelo will threaten to foul out every game versus LA. So no, Denver should be no threat to Los Angeles. And also, Gasol hasn't really been able to hold down Duncan. Ahem- Cavaliers and Celtics are way ahead of LA also. According to Hollinger's unbiased ratings, LA's chances of winning the title dropped 20% to a mere 7% chance of winning it all as of now, while Cleveland is over 50% followed by Boston near 25%. And for the 5-game series, game 4 was questionable, and the series wasn't as big of blowout as it looks. San Antonio often had double-digit leads on LA, they didn't have the spark off the bench to keep the lead. Remember, Ginobili played with a bad ankle. Ugh why do i drag this on. Just watch your rearview mirror, because objects seem closer than they appear. Spurs can still overtake the Lakers. Spurs had their injuries. 10 games of injury battered Lakers would drop them right under San Antonio. You guys keep forgetting it. Even Jubenator14 pointed that out. He counted them out but then forgot, oh crap, half the team is hurt. Now at full power, they are flying up the standings.

1) A healthy Nene and Kenyon Martin could present problems. Denver has enough athleticism, as well as some control at the PG where they could possibly present problems for the Lakers.

2) Bruce Bowen hasn't owned Kobe in over 5 years. Bowen is done.

3) The Gasol/Duncan matchup didn't matter last year, and it certainly won't this year when Bynum is defending Duncan.

4) A Spurs fan complaining about officiating is pretty hilarious. Thats like if I said the Lakers would've won the Finals last year if Game 2 wasn't so horribly officiated. It doesn't change the fact that the Celtics embarassed the Lakers just like the Lakers embarassed the Spurs.

5) The Lakers improved this offseason where the Spurs got older. The Spurs couldn't do it last year and they won't this year.

12/13/08

Chris

0

kantwistaye wrote:

1) A healthy Nene and Kenyon Martin could present problems. Denver has enough athleticism, as well as some control at the PG where they could possibly present problems for the Lakers.

2) Bruce Bowen hasn't owned Kobe in over 5 years. Bowen is done.

3) The Gasol/Duncan matchup didn't matter last year, and it certainly won't this year when Bynum is defending Duncan.

4) A Spurs fan complaining about officiating is pretty hilarious. Thats like if I said the Lakers would've won the Finals last year if Game 2 wasn't so horribly officiated. It doesn't change the fact that the Celtics embarassed the Lakers just like the Lakers embarassed the Spurs.

5) The Lakers improved this offseason where the Spurs got older. The Spurs couldn't do it last year and they won't this year.

i never mentioned the words: referree, officiating, or foul. You made that assumption for #4. As for #5, i feel they picked up a valuable rookie and spark off the bench. They are in transition mode, you can't dump and entire team over one year especially with big contracts, while i agree that the Spurs should flex their options on a trade to remove some baggage. And Lakers didn't embarrass the Spurs like Celts did to them. I don't remember the Spurs ever losing by 40 to the Lakers.

12/13/08

kantwistaye

0

Chris wrote:

i never mentioned the words: referree, officiating, or foul. You made that assumption for #4. As for #5, i feel they picked up a valuable rookie and spark off the bench. They are in transition mode, you can't dump and entire team over one year especially with big contracts, while i agree that the Spurs should flex their options on a trade to remove some baggage. And Lakers didn't embarrass the Spurs like Celts did to them. I don't remember the Spurs ever losing by 40 to the Lakers.

No, but we did win by 30. I'm sure if it went to 6 games we would've gotten that 40 point win in.

12/13/08

Chris

0	kantwistaye wrote: No, but we did win by 30. I'm sure if it went to 6 games we would've gotten that 40 point win in. hahaha, maybe, but thats a tough task in the AT&T. Never know what could've happened. Well, cheers to upcoming SA-LAL matchups. Hopefully another playoff series? They seem typical... these two squads have seen the most of each other since 1999.

12/14/08

kantwistaye

0	Chris wrote: hahaha, maybe, but thats a tough task in the AT&T. Never know what could've happened. Well, cheers to upcoming SA-LAL matchups. Hopefully another playoff series? They seem typical... these two squads have seen the most of each other since 1999. I'm perfectly okay with another playoff series.