Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

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When the **** did Corey Brewer become more important to the Nuggets than Iggy??

Not complaining though I picked up Brewer in fantasy a long time ago, he hasn't let up
 
Your yearly ESPN True Hoop Network Pretenders or Contenders:


http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-130322/nba-contenders-pretenders


1. Contenders or Pretenders: Los Angeles Clippers

D.J. Foster, ClipperBlog: Pretenders. The Clippers are like a boss in a video game -- scary at first glance, but flawed in obvious ways. Chris Paul doesn't discriminate enough with his distribution, Vinny Del Negro can't figure out his best lineups, and ranking 27th in 3-point percentage defense is basically a bull's-eye for sharpshooting teams like the Spurs.

Beckley Mason, ESPN.com: Pretender. This is the same team that won 17 straight games and still has two top-10 players, but I don't trust Vinny Del Negro to make the right adjustments and adjust his rotation properly in the playoffs. Especially if point guard defender extraordinaire Eric Bledsoe can't get on the court due to his health or coach's preference, this team is not ready to contend.

Andrew McNeill, 48 Minutes of Hell: Pretenders. That said, I am almost to the point of expecting this team to knock out either the Spurs or Thunder in the playoffs. But I just don't see the Clippers putting together three or four series' worth of great play.

Chris Palmer, ESPN The Magazine: Contenders. But I'm kind of on the fence about these guys. First off, any time Chris Paul is on the floor in a single-digit game in the fourth, the Clippers have a shot to win it. Crazy athletic bigs and an excess of shooting and depth will make them a factor late into May. But when the game slows down, the Clips gets erratic. Won't get away with that much longer.

Jared Wade, 8 Points, 9 Seconds: Contenders. Along with the Spurs, Thunder and Heat, the Clippers are one of just four teams in the NBA with both a top-10 offense and defense (in terms of points per possession). That alone demands that Los Angeles be taken seriously -- and then you add in that it employs the best point guard on the planet.


2. Contenders or Pretenders: Memphis Grizzlies

Foster: Contenders. Marc Gasol might be the best two-way player in the NBA not named LeBron James, and the Grizzlies have finally figured out they should run more offense through him. Turnover-happy teams like the Thunder should be terrified of playing a Grizzlies team that regularly creates a significant advantage in possessions.

Mason: Pretenders ... just barely. Great defensive team, but I don't think they'll be able to score well enough in the playoffs to make it all the way to the Finals. Jerryd Bayless has offered nice pop off the bench, but even during this 13-3 stretch, they have been below average offensively compared to the rest of the NBA.

McNeill: Pretenders. Like the Clippers, the Grizzlies seem like pretenders capable of knocking out a contender. They play great defense, which is a plus in the playoffs and could find themselves in a matchup where their bigs can do some damage offensively. Not a contender, but dangerous.

Palmer: Contenders. Versatile, tough, skilled and athletic, the Grizzlies are capable of playing just about any style and matching up well against both small and big lineups. But it's their physicality on the interior that will determine when their season ends. Given the way Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol can go, it'll be a long run.

Wade: Contenders. The top two teams out West seem tough to beat, but San Antonio faces health concerns, and Oklahoma City has to adjust to winning in the postseason without James Harden. Both should overcome those challenges, but the uncertainty leaves the door open for a solid, healthy, surging team like the Grizzlies to make its way to the Finals.


3. Contenders or Pretenders: Denver Nuggets

Foster: Contenders. The league's best home-court advantage has to count for something, right? The pace, the altitude and the relentlessness going to the rack have always made the Nuggets a formidable foe, but improvements defensively (up to 12th in defensive efficiency) make the Nuggets a contender.

Mason: Contenders! The Nuggets have a top-six defense and the best offense in the NBA since the All-Star break. They have a 9-3 record against the top four in the West. It may not look like a typical superstar-laden squad, but after a rocky start, Denver has had all the makings of a championship team.

McNeill: Pretenders. You don't want to play them when they have home-court advantage, nor do you want to give them that with a loss at home. But the Nuggets' lack of an elite go-to offensive player in the half court makes it tough in the playoffs, when things slow down.

Palmer: Contenders. Everyone's choice for "team nobody wants to play" in the first round. Make that every round. They've got the best athletes in the league and can run just about anybody out of the gym. The knock is they don't have a go-to guy, but that's just one of those things people say. You could do a lot worse than Andre Iguodala taking the last shot.

Wade: Pretenders. The Nuggets have a case for winning the conference on paper, but never trust a team that can't shoot. Only five teams shoot worse than Denver from 3-point range, and the Nuggets' 35.0 percent accuracy from midrange is second-worst in the league. Feasting in the paint has worked so far, but some team will take that away in the playoffs.


4. Contenders or Pretenders: Indiana Pacers

Foster: Pretenders. Indiana's defense might be the best in the league, but there just isn't enough there offensively for a title run. Not having Danny Granger obviously hurts, but really it's Roy Hibbert's inability to score that could deprive the Pacers of the one exploitable mismatch they had against Miami.

Mason: Pretenders. The only way this team is going to make a real run at the Heat is if Granger comes back healthy enough to offer some defense on LeBron James and make 3s. When it ramps up the pressure, Miami's defense has consistently overwhelmed Indiana's pick-and-roll attack and negated its size advantage inside.

McNeill: Pretenders. The Pacers are an elite defensive team that could be the only threat to the Miami Heat coasting to the NBA Finals, but I don't consider them a contender. On the off chance they upset the Heat, there's no way they're beating the Spurs or Thunder as well. They simply can't score well enough.

Palmer: Contenders. If, of course, contender in the East means being able to take the Heat to six games in the Eastern Conference finals, which they are entirely capable of doing. Oh, the thing is Roy Hibbert must show up and protect the rim and exploit Miami's thin interior, which seems to be its Achilles' heel. Danny Granger's toughness helped make last year's clash with Miami fairly even and highly entertaining. But without him, they could just get pushed around.

Wade: Pretenders. At this point it seems obvious that the Pacers are the second-best team in the East -- perhaps by a wide margin. But there is an even larger chasm between Indiana and Miami, and nobody this side of the Mississippi is beating the Heat in the playoffs.



5. Contenders or Pretenders: Los Angeles Lakers

Foster: Pretenders. The last team to win a championship with a defensive efficiency rating worse than half of the league was -- wait for it -- the Lakers in 2000-01. Of course, overcoming a below-average defense to win the title has only happened once in the last 37 years, so don't hold your breath, Lakers fans.

Mason: Pretenders. Even if Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol come back healthy, the Lakers still don't have the depth or defense to warrant contender status.

McNeill: Pretenders. If you can't tell by my previous four answers, I only consider the Spurs, Thunder and Heat as true contenders for the NBA title. While the Lakers have recovered from their abysmal start to the season, their defense still isn't good enough. And Pau Gasol's return could cause chemistry problems with precious little time to adjust.

Palmer: Pretenders. Not a good bet at all to get out of the first round against more battle-tested, playoff-ready teams -- specifically the Spurs and Thunder. Health and defense have been issues all season that won't magically disappear come the postseason. With shortened rotations in the playoffs, their older players would have to log heavy minutes, which certainly doesn't bode well, given their frailty.

Wade: Pretenders. The only thing less likely to happen than the Lakers winning the 2013 NBA championship is Dwight Howard becoming a celebrity image consultant.
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A post on reddit reminded me of one of my favorite NBA promos ever.

 
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@ only 1 East team being mentioned

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@ the Lakers being mentioned at all

That being said I will give my opinions on those teams

Clippers-Pretenders. Been saying it all year, this team is fools gold. They're nowhere near as good as their record indicates. They're not that overwhelming offensively and their defense isn't anything to write home about. Depending on how he seeding works out they really might be out in the first round.

Grizzlies-Pretenders. Although I will give them credit, they're a lot better than I thought they would be post Rudy Gay trade. Everyone and their mom was wrong about that one, but the reason I don't see them going far is because of the fact that they lack an Identity. Too many times I've seen them go away from Randolph and Gasol for long stretches of the game. At least one of those guys should touch the ball on every possession, it doesn't make sense to play otherwise. This is the best frontcourt in basketball, utilize it.

Nuggets-Contenders. We just had this conversation on Tuesday, I don't really need to state the obvious again. inb4 "The Nuggets are being over rated, GEORGE KARL IS A REGULAR SEASON COACH, rabble rabble rabble"

Lakers-
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(Not even trying to rustle jimmies, but even Laker fans know this is ridiculous, guess we should mention the Bucks then)They all said they're pretenders for a reason.

Pacers-Contenders. They still have a legit shot of beating Miami in my eyes even with their recent slump and Miamis run. A lot of things would have to go right, most importantly their offense would have to be as good as its ever been, but I wouldn't be surprised if they took it to 6 games or even won the series.
Big J 33 said:
A post on reddit reminded me of one of my favorite NBA promos ever.

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I totally forgot about this. Such a great promo
 
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don't eem care about what these analysts say. these the same dudes that predicted the dallas mavericks to be swept or closed out in 5 by the lakers 2 years ago. we all know how that turned out 8)
 
One of my favorite promo's as well :smokin

Nate's dunk :x :x I have no problem with him flexing like that after the play though... The game still had a lot of time left & Chicago could've used that as energy to spark a comeback. If he would've done that with less than a minute to go I'd feel different about it, but there was still mos tof the 4th qtr to be played.

McGee & Faried's blocks :wow: :x :smh:
 
Memphis need to move to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

And antidope, the key to Memphis success is Marc Gasol, not Zach Randolph this postseason. I've rarely seen ZBo dominate a game this season like he use to a few years ago. This season, ZBo needs to be Marc's sidekick.

When we feed the ball into Marc, good things happen about 95% of the time. Teams load up on ZBo and he's just not versatile enough to make the best play for the team when that happens unless he gets hot. Just like one of those writers said (even though I don't quite agree with that assesement) Marc is probably the best two player in the league outside of Lebron.
 
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RoOk said:

Dog I'm crying because of the dance...and then the final score shows up :wow: :lol:
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The dance was from the beginning of the game and then the score was put there after the game was over. I remember this being a big deal when it happened.
 
Western Conference makes no types of sense. Minnesota and OKC is in the Northwest division, Memphis and New Orleans in the southwest division. Why is the NBA naming divisions like this? Just name it something else. Americans already have issues with geography.

Now when the Kings go back to Seattle they're going to playing in the Pacific division? So they won't be in the same division with there arch rivals Trail Blazers?

It's not as bad as the NFL but they only play once a week, the flights aren't as taxing like tha NBA is.
 
I understand why people call the Clippers pretenders and the Grizzlies contenders but I can't get by the fact that that same team Clipper team [who were badly injured] beat Memphis in the playoffs last year. If anything I still look at them as equal.

If Indiana can be considered a contender that just proves how lousy the east is. They wouldn't get odds against any of the west teams in a series with the exception of maybe the Lakers. But even then it would be close odds.

The west has 5 legitimate teams and Golden State and Houston are no joke. 
 
:rofl: @ anyone who thinks our Jimmies will be Rustled over a "pretenders/contenders" list.
We already know no one takes us serious.
Everyone on NT is predicting 1st round sweep.
Stephen A is predicting first round murder.

You think we honestly expected anyone to call us a contender? :lol:

I like the underdog role, though. :nerd:
 
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JumpmanFromDaBay said:
I would love to see a playoff with the best 12 teams east/west combined
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This needs to happen. the fact that sub 500 teams are constantly making it into the East playoffs is sad. It completely undermines what a playoff is supposed to represent.
FlyerThanDelta said:
Man just let the playoff start getting tired of folks running they mouths
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Yet in the post directly below yours, a Laker fan acknowledges the fact that no one thinks theyre going to do well in the playoffs. No ones running their mouths its a legitimate opinion about a team that just so happens to not be that good. Be quiet.
LiCeNseD To BaLL said:
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@ anyone who thinks our Jimmies will be Rustled over a "pretenders/contenders" list.
We already know no one takes us serious.
Everyone on NT is predicting 1st round sweep.
Stephen A is predicting first round murder.

You think we honestly expected anyone to call us a contender?
laugh.gif

I like the underdog role, though.
nerd.gif
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Look at the post above yours though. A simple opinion is somehow construed as "running their mouths" simply because it says the lakers wont win. I've seen the mass over reactions to negative Laker comments in this thread, dont need people coming at my neck all of a sudden and asking for my banishment.
 
Antidope said:
JumpmanFromDaBay said:
I would love to see a playoff with the best 12 teams east/west combined
Click to expand...
This needs to happen. the fact that sub 500 teams are constantly making it into the East playoffs is sad. It completely undermines what a playoff is supposed to represent.
FlyerThanDelta said:
Man just let the playoff start getting tired of folks running they mouths :smh:
Click to expand...
Yet in the post directly below yours, a Laker fan acknowledges the fact that no one thinks theyre going to do well in the playoffs. No ones running their mouths its a legitimate opinion about a team that just so happens to not be that good. Be quiet.
LiCeNseD To BaLL said:
:rofl: @ anyone who thinks our Jimmies will be Rustled over a "pretenders/contenders" list.

We already know no one takes us serious.

Everyone on NT is predicting 1st round sweep.

Stephen A is predicting first round murder.


You think we honestly expected anyone to call us a contender? :lol:
I like the underdog role, though. :nerd:
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Look at the post above yours though. A simple opinion is somehow construed as "running their mouths" simply because it says the lakers wont win. I've seen the mass over reactions to negative Laker comments in this thread, dont need people coming at my neck all of a sudden and asking for my banishment.
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Huh? I mean i understand that Flyers post was conveying him being annoyed by the doubters...but thats different from being upset and overreacting. He didn't go off on anyone, he didnt attack anyone, he didnt even say that it wasn't true. He just said he's tired of all the talk...like many people are.
Aren't you tired of the Laker talk as well? Good and bad? I mean it seems like everyones tired of it.

I wasn't coming at your neck about anything bro. Quick made another bait type post (look way above) so all i was saying was if anyone (such as quick) expects us (well most of us at least...cough...acb...) to overreact and go crazy...they are mistaken.
We already know we're doubted...we just wanna get to the playoffs and see whats up already.

Not mad at you for posting your opinion. I know the general consensus agrees with you.
 
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Antidope said:
JumpmanFromDaBay said:
I would love to see a playoff with the best 12 teams east/west combined
Click to expand...
This needs to happen. the fact that sub 500 teams are constantly making it into the East playoffs is sad. It completely undermines what a playoff is supposed to represent.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be mad at all if this happened. I used to think that idea was crazy but I give up on the East. There's so many irrelevant teams and it's been the same way for over a decade. Just look at it now, you got Miami and a bunch of aight teams and after that everybody else is trash. :smh:
 
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bhzmafia14 said:
Memphis need to move to the Eastern Conference where they belong.

And antidope, the key to Memphis success is Marc Gasol, not Zach Randolph this postseason. I've rarely seen ZBo dominate a game this season like he use to a few years ago. This season, ZBo needs to be Marc's sidekick.

When we feed the ball into Marc, good things happen about 95% of the time. Teams load up on ZBo and he's just not versatile enough to make the best play for the team when that happens unless he gets hot. Just like one of those writers said (even though I don't quite agree with that assesement) Marc is probably the best two player in the league outside of Lebron.
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Yeah, I would like to see them go to the East as well. If they did Memphis would easily be top two in the east with Miami. But for me personally its less exciting without Rudy
 
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