☆☆ 2012 NBA Finals ☆☆ The King has been crowned; Heat win 2012 NBA Finals! Bron Finals MVP.

Originally Posted by toine2983

^ Heat losing to the Spurs isn't crazy at all. Spurs are playing well, the Heat aren't and Wade is probably iffy at best for that game.

Best believe if they lose to the Spurs and Lakers this week ESPN will dust off the Heat Panic meter.
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Nah, ESPN is too busy with NFL playoffs to care. They don't care about NBA until after All-Star Weekend. Hell, even by then pitchers and catchers have reported, so it's baseball talk combined with offseason NFL "news." That network needs to just give up the NBA because they honestly don't care about it.
 
Originally Posted by Dagrandesoda

Lebron will show up. Yall act like he wasn't clutch in Cleveland
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I have no doubt LeBron will show up to the game... My concern is that once the 4th quarter hits he will forget he was playing basketball for 12 minutes.
 
It would be hilarious if the game was on the line against the Spurs and Spoelstra decided to give Bosh the ball instead of LeBron..It would be controversy for days
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Originally Posted by Scientific Method
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Why in the %$+% did they trade Perkins. I loved watching that Celtics team play when he was there. If it was because they thought they were gonna have to give him a big contract and they wouldn't be able to build around him, what the %$+% did they think they were going to have in Jeff Green? That trade was just random on all fronts, maybe the most out of nowhere trade I've ever seen outside of the D-Will trade. And on top of that, they trade their starting center for what? Paul Pierce's replacement in waiting? So he's a bench player for 5 years? That's awful. I bet Danny Ainge was getting death threats from Rondo after that one. ###$$+% idiot.
 
Originally Posted by Buc Em

Originally Posted by Scientific Method
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Why in the %$+% did they trade Perkins. I loved watching that Celtics team play when he was there. If it was because they thought they were gonna have to give him a big contract and they wouldn't be able to build around him, what the %$+% did they think they were going to have in Jeff Green? That trade was just random on all fronts, maybe the most out of nowhere trade I've ever seen outside of the D-Will trade. And on top of that, they trade their starting center for what? Paul Pierce's replacement in waiting? So he's a bench player for 5 years? That's awful. I bet Danny Ainge was getting death threats from Rondo after that one. ###$$+% idiot.
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The Celtics didn't want to pay Perkins, get more offensive help and were trying to match up better with the Heat.
 
For anybody that has the 5 team NBA league pass, what 4 teams did you go with after your own team?

I'm thinking Knicks (hometown team), Bulls, Thunder, ??, ??

I'm thinking the Clippers, Nuggets, & Lakers would make for some good games to watch. So many exciting teams this season 
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^ Ainge said they wanted to get a rangy, tweener forward to back up Pierce and to be able to defend the LeBrons, Carmelos, and other wings of the East and bring some athleticism. And yes, Rondo even admitted his play fell off right after the trade because he and Perk are best friends and he was sulking. If you saw the The Season: Boston Celtics documentary, it actually was covering them the second the trade broke. They were crying and everything, had to be tough for them. Like you said it was such a random, out of the blue, trade that when they got Jeff Green, Doc said he doesn't even know what Jeff Green does on the floor or how to use him and it really showed the whole tenure there. Plus being a Thunder fan I like his game and think he's too good to be a bench player, at this point in his career anyways. I would have rather seen him go a terrible team and put up 17/6 and get moved back to his natural position at the 3. 'Ppreciate it tho Ainge
 
New-and-improved Perkins nervously awaits return to Boston

When the NBA lockout ended last month, Kendrick Perkins found himself searching the Thunder schedule for one game in particular: Jan. 16, Oklahoma City's lone trip to Boston.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't look for it," Perkins said in a telephone interview. "With the short season, I didn't know if we would be going back there. I'm looking forward to it."

It has been 11 months since Boston shipped Perkins to Oklahoma City, breaking up the core of a team that, when healthy, Perkins reminds a reporter, never lost a playoff series. The decision to trade Perkins financially motivated: Under the former collective bargaining agreement, the Celtics could offer Perkins only a four-year, $22 million extension. He declined. Boston could have increased its offer in the offseason but with the exploding center market -- witness the four-year, $56 million deal Tyson Chandler signed with New York or the four-year, $43 million contract DeAndre Jordan inked with the Clippers last month -- the front office was unwilling to commit major money to an offensively limited center coming off a major knee injury.

While the trade came as a shock to many, Perkins says he saw it coming.

"I kind of expected it a little bit," Perkins said. "Out of the five starters, I was the only one who wasn't an All-Star. I was coming off an ACL injury and they were winning without me. When I was hurt Shaq and Jermaine [O'Neal], they played well. I think they wondered 'Is he really that valuable to the team?' They probably underestimated what I do, the little things that I do, on the court. Not my teammates or the coaches, but ownership, they probably did think it was easy to do what I was doing for the team."

Turns out, it wasn't. With both O'Neal's battling injuries in the second half of the season, Boston stumbled. The Celtics finished as the third seed and swept the Knicks in the first round but were eliminated by Miami in five games in the conference semifinals.

"Removing Perk from our team pulled away some of our armor," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "It allowed other teams see us as vulnerable, that they could beat us. Over the summer I heard from people in Orlando and Miami saying things like 'Perk's gone, now we can beat them.'"

The Thunder saw Perkins as a perfect fit, a young (27), defensive-minded center who valued winning over statistics and could grow with the team's young core. And they weren't about to let Perkins get away. Oklahoma City locked him up with a four-year extension worth nearly $35 million before he ever played a game.

The Thunder were able to offer a better deal than Boston thanks to a loophole in the CBA. On the same day they acquired Perkins, the Thunder executed a trade with Charlotte that sent Morris Peterson and D.J. White to the Bobcats for Nazr Mohammed. That trade, coupled with sending Jeff Green to Boston for Perkins, cleared an extra $2 million in cap space. The Thunder used that room to give Perkins a raise for the rest of last season, which in turn enabled the team to offer him more money in a long-term deal.

On the floor, Perkins meshed instantly. Despite battling a sprained left knee and continuing to rehab the torn ACL in his right knee he suffered in the 2010 Finals, in addition to being 25 pounds over his normal playing weight, Perkins was a key contributor in Oklahoma City's surprising playoff run. He banged bodies with Denver's Nene in the opening round, mixed it up with Memphis' Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the semifinals and matched up with Chandler, then with Dallas, in the conference finals. Overnight, Perkins transformed the Thunder from a finesse team to a physical one.

"I give Perk a lot of credit," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Not a lot of NBA players would play when they weren't 100 percent. And he wasn't. But we needed him. He doesn't back down from anyone. He's not interested in making friends with anyone. And Perk is not pseudo tough. I played with the Knicks, with Charles Oakley. He was a tough guy. Perk's a lot like that. It's how he is wired. He has to be able to compete that way, bring that toughness. That's how he survives."

After the season, Perkins vowed to lose 20 pounds. He hired a nutritionist and a personal trainer and worked out three hours a day, often seven days a week. He lost 31 pounds, reporting to training camp a svelte 267 pounds.

"When I saw a picture of him I said 'Wow, James Harden looks good,'" Rivers said. "I couldn't believe it was Perk."

Slimmed down and healthy, Perkins has been a force. Through 13 games he's averaged 5.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game but, as it's always been with Perkins, numbers don't tell the whole story. Thunder officials rave about how Perkins jaw-rattling screens have created space for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. After Oklahoma City's win over New York on Friday, Knicks forward Billy Walker remarked how difficult it was to chase Durant around the Thunder big man.

Brooks praises Perkins' versatility. Last season, an immobile Perkins was limited to defending centers. This season, Brooks hasn't hesitated to play him on power forwards. Against the Knicks, Perkins took turns defending Amar'e Stoudemire, limiting the All-Star forward to 14 points on 7-of-19 shooting.

"[Perkins] is moving so much better," Brooks said. "He gets from box to box faster. No one should be surprised. This guy is an incredibly hard worker."

Indeed, Perkins has always had a strong work ethic. In Boston, he held the team record for the fastest time in the five-mile bike ride for years before Brian Scalabrine finally beat it in 2010. When Perkins saw Scalabrine's name on the white board in the weight room he was, according to Scalabrine, "mad at me for days." Last week, with the Thunder immersed in a three-games-in-four-nights stretch, Brooks tried to give Perkins a break by splitting the drills with Nick Collison. Perkins got so angry, Brooks said, "I thought he was going to fight me."

"Getting him to ease up is like pulling teeth," Brooks said. "He wants to do everything."

Perkins admits coming back to Boston is bittersweet. He's happy in Oklahoma City ("Our locker room is locked in," Perkins said) but admits a part of him believes those Celtics teams had unfinished business.

"There's always going to be a 'what if' in me," Perkins said. "We never lost a playoff series. You wish you could have had a chance to redeem yourself with the team but it's a business, and it has been good be able to come to another great situation. But the 'what if' is always in the back of your mind."

Perkins says he has thought a lot about how he will be received by the Boston crowd.

"I'm kind of nervous," Perkins said. "I don't know what to expect. It's not like I have been around the league. I came there as an 18-year-old out of high school and was a Celtic for eight years. We went through the good times, the bad times, and the city really embraced me. I got close to a lot of people in that city and it was really hard to leave.

"Going back for the first time, I don't know what to expect. My approach is I want to win the game, but at the same time it is kind of hard with so many friends on the other side. Can I really be Perk out there? Can I really play my style? [Kevin Garnett] is my mentor. Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce] are my friends. Doc, we have a father-son relationship. [Rajon] Rondo, we talk every day. It's going to be hard."

Playing the game may be tough, but Perkins should rest easy about his reception. As much as he embraced Boston, the city, the fans embraced the blue-collar Perkins right back. The Celtics have planned a pre-game tribute and its likely Perkins will receive the loudest ovation for a visiting player since Robert Parish returned with the Hornets in 1995. Perkins may wear blue now, but the city will always remember him in green.

"He's just masquerading in another uniform," Rivers said. "As far as I'm concerned, he's a Celtic for the rest of his life."

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Originally Posted by Addict4Sneakers

anyone else notice utah is 8-4?
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during the lakers game the other day, i had to ask one of my boys i was watching the game with the following: "how the hell is utah 6-3.. did you know that?!"
    

Originally Posted by gaseousfashion

This thread being a sticky threw me off.
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me 3
 
A lot of the younger NBA teams are going to get off to a great start due to their youth n athleticism..Also, certain teams have a very favorable early schedule..The Knicks started off with a pretty easy schedule and they choked.
 
Originally Posted by sthebest

Originally Posted by DipsetGeneral

Originally Posted by Scientific Method
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Why Danny Ainge? Why o' why?�
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For some reason, the Bulls don't seem that good on paper. Think about it, the starting line-up is Rose, Hamilton/Brewer, Deng, Boozer & Noah.

That starting five doesn't intimidate me, but I guess when they actually play; They play together so that is why they have early success.

The only two people that scare me on that starting five is Rose & Deng. The rest are whatever to me�
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And see alot of teams count on the Bulls just depending on Rose and Deng for offense. But there's several factors: Hamilton/Rose set up good plays for one another, and Noah/Boozer in the game together boost each others stats. Boozer's mid range jumper has improved and although Noah has sucked at receiving passes off of picks and has not been as good at scoring, he's been good at playing defense and rebounding for second chance points. Brewer's jumpshot has improved this season. Who people really need to watch out for is Asik, dude is a beast on defense. And Lucas has speed and great passing skills on his side, and he can pop a three every now and then.
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Yeah Ronnie Brewer has played well + I have heard alot about Asik and his defense. Van Gundy even said he should be on the all-defensive team this season.
 
Originally Posted by Dagrandesoda

Lebron will show up. Yall act like he wasn't clutch in Cleveland
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Dude was a straight monster in a Cavs uni.   Makes me sad because watching that last game, NO WAY #23 Bron is missing those layups and FT's.   
Just want him to step up.  Show us the talent you really have.  

Anyway, big damn game for the Cavs.  KI-2 has played a great road trip, and I'm curious to see how he ends it.  Hopefully on a good note! 
 
not going lie, i'm a big fan of asik..


if i'm orlando, i would go to chicago and try and get something like this from the bulls: asik, taj, deng and picks

for howard and turk






no clue if that works out salary wise (haven't checked if the ESPN trade machine is back up yet)
 
Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

not going lie, i'm a big fan of asik..


if i'm orlando, i would go to chicago and try and get something like this from the bulls: asik, taj, deng and picks

for howard and turk






no clue if that works out salary wise (haven't checked if the ESPN trade machine is back up yet)
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$13 million off.

D12 & Hedo  28.485 million
Asik, Taj, Deng 15.393

For it to work and the Magic to take it you would have to include  Boozer or Noah. Most likely would have to be Noah who has better trade value

No way adding Brewer & Korver will make it happen because they already have a shooter off the bench.

Doubtful that the Bulls can get Howard.
 
Rudy. 
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It had to take the city of Memphis to %$!! on him after the Thunder game to get him to play like this.
 
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