Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

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MrONegative said:
BarnesReverseWarriorsBench.gif


reaction > dunk
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A's/Warrior Fan's reaction >>>> 
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Any of yall see that girl who asked D Wade to her prom lol

The thirst is too real

700


She cute and all, but these girls make it seem like twitter is the end all be all
 
HOOD17 said:
Riley will not let Lebron return to Cleveland with all his limbs attach. Cleveland needs to move on Lebron trust Pat and Mickey and the family. He's one of them now and forever.
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Like I have posted before. I wouldn't trust dan Gilbert.. what has Gilbert provided that Riley hasn't in less years?.. you think Riley gonna act like a salty ex girlfriend if LeBron left like Gilbert did?
 
I don't know what's sadder.

LeBron leaving Cleveland in the first place or Cleveland fans actually thinking he was really going to return.
 
this aint got much to do about nothing but 

stephen a's hair line on first take makes him look like a lost jim henson puppet. Some people need to know when its time to come on home.
 
Lakers' answer isn't in the post.
Kobe Bryant's Twitter account has received plenty of views recently.


To tweet or not to tweet.. I CHOOSE not 2. Focus should be on the team not my insight. @georgelopez voice "Can't DO nothin!"#vinospeare

Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 22, 2013
Post. Post. Post.

Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013
What I would say if I was there right now? "Pau get ur *** on the block and don't move till u get it" #realtalk

Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 21, 2013

The injured Los Angeles Lakers star live-tweeted his analysis of the Lakers' Game 1 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Afterward, when Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni was asked about the tweets, D'Antoni dismissed them by saying Bryant was "just a fan right now." In the wake of the mini-firestorm, Bryant declared that he will not be tweeting during games in the future. "Focus should be on the team not my insight," he explained on Twitter.



So just what was Bryant saying on Twitter that stirred up such a commotion? His main message throughout the game was similar to the one being delivered on the ABC broadcast and elsewhere online -- the Lakers needed to post up big men Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. "Gotta get to the block," he tweeted early in the game. Later he amplified that message with "Post post post."



As that was playing out live, something funny was happening on the court: The Lakers' post-ups were a disaster. During the first half, the Lakers scored just once during the 11 plays where they entered the ball to Howard in the post -- a Howard left-hand hook late in the second quarter when the Spurs failed to bring double-team help.



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Would the Lakers' offense be more effective if it went to Dwight Howard less in the post?

Howard's post-up opportunities were somewhat more effective in the second half, but they still finished the game producing just eight points on 20 plays, a dismal rate compared to the Lakers average of 0.79 points per play. Gasol's own post-ups (four points on eight plays) weren't much better.



What went wrong? Well, the Lakers turned the ball over much too frequently when they went to Howard down low. They threw away the entry pass to Howard five times, and he committed two more turnovers trying to pass the ball back out when San Antonio collapsed on him.



However, what happened Sunday is also a reminder of something D'Antoni said during the news conference where he was introduced to Los Angeles media: "One of the least efficient plays in basketball is a straight post-up."



The vision of a bigger post player backing down his defender and scoring just doesn't happen in the modern NBA, where teams like the Spurs have sophisticated schemes for bringing help defense to protect weak post defenders like Matt Bonner. The best reasons to run post-ups are to get to the free throw line -- no good with Howard, a 49 percent shooter there -- and create open outside shots.



That's a problem for these Lakers, who severely lack 3-point shooting with Bryant out of the lineup and backup guard Jodie Meeks limited by a sprained ankle suffered during Sunday's game. The double-teams drawn by Howard generated good looks for teammates at times, but the other Lakers simply weren't capable of knocking them down. The team shot 3-of-15 from beyond the arc and missed four of the five outside shots created by post-ups.



Fortunately, post-ups aren't the only way the Lakers can take advantage of the size of Gasol and Howard. Here are two other options that were more effective in Game 1.




1. Stick with the pick-and-roll



While the Lakers' pick-and-rolls weren't a whole lot more effective than post-ups on Sunday, producing 21 points in 30 plays (0.7 points per play), they resulted in better shot attempts. The Lakers have the potential to do a lot more damage on offense if Nash and Gasol can find their touch from midrange.



San Antonio's big men sagged off the pick-and-roll to prevent penetration, conceding pull-up jumpers to Steve Nash. In his first game back after missing the last eight of the regular season with a strained hamstring, Nash's jumper was rusty. He missed six of his seven pull-up opportunities outside the paint. Eventually, Nash is bound to make those shots. According to Hoopdata.com, Nash made more than half of his shots between 10 and 23 feet this season.



When Nash wasn't open off the pick-and-roll, Gasol usually was. His shot chart shows a conspicuous number of missed shots from outside the paint. Gasol shot 3-of-11 from 10 feet or beyond, and he's usually a 38.0 percent shooter from 16-23 feet, per Hoopdata.com.



If Nash and Gasol make a few more shots in Game 2, the pick-and-roll could become a more efficient option for the Lakers. And if Spurs defenders are forced to step out to defend the midrange game, that in turn opens up driving lanes for Nash.




2. Get creative



A handful of other plays the Lakers ran during Game 1 show promise. Their elbow series -- where both big men are stationed at either side of the free throw line and the point guard can get a screen from either player -- offers a number of options. One of them is the 4-5 pick-and-roll, where Howard screens for Gasol and nearly guarantees an open jumper for Gasol from the free throw line.



On four plays, the Lakers broke out a double-pick for Nash, where both Gasol and Howard screened, creating some confusion in the San Antonio defense. On one of the double pick-and-roll plays, Howard ended up open in the paint for a layup.



Lastly, D'Antoni went to his Phoenix playbook to use Howard in a couple of "dribble-at" plays, in which he dribbles toward the point guard and hands the ball off to him, creating a natural screen. Both times the Lakers ran the dribble handoff with Howard and Steve Blake, it led to Blake scores. The Lakers don't want Howard dribbling too frequently and he must be careful to avoid being called for a moving screen, but the play can be tricky to defend because it starts with the point guard on the move.



With Bryant watching the game on his couch instead of playing on the court, the Lakers are always going to struggle to score. But they have enough talent to potentially leverage the kind of defensive effort they got on Sunday into a road win as long as they mix things up on offense and keep the Spurs off-balance. Bryant and everyone else with the Lakers would be happy to tweet about a Game 2 upset.
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Thought for sure DPOY was going to Ibaka or Hibbert. But congrats to Marc. Dont watch many Grizz games. He hasnt impressed me much against the Clippers in that series. But he musta been doing something good out there this season.

And before anyone comes back at me. I know hes a great player. But I havent seen anything overwhelming on the defensive end that series to make me think he should have got it over the other 2. At the same time. No1 really stood out. So it was pretty much a toss up for the award this year.
dreClark said:
So how many awards are still left to be announced?
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Pretty sure just COTY, ROTY and MVP
 
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AllenIversonFan01 said:
Thought for sure DPOY was going to Ibaka or Hibbert. But congrats to Marc. Dont watch many Grizz games. He hasnt impressed me much against the Clippers in that series. But he musta been doing something good out there this season.

And before anyone comes back at me. I know hes a great player. But I havent seen anything overwhelming on the defensive end that series to make me think he should have got it over the other 2. At the same time. No1 really stood out. So it was pretty much a toss up for the award this year.
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Was Hibbert that good defensively this year? I'm not questioning you, but I really don't know....
 
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