NBA Random Thoughts

[zack54attack]

John Lucas III for MVP.

[KnightNoles]

Clips!

Watched most of the first half and halftime then proceeded to sleep through the third and woke up with 4:00 left in the fourth to catch the rest

[ralaw]

I have to disagree with this. There is a huge difference between taking a shot in the 1st quarter and the last shot of the game. In the 1st, you know there are going to be 100 more shots hoisted up. Whether you make it or launch it into the 3rd row no one is going to point back to that shot as the reason your team won or lost. For the last shot, everyone is looking at you to decide the outcome right then and there. Not everyone wants that pressure or can succeed under that pressure. Some rise to the moment, others shrink from it. There is definitely such a thing as a clutch player. Clutch stats are what stat geeks created to try to quantify it.

So, given Kobe's low shooting percentages in the "clutch" would you say he isn't clutch? Doubtful. I do agree with you in that the concept of being clutch gets to some guys, which causes them to not perform as they normally have, but its sad, because IMO being clutch is really only a fabrication.

It's actually something they can't stand because it's so sample size based and inmeasurable. It's really anti stat geek in every way, shape or form.

In fact your idea of what clutch is is more in tune with what stat geeks think, while others seem to attribute clutch to something they hear a lot. David Ortiz is really clutch because he had a good player series. All be damned if his stats in big playoff games reflect his stats in all normal games are about the same but dammit remember in 2004... he's clutch.

LeBron has some bad fourth quarters and he instantly becomes un-clutch from the major media despite the fact overwhelming evidence shows he's just as good of a player in those situations.

There's also fluctuating clutch the major media tends to use as well. LeBron dominated the ECF, absolutely dominated the Bulls and was the reason they beat the Bulls. Then in the Finals he had a few bad games, do you think those were treated equally? Of course not. He instantly became un-clutch and couldn't get it done in the big game, despite getting it done in a ton of big games the entire year.

Yeah, its amazing how a guy can go from being clutch to unclutch within a week.

[ralaw]

John Lucas was doing his best Derrick Rose impersonation last night. When I saw Rose wasn't playing I thought for a second the Wizards had a chance for good road win, but the game started and I quickly remembered it was the Wizards. Flip Saunders probably won't make it through the season.

You know its bad when the Mavericks are telling you you're old. The Celtics are old and play like it. I see an early playoff exit. However, if they can manage to keep the game close with their experience and savy they could win any game.

There were some horrible calls in the end of that Heat/Clippers game.

Andrew Bynum should be an All-Star this year.

[FedEx227]

lol why Lucas jacking up so many shots...

They didn't want to change the offense too much for one game so they basically just ran the exact same offense with John Lucas replacing Derrick Rose. Obviously, it was a pretty big mess but luckily the Wizards are an atrocious team, so it worked out.

HEEEEEEEEEEERES JOOOOOOOOOHNNNNNNY!

[FedEx227]

Chicago Bulls Report Card: Early Grades for All the Bulls' Key Players

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1020947-chicago-bulls-report-card-early-grades-for-all-the-bulls-key-players

The Chicago Bulls have burst out the gates and sit in a familiar position atop the NBA's Eastern Conference with a record of 10-2.

The season is still young, but it is worth looking at some of grades of the Bulls key players.

The player grades run the gamut from extremely disappointing player in a rut to a surprising player that reinvented himself.

I am only looking at what I would consider the key players of the Chicago Bulls so unfortunately for those of you dying to hear my assessment of John Lucas or Jimmy Butler; you will have to wait until another time.

Instead, I have looked at the top seven players on the team: Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Richard Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Joakim Noah.

While Taj Gibson and Omer Asik have played significant roles on the 2011-12 Bulls, I did not see them as key players this year.

Those seven listed have also played over 20 minutes per game, so that is a nice clean number to set as the cutoff.

The grades themselves are reflective on how well that player has played this year, statistically he matches up and do have relative grades based off expectations.

Certain criteria are used to judge which players will be graded.

Now let us look at how the key players for the Chicago Bulls have graded out over the early part of the season.

[FirstTimer]

The Bulls are pathetic.

You have a shit ton of money between Boozer and Deng as veteran talent on that team. Rose is out. One of them should step up and shoulder the load, be a leader etc. What do they do? Defer to John Lucas.

Jesus Christ.

[FedEx227]

Noah is awful and now he's apparently throwing Boozer under the bus or at least it's what's being rumored for his struggles.

There are some things simmering beneath the surface with the Bulls,” Mark Schanowski of Comcast Sportsnet told The McNeil and Spiegel Show. “Joakim is out of sorts, and everyone is trying to figure out why. I think one of the issues is that he’s getting into a lot of early foul trouble because he’s trying to help his buddy No. 5 out. (Boozer) won’t move his feet, so Joakim is getting a lot of fouls. It’s the same issues that we saw last season. They’re going to cause some resentment within that locker room if they’re not resolved. Thibodeau, who demands constant, outstanding work from everybody else, doesn’t seem to do it as much with Boozer. I think that probably causes some friction.”

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/11/schanowski-could-noahs-struggles-stem-from-boozer/

[FirstTimer]

Noah is awful and now he's apparently throwing Boozer under the bus or at least it's what's being rumored for his struggles.


http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/...m-from-boozer/

Noah also looks a bit "puffy" this season..and not like he was in the weight room.

[ralaw]

Jesus Christ.

I turned on the Heat/Clippers game toward the end of the third and figured I'd see what all the "LeBron sucks in the 4th" hype is about. He literally is the exact opposite of Tim Tebow. I thought a lot of his criticism was unwarranted until I watched the 4th Q and OT. And why does he shoot free throws so oddly? He has no bend in his knees. Just stands there and throws it at the hoop.

Also, how the fuck can you be as talented as LeBron and not care about free throws? Look at Chauncey Billups shooting 97% from the line. There is literally no excuse for LBJ to not have a percentage like that. The guy is pure laziness and has been since entering the NBA.

I still like LeBron and want to see him succeed but he still has a lot of growing up to do.

James has his issues, but he's far from being lazy. He actually is hard worker who has improved many different parts of his game (shooting, defense, post game, etc). Being a bad free throw shooter doesn't equate to being lazy, as there are a host of other issues involved such as mechanics, focus, confidence, etc.

[FirstTimer]

James has his issues, but he's far from being lazy. He actually is hard worker who has improved many different parts of his game (shooting, defense, post game, etc). Being a bad free throw shooter doesn't equate to being lazy, as there are a host of other issues involved such as mechanics, focus, confidence, etc.

Truth. Dude was shooting nearly 60% from the field last night entering the game.


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Spoelstra is still an awful coach. I spend most of my time watching the Heat play thinking "Man, if Spoelstra ever pulled his head from his ass and ran the Triangle...this team might not lose."

[FedEx227]

He's awful, remember that one game I watched where he sucked in the fourth quarter. What a bum.

[FedEx227]

He's not a great three point shooter and people complained he took too many of them in the past few years?

[FedEx227]

Truth. Dude was shooting nearly 60% from the field last night entering the game.


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Spoelstra is still an awful coach. I spend most of my time watching the Heat play thinking "Man, if Spoelstra ever pulled his head from his ass and ran the Triangle...this team might not lose."

They could run a Princeton/backcut style offense and be unbeatable too.

Spoelstra is a clown.

[FedEx227]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32o8uHmX36o"]Disgusting Travel by LeBron against Clippers to send game to Overtime. - YouTube[/ame]

Definitely took at least 6 steps here.