[NBA] Beyond the Thunder: The Association Thread (2011-2012 season)

Yeah yeah the Thunder are tops in the West....and are DAMN GOOD. I see them as the team to beat in the West .....

Now that thats over with....

• How about Miami? Boy, with most of the media attention going to Lin lately, they have been ROLLING through teams and smacking them left and right . LeBron James and Wade alone when they get rolling can almost singlehandedly beat almost any team by themselves. I think getting a non-stats All Star guy like Battier has quietly made a big difference, not to mention the surprising emergence of rook Norris Cole.

• Speaking of which, finally glad to see Linsanity be able to die down a bit, atleast from a more national perspective and give Lin and the Knicks a chance to regroup again. I think tonight was definitely an eye opener for Lin , facing , by far, his worst of game of his career-probably ever since his Sr year in HS. Hopefully ESPN will stop scrolling Lin news every 30 minutes. I've become a huge fan of his and become somewhat of a Knicks fan, but it got a tad old after 6 games in. But boy, I think the dude has faced enough media duties and responsibilities from NY, much less having to deal with the nat'l media stuff AND int'l stuff.

• The Bulls are very underrated, and that's probably due to how many games Rose has been missing- yet they were still LinWinning. Thibedeau proves again why he is such a great coach and particularly a great defensive mastermind

• I hate the Clips now. I somewhat got tired of all the Blake hype last season, but now with CP3, the Clips have officially passed the Spurs as the floppiest team in the NBA (mainly due to CP3's signature flare for the over-acting, and Blake is quickly becoming a very competent student in that regard).

• S/o to my Rockets for even getting to 20 wins before the AS break, with the roster they have. Google Kyle Lowry, boys and girls. He's breaking out this year, and should've been in the AS game. He has been carrying this team most of they year with no superstars whatsoever, and only one other star beside him in Kevin Martin.

• Speaking of which, I've officially come to hate Kevin Love. Great player; b3ch ass punk though.

Heat will probably win it all this year. They're just dominant. Who is going to the stop them in the East? East is weak this year, with the Celtics down. Heat should win the conference without too much difficulty.

I would say the Thunder have a good chance to win it, but I don't think they have the defense. Not sure if they will be able to string 4 wins together against an elite offensive and defensive team.

LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in transition honestly makes me Ish in my pants. Its frankly terrifying. The blocks they were making tonight and their usual running and gunning in the open court (or when given any space) were terrific. They were obviously gearing their gameplan to fluster Lin and take advantage of his weak handles against tight defense (mainly because of how predictable he can be going to his right)

The Sixers play amazing defense (especially against guards), but they lack a superstar or semi-superstar on offense that can create consistenly.
The Bulls have the best chance, and probably CAN beat them , especially if they can keep playing great defense and Rose can get going . But the Heat were able to contain Rose last year too.

The Thunder, on paper, would seem to be best match, but they are still young and unproven. I think their perimeter defense should be a little bit better with Sefo coming back, but I still think they can be exploited from the outside. Without Ibaka they would probably be nowhere near as good though.


Celtics need to be blown up and reconstructed. They are old and slow as hell.

I would consider Iguodola (sp) to be a star for the Sixers. He's really good.

I agree about the Bulls, they are obviously the biggest threat to the Heat in the East. Still think the Heat would beat them in a series.

I don't think anybody is beating Miami. Lebron might be having his best season yet. Right now I would pick San Antonio to come out of the west.

I would love to see a Thunder v. Miami/Chicago matchup in the finals. Also why the Kevin Live hate? I don't watch him play enough so I need some information.

Iguodala is a star but he isn't the star that you give the ball to late in the 4th and he takes control. Thats something that certain teams are lacking and you see it bite them late in games. Like the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers. They are great teams but they don't have a go-to-guy in crunch time and it shows. While Andre is hella good and can be clutch sometimes, I wouldnt trust leaving the ball in his hands when I need an important basket. Teams that have that guy like Dirk, Durant, Rose and Wade are going to be successful in close playoff games.

The Spurs scare me the most in the West as a threat to a Thunder finals appearance. Old yes. But savvy veteran guys like Duncan and Parker and Ginosebli just know how to win. And they have a dang good coach too. And their bench and younger talent is coming on well too. They are no longer a buncha AARP members running around out there, its a nice mix of youth and experience that could provide one last great run for Duncan.

The Heat look way good. They play absolutely swarming defense. In the game last night there was a sequence in which LBJ was nearly chasing the ball to every player it went to and forcing passes away from him but they couldnt get it away from him. He was too fast and covered too much ground. He literally defended the entire Knicks team himself on that play. He is like a FS that just roams looking for the pick and score.

But are they unbeatable?

Their half court offense can get stagnant and their bench play is nothing that worries me. The Thunder can get out and run with them just as well as anyone and would be able to play that game and sustain it for awhile. Keep it close and get it to the 4th quarter where the Heat struggle and the Thunder thrive and I would feel confident. Watching the Thunder in the 4th quarter fight for every loose ball and rebound and hustle like crazy gives me hope that in crunch time it doesnt matter if its a miss, the Thunder will swarm and fight until that ball is back in Durants hands. If the two played in a 7 game series today it would go 7 and each game would be epic.

But I havent really thought about any other team playing the Heat. Could a Spurs slow them down and make them create in the half court? Could the Mavs pack the paint and force jump shots like they did last year and then spread the Miami defense to where they can pick it apart with the gunners and Dirk? Those are maybe the only two teams that could also have a shot. Everyone else in the West would get beat up pretty bad by the Heat.

Doesn't Aldridge play for the Blazers? He has been hella clutch for them, and is probably a top 15 player in the league.

Yeah Aldridge plays for the Blazers and while he was been good. Very berry good. He hasn't been clutch. The Blazers have a pretty bad record in close games this year and a lot of that has to do with their offense in crunch time. They try too hard to go through Aldridge and when a team either denies him the ball or slides a double team over, he doesn't make the right pass or he is forced into a tough shot and misses. He is one of the better players in the league but its hard to run an offense through him with the ball as it kinda goes stagnant at that point. And thats the difference between them and the Thunder or Mavs.

He went all Ndomakung Suh on Luis Scola's face when he was on the ground.

Yeah, and I hate saying I'd pick them cause they are my least favorite team. Reason I'd pick them over the Thunder is because when they played San Antonio looked way better and until they play again I'd give them the edge right now. Same with the Clippers.

Yeah this scares me too. Parker had like 69 points last game and they took care of the Thunder pretty easily. The Clippers are a team that I go back and forth on. CP3 makes that team. They can be clutch in the 4th with him. They are a better defensive team with a thief like him. And they can run a half court when he is out there. Their bench however doesn't worry me that much. In the Playoffs that can play a huge part. JJ Barea and Terry eviscerated the Thunder. While the Clips are very dangerous, I think they are maybe a year away before they become a force. But they could win most any series on talent and CP3 alone.

He's more of an all around playmaker and defensive guy than a true superstar or even star type that can create consistently on offense for himself.

When Lou Williams is your leading scorer at 15 ppg, you know that's a problem.

And never apologized. (And Luis Scola is known around the league for being one of the classiest and nicest guys in the NBA).

Who knew J Cole could dunk? (yes, Im.actually at watching.this game).

Kevin Hart is one tiny silly clown

Aside from questionable academics at Memphis (although he was barely a teen back then), I can't find any knock on DRose as a young man and superstar in the league. He's one of the most low-key and chillest laid back superstar in the league.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/7621956/chicago-bulls-derrick-rose-think-all-star-game-dancing-was-right

Not that there ain't anything wrong with busting out a little move or something. Everyone has a different personality.

My biggest issue with Rose is he shoots way too much for a PG, other than that I love his game.

But when you're as talented and athletic as he is, as a coach, I wouldn't mind that at all, as long he isn't chucking up shots in volume. He's a very efficient player and still manages to average in the tops of the league in terms of assists
AI was like that too, except Rose isn't a headcase and a team player.

Random ESPN NBA commercial I never saw. LOL...

Looking forward to the imminent Thunder vs. Heat finals. This would be great for basketball. Two, young teams that like to get up and down the court. In my opinion they are the two best teams on the break and in the open court. The matchups would be tremendous. DWade vs. Westbrook, Lebron vs. Durant, and Bosh vs. Ibaka. The addition of Battier is scary for the thunder. Remember what he did last year in the first round of the playoffs against the thunder? This series would be classic. Either Lebron gets his first ring, or Durant brings a ring to a small market Oklahoma team.