NBA Discussion Thread

[King Nud]

You see the rough stuff between the Bulls and Knicks last night? Was like watching Pippen/Jordan going at Ewing and co in the 90s. Crazy.

[jukeness]

I dont know about that, but I like that kind of stuff. I wish there were more heated rivalries where players and or teams hate each other, those make for great games like the Alonzo Mourning Heat against the Patrick Ewing Knicks. I really liked the Garnett vs Duncan matchup since I got see it about 4 times a year. Player matchups then seemed a lot more interesting.

[Scipio Afracanis]

Got to give credit to the Bulls for being resilient and pulling out wins just playing tough D. Noah has taken a big step forward this year as this teams MVP. Noah and Chandler exchanges all game were great TV imo.

[NaptownKnight]

Imagine if the Bulls had kept Chandler, Ron Artest.... They would be the premier defensive team. But, so sorry, the Pacers are that team, cant wait for this game.

[King Nud]

LOL. Deng is All-Star level and Noah is (i'm going to indulge in some homerism) the best center in the East right now. Almost back-to-back triple-doubles in games against Boston and the Knicks. DPOY, best passing big man, All-Star..

And Jimmy Butler is an absolute steal in the draft. Great prospect going forward, he's like a mini-Deng.

Can't wait for the summer, I expect a few moves with Rip Hamilton's contract expiring (if he's not traded before then) and all these 1-yr vet deals like Nate and VladRad and Nazr Mohammed all coming off the books. Boozer could be amnestied too. Big summer ahead.

I also don't mind right now if Rose does or does not return this season. I'd like to think he'll be under no pressure to return quickly but I have my suspicions about the organization lately. We've proven we can be a 4-seed in the East WITHOUT him so we could make a small splash in the playoffs if he doesn't come back at all this season. If he DOES return he'll likely only be a shell of himself for a while. However if he goes all Adrian Peterson and plays well immediately then this Bulls team has everything to play for.

No offense Naptown, but you guys aren't even 2nd in the division right now.. Sit down.

[NaptownKnight]

Best center in the East? Hibbert and Chandler have something to say about that.

[jukeness]

No, Hibbert has nothing to say about that.

[Beorn]

Hibbert doesn't do well in offense this year. I like Noah (part of it because I've him on Fantasy ), but Chandler looks like the best in the East right now

[King Nud]

Hibbert has nothing to say about that and Chandler, while good defensively in the paint and on tip-backs, has nothing on Noah's all-round versatility and scoring from mid-range. Noah's averaging 4.5 assists per game!

[jukeness]

I'd for sure rather have Nikola than Hibbert and his 40% shooting.

[Beorn]

Pek is an abysmal defender, mate A defensive C with decent offense is more valuable than an offensive C without D.

[jukeness]

Pek is abysmal? No he's really not at all. He is honestly a really good man defender and tremendous post defender, not a great help defender though. Dont know where you came up witH that.

[Scipio Afracanis]

I'd say Noah is the best C in the East right now because of what he has been asked to do. With Rose being out his he is playing the most minutes a C has played in awhile and flourishing.(Forgot the exact stat)

Chandler is having an excellent year as well but not close(imo) to what Joakim has done so far. Hib has had a horrible start to the season, he will get better.

[Beorn]

He played 2 years in my city, Athens. He's only good in pushing his opponents away from the basket with his strength.

[Scipio Afracanis]

Have you watched him play this year? I have only seen 3 or so games and he seemed decent at worst and good at times defensively speaking.(OKC,Clippers and another game)

[Beorn]

Just in one game against Clippers at November, where he had some trouble on both end against DeAndre Jordan.

[jukeness]

Just in one game against Clippers at November, where he had some trouble on both end against DeAndre Jordan.

He isn't even the same person as his rookie year, let alone back in Europe. His game has become immensly better, he should have won most improved last year. Not being a homer, I'm not like that.

[Beorn]

Dunno, probably you're right

[crossjon]

Hib has had a horrible start to the season, he will get better.

Yeah, he has a wrist injury from the playoffs last year. Apparently it doesn't hurt, but he has no power in his right wrist. It wasn't discovered until december 14th and is currently being treated. Post discovery and treatment he's been shooting around 50%, so he should be back offensively soon. His defense has been great this year though, he's a huge reason why the pacer's D has been so good this year.

[jukeness]

LOingL at the Wolves Knicks game. It's incredibly hard to ever blame the refs for a game, but I am, that was one of the worst officiated Wolves games I've EVER seen. What a sick ng joke those refs are. Pek literally got hacked all 2nd half, at least 5 blatant times werent called, Barea got spun around, no call, Carmelo forearms Kirilenko in the mouth and Kirilenko gets called for the foul. It's sad, it really is.