22 replies to this topic

[thefiestygoat]

I figured starting a thread for discussion on the entire NBA would make more sense than just starting a topic on the Brooklyn Nets since I imagine there must be a few fans of other teams. It still feels weird to me to be actively watching the NBA but I have to admit I am actually legitimately into it and enjoying it a lot more than I ever could have imagined. The last time I truly followed the Nets on a game to game basis was in the Jason Kidd era but I still fondly remember the likes of Keith van Horn/Kendall Gill/Sam Cassell before that.

Overall I love the way the Nets were re-branded and its nice to finally see them with a solid team. I love the way Lopez has been playing this season, Humphries always is solid, and Wallace and Evans are certaintly entertaining to watch with how physical they play. Blatche has been a fantastic pick up and he's really on track to turn his career around, infact the entire bench has been fantastic but I hope Teletovic is able to adjust and eventually break into the rotation. I hope his lack of playing time is Johnson's way of bringing him along until he gets more acclimated to living in a new country/culture/game. Also gotta love Stackhouse.

Hopefully Joe Johnson starts to turn it around soon, he's been fairly disappointing having some nice moments but his overall game is not where it should be. For all the hype the backcourt received, Johnson hasn't been holding up his end of the deal with D-Will. I'm not too worried about it yet, there is still plenty of time.

I could deal with the loss to the Lakers given that they were going up against a helluva team and fought really hard to come back from that bad start. The loss to the Warriors last night really stung, another horrendous 2nd half, they gotta correct that and that is a team they should beat when they get up on them.

Any other fans or hockey refugees following a NBA team?

[devilsrule33]

The NBA is possibly my favourite to sport to watch and follow. Enjoy watching as many stars as possible with League Pass. I just don't ever talk about it because the NBA seems to be hated around here. I've always found that there isn't much overlap between NBA and NHL fans.

I'm sadly a Raptors fan. I love making fun of MLSE's incompetence when it comes to the Leafs, but it sucks that it shows just as much with the Raptors.

As for the Nets, It's obviously a solid team and the best team since maybe 2004 before they lost Martin. It's probably a better team than the Kidd-Carter-Jefferson teams but the East is a much tougher conference so it probably won't show record wise. But I'm not that sold on the team. Johnson and Williams are max-contract guys who aren't max-contract players. Not a giant Joe Johnson fan really. I've really enjoyed Lopez's offensive game from the games I've caught. He's got a nice assortment of post moves.

Edited by devilsrule33, 22 November 2012 - 01:46 PM.

[Devils Pride 26]

Gah, can't stand the Nets after they bailed on NJ.

[thefiestygoat]

Anyone watching the Nets-Knicks long awaited match up tonight?

[estreetcrew3]

Go nets!

[thefiestygoat]

Brook-lyn! Brook-lyn! Nets 96 Knicks 89!!!

That game was worth the wait. Unreal atmosphere, like a playoff game or even a regular season Devils-Rangers battle. I can't recall being that entertained by a NBA regular season game ever. Old man Stackhouse really stepped up when the Nets needed him tonight! Same with all the big men!

[nmigliore]

But I'm not that sold on the team. Johnson and Williams are max-contract guys who aren't max-contract players. Not a giant Joe Johnson fan really. I've really enjoyed Lopez's offensive game from the games I've caught. He's got a nice assortment of post moves.

I'm not going to pretend to be anything more than a casual fan but Williams certainly looks the part of one of the best (if not the best) PG in basketball. Is that worth a max contract? I don't know enough about the NBA to say for sure, but the Nets needed him and he's been fantastic so far. I agree on Joe Johnson, though.

Love the Nets' bench. Reggie Evans is incredibly lucky to find the basket once or twice in a game but he's so fun to watch; what a rebound machine. Watson, Brooks, Bogans, and Stackhouse are really nice secondary players too. Blatche can be bittersweet; he'll have his moments where comes off the bench and is a monster or infuriate with his I-can-do-it-all play style.

It's great to see this team so fun and competitive to watch. Without hockey it's at least given me something to watch when football isn't on.

Edited by nmigliore, 26 November 2012 - 11:15 PM.

[thefiestygoat]

It's not quite a hockey fight but there was a brawl in the Nets-Celtics game just now. Humphries fouls an off balanced Garnett who goes down rather easily, Rondo attacks Humphries who defends himself by putting Rondo in a bit of a headlock and then taking his jersey over his head while players and coaches are jumping into it. Garnett shoved Wallace hard so they eventually end up holding each other back/pushing/shoving. I guess being that the Celtics are the darlings of the NBA, the refs ejected Humphries on a double T even though he was defending himself after being attacked by Rondo and never threw a punch. Wallace who was given a real bullsh!t technical minutes before gets another T so he gets ejected. While only Rondo, who iniated the whole thing being the thug he is, gets ejected for Boston but Garnett is still allowed to stay in as he was only given one T.

Ejecting Humphries in that situation is laughable. If you're going to eject 2 Nets then eject 2 Celtics who started the fight. Garrnett should be in the dressing room with Rondo. Nets have a 13 point lead and were dominating that quarter but I see the refs want to do their best to throw this game to the Nets.

[thefiestygoat]

[estreetcrew3]

Awesome nets game last night, even though I a feeling the whole game the refs trying to help the celtics with weak foul calls . Great to watch some entertaining nets basketball .... It's been a while

Awesome nets game last night, even though I a feeling the whole game the refs trying to help the celtics with weak foul calls . Great to watch some entertaining nets basketball .... It's been a while

[nmigliore]

Thanks for posting that Fiesty, that was pretty entertaining. I had class so I only caught the 2nd half of the game, unfortunately, but it's nice to see them pull out a big win in Boston. Looked like the bench had another great effort; Blatche filling up the stat sheet with Lopez foul trouble and the ageless Jerry Stackhouse continues to have amazing proficiency for the corner-3.

Edited by nmigliore, 29 November 2012 - 04:15 PM.

[thefiestygoat]

I'm not a NBA expert but this has to be one of the best benches in the league. Lopez is going to miss 2 games with a foot sprain so Blatche is going to get even more time to show how well he has resurrected his career. I can't believe all of these teams that just let Stackhouse chill in the corner, dude's been money.

I see Rondo got suspended for 2 games for starting the fight. Hopefully Humphries and Wallace don't face any disciplinary action, though Wallace got a flopping warning which is funny considering all the diving Rondo and Garnett did last night. Doc Rivers must be on crack with the way he was justifying his player's actions.

[redruM]

Stern is a boob, he should find the schedule makers for expecting Spurs to play 4 games in 5 nights , 5th being Heat when heatr are fully rested... Just moronic, Pops did the right thing!!

[thefiestygoat]

Stern is a boob, he should find the schedule makers for expecting Spurs to play 4 games in 5 nights , 5th being Heat when heatr are fully rested... Just moronic, Pops did the right thing!!

Agreed, I understand why Stern is annoyed but he really shouldn't fine the Spurs at all - they had to do what was best for their team.

[devilsrule33]

Stern is a power hungry fraud. He makes his own rules and doesn't care at all what anyone thinks. The great Adrian Wojnarowski wrote today about Stern's hatred towards the Spurs.

http://sports.yahoo....-194828970.html

And yet, once more, Stern's tossed a temper tantrum that left everyone around him embarrassed, humiliated and wondering why he insisted on staying until February of 2014. All these years, Stern and his underlings privately complained and moaned that no one wanted to watch the Spurs, that they destroyed his TV ratings, that they were uninteresting, unappealing and impossible to market to the masses.
And now, this act of condemnation for Popovich – which resulted in a $250,000 fine for San Antonio handed down by the league office Friday evening – would be bathed in the ultimate of twisted irony: Without the Spurs' stars, Stern was selling that the NBA logo had been desecrated, that a public trust had been betrayed.

Suddenly, Stern had to issue an apology to NBA fans because Popovich sent his stars home to San Antonio at the end of a long road trip. No one in Miami bought a ticket to watch Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, because those players are relevant to no one in Miami. Mostly, they come to watch LeBron and D-Wade, or they don't come at all. Few people watch the Spurs on national television – unless they're playing the Heat or the Los Angeles Lakers – and that's because the Spurs never deliver the dysfunction and self-destructive bents that fuel the sport's storylines.

Edited by devilsrule33, 30 November 2012 - 09:34 PM.

[thefiestygoat]

Proud of the way the Nets played hard against the Thunder tonight. They may have fallen a bit too far back at one point but they really managed to turn it on and make a game of it. Missing Lopez and Evans really hurt them tonight, but OKC is helluva team to go up against. D-Will stepped up through injury tonight which was great to see.

[thefiestygoat]

Another exciting game between the Nets and Knicks, the rivalry is definitely living up to its billing so far. I'm pretty gutted with the loss tonight though, especially after having the big led in the first half. The Knicks owned the 3 point line and Carmelo took the game over tonight. Frustrating loss.

[thefiestygoat]

Avery Johnson fired!!! Yes!!!! After starting 11-4 the Nets have gone 3-10 in December. D-Will took a shot at Avery's horrible offensive system recently and it was clear that he lost the team, this move had to be done. Hopefully they get a coach who runs an offensive that isn't centered around isolation, running down the shotclock, and then settling for a desperation 3 or bad angle shot.

Also, now i know why Hawks fans were so happy to trade Joe Johnson, talk about an underperformer.

[devilsrule33]

I hate the idea of firing a coach this quickly, and I hate even more that Deron Williams is part of it. The same player that got Jerry Sloan (a fvcking legend) fired because they didn't get along. Now he wishes for that system back. Give me a break.

What a coach killer. No offense to Nets fans, but I couldn't bare to watch two of the most overpaid players in professional sports all year, especially one as unlikable as Williams.

[thefiestygoat]

D-Will certainly has come across like a diva lately. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt since he is playing injured but his body langauge and comments in the media have shown his true colors. I just hope he doesn't pack it in now that he has his big contract. Regarding Joe Johnson, I know he is overpaid but he is truly a marginal player this year - at least play like an above average player. Now I know why he's been on so many teams.

You know what was nice to watch last night? Tyshawn Taylor. He took over for an ineffective CJ Watson and you could tell his heart was in it and he has some skill. He could very well end up being D-Will's back up sooner than later.

Gerald Wallace had some damning comments: http://www.netsdaily...-well-as-losing

"It seems like guys are content with the situation that we are in, and I'm f------ pissed off about us losing, especially losing the way we are losing," Wallace said in the post-game without naming names. "We’re a way better team than what our record is."

"It’s mind-boggling that we’re in the situation we’re in," Wallace continued. "As good of a team as we are, as good as started off ... you saw the potential we had as a team, and the talent we have as a team. And yet, still, instead of team, it’s more of ‘I.’ "

"Confidence is our problem now," he said. "I think that’s our main problem. Guys have got too much confidence in themselves and are not trusting in the team.

"Our main thing is we’ve got to get back to a team concept, all for one. Offensively and defensively, when we move the ball, we execute, we take care of the ball, we make the extra pass. ... We’ve got to do everything as a team instead of relying on one guy to do this and one guy to do that."