NBA Playoffs Season 2014-2015

[LilRip]

I can't stand watching this Hawks-Cavs series. The Hawks are already clearly outmatched, they don't need the refs helping out Lebron on top of that.

[Beat LA]

ben Wallace was overrated. he was never an SI candidate for DoY because he wasn't a great individual defender he was average actually. as a help defender he was great at blocking shots...and that's about it.

Really? Did you miss his ability to switch onto any position in his prime and contain them?  He was amazing.

he was the ultimate hustling garbage guy. I don't think he was one of the all time greatest defenders.

Really?  Wow.  Who's a better defensive center in this era, then, and if it was true that he was only a garbage man, a lot of teams wouldn't be calling every undersized athlete with shotblocking and rebounding ability the next Ben Wallace .

[GetLucky]

BeatLA,

In what world did Blake Griffin's postseason not solidify his place as a bona fide superstar? He was the best player on the floor for the two series he played in.

He's certainly a star, but not many superstar's lose a series with a 3-1 lead, especially with a 19 point lead late in the 3rd quarter of a closeout game at home, lol . No, you know what, you're right - he is a superstar.  My mistake, and I'm not being sarcastic, for once . Maybe it's the Chris Paul effect, or perhaps he's closer to Karl Malone than we previously believed , ahaha . I just hate those dam commercials, lol , in addition to his acting like a punk on the court, but still - the commercials, lol ! Yes, I am basing whether or not Griffin is a superstar on his atrocious, commercials, ahaha (sarcasm) .

Haha I can honeslty totally understand that. Those commercials are terrible. The guy is just so easy to hate on, especially because he came into the league as a one-trick pony. But it's clear that he's worked on his game, and he's been racking up crazy stats like nobody's business for the past two years.

I was kind of forced to respect him (by my own standards) when Chris Paul got hurt last year and Griffin upped his game to carry the team for a few months. Ever since then, I've been keeping an eye on him, and he's honestly improved so much. His skill level is so much higher than it was a few years ago; he's obviously very dedicated. I recently read a Sprots Illustrated article, and his usage rate is off the charts, especially considering how many different places he operates from (low post, top of the key,  pushing the ball on the break, etc). Yes, the Clippers are really unlikable (thanks to Doc Rivers' Flopping/Complaining Co. and Matt Barne's Bounty Hunting), but Griffin is now one of those guys I reluctantly marvel at (like LeBron and Kobe before him). And as SI said, "It's easier to fix a jump shot than it is to change first impressions." So to me, he'll always be that whining, flopping, car-driving basketball beast.

[Beat LA]

BeatLA,

In what world did Blake Griffin's postseason not solidify his place as a bona fide superstar? He was the best player on the floor for the two series he played in.

He's certainly a star, but not many superstar's lose a series with a 3-1 lead, especially with a 19 point lead late in the 3rd quarter of a closeout game at home, lol . No, you know what, you're right - he is a superstar.  My mistake, and I'm not being sarcastic, for once . Maybe it's the Chris Paul effect, or perhaps he's closer to Karl Malone than we previously believed , ahaha . I just hate those dam commercials, lol , in addition to his acting like a punk on the court, but still - the commercials, lol ! Yes, I am basing whether or not Griffin is a superstar on his atrocious, commercials, ahaha (sarcasm) .

Haha I can honeslty totally understand that. Those commercials are terrible. The guy is just so easy to hate on, especially because he came into the league as a one-trick pony. But it's clear that he's worked on his game, and he's been racking up crazy stats like nobody's business for the past two years.

I was kind of forced to respect him (by my own standards) when Chris Paul got hurt last year and Griffin upped his game to carry the team for a few months. Ever since then, I've been keeping an eye on him, and he's honestly improved so much. His skill level is so much higher than it was a few years ago; he's obviously very dedicated. I recently read a Sprots Illustrated article, and his usage rate is off the charts, especially considering how many different places he operates from (low post, top of the key,  pushing the ball on the break, etc). Yes, the Clippers are really unlikable (thanks to Doc Rivers' Flopping/Complaining Co. and Matt Barne's Bounty Hunting), but Griffin is now one of those guys I reluctantly marvel at (like LeBron and Kobe before him). And as SI said, "It's easier to fix a jump shot than it is to change first impressions." So to me, he'll always be that whining, flopping, car-driving basketball beast.

Yeah, his passing is excellent, even if it bothers me seeing him bring it up the court, lol , which almost cost them the series against the Spurs late in game 2, I might add. I just don't like guys who try to make some 'manly' dunk over someone at every opportunity only to stare the guy down afterwards.  It's the same reason I don't like Amare Stoudemire. 

Griffin has greatly improved his jumpshot, but it still seems like he's shooting it slightly on the way down, so that still needs work, haha , but the other thing is that he always seems to botch a play at the end of the game, or at least that's what I've always seen, so in that way he's like Malone.  Maybe it's because he's playing with Chris Paul, but he seems far too willing to give CP3 a chance to take an impossible shot instead of him just taking what's there.

Also, and I know I've said this before, but I think that there should be a new rule - once your team is out of the playoffs, your commercials get taken off the air, lol . Just get rid of them, already.  Hitting mute or changing the channel doesn't even help, either, because they're everywhere.  Ugh.  I also can't stand Chris Paul's great p0rn 'stache.  It looks like a combination of David Stern's from 1984, Mr. Potato Head's, and of course, the one and only Chris Ford look circa 1984-88, ahaha . I love how Bill Simmons references that so many times in The Book of Basketball, especially in the footnotes.  Simmons is the master of the footnote, imo.

[LarBrd33]

Are we really looking at a sweep?

This series proves it, the Atlanta blueprint is cute and all, but the NBA still hasn't changed.  You need at least 1 superstar talent to be considered a true title contender.  How the Hawks fared in this series was going to be very telling for the Celtics in terms of how just far away they are from a title.  Unfortunately, the Hawks are proving that a team with a star or two (note: star, not SUPERstar) and a bunch of solid role players playing great regular season team ball still doesn't ultimately get a title.

Oh please. 2004 Pistons didn't have a single superstar, although the starters are all-star calibers. Atlanta's front court have been exposed. They have no enforcer in the paint and Horford is clearly not the answer although he's a good defender. They also lack ball handlers. Teague and Schroder ain't doing it. Who in the hawks deserve to be in all-defensive team? none.

the 04 Pistons are the ONE exception to the rule.  Besides that team, name a team to win the NBA title without at least 1 superstar?

Statistically, the 04 Pistons had a superstar.   

What I mean to say is, fan observers in the moment may have taken away from the era that an overrated chucker like Allen Iverson was a "superstar"... but if you had never watched a second of NBA basketball, had no reference for player popularity, and were given a big book of historical statistics, you'd come away with a clear conclusion that Ben Wallace was a Top 5 player at the height of the Pistons title.

http://wagesofwins.com/2013/01/02/the-myth-of-the-2004-pistons/

Alright, so let?s examine the situation. In 2004 Ben Wallace had been the Wins Produced MVP in back to back seasons. He lost his crown to Garnett but was still second in the league. Let?s also look at conventional wisdom. Ben Wallace made the All-Star game in 2003 and 2004. He was a two time Defensive Player of the Year winner. And guess what the Pistons were really good at? The answer is defense for those that missed the rhetorical nature of my question. How can anyone claim that Ben Wallace wasn?t the star of the Pistons? How can anyone that pulls out the mantra ?Defense Wins Championships? say that with a straight face? And I argue how Ben Wallace was a star mattered a lot too.

Ben Wallace was an absolutely dominant player in the 2000s. He did this by excelling at the most consistent boxscore statistics. And while he did this he racked up awards and All-Star berths. Every time I hear someone say the ?starless 2004 Pistons? I?m baffled by the amount of evidence they?ve ignored. The story of the ?starless 2004 Pistons? winning through team work is a myth on so many levels.

The truth is the Pistons had a star in Wallace for years. They were a very good team in 2003 thanks to the addition of Chauncey Billups and lost in the Conference Finals. In 2004 a returning Wallace and Billups coupled with a maturing Tayshaun Prince ? he used to be good once! ? pushed them over the edge. In 2005 they returned to the finals and lost in 7 games. The Pistons were a very good team, lead by a very good star. To say otherwise is to ignore all of the facts.

There are other articles you can find online about Ben Wallace's forgotten dominance... that was just one of the first that popped up on Google.  Ignoring Ben Wallace' superstar credentials is like ignoring Bill Russell's superstar credentials.  They both impacted the game in a similar way. 

Another interesting article:  http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/does-a-team-really-need-a-star-to-get-to-the-nba-finals/

Which brings us to the 2004 Pistons, the championship team often acknowledged as lacking a transcendent star. But this perception is a misconception. No players on the team were dominant individual scorers, sure, but the Pistons? best players performed at levels of elite stardom. Their three best players that season ? Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups ? had SPM marks that placed them in the 95th, 95th and 92nd percentiles, respectively. In fact, the average of the trio?s SPM percentiles that season ranks higher than that of all but five of the 40 teams in this sample. The 2004 Pistons may have been starless in terms of the subjective ways we define the term, but by objective measures of performance, they had as much star power as nearly any championship-caliber team of the last 20 years.

[Endless Paradise]

So Kyle Korver's out for the remainder of the playoffs, meaning Atlanta played their final home game of the season last night.

[PhoSita]

Bummer for the Hawks.  A promising season ends in a really miserable way.

I guess you can't feel too bad for their fans though, since there aren't any.

[Who]

Golden State's passing and movement without the ball is beautiful.

[Who]

Great job by Dwight Howard to steal that rebound away from Bogut.

[Who]

Houston's supporting cast needs to step up. Dwight Howard the only one scoring so far. Harden finding space hard to find with teammates struggling to make jumpers.

Commentators just said Rockets are 6-27 FGAs outside of Dwight Howard.

[Who]

Haha, little Steph Curry snuck inside on Dwight Howard, boxed out Dwight and won an offensive rebound against Dwight Howard. Terrific effort.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Steph Curry with the fundamentals on rebounding! WOW!

[Who]

Frustration foul on next play by Dwight on Steph Curry.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I don't understand why these fans are complaining that Jason Terry foul. He touched Curry while on his shooting motion. That's a foul.

[Ogaju]

It is clear that Harden did not get over his game 2 FAUX PAS.