Suns and Lakers tied at 112 with 10 seconds left on TNT, helluva game

[Edited on March 23, 2011 at 1:01 AM. Reason : overtime after a Vinsanity airball]

3/23/2011 1:00:21 AM

You guys have such an unwarranted hardon for Rose. He's good but not that good. Not even remotely close to MVP level.

Quote :

"Should Kyle Lowry be part of the MVP discussion in 2011? Kyle Lowry’s game on Sunday night was the 15th best of the season and better than any Derrick Rose has put up so far this season. Additionally, since the New Year, Kyle Lowry has put up .25 more wins than Derrick Rose in 50 less minutes of play time. Lowry also the most wins on his team (and once again, has been playing better than Rose for the last 3 months). So should he be considered a serious MVP candidate? Okay, this is just silly. Derrick Rose is clearly one of the best players in the game. Afterall, Rose ¦was the first player taken in the 2008 NBA draft ¦was voted as a starter in the 2011 All-Star game ¦scores 24.8 points per game, a mark that ranks 6th in the NBA ¦leads the Chicago Bulls – the team currently on top of the Eastern Conference standings – in Wins Produced ¦stars in television commercials In contrast, Lowry ¦was the 24th player taken in the 2006 NBA draft ¦prior to this season, has only started 21 games in the NBA (and may have seen an All-Star game but certainly has never been asked to play) ¦scores only 13.2 points per game, a mark that ranks 70th in the NBA Obviously Lowry can’t be compared to Rose. Then again…. Let’s go back to that Wins Produced story. As noted, Rose leads the Chicago Bulls in Wins Produced. After 69 games, Rose has produced 9.8 wins. And his WP48 [Wins Produced per 48 minutes] is 0.184. So Rose is above average (average WP48 is 0.100). Now let’s look at Lowry. After 71 games, Lowry has produced 8.1 wins. This mark leads the Houston Rockets. And his WP48 of 0.172 is actually quite comparable to what we see from Rose. In other words, if Lowry and Rose switched places, the fate of each team would be quite similar (and before you say the Bulls need Rose to take all those shots, take a look at what I wrote a few weeks ago at The Huffington Post). Obviously Lowry doesn’t score as much as Rose. So what makes Lowry so productive? Wins in the NBA are driven by a team’s ability to gain and keep possession of the ball (i.e. rebounds and turnovers) and how well the team can turn possession of the ball into points (i.e. shooting efficiency and the ability to get to the free thow line). When we look at Lowry’s stats – reported below — we see that his career numbers (these are the career numbers before the 2010-11 season) indicate Lowry was below average with respect to shooting efficiency from the field. But his ability to get to the free throw line and grab rebounds allowed Lowry to be above average. This season, Lowry has been a more efficient scorer. He is also getting more assists while cutting down his turnovers. As a consequence, Lowry is now offering nearly as much are Rose. And just like Rose – as the following indicates — Lowry is the most productive player on his team. The Rockets’ record is 37-34 after 71 games, a mark that ranks last in the Southwest division and leaves this team currently on the outside of the top eight spots in the conference. When we look at efficiency differential (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency), though, we see a mark of 1.7. This is consistent with a team that would win between 39 and 40 of their first 71 games; or about 45 wins across an entire season. And those marks would actually rank 8th in the Western Conference. So the Rockets are not a “bad” team. Why are the Rockets “not bad”? As noted in early February, the Rockets have been able to find a collection of above average performers. Beyond Lowry, the Rockets are currently employing – as part of their rotation – the following above average players: Kevin Martin, Chuck Hayes, Chase Budinger, and Patrick Patterson. And Luis Scola, Courtney Lee, and Brad Miller are close to average. So why aren’t the Rockets as good as the Bulls? The above average players on the Rockets all have WP48 marks below 0.200. In other words, the Rockets don’t have anyone who is twice as good as average. In contrast, the Bulls employ Carlos Boozer [0.201 WP48], Ronnie Brewer [0.236 WP48], and Joakim Noah [0.264 WP48]. In sum, Rose simply has somewhat better teammates than Lowry. And that means Rose gets to experience more wins. When we add in Rose’s scoring (driven by Rose’s propensity to take many shots), it is easy to see why Rose is considered an MVP candidate. Of course, Lowry is nearly as productive. So should Lowry get some consideration for the MVP award? Well, not exactly. There are still several players who offer more than Rose and Lowry (see Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Chris Paul, etc…). In fact, Howard, James, and Paul offer more than Lowry and Rose combined. And that means Lowry shouldn’t be an MVP candidate. But then again, Derrick Rose really shouldn’t be getting any votes either. "

3/23/2011 1:29:19 AM

this game is fucking nuts

[Edited on March 23, 2011 at 1:35 AM. Reason : ^keep that blogger bullshit in your NBA RECORDS thread]

3/23/2011 1:34:37 AM

hope the Suns can pull this out

3/23/2011 1:38:38 AM

Gortat is so fucking stupid

3/23/2011 1:54:44 AM

Vince Carter is worthless

3/23/2011 1:56:47 AM

lol that "blogger bullshit"

you mean the stuff that explains whats going on for all the carmelo fanboys out there who arent capable of understanding who is good and who isnt.

3/23/2011 1:59:42 AM

nah not talking about anything Carmelo related, the Knicks simply haven't had sufficient time to get enough chemistry

i'm just talking about anyone saying Kyle Lowry should be in the MVP discussion...thats dumber than retarded

Lowry's not even the best player on his team

3/23/2011 2:03:28 AM

Instead of blaming chemistry why not just come out and admit Carmelo isn't that good.


No one thinks Kyle Lowry should be MVP. The premise of the article is that if Kyle Lowry isn't in the MVP discussion then why is Derrick Rose? They are of similar value.

[Edited on March 23, 2011 at 2:21 AM. Reason : a]

3/23/2011 2:21:02 AM

One day, I will roll like this

Hopefully one day soon

3/23/2011 3:49:42 PM

I, too, hope to roll like a frog in an ice cube one day soon

3/23/2011 4:31:48 PM

Quote :

"Instead of blaming chemistry why not just come out and admit Carmelo isn't that good."

I guess neither are Lebron, Wade or Bosh

They had an entire pre-season training camp together and they've already lost 22 games

I think this slump by the Knicks is a good reason why they should have gone ahead and pulled the trigger on Melo instead of waiting until the off season...had they done that, they'd have their own chemistry problems early next season...instead they figure lets go ahead and get our unit together, then next season, they'll be ready to contend for a top seed in the East

3/23/2011 7:16:55 PM

Rondo with 11 boards, 11 assists and 7 steals tonight

too bad he only had 6 points on 17% shooting in a loss to Memphis

Miami is trying to hold on late against Detroit

3/23/2011 9:58:27 PM

haha the entire Magic team is apparently not shaving until they get eliminated from the playoffs, which will be at minimum about a month

FEAR THE BEARD

3/23/2011 10:37:59 PM

Here's the picture I tried to post yesterday



Floyd Mayweather rolls DEEP

3/24/2011 9:15:08 AM

JamesOn Curry's NBA career lasted 3.9 seconds

That has to be a record

3/26/2011 5:58:55 PM

i wipe my ass w/ $41k

3/26/2011 6:01:21 PM

3/30/2011 11:14:40 PM

Zdrunas doesn't even look phased by it

3/30/2011 11:20:53 PM

he gave him the ol' forearm shiver

3/30/2011 11:23:31 PM

pretty euro-trashy move to throw elbows like that, although obviously retaliating isn't the best strategy either

3/31/2011 7:35:59 AM

haha everyone's favorite UMD alum Steve Blake just tried to step to Jason Terry

4 players ejected for basically talking shit

[Edited on April 1, 2011 at 12:51 AM. Reason : none of them were Artest, btw]

ahahah at Artest after the and-1

[Edited on April 1, 2011 at 1:03 AM. Reason : .]

4/1/2011 12:46:38 AM

lol Shannon Brown just got ejected

Joey Crawford is a cunt

4/1/2011 1:17:34 AM

steve blake is a cunt

with that said, i can't say i wouldn't step to someone who just shoved me to the ground

4/1/2011 1:25:16 AM

no punches thrown all game, basically no shoves either, 5 ejections

shiiiiits weak

4/1/2011 1:27:27 AM

i did like how barnes basically threw one of his coaches into the bench after getting reverse bearhugged

4/1/2011 1:29:25 AM

I think that was a Dallas Coach he tossed..

4/1/2011 9:36:37 AM

Quote :

"steve blake is a cunt with that said, i can't say i wouldn't step to someone who just shoved me to the ground"

Meh...after watching the replay several times, Blake was going for an Oscar with his arms flailing all over the place and leaning into Terry. Terry barely shoved him...he was just already off balance and on his way down. You could see Blake thinking about it when he was on the ground, then decided he should get up and try to act like a bad-ass.

I actually don't hate Blake as much as I did when he was at Maryland, but I don't put too much on Terry for that. Blake definitely escalated everything...and Barnes is a fucking BITCH.

4/1/2011 12:18:20 PM

Rondo: Overrated player of the year

4/10/2011 4:44:05 PM

Rondo isnt overrated but he's certainly falled off a cliff late this season. That Jeff Green trade was abysmal though, I'd hesitate to consider the Celtics a contender anymore.

4/10/2011 7:53:47 PM

charlie villanueva whatever you spell it goes nuts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhDIac2FMPo

apparently that wasn't even the best part as he went on another mad charge to the cavs locker room but had to be restrained by police

I like hollins' reaction, seems like a pretty cool guy, plus baldy started it by trying to knee him in the groin

[Edited on April 12, 2011 at 2:19 AM. Reason : k]

4/12/2011 2:17:19 AM

hahaha the worst play of the year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmz0qQp4OmI&feature=player_embedded



[Edited on April 12, 2011 at 11:41 AM. Reason : lol]

4/12/2011 11:39:23 AM

^^,^ lol

4/12/2011 7:54:16 PM

Andrew Bynum goes down....SURPRISE SURPRISE!!

4/13/2011 9:07:13 AM

uh hey san antonio, you don't sit your starters for the playoffs unless there is no home court yet to fight for, now you're prob going to lose out on the best record

4/13/2011 2:46:03 PM

With the age and injury histories of their stars, I think it makes more sense for them to get Duncan and Co. as close to 100% as possible rather than have them go all out for the small chance they play Chicago in the Finals and the series goes all 7.

More surprising to me is the Bulls decision to go all out with their starters last night.

4/13/2011 2:48:20 PM

^^You see what happened to Bynum and Noah last night??

4/13/2011 3:01:03 PM

the Heat were looking at signing Eddy Curry for the playoffs, then weighed him

350 pounds

4/13/2011 3:03:39 PM

the fact that Kobe calling someone a faggot on the basketball court is a news story makes me hate ESPN

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 4:46 PM. Reason : ]

4/13/2011 4:44:44 PM

speaking of Kobe, i've never seen a player wear shoes this low in a game. seems like a great way to fuck up your ankles:

4/13/2011 5:33:48 PM

^ There is little evidence to prove that high tops have any impact on reducing ankle injuries. Both Kobe and Lebron have gone away from traditional high tops.

4/13/2011 5:39:30 PM

I know I blew out my ankle wearing low-top tennis shoes while playing basketball about a month & a half ago and it's still pretty tender

4/13/2011 5:41:43 PM

^^i was unaware of this

in my athletic experience, my ankles are like rubber bands and high-top cleats always made a huge difference for me

4/13/2011 5:50:21 PM

100 grand for saying faggot

Jeez, I don't know, NBA. Maybe don't put the camera on someone when they're visibly upset?

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 7:32 PM. Reason : x]

4/13/2011 7:30:52 PM

the NBA does more than any other league as far as trying to clean up its image, and have a lower percentage of arrests "per capita" than the NFL for example, yet its still viewed as the thug league

even when they fine a superstar $100k for basically cussing at a referee

4/13/2011 8:35:19 PM

Last Kings game ever tonight.

Against the Lakers, no less. Next year this game will be played in Kobe's backyard.

[Edited on April 13, 2011 at 8:55 PM. Reason : ]

4/13/2011 8:46:20 PM

one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of

fuck David Stern

4/13/2011 8:52:56 PM

Quote :

"the NBA does more than any other league as far as trying to clean up its image, and have a lower percentage of arrests "per capita" than the NFL for example, yet its still viewed as the thug league"

Because the faces of the league are black guys w/ tats

4/13/2011 9:11:42 PM

let's put 'em in suits on the sidelines! that'll show people we're not thugs

-David Stern

4/13/2011 9:22:13 PM

How it was 10 years ago:

Quote :

"According to Sixers guard Allen Iverson, a spectator in Indianapolis called him an n-word during a game on Jan. 28 against the Pacers. He responded by calling the man a "(bleep) (gay slur)". Iverson was fined $5,000 by the National Basketball Association after NBC cameras caught him saying the racial slur on television."

How it is today:

Quote :

"Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for a homophobic slur that commissioner David Stern called "offensive and inexcusable." After receiving a technical foul during Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant stormed to the bench, hit his seat before sitting down, threw a towel and then yelled. Bryant then leaned back and muttered a gay slur."

4/14/2011 10:56:15 AM