lots of questionable technical fouls early

and wow, has Ray Allen already missed 4 free throws? unreal

5/28/2012 9:36:59 PM

the fix is in

[Edited on May 28, 2012 at 9:37 PM. Reason : lol]

5/28/2012 9:37:33 PM

This game is fucking rigged. 4 technicals on Boston in the first HALF?!

Ray allen gets a steal, wade fouls him. foul on allen. allen gets mad, now technical on allen.

garnett barely touches the ball delay of game technical.

rondo gets fouled, no call. doc says why no foul, technical.



On top of all this Ray Allen is pulling his 2010 NBA Finals shtick and missing everything again including free throws. AHHHHHHHH


If Rivers would just play Stiemsma then Boston would win this thing. Miami can not handle him. Bass on the other hand plays right into Miami's hands.

5/28/2012 9:39:01 PM

5/28/2012 9:44:17 PM

Sweet, they removed the anthony basket. tied at half.

Celts can win this thing if they just play Stiemsma, Miami can't handle elite centers.



[Edited on May 28, 2012 at 9:53 PM. Reason : a]

5/28/2012 9:46:46 PM

you throw around the term "elite centers" a little too loosely

just a little bit

5/28/2012 10:03:34 PM

Rivers makes no sense.

He wastes a season playing jermaine oneals corpse at center bc he wants to keep garnett at pf.

Then he gets a stud center and benches him so he can move garnett to center.

You beat the heat with size. Play your center. You need easy baskets and rebounds. You don't need bass throwing up bricks, getting stuffed, fouling bc he can't contest shots, and falling down.

5/28/2012 10:16:57 PM

is it just me, or have then been more late fouls called this playoffs than in recent memory? seems like lots of whistles well after shots. not just in this game, but in the playoffs overall.

I HEART DORIS BURKE. hottest. bitch. ever.

i kid.

5/28/2012 11:11:15 PM

^ I agree. It's like they think about a play for a second, and then are like, "fuck it, we better go ahead and call the foul on someone."

[Edited on May 28, 2012 at 11:35 PM. Reason : l]

5/28/2012 11:34:13 PM

Sounds like the refs are trying to dictate the series early. Everybody has been talking about the "rivalry" between the two teams and that things would get chippy. The NBA doesn't want the same Heat/Pacers nonsense from the last series so "Don" Stern probably told the refs to call it tight. There shouldn't be any surprises going into Game 2 when it comes to the officiating. Granted, if they're going to call lots of fouls to keep the order in this series, they better have the sense to not swallow the whistle if the game gets close in crunch time.

5/28/2012 11:38:38 PM

calling physical play as fouls to stop fights before they start is one thing, calling bullshit technicals is another

though miami completely outplayed boston in the 2nd half, so no real excuses there

5/29/2012 12:37:39 AM

yeah miami thoroughly outplayed boston in the 2nd so the refs are a moot point, but they were terrible in the first half.

5/29/2012 12:42:14 AM

I just love how Wade and Lebron play hella aggressive all game reaching at everything swatting everybody and attacking nonstop but will only have like 1 or 2 fouls tops. There was a hook shot where lebron blocked it and landed on rondos head no foul.

5/29/2012 2:50:07 AM

We're talking about Ray Allen. He's class. Refs were a joke last night.

5/29/2012 7:41:17 AM

Celtics have a few problems in this series.

#1 No Avery Bradley. They needed him to guard D-Wade and to give them a competent guard in the rotation. Ray is just playing terribly right now and behind Ray they have nothing.

#2 Lebron is one of the best defenders in the league so the opposing SF's always underperform their usual numbers. Boston relies heavily on Pierce to generate offense and he's obviously not going to be able to do that efficiently in this series. He needs to stop trying to get his numbers, but that's very un-Pierce like.

#3 Bass. Streaky shooter, they need him to make shots and clear the lane so Rondo has more space. Unfortunately, he's a poor defender and Miami has too much athleticism for him to compete on that end. Miami was 32-47 from 2's last night, many of those baskets can be attributed to Bass inability to contest anything around the basket or rebound.

#4 Pietrus is your 6th man. Ew. Can't play much worse than he did last night.



On the plus side though Miami simply can not match up with Garnett/Stiemsma especially with Bosh out. These guys should continue to have their way if their bodies hold up. Garnett looked like he was in a lot of pain last night and he tailed off a lot after a quick start. If these guys can get easy baskets and protect the rim the Celtics can force Miami to shoot from the perimeter where they've struggled for most of the postseason.

Rondo has to take over games. He was awful around the basket in game 1 as he kept putting up circus shots instead of drawing contact. You can't go 8/20 from the floor and not have a single FT. That's just not acceptable from someone they need to carry them offensively.




Bottom line, Miami isn't a good rebounding team and if you get outrebounded by 15 against them you have literally no chance to win the game. That was a terrible performance by Boston and if Doc Rivers doesn't figure out the Stiemsma for Bass substitution this could be a quick series.

[Edited on May 29, 2012 at 7:59 AM. Reason : a]

5/29/2012 7:58:35 AM

On the other hand man Miami's offense has become sophisticated. Last year it was just olympics but this year they are putting guys in the right spots making it really tough to help in the paint and running flex cuts with perfect timing getting layups all day.

[Edited on May 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM. Reason : to make matters worse, lebron finally has a post game. ]

5/29/2012 9:00:05 AM

First half looked a lot more like the real Spurs. Rebounds for OKC are making this game a lot closer than it should be though.

Perkins is just destroying the Thunder's chances of winning this series I'm not sure why Scott Brooks is sabotaging their season. Fisher is back to his usual terrible self.

The thing about the Thunder is they have possibly the best lineup combination in the league.

If they play Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, Durant, and Ibaka there isn't a team in the league that can put out a better lineup. That's 4 studs + Westbrook. They might be a little undersized but who cares. I'd rather be undersized than have guys like Perkins out there who suck.

If they want to play a center they have Collison and Aldrich who are both quality players. I don't understand the obsession with Perkins. He was productive a few years ago before he got injured, but he's been worthless ever since. Look at these numbers at halftime 0-3 FG, 4 reb, 4 to!!! Oh my god. A guy who hasn't even scored a single point has FOUR turnovers?!?! Giving Sefolosha only 3 minutes in the first half when he was their best player in game 1 is just insane. Brooks is just a horrible coach when it comes to minute allocations.

Also, Splitter has to get more minutes. That guy is a great, they're a much better offensive team when he's on the floor for Duncan. He's not as good defensively, but he was really the guy who led the comeback in game 1.

5/29/2012 10:15:00 PM

somebody forgot to tell Duncan how old he is

5/29/2012 10:20:40 PM

Go spurs go

5/29/2012 10:39:56 PM

I don't understand how people can still say the spurs are boring, they are putting on a fucking clinic out there.

5/29/2012 10:43:14 PM

Perkins making his biggest contribution of the series.

5/29/2012 10:52:41 PM

Splitter was all like "YOU WASN'T WIT ME SHOOTIN AT THE GYM"

5/29/2012 10:56:52 PM

If OKC loses tonight this series is over.

5/29/2012 11:16:59 PM

even derek fisher is in awe with how many minutes he's getting

5/29/2012 11:24:58 PM

Offense is really stalling for spurs, I'd like to see them bench Duncan for splitter here so they get some baskets.

5/29/2012 11:26:39 PM

Yeah, fisher is not guarding anyone

5/29/2012 11:32:38 PM

Lol at fisher playing at all in this series, but to play him 25 minutes?!

Brooks is just in way over his head here. He finally realizes he has to bench Perkins and he looks at sefolosha, Collison, and aldrich and says wait do we have anyone who sucks as bad as Perkins instead?

Give me a guy who can't guard anyone and will go 1-10 fg tonight. That's what we need!

5/29/2012 11:35:21 PM

Behold the power of the bald spot!

5/29/2012 11:41:45 PM

Parker got into the lane at will

5/29/2012 11:42:23 PM

Maybe the Spurs are into something with their strategy of looking for the open guy as the shot clock winds down, instead of handing the ball to their "star" player in isolation to host up a circus shot as the clock expires.

5/29/2012 11:45:51 PM

I'm happy because of my Spurs bet but as a basketball fan that game is an absolute shame.

Between the absolutely classic performances of Tony Parker and James Harden + Kevin Durant and to a lesser extent Kawhi Leonard that SHOULD have been the best game of the playoffs.

Instead Brooks coached it right into a semi-blowout.

Just play your best players. This has been a common theme throughout the playoffs where coaches outthink themselves. Just play the guys who are good for god's sake this is the Conference Finals.

5/29/2012 11:46:47 PM

Quote :

"Obviously Parker wouldn't make a list of top 5 PG's in the league, so top 5 for MVP is just being silly."

5/30/2012 12:08:15 AM

^ He had a ridiculously great game, but he's still not top 5 PG. He's not even close to the elite PG's like CPIII, Rondo, or Nash.

Parker is one of the most overrated players in the NBA. His FG% is inflated because he doesn't shoot any 3's so when you look at his adjusted FG% it's not that impressive. He doesn't rebound or get steals so he doesn't create any net possessions per game. He is fun to watch and the Spurs have designed a great offense to get him quality looks from midrange.

But if Parker were on another team he'd be just another above average PG. The only reason people think he's a big deal is because he's played on so many stacked teams in his career.

5/30/2012 12:17:10 AM

how do you shit on Parker for being old but still slurp off Nash all the time?

btw, you know who else is an elite PG? Deron Williams

5/30/2012 12:17:53 AM

^ I don't have time to get in stupid arguments tonight. Deron Williams was awful this year, period.

Kobe Bryant was as good as Deron Williams this year for god's sake.



This series should really illustrate how done Kobe is. They got whitewashed by the Thunder in 5 games who are now being whitewashed by the Spurs in ~5 games. Sorry Kobe, it's over. The Lakers aren't capable of putting enough talent together to carry Kobe to a 6th title.

5/30/2012 12:22:18 AM

Quote :

"Deron Williams was awful this year, period."

and that has what to do with him being an elite point guard?

as far as Parker, overrated players don't go 16/21 from the field against the Thunder while being the floor general for a team that just won its 20th straight game

you act like he's Mario Chalmers

Quote :

"His FG% is inflated because he doesn't shoot any 3's"

I thought taking efficient shots was your big thing? Just not with Parker?

and don't forget basketball genius, you didn't even have the Spurs making the Western Finals

5/30/2012 12:25:42 AM

It is. And I'm saying his adjusted FG% isn't any better than the other PG's in the league so he's not really anymore of an efficient scorer than any other PG in the league.

It's not that hard to understand basketball. If you don't create possessions or score efficiently then you aren't that big of a deal. He's a good player but the NBA is loaded with PG's.

The Spurs aren't winning 20 straight games because they have Tony Parker. It's because they have no weak links and studs like Ginobili/Leonard at SG/SF when a lot of other teams have to play guys like Kobe Bryant or Danilo Gallinari at those positions.

On top of that they have backups like Splitter who are better than most people's starters like Bass, Perkins, or Bosh.



^ We've been over why I didn't have them in the Finals. Towards the end of the season Popp replaced Leonard/Green/Ginobili minutes with Jackson/Diaw. It turns out he was just giving them those minutes to get them integrated in the system and then when the playoffs started he gave most of the minutes back to the best guys. I misunderstood what he was doing, I thought he had lost confidence in his young guys for the playoffs. As soon as I realized they were going to play the guys I've been 100% correct on them whitewashing everyone.

[Edited on May 30, 2012 at 12:36 AM. Reason : a]

5/30/2012 12:34:21 AM

Its not over he still went out playing well. They will bring Kobe some legitimate help in the off season. The spurs are proof that just having the right players not necessarily good players goes a long way. the lakers have all the wrong complementary players. You can't have too many balanced players on your bench that aren't great at defense or 3 pt shooting.

5/30/2012 12:36:37 AM

http://www.youtube.com/embed/whs0Zmx-vn0




^ Actually having good player IS what matters. And it's over. The top teams in the league are stacked with stars.

All the Lakers really have is Bynum and some role players. Kobe struggled so bad this season that we have no idea if he can even have a positive WP/48 next year. He may actually slip into the negatives if he declines any further.

[Edited on May 30, 2012 at 12:41 AM. Reason : a]

5/30/2012 12:37:52 AM

Go Spurs Go!!!

5/30/2012 12:41:15 AM

Quote :

"I misunderstood what he was doing, I thought he had lost confidence in his young guys for the playoffs. As soon as I realized they were going to play the guys I've been 100% correct on them whitewashing everyone."

I, too, can play Monday Morning Quarterback

Except wait, I picked the Spurs to win it all before the playoffs started, but I used the silly old eye test

5/30/2012 12:44:04 AM

there's nothing monday morning qb about it. I said it the whole time and i picked them in every round in a blowout.

Remember, I'm the one who took them to win their division over the DEFENDING CHAMPIONS (LOL, without Tyson chandler) at +150. I know how loaded the Spurs are.

This Spurs teams is one of the best in the history of basketball. I just got nervous that they'd bench their star players like Leonard/Green. A lot of coaches go with their "play the saavy veterans" strategy and it blows up in their face.

The difference is Popp isn't as dumb as Del Negro and George Karl are. Even still he's made some mistakes. He's playing Duncan too much over Splitter which is costing them and he sat Leonard a lot in Game 1.

OKC has let SAS off the hook so far by playing their shitty players a lot though. If Brooks gets a clue and figures out that SAS can't match up with Westbrook + their 4 stars (Harden, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka) then OKC could pull off two home wins to knot this at 2-2.

5/30/2012 12:57:04 AM

Quote :

"I said it the whole time and i picked them in every round in a blowout."

except for the 2nd round when you had them losing

and the conference finals and nba finals, when you had them already at home, since the Clippers were going to eliminate them

nothing monday morning about it...

its too bad you can't have a little humility about your Spurs predictions being so wrong, but you like to fill out new NCAA tourney brackets after every round, so thats cool, i guess

5/30/2012 1:00:37 AM

Alright I'm done addressing you, you don't make any sense and your arguments don't follow any logical progression.

Here's what is so crazy about the Spurs. They are actually set up to compete for titles for the next several seasons. Green, Leonard, and Splitter should all be a force for years to come. The only concern is ginobili aging or them not transitioning Duncan to a backup role . Parker should be able to maintain his current level of play but if not he's easily replaceable as there are always tons of solid pg available.

The bit parts like Jackson and diaw should be upgraded easily in the offseason too.

5/30/2012 1:11:22 AM

I like the Spurs and it's great to watch them dominate the way they have, but mnfares's posts make me want to see them lose badly

5/30/2012 8:13:17 AM

Quote :

"If OKC loses tonight this series is over."

Eh...I don't know. If OKC had been blown out these first two games, then maybe. But they gave away the first game and were coming back in the 4th before some shitty reffing put an end to their run. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them take two in OKC. They have to play more of the defense I saw in Game 1 than the matador defense I saw in Game 2 (key: sit Fisher).

5/30/2012 8:58:58 AM

Seeing them take both of the next two at home isn't as hard to grasp as seeing them take four out of the next five vs a team that hasn't lost in six weeks. They're done unless OKC's big three go absolute HAM for the rest of the series.

5/30/2012 9:01:10 AM

But you gotta think ahead. Like how confident they will be if they take two in a row at home. They've gotta make San Antonio look human. Beat them down and make them feel as old as they really are. Giving the Spurs their first losses of the playoffs and winning two in a row will completely flip the script in this series.

[Edited on May 30, 2012 at 9:15 AM. Reason : I just really want OKC to win....and I wanted to say "flip the script"]

5/30/2012 9:12:00 AM

If the Spurs continue rolling to their 5th title, is Duncan considered the best player of his generation (over Kobe and Shaq)? Mike and Mike were debating today. Shaq was more dominant, but Duncan has been more consistent over 15 years or so.

5/30/2012 9:34:40 AM

I think he's already better than those two (better than Kobe easily). It's tough to say about Shaq, because he was so dominant and the Lakers were pretty unstoppable during their title run. But Shaq also had a dynamic Kobe to play with while Duncan won a couple of his titles with just Parker, Ginobli, and guys like Danny fucking Ferry.

Duncan is probably a top 10 player all-time and can easily be argued as one of the top big men ever with Wilt, Kareem, and Russel.

[Edited on May 30, 2012 at 10:30 AM. Reason : .]

5/30/2012 10:29:51 AM