2010-2011 NBA Season Thread

[wyrmtung]

Ugh, last light's 3OT game had me pissed off and I'm not even a Suns fan. I am amazed that the Suns were able to push the game to three overtimes despite how much the refs were letting the Lakers foul.

[Rhinox]

Apparently Floyd merriwether bet on the bulls hawks game and tweeted this picture of him winning 41 thousand.

http://yfrog.com/h7e9xhcj

D-ROSE

[Correction]

If only he'd take the guaranteed millions he'd get losing to Pacquiao.

[Valisk]

Ugh, last light's 3OT game had me pissed off and I'm not even a Suns fan. I am amazed that the Suns were able to push the game to three overtimes despite how much the refs were letting the Lakers foul.

Kobe was on The Mo'Nique show last night (ethnic programming on BET) and he something along the lines of "If the game is in the Staples Center, MY house, the refs won't call fouls on me. I can hit you all day and the refs won't call a thing. That's my house." It was said in good fun to Mo'Nique's hypothetical situation but I bet there's some kind of backlash or controversy over it. Calling it now.

[kisada]

oh my god that vid was awesome

[Moss]

Hey hey now. No name dropping.

Speaking of fouling in overtime, there were multiple Laker steals where it looked like they all just hacked the fuck out of the guys arms until he dropped the ball. I remember it specifically happening to Frye on one possession.

[Kaslo]

btw from DailyThunder today:

http://www.dailythunder.com/2011/03/...-conversation/

Spoiler: show

Let me just say this up front: I think Kevin Durant is the Thunder’s MVP. He’s quietly had a terrific season, his team is better than last year and his value to the Thunder on both ends often gets overlooked.

And let me say this too: If I were an MVP voter, I’d pick Derrick Rose over Russell Westbrook. The award has “valuable” in it for a reason and head-to-head against Westbrook, I think Rose fits that criteria better than most. As Larry David might say, having said that…

The question has to at least be asked, especially by a Thunder inclined person: If Rose is the undisputed leader for the award, why isn’t Westbrook at least in the conversation?

The breaking point for me in wanting to write this came today when SportsCenter flashed this graphic. Comparing Rose’s season to Magic’s incredible 1986-87 season? And then saying nobody has dominated the position like Magic since Rose this year? (Nevermind that the numbers aren’t really all that similar.)

For comparison:

Derrick Rose: 24.9 points per game, 7.8 assists per game, 44.0 percent from the field, 34.0 percent from 3, 1.1 steals per game

Russell Westbrook: 22.1 ppg, 8.4 apg, 44.1 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from 3, 1.7 spg.

And for good measure, Westbrook grabs 4.6 rebounds a game compared to 4.2 for Rose and on top of that, Westbrook’s PER is 23.60 to Rose’s 23.34. In the end, I think we’d all agree those numbers are pretty similar. (At least more similar than Magic Johnson’s and Rose’s.) Similar enough at least to maybe put Westbrook in the same conversation as Rose. Similar enough to prevent people from saying things like, “Derrick Rose is dominating the PG position unlike anyone since Magic Johnson.” Evidently not.

But that’s the thing — Rose has hype. Loads of it. Every Bulls highlight, every time Rose’s name is mention whoever is talking says, “He could be the MVP!” It’s almost like subtle propaganda. There are graphics putting his name next to Magic’s, campaigns for his candidacy and even Rose himself says he thinks he deserves it. Really at this point, there’s no stopping it. It’s gotten to the level where if you want to go against it and vote for Dwight Howard or Dirk Nowitzki, people will think you’re crazy. You’ll be seen as the guy that’s just trying to be different to gain attention. The pick is Rose. It’s been decided and if you don’t want to get on the train, prepare to be called out.

Again, it’s not like I wouldn’t pick Rose myself. I’m just saying, if Rose is having such a legendary season and is far and away the MVP, why isn’t Westbrook at least being mentioned? I know the reasons people will say. Westbrook has Durant. Rose’s team is better. Rose carried his team through injury. True, true and true. But don’t ignore that Rose has the safety blanket of the league’s best defense and the Thunder aren’t a bad team. Plus it’s a small sample, but the four games Kevin Durant has missed this year, the Thunder are 3-1 and that’s because of Westbrook.

Plus, look at Rose’s own resume. It’s not like it’s entirely clean. He’s the best offensive player in the 13th best offensive team and the worst defender (in terms of plus-minus) on the league’s best defensive team. So while Westbrook has Durant, Rose also has the luxury of the NBA’s top defense. The Bulls have won a lot of games scoring in the 80s and that’s not just because of Rose. It’s because of Tom Thibodeau and the outstanding defensive system the Bulls deploy.

To go with that point, LeBron James has still be part of the MVP conversation for most of this season and he’s playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Same goes for Kobe Bryant playing with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Since when is playing with another good player supposed to hurt your MVPness? That’s the reality though.

I’m a realist, I understand why Westbrook isn’t in the conversation. Heck, the first sentence I typed in this thing was about how Westbrook isn’t even the MVP of his own team. But while this hype train rolls on full steam ahead for Rose, I can’t help but wonder why Russell Westbrook isn’t at least attached somewhere near the back.

A lot comes down to the dreaded “M-word” for OKC. Market. Rose plays in one of basketball’s charter cities, the place that had Jordan and Pippen, the place with six rings and a whole lot of people to go with it. Westbrook plays in little ‘ol Oklahoma City. The Thunder have a pretty solid national following, but that’s largely because of Durant. The fact Westbrook was picked as an All-Star this season is sort of a minor miracle in itself. Clark Matthews made the point on Twitter and it’s hard to disagree: swap Rose and Westbrook’s places and more than likely Russ is the leading MVP candidate.

I know why Westbrook isn’t in the running. I understand all the reasons. Team, role, status, market — I get all of that. I even get Rose’s value to his team is heavier than Westbrook’s, though it’s not near as large as gap as some think. (You really think this team is 45-24 in the West if Eric Maynor is starting those 69 games?) But what I just don’t get is how people can fawn and drool over Rose night after night when he puts up something like 27 points on 11-24 shooting and five assists, when that’s kind of a ho-hum night for Westbrook these days. That’s what I don’t get.

And that’s why I just wasted 900 words trying to make a case for him when there’s really no point. The race is over and Westbrook never had a chance.

[Rhinox]

Hey another butthurt beat writer with a small market complex.

Btw lol @ the bulls being a charter city they came into the league in the late sixties

D-ROSE

[Dimmauk]

Stats dont lie. Rose will get the MVP based solely on the media hype. Its a travesty that the award is meaningless again. I wonder when the last time a MVP won the title in the same year? LOL

[GRT]

To all the idiots who complain about Lakers getting favorable calls:

http://i52.tinypic.com/aayz9f.jpg
http://oi52.tinypic.com/2mxoq6b.jpg


Now STFU.

[Azull]

Havent the Bulls done far better then they were expected to this year? Right now they stand at #1 in the East. Just about everyone had either the Heat or Boston winning the East with the Bulls around the 4 spot. Rose, as the teams best player, gets a lot of credit for that. Even if it was caused in part by a combo of having a good coach in place as well as their off season moves the fact that Rose also has gotten better then year over his 1st two also cant be denied.

The Thunder have done about what every sane person expected.

[Dimmauk]

Using that logic, the player on the team with the best record in the league should get MVP? Im sure everyone was picking the SPURS to be in first and have the best record. So should parker who has stats like rose and westbrook get it? or manu who is the best player?

[kisada]

they have exceeded expectations by a wide margin, but the hype train comes every single year.

one guy from the media starts talking about one specific player about a third of the season in, and eventually people start copycatting and bandwagoning until the rest of the season. not that the player doesn't deserve it, but by the end of the season it's usually pretty out of control. eventually what happens is the other MVP candidates are completely overshadowed even in spite of how strong their seasons may be.

[Azull]

The MVP has gone to the best player on one of the best teams for a while now. I think the last real exception was Mose Malone in the early 80's

[Kaslo]

Hey another butthurt beat writer with a small market complex.

Btw lol @ the bulls being a charter city they came into the league in the late sixties

D-ROSE

Ahh the classic "can't dispute facts, must insult writer" argument.

[Rhinox]

Using that logic, the player on the team with the best record in the league should get MVP? Im sure everyone was picking the SPURS to be in first and have the best record. So should parker who has stats like rose and westbrook get it? or manu who is the best player?

Actually yes everyone was picking the Spurs to be atop the conference. Or very damn near it

D-ROSE

[Rhinox]

Ahh the classic "can't dispute facts, must insult writer" argument.

I can tear the argument to shreds wait til I get home.

D-ROSE

[Rhinox]

they have exceeded expectations by a wide margin, but the hype train comes every single year.

one guy from the media starts talking about one specific player about a third of the season in, and eventually people start copycatting and bandwagoning until the rest of the season. not that the player doesn't deserve it, but by the end of the season it's usually pretty out of control. eventually what happens is the other MVP candidates are completely overshadowed even in spite of how strong their seasons may be.

Won't dispute that hell it happened last year with Durant only he was victim to lebron cavs.





D-ROSE

[Man0warr]

Actually yes everyone was picking the Spurs to be atop the conference. Or very damn near it

D-ROSE

No way. People expected the Spurs were going to be competitive, and probably be in the running for #2 seed with the Thunder and Mavs but everyone assumed the Lakers would run away with the #1 seed again this year.

The Spurs have been very healthy this year though, and got to play some of the other competition when they had injury problems. Still, no one is going to sleep on the Spurs in the playoffs as long as they have Duncan Parker and Manu.

[GRT]

The thing about the "best player on the best team" argument is that there is already an award for that， it's called the Finals MVP.