NBA 2011-12 Season Thread

[Hiromi]

And last year's champs are the first to bow out. Wonder if Kidd will retire now or try another year.

[Vibranium]

the Thunder are killing it out there....I had doubts when the franchise moved to Oklahoma City of all places, but the people love them and they are ON FIRE

[Aubergine~!]

I say this as a LeBron fan: he isn't as great as Barkley, Ewing, Mullen (well actually, he is better than Mullen), Webber, Miller, or Wilkins yet. He soon will be, though.

What? I can see the Barkley and Ewing arguments (though a barring ending injury very soon he will surpass them), but the rest are ridiculous.

The only thing he lacks in comparison to Wilkins is longevity (and arguably loyalty), though most of his seasons have already been better than Wilkins' best.

He's already surpassed Mullin, Webber, and Miller, by far, and I was a fan of all those guys. Webber miiight be the only questionable one there, but his career was too injury riddled to make that argument compelling. Mullin and Miller were never the best player in the NBA. Dominique wasn't either, but I'm happy to put that down to MJ.

[Vibranium]

I think Lebron is a fantastic athlete...probably one of the most physically gifted athlete in some time

but he lacks the mental toughness and the killer instinct...he's not a leader and really shows no signs of wanting to be a leader

he will succeed on his talent alone, not his game IQ....

[Cavemold]

Joakim Noah will not be in the next game due to ankle injury...the blazers luck is rubbing Off the bulls

[Hiromi]

I think Lebron is a fantastic athlete...probably one of the most physically gifted athlete in some time

but he lacks the mental toughness and the killer instinct...he's not a leader and really shows no signs of wanting to be a leader

he will succeed on his talent alone, not his game IQ....

Ah, so now we're pretending this is some bizarro world NBA where Lebron doesn't have an outstanding basketball IQ. Never mind his shooting %, defense, the regularity he intercepts passes and either throws or receives alley ops, or just the fact that he's a small forward who routinely runs his offense like a point guard. And not a leader? Its only been TWO years since he dragged an awful Cleveland team to the top East seed the second year in a row.

[Jonah Weiland]

This Grizzlies/Clippers game is awsome

Oh yes it was! I was sitting 9 rows behind the Clippers basket. I couldn't watch the final 8 seconds where Rudy Gay missed the game winner. I seriously sat and looked down, waiting for the crowd reaction.

That was one of the most amazing games I've been to and I've been to loads of amazing games. So much fun! So proud!

Clippers Nation has risen!

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

Clippers Nation has risen!

hell yes!!

[Kasper Cole]

LOL @ "Clippers Nation"

Shouldn't a team wait till they actually get a Nationwide fanbase before they slap on the "Nation" tag?

[Kasper Cole]

New York won it's first playoff game in 11 years.....Melo dropped 41.......he'll have to do that and more in order for that team to have a snowballs chance in hell at winning another game.

[kalorama]

I say this as a LeBron fan: he isn't as great as Barkley, Ewing, Mullen (well actually, he is better than Mullen), Webber, Miller, or Wilkins yet. He soon will be, though.

How are you defining "great"? Because in terms of actual skill/playing ability he's better than everyone on that list with the possible exception of Barkely. If you're talking big game presence, no one on that list did any better a job carrying their teams to title that Lebron has so far, so it's tough to see how they have any kind of clear advantage. James made it to two finals in his first eight seasons, something no one else on that list did; half of them never even got to one in their entire careers.

[Kasper Cole]

Oh and in case anyone missed it we probably saw the end of Baron Davis' career...

[Cavemold]

Oh and in case anyone missed it we probably saw the end of Baron Davis' career...

Yea it's over. I still remember him ripping the soul out of Dallas

[Cavemold]

LOL @ "Clippers Nation"

Shouldn't a team wait till they actually get a Nationwide fanbase before they slap on the "Nation" tag?

No kidding .

[Mic Murphy]

Your second paragraph is an interesting argument, but it's not convincing. The Clippers weren't even in the top 10 in assists during the regular season; moreover, Rondo lead the league in assists despite the fact that Boston has better ball handlers than the players you just named (Boston was 2nd in assists, by the way).

Rajon Rondo is Boston's primary ball-handler and he has better offensive options around him. Chris Paul's best offensive option is a low-post big man who is still developing. Rondo's offensive options include an all-around slasher/scorer, a prolific outside shooter and a post player who can score out to the elbow -- all of whom were 20-point-per-game scorers on separate teams.

Paul Pierce was second in assists on the Celtics with 4.5 assists per game, but Pierce passes more in the flow of the offense. Because of Rondo being such the dominant ball-handler and distributor, Kevin Garnett's assist totals are drastically down compared to his Minnesota days.

Rondo has always been a complementary player to the Big Three ... that doesn't sound like a bad thing, but it's been clear this season and at certain points in the past that Rondo has been more than merely complementary. At the very least, you have to admit his historic triple-doubles and current assist streak are pretty damn amazing and something that no other current point guard comes close to.

You mean the triple-doubles Rondo only seems to get on national television? The reality is that Rondo's career rebounding average is actually lower than Paul's career average and you're misrepresenting Rondo's rebounding numbers. As stated previously, practically all of Rondo's career triple-doubles have come when he has played on national television and his double-figure rebound games only have come in the triple-doubles. So it's created this slanted view you want to present that Rondo is some historically great rebounder when really he is on the same level as Paul overall in that category.