^ To the first point, the Rockets do that all the time in close games. The plus side is if they hit long 3s, there's no defensive way to stop that. The bad part is that it's not reliable at all. Harden has a bad habit of doing it too. I also wonder if the Rockets made the wrong rotation choices as MIA forced them to go small and not play the Jones/Howard front court. Second point, Reggie Jackins, Andre Robinson, KD, Ibaka, Steven Adams. That was the OKC starting lineup. 3 bench players into the starting lineup. They don't have the depth to overcome Perkins and Sefolosha even though I think Perkins isn't a good fit against most teams for OKC. They play him so they can use Collison and Adams in more spot minutes than major minutes and Thabeet too. Then of course Sefolosha we talked about. Throw Westbrook out into the mix, there's not enough coaching/talent for OKC to overcome that.
Doc Rivers attempting to run up the score on Cleveland. Chris Paul, Jordan, and Blake Griffin still in the game, up 19 with under 2 minutes left No Kyrie Irving for most of the game (injured during the second), so Cleveland wasn't a threat, but Doc running it up like crazy.
Correction: Irving left the game in the first quarter. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489868 Straight out of the Spoelstra school of coaching (and there were multiple stoppages where Rivers could've taken starters out): 6:1669-78DeAndre Jordan defensive rebound 6:0369-80Chris Paul makes 10-foot two point shot 5:43Jarrett Jack bad pass 69-80 5:2269-83Matt Barnes makes 25-foot three point jumper (Willie Green assists) 5:13Jarrett Jack bad pass 69-83 5:13 Official timeout 4:5469-86Chris Paul makes 23-foot three point jumper 4:4669-86Chris Paul personal foul (Spencer Hawes draws the foul) 4:46Cavaliers Full timeout 4:33Dion Waiters makes three point jumper (Jarrett Jack assists)72-86 4:1872-88Chris Paul makes two point shot 4:0072-88Blake Griffin shooting foul (Spencer Hawes draws the foul) 4:00Spencer Hawes misses free throw 1 of 272-88 4:00Cavaliers offensive team rebound72-88 4:00Spencer Hawes makes free throw 2 of 273-88 3:54Jarrett Jack personal foul (Chris Paul draws the foul)73-88 3:4773-90Blake Griffin makes 21-foot jumper (Chris Paul assists) 3:34Luol Deng makes 24-foot three point jumper (Spencer Hawes assists)76-90 3:1676-90Matt Barnes misses 24-foot three point jumper 3:15Tristan Thompson defensive rebound76-90 3:03Luol Deng misses two point jumper76-90 3:0176-90Blake Griffin defensive rebound 2:5376-92Chris Paul makes 14-foot jumper 2:41Spencer Hawes makes driving layup (Dion Waiters assists)78-92 2:2478-94Chris Paul makes 19-foot jumper (Blake Griffin assists) 2:15Cavaliers Full timeout 2:15Alonzo Gee enters the game for Luol Deng78-94 2:02Jarrett Jack out of bounds lost ball turnover 78-94 1:5178-96DeAndre Jordan makes 3-foot two point shot (Blake Griffin assists) 1:51Spencer Hawes shooting foul (DeAndre Jordan draws the foul)78-96 1:5178-96Reggie Bullock enters the game for Chris Paul 1:5178-97DeAndre Jordan makes free throw 1 of 1 1:39Dion Waiters misses 23-foot three point jumper 78-97 1:3878-97Blake Griffin defensive rebound 1:2078-97Blake Griffin misses 17-foot jumper 1:1978-97DeAndre Jordan offensive rebound 1:19Spencer Hawes shooting foul (DeAndre Jordan draws the foul)78-97 1:1978-97DeAndre Jordan misses free throw 1 of 2 1:1978-97Clippers offensive team rebound 1:19Tyler Zeller enters the game for Spencer Hawes78-97 1:19Shane Edwards enters the game for Tristan Thompson78-97 1:19Spencer Hawes technical foul(1st technical foul) 78-97 1:19Spencer Hawes ejected78-97 1:1978-97DeAndre Jordan misses technical free throw
poor Nets, ESPN won't recognize the fact that they've moved http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3423/goran-dragic SPLITSGPMPGFG%RPGAPGBLKPGSTPGPFPGPPG Last 10 Games936.9.5112.35.60.30.83.122.3 March836.3.4832.35.60.40.93.120.1 vs. New Jersey146.0.4171.010.00.02.01.019.0 In Wins3634.1.5273.56.30.31.22.420.8 In Losses2636.0.4843.15.80.21.53.020.1
San Antonio just needs to remain healthy, the team looks really good, even more well rounded than last season although some individuals were playing a tad better last season (Duncan).
OKC/CHI is on ESPN. Completely forgot ESPN had doubleheader tonight. Clips/Nuggets later. Warning, Chicago is wearing green jerseys for today
Thunder up double digits near the end of the 4th, but they only had a 1 point lead early in the 4th. Chicago went on a slump offensively
Thats the only thing holding back CHI from a shot at the trophy, no scoring when things break down. Rose has been injured but I almost guarantee Melo heads there next season unless Jackson works a miracle.
^ Melo would have to go in a sign and trade which would require trading some of their pieces and future to NY. Maybe Melo gambles on that and Rose's knees, but I don't know how exactly CHI would look after that potential trade.
I understand Jimmer struggles on D, but when nobody can make a bucket, I would insert him in. Has Tom T played him at all?
But to get paid, he has to go in a sign and trade. "Chicago has more than $63.8 million in guaranteed salary on its books for next season. Amnestying Carlos Boozer's $16.8 million salary only allows the Bulls to offer Anthony a contract starting somewhere around $16 million annually, assuming a 2014-15 salary cap of $62.9 million(per ESPN's Larry Coon)."
If he goes in just FA he leaves about 6-8 million a year on the table. The amnesty is the key. The bulls smartly still have theirs. Melo will 100% opt out, and Chicago is a great place for him, but that's also a lot to leave on the table.
Although this one says Chicago only has only around 11-12 to offer to Melo which is significantly less. http://www.csnchicago.com/bulls/why-carmelo-anthony-would-need-give-bulls-huge-discount It really depends how much Melo is willing to take as a pay cut. But once you start talking significant pay cuts, Miami has to come into play EDIT: and of course Lebron is the first domino and what he does. If he hits the market, he obviously is the #1 get for any team. And if Lebron/Melo made plans to play together, that points back to Miami. But of course that's if Bosh and/or Wade using the ETO. I don't see Wade doing that, but Bosh will be interesting. He's changed his role, got his titles here, will he continue or try to get paid more? But yeah, Lebron is the first domino.
