Preseason Basketball Discussion

[Real Deal]

We'll keep all preseason discussion in one topic. Hope you have NBATV, lol.

 

Here's the schedule of games:

 

http://www.nba.com/schedule

 

Boston vs. Fenerbahce Ulker will kick it all off on Friday, 2:00 PM ET, NBATV!

[Teletopez]

Two Nets' draft picks, Bojan Bogdanovic and Ilkan Karaman, play for Fenerbahce.

[Lkr]

Goddamn it's time for preseason already?!

[Sħãlïq™]

Goddamn it's time for preseason already?!

Yessssirrrrrr, mah Lkrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

[Sħãlïq™]

Darko Milicic with the sit-down tip back and Jeff Green's put back dunk in the C's loss to Fenerbahce:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDfMZHcvmr8

[The Regime]

Watched a little bit of the first half. Boston couldn't stop the high p&r to save their life. Jeff Green and Rondo seemed to be the only two guys who seemed to be on top of their conditioning lol.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Simba

[Built Ford Tough]

For anybody who has NBA TV and is looking to veg out and watch some ball today, there are 4 games today.

 

Dallas vs. Berlin at 2 PM EST

Memphis vs. Real Madrid at 8 PM EST

San Antonio vs. Siena at 8:30 PM EST

LA Clippers vs. Denver at 10:30 PM EST

[Sħãlïq™]

For anybody who has NBA TV and is looking to veg out and watch some ball today, there are 4 games today.

 

(...)

LA Clippers vs. Denver at 10:30 PM EST

 

25-25 @ the end of the 1st. LOVIN' THESE BLUE UNIS!!!

Edited October 7, 2012 by Sħãlïq̵'

[Sħãlïq™]

Bledsoe leading all Clippers at HT. Barnes killin' us with silly TOs*... <_<

 

EDIT: *5 TOs IN 10 MINS!! :o

Edited October 7, 2012 by Sħãlïq̵'

[Built Ford Tough]

Bledsoe looked good last night. He still had his moments where he would get completely out of control and recklessly drove to the hoop. These lead to turnovers or forced passes that should've been a turnover but instead was just tipped out of bounds.

 

Still, despite those moments I was impressed with what I saw from him. He was his usual active self on defense, especially jumping passing lanes. He did a very nice job on the boards which enabled him to quickly get out on the break where he is at his best.

 

I liked what I saw from him last night.

 

 

Jordan actually looked competent on offense as well. He had a nice up and under move on the first possession of the game and then there was another move where he completely faked out McGee (not like that is hard to do) but McGee managed to just throw his hands at the ball and knock it out of bounds.

 

If he can actually score the ball on something other than lobs and garbage buckets around the rim, it will be a big addition to this Clippers team. Of course, it is only the first preseason game so I'm not going to declare Jordan a low post threat just yet, unlike the Clippers homer announcers.

 

 

On the Nuggets side, that was the first time I've ever noticed Hamilton on an NBA court. It wasn't because he did anything I haven't seen him do before since I saw him a lot at Texas and already knew he was a gunner, but I haven't seen him get on a hot streak like he did in the 2nd quarter.

[Lemon]

I geeked out more than i thought i would seeing Nash in a Lakers uniform. Seeing him play, I'm even more excited. I wonder how it'll be when DH comes on. This'll be a fun season.

[Real Deal]

This is really, really weird.

 

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/536432_10151219906816072_158451946_n.jpg

 

Gonna take a while to get used to him in a Lakers jersey.

[DunkinDerozan]

Raptors play their first game tonight. I'm hoping to find a decent feed for it online. I might end up cancelling leafs TV and getting NBA TV soon if the NHL lockout continues.

[Built Ford Tough]

I actually cancelled my NBA TV so I won't be able to watch the game live, but I do have League Pass so I'll be able to watch the game after it is completed.

 

I'm not really expecting all that much from Toronto in this game. To be honest, I think Real Madrid will beat the Raptors. Lowry and Valanciunas both aren't playing and as far as I know, Bargnani and DeRozan will both play a maximum of 20 minutes today.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how Nikola Mirotic looks for Madrid, though. I liked him his draft year and think that the Bulls getting him at 23rd was an absolute steal. I'm looking forward to seeing how he has developed since I last saw him.

[DunkinDerozan]

I actually cancelled my NBA TV so I won't be able to watch the game live, but I do have League Pass so I'll be able to watch the game after it is completed.

 

I'm not really expecting all that much from Toronto in this game. To be honest, I think Real Madrid will beat the Raptors. Lowry and Valanciunas both aren't playing and as far as I know, Bargnani and DeRozan will both play a maximum of 20 minutes today.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how Nikola Mirotic looks for Madrid, though. I liked him his draft year and think that the Bulls getting him at 23rd was an absolute steal. I'm looking forward to seeing how he has developed since I last saw him.

 

How much does NBA TV cost? I'm with Rogers, but if your with Bell its still probably around the same price. Leafs TV is only like $3/month so if NBA TV is like $20/month then I probably won't bother.

[Real Deal]

I thought NBATV comes with LP? I'm not really sure, because I've always had NBATV, no matter if I order LP or not, so...

[Sħãlïq™]

(...) Jordan actually looked competent on offense as well. He had a nice up and under move on the first possession of the game and then there was another move where he completely faked out McGee (not like that is hard to do) but McGee managed to just throw his hands at the ball and knock it out of bounds.

 

If he can actually score the ball on something other than lobs and garbage buckets around the rim, it will be a big addition to this Clippers team. Of course, it is only the first preseason game so I'm not going to declare Jordan a low post threat just yet, unlike the Clippers homer announcers. (...)

Couldn't find those plays but here's probably DeAndre's best sequence as an NBA player:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCSCTUf_8Mo

 

scoring twice and blocking two shots on consecutive plays in about 45 seconds.

But it was a sequence in the third quarter that really got everyone's attention. It started with a right handed jump hook from about 10 feet -- a shot I don't think I've ever seen the left-handed Jordan take, let alone make. He then blocked JaVale McGee's dunk attempt (above), was rewarded with a good pass for a dunk, and then blocked McGee AGAIN.

DeAndre Jordan's best sequence as a pro

[Built Ford Tough]

I thought NBATV comes with LP? I'm not really sure, because I've always had NBATV, no matter if I order LP or not, so...

 

It probably does if you order the TV version, but I just order the computer package.

 

How much does NBA TV cost? I'm with Rogers, but if your with Bell its still probably around the same price. Leafs TV is only like $3/month so if NBA TV is like $20/month then I probably won't bother.

 

I believe it is around $3/month as well. I just pretty much cut down my entire tv to nothing but basic cable (other than TSN2 and Sportsnet One) since I do most of my watching online anyways.

 

I'm with Shaw but I imagine it is pretty much the same price.

[DunkinDerozan]

Raptors finish the 1st quarter on a 19-2 run! Teams looking great right now. They started out slow trailing 20-10 before Casey called a timeout that got them going. Amir Johnson leading scoring with 7 points, 6 of those points coming from big dunks.

 

I believe it is around $3/month as well. I just pretty much cut down my entire tv to nothing but basic cable (other than TSN2 and Sportsnet One) since I do most of my watching online anyways.

 

I'm with Shaw but I imagine it is pretty much the same price.

 

Alright thats good, thanks.

Edited October 8, 2012 by DemarDerozanDunk

[DunkinDerozan]

Derozan leading all player with 12 points at half time. Overall the offense looks pretty good. On defense we look bad. Casey won't let that last though, so I'm not too worried. FT shooting is also very bad going 6 for 13 in the first half.

[DunkinDerozan]

Pretty solid game overall. The biggest surprise of the night was John Lucas. He was hitting all his shots and made some very good passes too. Finished the game with 16 points in 20 minutes. If he can keep it up I'd like to see him get a bigger role on the team. Derozan lead all players with 18 points in 24 minutes which was good to see.

 

On the bad side, Barg could not get his shot going all night. Most likely just some rust. Acy only got to play the last 20 seconds of the game which was kind of pointless. I hope to see him more in the upcoming preseason games.

[Built Ford Tough]

Lucas sure is a chucker. His shots were going in tonight so it wasn't really a problem but I can tell that he will drive me absolutely nuts if he plays like this (not looking to pass at all) when his jumper isn't falling. Of course, I knew this already so it isn't anything surprising. If his jumper is like it was tonight, by all means look for your own shot because it was definitely working for him.

 

Amir looked awesome. He doesn't seem to be bothered by any sort of lingering injury which is nice to see since he really broke down towards the end of the year last season. With the big man depth the Raptors have this year I don't expect that to happen this season which will be huge since he is such an awesome energy big.

 

Ross' jumper is beautiful. It sucks that he can't finish in the paint outside of open dunks or create his own shot at all, but when he has time to set his feet or take an in rhythym jumper, it is very nice to watch.

 

I liked the perimeter defense they played. DeRozan, Ross, Lucas and Fields were all active, did a nice job fighting through screens and contesting shots.

 

 

As far as the negatives I saw, the most obvious one is the frequency with which the Raptors fouled. They had a huge problem with this last season and that trend continued tonight. If they plan on playing an uptempo game, they really need to stop sending opposing players to the line every second possession. They reach way too often.

 

Bargnani looked completely disinterested but it is the first preseason game so hopefully it is just some rust.

 

Fields looked pretty lost offensively. There were times where he seemed to be completely clueless as to where he should go. He had one nice drive and drained a 3, but other than that he was a dud on offense. Not that I'm terribly surprised by that since it was the first game after all.

 

Gray is just awful. Outside of grabbing some boards, he literally adds nothing to the team. He is way too slow on defense, has next to no mobility and offensively he is just clogging up the lane doing nothing. Why did they sign him to a $2.5M deal again?

 

 

I'll leave it at that to avoid making this post too long winded.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention one thing and that is this:

 

http://oi49.tinypic.com/122j12s.jpg

 

Very pleased to see 10 of DeMar's 13 shots being attempted inside the paint. If he keeps up this kind of aggressiveness he will make a living at the line. He missed some very easy shots at the rim tonight but I don't care about that at all. It is very encouraging to see how he was constantly looking to attack the rim.

[DunkinDerozan]

Lucas sure is a chucker. His shots were going in tonight so it wasn't really a problem but I can tell that he will drive me absolutely nuts if he plays like this (not looking to pass at all) when his jumper isn't falling. Of course, I knew this already so it isn't anything surprising. If his jumper is like it was tonight, by all means look for your own shot because it was definitely working for him.

 

Amir looked awesome. He doesn't seem to be bothered by any sort of lingering injury which is nice to see since he really broke down towards the end of the year last season. With the big man depth the Raptors have this year I don't expect that to happen this season which will be huge since he is such an awesome energy big.

 

Ross' jumper is beautiful. It sucks that he can't finish in the paint outside of open dunks or create his own shot at all, but when he has time to set his feet or take an in rhythym jumper, it is very nice to watch.

 

I liked the perimeter defense they played. DeRozan, Ross, Lucas and Fields were all active, did a nice job fighting through screens and contesting shots.

 

 

As far as the negatives I saw, the most obvious one is the frequency with which the Raptors fouled. They had a huge problem with this last season and that trend continued tonight. If they plan on playing an uptempo game, they really need to stop sending opposing players to the line every second possession. They reach way too often.

 

Bargnani looked completely disinterested but it is the first preseason game so hopefully it is just some rust.

 

Fields looked pretty lost offensively. There were times where he seemed to be completely clueless as to where he should go. He had one nice drive and drained a 3, but other than that he was a dud on offense. Not that I'm terribly surprised by that since it was the first game after all.

 

Gray is just awful. Outside of grabbing some boards, he literally adds nothing to the team. He is way too slow on defense, has next to no mobility and offensively he is just clogging up the lane doing nothing. Why did they sign him to a $2.5M deal again?

 

 

I'll leave it at that to avoid making this post too long winded.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention one thing and that is this:

 

Very pleased to see 10 of DeMar's 13 shots being attempted inside the paint. If he keeps up this kind of aggressiveness he will make a living at the line. He missed some very easy shots at the rim tonight but I don't care about that at all. It is very encouraging to see how he was constantly looking to attack the rim.

 

Agreed with everything you said. Especially Gray. He is absolutely useless. IMO he isn't even good enough to be a backup centre in the NBA, so why exactly is he starting for us when we have such good big depth? After last night, I'd start Amir at centre no question. I think he's much more deserving and does everything maybe besides rebounding better than Gray.

[Built Ford Tough]

Agreed with everything you said. Especially Gray. He is absolutely useless. IMO he isn't even good enough to be a backup centre in the NBA, so why exactly is he starting for us when we have such good big depth? After last night, I'd start Amir at centre no question. I think he's much more deserving and does everything maybe besides rebounding better than Gray.

 

Amir seems to break down too much when he plays more than 24 minutes a night and when he has to bang with opposing centers, so I'd honestly rather see him continue to come off the bench even if he is the best overall big on the team. I'd rather have a fully effective Amir for 24 minutes a night than a broken down one for 30 minutes a night.

 

Having Calderon and Amir running pick and rolls with Ross spreading the floor against opposing 2nd units will be a huge advantage for Toronto.

 

Now, despite that, I'd still rather see the minutes distributed somewhat evenly between him and Valanciunas. The only time I'd be okay with seeing Gray on the floor is when they are playing Philly or LA. Other than that, he should be glued to the bench.

[DunkinDerozan]

I just heard the Lakers preseason game tonight is in Ontario?