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NBA Discussion / OT- The World Cup

« on: June 18, 2010, 04:30:13 PM »

Now that the Basketball season is over, all but for the draft, it's time for Basketball fans to find other diversions.  In Phila. it's easy since we have the Phillies. But for all Americans this is a chance to root together- the USA against the world in a game that others regard as a religion, but in America only draws athletes not able to play Basketball, Baseball, Football and Hockey. (Various ethnic groups aside)

I don't know how much of you have an interest in Futbol, so I'm not going to start a discussion unless anyone cares.  I got into Futbol, years ago when I lived in the UK. It takes a little getting used to the rules, which seem very unrefined in comparison the our professional sports.

If you don't care then in this case ignorance is bliss. Since the US team almost made world cup history today, and was denied by an inexplicable call from the referee.  The Americans were playing a match against Slovenia, going in heavily favored. But Slovenia, is a technically sound team and  while not as athletically gifted still knew how to play the game the right way.

By halftime the score was 2-0 in favor of Slovenia. That's normally a game over score, teams just don't come back down 2-0. If you watch Hockey, you understand the strategy, just keep control of the ball and play keep away. If you don't try to score, but keep passing the ball around you can sit on a lead in Futbol.

Here you have to give credit to the US which came out like a team possessed. Their star, Landon Donovan started with a quick goal a few minutes into the 2nd half and the complexion of the game changed. You could see the momentum shift, and while Slovenia tried to stay with them as the game went on the Americans got more and more chances.

With a mere 8 minutes left Mike Bradley put in another goal to tie the score, and the pressure ramped up even more.

The Slovenians were getting a little rough at the end, desperate to hang on for a tie, and hoping for a counterattack to win. One of them tripped up one of our strikers just outside the box, and we were awarded a free kick. The play that will be talked out for weeks is a black mark on FIFA and the World Cup, occurred next as the US made a great play and put the ball into the goal. The referee waived off the goal, but DID NOT MAKE A CALL.

Remember how I said Futbol has it's quirks, well, this is one of them. The ref didn't have to explain his decision or why he disallowed the goal. So one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup football, was denied just as that no-hitter was taken away by an ump last week. But there at least fans knew the ump thought the guy was safe. Here we have no idea why the goal was disallowed! No explanation by the ref, and nothing that anyone any commentator anywhere could see on the video to justify the call.

The only explanation I can come up with is that the ref, from Mali, just didn't like Americans.  This will probably be the last match he ever refs on a world stage, but the damage is done. You have a sport where they get together every 4 years to see who's the best in the world. Players and Coaches make their living doing this, the best of the best, and then they get a ref from a country without a World Cup team and he gets to rip off the US, because that's more important to him than his integrity as an official.

So you can watch and enjoy the World Cup, but understand that there's a lot of irrational thinking out there in the world and although they try to make it fair there's always a couple of twerps to screw it up!

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NBA Discussion / How can you figure out who will win, when there's no consistency?

« on: June 16, 2010, 10:15:15 AM »

The games in this series have been so different from one another, that it has been difficult to discern any trends.  The only constant has been Kobe playing spectacular basketball, but everything else is in flux.  Particularly with the Lakers, the performance of Odom. Gasol and the injured Bynum have been like night and day from game to game.

The last two games have been pretty one-sided, One team builds the lead and holds it by continuing to play.  Not very exciting when the game isn't close. Thing is, who knows which team will show up. For a while it appeared like Boston could do whatever it wanted, but last night LA's defense clearly bothered them and made the difference in the game. This is the exact opposite of what happened in the previous game, where Boston's defense kept LA off balance, and this enabled them to run down the court and get easier baskets in transition.

The defensive effort isn't consistent from game to game, and I think the defense is determining the offense. One team is running down hill, forcing turnovers and bad shots. It's harder to stop a team in transition, and the best way to stop that is with good offensive execution. 

A big factor will be Kendrik Perkins, who's early injury was probably the biggest factor in Boston's collapse and inability to climb back in.  He provides interior defense, rebounding and garbage scoring, and all of those things influence the pace and therefore the control over the game.  If he can't play in game 7, this gives LA an edge.

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NBA Discussion / It's looking like another Lakers/Celtics finals.

« on: May 18, 2010, 02:59:35 PM »

Out of all the teams in the NBA, it's no coincidence that the two teams that are ahead in their series have a bigger front line than their opponents, and in fact have bigger front lines than the rest of the league.

In the NBA size does matter, because of rebounding, defense and scoring. Of course both teams have excellent small forward and guard play, but so do a lot of teams what separates them is the ability to put two 6'11" or taller players on the floor at all times, both starting and with backups.

In both opening games, the Celtics and Lakers were able to blow out their opponents, who couldn't score well enough to stay with them. They got more rebounds and 2nd chance shots, they got more calls going their way and drew more fouls inside on 2 and 1's.

This isn't to say the two losing teams can't come back, but they way they lost suggests that their defeat is inevitable. As for the finals match-up between the two, I give the edge to Boston. LA is a better team than last time, and the Celtics have gone through some changes, but The Celtics have Garnet, Perkins, Wallace and Big Baby Glenn Davis to match up with Gasol, Bynum, Odom and... oops, that's a 4-3 advantage to the Celtics and no-one on the Lakers can handle Big Baby.

Kobe is better than Pierce or Ray Allen, but the two of them together are as good or better than Kobe and the Lakers don't have anyone else with that level of talent.  At the point guard spot, Rondo will destroy Fisher on offense and give up points trying to defend him.

Artest adds a little toughness, but it won't make a difference to Wallace, Davis, Garnett or Perkins who are all much bigger players. When push comes to shove, who would win in an fight? The Lakers bigs are big enough to intimidate without playing physical, but Boston is as big and likes to play that way. 

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NBA Discussion / Orlando will be the team out of the East, IMO.

« on: May 10, 2010, 12:12:45 PM »

The Boston/Cleveland series is something great to watch, and it isn't certain which team is better after 4 games. The thing is, whoever does finally win, will be so exhausted that they will have a very difficult time dealing with Orlando.  After watching some of the play between Atlanta and Orlando a sweep is likely and the Magic will be well-rested and have plenty of game film to watch.

Orlando is a better team this season than last.  Adding Vince Carter in replace of Hedo did not hurt their team.  In fact when Vince wants to, he's still one of the best offensive players in the game. Jameer Nelson has regained his form and Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard are as good if not better than they were last season.  Their bench is deep and they have a decent backup at Center.

Even if Orlando faced off with Boston or Cleveland first, I'd be leaning towards them as the better team.  Dwight is the best Center out of all the Eastern teams.  Even though Boston and Cleveland are bigger up front, Howard makes up for it with his presence. Also Orlando's ability to hit outside shots makes many of their misses long rebounds, so having big men to clog the middle and rebound doesn't help as much.

In the West we should have two teams advancing by sweeping their opponents, LA needs one more to catch up to the Suns. I'm very impressed with the way Phoenix dispatched the Spurs. LA's level of play is much improved over the first round. I'm leaning with LA is this match-up, but only because I think the Suns can't stop LA's inside game. LA's bench after Odom is pretty bad, however, and that may give the Suns a chance.  I just have the feeling Amare won't be very effective against Gasol and Bynum, no matter what Nash does.

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NBA Discussion / The refs tried to job the Lakers last night.

« on: May 09, 2010, 11:08:48 AM »

The Lakers were up by one and had the ball with less than 24 sec. left. On the in-bounds, one of the Utah players grabs Fisher who was cutting to take the in-bounds pass. He actually took Fisher down to the floor, and the refs called nothing. The intended pass ends up going to Kyle Korver who calls a time-out.

This gave Utah the ball with a little over 4 sec. to play down by one. Utah was unable to make the shot, however, so the Lakers won the game and are now up 3-0 in the series.

The problem is that Fisher was clearly fouled on an in-bounds pass resulting in a Laker turnover and the refs allowed Utah to get away with it. This was an example of how a non-call can alter the outcome of the game. An honest steal is one thing but taking down the receiver of an in-bounds pass by wrapping him up and tackling him is something else entirely, in fact that is a FOUL!

This prompts the question, were the refs trying to help Utah win in order to extend the series?  That is was it an honest mistake by the refs or not. Frankly, the pull down of Fisher was so blatant that I can't believe they didn't see it. With three officials watching the play, someone has to be watching Fisher!

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NBA Discussion / The Lakers showed up last night.

« on: April 28, 2010, 04:34:48 PM »

The difference between the games in OKC and LA were like night and day. LA played hard defense all night and Westbrook couldn't abuse Kobe the way he did Fisher.

Charles Barkley said something obvious that needed to be said: LA doesn't have to win in OKC. All they need to do is hold home court which they have. OKC looked very tentative against LA's pressure and they have to learn how to be effective against that.

The only thing you can say about LA is that they didn't come to play in OKC, which is not something a Championship team should do. Still any momentum OKC had from their two home wins is now gone. They have to win there again and force a game seven than go to LA and do it again. 

LA is still the better team, they just have to play like they want it and they can close out the series next game.

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Philadelphia 76ers / Larry Brown as Sixer Pres. and GM?

« on: April 27, 2010, 08:22:21 PM »

This would be a worthwhile experiment. Larry has accomplished a lot, but he's never been in complete control of a franchise. He would be a coach's dream, a partner in finding and developing talent and making it fit into a complete team. What could be a better way for Larry to spend his retirement years, playing architect of a basketball dynasty?

I'd love to see this happen. Larry would certainly be a good selector of a new coach.  Someone like Eddie Jordan wouldn't even have been a candidate under Brown!

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NBA Discussion / Lakers got beyatch-slapped last night.

« on: April 25, 2010, 08:51:26 AM »

I had to watch this one, just to see what would happen.  Would the Lakers come back assert their superiority and take control of the series, or would the Thunder to continue to outwork them and expose their weaknesses?

I think a 21- point win shows that it was the Thunder who are now in control of the series and have the momentum. The Lakers suddenly look very vulnerable, with the triangle offense unable to generate enough open looks and Bynum and Gasol being double- and triple-teamed, an ordinarily high-scoring franchise, sudden;y looks like a bunch of overpaid, over-sized punks. 

After the last game I said Phil had some work to do, and he obviously hasn't done it yet.  What can Mr. Zen say or do to turn this around?

I'd be the first to admit that I'm surprised by this. I had assume the Lakers would glide through this first-round series as they often do.  Not just because of who they are, but how they are constructed- big strong rebounders on the inside, slashers and ball handlers on the outside- the way good basketball teams are supposed to be put together. All the way back to the Celtic teams of the past with Russel.

The Thunder are smaller and weaker, yet they are the ones imposing their will and winning the battle. The Lakers cannot stop their drivers or stay in front of them, they can't even slow down the game to get control over it. They don't seem to have anyone who can stay with Durant or Westbrook, and OKC role players are outworking their opponents. LA looks completely flustered, nothing like the team the LA fans are used to.  I would have to say Phil is being badly out coached in this series. The Thunders are the more disciplined team out there, working hard on both ends and playing smart basketball.  If the Lakers perimeter players don't make their shots, the Thunder may take this series.  What is clear is that the Thunder have chosen to shut down Gasol and Bynum at all costs, challenge every shot they put up and prevent easy baskets. Laker big men are finishers more than passers, and their outside shooters aren't used to having to make shots to stay even or catch-up in a tight game.

The series is tied 2-2, but the edge is with the young upstarts. There is no intimidation factor working for the Lakers and their fair weather fans aren't use to a team coming into the Staples Center confident in their ability to outplay and outwork them.  I have to wonder who both the team and the fans will respond if the Thunder start game 4 like they did game 3.  How cool will it be to be in the stands when you are watching your team get out-hustled for the loose balls? 

Very entertaining first-round series.  Should get much more interesting from here!

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Philadelphia 76ers / To make the playoffs or not make the playoffs isn't the question.

« on: February 09, 2010, 11:16:35 AM »

The Sixers have played 50 games so far and are 19 and 31. With only 32 games left, it they don't lose any, they could win 51 games, but that's an impossible expectation.

Just to get to .500 though, they need to go 22 and 10 the rest of the way. That's a 687 winning percentage, better than all but two teams for this season. That would be a tremendous accomplishment, but it also seems to be unrealistic considering what the Sixers have done thus far.

The playoffs are only good for measuring your team against the better ones. In a multi-game series, you get to find out which team is really better. During the regular season, the schedule and injuries can play a big role and you really don't know who is better until the playoffs.

So for evaluation purposes, it is good for the team to make the playoffs, it can reveal where you are weak and where you aren't.  But I thought the plan was clear. We got to the playoffs and pushed Detroit one season and Orlando the next. We decided we couldn't score inside and that was our big problem. So we decided to get some additional players.

Since then we have added Elton Brand, Mareese Speights and Jason Smith, along with journeyman Primo,who we never see.  Of these four, only Brand gets consistent playing time, and while he produces, the team rebounds worse than it did last season.

The play on the floor isn't better. In spite of a better, deeper line-up, the team is playing worse than in the past. The problem shouldn't be with the players.  It is far more likely that it is the coach.  To turn from a running team into a post team isn't easy. It takes a little discipline to learn how to make an entry pass and play with a big man. Lou Williams is a great guard in a running game, but no one has taught him how to use his speed to get a big man open and get a pass to him. Spacing is important and synchronized movement between multiple players enables plays to be successful.  It takes practice.

Since there's only one big man who can score in the game, we don't see a lot of post-up play, three seasons after we decided that was what we needed.  Now, some think we should blow up the team, in spite of the fact that we still don't put our big men on the floor!  I said the coach was a problem, and it comes down to his unwillingness to play Smith and Speights eighteeen minutes a game.

This is all the Sixers need to do to find out if they can contend or not. Just play the players that were brought in to address the problem. IMO, this will make the team better and increase their chances of making the playoffs, but even if they don't, seeing them play will tell us a lot more about what the team is capable of. 

I want to know what happened to the plan, why did it get so screwed up? I thought Stefanski brought in the right players,the only mistake he made was in hiring Eddie Jordan.  That we're this far into the season and our two- 2nd year big men are sitting on the bench not playing is the problem. Either they can make us competitive or not, but we'll never find out if we don't play them and integrate them into the offense.  Finding that out is what I thought this season was about, not learning some idiotic scheme that takes seasons to learn and is being taught by a man who doesn't understand it.

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General Discussion / Obama vs. the Supreme Court.

« on: January 28, 2010, 04:50:13 PM »

Obama called out the Scotus in his speech yesterday, decrying their decison to allow businesses to spend as much money on campaigns as they want to.  This in effect, puts America up for sale to the highest bidder.

The Constitution is a social contract between the citizens of the US and it's government. A government "of, by and for the PEOPLE" not Businesses!

When businesses control government, all kinds of bad things can happen.  In fact, they already have. Banks are a necessary part of business, and are businesses themselves.  But when Banks are able to do what they want, your deposits with them are at risk. While your savings are backed by the government, in theory a bank can declare bankruptsy preventing you from having access to your own money! The whole reason the US backs bank deposits with a guarantee is to enable you to have confidence your deposits are safe. If Banks aren't acting in a responsible fashion, they put the entire economy at risk, and that is not something we should allow. 

All businesses need to be regulated, to the extent necessary to keep any of them from becoming too big, powerful, or influential.  Who's going to do that when in order to be elected you need their money to have a chance?

The Supreme Court was stacked with conservatives appointed under Republican administrations.  The consequence is that they no longer protect you and me. With this ruling they basically said Corporations are more important then you!  This in my opinion is beyond the pale.  There is no rule of law when the highest court says the country is up for sale. The nerve of these people is beyond me.  Legally, I'm not sure what Obama can do, but I will say this: these people or at least the ones who voted for this have lost all reasonable perspective and should be removed from office due to impaired mental capacity.

Frankly, the US is filled with self-absorbed assholes who think they can do what they want because they have influence with Congress. Congress is so arrogant they're doing nothing to address the underlying problems of the US economy. I would support the President in calling out the FBI and national guard and arresting all these people and seizing their assets in the name of protecting your rights.  Arrest all the asshole bankers who undermined the US financial system. Arrest the Scotus assholes who have lost all sense of responsibility, and replace them with people who will act in accordance with the Constitution.

This is the kind of crap that the average American is faced with- no job is safe, your house is a liability because you have to pay taxes on it, and you may be paying more for your home than it will ever be worth. You are being f'ed with and I for one have had enough!  It is time to fight back and take control of our country, this shit has gone on for way too long.  It's time to make these high flying jackasses understand that they can be thrown in jail and screwed over too. They're doing this because they have no fear.  It's time to scare the shit out of them.

We're a free people, we respect each others rights. When someone interferes with your rights as a result of their selfish interests. It's time to push back and push back hard.

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General Discussion / Martin Armstrong

« on: January 22, 2010, 01:21:55 PM »

This is his latest missive, rather than say anything about him, I'll let you come to your own conclusions.  I read everything of his I can get my hands on.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2010/01/martin-armstrong-creating-floating.html

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Philadelphia 76ers / Proof positive that the Sixers problem is offense and not defense.

« on: January 22, 2010, 12:55:05 PM »

In order to prove my point, I went back through every loss that the Sixers have had since the regular season started.  In order to prove that the problem is with scoring, all did was look at the by quarter score for each game. If I found that in each loss that the Sixers underperformed that would prove my point.

What I mean by underperformance is relative, since each game is different and has a different pace. On average an NBA team scores 100 points, some score higher and others score less but the mean is 100. Therefore, 25 points for quarter is considered to be an average score. Underperformance means a significantly lower score than 25.  When I looked at the data, I found that in every game the Sixers lost they had at least one underperforming quarter. In the case of the Sixers every loss included one quarter where they managed no better than 22 points.  3 points off doesn't seem like a lot but that turns out to be a 12 point loss over a full game. If you score 25, 25, 25, 22 your total is 97, if your opponent scores 25, 25, 25, 25 then your team scored 3 less. In that instance you should blame offense for the loss, not the ability to hold the other team down to your inferior production!

Conversely I also looked for any outlier scores above 25 for the other team, which would provide evidence of a defensive let down. While some teams did score more than 25, so did the Sixers, and the scores ended up over 100 for both teams. There was very little evidence to suggest that the Sixers defense is so bad that this is the reason for their losses.

Another thing that the data suggested was that the Sixers were a competitive team. Many times they were ahead at the half and is some instances by large margins. This was not completely consistent- although most of the losses were a result of a second half meltdown in some instances the team got off to a bad start.  My conclusion is that the coaches player decisions have to be responsible, since in most instances the Sixers were able to score competitively at some point in the game.

Below is the data, gathered from NBA.com,  I provided the score and noted which was the Sixers worst scoring quarter and when it occurred.

10-28      Orlando   120  106   2nd Quarter 41 to 20. In 4th Quarter Phila. 37 Orlando 20

11-03      Boston   105   74   All quarters were below 21 pts. All of Boston's were above except

the 1st.
11-08      Detroit  88   81   All quarters 22 points or less, Detroit won 3 of 4 quarters.

11-09      Phoenix 119  115   In spite of it being a high scoring game the Sixers managed 20

points in the 3rd, surenduring all but 2 of their 12 point lead.
11-13      Utah    112   90   Won the 1st Quarter. 18 and 19 and 21 scored in final 3q's.

11-14      Chicago  94   88   2nd & 3rd, 18, 18. lost 3rd by 5, and 4th by 2 nd half failure.

11-20      Memphis 102   97   Ahead 50-49 at half. 21-29 in the 3rd, Phila. regained a bucket in

4th. 2nd half failure.
11-21      Cleveland 97  91   Ahead 81 to 75 at end of third, score 10 points to 22 in the 4th.

4th Q. failure.
11-24      Washingtn 108 107   Close game, outscored 40-29 in the 3rd. Came back 9 in the 4th.

Very bad pshycholigcal loss since a win was expected, set up by failure in 3rd.
11-25      Boston   113  110   Sixers were in this one all the way, outscored by 9 in the 4th to

lose by 3.
11-27      Atlanta 100   86   2 poor quarters, 2nd and 4th. 18, 20. Outscored in 3rd and 4th by 4

and 5.
11-29      San Ant. 97   89   19 in the 4th but ouscored SA by 1. Wrst quarter was 2nd, 29-22.

SA.
11-30       Dallas  104  102   20-29 in 2nd quarter. Phila. won 2nd half 59-47. 43 points in the

first half to 57 for Dallas was just enough. Atypical.
12-02      OKC   117  106   Sixers worst offensive quarter was 2nd, 22-25 worst defensive was

34-27 in the third.  Ahead 55-54 at half.

12-05      Charlott106  105   Behind by 1 end of the half. 19-28 in the 4th.

12-07      Denver   93   83   Only decent quarter was the first, 26. Worst output was the 4th 18

pts, against Dever's best 30. 4th quarter failure.

12-09      Detroit  90   86   16 point first quarter. They lost the 3rd. 25-21, the difference in

the game.

12-11      Houston  91   96   13 pts. to 28 for Houston in the third.

Losing streak ends.

12-16      Cleveland108 101   21-25 in the 4th quarter. Sixers won the 2nd by 1. Trailed by 6 at

the half.

12-19      LAC      112 107   18-30 Clippers in the first. Never looked back.

12-22      Wash     105  98   19-33 in the 4th.

12-26      Utah      97  76   12-25 in the 4th. Sixers scored 39 pts. in the first half. And got

worse!
12-31      LAC    104  88   14-29 in the 3rd. Ahead by 2 at the half.

01-05      Wash    104  97   17-26 in the 4th. Ahead by 14 at the half.

01-08      Toronto  108 106   21-25 in the 4th. In spite of being in it the whole game, they got

outscored in the end. Ahead 60-40 at the half.
   
01-13      NY     93  92   24-25 in the 4th. Same failure, just a smaller advantage because

the Knicks are a bad team.
01-18      Minn.    108 103   18-33 in the 3rd. 57-40 Sixers at the half.

01-20      Portland  98  90   Portland won every quarter, xcept the 3rd. 22-27 in the 4th.

13

Philadelphia 76ers / 12-31 Sixers at Clippers: A matter of revenge.

« on: December 31, 2009, 09:26:37 PM »

The Sixers lost their momentum from the Boston win thanks to the Clippers, who played very well and deserved to win. I thought that LA's inside players gave Brand and Speights a harder time than Perkins and Garnett. I'd like to see them step up and battle for those boards.

Do not understimate offensive execution. Getting stops is nice, but even the best defense can't stop every shot. Your opponent cannot win if you continue to score, the best he can do is stay even. The best teams win with defense, but if they can't stop you from scoring you win. That's why a good offense is so important, and why you need strong inside players.  Teams that have those things win.

I like the Sixers to work hard on offense, being patient when it's called for but trying to defeat them quickly where possible. Pete Carril said that with this offense it's important to make that first pass quickly, or the play breaks down. The better they execute on offense the more in control of the game they will be.
It is much harder to run off of a made basket.

They need to try and get control over Barron Davis and do something to contain Kamen. The Clippers can be induced into taking lots of quick shots, which plays right into the Sixers hands. A little pressure can go a long way, if they can cut off Davis's drives.

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Philadelphia 76ers / 12-30 Sixers at Kings.

« on: December 30, 2009, 07:21:29 PM »

Sacramento has been playing well lately, but shouldn't be considered better than the Blazers at this point. In addition Tyreke Evans is doubtful for the game.

IMO, the Sixers showed an aggression on offense that I really hadn't seen before against the Blazers. Players were shooting (and making) shots in rhythm. That is the style of play that the Sixers need to make consistent, mixing drives with passes inside and shots outside. When they are executing well on offense it allows them to focus much more on defense, and puts more pressure on the other team to execute.

Looking for a Sixers win here, and a continuation of good play.

15

Philadelphia 76ers / Eagles are in a good spot now.

« on: December 29, 2009, 02:45:31 PM »

In spite of the injuries and stumbles through the season, the Eagles find themselves on a winning streak an with a chance to secure a first round bye with a win against Dallas at home.

The only concern is the season-ending injury to their Center, the key to the Eagles season is the O-line. If they can protect McNabb, the Eagles are the leagues most explosive offense.

The game against Denver was not as close as the final score. A terrible call by the refs turned an Eagles interception into a play that put the Eagles offense on the 10 yard line, virtually giving the Broncos a scoring opportunity, and another fumble by the Eagles on the subsequent return put a winded defense on the field. The refs almost cost the Eagles the game when they ruled a catch by Maclin was out of bounds, fortunately it was under 2 minutes, and upon review was ruled a completion.

Surprised that the Giants came up so lame in their final at the Meadowlands stadium.

Lots of people are jumping on the Eagles bandwagon now that the Saints look vulnerable.  They are likely to get to the Super Bowl this season, and may finally be good enough to win it all.  San Diego and Indianapolis look to be the two best of the AFC, and I suspect the final match will be the Eagles against one of those two.