NBA Thread

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

as for yi- It's preseason. I really should stop being an asshole towards him and wait till the season starts to see what he really does.

It's cool, dude, I don't think you are being too hard on him. Yeah, we will see how he does once the season starts. I hope he does well.

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

I did get a copy of 2k8 for ps2. I love it. 30 buck and the best nba game ever. I refuse to get a ps3 till the price goes down. It's a joke. I hope you get a good deal if you do indeed get one. Plus 2k8 is double the price for ps3. Granted the graphics and features are enhanced. I don't think it is worth double the price though. If you don't get a ps3 I strongly suggest you get a copy for ps2. It is trully a great game. I dig gta too. I mostly stick with 2k8. I don't have much time for videogames with school, work, friends, ladies, and guitar at the top of my list of priorities.

Yeah, if things work out right, my friend in Phoenix is going to bring me a PS3 from the US by the end of this month. All PS3 consoles sold in Hong "Commies Infested" Kong are all Asian version, and they cannot read any old PSOne, PS2 games and dvd movies from the US. (another BS by SONY) And I have a TON of those... it only makes sense for me to bring one in all the way from the US. We will see. But yeah, I am getting the game no matter what, either for the PS2 or the PS3. So you are still in college? What do you study, man?

[GH0STrider]

That sucks about the asian version of ps3. Wow. Sony really screwed you guys. I'm in my last year of college. I'm an english major and an anthropology minor.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

That sucks about the asian version of ps3. Wow. Sony really screwed you guys.

No doubt. Luckily for me, my friend's gf is bringing me a PS3 all the way from Phoenix later this month. I will keep you updated on my new toy IF or WHEN I have it.

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

I'm an english major and an anthropology minor.

Ok, sorry for my noob question, but what exactly is Anthropology? What do you study? Humans?

[GH0STrider]

Anthropology- the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.

[Azyiu]

^ Thanks for the explaination, Mr. Blackcock. So Anthropology is like Biology but only it studies humankinds specifically, right? It sounds cool and tough to me... I majored in Communications (TV) and minored in Music when I was in college years ago. Man, if I knew what I know, I would have studied something else for my major. The TV business just does NOT pay very well.


EDIT: So Mr. Blackcock or anyone, which of the following recent playoffs games do you consider the best, the most exciting?

- 2005 First Round, Game 4, Suns @ Lakers
- 2007 First Round, Game 4, Mavs @ Warriors
- 2007 Second Round, Game 2 or 4, Warriors vs. Jazz

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

- 2005 First Round, Game 4, Suns @ Lakers
- 2007 First Round, Game 4, Mavs @ Warriors
- 2007 Second Round, Game 2 or 4, Warriors vs. Jazz

you mean 2006 for that lakers game right? cause the lakers did not make the playoffs in the 04-05 season. They did make it in the 05-06 season.

The lakers team of 06 suprised a lot of people. That series was really exciting and I was pissed that the lakers blew a 3-1 series lead. I want to see them win so we could see a clippers vs. lakers playoff series. How awesome would that have been? that battle of los angeles!!! Anyhow... didn't happen. Keep in mind there was no amarie in that series either. Wow... The suns really showed how good they were, but I though the lakers suprised a lot of people.

The warriors upset over the mavs just pissed me off. It messed up the whole playoff bracket and forced us fans to suffer through some bad basketball.

The only good thing that came from that upset was game 2 of the warriors vs. jazz. What a game. That gets my vote Azyiu. Baron Davis was insane. People had totally forgot about him and man de he remind them. One of the best and most exciting playoff games ever. An instant classic.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

you mean 2006 for that lakers game right? cause the lakers did not make the playoffs in the 04-05 season. They did make it in the 05-06 season.

You are correct It was a bad typo...

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

The lakers team of 06 suprised a lot of people. That series was really exciting and I was pissed that the lakers blew a 3-1 series lead. I want to see them win so we could see a clippers vs. lakers playoff series. How awesome would that have been? that battle of los angeles!!! Anyhow... didn't happen. Keep in mind there was no amarie in that series either. Wow... The suns really showed how good they were, but I though the lakers suprised a lot of people.

Yeah, I was hoping for an all-LA series too, and chances are the Clippers could beat the Lakers 4-2 with their much talented bigs. It would have been totally an insane thing if it happened!

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

The warriors upset over the mavs just pissed me off. It messed up the whole playoff bracket and forced us fans to suffer through some bad basketball.

The only good thing that came from that upset was game 2 of the warriors vs. jazz. What a game. That gets my vote Azyiu. Baron Davis was insane. People had totally forgot about him and man de he remind them. One of the best and most exciting playoff games ever. An instant classic.

Yeah, I think somehow the Mavs just weren't equipped to deal with a much smaller but quicker team like the Warriors. That said, I don't think the Warriors will have the same kind of success this season. Especially now that no one is going to take them lightly anymore.

Also, that Jazz / Warriors series was great too. For one thing, I didn't think the Jazz could play in that kind of tempo AND win! And seriously, with the way they handled first the Rockets and then the Warriors, I thought the Jazz would've given the Spurs a MUCH harder time in the western finals.

Those few games I mentioned are a few of my favs from the last two playoffs. What about you, dude? Got any good playoffs games in mind? I bet you are going to say first round game 1 between the Heat and the Bulls, huh?

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by Azyiu

Yeah, I think somehow the Mavs just weren't equipped to deal with a much smaller but quicker team like the Warriors. That said, I don't think the Warriors will have the same kind of success this season. Especially now that no one is going to take them lightly anymore.

Also, that Jazz / Warriors series was great too. For one thing, I didn't think the Jazz could play in that kind of tempo AND win! And seriously, with the way they handled first the Rockets and then the Warriors, I thought the Jazz would've given the Spurs a MUCH harder time in the western finals.

Those few games I mentioned are a few of my favs from the last two playoffs. What about you, dude? Got any good playoffs games in mind? I bet you are going to say first round game 1 between the Heat and the Bulls, huh?

The warriors only finished 42-40. I wouldn't say people were taking them lightly. Keep in mind Baron davis did not play 82 games. He played 60 or so. They only got hot at the end when baron returned. So i think they would have been a 50 win team easily had baron been there. that being said they traded away jason richardson for a top 5 pick. Not a bad move, but... He's a rookie. to think that will give them the impact of a 20ppg scorer in j-rich is nuts. The warriors ae probably good enough to win another 42 games and slip in the 8th again. There aren't to many bottom feeder teams that made huge moves.

And of course I'm gonna say round 1 with my bulls sweeping the heat. We beat the hell out of them. I loved every second because I hate the miami heat. They are nothing but a group of thugs with egos way to large. It was awesome watching the bulls bea 'em up.

[Azyiu]

Just watched the first of 3 NBA China games on tv a moment ago. Interesting game, and I am loving D Howard's new found range, and shooting. Hey, that kid has improved alot in that dept since last season. I simply cannot wait til Saturday for the game in Macau. I am hoping Lewis will play some minutes in that game.

About the broadcast itself, in a way it kind of sucked! It feels like the station that carries the game just randomly hired two Brits who know very little about the NBA to be the commentators. I simply could not stand them at all! Luckily they have a seperate Chinese commentary channel, and to my surprises, those two Chinese commentators know their stuff very well!

[Nick]

tell me about it im from the UK and every time there is brittish commentary its cringeworthy.

Its like they get random voice over guys and explain the rules to them before the game starts and tell them to have at it.

what i hate is that they always start explaining the rules, especially in European games, they seem to think that basketball is a totally unknown sport and that anyone watching must just have stumbled across it while looking for a football (soccer) game on tv

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by Nick

what i hate is that they always start explaining the rules, especially in European games, they seem to think that basketball is a totally unknown sport and that anyone watching must just have stumbled across it while looking for a football (soccer) game on tv

I hear you, man, but with those two guys tonight, I wished they actually explain the rules!!! They were simply the two most boring commentators I ever heard!

[GH0STrider]

Sorry to hear that guys. Sounds like you guys got the same reaction I get when I listen to Bill Walton try and comentate. I can't stand that guy. He has no clue what he is talking about. None. It is like he doesn't even follow the nba anymore.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

Sorry to hear that guys. Sounds like you guys got the same reaction I get when I listen to Bill Walton try and comentate. I can't stand that guy. He has no clue what he is talking about. None. It is like he doesn't even follow the nba anymore.

At least Walton is a Hall of Famer, you know? He does have some funny stuff to say here and there. About those two Brits, gosh... where do I begin? How about this one in the first quarter?

Brit dude: "Damon Jones just made an outside shot... my bad, that's Larry Hughes (dead air for at least 2 seconds!)... rather, that WAS LeBron James!"

See, I have absolutely nothing against Brits calling an NBA game, and I am sure some of them are damn good at it. The problem with the two guys on tv was that, they had a ton of dead air between each shot is taken! That's why I said earlier I rather hear them "teach" the viewers about the NBA rules.

Speaking of commentators, I actually kind of like Bob Costas, he knows his stuff. And IMO, Jeff Van Gundy is surprisingly good at doing it as well. Actually, I didn't even know he has a sense of humor until I heard him on TNT a few years back! The one ....er I absolutely HATE (and I don't think I am alone here) is definitely Jim Gray!

[GH0STrider]

I have a lot of respect for both the van gundys. Great coaches. As for those brits. Mistaking damon jones and larry hughes for lb23 is nuts. They all look so different. Not to mention the height difference. Jones is 6'1" hughes is 6'4" and lebron is 6'8". I mean shit, how hard can it be to differentiate between them?

[Azyiu]

^ yeah, they were that bad... then again, those two clowns were just commentating the game live from the studio, and were watching what we saw on tv. So maaaaaaybe they have a bad monitor or something... still, you are right, those three guys look so different, how could you mistaken them from one another?

Did you catch the game between the Magic and the Chinese All-star? I know I know, the game was a joke. I was simply saying I am more and more impressed by D Howard's speed and foot works after last night's game. IMO, it seems like he runs the floor even faster and better than Amare! He owned the second quarter, period!

Oh, and I recall either Derek or someone was asking why Wang Zhi Zhi isn't in the NBA now a while ago. Hmm... well, after watching last night's game, I think now I wonder HOW he could stay in the L for so long! Dude, he couldn't even block a damn shot or rebound to save his life! Exhibit A, in the third, James Augustine was posting him up, then spinned and went for a layup! I was like, you couldn't even stop James Augustine on a layup??

[ibzrg1570]

Haha, I actually gave the reason why Wang wasn't in the league anymore, which you just mentioned yourself.

[Azyiu]

^ actually it might not have been you who asked about Wang... it might have been someone else on another forum I am a member of... man, I am too old to remember anything these days.

Anyway, I am heading to Macau for the Magic vs. Cavs game early tomorrow morning. I am bringing my camera with me, but whether they (the Venetian's staff) let me in with my gear is another story. That place is brand new, so who knows how anal they can be about cameras? I remember staff in Phoenix are usually pretty cool about cameras, but those in LA are VERY anal! Security at the Staples Center feels tighter than LAX!

[ibzrg1570]

So did you get pictures?

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

So did you get pictures?

Actually I did! Surprisingly the security staff did not seem to care what kind of gear I brought into the arena at all. I was busy on Sunday, so be patient guys, I will post a few better ones very shortly!

So did you watch the game on ESPN2? For a pre-season game, it wasn't too bad at all.

[GH0STrider]

I saw it, good game.

[Azyiu]

Hey guys, here are some of the better ones I took at the game, enjoy!




Check out how high Howard jumps, that guy is amazing!









I bet Big Z won't be able to get that shot off in the regular season!





















Yo! Where the ball at?

[GH0STrider]

Dude, Those pics came out great. You should try selling them to nba.com or something.

[ibzrg1570]

Wow, those are nice pictures considering how far away your seat was.

Dwight Howard is a beast. Too bad he can't shoot free throws for his life.

[GH0STrider]

he is a career 61 percent free throw shooter. How that constitiutes him "not being able to shoot free throws for his life" is beyond me. Not being able to shoot free throws for his life would be, shaq or ben wallace. Dwight is making 60 percent. That's a little over half. Not to mention most people don't expect centers to be able to shoot period.

[Azyiu]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

Dude, Those pics came out great. You should try selling them to nba.com or something.

Thanks very very much! Seriously, dude, I do photography on the side as a hobby, but I would LOVE to do freelance stuff for the NBA. Hell, I think I would just love to work for the NBA, period!

Originally Posted by ibzrg1570

Dwight Howard is a beast. Too bad he can't shoot free throws for his life.

You know, Derek? I would've agreed with you before this summer or before these games. Dude, Howard seriously worked on his shooting over this past summer, and he shot very well for a big man thus far in the pre-season. In fact, I think he shot 70% at the line for these China games. Also, I saw him shooting jumpers during warm-up, and his follow-thrus looked good.

No joke, after these China games, Howard is now added to my fav players list!