NBA Season 2014-2015

[Jay]

Jeremy Lamb has been looking good this pre season

He can look twice as good as he ever has and that James Harden trade is still one of the worst in NBA history.

Really bugs me when contenders make moves to avoid the luxury tax. Like if you're just coming off a finals appearance, pay the damn tax and try and win. OKC have been way too cheap and it has cost them the chance of a dynasty.

[kingkingston]

http://youtu.be/X1jxXNTH8jw

;D

[Jay]

http://youtu.be/X1jxXNTH8jw

;D

Iggy's pass is the best part of that clip ;)

[tor01doc]

http://youtu.be/X1jxXNTH8jw

;D

Alltime classic 'airball' if the shoe was a Nike Air.

[tor01doc]

After reading this entire thread I have 2 things to add.

1 - fact - Jayman know his NBA

2 - opinion - Jayman doesn't rate Le Bron.

[Jay]

After reading this entire thread I have 2 things to add.

1 - fact - Jayman know his NBA

2 - opinion - Jayman doesn't rate Le Bron.

1 - Appareciate that, Doc. Cheers! :)

2 - I'm not the biggest LeBron fan and my opinion is that he's a bit of a flog. But I also think he's the best player in the world and a top 8 player in NBA history  :-\

[tor01doc]

My opinion still stands then.  :P

[j959]

more reviews J-man??   :D

pretty pls!  ;)

[Jay]

more reviews J-man??   :D

pretty pls!  ;)

Got a few on their way tonight ;)

[j959]

more reviews J-man??   :D

pretty pls!  ;)

Got a few on their way tonight ;)

yes!  8)    ;)

you know which one i'm waiting for!!!  ;)
(and go hard)

[tor01doc]

Looks like J will get to San Antonio, Texas before he reaches Phoenix, Arizona.  ;)

[j959]

Looks like J will get to San Antonio, Texas before he reaches Phoenix, Arizona.  ;)

that's ok, i'm patient ...

Phoenix didn't do anything 'big' anyway re trades - was all consolidation.

they go in pretty thin in the bigs department and will generally play 'small ball' as far as I can see ... key will be whether they can push the pace and how they 'develop' from the 2 PG starters with a now 3-PG rotation with the addition of Isaiah Thomas (who i'm pretty sure they got mainly as a 'just in case' Bledsoe didn't re-sign) and whether the 3-pt % shooting stands up from last year ...

will be tough in the brutal Western Conference ... I have them just missing finals again which will be seen as a fail ...

[Master Q]

Don't see Suns making playoffs either. Their PG situation is pathetic IMO...

[j959]

Don't see Suns making playoffs either. Their PG situation is pathetic IMO...

nah Q, will just be a management thing ...

it worked very well last year before Bledsoe got injured ... can't remember exact numbers but was something like 23-11 for Suns when Dragic and Bledsoe started as dual PGs ... they saw it as a strength so decided to 'reinforce' it for this season ...

only issue is you've got a guy who was a starter last year (Thomas) who will most likely have to accept coming off the bench ... but if they push the pace with a 3-PG rotation ...  :o  ???  :-X  :P    ;)

[Jay]

JAYMAN'S PRE-SEASON POWER RANKINGS

21. Los Angeles Lakers

Last season's record: 27-55
Best player: Kobe Bryant - 27.3 points @ 46%, 5.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, PER 23
*stats taken from 2012-2013 as Kobe only played 6 games last season*

Off-season moves:
IN: Julius Randle, Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, Ed Davis
OUT: Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Jordan Famar, Chris Kaman, Kendall Marshall
Pretty weird off-season, but I think they did what was sensible. They didn't overpay for any old guys to help them build a "contender" around Kobe and instead they looked for bargain deals to keep competitive in the short-term but not sacrifice their long-term flexibility. They got Lin for next to nothing and I think he can have a good season in LA, not like his two weeks starting in NYC but he deserves to be a starting point guard. Boozer they got for 3 million, and he'll provide some offense from the low post and most importantly help develop Julius Randle. Ed Davis didn't get many minutes in Memphis behind Z-Bo and Marc but he's promising and was definitely worth the 2 year/2 million contract that the Lakers got him for #steal. They took the obvious pick at #7 with Randle and although I'm not as high on him as most due to his short wingspan and the fact he'll find it difficult to out-muscle guys in the NBA like he did in college, they did the right thing taking him.

Projected Starting 5:
PG: Jeremy Lin
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Nick Young
PF: Carlos Boozer
C: Jordan Hill
6th man: Julius Randle

Poor old Steve Nash won't start in his final season, mainly because this is the same guy that hurt his back carrying bags. Lin and Kobe will be a good backcourt offensively, them along with Jordan Hill are the three obvious starters. Wesley Johnson may start over Nick Young (I refuse to call him Swaggy P) but I'd go with Young.. Lets face it, they aren't going to be stopping nobody defensively so they may as well go all out and just simply outscore the opposition - Young can get buckets! Boozer and Randle is a coin flip, but I'd give the edge to Boozer due to his experience and possible switching them after the all-star break when Randle has settled in.


What to watch for:
1. Return of Kobe: Easily the biggest storyline and possible the only bright light of this season for Lakers fans. I think he'll be about 75% of the Kobe we saw in 2012-2013 which is still a top 25 player although he simply won't be able to make this team good. Its too much of a workload for a 36 year old coming off multiple surgeries. He'll certainly be better than the #40 ranking that ESPN have given him, Kobe loves that shower to fire him up.

2. The final moments of Steve Nash: What a career.. But unfortunately, he's finished. Two-time MVP and he's going to go out getting limited minutes on one of the worst teams in the league - its a shame really. He might still be an okay offensive guard and he'll be a great shooter until the day he does, but he stopped playing defense a few years ago now. Hopefully we still get to see some flashy no-look passes to remind us of the good days of him throwing lobs to Amare in Phoenix. Just quietly, Phoenix fleeced LA in that Nash trade.. First rounders in 2013, 2015 and second rounders in 2013 and 2014. And he's only played 65 games in two seasons with the Lakers

Strength: Three point shooting - LA hit the third most threes in the league last season and had the third highest 3pt%, they were an excellent shooting team even with barely any Nash & Kobe. Losing Meeks will hurt though, he made more threes than anyone on that team last season and shot at 40% while doing so.

Weakness: Perimeter defense - So when Kobe and Nash played together in the 2012/2013 season (last time they were both healthy), the Lakers with those two on the court gave up 108.6 points per 100 possessions which would have been good for the 7th worst defense in the league that year. Kobe and Nash can't operate on both ends of the floor anymore and subsequently, their individual defense is taking a hit. They did add Lin who at this stage of his career is probably a better defender than both of those guys but he's nothing to write home about. Lin is one of those weird defenders that looks bad when you watch him but the numbers say he's okay - Houston was better defensively when he was on the court than when he was off it and also held opposing point guards to a below average PER last season. The Lakers last year let opponents shoot the 9th most threes in the league and 36% (above league average) on those shots.

Final thoughts: The thing I love most about this upcoming Lakers season is that unless their pick falls into the top 5 of the draft (probably will because the NBA can't have LA being down for too long ::)) that pick goes to Phoenix as part of the Nash trade. So the Lakers could suck this year and not even get their pick! How pissed would Laker fans be then ;D

Predicted conference rank: 12th