Good article about Lebron. Glad he's trying to better himself.
NBA Regular Season 2011-2012 - Page 338
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Southlight
United States11743 Posts
Good article about Lebron. Glad he's trying to better himself. | ||
VENDIZ
1575 Posts
Edit: Also, the Celtics vs. Heat game is god awful.. I was really looking forward to the game (I thought Miami would go for the #1 seed in the East while Boston would want homecourt advantage), but both teams have thrown out... meh, people without any offensive fibres.. | ||
MassHysteria
United States3678 Posts
On April 25 2012 07:48 XaI)CyRiC wrote: I'm pretty sure Lin will win MIP, and deservedly so. He went from a nobody that was getting dropped by multiple teams and getting no minutes on a team that desperately needed a PG, to a legitimate MVP candidate that took a laughing stock of a roster on an insane winning streak almost overnight. Not only that, but he did so as the leader of the team while Melo and Amare were out, and elevated the games of underperforming/very average players like Fields, Jeffries, and Novak, all while being the primary focus of opposing team's defenses at the time. Sure, he eventually came down to earth after averaging the best numbers we've ever seen from a player in their first career starts, but he came down to still-impressive numbers. Consider that he went from playing 0 minutes to averaging 30+ in a compressed schedule, without any adjustment period or practice time, and incorporating a constantly changing lineup (additions of Melo, Amare, JR and Baron), and still averaged 14.6 ppg, 6.3 apg, 1.7 spg. Further, he did all of this while playing in one of the largest media markets in the world, getting constant world-wide media coverage and scrutiny, and being labeled and treated as the representative of the most populous race in the world. In whatever measure of value you can attribute to an NBA player, Lin went from zero to about as high as an individual player can get to a team/organization (or the league itself) in a ridiculously short amount of time. It's hard to see how anyone can compare him to players like Ryan Anderson (who is basically doing what he was doing last year when he had the PT and opportunity, and playing with the best player in the NBA for a spot up shooter to play with, i.e. D12) or Bradley (who went from rookie nobody to important role player in a team laden with HOF/Allstar-level talent) for any award, let alone MIP. Well the MIP is a subjective award so I don't think "deservedly so" would be the words coming into my head if Lin does win it. The main problem I have with Lin winning it is that, what Cyric said is fine and dandy, but he still only did it for less than 30 games! That's not even half of this compressed season is it? You could also argue that Lin hasn't really improved as much as he just got a chance to finally play but that's opening another can of worms. I could also counter-argue and say that him playing for the biggest media-market along with the race card has actually benefited him in his case for this award. Same goes for Lin playing without Amare and Carmelo, in which them getting injured gave him the opportunity to reign free in that offense (with the perfect coach for the situation I might add). How many 2-year "forgotten" players would love that situation? Ya you bet they all would, but how many actually have gotten that chance? If he had to assimilate his game into their offense I doubt we would have seen those numbers (and yes it was a terrible offense, but that is besides the point). I just think there are other candidates, who stepped up their game to a consistent level and who actually did it throughout the whole year, but just didn't get as much hype for those 2 big weeks like Lin. In other words, he should not be the runaway winner, yet it wouldn't really surprise me. I get that a guy like Lin transcends the game and is something bigger, but the MIP should be based on basketball skills alone. Someone like Monroe or Cousins, should not get overlooked for their improvement from last year to this one just because of their team-market and race. Lin did work, but the writers giving him the award and saying no one "was even close" would be them being influenced by the waves of his popularity more than anything. I just hope it's not a runaway victory even if he does win I guess. Then again, it would prove consistent to the inconsistency of the NBA award voters and the bullshit that has become. But I guess that's the beauty of subjectivity. | ||
MassHysteria
United States3678 Posts
On April 25 2012 10:10 VENDIZ wrote: Westbrook staying in the same lane as the last 7 games.. shooting 27% at the half, given his recent form it shouldn't pick up.. Edit: Also, the Celtics vs. Heat game is god awful.. I was really looking forward to the game (I thought Miami would go for the #1 seed in the East while Boston would want homecourt advantage), but both teams have thrown out... meh, people without any offensive fibres.. ya and on top of that they are missing Harden's great efficiency to be able counter Westbrook's aggressiveness ...and ya, Rivers had said he was going to rest his guys from what I read. Smart though. | ||
justinpal
United States3810 Posts
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VENDIZ
1575 Posts
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RowdierBob
Australia12660 Posts
He's up there for MIP and has shown he's a starting caliber PG on an NBA team, but let's not overrate the guy too much here. | ||
VENDIZ
1575 Posts
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Whatson
United States5354 Posts
On April 25 2012 11:02 VENDIZ wrote: This Celtics vs Heat game is actually worse than a lot of the Bobcats' games... the fuck is this?! The battle of the backups lol On a related note, can anybody tell me why Ray Allen became the backup SG? | ||
Whatson
United States5354 Posts
On April 25 2012 09:48 Southlight wrote: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/04/24/lebron.james/index.html?eref=nbag Good article about Lebron. Glad he's trying to better himself. Yes, he will most definitely win a ring by himself this ye- oh wait...he still needs Wade to carry him in the 4th. | ||
VENDIZ
1575 Posts
On April 25 2012 11:37 Whatson wrote: The battle of the backups lol On a related note, can anybody tell me why Ray Allen became the backup SG? Went out with injury, Celtics got on a good run, he came in from the bench to regain rhythm and so forth and is using the latter part of the season to rest up for the playoffs. If he's healthy he'll start every game in the playoffs.. Also, Bulls clinched #1 seed in the East, yay! | ||
Vindicare605
United States15731 Posts
On April 25 2012 09:18 krndandaman wrote: rest of regular season + 1st round playoffs. seems fair enough Well technically not if the 1st round goes to game 7. unlikely as that is. | ||
Southlight
United States11743 Posts
On April 25 2012 11:39 VENDIZ wrote: Went out with injury, Celtics got on a good run, he came in from the bench to regain rhythm and so forth and is using the latter part of the season to rest up for the playoffs. If he's healthy he'll start every game in the playoffs.. No? Avery Bradley's solidified that spot with a bang. RA's not starting unless Bradley goes down. | ||
ecstatica
United States542 Posts
The benefits of having him start were too much. Also Allen to second unit creates a real threat there. Pietrus is another lockdown defender who can score - given Stiemsma and Dooling and Pavlovich i feel like this bench can ball (watch vs ATL). Allen reinjured himself after playing a few off the bench but should be back on time. He obviously doesnt like his new role too much but hes a true professional. On April 25 2012 12:02 Southlight wrote: No? Avery Bradley's solidified that spot with a bang. RA's not starting unless Bradley goes down. Yeah I dunno wtf this guy is talking about. | ||
rabidch
United States20286 Posts
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andrewlt
United States7648 Posts
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GoShox
United States1834 Posts
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XaI)CyRiC
United States4471 Posts
On April 25 2012 10:32 MassHysteria wrote: Well the MIP is a subjective award so I don't think "deservedly so" would be the words coming into my head if Lin does win it. The main problem I have with Lin winning it is that, what Cyric said is fine and dandy, but he still only did it for less than 30 games! That's not even half of this compressed season is it? You could also argue that Lin hasn't really improved as much as he just got a chance to finally play but that's opening another can of worms. I could also counter-argue and say that him playing for the biggest media-market along with the race card has actually benefited him in his case for this award. Same goes for Lin playing without Amare and Carmelo, in which them getting injured gave him the opportunity to reign free in that offense (with the perfect coach for the situation I might add). How many 2-year "forgotten" players would love that situation? Ya you bet they all would, but how many actually have gotten that chance? If he had to assimilate his game into their offense I doubt we would have seen those numbers (and yes it was a terrible offense, but that is besides the point). I just think there are other candidates, who stepped up their game to a consistent level and who actually did it throughout the whole year, but just didn't get as much hype for those 2 big weeks like Lin. In other words, he should not be the runaway winner, yet it wouldn't really surprise me. I get that a guy like Lin transcends the game and is something bigger, but the MIP should be based on basketball skills alone. Someone like Monroe or Cousins, should not get overlooked for their improvement from last year to this one just because of their team-market and race. Lin did work, but the writers giving him the award and saying no one "was even close" would be them being influenced by the waves of his popularity more than anything. I just hope it's not a runaway victory even if he does win I guess. Then again, it would prove consistent to the inconsistency of the NBA award voters and the bullshit that has become. But I guess that's the beauty of subjectivity. To be fair, the post I was responding to was comparing Lin to Ryan Anderson and Avery Bradley, who I feel fall far short of Lin in terms of MIP candidacy. If you want to open the discussion up to all players in the league, then there are a lot of deserving candidates who I would argue are better candidates than Anderson and Bradley. I am actually one of those who thought that the Lin thing was out of control and blew things way out of proportion, but I have to give the guy credit when it's due. The way he played despite the amount and type of attention he was getting, the ridiculous amount of hype and unrealistic expectations, and the difficult basketball situation he was in? That was outstanding and not something we've seen in a while if ever. Many players may hope for or desire such an opportunity, but I find it hard to believe that many would have been able to handle it all and step up to the challenge the way Lin did. Sure, he didn't do it for more than 30 games, but consider when he was given his chance and the injury he suffered. Should that really be a reason for downplaying what he's done? I agree that saying no one is even close for the MIP race would be ignoring the pure basketball skill and performance perspective, but that's never been what the award is about. | ||
XaI)CyRiC
United States4471 Posts
On April 25 2012 11:07 RowdierBob wrote: Lin a legitimate MVP candidate? C'mon Cyric... He's up there for MIP and has shown he's a starting caliber PG on an NBA team, but let's not overrate the guy too much here. Should've clarified that I meant he was playing like one during that magical winning streak when Linsanity was at its peak. He was arguably doing something very close to what Nash did for his second MVP season (funny enough, with Amare as an injured teammate too). | ||
Ace
United States16096 Posts
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