NBA starts Cavs vs Knicks.......finally back to the sport I love

I am looking forward to see how the knicks play as a team. I have about four days to recover from surgery, and with the world series and NBA basketball, it does not get much better.

I hear that the Knicks are getting the most action for the long shot title in Vegas.

Cavs looked very good with a triple double for James. The knicks have a very serious problem of team play. I see a huge upside for the Knicks. It will take some adjustments, but Anthony is forcing the ball. He is too good of a player to not up his game by sharing, and they need to run some plays. Rose looked solid, but the second group for the Knicks looked like a bunch of kids gunning to get stats......they need to drop some veterans into that second group. I think the Knicks are going to surprise some folks, but coaching is going to have to take control or it will be a train wreck.

NBA in June....um no......who plays basketball in June, but I love it anytime.

Uh oh...  Lil' Steph Curry got blown out at home.  The Warriors can't play defense with all those lil' guys running around.  And it turns out that acquiring Kevin Durant meant gutting the bench, which is what Lil' Steph Curry leaned on to win games.  His bench routinely put up 30 and outscored the opponents by double digits, but last night they only scored 16 and were outscored by the opponents handily. Uh oh...

Splish splash.  Splish splash.  

Oh, and Lebron put up a triple double and had 14 assists. I wonder how many games deep we will be before Lil' Steph Curry has 14 total assists for the season? He had four last night, which is actually pretty good for Lil' Curry.

Uh oh...

Well I guess the Bulls record will not be beaten this year again, but if anybody thinks the warriors or the Spurs cannot beat the Cavs.........they failed to watch last nights game. The Cavs had great spacing and really put on a three display, but defense is not their strength. However, I think that the Warrior underestimated the toughness and defense of their big man. He will be missed.

Steph Curry after two MVP seasons and setting the wins record during the regular season will not get the MVP this year because a Spur will win the same, but Curry has no comparable player in the NBA history. James however must be given his due. What he did three games down in the championship series was remarkable, but only for his third ring and the clock is ticking. He will not win the championship this year.

Nothing to brag about when you beat the Knicks

I'll be keeping up w the Bulls. Valentine can be special given the right scenario.

I will watch them tonight, but my evaluation in the preseason is huge chemistry problems. That is understandable in the beginning of the season, but there has to be a path to success. Lopez is playing very good. Gibson is stellar. Doug had a great preseason. However, Rondo, wade, and Butler just do not have their mo jo going together, but are doing well in isolation. It will take time.

2seaoat wrote:I will watch them tonight, but my evaluation in the preseason is huge chemistry problems.   That is understandable in the beginning of the season, but there has to be a path to success.   Lopez is playing very good.   Gibson is stellar.  Doug had a great preseason.   However, Rondo, wade, and Butler just do not have their mo jo going together, but are doing well in isolation.   It will take time.

Valentine is fantastic at melding and fostering a team. He gets everyone involved and is wholly unselfish and loyal. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period to feel comfortable... but once he is he will be the most valuable player on that team. He really is that special. He makes everyone a better player.

The problem is that he will not get play time. I do not know if you are aware of it but they traded with the Bucks for Michael Carter Williams for Tony Snell with the Bull deep in shooting forwards and weak on back up guards to Rondo. Carter won rookie of the year. He his long and talented. I do not see Valentine getting any play time until next year when Rondo will probably be gone. This trade indicated they had no immediate plans for Valentine. The Bulls front office is really not very good on talent appraisal, and the coach is not my favorite.

Anthony Davis started hot ...

... 50 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, and four blocks.


I never saw a more dominate college defensive player in my life. I have been hoping he will tire of NO and come back to his home Chicago. He is some kind of special.

Sal wrote:Anthony Davis started hot ...

... 50 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, and four blocks.

...when you put up 50/16/5 and your team loses...

He needs to come to the Bulls.

Bulls are facing a young and upcoming Celtics team. Bulls are showing great transition and good chemistry in the first group.

Boston has some great young players. I really like the energy from a 20 year old whose last name is Brown. He was knocking some Bulls to the ground. Very athletic and fearless. Wade and Butler had great games, but Rondo never really got his mojo going. The recent trade with the Bucks brought Carter to the Bulls and he made some key defensive stops and got into the offensive flow.

I think Wade is going to flourish in this offense. He was dropping the three which is not his strength but in the offense he is wide open. I may have been mistaken. This Bulls team may have a huge upside with Wade. He is getting rested and he just made a key three point shot in the fourth which gave the Bulls a five point lead with less than a half minute with a great defensive play. Bulls won a good game 105-99.

Bulls are dominating the Pacers which some have argued were a playoff team, but Wade, Rondo, and Butler are starting to jell.

I will say this, the Bulls have a very intriguing roster this year.  The Knicks do as well.  These two teams could very well be sleepers to contend for the east.  

But of course LeBron will win whatever conference he's in.  But outside that, we have two very interesting rosters.

Its too early to see if the historically weak East has improved, but what I saw with the Cavs was good spacing with still a solid ability to put points on the board. Dunnlevy is a good addition. Their weakness is team defense. I do not see anybody at this early stage who can beat them, but when the Bulls are putting 110 points on the board, they may have potential to go deep in the playoffs this year, but it would be a stretch to say they could get by the Cavs. What the Cavs did last year was historic.