been great hoops so far...

Lakers didn't make the playoffs...again...Celtics still in?

yeah, C's are in...got outsmarted by the Cavs who happily took second seed and avoided the Bulls in favor of the Pacers. Celts looked horrible in games 1 and 2 at home, but regrouped and blew out the Bulls in game 3 in Chicago.

Memphis just beat the Spurs in OT a few seconds ago, amazing game for the last half of the 4th and all of OT!

Hard to get excited about the NBA when the Lakers are in a funk...which looks like it'll last for a few more years, even though they've had #2 draft picks the last three years...none appear to be game changers...they should study how the Celtics regrouped...

Celts actually have few players other teams would strongly desire. Young coach Brad Stevens has them buying into the effort thing, but a bunch of their roster might have more value as role players for smart organizations, like the Spurs e.g.

Probably two major stars need to join Boston for them to be real title contenders.

Blazers just dropped 37 on Golden State in the first quarter.

Al, I'm just a hoops junkie, was always a gym and playground court rat into my 50's. I just love the NBA.

Gonna be a different game with Nurkic in the middle.

[quote=delta1]Hard to get excited about the NBA when the Lakers are in a funk...which looks like it'll last for a few more years, even though they've had #2 draft picks the last three years...none appear to be game changers...they should study how the Celtics regrouped...[/quote]

Suggested edit for that post ...

Hard to get excited about the NBA

I agree with you...for now, Steve.

...but some of the best athletes in the world perform in the NBA, and last year's Finals was a classic. LeBron's block of Igoudala's layup in the last minute was an absolute athletic marvel...a breathless combination of speed, quickness, strength, power, precision, competitiveness and intelligence...I don't have any rooting interest now, so I'll prolly sit out the playoffs until this year's Finals.

because they have some of the best athletes in the world is exactly why I love the NBA. I'm a hopeless hoops junkie, and this year is shaping up pretty well.

I liked it better when they still played basketball ... I'm just not a big fan of the playground version of the game that the NBA has turned into ... they say "well, it's a players league" .... which, translated, means that the players don't like being call for traveling, 3 seconds in the key, palming the ball, etc., so those little details don't count anymore ... on the occasions that I do find myself watching, I do too much shouting at the officials and find that detracts from any enjoyment I might otherwise derive ...

everything improves in the playoffs...well maybe not the officiating!