Author Topic: NBA playoffs 2009 (Read 51353 times)

If he's not 100%, Nelson could hinder the momemtum and flow of the Orlando offense. The Magic got this far without him so unless he's completely healthy, I would keep him in street clothes.

Option D · « **Reply #684 on:** June 02, 2009, 10:43:21 AM »

Quote from: Quickerblade on June 02, 2009, 02:04:22 AM

fisher needs to fake an injury, he is beyond pathetic

jordan farmar is a walking turnover...

ATHEIST · « **Reply #685 on:** June 02, 2009, 01:18:11 PM »

Quote from: UPINTHEMGUTS on June 02, 2009, 05:42:28 AM

If he's not 100%, Nelson could hinder the momemtum and flow of the Orlando offense. The Magic got this far without him so unless he's completely healthy, I would keep him in street clothes.

absolutely agree, he hasnt played in a while and will be rusty. Mark Jackson said the same thing about missing that length of time and being effective, said he was in the same situation when he was in NY.

Dos Equis · « **Reply #686 on:** June 02, 2009, 01:39:21 PM »

Both Nelson and his teammates think he'll play.

Updated: June 2, 2009, 3:22 PM ET
Players: Nelson to play in NBA Finals
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando Magic players say Jameer Nelson will play in the NBA Finals, even though the All-Star point guard and his coach remain publicly pessimistic.

Nelson participated in a full team practice Tuesday for the first time since tearing the labrum in his right shoulder Feb. 2. While Nelson and coach Stan Van Gundy still said the point guard's status won't be determined until game day, players said Nelson looked "terrific" and expect him to be on the court against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I expect to see him out there at some point in the series," backup point guard Anthony Johnson said.

Nelson had what was then called season-ending surgery Feb. 19. Nelson's rehabilitation was supposed to take at least another two months.

Game 1 of the Finals is Thursday night in Los Angeles, and healed or not, Nelson wants to play.

"I'm not saying I'm any tougher or stronger than anybody, but I've been known to do some amazing things sometimes," Nelson said Tuesday, again lobbying for playing time.

Magic general manager Otis Smith had repeatedly said Nelson will not play again this season. But he recanted his comments Monday and said a quicker recovery and the chance of winning a championship has forced him to at least take a look at Nelson

"It's still no in my mind," Smith said. "There's a very smidgen of a chance he can play."

That "smidgen" seems to be growing.

Nelson has been playing full-court games and practicing in non-contact drills for the last two weeks. Tuesday, he participated in every drill.

Players said Nelson wasn't in his All-Star form, but even not completely healthy, he was better than most NBA point guards.

"He was terrific," Magic forward Mickael Pietrus said. "Hopefully, he will play and can help us win."

Starting point guard Rafer Alston expressed similar optimism.

"I was going to try to run him ragged out there, but I didn't want to cross him over," Alston said. "He did cross me over a couple times."

Orlando was 2-0 against the Lakers this season. Nelson was Orlando's leading scorer in both those games, averaging 27.5 points. He has been trying to convince the Magic for a chance at playing since the playoffs began, with each round the team advances the idea -- and the talk -- of him returning growing.

"I'm a competitor. I want to play," Nelson said Tuesday.

The Magic's title hopes took a major hit after he was injured. A trade-deadline deal that brought Alston from the Houston Rockets largely saved the Magic's season, allowing the rotation to remain the same and Johnson to continue to provide solid play as Alston's backup.

The Magic are hoping Nelson can only add to that success.

Van Gundy, perhaps trying to keep his coaching strategy a secret, again expressed doubt Tuesday whether Nelson could seriously return for the Finals. But he also said that even if Nelson doesn't play in Game 1, he could play later in the series.

"He was OK," Van Gundy said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll have to wait until and see."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4224810

ATHEIST · « **Reply #687 on:** June 02, 2009, 01:59:53 PM »

hopefully he plays and plays well!

Dos Equis · « **Reply #688 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:34:27 PM »

Or not.

He'll definitely help, but I think LA wins the series with or without him.

UPINTHEMGUTS · « **Reply #689 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:43:40 PM »

Alston is playing great in the playoffs on both sides of the floor. He should log the bulk of the minutes at PG.

Nelson is going to screw up the Magic's flow on offense. You have to respect his competitiveness but he might be hurting his team rather than helping. But I'm pulling for the guy because I want to see the Magic win.

Quickerblade · « **Reply #690 on:** June 02, 2009, 02:46:17 PM »

HAHAH I love the Orlando optimisim here, with or without jameer its all over, lakers are to tall, hedo will struggle to get his shot off against kobe or lamar, howard is foul prone also, expect kobe and gasol to attack him.

Dos Equis · « **Reply #691 on:** June 02, 2009, 03:04:11 PM »

Quote from: Quickerblade on June 02, 2009, 02:46:17 PM

HAHAH I love the Orlando optimisim here, with or without jameer its all over, lakers are to tall, hedo will struggle to get his shot off against kobe or lamar, howard is foul prone also, expect kobe and gasol to attack him.

Ariza will guard Hedo. He did a good job against Artest and Carmelo.

Didn't Howard foul out of about three games against the Cavs?

No answer for Kobe. Kobe and the bench are the two biggest problems for Orlando.

Did you hear the league didn't fine LeBron for skipping the mandatory press conference?

Option D · « **Reply #692 on:** June 02, 2009, 03:10:52 PM »

Quote from: Beach Bum on June 02, 2009, 03:04:11 PM

Ariza will guard Hedo. He did a good job against Artest and Carmelo.

Didn't Howard foul out of about three games against the Cavs?

No answer for Kobe. Kobe and the bench are the two biggest problems for Orlando.

Did you hear the league didn't fine LeBron for skipping the mandatory press conference?

let had that been ron artest...lol

Dos Equis · « **Reply #693 on:** June 02, 2009, 03:45:02 PM »

Quote from: big_mal on June 02, 2009, 03:10:52 PM

let had that been ron artest...lol

Tell me about it. He probably would have been suspended. Terrible precedent they're setting. Clearly superstar treatment.

ATHEIST · « **Reply #694 on:** June 02, 2009, 05:16:48 PM »

they fined Shaq for doing the same thing last year right?

Face of the league!

Dos Equis · « **Reply #695 on:** June 02, 2009, 05:39:09 PM »

Here is what Stern had to say:

Stern withholding judgment on snub
ESPN.com news services

NBA commissioner David Stern says he has reached out to LeBron James about James' refusal to speak with the media after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals.

But Stern is withholding judgment and not ready to makes his views on the incident public until he talks to James about what happened, he said Tuesday on ESPN Radio.

In an appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Stern acknowledged he was not pleased that James, the league's reigning MVP, didn't meet with the media, or shake hands with the Orlando Magic, following the Game 6 loss Saturday night.

Noting that in the recent past, other players and teams have been fined for failing to meet the league's media guidelines, Cowherd asked why James had not been fined.

"I'm in the process of making a phone call or two now to talk to LeBron ... so I don't want to speak to that at this moment," Stern said.

"So you're not happy?" Cowherd asked.

"I think that's fair to say," Stern replied.

When further asked about James' storming off the court without postgame handshakes with the Magic -- and whether one action was more troubling than the other -- Stern said both were important. "One goes to rules, another goes to values," he said. "I think both of them should be followed."

"Everything's big when you follow the NBA, so I'm going to step back and ask not to be pushed too hard right now [on the incident]," Stern added. "I've got a few irons in the fire."

On Monday, NBA spokesman Tim Frank told 1050 ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand that James would not be fined, adding, "We haven't had any issues with him before at all."

Stern was also asked about the NBA's 19-year-old age limit for rookies, with recent allegations involving NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose's one college season at Memphis raising questions about whether talented high school stars should play a year in college before entering the NBA. Rose has been connected in media reports to NCAA allegations that a player on Memphis' 2007-08 Final Four team had a stand-in take his SAT. (Memphis said Tuesday that it was unable to find proof that a former player had cheated on the SAT.)

Stern pointed out that the NBA does not require that young players spend a year at college, noting they're free to play in Europe, the NBA Development League or in junior college. That, he said, gives them a year to play against tougher competition -- and better informs the teams that might draft them.

And despite the success of some players who successfully leapt from high school to the NBA, "there's a long list that I won't mention who didn't make it," Stern said. "The idea that allegations of wrongdoing suddenly get put back on the fact that like all employers we set entry-level requirements ... doesn't make any sense to me."

Stern also offered cautious optimism for the league's long-term economic outlook, saying he expects decreases in revenue next season despite recent record TV ratings for the playoffs. "Our business is affected by the economic downturn but not as badly as some others," he said. "It won't be cataclysmic but it will be noticeable."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4224350

big L dawg · « **Reply #696 on:** June 02, 2009, 05:48:15 PM »

how important is Lebron?theres more talk about him than the upcoming NBA finals.He's in your head He owns your mind in true getbig fashion.

Dos Equis · « **Reply #697 on:** June 02, 2009, 07:30:15 PM »

The prez says LA:

Obama's NBA prediction
Posted: 08:49 PM ET

From CNN White House Producer Xuan Thai

(CNN) – As he departed the White House Tuesday evening for his five day trip to the Middle East and Europe, President Barack Obama made a quick prediction:

“Lakers in six, I think," the president said when asked by a reporter for Bloomberg News who he thought would prevail in the NBA finals — beginning Thursday and pitting the Los Angeles Lakers against the Orlando Magic.

Fans of both teams can take heart. The president correctly predicted the NCAA Basketball champion in March (The University of North Carolina), but falsely predicted the Lakers would win the NBA finals last year, also in six games. (Instead, it was the Boston Celtics who won in six.)

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

DeketheCreep · « **Reply #698 on:** June 02, 2009, 09:10:35 PM »

Quote from: big L dawg on June 02, 2009, 05:48:15 PM

how important is Lebron?theres more talk about him than the upcoming NBA finals.He's in your head He owns your mind in true getbig fashion.

UPINTHEMGUTS · « **Reply #699 on:** June 03, 2009, 06:06:33 PM »

I'm pulling for the Magic but I starting to think Kobe and the Lakers win this easy.

The black mamba is not fucking around this year, it looks.