[GS/UTA] Western Semifinals

Who will win?


  • Total voters
    62
#91
Re: monster hall of fame dunk by BD on AK47 in fourth quarter:
"I think I was late on the help," Kirilenko said with a grin. "At least I got to be on the poster."
 
#92
Baron is just getting silly now.

Its absolutely astounding just how good he is when he's focused. I mean, league MVP type good. Just has never gotten it/been able to sustain. But these playoffs = wow. Not just the talent, but the competitiveness. The anti-Dirk.
I was thinking the same thing. If I remember correctly, back in his Charlotte days he had a back-2-back triple double in play offs then kind of dropped of the face of the Earth for a while. So, the question for me is, if somehow Warriors make it to the WC finals and BD is still balling like a lunatic, is he "sustaining" it and do we elevate him to the pantheon with other BB gods?

What I do know is I never found it easier to like a star on another PO team then BD. And I would otherwise hate the Warriors...
 
#94
Baron is just getting silly now.

Its absolutely astounding just how good he is when he's focused. I mean, league MVP type good. Just has never gotten it/been able to sustain. But these playoffs = wow. Not just the talent, but the competitiveness. The anti-Dirk.
The last time he was in the playoffs with the Hornets, he played pretty well too. But he's carrying his team to wins over teams they should be losing to. Good show by Baron so far.
 
#95
Game 4

9 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Jazz up 1 and shooting 2 free throws. Pace of this game much more to the liking of the Jazz (especially since GSW doesn't yet have 100 points or a 20 point lead).

I wonder whether the Oracle fans can help GSW pull out a close game in this Game 4. GSW was unable to conjure up enough magic to win a close game in Utah, but in front of their home fans the players should get a little extra boost. Will it be enough to help them out-execute the Jazz down the stretch?
 
#96
GSW's missed 3 free throws in the last two possessions, and have surrendered an offensive rebound or two, and are now down 5 with less than 4 minutes left in the game.
 
#97
2 minutes left, and the Jazz starting backcourt (Williams and Fisher) have outscored GSW's starting backcourt (Davis and Jackson) 36 - 35 to this point. I'm sure the Jazz would be happy just to be in the neighborhood on this matchup.

Jazz up 9 points. GSW ball.
 
#99
There should be a suspension for Baron Davis for that cheap shot on Fisher. That was horrible. What an a***

And that's the bad side of Baron Davis coming out. He just has something about him, he gets so close then loses his head and blows it all away. He HAS to be suspended if Ron Artest got suspended last year for what he did. If he doesn't that is total hypocrisy.
 
Thank God that these thugs are pretty much done.
Let's recap:

Baron Davis : Dirty cheap elbow to the face of Fisher
Richardson : Dirty hard foul on Okur
Matt Barnes : Almost caused Dee Brown to break his neck and then in the same game had a nasty foul on Kirilenko
Stephen Jackson: No comment, whining on every single call throughout and constantly is the one initiating contact

Congrats to Illini Deron Williams.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
There should be a suspension for Baron Davis for that cheap shot on Fisher. That was horrible. What an a***
I would have to see it replayed + slowmo'd to be sure Fisher wasn't taking one of his flops. The Harrington head chop and Richardson pulling the guy out of the air plays looked to be the considerably more dangerous ones. Thing is, think they said he has 5 techs in the playoffs, and at some point I think the next oen becomes an automatic suspension. So it may ot even have to be a suspendable offense in and of itself, just an upon further review technical, that could land him out of Game 5.

In any case, Cinderella's slipper is cracking, and she was throwing a tantrum about it and losing her composure tonight. Almost inevitable darkside to playing through the playoffs with such an edge/chip on the shoulder.
 
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Thank God that these thugs are pretty much done.
Let's recap:

Baron Davis : Dirty cheap elbow to the face of Fisher
Richardson : Dirty hard foul on Okur
Matt Barnes : Almost caused Dee Brown to break his neck and then in the same game had a nasty foul on Kirilenko
Stephen Jackson: No comment, whining on every single call throughout and constantly is the one initiating contact

Congrats to Illini Deron Williams.

I wouldn't say they are "thugs". They are giving hard fouls... frustration fouls. They have a lot of guys with a bad temper but that doesn't mean they are thugs.
 
I wouldn't say they are "thugs". They are giving hard fouls... frustration fouls. They have a lot of guys with a bad temper but that doesn't mean they are thugs.
They may not be thugs, but cheap-shotting Derick Fisher of all people at this point in the playoffs is about as thuggish a thing as you can do.
 
I just saw post-game interview with D. Fisher and he said that he considered the fouls on him by B. Davis and on M. Okur by J. Richardson as just frustration hard fouls, typical of intense playoff NBA basketball. He went on to say that when he was with LA Lakers that Shaq constantly got hard fouls late in games sending him to the line as game strategy, yet it was still part of the playoff game mentality. He said after he got up off the deck Baron came up to him and asked if he was alright and that him along with J. Rich are good friends from when Fisher was on the Warriors. He said he didn't think any of it would or should carry over to game 5 and he was concerned only with Utah's execution and effort to close out Golden State at home on Tuesday.
 
Anyone else out there think the Warriors were just due for a game where they were going to shoot less than 30% from three point land?
Sure, but they were very much in the game throughout and could have won it if they'd hit their free throws. One mind boggling statistic that was quoted during the game though - GSW led the NBA this season in points in the paint. When the W's three's are not falling they slash to the hoop better than most teams and of course their transition break aways ending up in the paint are second to no one - well except maybe the Phoenix Suns.
 
I would have to see it replayed + slowmo'd to be sure Fisher wasn't taking one of his flops. The Harrington head chop and Richardson pulling the guy out of the air plays looked to be the considerably more dangerous ones. Thing is, think they said he has 5 techs in the playoffs, and at some point I think the next oen becomes an automatic suspension. So it may ot even have to be a suspendable offense in and of itself, just an upon further review technical, that could land him out of Game 5.

In any case, Cinderella's slipper is cracking, and she was throwing a tantrum about it and losing her composure tonight. Almost inevitable darkside to playing through the playoffs with such an edge/chip on the shoulder.
Wasn't Artest suspended simply because it was contact to the head though? Manu flopped too, Baron clearly shouldered Fisher in the head.
 
Sure, but they were very much in the game throughout and could have won it if they'd hit their free throws. One mind boggling statistic that was quoted during the game though - GSW led the NBA this season in points in the paint. When the W's three's are not falling they slash to the hoop better than most teams and of course their transition break aways ending up in the paint are second to no one - well except maybe the Phoenix Suns.
Agreed - they were in the game and if they had made their free throws they would have won - but the Jazz honestly didn't even deserve to win with 21 turnovers.
 
Just one question: Does Al Harrington ever pass the ball?
The short answer is no, since he looks to be a scorer every time he's in the game. Besides being a weak rebounder, 6'9" Harrington is a poor ball handler, inconsistent outside shooter, plays mediocre defense. On most teams Harrington's role has been as a decent 6th man scorer.

Ron Artest is strong to very strong in every phase of the game where Al Harrington is weak to mediocre. As much as everyone wants to claim Artest is a lousy ball-hog he averages nearly twice as many assists as Harrington and his steals on the defensive end are far greater than Harrington (or 90% of NBA players) could ever hope to achieve. That's why for the Kings to just dump Artest for nothing would be a big mistake, despite the baggage and risk - IMO.
 
The short answer is no, since he looks to be a scorer every time he's in the game. Besides being a weak rebounder, 6'9" Harrington is a poor ball handler, inconsistent outside shooter, plays mediocre defense. On most teams Harrington's role has been as a decent 6th man scorer.

Ron Artest is strong to very strong in every phase of the game where Al Harrington is weak to mediocre. As much as everyone wants to claim Artest is a lousy ball-hog he averages nearly twice as many assists as Harrington and his steals on the defensive end are far greater than Harrington (or 90% of NBA players) could ever hope to achieve. That's why for the Kings to just dump Artest for nothing would be a big mistake, despite the baggage and risk - IMO.
I'd hate for this to evolve into another Artest discussion, but his trade value has diminished since even mid-season due to the fact he's a disruption to the locker room. Other teams know this, and they'll be offering close to nothing to get him.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
We have a number of Artest discussions going on, so I'm reminding people that this thread is about the Warriors-Jazz series...

Now, back to the topic at hand. ;)

I think Warriors fans got a rude awakening last night. And the rest of the league saw the fatal flaw with most Don Nelson teams. When the shots aren't falling, they're doomed.
 
We have a number of Artest discussions going on, so I'm reminding people that this thread is about the Warriors-Jazz series...

Now, back to the topic at hand. ;)

I think Warriors fans got a rude awakening last night. And the rest of the league saw the fatal flaw with most Don Nelson teams. When the shots aren't falling, they're doomed.
Yup in the end this is Nelly-ball... maybe one of the best teams to play Nelly-ball but Nelly-ball none the less. Sloan is the better coach, The Jazz have the deepest bench and play toughter D. Bu Nelly-ball is FUN to watch!
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Goodness -- I thought Duncan pulled a choke job yesterday, but this is a scarringly chokeworthy effort by Deron Williams. Apparently not ready for the bright lights quite yet afterall.
 
Goodness -- I thought Duncan pulled a choke job yesterday, but this is a scarringly chokeworthy effort by Deron Williams. Apparently not ready for the bright lights quite yet afterall.
Like a deer in headlights.

It's not entirely uncommon for a young player to tighten up like that, but man.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Human interest story aside, does increase the respect factor for Derek Fisher again though -- not that good, but so very solid and clutch and does not blink.
 
Don't know how much the physicality of Utah figured into it but GS just looked completely out of sorts. Completely. Matt Barnes would have been benched by RA long before the circus foul on Kirilenko (on the foul line w/ a minute and a half to go). Good God, Matt, what a sorry outing for all of you. I have to question Nellie's performance as well. His guys were spinning out of control and he just looked dazed and disconnected. RIP, GS. By the way, got no love for Utah. None.