2012-2013 NBA Regular Season Thread

[elcheato]

Varejao 20/18, Cavs lose

This happens every night

Rebounding totals from his last 6 games: 15, 19, 17, 15, 22, 18

 

[Mexi]

rockets are atop Mt.500

too bad they're in OKC tomorrow

please kill em James. please

 

[Mexi]

this dude chris palmer from espn on twitter is me on drugs

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

Nice to see Tyreke Evans stepping his game up

 

[Pugz]

Varejao 20/18, Cavs lose

This happens every night

Rebounding totals from his last 6 games: 15, 19, 17, 15, 22, 18

clearly hes the mvp over kyrie.

:kobe:

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Varejao really should be an all-star IF this continues...

 

[snipezo]

damn lakers

 

[Rios15]

Terrence Ross was just elevating tonight!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spHUcyFQvmo

 

[BwareDWare94]

Yeah, Ross had 3 nasty dunks tonight, but the final score says all that needs to be said about the game.

I can't believe Toronto is struggling this much. They have better pieces than 3-12, or whatever they are.

Chandler Parsons danced around 20 points again tonight with 18 and 7 boards. His +/- was absurd (+29, I think). Omer Asik had another double double, with only three missed shots.
-Anybody think Asik could have a chance at MIP if he keeps this up? There's really no reason he shouldn't. It's not like he's posting up and scoring right now.

Lin is still committing highway robbery of Leslie Alexander's checkbook, but as long as he's not a liability on the court and eventually improves, I'll be happy.

 

[Rios15]

Lin had a pretty good night tonight though. Put up good assist numbers and racked some points up. And it's exciting to see Terrence Ross do well as a Raptors fan who has very little hope sometimes lol.

 

[Elite]

Lin outplayed Lowry lool

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Yeah, Ross had 3 nasty dunks tonight, but the final score says all that needs to be said about the game.

I can't believe Toronto is struggling this much. They have better pieces than 3-12, or whatever they are.

Chandler Parsons danced around 20 points again tonight with 18 and 7 boards. His +/- was absurd (+29, I think). Omer Asik had another double double, with only three missed shots.
-Anybody think Asik could have a chance at MIP if he keeps this up? There's really no reason he shouldn't. It's not like he's posting up and scoring right now.

Lin is still committing highway robbery of Leslie Alexander's checkbook, but as long as he's not a liability on the court and eventually improves, I'll be happy.

Varejao has gotta be the front-runner for MIP right now

 

[Elite]

Varejao has gotta be the front-runner for MIP right now

 

[CameronCrazy06]

No it's Varejao...

 

[Pugz]

lol

 

[snipezo]

Lin had a pretty good night tonight though. Put up good assist numbers and racked some points up. And it's exciting to see Terrence Ross do well as a Raptors fan who has very little hope sometimes lol.

Dumbass Dwayne Casey rarely ever plays Ross.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

http://deadspin.com/joey-crawford-dance/

They've often said he thinks people are there to watch him.

 

[Mexi]

jeff teague for MIP!

but i do like that he at least got a little better.

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

Chauncey B-B-B-Billups!!

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Remember when Jason Terry was viewed as a mindless gunner for an Atlanta Hawks team that couldn't get within shouting distance of 40 wins, let alone a playoff spot? Or when Paul Pierce was thought of as a me-first chucker who chased nothing more than All-Star berths and scoring titles for bad Celtics teams?

Those reputations turned out to be embarrassingly far from the truth, as both Terry and Pierce have played key roles for championship clubs in recent years. They're prime examples of guys who were viewed as selfish scorers on losing teams but who today are viewed as good teammates and champions.

So what besides their teammates changed?

In reality, not much.

"There are so many guys in this league who are falsely labeled as losers because they don't play on good teams," one Western Conference executive recently told me. "And there are other guys who are falsely labeled as winners because they happen to play with superstars.

Kevin Martin might be on the path of Terry and Pierce. Despite averaging more than 20 points per game in five of the past six seasons, Martin has gotten little love and even less All-Star consideration. His only trip to the playoffs came when he was a second-year bit player averaging 10 points a game in Sacramento. Only when the Kings fell from royalty did Martin, who averaged a career-high 24.6 points in 2008-09, begin pouring in the points. As a result, he was pasted with the reputation of a guy who puts up gaudy numbers on bad teams and does little to help you win.

But all that might be changing thanks to "The James Harden Trade," which sent Martin from the Rockets to the Thunder and essentially from the outhouse (sorry Rockets) to the penthouse.

With Martin taking over Harden's role as the green-light sixth man, the Thunder really haven't missed a beat even as they iron out a new rotation. They're putting up nearly identical numbers through their first 14 games, in which OKC won at a 71.4 percent clip (10-4). In reaching the NBA Finals last season with Harden, they won at a 71.2 percent clip. They averaged 103 points on 47 percent shooting last season; they're averaging 103 points on 47 percent shooting this season.

Martin and Harden's individual numbers are fairly close, too. While Harden averaged more assists (3.7 to Martin's 1.8), one more point (16.8 to 15.9) and shot slightly better from the floor (.491 to .460), Martin is making more steals (1.29 to Harden's 1.0) and fewer turnovers (1.8 to 2.2) while shooting better from behind the 3-point arc (.500 to .390). The difference in minutes is negligible, with Harden averaging 31.4 last season and Martin 30.7 this season.

Certainly Martin is not the playmaker Harden is, as evidenced by his aforementioned assists per game, but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have picked up the slack by averaging career highs in assists. In fact, with better-than-ever ball movement, the Thunder are averaging more than four more assists per game than they did last season (22.7 this season, 18.5 last season). So playing without Harden's playmaking ability has not yet been a problem.

Martin's had several big games, dropping 28 points on Atlanta and 27 on New Orleans, but ironically one of his most impressive games came against one of his soul mates in the brotherhood of formerly-underappreciated ballers.

In a matchup of Western Conference powers last week in OKC, Martin went at it with the Los Angeles Clippers' Jamal Crawford. Both players came off the bench and both players finished with 20 points. In one nine-minute stretch of the second quarter, Martin made two 3-pointers in scoring 13 points.

Crawford, who could be Martin's chief competition for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, was once considered one of the biggest losers in the league, his reputation "exceeding" even Martin's. Crawford failed to make the playoffs his first nine seasons in the league. Oh, he had highlights galore, averaging more than 17 points in six of those nine seasons, but it got him nothing more than a reputation as an "And-1 Mixtape" wannabe.
But while Crawford, one of the nicest guys in the league, was far from a loser, it took a trade to Atlanta in 2009 for him to prove it. Moved to the role of sixth man, he enjoyed the best season of his career, averaging 18 points on career-high 45 percent shooting while helping the Hawks reach the playoffs. Interestingly, Crawford has been at his best on good teams. After struggling on Portland's sinking ship last season, he's leading the rejuvenated Clippers in scoring (18.6) while shooting 47 percent from the field.

Now, the same herky-jerky, over-dribbling, one-on-one moves that used to get Crawford criticized are garnering praise. The same reputation transformation probably awaits Martin. For his part, he claims he couldn't care less. He says the people who matter always knew he could play.
"There are a lot of smart people in this league -- GMs, head coaches," he told me before erupting against the Clippers. "They know what guys can do."

Now we all know what Martin can do.

Told you Mexi...