***2012-13 NBA THREAD!!! New Season/New Thread - LET'S GO!!!!!***

[skinsforlife101]

Before we can put the Knicks in the top half of the east lets wait to see what they do aginst a very deep 76ers team this Sunday and Monday

[DCSaints_fan]

I don't see how you can crown anyone legit contenders 2 games in .. its like saying the Lakers are finished this year. Its an 82 game season.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

[stevemcqueen1]

I won't call any team that was a 7 seed last year (with one playoff WIN in 10 years or whatever it is), a legit contender. I think most people peg them as a playoff team...legit contender? Nope. You have to remember that they're the Knicks and they'll start doing Knick "things" before the season is up.

Yeah they probably will. But I think they've got one of the best chances at beating Miami of any of the also rans in the East. Them and the Celtics.

Carmelo is an elite player and Chandler is one of the best centers in the league. You're dangerous in any playoff series when you've got that.

Let's say the worst happened for Miami and they had to run up against the Knicks without D Wade or something. That's a pretty terrifying matchup. And once you get past Miami, without a healthy Rose, the conference is completely open.

[Shabby]

This is the same rationale that non-Redskin fans and media seem to use to temper the RG3-hype after he`s only played HALF a season. It`s only been 1 game... his success was against a bad defense... well, his team is only 3-5. Yada Yada Yada. I know people that have suggested that it`s going to see 3 years of his body of work before they concede that he`s a legitimate QB.

Except, Redskins fans can acknowledge the fact, after watching the guy after just a few games.... you just know. You can`t deny talent.

The Knicks are legitimate contenders. It doesn`t mean they will win the title... it just means they have a better chance than most. I don`t think that`s an unreasonable assertion. And I`m nothing more than a casual NBA fan.

All this based off a 1-0 start? Come on man. We all know they have talent. I just dont see carmelo taking that leap and becoming a 2-way player and becoming a leader on BOTH ends of the floor. He needs to play defense. They played a hell of a game, no doubt. But i think saying they are legitimate contenders based off of only one game is ridiculous.

[Die Hard]

Before we can put the Knicks in the top half of the east lets wait to see what they do aginst a very deep 76ers team this Sunday and Monday

Well, who knew huh.

---------- Post added November-4th-2012 at 04:11 PM ----------

All this based off a 1-0 start? Come on man. We all know they have talent. I just dont see carmelo taking that leap and becoming a 2-way player and becoming a leader on BOTH ends of the floor. He needs to play defense. They played a hell of a game, no doubt. But i think saying they are legitimate contenders based off of only one game is ridiculous.

I didn`t wait until a 1-0 start. I was calling this when they were 0-0.

[stevemcqueen1]

It's eery how much Kirilenko looks like a young Dolph Lundgren.



---------- Post added November-5th-2012 at 08:30 AM ----------

Hmm. I never noticed it before, but Dolph has tiny looking hands. Look at that picture.

---------- Post added November-5th-2012 at 09:23 AM ----------

This tumblr is wonderful: http://nbadoppelgangers.tumblr.com/

Some of my favorites from the first few pages:

Don Nelson & Boris Yeltsin




Hedo Turkoglu and the Count




Reggie Miller and Quark from DS9





James Harden and Wooly Willie





Mike Brown and Al Roker




Dirk and Captain Sig from Deadliest Catch




Z-Bo and the dude from Walking Dead




Adam Silver and the guy in the American Gothic painting





Young Anthony Davis & Steve Urkel





And last but not least,

Stern and Emperor Palpatine



I'm going to miss Stern.

[Destino]

I'm surprised the media hasn't thrown a few jokes at Austin Rivers for his horrible start. Not only has he gone 5-25 (.200) shooting in his first three games which is bad enough but his only meaningful play has been to knock the unibrow brow upside the head and leave him sidelined with a concussion. That's a rough landing with a new team, especially when keeping a chair warm for a "superstar" that just got a huge contract but refuses to get surgery and simply can't/won't get on the floor.

[ixcuincle]

Very sad today to learn that Jim Durham passed away. He was the NBA on ESPN voice

[stevemcqueen1]

Carmelo looks like he's on a mission this season. He's been playing brilliant all around basketball thus far.

It looks like he's motivated from people forgetting about him.

The Knicks have a good thing going right now, and if I'm them, I'm in no hurry to get Amare back.

I still think PG play becomes an issue for them at some point. I don't trust Felton at all, and Kidd will wear down eventually.

---------- Post added November-5th-2012 at 11:12 PM ----------

I think the Knicks move into the void created by the DRose injury as the second or third best team in the East this season. They've got an all around team with a ton of scoring options plus capability of playing quality defense. The combination of Carmelo and Chandler will make them dangerous in the postseason, and if JR Smith keeps playing like he has been and Shumpert comes back strong, they'll be really balanced. Especially if Kidd remains a factor all year.

I think the Nets are further away. I look at them and see a team that hasn't established an identity yet, and they're not quite ready to be more than the sum of their parts. They've got a tremendous amount of offensive talent. Lopez makes scoring look easy, DWill is a breathtaking offensive talent, and Joe Johnson is as crafty and versatile an isolation scorer as any wing in the East. Plus Marshon Brooks has a variety of offensive tools.

But the team just makes a ton of mistakes, resorts to ballstopping ISO reliance in crunch time, and does not rebound well or play good defense. They really need Gerald Wallace back. Lopez is a pathetic rebounder. He lets smaller guys shove him around and gives up interior position all of the time. Guys will frequently box him out for offensive rebounds... It's a shame that he has such a serious flaw, because he really is a marvelous scorer and nice rim defender in the paint.

I don't see them being a factor this season. They've got scorers, but they're not a smart enough team yet. The Heat, Celtics, and Knicks are each better.

[Die Hard]

When Mike Woodson took over the Knicks last year... I believe they had *the* (or one of the) best record in the NBA over that span. They were dominating the inferior teams... and beating or playing with the stronger teams. They were a completely different team. They ran into the league`s best team (Heat) in the first round and suffered some key injuries (Stoudemire, Lin) to key players... so that result was nothing to scoff at.

But there`s no reason to believe they won`t be one of the best regular season teams... if what they did last year carries over. In fact, they added more depth. An incredible amount of depth actually.

Stoudemire has played his best ball in New York with Felton at the point. People forget that. The knock on Felton that season was that he cooled off shooting after an insanely hot start -- some speculated a wrist injury.

The Knicks have 3 legitimate PG`s. Don`t sleep on Prigioni. He`s played well above expectations since he arrived.

The Heat, Celtics and Knicks are the cream of the conference this year. I think the Knicks can overtake the Celtics this year. I think they`re ready. The Heat, not so much. But if Wade or Lebron is out for a significant amount of time to injury..... all bets are off

[Destino]

Speaking of players looking like they are on a mission. Durant is averaging 14 boards over three games (over 10 in each game, not a single freak performance). I wonder if he has realized that with his length and speed he's got no excuse not to rebound well.

[RonArtest15]

When Mike Woodson took over the Knicks last year... I believe they had *the* (or one of the) best record in the NBA over that span. They were dominating the inferior teams... and beating or playing with the stronger teams. They were a completely different team. They ran into the league`s best team (Heat) in the first round and suffered some key injuries (Stoudemire, Lin) to key players... so that result was nothing to scoff at.

But there`s no reason to believe they won`t be one of the best regular season teams... if what they did last year carries over. In fact, they added more depth. An incredible amount of depth actually.

Stoudemire has played his best ball in New York with Felton at the point. People forget that. The knock on Felton that season was that he cooled off shooting after an insanely hot start -- some speculated a wrist injury.

The Knicks have 3 legitimate PG`s. Don`t sleep on Prigioni. He`s played well above expectations since he arrived.

The Heat, Celtics and Knicks are the cream of the conference this year. I think the Knicks can overtake the Celtics this year. I think they`re ready. The Heat, not so much. But if Wade or Lebron is out for a significant amount of time to injury..... all bets are off

They've played 3 games. Yes, they've been impressive...but they've played 3 games.

On top of it all, they aren't going to shoot an insane % from the floor all year.

Elephant in the room is Amare. He has proven that he can't coexist w/ Melo. Their record together proves that.

3 games in...I'll give them their props. However, w/ 79 to go...there is A LOT of b-ball left to be played.

Knicks gonna Knick at some point.

[ixcuincle]

How is it possible for the Knicks to succeed without Jeremy Lin

I'm baffled

[steve09ru]

How is it possible for the Knicks to succeed without Jeremy Lin

I'm baffled

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or not? I know you're a big Lin fan (as am I) but I just don't think teams had enough on him - he's good but not what he was during Linsanity.

He can't go left and he turns the ball over way too much - he also likes to shoot and if you mix that with the players on the Knicks, it doesn't mix well long-term. They can't have multiple people shoot the ball 15-20-25 times a game and be successful over the season. What Felton brings to the table is great, not a big time shooter, is able to penetrate and draw defenses in and give it off to the shooters

Knicks can be dangerous - they're defensive is greatly improved...teams won't be able to stop the Knicks offensively because of how well they shoot the 3 - if you take that away then you're over playing and they will beat you with the drive