NBA Playoffs!

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DO4lifer

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What a fantastic time of year. Summer is around the corner, new set of interns entering the hospital, while the seniors exit, and of course 16 teams battle it out for the championship ring.

My guess
West
First Round winners: Lakers, Mavs, Nuggets, Rockets
Second Round: Lakers, Nuggets
Conference Finals: Lakers

East
First Round winners: Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Hawks
Second Round: Cavs, Celtics
Conference Finals: Cavs

Finals: Lakers vs Cavs
Champion: Cavs
 
In 2003, 2005, and 2007, the Spurs lost their first game of the playoffs. What else happened those years?
 
eyesarecool said:
In 2003, 2005, and 2007, the Spurs lost their first game of the playoffs. What else happened those years?
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I hear ya, but without Manu, this is going to be rough for the Spurs to even get out of the first round, let alone beat the Cavs in the finals after beating the Lakers in the conference finals.

At least you're not from Seattle, like me. I have to root for the Blazers, who I grew up hating.
 
I see a Lakers Cavs matchup as well. LA looks more balanced than Cleveland but who knows. Lebron is unstoppable but kobe has more help. The other matchups don't seem as interesting.
 
turkeyjerky said:
I can't see the celtics getting by orlando without kg, if they even beat chicago. My pick: Lakes over Cavs in six.
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how much more intense would these playoffs get if these great players weren't injured for their team...

manu/spurs
tmac/rockets
garnett/celtics
jameer nelson/magic ( i know he isn't the same caliber as the above, but important nonetheless)

the west is probably the most likely to upset... the east is pretty much down to the cavs.

my upset teams would be nuggets or rockets for the west and hawks or magic.

tonights game winner by ray allen was a life saver for the celtics...amazing shot.

i love this game. 😍
 
NavyFlightDoc said:
Nope, at least not past the second round.
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so you're thinking nuggets can't beat the mavs or spurs? I think if mavs win, then nuggets can do it. Spurs have too much veteran experience and skill to be knocked around by denver...

Billups vs Parker...that would be fun...although Parker would show Billups who the real finals MVP is...haha
 
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you're right, I wasn't thinking about the actual 2nd round matchups, I'm just not sold on the Denver team. Good record, bad defense. We'll see. It's fun to prognosticate.
 
NavyFlightDoc said:
you're right, I wasn't thinking about the actual 2nd round matchups, I'm just not sold on the Denver team. Good record, bad defense. We'll see. It's fun to prognosticate.
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as charles barkley says 'theres no D in Enver'
 
I watch the games when I flip by them, but the NBA just doesn't seem as exciting as it used to be. My main enjoyment is is seeing who, if anyone, will play and beat the Lakers. I would love to see LeBron win it all and become THE darling of the NBA, a title he has to share right now with Kobe (and maybe Dwayne W). There is nothing I have ever read about Kobe that makes him seem a likeable character (Same with his wife. Have you read about her?! And yes, I know she's smokin').
 
he is cocky, but not as bad as before. he actually improved his passing/assist game. even though he isn't leading the team in points, he has taken the TEAM to the next level.

Pooh & Annie said:
I watch the games when I flip by them, but the NBA just doesn't seem as exciting as it used to be. My main enjoyment is is seeing who, if anyone, will play and beat the Lakers. I would love to see LeBron win it all and become THE darling of the NBA, a title he has to share right now with Kobe (and maybe Dwayne W). There is nothing I have ever read about Kobe that makes him seem a likeable character (Same with his wife. Have you read about her?! And yes, I know she's smokin').
Click to expand...
 
Agreed. People can say what they will about Kobe personally, but in terms of pure ballin', he's unmatched in today's game. Lebron is sick, but it's a thing of pure beauty to watch black mamba takes it to the next level.
 
yup, and lebron has yet to perfect his outside shot...while kobe can knock down the game winning 3 pointer as a fadeaway-out of bounds-with a hand in his face.

after he dropped 81 points, i give him all the props...he deserves it as a basketball player. outside of that, 👎

turkeyjerky said:
Agreed. People can say what they will about Kobe personally, but in terms of pure ballin', he's unmatched in today's game. Lebron is sick, but it's a thing of pure beauty to watch black mamba takes it to the next level.
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DO4lifer said:
yup, and lebron has yet to perfect his outside shot...while kobe can knock down the game winning 3 pointer as a fadeaway-out of bounds-with a hand in his face.

after he dropped 81 points, i give him all the props...he deserves it as a basketball player. outside of that, 👎
Click to expand...

They're pretty close. Unfortunately I would have to give Kobe the edge right now too. But nothing will make me happier than when Lebron becomes the best player in the leaue, which WILL BE SOON. I mean look at that dude! Skills of Kobe, but also has the strength of Ron Artest! It warms my heart thinking of the day that Kobe will KNOW he's not best.
 
no one's talking about my stones?

hah. I hope they just don't get swept. but I can't feel too bad since lebron's not really human.
 
I'm not really surprised...Lakers got stagnant. It won't be a sweep, but Jazz really have no chance.

Celtics was no surprise...the mavs whooping spurs was crazy.

how dirty does bowen need to play for them to win games? 😕
 
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That Bulls game was intense; that series is going a lot better than I figured it would.

I think it'll come down to Lakers and Cavs. Although I've long been a big fan of the Lakers, I don't know if they can compete with the Cavs. The Cavs are just wrecking this season, every player on the team is damn good and play so well together.

I guess we'll see. It'll be a killer matchup if it comes down to Lakers and Cavs.
 
are you kidding me?!! 121-63 nuggets over hornets...

cp3 had more turnovers than points...ridiculous

nuggets had the magic touch.
 
All of my first round predictions were correct. Too bad I didn't have this kind of luck with my March Madness bracket.:xf:

DO4lifer said:
What a fantastic time of year. Summer is around the corner, new set of interns entering the hospital, while the seniors exit, and of course 16 teams battle it out for the championship ring.

My guess
West
First Round winners: Lakers, Mavs, Nuggets, Rockets
Second Round: Lakers, Nuggets
Conference Finals: Lakers

East
First Round winners: Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Hawks
Second Round: Cavs, Celtics
Conference Finals: Cavs

Finals: Lakers vs Cavs
Champion: Cavs
Click to expand...
 
DO4lifer said:
All of my first round predictions were correct. Too bad I didn't have this kind of luck with my March Madness bracket.:xf:
Click to expand...
You can thank Rajon Rondo for punching Brad Miller, or da Bulls would be in the 2nd round.

Oh, and my apologies for questioning Denver earlier, they played 'D' yesterday.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NavyFlightDoc
you're right, I wasn't thinking about the actual 2nd round matchups, I'm just not sold on the Denver team. Good record, bad defense. We'll see. It's fun to prognosticate.

welovelamarodom said:
as charles barkley says 'theres no D in Enver'
Click to expand...

Spoken as true NON-basketball fans. Seriously, how many Nuggs games have you watched this year?.....one? two maybe? Stop regurgitating the trash you hear on TNT and maybe WATCH a team play before you repeat the same tired old tag line for Denver. "Good record, bad defense" is simply an ignorant, uninformed statement. Nuggs have played great D all year (not just yesterday) and have turned it up another notch since the playoffs have started. You don't hold playoff teams to 86 ppg (2nd only to Cleveland.....vs Detroit) for games unless you can play a little bit of D. The past is past, the future is now.
 
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Matty44 said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by NavyFlightDoc
you're right, I wasn't thinking about the actual 2nd round matchups, I'm just not sold on the Denver team. Good record, bad defense. We'll see. It's fun to prognosticate.



Spoken as true NON-basketball fans. Seriously, how many Nuggs games have you watched this year?.....one? two maybe? Stop regurgitating the trash you hear on TNT and maybe WATCH a team play before you repeat the same tired old tag line for Denver. "Good record, bad defense" is simply an ignorant, uninformed statement. Nuggs have played great D all year (not just yesterday) and have turned it up another notch since the playoffs have started. You don't hold playoff teams to 86 ppg (2nd only to Cleveland.....vs Detroit) for games unless you can play a little bit of D. The past is past, the future is now.
Click to expand...
Spoken as a true homer. Nuggets came into the playoffs with the worst opponents PPG (tied with Utah, who positively excelled in their first round series🙄) of any Western Conference team, so forgive me for not looking past that in a cursory statement meant to be slightly inflammatory.

Having looked at it further now, I see that they also have the worst defensive rebounding percentage of any Western Conference playoff team. On the other hand, they have the best TO ratio and Opp FG% in the west, so my bad. The ppg thing is colored by the higher numbers of possessions in their fast paced games. Lots of blocks/steals too. Their series against the Hornets was impressive, but you've got to cede some of the credit to New Orleans playing awfully. They were below average the last month of the season, basically corresponding to Tyson Chandler's injury, which really limited his effectiveness in the playoff series, having missed 15 out of the last 16 regular season games. The Hornets were 8-8 over that period, but wins over clips, T-wolves, Grizz, Warriors, Kings, Miami don't really as good performance for a Western Conference team.

I don't know how they will match up with the Lakers, but the Nuggets have the best homecourt advantage in basketball, as the altitude makes the biggest difference in the NBA (vs NFL/MLB), so they could win a couple games. If they play as well as they have been, with Nene/K-Mart playing good 'D' (which they are both known for), they could even make it to a game 7. I don't think the NBA wants them in the finals, and we all know that Stern assigns his officials deliberately, so we'll see if they have a chance. Remember the 2006 finals with D-Wade getting EVERY call.

I didn't get to see many Denver games this year, since they don't play them very much in my location, so I'm glad to see them now that the playoffs have arrived. Since I am/was a Sonics fan, I like seeing George Karl do well.

Anyhow, sorry you got your pretty little panties in a bunch, hopefully you can get them out in time to sit down comfortably to watch the rest of the 2nd round.
 
NavyFlightDoc said:
Having looked at it further now, I see that they also have the worst defensive rebounding percentage of any Western Conference playoff team. On the other hand, they have the best TO ratio and Opp FG% in the west, so my bad. The ppg thing is colored by the higher numbers of possessions in their fast paced games. Lots of blocks/steals too.
Click to expand...

I'll concede that we give up too many offensive rebounds, but that doesn't mean we have a bad defense. But thanks for refuting yourself with the rest of your comment and saving me time. Also, you're just like ESPN and the other fools out there who gave the Nuggets no credit for their absolute obliteration of the Bumblebees, but merely chalked it up to poor play by New Orleans.

"Welcome to SportCenter. Our top story tonight (after 20 minutes of coverage of LeBron taking a dump), Nuggets play average D, Hornets offense implodes on itself for some unknown reason...Denver wins by 58......ummm, now back to our ongoing precoverage of the Cavs-Lakers Finals."

Also, your Lakers (I'm assuming you're a Lakers homer Mr. SoCal) gave up over 97 ppg to Utah while the Nuggets only surrendered about 84 ppg to New Orleans. Now considering Utah and NO average roughly the same points per possession (110 vs 109), I guess that would say the Nuggets have played a bit of defense, but what do I know.

Oh BTW, how's that taste in your mouth from last night?
 
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I basically admitted you are right, so get over your "nobody believed in us." And I said I was a Sonics fan, I hate the Lakers, hate, hate, hate. I would love to see the Nuggets (or Rockets) beat them, I just don't see how that happens.

I give the Nuggets credit for destroying the Hornets, I just happen to think that part of the blame for the margin of defeat goes to the Hornets. They weren't going to beat Denver in the series, but they could have given them a better test.

Anyhow, like I said, I would love to see the Nuggets beat the Lakers, so good luck with that.
 
i'm not convinced about the nuggets. they are indeed a good team. but if you shut down billups, the game is over. hornets let billups run freely. melo can put up his share of buckets a night, but isn't the superstar like kobe or lebron or d-wade. he needs billups like billups needs melo.
 
DO4lifer said:
i'm not convinced about the nuggets. they are indeed a good team. but if you shut down billups, the game is over. hornets let billups run freely. melo can put up his share of buckets a night, but isn't the superstar like kobe or lebron or d-wade. he needs billups like billups needs melo.
Click to expand...

Seriously, it would really be helpful if you watch the games before you speak such nonsense. Last game Billups had 6 pts on 25% shooting and 4 TOs....but i guess you're right, that did result in a loss....oh wait, i mean, a 14 pt win. Denver has a TON of ways to hurt you. New Orleans was the perfect example of "shut down the PG, shut down the team" but that is certainly NOT the case in the mile high city.
 
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Also, Melo is every bit as much as a superstar as any of those three on the offensive end. He needs to still pick his D up to get to their level (although he has drastically improved in that area this year). But if he got the superstar calls that the others get, he'd easily increase his scoring average. Trust me, i've watch pretty much every Nuggets game since he came here and he gets abused in the paint and doesn't get half the whistles James, Wade, and Kobe get. Plus, Lebron and Wade are on teams that have pretty much no other scoring options (sometimes Mo Williams). Kobe has more scoring help on his team, which is why he is the lowest of those three in ppg. Also, Melo has easily been the most clutch in game winning situations over his career (kobe excluded, cause he has another level that simply no one in the game right now can match).
 
New Orleans was not a test. Nuggets lost against Portland, Lakers, Rockets, and even Phoenix heading into the post season. They are a good team, but have to be really lucky to make it to the finals, let alone win it.

I may go as far as saying Dallas will give them a run for their money...just for a bit though. Nuggets in 6.

Matty44 said:
Seriously, it would really be helpful if you watch the games before you speak such nonsense. Last game Billups had 6 pts on 25% shooting and 4 TOs....but i guess you're right, that did result in a loss....oh wait, i mean, a 14 pt win. Denver has a TON of ways to hurt you. New Orleans was the perfect example of "shut down the PG, shut down the team" but that is certainly NOT the case in the mile high city.
Click to expand...
 
DO4lifer said:
New Orleans was not a test. Nuggets lost against Portland, Lakers, Rockets, and even Phoenix heading into the post season. They are a good team, but have to be really lucky to make it to the finals, let alone win it.

I may go as far as saying Dallas will give them a run for their money...just for a bit though. Nuggets in 6.
Click to expand...

Wow. Let me say it again watch the games, also READ THE POSTS before you comment. What did I ever say about N.O. being a "test"? I said they were an example of the kind of team you were trying to say the nuggets were, ya know, stop the pg = game over? Remember saying that? Now, let me see here, they lost a meaningless game to Portland in the last game of the year, they lost to the best team in the league, and before that they won 13 of 14 games and lost a 2 pt game to a pheonix team that shot lights out. And yeah, they lost to Houston, by 3, over a month before the season was over......so? LA lost to Portland (twice), Philly, Atlanta, and Charlotte in that same time period. Cmon man, make a respectable post or stop pretending like you know what you're talking about.
 
I can understand you being a diehard fan, so good for you. It still doesn't make the nuggets the best team.

P.S. I watch every playoff game that isn't on NBA tv when I am at home.

Matty44 said:
Wow. Let me say it again watch the games, also READ THE POSTS before you comment. What did I ever say about N.O. being a "test"? I said they were an example of the kind of team you were trying to say the nuggets were, ya know, stop the pg = game over? Remember saying that? Now, let me see here, they lost a meaningless game to Portland in the last game of the year, they lost to the best team in the league, and before that they won 13 of 14 games and lost a 2 pt game to a pheonix team that shot lights out. And yeah, they lost to Houston, by 3, over a month before the season was over......so? LA lost to Portland (twice), Philly, Atlanta, and Charlotte in that same time period. Cmon man, make a respectable post or stop pretending like you know what you're talking about.
Click to expand...
 
Matty44 said:
Wow. Let me say it again watch the games, also READ THE POSTS before you comment. What did I ever say about N.O. being a "test"? I said they were an example of the kind of team you were trying to say the nuggets were, ya know, stop the pg = game over? Remember saying that?
Click to expand...


Dude, not every comment is about you and what you have said. Relax, your team is up by 2. Take a step back then come rub it in everyone's faces if they beat L.A.
 
DO4lifer said:
I can understand you being a diehard fan, so good for you. It still doesn't make the nuggets the best team.

P.S. I watch every playoff game that isn't on NBA tv when I am at home.
Click to expand...

Are you serious? Do you actually read any of my posts or do you just pick out certain words and pretend that I said things that I didn't? If you take a few seconds to actually read what you quoted, I said the nuggets LOST to the best team, a.k.a. the Lakers, not that they WERE the best team. I mean, c'mon man, you're just embarrassing yourself with your responses.
 
Bertelman said:
Dude, not every comment is about you and what you have said. Relax, your team is up by 2. Take a step back then come rub it in everyone's faces if they beat L.A.
Click to expand...

Ummm, well when the last part of this thread is pretty much a back and forth conversation between me and DO4, I think it's safe to assume that he was talking to me, don't you think?
 
Nuggets defense is much improved, but that that doesn't mean that its great. They have a very good team with some stars (Melo, Billups), but no superstar. Melo can score but he can't change the game like Duncan, Bron Bron, or (hate to say this) or Kobe does. He also doesn't have great court awareness (a la he don't pass the rock).

That being said, I had the Mavs advancing to the Conference finals, losing to the Lake show. Beating NO wasn't saying much considering CP3 quit on his coach months ago (if you don't believe me, youtube his play in Feb and March; his body language says a lot). Nonetheless, the Nuggs are playing great ball and I would love them to take out the lakers.
 
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So your qualifier for a "superstar" is that they can score double digits in half a minute? Don't think you can name many people with a performance like TMac had there. But all I had to do was look back one game and I found a game changing performance by Melo, as explained by the following article excerpt.


"With Anthony on the bench with four fouls, the Mavericks were within 82-80 early in the fourth quarter and within 86-80 after he took to the floor again with 10:25 remaining. The game didn't remain close for long. Anthony scored nine quick points, helping the Nuggets expand their lead to 97-82....Anthony also made all five of his field goal attempts and scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter."



Close game all the way through 3 quarters and Melo takes over and puts the game away. Does that qualify as game changing enough for you?


Why all the Melo hating y'all?
 
Matty44 said:
So your qualifier for a "superstar" is that they can score double digits in half a minute? Don't think you can name many people with a performance like TMac had there. But all I had to do was look back one game and I found a game changing performance by Melo, as explained by the following article excerpt.


"With Anthony on the bench with four fouls, the Mavericks were within 82-80 early in the fourth quarter and within 86-80 after he took to the floor again with 10:25 remaining. The game didn't remain close for long. Anthony scored nine quick points, helping the Nuggets expand their lead to 97-82....Anthony also made all five of his field goal attempts and scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter."



Close game all the way through 3 quarters and Melo takes over and puts the game away. Does that qualify as game changing enough for you?


Why all the Melo hating y'all?
Click to expand...

Because he's not that special?.... Get off your high horse, I'm surprised Dallas couldn't knock them out, but don't worry, Lakers will beat the snot out of Carmello. Then we get to hear you cry and defend your precious stars (Carmello, Billups PFFFFF) some more....
 
tmac 13 points in 33 seconds is superstar status (maybe not anymore...)

kobe, lebron, dwade, yao, dwill, cp3 have had similar game changing experiences.

melo is just not at that level. think of an NBA hall of fame...you honestly think melo's name would be mentioned with these guys...not even by george karl 👎

i'd even say that billups is a better player than melo.

Matty44 said:
So your qualifier for a "superstar" is that they can score double digits in half a minute? Don't think you can name many people with a performance like TMac had there. But all I had to do was look back one game and I found a game changing performance by Melo, as explained by the following article excerpt.
Click to expand...
 
Well, based on the last two posts, you guys have cemented my suspicions that you don't know much about basketball other than what ESPN shoves down your throat. So I'll leave you with an article by someone who knows a heck of a lot more about hoops than you do.

"While Anthony’s star status off the court is light years behind James' and Wade's, his play on it is not far behind at all.

Standing at 6 ’8 and weighing 240 pounds, Anthony is one of the only players in the NBA who has no offensive weakness. Melo is a nightmare for opposing teams when he is facing the basket or with his back to it. His midrange jumper is one of the best in the league and he has improved his range on his jumper to where he is better than both James and Wade from behind the arc. His first step is quicker than anyone his size not named LeBron, and he does a great job finishing with either hand around the basket. In the paint, Anthony demands a double team every time he touches the ball because his combination of strength and quick feet can only be matched by a handful of players in the NBA. When it comes to putting points on the board, Anthony is as good as anyone in the NBA. Both Wade and James had much higher scoring numbers this year since they both play in offenses where they have the ball in their hands the majority of the time. Thus, they take more shots than Anthony. In 2006, Carmelo showed what kind of scoring he can bring with the ball in his hands by averaging 29 points a game while leading his team to the playoffs."

Here's the whole article http://www.playersvoice.com/nba/forgotten-star.html

Later, and like I keep saying, watch the games.

P.S. one last point of note for all you haters of the nuggets D...halftime, Nuggs up 4, FG% =33%. Sure aint their offense that is working for them today.
 
lmao....



CLUTCH!!!!!!!!!!
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
Matty44 said:
Well, based on the last two posts, you guys have cemented my suspicions that you don't know much about basketball other than what ESPN shoves down your throat. So I'll leave you with an article by someone who knows a heck of a lot more about hoops than you do.
Click to expand...

So you counter by shoving some other journalist's work down our throat?

p.s. you forgot the last line of the article, "I am not saying that Anthony is as great as his two draft classmates, I’m just saying that he is not as far behind as people think."
 
judgmental too. hard to take you seriously at all.

you're actually pretty funny. your "diehardness" makes me laugh like the crazy guy on the soap box.

Ever heard of something called fantasy basketball? you should check it out. Carmelo isn't ranked in the top 15 on most places.

Efficiency on NBA.com has Melo at #9.

Out of 300+ players, that's pretty good. I think everyone on this forum agrees that melo is a great player. He just isn't the best...not even close. (lebron vs melo)

PLAYER NAME, TEAM NAME GP MPG PTS EFF RPG APG STPG BLKPG EFF48M EFF
1 LeBron James , CLE
6 38.0 31.5 37.3 9.7 6.3 2.3 0.67 47.23 37.33 2
Dwight Howard , ORL
8 37.8 20.6 30.5 15.9 1.1 0.8 2.75 38.78 30.5 3
Rajon Rondo , BOS
10 43.0 18.0 27.3 9.1 11.3 2.7 0.3 30.49 27.3 4
Kobe Bryant , LAL
8 41.5 30.2 27.0 5.6 4.8 2.1 0.62 31.26 27.0 5
Carlos Boozer , UTA
5 37.2 20.6 26.6 13.2 2.2 1.6 0.4 34.41 26.6 6
Dirk Nowitzki , DAL
7 38.3 22.7 25.9 8.9 2.7 1.0 0.57 32.61 25.86 7
Tony Parker , SAS
5 36.2 28.6 25.2 4.2 6.8 1.2 0.2 33.36 25.2 8
Dwyane Wade , MIA
7 40.7 29.1 24.7 5.0 5.3 0.9 1.57 29.12 24.71 9
Carmelo Anthony , DEN
7 36.3 24.0 24.6 5.7 5.0 1.7 1.0 32.46 24.57 10
Chauncey Billups , DEN
7 36.3 19.6 23.9 3.7 7.3 1.6 0.0 31.52 23.86 11
Ming Yao , HOU
9 35.8 17.1 23.2 10.9 1.0 0.4 1.22 31.09 23.22

Matty44 said:
Well, based on the last two posts, you guys have cemented my suspicions that you don't know much about basketball other than what ESPN shoves down your throat. So I'll leave you with an article by someone who knows a heck of a lot more about hoops than you do.
Click to expand...
 
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