2013-2014 Official NBA Thread

[Al Bundy]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ey...4-nba-schedule

With the Schedule released today, I figured it would be a good time to start the thread.

The NBA released its 2013-2014 schedule on Tuesday in a televised special on NBATV alongside a release on NBA.com and its team websites.

The season kicks off Tuesday, October 29th as Miami hosts the Chicago Bulls in Derrick Rose's expected return to the court. Then it's the Battle of LA as the Lakers host the Clippers. It could be the return of Kobe Bryant from his Achilles injury he suffered last spring, and will be the regular season debut of Doc Rivers as the Clippers' newest head coach.

It's a massive gamble by the NBA, considering Rose's struggles returning from his ACL injury suffered in the 2012 playoffs and Bryant's more recent Achilles surgery. If those players were to miss the opening night, it's going to make for a very underwhelming opening night of basketball, regardless of the markets involved for ratings.

Opening week continues on Thursday with the Bulls hosting the Knicks in what is likely to be Rose's return to the United Center in the regular season. The Knicks will be on a back to back, opening the season on Wednesday vs. the Bucks. Thursday night the revamped Warriors visit the Clippers, who are clearly the hot team, with two national appearances in the first three days.

Opening week concludes Friday with the Nets' home opener vs. the Heat, followed by another Lakers home game, this time vs. the defending Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs.

On the NBA's biggest regular season day, Christmas Day, starts with the Nets hosting Chicago, followed by the scoring-champ rematch of Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Durant as the Thunder visit Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. Then in the main event, the Heat play the Lakers at Staples Center. Dwight Howard joins the Christmas fun as the Rockets travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs. And in the night cap, the Clippers visit Oracle Arena to take on Steph Curry and the Warriors.

Monday, January 20th continues the NBA's tradition of making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a huge basketball event, with four games on the schedule. Brooklyn travels across the bridge to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, followed by the Grizzlies hosting the Pelicans, the Lakers taking on the Bulls at the United Center, and the Pacers facing the Warriors in the bay to cap off the night.

The Lakers first meet Dwight Howard on November 13th in Houston, and again on January 14th. They first host Howard at Staples Center on February 19th, and again on April 8th.

The NBA Finals rematches occur on January 26th in Miami and March 6th in San Antonio. Will Gregg Popovich rest his starters? It's not a back to back, as the Spurs face Atlanta on the 24th, but it is in the middle of a three-game road trip.

Despite the departure of Dwight Howard, the Lakers keep the max number of nationally televised (non-NBA TV) games in the league at 25, tied with the Knicks and Heat. The Clippers have 21 nationally televised games, while the defending Western Champs, the Spurs, only have 15. The Bulls jump to 24 national games, with the league banking on Rose's return to carry audiences. The Thunder also feature on national TV 24 times.

Houston, with newly-signed Dwight Howard and James Harden, feature 20 games on national television, a pretty low number given the star power. The Mavericks won the NBA title in 2011, and now have just eight national TV appearances. The Warriors meanwhile jump to 17 games, while Eastern Conference finalist Indiana only appears 10 time next season. To put that in perspective, the Denver Nuggets appear 13 times.

The rest of the schedule is at the link.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by KC native

Didn't watch it. I was treated to a free Dallas Stars game by one of our vendors.

I'm more laughing at you and the consistent blame of the refs. You are the pete of the NBA thread.

You're a ****ing asswipe.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

You're a ****ing asswipe.

IT'S THE REFS FAULT!

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by SNR

Oh, geez. Give me a break. You knew exactly what I meant. By saying shit like "They play the game the way it was meant to be played" you're just parroting a dumbass cliche like playing "real" basketball is a fashion.

What you meant to say is, "The Spurs are a well-coached team." Sure, but that doesn't make them great to watch, necessarily. Sorry, but I really don't ****ing care if Kawhi Leonard is the best player on your team on a given night and grits out a win. I don't want to ****ing watch that.

This isn't a jealousy thing. I didn't hate the Lakers when they won all those championships, and I didn't mind that they and Boston were in the championship game every year. Same goes for the Bulls of the 90s. I want to see superior basketball players. That's what I want to watch.

Sorry if that makes me some sort of simpleton, but it's a matter of taste. Go watch Matt Bonner gangle himself around the court and shoot a high percentage of 3-point shots. I'd rather do something more productive with my time like masturbate or even watch hockey.

When I was a kid, I used to believe the Spurs were boring too. I used to think they could never match the entertainment value of star players like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, or Kobe Bryant. But then I grew up and learned to appreciate the game of basketball. I learned to appreciate the value of watching a team work perfectly within a system, of watching a team get any shot they wanted any time they want through principles like spacing, ball movement, pace, misdirection, etc, of watching a coach get the most out of his players, and of watching his disciplined players get the most out of each other. There are a few ways to sum up that experience, but yes, one of them would be "playing the game like it is meant to be played." There was nothing "gritty" about last night by the way. They didn't just win through sheer effort. It was a beautiful display of system basketball and of guys giving a consistent effort all night on both ends (which is something you almost never get in a regular NBA game). I don't watch the NBA to see talented buffoons like Carmelo Anthony jack 30 ISO contested jumpers up a night, I watch to see displays of the sort that the Spurs put on against the Warriors (and the kind of displays they put on with regularity). If it really isn't jealousy talking, my suggestion would be for you to grow up and do the same already. You're missing out on far more than Matt Bonner taking a few open spot threes.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by SNR

And I'm not shitting on Parker, Leonard, or Duncan. I'm shitting on Popovich resting all his good players and then people like KC Connection telling me I should be so fascinated and interested in watching the Spurs play without them.

You can't tell me that Popovich is sitting his guys is a 100% strategic move. He's doing it to troll. Pure and simple. Why doesn't he do it when the Spurs play shitasses like the Raptors or Magic? Why does he always do it during prime time matchups?

I attended a Raptors game in Toronto a few years ago when he did pretty much the same thing (which they, of course, won anyway), back before he got ridiculously suspended for doing so against the Heat. There's nothing unusual about him doing it, nor is he the only team to do such things (Wade is sitting out of every back-to-back game this season). I suspect he enjoys pissing Stern off too (who wouldn't?), but the bottomline is that he's trying to save these guys up for when the games actually matter. If he can get the kind of effort consistently that he got last night out of his backups, there's really no reason for him not to do it.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

I attended a Raptors game in Toronto a few years ago when he did pretty much the same thing (which they, of course, won anyway), back before he got ridiculously suspended for doing so against the Heat. There's nothing unusual about him doing it, nor is he the only team to do such things (Wade is sitting out of every back-to-back game this season). I suspect he enjoys pissing Stern off too (who wouldn't?), but the bottomline is that he's trying to save these guys up for when the games actually matter. If he can get the kind of effort consistently that he got last night out of his backups, there's really no reason for him not to do it.

Yes, it's a big reason as to why Tim Duncan is still able to play at the level he is. Pop has managed his minutes great over the last 3-5 years.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by KC native

IT'S THE REFS FAULT!

You are one dense dumbshit ****ing moron.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

You are one dense dumbshit ****ing moron.

It's the refs' fault.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

When I was a kid, I used to believe the Spurs were boring too. I used to think they could never match the entertainment value of star players like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, or Kobe Bryant. But then I grew up and learned to appreciate the game of basketball. I learned to appreciate the value of watching a team work perfectly within a system, of watching a team get any shot they wanted any time they want through principles like spacing, ball movement, pace, misdirection, etc, of watching a coach get the most out of his players, and of watching his disciplined players get the most out of each other. There are a few ways to sum up that experience, but yes, one of them would be "playing the game like it is meant to be played." There was nothing "gritty" about last night by the way. They didn't just win through sheer effort. It was a beautiful display of system basketball and of guys giving a consistent effort all night on both ends (which is something you almost never get in a regular NBA game). I don't watch the NBA to see talented buffoons like Carmelo Anthony jack 30 ISO contested jumpers up a night, I watch to see displays of the sort that the Spurs put on against the Warriors (and the kind of displays they put on with regularity). If it really isn't jealousy talking, my suggestion would be for you to grow up and do the same already. You're missing out on far more than Matt Bonner taking a few open spot threes.

Are you by any chance a soccer fan? The say dumbass garbage like this all the time, too.

"Soccer is a beautiful sport. It has appreciable beauty when played and coached the right way."

No ****ing shit. I'm a fan of Kansas basketball, too. I'm well aware of what a well-oiled and well-coached basketball machine looks like.

That doesn't mean I have to be a blowhard douchebag and say that KU is just as entertaining when their bench has to do most of the work on a given night due to foul trouble, or whatever else would be a comparable example.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by KC native

It's the refs' fault.

If I could go back in time, I would do 3 things. I would buy a Blue 1968 Chevelle SS, I would have a conversation with Abraham Lincoln and I would give your dad a lifetime supply of condoms.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

Ha. Rockets are anus. Trying to remind myself that they are still young. Need Lin back. Garcia is a scrub. Hope that waiting out the Asik deal is worth it.

[GoChargers]

Houston is a coach and a legit starting point guard away from being a real contender, IMO. They're just not there yet this year.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

Originally Posted by GoChargers

Houston is a coach and a legit starting point guard away from being a real contender, IMO. They're just not there yet this year.

I think McHale is a real cool dude, but yeah....

[dirk digler]

I can't believe how bad the Pacers are beating the Rockets.

[kcxiv]

Pacers beating that ass by 30. Rockets laid and egg today. wow

[MIAdragon]

Will be nice to have Granger off the bench.