Around the League: Week of 4/14-4/20

[carey]

Last ATL thread of the regular season. Then... playoffs!

[Superbone]

I watched the end of a great game last night in Portland. Warriors were playing great and hit big shot after big shot. Unfortunately, the refs called two phantom fouls on Thompson to foul him out in OT and the Blazers hung on to win by two after an Igoudala three was a tad long and bounced off the back rim at the buzzer.

[Mori Chu]

I really thought the Warriors would be better this year. They have been a huge disappointment to me. Wouldn't any top-seeded West team want to face them in the playoffs? Is there a better team to face? Mavs maybe? The Warriors just seem ready to fold in the first round and go home. Despite Steph's heroics and their sweltering home court advantage, the Warriors just can't put it together.

[carey]

I really thought the Warriors would be better this year. They have been a huge disappointment to me. Wouldn't any top-seeded West team want to face them in the playoffs? Is there a better team to face? Mavs maybe? The Warriors just seem ready to fold in the first round and go home. Despite Steph's heroics and their sweltering home court advantage, the Warriors just can't put it together.

The Warriors have been a mess. They've fired two assistant coaches this year. I don't know when that's ever happened. They have a ton of talent, but they chose poorly in letting Jack go in the off-season. Even Carl Landry was a key piece for them. I thought Blake would be a huge addition for them and they have gone 17-9 with him. Not terrible, but not quite as big of an addition as I thought. Probably about as same with them as they would without him.

[Gladiator]

I think Jack was a big part of what the Warriors did last year and made a lot of big plays late in games. They've missed him a lot. Plus, as Carey said, the off-court stuff looks a mess, which can't help.

[carey]

Well, the Warriors troubles just got compounded. Bogut out indefinitely with fractured rib: CLICK

[INFORMER]

Kelly Olynyk's last two games:

28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists

I'm going to go cry now.

[carey]

The Bulls signed Greg Smith (injured) through next year. I like him as a player and think he's going to be very good eventually. The Rockets released him when he was injured for the roster spot.

[INFORMER]

I agree. It will be interesting to see if he can bounce back from his injuries.

[Mori Chu]

Here's a random article I liked about the Bulls' season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2028 ... ts-to-face

[INFORMER]

It's interesting how well things have shaped up for Miami. Sure, they surrendered home court to Indiana, but in doing so, they assure themselves an easy second round matchup. The two teams that give them the most trouble, Brooklyn and Chicago, have to face each other in the first rounds, resulting in two clear benefits for Miami: 1) one of those teams will be eliminated after round one, and 2) Miami avoids the winner in round two. Considering Indiana's meltdown, Miami appears to have an easy road back to the Finals.

[INFORMER]

It looks like there is still a chance for Brooklyn to fall to 6, if they lose tomorrow night. That would put them in a first round matchup with Toronto.

[carey]

It looks like there is still a chance for Brooklyn to fall to 6, if they lose tomorrow night. That would put them in a first round matchup with Toronto.

And make our 1st round pick from the Wizards one spot worse.

[INFORMER]

That technical foul on Griffin was atrocious.

[INFORMER]

The worst kind of news:

TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, known for his ever-colorful suits, has been diagnosed with leukemia.

Read more: http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/tnts-c ... 201159400/

[Sunsfan4life]

Awful. Prayers for Sags and his family, always respected the way he asked the tough and sometimes awkward questions to players and coaches.

[Shabazz]

Awful. Prayers for Sags and his family, always respected the way he asked the tough and sometimes awkward questions to players and coaches.

Yup. The suits are a personalized schtick, but he's actually a pretty good journalist. Not afraid to ask the hard questions.

[INFORMER]

An interview with Dell Demps:

Q: Because you still hold his draft rights, do you have any plans for guard Pierre Jackson this upcoming season?

A: ''He’s an interesting one. He played really good in the D-League. I think he was the leading scorer. We’ve followed him and been in contact with him. When we made the trade last year, we knew we were giving up our draft pick and we kind of looked at him as our draft pick for this year. So we have his draft rights and he’s going to be experienced, a little bit older. Can I promise Pierre Jackson is going to be on our team next year? I can’t say that right now. But he’s definitely an asset. I want to make sure I say that. He’s done everything and exceeded expectations.''

http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/ ... icans.html

His draft rights are on my offseason grocery list.

[carey]

His draft rights are on my offseason grocery list.

Yeah, honestly I think it was stupid how they treated him that way. The Pelicans were starting guys off the street for the last 1/4 of the season. Rivers was getting a ton of minutes at PG and he's awful. There was no reason to not bring Pierre in.

[TOO]

An interview with Dell Demps:

Q: Because you still hold his draft rights, do you have any plans for guard Pierre Jackson this upcoming season?

A: ''He’s an interesting one. He played really good in the D-League. I think he was the leading scorer. We’ve followed him and been in contact with him. When we made the trade last year, we knew we were giving up our draft pick and we kind of looked at him as our draft pick for this year. So we have his draft rights and he’s going to be experienced, a little bit older. Can I promise Pierre Jackson is going to be on our team next year? I can’t say that right now. But he’s definitely an asset. I want to make sure I say that. He’s done everything and exceeded expectations.''

http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/ ... icans.html

His draft rights are on my offseason grocery list.

You're not the only one.

Solid PG draft last year, I like McCallum too, wouldn't be shocked if the Kings let Thomas go in favor of the bigger option.