[Alpine435i]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

If that happens you can send your thank you gift to Donald Sterling.

Great...now there's going to an asterisk next to the Warrior's name when they advance.

At the end of the day, it's not Sterling who's on the court playing. Of course it's a valid distraction, and perhaps some will say that players now lack as much of a desire to win a championship and provide greater success to someone like the owner...but it can't be a copout. Shitty situation any way you slice it.

[MediaArtist]

Think about it, if your boss basically called you a 2nd class human being, and said he didn't want you to eat at the same places he ate, or live in the same neighborhood he lived in, would you be motivated to go all out for his company so he could make millions of dollars off of your labor? Pretty simple really. You would have to be the most nut hugging Dubs fan to NOT admit that Sterling's comments are a huge distraction to the Clippers, and had an effect on their focus and concentration yesterday for Game 4. I mean Curry is cold for 3 straight games, locked down by CP3 and Collison. Then he goes for 15 in the 1st quarter yesterday? That tells me the Clippers concentration was definitely affected. Personally, as a fan, even I am confused on whether I want the Clippers to actually win the playoffs or not since in the end, all the economic benefits will end up in Sterling's pocket, so I'm sure the players themselves are feeling it.

There's even talk that there will be a "black out" protest at the next home game, and Doc Rivers himself doesn't know if he considers playing at Staples "home court advantage" anymore.

To be honest, even if the Clippers close out the Dubs at home, win the Conference Finals, and go on to the Finals, I personally would find it hard to root for them to win it all because Sterling would reap the economic windfall. It's a lose-lose situation.

That said, the series isn't over, I hope Lob City can still pull it off even with the distractions but it became that much tougher with the media circus that will certainly follow this series now, and not for the basketball unfortunately. That's why I watch, for the basketball, and it sucks that it's no longer about that anymore.

[rsr552]

I honestly wish whoever leaked that audio clip would have waited till the Post Season was over....Way to ruin it for the entire league by having this issue lingering throughout the whole playoffs ESPECIALLY when teh clippers are still in it...

[tturbolife]

Originally Posted by Nkc

I'm a Lin fan but for the past two games, he could've ended it in regulation time. Game 3 where he missed that layup and game 4 when they were up 2 and he got it stolen from behind.

there were many Lin mishaps, including a couple missed layups that he should have made. If Daniels could play defense I wouldn't blame them for keeping Lin out at this point.

[MediaArtist]

Originally Posted by rsr552

I honestly wish whoever leaked that audio clip would have waited till the Post Season was over....Way to ruin it for the entire league by having this issue lingering throughout the whole playoffs ESPECIALLY when teh clippers are still in it...

It's unfortunate really. Everyone, even Obama, is asking the League to do something about this right now. Right in the middle of the 1st round of the playoffs. It's not even about the basketball anymore.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

I'll say this, anyone who has lived in SoCal for more than a few years knows the deal about Sterling. This is just the first time his deeds have been pounced upon by social media, and been dissected by the public, so much so that even President Obama has chimed in.

But no one here has any misgivings about who Sterling is down here, and we all wish Magic Johnson would put up the money and just buy the team out from him so ancient relics like him can just go and die somewhere.

It's really unfair to the fans, and to guys like Blake and CP3. They had a huge season and had a legitimate chance to get to the Conference Finals. This incident has totally broken their concentration and taken their focus off of the game.

It's a tough break. But then again, people thought the Colts were going to collapse two years ago when Coach Pagano almost died of leukemia.

This is a different situation entirely, but at least it's not life or death.

[MediaArtist]

Yeah, no one is going to die, it's just Basketball. In the end, we're all blessed to be where we are. Sucks though that the season could be overshadowed by such a petty person and his issues about culture and race.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

Yeah, no one is going to die, it's just Basketball. In the end, we're all blessed to be where we are. Sucks though that the season could be overshadowed by such a petty person and his issues about culture and race.

+1

And I thought the Pacers had it bad with the Roy Hibbert eBay ad. This is a nightmare for the fans.

[TrevorM3]

why does charlotte keep booing james? did he do something?

and i dont know why when he stole that rock he didn't slam it down like he usually does. He went easy. He doesn't seem to have that fire he usually does.

[JohnSprm69]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

why does charlotte keep booing james? did he do something?

and i dont know why when he stole that rock he didn't slam it down like he usually does. He went easy. He doesn't seem to have that fire he usually does.

they are booing cause of the look he gave MJ at the last game while he was slamming down a nasty dunk

[JohnSprm69]

glad miami swept the cats

now they'll have some needed rest for the second round.

raptors/nets will take their time finishing their series

also glad atlanta is pooping down indy's throat and beating them to a pulp, will be an interesting match between the hawks and the wizards

[Litos]

Originally Posted by ny325

Mj is probably saying " Lebron, are you kidding me? This new NBA is full of garbage teams." I would've love to see Lebron drive the middle against the Bad Boys of Detroit.

uummm, Bron was BIGGER, STRONGER and FASTER than the biggest of the Bad Boys

[Litos]

the "Bad Boys" wouldn't be able to play bad boy ball in this era - too much money, contracts are ludicrous, too many endorsements and the NBA would try to protect the main assets that make them money...

....and if Bron was playing during the bad boy era, he'd bully everyone in the league - he'd be like Shaq playing against a bunch of Rajon Rondos because he'd be the biggest and strongest dude in the league....

[Litos]

and thank you Lin, for playing up to your moniker - Turnover Machine.

[TrevorM3]

Originally Posted by JohnSprm69

glad miami swept the cats

now they'll have some needed rest for the second round.

raptors/nets will take their time finishing their series

also glad atlanta is pooping down indy's throat and beating them to a pulp, will be an interesting match between the hawks and the wizards

haha, pacers will be so demoralized after this season. Winning the one seed, only to lose in the first round.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

haha, pacers will be so demoralized after this season. Winning the one seed, only to lose in the first round.

And to the Hawks

[Litos]

thank you Lin - one day you'll learn to handle and SECURE the ball without looking like a cheese dick....

[JohnSprm69]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

haha, pacers will be so demoralized after this season. Winning the one seed, only to lose in the first round.

Originally Posted by Nkc

And to the Hawks

too bad the heat won't get to beat them up and yibbiz will luck out of our bet

[JohnSprm69]

Originally Posted by Litos

and thank you Lin, for playing up to your moniker - Turnover Machine.

i still can't believe huston won't get out of the first round

[BESTNDA416]

Pacers are a joke

[SSW]

Originally Posted by Litos

thank you Lin - one day you'll learn to handle and SECURE the ball . . .

And that's why the Rockets lost Game 4?

It might have been the reason the game went to OT, but the game was tied in regulation and Lin wasn't even on the court during OT. So, he wasn't the reason that Harden, Howard, Parsons, Beverly and Daniels, who WERE on the court in OT, didn't score enough points and didn't play enough defense to win the game AND, as I recall, it was Beverley who got the ball stolen away from him by Matthews (the same guy to knocked the ball away from Lin at the end of regulation) w/only 3 secs left on the clock, which entirely eliminated any chance of the Rockets winning the game.

So, stop whining about Lin and just admit that the Rockets really aren't good enough to beat the Blazers (at this point in time).

They really had no chance to beat the Blazers in the 1st 2 games, when both Aldridge and Lillard were lighting up the boards. They only won Game 3 because Aldridge came back to earth and because LIN grabbed the ball off the floor that Harden LOST trying to dribble too much (as he has been doing all too much during the entire series) and passed it cross-court to Daniels who nailed the 3 w/about 12 secs left in the game to go ahead by 3 and essentially ice the game.

FWIW, I hope that McHale benches Lin the rest of the series (like he has done to DMo & Casspi the past 4 games), so that if the Rockets lose Game 5, as I expect they will, no one came blame him for the loss.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by SSW

And that's why the Rockets lost Game 4?

yep - all he had to do was secure the freaking ball, but instead and dribbles UNDER THE BASKET down the line and got it picked.....

Lin = turnover machine

Lin and Asik will be gone next year - god willing