₦airaland Forum

We were unbelievably bad in the 2nd half. Thank God we kept a clean sheet sha

Good to see Javi come on and make a crucial block. Word is BoaTANK is very close to full fitness

Pep continues with the Goetze eye service putting him on in the 85th minute. This guy is unbelievable

Lahm----Kimmich----Alaba----Bernat

---------Vidal-------Thiago------

------------Goetze------------

Mueller------Lewandowski------Costa

Lol Ribery trying to bribe us with that golazo. Naa hombre you start from the bench tomorrow

Looks like another Alaba-Kimmich show in central defence. Beware of Jonas is what I'll say

drinkmorewater:
PHX, LAL, MINN, SAC, that's the rockets last 4 games irrespective of the ground

MEM, LAC, UTH, SAN that's Dallas last 4 games

Now looking at that, the rockets surely have an easier run in!

The only respect I have for mark cuban is that he has won a a championship ring, especially with that team that really only had Nowitski, it aint easy but he (MC) has pulled one down for dallas which is better than going a decade or so without one!

Spurs and Clippers would likely rest their players. If the Mavs beat the Rockets I'm pretty confident they win 3 of their last 4

drinkmorewater:
Hey guys, just as Mynd44 said it is a swing between Jazz, Mavericks and the Rockets

Let's play a prediction game shall we

Now the regular season ends by the 14th, so there should be roughly be from the april 1st about 6-8 games left to play for all NBA teams

Now I am more concerned about these three teams as I believe they really gonna slug it out till the last day ( sorry the west division playoff battling to enter teams are more interesting to me!!!)

Now this is not to say they can't catch up with the Memphis (41-34) or the Blazers (40-36) and displace them but I think its very unlikely yet not impossible...

That said let's focus on these 3

Currently as I type the standings are

7th Dallas 37-38
8th Utah. 37-38
9th Hou. 37-39

Now who are your picks to finish the season 7th, 8th and 9th considering they don't catch the teams up top


Dallas fixtures
Detroit (away), Minnesota (away), Houston (home **I-45 rivals**), Memphis (home), Clippers (away), Utah (away) and lastly San antonio (home)



Utah fixtures
Minnesota (home), Phoenix (away), Spurs (home), LAC (home), Denver (away), Dallas (home), LostAngeles (away)



Rocket fixtures
OKC (home), Dallas (away grrrr!), Phoenix (home), LostLA (home), Minnesota (away), Kings (home)


Now I think its gonna end up like this
7th Houston 42-40

8th and 9th Dallas and Utah 41-41

Both of them to be settled by season series results and I nudge Utah to steal it, Dallas is still being plagued by injuries

There that's my unbiased picks


Note the series is currently tied at 1-1 btw Utah and Dallas


Please add yours,


OK let's do this!

Cc: Mizzzbeee

Funny enough I am looking forward to the Eastern conference first round more than the West

The Mavericks run-in is Brutal!

I think the Jazz would make the playoffs leaving a straight fight between Mavericks and the Rockets. The Mavs might edge it not because they are better or have the easy run-in but just because the Rockets are a bad joke rn

Talking about the Mavs and Mark Cuban I watch his show Shark Tank and I'm convinced the guy is an enigma. Its ironic he has that show and yet under his nose he has done or agreed to terrible deals Parsons and Wes Matthews while Barea and Dirk are grossly underpaid.

Go all in on Hasan Whiteside if there's cap room

ronaldbecky:
jesus!!!!see prayer and curse.. are u a prophet lwkd

Lmao both

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15063470/draymond-green-leader-warriors
Interesting article on Draymond Green

birdman:
Tibs is a long time JVG (jeff van gundy) disciple, and was his assistant coach both on knicks and rockets. Both have the same tendencies. Like JVG once said, he would prefer to watch a game where no one could score, as defense was more exciting to him. Both love to create elaborate defensive schemes with the belief that NBA players should be able to buy buckets on the offensive end.
I could write paragraphs on how JVG wasted a deadly tmac/yao combo, but the end result was the same. People finally realized JVG (and tibs) are defensive geniuses, but have a wilful mental block on offense. Play hard on defense all you want, if you cant score buckets, you eventually get behind by 10-15pts, and now you have to exert yourself on defense and offense every possession - formula for first round exits (ask Tmac and Yao)
In short, I'm saying that bulls team with Booz could have done damage, but just like JVG, tibs refused to be flexible. If you have a soft shooting big man, this is a huge matchup advantage come playoffs...draw up sets around his strength!
yeah, im still mad because the year we (rockets) went on a 21/22 game streak, we had what it took to reach the finals

The game has clearly left these guys behind. You are right on JVG especially. I think identifying a player's natural abilities is important. When a player's obvious strength is defense it behoves a coach to work out how can I make this player a better scorer, better passer and vice versa. Just look at Draymond he's like a Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman but can pass the ball. This what I feel good coaching should achieve

Lol the T-Mac/Yao combo was a terrible waste. Should have won a series at least. The one where they blew a 2 game lead after winning both on the road sticks out

Basically with everybody alert to offensive stats the likes of JVG would struggle to get work anywhere else. Its the same issue Mark Jackson had, Avery Johnson too. You build a contender with defense but to win it all you have to have a competent offense

Donlittle:
The whole Matt Barnes and derrick fisher issue was a mess. I also think it had an effect on why phil jackson let him go. You do not start a relationship with your ex-teammates ex wife, same way with this nick young issue. These dudes are breaking the "bro code" all around.

Worse he went to the babe's house which I'm sure Barnes pays for and houses his Barnes kids. That's just begging for a beat down

Donlittle:
With that being said, i think the raptors and the heat might have a chance. When paul pierce was with Washington, he always found a way to make the raptors look like his "kids". I do not know how pierce influenced those games really, the guy just did, and Toronto could not get past him two years in a row.

Its a mental block I think. The disappointment of the past losses should have them prepared for a run this time. The Raptors need to simply show growth and I was really impressed with how they chased the Hawks out of the building last night

Donlittle:
He was the one i was concerned about, but with him gone now, i think the raptors should get to the conference finals, as i do not see any team beating them in the east in seven games unless maybe Cleveland. It is not like Toronto raptors can not beat Cleveland, i think teams just fold when they see LBJ in the east.

Time will tell. The East looks quite balanced and other than the Cavs its hard to say with any specificity who will join them there

Donlittle:
I would not call DENG offensively challenged though. He is fourth all time scorer for the bulls. Sure did not live up to expectation though. If Rose could shoot, he probably would not need to be jumping and dunking the ball hard every minute, which would have extended his career by a long shot.

A decent record but he did spend quite sometime there, plus he never quite did enough to lift the team when D.Rose went down tbh

raumdeuter:
In a not so suprising news

So @Abendzeitung reporting that Arjen Robben is injured. Out for 5 weeks and will miss UCL quarter-finals.

In Robben terms that might mean end of season

Ugghhhh. I saw mid-April. These guys really have to go by the end of next season. It will be a sad day but really enough is enough

SmooshCHN:
Come Biko! You and A40 should go work for BBC Sport or Something. Most of Una too dey burst my head abeg with una analysis.

Na Agent me I wan be. Behind the scenes negotiating deals

Donlittle:
You guys heard what happened to Russell and Nick Young? . He really posted a conversation between him and nick young online. These kids men.

Russell is a snitch b*tch. He broke the Bro code. Older players will certainly treat him like a leper for a while

Eruditor:
1. The motivation to win it can be MORE. Some people said if Kyrie didn't get injured after game 1, and if the Spurs didn't lose to the Clippers, GSW would not have won it. They want to put that hypothesis to bed.


4. The first 8 teams with better defence than GSW why haven't they won as many games? Even the SAS with the so-called best defence were held to 79points with 3 mins to play against the same GSW.

The margin of having the best defence when compared to having the best offence only works when the regular season win % is close. You are talking about a team that has 67-7, and 19-1 against the top 10 teams and you are still talking about defence baba? Haba.

Mark Jackson said after the 87-79 loss to SAS that the defence SAS played on Curry on another day could have resulted in him still dropping 40+ points but then all the dynamics needed for GSW to lose this season happened on that very day.

1. Curry and Thompson shot poorly from the 3pt line.
2. Their top most defensive players were out.
3. They didn't attack the rim as oft as they needed to.
4. They played away.
5. They played a formidable team.

Now tell me how often all these factors will align themselves over a 7 game series for GSW to be outhustled by anyone, barring injuries to key players.

Steve Kerr's reluctance to go small dragged that series longer than necessary. The irony is Irving's replacement actually posed the biggest questions to Steph's Final's MVP claim which Iggy eventually won

The Spurs are always a threat but if Curry and Klay need to shoot at less than 10% for the Spurs to grind out a win then there is a problem. Can they hold them to that percentage all series long after battling with OKC

kingsilly:
Twitter and the press found a way to drag Ayesha Curry into the mix, really had so much fun yesterday reading post and memes on Twitter. Steph go just sitdon house dey laf

Really important to either find you a good woman or just maintain a harem where you belong to everybody and nobody at the sametime

Just look at what they have done to Lamar Odom. Them don turn am to efo

See Matt Barnes and Derrick Fisher fighting UFC on top one woman

Donlittle:
I am hoping someone pulls an upset against the cavs really, although, i would not really call it an upset if it happens. With the all brouhaha going on at Cleveland, Someone ought to take them down, and it has to be now.

What happened to chicago was just simple, they had an identity. An identity that was working, they were one or two years from a healthy Derrick Rose to being a legit contender in the Nba, not just the Eastern Conference. Its sad though, because i do not think they changed any players. It was almost the same players that played for tom, that is playing for fred. I hope he proves me wrong though, and achieve next year, if not this year.

I look around and can only see two, maybe three candidates in the East

Hawks
Heat
Raptors

Can they raise their game to the requisite level? I'm not holding my breath

Hindsight is 20/20 but the Bulls for me were never a balanced team. The disparity between their offense and defense was too significant. You had the obvious weak link on defense with Carlos Boozer and offensively challenged guys like Deng and Noah. Thibodeau also didn't do enough to get his team to improve sufficiently offensively. I look at Rose and wonder what his career would be like if he could shoot the ball. Maybe he would have been a lot more durable and an elite player for much longer

drinkmorewater:
No am not underestimating them, never will I, but am also considering the human aspect of it..
Don't be surprised to see them being out hustled by every other team because let's face it once U've got first, the motivation getting it again isn't as high as when U hadn't tasted it, do U get that?
Also I believe its hard to win back to back titles especially in this very competitive league
You mentioned Miami 12-13 but the season before the NBA league was shortened due to strike so IMO that was a shortcut, infact I disregard that league title but regardless it is on record but still it didn't follow the norm.
Who do you have as your pick for the championship? GSW?
I hope U know GSW aren't even in top 8 when it comes to best defensive stats , sure, defense isn't their forte but In the playoffs we shall see more teams capitalizing on that and pushing the splash brothers out of their comfort zone

Basketball is the easiest sport to repeat compared to NFL or NHL. One player can affect the outcome of a series much more than any other sport plus unlike NFL you have to beat a team 4 times. Lakers, Pistons, Heat hell the Bulls did a 3peat. TWICE!

Talking about Golden State that is not a team with egos. Their core players came from the draft and you can see every night they play like they have something to prove. They won 67 games last year. They have matched that with 8 games still to play so they are well motivated tbh

You raised a good point with the defense, I also think they turn the ball over a little too much. However they are not weak defensively. When you look at their lineup you know they can turn on the intensity at the drop of a dime.

With a potential bloodbath looming between Spurs and OKC you wonder if either team has enough to beat a Warriors team who could or will finish the season with over 30 road wins

raumdeuter:
I dont think we would extend Gotze. he is either going to Klopp in Liverpool or back to Dortmund. He has wasted 3yrs of his career already, Low wants him to have a discussion with Ancelotti first but the problem Gotze has is that his best position(behind the striker) is occupied by Muller. He doesnt have the elite pace of Robben, Costa or Coman to be effective on the wings

At Dortmund he was in the hole

--Kuba---Gotze--Reus
----------Lewy

At this point for the sake of his career i would prefer him going to Dortmund, Cos if he goes to liverpool and it doesnt work out, thats the end for him

At Liverpool he would have Coutinho and Lallana to contend with for his favorite position

If Liverpool needs a striker they should go get Mario Gomez from Turkey

Selling Götze will be a colossal and grievious mistake. If I start giving reasons day go break but let me be as concise as I can

For starters it would hurt the Bayern core in the National Team. We had 7 Bayern players in the NT and I strongly believe that cohesion of playing together every week propelled the team to the WC trophy despite injury to Reus (laughably adjudged as Germany's star man at the time)
Its down to 4 and the sale of Götze reduces it to 3

Secondly this is a young German talent who isn't just world class but arguably yet to reach his peak. Dortmund is already past Götze plus I'm sure the fans might not welcome him with open arms. Going to Liverpool missing out on elite Europe and playing with Sakho, Lucas, Lallana, Henderson, Coutinho Benteke e.t.c I don't see how he improves much. Iron sharpeneth Iron

Thirdly Muller's position might be AM on paper but you and I know his role on the pitch is largeky amorphous and he oscillates from RW to CF and SS. He makes plays but is not a designated playmaker. He can co-exist with Götze. Götze might not be ultra quick but he can play on the flanks, he and Reus used to frequently switch wings at Dortmund I recall. Costa and Coman are good but IMO has a higher ceiling plus Robben and Ribery have 2 good seasons left max maybe none with Ribery sef

Tonight's game while a friendly merely reinforced my observation. Did you see that pass that might have Bonucci missing the season and Euros as well? Götze's issues at Bayern na pure lack of confidence. Its unfortunate that our board have added to that by not extending the boy despite him not talking crap to the press and carrying on like a pro.

I was filled with joy when it was obvious Pep wasn't going to extend and the mismanagement of that boy was one of the few reasons why. If Ancelotti shows faith in him like Low is doing we will see results like we saw at the Maracana

Extending him isn't just the smart play its the cheaper one

Suprised the Mavs pulled a W last night, I thought they had packed it in for the year after that show of shame vs the Kings on Sunday night

Cavs always into drama. Kyrie this time. I don't know why these guys can't be like my mentor Leo Di Caprio and just keep a harem of women instead of going steady

Now if they could just extend Götze.

Reschke also needs to go hunting for a RB and potentially a CB in the summer

raumdeuter:
Our FO is doing a good job at keeping our core team together.
2019: Manuel Neuer, Thiago Alcantara, Arturo Vidal
2020: Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman (assuming he already signed a 3y deal when we negotiated the loan and purchase option with Juve)
2021: Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, David Alaba and soon Robert Lewandowski

I was always irritated at the price we got Benatia for but I could understand the panic and necessity involved now I am almost wishing we had kept Dante. Ordinarily I would have wanted him to spend a season under Ancelotti so we can ascertain if Pep's tactics were to blame however he is always phucking injured

There are rumors about Juve showing interest. I say phuck em and lets find an EPL club that would at least give us €20m for him

Müller is captain for the game. Neuer has the night off

Thiago back in one piece. Let's hope no one else picks up an injury. We have Benfica in a week.

E be like say Roma sef scam us with that Benatia chap. They say its a thigh injury and not too serious but this is Benatia we are talking about. The most annoying part is even when fit I have not consistently seen him add any value to that backline and the Juve game was another frustrating reminder

Die Weltmeisters vs Italy at the Cathedral of football tonight. Goetze most likely starting. Italy has always gotten the better of Germany and I always wonder why. Never beaten them at a major tournament and no wins in a friendly since 95. One of life's many mysteries I guess

chic2pimp:
2010.... Blame the Ref for that. Franky had a perfectly good goal disallowed. If the Ref wasn't such a re#$@d, England would have gone on to win that game.

No worries na. The tourney go soon come abi?

Karma karma karma karma karma Karmeleon. Have you forgotten 66?

That fraudulently awarded goal is part of what is worrying England till this day

Anyway my boys are waiting for the Three Itanwijis of England. Assuming una no jabo for Group stage or Quarter-Final as usual

Donlittle:
When i said ban pop, i did not mean it literally. i was trying to refer to this game actually. David Stern really fines pop that huge sum because he was embarrassed. I am waiting for what Adam Silver will do if pop keeps resting his players, because pop is just pop. He is still going to rest a lot of those guys lol.
I do not think the spurs organization mind about paying pop fines, if he does gets fined lol. Man is a god basically in that organization and city.
I really can not wait for the western conference playoffs games to start.

I am still trying to think of a team that can challenge the cavs in the east. Lebrons just always seems to be able to carry a team on his back to the finals everytime. If i am to choose teams to stop lebron, it would be toronto and the pacers. I love the celtics but that no playoff experience thingy men, and maybe the bulls might be able to pull an upset, but those guys are not lucky with all these injuries.

Funny the East has been arguably more balanced than the West this year some will even say better

I guess teams in the East just freeze when they see LBJ. The Hawks were particularly embarrasing last year. The Pacers of old would have given the Cavs a tougher test maybe beat them sef.

Thus far I think the Heat (told you guys Roland17 specifically that Joe Johnson would be a good pick up for any contender in the East)

Hawks if they play with heart

Stand the best shot vs the Cavs.

The Raptors might be second but I can see a guy like DeRozan getting shut down if you clog the paint and lane leaving too much work for Lowry

Those Bulls I am seeing cannot make playoffs barring a miracle of biblical proportions

RoyalRoy:
[color=#000033] Guys, @ApexTitan, I Bellong , Timbuktu, Pickabeau1, so should we agree Nigeria/Africa is the best place to raise kids?


Seeing alot of anormally in the child system here in the US, and somehow a part of me is beginning to resent the value system being fed into the psyche of these kids.

My three year old nephew who just got to US in January got back from school and decided to call his grandma her first name ystday.

It is acceptable here but I felt a bit angered cos it's just the beginning of many things /changes to happen to this Naija born kid.

It's just pathetic in my opinion.

[/color]

Lol even Americans don't do that. Obviously the parents aren't doing their duty and there is a dysfunction somewhere. How does the kid even know her first name to begin with?

Mutaino7:
Are you following Indian wells open saga(djokovic and serena palava) on the amount of money that should be paid

Its a crazy world bro! Can't speak your mind anymore. Anyway Djokovic put it aptly the Men need to fight for more pay! The women did.

More people watch male tennis, its of a higher quality and they play for far much longer. I don't know if the men don't want to be seen as sexist and are trying to be PC but its a huge load of B.S if you ask me.

Mizzzbeee:
you are right tho @bolded...its like them "power houses" love the sport. Even SC30 hangs out with the President cuz they have a mutual love for the sport .. Regardless it just seems boring tho

More deals have been closed there than anywhere else or so they say

Its actually fun to play trust me plus the ambience and greenery and the fresh air you breathe is unique but yes quite boring to watch

Dadehmola:
Meme ni ki o ma wa kiri, eran iya. ..

Won ma yegi fun e last last noni, Eleribuu oloshi Omo kekere!!

I have been wondering these last few weeks what was responsible for your Onye Nzuzu behavior. With the help of wikipedia and your numerous phaggot-like and s0domite traits I have connected the dots and it is clear Fagdemola that you are suffering from a terminal case of COPROPHILIA

Now phuck off my mentions you deviant before I send you into deep bouts of depression. Agbaya, Apa oshi. Ko ni ragba fun e se

Emaprince:
Today they are calling luiz a calamity, but tomorrow, in a bid to bad mouth mourinho, they'll label luiz a jewel sold by mou.

Anything to criticize the special one... Anything!!!

Luiz calamitous ways are well known to all and sundry, We call him David Lulz on this thread

Mizzzbeee:
It's an awesome friday No work and cavs lost to the nets perfect day!!

30 points from first quarter to third. 4th quarter took just two shots, missed both. Smh

Spurs literally have no choice but to rest ninjas

West
Parker
Ginobili
Andre Miller
Duncan

Too many old men for that team

MRBrownJ:
ok bro, lets agree to disagree... as usual, this season aint any better than all the past ones where we had our own views on many different subjects, and so long as it is a mature debate, its all good.

catch you next week for the Barhain race.

Mazel Tov

Mizzzbeee:
so u like hockey? Golf? Errrm baseball? Netball what other weird sports are out there oo *thinking*

A-List sports nau not B-List. I watch Ice Hockey sometimes, Golf too (I wan begin learn sef na serious networking tool)

Lmaooo you are not winning a football game in that ugly a$$ kit.

Secondly you should know better than to question Germany's abilities based on a meaningless friendly.

@Raumdeuter
Abeg I need that Evra 60 seconds meme for that match wey he score for Allianz. You get am? One Manyoo fan for Twitter dey find my trouble. Anyway na Demichelis I blame for this arifin

kengodson:
and Damon Hill in 1994
But if u ask me, who was responsible, is Alonso ,watched the video, it was similar to ham and kobyashi in 2011, and ham and button the same year, if it were maldanado that hit gut, there will be no need to argue on giving him a penalty

I loved Schummie. Ruthless ninja on the track
I no know why person go just dey argue unnecessarily. It was Alonso's fault all day

MRBrownJ:
do you speak English?! Vettel... greats... Redbull... Ferrari... racing legend. what are you on about?!

Vettel is a great already. No amount of grammatical galala you want to dance can change this fact

MRBrownJ:
@A40
i like the way you finally dodged that "Alonso's crash is the reason Vettel lost" state of mind. i am glad i was able to make you see reason on this issue. on with the others....

A-40 doesn't dodge from nothing. The fact still remains Alonso's crash dropped Vettel's chances by half especially with more than half of the race yet to be decided. Without them flags odds are Vettel would have gone on to win the race. You can debate the extent but to claim it had no influence in the outcome of the winer is a bold faced lie

MRBrownJ:
A) yes, that wasnt Alonso's best move but let us blame it on the McLaren car's speed, speed that was inexistant last season. so he has to get used to this faster car, lol! all the greats have had crashes.

We all know that Captain Obvious which begs the question why didn't you just accept Alonso read the situation poorly and stop this great driver megedefegede you have
chatting ad nauseum. That crash was not an instance of great driving

MRBrownJ:
B) YOU are the one contradicting yourself, 1st you say there was NO gap, and then you say:"Are we saying Gutierrez shoulda acted like a sitting duck and do nothing to protect his position?" so which one is it?!

If I ask you to show where I used the words 'NO GAP' now you would start doing acrobatics and gymnastics like someone who Magun side effects dey worry. Look at that crash again and tell me what Guti did wrong

Explain why Alonso himself admitted he could not see past Gutierrez's rear? How does protecting your position contradict me? Unless you expected Guti to act like a sitting duck and let King Alonso through. Not like it would be the first time he's had such expectations

MRBrownJ:
C) i KNOW that Kimi is washed up, yet he finished 4th in the championship last yr, right behind Vettel. so if this has NOTHING to do with the car being "now" better, then how did this "washed up" driver finish so high in the championship? Ferrari is better today than it was in the last 2yrs that Alonso was there, FACT!!!!!

You seem to be allergic to paying attention to details. Se ko si?

I never said the car is not better. This is visible even to the blind. I said their resurgence and the McLaren demise is not completely unconnected to Alonso's waning ability

Secondly Kimi did not challenge for the top like you erroneously claimed

MRBrownJ:
D) what an hypcorite talking about Alonso making one single error being the end of his driving career, as if "your" great never made any.
remember the Belgian GP98 when Schumacher rammed into the back of Coulthard?! are we to say that he was also a m0ronic driver that couldnt intelligently pick the right time to pull of an overtake?!

Yes! Schumacher has made many boneheaded mistakes. And even intentional ojoro, the incident where he rammed into Villeneuve I think and got disqualified the rest of the year. The difference is I admit! Not chat long winded megedefegede on why other drivers don't understand Alonso's 'genius'

Dadehmola:
You are actually very silly!!
Ajakaja-40, how far na??
I come in peace!

Fagdemola se ko re yin?
Are you out of butts to sniff?