₦airaland Forum

Roland17:
I try to see one live game every year, especially when I am out of town but this year has been an exception. My first live game was the Bucks v Bulls at the Bradley Center and it was surreal watching D. Rose when he was still healthy. Dude was a freak of nature with his speed, athletism, control, and power for his frame when I saw it live and close. That is why I have a soft spot for D. Rose because I saw what he could do when he was healthy. Some guys on this thread also watch live games. I know Donlittle, Lola and others go to games and have shared experiences. It is not complicated, it's pretty easy, parking may be the only challenge if you choose to drive into the arena because they are quite expensive especially in big cities/ NBA markets.

You can buy authentic tickets from different websites apart from NBA.com, you have StubHub, Ticketmaster, Scorebig, SeatGeek, and other secondary resellers. The prices depend on the teams playing and the stage of the season. Playoff games are more expensive than regular season tickets, that being said, there is a price for every pocket (in fact, some tickets starting at $10) in most cases. If you are in a small market or a team doing poorly and tanking, look for when the smaller teams are coming for very very cheap/ affordable tickets if you want to get your first NBA experience. e.g: If you live around NY, a home game between the Nets vs Suns will be very cheap and you can get good seating to get a great first NBA experience. If you live around LA (2 teams), Texas (3 teams), find out when small teams are coming to town and you can score cheap/ affordable tickets for your first NBA game experience. At least $50 should get you into the arena for these games.

However, if you want a closer view of the court and a better view experience, the mid-low levels of most courts in big cities, you should be ready to shell above $90-$100. Again this depends on the team coming into town. For example, I have been looking at the ticket prices for the Celtics v Lakers game at the TD Garden in February 2019 and the higher levels are starting from $190 worth more mid-low/ courtside are over $390-$1K.

All in all, it is always a great experience.

Last time i attended Toyota Center was 2011, you can get a seat for as low as $5 then but those seats are way up at the ceilings but thats nothing cos empty seats are always available in the mid range and occasionally jumping seats specially after the breaks was a norm for us TSU guys...
I can't even go there no more, that thrill is gone, i best just stay at home turn on Directv, invite guys over with 6 Packs Corolla or just a bottle of tequila, blaze, argue, eat, bet...
My most memorable game was agst Lal with kobe, i cant really remember the year either 08 or 09 when Kobe shot a last sec 3pt that won the game that was just nothing but net, it was devastating cos of how We got em on the ropes from 1st - 3rd Q. It was so bad we all just marvelled at Kobe's excellence and started clapping..
If anyone has the chance to see one pls take it, its worth it, but try and go with friends..

Roland17:
The beef between KD and Green is real. I just hope they can put their beef aside and win for the city of Oakland in their final season there.

I believe most of Us already knew after his 2nd NBA ring or even before then, that KD wasn't going to stay past his initial contract years ( would like to see him join OKC back tho) .

Beef or not, it doesn't look like an issue that would would diminish their chance of least making WCF considering their team roster, mentality and organisation(unless something drastic happens) cos Draymond emotional outburst arent uncommon ( he did however question KD's commitment back in the locker room as reported) and mostly everyone views it as normal Dray Green personal.

Still can U fathom a same situation with Green doing this to Curry?...

Exactly! Which reiterates back to my 1st paragraph.

Nostradamus:
hey captain,please review this below

In these match ups below,who do you think is gonne win??

Orlando magic vs sixers

Washington wizards vs cavaliers

Nets vs miami heat

Celtics vs chicago bulls

Raptors vs pistons

Milwaukee bucks vs memphis grizzlies


Mavericks vs utah jazz

Phoenix suns vs san antonio spurs

Philly

Wizards

Brooklyn

Celtics

Toronto

Bucks

Jazz

Spurs

That kinda sucked, I really did like fulham ball possession football, his defense really were just below average.. Well back to low possession, counter attack football with Claudio.

Not bad at all but if he actually lives up to this messi hype and Germany call him (supposing he hadnt played for SE), wont he go to Germany..

birdman:
when you talk to the technical folks about heart, spirit and intangibles they laugh you off and point you to numbers. nevermind the formulas they use make assumptions.

we are witnessing the gm from mit, mr technical, Morey fumbling around. His formula didnt predict this.

How does letting Ariza, a role player walk make a better team on paper look worse. How does a low risk move in Carmelo risk the season. How does cp3 lose value after paying him what the formula says he is worth?

crazy times

Unfortunately like Roland17 & A40 said Analytics is taking over in this current age and nobody wants to feel like a 90's team by not indulging in it.

However Hou is the godfather of Analytics, we basically started this sh!t and took it to a whole new level so we were due some -ve discrepancies once in a while

Melo isn't the scapegoat, yes hou were poor offensively but that doesn't mean our def should collapse too, Melo is just too bad defensively and for a team having hopes of a conference final, he would be a liability down the run, i mean jeez didnt U guys watch how the bulls were switching ferociously just to be 1on1 with Melo and they were all scoring on him an even when he fouled em it was either and1 or they made their foul shot, his defense is a no-no, if he was dropping 25 a game it did make sense to offset his weakness but noooo all Melo wants is iso this iso that, limiting our long range... Infact both parties got it wrong

I feel Melo would be better off on a team whose motto is "Playoffs is the Objective but not everything " ala Lottery teams cos then at least we can envision him playing more minutes.

GSW won! trust Kd to come huge down the 4th quarter.

A40:
Charlotte lost by 24

Can U imagine (Cha @ Cle) ?

Rockets Won, and i did call it, we been having a good defense this past 3-4 games keeping opp def below 100 but nobody really notices cos our off has been up and down. On to the next vs GSW

I still dont expect the birds to win. KD is on point and Jerebko is acting huge in the paint !

If i hear anybody say Denver go beat Hou for Pepsi Centre, i go just hmm infact asin i go just...make nobody talk am oh.. infact lemme just chill

Cha beats Cle, Hou beats Den, Gsw swallows and regurgitate the birds!

hot1sauce:
i know what u mean, the fact is that the isolation play is not houston's style and its funny because i mean harden, melo are typical iso players who need the ball in their hands and i mean its a no brainer that melo is not a defensive beast like say klay thompson or kawhi leonard.... i reckon personally its all thahose money bags he acquired in new york, i've always seen him as a big presence physically but i think he'd be better if he was like draymond green who shed alot of weight and improved athletically. and the age is a factor. putting the advanced stats to one side 15pts give or take average a game is not bad but a bit disappointing. i reckon even if he;s out of houston he shouldnt be out of the league- he clashed with d'antoni u know the ego makes better for a team where he can call the shots thats y maybe he should get traded to boston who are looking for a vet and would make sense because they are a defensive team that do like one one basketball not so much like huston run and gun threes and no lay ups, or no rel mid range half court zone play. but hey if i get my hands on some PURP i'mma pour out in the hope we get some much needed role player(s), lmao tht stuff has codeine in t... hope u don't be forking with that shit bruh- u see what codeine addiction is doing to our brothers in the north part and parcel of whats messing up Nigeria right now!
but bruh EMBID- there is some mad african talent in the league..... the g freek, oladipo.... i wouldnt even mind a skilled big man like Karl Anthony Towns, Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam or that Serge Ibaka. Dont worry about Denver they are at home which is the issue but post season looks tough.... just hope it dont come down to facing golden state warriors 4-3 like last season.... so close would loved to face the celtics.... finals werent even epic because gsw is some serious dynasty esp now with cousins

If he goes to Celtics, he will be more depressed oh hmm cos i think his best shot will be to enter all these teams that their motto is "yes playoff is an objective but its not the ultimate".

Nah i don't mess with that stuff bro, ordinary cough syrup with codeine i took long time ago to combat my cough made me very drowsy and weak ( i did chug a lot in a lil period of time due to my naivety). I just hated that feeling, it was like been sick, hell i couldn't even do sh!t.

But i will be inclined to sip some if the Rockets can win an NBA title in my lifetime ( i don't want to count the Olajuwon days cos na Cartoon Network days be that for me ) in dedication to the City that revel in it.

Honestly as soon as GSW signed Cousins, i was like seriously like what tha hell?.. Game over!
Durant nd Cousins will leave next year especially Kevin so at least this their dominance will slightly decline... unless they sign another monster!

Last year finals was the series btw GSW n Hou, everybody knows that even Cle will admit that!

I am still hoping in the future playoff teams would be the 1st top 16 teams irregardless of conference...but Americans do love conference things in most if not all their sports, well i can dream too right?

hot1sauce:
loool well i'm still yet to know what's bout that purple sprite but i've been as far as florida and u know they rep that gatorade so yesuur i feel on that holmes.... honestly tho bro i gotta disagree becos i actually luv having melo there as a scorer one of the best scoreres n the league although getting on but imean if he does then its like what happend in atlanta before he got bought out from okc. it's just crazy because they guy's problem is that he's used to been a starter but i dont think he's happy with this role coming off the bench as a 6th man and his high contract is oh boy. altho that sed i think we good i mean look at michael carter williams, the size alone of this guy-jus need him to be healthy along with capela and with shooters like eric gordon and brandon knight just pains me wereonly 12th on the west conference. but hey i'ma try check the game- i'm not confident because i saw what denver did to the celtics- and they're 3rd atm actually another team that can challenge for the title this season- but yoh if we get another forward at this stage i'd like someone versatile - i think celtics actually want a veteran so maybe melo could get traded for some1 like hayward or tatum i think would be a gud fit for the rockets altho i'd like a victor oldipo or even a guy like giannis myself but hey i can dream. still the season is hot so far sha- ive even wathed the sixers, like how butler is palying with embid- they look like another team gd for the post season

Carmelo is one and remains one of the best when it comes to isolated plays, that's been his bread n butter since time memorial, however thats just not what Htown is about, we all bout the 3 pointer!

In off-season Melo said he would go With what ever D'antoni and the organization wanted him to do and at this point we really need him more as a catch and shoot 3pointer, which he did badly at Okc in that aspect and is with us (although our 3 pointers as a team has been very poor).

He's averaging 13.4ppg and 5.4rpg which aint bad considering he has been in and out of the starting lineup but the biggest secret (if it really was) which Okc didn't tell Hou that defensively Melo is a "Walking Dead". He literally cant DEFEND bro its so appaling, i watched him agst bulls the other day and mehn if U see the way everybody were switching so that they could be 1on1 agst Melo, and funny enough he lost all his matchups, they were all over him n scoring, even when he did foul em, it would be an And1. it was embarrassing! I myself didn't know Melo sucked this bad in defense.

At this point, he's 34 at the twilight of his career he should be happy wherever he is whether starting or bench cos honestly theres no Nba team that will start (well maybe Cleveland).

I just saw on ESPN his team are looking for another team and its good cos bro lets call a spade a spade Melo doesn't fit with us. I will cherish his 28pts agst Nets (that game we were sucking bad till like the 2nd half, unsurprisingly Melo's points mostly came from isolations )

Bro our squad has quality n appropriate length but we aint gat no depth! We will be alright, i ain't tripping either, i trust Hou will sign some quality peeps to beef up the squad.

Bro if only your dreams could come true, i swear We did prolly be the last 10 Winners of the league . But em lets just forget tatum, oladipo and greek freak, they will never trade em to us at least not this season.

Sixers dealt very well despite letting go of perimeter shooting and defense because what they got is a certified All Star, Who is good at offense, playmaking and quality defending. I will be watching em daily but i just hope Embiid points dont drop, i jus like our cameroon brother!

We playing at Pepsi centre on Tuesday but i aint scared ( Denver have lost their last 3 gms including a home loss to nets) am more scared bout visiting memphis or utah cos those teams are smth else when we play em since Father time decided to lend us his watch! Besides they did lose to the Bucks(yes i know we aint on any of em level right now but hell)

Lol yeah U guys invented the gatorade, which is way better than the Purple Sprite...
Cos Purple Sprite/Purple Drank/Lean/Go-Slow na Codeine oh ,
The early 90's rap houstonians started the craze of mixing cough syrup that had codeine, then they add promethazine, with jolly ranchers added for taste... Its this mixture that gave birth to chopped and screwed music...

And now its worldwide so every codeine fiend should thank H-Town for that

hot1sauce:
well there u go as a celtic fan u shouldknow the importance of a big three.... i mean personally i think the pierce, garnett and allen trio is one of the best put together to win a championship. i actually like the celts as a team i just think with kyrie irving and gordon haywad having injury problems and having to rely on role players jason tatum and players ike rozier, brown and smart last season, that can't happen this season if u're gona make a push for the playoffs. yeah phoenix and okc just saw the box score, can't say im surprised, booker three point champ had a nice game oh and hah luks like warriors fall ur hand o clipps won just beat them, surprised tho didnt see that one but shows u no one can be underestimated. even clippers r making a push now in the west- memba they got tobias harris and marcian gortat, a very talented but ageing big man. well see tho my rockets got the nuggets next- acually last played by the celts but u guys got toronto which is actually a gamme i'd like to watch- i like the raptors team they r atucally one of the teams i think that can contend with golden stare for the championship. btw bro do u watch the nba games? if so how do u on tv or online i'm tryna get a tv subscription but think its not cheap. what do recommend is the best option?

Good to see a Rockets Fan! H-Town Babbby!!! Land Of The Purple Sprite , home of Chopped and Screwed (Rip Dj Screw)..

Ok now that's outta the way, bro dont U think we should cut our losses and waive Carmelo, I mean he's not the main reason we struggling this early part of the season but we can get any other foward in the league who can give us at least 15ppg and do some defense which Carmelo can clearly not do?

Rocket vs Nugget, am giving it to Hou and am not just saying that because am a fan of em

Nostradamus:
rightly said.he'd grow up.i now have a strong conviction that the nba basketball is actually staged and fake.imagine some of the shocking loses this season,like sixers(with ben simmons,faultz and embiid)losing to the nets,now warriors(with them all star crew)losing to the clippers.

Lmao, Guy teams dey ball now oh, forget respect, everyone tryna rep their city hard.

Plus the reduction of the shot clock after offensive reb has helped in speeding up the pace of the game. And most teams are now more aggressive with the 3point (Nets are one of those teams)

But guy LAC are good regardless, they can beat anybody on their day, arent U more surprised bout the Sac Kings?

A40:
Where is that Lonzo Ball boy? DeAaron Fox is fast starting to make him look like a joke

And Markelle Fultz . His shooting looks like a 2K glitch. And I've watched players a lot of players with weird and ugly J's like Shawn Marion, Tayshaun Prince, Andre Miller but this one takes the cake!! what the hell happened to his shooting?

Markelle process is gonna be long bro, straight up.. Maybe 2-3 years he will get his mechanics right but this na training season for him!

Lonzo just doesnt look like a pure shooter , his forte should be 3pts, assists and rebounds but he seems too laid-back, anyway with time right?

Fox has definitely improved especially in his drives to the rim, Joerger is really cooking smth down there.

Nostradamus:
yea man,the hawks are short of talents now,they'd definitely miss schroder.

They will miss Schroder in the long run at least in terms of depth to the PG position. Trae hasnt been doin that bad for a Rook, his interior passing and layups are good, his 3pt game is also flaky but that's expected for a rook this part of the season.

Haha

Atlanta Hawks tho should be concerned about which lottery position they are going to occupy at the end of the day cos their roster def needs more talent!

Sunday Observation :

Ingram is still sucking lol, i dont think he will mesh with a Lebron team in the long run but let's wait and see, however on recent displays Kuzma Hart & Ball seem better complements to James.

Abeg if Daryl Morey wants Melo outta Polk street, Let it happen no need to dance around the albatross, nobody here at homestead down to 3rd ward will shed a tear..

Portland still doing what they do best (beasting before playoffs and meowing during the playoffs I kid i kid)

Oh cmon Denver, y'all can do better than that!

Mr Pablo you're right but not definite, we have seen teams with less quality or talent beat bigger teams but thats not the case on sunday

Mancity created more shooting opportunities either through the flanks or by individual skill. Manutd on the other hand had a hard time in that aspect.

Mancity heavy ball possession meant Manutd had to at least make most of their chances which they didnt especially on the counter attack which ManU didnt instigate any at all if I can remember

Most of ManU shots came off setpieces, which isnt bad but open play shots were more or less non-existent (going back to the fact they didnt create enough goal shooting chances)

All in all it was a good game, ManU has bigger fish to fry than losing a derby, as long as they keep grinding and getting results so that they ultimately enter UCL spots they will be aight, they will however need too sign this January.

Mancity will be elated at this result but the season goes on and unlike last season when they lead the league at a canker, they realize they have more challengers at the moment.

Roland17:
When I reason Houston Rockets matter earlier dem talk say e neva reach like that.

The Rockets started this season in a desperate mood after they lost key pieces and I maintain my stance about that. Utah, Nuggets have gotten better and looking to usurp them.

Utah, Denver as of now are better than the Rockets, no doubt hell even the Kings are better off but the season is just about a month old or so.
Deals can still be put through for the Rockets that will make em challenge for a playoff spot by april and they will progress better as the season goes irregardless.
The two lost key pieces U refer to aren't even Hou main problem this season , offensively they have been poor, their major offensive play which is the 3pt has been underwhelming compared to last season.I also feel they haven't yet adjusted to this season much faster paced game.
But they will be alright.

Well said bro

However nobody can trace my Government name to my social media accounts, I have specifically edited my legal name in there so that it doesn't reflect me.

The only account i have my full legal name is LinkedIn and i think that makes sense

Sunday Nov 4th 2018

My Obsv from yesterday match LaL @ Por

McGee was really fundamental last night and he is going to be one of the main reasons that will make Lakers enter the playoffs! Lebron was Lebron( his age is beginning to tell somewhat) , Ingram sucked, kuzma got hot for a lil bit of time, Kentavious defensively was also massive despite his limited minutes, Rondo just needed 4 more dimes to enter "playoff Rondo" mode. Stephenson was a bust. Ball was quiet had good looks but most of his shots were always short.


Nurkic was vgood although he should have been more aggressive IMO, Dame and CJ were at their usual best but honestly i felt it was their 3pt tries that let them down (Cj efficiency around the elbow was on point he should just keep hugging that area) Aminu defensively was also very good but 2 dunks and 0 made jump shots made his offense redundant, nic stau... (cant spell that) was also good especially in connecting with Collins and Nurkic.

All in all I would say LaL deserve that Win but the way they are closing games is not great and this their transition plays have got to get better

Por were Ok, i honestly thought that their backcourt would bail them out (which they nearly did)...now if only Seth curry could have added at least smth better than 0 pt in bout 20 smth minutes

Roland17:
Baba, your first paragraph is incomplete. I don’t understand the main idea of that paragraph.

That being said, we may be making the same argument. If you read closely you will observe that I said adding Butler makes the Rocker way better than they are now. You are not getting to the western conference with just Harden, Capela, Cp3 and Gordon, not after you lost Ariza and M‘bah Moutte. Where is the depth? You also have to consider teams like the Jazz, Pelicans Nuggets and Spurs would have strong says and have gotten better.

So I am not questioning the addition of Butler and that is why I said the realities of the conference which represents the Warriors and other teams that have gotten better. Truth be told, the Rockets with this current roster can not get to western conference. If they did they will arrive burnt and spent.

You're right my brother, we are more or less saying the same thing.

But i don't agree with this your paragraph >

"You are not getting to the western conference with just Harden, Capela, Cp3 and Gordon, not after you lost Ariza and M‘bah Moutte. Where is the depth? You also have to consider teams like the Jazz, Pelicans Nuggets and Spurs would have strong says and have gotten better"

I did consider those teams anytime anyday to challenge for a WCF spot but is their depth by any means greater than HOU? Has HOU, talent wise also regressed while others got better?

And how did Jazz get better? Which person that can make an impact did they sign this off-season?

Injuries aside without butler, in the playoffs out of these 4 teams U mentioned which has a better starting 5 agst HOU?

Roland17:
The Wolves have invested long term with KAT and Wiggins. Don't forget they still have to figure out Teague and T. Gibson's contract situations after this season.

While offering 4 1st round picks is a lot in my opinion, I think it makes the Rockets way better than they are now. I think they are desperate and are pushing hard considering the realities of their roster and the conference. You have to also realize that the owner wants Butler out even though Tibs thinks differently.

Desperate really?

So U consider adding at best an A+ ( or A- to most) player to challenge a team that can possibly post an all USA team or a team considered to be the best in the past 3-6 years..

At what point do U consider a trade to challenge the Warriors now is a good transfer?

Are the Rockets being oversighted or undersighted with the consideration they do get Butler conceding those picks and they just win WCF this season?

Pls answer that.

Its only that Kenodrill that made sense

Famocious:
Stuffy Demo..what a genius !

He was my senior at Medschool (Better by far )..he's very generous with stuff, he moves stuff effortlessly.
He is very humble, simple and a christian

Your post has good intentions written all over it but no need to mention his religion.

After all, don't U know this forum supports ethnic/religious disc..

@ Adetutu Alabi

birdman:
Yuuup. Plus we have the w

Lol hell yeah! At least CP can know his fight wasnt futile, unlike some ppl

But damn, half a milli fine! Thats outrageous.

Hasty but its understandable

Sounds 'bout right guys, dont y'all think?

They more or less the same na, especially the ones with Indian heritage Or arabic heritage but i did lean more to the Lake Tangayika Country

BykeLaByke:
Lonzo Ball has made more threes (5) than the entire starting lineup combined (4) through two games.

Destiny can be delayed....but it will never be denied.

Lol with this his re-tooled 3pt shot, hmm i dont know mehn, hope he doesnt falter tho.. Maybe he can start now that Rondo gon get technical rest

Last night tho, i saw Fultz missed an easy layup and i was like his "process" will be loooong, maybe next year or 2