NBA Thread

[ACamp1900]

I feel old and cranky like Clint Eastwood when watching the NBA. The game doesn’t appeal to me anymore, because there’s very little classic with the class long gone. *Someone just heaved up another 3.

I'm with you, I haven't been able to watch an NBA game from start to finish in, man, many, many years... I try every now and then but it's just unwatchable for my tastes. It's why I rarely ever post here. Just me. NBA fans like it and that's awesome.

 

[zelezo vlk]

He's talking to Young Himself, congratulating Himself on scoring 30,000 career points.

Which, I didn't even realize at the time, that Lebron had not even passed 30K points when he congratulated himself.

 

[KPENN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, league sources tell ESPN. He will miss the rest of the season. The MRI is coming soon, but diagnosis is clear.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/957106960184340480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[KPENN]

Woj bomb! Blake griffin traded to the pistons

 

[Irishnuke]

I'm about a week late to the party but that LeBron tweet is so fucking cringy. No argument that he is one of the best ever, but he's also a complete diva.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

With trade deadlines looming, it'll be interesting to see how teams play this.

The Lakers could move some players to free up space for a monster free agency period but, if they do that and lose enough to fall back to 2nd - 4th pick in the draft, the Celtics will acquire it.

Best case scenario for the Celtics are the Lakers trading some major pieces and losing enough to claim the 2nd pick.

 

[zelezo vlk]

With da Bulls trading Mirotic for NOLA's 1st and Asik (had to be done), this shows us that they're probably not gonna go after any big FA until 2020. Damn. As of right now, they have just over a 20% chance of getting a top 3 pick in the lotto: Tankathon | 2018 NBA Draft Order & Lottery Simulator

Apparently Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant are on the trade block, so we'll see if the Bulls can get anything else before the deadline

 

[NDdomer2]

busy day - cleveland has a nearly whole new roster

lakers clear cap space and get a first round pick.

wade back to miami

 

[greyhammer90]

busy day - cleveland has a nearly whole new roster

lakers clear cap space and get a first round pick.

wade back to miami

Lakers playing chess. They're going to make a big run this off-season at James and another max player.

 

[zelezo vlk]

Bulls get Noah Vonleh for a guy who literally doesn't even play in the NBA and never will.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Lakers playing chess. They're going to make a big run this off-season at James and another max player.

James and Paul George along w Lonzo, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and some other young talent. Pretty good nucleus.

What a fall for IT. In the MVP convo last year, gets traded to Cleveland, now gets traded to Lakers so they can shed his expiring contract at the end of the year. Ouch. And his agent is saying he will not come off the bench for the Lakers.

 

[irishog77]

Lakers playing chess. They're going to make a big run this off-season at James and another max player.

Maybe. They had a statement the other day that they were eying the 19 offseason to make a move.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Maybe. They had a statement the other day that they were eying the 19 offseason to make a move.

They may not need to now. They can actually spread Deng's brutal contract over more years and let J Randle walk and have room for 2 max guys this year.

 

[irishog77]

They may not need to now. They can actually spread Deng's brutal contract over more years and let J Randle walk and have room for 2 max guys this year.

Maybe. I don't really care what they do.

Randle and Deng's contracts were brought up as well. I'm just relaying what was coming from the Lakers as recent as 24-48 hours ago.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

WTF was Kupchak thinking when he inked Deng and Mozgov?

 

[irishog77]

I think James has lost some luster with some teams. He's still going to get a max deal, but I bet his suitor list has dwindled a bit. His behind the scenes coaching and GMing, along with his Curt Schilling-like comments on every single aspect of life, in the midst of Cleveland sucking, isn't helping his cause.

Lakers are feeling less optimistic of signing Paul George than they were 6 months ago too.

I think the Lakers may be rightfully doubting if a team of James, Ball, George, and Ingram could dethrone the Warriors, or even best Houston, in the next couple of years.

 

[irishog77]

WTF was Kupchak thinking when he inked Deng and Mozgov?

No clue. Ridiculous.

I think he thought that was going to keep them competitive.

NBA owners and GM's truly are some of the worst decision makers in business. They'll give a scrub 72 MILLION dollars to do nothing and add no value to their business, then be lauded a couple years later because his deal is expiring. Or sign an average player for over 20 million dollars in a single season, then be thought of genius for having that contract come off the books. Or absorb 20-30 million dollars in expenses for a single season for the hope they can spend that money on something better later. There's literally no other business that operates that way (and stays afloat).

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Lakers playing chess. They're going to make a big run this off-season at James and another max player.

Agreed. Lonzo Ball has been the steal of the draft.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

NBA Thread

Was hoping Boston swung for Reke. This is the year to fortify if you truly have a shot like they do. It aint gonna be any easier over the next 5 years to steal a title like it will be this year.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Was hoping Boston swung for Reke. This is the year to fortify if you truly have a shot like they do.

Boston has a shot but they don't need to make big last minute moves. I trust their back office more than anyone outside of the Warriors. Those two organizations have built winners from the ground up and are going to have staying power.

Can you imagine if Boston wouldn't have lost Heyward in a freak accident? What Boston needs to hope for is a Lakers implosion or an improbable ping pong ball that gives them pick 2 - 5.

 

[ND88]

Boston has a shot but they don't need to make big last minute moves. I trust their back office more than anyone outside of the Warriors. Those two organizations have built winners from the ground up and are going to have staying power.

Can you imagine if Boston wouldn't have lost Heyward in a freak accident? What Boston needs to hope for is a Lakers implosion or an improbable ping pong ball that gives them pick 2 - 5.

The Warriors learned from the Spurs, so I while I agree with your post, they are still on those coattails until their longevity is proven in titles.

Boston is an entirely different beast. Arguably, the greatest single sport's franchise in history. Inarguably, the greatest in professional basketball.

And I'm not even a Celtics fan. It's just Bill Russell facts.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

The Warriors learned from the Spurs, so I while I agree with your post, they are still on those coattails until their longevity is proven in titles.

Boston is an entirely different beast. Arguably, the greatest single sport's franchise in history. Inarguably, the greatest in professional basketball.

And I'm not even a Celtics fan. It's just Bill Russell facts.

Hmmmm, I'm not positive about that. What did they learn from the Spurs? Their blueprint seems very different. The Spurs have had staying power, over 20ish years, they've had 5 titles which is great but the Warriors have 2 in the last 3 and were terribly close to producing a three-peat barring an ankle injury.

This is only their 2nd season with Durant and my money would be on them winning it again this year. That, to me, already deserves massive recognition because how many other teams have played for a title 4 years in a row? and potentially, won 3? (the Lakers and Heat)

Nothing is guaranteed because the Rockets, Celtics, and revamped Cavs could all fight for that title but man, the Warriors have done remarkably well in such a short time frame.

 

[ND88]

Hmmmm, I'm not positive about that. What did they learn from the Spurs? Their blueprint seems very different. The Spurs have had staying power, over 20ish years, they've had 5 titles which is great but the Warriors have 2 in the last 3 and were terribly close to producing a three-peat barring an ankle injury.

This is only their 2nd season with Durant and my money would be on them winning it again this year. That, to me, already deserves massive recognition because how many other teams have played for a title 4 years in a row? and potentially, won 3? (the Lakers and Heat)

Nothing is guaranteed because the Rockets, Celtics, and revamped Cavs could all fight for that title but man, the Warriors have done remarkably well in such a short time frame.

Oh, no doubt. The Warriors definitely deserve all the recognition for their current success. When contrasted with the Spurs of old, the Warriors have more “star” power to anchor multiple and potentially consecutive championship runs. They especially killed it with their acquisition of Durant. Yet, the core of the team is still intact with the Warriors. Organizationally, they are a very rooted club. In these respects, I think they adapted a model of consistency from the Spurs that they will continue to expand on moving forward.

 

[Rogue219]

Playoffs are going to be excellent.

Knicks fire Hornacek
Magic fire Vogel
Hornets fire Clifford

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

It's crazy how many calls the Cavs/Lebron get. It's corrupt officiating that complete changes the outcome.

 

[greyhammer90]

It's crazy how many calls the Cavs/Lebron get. It's corrupt officiating that complete changes the outcome.

I don't think they would be calling an offensive foul against the Cavs in a big scrum to cut the lead to four with four minutes left if they were determined to let Cleveland progress. Lebron gets calls, but that's what happens to superstars in the NBA.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Pacers need to shake up their front court.

Their bigs, especially Myles Turner, looked embarrassing and soft most of the series.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Pacers need to shake up their front court.

Their bigs, especially Myles Turner, looked embarrassing and soft most of the series.

How'd the cavs bigs look? That's a hot take. Lol.

Myles, Sabonis, and Thad all out played the cavs "bigs"... If anyone is soft, it's the Cavs lol.

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[greyhammer90]

How'd the cavs bigs look? That's a hot take. Lol.

Myles, Sabonis, and Thad all out played the cavs "bigs"... If anyone is soft, it's the Cavs lol.

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Well yeah but I don't think saying the Cavs suck makes his point about the Pacers any less true. The Cavs minus Lebron are a lottery team. You should be better than them.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

How'd the cavs bigs look? That's a hot take. Lol.

Myles, Sabonis, and Thad all out played the cavs "bigs"... If anyone is soft, it's the Cavs lol.

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Bigs have eaten the Cavs alive all season offensively. Its no secret they have had trouble defending anyone, much less bigs.

I was speaking specifically to their defensive effort, which was very disappointing many times throughout the series.

Sure, they had moments on that end, but Love had at least 3 games where he was physically dominating underneath and getting boards he had no reason getting because Myles/Thad/Sabonis would get boxed out by a much smaller guy, or a weak Love himself.

This is glossing over Lebron being able to put the screws to them for 2 games without even needing an outside shot because the lane was wide open and nobody would mix it up with him. Ill let this one slide because stars will almost always get the call when driving and they knew that , but the glasswork was, as I said, soft....

Regardless, the series turned out to be much more fun than I anticipated, and it looks like the Pacers hit a home run with the PG trade. Their fans are disappointed today, but should be proud tomorrow.