2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread
- Thread starter DeJesus Built My Hotrod
- Start date
So I guess it's too bad Melo didn't get dealt to the Cavs. Seems like he helps crater every team he plays for.
Or the Rockets! Dork Elvis apparently tried like the dickens to move Ryan Anderson so they could add Melo. Looks like they dodged a bullet, since Ryno's been great this year, and seems like a much better fit than Melo with the rest of their roster.
First quarter: GS 30, LAL 20. Standard.
Second quarter: GS 20, LAL 34. Mayhem.
Seriously, if they beat the defending champs who aren't even resting anybody, I will officially despair of getting that pick to convey. A lot of ball left to be played tonight (in more ways than one), but that's shocking even as a halftime score.
Second quarter: GS 20, LAL 34. Mayhem.
Seriously, if they beat the defending champs who aren't even resting anybody, I will officially despair of getting that pick to convey. A lot of ball left to be played tonight (in more ways than one), but that's shocking even as a halftime score.
Wait, what? If you're a Celtics fan, you want the Nets to lose only the games in which they are playing teams currently worse than the Lakers. I mean, the Cavs getting little value out of the Nets' pick is nice, but Dallas is a very strong contender to finish "ahead" of the Lakers, and that matters way more to our team. You got 22 teams to root for the Nets to beat - but we should hope the Lakers lose and the 6 teams who are worse than the Nets all win.
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Warriors have lost to the Lakers at staples in 3 out of the last 4 seasons. They definitely get the LA flu.
The Nets, Mavs, and Memphis are all very real competition for 5th worst team. The Clippers and Magic are also throwing their hats in the ring. The Nets are not really any safer to finish better than the Lakers than those other teams. The marginal benefit of the Nets success on the Cavs pick probably means that, at least for now, Nets victories against other bad teams are a net positive outcome for the Celtics. The only true exception are the Suns, who are the only bottom 4 team with a prayer of finishing better than the Lakers. We should always want the Suns to win.
Warriors are all kinds of out of sync right now, but yeah, the Lukers looked irritatingly decent — Brandon Ingram in particular.
A couple seasons ago the Nets came a hair away from beating the Dubs at Oracle if not for an Iggy three at the buzzer to send it to OT. Things happen.
And yes I vividly remember individual games played by the Brooklyn Nets over the last two seasons. I had a problem.
And yes I vividly remember individual games played by the Brooklyn Nets over the last two seasons. I had a problem.
Assume the Lakers finish with the fifth-best record. Would you rather get the pick which is exactly fifth in 2018, or take your chances with the Kings in 18-19?
In 2019 the fourth worst team will still have a 45% chance at a pick outside the top 5 (25.7%,16.7%, 2.2% for picks 6,7 and 8), and even the 3rd worst will have a 33% chance of getting the 6th or 7th pick. There's a non-zero chance that the Kings improve enough or make some moves that put them in the back end of the lottery, and if they really do really suck, there's still a 14% chance we'd end up with the Philly pick, which would likely be non-lottery. Even ignoring relative draft strength, I'd absolutely take the 2018 5th rather than bank on the Kings being a bottom three team that then avoids the #1.
Don't forget 2019 could have high school players too, so could be a great draft.
But yeah you'd think 2-5 will be a good player vs no guarantees on pick if doesnt come.
If pick is 6-10 area mikal bridges for the sixers
With Bagley seemingly having the #1 spot locked up (good god, he's the best 18-year old I think I've ever seen) the thing we need to look at (root for?) is to have a pick that addressed a future need. That obviously is an impact 4/5 and Ayton, who has been my guy for 3 years, has to be Danny's guy unless Niednagel provides negative feedback.....and I'm convinced that his methods still have Danny's ear. Taking Bagley out of the picture if we do end up with the Lakers pick it better be 2 or 3 for Ayton or Doncic now that Porter is injured and Bamba not appearing to be Ainge's type of player.
There are a couple talented bigs who will be at the top of that 2019 draft but it is too soon to determine if they are impact bigs like Bagley and Ayton presumably will be.
I feel the Lakers are a much better team than most here so I'm not counting on the pick this year......but injuries happen and the wheels can fall off 33-win teams dropping them down into the mid/high-twenties fairly easily so it isn't completely out of the picture.
One thing about the Lakeshow is they’re loaded with decent-to-pretty-good players — and bereft of great ones — which theoretically makes them less susceptible to injury-related drop-off than a lot of other teams. I’m not even sure which player would be the hardest for them to lose (i.e. which player I’d root for them to lose for a while to a non-serious injury if I were you guys). Maybe Clarkson, Randle or KCP?
I really hope they go with best player available and not future need. Drafting for need with a top 5 pick sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
My favorite probably not-true NBA story is the rumor that Portland was in talks with Houston right before the '84 Draft to trade the #2 pick and Drexler for Ralph Sampson and that Houston would have taken Jordan with the #2 pick so they would have Hakeem, Clyde and Jordan.
Who needs Jordan when you already have Drexler?
For the record, I LOVE Clyde Drexler and think he gets the shaft historically due to the fact that he wasn't better than the best basketball player of all-time. He was the best player on two finals teams that happen to lose to two of the best teams ever; and the best teammate he had was Terry Porter. He then won a championship in Houston by averaging a 21-7-5 with 50 percent shooting and 2 spg, but that somehow didn't really count because MJ wasn't 100 percent after coming back from baseball.
It's because he was 2nd fiddle to Hakeem, not because of Jordan. I don't hear anyone saying Hakeem's rings don't count. Jordan would constantly give him the shaft too, saying players like Mitch Richmond were better, although by that time Drexler was in small decline.
Well when the "need" is filled by DeAndre Ayton I'm totally good with passing on Doncic.
Oh, me too. For all the reasons you note, plus I loved watching him. My snarky comment was meant solely as a swipe at the "immediate term need" school of drafting and not remotely as a swipe at Clyde the Glide.
In the case of the Blazers, it was an especially stupid calculus, since having two long, uber-athletic, do-it-all wings hardly constitutes a logjam — as MJ and Pippen amply demonstrated later on. Butterfly effect alert, but you have to think MJ + Drexler together would have won multiple championships in Rip City, with Jordan's first championship probably occurring well before 1991 (when he was 28).
Edit @Devizier: as far as being a prick, pretty sure MJ was allegedly that too. I'll happily finger both of those pricks for my all-time team.
Nothing alleged about MJEdit @Devizier: as far as being a prick, pretty sure MJ was allegedly that too. I'll happily finger both of those pricks for my all-time team.
This number is skewed by the extra possession that multiple Hack-a-Ben's caused resulting in 36 Wizard possessions.
Shifting gears.....anyone else noticing the beastly season LaMarcus Aldridge is having with Kawhi out of the lineup? 41 on 17-24 shooting last night. 23/8 for the year on a career-high FG%.
Hmmmmm...I agree w HRB that Bagley is best college player I’ve seen since Durant and he might be better than KD was in college. The six other All America’s on Duke defer to him.
I smell a bet
Doncic is number 1 until proved otherwise.
Bagley the best college player since I'd? I just read a positive scouting report on him and the cons were
1) defensive basics
2) shooting
3) passing
4) rim protection
So erm... no
Bagley the best college player since I'd? I just read a positive scouting report on him and the cons were
1) defensive basics
2) shooting
3) passing
4) rim protection
So erm... no
Yeah, I'm not a dratnik, but most of the chatter I've seen has been down on Bagley since the season began.
The Bulls are going to find new ways to lose every night, tonight 111-110 to Denver. Fouled a 3 point shot with less than a minute left.
I will say that Markkanen looks good, and old friend Kris Dunn is doing alright.
I will say that Markkanen looks good, and old friend Kris Dunn is doing alright.
Or put another way: the doormat of the East and worst team in the NBA by far went into the Denver house of horrors against the current #6 Western seed and nearly won.
Meanwhile, the Bucks (#7 in the East) trounce the #4 seeded Blazers in Portland, 103-91 (garbage time comeback made it appear closer than it was).
The "Least" continues to reign supreme! With traditional western pillars LAC and MEM fully crumbling, there really is not a lot in the West after HOU-GSW-SAS. Nominally there's also OKC, but they're 8-12, are coached by Billy Donovan, and have Carmelo Anthony...
Donovan Mitchell is ridiculous and Dunn is looking like he was worth a lottery pick. Shooting.439/.432/.632 atm and has a ton of defensive potential.
Not for nothing but are the Celtics the best team in the NBA right now? Record-wise yes... They're not blowing teams away like GSW but they're winning and have beat GSW...
He's far and away the best player on a Duke team with as many as 4 lottery picks on it. He's produced a 34/15 (12-19 shooting) vs Texas while destroying Bamba, 30/15 (10-20) vs Florida, and 23/10 (10-15) vs Indiana in his last three games against zone defenses designed to contain him.
I love Doncic and have always drooled over Ayton but Bagley's upside is in another league. He's a cross between Bosh and Oden as an 18-year old without even having a developed body yet unlike the others.
I watched the end of the game and made a drive-by post with a couple of comments/observations. You want to fucking dissect it, enjoy yourself.
To be clear, I wasn't dissecting or questioning your comment, BMHH. I didn't watch the end of the game. I was just riffing on the final score to make (or further) a more general point about how surprising Eastern Conference has been. To start the season, CHI@DEN and ORL@OKC looked like classic examples of the epic stompings by Western teams we were supposed to see all season. ~20 games into the season, that dominance hasn't materialized. Nominal Eastern doormats like IND, NYK, BKN and ORL have been surprisingly competitive, while the putatively killer "middle tier" of the West (OKC, DEN, LAC, MEM, even MIN to a degree) seems to have collapsed.