Lakers vs. Kings should be fun, another Fox/Ball matchup and either the Kings lose, which is good for the pick, or the Lakers lose, which is good for the moral balance of the universe.
Curious as to what you see from the Lakers defense that is worth watching? 17th in DefRat which is due in part by having 3rd fastest Pace but last night was first game they gave up less than 110. In 5 of their other 11 games they have given up 121+. Sacramento was on backend of a B2B while being their 3rd game in 4 nights while shooting like it. When Bjelica, Hield, and Bogdanovich shoot 5-29 (1-10 from three) the Kings are likely going to lose every time.Lakers held SAC to 86 points. SAC was averaging 118. Didn't see the game so it could be just a fluke but LAL's defense is worth watching. Note that apparently smoke was coming into arena so just might be circumstances.
Watched a decent amount of that game and the King’s were just missing shots, Fox was doing a good job setting people up, but everyone was pretty brutal putting it in the basket, don’t think the Lakers defense was really bothering them too much of note other than maybe McGee and Chandler giving Cauley-Stein some trouble in the paint.Curious as to what you see from the Lakers defense that is worth watching? 17th in DefRat which is due in part by having 3rd fastest Pace but last night was first game they gave up less than 110. In 5 of their other 11 games they have given up 121+. Sacramento was on backend of a B2B while being their 3rd game in 4 nights while shooting like it. When Bjelica, Hield, and Bogdanovich shoot 5-29 (1-10 from three) the Kings are likely going to lose every time.
I haven't looked at any of their other defensive metrics but my eyes tell me that LeBron isn't putting forth much effort on this side of the floor.
We are doomed as a species."I'm no scientist, but smoke goes to the lowest places, doesn't it? Like it's heavy?" Joerger said. "And it's coming in through the parking ramp, and I'm interested to see [its presence during the game]."
As a note to the above question about the smoke......LeBron has said that the smoke did have a significant affect on him. I'm assuming it did on others as well so thrown that into the challenges the Kings offense was facing aside from the scheduling and anemic 3-point shooting by its best shooters.
I think he was just poking fun at the coach saying smoke is heavy and falls instead of rises.I don't know what the issue is with players citing the smoke but I can tell you that here in the Bay Area - which is ~ 180 miles from the fires north of Sacramento, the air quality is absolutely horrible. Its well above the level at which physical activity is deemed safe and there are a lot of people wearing masks and many outdoors events have been canceled. And it smells smoky, even indoors. I have no problem believing the players were affected up in Sacramento.
Thank you. I am a numbskull (but you all knew that). Plus, SRN is going to say that I am defending Joerger for some strange reason!I think he was just poking fun at the coach saying smoke is heavy and falls instead of rises.
+1I think he was just poking fun at the coach saying smoke is heavy and falls instead of rises.
The use of the word chimney in an NBA thread makes me think of Marcus Smart.+1
To paraphrase Rev, a chimney is like the fifth thing a kid learns to draw in their lives. You’d think someone would know which way smoke goes.
Santa doesn’t crawl up into your home from the depths of hell.
He doesn't? That's not what my fundamentalist neighbors told me.Santa doesn’t crawl up into your home from the depths of hell.
Didn't see the game so I've not seen anything. Just thought it - and the smoke - were notable.Curious as to what you see from the Lakers defense that is worth watching? 17th in DefRat which is due in part by having 3rd fastest Pace but last night was first game they gave up less than 110. In 5 of their other 11 games they have given up 121+. Sacramento was on backend of a B2B while being their 3rd game in 4 nights while shooting like it. When Bjelica, Hield, and Bogdanovich shoot 5-29 (1-10 from three) the Kings are likely going to lose every time.
I haven't looked at any of their other defensive metrics but my eyes tell me that LeBron isn't putting forth much effort on this side of the floor.
It's bad that Kyrie can't buy that kind of treatment. Kids love the guy and he puts butts in seats, there's no reason why he shouldn't be getting more calls.James Harden has taken 15 shots from the field so far tonight. 13 of them have been 3 pointers. Somehow, he still has 9 foul shots.
He is officiated like no other player in the NBA. 8 of his 31 tonight from the free throw line.
Edit: On the season, he is averaging 18.6 shots per game, 12.4 of those are 3 pointers, so he's only taking 6.2 shots from inside the arc per game. He's averaging 8.4 foul shots a game.
Explain to me how virtually every time he goes to the hoop, he gets fouled, while Jaylen, Tatum and Kyrie never get fouled?
This doesn’t make any sense, if you’re fouled while missing a shot, it doesn’t register as a FG attempt.Harden is now up to 13 foul shots tonight. He's taken 19 shots, 17 of them have been 3's.
That's 13 foul shots on 2 field goal attempts inside of 3, so don't tell me the C's don't get calls because they settle for jumpers.
Nearly every time he drives to the hoop, he gets a foul call, which is why he only ends up with 2 field goal attempts inside the arc.This doesn’t make any sense, if you’re fouled while missing a shot, it doesn’t register as a FG attempt.
It’s ironic since they changed the rules because of him and everyone just calls it the Harden Rule.But, he also gets a bunch of foul calls on 3 pointers, because the refs seem to forget the rule change about jumping sideways into a defender after a pump fake, when it comes to Harden.
Harden definitely gets way too many foul calls, but I just went through the entire play by play of this game and he got fouled twice shooting threes the entire game, one he made (one FT) and one he missed (three FTs). I get your point, but you need to use different numbers/facts.Nearly every time he drives to the hoop, he gets a foul call, which is why he only ends up with 2 field goal attempts inside the arc.
But, he also gets a bunch of foul calls on 3 pointers, because the refs seem to forget the rule change about jumping sideways into a defender after a pump fake, when it comes to Harden.
That wasn't my point. My point is he gets a foul call nearly every time he drives to the hoop. That's how you end up with 2 field goal attempts and 15 foul shots. He also gets like triple the number of foul shots on three pointers than anyone else in the league. I wasn't talking about tonight, this happens every night. I posted his season long stats earlier tonight.Harden definitely gets way too many foul calls, but I just went through the entire play by play of this game and he got fouled twice shooting threes the entire game, one he made (one FT) and one he missed (three FTs). I get your point, but you need to use different numbers/facts.
He does something no one else really does. He throws his hands forward...the D 's natural instinct is to reach out. He is so strong, it doesn't matter. Most of the times he gets the call..by the letter of the law, he was fouled.That wasn't my point. My point is he gets a foul call nearly every time he drives to the hoop. That's how you end up with 2 field goal attempts and 15 foul shots. He also gets like triple the number of foul shots on three pointers than anyone else in the league. I wasn't talking about tonight, this happens every night. I posted his season long stats earlier tonight.
Yeah I didn't want to be the only one to state this but Harden is ridiculously skilled at drawing contact while strong enough to often finish through the contact. Harden is always going to draw more fouls than player-X for the simple reason that he is more skilled at this part of the game.He does something no one else really does. He throws his hands forward...the D 's natural instinct is to reach out. He is so strong, it doesn't matter. Most of the times he gets the call..by the letter of the law, he was fouled.
And on the ensuing possession, Trae Young beats Ingram for a clean release at what looks like the game winning runner in the lane, only to have Tyson Chandler deliver a block right at the apex of the shot to end it.Lebron chokes at the free throw line then dunks for the lead.
No, I am sure only Houston is surprised. Carmelo has been a corpse for a while now.Is anyone surprised Melo to the Rockets failed? I really don’t see what Morey was thinking—-Carmelo is capable of being a terrific role player and still has skills, but he hasn’t shown any inclination to worry about team success since roughly the Olympics. A shame.
Perhaps they might figured it’s worth a shot to see if he’d play a role, but looks like a hard no.
Is anyone going to take a chance on Melo after this Houston experiment? He clearly has unrealistic expectations that are not aligned with his current performance. He was playing almost 30 mpg and getting 12 SPG in Houston.Many here know I've been down on Melo for years now. That said, as a stretch 4/bench scoring option/tertiary scorer in crunch time he still has the skills to contribute. But he doesn't (at all) seem to have the desire to become that guy. Which I think isn't a surprise, but odd that Houston apparently didn't scout that out at all---if they are giving up this quickly they really were off on expectations.
Hot take of the day? Are you Mazz lol?He's washed, and was not a top 30 player even at his peak.
MaMo, Melo, and Rozier on the 2nd unit would be quite gunnerific.If the Celtics traded Rozier, maybe Melo would make some sense.
Ha, yeah, a bit of a hot take, but advanced stats have never rated him top 30, and generally put him well below that, even at his Denver-era volume-scoring peak.Hot take of the day? Are you Mazz lol? Melo prior to hitting 30 was a beast. He's a first ballot HOF based on this part of his career along with carrying Syracuse to a National Championship. The post-30 version was a combination of being trapped in a toxic situation in NY (much by his own doing) and his skillset in decline.