0-9 from 3.KD hasn’t hit a 3 in his last 3 games.
Kid was never hurt in his life playing football and basketball up until he stepped foot on the Providence campus and now he can't stay on the floor while not playing football. He's got a sprained MCL should be back in another couple of weeks. That is a very competitive Bulls club with Dunn, Markkanen, and Portis in the lineup.What happened to Dunn? I thought he left the team early in the season because he was having a kid? Did he hurt his knee at the hospital?
It doesn't surprise me as much as the numbers suggest because he's always had good mechanics, soft touch, and a tight rotation on his ball. It wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that he's one of those guys that always knock down 90% in practice but struggles with slowing down at game speed.DeAndre Jordan has an 81% FT percentage this year. His career number is 45%
Charlotte is the best worst team in the league. They are 3rd in the EC in Point Differential and have a 7-8 record to show for it due to being 0-4 in one possession games.Kemba goes for 60 and Charlotte still loses. With the possible exception of guys on their rookie deals, he has got to be the best value player in the NBA (making $12 million this year). Charlotte has made up for that bargain though, by having handing everyone else on their team terrible contracts.
The 60 point game is one of the great things we have in the NBA, it's great to see a new face join the club.
Green is also conveniently out with his toe injury. The same one he was able to play through until the whole Durant thing I think...Lebron drops 51 on Miami.
Warriors are a mess without Curry. Staring at a 3game losing skid.
He played the game right after his suspension and was terrible.Green is also conveniently out with his toe injury. The same one he was able to play through until the whole Durant thing I think...
Wonder if there's a message being sent.
Green missed the two games prior to the "Durant game" with his injury so he wasn't playing through it, missed another due to suspension, returned against Houston and couldn't move, then missed last nights game along with tonights. He is clearly injured imo.Green is also conveniently out with his toe injury. The same one he was able to play through until the whole Durant thing I think...
Wonder if there's a message being sent.
This was a motivated LeBron tonight in his first return to Miami as a Laker. Even Magic, who rarely travels to road games (heard Boston was only other trip this year), flew cross country to be a part of this day. We are all witnesses.SportsCenterVerified account @SportsCenter
@KingJames became the 3rd player to score 45+ pts in their 16th season or later. The other two: Kobe and Kareem.
I mean, every team is always vulnerable, but I'd still argue that this is the best Warriors roster of the current era, even with some expected age-related decline from Andre.Age and injuries are taking their toll on Iguodala as well. He’s been in the startlng lineup lately and done nothing.
I’m telling you this team is vulnerable.
When Curry and Draymond are sitting next to Steve Kerr in suits then I agree that these Warriors are vulnerable. November games this year mean as much as the November games mattered last year when they lost to Sacramento without Curry and Durant. When they are in the lineup come playoff time the Warriors will (deservedly) be overwhelming favorites to repeat.Age and injuries are taking their toll on Iguodala as well. He’s been in the startlng lineup lately and done nothing.
I’m telling you this team is vulnerable.
More fun LeBron stuff and a great trivia question to stump your friends (and probably everyone else too).SportsCenterVerified account @SportsCenter
@KingJames became the 3rd player to score 45+ pts in their 16th season or later. The other two: Kobe and Kareem.
Coach speak. The Warriors lost 7 out of 10 late last season when everyone was out injured too so no it wasn't their worst stretch. Kerr knows what he has when Curry returns and is simply doing his job through the media to get to his team. It would help him if Klay wasn't pressing in a contract year and maybe hit a few shots......that would cure many of their ills.Kerr quote:
"Oh, yeah," Kerr said after the Warriors fell 104-92 to the San Antonio Spurs. "But I've had a dream run for four and a half years. We've had such a charmed existence the last four seasons. This is the toughest stretch we've been in.
"This is the real NBA. We haven't been in the real NBA the last few years. We've been in this dream. And so now we're faced real adversity and we got to get out of it ourselves."
Yep, Klay's the main guy whose problems up to this point seem somewhat "real." Durant even after a horrible couple weeks (on and off court) is still overall averaging 28.2 pts / 7.4 reb / 6.3 ast per 36 on .613 true shooting (including .925 from the stripe). Klay by contrast has been legitimately mediocre-to-bad through 18 games, or 22% of the season: 22.6 pts per 36 (fine) but on a shocking .530 ts and .321 3fg, and that's including his one record-breaking night v Chicago. He's also down in ft% (.795) rebounding (3.7 per 36) , assists (1.9), and up in turnovers (2.1). And accordingly: the Warriors have been 11.0 points per 100 possessions better with him on the bench than on the floor.It would help him if Klay wasn't pressing in a contract year and maybe hit a few shots......that would cure many of their ills.
Also KCP says no wayWall for Ball + KCP works.
Can't happen until Dec 15 though
Yeah, that Wall extension is absolutely brutal. $46,872,000 in 2022-23? You can kind of get it for the Wizards at the time since they’re gonna be capped from getting major free agents so all they can do is just double down on their existing core, but woe to any GM that takes that on voluntarily.Also KCP says no way
Edit- also kills any future cap space for LA which is a non-starter. If WAS finds someone to take Wall's deal it is likely a team that has trouble attracting free agents
I'll guess that Porter and Beal are moved first. Wall's contract is insane.....$38m next season followed by $41m, $44m, and finally $47m. Who touches that thing?So the wizards are open for business.
John Wall on the Lakers needs to happen.
Not sure where Beal ends up.
C’mon Knicks...you know you want to...I'll guess that Porter and Beal are moved first. Wall's contract is insane.....$38m next season followed by $41m, $44m, and finally $47m. Who touches that thing?
This is the conundrum those GM's trapped in no-mans land must face.....and in some (many?) cases they are simply the face of an owner who gave him instructions. If it is the latter then Grunfeld bears no responsibility so no need to discuss. If it is the latter then the Wizards are still capped out by letting Wall go for zero return so unless you hate cashing your checks on the 1st and 15th of the month you have to roll the dice on Wall which leads to other "going for it" signings like that of Ian Mahinmi for 4/$60m a year later. It's an ugly domino effect but I'm guessing Grunfeld is more of Ted Leonsis' yes man considering he's been there 15 years including those as the architect of the old "Bullets" with Arenas, Crittenton, McGee, Blatche, Nick Young, etc.Yeah the supermax contracts given by teams to players they drafted are tough. IMO, unless you are 100 percent sure that player is going to be a Top 10 player for the next 3-4 years, it's tough to stomach. Wall right now does not look to be that kind of a player (neither did Blake) and I doubt he ever will be. If I'm paying $40 million+, it has to be for a top, top NBA player. Even a guy like Westbrook, who has accomplished a hell of a lot more than Wall has, might end up having an albatross of a contract if he declines over the next 2-3 years. Especially since the cap hasn't risen year-over-year the way some front offices have expected it too. Guys like Batum have shit contracts, but Wall could very well be a below-average player in 2022-2023.
Those contracts are insane when you think about how big they got; Giannis signed what was considered a huge deal in Sept. 2016, but he will only cost $27 million in 2020-2021; $13 million less than Wall, who signed his deal just a year later in July 2017. Granted, Wall a bit longer tenure than Giannis did when he signed his contract, but retaining the top players you drafted has become extremely expensive for teams.
Uh oh, SRN just praised Westbrook. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my bomb shelter. But I agree on Wall. That is one terrible contract. Of course, I don’t know what the Wizards are supposed to do. Either you lock yourself into a contract you know will be terrible or you trade your most marketable player (at least at the time the extension was inked). The super max was intended to help teams but it actually hurt the Wizards here.Wall is kinda like Westbrook ... if Westbrook were (1) kinda fat and out of shape instead of the fittest player in the league, (2) a poor rebounder instead of the best rebounding PG in the league; and (3) a bit of malcontent instead of the most driven player in the league.
He never should have been remotely considered a max player, let alone supermax, and now the Bullets are hosed.
Not only do you have to trade your most marketable player, he's also your best player and the 'Zards weren't getting but dimes on the dollar for him. Their fan base would have gone bonkers if they had just got rid of him.Uh oh, SRN just praised Westbrook. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my bomb shelter. But I agree on Wall. That is one terrible contract. Of course, I don’t know what the Wizards are supposed to do. Either you lock yourself into a contract you know will be terrible or you trade your most marketable player (at least at the time the extension was inked). The super max was intended to help teams but it actually hurt the Wizards here.
I think a big challenge is the teams draft players; they think they have something, maybe they make an all-star game or two, and then free agency looms (or the player starts rumbling about their contract and begins demanding an extension) and they risk either overpaying to retain the player, or losing them for nothing. For me, it's easy to say that it isn't that bad losing them for nothing; but for a GM that has staked their career on drafting and developing this guy, it's easy to see why they would risk it to sign a player like Wall instead of telling everyone that he wasn't worth it and you are going back into rebuilding mode.This is the conundrum those GM's trapped in no-mans land must face.....and in some (many?) cases they are simply the face of an owner who gave him instructions. If it is the latter then Grunfeld bears no responsibility so no need to discuss. If it is the latter then the Wizards are still capped out by letting Wall go for zero return so unless you hate cashing your checks on the 1st and 15th of the month you have to roll the dice on Wall which leads to other "going for it" signings like that of Ian Mahinmi for 4/$60m a year later. It's an ugly domino effect but I'm guessing Grunfeld is more of Ted Leonsis' yes man considering he's been there 15 years including those as the architect of the old "Bullets" with Arenas, Crittenton, McGee, Blatche, Nick Young, etc.
It's kind of like NFL teams getting stuck with a mediocre starting QB on a huge contract. Wall is the Matt Stafford or Joe Flacco of the NBA (minus the super-flukey Flacco post-season run).I think a big challenge is the teams draft players; they think they have something, maybe they make an all-star game or two, and then free agency looms (or the player starts rumbling about their contract and begins demanding an extension) and they risk either overpaying to retain the player, or losing them for nothing. For me, it's easy to say that it isn't that bad losing them for nothing; but for a GM that has staked their career on drafting and developing this guy, it's easy to see why they would risk it to sign a player like Wall instead of telling everyone that he wasn't worth it and you are going back into rebuilding mode.
It's so much harder in basketball though. One player making way too much can kill your cap space and anchor down your entire team. Even with a slightly above average QB, the right team can win a title if they have the right supporting cast and catch a few breaks along the way. You absolutely cannot win an NBA title with anything less than a Top 10 NBA player as your best player. Additionally, saying no to Wall means that Washington is basically saying that the last eight seasons have been a waste and they are now going to start rebuilding again; as opposed to saying no to Flacco or Stafford might mean a season or two of sucking, but you can rebuild much faster.It's kind of like NFL teams getting stuck with a mediocre starting QB on a huge contract. Wall is the Matt Stafford or Joe Flacco of the NBA (minus the super-flukey Flacco post-season run).
At least in the era of max contracts.You absolutely cannot win an NBA title with anything less than a Top 10 NBA player as your best player.
There have been some freak occurrences (The Sonics/Bullets title swap, the '04 Pistons) but to win a championship in the NBA, you need to have a Top 10, or more realistically at Top 3, NBA Player.At least in the era of max contracts.
Part of being a good GM is forcing bonkers fanbases to take their medicine, with the confidence that they'll thank you for it in the long run. Look at how casual fans howled when Jerry West and co. dumped Blake Griffin (IIRC, there was a preview for a Mark Wahlberg movie during the Summer featuring a lame joke about how dumb the Clippers were for "getting rid of their best player") and lo, who's howling now with the Clippers in first place and look like a sweet spot for A-List free agents next summer?Their fan base would have gone bonkers if they had just got rid of him.
It's easy to say this from behind a keyboard when the GM has a multimillion dollar contract at stake along with the pressure to win/make playoffs. Wall was the face of the franchise when he signed that deal after the Wizards had 5 consecutive seasons of years with 19, 26, 23, 20, and 29 wins prior to Wall coming into his own. To then allow him to walk for nothing was unfathomable at the time.Part of being a good GM is forcing bonkers fanbases to take their medicine, with the confidence that they'll thank you for it in the long run.
Jerry West did exactly the same thing as Grunfeld - he signed Blake to the max. The difference is that he traded him after signing. It seems like that’s what Grunfeld is trying to do.Part of being a good GM is forcing bonkers fanbases to take their medicine, with the confidence that they'll thank you for it in the long run. Look at how casual fans howled when Jerry West and co. dumped Blake Griffin (IIRC, there was a preview for a Mark Wahlberg movie during the Summer featuring a lame joke about how dumb the Clippers were for "getting rid of their best player") and lo, who's howling now with the Clippers in first place and look like a sweet spot for A-List free agents next summer?
Ditto the 2012 Warriors with Monta Ellis, 2017 Celtics with Isaiah Thomas, etc.
If not he could probably borrow one from Kevin Love. ;-PTheir GM, Grunfeld, must have a Kelly Olynyk voodoo doll, or at least a dartboard with his face on it.
Fair. I'll give Grunfleld props when/if he succeeds in moving him for as savory a package as Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and a pick.Jerry West did exactly the same thing as Grunfeld - he signed Blake to the max. The difference is that he traded him after signing. It seems like that’s what Grunfeld is trying to do.