2023-24 NBA Game Thread

SteveF

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benhogan said:
Does anybody know if that means more back-to-backs this season?
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Slightly more, yes. 14 is the average number per team. My understanding is that there is a tighter spread of rest advantage games (where one team is on a back to back and the other isn't), but of course rest advantage is a bit more complicated than that. (E.g. are the back to backs two home games vs road/road, home/road or road/home)

This is where I got my info.

"Two things are a little different about the number of back-to-backs this season. First, every team has 13, 14 or 15. That’s the smallest range in at least the last 28 years, with last season’s* scheduled range being 12-15. And while the average is up, the maximum has stayed the same.

There’s also a smaller range in rest-advantage differential. Last season there was a range from plus-6 (the Lakers and Raptors had six more rest-advantage games than rest-disadvantage games) to minus-6 (the Spurs had six fewer). This year, the range is plus-5 (four teams) to minus-5 (three teams). So the schedule is a little more fair across the board."
 
HomeRunBaker

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The Social Chair said:
The team played well without Ja the last couple of years but they don't have Tyus Jones or Stephen Adams anymore.
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They were the only Regular Season Total wager I made this year (Under 46.5) the second Adams went down. That injury knocked them into the low to mid-30 range. This could even blow up worse based on what I heard about the Denver game from a trusted source.
 
Tony C

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What did you hear about them from a trusted source? Not sure why....but Memphis is a fascinating team to me. Don't root for/against them, particularly, but even before Ja's hijinks an interesting team to follow. Now even more so. I think I would have taken the under even before Adams' injury -- too many one-dimensional players.
 
SteveF

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Feels like Jokic can just take Chet down on the block and score at will. It's practically like Jokic is undefended on some of these. Denver can just go to that whenever they want points.
Also, OKC being slaughtered on the boards. 50% dreb rate so far, which is horrendous obviously.
 
Euclis20

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Jokic has 26 points on 15 shots and the Nuggets have 9 offensive rebounds (to 11 defensive rebounds by OKC), but if SGA is gonna go 0-10, it barely matters.
 
BigMike

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SteveF said:
Feels like Jokic can just take Chet down on the block and score at will. It's practically like Jokic is undefended on some of these. Denver can just go to that whenever they want points.
Also, OKC being slaughtered on the boards. 50% dreb rate so far, which is horrendous obviously.
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Doesn't help that MVP Candidate SGA is 0-9 in the first half.

On the other side of the court Holmgren is the only player on OKC who showed up in the first half
 
wade boggs chicken dinner

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wade boggs chicken dinner

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Euclis20

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Lillard's defense is gonna be a really interesting thing to watch as the season progresses. He's spent basically his entire career as a high scoring small guard on teams with a 2nd round ceiling, and that type of player generally isn't expected to really D up that much. Now he's playing alongside another 30 ppg type of player, on a team with title hopes - on defense he has to be more Steph Curry and less Trae Young. If he gets his 30 and gives up 25, that's really not good enough. I know this was mostly brushed aside by the NBA media when the trade happened, "they'll just outscore everyone," but I don't think that works if Middleton isn't back to where he was a couple of years ago (it's hard to outscore everyone when you've really only got 2 guys that can give you an efficient 20+ consistently).

The matchup today with Atlanta is interesting because both of their guards can torch Lillard, so they're sticking him on a wing. That creates other problems (the Bucks are constantly in rotation opening up tons of good looks from 3 and Lillard is having to keep bigger players off the boards), but it's the best they can do. Dame and Giannis are gonna be a terror down the stretch in close games, but there can be some nights where they just look bad.
 
benhogan

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Euclis20 said:
Lillard's defense is gonna be a really interesting thing to watch as the season progresses. He's spent basically his entire career as a high scoring small guard on teams with a 2nd round ceiling, and that type of player generally isn't expected to really D up that much. Now he's playing alongside another 30 ppg type of player, on a team with title hopes - on defense he has to be more Steph Curry and less Trae Young. If he gets his 30 and gives up 25, that's really not good enough. I know this was mostly brushed aside by the NBA media when the trade happened, "they'll just outscore everyone," but I don't think that works if Middleton isn't back to where he was a couple of years ago (it's hard to outscore everyone when you've really only got 2 guys that can give you an efficient 20+ consistently).

The matchup today with Atlanta is interesting because both of their guards can torch Lillard, so they're sticking him on a wing. That creates other problems (the Bucks are constantly in rotation opening up tons of good looks from 3 and Lillard is having to keep bigger players off the boards), but it's the best they can do. Dame and Giannis are gonna be a terror down the stretch in close games, but there can be some nights where they just look bad.
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Dame should bring out a red cape in transition because he just steps aside when teams are breaking. Ole! Which is in stark contrast with White/Jrue challenging everything.

Dame is going to come out FIRING in the 2nd half after being held scoreless in the first half tonight. That is a given
 
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HomeRunBaker

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Tony C said:
What did you hear about them from a trusted source? Not sure why....but Memphis is a fascinating team to me. Don't root for/against them, particularly, but even before Ja's hijinks an interesting team to follow. Now even more so. I think I would have taken the under even before Adams' injury -- too many one-dimensional players.
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That Denver was going through the motions the entire game yet couldn't help but maintain the lead due to the Grizzlies effort level. He said there was one specific play that was a microcosm of the effort when the Grizz turned the ball over, side out in the backcourt, as ALL 5 players walked back on defense with their heads down as Jokic threw an uncontested baseball pass for the layup. Timeout Memphis.

Sure it's one play but as he was saying there were signs all night. There is a certain dysfunction about a team doing this in Game 2 of what should he a big home underdog effort coming off the opening night loss. Big red alert here.


BigSoxFan said:
Bucks look like ASS
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Bucks are ASS. It's all about Boston and the WC this year boys.
 
PedroKsBambino

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Middleton missing game with a knee and the lack of depth really highlights the gaps Milwaukee has.

the top two are amazing offensively, but there’s a lot else to figure out there and almost no assets to figure it out externally
 
Euclis20

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Giannis having a pretty big game (26/10 on 13 shots) is the only reason this is remotely close. I don't know if they can win that many games when one of their big 2 is having an off night.
 
HomeRunBaker

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PedroKsBambino said:
Middleton missing game with a knee and the lack of depth really highlights the gaps Milwaukee has.

the top two are amazing offensively, but there’s a lot else to figure out there and almost no assets to figure it out externally
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I'd argue the Bucks are betting off without Middleton but when you start Crowder and Beasley you simply are not that good. One of their best strength is their depth. None of that matters when 2-12 Dame shows up along pedestrian Giannis.
 
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SteveF said:
Feels like Jokic can just take Chet down on the block and score at will. It's practically like Jokic is undefended on some of these. Denver can just go to that whenever they want points.
Also, OKC being slaughtered on the boards. 50% dreb rate so far, which is horrendous obviously.
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Watching Jokic take Chet in the paint on like 3 straight possessions early in the game was like watching big brother vs. little brother on the playground. Chet looks good on the offensive end but it’s going to take a lot of work on the D end (which is true of a lot of young players).

Didn’t help that SGA had one of the worst games you’ll ever see a top guy have. If Jaylen had that game SOSH would need like 5 new servers to handle the volume . . .
 
Kliq

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Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo got abused by Jokic. Not sure it's really a Chet problem.
 
Euclis20

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Deangelo Russell with the classic flop (throwing his head back like he got shot), and gets the foul and free throws in crunch time. Fix this rule.
 
DavidTai

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HomeRunBaker said:
I'd argue the Bucks are betting off without Middleton but when you start Crowder and Beasley you simply are not that good. One of their best strength is their depth. None of that matters when 2-12 Dame shows up along pedestrian Giannis.
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Was just thinking that that's not the only problem they have. We were giving Joe Mazzula crap about being thrust into a contender's seat with a rookie head coach that didn't exactly have a full coaching staff. Shouldn't the same go for Milwaukee's Adrian Griffin?
 
luckiestman

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DavidTai said:
Was just thinking that that's not the only problem they have. We were giving Joe Mazzula crap about being thrust into a contender's seat with a rookie head coach that didn't exactly have a full coaching staff. Shouldn't the same go for Milwaukee's Adrian Griffin?
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I don’t think so. Wasn’t Bud a traditional firing. The Ime situation was on a different calendar. At least that’s what I thought.
 
Tony C

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HomeRunBaker said:
That Denver was going through the motions the entire game yet couldn't help but maintain the lead due to the Grizzlies effort level. He said there was one specific play that was a microcosm of the effort when the Grizz turned the ball over, side out in the backcourt, as ALL 5 players walked back on defense with their heads down as Jokic threw an uncontested baseball pass for the layup. Timeout Memphis.

Sure it's one play but as he was saying there were signs all night. There is a certain dysfunction about a team doing this in Game 2 of what should he a big home underdog effort coming off the opening night loss. Big red alert here.
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thx!
Just a bit outside said:
Houston finally takes the lead in the fourth and then Steph checks into the game and makes 4 threes. Warriors up by 7 and ready to finish with 2 minutes left.
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I sort of love Steph’s reactions and the one he pulled tonight after just torching Dillon Brooks was hilarious.
 
DavidTai

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InstaFace said:
Ok but Stotts was one of Griffin's assistants, not the HC. His loss was not exactly seismic. Griffin didn't suddenly get thrust into the HC role a week before the season like Mazzulla did.
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I was thinking more that the rookie coach suddenly has no assistant coach that can assist him when they run into issues because they can't adequately adjust to a bad shooting night. The more so when the guy who left is the experienced offensive head coach who worked with Dame previously.
 
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Only 39 minutes for Lebron. The Lakers are showing great commitment to that minutes restriction.
 
HomeRunBaker

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InstaFace said:
Ok but Stotts was one of Griffin's assistants, not the HC. His loss was not exactly seismic. Griffin didn't suddenly get thrust into the HC role a week before the season like Mazzulla did.
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Griffin was also the lead assistant in Toronto for like a half dozen years....Joe was in the second row until he took Ime's chair with his holdover assistants who were only there until Ime was hired the following year.
 
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HomeRunBaker said:
Griffin was also the lead assistant in Toronto for like a half dozen years....Joe was in the second row until he took Ime's chair with his holdover assistants who were only there until Ime was hired the following year.
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And then on top of that Joe’s lead assistant left with a month left in the regular season, which is more similar to the Stotts quitting.
 
lovegtm

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Euclis20 said:
Lillard's defense is gonna be a really interesting thing to watch as the season progresses. He's spent basically his entire career as a high scoring small guard on teams with a 2nd round ceiling, and that type of player generally isn't expected to really D up that much. Now he's playing alongside another 30 ppg type of player, on a team with title hopes - on defense he has to be more Steph Curry and less Trae Young. If he gets his 30 and gives up 25, that's really not good enough. I know this was mostly brushed aside by the NBA media when the trade happened, "they'll just outscore everyone," but I don't think that works if Middleton isn't back to where he was a couple of years ago (it's hard to outscore everyone when you've really only got 2 guys that can give you an efficient 20+ consistently).

The matchup today with Atlanta is interesting because both of their guards can torch Lillard, so they're sticking him on a wing. That creates other problems (the Bucks are constantly in rotation opening up tons of good looks from 3 and Lillard is having to keep bigger players off the boards), but it's the best they can do. Dame and Giannis are gonna be a terror down the stretch in close games, but there can be some nights where they just look bad.
Click to expand...
The NBA media has a lot of Dame/Giannis water carriers, so of course it mostly ignored Dame's shit perimeter D and the massive depth issues.

The Celtics start 5 All-Stars level players, in their primes, and the Bucks start Malik Beasley and Jae Crowder, but it's the Celtics who have serious depth concerns......
 
benhogan

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lovegtm said:
The NBA media has a lot of Dame/Giannis water carriers, so of course it mostly ignored Dame's shit perimeter D and the massive depth issues.

The Celtics start 5 All-Stars level players, in their primes, and the Bucks start Malik Beasley and Jae Crowder, but it's the Celtics who have serious depth concerns......
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The NBA Media completely whiffed on PBS' strategy behind the Celtic's bench/depth. This team was designed to have 2-3 All-Star level players on the floor throughout a close/important regular season game. In a playoff game, it will be 3-4 starters on the floor at all times

Brad added/kept ROLE players that could either SHOOT (Hauser, PP, Svi) or DEFEND at a high level (Brissett, Stevens, Banton, Walsh).

We'll see how Boston addresses 3rd string defensive Center, but it's also the easiest position to find depth. Either Queta or Knight could pass Luke for the spot or CJM could go "small" with Brissett (on Bam types). Half a dozen options there have me not really grabbing my pearls.

Injuries will happen but the C's are positioned better than every other NBA team to withstand that.

The BUCKs are much older throughout their rotation & are completely geared to Dame + Giannis being 100%.
Middleton is reminiscent of Kemba's final Celtic days, go for 25pts and then be out for weeks. Fools Gold.

Short MIL with every NBA team, fired up to give them their best shot on a January Tuesday night. No games off.
 
lovegtm

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benhogan said:
The NBA Media completely whiffed on PBS' strategy behind the Celtic's bench/depth. This team was designed to have 2-3 All-Star level players on the floor throughout a close/important regular season game. In a playoff game, it will be 3-4 starters on the floor at all times

Brad added/kept ROLE players that could either SHOOT (Hauser, PP, Svi) or DEFEND at a high level (Brissett, Stevens, Banton, Walsh).

We'll see how Boston addresses 3rd string defensive Center, but it's also the easiest position to find depth. Either Queta or Knight could pass Luke for the spot or CJM could go "small" with Brissett (on Bam types). Half a dozen options there have me not really grabbing my pearls.

Injuries will happen but the C's are positioned better than every other NBA team to withstand that.

The BUCKs are much older throughout their rotation & are completely geared to Dame + Giannis being 100%.
Middleton is reminiscent of Kemba's final Celtic days, go for 25pts and then be out for weeks. Fools Gold.

Short MIL with every NBA team, fired up to give them their best shot on a January Tuesday night. No games off.
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You can see this with the way the Celtics' bench is used. Miami stuck tight-ish to PP/Hauser, they scored almost no points, and the floor was spaced for the 2-3 all stars they shared the floor with. Scoring ensued.
 
benhogan

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Tatum/White with the bomb squad (Al/PP/Hauser) will be a lot of fun to watch and has some continuity from last season.

The C's starting 5 is going to take months to work out the kinks while playing together, sometimes it will look clunky (and probably why JB caught a bunch of criticism post-Game 1).
 
jmcc5400

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Jakarta said:
Only 39 minutes for Lebron. The Lakers are showing great commitment to that minutes restriction.
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Good thing they don’t have the second end of a back to back tonight against a young, hungry, athletic team.
 
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