The Nets confirmed he had an epidural which I believe came from Nash himself. Seeing that Nash is the one who questioned Simmons over the last week I would find it hard to believe he lied about that on Simmons behalf.Glad someone finally said it. We still haven't seen anything actually pointing out the genesis of the back injury to begin with, have we?
He might have just gone through with it to keep the charade going. Given his apparent mental state I wouldn’t put that past him. Delay delay delay as long as possible.The Nets confirmed he had an epidural which I believe came from Nash himself. Seeing that Nash is the one who questioned Simmons over the last week I would find it hard to believe he lied about that on Simmons behalf.
Blake Griffin, who probably shaved a solid six months off his life gutting out 10 minutes of basketball the other night, can't be too enthused about sharing bench space with him.I do find it a bit awkward that not only does he dress to standout, but he sits in a prime bench seat every time. Why not sit in the 2nd row, or on the far side if you want to be supportive, rather than making it about you? I can't imagine going out all, being down 3-0 and this guy sitting there in a clown outfit and not losing it.
I don't mean to pick on you, but this line gets repeated endlessly. And it's the worst understanding of Marcus's game. Marcus is Draymont Green's MiniMe. He shoots as much as the team needs him to. And historically when Boston has sufficient offense he's been happy not to shoot. This year with both Tatum and Brown growing their offensive games Boston needed less shooting from Marcus. And with the cast that Boston's assembled it will likely remain that way.I feel like a couple years ago, maybe even as recently as this past offseason, there was discussion on this board about Simmons' possible fit on this team, perhaps via a trade with Smart as the centerpiece. At the time, IIRC, the feeling was that Simmons was the better defender and better passer, and his reluctance to shoot from the outside would be a benefit on a team with the two Jays.
A year later, Smart seems to have improved both his defense and his passing, while reducing the number of 3PAs. Meanwhile, the questions about Simmons' heart, where Marcus clearly had him beat, have only gotten greater, so much so as to pretty much nullify, in the views of many, any positives that Simmons could offer.
Trading him to an NBA backwater where he never has to worry about the spotlight seems more likely.I have no idea how plausible this is, but I think if I’m the owner of the Nets I seriously look into terminating his contract for cause and have my army of high paid and powered lawyers suing him for whatever I’ve paid him + damages. I wouldn’t chance this bleeding over into next season. I don’t see anyway how this gets any better. I’d do it immediately the day after their season ends.
Eh, it could just be that he's trying really hard to be "normal". No disrespect to your own challenges, but when I've had severe anxiety and depression in the past, I did everything in my power to not let people around me know what was going on. Whether it be work or social settings, every ounce of energy went into trying to create a façade of "the old djbayko". Which was foolish, because the one thing I needed more than anything else was help and support from others. But anyways, this is who he's been all along, so it doesn't necessarily surprise me that he'd be trying to maintain that image and signal that everything's okay.The Simmons thing is fascinating. I have my own mental hurdles I need to navigate, so I'm very sympathetic to a fault, but something isn't jiving here.
Simmons, while not mentally able to play the game he's paid to play, seems very comfortable being front and center, from the laughably memeable outfits, the "targeting game X" stories being leaked by whoever's camp, to eventually revealing that the last two months have been a dog and oversized point guard show. It seems completely counterintuitive to be unable to handle the pressure and the mental rigors of being an NBA player, all while basking in the fame, wealth and exposure that this type of status affords him. His conspicuous absence on the court is matched by his high visibility on the bench and the fact that everyone around the team is forced to talk daily about someone who won't be playing for them. Nash is clearly fed up with it. It's reminding me of this past season with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. From the front office acrimony to his immunized Joe Rogen experience and everything in between, the players, coaches and other team personnel were tired of talking about what Rodgers was doing when not between the hashmarks.
Extremely strange brew Brooklyn has created.
A question that occurred to me after Embiid got his latest injury, “Has the process been a failure?”Weird stuff over the years with Okafor (and Colangelo’s wife’s twitter) and then Fultz and then Simmons.
Probably just a coincidence and a lot of very high picks have weird careers but Phila has had some odd outcomes with some of those processed high picks.
Pretty sure he wouldn't have taken Oden #1 if they had won that lottery.The more I read about Philadelphia’s abject failures regarding all the high picks besides Joel Embiid, the more I give credit to Danny Ainge for hitting on all three of his high picks, Smart, Brown, and Tatum.
We live in a strange time where a basketball player cannot play basketball because he mentally cannot handle playing basketball.
I probably should have specified that I was talking about specifically the pressurized limelight of the NBA playoffs. He does clearly want to be a Sportscenter star and celebrity. No arguments there.I don't get the impression he wants to stay out of the limelight. This is a guy who had a Showtime documentary produced about himself and then tried get a sitcom about him and his family greenlit (produced by Lebron, of course). He really likes the trappings of fame, he just doesn't care to deal with the criticism that goes along with it, and it's kind of gross that he's using "mental health hurdles" to shield him from the inconvenient parts of what makes him extraordinarily rich.
It's very hard for me to buy that the guy who's done everything in his power to be center of attention - there are lots of other agents besides Klutch, lots of other teams he could've gone to outside of the 5 huge media markets he chose when he was in trade talks, lots of other eligible bachelorettes besides the Kardashians, he doesn't have to make tv shows about himself, etc. etc.- is just now discovering that he's uncomfortable in front of the cameras. I'm sorry, it's just a little convenient, and that's not even getting into his peacocking on the sidelines when he could just be in a Nets hoodie. And, amazingly, he's made tens of millions of dollars in his career - he can just retire and not deal with any of this shit if it's so onerous. He's not like some babe in the woods with no agency.
Well played!It was a joke, hence the smiley face thing.
I do take offense to your assertion nobody saw it coming though:
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KD had the absolute quietest 39 point game in NBA playoff history tonight. 13/31 from the field.I really thought KD was going to go into completely unstoppable mode in at least one game in Brooklyn, and Kyrie would rain down some 3's in another. KD tried everything tonight, and Kyrie had his highlight reel in Game 1, but it wasn't nearly enough. To borrow a phrase from cross town, DAMAGE DONE!
But the points, and his visibility in the closing minutes, probably help him stave off some of the "is KD hurt/declining/overrated?" stuff ESPN's been slinging since Game 1 ended.KD had the absolute quietest 39 point game in NBA playoff history tonight. 13/31 from the field.
The narrative is, and should be, that the best defense in the league beat him up. I don't really think less of him as a result of this performance. The Cs defense is a buzzsaw.But the points, and his visibility in the closing minutes, probably help him stave off some of the "is KD hurt/declining/overrated?" stuff ESPN's been slinging since Game 1 ended.
We will know when Tatum has made the leap to top-5 level when the refs don’t call either that 5th or 6th foul on him.Well, the Celtics had some rough moments but that was a nice 5-on-8 victory they won to close out the sweep.
That sixth foul was awful. And with that I'll retreat back to the game thread.We will know when Tatum has made the leap to top-5 level when the refs don’t call either that 5th or 6th foul on him.
And PHI looks like they're going from a potential sweep to an actual series.Celtics were the only team to sweep in the first round, unreal performance.
I think this one was all about refs wanting to extend the series.We will know when Tatum has made the leap to top-5 level when the refs don’t call either that 5th or 6th foul on him.
The fifth foul was a good call, and as a D-first team one I think we would want to see called in the playoffs. We'll be on the receiving end more often than not.We will know when Tatum has made the leap to top-5 level when the refs don’t call either that 5th or 6th foul on him.
And all world defense.Tatum finished the series averaging 30/5/7 on a 62% TS, god damn.
I thought the 4th (on Curry) and 5th (on Blake) calls were both borderline but Tatum put himself in bad positions both times too. Even the 6th you had to know Dragic would flop at the first opportunity. (Can’t wait to not see that guy next series.) Chalk it up to learning by experience. KD had some dumbass fouls too.The fifth foul was a good call, and as a D-first team one I think we would want to see called in the playoffs. We'll be on the receiving end more often than not.
The sixth was...
Was that the most stressful 4 game sweep of all time?Cavs - I want an easy sweep
Nets - I want an easy sweep
Truly a TEAM effort last night. Marcus and AL were huge.Tatum picked up his 6th at the 2:49 mark with the C’s up 6 and it understandably did seem to discombobulate them.
Foul on Al on defense after a KD miss gave the Nets a second chance - Kyrie 3. Nets down 3 now.
Missed Al layup.
KD steal off Jaylen at the sideline followed by a Jaylen foul and a KD floater at the 1:28 mark.
Nets now down just 1. And all the momentum.
Most teams collapse here and no doubt they were wobbly but Smart, Al and Jaylen stepped up to close it out.
Maybe it’s all inconsequential but responding to that kind of adversity with Tatum out of the game in crunch time is yet another check mark in the resilience column and their confidence has got to be sky high right now.
Plus putting in the effort to close it out and giving themselves the extra rest and prep time before round 2 is so crucial.
What a joy this team is to watch.
For sure it wasn’t actually an “easy” sweep, but it’s funny that after all the handwringing about getting the Nets it was Celtics in 4 either way.Was that the most stressful 4 game sweep of all time?
Game 1: down 1, needed a buzzer beater
Game 2: down 17
Game 3: in control throughout, but never pushed the lead past ~12 or so
Game 4: also in control throughout, but on the ropes up 1 after Tatum had fouled out
Truly a TEAM effort last night. Marcus and AL were huge.
They led wire to wire in games 3 (almost) and 4 and pushed it to double digits multiple times. More importantly, they had an answer for everything the Nets tried, and they tried everything.Was that the most stressful 4 game sweep of all time?
Game 1: down 1, needed a buzzer beater
Game 2: down 17
Game 3: in control throughout, but never pushed the lead past ~12 or so
Game 4: also in control throughout, but on the ropes up 1 after Tatum had fouled out
It's primarily because of Durant. He hadn't lost a first round series since his rookie year in 2010.They led wire to wire in games 3 (almost) and 4 and pushed it to double digits multiple times. More importantly, they had an answer for everything the Nets tried, and they tried everything.
I am not sure where this is coming from. I was not sweating at all.
You mean Durant's first playoffs in 2010? He was drafted in 2007. Id say the only really stressful games for me were 1 and 2. The games in Brooklyn were close but I never felt we were going to lose those.It's primarily because of Durant. He hadn't lost a first round series since his rookie year in 2010.
It's similar but different to when the Pats beat the Colts in the playoffs in 2003-2004. Or even the 2018 Super Bowl. The Pats were in control of those games, but it was still scary because of the caliber of the opponent's offense.
Edit: I'd argue it was also stressful because we all wanted to beat Kyrie so, so badly
Haven't seen anything but I'm assuming no, and it conveniently happened with 2:48 left to go, so they won't need to address it in the Last Two Minute Reports.Of course the NBA didn't offer an explanation, right?
Yeah sorry that's what I meant.You mean Durant's first playoffs in 2010? He was drafted in 2007. Id say the only really stressful games for me were 1 and 2. The games in Brooklyn were close but I never felt we were going to lose those.