2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread
- Thread starter BigSoxFan
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I have a particular hatred for any team that goes in on portraying itself as more TEAM than all the other teams.
Also, the nastiest team is still the Warriors as long as they continue to play Draymond.
Seems like a wild overreaction from Spida there honestly. Collins was clearly trying to be an asshole but he barely got him.
Hard to know how precise reporters like Woj are with wording.
A true "repair" implies they are trying to salvage his meniscus, which might be good long term but will take longer to recover from short term. Would be tough to come back from this year. But sometimes they just use the word repair more generically.
If they knew in advance they were just trimming some meniscus out, they would probably say 4-6 weeks.
They may not know the definitive plan until they get in there, but reading the tea leaves... sounds like they're hoping it can be a repair and he will be out 3+ months.
It seems at a bare minimum, the annoying debate about the 65-game limit is likely to be muted, as he's not going to miss the cutoff by a game or two. It's going to be a significant amount of time that would have ruled him out in any universe.
Disagree because some people will point to the 65 game limit as what caused Embiid to play when he shouldn’t have
To which the quick response should be "why did Embiid and the Sixers org prioritize individual honors over the long term health of their best player?" There are pluses and minuses to the rule and regardless of Embiid's history it's obvious that he was unfairly ripped apart in the wake of the Denver game, but there's no denying that the Sixers organization (which has been a clown show for the entire Embiid era) completely fucked this up in several major ways. Add this debacle to the list next to multiple 1st overall picks forgetting how to shoot, GM burner accounts, Fultz over Tatum, Harris over Butler, Simmons demanding out, Harden demanding out, etc etc.
Thanks for the info. Does it matter (short- or long-term) that Embiid previously had lateral meniscus surgery on the same knee?
BTW, someone should get your name to Zach Lowe - you're way more insightful just typing here than his "medical expert" (a trainer) has when on his podcast.
I actually do feel for Embiid, his lower body has always been a ticking time bomb, and who knows how he comes back from this. I’d expect quite well, but you never know.
Yeah, this post kind of nails it.
Embiid and those around him appear to have prioritized hitting the games minimum over staying healthy for the playoffs. Its a choice.
If it was only about meeting the 65 game minimum, he didn’t need to be out there with 4 minutes to go in a 14 point game when he had already played 30 minutes. I think he was probably fully cleared to play. Whether the medical staff should’ve cleared him is a question we will never know the answer to. But blaming this on the fans and media for forcing him to play doesn’t seem right.
If Kawhi is healthy come playoff time, they are the only team in Denver and Boston’s stratosphere.
I know he isnt considered a "shooter" but Kawhi is so god damn efficient. He's shooting the shit out the ball right now
It’s funny because you’re totally right in that he isn’t considered a shooter, and yet he’s shot 40% from three since 2018-19.
It’s been said many times before but bears repeating….it’s great to have someone with your background on this board.
If he's already had surgery on his lateral meniscus in the same knee, they may have already trimmed some out. This would give them less to work with and just make the risk of progressive arthritis a bit higher than it already is if they want to trim more. But hard to know for sure without knowing the details of his prior surgery.Thanks for the info. Does it matter (short- or long-term) that Embiid previously had lateral meniscus surgery on the same knee?
BTW, someone should get your name to Zach Lowe - you're way more insightful just typing here than his "medical expert" (a trainer) has when on his podcast.
They’ve beaten pretty much everyone on their schedule since the first 6 games post-Harden trade. They are 25-5 in their last 30 with the losses @OKC, @Minnesota, @Cleveland, Lakers and Celtics.
Second night of a B2B so not surprising but the lead is back up to 5 for the 1-seed. Milwaukee has a bunch of tough ones coming up before the break as well.
They do have at least 3, and maybe 4 HOF'ers. However past their prime they may be.
Outscored 40-13 in the 4th. League Pass is honestly the best entertainment money I spend.
All hinges on Kawhi’s healthy in my opinion. Dude is a stone cold killer on both ends of the court and I’d be nervous if the Cs squared off against them in the finals.
During the telecast, prior to his injury, I recall the commentators relaying that Embiid had said his main priority was to be healthy going into the playoffs. Which, if indeed the case, would mean that they weren't prioritizing individual honors, and maybe just shit happens.
We'll see how hard everyone goes, but the top of the West is looking super exciting for the stretch run. Most of the attention will likely be on the Lakers and Warriors, but there are currently 4 teams within 1 game of 1st. The Clippers have been the best team for awhile now, but they seem more likely than the others to prioritize rest down the stretch so we'll see.
View: https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/status/1752713469642600639?s=46&t=ewYMSuiVooy3RaQTShVJiA
He looked nowhere near 100% in that game (by game score, it was by far his worst performance of the year), stumbling and falling more than usual well before Kuminga fell on his knee. The Sixers are absolutely in CYA mode right now. This is a group (Embiid and Sixers management) that made it clear how important winning MVP was for him last year (and had spent a lot of oxygen whining about him losing prior years). I don't trust a word that they say on this subject, because unless they've lost their minds they will never admit that they risked the short and long term health of their meal ticket for an individual honor (and one that he's already won!).
I'm sure that's what he and the org said. We also saw this:
View: https://twitter.com/thedunkcentral/status/1752713469642600639?s=46&t=ewYMSuiVooy3RaQTShVJiA
He looked nowhere near 100% in that game (by game score, it was by far his worst performance of the year), stumbling and falling more than usual well before Kuminga fell on his knee. The Sixers are absolutely in CYA mode right now. This is a group (Embiid and Sixers management) that made it clear how important winning MVP was for him last year (and had spent a lot of oxygen whining about him losing prior years). I don't trust a word that they say on this subject, because unless they've lost their minds they will never admit that they risked the short and long term health of their meal ticket for an individual honor (and one that he's already won!).
I love watching him play when he's healthy and I agree with the sentiment, but I just don't trust this team will stay healthy for another 30 regular season games, followed by 2 months of playoffs. He looked phenomenal in the first couple of games against Phoenix last spring (34.5/6.5/6.0 and 2 steals, with a .670 TS%). Then he was just done. Maybe this year will be different.
I feel for this dude, being stuck in Charlotte.
View: https://twitter.com/HornetsReddit/status/1754292522816290932
View: https://twitter.com/HornetsReddit/status/1754292522816290932
He’s played at an All-Star level on both ends of the floor. His impact goes way beyond those numbers too as he has allowed Kawhi/PG to be less iso-centric in playing my turn/your turn. Can’t speak enough on how good he’s been.
It pains me to agree with you here. He’s really unlocked something for the other two that’s been missing in previous years (when healthy).
Bucks now 1-3 with Doc. Doc also playing Giannis and Dame much more in the 4 games. Giannis averaging 39mins/game (season average 35) while Dame is averaging 38 mins/game (season average 35). SSS and all the games have been close in the 4th quarter, but will be interesting to see how they respond if this keeps up. 6 games in 10 days before the all-star break with only Charlotte below .500.
Not having to have stretches of the game where paul george initiates offense is a godsend.
Legitimate shot they end up the 4 seed with that schedule. They might even be likely to be the 4 seed.
I'm very curious to see what happens with Cleveland now that they are getting healthy. They've been on an unbelievable heater (13 wins in their last 14 games, 18 in their last 22), mostly without 2 of their top 4 guys. It'd be one thing if this were Boston or Milwaukee (two teams with well balanced top 4s), but Cleveland's fit among their most talented players has always been a bit of an experiment (2 smaller guards with defensive issues, 2 legit center sized bigs who play entirely inside the arc). They aren't making a move, but I have to wonder if instead of them being hot with Mitchell/Allen, if they'd been hot with Mobley/Garland (a guy on a rookie deal and another signed through 2028, as opposed to a guy already at his ceiling and another rumored to be out the door in 15 months) if they'd be making some major changes.
The Bucks had a ridiculously easy schedule to start, and, combined with a bunch of close wins, that masked a lot of flaws. I'm not going to predict their final seed, but they have a lot of performance and schedule regression coming up.
Clippers beat reporter (on Lowe Post) said that Harden was working with bigs for an hour or more after every practice on PnR timing and mechanics and he said it really made a difference. A side of Harden most people don't know.
Not sure if you're talking about the SAS game - PHI was up 15 with 4:05 left to play when SAS took a TO - or the GSW game, where GSW was up 11 with 5:03 minutes to go and House at the FT line in a pretty meaningless game for all practical purposes.
In the GSW game, after House made 2 FTs, to cut it to 11, Curry hit a 3P to make it 14 and then Embiid got hurt diving for what ended up being his 8th TO for the night.
Embiid had played 29 minutes to that point. Lots of people reporting on the game said that Embiid was struggling. Even if he were playing because of criticism of him sitting vs. DEN - which was exacerbated because he wasn't on the injury report until 15 minutes before the game - Nurse should have pulled him.
Contrast that to BOS, when KP turned his ankle and walked to the locker room, he sat for the rest of that game and the next game even though he had no noticeable issues walking.
Every time I turn them on LP Sam Merrill is draining 3s like Steph. Dean Wade and Okoro have been playing great.
I wouldn't be shocked if Bron puts Cleveland, Miami, & the NYKs in play this summer.
The Land has the pieces to make a S&T possible
I thought this has always been known of james since his Houston days with Capella.
I think you follow James more closely than I do.
Beat writer said Zubac and Plumblee particularly (The Is to a lesser extent) has really benefited from this work.
This kind of goes without saying but I'll start worrying about the West once the Celts get to about 3 wins in the ECF. Until then, wasted anxiousness.
The east is going to be fascinating for these last ~30 games. Two weeks ago, it would have seemed etched in stone that the Sixers and Bucks would finish 2-3. Now, I'm thinking that the Knicks and Cavs finish 2-3.
Edit: it feels under the radar, but the Pacers are skidding hard. Just 5-8 in their last 13.
Miami too. 5-9.
Orlando has also fallen off a cliff. From 16-7 to 27-23, or 11-16 in their last 27.
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I don't see why we'd consider the clippers 'unserious' at all - they have a deep, largely veteran roster and good coaching.
The injury concerns are absolutely real, and I do wonder if the lack of quality size is going to be a problem for them in the west, where AD/Jokic/Minnesota all bring a lot of size to the table.
To me the Clips present some of the same challenges to teams the Celtics have the last couple years - depth of quality two-way wings who can switch defensively and role-shift offensively. They seem legit to me if healthy.
The injury concerns are absolutely real, and I do wonder if the lack of quality size is going to be a problem for them in the west, where AD/Jokic/Minnesota all bring a lot of size to the table.
To me the Clips present some of the same challenges to teams the Celtics have the last couple years - depth of quality two-way wings who can switch defensively and role-shift offensively. They seem legit to me if healthy.