2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread

benhogan

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When I was looking at the CLE-DAL game, out of curiosity I looked back at the 3Ps that Strus and Mitchell made down the stretch. It was amazing to me how little Luka actually, you know, moves on defense. Then I thought - they must track these things, right?

According to NBA.com, Luka is 1.08 miles on defense per game and his average speed is 3.22. The 3.22 is the lowest in the NBA other than 9 guys, none of whom has played more than 3 games this season.

The starter who moves almost as slowly is LBJ - 1.04 miles defensively per game at an average speed of 3.32. The next two are Chris Paul (0.81 miles defensively; average speed = 3.35) and Embiid (distance: 1.02; average speed: 3.35). And after that is Jayson Tatum (distance = 1.09; average speed = 3.37).

On the other end of the spectrum, the player who moves the fastest (more than 17 games) is Josh Green, whose average speed = 4.53 and travels 1.12 miles defensively per game).Tourmani Camera has an average speed of 4.50 (distance = 0.95).

BOS's fastest defender is Brisset at 4.24 (although he only total .39 miles per game on average due to limited minutes).
Cool stat for nerds like us.

I've been critical of the JAYs transition defense all season (whether it's arguing a cool, slow jogging back, or basket-hanging :eek: ) Does that encompass avg. speed?

How do the Celtic players rank among themselves? Brissett running around makes sense, I imagine PP/White move quite quickly.
 

tims4wins

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It's really bunched in the 4-8 slots right now. Losses:
Knicks: 24
Miami & Philly: 25
Orlando & Indiana: 26

The Cavs and Bucks seem locked into the 2-3 with 19 and 21 losses respectively.

Feels very unlikely that Philly finishes ahead of Miami sans-Embiid. Their most likely finishing position is the 8th seed.

So we either want Miami to finish:
6th (which means one of Orlando or Indiana passes them, and Philly falls to 8th)
7th (and then either win their play in game, or lose twice and be eliminated)
or 8th (seems unlikely; under this scenario, we'd also want them to either win their play in game or lose twice and be eliminated)

Ultimately, I think we're looking at a Knicks-Heat 1st round matchup.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Cool stat for nerds like us.

I've been critical of the JAYs transition defense all season (whether it's arguing a cool, slow jogging back, or basket-hanging :eek: ) Does that encompass avg. speed?

How do the Celtic players rank among themselves? Brissett running around makes sense, I imagine PP/White move quite quickly.
I presume it encompasses transition defense.

Here's BOS, sorted by average speed on defense. Funny how fast the "Stay Ready" folks run. :cool:

78760
 

lovegtm

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It feels impossible to judge the Heat and what they can/will be able to do in the Playoffs because they don't seem to care much about the regular season and had quite some injuries on top.

On the Lowe Post podcast they pointed out that Bam and Butler have played together in only half of the games this season so far. That's their two most important players and the only fixed members of a potential starting five.
Assuming full health, who else starts for the Heat in Game 1 of the Playoffs?
Jaquez - usually of the bench, only 17 starts so far
Rozier - barely played fo the Heat yet
Herro - in the past he was best if the bench, also often injured
Robinson? Jovic? Martin? Highsmiths? Richardson?? Love???

I just hope they get into the 2-3-6-7 side of the brackets and someone else kills off their "culture". It's not fear I feel, it's disgust - and I want the Celtics as far away from them as possible.
Feels like we are destined for Knicks-Heat round 1. I'm ok to let them beat each other up.
 

Ed Hillel

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33% 3 point shooter Max Strus, which includes a 60 footer.

Hopefully this is part of the Heat magic they can't get back when it matters.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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33% 3 point shooter Max Strus, which includes a 60 footer.

Hopefully this is part of the Heat magic they can't get back when it matters.
I believe Strus was leading the league in catch and shoot 3% a couple weeks ago. He’s still one of the most underrated defensive players in the league. I think I’m his only fan here though lol.
 

Kliq

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This has been an excellent rookie class. Jamie Jaquez would be good enough to win ROY in a good number of seasons, and he has Wemby, Chet and probably Brandon Miller in front of him. Throw in guys like Podz, Derek Lively, Cason Wallace, Anthony Black. You not only have some good rookies, but some pretty good players playing significant roles on good teams.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I believe Strus was leading the league in catch and shoot 3% a couple weeks ago. He’s still one of the most underrated defensive players in the league. I think I’m his only fan here though lol.
Are you sure you're not thinking of Sam Merrill? Near as I can figure, Strus has been in the mid-30s on C&S 3Ps. His pre-ASB numbers are below.

Merrill, however, is at 47.7% on C&S 3Ps.


Strus shooting numbers pre-ASB:

78774


78776
 

HomeRunBaker

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Are you sure you're not thinking of Sam Merrill? Near as I can figure, Strus has been in the mid-30s on C&S 3Ps. His pre-ASB numbers are below.

Merrill, however, is at 47.7% on C&S 3Ps.


Strus shooting numbers pre-ASB:

View attachment 78774


View attachment 78776
Maybe it wasn’t catch and shoot then but he was leading in some shooting stat. When I get back I’ll find it or if you want to scroll NBA University Twitter about 2-3 weeks back it’s there.
 

Euclis20

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This has been an excellent rookie class. Jamie Jaquez would be good enough to win ROY in a good number of seasons, and he has Wemby, Chet and probably Brandon Miller in front of him. Throw in guys like Podz, Derek Lively, Cason Wallace, Anthony Black. You not only have some good rookies, but some pretty good players playing significant roles on good teams.
I like the class a lot, but in what years would Jaquez have been good enough to win ROY? He's averaging 13/4/3 on ok efficiency (his 3 point shooting has cratered since a hot start) with ok defense. Maybe 2017 (Brogdon) and 2001 (Miller), but those were two of the worst rookie classes of the last 30 years. I like the guy (and screw the heat for getting a solid rotation player at #18), but he's not even in the conversation most years.
 

the moops

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lolololol

There are only 12 players who have more than 300 catch and shoot attempts. Currently Max Strus is #11 on that list sorted by eFG%
 
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wade boggs chicken dinner

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I thought I saw him #1 in something but maybe this is what I recalled. View attachment 78787
Yeah that's probably it. To me, it shows that Strus has lots of gravity, which is what CLE wanted.

Just for fun, on the other side of the spectrum, here are the list of players who have taken more than 190 shots that require 7+ dribbles. Not surprisingly, Luka is #1 in that category and has a good 56.3% EFG% on those shots. Since the NBA.com has limited methods of looking at data, from a quick look, Haliburton appears to have the highest EFG% at 58% on 250 shots. JB is at 55.4% on 194 shots. JT is 50.6% on 257 such shots. Notable players at the bottom of the spectrum are Banchero (43.3% on 248 shots); Jalen Green (43.2% on 219 shots); Maxey (44.8% on 317 of such shots); Simons (46.0% on 226 shots); and FVV (46.8% on 202 of such shots). Jordon Poole is at 35.7% EFG% on 161 shots.

Of all people, TJ McConnell is at 59.7 EFG% on 149 shots, so that thing he did against BOS where he dribbled forever and then figured out how to finish - he apparently does that to everyone else in the league too.


78791
 

Euclis20

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The Knicks lost their protest of the February 12th game against Houston. Essentially, the incorrect call was due to an error in judgment, not a misapplication of the rules. The former is not a reason to uphold the protest:

View: https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1762938539795218507?s=20


Excellent timing for the league to release this after the Knicks stole the game against Detroit a couple days ago. Hard for them to really complain after the refs gifted them that game with the no call in the final seconds.
 

InstaFace

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Late in the 3rd, Minnesota is tied with... Memphis?! And Cleveland is only up 2 on Chicago.

Could be some fun finishes. edit: Lamar Stevens with a transition dunk - Memphis announcers are already on a first name basis with him. Without Ja they're pretty easy to root for.
 
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benhogan

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I believe Strus was leading the league in catch and shoot 3% a couple weeks ago. He’s still one of the most underrated defensive players in the league. I think I’m his only fan here though lol.
He takes the highest percentage of Catch & Shoot 3s in the NBA (he's 19% on PU3s, so at least he's smart)

Overall he is a below-average 3pt shooter, but a high-effort defender who sops up lots of minutes

I thought the Heat were wise to let him roll and replace his minutes with a combo of Duncan, JRich, Jaquez

lolololol

There are only 12 players who have more than 300 catch and shoot attempts. Currently Max Strus is #11 on that list sorted by eFG%
exactly
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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CBS had a H-O-R-S-E tournament back in the 70s, along with a 1 on 1 tournament.
View: https://youtu.be/h728eAeSzvk?feature=shared
I remember those. It wasn't that entertaining because guys were taking pretty ordinary shots. But if the NBA could figure out how to do a trick shot contest - even as a game or horse (like the MJ-Bird commercial), I know I'd would watch it. Shots from 1/2 court; shots from the seats and tunnels; behind the back shots; etc. - it's amazing what NBA players can do.
 

Kliq

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26 rebounds for Big Penguin. The Cavs inability to box out Drummond was incredible.
 

ElUno20

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This is why i never fall for the hype. Low pressure regular season game, cant even handle the pressure.
 

ElUno20

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Outscored by over 20 in the 4th quarter vs a shit squad like the lakers. Yeah I'm not taking you seriously.
 

Euclis20

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On February 5th, the Clippers beat Atlanta and were 34-15, in 1st place for the first time all year. Since then, they're 3-5 (only wins are over Detroit, GS and Memphis) and are in 4th place, four games out (just as close to the play in as they are to 1st).
 

jon abbey

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Unbelievable comeback by the Lakers there, 39-16 in the 4th. Kawhi was sitting to start the quarter and LeBron took full advantage after only taking one shot in the 3rd, hitting three three pointers in the first 3:13 before Kawhi came back in. LeBron played all 12 minutes, 19 points, 4 assists, singlehandedly outscoring the Clippers 19-16. Coming back from 21 down early in the 4th was the biggest 4th quarter comeback of LeBron's career.
 

Euclis20

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Unbelievable comeback by the Lakers there, 39-16 in the 4th. Kawhi was sitting to start the quarter and LeBron took full advantage after only taking one shot in the 3rd, hitting three three pointers in the first 3:13 before Kawhi came back in. LeBron played all 12 minutes, 19 points, 4 assists, singlehandedly outscoring the Clippers 19-16. Coming back from 21 down early in the 4th was the biggest 4th quarter comeback of LeBron's career.
Even as his numbers have declined slightly, Lebron is on pace for just under 2500 minutes this year, the most since his last season with the Cavs 6 years ago. Running out of superlatives.
 

Kliq

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This dude has his faults, bur man can he rebound the ball. 16.3 rebounds per 36 for his career. And with Chicago the last two years he is close to 19 per 36. Crazy
The Celtics are probably too good for him to really have any value, but I think he'd be very fun to have on the team. Just a guy who comes in off the bench and grabs every rebound.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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The Celtics are probably too good for him to really have any value, but I think he'd be very fun to have on the team. Just a guy who comes in off the bench and grabs every rebound.
I think a lot of teams - including BOS - were interested in him but apparently CHI would rather be 9th and in the play-in tournament than make their team better in the long run.

Scal went on a rant about this during one of the post-game shows (replayed on Forsberg's pod).
 

jmcc5400

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Last nights performance likely moved him up to a Top-30 player this year. Good on him.
Kidding aside, assuming rest and health, if you're tied going into the 4th quarter of a must win game are there three players you'd take over LeBron?