2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread
- Thread starter DeJesus Built My Hotrod
- Start date
That small nerdy guy accosting Beal on the way to the locker room and Beal laughing was great. I wish the Bullets were in the west so I could root for them
True, I forgot to factor in that he was playing against starters. I doubt that continues when Morris returns though. Given how bad the Wizards bench is, he may still end up getting 30 minutes a night anyway. The only bench players they'll have is him and Meeks.
Seeing the highlights of this OKC Wolves game and it is crazy how much talent is in the NBA right now. I don't remember anything like it.
Wondering whether Crowder is not as good as he seemed to be last year? I’m sure there are adjustment challenges associated with a new team and new offensive and defensive systems but he seems to be undersized, slow, not a great defender or rebounder and unable to create his own shot. Maybe his best quality was he was a good system fit for the Celtics?
I brought this up on CelticsNuts but now is the ideal time for Silver to expand back into Seattle and into Las Vegas.
He's a role player. He was put in the best position to succeed while he was on the Celtics. He's asked to do less on offense in Cleveland and his rebounding rate has plummeted playing on a team with Love, Thompson and James. His shooting numbers really aren't all that far off from where they were last year. His assists numbers are down a little too, but you would expect that playing alongside James. I was never that big on Crowder though and always thought he was really overrated. He was one of the most polarizing guys on the Celtics along with K.O and Smart.
The refs are officiating the Bullets/Oakland game the same way I would .....and I hate Oakland. This is a joke. Wonder if Kerr is going to go off post game.
In re OKC, my own observation is that Westbook is playing great, as is Paul George, and more importantly they're playing well together. Carmelo, on the other hand, despite good numbers as his shot was dropping tonight, is the same game as he was in NY: hold the ball, dribble, let the clock run down, shoot. Not a good sign for integrating him in.
I remember when Donyell Marshall hit 12 in one game.
Such an outlandish box score at the time.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200503130TOR.html
Kinda funny the only member in the HOF to ever hit 8 or more 3s in a game is Joe Dumars with exactly 8. That is going to change very soon.
Wizards act like a bunch of punks — Beal grabs Draymond by the throat unprovoked and gets them both ejected, then Oubre flies in and tries to land a couple of sucker punches with the two of them on the ground — then blow an 18 point third quarter lead like the chumps they are.
Pretty horrible game by all four members of the "two best backcourts in the NBA." Porter and Oubre go crazy from 3 to the build the lead; Warriors come back on the strength of KD, West, Casspi and ... wonder of all wonders, Kevon Looney.
Pretty horrible game by all four members of the "two best backcourts in the NBA." Porter and Oubre go crazy from 3 to the build the lead; Warriors come back on the strength of KD, West, Casspi and ... wonder of all wonders, Kevon Looney.
Apparently Kerr is honoring someone named Al Attles ( I don't really know who that is)
Tribute to the head coach of the '75 championship team and Warrior Legend Al Attles, who was hospitalized a couple of days ago (apparently nothing grave, fingers crossed, but the Ws are all about showing the love).
You may want to make an exception (SSS admittedly) for Jamal Murray. Through five games he's 29% from the field and 10% from 3-point range, with 3 assists and 0.4 steals per. Even last year, he wasn't a great shooter for a shooting guard, but better than this certainly.
100% Agree. Knocking off Beal/Wall, with their massive ego's, last year was pretty sweet. Just be glad that head thug, Markieff Morris, wasn't around throwing haymakers. They all play chippy, I swear Gortat sets back screens with the intent to injure. Oubre is a hot head, going mental on Olynyk and getting suspended in a key playoff game last year. Looks like Mike Scott fits right into their culture.
Thursday night was one of the few times I'll be a Laker fan this season. Enjoyed watching the Wiz crumble in the 4th Quarter last night.
Fully expect the Wizards to go over the line and try to intimidate by back picking/elbowing/shoving/grabbing the Celtic kids. The Marcus's should be healthy and ready to go by then to match their physicality.
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Apparently you haven't seen Aron Baynes in the shower. Me neither but he is a brawler. He and Marcus Morris are gonna be the Bill Laimbeer/Rick Mahorn combo for the Celts.
The beauty of watching this skirmish over and over for me is watching Bill Kennedy observe the action once they begin to go to the ground. He runs over to break it up as the official should then a lightbulb goes off in his head and he appears to be thinking, "F that shit, let them figure that all out."
Wonder how the other officials feel about this. Good job good effort Bill.
Wonder how the other officials feel about this. Good job good effort Bill.
There were a bunch of fans on Golden State of Mind who were like, "NOW we know why the Celtics hate these fuckers so much!" We also remember the nearly season-ending injury to KD that Gortat caused by hurling Zaza to into him. (Yeah, I know, Zaza...)
On repeated viewings: worse than the Beal/Draymond dust-up was Oubre running in and taking full swings at Klay (and hitting Wall, lol). As far as I can see, Klay, KD and Andre were 100% just trying to break it up.
Edit: as far as head thug Markieff — he was there, in a suit, and of course came off the bench and tried to get in on the action.
Ah well, Curry now 11-2 career v. Wall. Some of the real old-timers may also recall that that Al Attles '75 championship was against the MF Bullets, who came in as huge favorites and got swept.
Fun/sad random fact: in the 38 years between the 1975-76 and the 2014-15 championship, the Warriors won the Pacific Division ... zero times.
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Porter has gone from potential bust to NBA star in 4 years. The leaps he has made during each offseason have been truly remarkable. He shot 43% behind the arc last year good for 4th in the league and is now one of the best in the game.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/porteot01.html
Yeah, I was blown away at some of the plays he was making last night. I knew he had become ace at spot-up threes, but assumed most of those were wide open looks created by Wall and Beal. Last night he was juking guys and creating shots off the dribble like KD, and stroking them with KD-like confidence.
If the leaps forward by him (20.1 pts per 36 on .649 ts, 8.4 reb) and Oubre (.595 ts) so far this season are for real, those a-holes start to look like a fearsome team.
Attles has one of the great voices in the NBA. Miles deep. Makes Barry White sound like a falsetto.
Is Scott perceived as a dirty player? I have always thought of him as one of those NBA grinders (whom I love) who maximize every last bit of their ability and find a way to stay around the league. These are the guys who simply want it more than your Anthony Bennetts of the world.
I have a different view on the Wizards too. I like their chippy style, even if it annoys me when they are playing the Celtics or other teams whom I follow. The dapping-it-up culture of the current NBA feels at odds with the fact that these guys are trying to win basketball games and, while this part of the calendar isn't as crucial, these games count in the standings as much as the ones at the end of the season.
Finally, Beal clearly was the aggressor on that sequence in particular, however - and I am pretty well documented in this forum as, possibly, Draymond Green's biggest fan (he is the true MVP of Golden State imho - if he gets injured, their title odds take a bigger hit than they would without Durant or Curry) - Green gets no benefit of the doubt for what preceded that play in this game in any prior games. Simply put, Draymond Green is a very physical player and its no surprise that some guys will take issue with his style of play. The problem is that Beal has no business going toe to toe with Green as was evidenced by Draymond Carrying him off the court and throwing him out of the club Gronkowski style.
This was mostly a big nothing at the end of the day though.
Pretty sure "wanting it more than the Anthony Bennetts of the world" describes every player in the NBA. ;-P
I never had an issue with Mike Scott — liked him on Budenholzer's overachieving Hawks and thought he was an underrated part of what they did. If I have an issue with the team — beyond Gortat nearly ending KD's season — it's with Wall and Beal constantly whining about how great and overlooked they are, how they think they're better than Curry/Thompson, etc. without even a single conference finals appearance (in the East!) to back it up.
I personally think Wall, beastly as he can be in the open court, taking it to the rim, setting up teammates, etc. is a bit overrated, by himself and others. He was the #48 ranked player by RPM last year in his supposed career year, and has a career true shooting % of .518 (peak of .541 last season, down to .483 this year in a small sample). Paul Pierce's recent theory that he's the best PG in the NBA is too silly to even merit discussion, imo. He's not near Westbrook, let alone Curry (or LeBron!) I could see putting him in the tier with Lillard, Irving, Lowry, healthy IT and Conley, but I like all those guys more because poor shooting is a fairly tragic flaw for a modern-day PG.
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An overreaction on my part. Scott is a grinder and probably will take on the Wizards persona, so I'll just say I don't care for the Wizards schtick.
My take on last nights scrum:
Beal and his outsized ego couldn't withstand Draymond swatting his drive to the basket. So Beal comes back and jams his arm into Dray's lower back, then a forearm to the back of Dray's neck, then Beal chokes him. Dray just holds him up, no punches, retaliatory elbows or body slam. Add in Oubre with tossing punches in the pile-up. They both get tossed, with Beal walking off the court chuckling and being smug. How can anyone like the Wizards?
Really? This one?
It was cool, but I think this happens like 200 times a year. The Lakers never even tried to go up and get it.
Certainly doesn’t happen 200 times a year from a 6’3 guard. That was pretty impressive.
Anyone see the line on the Denver/Brooklyn game? Denver by 4 1/2, and they're playing in Brooklyn. That just seems wrong, unless the Nets really are last year's Nets. Remember, the Nets did start last year 4-5 before they collapsed.
Edit: fixed typo
Edit: fixed typo
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Denver has been semi disappointing this year but they are deep and talented. Even if the Nets aren't last years Nets, how many games are they really going to win? Who knows how it plays out, but going into the year the 8 seed having a 35-47 record wouldn't have shocked me too much. Some teams have looked better than I thought they would but it's still early. The Magic are 4-1 and in 1st place.
If Jabari Parker returns at 100% and this is the real Giannis, they could easily come out of the east. Giannis is out of his mind right now.
Also, John Collins looks like a player.
Also, John Collins looks like a player.
