December 2019 General NBA Game Thread

benhogan

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His passing game is at another level than Harrell and Capela, and his defense is at another level than Sabaonis. There probably aren't any perfect comps. Bam is also an OK FT shooter at a career .712 mark and is decent from 10-16 ft. If he adds a reliable 3 point shot, ugh.
I like Bam a lot also and believe his defense is good.

Do you think Sabonis is a bad or average defender?
 

Cesar Crespo

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I like Bam a lot also and believe his defense is good.

Do you think Sabonis is a bad or average defender?
Averagish but I guess the numbers suggest otherwise. Although if you go by DBPM Sabonis is a good 2.5. Bam is a ridiculous 4.6.
 

benhogan

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Averagish but I guess the numbers suggest otherwise.
they do

think Baynes like positional defender that rebounds better

shockingly Sabonis On/Off defense is better than his teammate, Myles Turner, for 2 seasons running

Myles Turner is considered by many to be one of the best defensive 5s, so I think it's safe to say Sabonis is a good defender (can also look at DReb/36, DRtg, DBPM) even though his blocks/steals are meh

Yea Bam is absurdly good defensively, he'll be competing with Jaylen for most improved
 
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benhogan

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Sabonis has a really high ratio of strength to visible muscle.
Good genes. Still young, growing and improving. He moves guys around in the paint.

I agree with you about the Pacers. They'll have a very nice roster once Oladipo is back to being himself (probably next season), especially if they add a plus two-way wing for Turner.

Funny enough I believe Theis is stronger than his visible muscle also. They will probably battle each other tonight with Jaylen guarding Turner.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The most polarizing (non-violent) athlete in the world had another one tonight. 55 points on 20-34 from the field including 10-18 from step-back land as well as eight assists. He is now averaging more than eight points per game (@~39) than the next closest scoring leader which is Giannis.


I get the hate but he is doing undeniably amazing things.
 

Apisith

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I get that he’s polarising but the dude is putting up career high in points and doing it with an almost career high TS%. The more he shoots, the better he gets. It’s pretty insane.
 

Kliq

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I have no idea how he jumped that high, given the momentum/angle of his body when he took off. That was freaky.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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RIP All Of Australia.

In other masochistic news, DLo hits a three to send the Knicks @ Dubs to OT. And I am watching.

Finally, the Kings are getting a bit frisky, winning their third in a row and while it wasn't a buzzer beater or a shot by Bjelica, Bogdanovic hit a late three to seal the win over OKC.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I still hold a grudge against Harden and the Rockets for losing both games to the Nets '15/'16. Of course, we got Jaylen anyway so it's all for the best.
 

Apisith

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54 for Harden. 19/31, 10/15 from 3, 6/6 FTs. Incredible. Just too fucking good.

109 points in his last 2 games, 60% FG, 61% from 3. Only 11 FTs as well for the haters.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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54 for Harden. 19/31, 10/15 from 3, 6/6 FTs. Incredible. Just too fucking good.

109 points in his last 2 games, 60% FG, 61% from 3. Only 11 FTs as well for the haters.
Would not have on my team. Scores too much. Also too much facial hair.

Seriously, what he is doing is amazing. He really has kind of hacked the sport.
 

Just a bit outside

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They had an espn daily podcast with Zach Lowe talking about Harden breaking the game. They mentioned how the Nuggets got sick of it and started doubling him at half court and making him get rid of the ball. Then the Raptors and Mavs did it. I didn’t watch tonight but wondering if it has happened the last 2 games?
 

HomeRunBaker

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Casually watching this Clipper/Wolves game since the Clips were up by around 30...….I look up and it's single digits! This is what happens when you prematurely shift your focus to tomorrow nights big game in Chicago.
 

Imbricus

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Watched the Lakers hand the Heat their first home loss last night. LA can throw a really long team at you. Lebron's ability to flick hard no-look passes around the floor to open teammates is amazing; Doris was gushing over it. I didn't realize it before, but now that the NBA has gone with "true heights" barefoot, he's 6' 9", not 6' 8" (apparently he grew almost an inch after age 18). He still seems to be able to easily create at will and make his defender look like a boy among men. Now he just picks his spots more carefully and isn't trying to carry the offense all the time. Their games against Milwaukee and Philly will be interesting.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Watched the Lakers hand the Heat their first home loss last night. LA can throw a really long team at you. Lebron's ability to flick hard no-look passes around the floor to open teammates is amazing; Doris was gushing over it. I didn't realize it before, but now that the NBA has gone with "true heights" barefoot, he's 6' 9", not 6' 8" (apparently he grew almost an inch after age 18). He still seems to be able to easily create at will and make his defender look like a boy among men. Now he just picks his spots more carefully and isn't trying to carry the offense all the time. Their games against Milwaukee and Philly will be interesting.
Most teams will have matchup nightmares against the Lakers but the Heat’s struggles with their lack of frontcourt length/athleticism made last nights 2H look like a HS varsity team going up against a middle school squad. I don’t have the 2H numbers but if you told me the Lakers had more off rebs than the Heat did def reb I would not be surprised.
 

lovegtm

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Most teams will have matchup nightmares against the Lakers but the Heat’s struggles with their lack of frontcourt length/athleticism made last nights 2H look like a HS varsity team going up against a middle school squad. I don’t have the 2H numbers but if you told me the Lakers had more off rebs than the Heat did def reb I would not be surprised.
And yet we don’t hear endless hand-wringing from the media about how the Heat need a big center....hmmmmzors
I mean, everyone knows that if there are two guys who can bang down low, it’s Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard.
 

benhogan

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And yet we don’t hear endless hand-wringing from the media about how the Heat need a big center....hmmmmzors
I mean, everyone knows that if there are two guys who can bang down low, it’s Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard.
Miami had a nice offseason adding a bunch of under the radar players (Nunn, Robinson, Leonard). Coach Spo did a great job burying malcontents James Johnson and Dion Waiters who didn't buy into the team philosophy.

They are a good match for the Lakers/76ers/Bucks/bigger teams with Butler/Winslow in the backcourt. Obviously they could have used Winslow and Dragic last night

Miami does have bad contracts (Waiters/Johnson) to make a deal if necessary.
 

lovegtm

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Miami had a nice offseason adding a bunch of under the radar players (Nunn, Robinson, Leonard). Coach Spo did a great job burying malcontents James Johnson and Dion Waiters who didn't buy into the team philosophy.

They are a good match for the Lakers/76ers/Bucks/bigger teams with Butler/Winslow in the backcourt. Obviously they could have used Winslow and Dragic last night

Miami does have bad contracts (Waiters/Johnson) to make a deal if necessary.
Agree with all this, it’s just funny how we don’t hear about how the Celtics big 2-4 (or 1-4 with Smart) is great for matching up on the big wings who dominate the league, and everyone instead focuses on center.
 

chilidawg

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Agree with all this, it’s just funny how we don’t hear about how the Celtics big 2-4 (or 1-4 with Smart) is great for matching up on the big wings who dominate the league, and everyone instead focuses on center.
Because that's what we're not good at. Things we're good at (like defending wings) get far less attention.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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This Spurs/Suns game in Mexico City is fun. Oubre with a three with ~ three seconds left to tie the game at 109.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Break up the Bulls!

I know its the second night of a B2B for the Clippers and Kawhi Loadmanagement sat out tonight while Lou Will is out with an injury but the Bulls beat the Clippers 109-106 in Chicago. Kris Dunn made a huge effort backtap to Denzel Washington who hit a three to tie. Then Zach LaVine (31 points on 11-21 shooting) got a old-school three by going right at Trez Harrell - who committed a foul - to put up the deciding points.

The Bulls, at 10-18 are one of those teams who are likely to frustrate any opposing fanbase given that they can look like total crap one stretch and then a really competitive team for others. But they seem to be improving behind LaVine etc and tonight was their first victory of the season versus a team with a winning record.
 

snowmanny

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Um 110-95 Mavs with no Luka to 119-116 with the Bucks having the ball with three seconds left but...Mavs hold on.
 

Cesar Crespo

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De'Andre Ayton returns tonight from his 25 game suspension. Curious what they will do with Baynes, though you'd think Kaminsky is more at risk.
 

shawnrbu

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Lakers road win streak ends. Rondo nearly drained a deep 3 to send it to OT.

In a few years Milwaukee might be kicking itself for not keeping Brogdon similar to OKC letting Harden go.

Sabonis with his 23rd double double of the season.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I am willing to bet that the Bucks were never happy about having to let Brogdon walk. He is undeniably a very good player and Indiana was smart to nab him.

That said, the advanced stats out there don't support what seems to be very high view of him in the NBA pundit/Twitter-verse. Before tonight, Brogdon was 46th in PIPM, 58th in RPM and ranked relatively low in terms of his net differential on Cleaning The Glass.

In other news, break up the Knicks who smashed the Hawks 143-120 behind RJ Barrett. NYK is clearly a bad team but if you squint enough, you can see how they may improve as the season goes along, especially as Barrett figures things out.

On the other side, Trae Young has been amazing in spots but Atlanta overall has been disappointing. I thought they might be a bit better than this but they are terrible. Aside from Young, De'Andre Hunter is looking like he can score in the league, Huerter is a solid rotational player and its too soon to judge Reddish. But the rest of that team is not good.
 

BigSoxFan

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I am willing to bet that the Bucks were never happy about having to let Brogdon walk. He is undeniably a very good player and Indiana was smart to nab him.

That said, the advanced stats out there don't support what seems to be very high view of him in the NBA pundit/Twitter-verse. Before tonight, Brogdon was 46th in PIPM, 58th in RPM and ranked relatively low in terms of his net differential on Cleaning The Glass.

In other news, break up the Knicks who smashed the Hawks 143-120 behind RJ Barrett. NYK is clearly a bad team but if you squint enough, you can see how they may improve as the season goes along, especially as Barrett figures things out.

On the other side, Trae Young has been amazing in spots but Atlanta overall has been disappointing. I thought they might be a bit better than this but they are terrible. Aside from Young, De'Andre Hunter is looking like he can score in the league, Huerter is a solid rotational player and its too soon to judge Reddish. But the rest of that team is not good.
Yup. They would have offered Jaylen the max in about 0.01 seconds had we not gotten the job done there.
 

HomeRunBaker

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It is too soon, but man he has been so bad this year
I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by this. Reddish underperformed at Duke last year despite having defenses shading Zion and RJ. If I recall there were some competitiveness questions surrounding him at the draft. I've never seen Cam do anything on the floor to make me think he'll make it in this league. He "looks" like he should be a good shooter but isn't and that is his calling card.
 

lovegtm

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Not sure he'll be that good but the Pacers are going to be tough if Oladipo integrates nicely into their rotation. And I expect him to.
This season (and the NBA going forward) is fun as hell. There are some dominant teams in a point differential sense, but no one who presents the unmatchable lineups the Warriors did. Everyone has different styles and Achilles heels; it's awesome.

(It's also really sad to me that the cap situation that allowed GSW to get Durant robbed us of 2 years of this. I'm aware that the NBA ratings say otherwise, but fuck it.)
 

BigSoxFan

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The growth of Bam Adebayo has been pretty impressive. Miami has a good thing going here.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Thank goodness the Celtics game won't have JVG or Breen. They and the next great head-coach-in-waiting, Mark Jackson are absolute abominations.