In-season NBA news thread

lovegtm

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Was looking at Tankathon: so crazy that the Bulls are on track to give the Magic the #7 pick for Vucevic, after already giving Wendell Carter Jr. on a good contract and the pick that became Franz Wagner.

That is one of the better heist-to-talentAcquired ratios in recent trades.
 

RSN Diaspora

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I get that it was the Spurs’ 50th anniversary and they set an attendance record, but I just find it comical that the NBA app is hyping this for a game in which the Warriors beat the ever lovin’ shit out of San Antonio.
60070
 

BigSoxFan

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I get that it was the Spurs’ 50th anniversary and they set an attendance record, but I just find it comical that the NBA app is hyping this for a game in which the Warriors beat the ever lovin’ shit out of San Antonio.
View attachment 60070
The most impressive part was the score. The Alamo Dome has historically been very difficult to shoot in but the Warriors were draining everything.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The most impressive part was the score. The Alamo Dome has historically been very difficult to shoot in but the Warriors were draining everything.
Yup, wrong thread but I was all about clicking the full game and especially 1H Unders. 241, 243 and 244 full game and up to 125.5 1H. It felt like stealing money until it didn’t.
 

BigSoxFan

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Yup, wrong thread but I was all about clicking the full game and especially 1H Unders. 241, 243 and 244 full game and up to 125.5 1H. It felt like stealing money until it didn’t.
Tell me about it. I teased the under up to 253.5….and still lost.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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TL was 2x SEC DPOY

Ainge must have been giddy when "Bob Williams" dropped to him at 27

The 2018 2nd round turned out a few solid players
https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2018.html
The biggest "skill" in drafting IMO is having picks in deep drafts.

There seems to me an incredible number of players from that draft still playing in the NBA. I wonder what's the record number of 1st rounders still playing in the league 5 years after the draft.
 

Euclis20

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The biggest "skill" in drafting IMO is having picks in deep drafts.

There seems to me an incredible number of players from that draft still playing in the NBA. I wonder what's the record number of 1st rounders still playing in the league 5 years after the draft.
I didn't look just at 1st rounders, but there are 36 players from the 2018 draft still active, in their 5th season. Going back another 20 years, there are 4 drafts with exactly 36 players who played for 5+ years: 1998, 2005, 2009 and 2011. No drafts had more than 36 players still active in year 5, the average seems to be about 30 players lasting at least that long.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I didn't look just at 1st rounders, but there are 36 players from the 2018 draft still active, in their 5th season. Going back another 20 years, there are 4 drafts with exactly 36 players who played for 5+ years: 1998, 2005, 2009 and 2011. No drafts had more than 36 players still active in year 5, the average seems to be about 30 players lasting at least that long.
Thanks for the info!
 

SemperFidelisSox

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More games at different venues like the NHL Winter Classic or Field of Dreams games would be cool. I bet Lakers-Warriors could easily sell out SoFi Stadium.
 

InstaFace

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we ought to have some competitive games against top EuroLeague teams. Let them come play against us at some convenient point. Maybe against recently-eliminated teams during off days later in the playoffs or something. Or the teams who lose in the play-in tournament get a few of those games towards the end of the window for each playoff round, to pad the nightly schedule.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Getting back to the All-NBA discussion with respect to Jaylen. Is he considered a guard or a forward for All-NBA purposes?

Isn't there a 70% games played requirement for All-NBA, so to qualify, you must play in 57 of your team's games? I think there's a number of guys who are going to be right on the cusp of not qualifying potentially, and was curious if that will help Jaylen in the end, but I don't know who he's up against by position.
 

Euclis20

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Getting back to the All-NBA discussion with respect to Jaylen. Is he considered a guard or a forward for All-NBA purposes?

Isn't there a 70% games played requirement for All-NBA, so to qualify, you must play in 57 of your team's games? I think there's a number of guys who are going to be right on the cusp of not qualifying potentially, and was curious if that will help Jaylen in the end, but I don't know who he's up against by position.
It's an impossible question. He definitely played mostly guard last year, starting alongside smart in the backcourt (with tatum/horford/williams in the frontcourt). This year he's definitely played mostly forward, with White/Smart getting most of the starts in the backcourt. Jaylen didn't change, just the players around him did. He counts as a guard for the all star voting apparently, why is that?

We've known for years there are three positions - point guard, wing and big man. If we must do positions, that's the way to go.
 

Deathofthebambino

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It's an impossible question. He definitely played mostly guard last year, starting alongside smart in the backcourt (with tatum/horford/williams in the frontcourt). This year he's definitely played mostly forward, with White/Smart getting most of the starts in the backcourt. Jaylen didn't change, just the players around him did. He counts as a guard for the all star voting apparently, why is that?

We've known for years there are three positions - point guard, wing and big man. If we must do positions, that's the way to go.
Gotcha. I guess I'm trying to figure out who to root to miss games to take them out of the running. For example, you can only miss 25 of your team's 82 games to qualify. Lillard has already missed 12, Curry has missed 14, etc.

Edit: Durant has only missed 2 games, but they have 17 games between now and the ASB. If he doesn't return before that, he'll have missed 19 games, leaving him only 6 more games he can miss to qualify.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I didn't look just at 1st rounders, but there are 36 players from the 2018 draft still active, in their 5th season. Going back another 20 years, there are 4 drafts with exactly 36 players who played for 5+ years: 1998, 2005, 2009 and 2011. No drafts had more than 36 players still active in year 5, the average seems to be about 30 players lasting at least that long.
Maybe a decade ago I broke down each pick and the results even surprised me. It was incredible how many guys drafted in the high to mid teens never made it past their rookie contract or a couple other shots before they were out of the league.
 

benhogan

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Was looking at Tankathon: so crazy that the Bulls are on track to give the Magic the #7 pick for Vucevic, after already giving Wendell Carter Jr. on a good contract and the pick that became Franz Wagner.

That is one of the better heist-to-talentAcquired ratios in recent trades.
yikes, getting heisted by the Orlando Magic no less :oops:

buying 30yr old BIG men can be a costly endeavor, just ask the Wolves
 

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Same with Larry Johnson though with his injuries. I guess that's kind of the point. If it's a knee or a back that dooms a guy like Morant early (or Zion), doesn't really matter. Just goes to show that Lebron is on another level wrt to what he's doing, and his ability to avoid injuries that derailed him.
That knee cost the Celtics 1-2 titles. Grrr.
I’ve never understood how it can be possible that someone believes in Intelligent Design and is also a sports fan. Or, like, a fucking human over the age of 30, for that matter.

Maybe 25.
 

InstaFace

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Getting back to the All-NBA discussion with respect to Jaylen. Is he considered a guard or a forward for All-NBA purposes?

Isn't there a 70% games played requirement for All-NBA, so to qualify, you must play in 57 of your team's games? I think there's a number of guys who are going to be right on the cusp of not qualifying potentially, and was curious if that will help Jaylen in the end, but I don't know who he's up against by position.
Are we positive we want him to make All-NBA, and thus qualify for the 35% max instead of the 30% max? We'd still be able to give him an extra year more than other teams would, but we'd save $6-7M/yr in salary plus the luxury tax on that difference (which might be as high as a 4-5x multiple). In one sense it's "not my money", but in another sense it's opportunity cost for funding our team's contention window.
 

lovegtm

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Are we positive we want him to make All-NBA, and thus qualify for the 35% max instead of the 30% max? We'd still be able to give him an extra year more than other teams would, but we'd save $6-7M/yr in salary plus the luxury tax on that difference (which might be as high as a 4-5x multiple). In one sense it's "not my money", but in another sense it's opportunity cost for funding our team's contention window.
The thinking is that no one except AD turns down the supermax, but lots of guys turn down the extra year.
 

mcpickl

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Getting back to the All-NBA discussion with respect to Jaylen. Is he considered a guard or a forward for All-NBA purposes?

Isn't there a 70% games played requirement for All-NBA, so to qualify, you must play in 57 of your team's games? I think there's a number of guys who are going to be right on the cusp of not qualifying potentially, and was curious if that will help Jaylen in the end, but I don't know who he's up against by position.
There is no minimum games requirement for all-NBA. Lebron made it with 45 games played out of the Lakers 72 in 2020-21. I'd imagine some voters have a cutoff they use in their vote. I'd guess if you only get to 50ish games you can still get voted in, but have to be a heck of a lot better than a guy who played 70ish games.

Jaylen will surely be on the ballot as both guard and forward.


Are we positive we want him to make All-NBA, and thus qualify for the 35% max instead of the 30% max? We'd still be able to give him an extra year more than other teams would, but we'd save $6-7M/yr in salary plus the luxury tax on that difference (which might be as high as a 4-5x multiple). In one sense it's "not my money", but in another sense it's opportunity cost for funding our team's contention window.
I think this depends on the new CBA.

If they change the extension rules where Jaylen can be extended for his 30% max this summer, I'd root against him making all-NBA.

If they don't change the extension rules, I'd root for him to make it so they could extend him this summer at 35%, rather than have to wait until summer 24 and hope his signs here at the 30% max.

I believe they will change the extension rules, so I'm currently rooting for him to miss all-NBA by one spot.
 

Euclis20

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I think this depends on the new CBA.

If they change the extension rules where Jaylen can be extended for his 30% max this summer, I'd root against him making all-NBA.

If they don't change the extension rules, I'd root for him to make it so they could extend him this summer at 35%, rather than have to wait until summer 24 and hope his signs here at the 30% max.

I believe they will change the extension rules, so I'm currently rooting for him to miss all-NBA by one spot.
This is key. If the Celtics don't win this year and they go into next season with him entering the final year of his deal (and Tatum just a year away from free agency himself), that's an uncomfortable amount of pressure to put on the team next year.

If Jaylen makes all-NBA and turns down the super max, as shitty as that would be, it would be very instructive for the Celtics moving forward. Information is more important that tax flexibility in this regard.
 

Deathofthebambino

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There is no minimum games requirement for all-NBA. Lebron made it with 45 games played out of the Lakers 72 in 2020-21. I'd imagine some voters have a cutoff they use in their vote. I'd guess if you only get to 50ish games you can still get voted in, but have to be a heck of a lot better than a guy who played 70ish games.

Jaylen will surely be on the ballot as both guard and forward.
Gotcha, a few sites and Adam Silver seemed to all have gotten this wrong:

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/19/adam-silver-nba-to-consider-games-played-minimum-for-awards/

I think a lot of folks are incorrectly reading the 70% number for stats leaders as applying to end of season awards.

Thanks for clarifying.
 

Smokey Joe

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So I am listening to the Lowe post podcast from last night. Zach is interviewing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and asks him about how he found out about being traded to Denver. Part of his answer was along the lines of “I wasn’t surprised because I had talked with a Denver coach back when I was on the Lakers about how much they liked my game and how they would like me on the Nuggets.”

So did KCP just out the Denver staff for tampering ?
 

Cellar-Door

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Harden over Jaylen Brown is bizarre.
How so?
Harden has been better than Brown. The guy is putting up 21.5/6.5/11.2 on better TS than Brown, and it isn't like Jaylen has some big defensive advantage.
Jaylen is good enough to be an All-Star, but Harden is probably better.
 

Kliq

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How so?
Harden has been better than Brown. The guy is putting up 21.5/6.5/11.2 on better TS than Brown, and it isn't like Jaylen has some big defensive advantage.
Jaylen is good enough to be an All-Star, but Harden is probably better.
Brown's played in 11 more games. Brown is a better defender than James Harden. Brown has a higher eFG%. Brown turns the ball over less. Brown is the second best player on the clear best team in the NBA.
 

Cellar-Door

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Brown's played in 11 more games. Brown is a better defender than James Harden. Brown has a higher eFG%. Brown turns the ball over less. Brown is the second best player on the clear best team in the NBA.
Even if we stipulate all of that (not totally backed up on the defensive end)... it certainly isn't bizaare for a guy putting up Harden's numbers to be chosen over him. Sure games played is the best argument, but otherwise basically every metric says Harden has been significantly more impactful than Jaylen Brown. The idea it's "bizarre" for him to be chosen over Jaylen is just pure homerism.
 

Euclis20

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The Ringer's nba player rankings from January 10 basically had them even (Harden was 19th, Jaylen was 21st). I'd take Jaylen because I'm of the opinion that defense and durability are always criminally underrated in these discussions, but this is an all-star game - I get Harden being higher.
 

Cellar-Door

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The Ringer's nba player rankings from January 10 basically had them even (Harden was 19th, Jaylen was 21st). I'd take Jaylen because I'm of the opinion that defense and durability are always criminally underrated in these discussions, but this is an all-star game - I get Harden being higher.
Also... Jaylen has been pretty bad on defense this year. He's always been overrated on that end because he's good on-ball and terrible off, but this year his on-ball D has been not great either. Conversely, Harden is underrated on D, he's not good, but he's not as bad as he was at times when he was in HOU, and he's always been good in the post. This isn't a case of like... Trae Young where it's a horrific defender with good offense. Harden is just a bit below average on D and an elite offensive player. Brown isn't at that level offensively (maybe the scoring, but he brings nowhere near the playmaking) and his defense is average at best this year.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Also... Jaylen has been pretty bad on defense this year. He's always been overrated on that end because he's good on-ball and terrible off, but this year his on-ball D has been not great either. Conversely, Harden is underrated on D, he's not good, but he's not as bad as he was at times when he was in HOU, and he's always been good in the post. This isn't a case of like... Trae Young where it's a horrific defender with good offense. Harden is just a bit below average on D and an elite offensive player. Brown isn't at that level offensively (maybe the scoring, but he brings nowhere near the playmaking) and his defense is average at best this year.
Harden doesn’t appear to even be below average this year compared to other perimeter defenders. He’s very sneaky/savvy too. Of course there is a special category for Trae in this regard.
 

Cellar-Door

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Harden doesn’t appear to even be below average this year compared to other perimeter defenders. He’s very sneaky/savvy too. Of course there is a special category for Trae in this regard.
Hey Trae might have some company.... despite his lack of physical limitations, Jalen Green is putting up elite bad defense.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Hey Trae might have some company.... despite his lack of physical limitations, Jalen Green is putting up elite bad defense.
That’s the entire Houston team so I don’t even know who is physically limited or BBIQ challenged yet. I do know that Sengun is far and away their most efficient offensive player but his defense makes Enes Kanter look like Draymond. I don’t disagree that both Green and Porter are pretty clueless and immature. That team is a train wreck from an X’s and O’s perspective.
 

Cellar-Door

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That’s the entire Houston team so I don’t even know who is physically limited or BBIQ challenged yet. I do know that Sengun is far and away their most efficient offensive player but his defense makes Enes Kanter look like Draymond. I don’t disagree that both Green and Porter are pretty clueless and immature. That team is a train wreck from an X’s and O’s perspective.
They're a depressing watch. Gordon was trying for a while then clearly just threw his hands up and said "well fuck it, if nobody is going to make an effort and there are no consequences why am I trying"
 

HomeRunBaker

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They're a depressing watch. Gordon was trying for a while then clearly just threw his hands up and said "well fuck it, if nobody is going to make an effort and there are no consequences why am I trying"
Gordon could be a target for a contender at the deadline. Tough salary to match though.
 

Kliq

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Charlotte is the other team like Houston where I just feel like they have no direction and are held to no standards. A lot of bad habits for LaMelo to develop this early in his career.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Charlotte is the other team like Houston where I just feel like they have no direction and are held to no standards. A lot of bad habits for LaMelo to develop this early in his career.
I believe LaMelo is super high BBIQ from what I’ve seen of him. I think this will really show once he gets into a functional setting. My gut says he smart enough as a player to overcome this.
 

djbayko

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I don't know. The kid seemed to like it when he saw who it was. They must have a relationship from prior workouts. I hate Dray, but that's meh.
 

Reverend

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Kid took it impressively well. I wonder if he’s used it. Like, something that happens a lot with NBA kids. :p

Deuce does seem pretty awesome.
 

Smokey Joe

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If I remember correctly, Tatum was at Draymonds wedding. Deuce may have been there as well.
 

Reverend

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If you feel anything but happiness from seeing someone show love to his kid, even Draymond, then you take this game too seriously
Have you ever grabbed a kid from a direction where he can’t see you and don’t know who it is? I actually do think it’s weird and risky that Deuce doesn’t freak out until he knew who it was. So I found it fascinating.
 

Reverend

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If you feel anything but happiness from seeing someone show love to his kid, even Draymond, then you take this game too seriously
Oh right, I almost forgot: Ultimately, the interaction is indicative of Tatum having a good relationship with Draymond, which I thought was interesting in and of itself.
 

Euclis20

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Oh right, I almost forgot: Ultimately, the interaction is indicative of Tatum having a good relationship with Draymond, which I thought was interesting in and of itself.
They've been close for awhile. Someone mentioned tatum at draymond's wedding, plus they were on the Olympic team together and tatum has been a guest on his podcast. It's ultimately a pretty small league - a few guys probably genuinely don't like each other, but most of them seem to get along fine (and tatum doesn't seem the type to get on anyone's nerves).