January 2020 General NBA Game Thread

HomeRunBaker

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Till he lost the ball with the chance to win at the end of regulation. But yeah, he is beasting. He is putting on a spectacular show tonight.
As soon as I hit "Post Reply" he dribbled the ball off his foot.....that was my fault. He's in so much better shape this year too. It looks like he lost 10-15 lbs from his days of being a weakside spectator of The James Harden Show.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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As soon as I hit "Post Reply" he dribbled the ball off his foot.....that was my fault. He's in so much better shape this year too. It looks like he lost 10-15 lbs from his days of being a weakside spectator of The James Harden Show.
The fascinating thing about Paul is that he is having a very solid season and OKC is a playoff team so there is no reason to trade him. On the other hand, the guy would be a beast on a playoff team - imagine the 76ers or Heat getting him - however as everyone knows, that contract is toxic. So we have a basketball genius who has essentially been stuck in a hoops limbo for years - some of it his own making - and will likely stay there for the balance of his career. It would have been kind of cool to see a fully weaponized (i.e. not weak side watching) CP3 in a finals
 

lovegtm

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The fascinating thing about Paul is that he is having a very solid season and OKC is a playoff team so there is no reason to trade him. On the other hand, the guy would be a beast on a playoff team - imagine the 76ers or Heat getting him - however as everyone knows, that contract is toxic. So we have a basketball genius who has essentially been stuck in a hoops limbo for years - some of it his own making - and will likely stay there for the balance of his career. It would have been kind of cool to see a fully weaponized (i.e. not weak side watching) CP3 in a finals
Yeah, I guess he and Kevin Love are doing the opposite of ring-chasing? Signing onerous contracts that make contenders not want you, even when you’re still good?
 

HomeRunBaker

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Yeah, I guess he and Kevin Love are doing the opposite of ring-chasing? Signing onerous contracts that make contenders not want you, even when you’re still good?
Love signed w Cleveland after LeBron left but Paul signed his deal with Houston.....not w OKC.
 

lovegtm

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Exactly: there’s a “hoisted on his on petard” poetic justice to the fact that Paul went out of his way to alter the rules and make this millstone contract possible, and now is stuck in OKC as a result.

Kudos to him for still being an amazing player and giving them his all though. Pretty stark contrast to Love’s situation (although I understand the reasons that Cleveland is more fucked.)
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Love also has a ring so while he is in another basketball limbo, he has been atop the mountain. Paul may never get there.
 

benhogan

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Exactly: there’s a “hoisted on his on petard” poetic justice to the fact that Paul went out of his way to alter the rules and make this millstone contract possible, and now is stuck in OKC as a result.

Kudos to him for still being an amazing player and giving them his all though. Pretty stark contrast to Love’s situation (although I understand the reasons that Cleveland is more fucked.)
If CP can retain some efficiency w/age, contracts coming off, some young talent around him, and draft stock (to make deals). OKC is in a much, much better place then if they were stuck w/ Russ.

Credit to them for making the best out of a tricky situation.
 

Tony C

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Which team had to throw in the two first rounders and the two pick swaps, again?
Yep. There was a lot of talk about how much the Lakers gave up for AD and with Ingram balling and Lonzo Ball really picking it up, that's not unfair -- but it's still clearly worth it for a top player like Davis. Less was made of the price the Clippers paid for PG, but I think a better argument can be made that they overpaid -- I love PG (and obviously as part of getting Kawhi the Clippers had to do that deal), but Shai and Gallo is really good immediate return and with Shai great long-term. Plus, as you point out, all the other assets. And then, yeah, the Russ/CP3 swap was great for OKC, too. Great off-season for OKC.

I've been saying it all year -- love the Thunder as an underrated team that will be dangerous in the playoffs.
 

Kliq

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Yep. There was a lot of talk about how much the Lakers gave up for AD and with Ingram balling and Lonzo Ball really picking it up, that's not unfair -- but it's still clearly worth it for a top player like Davis. Less was made of the price the Clippers paid for PG, but I think a better argument can be made that they overpaid -- I love PG (and obviously as part of getting Kawhi the Clippers had to do that deal), but Shai and Gallo is really good immediate return and with Shai great long-term. Plus, as you point out, all the other assets. And then, yeah, the Russ/CP3 swap was great for OKC, too. Great off-season for OKC.

I've been saying it all year -- love the Thunder as an underrated team that will be dangerous in the playoffs.
Until Chris Paul gets a lower body injury during the playoffs.
 

lovegtm

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The crazy thing is that OKC is still killing it if those injuries happen.
 

Kliq

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The crazy thing is that OKC is still killing it if those injuries happen.
OKC is a nice little story, but if they somehow manage to make it into the playoffs and Paul and Gallo go down they will be annihilated in the first round by one of the LA teams.
 

lovegtm

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OKC is a nice little story, but if they somehow manage to make it into the playoffs and Paul and Gallo go down they will be annihilated in the first round by one of the LA teams.
Of course. I'm referring to getting SGA, picks, and getting off Westbrook's contract for assets while probably getting the better player in CP3.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Yeah, Presti is a magician. He took a bad situation with seemingly little leverage and banked two giant long-term wins.
And while staying competitive and entertaining in the short-term as well. Doing a complete teardown a la Hinkie is relatively easy; completely reshaping a team over a 5-10 year period while generally remaining competitive during that time frame like Ainge and Presti have done is significantly more impressive (and yes I know there were some bad years for Boston in that span but nothing like what the Sixers went through).
 

AMS25

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:) and don't forget Gallo's inevitable injury.
The Thunder have been very careful with Gallo. He's missed quite a few games since December with a "sore ankle." The Thunder wouldn't be winning without CP3, but they could live without Gallo. I think he's the most likely to be traded.
 

snowmanny

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Harden with 22 in the first quarter against the Hawks. Trying to top his 60 point game against them.
 

HomeRunBaker

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22 points and 6 assists in a Quarter. I thought Harden struggles in the high quality strip club cities?
Atlanta's defense gave up 159 to Houston in their first meeting. I guess you'd actually have to at least pretend to defend Harden to slow him down even in such a high quality strip club city as Atlanta.
 

snowmanny

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He scored 60 in that game and sat out the 4th quarter. So 82 in his first four quarters vs Atlanta this year. On 33 FGA
 

Sam Ray Not

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He scored 60 in that game and sat out the 4th quarter. So 82 in his first four quarters vs Atlanta this year. On 33 FGA
Okay, I’m not a fan, but ... that’s insane.

Between Giannis, Harden, LeBron and Doncic, this year’s MVP race is fixing to be brutal. All four would be runaway winners in many other seasons, and three of them are gonna get boned.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Denver's problem doesn't seem to be Jokic's conditioning thought its a factor. Its that they need another shot creator. Murray may someday be that guy but he just isn't good enough yet. Kemba would have been such a perfect fit for this team but thankfully they couldn't sign him outright.
 

HomeRunBaker

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What is the biggest story in the NBA tonight? Hawks and Rockets with mega scoring by Harden and Ice Trae? The Spurs opening a can of whoop ass on the Celtics at home (aided by their sixth man, Evan Scott)? Jimmy Butler blowing happy new year kisses to T.J. Warren?

Nope, nope and nope. Instead, its this...

View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1215119622367850496?s=20
There is no truth to the rumor that Kevin Love was the player most offended.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Mark Jackson with the absolute quote of the year just now. Warriors trail the Bucks by 6 and intentionally foul Giannis with 2:06 on the clock when Marky Mark fires off this beauty, "Usually I don't like to do this so early."

Of course we on an internet message board recognize that the Warriors only had 6 more seconds in which to intentionally foul Giannis to send him to the line...….apparently Mark Jackson did not. After Breen reminds Jackson that the Warriors only had 6 more seconds to foul Giannis intentionally without the ball there was silence on Jackson's part until he tried (unsuccessfully) to dig himself out of the hole by saying he knew the rule but meant that you could foul Giannis later when the ball was in his hands if he was bringing the ball upcourt…….which of course he would never be doing in this spot at the end of a game.
 
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Kliq

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Ice Trae and the Beard combined for 20-64 FG + 35-41 FT tonight. Must have been fun to watch.
Young is low key super good at getting to the line. Since the merger, only three other players have been 6'1" or shorter and averaged at least 8 FTA per game, which Trae is currently at. Michael Adams once during the crazy Paul Westhead season, Iverson a bunch of times, and IT in 16-17. He has definitely gone to the Harden school of foul-baiting when he does go to the basket.
 

benhogan

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Mark Jackson with the absolute quote of the year just now. Warriors trail the Bucks by 6 and intentionally foul Giannis with 2:06 on the clock when Marky Mark fires off this beauty, "Usually I don't like to do this so early."

Of course we on an internet message board recognize that the Warriors only had 6 more seconds in which to intentionally foul Giannis to send him to the line...….apparently Mark Jackson did not. After Breen reminds Jackson that the Warriors only had 6 more seconds to foul Giannis intentionally without the ball there was silence on Jackson's part until he tried (unsuccessfully) to dig himself out of the hole by saying he knew the rule but meant that you could foul Giannis later when the ball was in his hands if he was bringing the ball upcourt…….which of course he would never be doing in this spot at the end of a game.
well that confirms it

Ladies and gentlemen your New York Knicks 2020-21 head coach: Mark Jackson
 

Kliq

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I think you could take a recording of Jackson's audio during any game he has done, swap out the teams and names, and play it during any other game and it wouldn't be that inaccurate. He makes almost no actual observations during the game, he just says generic coach things and his catchphrases.
 

Kliq

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A guy that is having an under-the-radar great season and has overall turned into a very good player is Clint Capela. Averaging 14 and 14 with two blocks and shooting an absurd 64 percent from the field. Harden gets a lot of (deserved) publicity but Capela, with his screen setting, threat as a roller and the lone big man/rebounder for a small-ball team, does a ton of important things for Houston and the advanced metrics like him a lot. He also seems to be playing with a mean streak, a kind of edge that has become big for Houston. I noticed it a lot during the game last week against Philly, he really wanted to take it to Embiid and tried to dunk everything that came his way, finishing with 30 points and 14 rebounds. It's tough to make the ASG in the West at Center with KAT, Gobert, Davis and Jokic in the way, but he has been really great this season. Imagine if the Celtics took him in 2014 instead of James Young.
 

HomeRunBaker

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A guy that is having an under-the-radar great season and has overall turned into a very good player is Clint Capela. Averaging 14 and 14 with two blocks and shooting an absurd 64 percent from the field. Harden gets a lot of (deserved) publicity but Capela, with his screen setting, threat as a roller and the lone big man/rebounder for a small-ball team, does a ton of important things for Houston and the advanced metrics like him a lot. He also seems to be playing with a mean streak, a kind of edge that has become big for Houston. I noticed it a lot during the game last week against Philly, he really wanted to take it to Embiid and tried to dunk everything that came his way, finishing with 30 points and 14 rebounds. It's tough to make the ASG in the West at Center with KAT, Gobert, Davis and Jokic in the way, but he has been really great this season. Imagine if the Celtics took him in 2014 instead of James Young.
Capela better never leave Houston and his role as their lone big and rim runner with the ball in Harden’s hands. He is so limited skill-wise but is so perfect for that role similar to Holmes in Sac but obviously more visible with the Rockets.
 

Kliq

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Capela better never leave Houston and his role as their lone big and rim runner with the ball in Harden’s hands. He is so limited skill-wise but is so perfect for that role similar to Holmes in Sac but obviously more visible with the Rockets.
Eh, obviously Houston is a perfect fit for him, but put him anywhere with a capable creator that can run the PnR and he would be pretty much just as good.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Eh, obviously Houston is a perfect fit for him, but put him anywhere with a capable creator that can run the PnR and he would be pretty much just as good.
Imagine him in Dallas with Doncic. That would be a terrifyingly good fit.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Eh, obviously Houston is a perfect fit for him, but put him anywhere with a capable creator that can run the PnR and he would be pretty much just as good.
There are some similar but if he’s not the lone big his Reb numbers will take a big hit. He’s a niche player for sure. A lot like Ariza in that sense but obviously with a diff skill set.
 
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Kliq

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There are some similar but if he’s not the lone big his Reb numbers will take a big hit. He’s a niche player for sure. A lot like Ariza in that sense but obviously with a diff skill set.
Good thing most teams play with one big.
 

Swedgin

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It's tough to make the ASG in the West at Center with KAT, Gobert, Davis and Jokic in the way, but he has been really great this season. Imagine if the Celtics took him in 2014 instead of James Young.
Even harder, because Center does not exist for All Star. You are either a guard or a front court player.
 

Kliq

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Even harder, because Center does not exist for All Star. You are either a guard or a front court player.
Yeah I know, but since the coaches pick the reserves I think some of them will pick one or two true 5s and not just all wings.
 

ElUno20

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Not enough attention has been given to the embarrassing effort from Dame and CJ this year. This is piss poor pathetic. The laziest i got paid and mailing it in performances in years
 
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Kliq

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Lol Dame isn't the problem in Portland, he is having the exact same, All-NBA caliber season he has had the last few years. Portland's problem is that their two best big men are hurt and they only have one wing who can play defense.