NBA Cup 2024 discussion & gamethread: It's On. We'll Watch.

HomeRunBaker

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Shooting def has improved in the 2nd half, maybe they're getting used to it. Weird crowd too, very muted, I guess that's the neutral court effect as well.
No doubt. I’d imagine mostly locals, tourists and Californians who flock there in droves on weekends. Guessing not many Hawks or Thunder fans were flying in for the game.
 

kfoss99

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I could cross post this in the Media Thread.

I'm eating my breakfast watching an old F1 race on Pluto and there's an ad nearly every ad break for the NBA Emirates Cup. It doesn't say when or what channel. Just Grant Hill and Michael Imperioli shooting the shit about it.

If ratings are down, maybe the NBA needs to tell people how to watch in their own damn ads.
 

snowmanny

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I agree. It was odd. Basketball on TV is really enhanced by seeing the crowd reactions, whether the home team is winning or losing. It’s really annoying to me when the broadcast turns down the crowd feed and you can’t hear the fans roaring during a comeback, for example.

I only saw game 2 yesterday but there wasn’t much there there yesterday, especially for a matchup that on paper looked great. If that game had been in OKC or Houston I feel it would have been more compelling. But it’s only year 2 and maybe they will figure it out.
 

Kliq

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OKC vs Houston was a good game in that I thought it felt like a playoff series. Both teams are very strong defensively, and can get grimey on offense at times, so it didn't surprise me the game was a bit ugly, but it had a strong intensity.

OKC vs Milwaukee should be really good, Giannis right now is playing out of his mind and is a very legitimate MVP candidate at this point.
 

benhogan

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J-Dub picks off bad Dame bad pass/TO.

Dame had 15' lead and can't even be bothered to pretend to get back, giving up an easy JDub layup.

Just run on the Bucks
 

Kliq

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Giannis with a completely dominant quarter on both ends, just an incredible two-way performance in that third quarter.
 

LA_33

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Giannis with a completely dominant quarter on both ends, just an incredible two-way performance in that third quarter.
I still can’t shake the idea that the Bucks are the biggest threats to the C’s in the East, if EVERYTHING breaks right for them.

“Giannis isn’t human” + “Just enough shooting to randomly win the 3 point battle four times in a series” seems like a path to scare the C’s.

That’s especially true on the off-chance that Middleton gets healthy enough to approximate what he did in the 2021 title run, when he was great for them offensively (that’s the big upside, and while it probably isn’t realistic, if it happened…)
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Time will tell if the Bucks can do better than the Lakers last year and convert their Cup championship to better than a play-in appearance. I think they'll be "fine" but definitely don't see them as a threat to the Cs...there are just too many matchup exploitations over a 7-game series.
 

Kliq

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I still can’t shake the idea that the Bucks are the biggest threats to the C’s in the East, if EVERYTHING breaks right for them.

“Giannis isn’t human” + “Just enough shooting to randomly win the 3 point battle four times in a series” seems like a path to scare the C’s.

That’s especially true on the off-chance that Middleton gets healthy enough to approximate what he did in the 2021 title run, when he was great for them offensively (that’s the big upside, and while it probably isn’t realistic, if it happened…)
This is the ideal game for the Bucks. Good team defense that hides Lillard, Giannis and Dame doing what they do on offense, and Trent/Green/Prince being very reliable shooters playing off of Dame and Giannis.
 

benhogan

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Great win for the Bucks. They are building some nice momentum right in the middle of the friendly part of the schedule. They are going to rack up a bunch of wins over the next few weeks (8 of the next 9 against sub .500 teams)

Nice wager @HomeRunBaker
 

chilidawg

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NBA cup: Best thing, end of bench guys getting $500k. Worst thing, playing in front of a bunch of gambling zombies who don't give a shit about basketball. Cmon, let's play this in front of real fans.
 

Euclis20

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In their final two games last year against Dallas, OKC shot 25/82 (30%) from three
Does okc have a scoring problem? They're 10th in offense which is fine(if not great for a title contender), but considering they lead the league on steals, I assume they get a good portion of their offense in transition. Shai is arguably the best half court scorer in the league, but if his shot is off and they aren't forcing turnovers, they really get bogged down offensively.

This is the ideal game for the Bucks. Good team defense that hides Lillard, Giannis and Dame doing what they do on offense, and Trent/Green/Prince being very reliable shooters playing off of Dame and Giannis.
Yeah there is a very narrow lane for the bucks to win a title, and Boston is just a really rough matchup for them. It's just too easy for Boston to generate consistently good looks against them and we match up as well as anyone against giannis and dame. Could they beat us 4 times by making difficult shots while we miss good ones? Sure, but there are a half dozen teams I'm more worried about than the bucks.
 

Kliq

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OKC looked similar to the team that struggled against Dallas in the postseason--outside of SGA it's hard for them to score in the half court unless some of their more volatile shooters are having a good night, which tonight they obviously were not. They needed a lot more from Jaylin Williams, especially in the second half where things really fell apart for them on offense.

Chet will certainly help their rim protection and hopefully their rebounding--they are so small outside of Hartenstein and Milwaukee plays with two legit bigs very frequently.
 

RedSoxFan

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NBA cup: Best thing, end of bench guys getting $500k. Worst thing, playing in front of a bunch of gambling zombies who don't give a shit about basketball. Cmon, let's play this in front of real fans.
They should really let Seattle host it next year if they're going to put it at a neutral site.
 

cheech13

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OKC is very, very good, but as I’ve been saying since last offseason they needed a second scoring option and creator more than they needed Caruso or Hartenstein, and it’s still an issue against top level teams.
 

HomeRunBaker

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NBA cup: Best thing, end of bench guys getting $500k. Worst thing, playing in front of a bunch of gambling zombies who don't give a shit about basketball. Cmon, let's play this in front of real fans.
They should really let Seattle host it next year if they're going to put it at a neutral site.
I’ve expected many tweaks on the way to growing this thing and I’m going to say next year we see a shift to home arenas for these final 3 games. It was nice in theory to create a Final Four type atmosphere in Vegas…..but who is traveling halfway or all the way across the country to see their favorite NBA team play?
 

jon abbey

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Please get rid of the colored courts too, it is so gimmicky and annoying.
 

benhogan

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OKC is very, very good, but as I’ve been saying since last offseason they needed a second scoring option and creator more than they needed Caruso or Hartenstein, and it’s still an issue against top level teams.
In theory its Chet & J-Dub, just too young/inexperienced at this point. Tonight was good for them.

All the assets are there to add a veteran scoring option (Butler?)
 

Euclis20

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In theory its Chet & J-Dub, just too young/inexperienced at this point. Tonight was good for them.

All the assets are there to add a veteran scoring option (Butler?)
The dream would be Durant, even if the dream ignores cap realities and the fact that Phoenix isn't looking to blow things up. It's not just inexperience and a reliable second option, they still need size and being able to play Durant next to either hartenstein or chet would be great for them. I'll keep banging the markkanen drum too, though obviously that doesn't fix the experience issue(he's never even made the playoffs) and it lacks the full circle nature of Durant returning home for the final stage of his career.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Seems to me he gets hacked relentlessly. This isn't Harden grifting his way into calls, he's a physical force they can't handle.
I agree he’s not grifting, but he initiates so much contact. He puts his head down, barrels into people, falls down … profit! He’s clearly a great player, and maybe the rules just can’t account for his level of physicality, but there are times where it seems like there’s no legal way to defend him.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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HomeRunBaker

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I agree he’s not grifting, but he initiates so much contact. He puts his head down, barrels into people, falls down … profit! He’s clearly a great player, and maybe the rules just can’t account for his level of physicality, but there are times where it seems like there’s no legal way to defend him.
This was the old LeBron complaint but when you are that quick and that powerful to be able to gain an angle on your defender and placing him out of position then he’s vulnerable to them initiating contact and creating the foul. That is what makes them so unstoppable is the skill to beat their man to the spot prior to creating contact and drawing the foul. Giannis has led the league in offensive fouls 4-5 times. I think it’s been him and KAT something like 9 of the last 10 years at the top so it isn’t impossible to stop him….you just need to get to your spot quicker than he does. That is what is nearly impossible and why he’s so great.
 

lovegtm

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You don't want to overreact too much to one game, but I definitely came away from that with serious concerns about OKC's offense. They feel like a cargo-cult of Boston, where you can see the concept, but every piece is a bit worse in a way that adds up quickly.

- fewer dynamic decision makers, which means less ability to generate quality 3s after breaking down the D
- less shooting: Caruso instead of PP/Hauser adds up quickly
- JDub is really good, and more efficient than Jaylen, but OKC's offense craters when SGA is off and it's JDub running the show
- SGA is amazing, but he's not as good a creator as JT (more structural assists for SGA, being the PG). How much of this is downstream from OKC not having dynamic decision makers once the D is in rotation?

It all adds up to an offense that is going to struggle to get out of the West, imo. Dallas, Memphis, GS, Minnesota, Denver can all exploit those weaknesses quite hard.
 

benhogan

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The dream would be Durant, even if the dream ignores cap realities and the fact that Phoenix isn't looking to blow things up. It's not just inexperience and a reliable second option, they still need size and being able to play Durant next to either hartenstein or chet would be great for them. I'll keep banging the markkanen drum too, though obviously that doesn't fix the experience issue(he's never even made the playoffs) and it lacks the full circle nature of Durant returning home for the final stage of his career.
Yea, Markkanen felt like the final OKC piece but seems committed to Utah.

Butler's playoff experience & defensive reputation would fit but his salary would cost them Hartenstein + Caruso.
I could see them doing something smaller, like adding Finney-Smith or Cam Johnson.

Maybe they roll the dice on Zion or Ingram?

Even after last night's face plant, OKC is still the only team that can match up with Boston IMHO
 

benhogan

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Wasn't able to see the game but according to MacMahon, SGA was 3-12 versus AJJ. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43035450/oklahoma-city-thunder-score-season-low-81-nba-cup-finale

AJJ seems like a really good weapon to have against teams like OKC where one guy is the main focal point of the offense. Not so much against BOS, which has lots of ways to get him off ball.

If AJJ could ever learn to shoot though, MIL will have really struck gold. Hopefully not for a couple of years though.
AJax was mine & others draft binky, after a Championship run at UConn. Nice 2nd round pickup. He can easily play the Corner3 role on offense for MIL

AJ Green is the young guy Milwaukee Media loves. Plays decent defense and is a confident bench shooter.
 

slamminsammya

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You don't want to overreact too much to one game, but I definitely came away from that with serious concerns about OKC's offense. They feel like a cargo-cult of Boston, where you can see the concept, but every piece is a bit worse in a way that adds up quickly.

- fewer dynamic decision makers, which means less ability to generate quality 3s after breaking down the D
- less shooting: Caruso instead of PP/Hauser adds up quickly
- JDub is really good, and more efficient than Jaylen, but OKC's offense craters when SGA is off and it's JDub running the show
- SGA is amazing, but he's not as good a creator as JT (more structural assists for SGA, being the PG). How much of this is downstream from OKC not having dynamic decision makers once the D is in rotation?

It all adds up to an offense that is going to struggle to get out of the West, imo. Dallas, Memphis, GS, Minnesota, Denver can all exploit those weaknesses quite hard.
Yeah, even if you assume they don’t shoot 3s as poorly as they did it’s still like 105 points in a game there against a defense that has been pretty shaky. Not great
 

HomeRunBaker

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AJax was mine & others draft binky, after a Championship run at UConn. Nice 2nd round pickup. He can easily play the Corner3 role on offense for MIL

AJ Green is the young guy Milwaukee Media loves. Plays decent defense and is a confident bench shooter.
Green’s insertion into the rotation was a catalyst to the Bucks turnaround. He shot something like 17-27 3-pt FG in his first couple games which really opens up the floor for Giannis and Dame.