NBA December game thread

Brickowski

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Only had time to watch Rockets-Spurs. Terrence Jones appears to have arrived. Also, the Spurs couldn't throw the ball into the ocean and look ready for a rebuild.
 

ElUno20

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The one thing I took away from this game is how massively overrated the Warriors are.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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ElUno20 said:
The one thing I took away from this game is how massively overrated the Warriors are.
 
While I admit that the Warriors were, perhaps, over-hyped before the season began, I am curious how you have arrived at this conclusion.  They won a game against their divisional foe at home last night and while they absolutely got some help from the referees its not like the Clips were blowing them out when Griffin got run. 
 
Before you respond, here are a few facts.  First, up until the past week, Golden State has had the toughest schedule playing 16 of its 30 games on the road.  Furthermore, their strength of schedule to date is fifth overall in the entire association.  They are tenth overall in PPG allowed and tied for eighth in differential.  Furthermore, Zach Lowe had them ranked as the sixth best team in the Western Conference before last night's victory.  In that piece Lowe notes their injuries (Iguodala, Curry, their back-up 4/5 Jermain O'Neal and Toney Douglas) which happened to coincide with a lot of tough, early season road games.
 
All of which is to say that while the Warriors haven't blown anyone's socks off to date, their 17-13 record makes sense given what they have had to deal with.  I think they are a flawed team but I don't recall many NBA pundits calling them a true contender before the season started.  That said, if the playoffs started today, they are in and given the way they have played the Clips and OKC to date, I doubt either team  would consider Golden State an easy draw.   
 
At this point, they don't look like they will come out of the West.  But I don't see how they are massively overrated.
 

radsoxfan

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Devizier said:
By SRS, the Warriors are rated the 8th best team in the NBA, which sounds about right to me.
 
Agreed.  They are only significantly overrated if you expected them to be one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the NBA this year. 
 
They would easily be the 3rd best team in the East, and I think should end up a top 6 team in the West by the end of the year (assuming they avoid major injuries).  They've got a +3.4 point differential against a tough schedule so far this year, which seems about right.
 
In other words, they are who we thought they were.  Should be a playoff team that could make some noise for a round or two in the playoffs with the right match-ups, but it would be an upset if they made the Conference or NBA finals.
 

jon abbey

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radsoxfan said:
 
They would easily be the 3rd best team in the East
 
Damning with faint praise here, you could say that about at least ten teams in the West if not more. A playoff series of ATL against MIN or DEN (in 9th and 10th in the West right now) wouldn't even go six or seven games IMO. 
 

The X Man Cometh

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Brickowski said:
Only had time to watch Rockets-Spurs. Terrence Jones appears to have arrived. Also, the Spurs couldn't throw the ball into the ocean and look ready for a rebuild.
 
Looking at the box score, my boy Meyers Leonard got some floor time. Did he look lost?
 

radsoxfan

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jon abbey said:
 
Damning with faint praise here, you could say that about at least ten teams in the West if not more. A playoff series of ATL against MIN or DEN (in 9th and 10th in the West right now) wouldn't even go six or seven games IMO. 
 
I wasn't trying to say that being 3rd in the East is anything special.  
 
But if you want to claim they are in the range of the 8th best team in the NBA, you have to account for how you're reaching that conclusion.  
 
One easy way is to add up the number of teams in each conference that are better than the Warriors.....
 

Brickowski

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Horford tore his right pectoral last night. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, quoting a "team source," has confirmed that it was a complete tear. He tore the left one two years ago.

Terrible news for the Hawks and Horford, but good news for the Celtics.
 

jon abbey

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radsoxfan said:
 
I wasn't trying to say that being 3rd in the East is anything special.  
 
But if you want to claim they are in the range of the 8th best team in the NBA, you have to account for how you're reaching that conclusion.  
 
One easy way is to add up the number of teams in each conference that are better than the Warriors.....
 
Ah, gotcha, sorry about that.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Warriors roll the Suns 115-86 behind a Steph Curry triple-double.  Suns held to 36% from the field.  Phoenix was averaging 46.4% from the field prior to tonight.
 

Sprowl

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Andrew Bynum's knee has gone off to whine in its very own thread.
 

Sprowl

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Blazers win again in OT against the Clippers last night. This just in - Aldridge is a beast.
 
And he's a beast from way outside. He's got more range than a merely ordinary beast is entitled to.
 
Brickowski said:
Horford tore his right pectoral last night. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, quoting a "team source," has confirmed that it was a complete tear. He tore the left one two years ago.

Terrible news for the Hawks and Horford, but good news for the Celtics.
 
Indeed it is. I want to see the Hawks and the Nets in an all-out race for the lottery, and the Celtics take the hindmost.
 

knucklecup

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Nick Kaufman said:
My god, Bosh just made a hell of a basket with 0.4 secs left to get Miami ahead.
Bosh is another guy who is incredibly under appreciated. Is content being a role player when Lebron's playing. Can step up and dominate when he's not.

Well Portland is who I thought they were. Good team but not great. Just like everybody else out West.
 

knucklecup

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Speaking of. If being mediocre in the NBA is a poor way to rebuild your roster (Pacers/Bird being the exception to that rule), why does the Eastern conference get so much flak?

The Championship will remain in the East (Miami) and the West won't have nearly as many top picks in comparison.
 

Kliq

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Yup. Indiana and San Antonio could have beaten Miami last year if only for a few different breaks that Miami got. If Pop just left Duncan in to rebound on the Ray Allen 3 we wouldn't even be talking about a three-peat.
 

Nick Kaufman

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I read on a Lowe's article that Miami are one of the teams that took the more games to win the title. They won a ton of game 7s too. You can't expect to be pushed to the brink time after time and come through. At some point you ll lose.
 

knucklecup

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BigSoxFan said:
Miami will get to the ECF without breaking a sweat. If Indiana can get home court, they'll have a shot. I have no idea who's going to emerge from the West but there are a few teams with a good shot. Could Miami lose? Sure. Will they? I wouldn't bet on it.
This is where I'm at.

I wouldn't be shocked if Indiana, San Antonio, OKC, etc. beat them, but if they play ten series', I think Miami wins 8 or 9 of them.

I really hope some team makes the bold move you mentioned yesterday. Not the Afflalo, Deng or some above average wing (because above average wing players grow on trees) player trade, but an actual difference maker. Like Melo, Rondo, etc.
 

jabo57

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Miami will get to the ECF without breaking a sweat. If Indiana can get home court, they'll have a shot. I have no idea who's going to emerge from the West but there are a few teams with a good shot. Could Miami lose? Sure. Will they? I wouldn't bet on it.


Yea I agree. I think the suns can take the west. Right now it looks like OKC or the clippers are the best but I have a feeling that the suns can be the best. They are such a great well rounded team. Miles plumlee is great and I think Eric Bledsoe can be a superstar. What you guys think?
 

Grin&MartyBarret

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Yea I agree. I think the suns can take the west. Right now it looks like OKC or the clippers are the best but I have a feeling that the suns can be the best. They are such a great well rounded team. Miles plumlee is great and I think Eric Bledsoe can be a superstar. What you guys think?


The Suns are a nice surprise, and the Bledsoe Dragic backcourt is a really interesting pair going forward, but they are a ways away from competing in the West. OKC, San Antonio, the Clippers, Houston, and Portland are much better than they are, in my opinion.
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, the Suns have looked good so far, but they'll do well just to hold onto their playoff spot. MEM and DEN are both getting back big pieces (Gasol, Gallinari) at some point, and the West is stacked. I've always loved Bledsoe, though.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Bledsoe is good, Plumlee has been a beast, Dragic has skills and the Morris brothers are pretty talented.  That said, the Suns bench is extremely thin.  Unless they get bench help in season,  I don't see them going very far.  
 

jabo57

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Yea I can agree with you on that but I think that the suns have a pretty solid bench, green is doing pretty well. The Morris brothers are good, and Goodwin can do well I think, also Ish smith can do well. I think that they can be a great team, and Manet even win the west. I think that they should trade their draft picks for an established star. And don't forget they still have alex Len and Emeka okafor
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Cleveland beating Golden State 64-55 at the half.  But Steph Curry has 24 points on 5 of 5 from three point range.  This could be one of those nights.
 

AMS25

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
And Russell Westbrook is out again until after the break.
 
No worries; the Thunder have "Reggie Lamb," er... Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb. Quite an FU game for Lamb this evening against his old team, the Rockets: 22 points on 8-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, in 26 minutes. Not quite Durant, but highly respectable.
 

jabo57

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No worries; the Thunder have "Reggie Lamb," er... Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb. Quite an FU game for Lamb this evening against his old team, the Rockets: 22 points on 8-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, in 26 minutes. Not quite Durant, but highly respectable.


Reggie Jackson is sooo streaky. Jeremy lamb is very good though
 

Kliq

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Horrendous no-call in Minnesota/Dallas game. Love was trying a last second three down by two, Shawn Marion clearly got him on the arm, Love could barely get the ball out of his hand, and the buzzer sounded with no call. Rick Adlrman telling it like it is in the postgame:
 
“He got fouled,” Adelman said, according to the Associated Press. “I wonder what that would have been if [Dirk] Nowitzki, LeBron James, all the top players in the league — a guy reaches on a last-second shot like that, instead of challenging it. Maybe they don’t understand that Kevin is one of the top five players in this league. You make that call. But they didn’t.”
 
 

Brickowski

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The problem with Adelman's analysis IMHO is that if the man is fouled, it shouldn't matter if he is a star or a scrub. The idea that a player has to have a certain reputation to get calls perverts the game.

Frankly I'm hoping for another Donaghy-type scandal that is so pervasive and far-reaching that the league will have to clean up the officiating instead of paying lip service.