The NBA

[Salacious Kitty]

45 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

Draymond's more valuable to the Dubs than any other team - I can't see anyone else offering him more $$$/years. 

I agree. Dray may come crawling back. I don't hate him, the Dubs need an enforcer, but I think one could be had for less if someone does offer Dray the money he wants. 

[Marley]

I’m not saying Draymond isn’t valuable but I think it’s fine if at this point the Warriors move on from him. Whatever was going on with them this last season wasn’t working. I think he wants more then he’s worth too.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't think Green thinks he is going to get that kind of money for being a role player on another team. He should be proud of his career, but he's got to know he's closer to retirement than not that a team would pay him that much. 

[LexieLily]

I want to see him on a non-Warriors team just to see if he'd get away with half of the crap he got away with in games if he wasn't on the Warriors. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't think he will. Is he going to be more than a 7th man at this point? I root for the Warriors, and he's certainly an important factor in their titles, but he's not the Rodman level of instigator, who was a cornerstone for the Bulls. 

[Kip Hackman]

I don't know if the Hornets are going to draft Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson.

I do know this: Whoever we pick will be an epic bust, while the other will be a perennial all-star. No matter which one we choose.

This is the way.

[mojoween]

I thought I was the only one who thought getting rid of Marcus Smart to sign Kristaps Porzingis was foolhardy, but Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio said the same thing.

I mean, good for Boston if it works out, and maybe Marcus was getting too old for them, but this feels dangerous with Porzingis’s medical history.

[Magog]

1 hour ago, Kip Hackman said:

I don't know if the Hornets are going to draft Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson.

If the Hornets draft Brandon Miller tonight, they'll be absolute idiots. With Jordan & his draft record with him owning the team (flat out garbage) out of the picture, hopefully they can do something right in the NBA Draft for a change. Drafting Brandon Miller is a bad decision for them on so many levels. 

Quote

I thought I was the only one who thought getting rid of Marcus Smart to sign Kristaps Porzingis was foolhardy, but Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio said the same thing.

I mean, good for Boston if it works out, and maybe Marcus was getting too old for them, but this feels dangerous with Porzingis’s medical history.

Kristaps Porzingis is not going to help the Boston Celtics win the championship. He always find ways to get injured during the season, he is not as good as Nikola Jokic, & he is not as charming or likable like Nikola Jokic.

Is Damian Lillard a free agent? Everyone is talking about him like he is & I'm don't know if he is or not. Plus, a certain person on ESPN wants him out of Portland by any means necessary. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Magog

[DrSpaceman73]

Hey a huge move by Boston that will make everything think they are bound to win a title! then they can try it 2-3 years, fail and try something else.....wash, rinse repeat. 

Most overhyped underachieving team the past decade.  And i ont care one way or another about them. 

[Fukui San]

It's a high risk move for the Celtics, but I'm on the side of approving since we've seen the same demise multiple times by now. Point guard is an area of depth and Smart, much as I like him, may be on the downside.

Porzingis destroying his knee three games in is a possibility, I realize. But let's take a shot.

[mojoween]

27 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

But let's take a shot.

He’ll probably have to to keep those knees healthy.

[Fukui San]

It's nothing new. Gordon Heyward had perfectly healthy knees.... until Game 1 of his Celtics career.

[mojoween]

Ooh sorry Warriors Imma have to pass on rooting for you now.

[Salacious Kitty]

47 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Ooh sorry Warriors Imma have to pass on rooting for you now.

Tell me about it! Dunleavy's first move is a BUST. I didn't need more reasons to hate the guy, but here we are.

Already have an oft-injured PG. Don't need another. 🙄

Edited June 22, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[Marley]

The Warriors are fucking morons. Trading Poole for Chris Paul is a joke. Poole was underwhelming last season but he’s young and has potential but hey let’s trade him for someone who is almost 40 and constantly gets injured himself. Dumb. I’m disappointed. If they wanted to trade Poole fine but go for someone else.

[DrSpaceman73]

Yeah I don't get the Poole trade by gsw

Also don't get Pacers and wizards swapping 7th and 8th picks....uh whats the point?

And thanks ABC for not even keeping up with the picks live.  They're yammering on about the twins back to back picks  (ok great story but still...) meanwhile I see it scroll by the next two picks have been chosen. And the Pacers trade. Wtf abc?

Edited June 23, 2023 by DrSpaceman73

[baldryanr]

10 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Also don't get Pacers and wizards swapping 7th and 8th picks....uh whats the point?

The Pacers received a couple of second round picks too.  There's also a minor financial consideration - minimums and maximums are set by draft position.

Speaking of second round picks, they seem to be the favorite trade currency that makes for a good headline (look at this haul of picks!) but are basically lottery tickets.

Edited June 23, 2023 by baldryanr

[DrSpaceman73]

4 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

The Pacers received a couple of second round picks too.  There's also a minor financial consideration - minimums and maximums are set by draft position.

Speaking of second round picks, they seem to be the favorite trade currency that makes for a good headline (look at this haul of picks!) but are basically lottery tickets.

I know the point for the Pacers nut why for the wizards?  Pacers weren't interested in the guy they picked at all. 

I guess there were rumors others teams were trying to trade  up to 7.  

[LexieLily]

As a Rockets fan I'm happy with our draft day selections: Amen Thompson at #4 (kinda cool that he and his twin went back-to-back, #4 and #5) and Cam Whitmore at #20. 

How does everyone feel about their team's draft day haul?

[Magog]

21 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Tell me about it! Dunleavy's first move is a BUST. I didn't need more reasons to hate the guy, but here we are.

Already have an oft-injured PG. Don't need another. 🙄

 

19 hours ago, Marley said:

The Warriors are fucking morons. Trading Poole for Chris Paul is a joke. Poole was underwhelming last season but he’s young and has potential but hey let’s trade him for someone who is almost 40 and constantly gets injured himself. Dumb. I’m disappointed. If they wanted to trade Poole fine but go for someone else.

Man, Its been very comical listening to the flagship station of those Warriors & the people on there are absolutely livid about this trade. 🤣 😂

95.7 The Game livestream

95.7 The Game - videos

As for the trade, Chris Paul will be somewhat useful for those Warriors. Its just too bad that he will probably get injured again somewhere during the upcoming season & will not get that coveted championship that he really wanted.

As for Jordan Poole, he had better enjoy that championship from those Warriors because he will never see another championship in his career. Especially with him being with those losers called the Wizards. He's going to wish that he has that classy gentleman Draymond in his corner when his first season with the sucky Wizards is over. 

As for the NBA Draft, I guess the Charlotte Hornets like to continue to suck by drafting Brandon Marshall. It will be a downright miracle if that bust in the making Brandon Marshall get the Charlotte Hornets out of the first round in the NBA Playoffs during his tenure there.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Magog

[Crashcourse]

Even though I think Draymond is a horse's ass, I guess he was more valuable to the Warriors than Poole?  Anyway, I don't mind Chris Paul being on the team, and I'm sure he doesn't either.  He probably prayed that he wouldn't get stuck with the Whizzes...err...Wizards. 

[isalicat]

DrSpaceman73wrote:

"Yeah I don't get the Poole trade by gsw"

Jordan Poole has lots of talent but does not have the right kind of winning mindset or current defensive skills to really add to the Warriors line up currently. And as of last season, his ongoing tete-a-tete with Draymond (who I think of as an essential cog in the Warrior wheelie) made him expendable, despite his shooting skills (and yes, I think his mouth earned him that punch although violence should never be condoned as a solution to anything).

Whether Chris Paul will fit into the Dubs is dependent on Steph, Klay and Dray and I am more than a little suspicious about his stamina and such at his age. But we will see. I've spent so long rooting against CP its all very weird. 🏀

[Marley]

Random but I really liked Victor Wembanyama’s suit. It looked really good and stylish. He seems like a nice chill guy too. I thought it was cute when he was sitting with his siblings and tearing up.

Gradey Dick’s suit was terrible. Yikes lol.

[Carey]

I'm cautiously optimistic with CP3.  As mentioned, his injury history is what it is, but this is the best team in terms of culture he's been apart of.  I think they'll be able to manage him to the point where he'll be alright.  FWIW, and IMO unless Golden State battles with Phoenix, Denver, or the Los Angeles team a non-hoops human being would know of, the Warriors will be okay should Chris get hurt in a road Game 6 up 3-2

[Medicine Crow]

Watched a bit of the show until the draftee's Mom was sitting beside him with over-flowing boobage.  (Clutching pearls 😝

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, Medicine Crow said:

Watched a bit of the show until the draftee's Mom was sitting beside him with over-flowing boobage.  (Clutching pearls 😝

Mama wants a new boob job! 😂

[Crashcourse]

17 hours ago, Medicine Crow said:

Watched a bit of the show until the draftee's Mom was sitting beside him with over-flowing boobage.  (Clutching pearls 😝

I saw that, too, and I felt sorry for the sons sitting next to their mom.  She was definitely trying to be the star of the draft.  

[AimingforYoko]

Tim Duncan, obviously living his best life:

Gives you an idea of how tall Wembanyama is, he dwarfs Duncan and Robinson.

[Crashcourse]

These other tweets about Duncan had me cracking up. 🤣

https://brobible.com/sports/article/tim-duncan-outfit-meme-victor-wembanyama/

[Carey]

Larry Bird in 2023 would be playing in Europe according to Dennis Rodman

[DoctorAtomic]

That's an odd take. The game is as at least as open as it was in the 80s, and far less physical now. 

Is he saying that Bird wouldn't have the athleticism to keep up with the pace? Maybe he's only a 30 minute player now, but you're still getting 20+ points and 10 assists. 

I like Rodman as a player, but he's got considerable historical bias here. 

[JTMacc99]

Was it here where somebody posted the story about the game in the 85-86 season where Bird was bored and decided to shoot left handed for most of the game.  Ended up with 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists. He scored 20 points shooting with his left hand as well as being 7-7 from the line. 

Heh. I think he could hold his own in the NBA right now.

The only thing that ever slowed down Bird was his awful back issues.

[DoctorAtomic]

I've seen that story on you tube. I'm sure it's easily searchable. He was never really known as a driver, so it's hard to think a spot up shooter wouldn't be successful today. He created his own shot well too.

I really wasn't sophisticated enough to know what the Celtics 'system' was; like how the Bulls ran the triangle, and I only really know about Showtime from the documentary-drama on HBO. 

We all saw both the Heat and Nuggets run pick and rolls and screens. I can't see how Bird wouldn't get his looks. The only other technical limitation is that just about everyone now is expected to be able to handle the ball well, when back then, really, DJ was the one bringing it up all the time. Bird was still effective in transition though. 

Of course, Rodman isn't analyzing this nearly as much as we are. 

And here it is!

Edited June 27, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[mojoween]

Nine years in I’m still thinking about this clue in the Cash Cab board game -

“Born Lew Sinclair, what long-time Los Angeles Laker holds the all-time NBA scoring record of 38,387 points? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar”

[Fukui San]

Larry's offense was multiple and adaptable. There's no question that he would be well adapted for the modern game.

He ran the pick and roll and could shoot, drive, and pass. Once a game Parish would slip the screen and get a slam attempt. Perfect for today's game. He could set picks in the modern game for a smaller ball handler for a pick and pop which I don't remember being much of his game back in the day.

They would run him off screens to free him up for catch and shoot threes quite a bit.  Nowadays he'd probably do even more of that given the popularity of the three in modern basketball. This was also what leads to the famous backdoor play in which Dennis Johnson throws a bullet pass to Bird while his defender is trying to prevent him from getting open for three.

He was great as a ballhandler on the fast break. He was good as a finisher.

He would post up a lot, perhaps more than you'd imagine. He had a deadly fadeaway jumper, and some countermoves off of that. And of course passing out of double teams. The post up game isn't as much in play now as it was back then, so maybe that would be deemphasized. Not many offenses are running plays in which the #1 option is a midrange fadeaway jumper. He would also feed the ball into the post for McHale and Parish a dozen or more times a game. That probably isn't happening today.

If all you wanted him to do was stand at the three point line and catch and shoot 3's from your driving ballhandler, say if he was Damian Lillard's teammate, he would be awesome at that. He would also get lots of assists when getting outlet passes from a drive and kick scenario with quick redirects.

Now, would he get cooked defensively? Who's to say? He was named to the NBA all-defensive 2nd team 3 years in a row, but does that translate? He was about team defense and deflections rather than being a one on one shutdown player. His single most iconic play was a steal, after all. He might get smoked in some matchups. But all Defensive team selection Embiid was massacred by Jayson Tatum in Game 7 this year. A team full of defensive stalwarts couldn't slow down Steph Curry in the finals two years ago. The Heat couldn't do much against Jokic. If there's anything resembling a good argument against Bird, it'd be defense. But I still think he'd do well enough to not be a liability while his offense would be as good or better than in the 80's, although a little different.

My 2 cents as someone lucky enough to have seen him in his prime.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't think he'd post up much because, as you said, it's not really a thing anymore. 

Defensively, they also play zone now, and a scorer like Bird wouldn't be matching up on the other team's top scorer anyway. He'd get a lot of weak side rebounds with so many 3s now. 

He certainly would adapt, but there's still room for that 17 foot fade with the game more open due to the 3s. There were still a decent amount of midrange shots just in the Finals off pick and rolls. 

I don't know if he'd drive as much, but the back door cutting and easy layups again still works in this era. 

[baldryanr]

Anyone want a former MVP entering his mid 30s who has a history of disappearing in big games, a questionable commitment to fitness, and a track record of just giving up when he gets tired of his team?  Good news, Philly has got the guy for you!

[Sile]

On 6/28/2023 at 4:38 PM, mojoween said:

Nine years in I’m still thinking about this clue in the Cash Cab board game -

“Born Lew Sinclair, what long-time Los Angeles Laker holds the all-time NBA scoring record of 38,387 points? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar”

Is his government name really Sinclair, not Alcindor?

 

As for my team (yeah, Nuggets!), I like the Strawther pick but was a bit flummoxed by Jalen Pickett.  Unless there's a new rule that  by 2026 everybody has to have at least one player on the team named Jalen.

But in Calvin We Trust.  I think the Bruce Brown sweepstakes are the most important offseason concern right now.

Best comment from our local guys:  Grady Dick is currently number 13, but he could move up after the free skate.

 

 

 

[mojoween]

3 hours ago, Sile said:

On 6/28/2023 at 6:38 PM, mojoween said:

 

Is his government name really Sinclair, not Alcindor?

It isn’t.  I’m guessing spellcheck x editors who aren’t into sports.

[Magog]

On 6/19/2023 at 6:29 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

On 6/19/2023 at 5:41 PM, baldryanr said:

Draymond's more valuable to the Dubs than any other team - I can't see anyone else offering him more $$$/years. 

I agree. Dray may come crawling back. I don't hate him, the Dubs need an enforcer, but I think one could be had for less if someone does offer Dray the money he wants. 

I'm very happy that Draymond got his well earned, well deserved contract extension from those Warriors. 4 yr, $100 Million, with a player option in the final season. Now they have to give Klay Thompson his money next offseason. 

The Lakers did something right for a change by giving Austin Reaves a 4 yr $56 Million contract extension.

I have no idea who Max Strus is, but for some reason, the Cavaliers gave him a 4 yr $63 Million deal. 

 

[baldryanr]

5 hours ago, Magog said:

I'm very happy that Draymond got his well earned, well deserved contract extension from those Warriors. 4 yr, $100 Million, with a player option in the final season. Now they have to give Klay Thompson his money next offseason. 

Let's hope the Warriors included a don't punch your teammate clause.

[Marley]

I think Damian Lillard is being a bitch trying to force the Blazers to trade him to Miami for like not a great return. They could get more for him from other teams. No one forced Lillard to extend his contract for like 50-60 million a year. Which is overpaying anyways imo. They don’t owe him anything.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Marley

[Magog]

In a surprise to absolutely nobody & frankly, I don't even know why this is newsworthy, LeBron is coming back to play in his 21 st season. Yay.

[Marley]

Lol did anyone actually believe he was retiring? Pretty obvious he wasn’t.

[Salacious Kitty]

3 hours ago, Marley said:

Lol did anyone actually believe he was retiring? Pretty obvious he wasn’t.

Yup. He's sticking around to play with Bronny. 

[DrSpaceman73]

And lebron informs fans how 'lucky' we are he is returning. 

and some wonder why fans hate him.  Total self promotion and narcissism. 

[NUguy514]

I feel so lucky.  So very lucky.

#blessed

[Magog]

On 7/14/2023 at 2:51 AM, NUguy514 said:

I feel so lucky.  So very lucky.

#blessed

Speaking of that, yesterday I had to see Steph being Steph once again. 

😒

This time, he had to hit a hole-in-one at some not worth a damn Golf Tournament called the American Century Championship. Yay. 😒

The Comeback.com - Steph being Steph hitting a hole-in-one.

🤬

ESPN was very thrilled that their "hero" did that. I should be very fortunate that I didn't taste vomit on my mouth after watching that. 

He couldn't just leave me alone on my NBA - NFL Summer Vacation. 

[DrSpaceman73]

And now lebron announcing, in July, he will he wearing #23 next season instead of #6 because of Bill Russell. 

 

Could have easily rolled that into the 'non retirement ' announcement, but I guess this was we are doubly blessed,  like meatloaf always wishes

34 minutes ago, Magog said:

Speaking of that, yesterday I had to see Steph being Steph once again. 

😒

This time, he had to hit a hole-in-one at some not worth a damn Golf Tournament called the American Century Championship. Yay. 😒

The Comeback.com - Steph being Steph hitting a hole-in-one.

🤬

ESPN was very thrilled that their "hero" did that. I should be very fortunate that I didn't taste vomit on my mouth after watching that. 

He couldn't just leave me alone on my NBA - NFL Summer Vacation. 

at least it's for doing something and not for self created news like lebron

[LexieLily]

Summer League is currently doing their best to promote the new in-season tournament happening this season, but I don't see why the fans or the players are supposed to care.