The NBA

[roamyn]

On Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 2:32 PM, Magog said:

The 2016-2017 NBA Schedule will be out in a week & ESPN is telling us that the Cavaliers & Warriors will meet again on Christmas Day. Also that Kevin Durant & those Warriors will return to OKC on February 11th and that Dwayne Wade & the Bulls will be in Miami on November 10th.

Does that read weird to anyone else?

KD &the Warriors, DW & the Heat.  Next they'll be telling us that Derrick Rose went to the Knicks.

Oh wait...

[Magog]

The Schedule came out today.

Opening Night:

Knicks - Cavaliers

Jazz - Trail Blazers

Spurs - Warriors

Christmas Games:

Celtics - Knicks  12pm

Warriors - Cavaliers  2:30pm

Bulls - Spurs  5pm

Timberwolves - Thunder  8pm

Clippers - Lakers  10:30pm

Basically, the 5pm & 10:30 games are nap-inducing. Why are the Lakers being shown on Christmas Day again? 

[Elsydeon]

Jrue Holiday will miss the start of the Pelicans' season as his wife Lauren has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2661696-jrue-holiday-to-miss-start-of-season-to-care-for-wife-lauren-after-brain-surgery?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-league

[twoods]

I wish them the best. I can't imagine what Lauren is going through- being stressed about the brain tumor, yet trying to prepare for their new baby. 

[xaxat]

When a player accuses management/ownership of being in a conspiracy against them, I almost always side with the player. Because we usually find that the allegations are true. 

But in the case of Chris Bosch, I really hope he manages to find graceful way to end his career now.

[twoods]

I don't understand how he feels that basketball is more important than his life. He can develop a clot that goes into his freaking lungs and kill him. Nobody is going to sign him for that liability. He has his rings, just retire and enjoy life.

[FuriousStyles]

Because basketball has been his life.  He's been doing this for decades.  I dont see this as any different than any other player who pretty much has to be taken off the court/field kicking and screaming because they just don't know when it's time to hang 'em up.  I just hope the other teams follow suit and don't even entertain signing him.  He needs to be protected from himself obviously...but I dont find Bosh's attitude surprising at all.

[Artsda]

Derrick Rose was found not guilty and will go back to the Knicks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/sports/basketball/derrick-rose-rape-trial-new-york-knicks.html

[topanga]

15 hours ago, Artsda said:

Derrick Rose was found not guilty and will go back to the Knicks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/sports/basketball/derrick-rose-rape-trial-new-york-knicks.html

As long as everything was consensual, I'm glad he wasn't found liable for any wrong-doing. 

But seriously, Derrick Rose? You're 28 (27 at the time). Do you still think it's a good idea to drink and do drugs with 2 of your friends, and then you guys all have sex with the same woman? And then all three of you go to her apartment the next day and have sex with her again? 

I just don't know why he would put himself in that position. 

[roamyn]

The Cavaliers have graciously moved their Championship award ceremony up 1/2 hour to 7pm to accommodate Game 1 of the World Series.   The Q is across an alley street from The Jake.

We're going to be flipping channels all night. 

Go Cavaliers and Indians! 

[Magog]

Tonight is day 1 of the 2016-2017 NBA Season & its going to be so much fun seeing the Cavaliers get their rings & hoisted their first championship banner. I am so pumped right now.

I hope that the Cavaliers will repeat this season. It is going to be very difficult & there will be some rough patches during the season (hopefully not too many). But, I think they can get it done. If by chance the Cavaliers do not repeat, then I hope that anybody (even the Knicks) but the Golden State Warriors will win it. ESPN is acting like they won it all last June instead of the Cavaliers & them getting Kevin Durant means that we might as well give them the NBA trophy right now. Its like they're still disappointed that they blew that 3-1 lead & that 73 win season went up in smoke. Hopefully, ESPN's current darlings (Warriors) will fall flat on their faces this season. 

[roamyn]

Magog, I just posted in MLB thread that I was crying watching it.  I never thought - esp aft f*g Jose Mesa - I'd  see this.

ETA: ESPN hates Cleveland, hence the GSW & Cubs ass kissing.

Edited October 25, 2016 by roamyn

[mojoween]

From my Cavs-hating eyes, ESPN has the BIGGEST hard-on for LeBron and it's not even close.

I don't even care about the entire season.  If LBJ makes a seventh-Finals in a row?  What's the point?

[roamyn]

7 minutes ago, mojoween said:

From my Cavs-hating eyes, ESPN has the BIGGEST hard-on for LeBron and it's not even close

Ok, they might like LeBron, except Bayless, but they still hate Cleveland.  They hated when he came back to us.

[mojoween]

That's fair.

[twoods]

Spurs looking good. Wow.

[Moose135]

Knicks looked to be in mid-season form.

[mojoween]

It amuses me in one of the teases on ESPN radio they say "hope is back in the Garden" and if last night is going to be any indication, perhaps not.

[Magog]

It was downright beautiful seeing that ring ceremony & that 2016 NBA Championship banner go up last night. I can't imagine how Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson feel about that.

It was also nice seeing the Warriors getting their butts kicked by the Spurs. It may be game 1, but ESPN is already in near panic mode about their Warriors. 

[roamyn]

44 minutes ago, Magog said:

It was downright beautiful seeing that ring ceremony & that 2016 NBA Championship banner go up last night. I can't imagine how Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson feel about that.

It was also nice seeing the Warriors getting their butts kicked by the Spurs. It may be game 1, but ESPN is already in near panic mode about their Warriors. 

Did you see the back (hand) side of the ring?

Two white diamonds, one garnet, one white diamond, three garnetts.  White is GSW, garnett is Cavs. Repesents CLE being the only team to come back from 3-1 down.

burn!

[MVFrostsMyPie]

2 hours ago, Magog said:

It was downright beautiful seeing that ring ceremony & that 2016 NBA Championship banner go up last night. I can't imagine how Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson feel about that.

It was also nice seeing the Warriors getting their butts kicked by the Spurs. It may be game 1, but ESPN is already in near panic mode about their Warriors. 

Geez you really hate the Warriors way too much, as if they came after your puppy and kicked it repeatedly. The season has barely even started. Just enjoy your team entering the season as champions for now. 

ETA: You sound more bitter than fans of Warriors and we're the ones who lost. I don't pay attention to what ESPN is saying, but certainly our local coverage isn't stroking their ego or walking onto the court with their tails between their legs either. We're just excited to welcome KD right now. :)

Edited October 26, 2016 by MattDuffysCat

[xaxat]

This is it. Four years of tanking and this season Sixer's fans get to see if it was worth it. Embiid and Saric on the court. Simmons probably coming back mid season. . . 

Trust The Process!

Wait, Beadle is now hosting the pre-game instead of Sage Steele? Looks like I won't be watching anymore.

Edited October 26, 2016 by xaxat

[FuriousStyles]

Just when Adam Silver thought he skated on this National Anthem protest stuff, the 76ers go and bar the artist they hired from singing the Anthem opening night because she was wearing a "We Matter" tshirt.  

I'm kind of sick of a certain segment of this country being very two-faced on this topic.  It's like "yeah sure of course black lives matter, but only when you don't express that sentiment in public/national tv." (Because it makes the rich white people uncomfortable). 

Anyways,  the season is off to a surprising start.  Didnt expect the Warriors to get blown out like they did. Lebron was Lebron...messed around and got a triple double.  Btw the Cavs championship rings are so ridiculously gaudy but hey they deserve it.

Hoping Anthony Davis can get some help because dude is a beast.  Russell Westbrook looked good. Though I don't think OKC will win enough games to warrant him getting the MVP like a lot of people are predicting. 

[roamyn]

Have you seen Shaq's? That's gaudy.

I think the Cavs are fairly tasteful comparatively.  

BTW, Dan Gilbert gave everyone in the organization a ring - right down to the ushers & bartenders. Though they don't all have 33 carats.

[FuriousStyles]

Yeah I read that.  That was nice of him...for once.  I saw Usher's ring (had forgotten he was part owner) and his doesn't look as blinged out as the players', so I'm sure the ones the ushers and other lower level employees got wasn't so flashy.  But still what a cool thing to get.

 

For anyone interested, the 76ers issued another statement regarding the national Anthem thing.  I guess they received a lot of backlash. Basically they admitted they handled the situation wrong and reached out the Seyven Streeter and said she'd be welcome to sing the Anthem at any future game of her choosing.

[mojoween]

I hope she said thanks but no thanks.

[Jx223]

I know it's early in the season but I'm a little concerned about OKC. It seems like without KD they are definitely weaker offensively and they are fighting really hard to pull out wins.

Russell had to drop 50 tonight to help pull off a narrow win against the Suns. And Philly challenged them and actually led for a bit in their opener. Russell is great but he can't drop 50 every night and I could see them struggling against harder teams than the two they have faced so far.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Jx223

[AimingforYoko]

13 hours ago, Jx223 said:

Russell is great but he can't drop 50 every night

Mr. Westbrook accepts your challenge!

[FuriousStyles]

Totally agree about Westbrook.  I didnt understand the sports "experts" talking about OKC possibly being in the WCF.  I'm like where?  how? Russell is a fantastic player, but he can't carry a team thru the West. I'd be surprised if they finished better than 6th.

Similarly, and this might just be my Knicks loving heart talking, but I see better than the 30 wins we're projected to win. Now all this is heavily dependent on us staying healthy, but i actually expect us to at least make the playoffs this year.

[Jx223]

I would have liked to have seen OKC win tonight’s matchup but KD and the warriors were too dominant for them. Russell Westbrook had a relatively quiet night scoring wise. Though I did like that he was trying to get his teammates involved and was trying to share the ball quite a bit. He has been doing quite a bit of that so far this season. 

The vibe of the Warriors team feels a bit different with KD there now. It kind of feels like the team right now is more his team than it is Steph’s. KD was very dominant and his presence on the team feels strong. Steph still had a solid night, but IMO he is considerably less noticeable with KD being around and playing well.

[Jx223]

I was very impressed with the young Laker team tonight. That was a very good win for them over the Warriors. They played with good energy and had several players that contributed to their win. Luke has been doing a nice job coaching them so far. They look promising.

It looks like Golden State will definitely need more time to gel with this new lineup. Klay Thompson has been struggling a bit so far this season. And Steph struggled tonight and went without 3 pointer for the first time in like two years. 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Jx223

[twoods]

Yea, the Lakers are fun to watch this year. No Kobe ball hogging anymore and they are having fun. Caught snippets of last night's game at a restaurant and was surprised at the score. I know the Warriors were tired from the Thunder game the night before but the Lakers took advantage of that. So far, Luke has done a terrific job coaching this young team.

[Mean Machine]

It was awesome watching Steph Curry stink the joint up last night.  He was terrible.  People were saying last year he was the best player on the planet?  Those people are idiots.

[FuriousStyles]

Well Steph was the best player on the planet last year  (at least in the regular season). But that doesnt have anything to do with this year. It was one bad game.  Sheesh.  I dont think Steph is gonna put up crazy numbers this year anyway simply because KD is there and he's going to be the focus of the offense.

The Lakers were one of the 9 teams who beat the Warriors last year, so not surprised they won this game.  They've got a decent team, and without the ghost of Kobe hanging over them they should have some freedom to improve.  They could make the playoffs too.

[mojoween]

My loathing of LeBron James is not a secret, but I feel like I must have missed something in the story because why was Phil Jackson even commenting on what LeBron did while in Miami?  Like mind your own paper dude.  And at this point Phil has lost all equity to be critical of how other people handle their business.

[Crs97]

It was very odd; Phil is asked about Pat Riley and spins it to an old story painting LeBron in a bad light.  I've seen Rachel Nicholas address it twice now, and Phil didn't even understand the story and tell it right.  According to Rachel, LeBron asked one time to stay the night in Cleveland because it was Thanksgiving and the Heat was going to have to eat their turkey in a hotel conference room in Toronto; LeBron wanted the team to stay in Cleveland instead so that he could host the entire team for Thanksgiving at his house in Akron.  So if Phil's point was Pat was a jerk for complaining about LeBron making a sweet gesture to his team, then he succeeded.  But that wasn't his point.  Somehow he thought it was proof that LeBron is a baby demanding special treatment.  SMH

[Ohwell]

But LeBron is a baby.  A really big one, but still.....

[xaxat]

Drake wearing a Doris Burke shirt is hilarious.

Phil has a long history of throwing shade. And it worked when he was the top dog winning championships. But he decided to do it to one of the most powerful men in the sport and LeBron wasn't having it. Good for him.

[topanga]

13 hours ago, Ohwell said:

But LeBron is a baby.  A really big one, but still.....

No, you are!!!!  *smiley-emoji.*  But at least he doesn't beat his wife, rape people, have 12 illegitimate children, murder people, or kick dogs. 

[Ohwell]

I am not a baby.  Haven't been one for many, many years.  

LeBron, on the other hand.......

Edited November 17, 2016 by Ohwell

[rippleintime17]

On 11/5/2016 at 3:23 PM, Mean Machine said:

It was awesome watching Steph Curry stink the joint up last night.  He was terrible.  People were saying last year he was the best player on the planet?  Those people are idiots.

And then in the next game, he beat the NBA record for threes. Steph's alright. 

[topanga]

1 hour ago, rippleintime17 said:

And then in the next game, he beat the NBA record for threes. Steph's alright. 

Yes, he is. I wish people would accept that it's too early to crown Steph as anything: he's not the best point guard who ever lived, and he's not a bum. He's just a great player. And one of the Splash Brothers. It's too early to call him anything but those.*

*Ohwell, I hear you saying, "What about calling a 17-year old high school player 'The Chosen One'?" Followed by a loud gag.

But LeBron had shown consistent basketball excellence for at least 5 years. I do think it was premature for people to say he would be better than Jordan. But he certainly was the best player to come out of high school and enter the NBA. Better than Kobe. Yes, I said it.   

Edited November 17, 2016 by topanga

[Ohwell]

Oh I don't doubt that LeBron might have been the best player to come out of high school and enter the NBA; I don't even doubt that he might be better than Kobe.  

To be honest, I don't even think much about these "young'uns," and I don't watch nearly as much NBA as I used to back in the 70s through the 90s.  I'll never forget one of the few NBA games I went to, when the Knicks played the then Bullets:  Earl the Pearl, Walt Frazier (those thighs), Willis Reed, Dave Debusschere, Bill Bradley.  Now those were some great ones.  Yes, I know there are some "great' players out there today, and I love me some Steph, but basically, they don't do anything for me now.  Maybe I just can't take them seriously because I'm so much older than they are.  And yes, LeBron is still a baby.

[FuriousStyles]

Most professional athletes are babies.  But you know,  I respect Lebron for having the balls to voice his opinion, stand up for his boys and speak out on various social issues.  He's done a lot more than say the almighty basketball god Michael Jordan ever did in his hey day and even Kobe.  

[topanga]

12 hours ago, FuriousStyles said:

Most professional athletes are babies.  But you know,  I respect Lebron for having the balls to voice his opinion, stand up for his boys and speak out on various social issues.  He's done a lot more than say the almighty basketball god Michael Jordan ever did in his hey day and even Kobe.  

And he has donated millions of dollars to support his comments about social issues. 

[Crs97]

You should study his partnership with the University of Akron.  His foundation is taking care of his students at every level.

[AndreaK1041]

It is possible to be both a good person who is charitable and supportive of a community *and* be kind of a dick with an unpleasant personality. See one Demarcus Cousins.

[topanga]

4 hours ago, AndreaK1041 said:

It is possible to be both a good person who is charitable and supportive of a community *and* be kind of a dick with an unpleasant personality. See one Demarcus Cousins.

*Gasp* You're comparing LeBron to Demarcus Cousins? I totally agree that Demarcus is a dick. But Bron-Bron??

I guess I just don't see what some others do. Yes, things like The Decision and the "Not three, not four, not five" spectacle were ill-advised and immature. I'd even accept arrogant. But a dick? Almost everyone who's played with him says he's a great teammate. Delonte West would add that LeBron's mom was also a great teammate. (Seriously. How can you sleep with your teammate's mom? How can sleep with your son's teammate)?

As far as I know, LeBron has never broken any laws. He speaks to the press after games, both wins and losses. He doesn't try to blame losses on his teammates or his coach.  I know there are allegations that LeBron is a coach killer. That he got David Blatt fired from the Cavaliers, that in the past he got Mike Brown and Paul Silas fired from the Cavs (I think Mike Brown got himself fired). And that he tried to get Erik Spoelstra fired from the Miami Heat.  Really? People think one player has that kind of power?

In other news, James Harden has been playing some lights out basketball lately. I wonder if the Rockets can make a run this season. Right now, they're just average. But things can change quickly. 

[AndreaK1041]

Oh god, no. That's not what I meant. Demarcus is awful (I live in Sacramento, so I am all too exposed... he does really great things for local kids, but that does not mean he is not a total dick).  I just meant that just because LeBron does wonderful things for the community does not negate things such as The Decision or other legitimate reasons many NBA fans do not like him. I don't see them as equivalent or able to cancel each other out.  Both can be true.

[xaxat]

Hey, at least LeBron never used extortion like tactics to finagle hundreds of millions of dollars from the taxpayers.