The NBA

[Growsonwalls]

I love watching Russell Westbrook hollering along the sidelines. He expends so much energy he's going to hurt his quads again.

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[AimingforYoko]

Golden State comes oh so close to pulling off the Spur gambit (good team suffers injuries, semi-tanks and comes up with the #1 draft pick) but proving once again 2020 is one for the books, The Minnesota Timberwolves edge them out to win the draft lottery.

[Growsonwalls]

3 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Golden State comes oh so close to pulling off the Spur gambit (good team suffers injuries, semi-tanks and comes up with the #1 draft pick) but proving once again 2020 is one for the books, The Minnesota Timberwolves edge them out to win the draft lottery.

But this is one of those years where there's not one huge highly touted draft pick. It's not like Lebron in 2004 or Shaq in 1992. There seems to be quite a few prospects so teams can decide what kind of player they need.

[xaxat]

Remember back when Toronto won the title in Oakland and a cop working security was punched twice by Raptor president Masai Ujiri during the celebration ceremony and the cop was so injured that he sued Ujiri because he "suffered injury to his body, health, strength, activity and person, all of which have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous pain and suffering."

Yeah, none of that shit happened. (Except for the Raptors' championship.)

Edited August 21, 2020 by xaxat

[Growsonwalls]

Besides the NBA has a great history of amazing #2 picks:

Ja Morant, Kevin Durant, Jerry West, Bill Russell, Isiah Thomas, Jason Kidd were #2 picks.

[Magog]

LeBron may have only scored 10 points last night. But, he light a fire on his teammates before Game 2 & they responded in big way. There was no need for the constant panic that ESPN showed after Game 1. 

Here is the NBA Draft order from last night.

1 - Timberwolves (yay)

2 - Those Warriors (I saw that smirk on his face when he realized that they're getting a top 2 pick.)

3 - Hornets (MEH)

4 - Bulls

5 - Cavaliers (I don't even know who would be there to be worth a damn, much less get excited about.)

6 - Hawks

7 - Pistons

8 - Knicks (HA HA HA) Woe for whoever gets picked by them.

9 - Wizards

10 - Suns

11 - Spurs

12 - Kings

13 - Pelicans

14 - Celtics

Edited August 21, 2020 by Magog

[Growsonwalls]

Another huge potential injury: Luka Doncic rolled his ankle and might be out,. 

In other news, Paul George had a rough night. Wow. 

Sixers fans are calling for the heads of the GM and coach Brett Brown on reddit and twitter. They have a lot of super-loaded contracts that will be hard to trade away for players that aren't playing up to expectations (Tobias Harris has a 5 year, $180 mil deal, Al Horford has a four year, $109 million contract). 

[Growsonwalls]

Uh ... does James Harden kick puppies or something? Because it's like the ESPN/ABC announcers hate him. They're always complaining about fouls called against him, and don't give him the NBA superstar treatment. 

Actually Kawhi Leonard also doesn't get the fawning treatment. 

Is it because they're ... well, they're on the homely side? No social media? 

[Magog]

7 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Uh ... does James Harden kick puppies or something? Because it's like the ESPN/ABC announcers hate him. They're always complaining about fouls called against him, and don't give him the NBA superstar treatment. 

James Harden doesn't deserve NBA superstar treatment. There is nothing homely about James Harden. I don't find him to be very likable. He is always full of himself & he's not as great as he thinks he is. Plus, he also doesn't deliver in the Playoffs, especially against those Warriors. Lucky for him & the Rockets, they're not in the Playoffs this year, so he & the Rockets can now mess up in big moments against somebody else (possibly the Lakers). 

Speaking of the Lakers, that series against the Trail Blazers is pretty much over. ESPN is happy once again.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Magog

[Maximum Taco]

10 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Uh ... does James Harden kick puppies or something? Because it's like the ESPN/ABC announcers hate him. They're always complaining about fouls called against him, and don't give him the NBA superstar treatment. 

Actually Kawhi Leonard also doesn't get the fawning treatment. 

Is it because they're ... well, they're on the homely side? No social media? 

I think with Harden it's just he's not been able to push himself up into the strata of LeBron, and Durant. Namely, he's an MVP caliber star but on a team that can't win. You aren't gonna get any credit from the media until you win, especially if your team tries to go the Superteam route like the Rockets have with CP3 and now Westbrook. This is why Dame and to a lesser extent Giannis gets a pass, they're both in smaller markets that are trying to win "the right way" with one superstar who has always been there. 

Kawhi I think just doesn't really get the fawning treatment because outside of his game he's kinda boring. Dame and Steph have got that swagger, LeBron embraces his moniker of the King and tries to do like Taco Tuesday and Space Jam and other stuff. Harden has his beard. Even Giannis has got a bit of personality. And Klay Thompson has got that goofy distracted thing that I admit I would find pretty adorable if I was a Warriors fan, and I love making fun of since I'm not. Kawhi is dull by comparison, sure he's got his "Fun Guy" thing but that really only gets him love in the market he's in. I'm a Raptors fan, and I loved having Kawhi in Toronto, but he's dull as a persona. 

In other news, all the Eastern teams are poised to sweep, except the top seed. That's just hilarious.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Maximum Taco

[Raja]

25 minutes ago, Maximum Taco said:

I think with Harden it's just he's not been able to push himself up into the strata of LeBron, and Durant. Namely, he's an MVP caliber star but on a team that can't win. You aren't gonna get any credit from the media until you win, especially if your team tries to go the Superteam route like the Rockets have with CP3 and now Westbrook. This is why Dame and to a lesser extent Giannis gets a pass, they're both in smaller markets that are trying to win "the right way" with one superstar who has always been there. 

Kawhi I think just doesn't really get the fawning treatment because outside of his game he's kinda boring. Dame and Steph have got that swagger, LeBron embraces his moniker of the King and tries to do like Taco Tuesday and Space Jam and other stuff. Harden has his beard. Even Giannis has got a bit of personality. And Klay Thompson has got that goofy distracted thing that I admit I would find pretty adorable if I was a Warriors fan, and I love making fun of since I'm not. Kawhi is dull by comparison, sure he's got his "Fun Guy" thing but that really only gets him love in the market he's in. I'm a Raptors fan, and I loved having Kawhi in Toronto, but he's dull as a persona. 

In other news, all the Eastern teams are poised to sweep, except the top seed. That's just hilarious.

The one superstar hasn't been a thing since the 70's after the 60's Celtic's and the 1972 Lakers team that finally broke through aged out. Since Magic and Bird came in  it has been the big 3 or probable future Hall of Fame players  that you had to have even with Michael Jordan on your team.

[Maximum Taco]

3 minutes ago, Raja said:

The one superstar hasn't been a thing since the 70's after the 60's Celtic's and the 1972 Lakers team that finally broke through aged out. Since Magic and Bird came in  it has been the big 3 or probable future Hall of Fame players  that you had to have even with Michael Jordan on your team.

I get that but I'm saying if you load up on superstars and don't win you get a lot of media scrutiny ("How can you continually fail when your GM is giving you all the players you could possibly want?!") whereas if you don't load up on superstars and don't win, you kinda get a bit of a pass. ("Yeah, he can't seem to win, but if you run into a Superteam every year, what are you gonna do?")

IMO that's why guys like James Harden face a lot more media criticism then guys like Damian Lillard.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Maximum Taco

[mojoween]

Wait were Kobe’s numbers based on his birthday?  8 for August and 24 because he didn’t want to pick 23?

I’m only asking because I saw Vanessa’s tribute to him today for his birthday and it made me think about it.

Edited August 23, 2020 by mojoween

[Maximum Taco]

41 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Wait were Kobe’s numbers based on his birthday?  8 for August and 24 because he didn’t want to pick 23?

I’m only asking because I saw Vanessa’s tribute to him today for his birthday and it made me think about it.

No, I think it's just a coincidence. I remember an article from when they retired his numbers.

In highschool he wore the numbers 24 and 33. I don't think he got to pick his numbers in highschool, they were just the ones he was given. 

When he joined the Lakers, he wanted those numbers but George McCloud was already wearing 24, and 33 was already retired for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so he picked 8, the story is because when he was in Adidas ABCD camp he got the number 143 and 1+4+3=8. Then when he wanted to enter a new stage in his career he switched to 24 cause nobody was wearing it now. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Maximum Taco

[emma675]

Well, the 76ers are out. I'm going to miss Thybulle's bubble vlogs, hopefully we get one more as they leave to go home. I also hope Tobias Harris is okay. That was a brutal head slam to the court, I'm amazed he doesn't have a concussion. 

[mojoween]

33 minutes ago, Maximum Taco said:

No, I think it's just a coincidence. I remember an article from when they retired his numbers.

In highschool he wore the numbers 24 and 33. I don't think he got to pick his numbers in highschool, they were just the ones he was given. 

When he joined the Lakers, he wanted those numbers but George McCloud was already wearing 24, and 33 was already retired for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so he picked 8, the story is because when he was in Adidas ABCD camp he got the number 143 and 1+4+3=8. Then when he wanted to enter a new stage in his career he switched to 24 cause nobody was wearing it now. 

Thank you for that.  I made a lot more out of it than there really was, but it made for a good story in my head.

[Growsonwalls]

The Sixers will probably have a huge roster reshuffle. Harris and Horford's contracts are going to be hard to trade for but I can picture Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons asking to be traded. And Brett Brown is probably out as well.

 

[Maximum Taco]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

Thank you for that.  I made a lot more out of it than there really was, but it made for a good story in my head.

I thought it was a neat coincidence that his birthday is right before "Mamba Day" too. Very cool that the Lakers are busting out the Mamba jerseys tomorrow for him. 

On 8/21/2020 at 11:47 PM, Growsonwalls said:

Another huge potential injury: Luka Doncic rolled his ankle and might be out,. 

Doesn't seem like Luka is any worse for wear, got the triple double before the 4th. He's on a mission this afternoon to tie the series.

EDIT: Bang! 43 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists and the OT Dagger. Luka. Went. Off.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Maximum Taco

[Magog]

5 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

The Sixers will probably have a huge roster reshuffle. Harris and Horford's contracts are going to be hard to trade for but I can picture Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons asking to be traded. And Brett Brown is probably out as well.

Somewhere out there, Markelle Fultz is getting the last laugh & laughing at these losers. He was injured pretty much during his whole time with the 76ers & they pretty much kicked him to the curb. Now, he is finally healthy & getting his career back together with the Magic. Even though he & the Magic will probably go down against the Bucks pretty soon, Markelle Fultz can hold his head up high that he is not part with those losers Joel Embiid, that pathetic Ben Simmons (he was pathetic before his knee injury), & that sorry soon to be ex-coach of the 76ers Brett Brown.

Markelle Fultz might of been somewhat of a bust, but at least he is not a bigger bust that Joel Embiid & that loser Ben Simmons are currently.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Magog

[emma675]

1 hour ago, Maximum Taco said:

Bang! 43 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists and the OT Dagger. Luca. Went. Off.

Bang, bang! I was jumping around my living room, that was amazing!

One of my teams got bounced today (76ers) and one of my teams won in a thriller with their star injured and another out completely. What a day of basketball. 

[AimingforYoko]

Glad Dallas managed to hang on to win that one, looks like it's going seven.

Brett Brown is toast. Kinda sad, considering how close they were last year.

[Growsonwalls]

That Mavs/Clippers game was wild. Luka was amazing. So in fairness was Kawhi Leonard. I laughed when I saw that Paul George is now being called PG13%. 

The Western conference is like the Hunger Games. 8 good teams. The Eastern Conference is looking to be a clean sweep except for the Bucks who will probably win in 5.

 

[xaxat]

3 hours ago, Magog said:

Somewhere out there, Markelle Fultz is getting the last laugh & laughing at these losers. He was injured pretty much during his whole time with the 76ers & they pretty much kicked him to the curb.

That's not true. Everybody, including the notorious Philly fans, was supportive of Fultz, despite his injury.  You might fault the medical staff for not diagnosing it earlier, but thoracic outlet syndrome isn't that common in the NBA. Sometimes moving on is a win/win.

On 8/21/2020 at 11:47 PM, Growsonwalls said:

Sixers fans are calling for the heads of the GM and coach Brett Brown on reddit and twitter.

We're calling for more than that. We also want the GMs (they have this weird shared responsibility structure with Brand as the face) and the owners (I know, it's not going to happen.) gone. Cleanse it with fire!

ETA Mountain Dew, you might want to retire this ad. Pretty sure a gif won't make Embiid feel happy right now.

 

Edited August 24, 2020 by xaxat

[Maximum Taco]

14 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

That Mavs/Clippers game was wild. Luka was amazing. So in fairness was Kawhi Leonard. I laughed when I saw that Paul George is now being called PG13%. 

Every time I try to feel bad for Paul George I remember that he tried to give himself the nickname "Playoff P" and I realize he deserves everything he's getting right now.  

Edited August 24, 2020 by Maximum Taco

[Growsonwalls]

1 hour ago, Maximum Taco said:

Every time I try to feel bad for Paul George I remember that he tried to give himself the nickname "Playoff P" and I realize he deserves everything he's getting right now.  

Yeah and I know all about the business with him trying to pay off his now-wife $1 mil to get an abortion and what not. But ... he's sort of bubble eye candy. 

[emma675]

Bleacher Report is tweeting the 76ers have fired Brett Brown. That was fast.

[Growsonwalls]

You can get rid of Brett Brown but Elton Brand is the GM and he's the one who made those crappy trades and bloated contracts for Harris and Horford.

[Maximum Taco]

80 Points at the HALF. 

The Lakers are back, Dame Time is over. 

[Growsonwalls]

Uh oh. Dame Lillard getting an MRI according to ESPN. 😞 

[Magog]

20 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

21 hours ago, Maximum Taco said:

Every time I try to feel bad for Paul George I remember that he tried to give himself the nickname "Playoff P" and I realize he deserves everything he's getting right now.  

Yeah and I know all about the business with him trying to pay off his now-wife $1 mil to get an abortion and what not. But ... he's sort of bubble eye candy. 

How about he show up tonight for Game 5? There is nothing eye-candy about Paul George.

 

Last night, the Lakers went up 7-0 & the game was over. At one point in a bit of irony (because of Kobe day yesterday), the score was 24-8. After that point, I fell asleep. Game 5 is going to be nap-inducing because the Trail Blazers have no chance of winning that game or the series. 

As for the dumb Rockets, they attempted 58 3-pointers in the game yesterday (made 23 of them) & they still find a way to lose to the Thunder (117-114). I'm certain that the Lakers are licking their chops on humiliating the sorry Rockets (especially James Harden) if the Rockets can somehow beat the Thunder in the series.

[Growsonwalls]

Dame Lillard out with a knee sprain. Bye Blazers. He's like the third player to blow out his knee in the bubble.

[emma675]

Kristaps Porzingis is also out again for the Mavs with "right knee soreness."

[Growsonwalls]

Incredible clutch performance by Jamal Murray tonight. The Western Conference is so strong.

In other news, Bill Russell is still making social media funnies:

 

[Carey]

5 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Dame Lillard out with a knee sprain. Bye Blazers. He's like the third player to blow out his knee in the bubble.

One of those things that occur where I'd say "The league is scripted"

 

It isn't; I'd bet that as it's a sad coincidence.   Sucks for Dame.  Looks like the Lakers will be the team to knock off the Lakers in the West; the two teams I thought would threaten LeBron & AD's team are pretty much not that (Clippers & Portland).  Though I can't say I'd be shocked if Dallas ends up being that team

[Maximum Taco]

Dallas would be doing ok tonight if they hadn't let the Clips absolutely rain death on them in the 1st. 

I gotta think they need Porzingis back if they are gonna take two in a row from the Clips. 

[Growsonwalls]

50 minutes ago, Carey said:

One of those things that occur where I'd say "The league is scripted"

 

It isn't; I'd bet that as it's a sad coincidence.   Sucks for Dame.  Looks like the Lakers will be the team to knock off the Lakers in the West; the two teams I thought would threaten LeBron & AD's team are pretty much not that (Clippers & Portland).  Though I can't say I'd be shocked if Dallas ends up being that team

I think that "everyone" wants a Giannis/Lebron duel. Greek Freak vs. King James. But it sucks for Dame -- it was that kind of no-contact knee injury where reddit (where the Blazers' fans devotion to Dame rivals the Manson girls' devotion to Charlie) was having a meltdown saying they couldn't sleep last night. When they found out it was a sprain compared to a complete ACL tear they were relieved. 

In other news, for whatever reason it's so soothing to hear Bill Russell live tweeting NBA still at 86:

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[Growsonwalls]

Bucks and Magic have boycotted the game.

[xaxat]

No games today.

[AimingforYoko]

Not to give the NBA a tongue bath or anything, but I could not see this happening in any other league.

[PepSinger]

God bless them. Bravo.

[xaxat]

29 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Not to give the NBA a tongue bath or anything, but I could not see this happening in any other league.

I wouldn't be surprised if the WNBA followed suit. I think their level of public advocacy has been higher than the NBA over the years.

[Growsonwalls]

Well according to twitter sources there is going to be an MLB sitout between the Brewers and the Reds as well. 

ETA: it's official: Brewers sitting out.

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[DoctorAtomic]

Good for both leagues. 

[Growsonwalls]

Mariners also sitting out tonight.

 

[emma675]

Bravo to all the leagues and players sitting out. I'm impressed and proud.

[Growsonwalls]

Giants-Dodgers have also canceled. wow. Go Bucks.

[Growsonwalls]

I'm feeling a little emotional. I loved all the vlogs of the NBA bubble -- it was a fun diversion from what's been a pretty bleak six months for me (well, for everyone). I loved watching them fish, golf, eat their gigantic ass stacks of food, and to see the players ducking doorways obviously not made for giants. And the playoff matches were so good. And then this happens ... I support it 100%. I don't know if they'll continue the season but it was a brave move by the players and the MLB teams. 

However the fact that this even happened just shows there's an awful rot in our society. I went on twitter and some of the comments were disgusting. N-bombs dropped everywhere. There's too much racism, too much police brutality, too many shitty politicians. The NBA Bubble was one of the few things I thought was a positive for this country and now it might not even happen. It's just too much. America please do better, so we can have good things again.

[LexieLily]

 

[Silver Raven]

Lakers and Clippers say they won't participate in the rest of the playoffs.

[Growsonwalls]

2 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Lakers and Clippers say they won't participate in the rest of the playoffs.

I was reading though that it might be a tactic -- they say they won't play, other teams vote to stay, forces the league's hands in committing to some social justice cause.