The NBA

[emmawoodhouse]

Doc Rivers wasn't unemployed for long. Looks like he's signing on with the Sixers.

[emma675]

47 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Doc Rivers wasn't unemployed for long. Looks like he's signing on with the Sixers.

Nice, I hadn't seen that news yet.

[Fukui San]

Very curious to see how that will work out. I don't think Doc is considered the best X's and O's coach. and there is a serious X's and O's puzzle to be solved in Philly, but he is good at getting people to buy in, usually, and Philly is a high profile job.

He could have easily said "I'll do TV for a year or two" before jumping back in, so I hope it works out for him.

[xaxat]

This will either be brilliant or a complete dumpster fire. I'm betting on the latter.

Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant say Brooklyn Nets' coaching will be 'collaborative effort'

Quote

"I don't really see us having a head coach," Irving said on Durant's new podcast, "The Etcs." "KD could be a head coach, I could be a head coach [some days]."

Durant followed up by agreeing with Irving, calling it a "collaborative effort" and naming assistant and former interim head coach Jacque Vaughn as someone who could fill the role any given day.

Way to show support for actual coach Steve Nash by saying one of his assistants could serve as the "coach".

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

I could be a head coach [some days]."

Steve Nash: "Absolutely. It just has to be the days he believes the earth is round."

[xaxat]

I'm glad someone wrote this story. Because I was seriously wondering about what life was like for the non-famous people in the bubble.

Fear the Beard (Sweat): These N.B.A. Workers Keep the Court Dry

I also wondered about the barbers. They must have made bank from the tips.

[Magog]

The Heat somehow won tonight (114-105). Its not a real series yet till they find a way to win Game 4 on Tuesday Night.

[Growsonwalls]

That was totally classless of the Lakers to walk off before the buzzer. I know they were losing anyway but all of them looked like sore losers. Relax. You'll probably win in 5.

[twoods]

Eh I saw Lebron being pissed off, probably because his team didn’t show up. Making no shots, nobody could guard Jimmy Butler, just crappy play. With AD in foul trouble someone else had to show up- those two can’t keep doing all the work. If they don’t show up in game four, it’s 2-2 and anyone can win the series.

[Growsonwalls]

21 minutes ago, twoods said:

Eh I saw Lebron being pissed off, probably because his team didn’t show up. Making no shots, nobody could guard Jimmy Butler, just crappy play. With AD in foul trouble someone else had to show up- those two can’t keep doing all the work. If they don’t show up in game four, it’s 2-2 and anyone can win the series.

Why do they keep starting Danny Green? The guy is in some sort of serious shooting funk, and he trends on twitter constantly. Take him out of the lineup, because right now I think it's the lack of confidence as much as anything that's making him brick one shot after another.

But as I said, the Lakers have a rather weak bench. Or rather an inconsistent bench. Miami might be down two starters but they have strong bench players like Tyler Herro and Andre Igoudala. 

As I said, I still think Lakers in 5. When AD gets going he's nearly unstoppable. He just couldn't get anything going tonight.

[twoods]

I agree, Green has been terrible in the bubble yet he still starts for some unknown reason. AD was in foul trouble early and never got back into it in the second half, or the idiots were chucking up threes they weren’t making instead of feeding him the ball in the paint. Just stupid basketball, unlike what they’ve played the first two games to dominate this team. It’s frustrating to watch.

[NUguy514]

Bron-bron's team acting in a classless fashion??  I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you!!!

[cambridgeguy]

So the Lakers will probably win this one, which means the talking heads and fans will explode.

Lebron and Lakers fans - not only does this count as a legitimate title, it deserves extra credit because of the circumstances

Lebron and Lakers haters - A bunch of neutral site games with no fans?  You've got to be kidding me, there's no way this really counts.

[NUguy514]

As far as I'm concerned, no 2020 "champions" in any sport (baseball, hockey, baseball, football (well, 2021 for football), tennis, etc.) exist.

[twoods]

3 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

As far as I'm concerned, no 2020 "champions" in any sport (baseball, hockey, baseball, football (well, 2021 for football), tennis, etc.) exist.

How so? They finished an entire season, unlike baseball. They still worked hard and played without home court advantage. I think football should count as well since they are playing a full season.

[emmawoodhouse]

9 minutes ago, twoods said:

How so? They finished an entire season, unlike baseball. They still worked hard and played without home court advantage. I think football should count as well since they are playing a full season.

Well, in football's case, that's yet to be seen. At the rate things are going, I will be shocked if everyone plays a full schedule.

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

How so? They finished an entire season, unlike baseball. They still worked hard and played without home court advantage. I think football should count as well since they are playing a full season.

They didn't finish a full season, though.  They played most of a full 82-game season, but not an entire 82-game season.  Moreover, play was interrupted for several months, and not everyone chose to/could play because of the scepter of COVID hanging over everything.  I don't begrudge those who chose to play for playing, and I think the NBA did as good a job as it could with implementing safety measures and, more importantly, enforcing them.  However, when every game is played in the same place, there are no fans, not every player could or wanted to play because of potentially deadly health concerns, play is not continuous, not all 82 games are played, and all the rest, that's not NBA basketball to me.  I feel the same about the NHL season, and there is a 0% chance a full NFL season is happening.

So, yeah, I'm not counting any of the "champions" this year.

[xaxat]

36 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

So, yeah, I'm not counting any of the "champions" this year.

I understand your reservations. While it's uncommon, it's not unheard of for championships to be decided under unusual conditions.  The league had a lockout in 2011 that shortened the season to 66 games. I don't think most fans remember that. They just remember 2012 as the year LeBron won his first title with the Heat.

[AimingforYoko]

If Tim Duncan and Pop are given credit for five rings, not four, then this year's champs are legit. This isn't baseball, where they didn't even play half a season.

[Fukui San]

I hate the Lakers but I won't be attaching any asterisk to this season. It was probably tougher mentally than a normal season.

[Growsonwalls]

A ray of light: Delonte West is apparently doing well in rehab per Mark Cuban:

 

[twoods]

Gah the Lakers are making me stabby, specifically Kuzma. I guess this is going to game 6 unless AD and Lebron can magically make something happen. Kudos to the Heat for not giving up. They have a lot of fight in them, especially Jimmy Butler. Guy is crazy good.

[Jx223]

 Tonight's game was a good game. It ended up being very competitive. Jimmy Butler played very hard tonight to keep the Heat in it. He was fantastic tonight.  Duncan Robinson also played well. They did a good job of going tit for tat against the Lakers and responding every time the Lakers (especially Lebron) made another shot late in this game. The Heat played hard and deserved that gritty win tonight to extend this series.

I have really been impressed with the Heat and the way they have played in the bubble/playoffs. They really are well run organization and they feel like a real team that wants to win. And Eric Spolestra has quietly been working/and being effective as one of the longer tenured coaches in this league. (For 12 years now). Pat Riley continues to do a good job helping run this organization.

 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Jx223

[Growsonwalls]

How does Frank Vogel give the game winning shot to DANNY GREEN? Danny Green who's been cold since he entered the bubble. And Markieff Morris throwing the ball OOB was flashbacks of JR Smith. Kyle Kuzma also had a rough game.

I've said this before but the Lakers have weak role players. They have Lebron and AD but everyone else is very hit or miss. KCP is not bad. Lebron had a monster game though.

Anyway I'm glad it's going to 6 games. I think Lakers will win but Miami's a good team.

 

[twoods]

I don’t think it was meant for him to take the pass, but because Lebron was triple team he had to throw it out to the player who was open by a mile. 16 mil a year and can’t make that shot. The bench better show up or it’s off to game 7. I don’t think Lebron’s 35 year old body can take many more games.

[Growsonwalls]

19 minutes ago, twoods said:

I don’t think it was meant for him to take the pass, but because Lebron was triple team he had to throw it out to the player who was open by a mile. 16 mil a year and can’t make that shot. The bench better show up or it’s off to game 7. I don’t think Lebron’s 35 year old body can take many more games.

Someone uploaded the streamable to reddit:

https://streamable.com/0ywaf7

That last possession by the Lakers was a nightmare of bad basketball. Lebron is triple teamed, so he throws it to Danny Green. Green who has been struggling decides to take a wide open three. Misses. But Morris throwing OOB when Lebron was wide open was ... 

I don't get why Vogel is still starting Danny Green. He took McGee out and swapped in Dwight Howard. 

[Growsonwalls]

Ok burning question: how do you tell the Morris twins apart? I'm just getting to the point where I THINK I can tell the McCourty twins apart but the Morris twins are truly identical down to the tats.

[AimingforYoko]

Guess LeBron got tired of the bubble.

[Jx223]

 The Lakers did a nice job of winning this championship. They were my least favorite team growing up, lol, (due to them beating teams that I liked in finals) but congrats to them for winning the title this year. This has been a tough, and unprecedented season, but they got through it. And I honestly believe they probably would have won the championship even if the season had been a normal one. I believe that the same teams that fell apart in the bubble would have still fell apart in a normal season. (Including the Clippers who didn't take the season as seriously as they should have.)

I'm happy in particular for Frank Vogel, who I have always liked going back to him being the Head Coach of the Pacers.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Jx223

[emma675]

Well, the bubble is officially over. Congrats to the Lakers. 

Does anyone know if they've started planning for next season yet? I keep hearing an early December start but that seems to be just rumors.

[Growsonwalls]

Congrats Lakers. Miami put up a good fight. I hope the Miami team stays together and comes back strong next year. 

I'm happiest for Dwight Howard, JR Smith, Rajon Rondo, three NBA vets who have had a rough time in recent years. And congrats to any team that fought all the way through to the finals -- this has been a rough rough year. 

And I;m honestly stumped who deserves FMVP -- Lebron or AD.

 

[Magog]

I'm only happy for LeBron for the Lakers winning another championship (his 4th) & another Finals MVP. I'm also a lit bit happy for Anthony Davis & Rajon Rondo. The rest of the Lakers can get lost.

Sadly, it'll only bring up even more of that stupid & pointless GOAT debate. Just even thinking about it irritates me.

I've completely forgot that JR Smith is on the Lakers. He certainly didn't play very much for me to notice. 

A certain fool on Undisputed is going to be very sad tomorrow morning & that makes me very happy. 

Magic Johnson is going to be mouthing off on Twitter & will probably be saying he contribute to them winning this championship, even though he wasn't much of a help in doing so. Hopefully, Rob Pelinka is somewhere jumping for joy & is getting the credit he so richly deserves instead of Magic Johnson.

[Growsonwalls]

Bill Russell sent a message. He looks good for his age.

 

[shoregirl]

Someone in LA is taking the bubble literally. 

The bubble worked pretty perfectly (as it did in the the NHL). The NBA should be happy with themselves.

[twoods]

10 years. I’m crying. Kobe is looking down with a smile on his face. What a tough season for them and glad they came out on top. AD has so much talent with zero ego, and I hope he continues to be a Laker because he is a rare player. Lebron continues to play unbelievable basketball at his age. I’m just so happy right now. 

[DrSpaceman73]

20 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Well, the bubble is officially over. Congrats to the Lakers. 

Does anyone know if they've started planning for next season yet? I keep hearing an early December start but that seems to be just rumors.

There is no way they'll start early December.  Maybe late dec at earliest to get Christmas games but more likely January at earliest.  

But no announcement has been made.  Haven't even made a definite decision on the draft.  Supposed to be november but may move it too

Great lakers win again by collecting the best free agents.   Hurray.   

And lakers fans acting like 10 years is a long time to go without a title,.I'll take the probable message board warning and say ......how awful.  Small market franchises who never have a chance at free agents would be thrilled with a title chance every 10 years.  

Edited October 12, 2020 by DrSpaceman73

[anna0852]

The entire NBA organization should be incredibly proud of themselves. They not only pulled off the bubble all the way through without a virus issue but charged ahead on social justice at the same time. Just incredible!

[Growsonwalls]

Also congratulations to Adam Silver for pulling off this gargantuan task of the NBA bubble. When I look at the shitshow that is the NFL right now the way the NBA planned for a SAFE end to the season was amazing. 

[AimingforYoko]

NBA has been the best run league since Stern took the reins. 

[twoods]

26 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

 

Great lakers win again by collecting the best free agents.   Hurray.   

And lakers fans acting like 10 years is a long time to go without a title,.I'll take the probable message board warning and say ......how awful.  Small market franchises who never have a chance at free agents would be thrilled with a title chance every 10 years.  

Lovely attitude as usual. Do you know how crappy the Lakers have been for 9 years? I honestly never thought my daughters would ever see the Lakers win a championship in the next 20 years since my first one was born two days after their win in 2010. So you bet that I’m thrilled of this win, even if it’s “only” been 10 years. I am a football fan of a team that has never won, and a baseball team that hasn’t won in 37 years. No one is going to crap on my parade. 

Edited October 12, 2020 by twoods

[Growsonwalls]

8 minutes ago, twoods said:

Lovely attitude as usual. Do you know how crappy the Lakers have been for 9 years? I honestly never thought my daughters would ever see the Lakers win a championship since my first one was born two days after their win in 2010. So you bet that I’m thrilled of this win, even if it’s “only” been 10 years. I am a football fan of a team that has never won, and a baseball team that hasn’t won in 37 years. No one is going to crap on my parade. 

Also the past 10 years is instructive for the Lakers moving forward. The Lakers were saddled with an aging, injured Kobe Bryant until he finally retired. Then Jeannie Buss invited Magic Johnson who was inept in every way before he quit to tweet ... or something. Hopefully they get some young talent in the off season. 

ETA: Aww this video made me sad 😞

 

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[mojoween]

Keyshawn Johnson (who is going to be insufferable tomorrow) said that if LeBron brought in one championship that would make him a Laker and I cannot disagree hard enough.  LeBron plays for the Lakers. He’ll never be a Laker.

Also he was whining after the game that he wants his respect and WHAT is he even talking about.

[Growsonwalls]

14 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Keyshawn Johnson (who is going to be insufferable tomorrow) said that if LeBron brought in one championship that would make him a Laker and I cannot disagree hard enough.  LeBron plays for the Lakers. He’ll never be a Laker.

Also he was whining after the game that he wants his respect and WHAT is he even talking about.

For a superstar he does get disrespected a lot by some talking heads. Paul Pierce, Skip Bayless, etc. Also, Orange Monster That Cannot Be Named.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, twoods said:

Lovely attitude as usual. Do you know how crappy the Lakers have been for 9 years? I honestly never thought my daughters would ever see the Lakers win a championship in the next 20 years since my first one was born two days after their win in 2010. So you bet that I’m thrilled of this win, even if it’s “only” been 10 years. I am a football fan of a team that has never won, and a baseball team that hasn’t won in 37 years. No one is going to crap on my parade. 

OK, and now for some perspective.  As I've already stated, any 2020 champion of any sport gets an asterisk from me, so this isn't an anti-Lakers thing (although I am staunchly anti-Bron-bron); however, including this year's title-with-an-asterisk, the Lakers have won friggin' six championships since 2000 (and a full eleven since 1980).  That's more than a quarter of the championships in that timeframe, so let's not pretend this title – won by a team composed of free agents who wanted to live here in Los Angeles – is some galactic achievement.  Get back to me when a team like the Suns wins.

[mojoween]

5 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

For a superstar he does get disrespected a lot by some talking heads. Paul Pierce, Skip Bayless, etc. Also, Orange Monster That Cannot Be Named.

Paul Pierce played with him, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he knows something we don’t.  The other two only matter if you give their opinions credence, which I do not.

I mean, the commercial for Keyshawn’s radio show for today (read by Zubin) wonders if this championship cements LeBron as the Greatest of all Time, and WHY are we still doing this.

[cambridgeguy]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

Also he was whining after the game that he wants his respect and WHAT is he even talking about.

Simple, there are going to be plenty of people who always scoff and say he's not Jordan.  After all, Jordan went 6-0 with two threepeats - Lebron has a losing record in the finals.  Jordan didn't choke away critical games.  Jordan played in an era when players weren't a bunch of whiny crybabies who get a foul call the moment someone breathes hard on them, etc.   Jordan stayed and worked with what he had instead of running to Miami and Dwyane Wade.  You know, the usual tired arguments.

[Kip Hackman]

Congrats to the Lakers.   And their fans, who somehow managed to endure 10 entire years without a championship.

 

 

[Growsonwalls]

55 minutes ago, Kip Hackman said:

Congrats to the Lakers.   And their fans, who somehow managed to endure 10 entire years without a championship.

 

 

Losing miserably is part of the Knicks experience though. It's almost part of the charm. Almost.

[AimingforYoko]

O'Shea Jackson, Jr. on who's the greatest franchise now that the Lakers and Celtics are tied at 17 titles apiece, "Every uniform in the NBA, including the Celtics, has a Laker on them. Game over."

[emma675]

ESPN said today the draft is scheduled for November 17 (or maybe the 18, I can't recall exactly), but training camps and the season have no start dates yet.