Mitch Cumsteen

Boston didn’t play well at all and still won rather easily. Let’s see how Dallas does at home but this was a bleak start to the finals for them.

Luka with some pretty awful defensive effort last couple of possessions. I get that he’s probably exhausted, but that’s losing basketball in the NBA finals.

Up until that last play, they haven’t been blitzing Luka on the pick. They’ve been switching everything so there’s no free run at the rim. I’m surprised they switched it up. I don’t think they were supposed to. They should try to make Luka score 60 tonight to beat them.

Terry is probably the most critical recruit in the class if we are serious about locking up that Alamo Heights pipeline.

Boston seems like they’re playing like crap but still winning. Getting to the rim at will with Gafford and Lively on the bench. If they start hitting their threes, look out. Of course it wouldn’t hurt for the mavs to start knocking down some free throws.

Zero chance she declines. You think Nike is paying her all that dough to not play in the Olympics? You don’t think they would be cramming her commercials non stop during the games? Hell, they will probably will anyway. David Stern has got to be doing backflips in his grave today.

I’m not really a marketing guy but maybe, just maybe, they would have a better chance of growing the game if they included its most popular player on its biggest stage? Like, are you being serious?

lol they left her off the team. The tv execs have got to be just thrilled. We’re paying x billion dollars for what? For USA basketball to try to kill our ratings out of spite? Jealousy? As if her inclusion would have any bearing on the fact that team USA is going to roll regardless. Years and years of women’s sports begging for any sort of attention and financial backing, and USA basketball is just going to stick their finger right in the eye. This isn’t biting the hand that feeds you. It’s cutting off the hand and then rage eating it while you choke to death. These dumbasses deserve everything coming their way.

When they outlaw car shows only outlaws will have car shows.

The NBA is killing me with their schedule. They give us a playoff game every night for like 6 weeks, and then have a week off before the finals. And now 3 days between games 1 and 2, and multiple days between each of the other games. What the fuck. Boston matches up really well against Dallas. They switch everything and have a good defender at every position and it's not like Dallas has any post up threats if they switch a small onto a big. Boston is going to make Luka beat them one on one. Can he beat you launching 20 step back threes per game? Dallas only had 9 assists as a team last night. That tells how stagnant Boston is making them. And then offensively, Boston plays 5 out and clears out the interior for Tatum and Brown to drive. And they are targeting the shit out of Luka on those drives, too. Meanwhile, all those interior defenders for the Mavs are having to check guys at the three point line, where they're not comfortable. Dallas should play better in game 2 and Porzingis was out of his mind in the first half, but Boston is going to be a tough out. Boston will probably shoot themselves out of 1-2 games in this series from the three point line, but that roster is so versatile and they have so many different guys to throw at Luka and Kyrie. I hate the game 1 overreaction stuff, but this looks like some tough sledding for Dallas.

With all due respect, ain’t no fucking way. Handles. I’ll give him handles over MJ but otherwise Jordan was better at every facet of the game. Jordan was one of the most fundamentally sound players who ever laced them up. Early in his career he out athleted guys but as he matured, he absolutely started dissecting his opponents mentally, physically, strategically and every other way possible, and he did it pathologically. Unless you’re talking about that stupid skills competition that they do at the all star game? Maybe World B Flat is better at that. But as far as doing shit in an actual game against opponents? That’s absolutely ridiculous.

It really does but we're so spoiled. If only the Spurs could catch a break in the lottery and draft. Agree with all of this. Sochan should be the energy guy but he doesn't bring it every night. Hopefully he grows into it and maybe not scrambling his brain trying to run point will settle him a bit, but they need so much more consistency out of him. I don't think his shot ever gets fixed, though. I'm not as concerned about the playmaking so much. Wemby is going to create looks for everybody. They need someone to knock them down. They need better defensive players around him. And for fuck's sake, they need to take care of the ball. They are close to a playoff team with league average shooting, non-Wemby defense and turnovers. These numbers paint a pretty ugly picture: 26th in offensive RTG. 25th in TO%. 25th in EFG%, 25th in TS%. #3 in pace. 28th in 3P%. 11th in 3PA. #1 in AST% (wtf, for a team that misses so many shots). 25th in contested 3 point shots.

TIL that people think A&M is weird because they are such rabid and passionate fans, and that soon people will think that Texas is weird because our fans are not as rabid and passionate. This whole time I have been misguided on why exactly people think Aggies are weird. So glad Texags could clear that up for me.

I think 75% of the league (if healthy) would have kicked the shit out of the three teams that Boston played. "Far better" may be a stretch, but Boston is still a more complete, versatile, deep, and experienced team than Minnesota. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that Minnesota/Denver series. It was bizarre on so many levels.

Getting back to the draft during what will be an interminable wait until the finals... more and more Castle makes sense at 4, which means they will probably do some unexpected Josh Primo/Luka Samanic dumb shit and fuck this whole thing up. He should be available unless Houston trades #3 to someone who wants to move up for him. I figure Risacher/Sarr go 1/2, in either order, then Houston takes Sheppard or Clingan. At 8, I'm starting to come around on Dalton Knecht. He fills a desperate and immediate need for a shooting wing. He's a competent defender or at least big and athletic enough (39" vertical, fastest shuttle in the combine and second fastest in lane agility) to become one. Do you spend #8 on potentially the next Doug McDermott? The thing about Knecht that makes his developmental curve a little different is that he grew 5 inches after high school. So, it's not like he maxed out just by aging and being older than his peers like that one dude that killed Kentucky in the first round of the tourney. He maxed out by hitting a late growth spurt. It's reminiscent of the Derrick White trajectory, even down to the part about playing small college ball in Colorado before growing taller and then stepping up in class twice. The Spurs have always been drawn to those rags to riches stories about guys who have had to work their way up vs guys who came up through the AAU entitlement system. I could talk myself into him despite his being older than Wemby, Sochan, Branham, Cissoko, Barlow, and Wesley. He would immediately supplant Champagnie in the lineup. If they are going to roll the dice on another can't shoot prospect instead of Knecht, I'd go with Cody Williams. He's one of the easiest to visualize being a great pro because of his brother, yet also requires the most projection to get there. Also, has one of the longest developmental timelines, which will say something about their patience if they go there. Dillingham is also likely to be available at 8 as well but I don't think they want to play like they will have to on defense if he's your lead guard.

No, not really. HIs absence hasn't impacted their winning. I'm talking about adversity in the sense of... you're losing games, players are struggling, coaches are struggling, and you have to figure out how to work your way through it. The Celtics haven't experienced that, at all. They haven't been pushed and you don't know how they are going to react or who is going to step up. I know everybody thinks the regular season is meaningless, but teams learn how to play together, grow together and how to lean on each other and overcome when shit goes bad. Because at some point, shit is going to go bad in the NBA Finals. I'm not saying they won't figure it out, just that they haven't had to yet. Those lessons are better learned in the regular season than in the finals.

Boston has played down to its competition so far. They are going to have to pick everything up a notch. They also haven't faced any adversity essentially the entire season and the playoffs. How do they respond when shit goes sideways? There's a ton of pressure and scrutiny on them and their coach. I don't know how much I believe in them despite the gaudy record. As I bag on the Celtics competition, Dallas also caught a break with Kawhi out. OKC had next to zero playoff experience. They were fortunate to avoid Jokic. And the fucking Wolves are choking losers. Not to discredit their incredible run and it's been much more challenging than what Boston faced, but likewise this will be by far the best team the Mavs have faced as well. The matchups are intriguing. Holiday is probably the best perimeter defender in the league. White also plays defense at an all league level. Brown is also very very good. They are built to switch everything. Dallas isn't going to see drop coverage like they did all series with Minnesota. Boston is going to want to push pace and jack a million threes. It's an entirely different look than Dallas has seen this playoffs. The Dallas defense has been spectacular since the trade deadline but the Celtics stress you much differently than the iso heavy Thunder or the 4 on 5 hamstrung Wolves. As Tatum and their three point shooting go, so go the Celtics. I think I lean slightly to Dallas in a long series. They are on such a heater it might just be their year. Of course, the way this playoff has gone for Boston, Luka and Kytie will probably both get hurt and they will roll to the title not having played a single team anywhere near full strength. Pains me to say it, but Mavs in 6.

Awful, embarrassing, pathetic effort. As if @MNLonghornFUKM hasn't been through enough over the years. Brutal way to end this season where they seemed to turn the corner. Denver is going to be kicking themselves all summer for losing to these bums.

I'm actually kinda bummed about the egg bowl getting moved. That had become a Thanksgiving tradition for me. After a long day of family crap, sitting down in a quiet place with a beverage and watching the crazy shit that always happens in that game was something I looked forward to.

Not sure who was working while you were there, but the owners Debbie and Frankie are great folks.

What do you say we go back even further, to 2013: You think a lot of people were fired up for Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller and Alex fucking Len? That was a bad, bad draft. And of course, at #15, a skinny Greek kid went to Milwaukee that nobody knew shit about. I see where you're going but I just think you're missing the forest for the trees.

I'm not sure I'm buying it. Markelle Fultz was a one and done. Huge bust, at least for a #1 pick. Lonzo Ball, Tatum, Josh Jackson (bust), Fox, Isaac, Markkanan, etc. were all one and done. I'm too lazy to go down the rest of the line, but that was a pretty good draft class overall. None of the current draftees are straight from high school. This was the last year of ignite, they announced. Going forward, most of these guys are going to end up playing in college for at least one year, or will have to go overseas. NIL makes it much more palatable and it's honestly a better marketing tool for the league if they play in college. But they're still going to be one and done, because the guaranteed first round money is too much to pass up. This year is just a down year for talent. I wouldn't read too much into it. There are busts every year even at the top of the draft and even guys who played for blue blood programs and never transferred. Cooper Flagg is likely going #1 next year and is playing for Duke. Rutgers (I know, Rutgers!) has two of the top players in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. VJ Edgecomb will be at Baylor. Tre Johnson is a projected lottery pick. I'm just not seeing it.

Disagree. You don't have to look any further than next year's class. It's loaded. I feel like the league from top to bottom is as talented as it's ever been and there's more parity because of it. It's never going back to the majority of players sticking around in college for 4 years, but that doesn't mean that the players coming out today won't be great pros, even if it takes them a little bit longer to get there. At this point I might actually be pulling for Bronny to make it. I don't think he will, but I'm a sucker for a riches to riches story.