2020-2021 NBA Thread of Insanity

[ztejas 43,244]

Just now, Wulaw Horn said:

Man- James still has what- 9 years to

go before he got to Kareems age at retirement?  

Lol no. LeBron is 36 I think. I don't think Kareem played a season past 41. 

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

Just now, ztejas said:

Lol no. LeBron is 36 I think. I don't think Kareem played a season past 41. 

Ha. Just coming back to post 5 years. I have no idea why I had Kareem playing until 43 in my mind. Have Tom Brady on my mind. 

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

I just looked up his career stats. All NBA in 85-86 (first team!) at 38. Then 39 looks like probably his last year as league average. 40 looks like he’s probably a decent contributed. By 41 it was legacy tour time. That’s the stats. Other than run TMC during that time I wasn’t doing a lot of NBA watching as I was like 9 or 10 years old, and at least as much a college fan as pro fan- so what the fuck do I remember about that and his place in the game vis a vis his peers. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Wulaw Horn

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,799]

Kyrie 2 days ago tried to jersey swap with Bam and was denied

So in typical kyrie fashion last night

I’ve never seen the single swap. but whatever goes on in Kyries head, this would be deemed normal. At least bam has something if the team place runs out of tp

[d2o 1,602]

1 hour ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Kyrie 2 days ago tried to jersey swap with Bam and was denied

So in typical kyrie fashion last night
 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve never seen the single swap. but whatever goes on in Kyries head, this would be deemed normal. At least bam has something if the team place runs out of tp

 

 

 

 

 

That is ridiculous on levels.

[BigOrange1 6,416]

so it was obviously indefensible to take him over luka, but deandre ayton is having a solid start to his third year in the league.  15 points and 12.2 rebounds per game on 59.3% shooting.

[d2o 1,602]

6 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

so it was obviously indefensible to take him over luka, but deandre ayton is having a solid start to his third year in the league.  15 points and 12.2 rebounds per game on 59.3% shooting.

Yep, I figured getting CP3 would help him more than anyone else on the team.   

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

19 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

so it was obviously indefensible to take him over luka, but deandre ayton is having a solid start to his third year in the league.  15 points and 12.2 rebounds per game on 59.3% shooting.

There was an interesting article on Mo Bamba in the ringer by TJarks- a former poster on this board. One of the things in that article that caught my eye is that the suns defensive rating drops by 16! points with Ayton on the floor. 
my sense was he was getting it a little but defensively and will eventually be a plus there- but the numbers say he’s a defensive disaster this year (along with Bamba and all the other bigs from his class). 

[BigOrange1 6,416]

tjarks used to post on this board??

[ztejas 43,244]

8 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

tjarks used to post on this board??

Yeah that's wild.

29 minutes ago, d2o said:

Yep, I figured getting CP3 would help him more than anyone else on the team.   

Deandre's been doing this for a couple years now when he's played. His numbers are very similar to what he's done for his career. I guess more people are paying attention now because the Suns don't suck. 

---

On Bam - I'm coming around to entertaining rolling with him over Zion for the next x years. Jury is still out, obviously, but Bam is a special talent and has shown a bit more polish. It would be nice to see Zion on a team that isn't a mess from top to bottom and that actually uses him effectively. He's 100% a modern NBA 5 and they constantly cram him down there with Adams for whatever reason - I guess because they're paying Steve $30M this year. I think Zion is a year younger, too? (Actually he's 3 years younger. Definitely back on the Zion train 100% but my eval is shifting a bit)

Edited January 26, 2021 by ztejas

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

1 hour ago, BigOrange1 said:

tjarks used to post on this board??

Yeah- when he was working at Grantland (or hell maybe it was the ringer) on the Shag.  I think he wrote for one of the UT sites and would like his pieces from there to here, with an occasional popby.

Also posting on this board in the past was Bryan Curtis- also of the ringer.  I think it was Bryan Curtis- the guy that writes on media and sports media and had a sports media pod for the ringer.

I want to say Tjarks posted for like 3 or 6 months is all on here and it wasn't regular- but it was also more than a drive by as well. 

 

[shadow_operative 15,931]

if you had told me that Bamba would essentially have no role for the Magic in year three i would have assumed he'd lost an arm or something. 

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

1 hour ago, BigOrange1 said:

tjarks used to post on this board??

Also- I'm an idiot- and I might have completely made this up in my mind.  But he wrote for SB Nation- he's from Dallas- I think he wrote some longhorn pieces that got posted around here and he found his way over here. Upon googling (the search feature over at the shag sucks) I've seen busted links and other shit but there's slight evidence he did post there a little bit) but I also might have made that and the Curtis shit up in my head.  Would have been circa 2017 or so while he was writing for SB Nation. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Wulaw Horn

[Machinator 32,097]

Good news for Caris.

 

[ztejas 43,244]

23 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

if you had told me that Bamba would essentially have no role for the Magic in year three i would have assumed he'd lost an arm or something. 

It's really strange. He's had trouble even getting on the floor for them. Sometimes guys are late bloomers - especially raw big men. Maybe he figures it out - he's still super young.

[shadow_operative 15,931]

i was picturing Isaac, Gordon, and Bamba making up one of the biggest, most athletic front courts in the East. hasn't quite worked out that way though. 

[conVINCEd 21,468]

36 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Also- I'm an idiot- and I might have completely made this up in my mind.  But he wrote for SB Nation- he's from Dallas- I think he wrote some longhorn pieces that got posted around here and he found his way over here. Upon googling (the search feature over at the shag sucks) I've seen busted links and other shit but there's slight evidence he did post there a little bit) but I also might have made that and the Curtis shit up in my head.  Would have been circa 2017 or so while he was writing for SB Nation. 

I recall seeing the handle and wondered if it was the same guy.

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

9 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I recall seeing the handle and wondered if it was the same guy.

Sweet. I didn't make it up in my mind.  Yeah- I'm like 99% sure it was.  3 reasons:

1) He was writing a bunch of UT stuff at the time so it was natural that he'd end up posting around here

2) He was trying to get his readership and social media stuff up to level up and get the reps

3) He sure wasn't famous enough where it would make sense for anyone to rip off his name as a handle. 

[ztejas 43,244]

24 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

i was picturing Isaac, Gordon, and Bamba making up one of the biggest, most athletic front courts in the East. hasn't quite worked out that way though. 

Isaac has been meh too. Could be an Orlando problem.

[conVINCEd 21,468]

Just now, ztejas said:

Isaac has been meh too. Could be an Orlando problem.

As a Mavs fan I would be happy to roll the dice on Isaac’s problems being an Orlando thing and not an Isaac thing, if the price was right.

[Machinator 32,097]

3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Isaac has been meh too. Could be an Orlando problem.

Isaac looks like a nice building block but can't stay healthy. He has all-defense potential.

[d2o 1,602]

59 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

if you had told me that Bamba would essentially have no role for the Magic in year three i would have assumed he'd lost an arm or something. 

Yeah, I'm significantly disappointed in him busting

[d2o 1,602]

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Isaac has been meh too. Could be an Orlando problem.

Isaac was playing pretty well before he got hurt in the bubble.    So well they already locked him up with a big extension.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,517]

3 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There was an interesting article on Mo Bamba in the ringer by TJarks- a former poster on this board. One of the things in that article that caught my eye is that the suns defensive rating drops by 16! points with Ayton on the floor. 
my sense was he was getting it a little but defensively and will eventually be a plus there- but the numbers say he’s a defensive disaster this year (along with Bamba and all the other bigs from his class). 

That may be what the numbers say, but I watched that 2OT Phoenix/Denver game the other night and Ayton absolutely gave Jokic fits. He forced Jokic into one bad shot after another. That game flipped when he fouled out toward the end of the first OT and Phoenix had to cover Jokic with Frank the Tank. 

[shadow_operative 15,931]

yeah it's a funny thing though, because Ayton has been a different player altogether against Jokic and the Nuggets this year. he's not that guy every night, but if he could be, then wow. 

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

40 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

That may be what the numbers say, but I watched that 2OT Phoenix/Denver game the other night and Ayton absolutely gave Jokic fits. He forced Jokic into one bad shot after another. That game flipped when he fouled out toward the end of the first OT and Phoenix had to cover Jokic with Frank the Tank. 

It's interesting that you say that- b/c I've also read some guys that I think are good- Ringer types and Zack Lowe, maybe, say that he's really gotten a lot better defensively, and is working his way into a plus guy.  Here is the article by Tjarks:

 

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/1/25/22248359/mo-bamba-orlando-magic-young-nba-bigs

 

The biggest takeaway that I should have probably noted is that Phoenix is a league average-ish defense when he's on the court- with 112 or 113 defensive rating.  They are 17 points better when he's off b/c they are in the 90's- which I think would be far and away #1 defense in the league this year with him off. Perhaps just some wonky small sample size stats where that's going better for them with bench type units against other bench type units.  Maybe it's just noise. 

[ztejas 43,244]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

Isaac looks like a nice building block but can't stay healthy. He has all-defense potential.

 

1 hour ago, d2o said:

Isaac was playing pretty well before he got hurt in the bubble.    So well they already locked him up with a big extension.

True. His numbers were better last year than I remembered. Health is definitely his main issue. 

[Patrick Bateman 3,903]

Hmmm.....

Doesn't seem to be a match here thus far, but it's notable in who's available and being shopped..... Ball will be with another team by next season IMO.  So will Oubre.  I actually could see both with different teams by next month although the deadline isn't until late March this year.  Feb 6th is important because free agent's who signed this year can be traded after.

 

 

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

28 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Hmmm.....

Doesn't seem to be a match here thus far, but it's notable in who's available and being shopped..... Ball will be with another team by next season IMO.  So will Oubre.  I actually could see both with different teams by next month although the deadline isn't until late March this year.  Feb 6th is important because free agent's who signed this year can be traded after.

 

 

Ball reddick and a first for olandipo if they like him and would want to resign him. I assume NO is gonna operate over the cap next year. 

[HtownHorn 14,446]

22 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Ball reddick and a first for olandipo if they like him and would want to resign him. I assume NO is gonna operate over the cap next year. 

wtf are you talking about?

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

wtf are you talking about?

I would think Dipo is traded before the deadline. Apparently those guys are on the block. I’m bad at trades? 

[Patrick Bateman 3,903]

5 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

wtf are you talking about?

It's a rumor started by idle speculation from some college student who writes for a fan site.  There's no real credibility to it and it doesn't make much sense either.  Basically the idea is the Cans, who are closer to the #1 pick than the playoffs would want Dipo to make a push towards the playoffs.  

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,799]

Haha watching Philly/Lakers. I haven’t seen or heard the name Popeye Jones in years and I see his an assistant to Doc

[Brothahorn 10,085]

Typical Doc Rivers team blowing a lead. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,799]

Wow... lakers overcome 11pt lead in final few min

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,799]

Hahah 6ers win

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,799]

Hahah 6ers win

[Sbbruin 21,697]

That hurt.  Sweet play by the Lakers only to cough it up.

[washparkhorn 9,931]

Utah now the No. 1 seed in the West . . . for this moment. 

[shadow_operative 15,931]

wow, if this is anyone other than LeBron that guy is getting jumped on site, and possibly (probably?) ejected with a flagrant 2:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKknMwxBEcq/?igshid=8inytdda8pp2

to be honest it's disappointing that Philly didn't have anyone, or what's more multiple guys go get all up in LeBron's shot here. The King got a huge pass here. that's Philly's whole franchise.

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by shadow_operative

[Machinator 32,097]

Wild finish in San Antonio.

[HtownHorn 14,446]

1 hour ago, Patrick Bateman said:

It's a rumor started by idle speculation from some college student who writes for a fan site.  There's no real credibility to it and it doesn't make much sense either.  Basically the idea is the Cans, who are closer to the #1 pick than the playoffs would want Dipo to make a push towards the playoffs.  

I guess in this guy's head the Rockets are tanking, despite having a better roster than the Pelicans, so they would want to trade Oladipo and then turn around and try to find 2 other teams to take on Ball and Reddick all for the price of a heavily protected #1 that will never be conveyed because the Pelicans are one of the worst run organizations in the NBA.

Edited January 28, 2021 by HtownHorn

[Machinator 32,097]

The Thunder are too competitive to tank. That organization just keeps finding guys.

[Wulaw Horn 18,963]

1 hour ago, Patrick Bateman said:

It's a rumor started by idle speculation from some college student who writes for a fan site.  There's no real credibility to it and it doesn't make much sense either.  Basically the idea is the Cans, who are closer to the #1 pick than the playoffs would want Dipo to make a push towards the playoffs.  

If they made that deal- to me/ it wouldn’t be about playoff push this year but rather about having his bird rights for next year as they will be trying To get better, presumably, and would have no room to sign him as a FA.  
didn’t know that was rumor, just an idle thought that popped into my head. 

[ztejas 43,244]

Do the Grizzlies play basketball anymore? 

[SilasCoade 2,620]

Is Cleveland actually a pretty good team?

[Patrick Bateman 3,903]

49 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

If they made that deal- to me/ it wouldn’t be about playoff push this year but rather about having his bird rights for next year as they will be trying To get better, presumably, and would have no room to sign him as a FA.  
didn’t know that was rumor, just an idle thought that popped into my head. 

https://www.nbaanalysis.net/2021/01/21/nba-rumors-houston-rockets-new-orleans-pelicans-trade-victor-oladipo-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram/

It's a really odd trade as it doesn't really make sense for either team.  Oladipo is giving top line scoring but he's actually been pretty rough start to this season.  He's giving an all around game but his shooting is woeful, as it has been most of his career.  Maybe he needs more time to knock the rust off but I can't see many teams wanting to pay him the type of contract he's going to demand to not test the market.  For Houston, as Htown said, they're actually within striking distance and I guess the first rounder would be okay (it would the Lakers 2022 pick), but Ball is tough to roster and has an expensive EO they probably decline so basically it would most likely be Oladipo for a few months for a bottom 10 pick in 2022?  

[ztejas 43,244]

25 minutes ago, Llogg said:

Is Cleveland actually a pretty good team?

Yeah. They have some nice pieces and are super young. Wouldn't be surprised if they snagged the 8 seed. They caught BKN at the perfect time and stole a couple of wins.

[shadow_operative 15,931]

no, Cleveland is not "a pretty good team". team ranks:

PPG: 29th

FGM: 22nd

FG%: 20th, and that's with Andre Drummond taking 16 shots/game

3PM: 28th

FTM: 26th

FT%: 30th

 

Cleveland is one of the 2-3 worst offensive teams in the league. they are not good. they are not even "sneaky good". they still suck. no team as inept as Cleveland is offensively is "actually a pretty good team." 

also, saying that a team will sneak into the 8 seed in the East is just a confirmation that said team is not any good.

Edited January 28, 2021 by shadow_operative

[shadow_operative 15,931]

4 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

wow, if this is anyone other than LeBron that guy is getting jumped on site, and possibly (probably?) ejected with a flagrant 2:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKknMwxBEcq/?igshid=8inytdda8pp2

to be honest it's disappointing that Philly didn't have anyone, or what's more multiple guys go get all up in LeBron's shot here. The King got a huge pass here. that's Philly's whole franchise.