NBA 2021-2022

[ztejas 44,114]

KD just spanking the Raptors right now. 

[Kermit 3,162]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Yeah. #2-5 is something. Curry and Brunson are both having really good seasons. Not sure what it says about the other 2. 

That the Spurs need to run a shitload more pick and rolls for Lonnie?

[Underdog 29,106]

I’d like to spank Sarah Kustok. 

[ztejas 44,114]

Toronto with some great D in the 2nd Q. Couple sneaky double teams of KD that resulted in steals.

[ztejas 44,114]

Man this Nets team is a blast to watch. All the different ways they score is crazy.

KD 29/7/7 on 10/17 shooting.

Oh - still 12 mins to play, too. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by ztejas

[ztejas 44,114]

54 minutes ago, Underdog said:

I’d like to spank Sarah Kustok. 

She's really good at her job, too. 

I thought she was black for the longest time. 

[Underdog 29,106]

She’s been a good replacement for Spanarkle, although he and Eagle were a good team for both NBA and NCAA. 

[ztejas 44,114]

1 minute ago, Underdog said:

She’s been a good replacement for Spanarkle, although he and Eagle were a good team for both NBA and NCAA. 

Wouldn't be surprised if ESPN plucks her. Although YES is a pretty damn good gig. Assuming they pay well.

[ztejas 44,114]

Harden just went nuts to close this one out. 28/10/8 just 2 turns. 

[Underdog 29,106]

34 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Wouldn't be surprised if ESPN plucks her. Although YES is a pretty damn good gig. Assuming they pay well.

Believe she’s also property of Fox. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3,533]

Kyrie and Ben Simmons have always been overrated.

Both of those only care about themselves.

[Underdog 29,106]

Rubio having himself quite the career game tonight with 37 pts on 8/8 from 3 vs the Knicks. 

[Message Board User 12,405]

On 11/5/2021 at 9:35 PM, shadow_operative said:

NYK goes from down by 21 to winning by 25 on the road in Milwaukee. 👀 Bucks are down some players,  it damn what a performance from the Knicks, especially D Rose who led the charge on the comeback, draining floater after floater when the Knicks got down 21. 

Sure they can do it against Milwaukee.  

But we saw tonight what happens when the Knicks go up against one of the league's elite teams.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Message Board User

[SilasCoade 2,622]

47 minutes ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Kyrie and Ben Simmons have always been overrated.

Both of those only care about themselves.

Kyrie is a head case who may be a net negative because of that, but he is far from overrated as a baller. Historically good handle and one of the best finishers from the point guard spot in the past ten years at least.

Simmons is totally overrated, mostly by himself.

[Francisco 2.0 32,545]

TL;DR.  Lebron might be out quite a bit longer than let on.

 

https://theathletic.com/news/lebron-james-abdominal-injury-could-keep-lakers-star-out-longer-than-expected-former-trainer-says/iIyHkRSKrWSO/

 

Spoiler

PORTLAND — LeBron James watched once again from the sideline as Russell Westbrook fired airball after airball, muffed layups and committed casual turnovers. As Anthony Davis was not available to his team. As the remaining Lakers failed to successfully execute even base-level defense.

These have been the hallmarks of the first 10 games of this go-for-broke, championship-or-bust Lakers season and likely will be for as long as James is unable to play due to an abdominal strain.

And how long will that be? How long will Westbrook’s worst traits represent the Lakers’ best hope for winning games? How long before James returns to do, well, everything?

The Lakers have not put an official timeline on James’ injury, although coach Frank Vogel reiterated Saturday that the team believed it would be “at least a week.”

That’s intentionally vague, open-ended and likely misleading, evoking memories of the lack of clarity around the groin strain that knocked James out for 17 straight games in 2018-19.

The most insight into James’ injury so far came in the form of an Instagram post from the Lakers’ former head strength and conditioning coach, Tim DiFrancesco. Now the owner of TD Athlete’s Edge, a training and rehab operation near Boston, DiFrancesco explained in a post Saturday morning that the injury is one that can occur with the overextension of the torso combined with extreme force — such as a powerful serve in tennis or a tomahawk dunk in basketball.

Recovery time? Four to eight weeks for even a minor strain, according to DiFrancesco.

In a follow-up conversation with The Athletic, DiFrancesco stressed that the severity of the injury would determine the timeline, and while that is unknown, he said the most minor strain could still take two to six weeks.

“Especially the way he plays, it’s tough for me to see him getting back under four weeks,” said DiFrancesco, who worked for the Lakers from 2011-17. “Then again, he’s a different dude, so I wouldn’t put anything past him. … These are such delicate injuries that can respond to rest with pain relief quickly, but they are highly susceptible to re-injury if returned too quickly.”

Last week, Vogel described James’ injury as “hopefully … something that’s minimal.”

But if James misses a month or more, there will be nothing minimal about the impact of his absence. It will be the third-most-serious injury of his career, with the other two coming in the past three seasons. His groin strain in 2018-19 knocked the Lakers out of playoff position, marking the first time since James’ rookie season that he failed to reach the playoffs, and the high ankle sprain he suffered last season cost him 20 games and led to the Lakers losing in the first round of the playoffs — the first time that had happened in James’ 18 seasons in the NBA.

The one season James has not suffered a significant injury with the Lakers included a four-month break at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic — essentially a standard offseason — before the league resumed play in the bubble.

How much does the outlook of this season change if James is out until December? Until January?

Can this team compete without its center of gravity?

“He’s a big key to our team, but we’ve still got to play,” Davis said this week. “Don’t know how long he’s going to be out, but still have to find ways to win basketball games. We can’t control him playing or not playing. What we can control is going out and winning basketball games with the guys that we have. And we have enough pieces to still win basketball games, even though he plays a huge part to both ends of the floor to what we do.”

In four games without James this season, however, the Lakers are 1-3. And the solution to his absence has not been to lean more heavily on Westbrook. The erstwhile MVP committed a series of head-scratching errors in the final minute of Thursday’s unraveling against Oklahoma City, and he was even worse Saturday in Portland. He shot just 1 of 13 from the field and committed six turnovers. He also air-balled a 16-footer, air-balled a pull-up jumper and failed to hit the rim on a driving layup. At one point, he muffed two shots at the rim on a single possession, eventually committing a turnover before he could miss a third.

“He’s shown flashes of being great for us,” Vogel said. “We all didn’t have a good night. The whole team didn’t have a good night. We’ve got to find ways as a coaching staff to help him and put him in a position to succeed. It’s on all of us to make sure that happens, to make sure he gets comfortable and feels good about the environment around him.”

Westbrook’s struggles are not without precedent. The Lakers are his fourth team in four seasons, and he began slowly in each of his starts in Houston and Washington.

“I’m just trying to figure it out, you know?” Westbrook said. “It’s what I do. It’s what I do, it’s what I’ve done the last four or five years.”

James’ injury has come at a time the Lakers are still adrift in their quest to establish an identity. He and Westbrook have only had six regular-season games to work on their awkward — some say bad — fit, and that process is now indefinitely delayed. The Lakers have managed to go just .500 through an opening stretch of their season that was seen as highly favorable. And though they play their next five games at home over eight days, after that they embark on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip that will include a matchup with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.

If DiFrancesco’s assessment of James’ injury is on point, it is easy to imagine the Lakers continuing to lose throughout that stretch.

Their defense has been horrific, and on Saturday night Vogel painted a bleak picture of what schemes he can even attempt to deploy with his ramshackle personnel.

“We pulled back on our double teams, because we weren’t executing them well enough like we haven’t been the last few games,” he said. “So we fell back into some of our base coverages, and (Damian Lillard’s) been cold; Dame got hot. That’s the biggest thing that stands out. And obviously you try to make more of a run, you try to junk the game up, play a little more zone. And we weren’t very good at the zone during that stretch either.”

By the time James returns, the Lakers could be in such a hole that it will be hard to embrace the philosophy of building gradually over the season that has been such a mantra of this team. James may have to go into playoff mode months ahead of schedule just to get the Lakers to a favorable position in the West. That’s to say nothing of the fact that for as long as James is out, the Lakers will be relying on a collection of aging veterans, including the 32-year-old Westbrook and the 37-year-old Carmelo Anthony.

As a bonus: It has been three years since anyone completed an 82-game regular season, and most of these guys were old then.

The best the Lakers can hope for is that Davis remains healthy, Westbrook continues to acclimate and when James returns – ideally on the optimistic end of those timelines — they haven’t fallen hopelessly behind the field in the West.

 

 

[ztejas 44,114]

They are headed for a play in. 

LeBron may have to quit playing so flashy. He isn't used to his body betraying him but it's beginning. Take a hint from Durant - who is used to that. 

[Message Board User 12,405]

14 minutes ago, ztejas said:

They are headed for a play in. 

LeBron may have to quit playing so flashy. He isn't used to his body betraying him but it's beginning. Take a hint from Durant - who is used to that. 

Rich Paul is right now calling Koby Altman - "...say, Koby, my man..."

[Dutchrudder 11,228]

I don't get to see many Cavs games living in Texas, but they are fun to watch when I get a chance. A young, hungry team with a lot of talent and energy, the future actually seems bright for the first time since Lebron left! Have to think Rubio will be traded for a bounty before the deadline, as this team is building for the future and he's on the last year of  his deal at 17m.  Not sure who else may be up for sale, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some trades to get more picks and maybe some young players that need time.  

 

[Dutchrudder 11,228]

Rubio having a career game in Madison Square Garden:

 

[ztejas 44,114]

22 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

Have to think Rubio will be traded for a bounty before the deadline, as this team is building for the future and he's on the last year of  his deal at 17m. 

Sexton tore his meniscus against NY. They need Rubio to keep doing what he did last night. 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

2 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

I don't get to see many Cavs games living in Texas, but they are fun to watch when I get a chance. A young, hungry team with a lot of talent and energy, the future actually seems bright for the first time since Lebron left! Have to think Rubio will be traded for a bounty before the deadline, as this team is building for the future and he's on the last year of  his deal at 17m.  Not sure who else may be up for sale, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some trades to get more picks and maybe some young players that need time.  

 

Darius Garland is one of the best kept secrets in the NBA. young Jrue Holiday, just without the All NBA defense.

Edited November 8, 2021 by shadow_operative

[ztejas 44,114]

God Stacey King is terrible. Trying to find a stream that is the Nets feed. 

[Message Board User 12,405]

5 hours ago, ztejas said:

Sexton tore his meniscus against NY. They need Rubio to keep doing what he did last night. 

Even though I don't think he contributes much to winning basketball (and indeed he hasn't this year, just look at his advanced and shooting stats), I feel terrible for Sexton.  He's a young man who lives in the gym and has no interest in anything but basketball.  Not a guy who wants to "build his brand."  I just don't think his game justifies a big contract extension and his physical limitations will always be a problem on the court for him defensively and when he's trying to finish.  Still, the next few weeks (months?) will be dark times for Sexton.  Ultimately, I think his ceiling is as a 6th guy, first off the bench who can come in and be a volume scorer like a Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford.  Problem is he hasn't been shooting like those guys at all this year.

Interestingly, I caught Zach Lowe's podcast which was recorded this morning - he suggested that what everyone thought was a pre-draft smokescreen regarding the Pistons and Mobley wasn't just a smokescreen.  He said he didn't want to go into much detail but seemed to say there was a contingent in the Pistons FO that really wanted Mobley over Cade.

 

[ztejas 44,114]

11 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

Ultimately, I think his ceiling is as a 6th guy, first off the bench who can come in and be a volume scorer like a Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford. 

Huh? He's already surpassed that. He averaged 24 ppg last year on 48/37/81 splits. And 21 ppg the year before on better splits. Why you're giving more weight to 10 games over 2 full seasons is beyond me. A 23 year old borderline all star having a few tough shooting nights doesn't mean he's all of a sudden a role player. I'm sure the Spurs will take him off your hands if you really can't stand him.

[Message Board User 12,405]

12 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Huh? He's already surpassed that. He averaged 24 ppg last year on 48/37/81 splits. And 21 ppg the year before on better splits. Why you're giving more weight to 10 games over 2 full seasons is beyond me. A 23 year old borderline all star having a few tough shooting nights doesn't mean he's all of a sudden a role player. I'm sure the Spurs will take him off your hands if you really can't stand him.

If you watch him play, you would see what I mean.  The last 2 seasons the Cavs were terrible as well and I always have a bias against empty stats on bad teams.  

But he'll be a restricted FA soon enough so the Spurs (or any other team) will have the opportunity to thrown 9 figs at him.

[ztejas 44,114]

Durant - 2nd night of a back to back - 27/8/4 on 9/16 shooting.

Through 3.

LaMarcus with another nice shooting night, too. 17 on 8/11.

[ztejas 44,114]

1 minute ago, Message Board User said:

If you watch him play, you would see what I mean.  The last 2 seasons the Cavs were terrible as well and I always have a bias against empty stats on bad teams. 

I know your knocks against him as they are plenty well documented. He isn't a good passer or defender but you can't ignore 24 ppg on league average or slightly above TS%. You have a pretty different look this year and I think you'll be okay without him but ultimately you'll need a guy that can create his own shot. The best version of your team this year is with Sexton playing well.

[Aqua Buddha 14,783]

So, I went to the Okie City/SA game the other night.  Stayed in the Omni hotel across the street and unbeknownst to me, it's the hotel for visiting teams.  Some observations:

1.  You don't realize how big these dudes are until you share an elevator with them.  I'm 6'0" and even the smallest guy dwarfed me.  Hell, the coaching staff except for Becky Hammon were all bigger than me.  

2.  More people than I realized traveled with the team.  Not only players and coaches but analysts, trainers, etc.  They stood out of the locals who carry an extra 20-30 pounds on average.

3.  Spurs weren't the only pros there that night.  While sitting at the bar, a 40ish looking woman rolls up.  Somewhat attractive, low cut shirt, big fake tits, the whole package.  Said to the bartender "Who is here tonight?"  No Spurs for her, though.  She got her hooks into a semi drunk guy who was telling me about his six team college football parlay.  Play on playa.....

4.  Pop needs a haircut.

5.  These teams are complete trash but at least Okie City has the rebuild thing going.  They have a young starish player (SGA), a guy with upside (Giddey), and some spare parts.  Spurs just seem like a bunch of spare parts.

[Message Board User 12,405]

7 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

So, I went to the Okie City/SA game the other night.  Stayed in the Omni hotel across the street and unbeknownst to me, it's the hotel for visiting teams.  Some observations:

1.  You don't realize how big these dudes are until you share an elevator with them.  I'm 6'0" and even the smallest guy dwarfed me.  Hell, the coaching staff except for Becky Hammon were all bigger than me.  

2.  More people than I realized traveled with the team.  Not only players and coaches but analysts, trainers, etc.  They stood out of the locals who carry an extra 20-30 pounds on average.

3.  Spurs weren't the only pros there that night.  While sitting at the bar, a 40ish looking woman rolls up.  Somewhat attractive, low cut shirt, big fake tits, the whole package.  Said to the bartender "Who is here tonight?"  No Spurs for her, though.  She got her hooks into a semi drunk guy who was telling me about his six team college football parlay.  Play on playa.....

4.  Pop needs a haircut.

5.  These teams are complete trash but at least Okie City has the rebuild thing going.  They have a young starish player (SGA), a guy with upside (Giddey), and some spare parts.  Spurs just seem like a bunch of spare parts.

Well don't leave us in suspense - how many call girls did you see (besides south austin's mom)?  

Edited November 9, 2021 by Message Board User

[Aqua Buddha 14,783]

4 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

Well don't leave us in suspense - how many call girls did you see (besides south austin's mom)?  

Just two.  The obvious one and the one that was with me.  (Yes, you read that right.)

[Message Board User 12,405]

3 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Just two.  The obvious one and the one that was with me.  (Yes, you read that right.)

[ztejas 44,114]

KD with 38/10/4 - Nets just ran out of gas.

Chicago is good. Don't think they have anyone good enough to actually contend but they could win a playoff series or two if things fall right. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,783]

2 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

The high end ones aren't obvious and only work on appointments.  The other one was trolling a hotel bar in Oklahoma City for god's sake.

I've never understand that angle, either:

"Hey, wanna go to my room?"

"Sure, there's just one thing.  That'll be $500.  There's an ATM in the lobby."

[Patrick Bateman 3,966]

40 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Huh? He's already surpassed that. He averaged 24 ppg last year on 48/37/81 splits. And 21 ppg the year before on better splits. Why you're giving more weight to 10 games over 2 full seasons is beyond me. A 23 year old borderline all star having a few tough shooting nights doesn't mean he's all of a sudden a role player. I'm sure the Spurs will take him off your hands if you really can't stand him.

Collin Sexton?  MBU is correct right now.  Now, he took a step last year but it still was just a slightly above average player.  He's regressed this year but it's a SSS and I read he may have been injured even before the knee.  He's very young so he can get a lot better but right this second, he's probably a 4/5th guy on a real contender.  Hopefully he can heal up and get back to developing.

 

[Message Board User 12,405]

4 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

The high end ones aren't obvious and only work on appointments.  The other one was trolling a hotel bar in Oklahoma City for god's sake.

I've never understand that angle, either:

"Hey, wanna go to my room?"

"Sure, there's just one thing.  That'll be $500.  There's an ATM in the lobby."

[OB3 3,636]

9 minutes ago, ztejas said:

KD with 38/10/4 - Nets just ran out of gas.

Chicago is good. Don't think they have anyone good enough to actually contend but they could win a playoff series or two if things fall right. 

It was good they finally got vucevic going. Really sucks that Patrick Williams out for the year

[ztejas 44,114]

Just now, Patrick Bateman said:

Collin Sexton?  MBU is correct right now.  Now, he took a step last year but it still was just a slightly above average player.  He's regressed this year but it's a SSS and I read he may have been injured even before the knee.  He's very young so he can get a lot better but right this second, he's probably a 4/5th guy on a real contender.  Hopefully he can heal up and get back to developing.

 

Whatever. My interest in this debate is waning. His "ceiling" is not coming off the bench. So far he's closer to someone like Devin Booker than Jamal Crawford. Not that I think his ceiling is as high as Book since he just doesn't have the body. 

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Man y'all talking about some bull shit instead of the end of this Memphis Minnesota game. Ja Morant is the fucking truth. Out there levitating, then drills contested three of the bounce, then kick down defense to get 5 second call on an in bounds.

[ztejas 44,114]

2 minutes ago, Llogg said:

Man y'all talking about some bull shit instead of the end of this Memphis Minnesota game. Ja Morant is the fucking truth. Out there levitating, then drills contested three of the bounce, then kick down defense to get 5 second call on an in bounds.

Damn. Gonna have to throw that on. KAT sent it to overtime from 39 feet?

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Yeah I though ja locked it up but KAT dropped that desperation heave.

[ztejas 44,114]

 

[Radical Larry 28,815]

Jokic is gonna miss some games.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,964]

Man y'all talking about some bull shit instead of the end of this Memphis Minnesota game. Ja Morant is the fucking truth. Out there levitating, then drills contested three of the bounce, then kick down defense to get 5 second call on an in bounds.

That was cool. Except for the outcome.

[ztejas 44,114]

15 minutes ago, Radical Larry said:

 

 

Jokic is gonna miss some games.

 

Eh. Bet he misses one. 

I mean that's a dirty fucking foul. Assuming Jok got ejected - did Morris get a flagrant 1?

So Morris got ejected and Jokic got a tech.

I want to see that in slow motion - it looks like Morris throws an elbow right in his chest. Hard to tell from that vid.

Edited November 9, 2021 by ztejas

[ztejas 44,114]

Saw some better replays on NBATV just now. Jokic did hit him pretty damn hard. Maybe a couple games. 

Morris FAAFO though. 

[conVINCEd 21,477]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Saw some better replays on NBATV just now. Jokic did hit him pretty damn hard. Maybe a couple games. 

Morris FAAFO though. 

Yeah, Morris has a few cheap shots coming his way if we live in a just world.

[aggie08 21,734]

Okay, I've tried to play it cool for as long as I can (and they'll probably lose 3 straight because I'm posting this), but the Warriors are fucking really good. The only game they've lost they were up by 19 before going ice cold from 3 and losing in OT.

They're the #1 defense in the league by a country mile, average the most assists, and they make the most 3's...some dude named Klay can only help those numbers. Dray is the most impactful defender in the league or close to it. Him + 4 random dudes = Top 5 defense.

Their schedule has been pretty weak so far, but that's what good teams do...take care of the bad teams. They didn't always do that last season because they were so dependent on Steph. Steph hasn't even played all that well so far (tonight notwithstanding), but they finally have other guys who can put the ball in the basket.

Interested to see what they do with Wiseman. As good as he could potentially be, they're back to being "The Warriors" without him.

Edited November 9, 2021 by aggie08

[ztejas 44,114]

4 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Okay, I've tried to play it cool for as long as I can (and they'll probably lose 3 straight because I'm posting this), but the Warriors are fucking really good. The only game they lost they were up by 19 before going ice cold from 3 and losing in OT.

They're the #1 defense in the league by a country mile, average the most assists, and they make the most 3's...some dude named Klay can only help those numbers. Dray is the most impactful defender in the league or close to it. Him + 4 random dudes = Top 5 defense.

Their schedule has been pretty weak so far, but that's what good teams do...take care of the bad teams. They didn't always do that last season because they were so dependent on Steph. Steph hasn't even played all that well so far, but they finally have other guys who can put the ball in the basket.

Interested to see what they do with Wiseman. As good as he could potentially be, they're back to being "The Warriors" without him.

Your schedule has been very weak but tonight was an impressive result. I don't think you're a fake one seed or anything like that. 

Ws have a lot of things working really well right now - I think the key is keeping Curry and Dray healthy until the playoffs and not having too many hiccups with trying to bring Klay back. 

Somehow you're still +195 (or were yesterday maybe?) for winning your division which seems preposterous. 

[conVINCEd 21,477]

4 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Okay, I've tried to play it cool for as long as I can (and they'll probably lose 3 straight because I'm posting this), but the Warriors are fucking really good. The only game they've lost they were up by 19 before going ice cold from 3 and losing in OT.

They're the #1 defense in the league by a country mile, average the most assists, and they make the most 3's...some dude named Klay can only help those numbers. Dray is the most impactful defender in the league or close to it. Him + 4 random dudes = Top 5 defense.

Their schedule has been pretty weak so far, but that's what good teams do...take care of the bad teams. They didn't always do that last season because they were so dependent on Steph. Steph hasn't even played all that well so far (tonight notwithstanding), but they finally have other guys who can put the ball in the basket.

Interested to see what they do with Wiseman. As good as he could potentially be, they're back to being "The Warriors" without him.

I didn’t watch their game tonight, but I did get an ESPN alert that Steph scored the first 13 points of the game.  I feel like him and Draymond are in a good mental place after the last two throwaway years.  Refreshed the batteries for a couple more runs.  When they get Klay back they will be a handful.

[aggie08 21,734]

7 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Your schedule has been very weak but tonight was an impressive result.

Yeah, I probably undersold it. They've played the who's who of who's tanking, sometimes multiple times. But that's a good recipe: win 80% of your games against shit teams and 50% against the rest, and you have a home first round playoff series.