NBA 2022-2023 Season Thread

[Kermit 3156]

I hated that motherfucker before, I really hate him now. 

[Pam Cummings 9640]

I want to hate him/the Grizz, but they aren't relevant enough for me to really care about the antics. If they make a good deep playoff run, maybe push one of the contenders in a great series, then i can unleash my hate.

 

I really hated the Warriors after the 2013 series. To everyone else they were just a fun and cutesy team still. But i'd seen it up close and knew it was trouble.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

I hated that motherfucker before, I really hate him now. 

He’s got these horns that grow out like that. Ugly as sin. But a sweet guy. And a hell of a good cook

[HornOnTheBayou 8921]

5 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

 

 

[aggie08 21498]

7 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Curry is 34 years old and owed about $160 million until he's 38. I understand why GS wouldn't trade him, but they sure as shit should. 

Really? Should the Spurs have tried to trade Tim Duncan for the first pick in 2012 (Anthony Davis)? After all, Timmy had lost a half-step by that point, and it looked like OKC was set to take over the West. 

Granted, there's no Kawhi Leonard waiting in Golden State's wings.

Even setting aside the intangible stuff that you allude to--Steph IS his franchise and culture more than any player since Duncan, and he's why they're in that new arena (which the fans would burn it down if he were ever traded) raking in money faster than they can count--I'm not entirely convinced it makes basketball sense.

LeBron was the most NBA-ready teenager the NBA has ever seen, and it took him 6 years before he was legitimately competing for championships. You'd be trading another couple of seasons of ~10:1 odds contention (and the real risk risk of turning into a dumpster fire once Steph truly diminishes) for the possibly that Victor Wembanyama lives up to the hype of a true franchise player, AND you can surround him with the right pieces somewhere around 2030.

Tough choice.

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

 

[d2o 1602]

10 hours ago, aggie08 said:

Really? Should the Spurs have tried to trade Tim Duncan for the first pick in 2012 (Anthony Davis)? After all, Timmy had lost a half-step by that point, and it looked like OKC was set to take over the West. 

Granted, there's no Kawhi Leonard waiting in Golden State's wings.

Even setting aside the intangible stuff that you allude to--Steph IS his franchise and culture more than any player since Duncan, and he's why they're in that new arena (which the fans would burn it down if he were ever traded) raking in money faster than they can count--I'm not entirely convinced it makes basketball sense.

LeBron was the most NBA-ready teenager the NBA has ever seen, and it took him 6 years before he was legitimately competing for championships. You'd be trading another couple of seasons of ~10:1 odds contention (and the real risk risk of turning into a dumpster fire once Steph truly diminishes) for the possibly that Victor Wembanyama lives up to the hype of a true franchise player, AND you can surround him with the right pieces somewhere around 2030.

Tough choice.

Yeah the hype about this kid is overdone.   Taking established superstars, even aging ones, from a team that is built for a deep run all for the hope that he lives up to the hype and manages to stay healthy would be a tough sell for me.

That doesnt even take into account the non-basketball related stuff like you mention.   If GSW dumps Steph for a rookie the long term blowback on the franchise would be enormous!!

[aggie08 21498]

48 minutes ago, d2o said:

Yeah the hype about this kid is overdone.   Taking established superstars, even aging ones, from a team that is built for a deep run all for the hope that he lives up to the hype and manages to stay healthy would be a tough sell for me.

That doesnt even take into account the non-basketball related stuff like you mention.   If GSW dumps Steph for a rookie the long term blowback on the franchise would be enormous!!

It is a fun conversation though. If you told the Spurs' front office and fans in the 2012 offseason that you can either: 1) Keep Tim Duncan, have a few more contending years, go to two more Finals, win one, then wander in the desert for the foreseeable future; or, 2) Trade Timmy for AD with the *guarantee* than AD and Kawhi are going to develop into two-way All-NBA monsters (leaving out the tidbit about them being injury-riddled bitches who win their titles on other teams) and be great players for over a decade. If you could somehow remove emotion, loyalty and blowback entirely (and you obviously can't), it's not a cut-and-dry decision.

Chances are, with the their age, salary, and other teams' ascensions, last year was Golden State's swan song championship (much like San Antonio's 2014 title). BUT, I don't know how any franchise could trade a Top 12 All-Time player who, when healthy, is still a legit MVP candidate for a rookie with no guarantee of true greatness. Even on a cold, practical, basketball-only level. Belichick dumping Brady hasn't exactly panned out, but Mac Jones ain't VM.

Edited March 1, 2023 by aggie08

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

11 hours ago, aggie08 said:

Really? Should the Spurs have tried to trade Tim Duncan for the first pick in 2012 (Anthony Davis)? After all, Timmy had lost a half-step by that point, and it looked like OKC was set to take over the West. 

Granted, there's no Kawhi Leonard waiting in Golden State's wings.

Even setting aside the intangible stuff that you allude to--Steph IS his franchise and culture more than any player since Duncan, and he's why they're in that new arena (which the fans would burn it down if he were ever traded) raking in money faster than they can count--I'm not entirely convinced it makes basketball sense.

LeBron was the most NBA-ready teenager the NBA has ever seen, and it took him 6 years before he was legitimately competing for championships. You'd be trading another couple of seasons of ~10:1 odds contention (and the real risk risk of turning into a dumpster fire once Steph truly diminishes) for the possibly that Victor Wembanyama lives up to the hype of a true franchise player, AND you can surround him with the right pieces somewhere around 2030.

Tough choice.

I hear you... and that's why they won't and can't trade him. And let's face it, none of the teams in the Wemby sweepstakes would ever make that trade for Steph Curry, anyway. His value to the Warriors is much greater than to any other team, like Duncan was to the Spurs.

The Tim Duncan/ AD trade is an interesting hypothetical. But the 2012 Spurs and the 2023 Warriors aren't exactly the same. The Spurs had the best record in the league and were steamrolling teams. They won something like 24 out of their last 26 regular season games that year, swept the first two playoff rounds and then won the first two games of the WCF before they inexplicably blew a 2-0 lead to the Thunder. They won 61 games the year before. Tony was still in the prime of his career and they had a budding young star in Kawhi. That team looked like a juggernaut. And Tim Duncan was playing on a contract with a massive, massive home town discount. 

I know the Warriors are the defending champs, but they look like they look like they are being held together with bubblegum and bailing wire. All of the Warriors core is on the wrong side of 30 (Steph 34, Draymond 32, Klay 32). Steph can't stay healthy, Klay has had two major injuries. They are about to make a huge decision Draymond's contract. All of them have huge cap numbers plus they just gave Poole a huge deal. I guess they can still put it together (Klay is playing by far at his best since returning from injury) and get healthy (Curry, Glove Jr) for the playoffs and make a run, but they appear to be much closer to the end of their run than the 2012 Spurs were. 

On this point, this was in the Athletic this morning:

Quote

Golden State is 31-30, ranks 20th in defense, and it’s not clear they can count on Steph Curry’s return to magically cure everything; they’re only 20-18 when he plays. The pathway to the contender credibility that would come with a top-three seed becomes narrower with each defeat. In fact, avoiding the Play-In is probably a more pressing immediate task.

While we’re here, a fun stat: In the last four seasons the Warriors are 84-51 when Curry  and Draymond Green both play … a 51-win pace. That’s nice and all, but hardly dominant. What if 2021-22 is the outlier of the post-Durant era, and the two seasons bracketing it are reality?

 

[ztejas 43419]

22 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

If you told the Spurs' front office and fans in the 2012 offseason that you can either: 1) Keep Tim Duncan, have a few more contending years, go to two more Finals, win one, then wander in the desert for the foreseeable future; or, 2) Trade Timmy for AD with the *guarantee* than AD and Kawhi are going to develop into two-way All-NBA monsters (leaving out the tidbit about them being injury-riddled bitches who win their titles on other teams) and be great players for over a decade. If you could somehow remove emotion, loyalty and blowback entirely (and you obviously can't), it's not a cut-and-dry decision.

The Spurs went 50-16 in 2012 and didn't miss the playoffs with the same team two seasons before that. Duncan was older than Curry but wasn't missing large stretches due to injury. A better analogy would be would the Spurs have traded Duncan for the #1 pick in the draft after the 2014 season. 

Curry is a better player than Duncan was at 34 but Duncan's body wasn't breaking down in the same way. 

11 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

And Tim Duncan was playing on a contract with a massive, massive home town discount. 

This is a huge difference as well. Thanks Mitch.

[aggie08 21498]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

The Spurs went 50-16 in 2012 and didn't miss the playoffs with the same team two seasons before that. Duncan was older than Curry but wasn't missing large stretches due to injury. A better analogy would be would the Spurs have traded Duncan for the #1 pick in the draft after the 2014 season. 

Curry is a better player than Duncan was at 34 but Duncan's body wasn't breaking down in the same way. 

Yeah, 2014-15 is the more analogous year, but there wasn't a "sure thing" waiting in the 2015 draft, even as talented as KAT is, so I had to fudge.

Edited March 1, 2023 by aggie08

[Baboontyme 2810]

Can someone post the Ja WaPo article please

[aggie08 21498]

2 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I hear you... and that's why they won't and can't trade him. And let's face it, none of the teams in the Wemby sweepstakes would ever make that trade for Steph Curry, anyway. His value to the Warriors is much greater than to any other team, like Duncan was to the Spurs.

The Tim Duncan/ AD trade is an interesting hypothetical. But the 2012 Spurs and the 2023 Warriors aren't exactly the same. The Spurs had the best record in the league and were steamrolling teams. They won something like 24 out of their last 26 regular season games that year, swept the first two playoff rounds and then won the first two games of the WCF before they inexplicably blew a 2-0 lead to the Thunder. They won 61 games the year before. Tony was still in the prime of his career and they had a budding young star in Kawhi. That team looked like a juggernaut. And Tim Duncan was playing on a contract with a massive, massive home town discount. 

I know the Warriors are the defending champs, but they look like they look like they are being held together with bubblegum and bailing wire. All of the Warriors core is on the wrong side of 30 (Steph 34, Draymond 32, Klay 32). Steph can't stay healthy, Klay has had two major injuries. They are about to make a huge decision Draymond's contract. All of them have huge cap numbers plus they just gave Poole a huge deal. I guess they can still put it together (Klay is playing by far at his best since returning from injury) and get healthy (Curry, Glove Jr) for the playoffs and make a run, but they appear to be much closer to the end of their run than the 2012 Spurs were. 

On this point, this was in the Athletic this morning:

 

I don't disagree with any of this. As I said earlier, it's more likely than not that last season was the last hoorah. It appears that other teams have passed them by. However, yes, they are the defending champions, and, when they can actually keep their starting 5 on the court, that unit is up there with Denver's as the best net differential lineup in the league. The next team to beat them in a playoff series with Steph, Klay, and Dray start every game will be the first. They've earned the right to play it out.

Who knows, we may be two months from it all unceremoniously crashing down. But, from a basketball standpoint, I'd still bet that the odds of winning another title are higher hoping for a little injury luck and a couple of breaks with a group of aging proven winners and an all-time great in his late prime than it is rolling the dice with a 19 year-old phenom.

As you state, this all all hypothetical since Golden State would never trade Steph against his will, and the shittastic teams vying for VM's services don't want a 35 year-old point guard with Steph's salary.

This isn't really about the Warriors though, just the low probability of ANY draft pick becoming the cornerstone of a franchise with real title hopes. I'd rank VM as way less of a sure thing than Duncan, LeBron, and even Luka. 

[Mittens 8263]

Ja may not be worried about anyone in the West, but he's got worries for sure.

 

[aggie08 21498]

When keeping it real goes wrong.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

17 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

Can someone post the Ja WaPo article please

Spoiler

Ja Morant is among the brightest young stars in the NBA, with a new signature Nike shoe, a top-selling jersey and a team, the Memphis Grizzlies, poised for a deep postseason run. But in a string of incidents dating from last summer, Morant and people close to him have been accused of threatening and even violent behavior, according to previously unreported police records obtained by The Washington Post.

Last summer, in an encounter that has not been previously reported, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police that Morant “threatened” him during an altercation in the parking lot, leaving him alarmed enough that he filed a police report. A member of Morant’s group shoved the director in the head, he told police. No arrests were made, records show.

Four days later, Morant repeatedly punched a teenage boy in the head during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s house, the boy told police. Morant and his friend struck the 17-year-old so hard they knocked him to the ground and left him with a “large knot” on the side of his head, according to a police report narrative written by deputies who said they observed the boy’s injuries.

The teenager told detectives from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that, after the fight, Morant went into his house and re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants and his hand on the weapon, according to police interviews obtained by The Post, which have not previously been reported.

In an interview with police, Morant said he acted in self-defense. “I swung first,” he told detectives, but he believed the boy had been the aggressor because he threw a ball at Morant’s head and then stepped toward him, pulling up his pants. “The ball was to me the first hit,” Morant told police.

During the interview, detectives mentioned the boy’s allegation that Morant flashed a gun but did not ask Morant whether it was true.

Morant told police that as the boy left, he shouted, “I’m gonna come back and light this place up like fireworks.” Weeks after the incident, according to records obtained by The Post, Morant filed a police report about the boy’s comment, saying the teenager had threatened his family.

Prosecutors reviewed the case but declined to file charges, the Shelby County District Attorney said in a statement. The office “decided that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a case,” a spokesperson said.

Neither incident was made public at the time. Morant, 23, began this season strong, starting in the recent All-Star Game and leading the Grizzlies to the second-best record in the Western Conference. But he was drawn into public controversy in recent weeks when the NBA investigated an allegation that someone in Morant’s vehicle pointed the laser sight of a gun toward members of the Indiana Pacers organization.

In a statement, Morant’s agent, Jim Tanner, characterized the allegations as “unsubstantiated rumors and gossip" and said they were "put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain.” The boy and his mother filed a lawsuit against Morant over the incident, his family attorney confirmed. The existence of the suit, which is under seal, was reported earlier this year by TMZ.

“Any and every allegation involving a firearm has been fully investigated and could not be corroborated. This includes the NBA investigation last month, in which they found no evidence,” Tanner said. The incident with the teenage boy, Tanner said, “was purely self-defense. Again, after this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.”

The Grizzlies declined to comment. An NBA spokesperson said the league “takes allegations of inappropriate conduct very seriously.” Teams are required to report “incidents involving players and law enforcement,” the spokesperson said, but he would not say whether the Grizzlies had reported either of the July 2022 incidents, or whether the NBA had investigated.

The league’s investigation of the allegation involving the Pacers “did not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon,” the spokesperson said.

A call from the mall
Morant is known for highflying dunks, a thirst for trash talk and a tightknit relationship with his father, Tee, who sits courtside at many games. His family has become so much a part of Morant’s brand that Tee Morant narrated the commercial launching his son’s latest major brand deal, with Powerade.

Ja Morant was one of the stars of last year’s playoffs before the Grizzlies lost a heated series with the eventual-champion Golden State Warriors. Two months after the loss to Golden State, Morant’s mother was at a Finish Line shoe store at a Memphis mall when she got in a dispute with a store employee, according to a Memphis Police report obtained by The Post. She called Morant, who arrived shortly after with a group of as many as nine other people.

Confronted by the director of mall security, Morant and his friends refused the security guard’s demands to leave the mall parking lot. Police arrived and a “verbal confrontation” escalated, the report says, until someone in the group allegedly pushed the security director in the head.

“As the group was leaving the premises … Ja Morant said, ‘Let me find out what time he gets off,’ ” police wrote in the report.

The guard wanted to file a report, police wrote, “because he felt threatened by the statement from Ja Morant” and had been assaulted by the person who had pushed him. The “disturbing parties left the scene,” and no arrests were made.

The Grizzlies, NBA and Morant’s agent did not respond to questions about the incident. The security guard declined to comment.

‘I swung first’
Less than a week later, Morant, as he often did, hosted an evening pickup basketball game at his family home, a sprawling brick mansion on the edge of Memphis. His parents and sister were there, as was Mike Miller, the former NBA player.

Among the players on the gated court was a talented local high-schooler who, he would later tell police, considered Morant a mentor. Though the police records identify the boy, The Post is not naming him to protect the privacy of a juvenile.

He had been invited to the games before, the 17-year-old said in the police interview, but he still found himself entranced by Morant: “He was doing some amazing things, and I was just impressed,” the teenager said to police. “I’m playing against an all-star, you know?”

The teenager drew the task of guarding one of the world’s most electric scorers. When Morant threw the ball hard at the boy’s chest as he attempted to check it in, the boy threw it back just as hard. The ball “slipped through [Morant’s] hands,” the teenager said, and it hit Morant’s chin.

The teenager told police Morant then put his chin on the boy’s shoulder and asked his friend, “Do I do it to him?” The friend responded, “Yeah, do it.”

Morant then punched the boy in his jaw, the boy told police, and without warning, the friend struck him on the other side. “I fell to the ground, trying to cover my face, so I wouldn’t get hit in the face,” the boy told police. “I got, started getting hit, punched in my head, everything else.”

“Ja hit me like 12 to 13 times,” the boy said, adding that the friend struck him four or five times. When police asked the boy how hard the punches landed, he compared them to an MMA bout.

After the men were pulled off him, the boy told police, Morant went inside and the boy got up to leave. As the boy was going to his car, he said, Morant “came outside with his gun.” It was tucked into his pants, the boy said, and though he didn’t pull it out, the boy said he saw Morant put his hand on it.

“His dad was yelling at him, like: ‘No, no, no. Go back. Go back in the house,’ ” the boy told police.

In the interview with Morant, transcripts show, police brought up the boy’s allegation that Morant had emerged from the house “brandishing” the gun but did not directly ask him if it occurred. Neither Morant nor his attorneys denied the claim at the time, the records show. Miller, Morant’s father and several other people said to be there that day did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The day of the altercation, the boy’s mother filed a police report and had him checked out by paramedics. She took him to the hospital the next day, she told police, after he had trouble sleeping that night.

Police talked to Morant in early September, two weeks after they recorded a statement from the boy, the records show. Morant said the boy had been the aggressor because he threw the ball at Morant’s head, trying to hit him with it, then took a step toward Morant and pulled his pants up, which Morant took as a sign that the boy was “wanting to fight.”

“Like all right, now I have to protect myself, so,” Morant explained to police. When a detective asked him whether the boy had swung at him, Morant said, “I swung first,” then added, “The ball was the first swing to me.”

Morant’s attorneys produced sworn affidavits from witnesses who, in similar language, alleged that the boy had thrown the ball at Morant and “did not apologize” after it struck him, and that he “squared up” Morant’s direction. The witnesses all said that Morant had struck the boy first. None of them mentioned a gun.

According to the police report, when detectives tried to interview the witnesses themselves, they either didn’t show up or otherwise weren’t available.

Nearly two weeks after the altercation, on Aug. 8, Morant and his family filed a police report about the boy allegedly saying he would “come back and light this place up like fireworks.” In that police report, Morant and several family members told police they believed the boy would return and shoot them, “putting [Ja] Morant and his family in fear.”

The teenager and his mother sued Morant and his longtime friend, Davonte Pack, in September, according to Rebecca Adelman, the family’s attorney in the case. The lawsuit, which is ongoing, was immediately sealed, concealing it from the public eye. The suit was first reported by TMZ in January. Adelman declined to make the teenager available for an interview.

In an interview with police, a transcript shows, one of Morant’s attorneys, who did not respond to a request for comment from The Post, said the boy’s mother had demanded millions of dollars from Morant after the incident. “The first thing we got was a 20 million dollar demand. This is a shake down,” he said. The boy’s mother has a history of filing lawsuits that have eventually been dismissed, court records show, including a discrimination lawsuit against the city’s fire department and a lawsuit against her children’s school district after she said they were bullied on a school bus.

The police report does not name Morant’s “best friend,” who the boy said had punched him on the other side of the jaw. But a person familiar with the lawsuit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was under seal, said the friend was Pack, a childhood friend of Morant’s who is also named in the family’s lawsuit. Pack could not be reached for comment.

Pack had been a staple at Grizzlies games, frequently sitting courtside alongside Morant’s father. After Morant found himself in the middle of an argument during a game against the Pacers in January, Pack stood and walked onto the court himself.

Pack shouted expletives at Pacers players, the Athletic reported, until an official intervened and Pack was escorted off the floor. Later that night, the Athletic reported, the altercation continued outside the arena, where members of Morant’s entourage confronted members of the Pacers near the team’s bus. After Morant got into an SUV, a red laser was trained at members of the team from inside the car, the Athletic reported, prompting a member of the Pacers’ security team to say, “That’s 100 percent a gun.”

The NBA investigated, including by reviewing security footage, and said it “could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon.”

 

[aggie08 21498]

New question: would Memphis trade Ja Morant for Victor Wembanyama. Next, on First Take.

[Pam Cummings 9640]

Oh alright then. Now i can hate him, good. I didn't know about the pointing a laser at Pacers players incident. What a piece of trash. If that is true it's disappointing that Adam Silver didn't sit his ass down indefinitely.

[aggie08 21498]

3 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Oh alright then. Now i can hate him, good. I didn't know about the pointing a laser at Pacers players incident. What a piece of trash. If that is true it's disappointing that Adam Silver didn't sit his ass down indefinitely.

Join the club. Something about Ja and the Grizzlies has always rubbed me wrong. What a bunch a big-mouthed wannabe tough guys who have yet to accomplish shit.

Except for you, Steven Adams, if you're reading. Please don't hurt me.

[BigOrange1 6436]

 

[ztejas 43419]

Told y'all he's AI 2.0.

[ztejas 43419]

On 12/23/2022 at 1:14 AM, ztejas said:

Ja is basically AI 2.0. He'll probably win more over his career because it seems like he's going to be on better teams and I think he's more professional. 

So maybe scratch that last part. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

lol what a complete 180 going from Marc and Mike Conley to Ja and shithead

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

I don't disagree with any of this. As I said earlier, it's more likely than not that last season was the last hoorah. It appears that other teams have passed them by. However, yes, they are the defending champions, and, when they can actually keep their starting 5 on the court, that unit is up there with Denver's as the best net differential lineup in the league. The next team to beat them in a playoff series with Steph, Klay, and Dray start every game will be the first. They've earned the right to play it out.

Who knows, we may be two months from it all unceremoniously crashing down. But, from a basketball standpoint, I'd still bet that the odds of winning another title are higher hoping for a little injury luck and a couple of breaks with a group of aging proven winners and an all-time great in his late prime than it is rolling the dice with a 19 year-old phenom.

As you state, this all all hypothetical since Golden State would never trade Steph against his will, and the shittastic teams vying for VM's services don't want a 35 year-old point guard with Steph's salary.

This isn't really about the Warriors though, just the low probability of ANY draft pick becoming the cornerstone of a franchise with real title hopes. I'd rank VM as way less of a sure thing than Duncan, LeBron, and even Luka. 

I don't want to derail this thread any further when we can bag on what an idiot Ja Morant is, but I think there is one argument about someone being a "sure thing", and nobody ever really is, right? Anything can happen... injuries, mental breakdown, dying in a freak bathtub accident, whatever. That's par for the course. But there is also the notion that Wemby has the greatest upside of any prospect in NBA history. There has never been a guy with his combination of height, wingspan, athleticism, handles, shooting, shot blocking and just general feel for the game.

Watch this shit. His highlight reel is a fucking joke. It's not hyperbole - he's the best prospect ever. Lebron and Duncan were more "sure things" and he could definitely end up being a bust, but this dude has the potential of operating on a completely different plane than anybody in the history of the game.

So yeah... to me, he's worth the gamble of giving up the last few declining years of Steph Curry for a guy who could potentially make the NBA look like he's playing his 6 year old brother in Nerfhoop. And yes, it would have been worth the gamble of the Spurs giving up Tim Duncan in 2012 too. Again, neither franchise could or would ever do it, but yes. All day long. Twice on Sundays.

[Brothahorn 10087]

Ja's parents make Lavar Ball look like Arch Manning.

I'm curious to know the thought process behind calling your NBA star son to the mall. What exactly was she expecting him to do?

[UpperWestside 6163]

46 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

 

Silver needs to step up and grow a set and suspend this coward for the rest of the season. Beating up a 17 year old because he threw a basketball at you? How long until we get a domestic violence report filed against him and multiple members of his traveling clownshow? People with physically violent tendencies will give you evidence of their behavior regularly. I seriously doubt this is the first time that he has bullied someone not in a position to really fight back.

[Chewbacca 7774]

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

Join the club. Something about Ja and the Grizzlies has always rubbed me wrong. What a bunch a big-mouthed wannabe tough guys who have yet to accomplish shit.

Except for you, Steven Adams, if you're reading. Please don't hurt me.

Yeah, I used to like watching Ja play, but he needs to grow the fuck up.  Not a fan of this bullshit, and apparently it runs deep in his family.  Mom calls her son because she gets in an argument at the mall shoe store?  And he shows up with his thug posse to do what, kick the teenager's ass and teach him a lesson?  Fuck that guy.

[Message Board User 12395]

Silly question without reading the entire article, but why wasn't Ja arrested and charged?

[Chewbacca 7774]

3 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

Silly question without reading the entire article, but why wasn't Ja arrested and charged?

Sounds like his group backed him up (I'm sure none would confirm the presence of the gun), so it was his word vs. the kid's word.  And he's famous.  

[Message Board User 12395]

 

[BigOrange1 6436]

is the nba going to do or say anything in regards to reports around ja morant?  it seems odd that they haven't even put out a "we're aware of the allegations and looking into the situation" type message.

[d2o 1602]

23 hours ago, Brothahorn said:

Ja's parents make Lavar Ball look like Arch Manning.

I'm curious to know the thought process behind calling your NBA star son to the mall. What exactly was she expecting him to do?

I'm more curious why the fuck she is going to Finish Line in the first place.   Makes no damn sense with her son as one of the new faces of Nike.

[closetohumping 17440]

Wasn’t Ja outed as an upper middle class suburban kid?

[Kermit 3156]

1 hour ago, closetohumping said:

Wasn’t Ja outed as an upper middle class suburban kid?

So you’re saying his real name is Clarence?

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

So you’re saying his real name is Clarence?

Jaxyn

[SilasCoade 2622]

2 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Jaxyn

https://genius.com/Eminem-8-mile-b-rabbit-vs-papa-doc-lyrics

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Clippers 0-4 post Westbrook signing

[closetohumping 17440]

2 hours ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Clippers 0-4 post Westbrook signing

[SilasCoade 2622]

That is amazing.

[Pam Cummings 9640]

12 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Yep, this is what i'm talking about when i say that players who can't shoot aren't playable in the modern NBA.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4739]

When Curry went out on February 4th, the Warriors were in 8th place. He’s missed 20 games. During that time Andrew Wiggins missed 5 games and Draymond missed 2 games. The Warriors are now in 5th place. The West is really weird.

 

[closetohumping 17440]

Always curious why everyone seems to want to pick up Russ and even kyrie to a lesser extent.  I guess their individualistic attitudes appeal to a lot of people

[closetohumping 17440]

35 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Yep, this is what i'm talking about when i say that players who can't shoot aren't playable in the modern NBA.

So he already shoots like crap but the fact that it’s against no defense makes it worse

[ztejas 43419]

1 hour ago, Pam Cummings said:

Yep, this is what i'm talking about when i say that players who can't shoot aren't playable in the modern NBA.

Not at the 5 but even at the 4 you generally have to be able to hit from 18 feet (but that's been the case forever).

Certainly as a fucking PG you need to be able to shoot from 3.

1 hour ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

When Curry went out on February 4th, the Warriors were in 8th place. He’s missed 20 games. During that time Andrew Wiggins missed 5 games and Draymond missed 2 games. The Warriors are now in 5th place. The West is really weird.

 

Clips and Mavs have been doodoo. 

It's going to be interesting to see if teams try and avoid PHO down the stretch. I guess if they get the 2 it won't matter but you don't want the 5 or 6 if they are at 4 or 3. 

[Reynolds Woodcock 4739]

2 minutes ago, ztejas said:

It's going to be interesting to see if teams try and avoid PHO down the stretch. I guess if they get the 2 it won't matter but you don't want the 5 or 6 if they are at 4 or 3. 

Yep, Phoenix will be scary good. Poor Denver, if the season ended today, their second round opponent would either be the suped up Suns or the defending champs. Congrats on the 1 seed! 

[aggie08 21498]

2 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

The West is really kinda shitty.

fify

[Chewbacca 7774]

Yep, Phoenix will be scary good. Poor Denver, if the season ended today, their second round opponent would either be the suped up Suns or the defending champs. Congrats on the 1 seed! 

Meh, gotta beat the best to be the best. Suns will be a tough out, no doubt.

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I do not understand the poor shooting of Ben Simmons, Russell Westbrook, et al. They have access to the greatest coaches and facilities on the planet. If my only job was playing basketball, at $40m per year no less, I’d be shooting 200 3’s a morning and get my unguarded 3pt % up around 70%. How is possible they are this bad?

[SilasCoade 2622]

Westbrook is completely uncoachable. He refused to acknowledge his deficiencies much less work hard to improve them. He's on the back side of a career that went far better than he deserved.

Simmons just doesn't care about being a good basketball player. He knows his deficiencies and will work with a coach three days a week between the hours of 1pm and 1:30pm but has to spend the rest of his time getting massages.

[Pam Cummings 9640]

16 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I do not understand the poor shooting of Ben Simmons, Russell Westbrook, et al. They have access to the greatest coaches and facilities on the planet. If my only job was playing basketball, at $40m per year no less, I’d be shooting 200 3’s a morning and get my unguarded 3pt % up around 70%. How is possible they are this bad?

This is why i roll my eyes when people talk about how Westbrook "plays with 100% energy" or that he gives "great effort". Like yeah maybe use some of that great energy and effort to improve your shot. It's not that he can't, it's that he just doesn't. We've certainly seen bad shooters become respectable. Westbrook has the exact same shitty shooting form that he's had since day 1 in the NBA.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Pam Cummings