NBA 2022-2023 Season Thread

[statsman 5,473]

Suns/Clippers could be fun. All the shit talking I’ve done about Westbrook, all the fanboy posting I’ve done about KD…

I thought KD really wanted to maintain a friendship with Russ after leaving, and Russ was having none of it. How does that manifest now? Does Russ still have a beef (I bet he does). Do we get the best or worst versions of these guys?

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

 

[Baboontyme 2,814]

Most of the awards are looking like they are going to be blowouts judging by what Twitter tracking guy is seeing. 

[Vic Mackey 47,089]

.

[ztejas 43,502]

Miami's half court O may be the ugliest thing in the NBA. And I watched the Spurs attempt to play defense this season. 

[ztejas 43,502]

God Caruso is awesome. To where I almost fully absolve him of his aggyness.

Dude just embarrassed Max Strus on the break. 16 on 6/8 shooting in a low-scoring must-win game. 

[closetohumping 17,453]

On 4/13/2023 at 3:14 PM, statsman said:

Suns/Clippers could be fun. All the shit talking I’ve done about Westbrook, all the fanboy posting I’ve done about KD…

I thought KD really wanted to maintain a friendship with Russ after leaving, and Russ was having none of it. How does that manifest now? Does Russ still have a beef (I bet he does). Do we get the best or worst versions of these guys?

I think there’s mutual disdain

[ztejas 43,502]

Just now, closetohumping said:

I think there’s mutual disdain

I don't think either of them care and the Clippers are going to get worked by Phoenix anyway. 

[closetohumping 17,453]

Just now, ztejas said:

I don't think either of them care and the Clippers are going to get worked by Phoenix anyway. 

I agree neither cares about the situation but my response was neither wanted to put forth the effort to maintain a relationship.  Kd won this argument long ago

[ztejas 43,502]

4 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

I agree neither cares about the situation but my response was neither wanted to put forth the effort to maintain a relationship.  Kd won this argument long ago

Fair enough. 

[Vic Mackey 47,089]

.

[ztejas 43,502]

Lavine has to be one of the worst contracts in the NBA. 4 for 178 the next 4 seasons. 

I mean you'd take Herro over Lavine, right? For the next 4 seasons?

Edited April 15, 2023 by ztejas

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Who is this half time chic with the infinite forehead? She sucks.

[Fastbreak 3,988]

KAT is in beast mode. Giddy is sucking

[Loch Ness Monster 3,533]

Josh Giddy is straight ass against competent teams.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Has Zava played for OKC all year?

[Fastbreak 3,988]

Gobert has the weakest hands in the league. A baby could knock the ball loose.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

13 minutes ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Josh Giddy is straight ass against competent teams.

He's 17/8/6 for the entire season and he's not even 21.  He's fine.

[closetohumping 17,453]

7 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

Gobert has the weakest hands in the league. A baby could knock the ball loose.

So frustrating to watch though he had that behind the back move

[closetohumping 17,453]

Arod got a hot gf 

[LTtxfan 49,300]

Unless a crazy huge run by OKC in the 4th qtr, both #10 seeds lose tonight.  So in the playoffs in the west, the Lakers retain #7 spot, and Minn ends up retaining the #8 spot.

And in the East playoffs, ATL moves up to the #7 seed from the #8 spot, while Miami falls from #7 to the #8 seed.

No #9 or #10 seed advances to the playoffs.

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by LTtxfan
messed up

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Denver:




Denver hasn’t played an actual meaningful game in like 3 weeks. Jokers played maybe twice since late March. We will see if they have any rust.

[Loch Ness Monster 3,533]

Lots of people love Giddey and Westbrook but guards that can't shoot always been a nah from me in the postseason. 

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

16 minutes ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Lots of people love Giddey and Westbrook but guards that can't shoot always been a nah from me in the postseason. 

Jesus Christ, do you even watch the games?  Giddey is not a guard.  He's 6'9" and weigh 220 and he's pretty much been playing the 4/5 for them.  He's their leading rebounder.

But yes, he has PG skills when it comes to ball handling and passing.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

5 hours ago, ztejas said:

I mean you'd take Herro over Lavine, right? For the next 4 seasons?

nope.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

8 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

nope.

I'm surprised by that. I would definitely take Herro over Lavine with their current contracts. Their per 100 possessions stats suggest they're basically the same player (total career and just this year) with Herro being 4 years younger and without the injury history. Lavine gets the edge in TS%, PER, and BPM primarily (I think) b/c Herro takes (and misses) a bunch of bad 2s. If you can get Herro to just make better decisions he's the better value, easily. I think that is a much more likely development over the next four years than Lavine avoiding decline/further injury.

[ztejas 43,502]

9 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

nope.

Really? I honestly don't think it's close. I think Herro is straight up a better player and locker room guy and you don't have to pay him as much. 

The fuck has Lavine ever done in the playoffs? Herro has been to a Finals and another ECF. He wasn't good in the playoffs last season but he seems like a guy you can count on overall.

Lavine was fucking embarrassingly bad last night. Like throw up on yourself then slip on your own throw up and break your hip bad. I wouldn't want that guy within 1,000 miles of any team I cheer for. 

Edited April 15, 2023 by ztejas

[ztejas 43,502]

I mean Herro didn't make a 3 last night but gave them 8 boards, 7 dimes a swipe and a block and just 2 turnovers. Lavine doesn't grind out numbers like that. 

[shadow_operative 15,932]

i just went to look up PER for eastern conference shooting guards. Lavine was no.5, between jaylen brown and dejounte murray. herro wasn't listed in the top 50. lavine is just a better, more impactful player, in fact he's chicago's best player, ahead of derozan and vucevic. people sleep on lavine, but he's the real deal. his contract sucks, but he can really play.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

By RAPTOR Lavine is 96th and Herro is 136th. So, yes, in a vacuum most metrics agree that Lavine is a better player. But, no, most metrics do not paint Lavine as elite, and, no, the evaluation is not in a vacuum. Herro represents better value currently and better medium term potential. Lavine is what he is. Herro is still coming along.

Edited April 15, 2023 by SilasCoade
FWIW I think Derozan is the better player for the Bulls and RAPTOR agrees with that assessment.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

i saw a stat recently, i may have even played it here, showing derozan to be one of the worst clutch shooters in the league, while lavine was one of the best. that definitely counts for something.

[HookEm 2,467]

Yes. Do you recall who was #1 on that list?  Tyler Herro by a pretty big margin if I recall.

I would take Herro in an instant over Lavine.  Mark my words, Lavine will never win anything significant.  He is about as much of a "me first" player as there is in the NBA.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

ftr i really like tyler herro, and would love having him on any team that i root for. it's just that to this point he's been a third guy, or maybe even a fourth guy when lowry is healthy, while lavine has been a no.2 guy (borderline no.1) guy on a playoff team. they definitely play different roles for their teams. zach lavine is 15th in the nba in usg. i have no idea where herro ranks, i couldn't find a list that long. so yeah, i get why y'all love herro- i do too. but he's never been asked to carry the type of load that lavine has.

[Captain Obvious 523]

15 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

nope.

And somehow that Duncan Robinson contract might be even worse for Miami.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

i thought duncan robinson was going to become a poor man's klay minus the defense. a guy who could touch the ball 20 times, take 7 dribbles, and score 25 points. biiiig swing and a miss.

[SilasCoade 2,622]

Same. Don't know what happened to him.

[HookEm 2,467]

I was never impressed with Duncan Robinson. He seemed unathletic AF.  Like... put your worst defender on him, over-play the three, and sleep easy at night.

If you are just going to be a 3-point specialist, you need to at least have some other skill - ideally defense, but you could also be a great ball handler, have good court vision, be a hustle guy and grab boards... SOMETHING.  Robinson was a one-trick pony and now everyone knows the trick.  He shot like 32% from 3 this year.

[Message Board User 12,395]

🤣

 

[Michael Knight 12,989]

 

lol what ignorant motherfucker put tracy mcgrady

 

 

this tracks

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Michael Knight

[Pam Cummings 9,646]

Kareem gets no love on those things. It's baffling. I definitely have him above Kobe.

[closetohumping 17,453]

2 hours ago, Pam Cummings said:

Kareem gets no love on those things. It's baffling. I definitely have him above Kobe.

Kobe outside my top ten

[SilasCoade 2,622]

1 minute ago, closetohumping said:

Kobe outside my top ten

It's close for me. He's not in the top 5 for sure. Jordan - Kareem - Lebron - Wilt - Russell is pretty definite to me. Bird - Magic - Duncan - Hakeem - KD is my next five. I'd have Kobe and Shaq in the next five for sure, probably with Steph, Big O, and Dr J.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

2 hours ago, Pam Cummings said:

Kareem gets no love on those things. It's baffling. I definitely have him above Kobe.

it's not baffling when you consider that everyone they polled was born after 1990. kobe isn't even a top 10 all time player according to most, but he's got this generation thinking he's the GOAT.

[shadow_operative 15,932]

my top 9:

bigs: cap, wilt, hakeem, duncan, russell

perimeter players: MJ, magic, bird, lebron

possibilities for no.10: shaq, kobe, oscar, steph, kd, im probably forgetting a couple 

[Pam Cummings 9,646]

15 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

it's not baffling when you consider that everyone they polled was born after 1990. kobe isn't even a top 10 all time player according to most, but he's got this generation thinking he's the GOAT.

Due to the nature of his death and how young he was, i can see people's judgement being clouded on it. I for sure find him a bit overrated by most.

[Pam Cummings 9,646]

16 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

my top 9:

bigs: cap, wilt, hakeem, duncan, russell

perimeter players: MJ, magic, bird, lebron

possibilities for no.10: shaq, kobe, oscar, steph, kd, im probably forgetting a couple 

These are all fair. The other day i heard some radio guys debating on who they would have take the last shot, MJ or Lebron. Someone said "if it was my life on the line, i'd choose Bird". Was hard to disagree with it.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Pam Cummings

[Mittens 8,287]

On 4/18/2023 at 2:34 PM, Michael Knight said:

 

[Blotto 23,560]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36249351/lebron-james-goat-noises-lakers-explained

Quote

By the time Wenyen Gabriel joined the Los Angeles Lakers last March, the team was already a mess.

Still, signing a two-way contract with a team with championship aspirations that was six games under .500 was better than the instability he had experienced trying to climb his way back into the league on a string of 10-day contracts after the Milwaukee Bucks waived him during training camp.

Like any other new employee trying to make a good first impression -- and perhaps sensing the work environment could use a little levity -- Gabriel began to spend time on the bench during games bleating like a goat.

It was his way to express admiration for LeBron James, who is on the short list of players under consideration by the basketball world as the GOAT -- the greatest of all time.

"I mean, wasn't really playing much," Gabriel explained earlier this month in the Lakers' locker room. "And every time he would he would score or something, I'd be on the bench going, 'Baaa-aaa.'"

Gabriel smiled, realizing how ridiculous it looks for a 6-foot-9 man to be unabashedly making animal noises in front of a roomful of people, before demonstrating the sound again with perfect staccato.

"I was out there, 'Baaa-aaa.'"

Gabriel's goat call has attracted a herd of teammates this season who've joined him in his unique tribute to James.

I can imagine some horrifying scenes in that locker room if Caruso was still on the roster. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Blotto

[Reynolds Woodcock 4,783]

I feel like we do the top 10 thing every year, always fun. I have a hard time ranking Wilt and Russell and other 60s guys, so I usually cheat and just do post 1970, but I guess 4th and 5th seems right.

MJ, LBJ, Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Kobe, Curry.

Plenty of room for arguments for 8-15 or so (Hakeem, Shaq, Oscar, Jerry West, Durant). Not much room for arguing about the top 8. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Reynolds Woodcock

[ChickenSandwich 9,843]

Plenty of room with Duncan, Kobe and Curry