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2018-19 NBA Season Thread

BigOrange1

By BigOrange1
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Dutchrudder

Dutchrudder 11,141

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The Rockets won 65 games last year playing like last night with Harden. The Rockets have played maybe 1 game with their entire rotation healthy this season. I hope now that everyone is healthy the Rockets can move back to last year's offense. We will see.
That was Capelas second game back since December, and he is the second most important player on the team. Him and Faried were working the post against Cousins real well. DMC did not look like someone that can defend the post like McGee did for them last year. The Rockets also rebounded well, which has been a problem since CC went out. Him, Tucker and Manimal were doing well blocking out and giving the team a better chance to get the ball.
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RW is from Lawndale. Most of the gangs down there are Hispanic. Not the same as the violence in South Central. I think he is paying homage to a guy who he had a lot of respect for. It's just that if y

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The last guy to consistently shutdown KD was Westbrook in 2016. 

aggie08

aggie08 21,504

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51 minutes ago, CBT said:

CP3 playing like that is fun AF to watch.

100%,  As annoying as his antics and general bitchassedness can be, it's always fun watching a master at work.  Plus, the league is better off overall with instigators and "villains" like he and Draymond who usually back up their mouths.  ...just lay off the refs every once in awhile.

A healthy CP3 would have made Game 7 pretty damn interesting last year, having someone to take over and stop the bleeding.  Here's hoping he can actually make it through May for once.  I've never wavered that I think a healthy Houston is still Golden State's biggest threat.  I think the Warriors could probably beat the 28 other teams 4 times out of 7 with their 'B' game; but a defensively locked in Rockets team requires their 'A' game, which explains Houston owning them in the regular season.

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d2o

d2o 1,602

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1 hour ago, BigOrange1 said:

well they were 12-5 in the 17 games cp3 just missed and they are 21-11 during his 32 game 30+ppg streak, so yeah i'd say his style of play has been the major factor in turning their season around.

Not really the point.   They are what 4-5 since CP3 and Capela have been back, right?    He has to adjust and let go of the ball and the streak or all of what he did when they were out will mean nothing.

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d2o

d2o 1,602

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15 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

It's almost as if no thought went into constructing the Lakers roster, at all. As if they hired a GM/team president for appearances rather than because they were actually capable of doing the job well.

They have zero offensive or defensive philosophy

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aggie08

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29 minutes ago, d2o said:

They have zero offensive or defensive philosophy

They were pretty stout early in the season, and they were passable when LeBron was out (they just couldn't score enough points to make it matter). They've been pathetically bad since he's been back. Ball being out hurts, but pretty hard to get guys to sacrifice on that end when no one on that team other than LeBron has any confidence that they'll be on the roster in July. Not terribly surprising that guys are playing for themselves and their next team/contract.

Also, LeBron just has to be better. Everyone understands that he's not the game-to-game defender that he used to be, and no one expects him to chase down blocks every game. We all realize that carrying that kind of offensive load warrants picking your spots to rest on defense. But he's been a statue, and his teammates see that. At least show that you're engaged.

Offensively, who the fuck thought that Magic and LeBron's plan had any chance in hell of working? "LeBron's going to play off the ball more, and we're going to play faster with a bunch of playmakers (who can't shoot or play defense)!" Of course the offense had devolved into, "LeBron, do everything." Honestly, I'm not sure that he would want it any other way. As such, they're short a few shooters.

Yeah, Luke hasn't proved yet that he's a good coach; heck, he's had a few pretty poor minutes management gaffs that would suggest he's a bad coach. No one is going to cry for him when he gets fired. But what did they reasonably expect with this roster construction?

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d2o

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1 minute ago, aggie08 said:

They were pretty stout early in the season, and they were passable when LeBron was out (they just couldn't score enough points to make it matter). They've been pathetically bad since he's been back. Ball being out hurts, but pretty hard to get guys to sacrifice on that end when no one on that team other than LeBron has any confidence that they'll be on the roster in July. Not terribly surprising that guys are playing for themselves and their next team/contract.

Also, LeBron just has to be better. Everyone understands that he's not the game-to-game defender that he used to be, and no one expects him to chase down blocks every game. We all realize that carrying that kind of offensive load warrants picking your spots to rest on defense. But he's been a statue, and his teammates see that. At least show that you're engaged.

Offensively, who the fuck thought that Magic and LeBron's plan had any chance in hell of working? "LeBron's going to play off the ball more, and we're going to play faster with a bunch of playmakers (who can't shoot or play defense)!" Of course the offense had devolved into, "LeBron, do everything." Honestly, I'm not sure that he would want it any other way. As such, they're short a few shooters.

Yeah, Luke hasn't proved yet that he's a good coach; heck, he's had a few pretty poor minutes management gaffs that would suggest he's a bad coach. No one is going to cry for him when he gets fired. But what did they reasonably expect with this roster construction?

Agree completely, with LBJ giving ZERO effort on the defensive end.    His body language on defensive lapses actually make his defense a net negative at this point.

The roster was definitely poorly constructed.   We all knew that from the start but that is why a system is so important.   Zo going down and Rondo being in and out of the lineup has hurt them for sure but they have no offensive game plan if they are not trying to run.   No system in place to get a bucket when they need one.   Some of that could be on LBJ not wanting one but they didn't have one last season either.    

Additionally, I know Kuzma puts up points often but he is one of the least disciplined players I have seen.  He gets the ball and its going up.   Usually very quickly.   Luke getting on the vets last month while allowing Kuz complete free rein with little to no repercussions seems like a bad recipe.   Luke has been a disaster IMO.

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BigOrange1

BigOrange1 6,441

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everyone knew in july it was a poor roster.  why lebron picked the lakers on july 1st when he could have waited to see if they were going to do anything else, i'll never understand.

this year's a bust and next year doesn't look like it'll be anything special.  none of the big free agents seem to be trending in their direction and the pelicans seem determined not to trade davis to the lakers.

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aggie08

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4 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

everyone knew in july it was a poor roster.  why lebron picked the lakers on july 1st when he could have waited to see if they were going to do anything else, i'll never understand.

I mean, it's pretty clear at this point that LeBron to the Lakers was done by this time last year, and probably much sooner. So I assume that he thought by signing right away, he might be able to attract others, or allow the Lakers to make a big swing on a trade with him committed.

But, what it all comes down to is that he picked a new team based just as much (if not more) on off-the-court interests as he did for their ability to win championships. I'm not knocking him for that; it's entirely his right to do so. He's accomplished plenty. Just don't expect much sympathy when the inexperienced coach and mediocre young players that you chose to play with turn out to be inexperienced and mediocre.

He picked LA because it was LA, and assumed he'd get the right pieces as he went along. He still might. But I think he severely underestimated how big of a failure it will be if he doesn't bring the Lakers back to prominence (aka a title).

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Patrick Bateman

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11 hours ago, immortal13 said:

And in the post-game interview he alludes to players that don't want to be there and give what it takes to make the playoffs, ect. What a douche.

The hilarious thing is it's the veterans who are really letting this team down.  Rondo, KCP, Lance, and Beasley all are playing or played like shit.  The big guys, McGee and Chandler, are kind of doing their thing but they're both better 10-15 minute options.  And let's not forget that Lebron himself is having the worst season since his rookie year.  Yea, none of the ballyhoo'ed rookies have taken big steps forward (Kuzma the most) but it's not a team which was constructed to make a deep run unless Lebron was going to play at a MVP level and he hasn't even played at a All-NBA first team level.

8 hours ago, aggie08 said:

They were pretty stout early in the season, and they were passable when LeBron was out (they just couldn't score enough points to make it matter). They've been pathetically bad since he's been back. Ball being out hurts, but pretty hard to get guys to sacrifice on that end when no one on that team other than LeBron has any confidence that they'll be on the roster in July. Not terribly surprising that guys are playing for themselves and their next team/contract.

Also, LeBron just has to be better. Everyone understands that he's not the game-to-game defender that he used to be, and no one expects him to chase down blocks every game. We all realize that carrying that kind of offensive load warrants picking your spots to rest on defense. But he's been a statue, and his teammates see that. At least show that you're engaged.

Offensively, who the fuck thought that Magic and LeBron's plan had any chance in hell of working? "LeBron's going to play off the ball more, and we're going to play faster with a bunch of playmakers (who can't shoot or play defense)!" Of course the offense had devolved into, "LeBron, do everything." Honestly, I'm not sure that he would want it any other way. As such, they're short a few shooters.

Yeah, Luke hasn't proved yet that he's a good coach; heck, he's had a few pretty poor minutes management gaffs that would suggest he's a bad coach. No one is going to cry for him when he gets fired. But what did they reasonably expect with this roster construction?

I think all of that was offered up for public consumption.  Yea, it was different and theoretically there is some logic there, but deep down, everyone understood what was going to happen and what needed to be done.  Lebron would take on the lion's share of the playmaking and they needed to go out and get a young superstar.  Everything will ride on this summer now.  Everything.  If they don't get Kawhi or AD or KD, then the Lakers are in some trouble.... A guy like Kemba or DMC will help, but with a regressing Lebron, it'll still be a tough road.

 

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Vic Mackey

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14 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Rough Florida back to back for the Warriors past two nights.  Bad losses on the road.  So much for the Warriors don't miss a beat without KD.  Lost to the Magic while Steph was 1-6 in the 4th.  W's were outscored 33-15 in the 4th.  Ewww.... Even champs have a bad night.

 

Warriors are bored. Regular season does not mean jack shit to them any longer. Hell they have proven they can turn it on and off in the biggest stage of the playoffs. 

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aggie08

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8 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Rough Florida back to back for the Warriors past two nights.  Bad losses on the road.  So much for the Warriors don't miss a beat without KD.  Lost to the Magic while Steph was 1-6 in the 4th.  W's were outscored 33-15 in the 4th.  Ewww.... Even champs have a bad night.

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26024501/predicting-nba-superstar-moves-kd-kyrie-ad-kawhi

ESPN polled their NBA writers last week to see where they predicted the big name free agents land.  2/3rds of them had KD leaving Golden State (I tend to agree).  Yet, 75% still picked the Warriors to be the favorites at the beginning of next season.  That surprised the hell out of to me.  Yeah, we saw Steph, Klay, Dray, and a bunch of mostly junk reel off like 14 straight to end the season two years ago with KD out (after initially looking lost without him).  But Dray will be 3 years older by next season, and the junk is probably even junkier today, with no real avenues to add any pieces, even without KD's salary on the books.  Iggy is having a great year relative to what we've come to expect from his regular season (i.e. the rest before the playoffs), but good luck if they actually have to depend on him full time again.

I guess Golden State is the safe, known commodity today with all the uncertainty in Boston, Philly, LA, Toronto, CP3's health...shit, even Milwaukee is going to have to decide if they want to essentially max out their cap for Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe.  But I doubt they'll be the Vegas pick come October.  Among the favorites, sure, but not the odds-on favorite.

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Patrick Bateman

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2 hours ago, aggie08 said:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26024501/predicting-nba-superstar-moves-kd-kyrie-ad-kawhi

ESPN polled their NBA writers last week to see where they predicted the big name free agents land.  2/3rds of them had KD leaving Golden State (I tend to agree).  Yet, 75% still picked the Warriors to be the favorites at the beginning of next season.  That surprised the hell out of to me.  Yeah, we saw Steph, Klay, Dray, and a bunch of mostly junk reel off like 14 straight to end the season two years ago with KD out (after initially looking lost without him).  But Dray will be 3 years older by next season, and the junk is probably even junkier today, with no real avenues to add any pieces, even without KD's salary on the books.  Iggy is having a great year relative to what we've come to expect from his regular season (i.e. the rest before the playoffs), but good luck if they actually have to depend on him full time again.

I guess Golden State is the safe, known commodity today with all the uncertainty in Boston, Philly, LA, Toronto, CP3's health...shit, even Milwaukee is going to have to decide if they want to essentially max out their cap for Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe.  But I doubt they'll be the Vegas pick come October.  Among the favorites, sure, but not the odds-on favorite.

I think it's more about what you said.... it's a known commodity.  They're also working off a bunch of assumptions, that Philly can't get Butler to commit to re-sign (My lord that deal looks bad then).  That KD goes to the Knicks, who won't be ready.  Kyrie stays in Boston.  Kawhi goes to the Clippers, etc, etc.  Thereby no team is filled out and other teams get good but not great.  They have KD going to the Knicks with nobody else.  Hmmm....  At least with the W's, you know they'll have Green, Curry, and Klay and then however they replace KD (in a scenario where he leaves), but what other team do you know what they'll look like?  Utah, Houston and Denver?  Maybe Milwaukee but they have a ton of free agents up.  Toronto would be gutted.  Houston is getting old.  We have no idea on the Lakers beyond Boodie with those situations.  So, while those assumptions may turn out to be likely, if the Warriors are going to lose KD, that's like a best case scenario....

 

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Dutchrudder

Dutchrudder 11,141

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I have not really watched closely yet this season but I have noticed that there seems to be a big swing in how LeBron is now covered. He is getting a lot of criticism, something that didn't really happen before.
Do any of you also see this shift?
Yup. The Lakers have a enormous amount of sports writers and media types as fans. The pissy passive aggressive comments from Lebron this season are nothing new for him, it's just that nobody really cared all that much when he was in Cleveland. LA sports people are calling him out, and he's under the most scrutiny of his career because he went to the biggest stage possible. He can't go on vacation for a few weeks, lob bombs on Twitter and come back like nothing was wrong. He will continue to get called out on his behavior so long as he stays in LA. There are too many voices to try to control there, and they don't feel obligated to keep him personally happy like the Cavs did.
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