Arena The NBA Thread

Damian Lillard hit another game-winning 3 tonight. He does that sometimes.

 

yeah, that was a crazy shot

 

He’s a Detroit player, isn’t he? He’s already being compared to Rodman and Ben Wallace. Problem is, I don’t know if those types are all that valuable today. Plus he has terrible hands and is more of a glass finisher than a dunker, like Gortat. Still, I like him.

He’s all energy and hustle, he seems to bump into people like he is OCD and has to touch every opponent on the floor, he goes after everything, shows signs of being able to guard anyone, and just gets under people’s skin, without being dirty or clownish. He had Boogie and Dwight frustrated and gave them bad games. His energy is annoying, makes everything difficult.

Josh Jackson seems like a Detroit player, too. Same reasons. Provides a spark. Chases down fast breaks.

We could have had Halliburton, too, who I loved, but drafted Killian Hayes instead, who looks like the biggest bust in the draft.

Wiseman has everything everyone is looking for in the modern big. Can space the floor vertically and horizontally and has the length to defend the rim. Wiseman looks like the best player in his draft.

 

he is raw, but if he has the drive to get better i definitely agree.

edit: aww they have klay on the warriors broadcast, i really hope he has a couple good years left. he's my favorite player.

 

****ing fantastic, man; hope Smart ends up okay, though... nasty fall he took.

 

Looks back to quote myself on my "Isaiah Stewart is a steal" post.

 

Westbrook hates Brooklyn it appears?

 

That was a great win for Washington.

Westbrook looks legitimately healthy. I’m happy for him and for Beal in getting such a great win (redemption 3 after missing the 3 to tie like 4 minutes earlier)

Brooklyn has a legitimate, though obviously forecasted, problem on defense. They really cannot stop anyone when they need to. Unless they make some more moves, it looks like they really are going to try to gun everyone down

 

Guys. I have a million dollar idea. I'm going to be rich. You know how basketball is a rhythm game? Well I've discovered the secret to unlocking the basketball rhythm within everyone.

It's called Dance Dance Basketball. A basketball training video where I teach people to play basketball to popular music. Do the Utep Two Step to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. Learn the crossover step back to The Thong Song. Learn all your favorite moves to the beat of your favorite songs! It's so much fun, even grandma will learn to break ankles!

I'm going to be the next Billy Blanks. The next Leroy Smith. The next Tom Emanski. It's gonna be yuge.

 

I love playing basketball with music, I mean I’m completely terrible, I’m not super athletic, I don’t really like running, and I’m short. My jump shot is ok though. But yeah, whenever there’s no snow on the courts outside I like to play with some tunes.

I usually go with some funky blues or reggae songs

 

Does shooting hoops to Hanson count as listening to music while playing basketball?

 

it counts!

 

I heard that's how Kyrie developed his game.

 

Steph and Luka dueling. Thirty and 21 at the half, respectively.

Steph now has 41, with nine threes, with 7:30 left in the third, and he just hit one from the logo. He’s feeling it. Doncic up to 27. Absolutely no defense from either team.

You should be watching.

 

yeah it was a good show

 

dang 57 for Stephen and not enough.

 

Pistons trading Rose to the Knicks for Dennis Smith and draft compensation. Not sure what the picks are, but I guess I'll take whatever. We foolishly traded away a bunch of seconds to unload Luke Kennard, as if he had negative value, so we need to reload.

Rose was electric last year, so I'm sad to see him go. He hasn't been good so far this year, but it's not physical, he just hasn't had his rhythm. It's an odd pickup for the Knicks, but he's a Thibs guy. Guess the young guys here will have to find another mentor.

Smith is/was talented, but he seems like a headcase, or just a lot of drama. He has twice gone away due to some supposed injury, only for the team to later admit it was some drama or whatever. But hey, he was willing to go to the G league to get playing time, so maybe he's humble or hungry enough to fit in here. With Killian Hayes out with a serious injury, Smith has an opportunity to see the floor. We really don't have any other point guards to speak of. Delon Wright is a combo guard and Saben Lee is a rookie who doesn't know what he's doing. Frank Jackson is a combo guard and had no rhythm in the few minutes he's played. We have so little depth at point guard we've had to go to Rodney McGruder, who wasn't even in the rotation at all earlier this year. So Smith has every opportunity to get minutes. He's on the last year of his rookie contract so this might be his last chance to salvage his career. Josh Jackson is in the same situation and is doing well here.

 

It's still a little odd to be in a universe where the Knicks are making sound basketball decisions.

Reports last year had Rose worth a first round pick at the deadline; they pick him up for a second round pick and a player who hasn't been cracking their rotation. Rose is solid enough that he lifts their chances to get into the play-in tournament. If they win there, it's a fantastic boost as they get proper playoff exposure and maybe whet the appetite for a bigger name to want to go there via trade or free agency. And if they don't get out of the play-in tournament, they get a lottery pick in a pretty loaded class. They didn't surrender any assets of strong value, and they didn't lock themselves into anything long term. Some of this will depend on how they deploy Rose, but starting him to allow Quickley to continue to shine as the star of the second unit would make a lot of sense.

I like the trade for Detroit, too. Getting an extra pick in the upcoming draft is big for that rebuild project they have. It's a draft that's strong at the top, but also deep through about fifty picks. They might have gotten more for Rose closer to the deadline, but he could have gotten hurt, or won them some games and decreased their lottery odds. Smith seems like a decent lottery ticket. Didn't cost much to get him. If he doesn't pan out, it's not a big loss; if he finds a role and develops into a useful rotation player that's a win.

 

Bucks are playing well lately, only caught the first half of last nights game before I fell asleep, looked like a good game though, Jokic is always fun to watch

 

Pistons got a nice win over the Nets tonight. Played inspired, confident basketball. Almost everyone had a good night. Glad to see their efforts result in a win for once, they've taken a lot of tough losses despite playing hard and I was afraid it would lead to them quitting on the season.

Also glad to see D-Rose get some buckets for the Knicks tonight. Looks like Austin Rivers was the odd man out. I'm not sorry for him.

 

Kinda weird. The last time the Cavaliers played in Denver and I didn't attend the game, LeBron had only played for one NBA team.