Arena The NBA Thread

Perfectly said. Add to that one more year of the same guys knowing how to play together, and Giannis being very well in his prime right now, and they are as scary as ever. And all that without Middleton.

 

Giannis is starting to give me lebron james late 2000s-early2010s vibes where he, as an individual entity, will enforce his will on a game if his team is struggling, which is insanity because the Bucks are already really good.

A week ago in the nets/bucks game, the nets had the lead at the half and Giannis had 9 points. It was a close game but the nets were winning. Giannis finished that game with 43 points and the win.

That’s madness. Especially with Middleton off the floor.

 

Nets have issued six conditions Kyrie has to meet before he can play again.

 

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but having played a few games with Denver this year, Ish Smith has now played for a record 13 different NBA franchises.

 

this unexpected russ renaissance in la is a fun story, i really hope he keeps it up.

 

I have no idea how both of these statements are true, but somehow they are:

Cleveland undeniably overpaid for Donovan Mitchell

Cleveland absolutely got a steal in the Donovan Mitchell trade

 

it seems like the rare great trade for both teams.

 

Up 6 at the half, ended up losing by 14. Awful.

 

Lakers scored 36 in the first quarter, and 36 in the second half.

It rhymes. It's like poetry.

 

Election day even extravaganza of games is insane. There are games starting at 7:00 and 7:15 and 7:30 and 7:45 and 8:00 and 8:15...I kinda feel like my head is going to explode. Sportscenter will be fun tomorrow morning at the gym. I appreciate that.

 

Blazers win on a Josh Hart (???) buzzer-beating 3. I guess you could say it was a…Hartbreaker.

 

47-8-8 (17/24 FG) for the GOAT and finally a win for the Warriors. They are not looking great. Unless they get some good trades, there is no chance of a repeat and even a trip to the Finals is out of the question, they can't go far with that defense. So my money is now on the Bucks and Giannis.

 

Hawks beat undefeated Bucks. ( My son kept calling them the Milks because Milwaukee is too hard for him to say, but it fit perfectly because it's the dairy state. ). Barely a mention on Sportscenter. Okay I get it Milwaukee was tired and on the road, but Steph Curry gets highlights for beating the lowly Kings and they gloss over the Hawks win. Pfft. Knicks won too and that game didn't even make sports center.

 

who would have guessed jazz vs. hawks would be such an intriguing early-season matchup? the jazz might have to trade some more guys if they're trying to tank this year.

 

I haven't bothered to watch any of their games. I don't care what Ainge says about giving them a chance, they're destined to be blown up. They have to get something for Conley, Clarkson, and Olynyk while they can. I mean, who is their core going forward? Sexton and Markkanen?! Ainge isn't running with those guys. That's why I don't find Utah even remotely interesting.

 

i've watched a few of their games before this one, but it was mostly because it was all that was on or i was interested in the other team. the thing is they do seem to have a well-constructed roster, they have a great chemistry and and an interesting mix of youth and vets. they lack any stars, which makes them easy to root for. i do think ainge will blow it up, but he at least has a dilemma.

 

I'd agree with you @tom but the team is from Utah.

 

This (will paraphrase a bit) promo read is why I adore/respect the hell out of the Lakers TV commentary duo of Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz:


Bill: “If the Lakers hold their opponent to 111-points or less, and win, everybody gets 2-free tacos at Jack In The Box; Stu you know how many times they’ve done that thus far? Only 4, and only won 1 of those games.”



The passive-aggressive sarcasm between the two over the current state-of-the-team for the remainder of last night’s (loss, naturally) game was superb.

 

Tin Foil Hat Inty kinda thinks the league wants Utah to tear it down like they did, still field a competitive team, be bad but not awful, and then win the draft lottery to show that you can trade away your stars and do a rebuild without completely tanking and not trying to compete every night.

And, honestly, that would be good karma. It's good for the game, the league, and the fans if even the bad teams are actually trying to win games.

In reality, history shows that with the current lottery odds, you don't really hurt your chances of winning the draft lottery until you win more than 20 games anyways. So, competing and trying to win games. So, if your eyes are on Scoot or Wembanyama, you can still be competitive and win a quarter of your games and still have a realistic chance of winning the lottery. The only real benefit to outright tanking and losing as many games as possible is to ensure you don't draft lower than sixth. But, based on WS projections of each draft slot, that's not really that big of a buffer.

So, really, the league needs to try to figure out how to incentivize the Utah experience, where a rebuilding tries to compete and win games and is in no way disincentivized to do so.

But I still think they're going to dismantle that team a bit. If only because contenders with pieces to trade are going to want to add some of what the Jazz can give them, namely Conley and Clarkson.

 

I'm not pulling for Utah, because Utah, they treated Russ bad and they get a bad rap for having odd religious groups where men have about 50 wives. I do enough back flips trying to tell myself it's okay to route for Oklahoma. All those old white people on the jumbo tron in the stands, cheering on black basketball players, pretending they support those guys? Doesn't sit well with me. OKC is as liberal as Oklahoma gets and I have read about good parts, just like I have met good people in Tulsa. Heck I even met a lady from OKC who traveled to DC for March for Our Lives, but in general Oklahoma, just blugh...

The real winner in this case in everyone who never goes to Jack In The Box or Chick Fil A because they give away a lot of clog your arteries we are killing animals and the environment too, foods. Yes, I am that kind of stick in the mud.

 

Don't really care to bother checking the accuracy of this map, but it's plausible enough for me.

LeBron gets the most hate from 17 states and Kyrie from 29, so they get the largest pieces of the pie, but Kyrie receives hate in the most populous states by far.

Arizona hates Draymond the most - can't really explain that one
Ohio hates Durant the most - I suppose because of 2017 and 2018?
Philly and NJ hate Simmons the most - that just cracks me up

 

Seriously? I know OKC lost a finals to the Heat and LeBron but you don't hate Durant more? As a human being LeBron is too good of a guy for me to hate him. He has a whole school where kids get free college just for graduating. He also seems like an involved loving dad and husband. Draymond is your typical "hot" athlete who can't control his temper. Don't like him, glad he's not on a team I like, don't have a reason to despise him. Kyrie is not coming back, look at the Nets without him. No worries about him. Simmons never did anything, on or off the court, I hope he has invested the money he's made well and can go live a nice quiet life away from basketball. Durant is my most disliked basketball player. I don't hate him, but he's the one who hurt me the worst. I'm from VA, so if this map is counting me, I vote Durant.