2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread

Sam Ray Not

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Steve Kerr letting the players coach tonight.
Yep ... literally handed the clipboard to Andre, Draymond and David West for the whole game. And they respond with possibly their best game of the year (against garbage competition, but that hasn't always kept them from slacking off in the past).

58.4% fg, held the Suns to 34.7%
36 assists, 11 turnovers
16 blocked shots

Bob Myers' decision to make precisely zero roster moves before the deadline is looking pretty good the last three games. McGee, Casspi, Young and now even McCaw all playing much better without an axe looming over their heads.
 
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Sam Ray Not

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Jazz just beat the Spurs, 101-99, for their tenth win in a row. What a finish.
Neither the Warriors nor the Rockets should want any part of that team in the first round. Of course, the way they're playing right now, they may rise all the way up to the #6 seed or higher. Heck, they're only five games in the loss column behind the #3 Spurs.
 

Imbricus

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Steve Kerr letting the players coach tonight.
Hardly seems like a bold move against a team that got thumped by almost 50 points less than a week earlier (and that the Warriors too thumped by almost 50 points). You could let a dog coach against Phoenix, with the same result. Let's see if he tries that trick against Houston.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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LOL, Josh Jackson -43 in 32 minutes tonight.
Jackson, Bender and Chriss a combined 12 points on 5 for 26 shooting (0 for 8 on 3s).

I get that these guys are still young and his tenure has included other moves, like drafting Booker, but is McDonough on the hot seat anytime soon?
 

Sam Ray Not

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Hardly seems like a bold move against a team that got thumped by almost 50 points less than a week earlier (and that the Warriors too thumped by almost 50 points). You could let a dog coach against Phoenix, with the same result. Let's see if he tries that trick against Houston.
Not "bold" per se, but I think at least pretty intriguing, especially given that it resulted in the cleanest and most dominant performance the champs have delivered in weeks. Kerr said he felt like he and the team were tired of hearing his voice (regarding turnovers and defensive effort in particular), and it was a good time to try something different. Maybe it's the same result with a Klay's dog Rocco taking the clipboard, but it seems like the main message Kerr wanted to send after the trade deadline, with the playoffs looming, was delivered: "this is your team — not mine, not Bob Myers', not Joe Lacob's. Own it."
 

HomeRunBaker

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I don't think you can take anything away from a team playing against Phoenix right now. Bender 1-6, 3 pts 3 reb in 31 min.....so much for his leap. 3 complete dogs in his last 4. How does McDonough still have a job?
 

Kliq

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If I was a decent team like Utah, Miami, Denver, Minnesota, etc. I would try to buy low in the off-season for Bender or Chriss. I don’t think Phoenix is a great place to develop young talent.
 

Sam Ray Not

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I don't think you can take anything away from a team playing against Phoenix right now. Bender 1-6, 3 pts 3 reb in 31 min.....so much for his leap. 3 complete dogs in his last 4. How does McDonough still have a job?
That was GS' first game of the season against the Suns (three more to go, yay!), so you're right that I have no real basis to conclude that it represented any kind of return to form by the Warriors. I could point to the games they pissed away earlier this season against the Kings, or the Clips with their entire team except Lou Williams missing, but it's entirely possible the Booker-less Suns are a whole different level of wretched from those teams. (Still, in between the epic beatdowns by the Spurs and Warriors, they somehow managed to give the Nuggets a game, leading by 5 till late in the 3rd quarter).
 

HomeRunBaker

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That was GS' first game of the season against the Suns (three more to go, yay!), so you're right that I have no real basis to conclude that it represented any kind of return to form by the Warriors. I could point to the games they pissed away earlier this season against the Kings, or the Clips with their entire team except Lou Williams missing, but it's entirely possible the Booker-less Suns are a whole different level of wretched from those teams. (Still, in between the epic beatdowns by the Spurs and Warriors, they somehow managed to give the Nuggets a game, leading by 5 till late in the 3rd quarter).
It was Denver's second leg of a road B2B and they are an awful road team as it is at 8-19 after the win in Phoenix. The Suns aren't even pretending to compete in some of these games.
 

Sam Ray Not

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I mean, I understand the motives of the Lakers, Kings and Jazz, but damn, it's annoying. The Cavs were dead in the water, and now we get to watch LeBaby grinning at his four new toys like Little Lord Fauntleroy with a new pony on Christmas morning.

Sure looks like a Final 4 of GS-HOU-TOR-CLE, barring injury (edit: or inspiring returns to health from Hayward or Leonard).
 

Sam Ray Not

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Two losses now separate #3 from #9 in the West, with the scorching hot Jazz only four losses back at #10. With the way they're playing and their home-friendly remaining schedule (15 h, 10 r), the Jazz could potentially rise as high as #3.
 

joe dokes

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I mean, I understand the motives of the Lakers, Kings and Jazz, but damn, it's annoying. The Cavs were dead in the water, and now we get to watch LeBaby grinning at his four new toys like Little Lord Fauntleroy with a new pony on Christmas morning.

Sure looks like a Final 4 of GS-HOU-TOR-CLE, barring injury (edit: or inspiring returns to health from Hayward or Leonard).
We'll see what happens when the league gets a feel for the new Cavs, and lue is forced to coach.
 

cheech13

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I think the Lue criticisms are starting to get a little overblown. He was good down the stretch in 2016 and arguably outcoached Kerr in the final three games of the Finals. He's been up and down since but I think he's more middle of the road (15-20 range) than bottom five. He has dealt with some weird rosters and personalities.
 
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kelpapa

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The trailblazer's Twitter account sent out Valentine's day gets to every team. The Cavaliers one is pretty good.
 

Sam Ray Not

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32 points for Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half. Porzingis-less Knicks lead Wiz, 72-51. Gjge, Brad Beal and the Wiz defense.
 

jon abbey

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32 points for Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half. Porzingis-less Knicks lead Wiz, 72-51. Gjge, Brad Beal and the Wiz defense.
It didn’t even take NY the whole 3rd quarter to blow that lead, 86-83 WAS with 3 minutes left in the 3rd.
 

Sam Ray Not

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32 points for Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half. Porzingis-less Knicks lead Wiz, 72-51. Gjge, Brad Beal and the Wiz defense.
Beal drops 36, Wiz hold the Knicks to 41 in the second half to climb out of a 27-point hole and win 118-113.

Gjge, Brad Beal and the Wiz defense. :)
 

jon abbey

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Bill Walton is just unlistenable, like I really don't know if I can tolerate a full game with him, or even a half.
 

Kliq

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Bill Walton is just unlistenable, like I really don't know if I can tolerate a full game with him, or even a half.
I had to turn the game off; and that’s a good game! For whatever reason Dame plays like Jordan against the Warriors and the games are always fun; but Walton is so bad at his job. He’s like Chris Collinsworth if Collinsworth has Alzheimer’s.
 

jon abbey

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The thing is that unlike most awful announcers, he actually knows a ton, but his schtick is unlistenable.
 

Kliq

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The thing is that unlike most awful announcers, he actually knows a ton, but his schtick is unlistenable.
Yeah you could say the same thing about Vitale. Both guys I’m sure would be a lot of fun to watch a game with in a bar, just not on the air.
 

JCizzle

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Rondo is the saltiest dude and I love it so much.
I love both guys, but Rondo is probably the most underrated Celtic that I can remember. I mean some of his playoff lines were: vs Cavs 29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals. Vs Bulls 44 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals. I don't care how pouty he was at the end, dude was amazing.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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I love both guys, but Rondo is probably the most underrated Celtic that I can remember. I mean some of his playoff lines were: vs Cavs 29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals. Vs Bulls 44 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals. I don't care how pouty he was at the end, dude was amazing.
I think that 44/8/10 game was against Miami in the 2012 ECF. The one where Wade whacked Rondo in the head on a drive to the basket in OT and the officials didn't call it.
 

BigSoxFan

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I think that 44/8/10 game was against Miami in the 2012 ECF. The one where Wade whacked Rondo in the head on a drive to the basket in OT and the officials didn't call it.
That was the series where Wade could have cut a Celtic in half with a chainsaw and not get a foul called on him.
 

tims4wins

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That first round Bulls series in 2009 vs. prime Rose was incredible. Didn't Rondo average a triple double?

Edit: almost. 19.4 PPG, 11.6 APG, 9.3 RPG, 2.7 SPG
 

tims4wins

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Did the Celts give Rondo a tribute video? They did, right? If not, I could see why he'd be so salty. He was a much more important Celtic than IT.
 

DannyDarwinism

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I love both guys, but Rondo is probably the most underrated Celtic that I can remember. I mean some of his playoff lines were: vs Cavs 29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals. Vs Bulls 44 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals. I don't care how pouty he was at the end, dude was amazing.
Yeah, he could seize control of a game with Lebron James, Kobe Bryant or prime Dwyane Wade on the other side, and do it without a jumpshot, standing at 6'1.
 

joe dokes

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I think the Lue criticisms are starting to get a little overblown. He was good down the stretch in 2016 and arguably outcoached Kerr in the final three games of the Finals. He's been up and down since but I think he's more middle of the road (15-20 range) than bottom five. He has dealt with some weird rosters and personalities.
I was wrong about Spoelstra; no doubt I could be wrong about Lue.