2018 NBA Game Thread

HomeRunBaker

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Jimmy Butler is a fucking terrible teammate and the idea that he is this amazing leader and his teammates are delicate flowers for not "stepping up to his challenge" is completely out of touch.
Who is calling Butler a great leader? He challenged Towns and Towns said, "Pffft I'll just do my thang."

This is about KAT wilting to a challenge not about Butler being the second coming.
 

Kliq

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Who is calling Butler a great leader? He challenged Towns and Towns said, "Pffft I'll just do my thang."

This is about KAT wilting to a challenge not about Butler being the second coming.
Because Butler was acting like a psychopath and Towns not returning his bizarre behavior and contributing to Butler’s publicity stunt doesn’t really indicate to me that Towns lacks a competitive streak.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Because Butler was acting like a psychopath and Towns not returning his bizarre behavior and contributing to Butler’s publicity stunt doesn’t really indicate to me that Towns lacks a competitive streak.
Really? You think curling up into your shell while going through the motions during the games is a positive response to adversity?
 

Kliq

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Really? You think curling up into your shell while going through the motions during the games is a positive response to adversity?
Did Butler challenge Towns during a game? I thought it was at practice.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Did Butler challenge Towns during a game? I thought it was at practice.
I was referring to Towns approach to the games and completely forgot about the practice incident when he grabbed 4 bench guys to beat him. Yeah that is embarrassing and says a lot about Towns.
 

Kliq

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I was referring to Towns approach to the games and completely forgot about the practice incident when he grabbed 4 bench guys to beat him. Yeah that is embarrassing and says a lot about Towns.
I’m pretty sure you were referencing the practice incident in the first post; but whatever, I’m done digging into the HRB hole.
 

Kliq

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The physical transformation from Giannis is incredible. He was so skinny coming into the league and now he’s bulling guys out of the way. The Lakers need to get Brandon Ingram on that workout program pronto.
 

ManicCompression

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Who is calling Butler a great leader? He challenged Towns and Towns said, "Pffft I'll just do my thang."

This is about KAT wilting to a challenge not about Butler being the second coming.
You called his practice stunt the “very definition of leadership” in the Butler thread.
 

JCizzle

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I did a triple take at that Houston score. They only scored 80 in a game that Harden played 37 minutes? What?
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Other than the Warriors, is there a team in the west that's looked better than the Bucks or the Raptors? The east looks decent this year and with Houston looking rough so far, it feels a little more balanced than before.
They have been up and down but I really like Utah and Denver. They haven't looked better but I think both teams have room to improve. The Bucks are the same as last season, albeit with a different coach while Toronto is just working in Leonard which is easier than all new rotations.
 

Cesar Crespo

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They have been up and down but I really like Utah and Denver. They haven't looked better but I think both teams have room to improve. The Bucks are the same as last season, albeit with a different coach while Toronto is just working in Leonard which is easier than all new rotations.
Brook Lopez isn't a complete bum either.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Steph with a strained adductor — depending on severity, that could be a couple weeks. Ugh.

Steph or no Steph, Bucks beat the champs down from the opening tap. 70-24 edge on points in the paint. The kind of mucked-up, physical game where Boogie might have come in handy.
 

Kliq

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They have been up and down but I really like Utah and Denver. They haven't looked better but I think both teams have room to improve. The Bucks are the same as last season, albeit with a different coach while Toronto is just working in Leonard which is easier than all new rotations.
I'd say Milwaukee is much different from last season. They don't just have a new coach; they have a completely new system and have gone from 25 three point attempts per game to 41 per game. They've got a full year of Bledsoe and they've added a lot of depth to their rotation, including Lopez, Illyasova, DiVencenzo and Connaughton, who as great tonight off the bench.
 

HomeRunBaker

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You called his practice stunt the “very definition of leadership” in the Butler thread.
That one instance was absolutely great leadership. He showed Towns and Wiggins what it is to compete and win even in a practice setting. It didn't seem like they gave a shit or give a shit now.

Overall, I have no idea if I'd characterize Butler as a great leader as he is all about getting himself out of Minnesota right now.
 

benhogan

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Houston and Golden State get smoked. The Celtics get owned by the Suns for the first 44 minutes. What is going on here?

The Bucks and Raptors are real. Our future lottery picks are turning into late round firsts. and Kobe has screwed us again.

I'm hitting ctrl+alt+delete on the first half of this season and refuse to get concerned until January.

FREE Baynes!
 

HomeRunBaker

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Houston and Golden State get smoked. The Celtics get owned by the Suns for the first 44 minutes. What is going on here?
It's parity. If you don't mentally arrive prepared to play in this league right now you're going to get smoked.

Or is it parody?
 

ManicCompression

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That one instance was absolutely great leadership. He showed Towns and Wiggins what it is to compete and win even in a practice setting. It didn't seem like they gave a shit or give a shit now.

Overall, I have no idea if I'd characterize Butler as a great leader as he is all about getting himself out of Minnesota right now.
Building animosity on a team through an orchestrated pr stunt is not great leadership. There are several reasons for this. One is that Butler wasn’t interested in leading the team when he did it, he was interested in getting enough headlines so that the t-wolves would trade him. Another reason is that the guys he’s supposedly leading, like Wiggins and KAT, didn’t follow him. If anything, it just made the situation (for a team that made the playoffs last year) much worse.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Active NBA leaders in career 3fg% (minimum 150 attempts)

1. Quinn Cook .447
2. Stephen Curry .438
3. Seth Curry .434
4. Kyle Korver .431
5. (tie) Klay Thompson, Jayson Tatum .420

Nice job once again, Bob Myers (and Coach K, damn him). With Steph looking like he may be on the shelf for a week or two (and Livingston hurt, and Iguodala old), having a guy like Cook to step in is huge.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Yeah, I'm not imagining that .447 GOAT mark is sustainable, but I think the sample is probably big enough to start thinking of Cook as an elite shooter, given all the other indicators:

.437 3fg last year in the G-league (in 190 attempts, 6.6 per game, 28 usg)
.950 ft last year in the G-league (114-120!!!)
.395 3fg (258 attempts) and .891 ft (110 attempts) his last year at Duke

Post Jarrett Jack, the Myers-era Warriors have typically shied away from having a "Steph lite" on the roster, in favor of 6'-7" point forwards like Andre and Shaun who can back Steph up but also play alongside him without compromising the D. With Steph potentially getting a bit more fragile as he enters his 30s, and Andre and Shaun getting old (and Shaun a likely luxury tax casualty next Summer), I think the shooting and overall play of Cook has made them rethink that approach. He came up huge for them in the last 25-30 games last season when Steph went down with the MCL, and so far this year seems to be picking up right where he left off (20.3 pts per 36 on .639 true shooting in his 110 minutes).

Obviously he gives away a ton on D relative to Andre and Shaun (presumably why Kerr played him so sparingly in last year's playoffs) but he brings floor spacing on O that those guys lack, allowing them to play a Steph-like offense when Steph sits. Kerr doesn't like to stagger Steph and KD's minutes too much, and the Ws have had serious offensive issues with "Klay-as-primary-option" units they run out when they sit. Cook (along with that DeMarcus guy, when/if he gets healthy) helps fill that gap.

Anyway, blah blah. Fwiw, here's #7-10 in career 3fg% among active players:

7. Morrow .417
8. Kennard .416
9. Hield .415
10. Redick .414

Four Warriors and five Dookies in the Top 10.
 
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HomeRunBaker

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Maybe but Cook has 152 3PA. That is too small a sample to tell you much of anything.
It has been consistent each of his first 3 years in the league though which indicates that this isn't a "streak" while everything about Cook's mechanics are pretty much flawless. 152 is plenty of attempts for a shooter imo....this isn't baseball where you have "luck" on balls in play. Will he remain at 44%? I'll say I'm pretty confident that in his current role on this particular Warrior team he's going to stay out of the 30's.
 

JCizzle

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It's the curse of Melo. Really happy that the Thunder were able to unload him and get Dennis Schroeder.
Even the recent version of Rozier is cringing at his line. 2 points on 1/11 and a solid team high -22
 

HomeRunBaker

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Even the recent version of Rozier is cringing at his line. 2 points on 1/11 and a solid team high -22
The one basket he scored didn't even go through the hoop.....it was credited due to goaltending. So much for Melo's "return home" to OKC.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Curry is undefeated against MRIs.
Shhhhhhhh! Jesus, lolz.

Fwiw, I'm not sure the "Grade 2 MCL / 5-6 weeks" he got from from JaVale's noggin late last season really counts as a victory for Steph, though I'll allow that the timing worked out better than it could have (he missed the creaky Spurs but came back just in time for the tougher Pels and much tougher Rockets).

Also, the Ws probably win in '16 if not for the Grade 1 MCL strain he sustained slipping on Donatas Motiejunas' sweat, although that alt reality probably doesn't end with Durant coming to the Bay, so I guess you could also call that a qualified win for Steph and the Evil Empire in general.

The undefeated, undisputed World Champ when it comes to avoiding injury remains the inhuman King James. I'd actually say his insane durability is his strongest case for "Best Player in the World" these days, since most stats (traditional and especially advanced) have started to suggest otherwise. The best ability is availability, as they say.
 

lovegtm

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It's parity. If you don't mentally arrive prepared to play in this league right now you're going to get smoked.

Or is it parody?
This. I don't think people have internalized just how high talent levels are in the league right now. It's pretty incredible, and it means that even mediocre teams have to be taken seriously.
 

JCizzle

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I know we almost just lost to the Suns, BUT the wizards losing to the magic seems like alarms should be going off in DC.
 

Kliq

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He had an awesome game, but that foul call on Zeller that Embiid drew to tie the game in regulation was some of the softest BS you'll see all year. Zeller pulls the chair on him trying to post up, Embiid falls on his ass, and Zeller gets whistled.
 

HomeRunBaker

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He had an awesome game, but that foul call on Zeller that Embiid drew to tie the game in regulation was some of the softest BS you'll see all year. Zeller pulls the chair on him trying to post up, Embiid falls on his ass, and Zeller gets whistled.
That was such a good play by Zeller and whistling him for his 6th foul there was a sin. The other blatant miss in that game was Malik Monk penetrating out of control twisting under the basket and getting the call this time against Embiid when replay showed literally zero contact. This is such a tough sport to officiate that we take correct calls for granted they we even need replays at home to confirm but those were two really really bad misses in that game.
 

HomeRunBaker

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De'Aaron Fox is becoming the poster child for what The Sophomore Leap looks like. It's a beautiful thing to watch a young point guard have the game slow down for him right before your very eyes.
 

Montana Fan

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Yeah, Sac might be for real. At least 30+ win real. Meanwhile, our former pick provider, the Nets, have barreled out to a 6-6 start which is good enough for 8th in the east. Marks has put together a solid roster and Atkinson has them playing like they can win every game. They lost to the W's in the last week and even that game was a victory of sorts as it was in doubt until the final minutes. The Nets fought hard. Add the right player or two and they'll be a real tough team to play. How about Caris Levert? He's taking a leap too. No fear and a lot of confidence in himself.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I'm trying not to put too much stock into the first 10-15 games of the year, but how good does Portland look right now? 9-3 with a point margin of 10.0. No one is really playing out of their minds either. The one difference this year looks to be Zach Collins, who's improved a bit from last year.
 

BigSoxFan

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De'Aaron Fox is becoming the poster child for what The Sophomore Leap looks like. It's a beautiful thing to watch a young point guard have the game slow down for him right before your very eyes.
It’s not beautiful at all! I want that high lotto pick and now it’s looking dubious. Let Fox have his Junior Leap.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Looking around the league and it looks like a few players have added the 3 point shot or are shooting it at a much better clip this year. Among the most interesting are Julius Randle and TJ Warren. Others include John Henson and Aron Baynes. Anyone have a few other examples? Randle with a 3 point shot is a very, very good player. He's having a great year so far. He's averaging 17.6, 7.3, 2.3 on .569/.350/.700 shooting in 24.1 minutes a game. Warren with a 3 point shot may land him back in the starting lineup again.

Also, DeAndre Jordan is currently 37/44, .844 from the FT line. He shot a career high .580 last year and his career FT% is .451. He has only shot over 50% one other time, back in 11-12. I doubt that sticks but if it did... makes what Andre Drummond did last year look pedestrian.
 

BigSoxFan

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Looking around the league and it looks like a few players have added the 3 point shot or are shooting it at a much better clip this year. Among the most interesting are Julius Randle and TJ Warren. Others include John Henson and Aron Baynes. Anyone have a few other examples?
Fultz has gone from a 0% to a 31% 3PT shooter...

(Sorry, couldn’t resist)
 

Cesar Crespo

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Fultz has gone from a 0% to a 31% 3PT shooter...

(Sorry, couldn’t resist)
It's probably too early to tell who's actually improved anyway, but added volume is a good indicator. Whether Smith Jr, Fox, Ball etc. have made great improvements or it's just SSS is anyone's guess. Randle going from 0.6 attempts to 1.8 attempts a game or John Henson already taking 24 3s in 11 games this year after taking only 13 in his first 391 tells us something.

If you consider this Fultz rookie year, his shooting % aren't that far off from a few guys last year and they've all made considerable jumps in the early going. It doesn't mean Fultz will, but maybe there's hope.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Cook's having a pretty good game in Curry's place so far. 7/7 from the field, 3/3 from 3, 2/2 from the line. 19 points in 13 minutes. 3 rebounds and 3 boards too. 3 minutes and change left in the 2nd quarter.