2018 NBA Game Thread

Big John

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If you watched Q3, you'd have seen that Embiid didn't have last night. He was missing layups, missing passes, spent an unusual fraction of Q4 on the bench.

Butler actually made some nice plays. Stopped the ball a few too many times in the last few minutes, though, which cost them the game. But he was also a big reason for the comeback and having the (fleeting) lead.
Bagley hit a shot over Simmons to put the Kings up 1 with about 3 and a half minutes to go. Embiid had zero touches after that. Meanwhile, Schumpert was defending Butler well. Butler hit one contested trey but missed every other time.

Maybe the answer is that if Embiid wants to be a big-time player he has to step up and demand the ball. As Auerbach was so fond of saying, great players rise to the occasion.
 

Kliq

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John Wall slipped at home, ruptured his Achilles, and is now out for 12 months. It cannot be stressed enough how bad his contract is:

 

cheech13

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Do the Wizards at least think about trading Beal or Porter now? I know Leonsis supposedly doesn't want to touch his "big 3" (lol) but that team isn't going anywhere with an injured Wall sucking up all their cap space.
 

ifmanis5

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He also had an infection from his last surgery (Kyrie had this issue)...

Rachel Nichols‏Verified account @Rachel__Nichols 12m12 minutes ago
Wizards announce John Wall slipped & fell at home, rupturing his Achilles (same injury as former Kentucky teammate Boogie Cousins). Will need surgery and will be out another 12 months. Wizards also say Wall had developed an infection from another, initial surgery last month.

FYI, his salary...
Tommy Beer‏Verified account @TommyBeer 14m14 minutes ago
John Wall's annual salary over the next four years, starting next season: 2019-20: $38.2 million 2020-21: $41.2 million 2021-22: $44.3 million 2022-23: $47.3 million yikes.
 

HomeRunBaker

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John Wall slipped at home, ruptured his Achilles, and is now out for 12 months. It cannot be stressed enough how bad his contract is:


"Slipped at home" is usually code for, "Oh shit I fvcked up by doing something that my contract did not allow."

The Wizards save a shit ton of money here with insurance paying out 80% of his contract after a 41-game deductible. The timing could have been better (like first week of season) but this is the best thing that could have happened to them since he was untradeable anyway.
 
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wade boggs chicken dinner

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"Slipped at home" is usually code for, "Oh shit I fvcked up by doing something that my contract did not allow."

The Wizards save a shit ton of money here with insurance paying out this contract now. Best thing that could have happened to them since he was untradeable anyway.
Would be very 'Zard-ish to get caught in insurance fraud . . . .
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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"Slipped at home" and got a triple double...recovery time that is.

Its staggering to think that John may be the most uneconomical Wall deal in Washington these days.
 

cheech13

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So adding the Super Max extension in the last CBA definitely seems like it's working out well for everybody.

Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Demarcus Cousins: traded before it could be offered
Hayward: left in FA before it could be offered
Wall: hurt/disaster
Kawhi: turned it down, traded
AD: turned down, will be traded
Westbrook: ok now/potential disaster

About the only place it really worked was with Harden. So yeah.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory

While Memphis has most seriously continued dialogue with Utah and Detroit on Mike Conley trade packages, the Raptors called Memphis offering Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas for Conley and Marc Gasol, per league sources. Lowry is aware of Toronto’s general trade discussions.
 

Sam Ray Not

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John Wall slipped at home, ruptured his Achilles, and is now out for 12 months. It cannot be stressed enough how bad his contract is:

Ugh, horrible news for Wall (even if the "slipped at home" thing is a ruse). I'd say he could look to his close friend DeMarcus for Achilles rehab inspiration, but Wall's game is so much more dependent on speed and explosive athleticism than Boogie's. Talk about a situation going from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, not to sound like a shill for management, but does Anthony Davis look at the ~$160M guaranteed the Wizards are now on the hook for with Wall and feel even a slight pang of guilt for gratuitously blowing off the last year and a half of the $150M extension he signed with the Pelicans — an organization and fanbase that has by all accounts have given him nothing but love and respect — because, you know, he just kinda sorta feels like playing for another team?

I'm all for player empowerment, but it doesn't quite seem sporting for one side of a contract to be held to paying every last cent of ~$200,000,000 for (potentially) zero services rendered, while the other side can just do whatever the heck he wants, whenever he feels like it.
 
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Cesar Crespo

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A Murray+ package? That would get me excited as a Nuggets' fan.
Yeah, as much as I love Murray, his best possible outcome is probably Bradley Beal. I'm not sure if they can make the contracts work unless Harris or Millsap is involved. Washington might go for Millsap since he's off the books at the end of the season.

Millsap+Murray+Beasley for Beal and Morris? I don't know if that's enough. It's hard to tell what a guy like Beasley is worth.
 

Kliq

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Murray is just shy of 22, averaging 18-4-5 and is shooting 36 percent from outside. Murray has one more year on his contract following this season for $4 million.

Beal will be 26 in June and is averaging 24-5-5 and is shooting 35 percent from outside. Beal has two more years on his contract following this season for $55 million.

So Beal is a better player right now; but I think Murray is a better player long-term and if I'm Denver I'm playing the long game, especially with Durant still in GS. With Beal you get an additional year of control, but with Murray you get a cheap year next year, and then you'd probably sign him to a contract similar to the one Beal signed in 2016 (5 years, 127 million).

I'd add that Murray is playing really well on a very good team that seems to have a lot of chemistry among its young core. Beal is playing really well for a team that isn't very good; and while it's easy to put everything on John Wall, I'm not sold on Beal being a great clubhouse guy either.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Beasley over his last 31 games: 27.4 mpg, .521/.455/.879, 14.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals
Beasley over his last 22 games: 28.9 mpg, .549/.474/.885, 16.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals
Beasley over his last 13 games: 29.3 mpg, .589/.525/.824, 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and that includes a 0 point 6 minute night. Take that game out and he's at 19.8 points.

Dude can score anyway and he's about a month younger than Jaylen Brown.
 

the moops

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So adding the Super Max extension in the last CBA definitely seems like it's working out well for everybody.

Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Demarcus Cousins: traded before it could be offered
Hayward: left in FA before it could be offered
Wall: hurt/disaster
Kawhi: turned it down, traded
AD: turned down, will be traded
Westbrook: ok now/potential disaster

About the only place it really worked was with Harden. So yeah.
Forgot Steph
 

lovegtm

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So adding the Super Max extension in the last CBA definitely seems like it's working out well for everybody.

Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Demarcus Cousins: traded before it could be offered
Hayward: left in FA before it could be offered
Wall: hurt/disaster
Kawhi: turned it down, traded
AD: turned down, will be traded
Westbrook: ok now/potential disaster

About the only place it really worked was with Harden. So yeah.
Only quibble is that Hayward wasn't eligible for it because he didn't make All-NBA (iirc). That was a big factor in the Celtics' being able to compete for him. But yeah, the supermax hasn't worked as intended at all.
 

cheech13

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Only quibble is that Hayward wasn't eligible for it because he didn't make All-NBA (iirc). That was a big factor in the Celtics' being able to compete for him. But yeah, the supermax hasn't worked as intended at all.
Yes, he left as a free agent before he became eligible. Had he opted in for the final year in Utah and then made All-NBA he would have been eligible. Lots of ifs in that equation, but point being it wasn't enough of a carrot for him to try to stay in Utah.
 

Big John

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So much for the Pacers folding up their tents when Oladipo went down. Nate McMillan was my pick for coach of the year last year, and he's doing a hell of a job again this year (although Budenholzer is probably the front runner)
 

Deathofthebambino

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Lakers are now down 46 to the Pacers.

If the Lakers don't end up getting a deal done, how the fuck do Kuzma/Ball/Ingram and the rest of them motivate themselves to play with Lebron knowing that it was him that was doing everything he could to run each of them out of town.
 

lovegtm

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Lakers are now down 46 to the Pacers.

If the Lakers don't end up getting a deal done, how the fuck do Kuzma/Ball/Ingram and the rest of them motivate themselves to play with Lebron knowing that it was him that was doing everything he could to run each of them out of town.
Yeah, if he doesn't get AD, he's staring down another 1.5 years with this group, and maybe a 2nd-tier star in FA.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The 76ers need shooting help STAT. If Redick gets hurt, they are really hosed with floor spacing, even with Shamet emerging. Like last year, I fully expect them to be picking up every shooter on the buyout market.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Memphis up 12 at home against the Wolves.

People have changed my mind on that pick. It's going to be close.
 

Deathofthebambino

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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I've reached the point where if I was forced to take one guy on my team, I'd take Brandon Ingram over Andrew Wiggins. My God, the regression of Andrew Wiggins has been something to see.
 

Cellar-Door

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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I've reached the point where if I was forced to take one guy on my team, I'd take Brandon Ingram over Andrew Wiggins. My God, the regression of Andrew Wiggins has been something to see.
I mean that's an easy choice you only are locked into one fairly cheap year after this one, vs a terrible max.
Has he regressed or has he just not improved at all?
By many metrics he's having the worst season of his career so you could make the case for regression.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Ugh, horrible news for Wall (even if the "slipped at home" thing is a ruse). I'd say he could look to his close friend DeMarcus for Achilles rehab inspiration, but Wall's game is so much more dependent on speed and explosive athleticism than Boogie's. Talk about a situation going from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, not to sound like a shill for management, but does Anthony Davis look at the ~$160M guaranteed the Wizards are now on the hook for with Wall and feel even a slight pang of guilt for gratuitously blowing off the last year and a half of the $150M extension he signed with the Pelicans — an organization and fanbase that has by all accounts have given him nothing but love and respect — because, you know, he just kinda sorta feels like playing for another team?

I'm all for player empowerment, but it doesn't quite seem sporting for one side of a contract to be held to paying every last cent of ~$200,000,000 for (potentially) zero services rendered, while the other side can just do whatever the heck he wants, whenever he feels like it.
Anthony Davis sold his soul the day he signed on with Klutch. He’s clearly given Paul the trust and autonomy to handle his situation how he feels best. Nothing that has happened in the past week or moving forward is coming directly from AD.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Anthony Davis sold his soul the day he signed on with Klutch. He’s clearly given Paul LeBron James the trust and autonomy to handle his situation how he feels best. Nothing that has happened in the past week or moving forward is coming directly from AD.
Fixed that for you...
 

Deathofthebambino

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I mean that's an easy choice you only are locked into one fairly cheap year after this one, vs a terrible max.
Yeah, I wasn't even thinking about it from a contract/financial standpoint. I'm just talking about who actually is the better basketball player going forward. I always viewed Wiggins as the guy with an unlimited ceiling, and a can't miss talent, whereas Ingram had the higher floor, but I never though he'd be top 15-20 guy in the league. Wiggins' fall from grace has been spectacular, at least relative to my expectations of him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The 76ers need shooting help STAT. If Redick gets hurt, they are really hosed with floor spacing, even with Shamet emerging. Like last year, I fully expect them to be picking up every shooter on the buyout market.
Wes Matthews was made for that team.

In other news, Jake Layman has been showing he’s going to be a real solid NBA player but tonight was his national coming out party.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Wes Matthews was made for that team.

In other news, Jake Layman has been showing he’s going to be a real solid NBA player but tonight was his national coming out party.
And right on queue, Dirty Wade dives on him on the floor trying to secure a loose ball.
 

Kliq

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Watching the Lakers/Pacers highlights; what a display by the Pacers. Just everyone moving the ball, setting screens and moving without the basketball. Coaches should be showing those highlights to their players; it was an amazing performance of unselfish, team basketball.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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That is fantastic even if its not what it seems
Was wondering what you meant so I looked into it.

LBJ apparently sits in the same seat every time because it is either a special seat or has a special cushion (or both) for his back. It's always the last one.

He generally sits next to Wagner/Svi but they were in the game due to junk time.

People have asked why Rondo didn't sit in one of these seats when he came out; apparently he also has a special cushion so the seat in which he is sitting was the one with his cushion.

Rob Perez found the last bit with a video here: