2015-2016 NBA Game Thread

bowiac

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Whiteside would go alongside Kevin Love perfectly, wouldn't he?
Whiteside's issues go beyond merely spacing problems created by a limited offensive game. He's paired next to Chris Bosh already, and the Heat mostly don't think Whiteside can see the court in the 4th quarter. I think it's more complicated than surrounding him with shooters.
 

jon abbey

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POR at HOU in an afternoon game today, 2 minutes left in the 3rd right now. All of the Rockets not named Harden or Howard have combined for a whopping 7 points so far on 3-26 shooting, POR is up 74-50.
 

AMS25

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Holland on the Plains
POR at HOU in an afternoon game today, 2 minutes left in the 3rd right now. All of the Rockets not named Harden or Howard have combined for a whopping 7 points so far on 3-26 shooting, POR is up 74-50.
Not so unusual for the Rockets this year. They have their good games, and then...games like this.
 

jon abbey

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That one was an exceptional dud even in this sleepwalking season for them, Harden with a career high 10 turnovers. Somewhere Kevin McHale is laughing.
 

Kliq

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Steven Adams is everywhere in this first quarter, he looks great and his mustache game is on point.

Westbrook and Green are those two guys that get in a fight and just yell at each other at the top of their lungs at the same time and nobody has any idea what they are saying but you know shit is serious.
 

ElUno20

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Steven Adams is everywhere in this first quarter, he looks great and his mustache game is on point.

Westbrook and Green are those two guys that get in a fight and just yell at each other at the top of their lungs at the same time and nobody has any idea what they are saying but you know shit is serious.
I came in to post something similar. I'd love to see them in a 7 game series. Over/under on combined techs for them would have to start at 5.
 

Kliq

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The only bad part of this game is that Mark Jackson is here.
 

Kliq

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Westbrook and Durant need to be on the court as much as possible. OKCs bench is being filleted right now.
 

sox311

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That's what she said.
This game is probably helping to solidify Durant's decision this summer.
If you mean sign a one year deal with a second year player option, then sure, but I doubt he is thinking that in the huddle.

And the Warriors are thinking of next year already instead of trying to go back to back and possibly win 73 games, wait, they aren't that was just clickbait...
 

Kliq

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I think OKC did a good job defending Curry, their bigs are rangy enough and confident enough to jump right out and bother him on pick-and-rolls. The problem is they are tanking everywhere else on defense, getting blasted in transition and playing lazy defense, as JVG was pointing out, allowing straight paths to the rim. On offense they are fine, on pace to score 118 points against a good defensive team, but they need to really step up their defense.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Dubs 5-21 from 3... hanging to an 8 point lead midway through the 4th. Giving OKC every chance, but doing just enough to hold them at bay for the time being.
 

Kliq

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Game is getting good now that OKC has erased an 18 point lead. OKC has played great defense and Durant is headed towards 40.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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If you want the Warriors achilles heel, its their free-throwing. Its pretty abysmal. They are 22nd in the league.
 

Kliq

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Any team looking on ways to defend Curry should be watching this game. OKC is doing a great job switching their big men right onto Curry and denying good looks at the basket.
 

Kliq

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Difference is obvious, everyone on GS was making big plays down the stretch, OKC only had two guys really working on both ends.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Difference is obvious, everyone on GS was making big plays down the stretch, OKC only had two guys really working on both ends.
And that has been the problem with the Thunder all along. Durant and Westbrook are otherworldly but beyond that, they aren't very deep. Ibaka is good, Adams is decent and Kanter is a beast on the boards. But the rest of that roster is mediocre. Dion Waiters...ugh.
 

chilidawg

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Ibaka with a very minimal impact 8 points/3 rebounds, 0 steals/assists/blocks. His RPM has dropped to -.39, 43rd among power forwards. He was 6th last year. Got to get more out of him or they're going to have a short playoff run.
 

mauf

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Does the NBA have any sort of tampering rules? Because Magic Johnson is openly recruiting KD on ESPN as I type this. I recognize that Magic divested his stake in the Lakers (I think) when he bought the Dodgers, but these thinly veiled shenanigans wouldn't be tolerated in MLB or the NFL (Revis was bad, but at least the season was over).
 

sox311

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That's what she said.
Does the NBA have any sort of tampering rules? Because Magic Johnson is openly recruiting KD on ESPN as I type this. I recognize that Magic divested his stake in the Lakers (I think) when he bought the Dodgers, but these thinly veiled shenanigans wouldn't be tolerated in MLB or the NFL (Revis was bad, but at least the season was over).

Weren't the Raptors fined when Drake attempted to "recruit" KD to Toronto?

(Yes - http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11338909/toronto-raptors-fined-25000-drake-concert-comments)


What was Magic saying?
 

BigSoxFan

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Marc Gasol may be out for season with broken foot. No good for our Mavs pick position.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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It really sucks that two years ago Ainge had his choice of freshman lefties from big-time programs with similar profiles and took the wrong one.
 

DannyDarwinism

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It really sucks that two years ago Ainge had his choice of freshman lefties from big-time programs with similar profiles and took the wrong one.
Hood? He was a sophomore after transferring from Miss. St. then sitting out a year. He's nearly three years older than Young, but yeah, he'd look better in green for sure.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Hood? He was a sophomore after transferring from Miss. St. then sitting out a year. He's nearly three years older than Young, but yeah, he'd look better in green for sure.
Right right, I knew he was much older than Young but forgot about the transfer (those rules suck by the way, having to take a full season off). Regardless, Young has given no indication that he'll be anything more than a semi-intriguing sweetener in some trade down the line.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Dubs tied going in to the 4th at home. Bogut big, Barnes stepping up, 10 point lead mid-way through the final period. Fun to watch a team of smart players who know their ability (and helps that ability is pretty damn good).
 

Kliq

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After getting off to a slow start, Utah just won it's seventh game in a row on a buzzer beater by Gordon Hayward. Utah is now 26-25 and has moved into the eighth seed in the West, all without a real point guard.
 

Cellar-Door

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Some year I want the WNBA player to actually try. It would be interesting to see how many Delle Donne could score. I'd put it anywhere between 60 and 100.
 

Kliq

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I'm coming to accept that I have a massive crush on Della Done. Damn my kids would be so good at basketball.
 

Kliq

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Butler was about to plug Bernie in his acceptance speech and Sage Steele yanked the mic right from him.
 

Kliq

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Not sure where to dump this so I'll rant a little bit here.

ESPN released their atrocious list of the Top 100 NBA Players of All-Time, which has sparked numerous debates online. My main concern is that people of my ilk (young people) are more upset about Kobe being out of the top 10 and LeBron being number 3. The real travesty here is that Bill Russell is ranked 7th (behind Bird, Wilt!, Magic, LeBron, Kareem and Jordan). Do people not think that Russell is a top three player of all-time? I have heard almost nobody complain about his placement on the list, only about Kobe and LeBron being too high. It is all subjective of course, but it saddens me to think that in 30 or 40 years (or sooner) Russell may end up being all but forgotten by a majority of NBA fans. There isn't a ton of video tape of him compared to other players and his offensive game never got him into any record books, except ones concerned with winning, it seems like he is really starting to fade. I hope I'm wrong, but just a month or so ago Zach Lowe had David Thorpe on his podcast and Thorpe said Russell wasn't in his Top Ten of all-time because he didn't shoot 45 percent from the field, a statement that is so ignorant to basketball history and Russell's career that I get mad just bringing it up. And this is coming from a guy who is supposedly intelligent about the game.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I think the NBA has been around long enough for every player on a top 10 list to be mostly interchangeable.
 

Kliq

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Klay with a dramatic come from behind victory in the Three Point contest to edge out Curry 27-23, Klay nailed all five of his money balls in the final rack to win it.
 

Kliq

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Aaron Gordon just did a between the legs dunk after grabbing the ball off of the head of a mascot on a hoverboard and then Zack LaVine caught an alley-oop from the free throw line.
 

Kliq

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Aaron Gordon did a dunk where his entire body was at rim level.
 

Erik Hanson's Hook

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I'm not old enough to remember the Jordan/'Nique battles, but that was the best dunk contest I've seen in my lifetime. That Mascot/underneath-both-legs dunk was ridiculous.

The JR Rider / Kobe-rookie-year / Vince Carter ones were exciting, but only because of one guy that was blowing away the competition. This was two guys going at it and upping their games with each one.

Pretty good All-Star Skills night, for a change.
 

Just a bit outside

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I'm not old enough to remember the Jordan/'Nique battles, but that was the best dunk contest I've seen in my lifetime. That Mascot/underneath-both-legs dunk was ridiculous.

The JR Rider / Kobe-rookie-year / Vince Carter ones were exciting, but only because of one guy. This was two guys.

Pretty good All-Star Skills night, for a change.
I'm old enough and that was the comparison I made for my kids. I think these guys were better.
 

Kliq

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These guys are better but only because the art of the dunk has been evolving over the last thirty years. Each year requires more creativity to up the ante, most of the time they don't deliver but when they do you get some awesome jams.