2016-2017 NBA Game Thread
- Thread starter Kliq
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That shitball game has been on the schedule for a while now. Logistically it would have been hard to have them change everything on, say, Monday morning.
Heh, I read this just after watching him miss threes on three straight possessions. Law of averages!
NO is getting smoked but Cousins is putting up quite the line. 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 1 TO and 3 PF at half time.
Draymond is ridiculous. The league needs to start getting serious about cracking down on nonsense like this.
SAC up 17 on DEN. WCS has a 19 point first half. Wouldn't it be funny if SAC ended up making the playoffs this year?
And how 'bout this move?
And how 'bout this move?
Pelicans lose by 30 and the liberated Kings are smoking the Nuggets. WCS and Hield both looking very good and even Skal has gotten into the act.
It's an involuntary action! I hate when people talk about how Green is some sort of cerebral basketball genius. The guy got suspended during the finals for punching LeBron in the nuts and he hasn't learned a damn thing. He's a fucking idiot.
Dude probably literally cost his teammates a championship. As long as his defenders are cool with that, so am I.
Contrary to Kliqs wholly inaccurate representation, Green did not "punch" LeBron in his nuts.
And while I do not defend/condine Greens kicking or nut tapping antics and agree that it helped to cost the Warriors a ring last season, the reality is that they never sniff a ring without the guy. He isnt a cerebral genius but the guy is the heart and soul of the team.
I get why people hate him though - I would take him on my team, warts and all.
As for the Pierce stuff, PP is a legend to me but he called the Warriors chokers in public before the season began so its only natural to expect a response. And Green is the guy from Golden State to deliver the message.
And while I do not defend/condine Greens kicking or nut tapping antics and agree that it helped to cost the Warriors a ring last season, the reality is that they never sniff a ring without the guy. He isnt a cerebral genius but the guy is the heart and soul of the team.
I get why people hate him though - I would take him on my team, warts and all.
As for the Pierce stuff, PP is a legend to me but he called the Warriors chokers in public before the season began so its only natural to expect a response. And Green is the guy from Golden State to deliver the message.
I mean, Draymond is a very cerebral player (not sure about genius) who also has a burning fire to win that sometimes rages out of control. Those things are not mutually exclusive. As long as we're on analogies, this one has always worked for me:
Draymond : Griffin :: Rodman: KMalone
Draymond : Griffin :: Rodman: KMalone
What did he exactly do then? Get his fist dangerously close to LeBron's scrotum? The fact is he did something out of rage or whatever that cost his team big time and he is still performing similar actions. He's a dumbass.
(I hate that this wedge issue has disrupted our typical harmonious relationship).
He clearly slapped or more accurately flick at LeBron after the step over (see the video SRN posted upthread). And it was a stupid, emotional reaction that proved very costly. As such, I get the view that he is a dumbass. And we are good from my side - I am fine with your take here from the overall perspective.
My view on Green and his emotions is that the good that comes from them outweighs the bad. Last night's game is case in point. With the Warriors struggling to climb back in to the game in the third, Green tried to take a charge from Griffin. The refs called for blocking (the right call) but Draymond protested, got T'd up and ended up being dragged back to the bench where even he and Kerr got into it. But then Oracle went nuts, KD (who appears to love playing with Green even when Draymond is annoying him) caught fire and then Curry started to feed off the energy as well, going nuclear in the process . The result was an emotionally fueled rally that resulted in 50 points for the quarter . Green didn't score those points but his agitation clearly woke his teammates up.
This has a downside, of course. But if you watch this team, the guy does all the little stuff that makes it possible for Thompson, Durant and Curry etc to play up to their potential. He is also their protector, annoying little brother and the heart on the team's sleeve, which can sometimes backfire . However, imho, this current Warriors squad would be much weaker without him and they simply do not win two years ago without him.
Yeah and look at this:
My white whale has passed beyond the horizon.
edit: can the Nuggets really play Jokic and Jamaal Murray together on a regular basis?
I can see the ref missing the kd one he started to put the ball down then just kept it in one hand.
I cannot believe people are pissing and moaning over PJ Tucker. He is a damn 31 year old pro-basketball journeyman. He has some useful skills but if you think he is going to average nine points and ten boards per 29 minutes from here on out, I need to familiarize you with his B-Ref page. Those are a touch above his averages per 36 minutes. The guy is a good energy bench player who had a good game.
He shoots a few percentage points more from three than Marcus Smart and even Jaylen Brown. Are you ok to give him their minutes? What about Crowder? You want Tucker to take his minutes?
Every second James Young was on the floor tonight I would rather have had Tucker take those minutes. And Tucker looked like a team leader already, I would like what he showed on the bench on this team.
But why would you give up real assets for 12 minutes in a February game where a starter is injured? If the Celtics are healthy Tucker would barely play in the regular season, when they go to an 8 man rotation in the playoffs he'd waive a towel. There is no reason to give up anything for a guy who won't play in the playoffs for a team whose ceiling is ECF appearance. GMs who make decisions like that quickly become "former GM".
Edit- and if they're not healthy then the team's ceiling is even lower and you give more playoff minutes to Brown for development not to a below average vet who won't be on the team the next year.
James Young was not on the floor last night because Brad made winning the game a priority; he was on the floor to try to be developed after some nice games pre-break. I mean one thing we think he can do is shoot and one thing we can hope he can do is score.
I would like to see Brown and Young play together more with IT just to see if that gives IT more options.
This is as accurate as it gets. The fact that Young is getting minutes is a sure sign that Brad and Danny are still in building mode and view any winning as secondary or simply as part of avoiding a losing culture for the kids.
I'm guessing that because Young hasn't demonstrated a consistent ability in the pros defenders would sag off Young to double Thomas. Young would be dared to prove it which in the end could be his sink or swim moment. It would be interesting though.
I didn't get to watch last night's game, but he's played good ball in the ones I have. He's played within himself on offense (something Gerald Green cannot do) and some pretty good defense. PJ Tucker is a good player, but he wasn't going to make this team ECF favorites or anything. I don't know that that was going to happen regardless.
Tucker cost the Raptors two 2nd round picks. The value Tucker brought to the table last night was very visible.
Two second round picks to keep that from the Raptors when they are going to be in the way of the Celts getting to the ECF probably, yes, I value that more than James Young getting a little seasoning. And I think the organization would as well, they have all but given up on Young by not picking up his option next year.
Whoever above said winning is not a priority to Brad, Danny, the players, and the organization should stick with dynasty fantasy sports leagues.
Two second round picks to keep that from the Raptors when they are going to be in the way of the Celts getting to the ECF probably, yes, I value that more than James Young getting a little seasoning. And I think the organization would as well, they have all but given up on Young by not picking up his option next year.
Whoever above said winning is not a priority to Brad, Danny, the players, and the organization should stick with dynasty fantasy sports leagues.
I will go so far as to submit that were PJ Tucker on the Celtics last night, they may still have lost, even assuming the same usage. I could be wrong but after an initial, emotionally-fueled outing to impress his new squad, our oft-traveled 31 year old guy, who essentially made his career by playing overseas is going to wind up with numbers that resemble his career averages the rest of the way. This is not to say a guy who puts up seven points, six rebounds and one and a half assists per game off the bench wouldn't be useful for the Celtics. However I am fine with them looking for that in-house versus wasting picks that could be packaged for a difference maker in June.
As others have pointed out, given that the C's didn't land a difference maker at the deadline, a move like acquiring Tucker, whose value to them is very marginal, makes little sense.
No one said that winning isn't a priority.
But James Young was inserted with (IIRC) 6:08 left in 4Q. While we will never know, I'm pretty sure that the substitution pattern would have been different if this was a playoff game.
There's winning short-term and winning long-term. Giving James Young some crunch time minutes in February is helpful, even if the Cs didn't end up winning this game.
PJ Tucker isn't changing the outcome of the C's season.
Wait.... you wanted Danny to trade away 2 2nd rounders (and the salary match BTW which would have had to be Jerebko likely) so that THE RAPTOR'S WOULDN'T GET HIM? This is insane. He's a nothing player and there's a very good chance we won't even see the Raptors in the playoffs. Trading away assets to prevent another team from getting a mediocre bench player when neither of you is the best team in your conference is INCREDIBLY dumb.
There will probably be better players who are bought out of their contracts that will come to the Celtics than PJ Tucker. I'm not even sure what role PJ Tucker would play on this team. He'd probably just end up taking time away from Jaylen Brown and Crowder. Crowder is the better basketball player and I don't think it would shock anyone if Jaylen Brown ends up better than PJ Tucker when April roles around. Jaylen Brown is someone we should be giving minutes to even if it means losing a game or two because it could play dividends as soon as this year and definitely next season.
PJ wouldn't be taking minutes from James Young. James Young doesn't get playing time and with the little burn he has gotten recently, he's at least shown an ability to shoot and score. Something the bench could use but doesn't necessarily need because Rozier and Smart aren't reliable 3 point shooters (of course neither is James Young outside of his SSS this year). I guess PJ Tucker could be that guy to replace James Young because he is a proven entity, but much like James Young... he isn't going to make any real type of impact. At least with James Young it's conceivable his shot is real and that he is still improving. I guess if you think Avery Bradley is out for the year it could make sense.
PJ wouldn't be taking minutes from James Young. James Young doesn't get playing time and with the little burn he has gotten recently, he's at least shown an ability to shoot and score. Something the bench could use but doesn't necessarily need because Rozier and Smart aren't reliable 3 point shooters (of course neither is James Young outside of his SSS this year). I guess PJ Tucker could be that guy to replace James Young because he is a proven entity, but much like James Young... he isn't going to make any real type of impact. At least with James Young it's conceivable his shot is real and that he is still improving. I guess if you think Avery Bradley is out for the year it could make sense.
I would have been happy getting rid of JJ for him because Tucker would immediately become the celtics best rebounder. Which is sad. But, the lack of rebounding and his terrific defense showed last night.
Dario Saric continues to put up monster numbers. 4 straight double doubles but he's been really good the last 16 games. Euro bigs, everywhere. Even Nurkik is starting to do well in Portland, turnovers be damned. Can't wait to see Zizic.
Saric is absolutely legit. An Embiid/Saric/Simmons frontcourt is going to be so dynamic if those injuries could ever heal. And there are plenty of quality guards in this draft for Philly to choose from.
N.O. may suck the rest of this year but if they add some shooting and depth in the offseason, they are going to look completely different. Someone like Avery Bradley would be amazing in NO. Right now, it's just a 3 man team.
This is amazing. It's the stats basketball nerd wet dream.
Rockets shot chart vs. Pelicans