2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread

Cesar Crespo

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Minus Gobert? yeah, UT is really bad.
Hopefully they can win a few games without him. Probably headed to a 6-10 record and Gobert is likely going to miss 12-20 more games.

Pacers pull off the comeback. Wiz down 3 with 12 seconds left. Is it just me or are there a lot of 15+ point leads being blown this year?

edit: Wiz lose by 2, had a chance to tie it on a Beal jumper at the top of the key with 2 seconds left but he missed.
 
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Gash Prex

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Cavs in current meltdown mode - leaving wide open 3s just about every possession and frustration evident. Knowing the Cavs they will put together some huge 4th quarter

Edit: or the 3rd quarter
 
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Cesar Crespo

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People have been so focused on Drummond's improved FT shooting that no one has noticed his assist rate is more than double his career high, and more than 3 times his career average.

And just like that, the Cavs are back in the game.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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People have been so focused on Drummond's improved FT shooting that no one has noticed his assist rate is more than double his career high, and more than 3 times his career average.

And just like that, the Cavs are back in the game.
Tied. There is a point at which we have to acknowledge that Cleveland just isn't playing all out every game.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Third matchup of the year already between the Lakers and the Suns, that's a weird scheduling quirk; still waiting for the first match with Sacramento for a Ball/Fox rematch.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Hornets lose to the Bulls and drop 6 straight. They are now 5-9. They've had a pretty tough schedule to date though which makes losing to the Bulls worse.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Nuggets up 35-8 in the first quarter over the Pelicans. Altitude can do a lot of things......apparently including magnifying the Big Boogie Sulk.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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LeBron with a ~40% three point shot is scary. He's playing a ton of minutes though. One of these years Father Time is going to kick him right in the ass.
46 minutes tonight. I am not holding my breath on LeBron declining anytime soon but the increased minutes at his age certainly makes him more susceptible to injury at age 32.

As a side note, the guy is an absolute freak of nature to be able to play 15 seasons plus almost three more counting his playoff totals (and his average minutes during those games went up given how high leverage playoff games are) and almost never break down. Its pretty much unprecedented.
 

Rook05

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Is there are particular reason that teams are not wearing home whites anymore? Is this the start of the NHL-ification of the NBA?

#getoffmylawn
 

ElUno20

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The clippers continue to be lost in last 5 minutes of any close game. It's been that way for years, I wonder what the common denominator has been this whole time?
 

Cesar Crespo

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Suns outscore the Lakers 16-4 to close the 2nd quarter and take a 65-53 lead into the half. Booker is 8/13 and 6/9 from 3 for 22 points. Beat the Lakers.

New Orleans now down 8 at the half.

Sacramento is up 55-54 against Portland with 3:16 left in the 3rd quarter. UGLY game.
 

benhogan

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46 minutes tonight. I am not holding my breath on LeBron declining anytime soon but the increased minutes at his age certainly makes him more susceptible to injury at age 32.

As a side note, the guy is an absolute freak of nature to be able to play 15 seasons plus almost three more counting his playoff totals (and his average minutes during those games went up given how high leverage playoff games are) and almost never break down. Its pretty much unprecedented.
This isn't directed at Lebron, but when's the last time an NBA player tested positive for steroids?
 

benhogan

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Not necessarily steroids, but there's no way that LeBron and half the league isn't living better through chemistry.
Just when they were trying to sell us on a plant-based diet...the grind of an 82 game + playoff schedule would have to lead to some high-end PEDs. So Noah and a handful of bench players in the last 10 years. Yikes.

I don't want to rock the boat when my team is 14-2, but that's pathetic.
 

mt8thsw9th

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Big defensive effort by the Cavs tonight limiting the 107ppg Clippers to 105ppg in the first 48. Looks like they’re finally shaping up for their finals rematch. They’ll be scary once Thomas brings his lockdown game to the lineup.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Just when they were trying to sell us on a plant-based diet...the grind of an 82 game + playoff schedule would have to lead to some high-end PEDs. So Noah and a handful of bench players in the last 10 years. Yikes.

I don't want to rock the boat when my team is 14-2, but that's pathetic.
He's the 7th in the last 11 years?

edit: Nevermind, you edited your post. Rashard Lewis wasn't a bench player though, I don't think.

double edit: By that time, Rashard actually was a starter but on the decline. I didn't remember him being that deadly from 3 though. .386 for his career. 4625 attempts.
 

mt8thsw9th

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He's the 7th in the last 11 years?

edit: Nevermind, you edited your post. Rashard Lewis wasn't a bench player though, I don't think.

double edit: By that time, Rashard actually was a starter but on the decline.
Not entirely. He was 29, coming off an all star season, in which he had his highest WS/48 and BPM. At the time he was still very much considered in his prime. In hindsight, he did decline from there, but he was still considered a very good player at the time he got pinched.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Kings beat the Blazers. It was a really good night to be a Celtics fan. Detroit and Washington lose, Bulls, Nets, Kings win. Add in a Lakers loss and a Suns win, please.

And NO is down 23 again... Jamal Murry having another ridiculous night. 29 points on 12/15, 3/5, 2/2 shooting with a minute to play in the 3rd.
 

luckiestman

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Just when they were trying to sell us on a plant-based diet...the grind of an 82 game + playoff schedule would have to lead to some high-end PEDs. So Noah and a handful of bench players in the last 10 years. Yikes.

I don't want to rock the boat when my team is 14-2, but that's pathetic.

Why is it pathetic? I don't really care. These guys are rich enough that they are probably doing it in a healthy manner. It isn't like the NBA is MMA where you are trying to get roided up to beat someone down.

The vegan shit is very funny though. Vegan + straight test homie.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Davis left the game in the middle of the 3rd after a head to head collusion with Jokic. He's in concussion protocol now.
 

benhogan

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Why is it pathetic? I don't really care. These guys are rich enough that they are probably doing it in a healthy manner. It isn't like the NBA is MMA where you are trying to get roided up to beat someone down.

The vegan shit is very funny though. Vegan + straight test homie.
probably should have said 'strange'

Nevermind, not a big deal, go back to your regularly scheduled hoops games.

Go Suns.
 

Cesar Crespo

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The Nuggets won 146-114. 4 more points than the Rockets scored last night, wow. Mudiay has looked really good this year too.
 

moly99

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Just when they were trying to sell us on a plant-based diet...the grind of an 82 game + playoff schedule would have to lead to some high-end PEDs. So Noah and a handful of bench players in the last 10 years. Yikes.
Basketball is neither a pure strength or pure endurance sport, though. It is more of an agility and skill based sport. Soccer is similarly based on agility and skill and much less prone to steroids abuse than baseball or football.

I don't want to get into a medical argument (I am an earth scientist and not a doctor), but you can look up the mechanism of actin and myosin, and their dependence on ATP, for yourself. I would be very surprised if the benefits of maintaining proper blood sugar and sodium levels did not dwarf the benefits of steroid use for both muscle performance and recovery. So it makes sense that athletes like LeBron would obsess about nutrition.
 

JoePoulson

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Is it just me or are there a lot of 15+ point leads being blown this year?
For years I've made comments to my friends about huge blown leads in the NBA (and basketball in general). This year doesn't seem any more unusual than any of the previous, at least to me. Just the nature of the sport.
 

Imbricus

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Haven't seen it mentioned anywhere but the Cavs are targeting a 1/1 return for IT4.
Interesting. I had been reading stories that he was progressing faster than expected in his recovery, and so could return as early as late November. I wonder if that means those stories aren't true, or if the Cavs are just being very careful.
 

lovegtm

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I don't want to get into a medical argument (I am an earth scientist and not a doctor), but you can look up the mechanism of actin and myosin, and their dependence on ATP, for yourself. I would be very surprised if the benefits of maintaining proper blood sugar and sodium levels did not dwarf the benefits of steroid use for both muscle performance and recovery. So it makes sense that athletes like LeBron would obsess about nutrition.
It's not either-or though. I've combined a vegan diet with low dosages of supplemental testosterone before, and it's a "can't go back to normal life" level of feeling, with none of the side effects of heavier "steroid" dosages.

That doesn't even get into the effectiveness of endurance-enhancing drugs, other options for improved recovery, etc.

I would be shocked if there were not significant numbers of NBA players chemically optimizing their performance, and that goes hand-in-hand with healthy living, diet, and reduced partying.
 

moly99

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That doesn't even get into the effectiveness of endurance-enhancing drugs, other options for improved recovery, etc.
Injury recovery and muscle building are definitely boosted by steroids. But even the NBA's weak drug testing policies should be able to pick up steroid use if it is being used for several months. I am not sure if they test for HGH, though.
 

benhogan

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Apologies for bringing up PEDs, didn't mean to sidetrack the thread, we've all had our fill of that crap.

My Barry Bonds/ARod alarm goes off when I see Lebron, playing record minutes in his 15th season, having his greatest statistical season ever. And absolutely no one in the media is even questioning it.
 

Koufax

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Jeez, that alarm went off for me when I saw him playing high school ball. He was enormous.
 

moly99

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My Barry Bonds/ARod alarm goes off when I see Lebron, playing record minutes in his 15th season, having his greatest statistical season ever. And absolutely no one in the media is even questioning it.
My point, though, is that the NBA has made dramatic changes in legitimate areas: nutrition, conditioning, sleep, etc. Players in previous eras were sabotaging their bodies with smoking, alcohol, partying and depriving themselves of sleep, poor diet, less effective conditioning and training, etc. Today health science has made its way into the NBA.

LeBron is a health and fitness junkie with an incredible natural physique he has had since he was 16. Could he be using steroids or HGH? Sure. But there's no reason to believe his stamina cannot be natural.
 

queenb

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Warriors just put together the most dominant quarter of the season. Started the 3rd down 22, ended the 3rd up 10. Outscored Philly 47-15. Christ.
 

Manzivino

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The Clippers got blown out by Charlotte, have now lost 8 straight and 10 of 11. If they turn into sellers it opens up Lou Williams as a perfect target for the Celtics DPE.
 

benhogan

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The Clippers got blown out by Charlotte, have now lost 8 straight and 10 of 11. If they turn into sellers it opens up Lou Williams as a perfect target for the Celtics DPE.
meh. 6'1" guard. He's certainly not taking minutes from Smart or Rozier

Guess he could take over Larkin's role,
 

slamminsammya

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The internet is doing to basketball what the internet did to porn and its glorious. Highlights of everyone for free whenever you want them. All the players. All the games. High quality. What a time to be alive.
 

JakeRae

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meh. 6'1" guard. He's certainly not taking minutes from Smart or Rozier

Guess he could take over Larkin's role,
Lou Williams is a good player. However, if we are looking for a guard who is a primary offensive option for the second unit, Tyreke Evans is the most intriguing possibility at this point. Memphis won't have Bird rights, so they cannot afford to keep him after this season if he keeps going and they seem likely to slide out of the playoff picture as the season continues to develop.
 

benhogan

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Lou Williams is a good player. However, if we are looking for a guard who is a primary offensive option for the second unit, Tyreke Evans is the most intriguing possibility at this point. Memphis won't have Bird rights, so they cannot afford to keep him after this season if he keeps going and they seem likely to slide out of the playoff picture as the season continues to develop.
went to DPE thread