2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread

InstaFace

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Hawks win at home by one over the Pels!
I don't understand this league sometimes. Last night Brow & Company played balls-to-the-wall against a 34-10 team at full strength, on the road, took a number of body blows, lost a final-minute lead, and managed to win in overtime. Tonight, they go up against the worst team in the league and can't get it together.
 

chilidawg

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I don't understand this league sometimes. Last night Brow & Company played balls-to-the-wall against a 34-10 team at full strength, on the road, took a number of body blows, lost a final-minute lead, and managed to win in overtime. Tonight, they go up against the worst team in the league and can't get it together.
2nd game of a back to back?
 

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I don't understand this league sometimes. Last night Brow & Company played balls-to-the-wall against a 34-10 team at full strength, on the road, took a number of body blows, lost a final-minute lead, and managed to win in overtime. Tonight, they go up against the worst team in the league and can't get it together.
It's almost like those two things are related
 

InstaFace

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I mean, yeah, that was obviously a factor, but for that to matter just as much as a nearly-maximum swing in opponent quality is kinda mind-boggling to me.

Great night for the pick, either way, so I'm not complaining. The gap between 1st and 10th in the tankathon standings is a mere 4.5 games. Surprised there isn't more separation at this point in the season.
 

benhogan

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There is a media narrative going around that the Cavs have taken their foot off the pedal in January the past 3 seasons.

Jan'15: 11 wins (tied for most wins in any month that season)
Jan'16: 13-3 (best month of that season)
Jan'17: 7-8 (they had a worse record in March and April)

Pretty funny that guys like Nick Wright and Colin Cowherd can spin this nonsense with a straight face.
 
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Sam Ray Not

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Two horrific landings in the Warriors/Bulls game tonight: Jordan Bell landing incredibly awkwardly on one leg (bad ankle sprain on MRI, looked a lot worse), and Kris Dunn landing literally flat on his face (losing several teeth in the process, I think).

Bulls looked very impressive overall, as they have for a while now (14-8 since the horrific start). Warriors win their 14th straight road game (two off the league record) but are looking pretty gassed. Dray and Dre sat this one out with general strains and bruises. They now get two much-needed nights off before the Rockets showdown on Saturday.
 

Sam Ray Not

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CHA blows out the 'Zards. Sometimes, WAS doesn't even try on defense.
No, but they seem good at getting chippy and provoking altercations when getting spanked by teams to whom they feel (unjustifiably) superior. Tonight it was Tim Frazier and Jason Smith getting into it with MCW, who later accused them of getting in cheap shots.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Its late for you East Coasters but this Denver/Clippers game is really entertaining. Its the kind of contest you can enjoy because both teams are pretty evenly matched. The Nuggets are deeper but lack a true volume scorer. Meanwhile, the Clippers are deep but with lesser skilled players save for their top stars in Griffin and Williams (with Jordan out). At stake is one of the lower seeds in the West.

Edit: Clips hang on to win 109-104 over the Nuggets, avoiding a last second scare when Ball-lahkay Griffin misses two FTs, up by two with ~ 14 seconds on the clock. However, he is bailed out by University of California (and former teammate of Jaylen Brown) Bear, seven-game NBA-veteran Tyrone Wallace who slowly and coldly choked the life out of Will Barton and forced him into a turnover.

The Clippers have now won six straight and are now seventh in the West, pushing the Blazers to eighth and knocking the Nuggets into the ninth spot.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Oh and in other news Donovan Mitchell having one of those nights. 34 points on 14-19 shooting (only 1-4 from outside). They ought to move the ROY trophy out of the Sixers locker room, at least for another month.


For those on mobile - from Ben Dowsett who is a deputy editor for Basketball Insiders:
"Hey, let's get this going again I guess! Donovan Mitchell in January: 24.9 ppg, 2.7 apg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 stl/gm, 2.3 tov/gm, 48-32-85 splits."
 
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Imbricus

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Mitchell looking like the real ROY this year: 14 for 19 last night for 34 points, and 3 steals. Meanwhile, Fox continues to have a pretty quiet year for the #5 pick in a loaded draft: 1 for 6, and he managed to foul out.
 

cheech13

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Mitchell looking like the real ROY this year: 14 for 19 last night for 34 points, and 3 steals. Meanwhile, Fox continues to have a pretty quiet year for the #5 pick in a loaded draft: 1 for 6, and he managed to foul out.
This probably won't be a popular opinion on a Celtics board, but basketball would be better off if Hayward had stayed in Utah. Celtics are having no problem without him and with him and Mitchell Utah would be a legit top four team in the West.
 

JCizzle

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This probably won't be a popular opinion on a Celtics board, but basketball would be better off if Hayward had stayed in Utah. Celtics are having no problem without him and with him and Mitchell Utah would be a legit top four team in the West.
The Celtics might be a kinda sorta GSW threat with him healthy though, that might be better than simply another gnat for them in the West. People are going to get bored of the GSW rampage if they aren't already.
 

DJnVa

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This probably won't be a popular opinion on a Celtics board, but basketball would be better off if Hayward had stayed in Utah. Celtics are having no problem without him and with him and Mitchell Utah would be a legit top four team in the West.
This isn't exactly a novel concept. Just like if Durant hadn't gone to GS. But this is what the NBA is now.
 

Kliq

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I don't blame Durant for going to Golden State, as a culture we prioritize winning and he made the correct choice in going to the best situation to help him win. It did however, dramatically tilt the table in the NBA and ultimately made the NBA less-enjoyable for fans outside of the Bay Area.

On a side note, the Jimmy Butler trade has become very interesting in hindsight. Butler has been good for the Wolves and has them playing the best basketball the franchise has seen since the KG/Spree/Cassell days. However, Chicago has landed three young players, all of whom are already good NBA players and reasonably could be projected to one day be All-Stars. 9 times out of 10, the team that trades away the All-Star for a collection of players loses the trade, but Chicago probably is going to end up winning that trade.
 
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DJnVa

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9 times out of 10, the team that trades away the All-Star for a collection of players gets the better end of the deal, but Chicago probably is going to end up winning that trade.
I know what you meant, so I don't think the "but" fits here...Chicago was the team that dealt the All Star.
 

InstaFace

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I think what he meant was that the team that trades the all-star gets the worse end of the deal, the proverbial "Trade a dollar for three quarters" trade. Just from context.
 

cheech13

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I don't blame Durant for going to Golden State, as a culture we prioritize winning and he made the correct choice in going to the best situation to help him win. It did however, dramatically tilt the table in the NBA and ultimately made the NBA less-enjoyable for fans outside of the Bay Area.

On a side note, the Jimmy Butler trade has become very interesting in hindsight. Butler has been good for the Wolves and has them playing the best basketball the franchise has seen since the KG/Spree/Cassell days. However, Chicago has landed three young players, all of whom are already good NBA players and reasonably could be projected to one day be All-Stars. 9 times out of 10, the team that trades away the All-Star for a collection of players loses the trade, but Chicago probably is going to end up winning that trade.
It'll largely depend on the development of Markkanen as he has the most upside. I think the three guys they acquired look more like nice rotation players than future All-Stars, which means that even if they develop and mature as expected they are still going to be in the market for an All-Star to complement them in the next few years. Maybe that player comes through the draft, but as currently constituted I don't think they are that much better off long-term than they were with Butler.
 

Kliq

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It'll largely depend on the development of Markkanen as he has the most upside. I think the three guys they acquired look more like nice rotation players than future All-Stars, which means that even if they develop and mature as expected they are still going to be in the market for an All-Star to complement them in the next few years. Maybe that player comes through the draft, but as currently constituted I don't think they are that much better off long-term than they were with Butler.
Right now I think they are all good rotation players; I think it is fairly realistic to project that one of the three will turn into an All-Star.

LaVine is 22, and even after the injury I think he is one of the five best athletes in the NBA. Last season before his injury, he was 21 and averaging 19 ppg and shooting 42 percent from three. I think it is fair to imagine that a reality exists where he scores 25 ppg, and then I think he is in the All-Star conversation, even if he doesn't play much defense.

Dunn is 23, but I'm kind of considering this season his rookie year after a lost year in Minnesota. 14-6-5 and two steals per game, he isn't shooting well from outside but a lot of guards improve that. He reminds me a lot of Kyle Lowry, who had a notoriously slow start to his career and his Age 23 season he averaged 9-4-3 with 27 percent from three. They are similar defenders, although Dunn is longer and Lowry is a bit stronger. Lowry's first All-Star season (Age 28) he averaged 17-6-5 with 33 percent shooting from three. Dunn could easily do that down the road.

Markkanen is just 20 and averaging 15-8 and shooting 37 percent on threes on a lot of attempts. He has a really quick release for a big guy and his form is about as good as anyone I've seen come into the league recently. He has the lowest ceiling on defense, but offensively he is getting more comfortable taking advantage of mismatches when smaller players switch onto him. What I like about him is he has a bit of a nasty streak in him. In the game against the Knicks he was taking it to Porzingis. Porzingis got the better of him a couple of times, but he finished with 33-10, on 8-15 from three, and had this nasty dunk on Kanter.


The Bulls have kind of turned into a guilty pleasure for me this season, since Mirotic came back they are really fun.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Mike D’Antoni again sticking to a strict 8-man rotation in a game they led by 10-20 points throughout the second half. Gotta make sure both Eric Gordon and LMaM are in there to pad to their three point totals in the final 40 seconds with the team up 12-15.

Rockets looked very good, though, despite a rusty Harden (3-15 fg, -11 in an 18-point win). Really hard for the Wolves to hang with them when they’re putting up fewer than half as many threes.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Yeah, they should be playing Lyles more. He's had a rough 3-4 games but he's a player. Trading Mitchell looks bad but if people knew he would be this good, he would have went 1 or 2. At least they got something.
 

Buster Olney the Lonely

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Nets win, Phoenix is up 60-50 over the Nuggets at halftime (in Denver). If the Suns can hold on and the Pacers can win on the road at the Lakers it will be a very good night for the Celtics.

From tonight's Tankathon special (Kings at Grizzlies)...
 

Sportsbstn

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At what point is Ball’s knee become a real issue for the Lakers? Maybe shut him down longer term

Suns holding on and the Pacers out to a good start.
 

InstaFace

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Brook Lopez being back has made a real difference for LA. But Indiana has woken up at the start of the 4th here and is no longer playing like unmitigated ass.

Here's a good stream.

edit: and I do like the "Hickory" jerseys for the Pacers. Why some lame throwback to a city you used to be in, when you can make a pop culture reference that's still relevant to your fanbase.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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And I swear Victor Oladipo just showed off a move that he totally stole from Russell Westbrook. The fact that he could pull it off in a game speaks volumes about Victor as an athlete.
 

InstaFace

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And I swear Victor Oladipo just showed off a move that he totally stole from Russell Westbrook. The fact that he could pull it off in a game speaks volumes about Victor as an athlete.
Pacers are pretty much Oladipo And Four Other Guys out there. Looks like vintage "Paul Pierce on bad Celtics teams".

10 point lead. Probably ballgame. Heading for bed.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Since Lance Stephenson decided to build a house in Staples tonight, I am switched to the Knicks and Jazz who are in a battle in Salt Lake. Trey Burke just hit a three to put the Knicks up by five against the team that drafted him
 

eddiew112

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IT doesn't look close to 100%, and having him and JR Smith on the floor at the same time makes for some embarrassing defensive possessions.
 

ElUno20

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Paul George halfway to 50.

Beyond ability and effort, the Cavs seem to lack any defensive plan. They always look like 5 guys playing pickup
 

Ed Hillel

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The Cavs defense is fucking awful. They need to really rip someone off at the trade deadline to even have a chance, because they are not capable on that end.
 

Ed Hillel

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Steven Adams has like 8 offensive rebounds in the last 6 minutes. Tristan Thompson looks as old as Dwyane Wade, what the hell happened to him? I know he hurt his calf, but he’s been back a while now.

Maybe he got Kardashian’d.