2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread

Kliq · Mar 23, 2018

In regards to the eating; I think it was Kevin Durant on Simmons' podcast but I might be mistaken; he talked about guys eating habits in the league and one of the key things was that a lot of the time during the season; you are not getting home till after 11 p.m. at least. If you leave the arena by 12 a.m., and your a young guy living on your own; there are not a ton of food options outside of fast food if you want something quick. It takes real discipline and commitment to go home and cook for yourself. Not everyone has a personal chef.

wade boggs chicken dinner · Mar 23, 2018

HomeRunBaker said:
Then you guys went for burritos at 3am?

We're old. We all went to sleep.

wade boggs chicken dinner · Mar 23, 2018

Kliq said:
In regards to the eating; I think it was Kevin Durant on Simmons' podcast but I might be mistaken; he talked about guys eating habits in the league and one of the key things was that a lot of the time during the season; you are not getting home till after 11 p.m. at least. If you leave the arena by 12 a.m., and your a young guy living on your own; there are not a ton of food options outside of fast food if you want something quick. It takes real discipline and commitment to go home and cook for yourself. Not everyone has a personal chef.

I think it's worst than that, particularly on the road where there are all these groupies everywhere NBA teams go. Game ends at 10:00 p.m.; players don't get back to the hotel until midnight or later; and I have to imagine players have to take a few hours to wind down to get some sleep.

BTW, just found this 2015 Players Tribune article by CJ McCollum on what it's like to be a rookie in the NBA: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/the-nba-rookie-survival-guide

HomeRunBaker · Mar 23, 2018

LondonSox said:
I think it takes time for kids to get the message, it's hard when you've been poor especially. Suddenly you can afford what you wanted but you have to say no.
I am sure the teams don't clamp down 100% day one, they have enough to ease into. Plus they can get away with bad diet etc at that age.
Think fultz and the Chick-fil-A.

Some kids will have had an education in this area or a very good college coach who bothered to teach these things. Or in a big time program that provided such things. But that's the minority

This made me laugh at a funny flashback. When I played in college our coach also taught a Nutrition class. We spent the entire first semester learning about digestion, carbs, proteins, and how certain foods/chemicals affect our energy levels and well being, etc etc. Fast forward to the season being in full swing, our bus would stop at the nearest McDonald's after road games in Virginia and everyone was pre-ordered two Big Macs, a large frie, and a coke. The other health conscious guard on the team and myself would look at each other like "Wtf man?"

HomeRunBaker · Mar 23, 2018

wade boggs chicken dinner said:
I think it's worst than that, particularly on the road where there are all these groupies everywhere NBA teams go. Game ends at 10:00 p.m.; players don't get back to the hotel until midnight or later; and I have to imagine players have to take a few hours to wind down to get some sleep.

BTW, just found this 2015 Players Tribune article by CJ McCollum on what it's like to be a rookie in the NBA: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/the-nba-rookie-survival-guide

Nice find. The real cool thing about this piece to me is that McCollum sounds like a veteran All-Star giving advice to the young up and comers. The reality is that this was written early in his second season after having broken a bone in his foot as a senior at Lehigh and again in the Blazers training camp as a rookie while not yet establishing himself as an NBA player. It is that type of confidence and swagger it takes to make the leap in this league......if you doubt yourself at all you give your opponent a massive edge.

slamminsammya · Mar 23, 2018

HomeRunBaker said:
Nice find. The real cool thing about this piece to me is that McCollum sounds like a veteran All-Star giving advice to the young up and comers. The reality is that this was written early in his second season after having broken a bone in his foot as a senior at Lehigh and again in the Blazers training camp as a rookie while not yet establishing himself as an NBA player. It is that type of confidence and swagger it takes to make the leap in this league......if you doubt yourself at all you give your opponent a massive edge.

This is a reason why I kind of love Nick Young generally or when Smart jacks up threes.

Cesar Crespo · Mar 23, 2018

Besides his one year in college, Ball was pretty bad from beyond the arc. Everyone is talking about sample size but his sample size in college is 194. He has already taken 285 3s in the NBA.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 24, 2018

Curry, right off the DL, gets a shit-luck "knee strain" — scarily similar to what happened to KD late last season, only with JaVale's head the culprit instead of Zaza's.

29 points in 25 minutes before the injury. Fingers crossed for the MRI.

Edit: "MCL injury," per Shams. MRI tomorrow.

lovegtm · Mar 24, 2018

bosox79 said:
Besides his one year in college, Ball was pretty bad from beyond the arc. Everyone is talking about sample size but his sample size in college is 194. He has already taken 285 3s in the NBA.

Also a really shitty free throw shooter, which matters for the priors.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 24, 2018

Nothing you can do about JaVale randomly falling into your planted leg, though. Just a freak thing.

If he had retweaked the same right ankle that's been bothering him, you could bring up the "durability" angle.

Warriors have the #2 seed whatever the Blazers do. Even with all their injuries, they weren't gonna cough up a 9-game lead with 10 games left, lol. But I guess thanks, Cs, for making it a 10-game lead with 10 games left. (And more importantly, props for taking down a tough team on their home court without Kyrie, Brown, Smart, Hayward and Theis. That's like a 50-win lineup on the DL!)

Kliq · Mar 24, 2018

Donovan Mitchell had 35 points tonight including two late threes to send the game into overtime against San Antonio. The second three was pretty insane:

TheRooster · Mar 24, 2018

Of course Mitchell also went 14 for 36, so I'm not sure this was really one of his better games. Also interesting that Aldridge lit up Gobert for 45.

HomeRunBaker · Mar 24, 2018

lovegtm said:
Also a really shitty free throw shooter, which matters for the priors.

He shot 80% in HS and 67% last year so before his first NBA season he wasn't a shitty FT shooter. Is his dropoff this year the yips or adjusting to the NBA game, etc? Next year many of these things will be much more clear.

wade boggs chicken dinner · Mar 24, 2018

TheRooster said:
Of course Mitchell also went 14 for 36, so I'm not sure this was really one of his better games. Also interesting that Aldridge lit up Gobert for 45.

Went to BRef to see how many 21 year olds have had 36 or more shot attempts in a game. There are 5 other players who have done this. LBJ (who also had two other 35 FGA games), Booker (70 point game - note that he only had 40 FGA in that game but went 24-26 from the free throw line), McAdoo and Acquire (McGrady had one game with 35 FGAs).

Of all of these games (including the three 35 FGA games), interestingly enough Mitchell had the lowest point total. (Next lowest: LBJ at age 20 (108 days) had a 35 FGA game where he went 10-28 from 2P, 2-7 from 3P, and 11-14 FTs for 37 points).

Mitchell is 21 years/197 days.

The one other player who has had a 36 FGA game at age 21 is a Port Cellar favorite. He had this game at 21/148: 36 FGA / 16-31 from 2P, 5-5 from 3P, 2-7 FTA for 49 points.

wade boggs chicken dinner · Mar 24, 2018

Interesting Ringer article on the Bucks and Nuggets and their attempts to build around "unicorns": https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/3/23/17153784/giannis-antetokounmpo-nikola-jokic-unicorns-bucks-nuggets

sezwho · Mar 24, 2018

wade boggs chicken dinner said:
Interesting Ringer article on the Bucks and Nuggets and their attempts to build around "unicorns": https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/3/23/17153784/giannis-antetokounmpo-nikola-jokic-unicorns-bucks-nuggets

Thanks, enjoyed that. For whatever reason I listen to several of the podcasts but don't actually hit the site very often.

TheRooster · Mar 24, 2018

wade boggs chicken dinner said:
Went to BRef to see how many 21 year olds have had 36 or more shot attempts in a game. There are 5 other players who have done this. LBJ (who also had two other 35 FGA games), Booker (70 point game - note that he only had 40 FGA in that game but went 24-26 from the free throw line), McAdoo and Acquire (McGrady had one game with 35 FGAs).

Of all of these games (including the three 35 FGA games), interestingly enough Mitchell had the lowest point total. (Next lowest: LBJ at age 20 (108 days) had a 35 FGA game where he went 10-28 from 2P, 2-7 from 3P, and 11-14 FTs for 37 points).

Mitchell is 21 years/197 days.

The one other player who has had a 36 FGA game at age 21 is a Port Cellar favorite. He had this game at 21/148: 36 FGA / 16-31 from 2P, 5-5 from 3P, 2-7 FTA for 49 points.

It worries me a little that I correctly guessed this.

BTW, if you expand to age 22, Rick Barry takes over with games like 15-37, 17-44 and 17-50 all in the same season. Hard to imagine being on that team with him.

lovegtm · Mar 24, 2018

HomeRunBaker said:
He shot 80% in HS and 67% last year so before his first NBA season he wasn't a shitty FT shooter. Is his dropoff this year the yips or adjusting to the NBA game, etc? Next year many of these things will be much more clear.

Ah, didn't know about the HS numbers. Generally when I see 67% followed by 45%, I assume "shitty", but his stroke might be a bit better than I thought.

HomeRunBaker · Mar 24, 2018

TheRooster said:
It worries me a little that I correctly guessed this.

BTW, if you expand to age 22, Rick Barry takes over with games like 15-37, 17-44 and 17-50 all in the same season. Hard to imagine being on that team with him.

Barry led all non-PG's in assists for 7 consecutive seasons later in his career he was a tremendous passer......but in his age 22 season he got off over 28 FGA per game! Yikes that's some shot creation right there!

ElUno20 · Mar 24, 2018

Curry's MRI today is the biggest storyline heading into the playoffs.

DJnVa · Mar 24, 2018

ElUno20 said:
Curry's MRI today is the biggest storyline heading into the playoffs.

And a reason why I hated all the storylines preseason about how there was no chance for anyone but Warriors, Cavs, and maybe Rockets.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 24, 2018

ElUno20 said:
Curry's MRI today is the biggest storyline heading into the playoffs.

Grade 2 MCL — not the best or the worst scenario for Ws fans. Three weeks till re-evaluation, which could mean it’s on the mild side of grade 2, or could just mean there’s 3 weeks till the playoffs begin. Apparently there’s no bone bruising, which was the main thing that made last year’s strikingly similar KD injury last 5.5 weeks instead of 3 or 4. I’d guess he returns sometime in the first round; hopefully it’s not too late by then.

The low-key early season Quinn Cook pickup is looking huge for them now. “Curry lite” was the one thing their roster they lacked: Cook’s not Curry, obviously, but he has a fantastic three ball and NBA-level handle, has wrecked the D-League all year, and is now looking totally ready for prime time in the NBA (outplaying Fox, Payton and Schroeder on his last three games). They can run their normal offense with him in, which you can’t say for Point Livingston, Point Iguodala, or (ugh) Point McCaw. He’s tight with KD as a Maryland kid, and has already won a huge amount of confidence from teammates and staff.

Gonna be tough, but I feel much more confident in their chances of getting out of the first round sand Curry than I would have had they not snagged Cook.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 24, 2018

DrewDawg said:
And a reason why I hated all the storylines preseason about how there was no chance for anyone but Warriors, Cavs, and maybe Rockets.

And a reason I hated everyone saying last year’s title was a foregone conclusion. Going 16-1 in the playoffs is hella hard no matter how talented a roster you have. (And putting together that talented a roster is hard in the first place in salary-capped league). In a 30-team league, random chance tends to favor the field over any single team.

chilidawg · Mar 24, 2018

Sam Ray Not said:
Grade 2 MCL — not the best or the worst scenario for Ws fans. Three weeks till re-evaluation, which could mean it’s on the mild side of grade 2, or could just mean there’s 3 weeks till the playoffs begin. Apparently there’s no bone bruising, which was the main thing that made last year’s strikingly similar KD injury last 5.5 weeks instead of 3 or 4. I’d guess he returns sometime in the first round; hopefully it’s not too late by then.

The low-key early season Quinn Cook pickup is looking huge for them now. “Curry lite” was the one thing their roster they lacked: Cook’s not Curry, obviously, but he has a fantastic three ball and NBA-level handle, has wrecked the D-League all year, and is now looking totally ready for prime time in the NBA (outplaying Fox, Payton and Schroeder on his last three games). They can run their normal offense with him in, which you can’t say for Point Livingston, Point Iguodala, or (ugh) Point McCaw. He’s tight with KD as a Maryland kid, and has already won a huge amount of confidence from teammates and staff.

Gonna be tough, but I feel much more confident in their chances of getting out of the first round sand Curry than I would have had they not snagged Cook.

Getting out of the first round seems like a pretty low bar for the Warriors. Even without Curry I would think they'd have a good shot at the WCF.

LondonSox · Mar 24, 2018

Sixers blew out the wolves today. Up by 29 in third and pulled all starters and wolves came back into it with the bench bench unit (Holmes, TJ, Korkmaz, Anderson)

Imbricus · Mar 25, 2018

Isaiah a "DNP - sore right hip" last night. Bad timing for him on that, with free agency looming.

chilidawg · Mar 25, 2018

Imbricus said:
Isaiah a "DNP - sore right hip" last night. Bad timing for him on that, with free agency looming.

I can't imagine he's going to get anything other than a 1 year deal.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 25, 2018

Curry finishes the regular season with the best true shooting % in NBA history among players averaging >26 ppg.

1. Curry 2017-18 .675
2. Curry 2015-16 .669
3. Barkley 1987-88 . 665
4. McHale 1986-87 .655
5. Dantley 1983-84 .652
6. James 2013-14 .649
7. Durant 2012-13 .647
8. Durant 2017-18 .645
9. James 2012-13 .640
10. Dantley 1979-80 .635

Cesar Crespo · Mar 25, 2018

Sometimes I forget just how good Charles Barkley was.

HomeRunBaker · Mar 25, 2018

chilidawg said:
I can't imagine he's going to get anything other than a 1 year deal.

I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to sign a deal for slightly more than the veteran minimum and is out of the league next season......at least to start the year anyway.

Reverend · Mar 25, 2018

bosox79 said:
Sometimes I forget just how good Charles Barkley was.

That's pretty much his whole "thing," isn't it?

Sam Ray Not · Mar 25, 2018

bosox79 said:
Sometimes I forget just how good Charles Barkley was.

If you lower the PPG requirement to 23 ppg, Barkley has the #3, 4, 5 and 9 spots on the all-time list.

Al Zarilla · Mar 25, 2018

Sam Ray Not said:
Curry finishes the regular season with the best true shooting % in NBA history among players averaging >26 ppg.

1. Curry 2017-18 .675
2. Curry 2015-16 .669
3. Barkley 1987-88 . 665
4. McHale 1986-87 .655
5. Dantley 1983-84 .652
6. James 2013-14 .649
7. Durant 2012-13 .647
8. Durant 2017-18 .645
9. James 2012-13 .640
10. Dantley 1979-80 .635

Curry’s the only guard on that list.

cheech13 · Mar 26, 2018

chilidawg said:
Getting out of the first round seems like a pretty low bar for the Warriors. Even without Curry I would think they'd have a good shot at the WCF.

I'd tend to agree with you, but then I look at that first round match-up with Utah and I think the Jazz could give the Warriors a lot of trouble if Curry is out or limited due to injuries.

the moops · Mar 26, 2018

cheech13 said:
I'd tend to agree with you, but then I look at that first round match-up with Utah and I think the Jazz could give the Warriors a lot of trouble if Curry is out or limited due to injuries.

Or The Wolves or The Spurs, IMO. Without Curry, they are vulnerable for sure.

benhogan · Mar 26, 2018

HomeRunBaker said:
I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to sign a deal for slightly more than the veteran minimum and is out of the league next season......at least to start the year anyway.

IT4 needs to start brushing up on his Mandarin and pull a Marbury.

cheech13 · Mar 26, 2018

the moops said:
Or The Wolves or The Spurs, IMO. Without Curry, they are vulnerable for sure.

I haven't seen anything out of Minnesota or San Antonio this year to suggest that they'd be a serious threat to the Warriors with or without Curry, but YMMV.

Sam Ray Not · Mar 26, 2018

cheech13 said:
I haven't seen anything out of Minnesota or San Antonio this year to suggest that they'd be a serious threat to the Warriors with or without Curry, but YMMV.

With Butler and Leonard, I think they're both existential threats to the Curry-less Warriors. Without, I think the Curry-less Warriors probably handle them (assuming healthy KD, Klay and Dray), though not nearly as breezily as they handled everyone last year.

Fwiw, Curry thinks he'll surprise Kerr and be back for the first round. There's some cause for optimism given that (a) he didn't have associated bone bruise that KD did; and (b) he was walking around with a mild limp right after his MCL strain where KD was on crutches after his. On the flip side, his injury occurred two weeks closer to the playoffs, and his game is somewhat more reliant on quick cutting, etc. than KD's is.

Spitballing: I'd put the over/under at Game 5 of the first round (i.e. roughly 4.5 weeks from the injury).

Sam Ray Not · Mar 26, 2018

jmm57 · Mar 27, 2018

Cavs look awful this first half in Miami

DJnVa · Mar 27, 2018

jmm57 said:
Cavs look awful this first half in Miami

Down 20 at half.

Raptors in another close one.

InstaFace · Mar 28, 2018

Cavs lose big. They're now tied in the loss column with Philly, and tied in the win column with the Pacers, only half a game up on each.

Remaining schedule:

CLE (5H, 3A): @CHA, NO, DAL, TOR, WAS, @PHI, @NYK, NYK
PHI (5H, 4A): NYK, @ATL, @CHA, BKN, @DET, CLE, DAL, @ATL, MIL
IND (2H, 5A): @SAC, @LAC, @DEN, GS, @TOR, @CHA, CHA

That CLE @ PHI game on Friday 4/6 might determine who we face in the 2nd round.

HomeRunBaker · Mar 28, 2018

DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Yep, "Tha Heat!" <high five> beat them 98-79. But we have been told the regular season doesn't matter so there's that...

As a side note, Kevin Love's chiropractor, otherwise know as Kelly Olynyk, led Miami in scoring with 19 points in just 25 minutes including three of four from deep. He also chipped in three steals, five boards and three dimes for good measure. I miss that ungraceful, Mitch-Kramer-looking guy...

Love got knocked out in the 1st quarter by a Jordan Mickey elbow to the face. I would be surprised if he isn't out awhile with a concussion after that one. This Cavs team is not a threat without Love.

DJnVa · Mar 28, 2018

Perfect world:

Cavs/Philly 4th and 5th, Indiana 3rd.

Philly has a pretty easy remaining schedule though, so that might be tough.

Lose Remerswaal · Mar 28, 2018

HomeRunBaker said:
Love got knocked out in the 1st quarter by a Jordan Mickey elbow to the face. I would be surprised if he isn't out awhile with a concussion after that one. This Cavs team is not a threat without Love.

Must say I was surprised to see NBA highlights last night included Jordan Mickey and E'Twaun Moore

TripleOT · Mar 29, 2018

56 and 15 for Karl Anthony Towns.

benhogan · Mar 29, 2018

Otto Porter helped off the floor in Zards/Pistons game tonight. Beal just collided knees to end the 3rd.

Wizards doing their best to keep the 6 seed but could make their way to 7 or even 8.

Light-Tower-Power · Mar 29, 2018

Not sure if anyone is watching OKC and SAS but holy shit Pau Gasol looks like he's 50.

2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread

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