Kid was never hurt in his life playing football and basketball up until he stepped foot on the Providence campus and now he can't stay on the floor while not playing football. He's got a sprained MCL should be back in another couple of weeks. That is a very competitive Bulls club with Dunn, Markkanen, and Portis in the lineup.
It doesn't surprise me as much as the numbers suggest because he's always had good mechanics, soft touch, and a tight rotation on his ball. It wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that he's one of those guys that always knock down 90% in practice but struggles with slowing down at game speed.
Kemba goes for 60 and Charlotte still loses. With the possible exception of guys on their rookie deals, he has got to be the best value player in the NBA (making $12 million this year). Charlotte has made up for that bargain though, by having handing everyone else on their team terrible contracts.
The 60 point game is one of the great things we have in the NBA, it's great to see a new face join the club.
The 60 point game is one of the great things we have in the NBA, it's great to see a new face join the club.
Charlotte is the best worst team in the league. They are 3rd in the EC in Point Differential and have a 7-8 record to show for it due to being 0-4 in one possession games.
I'm especially frustrated by this due to getting them at 6.5-1 to win the Southeast Division.
I only watched the first half of that PHI/CHA game. But I saw Walker repeatedly cross up Butler and get to the rim for a layup or easy assist. Nice that Butler made the big play in the end, but he did not look good in what is an obviousness difficult matchup for him
Green is also conveniently out with his toe injury. The same one he was able to play through until the whole Durant thing I think...
Wonder if there's a message being sent.
Green missed two games due to the injury prior to the altercation with Durant. He probably came back a little too soon.
Green missed the two games prior to the "Durant game" with his injury so he wasn't playing through it, missed another due to suspension, returned against Houston and couldn't move, then missed last nights game along with tonights. He is clearly injured imo.
Edit: Two posts beat mine to the punch with the same point.
SportsCenterVerified account @SportsCenter
@KingJames became the 3rd player to score 45+ pts in their 16th season or later. The other two: Kobe and Kareem.
@KingJames became the 3rd player to score 45+ pts in their 16th season or later. The other two: Kobe and Kareem.
This was a motivated LeBron tonight in his first return to Miami as a Laker. Even Magic, who rarely travels to road games (heard Boston was only other trip this year), flew cross country to be a part of this day. We are all witnesses.
Age and injuries are taking their toll on Iguodala as well. He’s been in the startlng lineup lately and done nothing.
I’m telling you this team is vulnerable.
I’m telling you this team is vulnerable.
One other comment on the Lakers/Heat game.
It was a frustrating night, particularly in the second half, however the Heat were down just 12 points mid-4th following a little 10-4 run when Josh Richardson first lost his head then completely lost his mind! On Miami's possession he lost his shoe so instead of attempting to defend the possession with one sneaker (Lakers may not even had identified this) he intentionally fouls a Laker which while not optimal wasn't horrific. What WAS horrific is that Richardson already had 4 fouls so as Spoelstra subbed him out he took his shoe and threw it into the stands resulting in a Technical foul and then an ejection. Following the foul shot Spoelstra picked one up for arguing with the officials about the no-call on Richardson's drive that resulted in him losing his shoe.
Edit: Apropos of nothing but I just saw an ESPN writer by the name of Ohm Youngmisuk reported on this incident...….and had 3 errors in the reporting of the incident. No mention of the personal take foul, incorrect timeline of Spo's T, and the incorrect score at time of incident. Good job Good effort Ohm.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25316563/josh-richardson-miami-heat-tosses-shoe-stands-ejected
It was a frustrating night, particularly in the second half, however the Heat were down just 12 points mid-4th following a little 10-4 run when Josh Richardson first lost his head then completely lost his mind! On Miami's possession he lost his shoe so instead of attempting to defend the possession with one sneaker (Lakers may not even had identified this) he intentionally fouls a Laker which while not optimal wasn't horrific. What WAS horrific is that Richardson already had 4 fouls so as Spoelstra subbed him out he took his shoe and threw it into the stands resulting in a Technical foul and then an ejection. Following the foul shot Spoelstra picked one up for arguing with the officials about the no-call on Richardson's drive that resulted in him losing his shoe.
Edit: Apropos of nothing but I just saw an ESPN writer by the name of Ohm Youngmisuk reported on this incident...….and had 3 errors in the reporting of the incident. No mention of the personal take foul, incorrect timeline of Spo's T, and the incorrect score at time of incident. Good job Good effort Ohm.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25316563/josh-richardson-miami-heat-tosses-shoe-stands-ejected
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I mean, every team is always vulnerable, but I'd still argue that this is the best Warriors roster of the current era, even with some expected age-related decline from Andre.
I wouldn't draw too much from a three-game skid in Texas in which, even without Steph and Draymond, the team is probably 2-1 with even moderately below average shooting performances from Klay and KD. It took six epically bad bricking nights between them to get them to 0-3.
Unless you think those six performances are somehow indicative of a real decline from their well-established 8-10 year baselines, I don't see where any previous Warriors is better than this one, on paper. The Big 4 is still all 28-30; Steph before he went down with the groin strain looked every bit the unanimous 2016 MVP Steph; and the bench crew — Cook, Jerebko, Looney, Bell, McKinnie, now Damion Lee — is probably the most impressive I've seen in this era, even with continued signs of mild decline from Iguodala (34) and Livingston (33). And ... Cousins is still waiting in the wings.
I'm bummed about the nightmarish last couple weeks — both on and off court — but big picture I'm not really seeing where they're any more vulnerable this season than they've been. (Of course, I've also never at any point thought of them as invulnerable.)
Iguodala is like late career Horry, he will be there in the end but not too often before that and that is his role.
GS is playing without three All-Stars, Kerr had a funny quote after that, something like finally they get a taste of what the NBA is like for everyone else.
GS is playing without three All-Stars, Kerr had a funny quote after that, something like finally they get a taste of what the NBA is like for everyone else.
When Curry and Draymond are sitting next to Steve Kerr in suits then I agree that these Warriors are vulnerable. November games this year mean as much as the November games mattered last year when they lost to Sacramento without Curry and Durant. When they are in the lineup come playoff time the Warriors will (deservedly) be overwhelming favorites to repeat.
More fun LeBron stuff and a great trivia question to stump your friends (and probably everyone else too).
He became the 5th player in NBA History to have a 50-point game with 3 different franchises. The others are Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Bernard King, and wait for it...………
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Jamal Crawford
Kerr quote:
"Oh, yeah," Kerr said after the Warriors fell 104-92 to the San Antonio Spurs. "But I've had a dream run for four and a half years. We've had such a charmed existence the last four seasons. This is the toughest stretch we've been in.
"This is the real NBA. We haven't been in the real NBA the last few years. We've been in this dream. And so now we're faced real adversity and we got to get out of it ourselves."
"Oh, yeah," Kerr said after the Warriors fell 104-92 to the San Antonio Spurs. "But I've had a dream run for four and a half years. We've had such a charmed existence the last four seasons. This is the toughest stretch we've been in.
"This is the real NBA. We haven't been in the real NBA the last few years. We've been in this dream. And so now we're faced real adversity and we got to get out of it ourselves."
Coach speak. The Warriors lost 7 out of 10 late last season when everyone was out injured too so no it wasn't their worst stretch. Kerr knows what he has when Curry returns and is simply doing his job through the media to get to his team. It would help him if Klay wasn't pressing in a contract year and maybe hit a few shots......that would cure many of their ills.
Yep, Klay's the main guy whose problems up to this point seem somewhat "real." Durant even after a horrible couple weeks (on and off court) is still overall averaging 28.2 pts / 7.4 reb / 6.3 ast per 36 on .613 true shooting (including .925 from the stripe). Klay by contrast has been legitimately mediocre-to-bad through 18 games, or 22% of the season: 22.6 pts per 36 (fine) but on a shocking .530 ts and .321 3fg, and that's including his one record-breaking night v Chicago. He's also down in ft% (.795) rebounding (3.7 per 36) , assists (1.9), and up in turnovers (2.1). And accordingly: the Warriors have been 11.0 points per 100 possessions better with him on the bench than on the floor.
I mean, everyone on the team always looks much worse without Curry, so I don't draw too much from the terrible Texas three-step, but Klay's problems were evident even when Steph was around and the rest of the team was going well. Anecdotally, it looks like he's trying to do too much off the dribble, thinking too much rather than just catching and launching, and (hello Kobe Bryant / Jayson Tatum) settling for way too many long twos, the worst shot in hoops even if you're really good at making them. Ultimate "Klaybot" mode tends to be engaged when he isn't thinking too much, just running up and down the court, curling off screens and pindowns, catching and launching, usually from three. Take him too much of that comfort zone and make him dribble and think about stuff, and the Klaybot tends to short-circuit, which is what we're seeing now.
TLDR: get well soon, Steph.
I'll update this list periodically to see how sustainable the numbers of Quinn (180 attempts), Jayson (313) and Seth (467) are as the sample size grows...
Career 3fg% among active players (min. 180 attempts)
.450 Quinn Cook
.438 Steph Curry
.437 Seth Curry
.431 Kyle Korver
.425 Jayson Tatum
.418 Klay Thompson
Career 3fg% among active players (min. 180 attempts)
.450 Quinn Cook
.438 Steph Curry
.437 Seth Curry
.431 Kyle Korver
.425 Jayson Tatum
.418 Klay Thompson
Also KCP says no way
Edit- also kills any future cap space for LA which is a non-starter. If WAS finds someone to take Wall's deal it is likely a team that has trouble attracting free agents
Yeah, that Wall extension is absolutely brutal. $46,872,000 in 2022-23? You can kind of get it for the Wizards at the time since they’re gonna be capped from getting major free agents so all they can do is just double down on their existing core, but woe to any GM that takes that on voluntarily.
I'll guess that Porter and Beal are moved first. Wall's contract is insane.....$38m next season followed by $41m, $44m, and finally $47m. Who touches that thing?
Yeah the supermax contracts given by teams to players they drafted are tough. IMO, unless you are 100 percent sure that player is going to be a Top 10 player for the next 3-4 years, it's tough to stomach. Wall right now does not look to be that kind of a player (neither did Blake) and I doubt he ever will be. If I'm paying $40 million+, it has to be for a top, top NBA player. Even a guy like Westbrook, who has accomplished a hell of a lot more than Wall has, might end up having an albatross of a contract if he declines over the next 2-3 years. Especially since the cap hasn't risen year-over-year the way some front offices have expected it too. Guys like Batum have shit contracts, but Wall could very well be a below-average player in 2022-2023.
Those contracts are insane when you think about how big they got; Giannis signed what was considered a huge deal in Sept. 2016, but he will only cost $27 million in 2020-2021; $13 million less than Wall, who signed his deal just a year later in July 2017. Granted, Wall a bit longer tenure than Giannis did when he signed his contract, but retaining the top players you drafted has become extremely expensive for teams.
Those contracts are insane when you think about how big they got; Giannis signed what was considered a huge deal in Sept. 2016, but he will only cost $27 million in 2020-2021; $13 million less than Wall, who signed his deal just a year later in July 2017. Granted, Wall a bit longer tenure than Giannis did when he signed his contract, but retaining the top players you drafted has become extremely expensive for teams.
This is the conundrum those GM's trapped in no-mans land must face.....and in some (many?) cases they are simply the face of an owner who gave him instructions. If it is the latter then Grunfeld bears no responsibility so no need to discuss. If it is the latter then the Wizards are still capped out by letting Wall go for zero return so unless you hate cashing your checks on the 1st and 15th of the month you have to roll the dice on Wall which leads to other "going for it" signings like that of Ian Mahinmi for 4/$60m a year later. It's an ugly domino effect but I'm guessing Grunfeld is more of Ted Leonsis' yes man considering he's been there 15 years including those as the architect of the old "Bullets" with Arenas, Crittenton, McGee, Blatche, Nick Young, etc.
Wall is kinda like Westbrook ... if Westbrook were (1) kinda fat and out of shape instead of the fittest player in the league, (2) a poor rebounder instead of the best rebounding PG in the league; and (3) a bit of malcontent instead of the most driven player in the league.
He never should have been remotely considered a max player, let alone supermax, and now the Bullets are hosed.
He never should have been remotely considered a max player, let alone supermax, and now the Bullets are hosed.
Uh oh, SRN just praised Westbrook. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my bomb shelter. But I agree on Wall. That is one terrible contract. Of course, I don’t know what the Wizards are supposed to do. Either you lock yourself into a contract you know will be terrible or you trade your most marketable player (at least at the time the extension was inked). The super max was intended to help teams but it actually hurt the Wizards here.
Not only do you have to trade your most marketable player, he's also your best player and the 'Zards weren't getting but dimes on the dollar for him. Their fan base would have gone bonkers if they had just got rid of him.
And the Wiz went through several iterations of this dilemma. First, they had to decide whether to offer Wall max extension or get rid of him in 2013. So they signed him to 5/$80+M extension. Then Beal was up. And they signed him to a 5/$127MM max extension. By that time when Porter came up, they had no alternative to match the Nets offer since they were capped out and wouldn't be able to replace him with anyone of note.
Thus, next year, their "Big 3" plus Mahimi will be making $107.6MM all by themselves.
I think a big challenge is the teams draft players; they think they have something, maybe they make an all-star game or two, and then free agency looms (or the player starts rumbling about their contract and begins demanding an extension) and they risk either overpaying to retain the player, or losing them for nothing. For me, it's easy to say that it isn't that bad losing them for nothing; but for a GM that has staked their career on drafting and developing this guy, it's easy to see why they would risk it to sign a player like Wall instead of telling everyone that he wasn't worth it and you are going back into rebuilding mode.
It's kind of like NFL teams getting stuck with a mediocre starting QB on a huge contract. Wall is the Matt Stafford or Joe Flacco of the NBA (minus the super-flukey Flacco post-season run).
It's so much harder in basketball though. One player making way too much can kill your cap space and anchor down your entire team. Even with a slightly above average QB, the right team can win a title if they have the right supporting cast and catch a few breaks along the way. You absolutely cannot win an NBA title with anything less than a Top 10 NBA player as your best player. Additionally, saying no to Wall means that Washington is basically saying that the last eight seasons have been a waste and they are now going to start rebuilding again; as opposed to saying no to Flacco or Stafford might mean a season or two of sucking, but you can rebuild much faster.
Wizards are in some turmoil...
Shams CharaniaVerified account @ShamsCharania 1h1 hour ago
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: The Washington Wizards had a volatile practice within recent days, with verbal altercations among players and an exasperated Bradley Beal saying toward team officials: "I've been dealing with this for seven years."
Shams CharaniaVerified account @ShamsCharania 1h1 hour ago
Teams have these kinds of practices, and tension always reveals itself amid underperformance. Wizards are 5-11 so far this year. Several players had verbal back and forth in this practice, league sources said.
Shams CharaniaVerified account @ShamsCharania 1h1 hour ago
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: The Washington Wizards had a volatile practice within recent days, with verbal altercations among players and an exasperated Bradley Beal saying toward team officials: "I've been dealing with this for seven years."
Shams CharaniaVerified account @ShamsCharania 1h1 hour ago
Teams have these kinds of practices, and tension always reveals itself amid underperformance. Wizards are 5-11 so far this year. Several players had verbal back and forth in this practice, league sources said.
There have been some freak occurrences (The Sonics/Bullets title swap, the '04 Pistons) but to win a championship in the NBA, you need to have a Top 10, or more realistically at Top 3, NBA Player.
Part of being a good GM is forcing bonkers fanbases to take their medicine, with the confidence that they'll thank you for it in the long run. Look at how casual fans howled when Jerry West and co. dumped Blake Griffin (IIRC, there was a preview for a Mark Wahlberg movie during the Summer featuring a lame joke about how dumb the Clippers were for "getting rid of their best player") and lo, who's howling now with the Clippers in first place and look like a sweet spot for A-List free agents next summer?
Ditto the 2012 Warriors with Monta Ellis, 2017 Celtics with Isaiah Thomas, etc.
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Wall is now on the block:
Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account @wojespn 9h9 hours ago
Story on ESPN: Wizards signaling a willingness to consider trade overtures on entire roster, including All-Star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account @wojespn 9h9 hours ago
Story on ESPN: Wizards signaling a willingness to consider trade overtures on entire roster, including All-Star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.
It's easy to say this from behind a keyboard when the GM has a multimillion dollar contract at stake along with the pressure to win/make playoffs. Wall was the face of the franchise when he signed that deal after the Wizards had 5 consecutive seasons of years with 19, 26, 23, 20, and 29 wins prior to Wall coming into his own. To then allow him to walk for nothing was unfathomable at the time.
Their GM, Grunfeld, must have a Kelly Olynyk voodoo doll, or at least a dartboard with his face on it.
Jerry West did exactly the same thing as Grunfeld - he signed Blake to the max. The difference is that he traded him after signing. It seems like that’s what Grunfeld is trying to do.
Grunfeld is a pretty terrible GM but that’s not the best example of why when Ian Mahinmi is on the roster at his contract.
If not he could probably borrow one from Kevin Love. ;-P
Fair. I'll give Grunfleld props when/if he succeeds in moving him for as savory a package as Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and a pick.
Have you gone down the dark road of his transaction history? It’s probably not going to happen haha
Joe Vardon @joevardon 7m7 minutes ago
JR Smith will no longer be actively with the Cavs, a league source tells me. He is working with the team to trade him, and in the meantime will work out on his own
JR Smith will no longer be actively with the Cavs, a league source tells me. He is working with the team to trade him, and in the meantime will work out on his own