2015-2016 NBA Game Thread

[Double Jeopardy]

Golden State at San Antonio on Saturday has the makings of a classic.

The Spurs beat the Clippers and moved to 33-0 at home this season. The only game between now and GSW is when the Trail Blazers come to town Thursday.

The Warriors host the Knicks Wednesday. GSW plays in Dallas on Friday night, one of the few place they've lost this season.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

Over the last 13 games, Greek Freak is averaging over 8 assists and 8 rebounds per game. Not to mention 2 steals and 2 blocks. Draymond Green redux?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Over the last 13 games, Greek Freak is averaging over 8 assists and 8 rebounds per game. Not to mention 2 steals and 2 blocks. Draymond Green redux?

This is coinciding with MCW going down and Kidd using Freak in more of a Point-Forward "Magic" style role. At least we moved up to draft Olynyk.

 

[Kliq]

Giannis and Green are totally different players. Green is a better player right now, but Giannis has a ridiculously high ceiling, especially because he is still just 21.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Giannis and Green are totally different players. Green is a better player right now, but Giannis has a ridiculously high ceiling, especially because he is still just 21.

That Olynyk pick will forever haunt me.

 

[jimv]

That Olynyk pick will forever haunt me.

I'm sure Danny doesn't feel great about either. Hope they learn something from it

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

What is there to learn? That sometimes super raw, young players turn into excellent NBA players? Olynyk is a good NBA player, and is really good value #13. That a better player was selected after him doesn't mean there's an inherent lesson to be learned, it just means that the NBA draft is a really difficult thing to get right 100% of the time.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Yeah Olynyk was a pretty good pick, he's been one of the best players in the weak draft. Grannis looks like he'll pan out as better but he had massive risk involved too.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

What is there to learn? That sometimes super raw, young players turn into excellent NBA players? Olynyk is a good NBA player, and is really good value #13. That a better player was selected after him doesn't mean there's an inherent lesson to be learned, it just means that the NBA draft is a really difficult thing to get right 100% of the time.

To not be afraid to draft Euros?

 

[Devizier]

Aside from Gobert, Dieng, and Gianis, who did the Celtics miss out on with Olynyk? That draft was a dogshit salad; shades of 2000.

 

[jimv]

I should have been clearer - Ainge has proven to be a very good drafter, but the draft is a crapshoot so there'll be misses to go along with the hits. Olynyk was a hit more than a miss.

That being said, I hope the management team, in their self evaluation process, looks at that draft and might be less inclined to dismiss Euros out of hand

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Do we think they're dismissing Euros out of hand? That seems like a bit of a leap from "didn't draft" Giannis.

Especially given that most every report suggest Ainge loves Bender.

Edit: to take this idea a bit further, Ainge not having a history of drafting many Euros does not mean he dismissed Euros out of hand. For much of his tenure, the C's have been drafting in the late first to supplement a contender. Most Europeans in the draft are a year or two away from coming over.

Finally, there just aren't a ton of examples of Ainge missing on Euros. In other words, I know people wish Ainge took Giannis. But trying to build a narrative around why he didn't, and insisting he needs to learn his lesson doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Do we think they're dismissing Euros out of hand? That seems like a bit of a leap from "didn't draft" Giannis.

Especially given that most every report suggest Ainge loves Bender.

Well in 14 drafts he's drafted Erden 60th and who else?

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Well in 14 drafts he's drafted Erden 60th and who else?

And who are all of the Euros he's missed out on?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

And who are all of the Euros he's missed out on?

Seriously? How many entered the league over the past 14 years when we had picks available to select this player? Several dozen?

I'm not saying he should have went all-in Euro or even selected any. You can't possibly say he's in on the Foreign invasion over the past decade and a half with a straight face however can you?

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Seriously? How many entered the league over the past 14 years when we had picks available to select this player? Several dozen?

I'm not saying he should have went all-in Euro or even selected any. You can't possibly say he's in on the Foreign invasion over the past decade and a half with a straight face however can you?

He can only pick players that are available to be selected, and fill a need. And there aren't a ton of examples where there were multiple Euros on the board that outperformed Ainge's pick.

In 2012, he missed out on Tomas Satoransky and Kostos Papinikalou.

In 2011, he could have had Bogdonavich, Davis Bertens, and Adam Hanga.

In 2010, he passed on Namanja Bjelica and Pape Sy.

In 2009, there wasn't a single Euro taken after the C's only pick.

In 2008, he missed on Pekovic, Asik.

In 2007, he could have had Kyrylo Fesenko, Stanko Baric, and Marc Gasol and Milovan Rakovic.

In 2006, he could have taken Mouhamed Sene, Shefalosa, Oleksiy Pecherov, Sergio Rodriguez, Kosta Perovic, Lior Eliyahu, Yotam Halperin, or Edin Bavcic.

In 2005, he could have taken Ian Mahinmi, Ilyasova, Roko Ukic, Axel Hervelle, Cenk Aykol, and Marcin Gortat.

In 2004, he passed on guys like Vujacic, Udrih, Albert Miralles, Vanillous Spanoulis, and Christian Drejer.

So outside of 2013, where are all of these Euro players that Ainge should have drafted but didn't because he dismissed Euros out of hand. Marc Gasol? Who this board insists wasn't a real prospect and it was purely luck that Memphis got that return in the Pau Gasol trade? Pekovic, Ilyasova, Asik or Gortat? All nice enough players, but none of them are can't miss talents that you can really be critical of Ainge for missing.

So again, it's fun to try and build a narrative around Ainge's lack of Euro draft picks. But if you actually look at the context, it makes complete sense.

 

[Kliq]

Giannis was a super-duper surprise when he was taken by Milwaukee. If you nail a first-round pick where you draft a teenager playing in the Greek second division league, that is something that strikes me as being a freak (pun intended) incident. Nobody was really looking at Giannis right there, I don't really think you can blame Danny.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

He can only pick players that are available to be selected, and fill a need. And there aren't a ton of examples where there were multiple Euros on the board that outperformed Ainge's pick.

In 2012, he missed out on Tomas Satoransky and Kostos Papinikalou.

In 2011, he could have had Bogdonavich, Davis Bertens, and Adam Hanga.

In 2010, he passed on Namanja Bjelica and Pape Sy.

In 2009, there wasn't a single Euro taken after the C's only pick.

In 2008, he missed on Pekovic, Asik.

In 2007, he could have had Kyrylo Fesenko, Stanko Baric, and Marc Gasol and Milovan Rakovic.

In 2006, he could have taken Mouhamed Sene, Shefalosa, Oleksiy Pecherov, Sergio Rodriguez, Kosta Perovic, Lior Eliyahu, Yotam Halperin, or Edin Bavcic.

In 2005, he could have taken Ian Mahinmi, Ilyasova, Roko Ukic, Axel Hervelle, Cenk Aykol, and Marcin Gortat.

In 2004, he passed on guys like Vujacic, Udrih, Albert Miralles, Vanillous Spanoulis, and Christian Drejer.

So outside of 2013, where are all of these Euro players that Ainge should have drafted but didn't because he dismissed Euros out of hand. Marc Gasol? Who this board insists wasn't a real prospect and it was purely luck that Memphis got that return in the Pau Gasol trade? Pekovic, Ilyasova, Asik or Gortat? All nice enough players, but none of them are can't miss talents that you can really be critical of Ainge for missing.

So again, it's fun to try and build a narrative around Ainge's lack of Euro draft picks. But if you actually look at the context, it makes complete sense.

Thank you for confirming my point of the several dozen foreign players that Ainge didn't draft with Erden being the only one who comes to mind.

He had a long record of dismissing foreign players......how can this not be crystal clear when he's drafted exactly one? I don't believe he even had a head international scout on staff until last summer (or was it summer before) when Lemes came on.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Ainge also hasn't drafted any players from Duke, UNC, Kansas, Michigan, or UConn. Is it crystal clear that he'd never draft players from those programs, or is it more likely that the right opportunity hasn't presented itself?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Ainge also hasn't drafted any players from Duke, UNC, Kansas, Michigan, or UConn. Is it crystal clear that he'd never draft players from those programs, or is it more likely that the right opportunity hasn't presented itself?

Cmon now. Cherry picking a few major programs is FAR different than not taking any second round fliers on foreigners over the course of 12 drafts or even have someone in charge of specifically scouring them.

 

[Grin&MartyBarret]

Cmon now. Cherry picking a few major programs is FAR different than not taking any second round fliers on foreigners over the course of 12 drafts or even have someone in charge of specifically scouring them.

Googled for 9 seconds, found an article supporting my point of view that references their Director of International Scouting in 2007. So your assertion that they didn't have a director of international scouting until last year is flat out wrong.

"The Celtics do scout strongly overseas, and have a director of international scouting, Hingham native Ryan McDonough. Ainge also plans on taking several international trips in the upcoming year to scout talent."

http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/12/16/international_flavor_not_to_every_teams_taste/?page=full

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Googled for 9 seconds, found an article supporting my point of view that references their Director of International Scouting in 2007. So your assertion that they didn't have a director of international scouting until last year is flat out wrong.

"The Celtics do scout strongly overseas, and have a director of international scouting, Hingham native Ryan McDonough. Ainge also plans on taking several international trips in the upcoming year to scout talent."

http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2007/12/16/international_flavor_not_to_every_teams_taste/?page=full

I do suppose technically this is correct. Let's keep in mind McDonough was about 25 and in his first position past intern when he was given this title.

Ainge gets so defensive with his quotes talking about mistakes teams have made with foreign players.......when I'm mostly referring to 2nd round bigs who have proven for years to be tremendous value and still are except they are now taken late first.

 

[Devizier]

Do we think they're dismissing Euros out of hand?

Honestly, I wonder if people are just remembering the bit of Celtics history where Chris Wallace took Joe Forte instead of Tony Parker and blamed Red for it.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Honestly, I wonder if people are just remembering the bit of Celtics history where Chris Wallace took Joe Forte instead of Tony Parker and blamed Red for it.

I recall an interview with Parker years ago where he specifically said that he received a call from the Celtics that night saying the Celtics would be drafting him if he was still on the board two picks later. Afterward, Jim O'Brien told him that he and Wallace wanted him but Red still had final say back then and wanted Forte.

Who knows what's really true but Parker really had no motivation to not be truthful.

 

[Schnerres]

Warriors-Spurs is 67-67 with 9:32 to play. Curry + Thompson a combined 2-13 for three so far. Either they´re tired or they get hot...

 

[BigSoxFan]

This playoff series just has to happen.

 

[tbrep]

GS really missed Bogut tonight - had no answer to Aldridge inside and gave up some back-breaking offensive rebounds

 

[Kliq]

San Antonio played probably the most perfect defensive game plan of any team this season, or any other season. They were physical, they attacked the shooters and pick and rolls, they had multiple different guys guard Curry extremely competently, it was incredible.

Offensively they did the right thing by punishing the Warriors small ball lineup on the glass. San Antonio has a great rotation to make the Warriors work. They have two post up threats inside and plenty of shooters (Leonard, Green, Ginobili, Mills and even Parker) to kick it out on double teams and make GS pay. In addition, all of their bigs have to be guarded in between 15-20 feet which means GS can't ignore weak offensive players like they tend to do.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

San Antonio played probably the most perfect defensive game plan of any team this season, or any other season. They were physical, they attacked the shooters and pick and rolls, they had multiple different guys guard Curry extremely competently, it was incredible.

Offensively they did the right thing by punishing the Warriors small ball lineup on the glass. San Antonio has a great rotation to make the Warriors work. They have two post up threats inside and plenty of shooters (Leonard, Green, Ginobili, Mills and even Parker) to kick it out on double teams and make GS pay. In addition, all of their bigs have to be guarded in between 15-20 feet which means GS can't ignore weak offensive players like they tend to do.

I'm watching this right now and wouldn't place much if any weight on this game to predict future results. The Warriors are playing their 6th game in 10 days, 9th in 14, and are without Iguodala as well as BOTH of their centers in Bogut and Ezeli against a team they really need their size and length. Aldridge is doing as he pleases without any resistance due to such extreme small ball and lack of options for Golden State tonight. Curry and Klay look as though this trip to Texas was last on their list of options if they were given a choice at the end of such a draining stretch.

 

[coremiller]

I'm watching this right now and wouldn't place much if any weight on this game to predict future results. The Warriors are playing their 6th game in 10 days, 9th in 14, and are without Iguodala as well as BOTH of their centers in Bogut and Ezeli against a team they really need their size and length. Aldridge is doing as he pleases without any resistance due to such extreme small ball and lack of options for Golden State tonight. Curry and Klay look as though this trip to Texas was last on their list of options if they were given a choice at the end of such a draining stretch.

And despite all this, and with Curry and Thompson shooting 2-19 on 3s, this was a 1-point game with 4 minutes to go and a 3-point game with 2 minutes to go. They might get out-rebounded like this again against the Spurs but it's unlikely the Ws will get outshot 38%-25% from 3 very often. It's a good sign for them that they were in the game the whole way with so much going against them here.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Actually Kliq and HRB are correct.

The Spurs did, indeed, have a good game plan and executed it to perfection. But the Warriors were on the wrong end of a back-to-back, were short-handed and have been playing a heavy schedule of late.

In addition to Curry and Thompson looking tired/off, Draymond Green, who played ok offensively, didn't play his best defensive game against the Spurs. Aldridge, dating back to his Portland days, has struggled against Green - Draymond seems to get under LaMarcus's skin (over his career, Aldrige has averaged his lowest FG% vs the Warriors). However last night Aldridge had one of his better games against Golden State and was, essentially, the difference maker for the Spurs.

That said, I could watch a series between these two teams at either last night's pace or the pace of their first meeting, all season long.

 

[jon abbey]

That late February game between CLE and TOR that Lowry dominated Kyrie in (a career high 43 and 9 assists to Kyrie's 10 and 1, plus a game-winning buzzer beater) is looming increasingly large, as it gave TOR the season series tiebreaker at 2-1 and CLE is now one game ahead with 13 to play.

http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?id=400828751

 

[ifmanis5]

Great comeback last night by the Hornets after being down 28-7 to beat the Spurs.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

NBA has some funny rules. OKC up 4, Ibaka grabs a rebound and holds the ball for 6 seconds. Donovan calls time to prevent the violation. Still need to get it over half court in two seconds, but they have trouble on the inbounds and call timeout again. And voila, this moves the inbounds over half court...how does that make sense?

Lol, Harden has a chance to tie the game but instead throws a wild one-handed alley-oop to Howard off the bounce that...does not work.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

NBA has some funny rules. OKC up 4, Ibaka grabs a rebound and holds the ball for 6 seconds. Donovan calls time to prevent the violation. Still need to get it over half court in two seconds, but they have trouble on the inbounds and call timeout again. And voila, this moves the inbounds over half court...how does that make sense?

Lol, Harden has a chance to tie the game but instead throws a wild one-handed alley-oop to Howard off the bounce that...does not work.

I'm assuming Ibaka took a dribble at some point prior to the TO which would eliminate the option to move the inbounds to halfcourt. I wasn't aware that you could circumvent that rule, if this was the case, simply by calling another TO.

 

[gingerbreadmann]

I really, really, don't want to become a Warriors hater, but man, every single fan they showed at Oracle tonight looked like a massive tool who bought a Curry jersey on their way to the arena. I wish I could have gone on the loudspeaker and asked everyone to raise their hands if they have ever heard of Baron Davis. That team is magnificent (and the Clippers couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot) but I'm afraid I'm going to sour on them if they keep winning so much because of these Silicon Valley douchebags.

And I know Boston is notorious for having asshole fans -- doesn't mean I'm above feeling the same way about other teams. Maybe someone who has actually spent time in the Bay Area can speak to the fanbase and hopefully give me a reason to be happy for them.

 

[Kliq]

The Warriors have had a tremendous fanbase for years and years. I'm not sure if the people filling Oracle now are the same who filled it when they were awful, but they were a long suffering fanbase that gave the team tremendous support even when they sucked. I get the contempt for the crowd, sometimes they are a little too over the top with their oohing and ahhing with every random behind the back dribble, but that is a loyal fanbase. I'd compare them to Seahawk fans, in the sense that they are loyal and energetic, but also feel a little bit too self-important.

 

[Kliq]

In other news, Mudiay with an ugly ass game winner tonight against Philly. I know Denver isn't great, but Philly must drag down attendance league wide when they go on the road.

 

[LondonSox]

He's not even left alone, there's a guy defending him, but obviously not willing to foul on that shot. Just crazy.
It's also worth noting that Noel was out as well that game, so the Nuggets at home needed that to beat a team with what maybe one current worthy NBA rotation player in it.
That might also drag attendance down. But yeah clearly Philly does, which has also been one of the factors for all the pressure on them from the league.
Lakers have been nearly as bad for as long but have star power etc I guess and still get fans for a last look at Kobe etc. Sixers... nbot so much

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I really, really, don't want to become a Warriors hater, but man, every single fan they showed at Oracle tonight looked like a massive tool who bought a Curry jersey on their way to the arena. I wish I could have gone on the loudspeaker and asked everyone to raise their hands if they have ever heard of Baron Davis. That team is magnificent (and the Clippers couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot) but I'm afraid I'm going to sour on them if they keep winning so much because of these Silicon Valley douchebags.

And I know Boston is notorious for having asshole fans -- doesn't mean I'm above feeling the same way about other teams. Maybe someone who has actually spent time in the Bay Area can speak to the fanbase and hopefully give me a reason to be happy for them.

All winning teams who make tremendous leaps go through this. It's the trendy thing to do when a team is suddenly all the rage. The pink hats of the Johnny Damon years have invaded Oracle!

 

[GreenMonster49]

I'm assuming Ibaka took a dribble at some point prior to the TO which would eliminate the option to move the inbounds to halfcourt. I wasn't aware that you could circumvent that rule, if this was the case, simply by calling another TO.

It looks like the officials got this one right. The NBA rule on backcourt timeouts near the end of the game:

If a timeout is charged to the offensive team during the last two minutes of the fourth period and/or any overtime period and (1) the ball is out-of-bounds in the backcourt (except for a suspension of play after the team had advanced the ball), or (2) after securing the ball from a rebound in the backcourt and prior to any advance of the ball, or (3) after the offensive team secures the ball from a change of possession in the backcourt and prior to any advance of the ball, the timeout should be granted. Upon resumption of play, the team granted the timeout shall have the option of putting the ball into play at the 28' hash mark in the frontcourt or at the designated spot out-of-bounds. If the ball is put into play at the hash mark, the ball may be passed into either the frontcourt or backcourt. If it is passed into the backcourt, the team will receive a new 8-second count.

However, once the ball is (1) thrown in from out-of-bounds, or (2) dribbled or passed after receiving it from a rebound or a change of possession, the timeout shall be granted, and, upon resumption of play, the ball shall be in-bounded on the sideline where play was interrupted. The option to advance is also not available following a timeout which is charged to neither team. In order for the option to be available following these conditions, a second timeout must be granted to the offensive team.

Edit: included link

 

[gingerbreadmann]

All winning teams who make tremendous leaps go through this. It's the trendy thing to do when a team is suddenly all the rage. The pink hats of the Johnny Damon years have invaded Oracle!

Right, I understand that, but I think it's interesting to look at on a case by case basis. For example, you never hear about obnoxious Spurs fans -- which doesn't mean they're not out there en masse but for whatever reason they don't overwhelm the team itself and everyone loves the Spurs even after almost 20 years of greatness. The Royals and their fans seem to have remained tolerable thus far. Maybe that owes to geography, I don't know. It is fun to think about the Johnny-come-lately Warriors fans being the same exact people who wore pink hats to Fenway, though. Boy am I glad that's over.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Nets are up 5 on the Cavs with under 4 minutes to go

 

[BigSoxFan]

I fucking hate the Cavs.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

For a team with so few wins, the Nets have beaten some good teams

 

[OCST]

Just walked by Brook and Robin Lopez shooting something (commercial?) at a hot dog cart under the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Right, I understand that, but I think it's interesting to look at on a case by case basis. For example, you never hear about obnoxious Spurs fans -- which doesn't mean they're not out there en masse but for whatever reason they don't overwhelm the team itself and everyone loves the Spurs even after almost 20 years of greatness. The Royals and their fans seem to have remained tolerable thus far. Maybe that owes to geography, I don't know. It is fun to think about the Johnny-come-lately Warriors fans being the same exact people who wore pink hats to Fenway, though. Boy am I glad that's over.

I have lived in San Francisco for over 20 years and I can say that the Warriors have a very loyal fanbase as Kliq observed. That said, you are correct in your observation that there are a lot of new fans showing up to Oracle every night and its changed the vibe a fair bit.

Aside from the oohs and ahs at fairly routine plays, its not uncommon to see people completely ignoring the game so that they can share their Warriors experience via social media. Of course this phenomena happens everywhere but even two years ago, Oracle fans were watching the action rather than snapping or gramming selfies from their seats.

My theory is that many long standing season ticket holders are cashing in/paying for their seats by selling many regular season games to the Dubs pink hat brigade.

 

[EL Jeffe]

WTF. Brooklyn beats Cleveland and Indiana back to back. Sigh.

 

[MuzzyField]

The Wizards had a 9-point lead in the 2nd... I switch over to TNT to confirm and it was indeed true. Then the Warriors go BOOM with some long range bombs and take a 3-point lead into the break.

Also, Lisa Lesile is no Kara Lawson on the analyst desk and why is Isiah Thomas on my TV?

 

[DJnVa]

So, uh, that Laker locker room is a dumpster fire huh?