2016-2017 NBA Game Thread
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NBA saying bucket shouldn't counted - 'twas a 5 second violation. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18415546/nba-says-milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-committed-5-second-violation-winner-new-york-knicks
I don't get why the NBA stirs up the shit with these reports. These calls can't be changed retroactively so why throw the officials under the bus with ticky tac shit that won't ever be called anyway.
I'm definitely not a fan of NBA officiating but still I don't see what good comes out of these reports except for giving fans incentive to bitch.
I dont know that it truly throws refs under the bus. And I think that the NBA, unlike, say the twisted, corrupt and completely capricious NFL, believes getting it right is better than papering over bad calls. Furthermore, it incentivizes the officials to improve at their job.
Finally, fans are going to bitch regardless.
Finally, fans are going to bitch regardless.
Practically speaking, we all know refs aren't going to make that call but I do like that the NBA is attempting to be transparent and honest with its officiating. The NFL is the exact opposite and it's annoying. I don't think people care enough about regular season games to really make a stink unless it involves an 8 step travel by LeBron or Durant or something. With 3-4 games every week, 99.9% of fans have moved on after 24 hours.
IMO the officiating has gotten much, much better since Adam Silver took charge. Come to think of it, the NBA as a brand seems to be in much better since that time.
Yeah, that's mostly my point. No one is calling five seconds at the end of the game and I would hate to see a great game that comes down to the wire end on a five seconds call. I think there is a fine line between pointing out egregious misses on obvious things but going deep into the rule book and pointing out insignificant violations probably isn't that helpful.
I do agree as a whole that NBA officiating is getting better. That's definitely not a high bar to clear but I think I see less of officials trying to make themselves the star. Of course, that might be because Joey Crawford and Bennett Salvatore have retired over the last couple years.
Giannis vs Kristaps after the Celtics has been really, really fun. Unfortunately Kristaps just fouled out but still a close game late in the 4th
Mad the Bucks lost/Knicks won but that Carmello shot was ridiculous and they couldn't recover. On that Giannis block did the announcer yell "KIIIIILLLLLLLL"? Because that's what it sounded like
I love the NBA. Troy Daniels goes undrafted, hits some shots in the 2014 playoffs and now he is a rotation player for a playoff team.
Draymond's hissy fit and subsequent mannequin challenge act when Durant calls for the ball is an interesting development.
In his defense, that's a terrible possession for a team like the dubs. Durant's gotta be smarter than that.
In his defense, that's a terrible possession for a team like the dubs. Durant's gotta be smarter than that.
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I actually gained some respect for Draymond for that. Up 2 with 30 seconds to go and 3 elite scorers and you settle for a 30+ 3 pointer? That's pathetic by Durant.
This has been going on for over a month now. Their 4th quarter offense slows to a crawl, Durant does Durant things, and the execution is atrocious. It's flown under the radar while Durant makes shots but when he doesn't you've got Curry, Klay and Draymond standing helpless 30-feet from the basket as overpaid bystanders. Having one ball with all these scorers has been fine in the first 3 quarters but the 4th is what playoff games are going to look like with slower paces especially against grind it out teams like a Memphis and like a Cleveland. They are going to have to figure these things out but Durant is an iso guy......good luck Kerr.
You gained respect for a player who, when the game/call didn't go his way, even with a the bad play by Durant stood still and didn't hit the glass?
Okay.
That doesn't excuse Durant, but still.
He obviously should have hit the boards and is still a giant baby but that Durant play was even more selfish than what Draymond did (and didn't do).
Not just Green but Curry who "dismissively" tossed the ball to Durant, literally walks over half-heartedly to set a screen and then disengaged immediately thereafter. Plus, Klay also didn't go after the rebound.
Bad body language indeed.
Green's a ridiculous child. One of the top scorers in the league had a mismatch in crunch time and he tried to exploit it. I know it's become the trend to use "iso" as a dirty word that automatically assumes selfishness, but Zach Randolph guarding Durant 35 feet from the basket is absolutely the matchup to exploit given that Conley ended up on Curry and Allen ended up on Thompson.
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Schadenfreude. I'm enjoying it now, because - like the Heat - the superteam will probably figure this all out. Until then, I hope they hate playing basketball every night.
Yeah, you're right, that shot is much more defensible than I initially gave it credit for. But even if it wasn't, Green's tantrum and quitting on the play is awful.
The shooting revolution going on in the NBA is amazing and pretty soon, everything we know about defense is going to change. Without diving too much into it, the 22 foot corner 3 is probably the most valuable shot in the NBA right now (this article has some neat information on expected value based on last season's statistics - just ignore the stuff on the four point line) and teams should really do more to take it out of play.
In the same vein, there are 10 guys in the NBA shooting .350 and over (11 counting Curry's .346 and this includes Reddick, who is shooting .611 from that range, and Telatovic, who is shooting .545) which makes that more shot more valuable than almost every non-dunk 2P shots.
If more people start shooting that well from that deep, defenses are going to have concede large parts of the court inside the 3P line.
While the basketball is interesting and free-flowing right now, I still think that the 3P shot is too valuable and I am wondering how far this goes.
Lol, thanks. Regardless of the actual distance, it was a horrible shot to take. He had a slow-footed PF on him and was already up 2. He easily could have driven for a much better look but he didn't. The whole team looked like complete dipshits on that possession.
One point Bill Simmons has made that is true is Stern's final arc as commissioner was a disaster. He built up a ton of goodwill for his legacy to not be just player lockouts, franchises moving like it was the 70s, and Tim Donaghy.
I agree with this 100%.
ISOs are stupid in this day in age, especially at crunch time and especially with two other elite shooters on the floor. The Grizzlies were able to set up their defense perfectly simply because of that ISO. There is no excuse for that shot and Draymond has every right to be upset with that, even though I agree that his open emoting is shitty.
This isn't hard - that was terrible basketball execution and it cost the Warriors a winnable game on their home floor.
And the whole point of the spread everyone out offense is to let the guy with the mismatch drive the ball to the hoop. That's what Durant was supposed to do on Randolph, which would likely have resulted in a better 2 point shot, a shooting foul, or an open look for 2 of the best shooters in the league as Memphis defenders rotated to help out Randolph. All of which would have been better than a 37-40% chance of making a 3.
Durant's shot, which he could have certainly made, was decently contested. If the game were tied and the clock were ticking down to 0, that shot would have been ok. I wouldn't have loved it since I hated watching the Pierce ISO but it would have made some strategic sense.
But, up 2 with 30ish seconds left? Horrible. I'm not criticizing the play call. I'm criticizing the execution from a Top 5 NBA player who's in like his 10th year in the league. Draymond should have crashed the boards and behaved better but he was right to be pissed.
Durant's shot, which he could have certainly made, was decently contested. If the game were tied and the clock were ticking down to 0, that shot would have been ok. I wouldn't have loved it since I hated watching the Pierce ISO but it would have made some strategic sense.
But, up 2 with 30ish seconds left? Horrible. I'm not criticizing the play call. I'm criticizing the execution from a Top 5 NBA player who's in like his 10th year in the league. Draymond should have crashed the boards and behaved better but he was right to be pissed.
I don't care if it was Zara taking a 30 foot fade away, the reaction was far more egregious than the shot. He turned his back on the play then stood there shaking his head with his hands on his knees while Memphis grabbed the rebound. That's pathetic.
I would like a 4-point shot rule, if it was added along with a rule that lets teams opt to keep the ball when they are fouled. The four-pointer would give teams that are behind late a chance to catch up, while the other rule lets you still get rid of the horrible parade of free throws at the end of every close game.
I admittedly love Draymond Green so I am biased here but I don't agree. The chances of him grabbing that rebound were slim and while I would prefer him to handle this issue in house, I am ok with him sending Durant a message that the shit that Brooks, Donovan and all his former teammates tolerated in OKC won't be in Oakland.
I know many non-Golden State fans do not like Green but the guy is the Warriors leader. Furthermore, every single night the guy sacrifices so that the team can win. Earlier in the week, Durant and Green both took a shot (I can't use "shade" - it doesn't feel right) at Westbrook by saying that Draymond could get a triple double every night and while that was an exaggeration, it isn't that far off. Instead, he has committed himself to being an elite defender and facilitator. He is currently fourth in defensive rating, third in steals and seventh in assists.
As such, Green has earned the right to bark at Durant, Curry, Thompson or anyone else because of what he does for that team. While I wouldn't compare Green to Larry Bird or Michael Jordan in terms of basketball ability, he shares their utter contempt for losing and has no fear of calling out anyone, anytime. Frankly, I will be surprised if they don't fix this with Kerr running the show. It's clearly better to identify and address it now rather than in April.
I don't ever remember Bird or MJ intentionally turning their back in the middle of a crunch time play because McHale or Scottie took an ill-advised shot. Fanboy or not, I can't believe you can watch that and defend him.
And for the record, I've been a Michigan State fan since I was six, and I was a huge Green fan. He is a great player. And I even agree with you that his tantrum may well help rectify an ongoing issue with the team's 4th Q execution, so maybe the ends justify the means. But he didn't just bark. He threw a tantrum, petulantly turned his back on the play, then quit. Even if you think he had no shot at a rebound (and I disagree, had he released as the shot went up), he had no way of knowing that. Crash the fucking boards on a long three.
Fwiw, in my small sampling, it's not just GS fans defending him. The guys I played ball with today (in Brooklyn) were all killing KD for the shot and nobody seemed to care about Green's histrionics, so it seems I'm in the minority on this.
And for the record, I've been a Michigan State fan since I was six, and I was a huge Green fan. He is a great player. And I even agree with you that his tantrum may well help rectify an ongoing issue with the team's 4th Q execution, so maybe the ends justify the means. But he didn't just bark. He threw a tantrum, petulantly turned his back on the play, then quit. Even if you think he had no shot at a rebound (and I disagree, had he released as the shot went up), he had no way of knowing that. Crash the fucking boards on a long three.
Fwiw, in my small sampling, it's not just GS fans defending him. The guys I played ball with today (in Brooklyn) were all killing KD for the shot and nobody seemed to care about Green's histrionics, so it seems I'm in the minority on this.
To be clear, I didn't love him doing that either and ideally he goes after the board. But what makes Green great is the same thing that drives his coaches, teammates, opposing players, fans and haters nuts. The guy plays with his heart on his sleeve and that is the only thing that sometimes gets in the way of him being even better. This was one of those times but, like your friends, I think that the awful play by Durant eclipsed everything else.
ISOs are like bunts - they should be used sparingly and if you are going to err on one side versus another, its better to never do them than to feature them. Its criminal that Brooks and Donovan used them so much with two players who could create such havoc like Durant and Westbrook. Durant has been given notice - that shit won't fly for the Warriors. Hopefully he realizes it and they continue to evolve.
His PnR with Curry in the Blazers game was a thing of beauty and just lethal. Do that more. ISO less.
Durant and Westbrook are both lethal in iso and are what make them the unstoppable scorers that they are. Why would you want to sacrifice the best part of their game to bring other defenders into the play allowing them to be doubled?
People here are being way too result oriented. Durant has been playing used in iso during the 4th quarters since he arrived here and especially over the past month. The set got them the best matchup on the floor and Durant missed his open look. Green's antics are what put this all over the news.
Finding the proper matchup is perfectly fine but taking a 3 in that situation was stupid. He didn't need a 3 and it was the lowest percentage shot he could have taken in that situation.
Draymond's antics were over-the-top but it's not being "result oriented" to criticize Durant's shot selection there. It was putrid and would have any coach at any level cringing.
Also, I don't see how anyone can watch the video and call that an "open look". Randolph was right there.
Draymond's antics were over-the-top but it's not being "result oriented" to criticize Durant's shot selection there. It was putrid and would have any coach at any level cringing.
Also, I don't see how anyone can watch the video and call that an "open look". Randolph was right there.