2017-18 NBA Regular Season Game/Observation Thread
- Thread starter DeJesus Built My Hotrod
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Two games tonight with pick implications: ORL v DAL and SAC v LAL.
Would be great if ORL could get a win here as I think DAL is much more competitive on a night-in, night-out basis, particularly given the number of injuries ORL has had to endure.
Kings on back to back but Lakers are in the midst of a 20 game stretch where they don't have 2 days off between games (and won't have two days off until after they play the Cs on 1.23).
Wild finish in Toronto, Ellington with winning drive .3 seconds left. DeRozen heaves a full court bomb off the back of the rim.
Goran Dragic and DeRozen shoving each other after the buzzer.
Goran Dragic and DeRozen shoving each other after the buzzer.
I take the other view; I think the odds the LAL finish with a worse record than DAL to be far better than the odds of LAL behind ORL. There are going to be some other teams in the mix for the top picks, so I think we're probably better off, odds all told, if Dallas wins and takes themselves farther from LAL (with whom they are essentially tied). ATL and ORL, I'll probably root to lose to all other contenders in the tankathon (other than LAL themselves of course). I think those are the no-hopers.
Chippy game - James Johnson took a swing at Ibaka and both were bounced from the game earlier.
And then you have beef between Ljubljana and the CPT
I don't hold out a lot of hope for the Kings on the second half of a back to back, but they've fought. Down by just one.
I agree. We want separation between the bad teams and the horrendous teams so that there is as little incentive as possible for those bad teams to shift to tanking and potentially slide below LA. I'd rather see Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Memphis, and Brooklyn win games now to solidity LA as a bottom 4 team and worry about jockeying for positioning with Orlando, Sacramento, and Atlanta later.
Some escalating elbows before Ibaka throws a 'punch'. It looked like Johnson may have put a straight right back in his pocket instead of leveling Ibaka, which was a good choice. Its probably also a good choice to avoid the NBA power forward who is also a competitive mixed martial artist.
Chin up El Uno! KD returns from his strained calf tonight v. the Clips, but both Splash Bros are out: Steph retweaked his ankle on a wet spot during shootaround (ugh), and Iron Man Klay had a scheduled, well-earned day off.
I thought maybe Quinn Cook could be called up from Santa Cruz, but apparently he just played 39 minutes for the Santa Cruz Warriors v. Raptors 905 in Mississauga, Ontario. So it looks like Point Livingston-McCaw-Iguodala.
Fairly tough road trip for the Ws coming up after tonight: at MIL, TOR, CLE, CHI, HOU. Would be nice to have all systems go...
I thought maybe Quinn Cook could be called up from Santa Cruz, but apparently he just played 39 minutes for the Santa Cruz Warriors v. Raptors 905 in Mississauga, Ontario. So it looks like Point Livingston-McCaw-Iguodala.
Fairly tough road trip for the Ws coming up after tonight: at MIL, TOR, CLE, CHI, HOU. Would be nice to have all systems go...
You never know with hammy strains, but apparently he's getting close:
If we're lucky, we could see both full-strength Warriors v. full-strength Rockets and full-strength Warriors v. full-strength Cavs.
Bulls just gave up a dunk to Porzingis as time expired in OT to send Chic/NY into double OT. That was insanely bad defense, and they even had a foul to give.
And the Bulls win in double OT.
Also, Dallas beat Charlotte, the Nets got taken apart by Detroit, Orlando lost to Milwaukee.
Memphis hanging tough against NO, 1 pt game with a minute to go
EDIT--and the Grizzlies hold on for win number 13
Also, Dallas beat Charlotte, the Nets got taken apart by Detroit, Orlando lost to Milwaukee.
Memphis hanging tough against NO, 1 pt game with a minute to go
EDIT--and the Grizzlies hold on for win number 13
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Durant needed 25 points to become the fifth player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points before age 30 (with LeBron, Kobe, Jordan and Wilt). Got em in the first half, on 9-10 fg.
Clips hanging tough, tho: 62-58 Warriors at the half.
Clips hanging tough, tho: 62-58 Warriors at the half.
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Steph legitimately tweaked the same ankle that kept him out 11 games when he slipped on a wet spot during shootaround (not badly, apparently, but you don't mess with that stuff).
Klay's fine, but deserved a scheduled rest day after being the only guy on the team to play the previous 41 games (and helping carry the team in the absence of KD and/or Steph). I assume he had already smoked a huge bowl and eaten a gallon of ice cream by the time the Curry news broke.
I saw a Denver fan blog pining for Kemba on the Nuggets. I dont think Charlotte would trade him but he would be perfect in Denver and would make them a really tough team to face for anyone in the West including a full strength Golden State.
You’re probably right about Charlotte not trading Walker since he has one of the best contracts in the league for the next 2 years but these teams do match up pretty well for a trade with Murray and probably Lyles being the main pieces going back to Charlotte.
This has to be maddening to LA - he is keeping this team competitive enough to sniff the eighth seed and yet, they are better off trading him for a combination of bodies and picks so they can rebuild on the fly. He is flat out balling though.
I have no shame in saying that as frustrating as they are to watch, the Clippers (especially with Lou Will) are one of my League Pass teams.
I’m pretty sure Lou Williams turned into just a ball of fire at some point around the third quarter.
Also, I have to give some credit to Doc, he is basically playing Lou Williams, DeAndre and a bunch of undrafted guys and cast-offs and they are winning some games.
Also, I have to give some credit to Doc, he is basically playing Lou Williams, DeAndre and a bunch of undrafted guys and cast-offs and they are winning some games.
Clips without Griffin, Beverley, Gallo, Rivers, and Teodosic (plus CJ Williams hurt in the 3rd) totally wreck the Splash-less Warriors in Oakland, 125-106. Ws led 81-72 in the 3rd; Clips closed 53-24. Great effort by the Clips, snapping their 12-game losing streak v their tormentors. Beyond the combustible Lou Williams, guys like Harrell and Tyrone Wallace really put it to the Ws, who outside of Durant (40 pts on 18 fga) played atrociously and richly deserved the loss.
See the key all along was less CP3; more Tyrone Williams. Idk why Doc never figured that out during a playoff series.
The Clippers Tyrone Wallace was in his third NBA game ever after getting signed to a two way contract over the weekend. He only put up 22 points on 7-11 shooting (1-1 from beyond the arc), six rebounds, four assists and two steals. I know the Warriors were depleted but that is still damn impressive for what amounts to a street FA in 2018.
In other news, it appears as if ElUno may get a chance to buy a #23 jersey as a long term investment.
For those on mobile, according to Shams: Sources: Lou Williams and the Clippers have recently engaged in contract extension discussions, but no deal's formed as sides evaluate positions. Williams went for 50 points against the Warriors in Oakland tonight. He's eligible for an extension during season.
In other news, it appears as if ElUno may get a chance to buy a #23 jersey as a long term investment.
For those on mobile, according to Shams: Sources: Lou Williams and the Clippers have recently engaged in contract extension discussions, but no deal's formed as sides evaluate positions. Williams went for 50 points against the Warriors in Oakland tonight. He's eligible for an extension during season.
The Bulls vs Knicks game was a lot of fun, full of intensity and a surprisingly high-level of play for both teams. The Markkanen/Porzingis duel was very interesting; between Markkanen and Dunn, the Butler deal looks like a big win for Chicago (not to say Butler has been bad in Minnesota) and we haven't even seen Lavine yet.
Not sure where to drop this, but this may be the best place, with the Celtics thread retired: A nice article on how amazing Boston's season has been, simply based on the team's youth (the NBA's other four title favorites are the oldest teams in the league). An under-25 (average age weighted by minutes played) team isn't supposed to be nearly this good.
Kevin Love literally just watched a guy go around him without make any effort to try to cut him off. He didn't even move.
I missed that but it couldn't have been worse defense than IT defending the lane in the first quarter.
4 blocked shots. He doesn't seem to be moving that great tonight either.
0-for-10 now. This is why Danny took the gamble and traded him. You just never know how the hip is going to hold up.
Oof. Thomas clearly not the same player yet, but this is nuts. Hope he gets back, but all those people penning in Cleveland better hold the bus
The Cavs look simply disinterested tonight. I wouldn't take too much away from what is going on other than they collectively decided not to push to hard in Toronto.
As a side note, the NBA is the one sport where the announcers, who are league sanctioned, and Miller is calling Cleveland out for not trying. And I suspect if I turn on NBA radio tomorrow, they will do the same, which is refreshing.
That said, this game is far from over. And IT3 needs more time to get back into regular season shape. I don't think its anything more than that.
As a side note, the NBA is the one sport where the announcers, who are league sanctioned, and Miller is calling Cleveland out for not trying. And I suspect if I turn on NBA radio tomorrow, they will do the same, which is refreshing.
That said, this game is far from over. And IT3 needs more time to get back into regular season shape. I don't think its anything more than that.
The max that the Clippers can offer Lou is 4/$42m with the first year at $9.3m which is just above the MLE. That's a no-brainer for the Clippers but if you're Lou do you trust that this summers "FA wake up call" with few dollars available will net him more than this?
Cavs again "going through the motions," apparently. I look forward to them playing a team against whom they should be motivated. Maybe they'd show their true talent level if Lowry and Ibaka were playing?
By all accounts, he wants to stay in LA. The thing is, I don't know who will pay him because as good a scorer as he is, he has never been even a decent defensive player and he isn't getting any better at age 32 (which is what he will be at the start of next season). I think the Clips should just trade him to the C's for the DPE and their pick.
In the meantime, while Cleveland has mailed this game in, the Raptors are to be feared. DeRozan's improvement from three is the big reason but the development of guys like VanVleet and Anunoby makes them formidable. I don't think they are an early exit in the playoffs this year...
Cleveland is going to be 6.5 gb after tonight. That isn't going to be easy to overcome barring a Celtics collapse which seems unlikely.
I love that whole sophomore class in Toronto: Vanvleet, Poetl and Siakam. All three are in the top 150 in RPM.
Masai getting love from Reggie now for precisely what you are referring to. He really is one of the best in the game, especially given how hard it is to get NBA FAs to go play in that city.