The Heat packed everything in a zone and the Lakers just clanked away all night. LeBron seemed unusually disengaged.
2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread
- Thread starter BigSoxFan
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure I never promised to eat a log of shit, but I'll eat a virtual one now. He's really good.
Crazy ending in regulation in the Utah/Detroit game:
View: https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1742765452768764078?s=20
Utah won in OT.
View: https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1742765452768764078?s=20
Utah won in OT.
Now I keep imagining if a young KG (who shoots 3s!) had had SGA, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort as teammates, with an infinite pick chest coming up. Boggles the mind.
One very underrated factor in the Celtics "strength of schedule" is that opponents really, really, really get up for them.
It reminds me of when the Celtics were the underdogs and used to leave it all on the court every time they played the peak Warriors.
Another reason I think that Boston is better than its (quite good) record.
Underwhelming from my perspective of his skills/body translating. One of the things I look at in this tricky area is their movement and he seemed to play mechanical which doesn't allow for much deception in their movements at the next level. I was way wrong on him
Some do, maybe many/most do. Some also roll over and die before the opening tip off
Yea my kid was doing cartwheels about Chet & I was like he won't stand up to the rigors of the NBA. BUT the year off helped.
CH looks a lot more solid (even in the neck/head area). So now I have Hogan Jr dunking on me nightly with CHET!
I still expect someone to bail them out with a BS trade for some draft picks that will be used on kids who are now in preschool.
It's too bad that both GS and LAL can't both miss the playoffs. Or, it's super highly unlikely. Best we can hope for is one.
Edit: actually them finishing 9-10 wouldn't be too bad. One would be guaranteed to be eliminated. That would be a fun game to hate watch.
Edit: actually them finishing 9-10 wouldn't be too bad. One would be guaranteed to be eliminated. That would be a fun game to hate watch.
Yeah the annual lebron reshuffle is coming. They were dead last year and by March had become a real threat.
Edit: right on cue. Also part of the Lebron package
View: https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1742923845676544452?s=20
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No one in the league really wants Zach Lavine right now, so it's not like the Lakers would be pulling off some huge heist. He's there if they want him.
I can't remember the exact phrase Simmons used in his NBA trade value columns but something like, "only if you pry him from our cold, dead hands." The Jazz are not trading Markkanen under almost any circumstances, he is the piece they believe they are going to build around over the next couple of years.
Great game last night beating the Pistons in OT after that crazy finish to the fourth (there were a couple of threes traded before that highlight too). They should have fouled Burks but they are young and learning.
Right, but it’s exactly that kind of move that makes sense for a team with a lot of incentive to push their chips in and almost no chips to push in. Also, it helps that they can eat the costs. And would anyone be surprised if Lavine turns it around with player-coach Lebron at the helm?
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Ha, a Bill Simmons pronouncement...
I'll take that as a confirmation that Markkanen is surely getting dealt now
Starters appear to be mostly set, other than the 2nd EC guard spot:
Lebron, Durant, Jokic, Doncic, Curry in the West
Giannis, Embiid, Tatum, Haliburton, Lillard (only 80k votes ahead of Young) in the East
If nothing else, the IST definitely put Haliburton on the map. The only real snub is SGA not getting the start over Curry, but this might be the last year for that. Harden and Kyrie getting votes over Edwards is insane. Booker definitely shouldn't start, but it's kind of crazy he's not even among the top 10 guards. He's 27, been to an NBA finals, 3x all-star, and is on the short list for best American born player over the next 5-6 years (along with Tatum/Edwards).
View: https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1742962274271199430?s=20
Brooklyn fined $100k for sitting so many healthy players last week against Milwaukee. Called this out last week, what they did was a joke.
That's a fair assumption! But I didn't mean to imply that Simmons said that about Markkanen specifically (I haven't consumed his work for a few years now) just that I think Simmons used that as a category in his columns and it's an accurate description of the situation.Ha, a Bill Simmons pronouncement...
I'll take that as a confirmation that Markkanen is surely getting dealt now
He also dated a Jenner which you would think would help boost his cred somewhat.
Yea, I enjoy Bill's schtick, he's entertaining (at least to me). Plus he's wired in (probably knows the people around Danny), and if Lauri is off limits/build-around player then it's understandable.
There were reports last month that LM was available for 5 Firsts. I immediately thought OKC could cobble something around Giddey.
https://www.si.com/nba/jazz/news/lauri-markkanen-jazz-trade-rumor-marc-stein
It is, but I'm not going to care too much about it because the vote only matters for the starters, and none of those three should start over Luka/SGA. Edwards is a lock to get chosen as a reserve, and I'd be surprised if either Harden or Kyrie get chosen.
Agreed - it makes sense, and Lebron is precisely the guy you'd want riding herd on Lavine to get him to make more of the right decisions and fewer of the bad ones at both ends.
When we start hearing rumors that Pelinka is "not inclined to pursue Lavine due to long-term flexibility concerns" that's when we know Lebron is a week or two from making the deal....Pelinka has been great at messaging he matters while actually letting the real GM make the decisions.
Behind Kyrie I'd agree but Harden belongs on the team for what he's done to that Clippers team. I mean really they both belong.
I think the WC Top-6 backcourt is clear with SGA, Doncic, Curry, Harden, Edwards and Fox. Someone is getting left out in the EC and it's likely White unless they take 7 backcourt positions. You are correct about this era....it's incredible.
For as legendarily bad as the Pistons have been, the Spurs are only two games better than them despite having one of the (supposed) best coaches in the league, an all-time #1 draft pick, two legitimate starting wings... When do we start to wonder if Pop still has it? They were 14-22 at this point last year - how do you draft Wembenyama and get worse? That seems impossible.
Pop isn't trying to win games this year. It's been discussed on the home broadcasts how he's allowing Wemby to freelance this year to figure things out on his own to see what he's truly capable of doing. . He's been playing much of the time without a real guard on the floor having Sochan initiates to see if he can play a Draymond-like role. It's like the Spurs have an 82-game preseason schedule.
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I can understand the development aspect of it, but you would think they would accidentally bump into some wins based on sheer talent alone.
What he's doing is taking development to an entire new level. It's like tryouts to see what these guys can do. They went through a stretch toward the end of that losing streak where they were playing as hard as any team in the league, like playoff level intensity. That just isn't sustainable long term and honestly some of their guys I think may be severely overrated (not Wemby).
Outside of Wemby, I'm not sure anyone on the current Spurs roster will still be there next time they are contending for a title. It's frustrating that they aren't playing with this in mind and just feeding him the ball as often as possible, because no one else on that team matters and they aren't winning anything anyway. They aren't exactly ignoring him offensively (he's 17th in the league in usage rate), but it's not enough. He's right next to Tatum in terms of usage, but the offensive talent gap between Tatum and other Celtics is far smaller than the gap between Wemby and his SA teammates (and Tatum's usage is the lowest it's been since 2020).
Is there a 4Sale sign on the rest of the roster?
If they want to run a Wemby development program all season, they should just stockpile picks
The problem is there are no bad teams to beat up on in the west. Utah is in 12th and they were the shocking good team last year. Memphis is behind them and now they have Ja back.
Speaking of the Spurs, this game with the Bucks is a track meet.
Edit: Wemby maybe talking a little shit with Brooke?!?
Edit: Wemby maybe talking a little shit with Brooke?!?
I thought Sochan was supposed to be some sort of defensive wizard?
Kind of stands around not covering anybody
Kind of stands around not covering anybody
Love how teams are isoing Lillard at the end of regular season games already. Dude is going to get benched come playoff tight games.
I love how Miller is like 'that was a great look!' yeah he was left that open for a reason.
lol, and another awful looking corner three. This San Antonio team is baddddd.
Spurs owners need to send Pop to retirement. You couldn't build a worse roster and offense around Wemby if you tried.
I mean, he got absolutely bodied by Giannis clearing space under the basket, just pushed around like he was a child, and then recovered to go up and get a clean block on the 2-time MVP.
Chet may have better footwork but Victor's athleticism is jaw dropping for his size.
Agreed, he's lost a lot off his fastball. At least a new offensive coordinator assistant.