In-season NBA news thread

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,957
Saskatoon Canada
Maddening. The dude has some really elite skills but availability isn't one of them.
I will pull an ESPN and make this about Lebron. But, springy heavy guys rarely last. LBJ not only lasted, but being an athletic dunker/player for so many years is tough to believe. Crazy leapers like Zion and Timelord being hurt often is not that uncommon.
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,014
Imaginationland
I will pull an ESPN and make this about Lebron. But, springy heavy guys rarely last. LBJ not only lasted, but being an athletic dunker/player for so many years is tough to believe. Crazy leapers like Zion and Timelord being hurt often is not that uncommon.
Super athletic power forwards do tend to age quickly and badly. In addition to Timelord and Zion, some easy examples from recent history are Shawn Kemp, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin...these guys were all-NBA level players in their prime, started getting hurt and fell fast off that cliff by their early 30s. Lebron is basically the same size (and just as athletic) as they were, but is still a top 10 player at age 38. In every respect, he's 1 of 1.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,112
Santa Monica
I will pull an ESPN and make this about Lebron. But, springy heavy guys rarely last. LBJ not only lasted, but being an athletic dunker/player for so many years is tough to believe. Crazy leapers like Zion and Timelord being hurt often is not that uncommon.
Yea, we were recently discussing the longevity of leapers and small players that rely on quickness (Kemba/IT3). It can go South very quickly.@Sam Ray Not has noted that Ja Morant's highlight reel leaps of jamming on 7' giants won't age well. Zion's girth and leaping ability, while sexy, also probably won't age well. OTOH ground-based skilled stars like Luka/Joker will probably age well (even though their USG is high). Unless they decide to repave their mother's driveway :oops:

Agreed, Bron is 1/1. But something doesn't smell right with the NBA. Feels like we've seen this before...
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
LeBron still has the athleticism to get up when he has too, but his game is more reliant on a steady stream of reliable, ground bound shots like his baseline fadeaway and his floaters around the basket, where he uses his strength to bull inside and finish. As he's played better as the season has gone on, he's focused more on his strength and taking it to the basket, avoiding inefficient threes and getting to the line more frequently.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Super athletic power forwards do tend to age quickly and badly. In addition to Timelord and Zion, some easy examples from recent history are Shawn Kemp, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin...these guys were all-NBA level players in their prime, started getting hurt and fell fast off that cliff by their early 30s. Lebron is basically the same size (and just as athletic) as they were, but is still a top 10 player at age 38. In every respect, he's 1 of 1.
Larry Johnson was another who immediately comes to mind as his effectiveness and career was cut way short due to back injuries. He first injured it in his 2nd/3rd year in Charlotte which caused him to change his game from a high flyer to using his savvy on the ground until the back stuff finished him off around age 30/31. Grandmama was really really good in his early 20’s.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
In his book of basketball, Simmons wrote that LeBron looked like he was adopting a valuable lesson from different past greats and putting them into one package. Magic's focus on leadership, Bird's ability to past from the post, Kobe's focus on improving one skill each off-season, etc. One of them was Karl Malone's conditioning and "take care of your body and your body will take care of you" motto. The guys who tend to have incredibly longevity seem to be leaner guys who don't carry around as much weight, Kareem, Parish, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, etc. Malone is the only other guy besides LeBron to have a football-style physique and remain a great player into his late 30s.
 

NomarsFool

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 21, 2001
8,157
Yea, we were recently discussing the longevity of leapers and small players that rely on quickness (Kemba/IT3). It can go South very quickly.@Sam Ray Not has noted that Ja Morant's highlight reel leaps of jamming on 7' giants won't age well. Zion's girth and leaping ability, while sexy, also probably won't age well. OTOH ground-based skilled stars like Luka/Joker will probably age well (even though their USG is high). Unless they decide to repave their mother's driveway :oops:

Agreed, Bron is 1/1. But something doesn't smell right with the NBA. Feels like we've seen this before...
He's not small, but what do we think about Jaylen Brown's potential longevity? He is someone whose elite athleticism is a big part of his game.
 

Reverend

for king and country
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2007
64,026
In his book of basketball, Simmons wrote that LeBron looked like he was adopting a valuable lesson from different past greats and putting them into one package. Magic's focus on leadership, Bird's ability to past from the post, Kobe's focus on improving one skill each off-season, etc. One of them was Karl Malone's conditioning and "take care of your body and your body will take care of you" motto. The guys who tend to have incredibly longevity seem to be leaner guys who don't carry around as much weight, Kareem, Parish, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, etc. Malone is the only other guy besides LeBron to have a football-style physique and remain a great player into his late 30s.
I was gonna say: I remember years ago, in an interview, LeBron was asked what he does to say in shape, and he had like an encyclopedic understanding of... well, everything. Of special note was pilates. And then there was a lot of talk then about how pilates would be great for, like, everyone. And then the talk sorta went away. But I think LeBron kept doing that stuff.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
I was gonna say: I remember years ago, in an interview, LeBron was asked what he does to say in shape, and he had like an encyclopedic understanding of... well, everything. Of special note was pilates. And then there was a lot of talk then about how pilates would be great for, like, everyone. And then the talk sorta went away. But I think LeBron kept doing that stuff.
Kareem always said that the reason he was good for so long was flexibility and doing copious amounts of stretching, and did Yoga before most people even knew what yoga was.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
He's not small, but what do we think about Jaylen Brown's potential longevity? He is someone whose elite athleticism is a big part of his game.
Jaylen doesn’t rely on explosive movements, is somewhat methodical, and has great size for his position. He’ll be perfectly fine if he knee holds up.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,947
In his book of basketball, Simmons wrote that LeBron looked like he was adopting a valuable lesson from different past greats and putting them into one package. Magic's focus on leadership, Bird's ability to past from the post, Kobe's focus on improving one skill each off-season, etc. One of them was Karl Malone's conditioning and "take care of your body and your body will take care of you" motto. The guys who tend to have incredibly longevity seem to be leaner guys who don't carry around as much weight, Kareem, Parish, Duncan, Garnett, Dirk, etc. Malone is the only other guy besides LeBron to have a football-style physique and remain a great player into his late 30s.
I know we love Garnett, but his numbers kind of fell off a cliff around age 31/32, didn't they? He played 57 games in 08/09, and never averaged 9 rebounds a game after that, and only averaged 15ppg once (15.8) after that.

Dwight Howard was a shell of himself by age 32/33.

Chris Bosh was out of the league at 32, (yes, blood clots, but still).

From age 33 onwards, Dirk averaged 16.6ppg and 6.0rpg in 529 games. In the 968 games he played before that, he averaged 23.0ppg and 8.4rpg.

The list is endless of guys hitting a serious downswing in their very early 30's.

Lebron is a unicorn.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,754
Pittsburgh, PA
I dunno if he's a unicorn, per se - Kareem was very effective into his late 30s, and of course Jordan was still leading his team to a title at 35. Duncan was still at an All-NBA level in 2013 at age 37. But it's not a very long list, for sure.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
I know we love Garnett, but his numbers kind of fell off a cliff around age 31/32, didn't they? He played 57 games in 08/09, and never averaged 9 rebounds a game after that, and only averaged 15ppg once (15.8) after that.

Dwight Howard was a shell of himself by age 32/33.

Chris Bosh was out of the league at 32, (yes, blood clots, but still).

From age 33 onwards, Dirk averaged 16.6ppg and 6.0rpg in 529 games. In the 968 games he played before that, he averaged 23.0ppg and 8.4rpg.

The list is endless of guys hitting a serious downswing in their very early 30's.

Lebron is a unicorn.
I think KG would have been fine if not for his knee. He also played a ton of minutes early in his career that likely led to his knee issues. He avg like 40mpg from age 20 to 30.
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,014
Imaginationland
I think KG would have been fine if not for his knee. He also played a ton of minutes early in his career that likely led to his knee issues. He avg like 40mpg from age 20 to 30.
Indeed. He's not mentioned often among players with great longevity but he's 5th all time in minutes played, and in addition to nearly averaging 40 mpg for 11 straight years, he was very durable - he missed just 23 games over those 11 years.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,947
I think KG would have been fine if not for his knee. He also played a ton of minutes early in his career that likely led to his knee issues. He avg like 40mpg from age 20 to 30.
Same with Larry Johnson though with his injuries. I guess that's kind of the point. If it's a knee or a back that dooms a guy like Morant early (or Zion), doesn't really matter. Just goes to show that Lebron is on another level wrt to what he's doing, and his ability to avoid injuries that derailed him.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Same with Larry Johnson though with his injuries. I guess that's kind of the point. If it's a knee or a back that dooms a guy like Morant early (or Zion), doesn't really matter. Just goes to show that Lebron is on another level wrt to what he's doing, and his ability to avoid injuries that derailed him.
Oh absolutely. It’s funny when you read these site and people are bashing LeBron for “sitting out with a hangnail” and “he’s only playing to pad his stats”…….it makes me wonder if people enjoy trolling or if they truly believe these things.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,088
Perks knee undoubtedly cost us one. Damn knees
Yup, although Perk's knee probably doesn't even matter that much if we had 2008 KG instead of 2010 "dragging an anvil up the court" KG. Dude had 3 rebs in almost 40 minutes. Insane. Of course, PP/RA show like 8-29, which was the real ballgame.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Yup, although Perk's knee probably doesn't even matter that much if we had 2008 KG instead of 2010 "dragging an anvil up the court" KG. Dude had 3 rebs in almost 40 minutes. Insane. Of course, PP/RA show like 8-29, which was the real ballgame.
I still have nightmares of Bynum, Gasol and Lamar reaching over a grounded Rasheed, KG and Big Baby for put back after put back.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,088
I still have nightmares of Bynum, Gasol and Lamar reaching over a grounded Rasheed, KG and Big Baby for put back after put back.
Yup. Easily one of the most frustrating games I've watched. Our scorers ice cold. KG basically immobile. Kobe shooting like Antoine Walker and getting completely bailed out at the end. Ron f'ing Artest hitting the dagger 3. That 2010 team didn't have its Posey and it killed them.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,754
Pittsburgh, PA
that game was worse for me than either of the Bruins' Finals losses, and 2/3s of the Super Bowl losses other than the Scottish Game. Every bit as infuriating as it was soul-crushing. Other than the 2012 and 2017 playoff runs, I'm not sure I watched much Celtics at all between then and Tatum's rookie year. Just too hard to make peace with NBA officiating.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
I still have nightmares of Bynum, Gasol and Lamar reaching over a grounded Rasheed, KG and Big Baby for put back after put back.
IIRC he played remarkably better in the playoffs, but the Celtics having no back-up behind Perk/KG besides old as shit Rasheed Wallace and Big Baby was a real miss by Danny. They didn't have the PJ Brown-type guy to plug in if someone got injured.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,088
IIRC he played remarkably better in the playoffs, but the Celtics having no back-up behind Perk/KG besides old as shit Rasheed Wallace and Big Baby was a real miss by Danny. They didn't have the PJ Brown-type guy to plug in if someone got injured.
He would have had he drafted DeAndre Jordan over JR Giddens like I wanted :)
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,112
Santa Monica
Yup. Easily one of the most frustrating games I've watched. Our scorers ice cold. KG basically immobile. Kobe shooting like Antoine Walker and getting completely bailed out at the end. Ron f'ing Artest hitting the dagger 3. That 2010 team didn't have its Posey and it killed them.
Yep that was painful to watch.

Everytime, I think about that I want Brad to go add someone like Poeltl, Vanderbilt, Gafford
Grant is great at the 4....at the 5 he's got BigBaby reach
 

TripleOT

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 4, 2007
7,758
He would have had he drafted DeAndre Jordan over JR Giddens like I wanted :)
If there wasn‘t an idiotic draft promise to the already old Giddens and Ainge picked Jordan, the Cs would be looking for title 20 this year.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
If there wasn‘t an idiotic draft promise to the already old Giddens and Ainge picked Jordan, the Cs would be looking for title 20 this year.
Jordan refused to workout for the Celtics or any other team outside of the lottery iirc. I think that would be a red flag for Ainge while saying “WTF does this kid think he is?” Jordan was pretty bad his one year in college too and again iirc was benched at the end of the year for lack of defense. He was a big time coaster back then.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
Kind of crazy Giannis is averaging 12.9 FTA per game. Only players to do that over a full season are Wilt (5x), Shaq (1x) and Elgin (1x).
 

Sam Ray Not

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
8,848
NYC
Kind of crazy Giannis is averaging 12.9 FTA per game. Only players to do that over a full season are Wilt (5x), Shaq (1x) and Elgin (1x).
It also means — in the tradition of Wilt and Shaq — that at his current .653 FT%, he’s leaving 2-3 points a game at the stripe relative to a good FT shooter.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
It also means — in the tradition of Wilt and Shaq — that at his current .653 FT%, he’s leaving 2-3 points a game at the stripe relative to a good FT shooter.
Yes and no. If he was a league average FT shooter at 78%, he probably WOULDN'T be fouled quite as frequently.
 

the moops

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 19, 2016
4,700
Saint Paul, MN
The East has so many damn good players. At a quick glance, there are almost 30 players that a case "could" be made that they deserve some All-Star consideration. The West has less than 20, IMO.

What a time to be an NBA fan!
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,088
The DeAndre Jordan who had a negative BPM and VORP his first two seasons, which included 2009-10? :)

2012 might've turned out differently though, I'll grant.
Well, all we are talking about is 1 game in 2010 so I think he could have helped secure that title after Perk went out. We just needed someone to grab a damn rebound. And I think he and Rondo would have meshed well on the pick-n-roll. Of course, he was quite green back in 2010, as you correctly noted, so maybe he picks up 5 fouls in 9 minutes or something guarding Gasol/Bynum.
 

the moops

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 19, 2016
4,700
Saint Paul, MN
Well, all we are talking about is 1 game in 2010 so I think he could have helped secure that title after Perk went out. We just needed someone to grab a damn rebound. And I think he and Rondo would have meshed well on the pick-n-roll. Of course, he was quite green back in 2010, as you correctly noted, so maybe he picks up 5 fouls in 9 minutes or something guarding Gasol/Bynum.
Big Baby played 27 minutes in game 6 when Perk got hurt and grabbed 9 boards. Baby also grabbed 9 boards in game 7. Perk grabbed 11 boards in game 3, otherwise his rebounding numbers were fairly pedestrian (3, 6, 11, 7, 7)
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,205
Things seem to be going well in the ATL

When the Atlanta Hawks made their way through a West Coast trip recently, less than two weeks after the unexpected reassignment of President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk into an advisory role, their new front office contingent was on full display.

From San Francisco to Sacramento to Los Angeles, the pregame scene — and the Hawks officials within it — was the same.

General manager Landry Fields, the 34-year-old former NBA player who was elevated from his assistant general manager role in June, who now heads the front office after the shakeup and who previously worked for the San Antonio Spurs as a scout and general manager of their G League team.
Nick Ressler, the 27-year-old son of Hawks owner Tony Ressler who has had increased influence on roster and staffing decisions during his time as the team’s Director of Business and Basketball Operations (starting in December 2020), according to league sources who like all the other sources in this story were granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
Ryan Silverstein, the team’s coordinator of cap strategy and administration and a close friend of Nick Ressler’s who, according to his LinkedIn page, became a front office assistant for the Hawks in September 2017.

Grant Liffmann, the 35-year-old who spent his last six seasons covering Golden State as a media member for NBC Sports Bay Area and who was hired as a pro personnel scout in June and is close friends with Fields.
Bolded because this doesn't seem like the sorts of folks who should be running the front office of an NBA franchise with dreams of contention.

On the other hand maybe it works.
 
Last edited:

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,088
Big Baby played 27 minutes in game 6 when Perk got hurt and grabbed 9 boards. Baby also grabbed 9 boards in game 7. Perk grabbed 11 boards in game 3, otherwise his rebounding numbers were fairly pedestrian (3, 6, 11, 7, 7)
Yeah, the bigger issue that game was KG’s knee. He had 3 rebounds in like 36-38 minutes played in a game with a million bricks.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Sounds like a certain Lord of Time.
TL was really good in college. If he didn’t have to share the middle with Tyler Davis, their 6-10 center, he’d have put up stupid numbers in college. Jordan was flat out awful his one year after being highly touted out of HS. First he was removed from the starting lineup in the 2H of the year then removed entirely from the rotation in the postseason.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,112
Santa Monica
TL was really good in college. If he didn’t have to share the middle with Tyler Davis, their 6-10 center, he’d have put up stupid numbers in college. Jordan was flat out awful his one year after being highly touted out of HS. First he was removed from the starting lineup in the 2H of the year then removed entirely from the rotation in the postseason.
TL was 2x SEC DPOY

Ainge must have been giddy when "Bob Williams" dropped to him at 27

The 2018 2nd round turned out a few solid players
https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2018.html

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA9uj5rDarg
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,112
Santa Monica
Things seem to be going well in the ATL



Bolded because this doesn't seem like the sorts of folks who should be running the front office of an NBA franchise with dreams of contention.

On the other hand maybe it works.
The standard NBA front office: A collection of ex-Jocks + Sycophants + Ownership Friends and Family.

At least that was what I was told by an Executive on a WC team (whose dad worked at WMG with Arn Tellem)

That's why nobody around here should be all that concerned about questioning NBA moves.

The Celtics are lucky to have Mike Zarren (who was described by this individual as the smartest guy in the NBA)
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,014
Imaginationland
Updated all star voting from yesterday:

View: https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1613596677189033985?s=20&t=qDLY3OVVAauLnx50RQHmwg


Tatum passes Embiid, but honestly I think Durant will be out until after the break so the east frontcourt discussion is moot. I think I'd like to see Haliburton start alongside Mitchell, but obviously that's not happening. The 3rd frontcourt spot out west is nearly as competitive as the 3rd frontcourt spot in the east, but just not as high level. Davis has definitely been better than Zion (and the latter only has 4 more games played this year), but there's something gross about a 13th place Lakers team getting two starters in the all-star game.