Recent content by m0ckduck

  1. m0ckduck

    2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread

    We had a 43 point win by the Pacers earlier today. Thunder and Kings lead their respective games by a combined 92 points at the moment.
  2. m0ckduck

    2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread

    There are 15 games today and only three have no impact on playoff seeding: Celts-Wiz, Spurs-Pistons, Clips-Rockets. Edit: I guess Heat-Raptors also has no relevance, so four.
  3. m0ckduck

    2023-24 Celtics

    What changed? Any particular per-player numbers jump out?
  4. m0ckduck

    2024 Celtic Playoff Prediction Poll

    Peak Bulls team had the all-time GOAT, and peak Warriors teams had either an MVP (in earlier years) or two top-10 MVP candidates during the Durant years. Deserved or not, part of the national skepticism surrounding the C's is that few great teams have had so little MVP buzz. The most grisly comp...
  5. m0ckduck

    2024 Celtic Playoff Prediction Poll

    This is a feebly non-controversial take, but: a first-round matchup with the Heat should answer every doubt we might have about this team for the remainder of the playoffs... can they match top-level coaching? can they thrive against a physical muck-it-up opponent within the new officiating...
  6. m0ckduck

    Tatum or Ant?

    I feel it's a bit more nuanced . When I watch Luka racking up triple-doubles, bending defenses, and scoring at huge volume with high efficiency, I get why pundits have him higher than Tatum, even if I'm skeptical. It's also worth noting that DARKO has them very close. The case for Luka would be...
  7. m0ckduck

    Tatum or Ant?

    I'm more bearish on Wembanyama's health prospects than others, and maybe more so than is merited. My thing is, I'd like to see someone of his height enjoy a productive 10+ career before I (hypothetically) trade a top-6 perennially-healthy talent like Tatum for him. On your side of the argument...
  8. m0ckduck

    Tatum or Ant?

    Having listened to the segment, I would push back on this a bit. He took a deep, pained breath and delivered the verdict like "I don't want to pick against Tatum, but I have to." I don't know. Edwards is definitely on a similar trajectory– eerily so: I think most GMs would pick Ant. The silly...
  9. m0ckduck

    Wembanyamarama

    In a recent podcast, Simmons did a ranking of top players that I found weirdly spot on, where he landed with Wemby at 15. I remember all the players he had over ranked over Vic, but likely have some players in the wrong spot by a peg or two: 1. Jokic 2. Giannis 3. Luka 4. SGA 5. Tatum 6...
  10. m0ckduck

    This Celtics team's biggest weakness is...

    It looks like Big Bird's basketball shoes.
  11. m0ckduck

    This Celtics team's biggest weakness is...

    The Layupping Latvian, as homage to Rik Smits
  12. m0ckduck

    Playoff Fear Factor: Which EC team is your top concern?

    Also, it took Mazzulla six-plus games last year to finally start putting Embiid into perimeter switches on Tatum (that series being probably the nadir of the CJM experience so far). The result was… oh, hum, a 50 point Tatum explosion and G7 blowout against an ostensibly-healthy Embiid. You have...
  13. m0ckduck

    Wembanyamarama

    Prying Darius Garland away from the Cavs if Mitchell agrees to stay there would be the ideal play, IMO. But more likely, the Cavs deal Mitchell and keep Garland... in which case, yes, Trae would be a dynamic pairing (both in upside and downside).
  14. m0ckduck

    2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread

    There's a lot of focus on the new rules helping more physical, chippy teams and perhaps well-coached teams. But, as you say, it helps teams with shooting and ball movement, since defenses can get more physical with predictable iso-heavy sets (think JB's defense on Zion last weekend). Also...
  15. m0ckduck

    2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread

    Yeah. Sabonis also seems potentially like KP: miscast as a 1 or even a 2 on a contending team— but an amazing complementary piece to have as the third-best guy on a stacked team.
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