If Marcus Smart’s floater goes in, the Celtics are on pace for a 76 win season.
There’s a reason more teams have started 12-2 than have finished 72-10.
November General NBA Game Thread
- Thread starter Ale Xander
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There’s a reason more teams have started 12-2 than have finished 72-10.
I mean, so are the Celtics. Whoopee.
edit: lovegtm said it better, but yeah, call me in March, especially if neither Lebron or AD have taken extended maintenance breaks.
Through 24 games, the 2015-16 Warriors were "on pace for" 82-0. (And that team wasn't nearly as good as the 2016-17 vintage.)
Carmelo being embraced and congratulated by everyone following a 10–pt performance on 14 FGA with 5 TO in a double digit lose is so 2019 Carmelo. He may be out in Portland quicker than he was in Houston.
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Who is everyone? I think the Carmelo focus is either amusement or irony.
Blazers Twitter, for whatever that is worth, doesn't love him and NBA Twitter overall was quick to jump on his -20.
I was referring to NBA players. Maybe all the love he got from the Pelicans players were that they knew he’d help hand them a W. Lol
Yeah, just to chime in -- LeBron is just phenomenal ...I don't know why, it's just my own personal axe to grind that it bugs when true greatness isn't appreciated because guys hate the Pats/Brady or think LeBron whines too much etc. His play so far this year has just been off the charts impressive.
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I mean, fuck LeBron.
However, his ability to basically autopilot his way to 28-8-8 every night based entirely on physical strength and basketball IQ is amazing; nobody has ever been able to do that.
I've been hearing all offseason and into the regular season about what a travesty it is that Melo was unemployed from my 16yo son. He is reading a different basketball twitterverse than some of us for sure, but it's not purely among the players.
I guess I should clarify that when I meant fans, I meant probably hardcore, high-information fans. The general public recognizes Carmelo as a name and that he is a star and do not probably piece it together that he isn't a star anymore. There a lot of non-players who think Carmelo is still really good, but I haven't heard a lot of reputable people say that, outside of players who are probably friends with Melo.
That isn't a knock on your son, it is great that he has an opinion and follows basketball enough to have one. As someone who was once a 16 year old posting on this site, I know I said some really stupid stuff (hey, not much has changed!). On a side note, you bring up an interesting aspect of the new wave of NBA fans and how they consume the product. I play basketball fairly regularly with high schoolers and what Generation Z has to say about basketball in general is very interesting. The influence of Twitter/YouTube is even greater than in the general population and the way they follow the NBA is a far cry from looking at box scores in the newspaper the following morning.
Trainer Chris Brickley has been Carmelo's PR firm on Instagram this year, constantly harping about how hard he's working, how skilled a scorer he is, and how he is definitely better than X% of the league (usually a pretty high number). I think it is out of respect as much as anything. He probably still does have a useful NBA skillset, he's just completely unwilling or unable to adjust his play to the modern game and a decreased/complementary role.
One of the things that has made Melo an interesting story is that he theoretically should be a decent role player since he has good size, can still kind of create his own shot, shoot from outside and operate out of the high post. On paper, he should be a useful player. The problem is that he doesn't do any of the other things that a bench player needs to be able to do to warrant serious playing time. He isn't interested in playing defense and doesn't pass. Paul Pierce had a very similar skillset to Melo, but he was able to land bench roles later in his career because he was willing to play defense and pass the ball, in addition to what scoring he was still able to provide.
People can convince themselves that Melo can still play at a high level because of what skills he has, but as we saw last night in Portland and over the previous two seasons, he doesn't possess the necessary other skills to make it worth a team taking a shot on him.
Yeah, agree with all of that, he certainly has the ability but the self awareness doesn't seem to match. The game also has passed him by a little, he's high volume but was never hyper efficient, too many long 2s and other medium % shots that he doesn't seem able to quit.
I think that the Twitter/YouTube/Instagram thing is real for sure and in some ways connects those consumers to what the players are thinking. And they were asking why Carmelo's remaining skills weren't worth an offer of some kind, because of the man, not because he's still a plus player. I don't think that anyone views Carmelo as a plus player, but he still has mad respect.
I know its a bit hot takey but I think Luka is going to be a serious MVP contender.22 points on 7-8 shooting with eight minutes left in the second quarter as the Mavs are currently drilling GS in Dallas. His stat line thus far this year is remarkable.
Not hot takey at all. He certainly deserves to be in the conversation.
Fun fact: He started his college career playing D3 hoops at Williams College after being lightly recruited out of high school. He was named Freshman of the Year and then transferred to Michigan.
Its early but the guy is just about averaging a triple double a game with a scoring average of close to 30 ppg (~ 4th) close to 10 apg (~2nd) and is at almost 11 RBG (~10th). As Simmons & Stein note on Sprtsguy33's most recent podcast, he isn't even shooting that well but unlike other great players, he is pretty much doing everything by himself offensively - the Mavs average ~ three ppg less with him off the floor. He also has a lot of room to improve on defense with the skills to do so.
The last Western Conference champion that is currently over .500 is
(Last eight years: OKC, SA, SA, GS, GS, GS, GS, GS)
The Dallas Mavericks
(Last eight years: OKC, SA, SA, GS, GS, GS, GS, GS)
The Spurs are pretty bad. I don't get Dejounte Murray at all. The Spurs signed him to a 4yr/$64 million deal that kicks in next year, and I don't see that kind of production out of him. He has good length which everyone loves, but he can't shoot and isn't a natural playmaker. I just don't see what he has shown to earn so much praise and that extension.
DeRozan has a one year player option at $27 million after this season and it will be interesting to see what he does. He isn't a max guy but next year's FA class is pretty weak. He did score 31 points tonight on 13 shots.
DeRozan has a one year player option at $27 million after this season and it will be interesting to see what he does. He isn't a max guy but next year's FA class is pretty weak. He did score 31 points tonight on 13 shots.
I would be shocked if anyone and especially Neil Olshey, hired Mark Jackson. I recall that this is the second post where you are either trolling or serious about someone needing to hire Jackson and while I never say never, I strongly suspect he will not be a head coach in the NBA again.
In short, Jackson didn't play well with those who signed his paychecks and when you couple that with his coaching limitations, its hard to see anyone wanting him to scheme actions in today's analytics heavy NBA.
Stotts is a good coach and I would argue that he has maximized the output of what has been a deeply flawed roster for years. If anyone in Portland is in trouble, its Olshey himself who bought the groceries and then added Anthony. Its worth noting that the season is young, Portland wasn't going to beat Milwaukee with Lillard out tonight and they still have a chance to right the ship even if its looking increasingly unlikely.
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The Spurs are down 11 to PHI, DeRozan is -21. Continuing a pattern. For 6 years his team has been better with him on the bench than on the floor, but it was usually the 1-2 points that can be explained by a good bench. This year.....
SIXTEEN POINTS per 100. SIXTEEN!! and 13 of that is defense. He's one of the worst non-supermax deals in the league.
SIXTEEN POINTS per 100. SIXTEEN!! and 13 of that is defense. He's one of the worst non-supermax deals in the league.
