One bright spot: DeAnthony Melton, with 21 points (9-12 fg) in 22 minutes, 5 assists, 1 turnover, +24 in a 17-point loss (net +41).
LOL Rockets. How's Marquese Chriss working out for you?
Of course... also LOL Warriors, who passed on Melton at #28 in favor of Jacob Evans, who has not looked remotely ready for prime time in any of his summer league or garbage time appearances. I can't feel too bad about not getting Shamet, Okogie or Grayson Allen (all mentioned as Warrior possibilities pre-draft) since they were off the board when we picked, but I'm bummed we didn't get Melton.
Anyway, I'm stoked the Rockets no longer have him.
Start of the 2nd half, Raps turning it up, playing with more intensity and focus. Philly just looks lazy.
Crowd is either all out snacking or just absent, very little energy in the building.
I’m not sold on Philly; I feel like they lack a lot of composure in big games. On that last play, the shot clock was winding down and Lowry had the ball and nowhere to go. He gets a half-hearted screen, but Simmons doesn’t get over it and Embiid doesn’t step up. So Lowry goes from having nothing to getting a wide open look from three from the top of the key. That is inexcusable given the situation. I just think they aren’t there mentally to contend for a title.
Some gaudy scoring lines tonight: George 47, Curry 42, Butler 38, Leonard 36, Beal 36, Towns 35.
LeBron on tap.
LeBron on tap.
Was anyone watching the thunder vs nets by any chance? I just looked on the gamecast and it looks to me like D'Angelo Russell missed a pull-up 3 with 10 seconds left in the game and about 9 on the shot clock and a 1 point lead. Is it just me or is that an incredibly stupid decision?
From the play by play - it appears Russell gathered the rebound with 25.5 seconds left and shot the three with 10.8 seconds left. So yes - idiot
Speaking of 8+ foot shots: Steph Curry crept up to 50.3% from 3 on the season with his 9-14 tonight at the Cleveland House of Champagne. Overall, 42 points on 20 field goal attempts. Plus 9 rebounds and 7 assists. In 34 minutes.
On the season, he's now averaging 32.7 points per 36 on .693 true shooting. He's basically alone in the ether of the historical volume-efficiency matrix if this holds up. The closest players in NBA history are Curry 2015-16 and Curry 2017-18, with peak LeBron, Durant, Barkley, Dantley, and McHale waving from afar.
On the season, he's now averaging 32.7 points per 36 on .693 true shooting. He's basically alone in the ether of the historical volume-efficiency matrix if this holds up. The closest players in NBA history are Curry 2015-16 and Curry 2017-18, with peak LeBron, Durant, Barkley, Dantley, and McHale waving from afar.
LeBron seems really pissed that Tobias Harris won WC Player of the Month.
Holy moly!! I haven't seen a more thoroughly dominating 4th quarter in a long time. Just wow!
Holy moly!! I haven't seen a more thoroughly dominating 4th quarter in a long time. Just wow!
Yeah I just saw that. How many 4th quarter leads has Brooklyn blown this year? Whenever I happen to be watching it is either a Dinwiddie or D'Angelo trainwreck down the stretch. This is a team in dire need of a PG who can handle defensive pressure.
Yeah, I was. Though he could have been wiser about time management, Russell's shot selection wasn't that stupid. The Nets were 15-of-36 in their three-point attempts (41.7 percent), and Russell had been 3 of 6 before that shot.
You can't take that shot when there is that much time left on the shot clock. You gotta run the clock down to 2 or so even if it means a terrible shot.
Here's that efficiency-volume matrix showing how insane Steph has been this year. (NB: the majority of great scorers in NBA history are clustered well below this chart). (Edit: also, the points are per 36 minutes, not per game).
On a side note: Adrian Dantley's scoring prowess doesn't get nearly enough love. He's miles better than Melo or Kobe as a scorer — peak level and overall — yet rarely gets a mention in GOAT scorer discussions.
On a side note: Adrian Dantley's scoring prowess doesn't get nearly enough love. He's miles better than Melo or Kobe as a scorer — peak level and overall — yet rarely gets a mention in GOAT scorer discussions.
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Damian Lillard and Jake Layman just outscored the Phoenix Suns 30-9 in the first quarter (PDX 34-9 overall).
They’re woeful even with Booker, but without him they’re barely a professional team.
The cup slap was an ejectable offense. That said, those two quick fouls were straight bullshit and the one at the opening tip was absolutely horrific. Again, Gobert had to get ejected for the cup thing but he was entirely justified in his anger. Just horrible officiating.
Hopefully the Jazz stomp the Rockets anyhow. Joe "Dad Jokes" Ingles is up to his old tricks leading the Jazz in scoring thus far.
Also, somehow, the Suns have managed to cool down the inferno that is the Jake Layman Experience. Lillard not so much...
Utah seems to be rallying around the loss of Gobert. I mentioned their ridiculous early season schedule as evidence of them not underperforming this season but rather a victim of that travel schedule. This team really has a chance to take off over the next 6-7 weeks as their schedule gets normalized at first then something like a 9 out of 12 home stretch.
I'm not sure what the official definition of "letting go of the rope" is, but I'm pretty sure the Rockets are doing it right now.
Getting "curbstomped like in the scene from American History X" would work here as well. Down 97-62 with under ten minutes to play in the game.
Brogdon was the second-round steal of the 2016 draft. For a while, people on this board argued over whether he deserved to be a lottery pick in a redraft. I think that's largely settled now.
I watched that kid play when he was a true freshman at uva. The first game I saw him play I could tell he was special. By the time he was a senior he was one of the best lock down defenders I've ever seen play guard at uva. His defense was top notch. He was the guy you give the ball to at crunch time. He hit many game winners and could ice things with his free throw shooting. Really miss him at JPJ arena
Milwaukee is sending Dellavedova, John Henson and a first-round and future second-round pick to Cavs for George Hill, league source tells ESPN.
Great deal for Cleveland to get some future picks and a couple of decent bench players. Saves Milwaukee a ton of cash going forward, too.
I am not sure this trade moves the needle for the Bucks but its worth it for them to try. Hill is kind of washed but he can help in spots. I like Dekker too - he may have some upside. Henson, at this point, is an ok rotational big with limited use in today's NBA so I doubt the Bucks will miss him. And Dellavedova returns to the scene of his biggest crimes so the universe is finally in balance.
Dekker comes off the books after this year but Hill is due $18mm next year whereas Henson and Dellavedova are set to make a combined $19.3mm (split roughly evenly between each of them).
EDIT: Hill is only guaranteed $1mm of his $18mm for '19-20. There is the savings.
From CBS:
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Definitely a necessary move for the Bucks in taking $19m off the books next year just as a couple key players need to be extended to keep this team intact.
Henson did add a 3 point shot this summer so he should be less limited but he's kind of redundant to Lopez and Maker. I guess the Bucks could use a back up PG but is Hill really the best they could do?
edit: if it's an economic move, ok.
Boston fans may be frustrated (albeit less so than a week or so ago) but imagine you are a Rockets fan...
De'Aaron Fox (30 pts on 12-16 fg, 12 ast) outdueling Collin Sexton (23 pts on 9-16 fg) in an epic battle between exciting young point guards who could possibly switch uniforms without my noticing.
Kings crush Cavs, displace Dallas as the #8 seed in the West — for tonight, anyway.
Kings crush Cavs, displace Dallas as the #8 seed in the West — for tonight, anyway.
Jimmy Butler brings Philly back in Detroit, scores 38, guards Blake Griffin in crunch time. Great defense without Embiid, who was given a night off by Brown.