2018 NBA Game Thread

TripleOT

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it was like a clown car pulled over and the Lakers bench piled out behind Lance, the lead clown...
The laughingstock of the league, laughing and falling out over one play. That clip perfectly encapsulates where that franchise is right now.
 

JakeRae

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Seems like a reasonable starting point

1. Curry, Harden, George, Giannis, Jokic
2. Lillard, Westbrook, Lebron, Durant, Towns
3. Kyrie, Beal, Kawhi, Griffin, Gobert (but Embiid or Davis works too)
Can you explain Westbrook to me? His drop to a TS% below .500 basically means every possession where he tries to score hurts his team significantly. He still brings a lot of other value, so it’s not like this makes him a negative player, but I have a hard time seeing the case for him as All-NBA this year.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Not sure if this is a 2002 lakers we dont give a S about the regular season or a 2003 lakers we dont give an S.
Leon Wood and Mike Callahan clearly give an S. Two calls at the end of the game clearly swung it to the TWolves. No tears but the foul against Durant at the end was insane.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Blehh. Refs take what could have been a classic game out of the hands of the players — and deprive Curry of a legit shot at the single-game threes record in double OT — with a completely BS ticky-tack foul call on Durant an inbounds play with 0.5 seconds left in OT. You only have something like a 2% shot of scoring with that little time; you don't gift-wrap a team a victory because a player has his arm resting gently against another player's hip on an uncatchable inbounds pass.

Speak for yourself, lol.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Here's the sequence: KD gets a potentially game-winning four-point play with five seconds left waved off (fouled before the shot; that call was borderline, imo); then Curry hits a clutch 3 out of the corner to tie it with 0.5 seconds left; and then just the egregiously tickytack call on the inbounds pass that ended the game.

 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Here's the sequence: KD gets a potentially game-winning four-point play with five seconds left waved off (fouled before the shot; that call was borderline, imo); then Curry hits a clutch 3 out of the corner to tie it with 0.5 seconds left; and then just the egregiously tickytack call on the inbounds pass that ended the game.

So my thought is Curry taunting Marat Kogut after that three is what led to the foul against Durant. Its complete tinfoil hat conjecture of course but I cannot recall a ref making a call like that at the end of the game on an inbounds - especially a game like this that is essentially meaningless.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I mean, I love Curry and Iguodala. However if the refs decided to send them a message, its hard to argue that it was undeserved...

 

Kliq

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Lol, that is actually hilarious. If you are going to do that to the refs, you better not lay on hand on the other team during the next possession.
 

lovegtm

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I mean, I love Curry and Iguodala. However if the refs decided to send them a message, its hard to argue that it was undeserved...

Yeah, I’m shocked that Steph didn’t get T’d up for that. How is that even possible?

Probably more of a topic for the NBA stars thread, but Curry has become kind of a dick over the years, and it’s nice to see that come back and bite him.
 

Apisith

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Really? I think Steph is one of the most likeable superstars in the league. Besides Embiid and Giannis, he’s probably my favourite non-Harden superstar.
 

lovegtm

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Really? I think Steph is one of the most likeable superstars in the league. Besides Embiid and Giannis, he’s probably my favourite non-Harden superstar.
Yeah, I felt that way about him a few years back. Something changed about his personality over time as he became better and better.

It’s one of those things that you love if he’s your guy, and hate if he’s not, and that pointing episode encapsulates it. If I were a (rightfully) pissed Warriors fan after that bad call on the KD 3, I’m loving that f u to the refs. If I’m anyone else (and I am!), it looks pretty childish and dumb.
 

BigSoxFan

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I mean, I love Curry and Iguodala. However if the refs decided to send them a message, its hard to argue that it was undeserved...

Yup. Very deserved and I have no issue with the foul call since they are lucky that Steph didn’t get T’d up. Just a weird thing for a vet to do.
 

JCizzle

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I get losing your mind and arguing calls, but I honestly can't remember a player actively taunting a ref like that. That was a wild scene.
 

lovegtm

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I get losing your mind and arguing calls, but I honestly can't remember a player actively taunting a ref like that. That was a wild scene.
If that’s not a technical, or even an instant ejection, what can you possibly give a player a technical for?
 

HomeRunBaker

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I get losing your mind and arguing calls, but I honestly can't remember a player actively taunting a ref like that. That was a wild scene.
Who was the ref that T’d up Tim Duncan for smiling on the bench? I want to say Joey Crawford.
 

Cesar Crespo

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As someone who doesn't really care one way or another about this sorta stuff, that's still a really bad look for Curry.
 

Kliq

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Ho hum, another 50 point triple-double game from Harden, including several excellent plays down the stretch to seal the victory for Houston.
 

TripleOT

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Steph should have been T-d up. He went from lovable little guy to smug d-bag in a few seasons.

The foul on Durant's three point attempt was a close play, and could have been called either way, but it certainly isn't unusual for NBA refs to have a quick whistle when teams are in obvious foul situations.

I agree with the push in the back call on Durant. No grab at the FT line and the passer doesn't have to throw it as high and KAT throws it down for the win. It was a grab and push. If you look closely at the passer, he adjusted his throw in as KAT's held from behind. If it were some kind of ordinary contact when a player was going away from the rim for a catch and shoot, I can see the refs letting it go, but Minny had the right play and were executing it, and the Warriors weren't defending it right, and shouldn't be rewarded with a non-call because of the time and situation.
 

Sam Ray Not

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I think both calls can be strictly correct while at the same time not in keeping with precedent, and not particularly in the spirit of competition.

The argument for the Durant continuation call is that the intentional foul was not on the catch; and that KD had found 1-2 seconds free from defenders to clearly square up and start the "gather" process of his shot. For a seven-footer the whole shot process takes a bit longer than for a mighty-mite. The strict letter of the rule says "upward motion" — which KD was not, so technically "correct" call — but it also took an eager-beaver johnny-on-the-spot, MVP-level ref to make sure he blew the whistle on the floor a split-second before the upward motion started.

The soft foul call that ended it was also correct technically — KD obviously had his hands on KAT — since the rules determining fouls on inbounds passes with 0.5 seconds left are not technically different from in any other situation. But again, it takes an especially eager-beaver referee to hand the victory to one team or the other on an uncatchable hail mary at the buzzer.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I don't think anyone would argue that those calls were incorrect in the strictest sense. Its just that both types rarely get whistled, especially the second one.

Given the circumstances, it clearly seemed like a response to Curry et al taunting Kogut plus all the other stuff that had built up over time.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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The soft foul call that ended it was also correct technically — KD obviously had his hands on KAT — since the rules determining fouls on inbounds passes with 0.5 seconds left are not technically different from in any other situation. But again, it takes an especially eager-beaver referee to hand the victory to one team or the other on an uncatchable hail mary at the buzzer.
I didn't look at the play more than once but I agree with Triple OT that it looked like KD held KAT.

NBA are so strong that what looks like a hand on the hip actually prevents the other player from moving. I mean that's why they got rid of hand-checking - what looked to us as just incidental contact was really preventing people from moving.
 

lovegtm

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I didn't look at the play more than once but I agree with Triple OT that it looked like KD held KAT.

NBA are so strong that what looks like a hand on the hip actually prevents the other player from moving. I mean that's why they got rid of hand-checking - what looked to us as just incidental contact was really preventing people from moving.
I agree, and I think another important thing here was that KD was beat on the play and Towns had position. Refs react to that (as they should).
 

Sam Ray Not

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Warriors "flip the switch" for a game v. Charlotte before they go out and crap the bed again against some random team.

Platonically beautiful Warrior-ball for a night, though: 41 assists + 21-33 from three (63.6%) + 10 blocks + 50-28 edge on the glass = a 47 point beatdown.

Meanwhile, Denver takes an inexplicable home loss v. the Wizards to fall a game back. Good night overall for the Oaklanders.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Warriors also clinch their fifth straight Pacific Division title, for anyone who even looks at divisions anymore.

Warriors Pacific Division finishes since 1980, by half decade:

1980-1984: 6, 4, 4, 5, 5
1985-1989: 6, 6, 3, 5, 4
1990-1994: 5, 4, 2, 6, 3
1995-1999: 6, 6, 7, 6, 6
2000-2004: 6, 7, 7, 6, 4
2005-2009: 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
2010-2014: 4, 3, 4, 2, 2
[Steve Kerr hired]
2015-2019: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
 

Kliq

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The Hornets would have 10 wins if they didn't have Kemba on their roster. I don't feel like that is hyperbole. My god that team is a dumpster fire.
 

HowBoutDemSox

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Kliq

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Found this stat today: LaMarcus Aldridge has posted up 666 times this season, which is more post-ups than all but five other teams in the NBA.
 

Sam Ray Not

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DeMarcus not only did his best to pacify his hotheaded teammates but also ate Nikola Jokic's breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

29 minutes, 28 pts (12-17 fg), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals.

Warriors take a virtual three-game lead for the #1 seed (two plus the tiebreak) with five games to go.