2018 NBA Game Thread

Sam Ray Not

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Hmm, imagine if Steph Curry could actually ... see the basket he's shooting at?

For all of his career, his life even, Curry has had issues with his eyes. He said he has a condition called Keratoconus, known in the ophthalmology field as KC. Technically, it’s an eye disease in which the cornea, normally a circle, progressively thins and takes on a cone shape. This distortion has given Curry what is known as an astigmatism, which is a type of error in the way the light bends when entering the eye. It doesn’t distribute the light equally to the retina and leads to blurred or distorted vision. It’s a genetic condition Curry was probably born with, though scientists don’t know how it is acquired.

Wait a second. Curry — who traveled all the way across the country to the Bay, his Bible in tow — was blind the whole time? And now he can see?

“It’s exactly that,” Curry said when asked if he feels like he has new eyes. “It’s like the whole world has opened up.”Curry went 5 for 10 from 3-point range in Tuesday’s 116-102 win over the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. It was his ninth consecutive game with at least five made 3-pointers. In those nine games, he has made 56 of 109 from deep. That’s 51.4 percent.

This turn-up has been a revelation. Curry went 4 for 15 from deep in a loss to Phoenix on March 10. He followed that with a 3-for-9 outing in a home nail-biting victory over Houston. At that point, he was shooting 36.6 percent from 3 after the All-Star break (48 of 131). In his first nine seasons combined, he shot 46.5 percent after the All-Star Game. He was in a legit slump.

Then, suddenly, it went away. What changed?

“I started wearing contacts,” Curry said late Tuesday, pulling his white “Ten in the Town” hat down on his head, creating an awning for his beaming eyes. “No, I’m serious.”

https://theathletic.com/903588/2019/04/03/thompson-steph-curry-fixed-his-vision-and-now-the-warriors-postseason-path-looks-so-much-clearer/
 

Just a bit outside

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Hmm, imagine if Steph Curry could actually ... see the basket he's shooting at?

For all of his career, his life even, Curry has had issues with his eyes. He said he has a condition called Keratoconus, known in the ophthalmology field as KC. Technically, it’s an eye disease in which the cornea, normally a circle, progressively thins and takes on a cone shape. This distortion has given Curry what is known as an astigmatism, which is a type of error in the way the light bends when entering the eye. It doesn’t distribute the light equally to the retina and leads to blurred or distorted vision. It’s a genetic condition Curry was probably born with, though scientists don’t know how it is acquired.

Wait a second. Curry — who traveled all the way across the country to the Bay, his Bible in tow — was blind the whole time? And now he can see?

“It’s exactly that,” Curry said when asked if he feels like he has new eyes. “It’s like the whole world has opened up.”Curry went 5 for 10 from 3-point range in Tuesday’s 116-102 win over the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. It was his ninth consecutive game with at least five made 3-pointers. In those nine games, he has made 56 of 109 from deep. That’s 51.4 percent.

This turn-up has been a revelation. Curry went 4 for 15 from deep in a loss to Phoenix on March 10. He followed that with a 3-for-9 outing in a home nail-biting victory over Houston. At that point, he was shooting 36.6 percent from 3 after the All-Star break (48 of 131). In his first nine seasons combined, he shot 46.5 percent after the All-Star Game. He was in a legit slump.

Then, suddenly, it went away. What changed?

“I started wearing contacts,” Curry said late Tuesday, pulling his white “Ten in the Town” hat down on his head, creating an awning for his beaming eyes. “No, I’m serious.”

https://theathletic.com/903588/2019/04/03/thompson-steph-curry-fixed-his-a -and-now-the-warriors-postseason-path-looks-so-much-clearer/
That is pretty unbelievable. I have KC in my left eye. It developed the summer before my junior year in college. I had to wear a contact to keep playing baseball. It was no fun trying to catch and hit 90 mph with one eye that worked. A few years after graduating from college I had a cornea transplant because the contact stopped working and I couldn't see anything but blurry colors. I hope the contacts work longer for him. I know there are a lot more treatments now that can help avoid having a transplant.
 

Kliq

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Dave Bing allegedly had terrible eyesight and for a portion of his career he couldn't see the basket that well and instead would look down at the floor to see how far he was from the basket before he could shoot. Take that one with a grain of salt.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Dave Bing allegedly had terrible eyesight and for a portion of his career he couldn't see the basket that well and instead would look down at the floor to see how far he was from the basket before he could shoot. Take that one with a grain of salt.
This is not far from the truth out of Bing. Hand-eye coordination, repeatable mechanics, and repetitions from different spots on the floor are what is most essential to shooting from distance as this creates muscle memory. You know where the rim is from the muscle memory you get from the repetitions from those spots even if the actual target is a little blurry.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Spurs trail 28-24 after 1Q. If you are just joining us, Pop got ejected just 63 seconds with Denver up 5-0.

Pop forever!
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Ice Trae with 33 points on 12-18 shooting, 12 dimes and seven boards as the Hawks take down the Embiid-less 76ers in the ATL. That team is going to be very fun and very tough going forward with Young, Collins (25 points and eight boards) and Huerter as their core. CP should be very excited about next season. And Kliq too given that he has Ice Trae stock.
 

Bad Penny

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InstaFace

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I turned off Memphis @ Portland when it was 50-40 Memphis, thinking "Dammit I'm not going to sit here and watch Memphis piss this away". Well, it's been 46-16 Portland since then. Memphis scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter.

edit: 27-point win for Portland. Me of little faith.
 
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Ice Trae with 33 points on 12-18 shooting, 12 dimes and seven boards as the Hawks take down the Embiid-less 76ers in the ATL. That team is going to be very fun and very tough going forward with Young, Collins (25 points and eight boards) and Huerter as their core. CP should be very excited about next season. And Kliq too given that he has Ice Trae stock.
I am very excited about next season...but it's only fair to point out that Trae has had some poor shooting games very recently as well. And Luka is almost certainly rookie of the year - you can't pretend that Trae's 2018 didn't happen. Still, Trae is a rookie and such blips are to be expected - and he's absolutely made the leap I needed to see him make over the last few months. The trade (Traed?) with the Mavs is now at least defensible, and the Hawks appear to have several elements of a potential championship-challenging team in place already. Now, if they can somehow wind up with picks #1 and #6 in the draft...
 

lovegtm

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I’m rooting for you guys to get #1. Zion, Trae, Collins, and Huerter would be must-watch for years.
 

Jimbodandy

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I’m rooting for you guys to get #1. Zion, Trae, Collins, and Huerter would be must-watch for years.
Right there with you. Would be a damn fun team to watch. Plus we wouldn't have to watch Zion wither in NBA Siberia. Most of the bottom 10 are horrid situations, either hopelessly inept franchises or total rebuilds (and often both). Seems like a good kid. Atlanta is surely best case scenario.
 

benhogan

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I am very excited about next season...but it's only fair to point out that Trae has had some poor shooting games very recently as well. And Luka is almost certainly rookie of the year - you can't pretend that Trae's 2018 didn't happen. Still, Trae is a rookie and such blips are to be expected - and he's absolutely made the leap I needed to see him make over the last few months. The trade (Traed?) with the Mavs is now at least defensible, and the Hawks appear to have several elements of a potential championship-challenging team in place already. Now, if they can somehow wind up with picks #1 and #6 in the draft...
If the Hawks landed the #2 pick do you think they would draft Ja Morant or be willing to deal that pick for multiple firsts :)
 
If the Hawks landed the #2 pick do you think they would draft Ja Morant or be willing to deal that pick for multiple firsts :)
I don't know enough about Ja's game to know whether he and Trae would complement each other, but I'd doubt it. I do wonder, though, if #2 and #6 - or some combination close to that if the Mavs' pick conveys and the Hawks move up - would be enough to trade for the #1 pick and get Zion if the team that wins the lottery is really high on Ja or someone else. (Again, I doubt it, but I don't think it's 100% impossible.)
 

BigSoxFan

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I don't know enough about Ja's game to know whether he and Trae would complement each other, but I'd doubt it. I do wonder, though, if #2 and #6 - or some combination close to that if the Mavs' pick conveys and the Hawks move up - would be enough to trade for the #1 pick and get Zion if the team that wins the lottery is really high on Ja or someone else. (Again, I doubt it, but I don't think it's 100% impossible.)
I'd say it's highly unlikely that Zion gets traded unless it's for AD in the event that NYK wins the lottery. I certainly wouldn't be willing to give up Zion's career for a Cam Reddish/Jarrett Culver type.
 

Kliq

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I think the logical move for Atlanta with the number two pick would be to just take Barrett, perhaps trade down if the #3 team is really high on Ja. Young/Huerter/Barrett/Collins/Len is an interesting starting five.
 

benhogan

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I think the logical move for Atlanta with the number two pick would be to just take Barrett, perhaps trade down if the #3 team is really high on Ja. Young/Huerter/Barrett/Collins/Len is an interesting starting five.
hmm, Atlanta will have plenty of cap room. Maybe sign Gasol on a 2yr deal.
 

the moops

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Huerter is a fine player and having a decent rookie year, but I am unsure In would be including him in any future core to build around. Seems likely to end up a fringe starter more than anything
 

Kliq

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Huerter is a fine player and having a decent rookie year, but I am unsure In would be including him in any future core to build around. Seems likely to end up a fringe starter more than anything
From what I've seen he is a bigger SG that is a good three-point shooter and has potential on the defensive end, and also can be a bit of a playmaker. Those are good tools to work with for a 20 year old. I'm not saying he is going to be Klay Thompson, but if he is the 4/5th best player on your team you could be in good shape. I think he'd be a good fit playing with Young/Barrett.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Huerter is a fine player and having a decent rookie year, but I am unsure In would be including him in any future core to build around. Seems likely to end up a fringe starter more than anything
Huerter is one of those guys who look great on a winning team filling a role off the ball and awful in a clusterfvck situation without a role.

I think the logical move for Atlanta with the number two pick would be to just take Barrett, perhaps trade down if the #3 team is really high on Ja. Young/Huerter/Barrett/Collins/Len is an interesting starting five.
I doubt this would work with such young players looking to craft their own niche. It’s works in Houston because Paul recognizes he can save some wear and tear while playing for a contender. I wouldn’t think either player would or should be asked to sacrifice at this stage of their career especially on a non-contender.

This would be fast and fun backcourt to watch though but I’d expect them to go with Culver or make a larger trade if a team would give up a high lottery this year where they could still grab Culver and another next. Chicago would be a candidate for this deal if they were picking 3rd/4th.

This year's Celtics experience would argue that that's a very valuable thing to have.
Huerter can be a valuable player in this league but Atlanta isn’t yet in a position to be retaining complementary pieces at the risk of improving the top of their roster. You can pick up guys like Huerter in 3-4 years when they become more valuable to your team once you’re contending.
 

JCizzle

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Embiid gets into it with Bledsoe. Bledsoe ejected. Embiid sure loves getting into altercations with guards (Rozier, Smart, Westbrook, Bledsoe).
The fakest of tough guys. It would be nice to see the NBA actually hold him to the same standard that applies to 99% of the league.
 

BigSoxFan

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So Embiid throws the ball first and doesn’t get ejected but Bledsoe does? It is because he threw it harder? Don’t get it.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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So Embiid throws the ball first and doesn’t get ejected but Bledsoe does? It is because he threw it harder? Don’t get it.
This is exactly it. Bledsoe threw it with more intent too. This was the equivalent of a toddler slap fight except it involves grown millionaires in the NBA.
 

Kliq

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Monster Giannis game; plus George Hill did a great job filling in for Bledsoe, 20-5-5 on 7/13 shooting. He's a good, playoff-tested guy to have in your rotation.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Embiid gets into it with Bledsoe. Bledsoe ejected. Embiid sure loves getting into altercations with guards (Rozier, Smart, Westbrook, Bledsoe).
Funny how each of these guards share a bit in common as aggressive guards who can be feisty defensively.