2022-23 NBA Game Thread

benhogan

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They're similarly bad offensive players, but Nerlens is materially better on defense. As a buyout guy, he'd be an upgrade.
Noel definitely works, amongst contenders, Boston can pay the most with the $3.2MM DPE in the buyout market

Only defense-first BIGs apply.
Boston has scoring/shooting covered (Tatum, Brown, Brogdon, Horford, SAM, Grant, White, etc).
A veteran BIG that moves well on D, doesn't foul on screens, passes the ball, rolls & rebounds. 2018 Baynes please
 
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the moops

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Noel definitely works, amongst contenders, Boston can pay the most with the $3.2MM DPE in the buyout market
I don't think this is true, and apologies if I have this incorrect. There are several contenders who have all or some of their mid-level and/or bi-annual exceptions which exceed the 3.2 million the Celtics have. ATL, BRK, MEM, NO, PHO, TOR are the most contender-like of the ones that have money
 

benhogan

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I don't think this is true, and apologies if I have this incorrect. There are several contenders who have all or some of their mid-level and/or bi-annual exceptions which exceed the 3.2 million the Celtics have. ATL, BRK, MEM, NO, PHO, TOR are the most contender-like of the ones that have money
Thanks...You are probably right, figured contenders had already used them but that makes sense.

Darn thought Brad had an edge there.
 

benhogan

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I don't think this is true, and apologies if I have this incorrect. There are several contenders who have all or some of their mid-level and/or bi-annual exceptions which exceed the 3.2 million the Celtics have. ATL, BRK, MEM, NO, PHO, TOR are the most contender-like of the ones that have money
You are correct

TOR $4.1MM Bi-Annual available
ATL $10.5M & 4.1M available
BRK $6.5M Midlevel available
MEM $9.3M & $4.1M available
NOP $10.5M & $4.1M available
PHO $10.5M & $4.1M available
 

SoxFanInPdx

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Shaedon Sharpe is going to be a monster. Soon.
The more I watch this kid play, there is zero doubt in my mind that had he gone to Kentucky, he would have been at least the 2nd pick in the draft. With his freakish athleticism and skill set already, as a rookie - the sky's the limit. The Blazers nailed that pick.
 

TripleOT

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You are correct

TOR $4.1MM Bi-Annual available
ATL $10.5M & 4.1M available
BRK $6.5M Midlevel available
MEM $9.3M & $4.1M available
NOP $10.5M & $4.1M available
PHO $10.5M & $4.1M available
If Noel is getting a buyout, is he going to be looking for a ring, or an extra million bucks? Winning a title in his hometown, then going into UFA at age 29 as a champion, should be an attractive situation. He’s probably the most-TL like of the likely available bigs (although obviously not as good).
 

NWsoxophile

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The more I watch this kid play, there is zero doubt in my mind that had he gone to Kentucky, he would have been at least the 2nd pick in the draft. With his freakish athleticism and skill set already, as a rookie - the sky's the limit. The Blazers nailed that pick.
His offense is insanely developed for a 19 year old. He looks great from beyond the 3 point line, has shown some nice midrange game, and is already an absolute beast going to the hoop and above the rim. The only thing he hasn’t shown off yet is a low post game.
What impresses me most though is how calm and poised he is to start his career. The game doesn’t look like it’s moving too fast for him. I might need to check my expectations because I just don’t see what’s going to stop him from being all-nba in 5 years or less.
 

Euclis20

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Warriors close the game on a 19-5 run to beat the Cavs. Curry again goes off, for 40. When Curry was injured late last year and missed the last 12 games, the Warriors went 6-6. If he goes down again they may struggle to win 1/4 of their games.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Warriors close the game on a 19-5 run to beat the Cavs. Curry again goes off, for 40. When Curry was injured late last year and missed the last 12 games, the Warriors went 6-6. If he goes down again they may struggle to win 1/4 of their games.
Probably. Indeed, we've seen that movie — it's called 2019-20. Warriors went 15-50. (Thanks, Aron Baynes!)
 

SemperFidelisSox

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The final minute for the Lakers:

Beverly misses 3 point attempt
Walker misses 3 point attempt
Davis misses 3 point attempt
Reeves misses 3 point attempt
Reeves misses 3 point attempt
 

SteveF

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Maybe not to the same extent (as Curry), but sneakily I think the Warriors would be in a lot of trouble if Looney missed a lot of time.
 

Kliq

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What needs to be discussed right now is my most excellent take from earlier this year

I still think Fox is better than Ben Simmons.
A lot of other takes from that thread have not aged particularly well...just sayin'.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Maybe not to the same extent (as Curry), but sneakily I think the Warriors would be in a lot of trouble if Looney missed a lot of time.
No doubt. Right now it’s Curry, then a tier of Wiggs-Loon-Dray, then pray for rain. At least Poole showed up tonight, and Donte returned from his hammy injury to stabilize things when Steph sits. After them (and I guess Klay) their best players right now might be Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome.
 

Kliq

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What’s your top three?
It's a fair question, I would certainly put Giannis ahead of Curry. I think Giannis is in a tier by himself and the undisputed best player in the NBA. I'd probably tier it like:

Tier 1

Giannis

Tier 2

Jokic
Curry
Tatum
Luka
Durant
 

Euclis20

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Maybe not the right place for this, but it's off-putting to see 7 different guys averaging 30+ ppg so far this year (Luka, Curry, Tatum, Giannis, Mitchell, Durant and SGA). That probably drops off as the sample size grows larger, but for some context, exactly 7 different players averaged 30+ ppg over a full season over the last 13 years (Embiid, Curry, Beal, Lillard, Harden, Westbrook and Durant).

Points are up league-wide this year (112.5, the highest in over 50 years) but really not substantively different from the last 4 seasons (110.6 in 2022, 112.1 in 2021, 111.8 in 2020 and 111.2 in 2019).
 

lovegtm

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Maybe not the right place for this, but it's off-putting to see 7 different guys averaging 30+ ppg so far this year (Luka, Curry, Tatum, Giannis, Mitchell, Durant and SGA). That probably drops off as the sample size grows larger, but for some context, exactly 7 different players averaged 30+ ppg over a full season over the last 13 years (Embiid, Curry, Beal, Lillard, Harden, Westbrook and Durant).

Points are up league-wide this year (112.5, the highest in over 50 years) but really not substantively different from the last 4 seasons (110.6 in 2022, 112.1 in 2021, 111.8 in 2020 and 111.2 in 2019).
Why is it off-putting, particularly if overall offense isn't that crazily higher?

To me, it looks like the NBA just has some crazy talent right now, and some of those guys are going off. Speaking just about the Celtics, the brand of basketball with Tatum at 31/game has been VERY attractive, rooting interest aside.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Why is it off-putting, particularly if overall offense isn't that crazily higher?

To me, it looks like the NBA just has some crazy talent right now, and some of those guys are going off. Speaking just about the Celtics, the brand of basketball with Tatum at 31/game has been VERY attractive, rooting interest aside.
Not like they’ve been shameless chuckers like Kobe, Iverson, or Melo, either. They’ve all been impressively efficient at that high volume.

Doncic 34.3 pts / .600 TS
Curry 33.3 / .695 (lol)
Tatum 32.3 / .653
Giannis 31.8 / .599 (scrub)
Mitchell 31.6 / .649
SGA 30.5 / .628
Durant 30.5 / .646
 

Sam Ray Not

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This is a really bad no call on Klay here. He just plows right into the defender

View: https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1591301271264563205?s=20&t=UwkcCyra4qEWK8L32_dWNQ
Indeed, but as jmcc5400 notes, it also came at the end of an atrocious night of calls against the home team (Spida getting two shots in a key situation for spraining his ankle, Steph getting an early third personal foul for breathing on Garland, Dray getting a one-shot delay of game tech when a made bucket bounced off his head, etc. etc.)

If they had wiped out that Steph 3, Chase Center fans might have … rattled their jewelry extra loud.
 

Sam Ray Not

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It's a fair question, I would certainly put Giannis ahead of Curry. I think Giannis is in a tier by himself and the undisputed best player in the NBA. I'd probably tier it like:

Tier 1

Giannis

Tier 2

Jokic
Curry
Tatum
Luka
Durant
I have basically the same list as you — only with Steph sharing tier one with Giannis. Assuming we’re talking *right now* I think there are more arguments for Steph being a tier above the guys on your Tier 2 than there are arguments for Giannis being a tier above Steph — starting with the fact that Giannis himself declared Steph the best player in the league to start the season. That was of course shorthand for “Best Player by a mile on the defending champs” — which imo is reason enough. And of course he got that title not by gravytraining, but by destroying the same historically elite Celtics defense that had crushed KD and Kyrie, and turned Giannis into an inefficient volume shooter.

Flash forward to this season and he’s putting up 33.3 pts / 6.8 reb / 6.7 ast on .695 TS with a +28.1 net on-off rating, and leading the NBA by most advanced stats. He’s a top 10 player of-all time having his best start to a season ever. Unless we’re positing that Giannis is gonna be, like, the unquestioned GOAT when he hangs em up, I think it’s pretty prudent to let Steph share his tier in the “Best Player Right Now” convo.

Then again, I’m not entirely objective, haha.
 

the moops

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Indeed, but as jmcc5400 notes, it also came at the end of an atrocious night of calls against the home team (Spida getting two shots in a key situation for spraining his ankle, Steph getting an early third personal foul for breathing on Garland, Dray getting a one-shot delay of game tech when a made bucket bounced off his head, etc. etc.)

If they had wiped out that Steph 3, Chase Center fans might have … rattled their jewelry extra loud.
I didn't see the game, but I am doubtful that any call/non-call was more impactful to the final score than the Klay non-call with 30 seconds to go on the game. They gotta get those right, especially when it was so blatant
 

Sam Ray Not

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It's the only error listed in the two-minute report.
Yeah, but the other 46 minutes (in which the Warriors were generally hosed by the refs) count the same. I can’t think of a recent game in which I was more flummoxed by the officiating.

The Klay obliteration of Okoro at the end was pretty hilarious, tho. This vid (starting at about 7:50) breaks it down well, including the hilarious way Klay holds his arms up in “who me?” pose for like a minute after the TKO…

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Awm_j9yUefg
 

Smokey Joe

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Maybe not the right place for this, but it's off-putting to see 7 different guys averaging 30+ ppg so far this year (Luka, Curry, Tatum, Giannis, Mitchell, Durant and SGA). That probably drops off as the sample size grows larger, but for some context, exactly 7 different players averaged 30+ ppg over a full season over the last 13 years (Embiid, Curry, Beal, Lillard, Harden, Westbrook and Durant).

Points are up league-wide this year (112.5, the highest in over 50 years) but really not substantively different from the last 4 seasons (110.6 in 2022, 112.1 in 2021, 111.8 in 2020 and 111.2 in 2019).
Could this somehow be a byproduct of the no-take foul rule change? I don’t know how you would measure it. Perhaps by looking for a significant increase in those players transition offense?
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Could this somehow be a byproduct of the no-take foul rule change? I don’t know how you would measure it. Perhaps by looking for a significant increase in those players transition offense?
There is something to that. I for one am enjoying the uptick in executed fast breaks without worrying about the take foul. And by nature your highest scorer will get the chance to finish like half of those fast breaks, unless they are the ball-handler and overplayed to where passing it to an open rim runner or spot up shooter is easier.
 

BigSoxFan

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Embiid was just horrendous tonight. 5 careless turnovers. Also had:

59/11/8/7 blocks
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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One of the more enjoyable NBA subplots is the ongoing beef between Pat Bev and KD. Beverley isn't defending KD but instead is conducting an appendectomy on Durant during this Nets @ Lakers game.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The Golden State broadcast feed has Tom Tolbert as halftime sideline reporter/Ernie Johnson role of orchestrator as TMC…Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin call the game and tell old war stories. Tolbert’s “interview” with his old college teammate Steve Kerr was pretty funny.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Wow, Wiseman is sooooo bad at NBA basketball. He went from “can’t miss” to “poor man’s Marvin Bagley” seemingly overnight.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The Golden State broadcast feed has Tom Tolbert as halftime sideline reporter/Ernie Johnson role of orchestrator as TMC…Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin call the game and tell old war stories. Tolbert’s “interview” with his old college teammate Steve Kerr was pretty funny.
Tolbert is great - he is like a west coast Scal. Now I need to get that interview. Tolbert and Kerr are a natural comedy duo.
 

Euclis20

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Wow, Wiseman is sooooo bad at NBA basketball. He went from “can’t miss” to “poor man’s Marvin Bagley” seemingly overnight.
Such an incredible miss. Darko 2.0, the only difference being the quality of the players that they passed up (Ball, Haliburton and Bane are probably the 3 best players picked after Wiseman, and they aren't exactly Wade, Carmelo and Bosh).
 

lovegtm

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Such an incredible miss. Darko 2.0, the only difference being the quality of the players that they passed up (Ball, Haliburton and Bane are probably the 3 best players picked after Wiseman, and they aren't exactly Wade, Carmelo and Bosh).
I'm at least happy that the GS run will end with Curry.
 

Sam Ray Not

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I’m not too high on young James these days, but it’s a bit too early to write him off, I think. Dude is 21, has played in 50 total NBA games, and has been deprived a normal age 19-21 development phase by a college recruitment violation, covid, and a torn meniscus.

I know it’s a game thread, but we’re talking about like a two-minute sample of “soooooo bad” play, coming off the bench cold, in garbage time, after a few consecutive games of DNP-CDs. He hasn’t been that bad overall this season for a kid still figuring stuff out: (per 36) 18.4 points on .614 ts, 10.3 reb, 2.7 ast. He actually looked better last night after those first couple of rough minutes. The scoreboard has generally swung massively in the wrong direction with him on the floor, but that’s not all on him. And bad plus-minus isn’t always that predictive in guys that young.

Bagley is probably a pretty good comp (because handedness and #2 pick, among other things) though Wise is (1) a lot bigger and stronger than Bagley; and (2) more anecdotally/subjectively, a harder-working kid with a better head on his shoulders. I do question his feel for the game … but then I questioned Andrew Wiggins’ feel for the game, all the way up till his age 26 season, when was an all-star giving Luka and Tatum a rough time in the heat of playoff battle. Young players develop at different rates.

I’d still happily take a flier on him if I were a team like the Spurs with nothing else going on. I’m just not sure his timeline and game aligns very well with the late-dynasty Warriors, who clearly don’t want to repeat the missteps of ‘20-21, and have always had issues fitting true centers into their style of play. A mid-season trade for more vet depth would not totally shock me. Could be a win-win for the Warriors, his new team, and Wise, who would get to spread his wings, get real minutes, and learn from his mistakes outside of the Chase Center spotlight.

Anyway, outside of the rough couple minutes for Wiseman, a great night for the champs, with Poole incandescent, Moody and Kuminga both killing it, and University of Vermont’s own Anthony Lamb looking like this year’s GP2-meets-Otto Porter.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I do question his feel for the game … but then I questioned Andrew Wiggins’ feel for the game, all the way up till his age 26 season, when was an all-star giving Luka and Tatum a rough time in the heat of playoff battle. Young players develop at different rates.
Sure there are different growth arcs for sure. I am not sure what universe one would compare Wiseman, a kid who Kerr almost mockingly said will stay down in the G-League for awhile, to pre-Warrior Wiggins who had amassed 10k NBA points by age 25 while securing a $150m contract for his upside…..that takes some creativity. For development curves I’d be looking at someone like a Markelle Fultz maybe.