2022-23 NBA Game Thread

Swedgin

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Heat smoked the Sixers tonight, putting Miami one game back from Brooklyn in the sixth seed. Unfortunately, the Nets two remaining games are Orlando and Philly. Strong bet Philly plays the end of the bench for the last of 82 to ensure they get the Nets in the first round instead of the Heat.
 

joe dokes

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Heat smoked the Sixers tonight, putting Miami one game back from Brooklyn in the sixth seed. Unfortunately, the Nets two remaining games are Orlando and Philly. Strong bet Philly plays the end of the bench for the last of 82 to ensure they get the Nets in the first round instead of the Heat.
An actual list might prove me wrong, but it hardly seems like more than a 50-50 bet when teams essentially tank to "choose" their playoff opponent.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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I think we see a bunch of easy wins in the Western Conference tonight.

Suns are locked into the #4 seed and are on the second night of a back to back. No real reason to go all out vs the Lakers tonight.

Milwaukee has half their roster listed as questionable and Memphis needs a win to get #2 seed.
 

Swedgin

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An actual list might prove me wrong, but it hardly seems like more than a 50-50 bet when teams essentially tank to "choose" their playoff opponent.
I share the feeling that generally one should not tempt the basketball gods, but the Nets are a pretty unique case. This is not just looking for a team you think you match up against better. The roster that put Brooklyn in the 6th six seed is not the same one the Net's currently field. While feisty, they are a sub .500 team since the KD trade. Miami is .538 on the season (abliet with a negative point differential). If my choice is playing a team whose best player is Miles Bridges and is coached by Jacque Vaughn or one led by Jimmy Butler/Bam and helmed by Spo, I know which one I am picking every day and twice on Sunday.
 

Imbricus

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Samanic with a nice start for Utah last night: 9 for 14 from the field (3 for 6 from 3), 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 23 points.
 

lovegtm

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Samanic with a nice start for Utah last night: 9 for 14 from the field (3 for 6 from 3), 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 23 points.
Good for him, but PP just had a line just like that in a low-pressure game for us, and he's buried in the back of the rotation. These meaningless games are great for guys trying to break in to the league, but I'm not sure how much they tell us.
 

128

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Good for him, but PP just had a line just like that in a low-pressure game for us, and he's buried in the back of the rotation. These meaningless games are great for guys trying to break in to the league, but I'm not sure how much they tell us.
Yeah, I'm going to trust the C's talent evaluators on this one. They were able to scout Samanic all season and declined to lock him up.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Yeah, I'm going to trust the C's talent evaluators on this one. They were able to scout Samanic all season and declined to lock him up.
Mentioned this the other day in another thread but we don’t know this to be true at all. His agent should have zero motivation to lock in a small deal in Boston where he wouldn’t play rather than waiting out an opportunity for him to play and put up numbers for his second contract.
 

128

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Mentioned this the other day in another thread but we don’t know this to be true at all. His agent should have zero motivation to lock in a small deal in Boston where he wouldn’t play rather than waiting out an opportunity for him to play and put up numbers for his second contract.
True, but the C's could have brought him up for a test run at some point, and they didn't. Is there any reason to believe they're ruing the loss of Samanic?
 

HomeRunBaker

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True, but the C's could have brought him up for a test run at some point, and they didn't. Is there any reason to believe they're ruing the loss of Samanic?
We are a contender/playoff team, not a tanker looking to give guys tryouts. That’s why he ended up with a lottery team once they were eliminated.
 

DeadlySplitter

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Today's scenarios. Both LA teams and Warriors should win with all the motivation to (try to) avoid a play-in:

 

Euclis20

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Lots of fun scenarios for the afternoon games, with seeds 5-9 still up for grabs in the west between LAC, LAL, NOP, MIN and GSW:

View: https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1644863055178915840?s=20


The games themselves will mostly suck - the Clippers are playing Phoenix (who will sit everyone), the Lakers are playing Utah (who will sit almost everyone), and the Warriors are playing Portland (who would let fans play if it were allowed). The only competitive game should be between MIN and NOP (loser gets the 9th seed), and even then, you're watching two disappointing teams that are barely over .500.
 

lovegtm

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Rockets win, and San Antonio is up big on the Mavs, who want to lose. If SA and Houston are tied in the standings, is it a coin flip for who picks first in the second round? Houston pick could still convey to the Cs, in that case.
 

SteveF

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Sort of. They flip for the order in the first, then reverse that order in the second. (At least, I'm like 90% sure that's how it works.)
 

lovegtm

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Jaden McDaniels also punched a wall and looks like he fractured his hand.

Things are very spicy in Minnesota.
They'll need to trade KAT and ANT to reset the Gobert trade. They'll try and hold that off as long as they can, probably too long, but that's the only way you fix this, short of finding a Jokic in the 2nd round or something.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Is there a way to get Kyrie and Gobert on the same team? Otherwise the “worst teammate suck fest” will continue
 

the moops

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They'll need to trade KAT and ANT to reset the Gobert trade. They'll try and hold that off as long as they can, probably too long, but that's the only way you fix this, short of finding a Jokic in the 2nd round or something.
They won't trade those two guys to reset. They can either dump Gobert for nothing. Some team would take him into space or send back some other, but different contracts. Or they play it out for two years then trade Gobert as an expiring.

The trade was terrible, but with Ant and KAT they have some hope still
 

PedroKsBambino

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All kidding aside, assuming the Mavs pay Kyrie don’t they have to try and trade for Gobert on the cheap?
that’s the perfect spot for him basketball-wise….don’t see how they get the contract ballast to do it though

if you were the nets would you do Claxton and Simmons for Rudy?
 

HomeRunBaker

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that’s the perfect spot for him basketball-wise….don’t see how they get the contract ballast to do it though

if you were the nets would you do Claxton and Simmons for Rudy?
The Mavs have the Bertans and Hardaway contracts that make this a simple match for trading purposes. Hardaway role is limited with Kyrie there and give Minny an asset to dip if they don’t want him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Kris Dunn dropping a 28/10/8 on the Lakers today following a 19/14/8 and 22/7/7 in the prior 72 hours. I forgot which thread it was in but I’ll say it again…..his agent royally F’d up by locking him into barely more than a vet min next year. He could have struck while the iron was hot and his glass body was intact this summer.
 

Euclis20

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All kidding aside, assuming the Mavs pay Kyrie don’t they have to try and trade for Gobert on the cheap?
Purely from a basketball perspective, it's actually pretty nice for both teams. Mavs get the defensive presence they so desperately need, and the Wolves get some very nice late-game offense (and a shot at the best offensive backcourt in the league).

Realistically, there's no way the Wolves let Kyrie anywhere near their roster, and no way he agrees to go there anyway. They were just as good with and without KAT, they should see if they can still get a haul for him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Purely from a basketball perspective, it's actually pretty nice for both teams. Mavs get the defensive presence they so desperately need, and the Wolves get some very nice late-game offense (and a shot at the best offensive backcourt in the league).

Realistically, there's no way the Wolves let Kyrie anywhere near their roster, and no way he agrees to go there anyway. They were just as good with and without KAT, they should see if they can still get a haul for him.
I was talking about Bartan, Hardaway, and flotsam for Gobert and pairing him with Doncic and Kyrie. We were just discussing the other day how Cuban loves taking on the one big contracts for one-dimensional pure 5’s.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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I was talking about Bartan, Hardaway, and flotsam for Gobert and pairing him with Doncic and Kyrie. We were just discussing the other day how Cuban loves taking on the one big contracts for one-dimensional pure 5’s.
Yep. Let those two cones just funnel everything to the rim and have Rudy clean it up. All they’d have to do is defend the three-point line and make sure they didn’t leave the corner three open when dudes blow past them.
 

Euclis20

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I was talking about Bartan, Hardaway, and flotsam for Gobert and pairing him with Doncic and Kyrie. We were just discussing the other day how Cuban loves taking on the one big contracts for one-dimensional pure 5’s.
Ah, got it. Minnesota can't trade him away for parts after just a year selling the farm to get him, even if it's the right move in the long run.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I guess if you’re the TWolves maybe you take salary dumps for Gobert (which is what Bertans and Hardaway are). That is an abysmal defensive team—I just don’t know that it is a serious team

I do wonder if you’d try to get Simmons/something instead as that fits roster-wise if Simmons wakes up back as a third banana.
 

Euclis20

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I guess if you’re the TWolves maybe you take salary dumps for Gobert (which is what Bertans and Hardaway are). That is an abysmal defensive team—I just don’t know that it is a serious team

I do wonder if you’d try to get Simmons/something instead as that fits roster-wise if Simmons wakes up back as a third banana.
Are they? I haven't seen too much of them but they are 10th in defensive rating, it seems like the bigger problem is that they are 23rd in offensive rating.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I meant if you trade Gobert for Hardaway and flotsam you are losing the defensive anchor you have now and you’d be truly awful
 

The Social Chair

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Is there a way to get Kyrie and Gobert on the same team? Otherwise the “worst teammate suck fest” will continue
Gobert is the least liked player in the league and Kyrie might be the most liked. Kyrie's (basketball) issues are with management, coaches, and control.
 

Kliq

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Gobert has been really good for Minnesota on the defensive side of the ball during the second half, ans IIRC has massive defensive splits with his on/off stats.

Gobert to me has been as advertised, a questionable teammate with a questionable impact on the postseason, but an outstanding defensive player who can cover for a lot of lapses by other players. The path for Minnesota is Ant levels up into a legit Top 10 guy; that solves a lot of their asset issues. I'd maybe consider trading KAT for a haul to recoup those assets.

The unforseen sting of the Gobert trade has been how good Kessler was this season as a rim protector. You know you are giving up potential assets with the picks, but for the first pick to be someone who can do a credible Gobert imitation, that's rough.
 

Euclis20

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I meant if you trade Gobert for Hardaway and flotsam you are losing the defensive anchor you have now and you’d be truly awful
Yeah I read that wrong and you're right, that team is brutal defensively. I really think they need to explore trading KAT, and hope for continued improvement from Edwards.
 

Tony C

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And the Twolves have ruled him out for the rest of the game, and an internal suspension wouldn't shock me. Really remarkable. I've also don't believe I've ever seen Kyle Anderson move that quickly.
Is an internal suspension really feasible? On the one hand, the season is on the line with the play-in game and, as well, the GM went all in on Rudy so...probably too late for him to back off now. On the other hand, the Wolves locker room could explode if there's not some serious discipline.

Is there a way to get Kyrie and Gobert on the same team? Otherwise the “worst teammate suck fest” will continue
That would be hilarious. Rudy would be a great basketball fit w/ the Mavs...and would make for the most combustible locker room ever.
 

128

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Yea I can't fault the Wolves for trading Kessler. Nobody, and I mean nobody thought of him as anything but a guy
I don't think anybody expected Kessler to be this good so early in this NBA career, but he was the 22nd pick last year. It's not like was an UDFA or a G League guy.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Apparently, Gobert’s reaction was provoked by SloMo telling him to, “Shut the fuck up bitch!” and he sent a group text apologizing to teammates later.
 

Joe D Reid

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Short of the team bus plunging into a ravine, it’s hard to envision a worse game 82 for a team.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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My guess is that the Wolves make a difficult decision and bite the bullet by moving on from Kyle Anderson first. That's far easier and less of an admission of defeat than shipping Gobert off for draft capital and end-of-bench lint.

Everyone knew this deal had the potential to blow up on Minnesota including probably the Wolves. It would be surprising, however, if they moved on this quickly absent an incredible offer.