2023-2024 General NBA Season Thread
- Thread starter BigSoxFan
- Start date
I mean I get the wanting to flex on teams you hate, but you really just want to face the worse team at every possible step. Give me the easy path to the finals over any Embiid or Butler led team
We get that. However, we're talking about maximizing personal utility. For me, hate watching represents a large part of my personal utility. I will get so much more pleasure out of the Cs beating Miami/NYK/Sixers than I will them beating Cleveland or Orlando that I'm willing to take the potential hit to win probability.
How do you feel now with the WC ~50 games over the EC this season?
The spread in the WC over the EC gets absurdly wide with Embiid out and the Knicks dealing with several injuries
Imagine if Memphis' season hadn't been completely blown up by injuries and suspensions.
Thanks for the reminder….lol.
If the Celtics don’t get out of the East, it will be a major disappointment.
Ha wasn't singling you out, just noticed an old post of mine that you had replied to.
Plenty of other posters thought the EC & WC were on equal footing
Denver's Starting5 should be pretty dinged up if they make it out of the WC.
I agree with this, plus I think ... Miami is actually a much worse team than they were last year. Am I tempting fate saying that?
They're a much worse team than they were in the playoffs, that's for sure. They won 44 games during the regular season (on pace for 44-45 this year) and had a net rating of -0.3, compared to +0.2 so far this year. Really similar performance, the million dollar question is will they do what they did in the playoffs. There's no particular reason to think that they will, other than the fact that we saw this movie last spring. They shot .450 from 3 against Milwaukee, .306 against the Knicks, .434 against Boston and .333 against Denver. I still have no idea what to do with any of that.
After Tobias Harris destroyed the LAC in the first half, now it's the Maxey Show in Los Angeles.
76ers up by 19 with just over 7min to play.
The Clippers seems like a team that doesn't really care.
Fake edit: Up to 21 point lead now...
76ers up by 19 with just over 7min to play.
The Clippers seems like a team that doesn't really care.
Fake edit: Up to 21 point lead now...
The Clippers are the weirdest team. After they acquired Harden I really thought they wouldn't work as a team. Too much repetitive skill at the guards/wings lack of a power forward with only Zubac giving them any beef down low. I saw a few games in that initial stretch and didn't think it was a matter of them needing to play together in order to cohere. What i saw were opponents waltzing to the hoop with ease and didn't really see how more time playing together would fix that. And, yet, to the contrary, a few weeks later -- just as HRB had predicted -- it all clicked. Give Lue tons of credit for not being afraid to go small and to use Westbrook down low. Credit to Harden for meshing his game so well with PG13 and Kawhi. And a ton of credit to Kawhi who played MVP level hoops. He looked unstoppable.
So...I stood corrected; clearly they did mesh and they looked like the best team in the NBA for a stretch. But...hold on! Now they are struggling again and I'm again a bit puzzled as to why. Seems unlikely they could miss Wbrook that much. And it's totally reasonable to argue that they're an older team that just took their foot off the pedal. And, yet...not quite sure to make of it because seems more like than just a bad stretch (but...doesn't it always?). More than anything, they just seem a bit worn out.
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a bad stretch of an older team that is a bit burnt out by the season. And that, if healthy, they'll be as good as they looked during the middle of the season come the playoffs and motivationgoes up. Nor would I be surprised if their fade continues and they go out yet again with a whimper rather than a bang.
So...I stood corrected; clearly they did mesh and they looked like the best team in the NBA for a stretch. But...hold on! Now they are struggling again and I'm again a bit puzzled as to why. Seems unlikely they could miss Wbrook that much. And it's totally reasonable to argue that they're an older team that just took their foot off the pedal. And, yet...not quite sure to make of it because seems more like than just a bad stretch (but...doesn't it always?). More than anything, they just seem a bit worn out.
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a bad stretch of an older team that is a bit burnt out by the season. And that, if healthy, they'll be as good as they looked during the middle of the season come the playoffs and motivationgoes up. Nor would I be surprised if their fade continues and they go out yet again with a whimper rather than a bang.
Doc Rivers told Dan Patrick right before the year that he felt that James Harden was really hurt by not making the all-star team last season, and he let it affect his play (negatively). It's unlikely to be that straightforward, but as long as we're throwing reasons out there (Clippers are now 8-9 since the all-star break, just a half game up on the Pelicans for the 5 seed).
Outside of Denver the Clippers are the team I fear the most for the Celtics (or any of the EC teams). I'd worry about that team even if they had to get into the playoffs via the play-in. I think they can beat any team in the league over a seven game series if things fall right.
I was listening to Mo Dakhil on the RealGM podcast today and he opined that the team (and the coach) were complacent about the regular season and that the did miss Westbrook because he supplied the energy and a sense of urgency.
It's gonna get really interesting. Despite behind a game back, I believe the Rockets control their own destiny (since they play the Warriors on April 4, and own the tiebreaker).
It's interesting watching Minnesota, seems a bit similar to the Celtics a couple years ago. Exceptional defensive team with a young superstar, who also happens to fall in love with the contested off the dribble jumper despite being able to physically overwhelm almost any defender. Also real crunch time issues offensively.
Is the first time breaker head to head? If so, Golden State beat Houston in their first two matchups, and they only meet one more time on April 4
It is, you're right. I misread the schedule, which is unfortunate. Still a great position for Houston to be in, considering they've cut a 5.5 game deficit to 1 in just 16 days.
Halliburton has been mid for the better part of 3 months now. A huge fall-off from when he was talked about as a first team All NBA in the early parts of the season.
It's pretty reasonable to ask whether he should be All-NBA at this point, especially with how bad he is defensively.
That would be ironic, as he came back early from his hamstring injury to be eligible for the All NBA team.
Anthony Davis has played in 67 games this year, the most since 2018. He played 40 minutes last night and was dominant. When did this guy suddenly turn into Iron Man?
The East standings are still a mess. Any of the Cavs, Knicks, or Magic could finish 3-4-5. And then the Pacers, Heat, and Sixers are all tied with 32 losses in the 6-7-8 spots. This is likely going down to the wire. That 6 spot is especially valuable. You avoid the play-in, and you avoid the Celts and Bucks in the first round. Hoping the Heat slide into that 6 seed.
Agreed here. His first half is still carrying his overall numbers though and he is still leading the league in assists per game though, so I am guessing he is still going to be on many ballots
It's almost like a guy who has had injuries in the past doesn't necessarily always get injured going forward.
I think it’s more about him being gassed, but I’m curious to see how he plays in the postseason.
View: https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/1772128931551850554
View: https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/1772128931551850554
It's pretty simple. 1) Losing Westbrook (back today) messed their rotation and any pace they have up. And, more importantly, 2) Kawhi has been "meh" the last month. He's gassed and has back issues as he's trying to load up for the playoffs.
They're still getting bounced early but their mediocrity as of late is still the function of a 9 month season.
I feel the postseason with a week off leading up to it, reduced travel and no B2Bs plays strongly in Kawhi’s favor.
That's a weird one. LAL has shot a lot of free throws (#3 and #1 respectively last two years) and allowed even fewer relative to the opposition (#1 both years). Interestingly, Lebon hasn't been in the top 20 among players either season.
Also, the teams that have taken the most foul shots overall are a weird mix of stagnant and fluid offenses. It doesn't seem to predict much.
Euclis posted the following on page 89.... and it bears repeating:
"If the Rockets beat out one of the LAL/GS for the 10th spot and then beat the other in the 9/10 play in game, I think we can start the process of forgiving Ime. "
Considering that without the Ime drama we would have had a very good chance of being in the finals and possibly winning the championship? Not f___ing likely.
OTOH, if Ime was still here would Brad have made the moves he did this past offseason?
I hate that guy but the same exact thing happened just as much before he bought them.
I thought the verification icons getting handed out like free candy was on his watch?
That's just the start of the process. If the Rockets knock both the Warriors and the Lakers out of the playoffs AND the Celtics win the title this year, I'll forgive him.
Except that the disambiguation back then was as simple as "blue check, or no blue check?"
In the 2 games that they are investigating, he went 4 MP, 0/3/1 and 3 MP, 0/2/0.
Under the "Scott Foster rule" your first 134 calls with a bettor are ok by the NBA! So Porter must have been doing a great deal of prop betting?
He left the 4 MP game with a supposed re-aggravation of an eye injury...then in the 3 MP game left due to an "illness". The unders on Porter's props cashed in as the biggest winners on DraftKings for both of those games. Porter is on a 2-way contract but averages 14 MP averaging 4.4/3.2/2.3 for the 26 games he's been active for.
I am not a gambler, and was surprised when checking DK and seeing props for basically everyone on each team's active roster. If you're making south of $500k on a 2-way contract, the temptation is certainly stronger than a star with a lot to lose. He also sees the star paychecks that his brother Michael Porter Jr. takes home, and Jontay may be thinking 'I'm in the same league and taking THIS paycheck home?'