10-10 in their last 20. They have certainly made it more interesting than we thought they would heading into March. Thankfully both LA and Phoenix have picked up a few wins.
Brooklyn Nets 2016-17 (the Year of the Swap)
- Thread starter Jed Zeppelin
- Start date
They have OKC at home...if Westbrook at gotten that record breaking triple double last night I'd say that could be a rest game, but probably no chance of that now. After that though, DAL at home and SAC on the road. I'd say at least even money they win one of those.
I just hope we are at full strength when Brooklyn comes in on Monday. Do we think that Stevens will give that any weight when deciding which games to rest people?
You really think so? While it is easy to predict who will be "bad", it is quite hard to predict / pick who will be the worst team. I don't think there would be much incentive to tank if you might only get the 5th worst record, which in turn could have bad ping pong luck and end up with like the 8th pick or something. It just doesn't make nearly as much sense to tank in that scenario.
Magic with an easy win tonight. As long as the Celtics take care of business against the Nets, #1 slot should be set
They need to pull their head out of their ass, hopefully the Nets will be the tonic.
They've won 6 of their last 10 and were at 8 of their last 12. They've been playing fine. They also need to win exactly one more game to clinch the 2 seed. They should be focusing on using this next week to rest and prepare for the playoffs. If they win the Nets game, none of the other games this week mean anything for them.
The Raptors own the tie-breaker with them, so they actually need 2 wins if the Raptors win out
They haven't looked good the last 2 games, getting down big early. That's a problem heading into postseason.
They lost badly to a motivated Cavs team and then lost a road game to a good team, on the second half of a back to back, the day after it became clear that the rest of their regular season games are basically meaningless. Wednesday night was disappointing. Last night was what we all should've expected. People consistently underrate how hard it is to beat any team that is not terrible on the road in this league. There's nothing to see here besides a bad loss to the Cavs. There is no trend or pattern. There is no cause for concern (unless that concern is that the Cavs actually showed up Wednesday after being MIA since December).
Cleveland held their first practice in over a month prior to the Celtics game since changing half of their rotation. They are now finally on a normal road/travel schedule and Lue's message to the team that there are no rest games this week was a strong one that now is the time to "flip the switch" and work to tighten up their focus and execution. One team was superior to the other and that one team also had LeBron.....but they are also trending upward in their motivation especially after losing to Boston a few weeks ago. That pretty much sums it up from my perspective.
Probably not the right thread for this but Cavs figured out something schematically that Cs couldn't solve. Part of it had to do when LeBron was playing the 5 and they surrounded him with shooters around the perimeter. Brad said something about it being harder to play LeBron without TT in the lineup because with TT in the lineup, they had a big in the paint who could help out.
We were. We just didn't play well. The relevance of the Cavs motivation is more that it is possible that they are the team that won the championship last year, not the team that has stumbled through most of this season. The Celtics are better than the latter team but not really in the same ballpark as the former. I'm not fully convinced the former still exists, but the Cavs looked a lot closer to that team on Wednesday than they have in a long time.
The back to back point is about the Hawks game and I'm very sure I also noted that the Celtics no longer had anything to play for and it was a road game. Also, Bradley hasn't found his shot yet. All those things have an impact.
I'm not saying don't worry about the Cavs performance if you are dreaming of a trip to the finals. It's a real cause for concern, although more for what it might tell us about the Cavs. I am saying don't worry about the Celtics. They are much better than anyone they will play in the first round. I'd bet on them to beat the Wizards in a series. A series against a healthy Raptors team is more of a coin flip.
Even given it was the Cavs, it's not the loss in of itself, it's that they were out of it early. And then the same thing happened last night.
I'm not saying it's the end of the world, but it's not the best way to head into the playoffs, that's my only point. We have time to rectify that.
I'm not saying it's the end of the world, but it's not the best way to head into the playoffs, that's my only point. We have time to rectify that.
Getting back to the Nets...last night's loss eliminates the Lakers, worst case scenario is we tie Phoenix for the top lottery spot, and that's only if the Nets go 3-0 (against 3 playoff teams, 2 on the road) and Suns go 0-3. Things got tighter than we thought they would but it looks like we will pick no worse than 4th.
Looking at worst-case: If the Nets tie the Suns, and neither team's combinations are pulled in the lottery (so they both drop out of the top-3), how do they decide who picks 4th and who picks 5th? Does the coin-flip for the additional ping-pong ball also determine this?
Don't know if it's the same coin flip or not but yes, it will be a coin flip.
I would. Sixers are in the division and more talented. Plus, if the Lakers get the first pick and the Celtics pick second, it sounds like there's a chance Magic would take Ball, so there's a (very) minor safety valve for my significant Fultz preference.Wouldn't we rather the Lakers get a top 3 pick than the 76ers add another pick?
Me too, Lakers don't pose any immediate threat and are years away from climbing out of the west even if they improve quite a bit. The sixers on the other hand have chosen to put their future in the hands of lady luck (both with ping pong balls and leg injuries on teenagers of astonishing size) but its hard not to see them eventually getting good if a couple of those bets pay off.Wouldn't we rather the Lakers get a top 3 pick than the 76ers add another pick?
Great, first simulation on Real GM. Damn those fickle odds.
2017 NBA Mock Draft Order
1
Minnesota Timberwolves
2
Los Angeles Lakers
3
Detroit Pistons
4
Boston CelticsSwap with Brooklyn
5
Phoenix Suns
6
Orlando Magic
7
Philadelphia Sixers
2017 NBA Mock Draft Order
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
No. Because fuck the Lakers.Wouldn't we rather the Lakers get a top 3 pick than the 76ers add another pick?
I 100% want LA to keep their pick. Rooting for anything that potentially improves them (and the other cellar dwellers) for next season and helps keep them above Brooklyn.
Also have to hope Brooklyn aims for higher upside but more raw talent with their multiple late picks. Levert was a solid hit as an injury slider. So much depends on what they do with Lopez, of course.
It would be hysterical if LA played their way out of the pick though.
Also have to hope Brooklyn aims for higher upside but more raw talent with their multiple late picks. Levert was a solid hit as an injury slider. So much depends on what they do with Lopez, of course.
It would be hysterical if LA played their way out of the pick though.
Great, first simulation on Real GM. Damn those fickle odds.
2017 NBA Mock Draft Order
1Minnesota Timberwolves
2Los Angeles Lakers
3Detroit Pistons
4Boston CelticsSwap with Brooklyn
5Phoenix Suns
6Orlando Magic
7Philadelphia Sixers
Screw that simulator--got #2 three times and #4 three times.
Although I like all of the top 4 guys.
The Lakers are fucked anyway. With two top five picks the Sixers can add a superstar via trade while still adding young talent. Fuck the Sixers more. When I was growing up it was the Sixers that were Boston's rivals, the Lakers were just the team we beat in the finals for titles. I was an adult by the time the Lakers finally beat the Celtics.
The Lakers get fucked either way. It's really in the Celts best interest that they get fucked next year instead of this.
Suns are up 108-89 vs the Mavs with 9 minutes left. A win ties them with the Lakers in the W column.
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115 combined Celtics wins + Nets losses. I wish we'd had to poll to guess this figure right after the trade-- I'd probably have guessed something in the mid-80s, picturing both teams hovering around .500 (or, to be optimistic, Nets a fringe lottery team and C's in the mid-high 40s.)
Danny Ainge, ladies and gentlemen.
Danny Ainge, ladies and gentlemen.