Yup. It makes sense from an umbrella org branding perspective.
The NCAA courts have generally been really boring/understated, and these are NOT boring, at least.
NBA Cup 2024 discussion & gamethread: It's On. We'll Watch.
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The NCAA courts have generally been really boring/understated, and these are NOT boring, at least.
If we can't dunk on the Laker's hanging their fraud banner, what are we doing here? It's like that lone 76ers fan complaining about a Tatum vs Embiid video.
Loved the IST games last year.
I agree with Scal, they need to do away from the red/pink floors.
I'm still suffering from Post Retina Flooring Syndrome
Several of the red ones were bad last year, so I'm glad they're mostly moved away from red.
But I think we'll need to see how these play out on TV. I thought Indy's florescent blue and yellow one was actually the worst last year, and I'm worried about the Wolves bright green one, if that's a little too shiny, it could be AWFUL on TV.
Fair: I guess I'm just a sucker for the old 1980s and '90s NCAA first rounds at campus sites, when they kept the campus floors without a uniform look...
Or put in on display in Portland Me. for Celt fans who support the cause up north.
They should go full futbol and put a star on their special tournament jerseys and these cracked out floors for the tournament games for each cup. Would take a while to accumulate enough stars to notice, but over time it would show up.
It will be fun this year the closer we get to Vegas. There is nothing remotely interesting about the Hawks/Celtics game due to it being a Cup game.
Edit: Based on the Celtics attention to detail defensively it’s fair to say that there is nothing remotely interesting about this game at all.
Mavs lead 114-108 with 3:10 left ... Steph outscores Dallas 12-3 in the last three minutes. I'm gonna miss that dude when he hangs 'em up.
Great night for Klay, too (6-12 on threes, including some big ones in the 4th Q) so good vibes all around at Chase Center.
Great night for Klay, too (6-12 on threes, including some big ones in the 4th Q) so good vibes all around at Chase Center.
Bumping our discussion from yesterday - the Celts openly did not give a shit last night. I thought when they had multiple 10 point leads they would run the Hawks out of the building. I think they were up around 15 when JT exited last 3rd quarter. Based on what Joe did last year with point differentials last year, I expected the Celts to step on the gas. It it was a random Tuesday night against Atlanta without Trae, I'd have almost expected a let down. I did not expect it in the opening Cup game, which proved to me that at least for a team like the Celtics, it matters absolutely zero. Can't speak for other teams but when the best team in the league doesn't care, that's not going to help.
Disagree here. Atlanta seemed to care and their fans are almost as important as Boston's.
I think Trae Young not playing significantly helped Atlanta to match up with the C's yesterday too. Johnson is a good playmaker, and Daniels did his thing on both ends. The fact that organizations continue to build their market around non-defensive playing tiny guards who work the refs will never not provide endless entertainment to me.
I think there's a big difference between marketing a well-known, three time all-star like Trae, and building the team around him.
Marketing him, for now, is almost certainly the best way for them to sell tickets. Get fans in the building, and let them see that the younger guys the Hawks now have (Jalen Johnson, Daniels, Risacher, maybe Okongwu, etc.) are fun, and might be pretty darn good in the medium-term.
And while they're maybe-sort-of building around Trae, at least in that they traded Dejounte instead of him, I suspect they were entirely open to moving either, or both,. I suspect that they ended up dealing Murray because they got a strong return (Daniels, Nance, and two solid 1sts), and no one was offering what they felt was positive value for Trae.
So let the existing fan favorite cook and splay passes to the young guys for now, see if you can move Trae later, wait for Risacher, especially, to grow a bit (Daniels has looked better/more advanced than anyone could have expected already, and J.Johnson was already pretty good last year, so I think they're ahead on that account), and maybe get one more bite at a high lotto pick this year.
(In terms of the lotto, even if they end up finishing in the play-in in the East, they could still be a bottom-10 lotto team if they don't advance, because only like 3-4 teams in the West won't be competing hard for the play-in, and the 10-place finisher still has an 11% chance at a top-4 pick, which isn't outlandish, and is still worth aiming for on some level).
I will eat crow and say that last night was a pretty big data point against the "teams give a shit" hypothesis. That was some of the most embarrasingly shitgiving-less basketball I've seen in my life.
"Hey Derrick, maybe try and hit some 3s and win this dumb game for us?"
Is there something to be said about not making it past the group stage makes for an easier schedule elsewhere when the bracket part of the Cup is going? This means you don't have to play some mix of Indiana or Cleveland types additionally, thus less regular season run? Probably not but it's a hypothesis that comes to mind that I figured at the very least was worth entertaining.
Making it to the group stage means you went at least 3-1, possibly 4-0, so that more than cancels out going worse than that but maybe getting to play easier teams for 1 or 2 games
Particularly when they played harder the very next night. The interweaving the tournament into the regular season is a major flaw and I frankly don't blame players if they don't get up for random games in November played on courts with crazy, wacky paint jobs.
The games really should be separate from regular season games (no way the players' union or the current CBA would allow for that) and that isn't even half the problem.
What makes the FA Cup so much fun is that it is all levels of English football and you can have teams in League 2 playing Premier League sides (and even then the top teams tend to play B squads for the games).
The concept doesn't work with basketball, a G-League team or say an NCAA team just can't compete with an NBA team. The sport isn't designed for weaker teams to have a fighting chance. So you are going to see some teams get up for it and some teams put in token effort.
Yes. Particularly for teams that are likely to be a dogfight for seeding, the extra one or two "easy" games could be a benefit.
Won't matter to the Cs though.
ATL doesn't have their pick this year. One reason I though they'd be a good "over" play (if I were a betting man).
Cup games tonight, most of which are in progress already:
7:00: MIA @ IND
7:00: PHI @ ORL
7:30: CHI @ CLE
7:30: BKN @ NYK
7:30: LAL @ SAS
8:00: PHX @ OKC
10:00: MEM @ GSW
7:00: MIA @ IND
7:00: PHI @ ORL
7:30: CHI @ CLE
7:30: BKN @ NYK
7:30: LAL @ SAS
8:00: PHX @ OKC
10:00: MEM @ GSW
I think Castle is going to be a very good player for the Spurs. He has a multitude of NBA skills. That dime was nifty.
Paul George and Embiid playing together for maybe the first time this year. Basically tied with Orlando through 3.
Agreed. Loved the pick for the Spurs. Really thought Rockets goofed by taking Shepard over him.
Dyson Daniels another 5 steals and 2 blocks at the end of the 3rd. Oh he’s also 8-10 on the other end, goodness.
For those on league pass: Baby races during the first timeout of the 3rd quarter for LAL @ SAS. Never gets old.
edit: and the freakish coyote mascot doesn't even scare her to crying. Real winner there of a baby.
edit: and the freakish coyote mascot doesn't even scare her to crying. Real winner there of a baby.
Yup. This Spurs team is one impact guy away from being a problem. Lots of picks coming up to trade if a star breaks free. Otherwise, just have to hope they find another draft keeper like Castle.
He’s becoming a favorite of mine. Great trade for the Hawks. Daniels and 2 picks for Murray.
They can't trade Trae Young fast enough and turn this team over to Jalen Johnson, Daniels, Risacher, & Hunter
Yup. And they desperately need to with the Spurs controlling their drafts for the next 3 years. Problem for Atlanta is I don’t see a whole lot of landing spots for Young.
You're right, I can't find a spot.
A lot of good PGs in the NBA
DLo/Hachimura/Vincent for Young/Roddy works money-wise
Trae is so weird cuz i feel he could be very valuable in the right situation and yet somehow it seems that situation does not exist among any of the teams.
maybe an out-and-out tanker that wants to still sell tickets whilst Sagging For Flagg? Washington comes to mind, Carlton Carrington can develop from the bench at the moment. If Scoot gets an injury, maybe Portland? Do we think Brooklyn might prefer Trae to Schröder? *looks at contracts* OK nope, not at that price tag. Not to mention that Jordy Fernandez might strangle him to death on live television when the rest of his team is playing hard af and he's lollygagging. Man is that a hard contract to move.
Copycat league. The OKC path of continuing to accumulate draft picks to have more shots at guys like Castle while Wemby grows up. I don’t expect the Spurs to be in “go for it” mode for quite some time.
Probably not. I think they probably view the 2025-2027 Hawks drafts as their ticket to the next impact guy. Would love to see Flagg or one of the Rutgers dudes (how weird is it to say that) head down to South Texas.
Ha. You're probably right.
I have a hard time giving up on WINGs that play both sides of the floor.
Shrimpy guards and beef BIGs, not so much
Trae was born a generation too late. He needs to be in a system with an elite elite rim protector behind him to where allowing dribble penetration is a trap and something that his team would utilize as a part of their scheme against some guards (Quin Snyder was brilliant in designing these with Mitchell allowing smallish non-finishers into the paint and Rudy's living room). These are rare and nowadays can be offset but forcing switches which then require a double. He's Isaiah but without the moxie to compete. Atlanta isn't going to get much for him and the sooner that they realize this the better for that organization to move forward with their talented youth.
Agree with all this strongly, and I love their young guys. Who do you see taking Trae now, even for a minimal return? It's tough to find teams.
Maybe Orlando? They have the strongest offense/defense disparity of the playoff teams. That's all I got.