NBA In-Season Tournament 2023 Discussion and Gamethread
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well, that game really sucked at the very end there, but it was also fun as hell to watch.
Haliburton saying that this was the first game that mattered that he'd ever played in... the guy won a HS state championship his senior year. Won a gold medal at the U-19 world cup. Was among the team's leaders at the FIBA World Cup this summer. I was surprised. But I guess it's true for his NBA career - the Pacers haven't gone to the playoffs since the bubble.
Haliburton saying that this was the first game that mattered that he'd ever played in... the guy won a HS state championship his senior year. Won a gold medal at the U-19 world cup. Was among the team's leaders at the FIBA World Cup this summer. I was surprised. But I guess it's true for his NBA career - the Pacers haven't gone to the playoffs since the bubble.
Home crowd in Sacramento is banging per usual too. Are NBA fans going to travel to Vegas for a couple days? This may be a problem for the IST moving forward.
I would expect that if this thing catches on, they'll expand and stretch out the schedule. If you have a few weeks' notice for semis and the final, who knows?
This is a great point and potentially one of the many tweaks that we see in the coming years. Having that Super Bowl-like two week period to market while bringing more NBA fans to Vegas could be the play here.
I know Sabonis "looks" like a grinder, hustler and that ole winner.....but there may not be a worse low post defensive starting big in the league right now.
To further the NFL comparison, maybe they do the final around the ASB and exempt the participants like the probowl?
Tickets have been on sale. They Thursday night semis are priced much less expensively than a typical home game....will the arena be half empty on a Thursday?....but not the Championship Game on Saturday.
It's hard to do that with this requiring weekday travel. Most people are tied up with work/business during the week to travel to Vegas. This seems to be more of a weekend destination type thing. Maybe moving the games to Friday night and Sunday? I dunno.
Oh cool, thanks. If I can go it would be for the Thursday game or games (I assume they are individual tickets).
Yes they are separate admission, 2pm and 6pm starts Vegas time. Pacers are the early game.
View: https://twitter.com/davidaldridgedc/status/1732024453532467663
Excellent read from David Aldridge.
Excellent read from David Aldridge.
Is Ty currently the best player in the league under 25? I’d say he’s 1a/1b with Luka, but he’s a year younger than Luka and (in a smallish sample) having a better season.
Chet is also rising fast, with Wemby probably not far behind. Alas, JT and SGA (both a ripe old 25) no longer qualify…
Chet is also rising fast, with Wemby probably not far behind. Alas, JT and SGA (both a ripe old 25) no longer qualify…
I absolutely believe he's the best under 25 and better than Luka. "Better" is a funny word...Luka is special and amazing, but TH is the sort of player who makes all around him better in ways that even a remarkable player like Luka doesn't.
That said, per the Aldridge article, I have to say I never imagined NBA players checking their texts at halftime. Why not, I guess. But, per that article, the NBA did luck out if this highlighted TH in ways that haven't happened before. And I know big market/small market etc, but he sure seems marketable as hell and beyond TNY taking a minor hit on ratings, it seems to bigger gain is to build up new stars. Milwaukee can't be a much bigger market, but hyping Giannis hasn't been a problem so not sure why they've been sleeping on Haliburton.
That said, per the Aldridge article, I have to say I never imagined NBA players checking their texts at halftime. Why not, I guess. But, per that article, the NBA did luck out if this highlighted TH in ways that haven't happened before. And I know big market/small market etc, but he sure seems marketable as hell and beyond TNY taking a minor hit on ratings, it seems to bigger gain is to build up new stars. Milwaukee can't be a much bigger market, but hyping Giannis hasn't been a problem so not sure why they've been sleeping on Haliburton.
Haliburton is awesome, but he is completely useless on defense. Like Trae Young bad. Luka at least has some size to body up bigger players
I'd like to see Haliburton in an actual playoff series before we start saying he might be better than Luka. If we only look at regular season play for Luka (which is all we have for Haliburton), we'd see a guy that made 1st team all-NBA 4x before turning 25, a nightly 30 point triple double threat and perennial MVP candidate. I'm a huge Haliburton fan (and the low turnover rate is the kind of thing he'll be underrated for his entire career, similar to Butler), but I need to see more before we start this talk. What Haliburton has done for the last 5 weeks is similar to what Luka has done for the last 4+ years, and quick friendly reminder that Luka is 2nd all-time in playoff ppg only behind Jordan. We know about his flaws in part for the same reason the whole world is well versed in Jaylen and Jayson's flaws: Because he's played in 28 playoff games, and we've seen how teams attack him. Until last night, Haliburton had literally never played in an NBA game in which the opponent needed to give a shit.
Yeah this is my big concern with him. I dunno about Young bad, but it seems really easy for wings to just push him around. Maybe he adds 15-20 pounds and that changes down the road (6'5 185 is like bumping into a twig), but the jury is still out
As the Cs built their lead at the end of the second half, there was a steady diet of switching Haliburton onto Tatum and then Tatum roasting him. There were getting similar isos on Turner out at the three point line and blowing by him, with no rim protection waiting.
Something changed at halftime because all of that successful maneuvering just went away and basically didn't happen in the second half. I couldn't quite figure out why.
They kept going after Haliburton in the 4th quarter and getting good looks, but the problem was on the other end. 74 points for Indy in the 2nd half, including 21 in the final 3 minutes of the game. Defensive issues will melt away if you just keep hitting shots.
OK Tin Foil Hat time....
Would the NBA like anything more then the lakers AND LBJ winning the inaugural IST? I mean "its the only thing he hasnt won"....cause...it didnt exist....but now it does and James probably has a year or 2 left to really have a chance. Pretty cool for the league if the GOAT has one more accolade to solidify his GOAT status over MJ et al.
Plus....naming the IST MVP or Championship Trophy the "LEBRON JAMES AWARD" is in the cards.
I am not saying that the fix is in.....but as many have pointed out...there is alot of subjectiveness in officiating that allows things to lean one way or another. I think the NBA because its really hard to officiate can tip the scales especially in a series of 1 game outcomes (IST Playin games and Knockout round). I wonder if we will see that tonight with the suns lakers.
Would the NBA like anything more then the lakers AND LBJ winning the inaugural IST? I mean "its the only thing he hasnt won"....cause...it didnt exist....but now it does and James probably has a year or 2 left to really have a chance. Pretty cool for the league if the GOAT has one more accolade to solidify his GOAT status over MJ et al.
Plus....naming the IST MVP or Championship Trophy the "LEBRON JAMES AWARD" is in the cards.
I am not saying that the fix is in.....but as many have pointed out...there is alot of subjectiveness in officiating that allows things to lean one way or another. I think the NBA because its really hard to officiate can tip the scales especially in a series of 1 game outcomes (IST Playin games and Knockout round). I wonder if we will see that tonight with the suns lakers.
Incredible that the Knicks are in this game, given the 3-pt shooting. But Knicks are getting to the line like crazy. Good battle.
Giannis knocking down pull up 3's now. 15-23....who was saying this wasn't a make or miss league?
It wouldn't shock me if it was a one-possession game at the end. Bucks now 17-26 from 3. If they cool off, Knicks are out-hustling them. Losing by only 9 when you're losing the 3pt battle by 13 makes is pretty nuts.
Doesn't help that 1H Bad Quickley has grown to 2H Horrific Quickley. Funny that after todays chat this game is the epitome of a make or miss game.
Doesn't seem to be happening. Looks like it will be a three point shootout in the next round between the Bucks and Pacers.
Not even cranky when I say this, but it's kind of boring to watch game after game.
edit: 5 of the last 6 shots in the game were 3s.
Hot hand, confidence and rhythm shooting success doesn't exist I was told. I laughed then. I still laugh.
The streaming quality for these games on Max is abysmal. Maybe it's just the app on my TV but the stream is constantly freezing.
I noticed it early in yesterday's game, on my laptop, with a perfectly fine internet connection. It played like a mediocre bootleg stream, incredibly frustrating for a service I'm actually paying for. It did seem to clear up before the end of the 1st half.
Apologies - are you accessing the NBA app via the Max app? I sometimes access it via the Prime app and I find that stream quality is lacking.
On the Max app. They offer the games through the Bleacher Report add-on which is free atm. It's funny because they had the baseball playoffs too and those were great quality.
Ah. Got it.
Damn - the Suns have clamped down on the Lakers here.
Edit: Then the Lakers and LeBron go on a run.
Damn - the Suns have clamped down on the Lakers here.
Edit: Then the Lakers and LeBron go on a run.
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This second half has been fun.
It is much more enjoyable to root for Durant and Booker than to be constantly hoping against hope that they stop being awesome.
Durant possibly injured just now. Edit: had banged knees diving for a loose ball. Was back on court after the timeout, hit a few threes, he's fine.
It is much more enjoyable to root for Durant and Booker than to be constantly hoping against hope that they stop being awesome.
Durant possibly injured just now. Edit: had banged knees diving for a loose ball. Was back on court after the timeout, hit a few threes, he's fine.
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I get irrationally angry every time Lebron or AD grab at their faces and writhe in pain during live action whenever an opponent's hand comes within poking distance. If we aren't going to call these flopping techs, then throw the entire rule out.
The fix was absolutely in. Possibly the worst officiating mistake I've seen in the league this year, and if they don't give Lebron the timeout well after Reaves has fumbled the ball, the Suns have 2 players going up for the basket to tie the game, basically uncontested.
Tom Washington, the ref who gave the timeout, was basically uninterested in the Phoenix coaches' protestations, couldn't have been less interested in getting it right. Even if you don't give imminent possession to the Suns, at the very least you have to give them a jump ball there.
It would have had to be another ref to come over and overrule.....but they aren't watching to see when the timeout was called away from the play. Obv a blown call but it looked like he was screened from the action...he's not going to change his own call based on opposing coaches complaints. Not much you can do to correct it there.
I mean it's a call that decided a knockout game, it's inside 2 minutes, they're in timeout anyway, they can't go review it? Why even have replay if not for situations like that?