***2021-2022 NBA Season Thread***

[CrypticVillain]

Last I heard of him was that he was working at the UPS in Waldorf lol. 

Yeah, he is definitely in the area. I seen him a couple of times in the last year or two... His voice is real slurred man. But he is cool though...

[JoeWolf990]

and another one

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

So the league's future is still secure. You've got Griffin and Durant as true blue super duper stars. Davis looks like a strong bet to get there as this rich man's Kevin Garnett type. That's probably your annual three horse MVP race once LeBron declines/retires. Kevin Love could get into that kind of tier if he leaves Minnesota and joins a contender, with minimal drop off in his individual numbers. All you need is some guard to step in for Rose as the future best guard in the game. I'm thinking Westbrook or Wall--they're similar human spectacles to Rose.

 

Two things have happened.

 

1. David Stern - to his credit - beat the brains in on the union and created a system where first round rookies get rich, but have to improve in order to get super rich. The NBA made the second contract the goal for everyone and that means these guys work for at least three years before they get fat and lazy.

 

2. Stars play forever. You keep talking about "When Lebron declines...." He's 29 and built like a Greek God. He will probably be in his prime for 5 to 6 more years. That gets us to 2020 where Lebron is still the King. And then he will probably be in Kobe/Duncan territory where he is still an all-star capable of throwback nights for a few years. Lebron is likely a big star in the NBA until 2023. And Durant is younger. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph....James Harden is just 24. He will be do herky-jerky moves to get cheap fouls until 2028.

 

Bird was done after 13 years and should have retired two years earlier. Magic was done before that (with good reason obviously). Hell, we only really got 12 and a half years of prime era Michael Jordan.

[DM72]

and another one

 

I was watching that game when it happened. But you see what Ainge did?

 

[Going Commando]

NBA players are absolute giants. I'm 6'1 in shoes, around 200 pounds. Not in great shape, but not a slob. Reasonably strong for my age and build. And I'm not a ****.

If I fought Lance Stephenson and he landed one single punch, he would break my face Rudy Tomjanovich style. He could kill me with his bare hands, easily. There isn't a chance in hell any of us here wouldn't get destroyed by that guy.

I doubt there is a single NBA player I could win a fight against. Maaaaybe Steph Curry. Although he's still taller than I am, probably stronger, and certainly in worlds better shape. Plus he's used to dealing with the roughnecks in the NBA, so I know he's tough. Shoot, I wouldn't even mess with Kyle Korver. I sure as hell wouldn't mess with Nate Robinson. I wouldn't even mess with DJ Augustin. Nope, there is no NBA player I would ever mess with.

These guys are basically the tallest and most athletic men in the world, stacked with muscle, with like 6% body fat. Or less. They may not always look like it, but they're strong and explosive as hell. And tough. If the league can make a scary dude like Marcin Gortat look like a finesse player, then these guys would destroy regular people.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

These guys are basically the tallest and most athletic men in the world, stacked with muscle, with like 6% body fat. Or less. They may not always look like it, but they're strong and explosive as hell. And tough. If the league can make a scary dude like Marcin Gortat look like a finesse player, then these guys would destroy regular people.

 

My college didn't produce a ton of NBA talent, but when I was there, we had one dude who ended up hanging around the NBA for two or three years before landing in Europe for a while. He was the classic "Big White Stiff" center. 6'10. Kind of slow.  Not a great leaper. Bad lateral quickness. All that stuff.

 

Except that's when you compare him to NBA talent.

 

I saw him in the gym a few times, and he is the single greatest athlete I have ever seen up close. Unbelievably quick. Can shoot with both hands from range. Can jump over a small woman. Can do 360'' dunks.

 

"Unathletic" NBA players are like the NHL players who are criticized with "can't skate." The guys with the "can't skate" label are in the top 1 percent of skaters in the world.

[Mr. Sinister]

I've always said that if a lot for these guys went towards boxing, the heavyweight division would explode like a supernova. Imagine if a dude like JPP was a boxer. All these guys probably aren't accustomed to fighting, but with time and effort, you could really have something.

 

As for delusional couch potato people thinking they can beat a players ass, its nothing new. Sports, movies, entertainment, whatever, give you the belief (often misplaced) that you can do anything. You watch Hitch and think, "Man, my swag is out of control. I've got these ****es on my nuts jthor style."

 

You watch Fast/Furious and think "Man, I could kill it in a street race probably."

 

You play COD and think, "****, I could liberate a small village in South America."

 

You're Mark Wahlberg and make a living fake kicking dudes asses in front of a camera, and you think "Man, I could stop a terrorist attack single handedly".

 

You're some average joe at a bball game and you're all amped up with testosterone and a fight breaks out, and then you decide "I'm going to square up with Ron Artest."

 

Just the way it is.

[DM72]

These guys are basically the tallest and most athletic men in the world, stacked with muscle, with like 6% body fat. Or less. They may not always look like it, but they're strong and explosive as hell. And tough.

 

You know what that makes them? Great basketball players.

 

[bobbi3stix]

Then what is it about, reputation?  The best player in the game is LeBron.  The MVP was Durant.  He has the most valuable performance this season.  He had a historic season.  Why would you give MVP to someone who didn't play as well?

 

Most valuable to his team. Not about the best, people get caught up with how much Durant scores. OKC (IMO) makes the playoffs and is competitive after that without Durant.

 

There's so much more to basketball than just scorers. That series between OKC and the Spurs is night and day because of one single player- and it isn't the MVP.

[DM72]

I've always said that if a lot for these guys went towards boxing, the heavyweight division would explode like a supernova. Imagine if a dude like JPP was a boxer. All these guys probably aren't accustomed to fighting, but with time and effort, you could really have something.

 

There's been basketball and football players that got into boxing and only a few have been successful.

[Going Commando]

Two things have happened.

 

1. David Stern - to his credit - beat the brains in on the union and created a system where first round rookies get rich, but have to improve in order to get super rich. The NBA made the second contract the goal for everyone and that means these guys work for at least three years before they get fat and lazy.

 

2. Stars play forever. You keep talking about "When Lebron declines...." He's 29 and built like a Greek God. He will probably be in his prime for 5 to 6 more years. That gets us to 2020 where Lebron is still the King. And then he will probably be in Kobe/Duncan territory where he is still an all-star capable of throwback nights for a few years. Lebron is likely a big star in the NBA until 2023. And Durant is younger. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph....James Harden is just 24. He will be do herky-jerky moves to get cheap fouls until 2028.

 

Bird was done after 13 years and should have retired two years earlier. Magic was done before that (with good reason obviously). Hell, we only really got 12 and a half years of prime era Michael Jordan.

Kobe and Duncan don't constitute the norm. Even for stars. You wouldn't have looked at Kareem or Karl Malone and expected a bunch of other star bigs to have careers as long as them. They are true extremes.

I could certainly see LeBron having Kobe-like longevity because he looks like such a tank. But I wouldn't expect it. I wouldn't expect it from anyone because what Kobe has done was truly, freakishly, extraordinary.

What about the Dwyane Wades? Came in the same year as LeBron and he looks like he's pretty close to done. I bet there will always be a lot more Dwyane Wades than Kobes.

On one hand, players do travel way better and receive much better treatment than they did in Bird and Magic's day. But on the other hand, star players play sooooo many more minutes very early in their careers. LeBron may be only 29 but he's already played almost 40,000 minutes in the NBA. Durant has already played almost 24,000 minutes. I think there is only so many NBA minutes a body has to give before it's done. So I don't think we'll see a big bump in the longevity of players despite advances in sports medicine.

[CrypticVillain]

Most valuable to his team. Not about the best, people get caught up with how much Durant scores. OKC (IMO) makes the playoffs and is competitive after that without Durant.

Seriously dude?

 

 

 

There's so much more to basketball than just scorers. That series between OKC and the Spurs is night and day because of one single player- and it isn't the MVP.

Yes, Ibaka is important to the Thunder winning, but let's not ignore Durant averaging 28, 7, and 4 in the two wins. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

There's been basketball and football players that got into boxing and only a few have been successful.

 

In all honesty, who the hell really wants to be a boxer?

 

Boxing is now a place for semi-athletic guys with absolutely no other options in life.

 

There is no way a young Cassius Clay becomes a boxer now. An AAU basketball coach would have grabbed him at age 9. A 6'3 guy wtih that kind of quickness and that wingspan? He would be an obnoxius 2 guard and dudes here would think they could take his skinny ass.

[Going Commando]

There's been basketball and football players that got into boxing and only a few have been successful.

Well, to make it pro as a boxer, you pretty much have to start as a young teen. You're talking about an immense amount of specialization and skill that goes into that sport. Same as for the NFL and NBA.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

 

You're some average joe at a bball game and you're all amped up with testosterone and a fight breaks out, and then you decide "I'm going to square up with Ron Artest."

 

 

Just for the record, I played three pick-up games at the Y yesterday and hit the game-ending 3 in two of them. That's my biggest personal athletic highlight since 8th grade.

 

What I'm saying is: I'm pretty sure I could do what Rashard Lewis did last night.

 

Can we talk about what Rashard Lewis did last night?

 

Show of hands: Who knew Rashard Lewis was on the Heat before this series started? Because I sure as hell didn't.

[RonArtest15]

 

LMAOOOOOOO c'mon, man....SMH. 

[CrypticVillain]

 

 

 

 

[JoeWolf990]

Man, how Barkley and Dr/J going to jump Bird like that? lol

Barkley was actually trying to get Bird out the pile. Dr. J took advantage of it, but Barkley was not being malicious at all, lol.

[DM72]

There is no way a young Cassius Clay becomes a boxer now. An AAU basketball coach would have grabbed him at age 9. A 6'3 guy wtih that kind of quickness and that wingspan? He would be an obnoxius 2 guard and dudes here would think they could take his skinny ass.

 

I don't see how you can say that. So just because he was a great boxer automatically means he would have been a great 2 guard? Am I to assume the Floyd Mayweather would have been a great point Guard?

 

[JoeWolf990]

There's been basketball and football players that got into boxing and only a few have been successful.

his point was more if they went the boxing route, instead of basketball at an early age.

and im 6'3" and around 200 lbs. I could beat up some NBA players, but not most others.

And there is no chance I beat one in a game.

[CrypticVillain]

Barkley was actually trying to get Bird out the pile. Dr. J took advantage of it, but Barkley was not being malicious at all, lol.

I know, I was joking. That was a dirty move by Dr.J though. Every time I see the fight, I am in shocked that Dr.J threw them punches. lol

[JoeWolf990]

I don't see how you can say that. So just because he was a great boxer automatically means he would have been a great 2 guard? Am I to assume the Floyd Mayweather would have been a great point Guard?

Floyd Mayweather is 5'7"

I know, I was joking. That was a dirty move by Dr.J though. Every time I see the fight, I am in shocked that Dr.J threw them punches. lol

those punches were clean tho, lol

Again, Dr. J played in the ABA and NBA in the 70s and 80s. Those things were common back then. TV changed everything.

[DM72]

Floyd Mayweather is 5'7"

 

 

But he's a great athlete. Do you really have to be all that tall to be a great PG?

 

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

 

I agree with this. But I still don't understand why a lot of people assume that NBAers are these tough guys.

 

This is no joke, I remember having a conversation with an old friend that thought Magic Johnson could beat Mike Tyson and I remember people thinking Shaq had a chance against Lennox Lewis.

I don't think NBA players are super bad asses or anything like that.  Or that Shaq could beat Lewis or Magic beat Tyson, etc.  But the majority of those guys are crazy huge, especially forwards/centers.  Watching on TV, some of them, while cut, look slim compared to other players, but you get them next to an average person, one even close to the same height and 99% of the time, they are bigger.

 

I've seen those guys up close with court side seats (college basketball - when they weren't fully developed yet) and they were huge.  In college at UNCC we had a 7'2" center named Alexander Kuhl, he's listed at 300lbs, but Im pretty sure that was not his college weight.  

 

Anyhow, my best friend was 6'8" and around 275lbs (all muscle), he stood next to him one day and it wasn't the just the 6 inch height advantage, it was how much physically bigger (width, girth, shoulders, arms, legs, etc) this man was compared to my friend, whom most would consider a huge man.  He was like two of my friend bundled into one.  It was crazy.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm sure the average internet forum board poster wouldn't stand a chance against most professional athletes in a fight.  I just don't see it happening, regardless of how mean, tough or a bad ass they are.

[DM72]

his point was more if they went the boxing route, instead of basketball at an early age.

and im 6'3" and around 200 lbs. I could beat up some NBA players, but not most others.

And there is no chance I beat one in a game.

 

Maybe. I think you guys are underestimating just how tough it is to make it in boxing. George Foreman once said that before you learn how to box, you must learn how to fight. Just because you're a great athlete does not mean that you can fight. IMO, it takes a different breed to go out there and fight in front of thousands of people.

 

I don't think NBA players are super bad asses or anything like that.  Or that Shaq could beat Lewis or Magic beat Tyson, etc.  But the majority of those guys are crazy huge, especially forwards/centers.  Watching on TV, some of them, while cut, look slim compared to other players, but you get them next to an average person, one even close to the same height and 99% of the time, they are bigger.

 

I've seen those guys up close with court side seats (college basketball - when they weren't fully developed yet) and they were huge.  In college at UNCC we had a 7'2" center named Alexander Kuhl, he's listed at 300lbs, but Im pretty sure that was not his college weight.  

 

Anyhow, my best friend was 6'8" and around 275lbs (all muscle), he stood next to him one day and it wasn't the just the 6 inch height advantage, it was how much physically bigger (width, girth, shoulders, arms, legs, etc) this man was compared to my friend, whom most would consider a huge man.  He was like two of my friend bundled into one.  It was crazy.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm sure the average internet forum board poster wouldn't stand a chance against most professional athletes in a fight.  I just don't see it happening, regardless of how mean, tough or a bad ass they are.

 

They're big. I give you that. But what if they had a glass jaw?