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

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

For being just 6-10, Boston is an impressive 4-6 on the road. Their schedule has been brutal. 10 out of the first 16 on the road? And yet they're winning at a respectable rate. This team could be a lot better than they seem and they could sew up a playoff seed when Rondo gets back.

Also, if Boston wins when Rondo gets back and they make the playoffs and the Nets don't, this would be a pretty big indictment of the Nets organization and Deron Williams. The way he's played... his contract might end up being one of the worst in the NBA. He'll have competition for that title on his own team.

 

It's a little early to annoint him, but I think Stevens is incredible. He actually reminds me of Rick Carlisle in that he seems to know exactly what to do with every player on his roster. I don't think it's an accident that Monta Ellis is suddenly a superstar. And it's not an accident that Jordan Crawford is suddenly borderline efficient.

 

Boston could make a playoff push when Rondo gets back. But I still think they gut it. And They have some nice trade pieces. They have a massive trade exception. Jeff Green still has three years left which is not ideal, but at $8 million, he's not hugely overpriced. They have Kris Humphires expiring contract. And they have Rondo if they want to go crazy. Frankly, I keep Rondo at this point. I think pairing him with Stevens long-term is exciting.

 

(By the way, Jeff Green for Asik straight up works in the trade machine. But, in fairness, there are a million Asik trades that work).

There it is. I was surprised that LKB's joke wasn't getting a reaction.

We need a HoF for posts like that.

 

I actually had that joke in the original post, but thought it was a bit much. (Yes, I can censor myself). But when it was set up for me....

Edited November 26, 2013 by Lombardi's_kid_brother

[CrypticVillain]

Wade video bombed LeBron by doing cartwheels.

Lol.

I know Lebron is putting up better stats, but hypothetically speaking, if the season ended today, Paul George is the MVP right?

[mcsluggo]

http://www.nba.com/2013/news/11/25/kings-wolves-trade.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts

 

this should help the kings get less dysfunctional 

 

 

 

(or.. better yet... "reduce the decline in their ebbing efforts to get less dysfunctional?")

 

or... "remove the impediments to their actions to reduce the decline in their ebbing efforts to get less dysfunctional?"

 

or... "man, the kings suck."

(it is a desperation swing for the fences by the kings)

 

 

 

but... adleman will definitley play Luc Mbah a Moute ... and can use him well.

Edited November 26, 2013 by mcsluggo

[Going Commando]

It's a little early to annoint him, but I think Stevens is incredible. He actually reminds me of Rick Carlisle in that he seems to know exactly what to do with every player on his roster. I don't think it's an accident that Monta Ellis is suddenly a superstar. And it's not an accident that Jordan Crawford is suddenly borderline efficient.

 

Boston could make a playoff push when Rondo gets back. But I still think they gut it. And They have some nice trade pieces. They have a massive trade exception. Jeff Green still has three years left which is not ideal, but at $8 million, he's not hugely overpriced. They have Kris Humphires expiring contract. And they have Rondo if they want to go crazy. Frankly, I keep Rondo at this point. I think pairing him with Stevens long-term is exciting.

 

(By the way, Jeff Green for Asik straight up works in the trade machine).

He's got that aura of the chess master coach. I definitely don't think they should trade Rondo if he can get back to who he was before. Not unless it gets them another excellent PG in return. Rondo's contract is so team friendly.

I think the Asik for Green trade would be terrific for both sides. It makes too much sense to actually happen. Houston needs more good players that are ready to go now. They're just kind of hanging around in the middle of the pack in the West. I don't think they need another superstar player since they already have two. Lin/Harden/Parson/Green/Howard is a really nice starting five. Two quality starters for the price of one superstar player. I think they'd still have some cap flexibility too. Should be able to draw in FAs.

 

On Bostom's end, they could definitely use Asik's size and defense at C. Boston gets to swap picks with Brooklyn right? Imagine if that gets them one of these blue chippers. Rondo, Bradley, Parker, and Asik would be an awesome team. Plus add in the Klynyk and Sullinger rotating at PF and C. That could be one of the best teams in the conference as early as next season.

I actually had that joke in the original post, but thought it was a bit much. (Yes, I can censor myself). But when it was set up for me....

Jokes that make me reflexively look around to see if anyone's watching while I laugh are my favorites.

[Sticksboi05]

The Spurs are unbelievably good. Every single player they've got can shoot, pass, and defend. They've easily been the best team top to bottom so far this season.

More thoughts:

- I'm astonished at how good Phoenix and Denver have been.

- Minnesota doesn't need to panic, but that team is flawed.

- For being just 6-10, Boston is an impressive 4-6 on the road. Their schedule has been brutal. 10 out of the first 16 on the road? And yet they're winning at a respectable rate. This team could be a lot better than they seem and they could sew up a playoff seed when Rondo gets back.

Also, if Boston wins when Rondo gets back and they make the playoffs and the Nets don't, this would be a pretty big indictment of the Nets organization and Deron Williams. The way he's played... his contract might end up being one of the worst in the NBA. He'll have competition for that title on his own team.

Dallas dodged a bullet in not getting him.

 

Year after year, people say they're too old, they're done, the run is over, enjoy the 4 championships time to rebuild and every year I tell people, San Antonio will make a run for another title this year.  It's such deja vu and it's awesome.  Duncan is averaging 11 PPG shooting under 40% from the floor and they are on an 11-game win streak.  What happens when he gets his **** together?

[Going Commando]

I know Lebron is putting up better stats, but hypothetically speaking, if the season ended today, Paul George is the MVP right?

It's boring, but I think it's still LeBron. More consistent than George and Davis, better team success than KD, CP3, and Kevin Love.

Plus LeBron will probably maintain his level of play over the entire season and his team will certainly be the one or two seed.

[Sticksboi05]

It's boring, but I think it's still LeBron. More consistent than George and Davis, better team success than KD, CP3, and Kevin Love.

Plus LeBron will probably maintain his level of play over the entire season and his team will certainly be the one or two seed.

 

They cheated MJ out of a few MVPs so maybe they'll take one away from LeBron for the sake of being different also.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

They cheated MJ out of a few MVPs so maybe they'll take one away from LeBron for the sake of being different also.

 

That may happen this year. The voters get bored of giving it to the same guy.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

On Bostom's end, they could definitely use Asik's size and defense at C. Boston gets to swap picks with Brooklyn right? Imagine if that gets them one of these blue chippers. Rondo, Bradley, Parker, and Asik would be an awesome team. Plus add in the Klynyk and Sullinger rotating at PF and C. That could be one of the best teams in the conference as early as next season.

Jokes that make me reflexively look around to see if anyone's watching while I laugh are my favorites.

 

I studied this last week. Atlanta gets to swap with New Jersey this year and Boston gets to swap the pick through Atlanta if it helps them. (I think). That's the Joe Johnson trade taking precedence.

 

Boston gets an unprotected first from NJ next year. Gets to swap in 2017. And gets an unprotected first in 2018. I think they also have an unprotected first from the Clippers in 2017.

 

So, Boston is not sitting on a gold mine this year, but unprotected firsts from a bad team looking at $100 million in luxury taxes going forward with no cheap way to improve? I'll take that.

 

(Plus it's never a bad idea to have a Clippers first round pick in your pocket).

 

Boston seems to be in good shape going forward. Danny Ainge seems to have really learned from Red Auerbach's successes and failures. (Red always had other teams' #1 picks in his pocket, which allowed him to do things like get McHale and Parish in one deal and draft Len Bias after fielding the best team ever. He also sometimes got sentimental with his stars and kept them long past their expiration date).

Edited November 26, 2013 by Lombardi's_kid_brother

[Going Commando]

Yeah I could actually see them giving LeBron's MVP to someone else this year just to break up the routine.

Miami is really good again, surprise surprise. Their three losses early kind of tricked people into thinking they might have taken a step back this year. But they were by a total of five points, which gives them a margin of +137 for the season so far. And they've won 7 games in a row.

It already looks like we're headed for another Miami vs. San Antonio final. And actually I don't mind.

Actually the margin was 6 points, so their margin is +136 I believe.

[abdcskins]

Something looks off in that Wade cartwheel video.  It's like he is gliding on his hands.  Really weird.

[Sticksboi05]

Yeah I could actually see them giving LeBron's MVP to someone else this year just to break up the routine.

Miami is really good again, surprise surprise. Their three losses early kind of tricked people into thinking they might have taken a step back this year. But they were by a total of five points, which gives them a margin of +137 for the season so far. And they've won 7 games in a row.

It already looks like we're headed for another Miami vs. San Antonio final. And actually I don't mind.

Actually the margin was 6 points, so their margin is +136 I believe.

 

Indiana can beat Miami if Paul George is indeed the superstar we think he is becoming.  Of course Frank Vogel can't take out the best defensive player in the league when his team needs a defensive stop this time.  That was mind-boggling.

 

LeBron's shooting efficiency is honestly unbelievable right now.  It's not even fair.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Sticksboi05

[Going Commando]

Indiana can definitely beat Miami, they came so close last year. But a lot of things will have to go right for them to do it.

I just looked at both Miami's and Indy's schedules though. I didn't realize how cushy it's been for them so far. Both have had very home heavy schedules and they've been beating up on bad Eastern teams that had flaws or chemistry issues contributing to bad starts. They haven't taken West trips and matched up versus high quality teams. And they haven't played each other.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves exactly how good Lebron is. This is a fantastic era of NBA talent. This is an era where every team has multiple coaches whose jobs is to come up with elaborate defensive schemes. This is an era where everybody is evaluating you every single second, looking for a flaw.

 

And he is just head and shoulders above everyone.

 

http://regressing.deadspin.com/chart-lebron-james-is-outdoing-himself-1472089538/@reubenfb

 

Kevin Durant is your NBA scoring leader through one month of basketball, averaging 28.6 points per game. You need a lot of opportunities on the floor to put up that many points, and the more you use possessions, the harder it is to be efficient. So is Durant the most efficient high-usage, high-scoring player?

Of course he's not. Kevin Durant is forever cursed to live in the shadow of King James. The chart above, by Div Bhansali of the blog Statcenter, shows the usage rate—an estimate of the percentage of a team's possesions a player "uses" when he's on the floor—against the true shooting percentage—a shooting efficiency measure that accounts for threes and free throws—for the 25 highest usage players in the NBA this season (min. 240 minutes played, or about 15 minutes per game).

LeBron James is simply on another plane of existence right now. As Stat Center points out, the record for true shooting percentage for a season (min. 500 FGA) is 70.2 percent (Artis Gilmore, 81-82), while the record for a non-center is 67.9 percent (Cedric Maxwell, 79-80). Those two players had a usage rate of and 19.6 and 17.7 percent, respectively, while LeBron sits at 29.9 percent. If he keeps it up, this could go down as the greatest high-efficiency, high-usage season of all time. 

[Going Commando]

He's not going to keep this up but he's still going to finish with very high efficiency numbers.

[SJValleySkinz]

Rant:

 

Anyone else want to vomit when they saw LeBron James parading little kids in front of a camera talking about how much they love their home town hero? It's nice that he threw a bunch of money back at the community he grew up in but he's just such a disingenuous blow hard that it's impossible not to see the publicity stunt behind this conveniently airing it the day before he has to play in Cleveland. Guys like Drew Brees and Darrell Green don't need a camera to do charity work but this spineless little vag can't handle the fact that he isn't liked in Cleveland so he has to put on a show so they get in line behind ESPN to get a good whiff of his **** Do I have to kiss his feet because he's giving back a small part of the obscene amounts of money he makes? It's called being a human being and only a narcissistic douche like LeBron would do it for a pat on the back.

 

Rant over.

[Predicto]

Rant:

 

Anyone else want to vomit when they saw LeBron James parading little kids in front of a camera talking about how much they love their home town hero? It's nice that he threw a bunch of money back at the community he grew up in but he's just such a disingenuous blow hard that it's impossible not to see the publicity stunt behind this conveniently airing it the day before he has to play in Cleveland. Guys like Drew Brees and Darrell Green don't need a camera to do charity work but this spineless little vag can't handle the fact that he isn't liked in Cleveland so he has to put on a show so they get in line behind ESPN to get a good whiff of his **** Do I have to kiss his feet because he's giving back a small part of the obscene amounts of money he makes? It's called being a human being and only a narcissistic douche like LeBron would do it for a pat on the back.

 

Rant over.

 

 

Yeah, I disagree with all of this.   I don't get the Lebron hate.  

[Chew]

i'm not sure what happened last night....

 

but as of Tuesday night, three teams in the Eastern Conference were above .500

 

12 of the 15 teams in the west were above .500

 

eastern conference is garbage. 

[RonArtest15]

The nets are a joke...so is Jason Kidd

 

 

He should have NEVER been hired, and I'd be surprised if he makes it to the New Year. 

[Going Commando]

Didn't realize he did that on purpose. That's cheating and the 50,000 dollar fine is appropriate IMO.

[DCranon21]

I was going to pick Magic, but I doubt Kobe would drink his blood.

 

You know what....LOL

 

But speaking of the Lakers, who would have thunk they would have the same record as the Dub's w/o Kobe? I didn't think they would actually be over .500 after 17 games, but this team w/o Kobe isn't bad. I'm curious to see who they bring in next season since he signed that 2 year. All signs are pointing to Melo right now. 

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

http://deadspin.com/charles-barkley-raps-buys-drinks-at-auburn-bar-after-t-1474573656

 

Charles Barkley is the best. 

[Going Commando]

My plan for fixing the Cavaliers:

1.) Fire everyone currently in charge.

2.) Give up on the LeBron pipe dream. Commit to building around Kyrie Irving.

3.) Trade Waiters and Bennett. Probably trade Thompson too. Trade Karasev & Zeller probably. Make a clean break with all of my disappointments. Get rid of the day care. They should have some trade value. Trade off my surplus draft picks that I don't need.

4.) Get a top three pick hopefully.

5.) Trade for Omer Asik.

6.) Trade for Iman Shumpert.

7.) Try and sign Evan Turner/Trevor Ariza/Luol Deng if the pick is Randle. If the pick is Parker or Wiggins, then I guess you keep Tristan Thompson and look for a better PF down the line.

PG: Irving

SG: Shumpert

SF: Deng/Ariza/Turner

PF: Julius Randle

C: Asik

Reserves: Jack, Varejao, CJ Miles, Earl Clark.

That team is actually good.

[Going Commando]

http://deadspin.com/charles-barkley-raps-buys-drinks-at-auburn-bar-after-t-1474573656

 

Charles Barkley is the best.

Barkley for Governor and Poet Laureate of Alabama in 2018.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Mike Brown is owed $20 million over the next 5 years. Is Dan Gilbert really going to eat that much cash to admit a mistake?

 

I also don't know if Bennett has any trade value at this point. I mean, obviously someone will give up something for a #1 overall pick 20 games in. The probelm is, I don't think anyone else really had him ranked #1 and that certainly has fallen. I mean, would you trade him for, say, the Lakers #1 pick in 2014? Rudy Gay? What do you get back for him that would not make Daryl Morey's head explode?

 

Speaking of Morey, break up the Rockets. 5-game winning streak. 8-1 in their last nine. Just beat the Spurs in San Antonio. And have Utah up next. And they are doing this while completely giving up on running any plays for Howard. Who knows if he melts down at some point, but it's working for now.

 

At what point, do we collectively decide that Chandler Parsons is one of the best small forwards in basketball?

Edited December 2, 2013 by Lombardi's_kid_brother