The Swamp

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:04 pm Open question for you NBA guys.

Lebron is 34 years old. For how many more seasons do you think he can legitimately be thought to be one of the 3 or 4 best players in the NBA?

What do you feed a 500 pound gorilla, sancarlos?!?!?!?!

This whole Anthony Davis thing just makes it more and more likely that the Pelicans are in Las Vegas by the 2020-21 season.

I don’t know, I think the league really wants New Orleans to be part of its brand. It’s fair to say they’ve bent over backwards for it before. Maybe move the Knicks instead?

That’s funny.

Rex wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:51 pm Durant must have already closed on an Upper West Side penthouse. There's no other explanation.

Not quite, but this latest news will certainly keep the rumors going:

can i ask a dumb question? what IS the traveling rule. can someone explain it like im 12, including why sometimes lebron can pick up the ball ans stand still and signal a play then just start dribbling again. i dont fundamentally understand what you can and cant do vs what just isnt called

It's two steps, right?

Two steps after last dribble to pass or shoot?

Theoretically of course...

Pruitt wrote: ↑Wed Feb 13, 2019 7:33 am It's two steps, right?

Two steps after last dribble to pass or shoot?

Theoretically of course...

It’s the “after last dribble”’part that gets tricky as the NBA will allow guys to get a “gather step” in as they are concluding their final dribble. That allows guys like Harden with precise footwork or extreme long-striders like Giannis to do legal moves that look like travels. Also, the two steps used to almost always be done in a straight line, in the same direction that the player’s momentum had been headed. Now, with “Eurosteps” and stepback moves that’s no longer the case.

I was taught one and half steps; the half step is gathering the ball and then one more before you jump, so whenever I see something different than that my travel alarms goes off. And I think that's one cause of casual fans saying everyone travels all the time.

Yeah, it's supposed to be two steps - i.e. each foot hitting the floor one more time - after your last dribble. The NBA has gone soft on what they call "the gather step," allowing essentially 3 steps because the first one doesn't really count while the player is "gathering" the ball. To me, that's mostly bullshit.

The other complicating move is the jump stop where a player takes one step and then hops and lands with both feet. That is legal as well.

I watched the quarter and a half of the Celtics-76ers game last night, and Embiid is right.

Embiid was mostly mad about a play with about 35 seconds left where the refs missed a clear reach in foul by Horford on Embiid. Instead of Embiid going to the line with a shot to tie the game, Boston got a transition bucket the other way to go up by 4.

Maybe the Sixers could have gotten more fee throws for the Celtics getting in the way of Butler's 3 point kicks - tm Reggie Miller

Joe Harris bearing Steph and Buddy to win the 3-point contest cancels out UVA’s loss to UMBC.

Hamidou Diallo isn’t actually very good at basketball but this jam is an all-timer.

I did not know you guys got a new anthem.

The Bucks are currently on 18-1*, 23-2 and 27-3 runs with Giannis in the lineup. I feel like they’ve clearly emerged as the biggest, and probably only threat to the Warriors this season.





*H/T, 2007 Patriots

Austin Powers wrote:Who throws a show honestly

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/n ... 986889002/

Starting to think that many people, myself included, called the Mavs-Hawks trade for the Mavs a little too quickly. Because Trae Young has been balling out lately. He has massive potential and when his jumper is falling he can do it all offensively.

Great 2nd half in Toronto tonight - Kawhi was a monster.

Is Karl Lane known as a bad ref? Because he made some terrible calls.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:42 pm Great 2nd half in Toronto tonight - Kawhi was a monster.

Is Karl Lane known as a bad ref? Because he made some terrible calls.

That was an excellent game. Huge shot by Kawhi to win it. I cannot wait for the East playoffs this year. They’re going to be so good.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is sitting next to Novak Djokovic at the Lakers game tonight. That's gotta be very close to the maximum ratio for (athletic greatness: interest from American fans) that any duo can achieve.

are we talking duos when each person is from a different sport or duos where like if Tom Brady sat next to Joe Montana somewhere

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:47 am are we talking duos when each person is from a different sport or duos where like if Tom Brady sat next to Joe Montana somewhere

Abdul-Jabbar/Novak would still trump that regardless but it’s a more fun game if it has to be different sports.

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:47 am are we talking duos when each person is from a different sport or duos where like if Tom Brady sat next to Joe Montana somewhere

I was talking about duos with extremely high levels of accomplishment who would draw a shrug from most American sports fans. Brady definitely is not in that boat because he’s constantly touted as one of the best athletes ever. Kareem is perhaps the most accomplished basketball player ever, especially when NCAA years are accounted for, but he’s well below MJ, Magic, LeBron, Kobe, etc. in “star power.” And Djokovic is one of the best tennis players ever (top-4 at worst, IMO), but he’s never gotten the love in the states that Federer and Nadal get.

Though given who is son-in-law is surely there’s a picture of Gretzky sitting next to Nicklaus somewhere.

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:09 am

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:47 am are we talking duos when each person is from a different sport or duos where like if Tom Brady sat next to Joe Montana somewhere

I was talking about duos with extremely high levels of accomplishment who would draw a shrug from most American sports fans. Brady definitely is not in that boat because he’s constantly touted as one of the best athletes ever. Kareem is perhaps the most accomplished basketball player ever, especially when NCAA years are accounted for, but he’s well below MJ, Magic, LeBron, Kobe, etc. in “star power.” And Djokovic is one of the best tennis players ever (top-4 at worst, IMO), but he’s never gotten the love in the states that Federer and Nadal get.

I was thinking beyond the shrug, but fan antagonism -- both have lots of fans of their sport that don't like them.

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:09 am

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:47 am are we talking duos when each person is from a different sport or duos where like if Tom Brady sat next to Joe Montana somewhere

I was talking about duos with extremely high levels of accomplishment who would draw a shrug from most American sports fans. Brady definitely is not in that boat because he’s constantly touted as one of the best athletes ever. Kareem is perhaps the most accomplished basketball player ever, especially when NCAA years are accounted for, but he’s well below MJ, Magic, LeBron, Kobe, etc. in “star power.” And Djokovic is one of the best tennis players ever (top-4 at worst, IMO), but he’s never gotten the love in the states that Federer and Nadal get.

ah, gotcha

I'd wager any duo with Jimmie Johnson would be high on the list. (I think) the greatest NASCAR driver (at worst top three) and people shrug

Maybe Jimmie Johnson next to Daniel Negreanu.

I like LeBron but Kobe made me a Lakers hater and I am extremely here for the takes right now. Inject Skip Bayless’ Twitter account into my veins!

Please, please, please fire Luke Walton and hire Mark Jackson before the NBA playoffs start! MJax and Jason Witten both “unretiring” and leaving the broadcast booth would be a March miracle.

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:41 pm Please, please, please fire Luke Walton and hire Mark Jackson before the NBA playoffs start! MJax and Jason Witten both “unretiring” and leaving the broadcast booth would be a March miracle.

This clearly reinforces the "Lakers hater" mention in your previous post.

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 03, 2019 8:26 am

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:41 pm Please, please, please fire Luke Walton and hire Mark Jackson before the NBA playoffs start! MJax and Jason Witten both “unretiring” and leaving the broadcast booth would be a March miracle.

This clearly reinforces the "Lakers hater" mention in your previous post.

I was thinking more about improving the ABC telecasts than sabotaging the Lakers, but you’re right that it’d be a nice 2-for-1 special. Luke Walton is definitely getting fired this offseason but in his defense, he has a really tough task. LeBron’s postseason play made people forget this, but he clearly stopped caring about regular season games about halfway through the 2016-17 season. The same Cavs team that went 12-1 in the 2017 East playoffs had a losing second-half record that season. And they were all over the place last year, with some horrendous stretches of play.

There will be huge anti-LeBron overreactions to the Lakers’ season, but I do think that having a team’s leader and best player be so lackadaisical has to strain team chemistry a lot. There’s a reason why the Cavs’ front office completely overhauled their roster at last year’s trade deadline — they were coming apart at the seams and on the brink of implosion. All of which goes to say that the Lakers front office will have huge pressure this offseason to land one or more genuine superstars. Because unless they do, they’re going nowhere fast.

ETA: I knew the takes would be flying last night, but I didn’t expect The Ringer to drop an Ariana Grande parody. Well done, but not as good as Halle-Luka.

Bacon eggs

Maybe I’m a little too woke, but it seems awfully coincidental that Jeanie Buss “accidentally” posted a flirty message to a guy every NBA fan follows on Twitter just hours before Ramona Shelburne drops a piece that puts a lot of blame for the Lakers’ bad personnel decisions and ongoing implosion on their deference to LeBron.



I think it’s obvious from her prior reporting on the Lakers that Shelburne is mostly getting her info from someone that is very close to Lakers ownership.