The Swamp

Pruitt wrote: ↑Thu Oct 25, 2018 5:46 am It'll probably all end in tears for Raptors fans with Leonard hightailing it out of here come June, so I am going to enjoy the hell out of this season.

Up to 11-1 now, with the only loss coming with Leonard out. They should be up to 14-1 by the time of their first game at Boston. I can’t quite talk myself into the Raptors having a legit shot to push Golden State, but they look really, really good.

They look fantastic - while they've been a good team for a few years now, there's never been anything close to this up here.

Praying for a mild winter - just so Kawhi Leonard has one less reason for wanting to leave town after the season.

Won't see that again til playoffs and that might be enough to win a series. Just sayin.

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Oct 25, 2018 11:10 am

Johnny Carwash wrote: ↑Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:42 pm I'm kind of with mister d on this one. There's a fine line between "refreshingly candid" and just being a dick, and what I've seen from Embiid is toeing it pretty close.

The Dorksday Clock moves another minute closer to midnight.

Don’t look now, but the “Dorksday Clock” is also moving towards league MVP. Curry and Durant have probably been the two best players so far this year, but if you take the view that their value negates each other some, the two leading candidates so far are probably Giannis and Embiid. (LeBron doesn’t play defense in the regular season and Kawhi is probably taking too many games off to be at the top.)

Butler to 76ers - Covington and Saric part of return.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 12:58 pm Butler to 76ers - Covington and Saric part of return.

Really like that deal for the Sixers. Covington and Saric are nice complementary pieces but Butler is a stud. Biggest downside is they basically don’t have a PF now but Simmons being 6’10” goes a long ways to addressing that.

I’m almost as happy Covington is gone as I am that Butler is coming. Saric is a guy, Covington is even less.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 1:09 pm I’m almost as happy Covington is gone as I am that Butler is coming. Saric is a guy, Covington is even less.

Covington deservedly made first-team All-Defense last year but man is he inconsistent offensively. Butler is a very strong perimeter defender who is also elite offensively. I forgot about Mike Muscala; I guess he’s the starting PF now. East is really interesting now with Kawhi in TO, the Bucks much improved now that they have a real coach, and Butler in Philly.

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 1:16 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 1:09 pm I’m almost as happy Covington is gone as I am that Butler is coming. Saric is a guy, Covington is even less.

Covington deservedly made first-team All-Defense last year but man is he inconsistent offensively. Butler is a very strong perimeter defender who is also elite offensively. I forgot about Mike Muscala; I guess he’s the starting PF now. East is really interesting now with Kawhi in TO, the Bucks much improved now that they have a real coach, and Butler in Philly.

Wouldn't they just be better served to have Butler play the three and Simmons the four with Redick moving to the starting lineup to provide a strong shooter? Or do you mean starting Muscala with Fultz coming off the bench and Simmons as the virtual point guard?

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 3:20 pmWouldn't they just be better served to have Butler play the three and Simmons the four with Redick moving to the starting lineup to provide a strong shooter? Or do you mean starting Muscala with Fultz coming off the bench and Simmons as the virtual point guard?

Their crunch-time lineup will probably be Simmons, Redick, Butler, Embiid and then Chandler or Muscala. But I expect them to continue starting Simmons and Fultz in the backcourt, with Redick off the bench, which leaves Muscala as the starting 4. Redick is clearly better than Fultz at this point but they’ve been starting Fultz — even if it hurts them in the short term — for player development purposes.

Joe K wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 3:49 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 10, 2018 3:20 pmWouldn't they just be better served to have Butler play the three and Simmons the four with Redick moving to the starting lineup to provide a strong shooter? Or do you mean starting Muscala with Fultz coming off the bench and Simmons as the virtual point guard?

Their crunch-time lineup will probably be Simmons, Redick, Butler, Embiid and then Chandler or Muscala. But I expect them to continue starting Simmons and Fultz in the backcourt, with Redick off the bench, which leaves Muscala as the starting 4. Redick is clearly better than Fultz at this point but they’ve been starting Fultz — even if it hurts them in the short term — for player development purposes.

I just don't get the "Simmons at the two" part, which really hampers spacing and perimeter shooting.

So the drama here is totally about the Warriors organization fearing that KD is going to leave after this season and wanting to do anything possible to keep him happy, right? Otherwise it doesn’t seem like there’d be much concern about “aftermath” from his spat with Draymond. I certainly don’t think they’d be overly concerned about an OT loss on the road to a good team, especially with Curry out.

Hmm...





This should all be very exciting for the big market East teams with cap space next summer.

Even though I bet on them to win another title over the summer, I think it’s hilarious that Draymond went full-on NBA Twitter internet troll in his comments to KD

Green called Durant a “bitch” multiple times, sources said. In a summarized version, sources said Green shouted, “You’re a bitch and you know you’re a bitch.” The rhetoric, sources said, continued even when Kerr attempted to direct the team’s attention to his whiteboard.

But what ultimately led to Green’s suspension, sources said, was a remark in which he dared Durant to bolt in free agency next summer. Durant has a player option for the 2019-20 season, and the Warriors want their superteam intact for the opening of their new arena, the Chase Center, in San Francisco next season.

Green blurted to Durant something along the lines of, “We don’t need you. We won without you. Leave,” sources said.

This is from Chris Haynes, who appears to be very plugged in with the Warriors and KD based on his prior reporting.

Forget the free agency stuff. Theres swearing and trash talk and boisterous assholes that talk a lot of shit. Then theres a guy calling someone a bitch and you know it. And the coach just keeps going to the whiteboard like thats normal? Steve Kerr's been around the NBA enough to have seen a lot so maybe if hes not concerned, no concerns but Durant just needs to throw blows and get it over with. Bet Draymond doesnt do that to other people. They need Rondo.

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:50 am

tennbengal wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:12 am Holy fuckballs, make sure you catch a Grizzlies game, so you can appreciate the BIG IDEA of "what if we put out the most unathletic team possible in today's NBA" put into action. It's jaw-droppingly bad, this idea. And they are doing it.

Amin Elhassan, who's usually one of the better NBA analysts, was talking them up as surprise playoff team this offseason. But yeah, that's a pretty gross roster. Conley and Gasol are likely both out of their primes and all their other vets are guys who should be an 8th or 9th man at best. I think Jaren Jackson has big potential, but he's very young and raw.

And... fast forward a month from these posts and the Grizzlies have a better record than the Warriors!

Warriors are DONEZO. You heard it here probably not first from a totally unbiased source.

So...Grizzlies at the moment first in the West. I am delighted and completely surprised.

Joe K wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 2:58 pm

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:50 am

tennbengal wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:12 am Holy fuckballs, make sure you catch a Grizzlies game, so you can appreciate the BIG IDEA of "what if we put out the most unathletic team possible in today's NBA" put into action. It's jaw-droppingly bad, this idea. And they are doing it.

Amin Elhassan, who's usually one of the better NBA analysts, was talking them up as surprise playoff team this offseason. But yeah, that's a pretty gross roster. Conley and Gasol are likely both out of their primes and all their other vets are guys who should be an 8th or 9th man at best. I think Jaren Jackson has big potential, but he's very young and raw.

And... fast forward a month from these posts and the Grizzlies have a better record than the Warriors!

It really is stunning. They’ve totally committed to defense again, they’ve bought in, and Anderson and Temple are doing work on the wings. And Conley is healthy. So, yeah, so far I have totally missed this. Delighted to be wrong so far.

I’m guessing this is because Kyrie has started embracing his Sioux heritage and not just some weird contrarian thing like his flat earth nonsense.

As to the Celtics, I know it’s still pretty early in the season, but at what point is Danny Ainge going to take some heat for holding on to all the young guys he drafted while his division rivals landed the two biggest targets on the trade market? I thought it was crazy to give Marcus Smart the money he got when he’s perhaps the worst offensive guard in the NBA. And the Brown/Tatum/Rozier trio are all playing significantly worse than they did in last year’s playoffs. Brown is the one that should really worry the Celtics. If his strong 3 point shooting last season was a fluke (and it was a huge improvement over his prior history), then his value is well below where Ainge pegged it.

Nah Ainge made the right moves it's Stevens that needs to do better. Eveyone wants to declare him a savant but his team hasn't played to it's talent and that pretty squarely on the coach. Its pretty clear he's too wed to Hayward when hes the one that needs to go. Maybe Stevens is rightfully playing the long game (like Ainge) and Hayward just needs a season to get his game back and maybe that pays off come playoffs. But yeah. Not good so far. Im ready to cut bait on Haywards minutes. You're wrong on Smart. I'd say they need to defend and go from there. I'd even consider starting Smart to get some identity back and free shots for Irving and Tatum. Brown just needs to defend and play the Smart role off the bench. He looks like a guy that might suffer with confidence.

The have , what, eight guys who could genuinely argue and feel they need more shots and time on the court? And not enough minutes to go around?

tennbengal wrote: ↑Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:21 am The have , what, eight guys who could genuinely argue and feel they need more shots and time on the court? And not enough minutes to go around?

The problem is that out of all those guys, Irving and Morris are the only two with above average scoring efficiency. Horford is right around league average, and every other rotation player is subpar. I think Hayward’s issues are injury-related. (IIRC, Paul George struggled in his first year back from his broken leg.) Tatum should be fine too, although his summer workouts with Kobe seem to have taught him that the “Mamba Mentality” means shooting too many long contested 2s. But I really wonder if Brown and Rozier’s issues are more fundamental. Brown in particular has always been a bad FT shooter, which is concerning that his efficient outside shooting last year was a fluke.

ETA: On the other end on the spectrum, wow have the Bucks been good. The only guy in their top-11 with below average efficiency is DiVincenzo, and even he’s shot better than Hayward, Smart, Brown or Rozier. Their upgrade from Kidd to Budenholzer feels like the Mark Jackson/Steve Kerr situation all over again.

This season is batshit insane on and off the court.

Read this thread.



Edit

Wife woke me up last night about that. Just gotta own that one. I like fucking transvestites. So what.

Raps outscore the Grizzlies by 20 in the second half in Memphis.

This team is on fire.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 28, 2018 6:59 am Raps outscore the Grizzlies by 20 in the second half in Memphis.

This team is on fire.

This is a very entertaining game tonight. Warriors-Raptors is a great matchup when the Warriors only have 2 All-Stars in the lineup. Too bad they’ll have 5 of them if these teams meet in the Finals.

While I know the analytical arguments that favor Curry, it’s games like this where Durant is completely unstoppable, even against elite perimeter defenders, that make me think he’s easily the best player on the Warriors.

ETA: my somewhat hot take is that Durant is the single most unstoppable scorer in NBA history. There’s just no way to stop him from getting his shot off and he’s a plus-plus finisher at the rim, from midrange and from 3.

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:10 pm

Pruitt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 28, 2018 6:59 am Raps outscore the Grizzlies by 20 in the second half in Memphis.

This team is on fire.

This is a very entertaining game tonight. Warriors-Raptors is a great matchup when the Warriors only have 2 All-Stars in the lineup. Too bad they’ll have 5 of them if these teams meet in the Finals.

Yeah, I had the same thought, but fuck it it was a great game.

And Durant was a monster tonight.

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:39 pm ETA: my somewhat hot take is that Durant is the single most unstoppable scorer in NBA history. There’s just no way to stop him from getting his shot off and he’s a plus-plus finisher at the rim, from midrange and from 3.

No doubt. Also has no championships.

HOW BOUT THAT!??!?!?

#stugotz’d

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:39 pm ETA: my somewhat hot take is that Durant is the single most unstoppable scorer in NBA history. There’s just no way to stop him from getting his shot off and he’s a plus-plus finisher at the rim, from midrange and from 3.

I heard somewhere that a very tall man once averaged 50 points per game and then in his broken down last season made 426 of 586 shots.

Ryan wrote: ↑Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:17 am

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:39 pm ETA: my somewhat hot take is that Durant is the single most unstoppable scorer in NBA history. There’s just no way to stop him from getting his shot off and he’s a plus-plus finisher at the rim, from midrange and from 3.

I heard somewhere that a very tall man once averaged 50 points per game and then in his broken down last season made 426 of 586 shots.

Tim Duncan was great.

Ryan wrote: ↑Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:17 am

Joe K wrote: ↑Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:39 pm ETA: my somewhat hot take is that Durant is the single most unstoppable scorer in NBA history. There’s just no way to stop him from getting his shot off and he’s a plus-plus finisher at the rim, from midrange and from 3.

I heard somewhere that a very tall man once averaged 50 points per game and then in his broken down last season made 426 of 586 shots.

My data based counter is that Wilt was an extreme volume scorer who wasn’t nearly as efficient as today’s high scorers. His career TS% would be rougly average in today’s NBA, and his TS% in the 50 ppg season is significantly worse than every season of Durant’s besides his rookie year.

My non-data based counter is pull up the full game video from a 1960s NBA game on YouTube and holy shit is the skill level and coaching strategy bad by today’s standards.

Is there a worse time to need surgery for a "gluteal injury" than just a few days after being called a power bottom?

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Nov 30, 2018 1:42 pm Is there a worse time to need surgery for a "gluteal injury" than just a few days after being called a power bottom?

wrong thread?

rass wrote: ↑Fri Nov 30, 2018 2:03 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Nov 30, 2018 1:42 pm Is there a worse time to need surgery for a "gluteal injury" than just a few days after being called a power bottom?

wrong thread?

Your recall is asstoundingly good.

I think in several years people are going to look back on the 2018 draft and think it’s crazy that neither Doncic nor Jaren Jackson Jr. went in the top-2. Last night Jackson became the third-youngest player ever, behind LBJ and KD, to score 30+ in an NBA game. He looks damn good and I don’t know how Tom Izzo couldn’t get him more than 6 shots per game last year at MSU.

Stone cold contested three to tie the game as part of his 36 points. As a grizzlies fan I keep waiting for the bad part to show up, to exaplain how he slid to them. Starting to get a little giddy. He just turned 19.

Bengal, did you think things couldn't be better for the Grizz? THINK AGAIN.

[+] spoiler