^Yea I think it's going that way too.

Though the sitting during the anthem is still a player/team thing. If your own team is not engaging in that, no reason not to keep watching

The NBA has never been about competitive balance.

The NBA hasn't been about competitive balance but we just had a top 3 player join a team that won the most games in NBA history while still in his prime and all they had to give up was one of the worst players at his position. When LBJ/Bosh joined the Heat they had to gut the team to get those deals done and were extremely top heavy. GSW have a deep bench while having 4 starting caliber all stars. It's funny that I'm a Spurs fan which is a team filled with foreigners and they're the least likely team in all major sports to try to pull the protest thing. I definitely think teams like the Lakers and Raptors will join in on this bs since they did the hands up don't shoot shirts. LBJ will probably lead the Cavs into doing it as well for sure.

Warriors 66.5
Cavaliers 56.5
Spurs 56.5
Clippers 53.5
Celtics 51.5
Raptors 49.5
Jazz 47.5
TrailBlazers 46.5
Pistons 45.5
Thunder 45.5
Hawks 43.5
Pacers 43.5
Grizzlies 43.5
Wizards 42.5
Rockets 41.5
Timberwolves 41.5
Hornets 39.5
Mavericks 39.5
Bucks 39.5
Bulls 38.5
Knicks 38.5
Heat 36.5
Pelicans 36.5
Magic 36.5
Nuggets 34.5
Kings 32.5
76ers 27.5
Suns 26.5
Lakers 24.5
Nets 20.5

What do you guys think about season win totals? I put a bunch of money on them every year and at first glance I like 76ers under, Suns over. Maybe Nuggets over?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=err-pR6Sz1w

Knicks looking horrible.

Houston looking sharp.

(10-05-2016 05:29 AM)HOD Wrote:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=err-pR6Sz1w

Knicks looking horrible.

Houston looking sharp.

KP needs to demand a trade. And I'm a Knicks fan.

(10-05-2016 11:37 AM)Game_Started Wrote:  

(10-05-2016 05:29 AM)HOD Wrote:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=err-pR6Sz1w

Knicks looking horrible.

Houston looking sharp.

KP needs to demand a trade. And I'm a Knicks fan.

KP is a god in the making. Barring serious or chronic injuries, he seriously has one of the most amazing skillsets in NBA history.

^^^I like Rockets winning more than 41.5 games this season. Got rid of the locker room poison (aka Dwight Howard) and loaded up on great shooters with Harden at the point

I'd say it's between them, the Jazz and the Thunder to lock up the #4 spot in the West after the Warriors, Spurs and Clippers (1,2 and 3 respectively)

In the East: Bucks I would have had over for sure (maybe a sneaky playoffs birth) but the Khris Middleton injury is going to hold them back. Probably their best player low-key last season with all the 'Greek Freak' hype

76ers now I'd probably go under with Ben Simmons probably out for the season
Heat have little talent this season and have a history of tanking hard under Pat Riley on non playoff teams... expect them to compete for the #1 2017 draft pick. Definitely under

Pretty keen for some NBA basketball this season. Definitely a buzz in the air

Eastern Conference:

If Derrick Rose is able to play (he's facing a civil rape trial right now), I could possibly see the Knicks sneaking into the playoffs under .500 (provided he stays healthy.)

I think the Nets are gonna get worse, and finish last in their division. I see them being 18-64.

The Sixers will improve drastically, to the tune of somewhere between 20-25 wins this year.

The Heat aren't gonna make the playoffs and will only win about 30-32 games.

Western Conference:

The Lakers are about 2-3 years away from the playoffs, so their total is accurate.

The Jazz will get in this year, and they'll have about 45-47 wins and a lower seed.

Wade's game is changing. He's shooting 3's now. Anyone see those pre-season highlights?

We've heard this one before. Rolling Stone had to delete a story about a rape because their facts weren't right:

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/rolling-...e-nba.html

Quote:Rolling Stone took down an online article about the Derrick Rose rape trial, domestic violence, and the NBA on Friday, according to Politico. The removal occurred two days after the article was published.

Quote:A source inside Rolling Stone told Politico that an NBA representative contacted sports editor Jason Diamond after the piece was published. Some of the story’s assertions were disputed, and two corrections were added. On Friday, the article was removed from the website entirely.

Quote:Rolling Stone published a note to its readers late Monday night, explaining that it had removed the article. “After publication, it became apparent that the story had substantial flaws. We made the editorial decision to take down the article on Friday, October 14th. The decision to remove the article from the site was ours alone, and we apologize to anyone that may have been affected,” the note said.

Spurs beat GS in their home by more than +20.

Old dude in Iverson jersey gave Westbrook the double barrel middle finger, apologized by saying "it's part of my charm"
http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/sixer...ook-102716

Par for the course in Philly I guess

Me after seeing Lebron shill for Hill today:

Looks like Dallas finally broke the schnide and got their first W.

Ahead of his time

Charles Barkley on the Warriors. Ignore the cunty commentary at the end of the clip.

There are now so many teams in the NBA (mainly amongst the contenders) that I simply can not root for because of their basketball and non-basketball related activities, that I am actually rooting for James Harden and the Houston Rockets!

I'd like to give a shoutout to Enigma, whom I have fought with in the past with regard to the Rockets. Dwight leaving, the rest of the NBA becoming pussies, and my recent graduate academic connections to ASU mean that I can look past Harden's flaws.

Lebron, Poppovich, and Cuban are Hillary supporting pussies.

The Warriors - don't get me started.

The Clippers: Ballmer can go fuck himself. (One of my good friends attends Stanford, and is in the same fraternity as Ballmer's son. He sent me some choice group texts from election night that involve Ballmer and his family.)

So I will still obviously root for the Lakers and Thunder (which are my main 2 teams - OKC only because of Westbrook), and probably the Pacers (PG), Bulls (Wade/Rondo), and the Bucks (JKidd, Greek Freak) + the Rockets. Unfortunately I don't see how any of these teams makes a deep run without a blockbuster mid-season Anthony Davis trade. May/June might be no fun for me.

-----

Sir Charles is on point as always. There is a reason the Inside the NBA crew is the best in the business. None of the pussyfooting you see on First Take, and ESPN.

How some of you talk about Lebron or Kobe being the GOAT ...

Denver Nuggets will likely trade their best player, Danilo Gallinari before the trade deadline in Feb. 2017. And rebuild around Jokic and Nurkic.

Gallinari would be an excellent 3rd or 4th option on a contender. The Italian has worn out his welcome in Denver and gives no effort on defense anymore. He only cares about his offensive stats.

Denver's HC Mike Malone will be fired before the season ends.

Not the biggest Bird fan ever, but this was pretty sweet:

Larry had great instincts and was a master technician on the floor. I hated him as a kid, but now years detached my respect for his game has only grown.

I remember watching him dominate guys night after night who on paper were superior to him athletically. If he wasn't scoring he could secure a key rebound, find a cutting big man for an easy score or get a timely steal (re: Pistons 87' playoffs).

Any young player coming into the league should study his footwork, passing and how he moved without the ball. He was always at the very top in field goal and free throw goal %.

Since he mastered all of the fundamentals, a guy like Bird could play in any era. When you master the basics it will help prolong your career.