(06-12-2017 10:53 PM)Chowder Head Wrote:  I'm so sick of seeing Durant's mother! At least he finally mentioned his father post game. #GoldenStateMamasBoys

Same. When he got the MVP and she came on the camera and was trying to get the attention and was like "Son! Look at me son!"

I was thinking bitch shut the fuck up. He's the real mvp sit your ass down. Goddamn

YUK

So it is obvious Magic still works for TV. I ran away from sports media for a week as the Ball talk was too much. The Lakers talk was too much. I would have thought that the Lakers did not want to make themselves a lightning rod and would stay away from the kid and let him go someplace else and do his things.

Nope.

They drafted him and thus sucked all the air out of the NBA,

ESPN can't stop stroking itself now, already anointing the Lakers challengers to Golden State when they may still be a lottery team next year if they don't get up getting Paul Goerge.

Magic and ESPN can go get fucked. I smell collusion big time and now we won't be able to escape this circus for months on end. I don't get anything against Ball, he is a kid and still has to prove himself. The hype machine behind him (that isn't even his father doing) is unpalatable.

If it helps, I think Ball is the best prospect of him and Fultz, by a wide margin. I think Fultz is going to bomb, he is a dime a dozen undersized comboguard. Ball has elite vision and passing.

So, who's gonna take out the mvp?

Silent assassin Kawhi?

Stat superstar but possible ball hog Russell?

Or always good so you don't even notice Lebron?

Do you think Ball will have the same success with his inside game now that he has to go inside with grown men versus frail boned college kids? He may have to live and die of his outside shot. I don't think you would this kid being your go to shot maker though

(06-23-2017 12:26 PM)kosko Wrote:  Do you think Ball will have the same success with his inside game now that he has to go inside with grown men versus frail boned college kids? He may have to live and die of his outside shot. I don't think you would this kid being your go to shot maker though

Why not? It's not like dudes can mug you inside the paint like in the old days. Steph has good inside game too for that exact same reason.

(06-23-2017 01:44 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  [quote='kosko' pid='1598513' dateline='1498238798']
Do you think Ball will have the same success with his inside game now that he has to go inside with grown men versus frail boned college kids? He may have to live and die of his outside shot. I don't think you would this kid being your go to shot maker though

I'm biased because I've been a diehard UCLA Basketball fan for 20+ years. But I know the game of basketball and I watched probably 25 UCLA games in their entirety this past season, so I am informed on this issue unlike the vast number of idiots spouting their two cents on social media.

Lonzo is the truth. It almost doesn't do him justice to say he's a great passer or has great court vision. The kid ALWAYS makes the right play. He sees things before they develop, even when he is on defense (which is why he averaged almost 2 steals a game). It's truly rare to see a player who has that kind of feel for the game. It's no coincidence that UCLA went from 15-17 to 31-5 in one season with mostly the same players.

Finishing at the rim is also one of his greatest strengths. If Steph, Kyrie and IT can also finish at the rim in the NBA there's no reason he won't. It's all about shot-making at that point.

He won't be a team's go-to shot maker, which makes him a little bit different from the current NBA formula of stardom. He's a throwback pure point guard but his game also happens to be well-suited to the modern NBA since he pushes the ball up the floor and is quite efficient with his shooting. He basically only takes threes and layups--his shot chart is something the Warriors or Rockets dream of. It was college, but 41% from 3 and 72% from 2 is a ridiculous rate.

His main weakness is defending quicker, smaller guards in one-on-one situations but that can easily be overcome with help from teammates (a la Klay covering for Steph). He does just fine when it comes to guarding bigger 2 guards and wings.

He also doesn't have much of a midrange game so I think he's gonna have to develop a floater to add to his arsenal. That said, the NBA is all about efficiency right now and midrange isn't as important as being able to stretch the floor with shooting and also being able to finish in the paint.

I've been riding with Lonzo since Day 1 and before all of the LaVar Ball media circus. The kid is the real deal and I'm confident he will turn the Lakers around. I've been watching basketball since I was 6 years old and I don't know if I ever had as much fun as I did this past season watching UCLA (their offense was historically good, arguably the best in the last 20 years of college BB period).

And as for LaVar, you can say what you want about him, but the dude is clearly alpha and genuinely hilarious. People just see the clickbait headlines and get caught up in the media narrative without knowing what he is really about. He's the Trump of the sports world.

dag fellas, no thoughts on the Chris Paul trade to Houston? TK where ya at?

For the record, Doc Rivers is on the clock.

CP3 had probably extended his stay 3 seasons in the City of Angels

In other news, Melo's reaction to the Phil Jackson firing

Paul George to OKC?

Didn't see that one coming...interesting move. First question that comes to mind is will there be enough shots to go around for Russ and PG

Even with this acquisition, they're still a few more pieces away though

Paul George going to OKC.

Butler to Minny.

Teague to Minny

The already historically poor Eastern Conference will now hit levels of low never seen before. The NBA needs to do away with conferences now for playoffs or it will be too much of a joke to see sub 40 teams in the playoffs this year.

PG must be going to LA next year. No way this traded would happen otherwise. OKC is not even taking a risk though, they literally dumped a bad contract. I wonder if this trade would have happened if Oladipo didnt play at Indiana. Sabonis didn't look like anything but a potential average starter but who knows

The East is a disaster. Millsap might leave the East too. Here's hoping Gordon Hayward goes to Miami.

I expect Memphis to consider dumping their roster this year. Conley and Gasol might be great pickups for other teams. Boogie might be available again btw, since i don't know if New Orleans even makes the playoffs in the West.

ESPN needs to GTFO. For weeks, they have turned into a love child of CNN and E! in peddling fake news and shitty gossip. Each day they would peddle bogus bullshit rumours from "sources" and play "What if" with every star player in the league.

Then now, in the quiet of the night, NBA GMs who 90% of the time keep a tight lip and never broadcast their moves - make a blockbuster deal that left the cucks at ESPN in the dark. None of their "experts" saw it coming which should tell you that they don't know anything aside from their moles they have planted in the Lakers/Clippers and Knicks.

Overall, this is a big trade. But... OKC is still light with zero depth. This trade makes them a top 4 team in the West now though, but they still are not good enough to beat the Spurs, Dubs, or Rockets.

I am just happy Goerge didn't go to the Celtics or Cavs (fake news). This trade now makes my Raptors that much better as both Paul Goerge and Jimmy Butler have single handely fucked us over many times over the years and are now out of the East.

So now Hayward goes to Heat or Spurs? Waiters gets moved is Hayward goes to Miami? This makes me nervous for Lowry now as the Spurs will be more aggressive to swoop him as Rubio goes to Utah.

Both of these are big trades for the NBA and as a fan I love both of them. Seeing CP3 and the Clips bow out early has gotten boring and it sucked to see Paul George atrophying on a team not good enough for him.

Its gonna be fascinating watching James Harden and Chris Paul figure out how to play with one another, they're both pretty ball dominant but they're also smart, competitive and good spot-up shooters. From what I read and from how the whole deal was orchestrated, both of them wanted to play together which sounds like they're gonna find a way to make it work. Paul will be great for just lessening the load on Harden a little, you could tell he was getting worn down against the Spurs having to carry the team on his back alone. I bet D'Antoni will stagger their minutes a fair bit so Harden can be fresher to attack the basket late in the game.

Paul George to OKC will be another fun one to watch I think, he's such a great fit. Lock-down defender, good from 3 and doesn't need the ball in his hands much. Watching Westbrook go Superman mode last year was exciting but I want to watch him on a team that actually has a shot to compete and this gets them close at least. Kinda surprised at how little they had to give up for him, Oladipo and Sabonis ain't much but I guess with OKC afraid George will dip to LA in a year it makes some sense, better than nothing at least.


^^
The parity issue in the NBA is a strange one. For a while for whatever reason the East has been worse but I think the problem is overstated. The effect that Lebron has had on the way we think about the East is underrated, I think we devalue some of the teams in the East just because Lebron crushes them every year. The Dwight Magic, the Thibodeau Bulls and the PG13 Pacers were all really good teams but we overlook them some because they didn't get out of the East.

And for this year all that happened was the squeezing into the playoffs Pacers helped create another contender and the dumpster fire Bulls making the Twolves interesting. Also, don't underestimate the East: Celtics, Wiz and Bucks could be darkhorses for the near future.

(06-30-2017 10:44 PM)kosko Wrote:  I am just happy Goerge didn't go to the Celtics or Cavs (fake news). This trade now makes my Raptors that much better as both Paul Goerge and Jimmy Butler have single handely fucked us over many times over the years.

I am so happy Butler is out of our conference now, big-time Raptor killer. I swear our record against the Bulls the last few years is like 2-20 at best, him with the Bulls always had our number.

And watching George single handedly dismantle DeRozan in the playoffs was rough.

I'm pretty optimistic for the Raptors. They obviously won't be contending any time soon but they're trending upwards, getting the culture right. In Masai we trust. That man is truly one of my heroes, hustled his way up from playing ball in Nigeria to the GM of an NBA team in the fourth largest city in North America. Smart as fuck and always runs a captivating press conference, I wish he did more interviews.

Danny Ainge totally blew it by not landing either or Butler or PG13 when both of them were available for dirt cheap.

Don't even know what the Pacers are thinking here. There's a report that they may have been doing it to spite Paul George (could be fake news) but that almost makes the most sense here. They got nothing for PG when Boston could have offered way more.

Either way, Danny Ainge didn't pull the trigger when he could have offered way more (2018 draft picks for Nets and Lakers/Kings). If they had offered a draft pick(s) + a decent player (Crowder, Bradley, or Smart), I don't see how the Pacers could have turned that down.

Ainge hesitated too long and got swooped on, TWICE. It's kinda hard to imagine he was the same guy who pulled off the KG+Ray Allen trade...

In regards to ESPN, FS1 has actually become a lot better in comparison recently. Broussard, Cowherd, Shannon Sharpe and even Bayless are all legit. Their takes are usually on point and they don't have the same SJW agenda that has been seeping into ESPN the last few years.

I have been waiting 13 years for my twolves to crack the playoffs and looks like we're on the cusp of doing so with the additions or Teague and Butler. Now we really have to improve the bench and get some shooters....hopefully they can sign JJ Redick....

Danny Ainge better hope these draft picks work out otherwise he is screwing up big time here. Tatum and Brown look like nice players but not superstars. Thomas and Horford aren't that young. I think what happening to Danny is that he is trying to win every trade for his franchise. This work well when the Celtics were bad.

However, now that the Celtics are rich (with assets that is), other GMs want the Celtics to overpay. The Celtics are the NBA version of rich, since every team practically spends the same amount of money every year. Its like when Real Madrid and Man U play ridiculous prices for players. Danny is going to have to give up more then he thought for players if he wants a star.

In other news the Pelicans are completely screwed. They just paid Jrue Holiday $25 mil a year. Jrue is a league average PG whose played 67, 65, 40, 34 games since being in NO.

It's a common trend for players to be way overpaid with that TV money. What wasn't brought up is the NBA had a VERY VERY down year with ratings up until the finals. That will cause the salary cap to come crashing down and these salaries to look less ridiculous for barely even starters.

Celtics are a contender NOW and Ainge sitting on draft picks.

When have the Spurs ever had a lottery pick in their contention era(s)?

The idea, that when you are close, you hold onto draft picks sounds silly. You flip those picks for players who can PLAY FOR YOU NOW and not projects that may or may not deliver.

I think the 76ers will be one of the biggest dark horses next year. Last year, I had to bet on the Sixers quite often due to getting ridiculous prices, but after watching them all throughout last year I don't think they are bad at all or as bad as their record suggests. Their losses mostly stemmed from being young and inexperienced, which led them to make lots of rookie mistakes and turnovers. They have a lot of latent talent that can unleash itself after a year of experience or so.

Probably not enough to challenge the Cavs next year, but they may come surprisingly close and will surely be fun to watch.

(07-02-2017 12:03 AM)Mr. Accuride Wrote:  I think the 76ers will be one of the biggest dark horses next year. Last year, I had to bet on the Sixers quite often due to getting ridiculous prices, but after watching them all throughout last year I don't think they are bad at all or as bad as their record suggests. Their losses mostly stemmed from being young and inexperienced, which led them to make lots of rookie mistakes and turnovers. They have a lot of latent talent that can unleash itself after a year of experience or so.

Probably not enough to challenge the Cavs next year, but they may come surprisingly close and will surely be fun to watch.

The 76ers are from being a dark horse. They will be lucky to get the 5th seed in the East. They are full of talented players but their best ones are a bunch of glass men that are lucky to play 30 games a year.

They for the most part are selfish and try to play summer AAU ball which will never make it far once NBA playoffs hit. There is a real lack of leadership too which would help mitigate that.

If they want anything more than the playoffs they need to blow the team up.

(07-01-2017 09:46 AM)kosko Wrote:  Celtics are a contender NOW and Ainge sitting on draft picks.

When have the Spurs ever had a lottery pick in their contention era(s)?

The idea, that when you are close, you hold onto draft picks sounds silly. You flip those picks for players who can PLAY FOR YOU NOW and not projects that may or may not deliver.

Kawhi Leonard was a 15th pick, Jokic 41st.

NBA execs haven't learned a thing, in fact they've gotten progessively worse at just drafting based on athleticism and some vague idea of being stretch this and that.

Hardly anyone drafts anymore based on work ethic, maturity, intelligence and teamwork.