The 2016-2017 NBA basketball thread

[MtlJeff]

De'Aaron Fox is rising quickly up a lot of draft boards. I mentioned it last page but the dude is like 6'3, super athletic, and will be a great defensive point guard. He is more polished offensively than he gets credit for.

 

I think he goes in the top 3, when he was projected in the 7-10 range i thought he was for sure the steal of the draft. I didn't really understand what i was missing there

[scratchswinger]

I feel that there is a lot of of resentment towards Lonzo simply because his father is so outspoken and says stupid things. Lonzo is loved by his teammates, he's well spoken, hard worker, he's a good kid and there is nothing not to like about him. People pick on his shot because they want something to pick on and it's not pretty, there have been lots of great shooters with ugly shots. Just like Jim Furyk has an ugly swing, all that matters is that the ball goes in. The only TRUE and fair criticisms of his game are his mid range game and his defense. Other than that he is silky smooth and it looks like he's playing at half speed. It will be very interesting if Magic takes him as it will be Magics first true test as a GM and he will be taking him mainly for his intangibles. That's the one skill that it's really hard to see and judge on TV rather than seeing these guys in practice and off the court. It will be interesting to see if Lonzo really can make NBA players better when he is not the best player on the floor.

[MtlJeff]

I imagine Lonzo's teammates will love him, who wouldn't want to play with a guy who doesn't hold the ball much and loves to pass

 

I think people will root against him because of his dad yeah. He is going out there saying Lonzo is the best player in the league (better than curry etc) and has already slammed teammates in the media. And that was BEFORE he was trying to build a billion dollar brand that will require Lonzo be a star

 

If he struggles even a bit (which most rookies do) and Lavar is on shows blaming coaching, Deangelo or some of the vets they have, I think it could get ugly in the locker room quick

 

I'd still love to have him on my team In a vacuum. I'd still probably take him #2

[pinhigh27]

you're never going to separate him from his dad, gonna be a nightmare the whole way. nothing against ball just his dad lol.

 

I look at the marketing crap and proclamations as just promoting your brand and being inflammatory to get PR. any press is good press. that is separate in my mind than the critiquing side of his dad where its the whites guys on the teams fault they lose and etc. that is the part I couldn't deal with as a GM. You can tune out first part and be fine IMO, 2nd not so sure

[F171615]

. . . . People pick on his shot because they want something to pick on and it's not pretty, there have been lots of great shooters with ugly shots. Just like Jim Furyk has an ugly swing, all that matters is that the ball goes in. The only TRUE and fair criticisms of his game are his mid range game and his defense. . . .

 

People pick on his shot b/c of how inefficient it is. Part of the reason he struggles in the mid range is b/c of his shooting motion, and those struggles of getting his shot off in the mid range become problems of getting his shot off from anywhere on the floor in the NBA. He's already shown the ability to shoot the ball with accuracy, so I don't know why he can't learn how to alter his shoot so he'll be better off getting it released against tighter coverage from bigger, taller, faster opponents. And he already does so many other things on the court that are amazing, that it makes it worth the effort in teaching him how to shoot the ball against NBA competition.

Is there an explanation on why he struggled shooting free throws?

[BoogieThumper]

I like KL and I hate that this happened to him. On the other side of the coin I'm already over it. It turns out that Lamarcus Aldridge did the same thing to Steph the same game I wanna say prior to the KL incident. And Popovich allowed Bruce Bowen to close out aggressively his entire career. Ask Kobe and Vince Carter about Bruce Bowen.

 

Do you actually expect one of us to ask Kobe or Vince?

Its a figure of speech Blake Griffin's #1 Fan.

[pinhigh27]

bowen is garbage. it's easier to get in peoples heads when they have to worry about their ankles after they shoot. thats more flagrant than 3/4 of the flagrant fouls they call nowadays anyway

[MtlJeff]

Well I'm looking forward to starting to watch basketball again. Between travel and the general suckiness of the conference finals I've only watched 1 1/2 games this round

[scratchswinger]

Well I'm looking forward to starting to watch basketball again. Between travel and the general suckiness of the conference finals I've only watched 1 1/2 games this round

 

This will be much better basketball compared to the unwatchable games so far. I expect the games to be competitive. My prediction is GS in 5 with Cleveland getting game 3.

[Peanut191]

Well I'm looking forward to starting to watch basketball again. Between travel and the general suckiness of the conference finals I've only watched 1 1/2 games this round

 

This will be much better basketball compared to the unwatchable games so far. I expect the games to be competitive. My prediction is GS in 5 with Cleveland getting game 3.

 

I agree. I don't see how the Cavs can take more than one game without an injury or Draymond going game 4 on someone.

[MtlJeff]

After last year I refuse to bet against lebron!

[xxio]

The key is LBJ expending energy on defense. He will have to switch to KD, Green, or Klay almost every play. If he has to play tough D he won't have enough energy to dominate games. He has to go 26-8-10 every game for them to have a chance.

 

I want it to be close and interesting. I am an LBJ fan but unless they win one of the first two they will be swept.

 

Then McGee can bring his ring to Shaq's house. I predict 2 great games from him just lobs and boards because Thompson will be rotating every other play.

[MtlJeff]

I'm not willing to write off the Cavs. I made that mistake last year. Lebron is a whole different level to any other player right now, the Jordan comparisons are for the ESPN's of the world, but he really is dominating the game like no one since Jordan the past 2 years. Look at his numbers again in last year's finals, listen to Demar Derozan basically saying "we have no chance against Lebron" while the series was still happening LOL. He just bends every game to his will....Obviously the Warriors are the favorite, and are on paper the best team i've ever seen. But i wont just discount a team with Lebron right now. The Spurs were going to win game 1 if Kawhi doesn't get hurt, so it's not like the Warriors are totally unbeatable.

 

The Cavs "chilled" more than any team in history this year. They simply don't care about the regular season. To me their season in a nutshell could be summed up by game 4 against Boston. When the Celtics won game 3 and were up in game 4 it's like someone tapped Kyrie on the shoulder and was like "dude, it's getting real, you gotta start trying again", and then he just goes off for 45 points, and they just wiped out Boston like the Tsunami at the end of "san Andreas".

 

Cleveland is not perfect. But Kyrie will definitely be up for playing against Curry, Kevin Love is a smart basketball player who can pass and score, they have a few deadly shooters, and they have Lebron. Cleveland will get buckets against anyone and can play as the underdog with confidence.

 

Obviously Golden State projects as a better defensive team and that's why they are the favorite, they play both ends better. But Cleveland can just buzz saw you offensively and that should keep them in games. And i can't write off a team with Kyrie and Lebron at crunch time

[MtlJeff]

I do have to say though i may have to go total media blackout if i'm going to enjoy this series at all.....Between Lebron's noted crybabying, Kevin Durant telling fans to stop watching games and taking shots at franchises like Orlando and Brooklyn, Draymond saying people dont appreciate their greatness because they've never been great.....let's just say i miss someone like Tim Duncan more and more. I get it that saying crazy and/or arrogant stuff is a legit business strategy because it plays on social media....maybe i'm just too old for this. And i'm only 35!

[scratchswinger]

If GS were too loose this series it would make LeBron the greatest ever and GS the most underachieving team ever. Last year GS was up 3-1 and this was with LeBron in Currys head and minus Durant. I don't see Cleveland getting in Currys head again, I don't see Dreymond getting suspended, and Durant is one hell of a difference maker. I dont know if this year would be a bigger upset than last year but it feels like it would be.

[MtlJeff]

I would pretty much agree on both counts, Lebron to me is playing the best basketball he's ever played the past 2 seasons, and at 32 with the minutes of a 35-36 year old that's just beyond belief. I don't think it's appreciated as much as it should be even though it does get talked about. He's playing the highest caliber of basketball of anyone other than Michael Jordan since 1990, possibly ever, and doing it with a body that all history suggests should be breaking down. But he's as physically dominant as ever.

 

Win or lose he's ahead of Duncan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, Kareem at this point to me.

 

If he beats the Warriors back to back, he gets GOAT consideration, and yes the Warriors would be in a pretty dubious place in terms of not closing. The only caveat would be that history will still judge them kindly since they are losing to Lebron

[scratchswinger]

Don't discredit how much of an addition Durant is. LeBron is insane but it's not like we haven't seen him loose before. For Cleveland to win Kyrie has to be the second best player and Love needs to be the Minnesota Love. For GS to win one of those things don't need to not happen. If Clay finds his shot - game over. Let's just hope Dreymond doesn't try to grab a hot dog after Memorial Day.

[onlyomar]

Don't discredit how much of an addition Durant is. LeBron is insane but it's not like we haven't seen him loose before. For Cleveland to win Kyrie has to be the second best player and Love needs to be the Minnesota Love. For GS to win one of those things don't need to not happen. If Clay finds his shot - game over. Let's just hope Dreymond doesn't try to grab a hot dog after Memorial Day.

 

I see what you did there!

[pinhigh27]

GSW winning doesn't really do anything for me in terms of their team legacy. Like lets imagine the all nba 1st team were magically all unrestricted free agents, and chose to play for the same team at some ridiculously low price so they could get a decent supporting cast too or the owner decided to pay the tax of their normal contracts. Would that championship mean anything to anyone? To me, not really.

 

I just feel like a hall of famer joining a 73 win team is such a joke that it's worthless. Yeah they lost a bit to get him and the cavs aren't the ira newble sasha pavlovic cavs of old but still.

 

I know people have given durant a lot of crap but I don't think you could ever give him enough for the move. So he wins a title there, it does nothing for his career IMO. You joined a 73 win team. Congrats

 

It's different from when there were like 8 teams and the talent could be so much more concentrated.

[MtlJeff]

I agree, and scratch's point I also agree with that golden state is the clear favourite with Durant. Even against Lebron and Cleveland. While I never put anything past lebron, they are the underdog

 

But a GSW win does nothing for me. It's 10 guys on a playground and having 4 of the 5 best guys decide to play on the same team

 

 

 

[scratchswinger]

It's going to be the most unfulfilling championship that I can think of. The only comparison that comes to mind are the USA Olympic dream teams.

[xxio]

If the Cavs actually win 2 games, I expect them to win only 1, it is already a failure the Warriors.

 

This team can only be a legacy team if they do what noone seems to be talking about, which is sweep the playoffs. That is what the analysts need to hype so that it gets the Cavs fired up and put pressure on the Warriors. Then maybe we will have close games.

[MtlJeff]

I think lebron has to quit on the series for them not to win 2 games. The way Kyrie, Love and Thompson are playing they are too good to get swept or lose in 5

 

But I have been wrong before

[xxio]

If there was a way to get LBJ to rest on the defensive end I would agree. You just can't hide LBJ and Love vs Durant, Green, or Klay.

 

I do hope you're right. Heck I want the Cavs to win it all because still can't get over the league nixing the CP3 deal and now allowing KD to the dubs.

[scratchswinger]

Anyone else think Kerr not being around could make a difference in this series?

[xxio]

Yes.

 

Enough? No, unless Green goes crazy. I don't think Brown can rein him in.

 

Coaching on the other side is not superior.

[BoogieThumper]

Anyone else think Kerr not being around could make a difference in this series?

I just heard on local talk radio here in Oakland that Kerr is always around at least for home games. He's at the meetings, shoot around, he's in the locker room at halftime. He's there just not on the bench. It could have an effect late in close games yes, but I dont think it'll be enough to cause concern. Word is he could possibly return to the bench tonight.

[BoogieThumper]

If there was a way to get LBJ to rest on the defensive end I would agree. You just can't hide LBJ and Love vs Durant, Green, or Klay.

 

I do hope you're right. Heck I want the Cavs to win it all because still can't get over the league nixing the CP3 deal and now allowing KD to the dubs.

He rested all series last year against Harrison Barnes. I could've guarded Barnes from the couch.

[xxio]

Barnes is no longer there. Guess who plays that spot now. I would think KD might be a bit better than Barnes.

[MtlJeff]

I find some of The Ringer's short form type articles to be kind of pointless, but i thought this was a well written one and kind of discussed without getting too preachy some of the thoughts a serious fan may have had during this season

 

https://theringer.com/2017-nba-finals-cleveland-cavaliers-golden-state-warriors-referendum-1320fe7fe938

 

I gotta be honest, i enjoyed this season a lot less than many others. There were great numbers and some nice regular season moments, but the whole thing felt foregone, there were a few comments and stuff where i started to feel a larger disconnect between the players and fans....Anyway, i'll watch the finals, but to me it's never felt like more of a "business" than it does right now. You have two teams that really didn't come about all that organically, and superstars very aware of branding and constructing legacies, and it's like these teams were built specifically to do that

 

It just feels more fake. Zach Lowe wrote once that we're dumb to care so much, this year i started agreeing a bit