The 2016-2017 NBA basketball thread

[MtlJeff]

The trade block doesn't get talked about nearly enough. especially given the packages offered in retrospect. We really don't know how much that changed the landscape of the league

 

I don't know if it's because it's the 76ers or if the Wolves are just sneaky good. They have the #3 ranked offense in the NBA. They had a positive differential for their starters last year...I mean they aren't doing anything this year in the playoffs....But i feel at one point they are going to figure it out defensively and go on a run

 

Wiggins play this season makes their ceiling that much higher. He looks like he will be a much better offensive player than anticipated.

[MtlJeff]

Karl Towns wants to destroy Joel Embiid, it is pretty obvious that is a thing for him

 

Oh you know i forgot, this is totally also a showdown between highly contested top picks Towns and Jahlil Oka.....LOL....sorry i couldn't even say that with a straight face

[baseballfrk8998]

The Wolves literally have 3 guys under the age of 22 averaging 20+ ppg.

 

They're going to be good. Really good. Lavine is shooting 45%+ from 3 this season!

[baseballfrk8998]

Not just you.The LA Clippers are about to go back to where they belong as the second-tier team of LA

 

That probably won't happen for 3-4 years or more unless LAC breaks up their big 3.

 

I mean since 2004-05 LAC has as many 50 wins seasons as LAL. Who'd have thought?! Obviously no titles though.

[MtlJeff]

Wiggins just ran consecutive pick and rolls, on one he hit a rolling Towns for a dunk...and then on the second an off the dribble 3.

 

he's got 31-8 on 12/16 and Towns has 23-9 on 11/17

 

A lot of teams right now questioning whether they should tank 2019-2024....LOL

[scratchswinger]

http://youtu.be/H2CntwScLyQ

[MtlJeff]

Charlotte looking good again. I am adopting them (if you havent figured out yet) as my non-OKC, non-Wolves, non-Raptors homer team of the year

 

Anthony Davis and Russell with ridiculous numbers tonight. I feel like Harden and Westbrook are gonna make 30-10-10 games look normal this year

 

Only a matter of time before the Mavs start taking calls on Bogut, Matthews and Barnes. Assuming Matthews actually sinks a shot at some point this season

[baseballfrk8998]

Charlotte looking good again. I am adopting them (if you havent figured out yet) as my non-OKC, non-Wolves, non-Raptors homer team of the year

 

Anthony Davis and Russell with ridiculous numbers tonight. I feel like Harden and Westbrook are gonna make 30-10-10 games look normal this year

 

Only a matter of time before the Mavs start taking calls on Bogut, Matthews and Barnes. Assuming Matthews actually sinks a shot at some point this season

 

I don't think they could get rid of Matthews if they wanted to. He's making 16 mil or with 31.4/28.9/87.0 shooting splits.

 

He's really bad right now and is showing no sign of recovering. I'm a big fan of his but, historically, guys don't come back from achilles injuries as effective as they were prior.

[Judge440]

Julius Randle wow.

[scratchswinger]

Julius Randle wow.

 

He is still completely out of control at times and he needs to improve his jumper (it's gotten better). Gasol last night was giving him a ton of room.... he's a hybrid though, too quick for 4s and too big for 3's. Lakers played really poor last night to start that game but still fought back even being down 15 in the third. The bench unit is devastating, they regularly score double what other teams benches score. Another great play by Luke.

[baseballfrk8998]

Julius Randle wow.

 

He is still completely out of control at times and he needs to improve his jumper (it's gotten better). Gasol last night was giving him a ton of room.... he's a hybrid though, too quick for 4s and too big for 3's. Lakers played really poor last night to start that game but still fought back even being down 15 in the third. The bench unit is devastating, they regularly score double what other teams benches score. Another great play by Luke.

 

At one point their bench was averaging ~50 points per game. That's insane and super impressive!

[Judge440]

Julius Randle wow.

 

He is still completely out of control at times and he needs to improve his jumper (it's gotten better). Gasol last night was giving him a ton of room.... he's a hybrid though, too quick for 4s and too big for 3's. Lakers played really poor last night to start that game but still fought back even being down 15 in the third. The bench unit is devastating, they regularly score double what other teams benches score. Another great play by Luke.

 

Agree with everything. I haven't seen LA play all that much and watched them last night on League Pass. I liked Randle coming out of school but haven't really seen him play much recently. Was impressed by his handle. I'm sure he needs polishing but I was impressed nonetheless. So can you see him kind of like a Draymond Green?

[avrag]

Are there any Raptors' fans here?

I would like to hear an honest objective assessment of rookie center Jakob Pöltl.

Our media in Austria are full of hype, because he is the first player from our country in the NBA and all, but that is biased of course.

So, what do you think? Does it look like he will be good?

[scratchswinger]

No raptors fans here, we all hate them.

[MtlJeff]

LOL

 

Yeah i watch probably 70 of the Raptors 82 games every year i would say. Our version of ESPN, which is called TSN, shows every game basically.

 

Poetl looks solid, early in the college season last year there was some buzz that he might even be a top 1-2 pick. He had a rep for being a very polished big man. He got playing time early with the Raptors because backup center Bebe Noguiera was injured. He's a bit skinny, so he's gotten pushed around, and he doesn't offer much in the way of real rim protection yet. But he's got soft hands and finishes well around the basket, and he tries really hard. He doesn't look like he doesn't "get" the game, just a bit overmatched at this point. But he catches the ball well and can finish with both hands.

 

Even when Noguiera has been healthy, they've tried to get him some minutes, which means they like him i think. He needs to bulk up. I mean compared to Jonas Valenciunas, he looks tiny. Compared to a Karl Anthony Towns, he looks way less physical and athletic.....he needs to get bigger or he won't get much done in the post

[MtlJeff]

So has Draymond Green seized the conch as the most annoying guy in the league yet? I'm trying to be as objective as possible here, i know we have Warriors fans here. Generally i feel like Curry, Thompson and even Durant kinda just go about their business...and even if they are a bit cocky, it's OK to be cocky...it's not like other guys aren't. Like Durant has said all the right things since going there...

 

But geeezz Draymond give it a rest. He's either talking about how everyone wants to "punk" the Warriors (note to Draymond, when you are one of the smallest teams in the league, teams will play physical vs you) or now that he takes it as a personal insult when the Bucks went at him with the game on the line (Note to Draymond, probably because you were covering their best player)....and yesterday he was critical of Celtics fans for boo'ing Durant. No one else seemed to care

 

It's like he's really trying hard to be the NBA version of Richard Sherman but it's not really working

[baseballfrk8998]

The difference between Sherman and Green is that Sherman is an extremely intelligent person. Green, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be. This is the same Draymond Green that had folks moving exercise bikes into the saunas so he could lose weight faster. ???

 

THREE YEARS AGO, the Warriors had a mystery on their hands. Team trainers were noticing that the stationary bikes in their practice facility had become rather unstationary. More to the point, they were disappearing. Eventually, the mystery was solved. Green was dragging the stationary cycles to the sauna and leaving them there to soak.

It turned out that Green, who’s struggled with his weight since his days at Michigan State, had developed a theory: By riding the bikes in the sauna, he could more efficiently shed pounds. In the short term, biking in a sauna will do that, but much of what is lost is water weight and is soon gained back. Golden State trainers were aware that Green’s regimen was, at best, scientifically dubious. Also, the bikes were getting ruined. Says a former Golden State trainer: “He would come in and say, ‘The screen’s not working on the bike.’ And I’d be like, ‘Yeah, I wonder why.'”

[MtlJeff]

I just wish someone on the team would tell him he doesn't have to respond to every interview question. He's such a nice story, second round pick with no real NBA position becomes all around glue-guy force for a great team

 

Yeah i agree on Sherman, i mean that Erin Andrews interview got out of hand LOL, but otherwise the guy dominated his position and mixed in some very thoughtful stuff with his bravado

 

They are just baiting him right now and he's taking it each time.

[scratchswinger]

If he's not reaching for another dudes junk than he's trying to get a Sportscenter headline.

[MtlJeff]

Literally 2 of the top 6 headlines on ESPN's NBA page start with "Green rips...." and "Green warns"

 

2 of 6!!!!

[avrag]

LOL

 

Yeah i watch probably 70 of the Raptors 82 games every year i would say. Our version of ESPN, which is called TSN, shows every game basically.

 

Poetl looks solid, early in the college season last year there was some buzz that he might even be a top 1-2 pick. He had a rep for being a very polished big man. He got playing time early with the Raptors because backup center Bebe Noguiera was injured. He's a bit skinny, so he's gotten pushed around, and he doesn't offer much in the way of real rim protection yet. But he's got soft hands and finishes well around the basket, and he tries really hard. He doesn't look like he doesn't "get" the game, just a bit overmatched at this point. But he catches the ball well and can finish with both hands.

 

Even when Noguiera has been healthy, they've tried to get him some minutes, which means they like him i think. He needs to bulk up. I mean compared to Jonas Valenciunas, he looks tiny. Compared to a Karl Anthony Towns, he looks way less physical and athletic.....he needs to get bigger or he won't get much done in the post

 

Thank you

[F171615]

So has Draymond Green seized the conch as the most annoying guy in the league yet? I'm trying to be as objective as possible here, i know we have Warriors fans here. Generally i feel like Curry, Thompson and even Durant kinda just go about their business...and even if they are a bit cocky, it's OK to be cocky...it's not like other guys aren't. Like Durant has said all the right things since going there...

 

But geeezz Draymond give it a rest. He's either talking about how everyone wants to "punk" the Warriors (note to Draymond, when you are one of the smallest teams in the league, teams will play physical vs you) or now that he takes it as a personal insult when the Bucks went at him with the game on the line (Note to Draymond, probably because you were covering their best player)....and yesterday he was critical of Celtics fans for boo'ing Durant. No one else seemed to care

 

It's like he's really trying hard to be the NBA version of Richard Sherman but it's not really working

 

MtlJeff, I totally disagree. I love it when players are not scared to say what they think and feel. Durant has been so blah and boring. All those years in OKC when he did not like Westbrook, Durant actually had you fooled into believing Durant and Westbrook were buddies. I hate when people try and intimidate and scare people into not being able to speak their mind. And in terms of entertainment value, the game will be far more interesting if people were not punished by the judgmental public when they speak their mind.

[MtlJeff]

People have every right to speak their mind I guess I should clarify that. I just think he doesn't come off well when he does.

 

There are many guys who talk a lot that I find very interesting. Speaking out and having an opinion I think is great, of course if you do you have to accept that you're accountable for what you say. I just think he sounds a bit foolish with the things he says

[F171615]

People have every right to speak their mind I guess I should clarify that. I just think he doesn't come off well when he does.

 

There are many guys who talk a lot that I find very interesting. Speaking out and having an opinion I think is great, of course if you do you have to accept that you're accountable for what you say. I just think he sounds a bit foolish with the things he says

 

Just to clarify, when you compared Durant and Draymond:

"Durant has said all the right things"

"But geeezz Draymond give it a rest"

I analyzed you saying you like how Durant talks to the public and not how Draymond does.

Durant - he's afraid of a judgmental public, and can't say what he feels.

Draymond - he has an opinion that he wants to be honest about.

 

"I just wish someone on the team would tell him he doesn't have to respond to every interview question"

And this comment about Draymond made me feel like you didn't think he should be allowed to speak his mind all the time.

[MtlJeff]

I shouldn't have involved Durant, I'm not overly opinionated on his interview style so I won't dispute anything

 

I just meant with green that there are obvious bait questions that people ask you and it's ok to avoid them.

[F171615]

I shouldn't have involved Durant, I'm not overly opinionated on his interview style so I won't dispute anything

 

I just meant with green that there are obvious bait questions that people ask you and it's ok to avoid them.

 

I can't believe how many dumb things Draymond has gotten himself into, and I dislike many of them. But I love his outspokenness, and wish other players weren't afraid to speak their mind like he does. Obviously they're scared to speak their mind b/c they see when someone like Draymond does speak his mind, they receive a lot of hate for doing it.

As for Draymond taking the bait when asked certain questions, it seems like he feels compelled to be the guy on the Warriors to be the motivator. He certainly seems to have a higher motor than his teammates, and most of the Warriors I would consider to be more of the soft/finesse type players who get lackadaisical at times. It seems like Draymond without much care acts in a fashion to motivate his teammates. Whenever I've seen the Warriors play this year, they hardly seem to make an effort. And when Draymond is on the floor barking at his teammates is when I seem to see the energy and focus level of the team at it's highest.

[Judge440]

Jrue Holiday looking good in return so far.

[MtlJeff]

Jrue Holiday looking good in return so far.

 

He has....i was cautiously optimistic about the Pelicans but they've been awful. Hield hasn't been great, i thought Soloman Grundy would be a more significant addition as a 2-way player. They really don't have much and Davis is so good they won't draft high

 

I know it's early but i worry about this team....i hope they don't squander such a generational talent

 

They have kind of been the cautionary tale about trying to be too good too fast around a young star

[MtlJeff]

Zach Lowe said on a podcast the other day that Blake Griffin is the most important player in the NBA this year and i agree. The Clippers look fantastic, they have been playing together for a while now and have grown as a defense. Their 4 best players are all in their prime, they have two of the best passers in the league at their position, one of the best lob finishers and one of the best shooters. I like their bench with Speights....and truthfully Mbah a Moute looks like a better Andre Roberson in that he defends and actually hits corner 3's

 

The key for the Clippers will be Griffin. He is the only player remotely capable of murdering smaller players in the post, and having a prayer of hanging with smaller guys on the perimeter. This will be key against small ball lineups because the Clippers could play big and hopefully not give up too much on defense, while exploiting smaller lineups of both the Cavs and Warriors

 

The clippers look amazing. Wouldn't shock me to see them win 65 games. Playoffs will be where their bread is buttered

[baseballfrk8998]

https://streamable.com/2n8d

 

This is the most Nick Young thing I've ever seen. Intercept a teammates pass, travel and then knock down the clutch 3!