2017 NBA Season (incl Draft / Free Agency)

MtlJeff · December 29, 2017

2003 was a great draft class for sure, but it's crazy to think that was 14 years ago. So even if we say that one was better (or ends up better over history) we could still say this class might be the best one in the last decade or so

Of course it's very early. It's just to say this looks like an awesome class

MtlJeff · December 29, 2017

I forgot to even mention OG Anunoby

The Ringer reported today that he has the second best net rating in the entire league behind Steph Curry, at +15.9, factoring only players with 400+ minutes

mountaintop · December 29, 2017

bell and tatum are going to get a stepwise educational leap vs their wicked talented peers by virtue of likely getting to go deep into the playoffs.

hope my bball wrx friends had a great holiday!

kuzma is the truth btw.

mountaintop · January 2, 2018

mvp talk.

so while beard (yeah yeah, injury), lbj, giannis are all having gaudy production. i was digging around nba.com tonight and...

steph, kd, and kyrie are all right at 50/40/90 and russ is right at a tripdub avg. absolutely amazing.

good time to be a ball fan.

MtlJeff · January 2, 2018

Westbrook's last 5 games are 30-10-10 on 50% shooting.

The NBA is awesome. There's something interesting to watch in almost every game. I think Harden's name is already 50% on the trophy. A couple of weeks is no big deal, as long as he doesn't miss too much time it's his. Lebron has a shot too but Harden finishing a close 2nd twice i think will make some voters want to see him win

I'd love to see Derozan finish top 5. Right now he's 25-5-5 on 49% shooting for the 3rd best team in the league differential wise

F171615 · January 5, 2018

Do you think Chris Paul enjoys playing basketball?

MtlJeff · January 5, 2018

He has to do something in between yelling at people

F171615 · January 5, 2018

He has to do something in between yelling at people

Chris Paul puts up with playing basketball so he can enjoy yelling at people.

scratchswinger · January 7, 2018

Does anyone think Luke Walton will be a head coach by the end of the season?

MtlJeff · January 7, 2018

Does anyone think Luke Walton will be a head coach by the end of the season?

What are your thoughts on everything there? Do the players hate Walton?

Personally from afar i think people are over-reacting to the record. They are not a good team nor should they be expected to be right now, and that is perfectly fine. Kuzma looks like a great find, and Brandon Ingram is inching closer and closer to being very good (16-6 on 45% shooting as a 20yr old)

Lonzo has potential but like many rookies over the years is not actually good right now in terms of helping a team win games

I mean, shouldn't they be 11-27?

MtlJeff · January 7, 2018

In regards to rookies, that's why while everyone is on the Donovan Mitchell bandwagon right now (which is fair), i still can't get over how good Jayson Tatum is. Even though his numbers don't fly off the page (14-6), the fact that he is shooting so well, and is top 50 in the NBA in real +/- is pretty crazy.

scratchswinger · January 7, 2018

Does anyone think Luke Walton will be a head coach by the end of the season?

What are your thoughts on everything there? Do the players hate Walton?

Personally from afar i think people are over-reacting to the record. They are not a good team nor should they be expected to be right now, and that is perfectly fine. Kuzma looks like a great find, and Brandon Ingram is inching closer and closer to being very good (16-6 on 45% shooting as a 20yr old)

Lonzo has potential but like many rookies over the years is not actually good right now in terms of helping a team win games

I mean, shouldn't they be 11-27?

The problem is that they aren’t competing, lots of hanging heads. Earlier in the year they were competitive. Maybe Zo can turn it around since this all started when he got hurt. Then we can talk about how great he is ?

What Lavar said is what everyone else is thinking.

MtlJeff · January 7, 2018

Yeah for sure, I mean i literally remember people writing James Harden was a bust about halfway through his 2nd season in OKC. Some guys you can see right away and others take a few years. Victor Oladipo has been one of the best 3-4 shooting guards in the league this year and just turned 25. But two teams have given up on him already

We judge young players like crazy. Before the season Capella for Deandre was discussed like Houston would have to throw in picks etc....Now Houston wouldn't do that trade straight up like 3 months later

gambit · January 8, 2018

In regards to rookies, that's why while everyone is on the Donovan Mitchell bandwagon right now (which is fair), i still can't get over how good Jayson Tatum is. Even though his numbers don't fly off the page (14-6), the fact that he is shooting so well, and is top 50 in the NBA in real +/- is pretty crazy.

Tatum reminds of a young Grant Hill before the ankle injury. Not because he’s from Duke, but because he can handle the ball, drive and finish with authority, hit the mid range and step out to 3. He rebounds pretty well for his size and he can play D. I really like this kid. And he’s unselfish. Boston is gonna be a problem for a few years if they can keep the core together.

MtlJeff · January 8, 2018

I know he isn't a unicorn, or a top 5 player in the league , or whatever. And i know i'm a homer who has said this before but man Demar Derozan deserves respect as a great player. I've watched him for a long time now, since he was a 15ppg midrange bricker who advanced scouts hated. But in the past 4-5 years he's become a genuine superstar. He's not perfect and his defense is only OK, but he's the clear best player on a 50-win team and not many guys can do that. In the past 2 weeks he's had two 35+ games and a 50+ game. He brings it every night for a team that really needs him to, and is winning games

Conversely, it's been a bad year for the Andrew Wiggins bandwagon. I hoped he'd re-focus his game with Butler there, into like a Andre Iguodala type guy.....But he has not, hes just been the same guy with a lesser usage rate. I still think giving him the max was a good move. He is 22 years old and is good, and the Wolves defense has been much improved since Dec 1st....so there is hope. But on a good team he can't be "the guy", he has to figure out how to be the elite "3rd scorer and D type guy".

Joe85 · January 9, 2018

Lavar Ball talking s*** about Walton. The Lakers deserve the drama they asked for. Shouldn't have ever drafted Ball, just to stick it to that megalomaniac psycho drama family and prove they didn't run the show.

But alas...

MtlJeff · January 10, 2018

OKC/Minnesota is always a fun watch for me as i like both teams. It's interesting seeing Josh Huestis switch onto Wiggins. I wonder if Andrew remembers him, as Huestis shut him down in the NCAA tournament while at Stanford in Wiggins final college game. It helped Huestis's draft status as a legit defender.

Wiggins is having an excellent game so far. Good times!

Gotta carry the flag for us until RJ Barrett arrives

F171615 · January 11, 2018

Does anyone think Luke Walton will be a head coach by the end of the season?

I like him as a coach, so I'd like to see him keep his job. Management has really put him in a difficult situation though: giving him a team with last place talent so they will have to endure a lot of losing, and then publicly expressing they have little interest in many of the players on the team. It's tough to coach players when they will undergo a lot of losing, and they have no reason to have any loyalty to a team that has conveyed they don't want those players.

MtlJeff · January 15, 2018

One of the most amazing random lineup stats of the year is that the Wolves starters with Tyus Jones instead of Jeff Teague are a +28 net rating, which is insanely good and 10pts better than any other lineup with over 200 minutes together. They have played 249 minutes together which is not a small sample size.

Wolves now have the 4th best +/- in the NBA

Also pretty amazing is that the Sixers starters (Embiid edition) have a +17 which is very close to the Warriors 4 all-stars and Zaza. Sixers are very tough with Embiid on floor obviously but only 20-20.

Embiid is awesome but his health is always bordering on the edge of a tragic tale like Brandon Roy or Yao or Greg Oden etc...

F171615 · January 16, 2018

I am anxiously anticipating a Clipper-Rocket postseason series.

F171615 · January 17, 2018

What was the deal with the Afflalo/Bjelica fight? And why on earth did Bjelica get ejected?

MtlJeff · January 19, 2018

I didn't see that fight ^^^^ it kinda got buried in Clips/Rockets gate, which absolutely MUST be a playoff series

I'm convinced there's a Charlotte/SA trade that makes the Spurs a real contender. Though this will likely never happen. I'm a huge Cody Zeller fan in that he sets great screens, plays defense and does little things and he's wasted under the Dwight-Bola regime. The Spurs also need a point guard, they are one of the few things that do, and they have some young talent.

Zeller/Walker for Kyle Anderson, Dejounte Murray, Danny Green and Patty Mills plus a first rounder actually works in the trade machine. Probably not enough for the Hornets though people really like those two young Spurs.

I feel like Walker/Leonard/Zeller/Aldridge with either Brandon Paul or Bryn Forbes would be an awesome team

devinh821 · January 20, 2018

I'm a hornets fan being from NC. And kemba will never taken them to the playoffs. I don't like the way he plays much. Charlotte needs to do a major overhaul.

I really like batum but his big contract doesnt make sense. Charlotte has drafted good players but still the pick of MKG haunts the franchise I think.

Joe85 · January 20, 2018

Can't believe the Wolves are 4th in the West this late. Been forever. There isn't a Wolves fan left who isn't pessimistic.

MtlJeff · January 20, 2018

The Wolves are winning me over more now than a month ago, they were 5-6 games over .500 at one point but like 24-25th in defense. Since December 1st they are borderline top 10 last time i saw the stats over that span.

Who knows with OKC too, that could very well be their matchup. Thunder looked amazing today but some nights they are awful. Wolves can win a playoff series i think

MtlJeff · January 25, 2018

Lebron's all-star team for some reason seems waaaaaayyyy better

sefus12 · January 26, 2018

Lebron's all-star team for some reason seems waaaaaayyyy better

It's because of Boogie. :drinks:

MtlJeff · January 26, 2018

I already liked Westbrook, but his bitterness at everything is one of my favorite things in sports. Apparently he went hard at Wall yesterday because he (mistakenly) thought Wall was picked ahead of him in the all-star draft.

LoL. Too many Westbrooks would be bad for basketball. But one Westbrook is great. I can't wait to see a playoff matchup with the Warriors where he shoots 75 times in one of the games

blaird · January 26, 2018

Ive just started watching more NBA over the last couple years...what is the deal with Boston? They have stud lineup and thats without Hayward. Any chance he makes it back this year? Seems to progress well before the break with his rehab. And what does their draft pick look like this year? Chance they have a top 4?

Im still a Warrior fan, just love watching Steph play. I do try to follow teams where Duke players have gone and am starting to watch a bit more Philly basketball. THe draft should be interesting this year with where all the Duke players go, I wonder where Allen ends up.

A Rocket/Clip series in the playoffs would be great!!