2022/3 season thread

LuckyLloyd

How many times do you fall short before continuing to try with the same group is “insanity”, as it were? The Celtics had to change it up imo.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121195334#Comment_121195334

Not when you've been very close.

The Nuggets didn't get rid of any of Jokic, Murray, Gordon or Porter and they won a championship.

The Warriors didn't get rid of any of Curry, Wiggins, Thompson, Green or Poole and they won a championship.

You are the insane one thinking you have to change it up to win championships.

The Celtics had a great team and I believe they would have won a championship with them.

I'd have rather we lost Jaylen Brown to the three big names we did lose. And I'm not saying I wanted him gone either but the combination of Smart, Brogdon and Williams would be far more valuable than him alone in my opinion.

We are weakened now with Porzingis and Holiday.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121194182#Comment_121194182

Theres no other teams looking at him as no one wants him since hes repeatedly shown how huge a nuisance he can be if he doesn't want to be somewhere.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196819#Comment_121196819

It's now become a stand off, in large part because Morey held behind rules nobody follows on communicating their intended offer to the player, hoping to squeeze his leverage so they would get the best deal. This will continue to be a standoff unless Philly accepts that they need to take something for him this year, and look to move on.

Harden is a dick, but Philly have clearly misplayed their hand.

eagle eye

I think Harden wants to go back to Houston. He was at the MLS Open cup final obviously supporting Houston with some Rockets players.

Jack Daw

I see Joel Embiid is going to play for the USA in the next Olympics.

Really weak from him in my opinion, a player like that should be doing all he can to elevate the sport in his home nation not jumping on a bandwagon for an easy gold medal.If the American's had any pride they just would refuse to pick him.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121199531#Comment_121199531

He has lived in the US since he was 16, which will be nearly half his life when the Olympics rolls around. Who are you to say he doesn't feel American? He's an American Citizen who lives and works in America and his kids are born and being raised in America. Kind of a mad opinion dude, a bit regressive imo.

Jack Daw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121200746#Comment_121200746

No it isn't regressive , it's reality.He could live in America for the next 50 years and it still wouldn't make him America irrespective of having citizenship or not.He was born and raised in Cameroon.Samuel Etoo moved to Spain when he was 16 lived in Spain for the next 15 years or so and yet represented Cameroon in International football, maybe if he'd taken the easy option like Embiid is he'd have a world cup winners medal now.Martina Navratiliova has lived in America for almost all her adult life and yet she's not american in reality and never will be she's Czech.

He's taking the easy option and I'd also argue this type of scenario is against the spirit of rules like this in International sport, weaker nations are supposed to benefit from non natives propping them up (like the Irish soccer team in the past) not stronger nations taking talent from weaker one's which is what this situation is.

LuckyLloyd

“He could live in America for the next 50 years and it still wouldn’t make him American irrespective of him having citizenship or not”

well…that’s quite a baffling statement, squarely at odds with the lived experience of millions of people. Just because you are born somewhere does not mean that you must identify as being of that place for the remainder of your life. But we can put that to one side.

Basketball is an American sport, and the only way an American team will be beaten at an Olympic Games is if they are complacent or dysfunctional or don’t send their best players due to disinterest. Embiid playing for Cameroon isn’t going to get Cameroon deep into the tournament or stop the US from winning the gold medal.

Given the US were beaten in the semi finals of the World Cup this year, there should be no complacency coming into next year. The best players will make themselves available (if LeBron plays he will have direct experience of the dysfunction of 2004) and form a contemporary dream team that will win the Gold Medal. If you don’t like that, whatever. But not liking the reality of how it is doesn’t justify personalising it down to the choices of an individual player. It doesn’t move the needle, in the end.

Jack Daw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121201566#Comment_121201566

Yes, I know Cameroon have no chance of winning anything but International sport has no meaning if you can pick and choose whatever country you want to play for. Citizenship is just a legal matter, nationality is about more than a legal agreement and he's not American and I think pretty much everyone knows this.

He's taken the easy option, it's really weak from him , so many players across numerous sports decided to stick it out with weaker national teams when they clearly could have taken the easy option and declared for a stronger nation, that is what makes international team sport compelling , the fact that you can't pick and choose who you play for and are stuck with your country.If you don;t have that aspect to it you might as well just not have international sport.

irishguitarlad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121201956#Comment_121201956

Just look at Walter Tavares, has played in Spain for years and could have declared for them if he wanted to and it's also a position where Spain are severely lacking. He didn't and he represented the Cape Verde islands in their first ever Fiba World Cup, he will go down as an absolute legend in his home country. Not sure if we can say the same about Embiid.

Again on Embiid, this is just a long line of mentally weak things from him, from whining and petitioning to be mvp, to throwing his team mates under the bus after losing the series against the Cs and now this.

Carcharodon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121201956#Comment_121201956

I genuinely think you are seeing this through a very one sided view, I don’t really have an opinion on it to be honest, personally even though I’ve lived half my life in Ireland and half in USA, Iam Irish and would never considered myself anything else but each to their own. It’s really easy to be a keyboard warrior and judge people but you don’t know their situation and reasons

Just out of curiosity, do you support the Irish rugby team ? What are your thoughts on some of their players that were not born here ?

eagle eye

Karl Anthony Towns plays for the Dominican Republic along with Tremont Waters.

Kyle Anderson plays for China.

Jordan Clarkson plays for the Philippines.

I could go on.

In Rugby we have Aki, Gibson-Park and Lowe. There's been many from abroad who have represented Ireland.

Scotland have Tipperary man Ben Healy.

Ireland have English born Ben Healy in cycling.

Josh Cullen and Callum Robinson both play for Ireland in soccer and are English born and raised. I could list over 100 English born players who played with Ireland such as John Aldridge, Andy Townsend and Ray Houghton.

This type of thing happens all over the world all the time.

Everyone is entitled to decide for themselves who they'd like to represent. It's entirely possible that Joel has bad memories of Cameroon. There's a lot of horrific things that go on there including the treatment of members of the LGBT community, it's illegal to not be heterosexual, and smaller ethnic groups.

Jack Daw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208184#Comment_121208184

I think the make up of the Rugby team is embarrassing and I don't consider the guys like Aki, and Jamison Gibson-Park to be Irish , they came to Ireland to advance their careers that is all. CJ Stander fecked off with himself back to South Africa as soon as his Rugby career was over, which is fine but I remember him and his girlfriend getting all huffy when people pointed out he wasn't really Irish and of course he proved himself to just be a mercenary (which is fine if he wants to do that but it makes a mockery of International sport) .

I'd argue considering his profile and ability Embiid had a huge opportunity to promote the sport in his homeland and really help elevate basketball in Cameroon.

So many others have been in similar situations to Embiid but have done the right thing. Embiid is only declaring for USA in order to get an easy gold medal , that is all.It's a really weak move by him.

Carcharodon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121209181#Comment_121209181

Fair enough, each to their own and if that’s what you believe then more power to you.

I can see your point but personally wouldn’t be as hard core, things are nuanced and don’t have to be so black and white for me

LuckyLloyd

The likely mistake in these discussions is tarring everyone with the same brush. Stander was a mercenary, is Aki? Maybe so, maybe not. Their feelings of ‘Irishness’ probably exist on a spectrum, as it may go for the different basketball players cited above. No doubt in some of those cases the lads are togging out for countries so they can experience International Basketball, in others they feel a deep rooted connection and sense of nationhood.

Rigidity in these conversations only serves to divide us all, in the end.

If you step back from the nationality / politics side of it; Embiid being available for the US is somewhat exciting from a basketball / spectacle standpoint. How good could a US five be with Embiid on the floor? It opens up the possibility of approaching the best basketball team ever assembled, and I’ll be hugely interested to see it!

irishguitarlad

Looking forward to seeing how Vezenkhov does with the Kings, I think he'll have a bigger impact than Micic.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121209181#Comment_121209181

I notice you never gave an opinion on all the American players playing with different countries?

pjohnson

Dillon Brooks debut for the Rockets.

Dillon Brooks ejected for hitting Theis in his bollox after 5 minutes.

Osmosis Jones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121223618#Comment_121223618

And then comes out with this after

https://twitter.com/JTGatlin/status/1711950119266816060?s=20

More interested in his reputation than anything else.

Osmosis Jones

Also with pre-season in full swing I'd say it's about time for a 23/24 thread

eagle eye

Done

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058317738/nba-23-24-season#latest