NBA 23/24:season

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788161#Comment_121788161

I dunno, the tournament was cool imo and seemed to be generally well received.

This thread regularly bristles at "load management" so it was a practical way to incentivise availability and effort early in the year.

And I think players should have a week off in the middle of the year. I'm just suggesting the All Star weekend format should have a reboot.

Jack Daw

All star game and weekend is a load of nonsense, what is even worse is the tedious discussion about what they should do to fix it and get the players to care.Why the hell would or should the players care about a completely meaningless game it's bizarre people think they should try more in it.

I would suggest the following as an alternative to the all star game.

NBA should hold a big basketball weekend at this time of the year using a football dome stadium like they do for the Final 4.

5 games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday each (Monday is Presidents day a Federal holiday in USA).

Every team plays over the weekend and they are proper regular season games.

They can name all star teams and the players can wear a badge on their chest to denote they are all stars.

Have fans events in the couple of days before the game played.

So you'd get all the promotional element of the all star game with some proper worthwhile basketball to watch with all the games being televised on Free to Air TV.Make it like the SuperBowl week but for basketball.

LuckyLloyd

Yeah fully agreed, the worst thing that could happen as a player would be getting injured and missing the rest of the season. There’s no reward that could be added to make the risk worthwhile.

Osmosis Jones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787915#Comment_121787915

Feels like the product of a bygone era. Seeing all the best players come together for an exhibition game and some competitions was more novel 30 years ago when players were far less accessible. Now everyone has access to as much basketball as they could possibly watch and things like official player podcasts, youtube channels, etc.

I'm not old enough to have watched back then but from what I understand players saw All Star Weekend as a chance to become a household name, it was a marketing opportunity so they had to put on a good show, now PR is everywhere and they don't need it.

I really don't think there can be a "fix" because the players simply have no reason to care.

LuckyLloyd

Yeah it was a different world ~40 years ago. You could be an NBA fan on the East coast and go a full season without seeing any games from a small market team from out West. And then Internationally, the All Star game could be one of a handful of updates in regular European sports media, unless people were going to look for NBA coverage. I get why the All Star game mattered in that context; also why the Dream Team in 1992 was so culturally significant.

But yeah it's not the world we live in today and I think a significant revamp of how to present the stars during All Star week is warranted. Although Jack Daw is right - it's a repetitive conversation and we'll probably be rehashing it again next year.

Corvo

Truth be told, the NBA is just the play-offs now. You could ignore the majority of it until then and it revolves more around trades and drama during the regular season and truly turns into the sport we love come the best of 7 games.

Osmosis Jones

Also a massive problem during All Star Weekend was the production just shítting all over the event, and specifically the location. The NBA really seems to want everything to take place in one of about five major cities.

pjohnson

The best way to rejuvinate the All Star Game would be to acknowledge defending as a skill. The fact that only scoring/assisting is seen as being the most important factors is it any wonder its just a glorified shooting drill?

They should choose 12 "offensive" and 12 "defensive" and let two captains draft from that pool of 24. Obviously some players are legit two way threats like Davis and Kawhi but having the likes of say Caruso, Smart, Gobert, JJJ, Wembanyama, Holiday, Brooks on the court would naturally give balance instead of all out attack.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121791933#Comment_121791933

I think you're right, you could literally start following from April 1st and not miss a huge amount. I honestly am impressed sometimes at how much content creators can make of the regular season. The players and teams seem to pace themselves and place each game into a much more appropriate context than fans do, at times.

Was the importance of the regular season in the past not overstated though? We seem to have made myths around all these 'non soft' 82 game warriors who competed from October to June but it seems to me like there was always a significant ramp up of intensity for the playoffs proper.

The best thing the NBA could do would be to shorten the regular season by 20 games. They'll never do this because of revenue considerations, but the reason the playoffs are so wonderful is because 7 games is do or die. The Play In games have been really good in terms of intensity also (even if the quality tends not to be there).

Looking at the standings for each conference, it is very likely that the 10 play in / playoff teams are already decided. Could well have a full 10 teams who are not actively trying to win as an organisation very early in March.

Corvo

Watched Lakers/Suns last night. Jesus the Lakers needs Vando or Vincent back asap, the point of attack defense is as bad as I've ever seen it.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121819517#Comment_121819517

The line-up they are going with presently to facilitate the offense (Russell and Reaves and Rui with AD / LBJ) creates big trade offs defensively. It's been worth it recently largely through Russell balling out and shooting really well. But if he regresses offensively back to a mean then this 5 will become intolerable.

As for Sunday's game, point of defense was poor but AD had one of his "off" nights and Nurkic really got on top of him. Then down the stretch when the lead was floating within 10 points Lakers could not make a shot after a stop, it seemed.

Doesn't sound like Vincent will play this year, and the prognosis on Vandy has changed a couple of times. The latter is essential to them doing anything imo, they really don't have anyone to his level on the roster. Dinwiddie is a decent defender and his minutes won't be terrible but Vandy allows lots of flexibility and his absence is significant.

Osmosis Jones

Hard to believe there's still 20+ games to go until the playoffs

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121844884#Comment_121844884

And I still can't get on board the Celtics train. I want them to win it all but my heart isn't in it like it's always been.

There's a big hole on the roster for me since they traded Marcus Smart and I can't get over it.

BQQ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121846189#Comment_121846189

I think they’re better this year

Holiday is an upgrade an porzingis gives them something different if Tatum’s shot is not falling

Just put a real beat-down on golden state

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121847517#Comment_121847517

Golden State were on their third night of a back to back to back on the road, fyi.

Boston have been excellent in the regular season, and Porzingis gives them additional dimensions over what they had in previous years. I feel making the move in the summer was the right instinct, rather than chiselling away with a group that had fallen short in multiple different ways across a stretch of years.

However, playoff ball is different as we all know. The coach and the team will be properly tested from late April on. I’m excited to see it.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121847517#Comment_121847517

I should have made it clearer. I'm not talking about performance at all

Smart was a player whose heart and soul was in the team and the town. He was drafted and we watched him grow into a great player, defensive player of the year in '22, a passionate player, a true leader on the court. He worked tirelessly with kids in hospital with cancer. He often stated how much he loved Boston.

You could see how much the fans, like me, love and miss him when he returned. He got the love and respect thats reserved for Celtic legends like Larry Bird, John McHale and Paul Pierce.

We lost a great man on and off the court, a guy who upped his game in the playoffs every year. We'll see how it works out at the end of the season but anything other than a championship win and the fans will want heads to roll over this.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121847853#Comment_121847853

Are you sure about that? I don't know myself, not hooked into Boston culture but Simmons singing the praises of the team and their "cutthroat attitude" and excited about what's possible given their record and points differential. Winning is grinning, in the end. The trade has worked out really well thus far. Smart was falling off in terms of his defense imo and his offense was becoming a serious issue. Only managing 20 games for the Grizzlies helps here too. The Celtics are inarguably much better off.

As for the emotional stuff, remember trading Isaiah Thomas away? Players are often expendable, particularly if lots of value is coming back the other way.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121848171#Comment_121848171

Smart always upped his game in the playoffs, he certainly wasn't responsible for the Celtics not winning a championship. He had 92 points and 35 assists against the Heat in the finals. He had 11 steals too.

Corvo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121847655#Comment_121847655

That, and Draymond just sagging off Jaylen Brown...

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121849118#Comment_121849118

Yeah GS were wrecked and Boston shot the lights out. I really don't see it as particularly significant given the context tbh. But it is getting some play in media as a landmark game. Seems pretty silly to me, a team on a third night of a road back to back to back...and I'm not exactly the biggest fan of the Warriors over the years!!

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121849023#Comment_121849023

I think Miami ran incredibly well in last year's playoffs up until they hit a brick wall vs Denver. I summarised it a few pages back when discussing a different topic:

"Miami had their best shooting stretch of the season last year in the playoffs against the Bucks and Celtics (34.4% in reg season; 45% against Milwaukee and 43.4% against Boston; even with Herro out - their best reg season shooter), and we were denied an epic finals. Boston conversely went cold against the Heat shooting 30.3% as a normal 37.7% team."

And I think you could take that if you want and conclude that all Boston needed to do was run it back, and hope for better variance next year.

However that trio had been given four years of a run, more or less. Freshening it up when the opportunities presented themselves made a ton of sense to me at the time, and fits with how the organisation has successfully built a competitive platform stretching back nearly a decade. They have done the big deals and let guys go when it is time to do so, and generally got those deals right.

The team is better this year than last year, as far as the regular season is concerned. Certainly more dynamic offensively and still elite on defense. I have a hard time believing that Boston will be furious if a playoff series is lost because an injured Marcus Smart is out of town. But we'll see!!

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121849400#Comment_121849400

In the playoffs as I said Smart upped his game every year but you don't mention that in your post because it doesn't suit your long winded narrative. If you look at the last two seasons two players regressed in the playoffs, they were Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.

So what do the Celtics do? Trade away the clutch playoff guy and give the biggest contract ever to one of the players whose proven to not play as well when it matters. They keep the other guy.

It's White that should have been traded and Brown shouldn't have got a contract that big.

irishguitarlad

Just watched Phoenix and Denver, Eubanks gave some fantastic minutes for the Suns. Kd went into another level in ot. That run in the second quarter for Phoenix was crucial for them. I feel like the suns badly need a pg and it would sort out their 4th quarter woes, they just need someone who isn't a black hole on defense. However, according to Haynes, they're looking at all positions to fill that last roster spot. Great win for Phoenix though in high altitude Denver and without Booker and Okogi. Also, Allen was 8-8 at one stage.

Corvo

Just the 295 points in the Lakers/Pacers game last night, some All Star game level defending going on!

johnnyk29

Warriors will be lucky to make the play in, they won last night but they are so inconsistent and the rockets are on their tail. I don't know how they can't see that their huge weakness is a good centre, the opportunity to get Siakam was a big miss for them.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121945190#Comment_121945190

They have to play each other, think it will be really close

Corvo

And Suns look like they are going to have a tough time of it too, a very unforgiving schedule coming up

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121945338#Comment_121945338

Lakers really need to follow up last night with a win, otherwise it was pointless. If they can get the second part of the back to back then they've picked up a game they weren't expected to. They have the tiebreaker on Phoenix so it is possible to catch them.

But must find a way tonight.

Osmosis Jones

Playoffs (well, Play-In) starting this day next week! Finally 😁

Corvo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121995654#Comment_121995654

Yeah these last few weeks have been a slog! Looking forward to the play-offs and picking my "League Pass Team"