NBA 23/24:season

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122095895#Comment_122095895

I’d strongly disagree there. Spent most of the year playing the wrong lineup; and his in game adjustments and decisions during the playoffs left a lot to be desired. Athletic article last week basically said everyone respected him, nice guy, but does little or no actual coaching.

LuckyLloyd

Great game one in Denver - doesn’t look like Nugs will be able to get away with the sloppiness and long stretches of minutes behind that didn’t matter against the Lakers. Minny are just way bigger, longer and deeper defensively and their coaching staff seems to understand what is required a lot more.

There are a lot of things to talk about, but Minny daring Jokic to shoot 3s effectively was very interesting to watch. Edwards was also phenomenal.

Minny are how favs for the series.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122097185#Comment_122097185

I'm a subscriber of the Athletic currently until my subscription runs out next year. The analysis etc. is very amateurish so I wouldn't be using that to back up my opinion.

Our opinion on this matter differs and that's fine. There is no right or wrong on the subject.

eagle eye

Should be a cracking game between the Pacers and Knicks.

I think the Pacers are for real and fancy them to take a win out of New York.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122099791#Comment_122099791

Try me, I watched nearly all of the Laker’s games this year. Ham is woeful, and he won’t do anything anywhere else [like all LeBron’s coaches who have won precisely zero titles without him (I think Spo is decent, as the exception that proves the rule)].

I can say Ham’s lineups made no sense, his timeout management was poor and the players are leaking to the media he did zero coaching. What’s the counter argument here for him to he retained?

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122102138#Comment_122102138

He didn't have a good roster and got them to the playoffs.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122102161#Comment_122102161

He had a 47 win team with a 47.5 game o/u that finished the season 19 - 6 when he leaned into the starting rotation that had been paid for.

In two successive series against Denver he was constantly found wanting on coaching adjustments and clock management. But the team were leading for 80% of the minutes in the series. It’s entirely reasonable to lay blame with the coach in this context.

Having watched Ham for two years I am very confident he will never coach a title winning team. So what is there to talk about? It’s the Lakers, expectations are high.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122102724#Comment_122102724

So you seen him with a less than stellar roster, he got beat by the defending NBA champions and that's enough for you to decide he's no good.

That all sounds pretty reasonable.....not.

BQQ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122102843#Comment_122102843

Lebron and AD are not stars?

Scraping into the playoffs seems a poor return for two guys that won a ring a few years ago

Have to agree that some of Ham’s lineups had me scratching my head at times

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122103374#Comment_122103374

It takes more than two guys to make a championship contender. The lack of depth was a problem.

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122102843#Comment_122102843

Like you're largely out on your own here really, there are no Lakers beat writers mourning Darvin Ham. You can't have watched those two series versus the Nuggets and think Harvin coached well

LuckyLloyd

Anyway, RIP to the Clippers era of pseudo-relevancy. Kawhi, George and Harden will have been paid over $300m the last three years for 0 playoff wins. Kawhi has only played in 4 of their last 20 playoff games. Balmer can afford it obviously, but just a terrible, terrible return.

The 25 - 5 run gave false hope for what the team could accomplish because we seemed to forget Kahwi had become a completely unreliable star. No way for them to get better, nothing to do other than run it back with a combo of aging stars who have questions around their motivation at this point.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122103437#Comment_122103437

Have you watched other teams play the Nuggets in the playoffs last year. Nobody could do anything to improve things.

You'll always have a minimum of two of Jokic, Gordon, Murray, Porter and Caldwell-Pope on the floor. Caldwell-Pope should have been held onto by the Lakers. Then you've got Braun and Jackson, there's no let up.

The Lakers couldn't match up against that. Their top two were no match for Jokic and Murray and their other three starters were no match for the Nuggets three.

Then you go to the bench and the Lakers have a weak bench.

Ham was always going to get the blame and it's no surprise he was fired but the first man to go, if he's not gone already, should be the GM.

LuckyLloyd

You say they were no match and yet they established leads in every game, led for the vast majority of minutes, etc.

Ham made poor decisions, struggled with adjustments and the word is out from multiple players that he doesn’t “coach”.

Pelinka should probably be fired also, I have no quarrel there.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122103984#Comment_122103984

If the coach was so bad how did they manage to hang with the NBA champions for so long?

LuckyLloyd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122104450#Comment_122104450

Because it’s LeBron and AD

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122105209#Comment_122105209

Thats two players up against better ones in Jokic and Murray.

eagle eye

Knicks take game one but it all came down to a di Vincenzo flop. There was a bump on him but it's never called but he dived and got the call. Pacers stupidly challenged it leaving them with no time outs.

Its horrible to see games ruined by flops.

Anyway a fourth consecutive 40+ points game for Brunson, I think he's gonna be MVP.

eagle eye

Wolves on fire in the first half, up by 26. Naz Reid doing a sterling job on Jokic.

eagle eye

Charles Barkley calling the Timberwolves defense the best he's ever seen and none of the other analysts disagreeing.

eagle eye

Timberwolves look pretty awesome.

LuckyLloyd

Enjoying Murray and his lucky nonsense getting completely shut down.

Looking like 4 or 5, which is a massively surprising outcome. Simmons was waxing lyrical on his pod a week ago or so about how Denver were like the 2017 Warriors, undefeatable, just have an aura, etc. Pure nonsense as usual. Minny are just too long, athletic and well coached. And suddenly that’s that. No Denver dynasty, just a great individual season.

Corvo

Watched Naz Reid eat Jokic alive at times. Fair play to Minnesota.

If somehow they went on to win it all (and I'm not writing off any side with Jokic in it yet) then god help us all who listen to Bill Simmons, he's already having Edwards down as the next Michael Jordan and pushes it weekly!

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122105890#Comment_122105890

Gobert/Towns were awful last year but really clicked together this year. Reid and Edwards both also had massive leaps forward this year.

eagle eye

Knicks down by ten at halftime. Brunson got hurt in the first quarter, tried to play on but came out and it doesn't look like he'll be back tonight.

eagle eye

So Brunson came back in the third quarter and we see a 17 point turnaround. He's clearly essential to success for the Knicks.

Unfortunately for him the missed time means his run of 40+ points games is at an end, he only has 15 through three quarters.

eagle eye

Knicks won it by nine. 29 for Brunson after missing nearly a quarter and a half.

Osmosis Jones

Jokic wins his third MVP, I'm sure it doesn't feel great while down 2-0 though.

Shaq is a clown for this

https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1788355282286108679

Corvo

I'm fully on the Knicks train. It's a real buzz.

2smiggy

thoughts on timberwolves vs the celtics if it happens. As a celtics fan I would worry a bit to be honest !! they are a very good team