NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2017-18

ButtersSuki · 17-10-2017 10:59am #1

Time to start this?

I'll try and do my predictions today, but pretty swamped work wise so it may be later this week before I can do so.

mixery · 17-10-2017 5:57pm

Using the template from last year:

NBA CHAMPIONS - Warriors
EASTERN CHAMPIONS - Celtics
WESTERN CHAMPIONS - Warriors
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Kawhi Leonard
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Milos Teodosic
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Kawhi Leonard
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Kelly Olynyk
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR - Lou Williams
COACH OF THE YEAR - Brad Stevens
LEAGUE LEADER IN SCORING - James Harden
FIRST COACH FIRED - NO COACH WILL GET FIRED THIS YEAR!
WORST OVERALL RECORD - Chicago Bulls
PLAYER TO SCORE THE MOST POINTS IN A GAME - Devin Booker !!

I'm hoping for an interesting season and someone to break the Cavs-Warriors hegemony. I'd like for the Celtics to gel quickly, and Wizards to take another step forward (no more slow starts). Denver has huge potential so I hope we see it on the floor and in results. Spurs will be great as per usual and hopefully challenge the Warriors a little bit.

ButtersSuki · 17-10-2017 10:37pm

NBA CHAMPIONS - Warriors
EASTERN CHAMPIONS - Cavs
WESTERN CHAMPIONS - Warriors
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - LeBron (assuming he plays enough minutes/games). If not, Steph Curry
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ben Simmons
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rudy Gobert
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Jusef Nurkic (assuming he plays the full season like he ended last)
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR - No idea, nor do I care!
COACH OF THE YEAR - Pop - it should always be Pop. If not, Brad Stevens (Celtics bias!)
LEAGUE LEADER IN SCORING - Kyrie Irving. This is bot a Boston pick - it's based on everyone else (Harden/Westbrook etc.) having to share the ball this year v last, and Kyrie essentially being set free. Will it be pretty? No!
FIRST COACH FIRED - Doc Rivers
WORST OVERALL RECORD - Chicago Bulls
PLAYER TO SCORE THE MOST POINTS IN A GAME - Steph Curry (if allowed to, i.e. if Kerr doesn't bench him middle of the 3rd/4th quarter a la Kaly in his 60 game last year). From what I saw in pre-season Curry looks in phenomenal shape and form.

17-10-2017 11:53pm

Reminder that the pre sale for London goes live tomorrow.

Queue starts at 8.30.

Hoping to get the cheapest for this so time is of the essence.

Haven't been over since 2013 so going this goes better, definitely a more interesting line-up.

mixery · 18-10-2017 1:18am

nooooooo poor Gordon Hayward, he's done for the season by the look of things.

Hazys · 18-10-2017 1:19am

Shocking, sickening to watch

Hazys · 18-10-2017 1:20am

All you can hope is that its a clean break

2smiggy · 18-10-2017 1:20am

Terrible for him, and for the Celtics season

kmart6 · 18-10-2017 1:31am

That was terrible. Celtics season up in the air now.

2smiggy · 18-10-2017 1:58am

Fractured ankle, which I believe is worse recovery wise than a clean break.

chips1234 · 18-10-2017 2:13am

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2739275-nikola-mirotic-reportedly-hospitalized-after-fight-with-bobby-portis-at-practice

wtf

K.O.Kiki · 18-10-2017 3:12am

First quarter, first game.

Goddamn.

2smiggy · 18-10-2017 3:15am

Was about to head to bed earlier with the Celtics well down, but they have made a match of it, mainly due to clevelands poor shooting in the 3rd. But brown has been very good, also if Smart could shoot semi consistently he would be a fine player

For Forks Sake · 18-10-2017 8:55am

chips1234 wrote: »

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2739275-nikola-mirotic-reportedly-hospitalized-after-fight-with-bobby-portis-at-practice

wtf

It's going to be a long season

Gregk961 · 18-10-2017 9:01am

Two games that ended up being very close which looked unlikely at half time in both games. Impressed by Brown in the Celtics game more so than anybody else.

Swaggy P goes 6/7 from 3pt range. Id say hes going to put up crazy numbers this year from outside.

For Forks Sake · 18-10-2017 10:14am

NBA CHAMPIONS - Warriors
EASTERN CHAMPIONS - Cavs
WESTERN CHAMPIONS - Warriors
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Kevin Durant
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ben Simmons (assuming no injury), if not then maybe Dennis Smith Jr
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Kawhi Leonard
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Myles Turner
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR - Eric Gordon
COACH OF THE YEAR - Steve Kerr
LEAGUE LEADER IN SCORING - James Harden
FIRST COACH FIRED - Mike Malone (Denver)
WORST OVERALL RECORD - Knicks with Bulls a close second worst

PLAYER TO SCORE THE MOST POINTS IN A GAME - Westbrook

ButtersSuki · 18-10-2017 10:46am

No report in yet that I've read but can't see Hayward back this year, even Play Offs.

Celtics season up in the air now. In a strange way though it could be very good for Kyrie.

ButtersSuki · 18-10-2017 2:50pm

Dislocated ankle AND a fractured tibia.

Paully D · 18-10-2017 5:02pm

Portis has fractured Mirotic's face after punching him in practice. This tanking season is going to be good. :rolleyes:

K.O.Kiki · 18-10-2017 7:31pm

Paully D wrote: »

Portis has fractured Mirotic's face after punching him in practice. This tanking season is going to be good. :rolleyes:

Wait on full reports before thinking on this any further.
First "report" was that Portis sucker-punched Mirotic.
Latest "report" that Mirotic was the aggressor.

For Forks Sake · 18-10-2017 10:53pm

Paully D wrote: »

Portis has fractured Mirotic's face after punching him in practice. This tanking season is going to be good. :rolleyes:

He's suspended for 8 games. Markkanen only available PF.

irishman86 · 18-10-2017 11:32pm

NBA CHAMPIONS - Warriors
EASTERN CHAMPIONS - Raptors
WESTERN CHAMPIONS - Warriors
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - Blake Griffin
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ben Simmons
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rudy Gobert
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Ingram
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR - Clarkson
COACH OF THE YEAR - Brad Stevens
LEAGUE LEADER IN SCORING - Blake Griffin
FIRST COACH FIRED - Doc Rivers
WORST OVERALL RECORD - Chicago Bulls
PLAYER TO SCORE THE MOST POINTS IN A GAME - Irving

19-10-2017 1:51pm

Jesus late to the party but that Hayward injury is ****ing horrible. Think they will come right as a team towards the end of the year but that is a huge loss whatever chance they had of beating the cabs must be gone now

rushfan · 19-10-2017 3:42pm

Hayward's injury now being reported as a "clean break with no ligament damage ". Surgeon said it's as good as they could have hoped for. There's a possibility he could be back sometime in March.

ButtersSuki · 19-10-2017 3:52pm

rushfan wrote: »

Hayward's injury now being reported as a "clean break with no ligament damage ". Surgeon said it's as good as they could have hoped for. There's a possibility he could be back sometime in March.

I think they'd be very stupid to play him again this year. Even when cleared to play after an injury like that it takes a long time to build up strength and mental confidence in the ankle again.

ButtersSuki · 19-10-2017 3:53pm

Jeremy Lin out for the season.

rushfan · 19-10-2017 4:34pm

ButtersSuki wrote:

I think they'd be very stupid to play him again this year. Even when cleared to play after an injury like that it takes a long time to build up strength and mental confidence in the ankle again.

Absolutely, especially for one of their marquee players. Hopefully they'll be patient with him.

2smiggy · 19-10-2017 4:37pm

Lin is a big loss for the Nets , didn't think they were going to be as bad this year. Also think it would be very foolish for Hayward to rush back. Better safe than sorry.

Still a bad few days for the Celtics. Losing Hayward, and the Nets pick looking more like a high draft pick

ButtersSuki · 19-10-2017 4:56pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Jeremy Lin out for the season.

2smiggy wrote: »

Lin is a big loss for the Nets , didn't think they were going to be as bad this year. Also think it would be very foolish for Hayward to rush back. Better safe than sorry.

Still a bad few days for the Celtics. Losing Hayward, and the Nets pick looking more like a high draft pick

rushfan wrote: »

Absolutely, especially for one of their marquee players. Hopefully they'll be patient with him.

The Cavs win big time with both tbh.

It was a stretch to think Boston could beat Cleveland this year, but now there's no chance. It also sets back the team's development by a year with Hayward gone.

With Lin out the Nets will undoubtedly lose more games and hence the chances of them getting the 1 pick increases.

Sucks all round as a Boston fan.

brady23 · 20-10-2017 8:03am

NBA CHAMPIONS - Warriors
EASTERN CHAMPIONS - Cavs
WESTERN CHAMPIONS - Warriors
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - LBJ
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Ben Simmons
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Kawhi Leonard
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - KP
6TH MAN OF THE YEAR - Eric Gordon
COACH OF THE YEAR - Jason Kidd
LEAGUE LEADER IN SCORING - Giannis
FIRST COACH FIRED - Hoiberg
WORST OVERALL RECORD - Nets
PLAYER TO SCORE THE MOST POINTS IN A GAME - Booker

Beverley gave Lonzo a nice intro to NBA life last night. I was disappointed with Ingram given all the off season hype. I wouldn't mind but he was poor in pre season too.

I was leaning on Dennis Smith for ROY but given what I seen from Simmons it's hard to look past him. The extra year watching and training is such a huge benefit the same as Blake a few years ago.

Giannis I thought looked so good the other night. They have a real shot at home court this year especially if Jabari can come back and produce.

Maker, Jabari, Giannis, Middleton and Brogdan with Monroe off the bench looks like a top 4 team.

ButtersSuki · 20-10-2017 10:45am

Didn't see any games last night but from the stats Zinger looks like he had a big game for NYK, although they only managed to put up 84 pts as a team.

Markannen likewise from the stat sheet alone seemed to have a decent enough first game out.

rushfan · 21-10-2017 8:47am

Bird scores 3 in win over 76ers. Jabari not Larry.

brady23 · 21-10-2017 10:14am

I was delighted to see Lonzo and Ingram bounce back after being a bit disappointed with them on opening night I was especially delighted to see Ingram play well.

Kuzma had a good game off the bench too. I wonder if he starts by the end of the season. I assume Randle gets traded then as I suspect he has more trade value than Larry Nance.

Gregk961 · 21-10-2017 11:45am

brady23 wrote: »

I was delighted to see Lonzo and Ingram bounce back after being a bit disappointed with them on opening night I was especially delighted to see Ingram play well.

Kuzma had a good game off the bench too. I wonder if he starts by the end of the season. I assume Randle gets traded then as I suspect he has more trade value than Larry Nance.

Watched first half of that game. Defense was non existent on both ends from what I seen of it, inflates the stat lines quite a bit. Entertaining stuff all the same.

brady23 · 21-10-2017 1:08pm

Gregk961 wrote: »

Watched first half of that game. Defense was non existent on both ends from what I seen of it, inflates the stat lines quite a bit. Entertaining stuff all the same.

It was like an all star game but at least the signs are encouraging.
I mentioned about Dennis Smith in another post. He's out with swelling in the knee, standard residual impact of an ACL injury .
It could be worrying though, I'd hate to see his progress hampered, I thought he was one of the steals of the draft.

Gregk961 · 21-10-2017 6:39pm

Through the first two games:
Davis and Boogie-131 points
Rest of the Pelicans-80 points

Im fascinated by the Pelicans(a rare statement) and they could beat anybody on their day. Ian Clarke seems like a decent addition and jamaal has done his bit so far but its a pity we have probably the 2 best big men in the world on the same team and they more than likely will be under .500.

So good to have the league back, Ive watched 5 full games and extended highlights from every game so far I think. Havnt done a thing all week in work with all these late nights though!

K.O.Kiki · 21-10-2017 10:10pm

brady23 wrote: »

I was delighted to see Lonzo and Ingram bounce back after being a bit disappointed with them on opening night I was especially delighted to see Ingram play well.

Kuzma had a good game off the bench too. I wonder if he starts by the end of the season. I assume Randle gets traded then as I suspect he has more trade value than Larry Nance.

Didn't see the game.
That statline is atrocious though, 12-27 shots.

brady23 · 21-10-2017 10:48pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Didn't see the game.
That statline is atrocious though, 12-27 shots.

I suppose 44% from the field while barely missing out on triple double in your 2nd real professional bball game is a real cause for concern.

K.O.Kiki · 22-10-2017 2:18am

Obviously I'm being harsh.
But the Suns are bottom-feeders; we saw how Patrick Beverley (Clippers) manhandled him in his 1st game.

brady23 · 22-10-2017 8:25am

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Obviously I'm being harsh.
But the Suns are bottom-feeders; we saw how Patrick Beverley (Clippers) manhandled him in his 1st game.

That's fair enough I said similar regarding Beverley but Lakers are bottom feeders too. However I agree that's a more valid critique than his stat line of 12/27 is atrocious.

The critique makes little sense to me given the NBA average FG% last year was .457 not to mention 44% is slightly less than the average FG% of all ROY winners since LBJ, an example being LBJ shot .417 his rookie year.

paulie21 · 22-10-2017 9:19am

See both Curry and Durant got ejected last night

Vital Transformation · 22-10-2017 11:29am

Giannis was sensational last night. Career high 44 points. Bucks 1pt down against the Blazers, he gets the steal, ball spills out to his team mate, runs down the court and takes the pass to dunk and take the lead. Then blocks Nurkic at the rim for the game winning play.

killwill · 22-10-2017 2:44pm

paulie21 wrote: »

See both Curry and Durant got ejected last night

Really classless from Curry in fairness.
I am not sure wht Durant got ejected though?

ButtersSuki · 22-10-2017 7:27pm

killwill wrote: »

Really classless from Curry in fairness.
I am not sure wht Durant got ejected though?

Ah it's a reaction to a (bad) no-call, and he threw his gumshield at the ground rather than at the ref - IMO at least from the footage I saw.

Durant got ejected for arguing with the ref over the ejection.

K.O.Kiki · 22-10-2017 10:02pm

Cavs got utterly blown out by the Magic, lead was as bad as 37 points!
Interestingly, this also finishes a 17-game win streak by the Cavs VS Magic (19 wins for LeBron AFAIK).

ButtersSuki · 22-10-2017 10:44pm

Vital Transformation wrote: »

Giannis was sensational last night. Career high 44 points. Bucks 1pt down against the Blazers, he gets the steal, ball spills out to his team mate, runs down the court and takes the pass to dunk and take the lead. Then blocks Nurkic at the rim for the game winning play.

He's a beast, no question. Pretty amazing start to the season so far from him.

Looked like a foul on Nurkic though from what I saw. Giannis got some ball, but he also initiated a lot of contact.

We've seen this kind of reffing before in the NBA where guys get or don't get calls based on who they are - it's one of the things that really frustrate me about the league; it and travelling. That's one of those where I feel if it was the other way around we'd have a different call on the play. And that's BS tbh.

For Forks Sake · 22-10-2017 11:30pm

Who had Earl Watson first to be fired?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2740148-earl-watson-reportedly-fired-by-suns-after-0-3-start-to-season?target_url=http%3A%2F%2Fble.ac%2F2zuuJva

LuckyLloyd · 23-10-2017 9:57am

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Cavs got utterly blown out by the Magic, lead was as bad as 37 points!
Interestingly, this also finishes a 17-game win streak by the Cavs VS Magic (19 wins for LeBron AFAIK).

Magic shot 17 / 35 from three
Cavs shot 7 / 25

Wouldn't draw anything significant from it tbh.

ButtersSuki · 23-10-2017 9:58am

The Suns have been truly abysmal giving up over 128ppg to date. The only time they scored more than 88 was against the Lakers in what looked like a pickup game. As someone previously posted you have to view the Lonzo stats in that game in that context.

Firing the coach after 3 games is laughable though and just a symbolic gesture - if he was the wrong coach they should have fired him at the end of last season. Classic you can't fire the players move, and Ryan McDonough isn't firing himself. He should really be the one in the firing line for a lot of this tbh; instead, they extended his contract this summer.

brady23 · 23-10-2017 10:12am

ButtersSuki wrote: »

The Suns have been truly abysmal giving up over 128ppg to date. The only time they scored more than 88 was against the Lakers in what looked like a pickup game. As someone previously posted you have to view the Lonzo stats in that game in that context.

I don't think there was any question that Lonzos stat line was inflated in that game as every other players was.
The point was more that a 44% fg% is not an atrocious stat line. It's the NBA average.

I also don't think that if Watson is kept on they continue to give up that amount of points and score that little, regression to the mean and all that similar to what LL suggested with Cavs vs Magic.
I do agree though that if they had questions around Watson he should not have started the season. They look like the whipping boys thus far though.

ButtersSuki · 23-10-2017 11:16am

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Cavs got utterly blown out by the Magic, lead was as bad as 37 points!
Interestingly, this also finishes a 17-game win streak by the Cavs VS Magic (19 wins for LeBron AFAIK).

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Magic shot 17 / 35 from three
Cavs shot 7 / 25

Wouldn't draw anything significant from it tbh.

Both just outliers really. With as many games as you have in an NBA season you'll always have a few "WTF happened there?" games. They've tried to limit these with increasing the rest days and reducing the back to backs etc., but you'll still have weird games where one team just gets hot and the other doesn't.

It's one of the reasons I hate betting in the first 3-4 weeks of the NBA season as some teams are fitter than others, better prepared, and some are just figuring things out with new team mates etc. Takes a few weeks for things to even out.

NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2017-18

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