NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2019-20 Thread

LuckyLloyd · 02-02-2020 1:10am

Be interesting to see what happens with the Lakers rest of the way. Will this be a Munster 2016 - 17 type effort in the aftermath of Anthony Foley’s death; or will they be sunk by the emotion and spotlight of the whole thing (which would be totally understandable)? It might not be as straightforward as rising above given that players around the league will be similarly affected / inspired when they play against LeBron and co.

It will take a few weeks to figure out the trend, last night aside.

Osmosis Jones · 02-02-2020 6:50am

As I said, I'm gonna keep doing this until he has a bad one.

Dame on the second night of a back to back gets a win against the Jazz and checks out with 51/12 shooting 9-15 from 3. He's averaging 41.6ppg over his last 10 games, Blazers have gone 7-3 in that span.

ButtersSuki · 03-02-2020 11:29am

Watched the full Houston Pelicans game last night. I know I've said this before, but it's really hard to watch Houston when the shots aren't falling - it's not attractive basketball at all.

Sweet.Science · 03-02-2020 11:34am

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Watched the full Houston Pelicans game last night. I know I've said this before, but it's really hard to watch Houston when the shots aren't falling - it's not attractive basketball at all.

I agree. I really dont enjoy watching JH or RW play together. Just cant warm to it.

Osmosis Jones · 05-02-2020 10:10pm

The Rockets seriously just won a few games without Capela and decided to trade hm for another wing, they're really going forward with PJ Tucker as their starting 5.

Osmosis Jones · 06-02-2020 2:34am

What is Pat Riley thinking? That's $15m to a 38 year old Iguodala.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1225228979906412544?s=21

EDIT: they gave up Justise Winslow too, what on earth.

LuckyLloyd · 06-02-2020 9:48am

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

What is Pat Riley thinking? That's $15m to a 38 year old Iguodala.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1225228979906412544?s=21

EDIT: they gave up Justise Winslow too, what on earth.

Also hoping to make it a three team trade and get Danilo I think. Which might make it less head scratching?

No idea what Houston are doing, I really don’t. Capela such a good asset. Love it for Atlanta - they have their key offseason addition a few months early.

Sweet.Science · 06-02-2020 3:01pm

The Rockets are way too small to do anything post season - they will be bullied

Will the Clippers add a bit of height before the deadline? They know they will need it V the Lakers in the playoffs

LuckyLloyd · 06-02-2020 7:30pm

D’Angelo to Wolves for Wiggins and picks

That went well eh?

Though avoiding the repeater tax seems to have been the immediate motivation here.

Osmosis Jones · 06-02-2020 7:53pm

A 1st and a 2nd is all they had to give up to turn Wiggins into D'lo, wow

Sweet.Science · 07-02-2020 10:11am

I like the look of the Clippers now

ButtersSuki · 07-02-2020 1:02pm

Some interesting trades, esp. from a timing perspective.

Not sure why GS felt the need to go now on the Wiggins trade as they're not making the Play Offs - strange.

Houstin going all in on small ball, can see it working once or twice if they get hot, but not 4 x 7game series.

I like what Miami did but I have lost so much respect for Iggy and his behaviour this season.

Disappointed that Boston couldn't make a trade of some sort.

For Forks Sake · 07-02-2020 11:01pm

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

What is Pat Riley thinking? That's $15m to a 38 year old Iguodala.

EDIT: they gave up Justise Winslow too, what on earth.

Team option on the second year as far as I'm aware.

Osmosis Jones · 08-02-2020 9:05am

Great game between Portland and Utah once again ruined by referees. Portland went in with the same injured roster they've been playing most of the season with, Anfernee Simons gets concussion and leaves the game in the first quarter, Trevor Ariza gets ejected 2 minutes into the second. They play the rest of the game with a starting 5 of Lillard/McCollum/Trent Jr/Melo/Swanigan with the only 2 players on the bench being Wenyen Gabriel and Mario Hezonja.

Lillard does what he's done for a while now and gets 42 points with 8-14 from 3, game comes down to the final possession with Portland having the ball down 2 points with 19 seconds remaining, Lillard drives for the layup and this happens...

Refs don't call the goaltend, Portland can't do anything about it because you can't challenge a non-call, Utah win the game. I can forgive a missed tight call but as far as goaltends go this one isn't even close.

LuckyLloyd · 08-02-2020 10:06am

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Some interesting trades, esp. from a timing perspective.

Not sure why GS felt the need to go now on the Wiggins trade as they're not making the Play Offs - strange.

Houstin going all in on small ball, can see it working once or twice if they get hot, but not 4 x 7game series.

I like what Miami did but I have lost so much respect for Iggy and his behaviour this season.

Disappointed that Boston couldn't make a trade of some sort.

GS made the move now to avoid the repeater tax.

I also think Wiggins - if he can change his game substantially and accept a role - could work well within that system once they’re all healthy. He could be a better Harrison Barnes in theory. He has length and athleticism and can run and shoot. His mentality is the big question there obviously.

ButtersSuki · 08-02-2020 10:29am

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Great game between Portland and Utah once again ruined by referees. Portland went in with the same injured roster they've been playing most of the season with, Anfernee Simons gets concussion and leaves the game in the first quarter, Trevor Ariza gets ejected 2 minutes into the second. They play the rest of the game with a starting 5 of Lillard/McCollum/Trent Jr/Melo/Swanigan with the only 2 players on the bench being Wenyen Gabriel and Mario Hezonja.

Lillard does what he's done for a while now and gets 42 points with 8-14 from 3, game comes down to the final possession with Portland having the ball down 2 points with 19 seconds remaining, Lillard drives for the layup and this happens...

Refs don't call the goaltend, Portland can't do anything about it because you can't challenge a non-call, Utah win the game. I can forgive a missed tight call but as far as goaltends go this one isn't even close.

Shocking non call.

I’ve said it before and more than once (LeBron on Oladipo in play offs a few years back is a really obvious one) that you always call goaltending on that play and then review.

That one is not even close. How could they miss that?

ButtersSuki · 08-02-2020 10:38am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

GS made the move now to avoid the repeater tax.

I also think Wiggins - if he can change his game substantially and accept a role - could work well within that system once they’re all healthy. He could be a better Harrison Barnes in theory. He has length and athleticism and can run and shoot. His mentality is the big question there obviously.

I understand the tax implications but they’re paltry in comparison to the potential reward for waiting to see if there was a better offer in June. Timing is so weird on this one, they obviously didn’t fancy Russell and think they can polish a turd in Wiggins.

Carcharodon · 08-02-2020 3:26pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I understand the tax implications but they’re paltry in comparison to the potential reward for waiting to see if there was a better offer in June. Timing is so weird on this one, they obviously didn’t fancy Russell and think they can polish a turd in Wiggins.

Yea, it’s a bit strange but hopefully they have a master plan or next year will be another dumpster fire.
Wiggins has a ton of potential and hopefully being around Kerr, Klay and Curry unlocks it
The thing about Russel is he has zero defense, it’s not even that he is poor, there is no effort whatsoever, when you watch him live the body language can be very negative, don’t think it went down too well

Osmosis Jones · 08-02-2020 8:31pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

That one is not even close. How could they miss that?

Yeah it's not one of those where the ball seems to touch glass at the same time as the defender touches it, or one where it's debatable whether or not the ball was on the way down/in the cylinder, it's about as clear and obvious a goaltend as you're likely to see.

I kinda think if it was pretty much anyone but Gobert (or maybe Giannis/AD) the refs would have made the call, but NBA defence is so predicated on reputation that the best defenders get away with things like this. I'm not saying Gobert isn't a great defender, he fully deserves his 2 DPOY awards, but it's also those 2 awards that let him get away with stuff like this because the refs just think "well he's the best defender in the league, I'm sure it was a clean block."

Osmosis Jones · 08-02-2020 10:05pm

Anyway it's confirmed that Wiggins is making his debut tonight, I always said I wanted to see him do well once he finally leaves the Timberwolves but I also really don't want the Warriors getting another good player so now I'm not sure

Carcharodon · 09-02-2020 3:49am

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Anyway it's confirmed that Wiggins is making his debut tonight, I always said I wanted to see him do well once he finally leaves the Timberwolves but I also really don't want the Warriors getting another good player so now I'm not sure

Had tickets to tonight’s game but it’s the one game I ways able to get a decent price for tickets so sold them, just watching on tv now and totally forgot that Howard is on the Lakers, he looks in great shape, some nice plays from him so far but pretty easy against the undersized Warriors

Wiggins playing decent so far, long term he could be a great fit with the Warriors once you have Klay, Steph and Draymond on the floor plus a decent big man, would be a very competitive team

ButtersSuki · 10-02-2020 9:27am

Derek Jones Jr. with a WTF alley oop last night - it'll definitely be in the Top 10 plays, worth looking for. The guy is just an incredible dunker.

ButtersSuki · 10-02-2020 11:49pm

Some 3 Bogdonovic hot last night to beat Houston. Was fouled on it too and no call.

Osmosis Jones · 16-02-2020 1:27pm

Pretty great dunk contest last night, met with some pretty horrendous judging.

This got a 49:

While this got a 47 (that's 7'5 Tacko Fall):

A lot saying Aaron Gordon was robbed of the title once again, and he himself says he'll never do the contest again, but in fairness I still think Derrick Jones Jr had the best dunk of the night:

LuckyLloyd · 16-02-2020 5:17pm

Isn’t the judging always terrible? Was fun to see Dwight there but he’s not an upper echelon athlete in the NBA anymore. I dunno, seems people are perpetually disappointed by the dunk contest each year!

ButtersSuki · 16-02-2020 5:41pm

It was farcical at the end as they needed to separate them so it seemed it was rigged for Jones Jr. but I’d agree he had the best dunk. Some of Gordon’s dunks were crazy. Best dunk contest for a long time to be fair.....even Connaughton had one great dunk (where he touched the ball off the backboard before dunking). Quite what Howard was thinking to enter it is beyond me though.

Osmosis Jones · 16-02-2020 5:48pm

I'm still not sure what Gordon was doing when he got those Tiktok(?) stars to just kind of half dance in the middle of the court while he did one of his dunks, like he didn't dunk over them or incorporate them in any way, he just drew attention to them and then dunked 40 feet away while they stood there.

ButtersSuki · 16-02-2020 7:21pm

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

I'm still not sure what Gordon was doing when he got those Tiktok(?) stars to just kind of half dance in the middle of the court while he did one of his dunks, like he didn't dunk over them or incorporate them in any way, he just drew attention to them and then dunked 40 feet away while they stood there.

I assume he was thinking $$$$$$.

ButtersSuki · 18-02-2020 9:38am

Even more farcically it has emerged that the last round on the dunk contest was supposed to be a tie but someone put up the wrong score. You couldn’t make this crap up.

kmart6 · 18-02-2020 9:56am

To be fair that emerged straight away afterwards, pretty sure Shelburne had a quote from Common on it.

Osmosis Jones · 18-02-2020 11:58pm

Kyrie is after re-aggravating his shoulder injury and is now out indefinitely. He really has had a bad time with injuries, in his 7 full NBA seasons (so not including this one or his rookie year with the lockout) he's only averaging 65 games a year, he's already missed 33 games this season and is now out for who knows how long.

2smiggy · 19-02-2020 1:18pm

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Kyrie is after re-aggravating his shoulder injury and is now out indefinitely. He really has had a bad time with injuries, in his 7 full NBA seasons (so not including this one or his rookie year with the lockout) he's only averaging 65 games a year, he's already missed 33 games this season and is now out for who knows how long.

hardy worth bringing him back for this year. they will probably make the playoffs, but doubt they would have got past the first round even with Kyrie fit. On the plus side for them, Dinwiddie will get more game time as the no. 1 guard, and probably all bodes well for them for next season assuming Durant is back and close to his old self

ButtersSuki · 19-02-2020 1:26pm

kmart6 wrote: »

To be fair that emerged straight away afterwards, pretty sure Shelburne had a quote from Common on it.

Still farcical though.

kmart6 · 21-02-2020 12:45am

Kyrie done for the season.

2smiggy · 21-02-2020 4:18pm

kmart6 wrote: »

Kyrie done for the season.

the Celtics , looking back, ended up a lot better with him gone.

LuckyLloyd · 24-02-2020 2:25pm

While the Lakers have obvious flaws, if they hold onto the 1st seed it could make a massive difference to their chances in the west. Not having to survive Clippers / Denver in the semis gives them a much easier path. Last night’s ugly win over the Celtics could be a pretty big deal in terms of holding the lead.

ButtersSuki · 24-02-2020 2:28pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

While the Lakers have obvious flaws, if they hold onto the 1st seed it could make a massive difference to their chances in the west. Not having to survive Clippers / Denver in the semis gives them a much easier path. Last night’s ugly win over the Celtics could be a pretty big deal in terms of holding the lead.

Agree fully. Seeding in the West is even more important this year for the reasons you outline. A little surprised the Clippers aren’t taking it a little more seriously but equally if Denver manage to sneak it it changes a lot for them too.

Gwynplaine · 02-03-2020 11:18am

Did I miss the rule change or something? 3 sometimes 4 steps on a layup?

kmart6 · 02-03-2020 11:38am

Gets missed a lot, especially on star players.

ButtersSuki · 02-03-2020 12:11pm

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Did I miss the rule change or something? 3 sometimes 4 steps on a layup?

I've been on this for years, it's a joke.

ButtersSuki · 02-03-2020 12:12pm

Watched the entire Celtics Lakers game over the weekend. The Lakers got an awful lot of 'soft' calls, esp. in the last few minutes - I'll leave it at that.

LuckyLloyd · 07-03-2020 10:53am

Statement win for Lakers against the Bucks last night, James with a big game too guarding Giannis successfully for long stretches.

Igotadose · 08-03-2020 9:16am

Coach Kenny Atkinson fired by Nets: https://nypost.com/2020/03/07/brooklyn-nets-fire-coach-kenny-atkinson/

Surprising. Big 2 FA acquisitions hurt all season (Durant) or partial season then hurt (Kyrie) and they fired the coach. Next coach should have a pretty good roster to work with.

ButtersSuki · 08-03-2020 11:34am

Igotadose wrote: »

Coach Kenny Atkinson fired by Nets: https://nypost.com/2020/03/07/brooklyn-nets-fire-coach-kenny-atkinson/

Surprising. Big 2 FA acquisitions hurt all season (Durant) or partial season then hurt (Kyrie) and they fired the coach. Next coach should have a pretty good roster to work with.

Surprising on the timing, but not the firing by all accounts - Zach Lowe said on his pod it was the worst kept secret in the NBA that there were certain players who didn't want him and player power wins again. Woj on TV interview said the same. He didn't name Kyrie, but rightly or wrongly he's going to get some of the blame.

Osmosis Jones · 08-03-2020 6:54pm

Well some more fuel in the "Kyrie got Atkinson sacked" fire; DeAndre Jordan, the friend of Kyrie and KD who the Nets signed to appease them, is set to start ahead of Jarrett Allen today after Allen has started all but 4 games this season.

ButtersSuki · 10-03-2020 12:11pm

LeBron hype machine turned up to 11 again I see. :rolleyes:

LuckyLloyd · 11-03-2020 11:19am

ButtersSuki wrote: »

LeBron hype machine turned up to 11 again I see. :rolleyes:

Why does that annoy you? He’s having a great season at 35 and just had a fantastic weekend against Giannis and Kawhi while matching them directly for long stretches of each game. He’s going to be assist leader at the end of the season by a wide margin for the first time in his career. At 35.

You’re watching greatness and it will be gone in a couple of years. If you love basketball you’ll appreciate it.

ButtersSuki · 11-03-2020 11:22am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Why does that annoy you? He’s having a great season at 35 and just had a fantastic weekend against Giannis and Kawhi while matching them directly for long stretches of each game. He’s going to be assist leader at the end of the season by a wide margin for the first time in his career. At 35.

You’re watching greatness and it will be gone in a couple of years. If you love basketball you’ll appreciate it.

It annoys me to a degree that he's been touted by some as the MVP when by any measure Giannis is having a significantly better season. Did he play two great games? Yes. Is the assist leading stat amazing? Yes?

Is he the MVP? No.

Is the hype machine OTT? Yes.

That's all I'm saying.

Imagine the hype for Giannis if he played in NY or LA?

LuckyLloyd · 11-03-2020 11:32am

The hype for Giannis is huge, he’s universally recognised as one of the top three players at any point and has been the last couple of years.

Markets are a thing of course, but that’s always been true. Giannis still gets the recognition he deserves imo.

Is LeBron the MVP on the season? Maybe not. But it’s not an outlandish conversation imo at all.

There’s a nice piece here on it, that doesn’t try and argue him as the MVP:

https://theathletic.com/1661075/2020/03/09/is-lebron-the-most-valuable-player-maybe-most-inspirational-definitely/?source=shared-article

K.O.Kiki · 12-03-2020 2:50am

https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1237914142033444864?s=21

HOLY SH*T

NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2019-20 Thread

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