Around the NBA V: Live and Let Die

tarantism · Post #261 » by **tarantism** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 6:51 am

Also I'm really surprised that more people don't mention Miami as the team that could come out of the east. I hear Milwaukee and Brooklyn the most, and I think that if Miami isn't in that tier they aren't far behind. Sort of like us, they haven't been the most injured but they haven't had all of their key guys together much this season. Hell, they haven't had Oladipo at all.

tarantism · Post #262 » by **tarantism** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:34 am

Embiid just BAPTISED Jared Allen holy ****.

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Coxy · Post #263 » by **Coxy** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 5:09 am

tarantism wrote:Embiid just BAPTISED Jared Allen holy ****.

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Absolutely sick.

Watch on YouTube

wco81 · Post #264 » by **wco81** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 6:05 am

A guy coming down hill with a running start will ALWAYS out jump the defender under the basket jumping straight up from a standing start.

I don't know why people get so excited about that?

Even a shorter guy can get up well and shield the ball.

Only chance the defender has is to get the ball as the dunker slams his arm down towards the basket. It's all a crapshoot, he has to guess where the dunker's hand is coming down.

Draymond has made some blocks against bigger guys running down hill because he guessed right. He said he will risk getting posterized because that's the only way he can make big plays which lift the team and the fans.

Foyle used to make those kinds of blocks on dunk attempts too.

Post #265 » by **floppymoose** » Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:08 am

floppymoose wrote:Split from previous thread because it got too long. So, so long.Previous thread can be found here.

The ish is about to hit the fan for LA. Their last easy game for a while is tonight. After that they might lose 8 in a row.

tarantism · Post #266 » by **tarantism** » Tue Feb 15, 2022 12:34 am

I think the Bagley pickup will be nice for the Pistons but watching his first few minutes with them right now they have absolutely no idea how to use him.

Of course I've never been a big Dwayne Casey guy.

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wco81 · Post #267 » by **wco81** » Tue Feb 15, 2022 5:32 pm

Revelations coming out about Brooklyn are entertaining.

KD really pinned his hopes on championship this year. That was before Harden showed up to training camp out of shape and Kyrie doing his vaccine thing.

He was a holdout on trading Harden until the last minute when it was obvious Harden didn't want to be there.

When he went o Brooklyn, he said championships don't matter to him any more. Of course he joined an all-NBA player, who dictated that they sign with Brooklyn, not NY Knicks.

Then they got rid of the coach and had the team give up a ton of assets to get Harden, who decided he isn't want to be there any more.

He'll have to carry the team so any title he wins will be on him, though it would be funny if Kyrie takes more shots, including big shots in games they both play.

So he can be the main guy on a championship team. Or maybe he will just be talking again about working on his craft.

Old_Blue · Post #268 » by **Old_Blue** » Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:56 am

Yeesh, the 76ers were absolutely obliterated by Boston tonight.

cdubbz · Post #269 » by **cdubbz** » Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:02 am

Only watched 3-4 plays of the Raptors v Wolves game and Scottie Barnes defense is amazing. He was shuffling feet and low stance on perimeter against Dlo and caused a turnover. Dude hustles up and down the court with long strides. He's a long lanky fella.

Quazza · Post #270 » by **Quazza** » Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:33 am

3 straight triple doubles for Giddey. The only rookie to do it other than Oscar Robinson

You guys convinced yet or nah

wco81 · Post #271 » by **wco81** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 2:07 am

He may turn out to be a good player.

But so may Kuminga.

I think Giddey got picked higher than expected, which may be why JK was still available at #7.

In any event, Giddey wasn't an option for the Warriors. It's teams who drafted #1 to #5 which have to see if they missed by not drafting Giddey before #6.

tarantism · Post #272 » by **tarantism** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 9:16 am

Watch on YouTube

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Quazza · Post #273 » by **Quazza** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 11:41 am

wco81 wrote:He may turn out to be a good player.

But so may Kuminga.

Post had nothing to do with Kuminga :dontknow:

tarantism · Post #274 » by **tarantism** » Sat Feb 19, 2022 2:51 am

Watching the Rising Stars intro...if Kumimga and Barnes are only 6'7" then LaMelo is more like 6'5".

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Post #275 » by **FNQ** » Thu Feb 24, 2022 8:52 pm

Quazza wrote:3 straight triple doubles for Giddey. The only rookie to do it other than Oscar Robinson

You guys convinced yet or nah

Nope because he hasn't addressed the issues that drove the doubt.. but his rebounding is far, far better than I would have expected. I'm surprised his basic defensive metrics are at an average level - player tracking has him towards the bottom of the league for PGs (which might be an unfair comp considering his size but still)

The jumper and/or the defense need to come around. Never forget that MCW put up 16/6/6 in his 1st season as well, also on a rebuilding/terrible team.

The passing is good, as expected, but I'm actually more impressed with his AST/TO ratio on a bad team. 2:1 is really good for a team thats literally the worst offensive team in the league.

But that was never the question about him, it was whether or not he could score/defend at an NBA level, and a sub .500 TS with a 33% 3ptA% is still cause for a lot of doubt. On the other hand, his TS has been rising all year and has a 51% TS since New Years, so there's definitely hope. Still has an insanely uphill climb if he doesnt become a good shooter though, as the amount of lead guards who can't hit 3s is very very low, and the ones that do stay in the league are not star caliber ones.

shazam_guy · Post #276 » by **shazam_guy** » Fri Feb 25, 2022 7:52 pm

If he doesn't improve his scoring/defense he's Ricky Rubio 2. There are worse things to be, but it's not a draft triumph for OKC.

tarantism · Post #277 » by **tarantism** » Fri Feb 25, 2022 8:25 pm

FNQ wrote:... the amount of lead guards who can't hit 3s is very very low, and the ones that do stay in the league are not star caliber ones.

Crazy how much this has changed in the last decade or so.

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Post #278 » by **FNQ** » Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:49 am

shazam_guy wrote:If he doesn't improve his scoring/defense he's Ricky Rubio 2. There are worse things to be, but it's not a draft triumph for OKC.

But also keep in mind 2 things:

1) Rubio came into the league later with much, much higher competition under his belt. He was a buzzy player because he played pro games at 14 and was playing important pro games at 16. He also didnt debut until 21

2) Rubio came into the league a good defender and got better. Not only was he this elite vision player, but he was a positive defender since moment one

Giddey has traded that man defense for rebounding (12.6 rebrate is **** insane for a guard not named Russ, who has a career 11.7 reb rate)... but ultimately, like with Rubio, his career will be 100% determined on the development of his jumper. If Giddey becomes an average jumpshooter for a lead guard... like lets say a 38% 3pt shooter on 5 per game... he could be the best player in that draft. Similarly if it doesnt come around, he could be hovering around in the MCW range.

I dont think there are any legit takeaways from his game so far this year aside from the rebounding, and that his passing absolutely translated to the NBA - though that was always more of a flimsy concern

Something else that's concerning - despite OKC being the worst offensive team in the league.. OKC is only +1.2 ORtg with him on court vs off, rather than +4.5 of DRtg when he's on vs off.

He's an interesting case study and probably going to be one of the more fascinating players from this draft to track, because he really could go either direction and it shouldnt surprise anyone

Post #279 » by **FNQ** » Sat Feb 26, 2022 12:49 am

tarantism wrote:
FNQ wrote:... the amount of lead guards who can't hit 3s is very very low, and the ones that do stay in the league are not star caliber ones.

Crazy how much this has changed in the last decade or so.

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10+ years ago, myself and others on this board fawned over Scott Machado

tarantism · Post #280 » by **tarantism** » Sat Feb 26, 2022 1:33 am

FNQ wrote:
tarantism wrote:
FNQ wrote:... the amount of lead guards who can't hit 3s is very very low, and the ones that do stay in the league are not star caliber ones.

Crazy how much this has changed in the last decade or so.

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10+ years ago, myself and others on this board fawned over Scott Machado

I remember thinking he was gonna be good. I saw Chris Paul comparisons.

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