Around the NBA II

[Ranma]

I'm guessing Luke Walton will be the front-running candidate for the job. Lakers probably not inclined to give Thibs $8 million per year when they previously balked at handing Phil $10-12 million per.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/724433822226501632[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/724434800879243264[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/724437408431935488[/tweet]

[Neddy]

I'm guessing Luke Walton will be the front-running candidate for the job. Lakers probably not inclined to give Thibs $8 million per year when they previously balked at handing Phil $10-12 million per.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/724433822226501632[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/724434800879243264[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/724437408431935488[/tweet]

Thibs is already the HC and president of basketball operations for the Wolves. but I do agree that Luke may be in the mix for them.

frankly I think the Lakers are a total mess. they don't have a direction or a vision. they are simply becoming the clippers of the late 80s early 90s collecting talent without a purpose.

[nickhx2]

that's truly amazing if they missed out on TT because they were waffling over byron scott. scotty brooks would have been great for them too.

[mttwlsn16]

I hope that MCL shows its ripped to shreds. Strictly bc of all the bandwagon GS fans.

I also can't stand Steph. He celebrates the same as Cam Newton, yet Cam is labeled a thug (gives footballs to kids, does a lot for the community, shows up randomly at a middle school a couple days ago and plays w the kids) yet Steph is somehow an angel.

Hope it isn't career threatening but I would be cool with that **** being destroyed for now

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/724678621705736193[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/724680164177666048[/tweet]

[Wammy Giveaway]

So Stephen Curry is expected to miss at the max, three games or two weeks. Second round series starts on May 2. There is a one game delay between matches, so we could have games on 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th. Some of those games could be moved up to synchronize the end weeks (have the series end on a Saturday, for example).

If the Clippers take out the Blazers in 5 games, they'll have loads of rest until May 2. Curry may not come back until Game 2 or 3.

If the Clippers lull on competition and go the max 7 games which will happen on May 1 (something Doc will love to help preserve Paul Pierce), they'll have no rest and will be forced into a back-to-back situation. But Clips will be better prepared and ready, maybe even steal a series. In this case, Curry could miss an upwards of 7 games.

The Clippers have never faced the Warriors without Curry in the lineup. Their record against the Dubs with Curry is 7-12, four of those wins coming exclusive in the playoffs. Minus the playoffs, Clippers are 3-9 in the regular season.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Curry could miss an additional game to make his return on Game 4. If my calculations are correct...

One of these two teams may become the first team in NBA history to unleash the 0-3 miracle comeback.

The Warriors achieving a 0-3 comeback would validate their 73-9 record while breaking up the Clippers core.

The Clippers achieving a 0-3 comeback would make them the greatest upset team in sports history while saving Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan from a terrible fate.

[nickhx2]

miss at minimum, not maximum. he could be out longer than the 2 week period if his knee doesn't improve.

[Wammy Giveaway]

Some have said two weeks. This person says three weeks:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DanO_Bball/status/724743695413719041[/tweet]

Basically, it's become a we-don't-know. Clippers must pretend that Curry is active and ready to play at all times. Drop their guard, they could end up losing the series. Clippers have a history of underestimating teams without their superstar, the most recent being against the Pelicans without Anthony Davis.

[nickhx2]

personally i'd be doubtful he's back in two weeks. the news was that he'll be re-evaluated in 2 weeks time, which is a far cry from being cleared to play in 2 weeks.

[Ranma]

If the Lakers want Doc Rivers as their next head coach, they can have his fraudulent and incompetent butt.

[og15]

If the Lakers want Doc Rivers as their next head coach, they can have his fraudulent and incompetent butt.

Will they give us a draft pick for him

[nickhx2]

oh my god

imagine if we could get a pick lol

[mttwlsn16]

I would just like to apologize for rooting for Currys injury to be worse. That being said, w CP out and Blake messed up, I hope Klay tears somethings and Draymond ends up having to have his loud mouth wired shut (don't care how)

[og15]

I would just like to apologize for rooting for Currys injury to be worse. That being said, w CP out and Blake messed up, I hope Klay tears somethings and Draymond ends up having to have his loud mouth wired shut (don't care how)

Nooooooooo...you're going to jinx Austin!!!

[Dynamix]

I would just like to apologize for rooting for Currys injury to be worse. That being said, w CP out and Blake messed up, I hope Klay tears somethings and Draymond ends up having to have his loud mouth wired shut (don't care how)

Nooooooooo...you're going to jinx Austin!!!

Ha ha, I wanted to write the exact same thing but then I thought we might actually need him now.

[nickhx2]

I would just like to apologize for rooting for Currys injury to be worse. That being said, w CP out and Blake messed up, I hope Klay tears somethings and Draymond ends up having to have his loud mouth wired shut (don't care how)

THIS GUYS ALL IN AND HE DGAF

lmao

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/hoopshype/status/725046088605007872[/tweet]

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/725057010849435650[/tweet]

Mods, please feel free to edit the snippets from the article quoted below as you see fit in order to adhere to the community guidelines, if necessary. It was a rather lengthy piece, so I chose small passages.

Jackie MacMullan, ESPN (4/26/16)

"We're not done here," Irving reprimanded. "[Brad] Stevens is damn smart. He's coming at us with something new, so we better be ready.''
...

"I'm watching and thinking, 'Well, no wonder they were tight. I was tight,'" Stevens recalls.

From that moment on, he vowed he would never lose another game because he was on edge. A quick canvass of Stevens' career trajectory reveals two things: Although defense is, in truth, his calling card, NBA players are dazzled by his X's and O's, while NBA coaches are most enamored by his steady demeanor.
...

"He's unbelievable in how he carries himself,'' Popovich says. "He's truthful and straight up with his players, and in this league, that's the biggest thing they respect -- that you are comfortable in your own skin.''
...

Indeed, Stevens has culled his material from a variety of sources: college, the pros, the international game, the women's tournament. He once used a play he stole from Yugoslavia in the 2002 World Championships.

"I consider myself the biggest thief out there,'' Stevens says. He says some of the actions he runs for Olynyk, for instance, come directly out of the Dallas Mavericks' playbook for Dirk Nowitzki.
...

"Brad's ATOs are fantastic,'' Clippers guard J.J. Redick says. "Even though we know what he wants to run, there's always a little misdirection thrown in to get his guys open.''
...

"I was like, 'Oh my God, this guy is always thinking,'" Redick says.
...

"I'm in the huddle saying, 'I don't know what you are thinking here,'" Thomas says. "But then we throw the lob, we clear out the back side, and Jae has a wide-open layup. So it becomes, 'OK, we gotta trust Brad.'"
...

"Billy had just won two national championships, and I was a nobody,'' Stevens says. "But as I'm speaking, he's taking notes and asking questions. That's how it's supposed to be. You're supposed to keep learning. You're not supposed to stagnate.''
...

Asked what it would take for him to unfold his arms on the Celtics' sideline and let out a primal scream, Stevens doesn't hesitate.

"I feel like that would be when you win it all,'' he says. "That's why we do this, right?"

Isaiah Thomas: Brad Stevens Could Be One of the Greatest Coaches Who Ever Lived

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DanFeldmanNBA/status/726114327908904960[/tweet]

[Ranma]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/726232008523804673[/tweet]