Around the NBA (Part Two)

[winforlose]

This is the funniest one yet.

Watch on YouTube

[KGdaBom]

Jokic with probably his greatest playoff performance yet. This was one for the ages.

[jpatrick]

Strange beginning to round 2. All three road, fairly significant, underdogs won game 1.

[KGdaBom]

Strange beginning to round 2. All three road, fairly significant, underdogs won game 1.

We need to buck that trend tonight.

[Klomp]

That SGA dunk was such poor judgment. They gave it to you for a reason. If he just runs 6 seconds off the clock the game is likely over. That was a terrible breakdown by OKC, and I love it for Denver and for us. A WCF rubber match with Denver would be Legendary. If we won that series and a chip that is kind of thing that gets talked about forever.

Postseason experience matters when the talent gap isn't as large.

I've felt pretty good about the odds of having a Wolves/Nuggets WCF matchup for a while, honestly. But while I like the potential matchup, I would say that Denver is better equipped this year with a confident Gordon and confident Westbrook.

I disagree on a couple of fronts.

1. I think Denver with a starting Braun, an injured MPJ, and Westbrook, is less capable than the Denver that we played in round 2 last year.

2. I am not sure they are confident against us. I believe that regular season doesn’t matter that much come playoff time, but I do wonder if we are in the Nuggets heads. I think a good way to phrase it is, “after all that, now we gotta play them!”

Regarding your first point, I think Westbrook gives Denver another way for them to play. Similar to Minnesota adding 3-point volume and transition play as another way to beat teams instead of just relying on our defense, I think Denver has diversified itself with more transition opportunities to be a more difficult matchup even if the talent level might not be as high.

I think there's a chance we are in their heads, but I also thought that was possibly the case in the Lakers series with Luka, which obviously wasn't the case. I also strongly believe that David Adelman is making a significant impact. In some ways, he has woken up a sleeping giant.

[winforlose]

Postseason experience matters when the talent gap isn't as large.

I've felt pretty good about the odds of having a Wolves/Nuggets WCF matchup for a while, honestly. But while I like the potential matchup, I would say that Denver is better equipped this year with a confident Gordon and confident Westbrook.

I disagree on a couple of fronts.

1. I think Denver with a starting Braun, an injured MPJ, and Westbrook, is less capable than the Denver that we played in round 2 last year.

2. I am not sure they are confident against us. I believe that regular season doesn’t matter that much come playoff time, but I do wonder if we are in the Nuggets heads. I think a good way to phrase it is, “after all that, now we gotta play them!”

Regarding your first point, I think Westbrook gives Denver another way for them to play. Similar to Minnesota adding 3-point volume and transition play as another way to beat teams instead of just relying on our defense, I think Denver has diversified itself with more transition opportunities to be a more difficult matchup even if the talent level might not be as high.

I think there's a chance we are in their heads, but I also thought that was possibly the case in the Lakers series with Luka, which obviously wasn't the case. I also strongly believe that David Adelman is making a significant impact. In some ways, he has woken up a sleeping giant.

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture? Either way, when Joker is off the floor the Nuggets are G league team, and the injury to the shoulder of MPJ has him not even closing most games. OKC took their foot of the gas and that led to the loss.

[Klomp]

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture?

ALL teams do this in every huddle. It's not even just an NBA thing. When the timeout starts, the coaches huddle while the players go to the bench. Usually a player or two starts "leading" the huddle of players before the coaches get there.

[winforlose]

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture?

ALL teams do this in every huddle. It's not even just an NBA thing. When the timeout starts, the coaches huddle while the players go to the bench. Usually a player or two starts "leading" the huddle of players before the coaches get there.

I have heard a ton of speculation that Joker is leading the huddles and coaching the team. I have also seen video of him pointing to bench players and they get immediately subbed in. While I am sure Adelman does quite a bit of coaching, I also think he does get more player input than most coaches. That said Joker is the MVP and will decide the next head coach anyway so Adelman has every incentive to listen to Joker anyway.

[Battletrigger]

I disagree on a couple of fronts.

1. I think Denver with a starting Braun, an injured MPJ, and Westbrook, is less capable than the Denver that we played in round 2 last year.

2. I am not sure they are confident against us. I believe that regular season doesn’t matter that much come playoff time, but I do wonder if we are in the Nuggets heads. I think a good way to phrase it is, “after all that, now we gotta play them!”

Regarding your first point, I think Westbrook gives Denver another way for them to play. Similar to Minnesota adding 3-point volume and transition play as another way to beat teams instead of just relying on our defense, I think Denver has diversified itself with more transition opportunities to be a more difficult matchup even if the talent level might not be as high.

I think there's a chance we are in their heads, but I also thought that was possibly the case in the Lakers series with Luka, which obviously wasn't the case. I also strongly believe that David Adelman is making a significant impact. In some ways, he has woken up a sleeping giant.

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture? Either way, when Joker is off the floor the Nuggets are G league team, and the injury to the shoulder of MPJ has him not even closing most games. OKC took their foot of the gas and that led to the loss.

What a casual affirmation.

Many people bought the narrative created by the media that Denver is a bad team, and if you don't see them playing or only YouTube highlights maybe can have that sensation.

It's true that they are worse than a couple years ago but they still have Gordon, MPJ, Murray or Braun. They have a solid 7 players rotation.

[winforlose]

Regarding your first point, I think Westbrook gives Denver another way for them to play. Similar to Minnesota adding 3-point volume and transition play as another way to beat teams instead of just relying on our defense, I think Denver has diversified itself with more transition opportunities to be a more difficult matchup even if the talent level might not be as high.

I think there's a chance we are in their heads, but I also thought that was possibly the case in the Lakers series with Luka, which obviously wasn't the case. I also strongly believe that David Adelman is making a significant impact. In some ways, he has woken up a sleeping giant.

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture? Either way, when Joker is off the floor the Nuggets are G league team, and the injury to the shoulder of MPJ has him not even closing most games. OKC took their foot of the gas and that led to the loss.

What a casual affirmation.

Many people bought the narrative created by the media that Denver is a bad team, and if you don't see them playing or only YouTube highlights maybe can have that sensation.

It's true that they are worse than a couple years ago but they still have Gordon, MPJ, Murray or Braun. They have a solid 7 players rotation.

Sorry but no. Have you seen the on off numbers with Joker? Have you seen what happens when Joker is on the bench? There is nothing casual about saying those players need the gravity, intensity, and brilliance of Joker to get their true potential.

[BlacJacMac]

Regarding your first point, I think Westbrook gives Denver another way for them to play. Similar to Minnesota adding 3-point volume and transition play as another way to beat teams instead of just relying on our defense, I think Denver has diversified itself with more transition opportunities to be a more difficult matchup even if the talent level might not be as high.

I think there's a chance we are in their heads, but I also thought that was possibly the case in the Lakers series with Luka, which obviously wasn't the case. I also strongly believe that David Adelman is making a significant impact. In some ways, he has woken up a sleeping giant.

I think Joker is the coach and Adelman is the mouthpiece. How many huddles has Joker led while Adelman isn’t even in the picture? Either way, when Joker is off the floor the Nuggets are G league team, and the injury to the shoulder of MPJ has him not even closing most games. OKC took their foot of the gas and that led to the loss.

What a casual affirmation.

Many people bought the narrative created by the media that Denver is a bad team, and if you don't see them playing or only YouTube highlights maybe can have that sensation.

It's true that they are worse than a couple years ago but they still have Gordon, MPJ, Murray or Braun. They have a solid 7 players rotation.

I think they're all solid to very good players. But none of them can really create for themselves or others. That's why they're so reliant on Jokic. And its why Denver fans are now finding out why Malone played Westbrook as much as he did. For as flawed as he is, he gives them a second creator.

[KGdaBom]

From Wire Tap

Luka Doncic is no longer eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax contract this offseason after his trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he appears to be as committed to his new franchise as he was his previous one.

"I would be shocked if there's not some sort of extension this summer," said Tim MacMahon on the Dan Patrick Show. "With what I know of Luka, and I haven't talked to him directly about this, but talking to people who know Luka well, I think he absolutely wants to give the Lakers... Like, he's fully committed to L.A. His heart was broken, but he's fully committed. His goal now is to win championships with that franchise."

The Lakers are open to any extension type that Doncic chooses. Beginning August 2nd, Doncic can sign a four-year, $229 million extension with the Lakers. Alternatively, he could opt for a shorter three-year, $165 million deal with a player option for 28-29, positioning himself for a potential five-year, $418 million contract in 2028 when he reaches 10 years of service.

Doncic might also play out his current contract through 25-26 before choosing between a five-year, $296 million deal with the Lakers, or a four-year, $219 million contract elsewhere.

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

I personally take this article to be worth about as much as the roll of toilet paper it was written on.

[younggunsmn]

Didn't think OKC would choke that badly wowza.

Guess it goes to show any team with Nikola Jokic on it has a chance against anybody.
Michael Porter Jr is terrible and they are better when he sits.
Too bad they only have 5 other decent rotation players.

OKC is gonna win at least one game in that series by 25 or more.
But they are going to have to figure out how to defend Jokic.
They only have one big thick enough to handle him.

One interesting thing is that OKC decided to play the foul game up 3 points with 17 seconds left, and ended up giving Denver 4 free points.
Finch has consistently decided against doing the same thing, and I agree with him.
Too many things can go wrong.

OKC had a chance to stop them with a set defense that only had to worry about defending the 3 point line and not fouling a jump shooter.
Instead they fouled, stopped the clock, gave Denver free points, and ended up losing on a wide open transition 3.

I kinda get it if there is like one second left and not enough time for a tip in off a missed free throw.
Giving the other team free points with the lead is usually a really bad idea though.

[TimberKat]

From Wire Tap

Luka Doncic is no longer eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax contract this offseason after his trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he appears to be as committed to his new franchise as he was his previous one.

"I would be shocked if there's not some sort of extension this summer," said Tim MacMahon on the Dan Patrick Show. "With what I know of Luka, and I haven't talked to him directly about this, but talking to people who know Luka well, I think he absolutely wants to give the Lakers... Like, he's fully committed to L.A. His heart was broken, but he's fully committed. His goal now is to win championships with that franchise."

The Lakers are open to any extension type that Doncic chooses. Beginning August 2nd, Doncic can sign a four-year, $229 million extension with the Lakers. Alternatively, he could opt for a shorter three-year, $165 million deal with a player option for 28-29, positioning himself for a potential five-year, $418 million contract in 2028 when he reaches 10 years of service.

Doncic might also play out his current contract through 25-26 before choosing between a five-year, $296 million deal with the Lakers, or a four-year, $219 million contract elsewhere.

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

I personally take this article to be worth about as much as the roll of toilet paper it was written on.

Now Luka is a value contract compared to all the supermax out there. We just seem so unlucky from the GM/Cap point of view with Towns and Ant. Cleveland is going to have the same issue as Mobley win DPOY on a timely manner. NBA really need to change SuperMax to winning multiple times Instead of just previous year. Also 'super' portion shouldn't be cap hit.

[Slim Tubby]

From Wire Tap

Luka Doncic is no longer eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax contract this offseason after his trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he appears to be as committed to his new franchise as he was his previous one.

"I would be shocked if there's not some sort of extension this summer," said Tim MacMahon on the Dan Patrick Show. "With what I know of Luka, and I haven't talked to him directly about this, but talking to people who know Luka well, I think he absolutely wants to give the Lakers... Like, he's fully committed to L.A. His heart was broken, but he's fully committed. His goal now is to win championships with that franchise."

The Lakers are open to any extension type that Doncic chooses. Beginning August 2nd, Doncic can sign a four-year, $229 million extension with the Lakers. Alternatively, he could opt for a shorter three-year, $165 million deal with a player option for 28-29, positioning himself for a potential five-year, $418 million contract in 2028 when he reaches 10 years of service.

Doncic might also play out his current contract through 25-26 before choosing between a five-year, $296 million deal with the Lakers, or a four-year, $219 million contract elsewhere.

Tim MacMahon/ESPN

I personally take this article to be worth about as much as the roll of toilet paper it was written on.

Now Luka is a value contract compared to all the supermax out there. We just seem so unlucky from the GM/Cap point of view with Towns and Ant. Cleveland is going to have the same issue as Mobley win DPOY on a timely manner. NBA really need to change SuperMax to winning multiple times Instead of just previous year. Also 'super' portion shouldn't be cap hit.

The Lakers get rewarded with salary cap savings when trading for a high impact player like Luka because of the timeline of his current contract.

Meanwhile, a team like the Wolves that draft and develop their own high impact players like Ant and KAT are subjected to much higher cap hits for their team based primarily on media voting.

Sure, there are a ton of variables but it just seems to penalize the teams that identify these elite players and build their rosters internally.

Sent from my N152DL using RealGM mobile app

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Boston lose again. Great game from KAT....

[TimberKat]

Boston lose again. Great game from KAT....

Now we are back to NYK win the trade again

Crazy playoffs, still no home team win a game yet in 2nd round.

[TimberKat]

64-35 OKC winning in 2nd qtr. I am calling it. First home team win out of 7 home games. Hopefully that starts a new trend.

[winforlose]

64-35 OKC winning in 2nd qtr. I am calling it. First home team win out of 7 home games. Hopefully that starts a new trend.

OKC up 35 on Denver after dropping 78 in the first 21 minutes of the game. This is why I don’t want to face OKC in the post season. I think we are significantly better than the Nuggets (we are not as top heavy or defensively compromised,) but Denver is a good team, and OKC is annihilating them.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Boston lose again. Great game from KAT....

Now we are back to NYK win the trade again

Crazy playoffs, still no home team win a game yet in 2nd round.

will be pretty upset if Knicks get a ring before us ... but happy overall for KAT.