NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 3

[Kanyewest]

And Houston lost to Denver. They're obviously going through some issues right now. Miami has no chance in hell of beating a fully healthy Cavs squad.

Their chances do not look good now although Miami could be better by the end of the season. Bosh could gets into shape. No back to backs means Wade can play. Dragic meshes with his new teammates. Hassan Whiteside matures a bit more. Winslow becomes a contributor.

But yeah, Cleveland looks like the favorites unless injuries happen, which very well could given that Love and Irving missed several games last year.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

And Houston lost to Denver. They're obviously going through some issues right now. Miami has no chance in hell of beating a fully healthy Cavs squad.

Their chances do not look good now although Miami could be better by the end of the season. Bosh could gets into shape. No back to backs means Wade can play. Dragic meshes with his new teammates. Hassan Whiteside matures a bit more. Winslow becomes a contributor.

But yeah, Cleveland looks like the favorites unless injuries happen, which very well could given that Love and Irving missed several games last year.

Cleveland definitely is the prohibitive favorite to come out of the East, agreed.

I also agree with Kanyewest that Miami could improve over the season.

Winslow and Whiteside are improving. Bosh is a beast at his peak.

[closg00]

Two games in it looks like Indiana's a trainwreck-non playoff team.

Miami looks tougher than the Wizards to me, but I recall the preseason Wizards starter dominance. Winslow is gonna be nasty. Green is nasty. Whiteside is nasty. Bosh will be a HOFer. Wade can cruise and stay healthy. Heat are title contenders, better than the Wizards IMO.

Detroit's pretty much DEFINITELY a playoff team. Their stretch fours (nate, I'm contradicting myself and acknowledging the point here) are tough. Ilyasova WITH Morris??? Plus Reggie Jackson? The Pistons are maybe better than the Wizards, too.

I'm just posting first impressions.

Lol it's been three games. Nowhere near enough time to make those kinds of declarations.

Detroit is going to make the playoffs.

Miami is IMO better than the Wizards and has a legit shot to Win the East. Two HOF players, Whiteside, who's possibly better than Gortat. Winslow is sick athletic. Dragic is solid.


I saw the Heat today go from 21 down to win by 20 over Houston.

Too early yes. We shall see.

When the playoffs roll around, beast-men like Whiteside and Drummond in the front court are going to be difference-makers. Detroit doesn't appear to have too-much depth, but their starters are better than our starters.

Food fight draft debate, Drummond and Noel vs Beal & Porter

[I_Like_Dirt]

I'm not so sure guys like Drummond and Whiteside take on any added difference-making ability in the playoffs. That certainly isn't how the playoffs played out last season. Talent plays out in the playoffs, and those guys are talented. The playoffs doesn't make them any more talented, though.

[doclinkin]

I think I'd have to say that he has become my favorite player of all time. He is truly special to watch. We've never seen anything like it before, and may never see it again - a guy with little in the way of physical gifts who absolutely dominates the game with unsurpassed skill. I'm just happy to have been around as an avid NBA fan to witness this guy.

I am so angry... sigh.

Even if we kept the pick, EG would have chosen Rubio, as would have the 6 other teams that passed on Curry. He was an unathletic guard coming out of horrible conference who was only in the lottery due to an insane tournament. Makes no sense to get butthurt over a decision that would have never happened.

EG may have passed on him for Rubio but the debate was real. Rubio couldn't shoot, was fragile, and GMEG has always followed Big East ball, watching Georgetown in particular. Anybody who paid attention saw Stef Curry destroy Georgetown singlehandedly as a freshman. As a sophomore he was even better, when we saw teams triple-team him while he brought the ball up the court only to get dissected by his passing. Bob Knight suggested he was the best PG that he had ever seen in the NCAA, for his passing and anticipation even more than his shot. Among scouts and cognoscenti here was a real and lively debate on Harden vs Curry with Rubio a dark horse runner up.

Murmurs suggested Ernie wanted Harden in that Larry Hughes role to run next to Gil, but when he was gone and with Abe ailing and a win-now mandate GMEG essentially bet on Gilbert and said we didn't need a back-up PG, so traded for veterans. Rubio had sprained ankle problems and was even more slim than Curry, and without an outside shot and needing the ball in his hands he would have been a worse fit next to Gil. But Curry as a rich man's Juan Dixon was something we had seen work before. Coach Eddie needed outside shooting to make his system work, hence Mike Miller.

Just because Ernie made a dumb decision, and Kahn made a dumber one in Minny (selecting three PGs that year if I recall it right) doesn't mean that any competent scouting department would have made the same read. The numbers were there. As I had argued since he was a freshman.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Three indeed: Rubio( 5th pick), Jonny Flynn(6th), and Ty Lawson(18th, traded to Denver for future pick)

[Sluggerface]

I am so angry... sigh.

Even if we kept the pick, EG would have chosen Rubio, as would have the 6 other teams that passed on Curry. He was an unathletic guard coming out of horrible conference who was only in the lottery due to an insane tournament. Makes no sense to get butthurt over a decision that would have never happened.

EG may have passed on him for Rubio but the debate was real. Rubio couldn't shoot, was fragile, and GMEG has always followed Big East ball, watching Georgetown in particular. Anybody who paid attention saw Stef Curry destroy Georgetown singlehandedly as a freshman. As a sophomore he was even better, when we saw teams triple-team him while he brought the ball up the court only to get dissected by his passing. Bob Knight suggested he was the best PG that he had ever seen in the NCAA, for his passing and anticipation even more than his shot. Among scouts and cognoscenti here was a real and lively debate on Harden vs Curry with Rubio a dark horse runner up.

Murmurs suggested Ernie wanted Harden in that Larry Hughes role to run next to Gil, but when he was gone and with Abe ailing and a win-now mandate GMEG essentially bet on Gilbert and said we didn't need a back-up PG, so traded for veterans. Rubio had sprained ankle problems and was even more slim than Curry, and without an outside shot and needing the ball in his hands he would have been a worse fit next to Gil. But Curry as a rich man's Juan Dixon was something we had seen work before. Coach Eddie needed outside shooting to make his system work, hence Mike Miller.

Just because Ernie made a dumb decision, and Kahn made a dumber one in Minny (selecting three PGs that year if I recall it right) doesn't mean that any competent scouting department would have made the same read. The numbers were there. As I had argued since he was a freshman.

I'm not debating the fact that Curry wasn't impressive in college. But it's easy to compare Rubio/Curry with 20/20 hindsight. It wasn't so clear at the time. Rubio had concerns as well, but had been playing professional ball since the age of 15, and was a rotation player on a silver medal olympic team that featured several NBA players. Rubio was one of the most hyped euro prospects of all time. I'll take having the chance to play against Team USA at the age of 17 in a gold medal match over how anyone performs against georgetown. The Miller/Foye trade was universally loathed by the fanbase. I remember the night it happened Prada had an article up on the front page of BF with a picture of Rubio and a headline that read "This one could have been ours." There may have been people hyping curry at the time, but the majority of people were in the Rubio group.

Regardless, both players have dealt with their fair share of issues. There's a reason that both of them aren't playing on max contracts. Curry was nothing more than an offensive point guard (with ankle concerns) that couldn't play defense in his first three years in the league. Now he's the best player on the planet.

Most people have a better chance of getting laid by Natalie Portman than having a player picked out of the top 3 become arguably the best player on the planet at any point in their careers. So again, I think it's unreasonable to get mad about it.

[closg00]

Harden/Houston woke up, Harden dropped 37 in the Rockets come from behind victory.

[closg00]

After losing two close games to ATL, Charlotte trashes the Bulls tonight, the Cats bench was huge. Portis scored 10 points in 9 minutes, could have been garbage time.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

We really really should have kept Jordan Clarkson. What was the point of selling that pick anyway, and then waste money on Neal?

[closg00]

We really really should have kept Jordan Clarkson. What was the point of selling that pick anyway, and then waste money on Neal?

Grunfelded,that's your answer.

[Rafael122]

League Pass is so addicting, especially now since I play NBA DFS on Fanduel. But not sure if I can justify the $200.

[Kanyewest]

The Hawks are 4-1. They seem to be built for the regular season.

[Kanyewest]

Speaking of Jordan Clarkson, how much should he get paid relative to Beal when he's a free agent? Granted he's a few years older and he's very efficient on the offensive end of the court although he doesn't appear to play much if any defense.

[Ruzious]

We really really should have kept Jordan Clarkson. What was the point of selling that pick anyway, and then waste money on Neal?

Exactly. Selling the pick ended up losing them money in the long run.

Re Miami, they're good, but their lack of speed and quickness in the backcourt is a problem for them, imo.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Speaking of Jordan Clarkson, how much should he get paid relative to Beal when he's a free agent? Granted he's a few years older and he's very efficient on the offensive end of the court although he doesn't appear to play much if any defense.

...but we would have had him dirt cheap for 3 years and I'm pretty sure he's worth a first round pick right now

[Hidden Eye]

League Pass is so addicting, especially now since I play NBA DFS on Fanduel. But not sure if I can justify the $200.

Yeah really overpriced it would be better if they had it where you can buy single games for atleast 4-5 a pop.

[Kanyewest]

Speaking of Jordan Clarkson, how much should he get paid relative to Beal when he's a free agent? Granted he's a few years older and he's very efficient on the offensive end of the court although he doesn't appear to play much if any defense.

...but we would have had him dirt cheap for 3 years and I'm pretty sure he's worth a first round pick right now

Yes, I agree he's worth a first rounder or maybe more than that. I am just wondering if Beal is worth a max contract, does that mean Clarkson is worth one too since they are both going to be free agents this offseason.

[closg00]

Speaking of Jordan Clarkson, how much should he get paid relative to Beal when he's a free agent? Granted he's a few years older and he's very efficient on the offensive end of the court although he doesn't appear to play much if any defense.

...but we would have had him dirt cheap for 3 years and I'm pretty sure he's worth a first round pick right now

Yes, I agree he's worth a first rounder or maybe more than that. I am just wondering if Beal is worth a max contract, does that mean Clarkson is worth one too since they are both going to be free agents this offseason.

My first reaction was to say that Clarkson won't come close to getting what Beal will get, BUT, the season is early. Clarkson could play his way into a nice 1st contract, but well-short of a "stars" salary.

[Kanyewest]

My first reaction was to say that Clarkson won't come close to getting what Beal will get, BUT, the season is early. Clarkson could play his way into a nice 1st contract, but well-short of a "stars" salary.

That's probably right. Despite having a high efficiency at putting the ball at the rim , his rebounding/assist numbers are not impressive and he appears to be a below average defender. But yeah, I would love to have had him or at the very least Washington should have at least taken a shot on some young talent with their second rounder.