NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 2

[FAH1223]

CJ Watson provided a huge boost for the Pacers

Hibbert is still horrible and George is taking bad shots out of the flow of the offense

[FAH1223]

Westbrook is crazy

[hands11]

TOR just trashed DET.

Demar had 30 pts
Kyle Lowry 28pts

Pulling for CHI to pull it out over the Knicks

CHI down 6 with 3 mins to go and NY at the line... Yikes

[Sluggerface]

Watching Kendall Marshall tear up this Memphis defense makes me want to punch EG in the face.

[pineappleheadindc]

Watching Kendall Marshall tear up this Memphis defense makes me want to punch EG in the face.

THIS.

[hands11]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Fing Knicks.

I both hate them and now have to root for them.

TOR finishes off their season in NY. NY has to beat them now. Good thing NY just beat thing in TOR so we know they are able to do it.

CHI now is on the fence having to beat ORL and at CHA

Looks like its going down to the wire folks. We are matched up against TOR again.

[Sluggerface]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Fing Knicks.

I both hate them and now have to root for them.

TOR finishes off their season in NY. NY has to beat them now.

CHI now is on the fence having to beat ORL and at CHA

Looks like its going down to the wire folks. We are matched up against TOR again.

Idk still a good chance we get matched up against IND. I don't see us winning tomorrow. I think our seeding is going to fall on whether or not CHA can beat CHI last game of the season.

[hands11]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Fing Knicks.

I both hate them and now have to root for them.

TOR finishes off their season in NY. NY has to beat them now.

CHI now is on the fence having to beat ORL and at CHA

Looks like its going down to the wire folks. We are matched up against TOR again.

Idk still a good chance we get matched up against IND. I don't see us winning tomorrow. I think our seeding is going to fall on whether or not CHA can beat CHI last game of the season.

So CHI has to beat CHA in CHA
Hopefully ATL beats CHA in ATL tomorrow and puts that to rest
and NY has to beat TOR in NY

CHA needs to lose their next two games or if they win tomorrow, we need to beat MIA tomorrow. MIA has been beatable lately and we did beat them at home last time and played them well without Nene before folding in the 4th.

[Sluggerface]

My Kendall Marshall rage is peaking.

[hands11]

My Kendall Marshall rage is peaking.

Worst Lakers team since

Spoiler:

1959-60

That's amazing.

He sees the floor really well and makes some really pretty passes but he isn't helping them win.

They have won only 12 games since he joined them Sat 12/21 or call it Sun 12/29 when he started getting mins

[FAH1223]

Grizzlies control their fate. They win out, they get the 7th seed and avoid SA.

Randolph is shooting below 40% in the 14 or so games since the 2011 playoff series when he dominated the Spurs and the Grizz won in 6.

The Grizz have beaten OKC only once this year but they probably do have confidence vs them beating them last year in 5 without Westbrook and taking them to 7 in 2011...

I'd like to see a rematch of that series.

[Illmatic12]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Fing Knicks.

I both hate them and now have to root for them.

TOR finishes off their season in NY. NY has to beat them now.

CHI now is on the fence having to beat ORL and at CHA

Looks like its going down to the wire folks. We are matched up against TOR again.

Idk still a good chance we get matched up against IND. I don't see us winning tomorrow. I think our seeding is going to fall on whether or not CHA can beat CHI last game of the season.

So CHI has to beat CHA in CHA
Hopefully ATL beats CHA in ATL tomorrow and puts that to rest
and NY has to beat TOR in NY

CHA needs to lose their next two games or if they win tomorrow, we need to beat MIA tomorrow. MIA has been beatable lately and we did beat them at home last time and played them well without Nene before folding in the 4th.

FYI, Charlotte has been holding Kemba Walker out for the playoffs (groin).. unfortunately for them that could be the difference between a solid shot at beating Toronto and making the second round, or a quick 4-0 sweep vs Miami.

[Kanyewest]

How in the hell can Andre Drummond be so dominant yet the Pistons continue to lose so bad? Last night, Drummond had 26 points and 26 rebounds (including 12 offensive rebounds so you know most of his 26 points weren't because of plays being run for him). He also had a block and 3 steals. The Pistons lost to the Bulls 106-98.

It's because he's a bad leader who doesn't make his teammates better. Also, he doesn't know how to win. He's a stat padder.

I thought Kevin love when I read that, but I'm assuming you're being sarcastic...

Drummond is weird though to me, he fills up the box score but his game seems...unimpactful, maybe because it is predicated a lot on his teammates mistakes. Drummond is young though, he doesn't have to be the alpha guy on his team yet, its awesome for Davis that he is so far, but there is a reason why Davis went number 1 overall and Drummond dropped. Drummond is doing most his work on sheer athleticism and size. Refinement may come in time.

I have to agree that sometimes stats aren't everything. Then again, Detroit has assembled a cast that really doesn't really make much sense. They have a power forward in Monroe that should be playing center. They have a small forward in Smith that should be playing forward. Pope is not a good stretch player who shoots around 30% from 3. And Jennings is only a 35% 3 point shooter who has gotten worse at 3 since his rookie season.

Still, with Drummond, I wonder if he is actually good defensively. Getting blocks doesn't mean that he's a good defensive player (see Javale McGee). I would point to someone like Roy Hibbert who hasn't been a good rebounder in comparison but does a good job in contesting shots that guys like Stephenson and George are among the best rebounding wings in the game.

Time will tell about Drummond. Like Beal he's only in his second year and he will probably have an opportunity to play with better teammates. But he's probably not going to be one of the best players of the game without improving some critical flaws (ie his 41% free throw shooting).

[Illmatic21]

It's because he's a bad leader who doesn't make his teammates better. Also, he doesn't know how to win. He's a stat padder.

I thought Kevin love when I read that, but I'm assuming you're being sarcastic...

Drummond is weird though to me, he fills up the box score but his game seems...unimpactful, maybe because it is predicated a lot on his teammates mistakes. Drummond is young though, he doesn't have to be the alpha guy on his team yet, its awesome for Davis that he is so far, but there is a reason why Davis went number 1 overall and Drummond dropped. Drummond is doing most his work on sheer athleticism and size. Refinement may come in time.

I have to agree that sometimes stats aren't everything. Then again, Detroit has assembled a cast that really doesn't really make much sense. They have a power forward in Monroe that should be playing center. They have a small forward in Smith that should be playing forward. Pope is not a good stretch player who shoots around 30% from 3. And Jennings is only a 35% 3 point shooter who has gotten worse at 3 since his rookie season.

Still, with Drummond, I wonder if he is actually good defensively. Getting blocks doesn't mean that he's a good defensive player (see Javale McGee). I would point to someone like Roy Hibbert who hasn't been a good rebounder in comparison but does a good job in contesting shots that guys like Stephenson and George are among the best rebounding wings in the game.

Time will tell about Drummond. Like Beal he's only in his second year and he will probably have an opportunity to play with better teammates. But he's probably not going to be one of the best players of the game without improving some critical flaws (ie his 41% free throw shooting).

Drummond isn't a good defender, at all. He just hasn't been coached enough yet. He gets lost on defense all too frequently, and it doesn't help that most of the players around him are turnstiles.

But he's a physically imposing presence, rebounds like a goddamn beast and dunks everything around the basket. For a 20-year old that's enough to get excited about.

He still compares quite favorably to Dwight Howard at the same age (slightly worse offensive player, but better rebounder). There's no criticism anyone could have about Drummond currently that couldn't have applied to 20-year old Dwight.

[Kanyewest]

Drummond isn't a good defender, at all. He just hasn't been coached enough yet. He gets lost on defense all too frequently, and it doesn't help that most of the players around him are turnstiles.

But he's a physically imposing presence, rebounds like a goddamn beast and dunks everything around the basket. For a 20-year old that's enough to get excited about.

He still compares quite favorably to Dwight Howard at the same age (slightly worse offensive player, but better rebounder). There's no criticism anyone could have about Drummond currently that couldn't have applied to 20-year old Dwight.

Except on the defensive end- where he was above average and showed the potential to be elite on that end. Maybe you are right that Drummond's defense is suffering because of poor coaching. Heck Dwight was a better free throw than Drummond and even a present day Dwight. I guess Drummond is improving at the free throw line, he was only a 29% free throw shooter then and now he's at 41%.

[dobrojim]

is Stuckey any good? I remember just missing him when we got Nick and how it seemed
like we really just missed another good player by one pick a la Reggie Miller way back when.
But Stuckey hasn't seem to develop much but it's hard to tell since DET is such a bad team.
How much does Stuckey have to do with that?

[Illmatic21]

Drummond isn't a good defender, at all. He just hasn't been coached enough yet. He gets lost on defense all too frequently, and it doesn't help that most of the players around him are turnstiles.

But he's a physically imposing presence, rebounds like a goddamn beast and dunks everything around the basket. For a 20-year old that's enough to get excited about.

He still compares quite favorably to Dwight Howard at the same age (slightly worse offensive player, but better rebounder). There's no criticism anyone could have about Drummond currently that couldn't have applied to 20-year old Dwight.

Except on the defensive end- where he was above average and showed the potential to be elite on that end. Maybe you are right that Drummond's defense is suffering because of poor coaching. Heck Dwight was a better free throw than Drummond and even a present day Dwight. I guess Drummond is improving at the free throw line, he was only a 29% free throw shooter then and now he's at 41%.

Dwight wasn't a great defender his second year either. Orlando had a terrible defense his second year (24th) similar to Detroit now. Dwight didn't really start anchoring that defense until several years into his career.

If Drummond gets some proper coaching around him (and defensive players) I expect to follow a similar progression.

The one thing you said is FT shooting, that's definitely his biggest problem. Drummond makes Dwight look like Nash from the FT line. It's actually gonna be a major issue if he doesn't improve, if he can't convert at the FT line it will limit his usage offensively because teams will just foul him. But other than that, the sky is the limit for Drummond imo

[Kanyewest]

Dwight wasn't a great defender his second year either. Orlando had a terrible defense his second year (24th) similar to Detroit now. Dwight didn't really start anchoring that defense until several years into his career.

If Drummond gets some proper coaching around him (and defensive players) I expect to follow a similar progression.

The one thing you said is FT shooting, that's definitely his biggest problem. Drummond makes Dwight look like Nash from the FT line. It's actually gonna be a major issue if he doesn't improve, if he can't convert at the FT line it will limit his usage offensively because teams will just foul him. But other than that, the sky is the limit for Drummond imo

We'll see. I agree Drummond's ceiling is high. He still has to put in a lot of work and he might be a little less physically gifted than Dwight but even with that Drummond is still one of the more imposing bigs in the game.

[Illmatic21]

The atmosphere in the Suns arena right now is like a funeral. I feel so friggin bad for those players

It is completely unfair that they're missing the playoffs.. while us Eastern conference teams can underachieve and still back into the postseason

[FAH1223]

The atmosphere in the Suns arena right now is like a funeral. I feel so friggin bad for those players

It is completely unfair that they're missing the playoffs.. while us Eastern conference teams can underachieve and still back into the postseason

Not fair at all. I hope the NBA goes to something like the NFL with its AFC/NFC format.

The East is a joke and its unfair that a team that's close to 50 wins and more than doubled their win total from last year is sitting at home. I feel real bad for the Suns.

What a game though. Big shots after big shots. Frye here, then Mike Miller, then Plumlee, then Gasol, then Dragic, then Conley, and then ZBO with a steal and layup to make it a two possession game. One of the best games of the year. Felt like a Game 7.

The Grizzlies meanwhile can still get up to 7th if they beat Dallas at the Grindhouse on Wednesday. That's a big game. Both teams I would imagine would rather face OKC rather than SA given recent history. Zbo is shooting below 40% vs. SA since he went nuts on them in the 2011 playoff upset.