Discussing Other NBA Games 2.0

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #241 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 3:09 am

7-Day Dray wrote:Isaiah Thomas of the Kings had another great game tonight. 23 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds. Just to think this guy was very close to being undrafted because of his height.

I wish we drafted him instead of Mack. He's more talented, quicker, better ball-handler, and plays with confidence.

Yep. I didn't see him being this good at all coming into the draft. Kid sounds like a very wise kid, too. He came out of University of Washington early, for the right reasons.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... as-left-uw

"Knowing me, the NBA would have happened anyway eventually," Thomas said. "But it wouldn't have happened this year. Me having the ball in my hands as much as I did was a blessing in disguise. Gaddy and I talk about it all the time. He says, `Man, if this didn't happen to me, you wouldn't be where you are right now.'

"Every team I visited, the first question was always, `Why did you put your name in for the draft?'" Thomas said. "And I told each team the reason was the circumstances of next season at Washington had I stayed. With Gaddy coming back and Wroten coming in, I wouldn't have been able to showcase my skills as (primarily) a point guard, which is the position I will be playing at the next level.

"My stock wouldn't be any higher next year, no matter what I did. A lot of people don't realize all that went into my decision. They just say, `Oh, he should have stayed.' They don't see all the circumstances."

The real stunner is he is better than Jimmer Fredette as an NBA player. He's starting and Jimmer comes off the Kings' bench.

hands11 · Post #242 » by **hands11** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 4:09 am

There are always gems to be found. Top 5 draft picks are not everything.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #243 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:02 am

Game of the year so far between OKC and DEN.

Durant scored career-high 51 points. Westbrook had 40. Ibaka had a monster triple double: 14 points, 15 rebounds, 11 BLOCKS, 1 steal, 1 assist.

Thunder were down 5 with under a minute and came back and won in OT, 124-118.

It happened on a day when Kenyon Martin defended Carmelo Anthony and said if Karl were a better coach, Melo wouldn't have left. KMart said Melo was not a team cancer. In this game, a superstar beat a well-rounded roster. In fairness, Denver is not the same with Gallinari out. They've lost 3 straight. Also, today JR Smith debuted with the Knicks and helped them beat Dallas. I thought Smith didn't get enough minutes with Denver. He's better than Afflalo, but not making nearly the same $.

I am glad Denver lost, since my man Faried only got 11 minutes. Messed me up in fantasy, as I had picked him up off the waiver wire.

TGW · Post #244 » by **TGW** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:11 am

llcc25 wrote:who is this guy Ersan Ilyasova of Bucks? Just dropped 29pts and 25 boards in win over Nets. Any chance Vesely develops into this guy? lol

I was talking about him in the free agency thread as a cheap alternative to signing Ryan Anderson.

He's a good player that would fit in very well with this team as a shooting big man.

verbal8 · Post #245 » by **verbal8** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 3:26 pm

hands11 wrote:Hell yeah. If he keeps this up, we should definitely go after him ( I dont think the kid will fail at this point). You always go for a quality talent like this if they are available. Its about adding assets when you can. You can figure out which to keep later. That would be like buying a number 1 pick who you know isnt a bust. That would be a huge asset.

I am pretty sure his contract is capped at a MLE deal which the Knicks will obviously offer.

closg00 · Post #246 » by **closg00** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 3:55 pm

TGW wrote:
llcc25 wrote:who is this guy Ersan Ilyasova of Bucks? Just dropped 29pts and 25 boards in win over Nets. Any chance Vesely develops into this guy? lol

I was talking about him in the free agency thread as a cheap alternative to signing Ryan Anderson.

He's a good player that would fit in very well with this team as a shooting big man.

There was a Tap article a few weeks ago about IIyasova getting a lot of overseas offers. IIyasova is gonna get some nice (mid-level) offers as a FA.

closg00 · Post #247 » by **closg00** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:32 am

Looks-like D-Will is abusing Lin badly tonight, he's got something to prove. Melo with 5 TO's so-far.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #248 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:18 am

Lin had a pretty good "bad" game. 21 points (7-18 FG, 2-4 3PT), 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and only 3 turnovers. Got his butt handed to him by D Will, though.

The Knicks have added 4 players in the last three games: Melo, JR Smith, Baron Davis, and Amare Stoudemire.

I bet they don't get more than 3 wins in a row again the rest of the season. Lin had them winning 6 or 7 in a row without those guys. There is no way they will play the same kind of defense, and there will also be some ball watching.

Nivek · Post #249 » by **Nivek** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:36 am

Speaking of Lin, I was thinking about his turnovers over the weekend. The raw turnover numbers are very high, but they're actually not high in relation to his possession usage. His usage rate is 30+ -- extremely high (that's like Gilbert/Kobe/Iverson/Jordan usage rate). His turnover rate is about 22% -- roughly the level of top-shelf PGs through the years. I'm not saying he shouldn't work to cut down on the turnovers, but I don't think they're cause for a lot of concern. If the Knicks are able to lower his usage to a more sane (but still high) 25, I suspect the turnovers would come down and his efficiency would likely climb by a 2-3 points per 100 possessions.

So far the Knicks have been asking him to carry a HEAVY load offensively. As others start sharing some of that load, Lin should be able to settle into a more comfortable role.

TheBigThree · Post #250 » by **TheBigThree** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:30 am

Batum is a really good player. Hope we look at him long and hard this off season.

closg00 · Post #251 » by **closg00** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:10 pm

Game of the week tonight, Heat vs Knicks on TNT, should be a huge ratings winner.

llcc25 · Post #252 » by **llcc25** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:18 pm

TheBigThree wrote:Batum is a really good player. Hope we look at him long and hard this off season.

I"ve been singing this tune all year. I think we have a great shot b/c I don't see POR being able to sign both Wallace and him this summer.

Post #253 » by **Ruzious** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:26 pm

llcc25 wrote:
TheBigThree wrote:Batum is a really good player. Hope we look at him long and hard this off season.

I"ve been singing this tune all year. I think we have a great shot b/c I don't see POR being able to sign both Wallace and him this summer.

And he's a guy that can excell at both ends of the court. Those guys are hard to come by. By this time next season, people will find it hard to believe he's been a backup most of his career - much like Harden. I mentioned before that it's possible the Wiz could get both Batum and Ilyasova, but the way they're both being featured more - that's becoming less likely.

closg00 · Post #254 » by **closg00** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:04 pm

Re: Batum. I think everything hinges on if Portland thinks Babbit can fill Batum's shoes, that's a tall order. If Ted doesn't make a play for FA this summer, then I'm done with this team.

tontoz · Post #255 » by **tontoz** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:22 pm

Interesting article on Josh Smith. Having watched a lot of Hawks games this is so true. Over the years everyone would say "If only Smith would do this or that" he would be a great player but after all these years he is still the same guy.

Recently, I spoke with two NBA coaches and promised their anonymity so they could speak freely about Smith. While both coaches said Smith would, without question, make their team better, both do not believe he is an All-Star yet.

Why?

"He doesn't play hard the entire game," said one Eastern Conference coach. "If you break down an 82-game season, he's an All-Pro for 30, very average for 30 and does not show up to the arena for 20 of them. An 'All-Star' does not do that"

The problem, according to both coaches, is Smith's love affair with the long jumper.

"He takes long two-pointers, which is the worst shot in the game," said the Eastern coach. "We hope he scores his first two shots, because we know he'll keep shooting from out there."

The NBA three-point line is at 22 feet in the corners, 23 feet 9 inches at the top of the key.

Long two-pointers are from 20-22 feet and this year Smith has attempted 71 of them, shooting 36 percent.

Of the other All-Star reserves, all of which are picked by Eastern Conference coaches, Luol Deng took 30 shots from between 20-22 feet. Andre Igoudala attempted 22 and Paul Pierce took 10.

Deng, Igoudala and Pierce combined for 62 long-range two-pointers while Smith has taken 71.

"Listen," said Mr. Western Conference, "He's a guy you have to pay attention to on the scouting report, but you don't know which one shows up. 'Good' Josh can kill you, 'Bad' Josh becomes our sixth man. All-Stars don't have that many highs and lows. His highs are unbelievable, but no all-star has his lows. That's why you respect Kevin Love. His bad nights are 16 and 11, his great night are 36 and 17"

http://www.wsbtv.com/weblogs/zach-klein ... -becomes-/

closg00 · Post #256 » by **closg00** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:07 am

Bron guarding Lin, it's on :clap:

Love the KNicks board, 34 pages before the game has begun.

closg00 · Post #257 » by **closg00** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:20 am

The Heat are too-strong, there will be no Lin tonight.

tontoz · Post #258 » by **tontoz** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:06 am

Lin came close to a double double, 8 points and 8 turnovers. 1-11 from the field, 3 assists.... if Wall had a game like that this board would flip out.

no D in Hibachi · Post #259 » by **no D in Hibachi** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:55 am

Miami's perimeter defense is insane. Best i've seen since mid-90's bulls and the rules are totally different now. Man, i hate lebron but OMG, dude can ball.

Dat2U · Post #260 » by **Dat2U** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 4:10 am

tontoz wrote:Lin came close to a double double, 8 points and 8 turnovers. 1-11 from the field, 3 assists.... if Wall had a game like that this board would flip out.

We'd have the amazingly sucky John Wall thread, complete with JJ calling Wall the B' word, hands saying Wall is an idiot and too much like Gilbert and CCJ reminding us how great it would have been if the Wizards listened to him and traded Wall for Cousins and a pick instead.

Lin IS a good NBA player but I don't think he was ever the savior that NY and the media were starting to make him out to be. He doesn't make NY a contender and he's really benefited from a combination of perfect timing and an ideal PG friendly system that fits his skillset nicely.

Lin is a great story considering he was on the verge of getting cut but he's not an elite player and it was unfair to make him out to be one.