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MaceCase wrote:Embiid had a nice debut for his rookie season, 2 years after he was drafted.

Anthony Davis had 50 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals and 4 blocks........and the Hor...er..Pelicans still lost. They need their supporting cast to get better (both in health and talent) before AD solidifies himself as the modern era KG.

Westbrook might honestly be a bad influence on Oladipo, he was putting up shots as though he thought he had more than half the talent of Russy.

here are three things we learned this week:

1) Boston now has the worst defense in the NBA, it cost it another game Wednesday. The Celtic defense is not just bad — it is measurably the worst defense in the NBA this season, allowing 112.3 points per 100 possessions (according to NBA.com). That defense is costing the Celtics games.

The Celtics were top five in defense last season and brought back the same core in the same system — so what has happened? Injuries play a part...But this is more than that. Boston is struggling to defend the pick-and-roll [and] their rotations are not sharp. Beyond that, it just seems to be an effort thing.


2) Atlanta makes a statement with back-to-back wins over Cavaliers and Bulls. The Atlanta Hawks would like you to know they are for real this year. Or at least as real as we’re going to declare any team eight games into the season. Do you want evidence?

• Atlanta just dropped both the NBA champ Cavaliers then the surprisingly hot Bulls on a back-to-back.

• Atlanta is outscoring opponents by 10.2 points per 100 possessions (second only to the Clippers this season).

• They have the third-best defense in the NBA and a Top 10 offense so far.

• Each night a different guy seems to step up, against the Bulls Wednesday it was Thabo Sefolosha.

We could go on, but you get the idea — the Hawks are 6-2 with the Sixers next up. Dennis Schroder is growing more comfortable and is attacking as the starting point guard, Paul Millsap is still playing like an All-Star. Dwight Howard has fit in well — he’s been a beast on the boards, defended well, and Mike Budenholzer is using him brilliantly, putting him in situations where he’s asked to do more than just score (and Howard is fully buying in). The bottom line is we knew Cleveland would be elite in the East this season, we knew Toronto would be good, but after that we had questions about which other teams would step up. Atlanta is stepping up.

MaceCase wrote:We knew Kenny would have the Nets be competitive even if you'll struggle to name 80% of their starting lineup, No way they make the playoffs but that pick of theirs isn't going to be a surefire top 3 like many were predicting which leads us to...

Boston. They never understood regression to the mean, they practically rebuilt the Atlanta Hawks but whereas everyone was licking their lips at the eventuality of the Hawks falling off they somehow attributed a rise to contention for the Celtics. They are simply too small, can't rebound a lick and a system can only squeeze so much blood out of a stone. Ainge is still sitting on his "assets" waiting for some other GM to make him a sweetheart deal but the aforementioned Nets are doing their best to crater the value of his best chip.

The Wizards, lol at them. Personally enjoy their foibles after Wall, and fans here, touted that they would have ousted the Hawks in the playoffs if he hadn't gotten his non-displaced fracture on his hand that didn't require any surgery. They of course missed the playoffs altogether the following season, maxed out an injury prone Beal, traded a first rounder when they were out of the playoffs for Markieff Morris whom the Suns would have unloaded for a ham sandwich, spent years pursuing KD only to come away with an offseason with Kelly Oubre as their best bench player...

The Hornets look legit, unsurprisingly saw their prospects rise after they abandoned Al Jefferson and went with a better shooting faster paced squad. Kemba has put it all together and to think I actually started to appreciate Teague simply because I thought Kemba's extension was ridiculous at the time. Props to Marvin, always knew he had a niche in this league even if he'd never live up to his draft position.

Speaking of Teague, Paul George complained about the Pacers showing a lack of motivation and chemistry, sounds like Teague in a nutshell. They completely abandoned their grind it out defensive ways for an all in offensive team with seemingly too many cooks in the kitchen. They'll struggle until they show any commitment to defense and simplify the roles of some of the scorers.

Someone needs to put out an APB on Andre Drummond, Detroit needs Reggie Jackson and his pick and roll action back in the worst way as Drummond looks like an afterthought on that team despite the massive new contract.

Cleveland is Cleveland, Toronto seems reliant on DeRozen's volcanic eruption to maintain their status, Milwaukee will scrap, Orlando can't get right, Philly is Philly, then Chicago and NY are boom or bust.

Would like to see how any of this changes in the East at the next season milestone.

1) Russell Westbrook now averages a triple-double — for the season.

What is stunning is Westbrook is now the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double this far into the season — Robertson finished the 1962 season with a triple-double, and after Monday night Westbrook is officially at 30.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game.

That’s three straight triple-doubles and three straight wins for the Thunder, who improve to 11-8.

The Cavs are bored...probably because the East stinks in comparison

The Cleveland Cavaliers look bored. Not only are they the defending NBA champions and coming off back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals, but we’re a month into the NBA regular season and it’s already clear there isn’t a single team in the East that can remotely challenge them.

The Boston Celtics were the trendy pick this summer to challenge Cleveland. But after losing at home Wednesday night to the Detroit Pistons, Boston is now 10-8, and so far has been underwhelming compared to preseason expectations.

...it looked like the Atlanta Hawks, might be a worthy challenger. [S]wapping out Horford for Dwight Howard appeared to pay dividends when Atlanta went to Cleveland and won earlier this season, handing the Cavaliers their first loss.

But after starting the year 9-2, things have completely fallen apart. The Hawks have now dropped seven of their last eight games after a stinker in Phoenix Wednesday, having completely flopped during their long road stretch.

Klay Thompson scored 60 points in just 29 minutes of floor action but he actually held the ball in his hands for just 90 total seconds.

Thompson touched the ball 46 times and dribbled just 11 times on his 21 field goals.

Jamaaliver wrote:

Klay Thompson scored 60 points in just 29 minutes of floor action but he actually held the ball in his hands for just 90 total seconds.

Thompson touched the ball 46 times and dribbled just 11 times on his 21 field goals.

Here


This type of player seems like he'd thrive in our current (previous?) offensive system. A three point shooter who thrives in catch-and-shoot opportunities, running off screens all game. It's what Korver was before he got old.

Any under-rated SGs around the league with this skillset that could come defend, space the floor, curl off screens and unclog our offense? obviously not the caliber of player Klay is. But the style of player.

Any in the draft next year?

Think we ever had a shot at Devin Booker in 2015? Is there another one of him available anywhere in the world?

jayu70 wrote:

Jamaaliver wrote:Any under-rated SGs around the league with [Klay Thompson's] skillset that could come defend, space the floor, curl off screens and unclog our offense?

Bradley Beal?