Around the League - Curry Out "A few weeks"

[GoldenAntlers]

Dang, I was looking forward to a Dame/Ja showdown.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I feel like the Lakers have played the Pelicans a ton. Like didn't they play them a few times at the end of last year and already this year?

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

When the Lakers take their vitamins, they actually look really good. Lebron and James are still Top 10 NBA talent if focused, healthy and rested. I dont think they are contenders, but I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs either.

[H2tObes]

I watched the 2nd quarter of this Lakers game and Russ looked like the GOAT. I'm going to stop watching now, I don't tune into the Lakers to see good basketball.

[VooDoo7]

Matt Ryan hits a 3 at the buzzer to send the game to OT. His mean mugging afterwards may be the funniest **** I've ever seen.

[MrHoneycutt]

I know it's not the forte of many young studs in the league, but it still amazed me how bad Zion is on D.

[Plossum]

What a choke from the Pels. Brutal.

[Plossum]

I guess I shouldn't be due to his injury history, but must admit I'm surprised how below the rim Zion plays for an athlete of his caliber. He's very skilled and crafty but I thought he'd have a bit more power in his game when in the key.

[BigO]

My hot take after a couple weeks of watching teams is that:

1) Cleveland is the real deal, especially long-term. They need some experience together, but they have two near elite guards, two potential elite bigs and a good surrounding cast. They will be tough in a seven game series once they get a little experience.

2) New Orleans will be very good once Ingram gets back. I can see them in the eastern finals, if healthy.

3) Bucks will be right there. Biggest concern is what kind of player will KM be when he gets back. His defense took a backward trend last season and his shooting percentages were down. If he is at his best, the East is a 3 team race right now.

[buckboy]

Not too worried about Cleveland yet.

Future, yep.

[Turk Nowitzki]

I guess I shouldn't be due to his injury history, but must admit I'm surprised how below the rim Zion plays for an athlete of his caliber. He's very skilled and crafty but I thought he'd have a bit more power in his game when in the key.

It's less fun than seeing a person with his body type doing insane things athletically but below the rim is probably what is best for his career longevity. Haven't caught a full game of his yet but I always felt like he used his size and power very well in the past, interesting if he's going away from that. A superpowered Zach Randolph style is probably what makes sense for him in my head.

[thomchatt3rton]

CLE plays w a lot of verve and energy and confidence. Guys are smiling, cheering each other, playing hard. They’re fun.

Cavs could be a problem, esp for an older team like the Bucks- they could run us out of the gym in a series, but idk if they’ll play that loose and fast in playoffs.


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[Ron Swanson]

Cavs are legit but with Garland out, Bickerstaff is playing his backcourt an insane amount of minutes (Mitchell at 40 MPG and LeVert at nearly 37), and Mitchell is just going absolutely nuclear from the 3PT line (43.8% on over 9-attempts per game). He'll cool off eventually, and we'll really get to see how their offense gels with Garland/Mitchell, and whether that pairing can be exploited defensively.

[skbucks1985]

I was much higher on Cleveland than I think the median fan and analyst. I remember thinking before the season that it wouldn't surprise me if Cleveland ended up with the best record in the East but that was as much about thinking that because they're so young we wouldn't see much in the way of load management from them and so they wouldn't have those handful of losses that the Bucks will probably have primarily due to resting players. I don't really see them as title contenders though, they've got playoff experience on the roster as Levert has some as do Rubio and RoLo, Kevin Love obviously has a ton. But among their best players, Mitchell is the only one that has any. I think they're a little like Memphis from last season and I think this is the year where they get that experience and next year is when they'll be legit title contenders.

[emunney]

When the Lakers take their vitamins, they actually look really good. Lebron and James are still Top 10 NBA talent if focused, healthy and rested. I dont think they are contenders, but I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs either.

Literally nobody I'd rather play in the playoffs.

[JayMKE]

lol i'd take meeting the Lakers in the playoffs any day, that means we're in the finals and I feel good about the match up.

[Ron Swanson]

It's a shame that we'll never get to see a Giannis v. Lebron Finals matchup and get our true "passing the torch" moment even if it already happened 4-years ago.

[emunney]

lol i'd take meeting the Lakers in the playoffs any day, that means we're in the finals and I feel good about the match up.

There might be other WC playoff hopefuls we'd curb stomp more easily, but not many, and certainly none of them with the symbolic resonance of LeBron-AD.

[VooDoo7]

How long before Anthony Edwards wants out of MIN?

[ReasonablySober]

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As a reminder, the Spurs picked up Primo's option about four weeks ago.