Around the League - IST Games talk

[BUCKnation]

Depth around the league on these top teams seem awfully low. Seeing the benches of the teams last night made me feel a lot better about our situation, not that I was super low on it anyways.

[chonestown]

Ratto is an old-timer without the old-timer aftertaste. Doesn't go searching for a narrative (don't get me started on journalists branded as storytellers) and strives for unblinking lucidity. Seems like sportswriters fall into the camps of access merchants, takes purveyors and wonks. Ray's damn near refreshingly archaic.

[chonestown]

Also I'm praying for a Knicks victory tonight. Gassed up Knick fans are a delight.

(currently penning a Gemstones treatment where Walton Goggins spends time in NYC, becomes enraptured by the Garden's main tenant and forms a super fan group called Baby Billy's Bocker Backers)

[tydett]

Also I'm praying for a Knicks victory tonight. Gassed up Knick fans are a delight.

(currently penning a Gemstones treatment where Walton Goggins spends time in NYC, becomes enraptured by the Garden's main tenant and forms a super fan group called Baby Billy's Bocker Backers)

"There will come a payday some day, some day" might as well be the Knicks' eternal anthem

[tedbrogen]

Baby Billy court side with McEnroe chanting “DE-FENSE!”

[chonestown]

Baby Billy court side with McEnroe chanting “DE-FENSE!”

DE-FENSH

[Matches Malone]

Read on Twitter

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Gotta get a leg up on the competition... for Drew Eubanks. Fine work.

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Obviously he isn't a season changer, but if the 2nd round pick and a fine is the penalty then they did pretty well. He played a decent 20 minutes last night with 3 blocks. If they missed out on him, what options would they have when goes down with his annual injury: fight us for ROLO or someone else washed or play KD at Center?

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Defector's season preview is again the best around.

And Milwaukee was blessed by the great Ray Ratto:

Are they good?
Well, let's put it this way. Who's better? Assuming health, the Bucks are deeper than Boston, their chief rivals; they are more experienced at top-level play than every team save perhaps Golden State (and that assumes Chris Paul will be helpful); and they seem to have a unity of purpose that other teams don't have. Giannis was made happy, or at least happier, and barring the bad luck of disobedient ligaments, they have the feel of 60 wins. Whatever that feels like.

Are they fun?
Giannis. Dame. Brook Lopez. How much fun do you want, you greedy slobs?

Playoffs?
Yes, all of them. The NBA, NHL, Men's and Women's Final Fours, and the Champions Leagues.

I'm stunned that this is probably the first guy to actually acknowledge this. This whole "they're not as deep after the Lillard trade" talking point was wild. Like, we lost Grayson **** Allen, not all of Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, and Robert Williams.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Read on Twitter

I was never a fan of the draft but it did have some great moments. Obviously, you had the Giannis/Dame/LBJ moment, but also Giannis throwing shade at Harden and then the iconic moment of James forcing KD to pick someone besides Harden

Watch on YouTube

ETA: I lost it then and lost it again when Lebron asked if he's (James Harden) is healthy cause why hasn't he been playing.....

ETA2: Funny how things don't really change with Harden. Always has a foot out the door.

[emunney]

Gotta get a leg up on the competition... for Drew Eubanks. Fine work.

Read on Twitter

Obviously he isn't a season changer, but if the 2nd round pick and a fine is the penalty then they did pretty well. He played a decent 20 minutes last night with 3 blocks. If they missed out on him, what options would they have when goes down with his annual injury: fight us for ROLO or someone else washed or play KD at Center?

I don't have much regard for him, so if you do, I guess this would make more sense. They could have just brought Biyombo back. They could STILL bring Biyombo back.

[WeekapaugGroove]

The suns signed like 4 players the first 5 minutes of free agency so they definitely were talking to guys early but there were like 20 other examples league wide so it's funny how arbitrary the league is punishing for this.

I guess if a team complains they have to investigate, they should just do away with the charade and let teams and FAs talk the minute the season is done. Or if they actually want to stop it they could start punishing the players agents.

Sent from my SM-F731U using RealGM mobile app

[Turk Nowitzki]

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Giannis recruits one star to Milwaukee and Silver immediately puts an end to the player draft

[tedbrogen]

So the tampering evidence Miami sent to the league about Dame/Milwaukee was just a video clip of the last all star draft?

[Matches Malone]

I'm not looking forward to watching Jrue play with the Celtics. Just gross.

[Turk Nowitzki]

I'm not looking forward to watching Jrue play with the Celtics. Just gross.

It's going to be annoying because I think he's going to kill it for them in the regular season. Playoffs we know are a different story but there's a whole regular season to get through first.

[tedbrogen]

Patience. The better Jrue looks in the regular season the harder it will be for Simmons and everyone to understand what is happening when Jrue is going like 4-20 in the playoffs.

[Ayt]

I hate to say it, but I hope Porzingis is banged up in the playoffs. Boston is a very different team without him.

[jimmybones]

The Knicks are not good

[blazza18]

Horford was screaming at the ref over the initial call and he ended up being wrong. Should've gotten a tech imo.