NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 3

[nate33]

I'm watching Atlanta leading the Heat late in the 4th quarter and I'm green with envy. Atlanta is playing the game without All-Stars Teague and Horford. Another starter, Demarre Carroll, is out too. It doesn't matter. They are getting double-digit scoring from Dennis Schroder (2nd season), Kent Bazemore (3rd season), and John Jenkins (3rd season). Plus another 9 points from Mike Scott (3rd season). These are all guys found late in the draft or from waivers. Scott makes $3.3M. The rest make less than $2M a year. All are 26 or younger. And these guys aren't padding their stats in garbage time. It was a 5 point game mid-way through the 4th quarter.

That's how you build a team.

[FAH1223]

Wow. The Suns only scored 24 points in the 1st HALF vs. the Spurs.

I know the Spurs are great defensively, but wow.

[Kanyewest]

I'm watching Atlanta leading the Heat late in the 4th quarter and I'm green with envy. Atlanta is playing the game without All-Stars Teague and Horford. Another starter, Demarre Carroll, is out too. It doesn't matter. They are getting double-digit scoring from Dennis Schroder (2nd season), Kent Bazemore (3rd season), and John Jenkins (3rd season). Plus another 9 points from Mike Scott (3rd season). These are all guys found late in the draft or from waivers. Scott makes $3.3M. The rest make less than $2M a year. All are 26 or younger. And these guys aren't padding their stats in garbage time. It was a 5 point game mid-way through the 4th quarter.

That's how you build a team.

Atlanta is deep but they still had 2 all stars in Korver and Milsapp which is one more than Miami currently has on the floor. Whiteside has been really good but it's hard to see Miami really doing any damage in the postseason without Bosh.

[FAH1223]

LOOOOOL @ Spoelstra's reaction after Chalmer's turnover. It's like he just did a line of coke

[FAH1223]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/KCJHoop/status/572137483007348736[/tweet]

[pancakes3]

This houston/cle game is pretty damn good. Flashes of LeQueen on Beverley trying to bravely draw a charge.

[FAH1223]

This is what we're missing. Ariza is frustrating LeBron today.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Rockets_Insider/status/572149222566432768[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/EthanJSkolnick/status/572147963679490048[/tweet]

[nuposse04]

1. I wonder what Ed Davis is worth on a fair contract
2. I wish we could sign him
3. We'll probably sign Seraphin instead
4. *cries*

[FAH1223]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

[TGW]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

[nate33]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

Meh, that's no reason to bang your head. Kanter was out there for the taking, but do you really want to pay him a max or near-max contract for the next 5 years? Kanter is what he is. He's a decent offensive center who can average a double double while playing relatively poor defense. He's not as good as Gortat and he is likely to sign a contract that pays him more. Since we already have Gortat, the acquisition of Kanter would have been a poor allocation of resources.

[Ruzious]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

Meh, that's no reason to bang your head. Kanter was out there for the taking, but do you really want to pay him a max or near-max contract for the next 5 years? Kanter is what he is. He's a decent offensive center who can average a double double while playing relatively poor defense. He's not as good as Gortat and he is likely to sign a contract that pays him more. Since we already have Gortat, the acquisition of Kanter would have been a poor allocation of resources.

It's not like the Wiz had an asset like Reggie Jackson to get him. Since the Wiz have wasted so many assets over the years, they didn't have the right assets to trade. Kanter's more valuable than Gortat mainly because of his age. Kanter's on the upside of his career while Gortat is likely on the downside. And with the cap's expected dramatic increase in 2016, signing a player to high 2015 standards might seem like good planning in 2016. At minimum, it gives OKC interesting choices. I think the trade was a great move - certainly better for them than holding on to Jackson.

[Ruzious]

I was just looking at Toronto and noticed something bizarre. Jonas Valuncianis is putting up stats that show him being one of the best young bigs in the NBA - very high scoring efficiency with a PER over 20. He's a big 7 footer who can make his presence felt on defense. So what's the issue? His +/- is -13.2. They actually play better with Handsbrough playing center. Is this about spacing? JV is not a jump shooting threat - and pretty much stays near the paint all the time on offense. Same with Drummond on Detroit - and he's never had a good +/- - while putting up excellent numbers. Do good low post players who aren't perimeter threats actually hurt their team's offense even when they do their job well?

[nate33]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

Meh, that's no reason to bang your head. Kanter was out there for the taking, but do you really want to pay him a max or near-max contract for the next 5 years? Kanter is what he is. He's a decent offensive center who can average a double double while playing relatively poor defense. He's not as good as Gortat and he is likely to sign a contract that pays him more. Since we already have Gortat, the acquisition of Kanter would have been a poor allocation of resources.

It's not like the Wiz had an asset like Reggie Jackson to get him. Since the Wiz have wasted so many assets over the years, they didn't have the right assets to trade. Kanter's more valuable than Gortat mainly because of his age. Kanter's on the upside of his career while Gortat is likely on the downside. And with the cap's expected dramatic increase in 2016, signing a player to high 2015 standards might seem like good planning in 2016. At minimum, it gives OKC interesting choices. I think the trade was a great move - certainly better for them than holding on to Jackson.

I like the move by OKC too. He was a good fit in their system and a massive upgrade over Perkins. Even if he bolts next summer, it makes sense from a win-now perspective since Adams is hurt.

I'm just saying the trade is no reason to bash EG. Even if we had the assets, Kanter isn't a guy I'd go after for this team.

[closg00]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/572223849904750592[/tweet]

Meh, that's no reason to bang your head. Kanter was out there for the taking, but do you really want to pay him a max or near-max contract for the next 5 years? Kanter is what he is. He's a decent offensive center who can average a double double while playing relatively poor defense. He's not as good as Gortat and he is likely to sign a contract that pays him more. Since we already have Gortat, the acquisition of Kanter would have been a poor allocation of resources.

It's not like the Wiz had an asset like Reggie Jackson to get him. Since the Wiz have wasted so many assets over the years, they didn't have the right assets to trade. Kanter's more valuable than Gortat mainly because of his age. Kanter's on the upside of his career while Gortat is likely on the downside. And with the cap's expected dramatic increase in 2016, signing a player to high 2015 standards might seem like good planning in 2016. At minimum, it gives OKC interesting choices. I think the trade was a great move - certainly better for them than holding on to Jackson.

The continued reverberations of the "Blown Draft of 2011" Reggie Jackson was drafted 24th, 6 spots after Singleton. We got sh*t for Vesely, Singleton, & Mack, at the end of the day Sessions on a 2-year deal was Ernie's haul.

[Illmatic12]

I was just looking at Toronto and noticed something bizarre. Jonas Valuncianis is putting up stats that show him being one of the best young bigs in the NBA - very high scoring efficiency with a PER over 20. He's a big 7 footer who can make his presence felt on defense. So what's the issue? His +/- is -13.2. They actually play better with Handsbrough playing center. Is this about spacing? JV is not a jump shooting threat - and pretty much stays near the paint all the time on offense. Same with Drummond on Detroit - and he's never had a good +/- - while putting up excellent numbers. Do good low post players who aren't perimeter threats actually hurt their team's offense even when they do their job well?

Both Drummond and Valanciunas are mediocre defenders statistically (Drummond has actually been a negative most of his time in DET). Their PER is strong due to playing style imo.. they're massive dudes who hang around the rim most of the game, leads to a lot of high-percentage baskets and rebounds -- thus boosting their counting stats + efficiency. PER is not really a good measure of effectiveness for bigs (at least, it isn't good for comparing complementary big men to each other) because depending on the team PF/Cs are asked to play different roles and that doesn't always show up in the stats.

Serge Ibaka is better than both Drummond and JV for instance, and his PER is only 16. If he played closer to the basket he could probably corrall more rebounds and get some easier buckets here and there. But OKC asks him to play wide and spread the floor offensively, and his defensive impact can't fully be captured by PER either.

[FAH1223]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/nbatv/status/572554286279888896[/tweet]

[TheSecretWeapon]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/nbatv/status/572554286279888896[/tweet]

It's almost like his per game numbers are related in some way to his minutes per game.

[FAH1223]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MySportsLegion/status/572586397468626944[/tweet]

[AFM]

That was a pretty good take down. Did they make out when they got down there?