2018 -- NBA Games Thread

[DirtybirdGA]

In lotto news, bulls beat the Celtics.

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

Fast forward? It's the second week of December, dude...

65% of the season remains to be played.

[kg01]

Read on Twitter

Fast forward? It's the second week of December, dude...

65% of the season remains to be played.

And if there's any team that should want to relish the regular season it's HOU with 'Antoni (perennial playoff failings), Har_en (perennial playoff failings) and CP2 (never been past 2nd round).

[Jamaaliver]

^That's the coldest burn I've ever seen.

[jayu70]

Read on Twitter

Fast forward? It's the second week of December, dude...

65% of the season remains to be played.

And if there's any team that should want to relish the regular season it's HOU with 'Antoni (perennial playoff failings), Har_en (perennial playoff failings) and CP2 (never been past 2nd round).

KingGimp with the fire...and truth.

[kg01]

^That's the coldest burn I've ever seen.

On another note, I'm expecting a snap back from a coupla teams ....

NYK - .500 record but 17 of 30 games have been at home, 1-8 on the road ... Winter is comin'
BOS - good solid team but they're not '23-6 w/o Hayward' good ... Law of Averages is comin'
IND - IIUC they have 2 West coast trips still to be played, LOLadipo can't keep this up ... Cali sunshine is comin'

On yet another note, I were told these teams wuz great but I'm not so sure ...

PHI - for all the sound and fury, these dudes are only at .500 and Joe-L still can't play most nights.
MIA - sorry but it appears they forgot the same dudes that went 30-11 also went 11-30. Only difference this year is .. they've all been paid now (my Heat-fan BIL is not happy .. which means I'm )
NOP - Looks like the 'Cans just can't get right, oh and AD still can't stay healthy. I'm telling you, he needs to look into Jonathan Bender's story and why he ended up having to retire early
SAC - What are you? Who'm I kidding, you are who we thought you were. A poorly-run franchise.
OKC - Trade. Paul. George. While. You. Still. Can.

On a positive note, I expect TOR to have a really good record. Have only played 10 home games so far, are a game over .500 on the road. They'll catch BOS record-wise.

[macd-gm]

Speaking of Miami. What's the story on Tyler Johnson? Is that guy any good?

[jayu70]

^That's the coldest burn I've ever seen.

On another note, I'm expecting a snap back from a coupla teams ....

NYK - .500 record but 17 of 30 games have been at home, 1-8 on the road ... Winter is comin'
BOS - good solid team but they're not '23-6 w/o Hayward' good ... Law of Averages is comin'
IND - IIUC they have 2 West coast trips still to be played, LOLadipo can't keep this up ... Cali sunshine is comin'

On yet another note, I were told these teams wuz great but I'm not so sure ...

PHI - for all the sound and fury, these dudes are only at .500 and Joe-L still can't play most nights.
MIA - sorry but it appears they forgot the same dudes that went 30-11 also went 11-30. Only difference this year is .. they've all been paid now (my Heat-fan BIL is not happy .. which means I'm )
NOP - Looks like the 'Cans just can't get right, oh and AD still can't stay healthy. I'm telling you, he needs to look into Jonathan Bender's story and why he ended up having to retire early
SAC - What are you? Who'm I kidding, you are who we thought you were. A poorly-run franchise.
OKC - Trade. Paul. George. While. You. Still. Can.

On a positive note, I expect TOR to have a really good record. Have only played 10 home games so far, are a game over .500 on the road. They'll catch BOS record-wise.

Good stuff.
Let's add:
Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well
Denver - what happened to Jokic? I know Millsap is out injured but it doesn't seem as if they were playing all that great with him before.
Orlando has taken a fall off a cliff since starting the season red hot.
Minny - looks like they are putting it together but until they fix their defense they won't get far in the playoffs. We just need our pick.
Charlotte - they've won 4 more games than us. Wow.
Phoenix like Sac - has no clue what they are doing.
Bucks - if only they had a better coach.
Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.
Bulls - now they have Mirotic back they've been on a win streak, 3 in a row. Good for them, even better for the Hawks.

[Jamaaliver]

Good stuff.

Let's add: Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well.

McCollum should have been traded already. Their skill sets are a massive duplication.

CJ Mc for Khris Middleton and a draft pick seemed right before the Bledsoe trade.

McCollum + extras for Aaron Gordon seems doable. Especially since Fournier and Gordon are blocking young Jonathon Isaac.

McCollum and Nurkic to Miami for Whiteside, Ty Johnson and extras could work.

[kg01]

^That's the coldest burn I've ever seen.

On another note, I'm expecting a snap back from a coupla teams ....

NYK - .500 record but 17 of 30 games have been at home, 1-8 on the road ... Winter is comin'
BOS - good solid team but they're not '23-6 w/o Hayward' good ... Law of Averages is comin'
IND - IIUC they have 2 West coast trips still to be played, LOLadipo can't keep this up ... Cali sunshine is comin'

On yet another note, I were told these teams wuz great but I'm not so sure ...

PHI - for all the sound and fury, these dudes are only at .500 and Joe-L still can't play most nights.
MIA - sorry but it appears they forgot the same dudes that went 30-11 also went 11-30. Only difference this year is .. they've all been paid now (my Heat-fan BIL is not happy .. which means I'm )
NOP - Looks like the 'Cans just can't get right, oh and AD still can't stay healthy. I'm telling you, he needs to look into Jonathan Bender's story and why he ended up having to retire early
SAC - What are you? Who'm I kidding, you are who we thought you were. A poorly-run franchise.
OKC - Trade. Paul. George. While. You. Still. Can.

On a positive note, I expect TOR to have a really good record. Have only played 10 home games so far, are a game over .500 on the road. They'll catch BOS record-wise.

Good stuff.
Let's add:
Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well
Denver - what happened to Jokic? I know Millsap is out injured but it doesn't seem as if they were playing all that great with him before.
Orlando has taken a fall off a cliff since starting the season red hot.
Minny - looks like they are putting it together but until they fix their defense they won't get far in the playoffs. We just need our pick.
Charlotte - they've won 4 more games than us. Wow.
Phoenix like Sac - has no clue what they are doing.
Bucks - if only they had a better coach.
Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.
Bulls - now they have Mirotic back they've been on a win streak, 3 in a row. Good for them, even better for the Hawks.

Whoooo, good stuff here.

I'd been telling @spud2 that Chuk McCollum may be the next star(ish) player to shake loose via trade. They're another team, like MIA, that ca$hed in on a roster of guys based on them collectively having career years. Now they're stuck (like Chuk?).

ORL was always fool's gold. Nothing good will come of them until Elfrid cuts that "hair".

MEM could possibly be in the worst situation in the league. Scared to cut bait on aging "stars" and thusly could be putting the fate of the franchise (in Memphis) at risk.

CHI about to Hawk themselves out of draft position. Curse you Bobby Sura! {shakes fist in the air.}

[jayu70]

Good stuff.

Let's add: Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well.

McCollum should have been traded already. Their skill sets are a massive duplication.

CJ Mc for Khris Middleton and a draft pick seemed right before the Bledsoe trade.

McCollum + extras for Aaron Gordon seems doable. Especially since Fournier and Gordon are blocking young Jonathon Isaac.

McCollum and Nurkic to Miami for Whiteside, Ty Johnson and extras could work.

They also have a similar skillset on defense - trash.
I like the Orlando trade, then they can move Payton to the bench.
Miami should take that deal and run, but woukd Portland take a chance on another big with constant injuries.

[MaceCase]

Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.

Memphis has their 2018 pick (currently slated at 4th worst). Their 2019 pick is owed to Boston but top 8 protected, then top 6, then unprotected in 2021.

Memphis continues to share similarities to Atlanta even when they take two different paths to the same destination. The Hawks hit reset rather than re-up and eventually bottom out regardless whereas Memphis hit re-up...and are bottoming out regardless. Perhaps the Hawks make out better with greater flexibility to build around a top pick or Memphis makes out better adding a top pick to their vet core.

[jayu70]

Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.

Memphis has their 2018 pick (currently slated at 4th worst). Their 2019 pick is owed to Boston but top 8 protected, then top 6, then unprotected in 2021.

Memphis continues to share similarities to Atlanta even when they take two different paths to the same destination. The Hawks hit reset rather than re-up and eventually bottom out regardless whereas Memphis hit re-up...and are bottoming out regardless. Perhaps the Hawks make out better with greater flexibility to build around a top pick or Memphis makes out better adding a top pick to their vet core.

Thanks. I knew Boston owned their pick but i didn't check the protections.
Didn't also realize they are 4th worse, wow.
If they keep the core and get a high pick that'll be interesting.

[kg01]

Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.

Memphis has their 2018 pick (currently slated at 4th worst). Their 2019 pick is owed to Boston but top 8 protected, then top 6, then unprotected in 2021.

Memphis continues to share similarities to Atlanta even when they take two different paths to the same destination. The Hawks hit reset rather than re-up and eventually bottom out regardless whereas Memphis hit re-up...and are bottoming out regardless. Perhaps the Hawks make out better with greater flexibility to build around a top pick or Memphis makes out better adding a top pick to their vet core.

Thanks. I knew Boston owned their pick but i didn't check the protections.
Didn't also realize they are 4th worse, wow.
If they keep the core and get a high pick that'll be interesting.

Will it though?

Based on their recent (and not so recent) draft record, I'm not so sure. In that regard, they are indeed very much like the Hawks.

[Jamaaliver]

Good stuff.

Let's add: Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well.

McCollum should have been traded already. Their skill sets are a massive duplication.

...McCollum and Nurkic to Miami for Whiteside, Ty Johnson and extras could work.

Miami should take that deal and run, but woukd Portland take a chance on another big with constant injuries.

Yeah, good points. Miami would likely have to cough up Justise Winslow and/or take back one of the terrible contracts POR has.

The injury concern is valid as well.

[jayu70]

Memphis has their 2018 pick (currently slated at 4th worst). Their 2019 pick is owed to Boston but top 8 protected, then top 6, then unprotected in 2021.

Memphis continues to share similarities to Atlanta even when they take two different paths to the same destination. The Hawks hit reset rather than re-up and eventually bottom out regardless whereas Memphis hit re-up...and are bottoming out regardless. Perhaps the Hawks make out better with greater flexibility to build around a top pick or Memphis makes out better adding a top pick to their vet core.

Thanks. I knew Boston owned their pick but i didn't check the protections.
Didn't also realize they are 4th worse, wow.
If they keep the core and get a high pick that'll be interesting.

Will it though?

Based on their recent (and not so recent) draft record, I'm not so sure. In that regard, they are indeed very much like the Hawks.

Well they're like the Hawks in that they haven't been drafting in the Lottery. They have a chance even with their vets.
If I were them I'd look to move Gasol now.

[Spud2nique]

On another note, I'm expecting a snap back from a coupla teams ....

NYK - .500 record but 17 of 30 games have been at home, 1-8 on the road ... Winter is comin'
BOS - good solid team but they're not '23-6 w/o Hayward' good ... Law of Averages is comin'
IND - IIUC they have 2 West coast trips still to be played, LOLadipo can't keep this up ... Cali sunshine is comin'

On yet another note, I were told these teams wuz great but I'm not so sure ...

PHI - for all the sound and fury, these dudes are only at .500 and Joe-L still can't play most nights.
MIA - sorry but it appears they forgot the same dudes that went 30-11 also went 11-30. Only difference this year is .. they've all been paid now (my Heat-fan BIL is not happy .. which means I'm )
NOP - Looks like the 'Cans just can't get right, oh and AD still can't stay healthy. I'm telling you, he needs to look into Jonathan Bender's story and why he ended up having to retire early
SAC - What are you? Who'm I kidding, you are who we thought you were. A poorly-run franchise.
OKC - Trade. Paul. George. While. You. Still. Can.

On a positive note, I expect TOR to have a really good record. Have only played 10 home games so far, are a game over .500 on the road. They'll catch BOS record-wise.

Good stuff.
Let's add:
Portland: i think the back court of Lillard and McCullum isn't long for this world. Nurkic looks like he's taken a step back as well
Denver - what happened to Jokic? I know Millsap is out injured but it doesn't seem as if they were playing all that great with him before.
Orlando has taken a fall off a cliff since starting the season red hot.
Minny - looks like they are putting it together but until they fix their defense they won't get far in the playoffs. We just need our pick.
Charlotte - they've won 4 more games than us. Wow.
Phoenix like Sac - has no clue what they are doing.
Bucks - if only they had a better coach.
Memphis - running in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper, they don't have their own pick this year either. They have to figure out when to cash out Gasol and maybe Conley.
Bulls - now they have Mirotic back they've been on a win streak, 3 in a row. Good for them, even better for the Hawks.

Whoooo, good stuff here.

I'd been telling @spud2 that Chuk McCollum may be the next star(ish) player to shake loose via trade. They're another team, like MIA, that ca$hed in on a roster of guys based on them collectively having career years. Now they're stuck (like Chuk?).

ORL was always fool's gold. Nothing good will come of them until Elfrid cuts that "hair".

MEM could possibly be in the worst situation in the league. Scared to cut bait on aging "stars" and thusly could be putting the fate of the franchise (in Memphis) at risk.

CHI about to Hawk themselves out of draft position. Curse you Bobby Sura! {shakes fist in the air.}

Yes agreed...I think the Magic or the Heat are the perfect fit for CJ...it's not going to work in Portland for him...skill set too similar to baby Dame. A couple other teams that should inquire about CJ in my opinion are the Sixers and Pelicans...

The Sixers have all this young talent, but at some point you need to bank on a few players in their prime, and team them up with Embiid and Simmons. Leaving CJ open would be the price of doubling Embiid...they throw JJ Redick, a first round pick and Holmes in the deal ...

The Pelicans need CJ more than any team in the league. He would be an absolute perfect fit for them with Anthony Davis ...CJ and Nurkic to the Pels for a package of Cousins and parts to fit salary if needed. The Pelicans almost NEED to roll the dice and make a play, otherwise Ant Davis might leave as well at the next opportunity.


Lillard is holding CJ back.
CJ is kinda holding Lillard back as well.

[Spud2nique]

Thanks. I knew Boston owned their pick but i didn't check the protections.
Didn't also realize they are 4th worse, wow.
If they keep the core and get a high pick that'll be interesting.

Will it though?

Based on their recent (and not so recent) draft record, I'm not so sure. In that regard, they are indeed very much like the Hawks.

Well they're like the Hawks in that they haven't been drafting in the Lottery. They have a chance even with their vets.
If I were them I'd look to move Gasol now.

Agreed! They seem hell bent on NOT trading Gasol or Conley....why? I mean unless you add a few premier players or shooter quick, you have no chance against the Scrubs and Rox and Spurs....


I would personally be a huge fan of Gasol to the Spurs to be reunited with his prick brother Pau. As the Spanish twin towers, they have a shot at the Warriors for sure with the brothers and Jaybird's ladycrush Kawhi! Lol.


Conley is another wonderful piece to the Pelicans.....


Wait wait wait...why the heck am I so concerned with making the Pels better? I feel like an Uncle Tom...Lol..

WHAT THE PELS EVER DO FOR ME HUH?

Oh jaaaa..flyyyyy Pelican ...fly around..

-Antonio Montana

[Spud2nique]

Watch on YouTube

[macd-gm]

Will it though?

Based on their recent (and not so recent) draft record, I'm not so sure. In that regard, they are indeed very much like the Hawks.

I would personally be a huge fan of Gasol to the Spurs to be reunited with his prick brother Pau. As the Spanish twin towers, they have a shot at the Warriors for sure with the brothers and Jaybird's ladycrush Kawhi! Lol.

Why is Kawhi a ladycrush?