Official NBA General Discussion 2019 V2.0

[OAKLEY_2]

Durant got GSW to give the nets a pick in his own trade? fn ridiculous.

Theres going to be a big lockout.

Deep down if the Balmer's get the Kawhi's or the Durants even w ruptured achilles they don't give a rats about picks especially if they get a top five player. GSW hoarded the bounty w Durant and then they lost to him. The owners seem happy to build by poaching, collusion, tampering and whatever gets it done and if anything the top players are their own ownership stake and middle earners be damned. No big market owner is complaining about parity.

[Kevin Willis]

Lol NO! He may have a career like Nash but titles by Kawhi and the fact he is the best two way player this league has seen, there is no comparable.

Kawhi also got extremely lucky. Instead of Indiana he ended up in San Antonio. Then he got traded to Toronto who wins 50 every year. Then he signs in LAC with Paul George. If you ignore titles and look at stats it's possible Doncic career might be better. I doubt Leonard will have as long a career.

Doncic can't play defense well, very true, but he's better than Nash ever was. Plus Kawhi is not as strong a facilitator. Well that's my wild prediction anyway after I saw a video of his rookie season.

Leonard is just so strong and that really defines him. He imposes his "force" on those around him. Doncic will never have that physical inertia and strength which also includes the mental game that switches gears seamlessly. If Kawhi was lucky with the Raps and SA the Clippers now look like a far worse destination than even the Lakers especially when it is all down to George/Kawhi/Montrezl/Zubac & scrubs and the stars both require load management. I think they might be between a rock and hard place after sending so much to OKC but even without the luck of a deep team I would never count out an almost healthy Kawhi Leonard. Way too soon to say Doncic will be better than Nash. Nash was MVP.

Doncic are almost identical in terms of height and weight except one plays PG and the other SF. Doncic's mentality is an assassin, just like Kawhi. In his rookie year he has hit multiple game winners, something Kawhi did not do as a rookie. Doncic has put up better numbers at a younger age and Kawhi has never been an MVP, just a candidate. Doncic will be an MVP candidate as well. Kawhi has gotten lucky for the teams he's played for. Doncic plays for Dallas.

Kawhi is a better player but at the end of the careers I think Doncic will have better numbers.

[fbalmeida]

Just now, while returning to my desk from the water cooler (39ºC today in Braga!), I spontaneously remembered that the Toronto Raptors are the 2019 NBA champions and failed to contain a burst of joyous laughter.

Going to order a Raptor mug.

Sheesh. 50 euros with shipping. I'll have to reconsider.

Update: Ordered this mug today for an acceptable €12.24 with shipping.

https://www.nbastore.eu/stores/nba/en/product/toronto-raptors-champions-2019-mug/269360

I was shooting some hoops with my daughters the other day, and noticed a random kid wearing a blue Curry jersey. I've gotta step up my game. So I'll be needing a suitable t-shirt to work on my jump shots. Undecided between a Lowry, we the north, or plain raptors logo.

[niQ]

Read on Twitter

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[fbalmeida]

My new lock screen for the office desktop.

[Boogie!]

So Tobias Harris just said sixers were at top of the east. Last year jaylen brown guaranteed a finals appearance. Idk why all these unproven guys keep making guarantees. I understand confidence, but hopefully the curse continues and the sixers flop. I guess that means raps to the finals again.

[hsb]

So Tobias Harris just said sixers were at top of the east. Last year jaylen brown guaranteed a finals appearance. Idk why all these unproven guys keep making guarantees. I understand confidence, but hopefully the curse continues and the sixers flop. I guess that means raps to the finals again.

I find it kind of interesting that they are showing zero respect to the Bucks by being so blatant at how much "better" they are than the field.

[OakleyDokely]

The problem with PHI is they lack a top 5-6 player (which is usually needed to win a title) and they don't have a lot of shooting. I'd still take MIL over them in a playoff series.

[tdotrep2]

So Tobias Harris just said sixers were at top of the east. Last year jaylen brown guaranteed a finals appearance. Idk why all these unproven guys keep making guarantees. I understand confidence, but hopefully the curse continues and the sixers flop. I guess that means raps to the finals again.

The sixers are an embiid injury away from not getting HCA

[T-d0t]

My new lock screen for the office desktop.

Link to that?

[fbalmeida]

My new lock screen for the office desktop.

Link to that?

I cropped it from here:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0091/0727/5839/products/Laying_white_wall_copy.jpg

A thing of beauty. Norman Rockwell-esque.

[Boogie!]

The Celtics lost irving and horford and replaced them with who exactly, and rose has them above the sixers? Trash media continues.

[Jstock12]

The Celtics lost irving and horford and replaced them with who exactly, and rose has them above the sixers? Trash media continues.

Is Rose 99% certain they're above the Sixers?

[artsncrafts]

shoulda signed Korver for some snipe action

[XxIronChainzxX]

So Tobias Harris just said sixers were at top of the east. Last year jaylen brown guaranteed a finals appearance. Idk why all these unproven guys keep making guarantees. I understand confidence, but hopefully the curse continues and the sixers flop. I guess that means raps to the finals again.

I find it kind of interesting that they are showing zero respect to the Bucks by being so blatant at how much "better" they are than the field.

They clearly think we got lucky and don't respect the Bucks because we backdoor swept them. They're in for a rude awakening IMO.

[Johnny Bball]

Read on Twitter

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[Son Goku 25]

I think Mil are the favs in the east.

[Kabookalu]

It's either the Sixers or Bucks forsure. I actually like the fit between Horford and Embiid and think they'll be fine defensively and offensively, however I don't think Harris is a good fit at all with them. He was already a mediocre defender at the 4, but now that he's a 3? I think they should bring him off the bench and start Mike Scott, but I doubt we see that happen. Bucks took a stepback with Brogdon leaving, who I think was their second best player, though Giannis is a real wildcard for them. Giannis was a superstar for them, but I still felt there were a lot of holes in his game as far as reading and exploiting the defense in the half court, and we clearly saw that against us when Gasol exposed him. Though Giannis is on the cusp of being on that peak LeBron tier if he improved his decision making and saw plays develop faster and that'll more than makeup for the loss of Brogdon.

[Jenga_tDot]

https://streamable.com/ib14i

Stole this from reddit.

[fbalmeida]

While shopping in Braga last Sunday, I spotted a guy window shopping with his girlfriend or wife, wearing a black hat with big fat white letters on it: 416, raptors logo in the ball of the six.

With opportunities to talk Raptors and all things Toronto being few and far in between over here, I questioned him, while pointing to his hat... "És de Toronto? (are you from Toronto?)".

Three seconds later, we shared our connection to the city (we were both born there, of Portuguese immigrants) and the three of us were deep into an excited, super friendly and mild mannered discussion on the Raptors, the finals, the parade, how it brought construction to a halt in the city (he is a construction worker, of course), about jurassic park, on now being the leafs' turn, etc.

Nice moment. Proud of being a small part of this international outreach.