Around The NBA: 2019-20 RESTART

[Repeat 3-peat]

Oh my gosh that Ja Morant near-dunk would have been possibly top 5 greatest dunks ever in-game. Ho Lee Cow

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[RakimAbdulJabar]

The Bucks are the first team I've seen all season that weren't really bothered with the Lakers length and didn't allow them to just throw countless lobs as bigs rolled to the basket. It wasn't just Giannis in there contesting, Brook Lopez did a good job and the rest of the team made a collective effort to clog the paint in the 1st half.

It's absolutely ridiculous how many whistles Davis gets, you can't go near that guy without the whistle blowing

Giannis 5-8 from 3 was huge and while he's definitely improved in that department I'm still not a fan of him taking that many in general over the course of the season as opposing defenses should be letting a 32% three point shooter just take them when you consider how effective he can be once he gets inside both for himself and finding others open for 3

I'm very surprised the Bucks are doing so well, I know Giannis has stepped up big time, but on paper I didn't see this roster playing so well.

Hill and Matthews looked great while Middleton to me is still a huge overpay and they may end up regretting it if they can't move him as I don't trust them to win a best of game 7 series in the finals but if I'm wrong then great, as long as the Lakers don't win I'm good.

I hope Howard and Dudley are out for the season soon, those 2 idiots are just out there looking to injure people honestly

Was this always the case? Or did it change once he got to LA?

I don't know if the numbers back it up, but it certainly seems like more from what I'm watching

[RakimAbdulJabar]

How impressive are the Mavs to be winning without Doncic. They just walked into Philadelphia and looked like the better team right from the tip off.

They took turns leading with Hardaway Jr going off for 5 threes in the 1st quarter, Porzingis who I'm not a fan of played really well on both ends, Powell doesn't put up big numbers but I just like the way he positions himself on the court, later in the game Curry had a nice stretch, Brunson is playing solid (hated his dad on the Bulls) Kleber was efficient and had 2 outstanding drives on Embiid finishing with a dunk and a left hand layup plus the foul

They just seem to find ways to win and play good team basketball, gotta give credit to Carlisle for getting a roster that didn't look amazing on paper to play so well.

The Sixers fans are the worst, as soon as their team falls behind by 8 they start booing, this was just the 2nd home loss of the season for the Sixers and they were booing them like they'd only won 2 at home all season. It does bring me happiness to see Embiid and Simmons lose though, I can't stand either of those guys, but Thybulle needs to be a Bull one day, you can't have bull in your name and not play in Chicago!

[MrFortune3]

The 2019-20 Miami Heat is crazy smart. This team has zero pedigree. The highest draft pick of anybody who plays is Justice Winslow, at #10. The starters are two very late lottery picks (#13 and #14), one late first rounder, and two undrafted players. The lead guy off the bench was a 2nd rounder.

And they have a better record (slightly) than The Process because all they do in the court is share, share, share. Tonight, they had 20 assists on their first 20 made baskets. Man.

They have a identity, a sound culture and they know what the expectation is.

[The Explorer]

The 2019-20 Miami Heat is crazy smart. This team has zero pedigree. The highest draft pick of anybody who plays is Justice Winslow, at #10. The starters are two very late lottery picks (#13 and #14), one late first rounder, and two undrafted players. The lead guy off the bench was a 2nd rounder.

And they have a better record (slightly) than The Process because all they do in the court is share, share, share. Tonight, they had 20 assists on their first 20 made baskets. Man.

They have a identity, a sound culture and they know what the expectation is.

And to top it off, they currently have a drama with a player, but its not causing a distraction for them. The front office isn't going to the media and making any excuses.

[Red Larrivee]

Also, for all their flaws, letting talented players go who end up developing into desirable players is not one of them. This only happens extremely rarely to the Bulls.

Their problem has been more in talent accumulation than in talent leakage.

I think it's the culture and structure here too. Obviously having Dinwiddie would be nice, but I remain unconvinced that he would be the player he is now if the Bulls kept him. It would've still led them to the position they're in now.

[Ice Man]

The East quietly has become the more interesting of the two Conferences, at least for me. There are only six good teams in the East, but they're all balling. Philly currently is 6th among the group, and it's playing at 55 win pace.

I think it's fair to say that the other five teams are outperforming expectations. The Bucks were supposed to be good, but not better=-than-last-year good, Boston benefited from dumping Kyrie even more than the Kyrie haters (like me) thought would happen, the Raps have withstood Kawhi's departure, and Miami and Indy have just plain been surprising.

The East is no joke this year.

[Dan Z]

It's absolutely ridiculous how many whistles Davis gets, you can't go near that guy without the whistle blowing

Was this always the case? Or did it change once he got to LA?

I don't know if the numbers back it up, but it certainly seems like more from what I'm watching

It makes me wonder if it's because he's playing with another great player (LeBron) or if the refs are purposely doing it. Hmmm.

[johnnyvann840]

How impressive are the Mavs to be winning without Doncic. They just walked into Philadelphia and looked like the better team right from the tip off.

They took turns leading with Hardaway Jr going off for 5 threes in the 1st quarter, Porzingis who I'm not a fan of played really well on both ends, Powell doesn't put up big numbers but I just like the way he positions himself on the court, later in the game Curry had a nice stretch, Brunson is playing solid (hated his dad on the Bulls) Kleber was efficient and had 2 outstanding drives on Embiid finishing with a dunk and a left hand layup plus the foul

They just seem to find ways to win and play good team basketball, gotta give credit to Carlisle for getting a roster that didn't look amazing on paper to play so well.

The Sixers fans are the worst, as soon as their team falls behind by 8 they start booing, this was just the 2nd home loss of the season for the Sixers and they were booing them like they'd only won 2 at home all season. It does bring me happiness to see Embiid and Simmons lose though, I can't stand either of those guys, but Thybulle needs to be a Bull one day, you can't have bull in your name and not play in Chicago!

Just goes to show you the difference having a well coached team can make. Also, just playing a lot with high IQ players makes others better, and vice versa. The Bulls 55 win Jordan-less team is a perfect example. Practicing and playing with MJ made that team better, gave them passion and you saw the results when Michael went to play baseball. Hell, Scottie himself is a great example of how just practicing and playing next to Jordan can elevate a player to be the best they can be.

Good and bad habits and poor, high IQ/low IQ play is contagious. Play with high usage dumb players and the whole team becomes a low IQ, dumb team. It's plain as day and clear to see all over the league and it has been for decades.

[HomoSapien]

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I like the idea of a midseason competition, but I don't love shortening the schedule by four games. People say it's only 4 games, but if you're a fan of basketball you're losing 120 games.

[dumbell78]

Luka about to sign a multi year shoe deal with the Jordan brand. He would have looked awesome in a Bulls uniform and Jordans.

[dice]

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I like the idea of a midseason competition, but I don't love shortening the schedule by four games. People say it's only 4 games, but if you're a fan of basketball you're losing 120 games.

the tournament basically converts 60 low import regular season games to 120 high(er) import games in the group stage of the tourney and then adds an 8 team single elimination playoff

the only reason i don't like it is that i simply don't care if my team wins a dinky midseason tourney. the superstars aren't going to care about the financial incentive of winning it either

[Ice Man]

Soccer fans seem universally to care about cup competitions, which are much the same thing. Winning the FA Cup isn't like winning the Premier League, but if a team wins both its fans are crazy happy, and if a team wins the FA Cup but not the Premier League its fans typically feel as if the season was a success.

[dumbell78]

Really think mid season tourney is meaningless as a fan, I couldn't care less if we win one. I'm not going to tell my grandkids about that awesome Thanksgiving tourney we won that one year. It's silly to think any star would care. Hell I bet load management takes care of a few of them lol.

[dice]

Really think mid season tourney is meaningless as a fan, I couldn't care less if we win one. I'm not going to tell my grandkids about that awesome Thanksgiving tourney we won that one year. It's silly to think any star would care. Hell I bet load management takes care of a few of them lol.

that's a great point. there would surely be load management issues arising from a mid-season tourney. hell, the superstars on contending teams might actually WANT to miss the mid-season playoffs so they could get an extra week off. if i'm lebron i'm skipping multiple games of the 8 that all teams play

[dice]

The East quietly has become the more interesting of the two Conferences, at least for me. There are only six good teams in the East, but they're all balling. Philly currently is 6th among the group, and it's playing at 55 win pace.

I think it's fair to say that the other five teams are outperforming expectations. The Bucks were supposed to be good, but not better=-than-last-year good, Boston benefited from dumping Kyrie even more than the Kyrie haters (like me) thought would happen, the Raps have withstood Kawhi's departure, and Miami and Indy have just plain been surprising.

The East is no joke this year.

i will say that the bucks still having worse odds to win the title than BOTH the lakers and clippers is kinda silly given that the bucks are very clear favorites in the east, have easily been the best team in the league so far and could end up w/ home court in finals

lakers and clippers both being at 2.5/1 is also interesting given that the lakers have been better so far and would have a mild home court advantage in every game of a potential 7 game series matchup

the mavs are #2 in the league in SRS behind the bucks right now. crazy

[MrFortune3]

The East quietly has become the more interesting of the two Conferences, at least for me. There are only six good teams in the East, but they're all balling. Philly currently is 6th among the group, and it's playing at 55 win pace.

I think it's fair to say that the other five teams are outperforming expectations. The Bucks were supposed to be good, but not better=-than-last-year good, Boston benefited from dumping Kyrie even more than the Kyrie haters (like me) thought would happen, the Raps have withstood Kawhi's departure, and Miami and Indy have just plain been surprising.

The East is no joke this year.

i will say that the bucks still having worse odds to win the title than BOTH the lakers and clippers is kinda silly given that the bucks are very clear favorites in the east, have easily been the best team in the league so far and could end up w/ home court in finals

lakers and clippers both being at 2.5/1 is also interesting given that the lakers have been better so far and would have a mild home court advantage in every game of a potential 7 game series matchup

the mavs are #2 in the league in SRS behind the bucks right now. crazy

I think the oddsmakers favor the team with the 2 or more proven stars. The Bucks are a solid team overall but it's just Giannis and a bunch of solid players.
The Lakers have LeBron and AD, I think they'll have more trouble in the playoffs than most think. The Clippers have Kawhi and PG13 + a strong bench and team overall.

Of course, there is a reason the game is played in real life and not merely on paper.

[PrimzyBulls81]

How impressive are the Mavs to be winning without Doncic. They just walked into Philadelphia and looked like the better team right from the tip off.

They took turns leading with Hardaway Jr going off for 5 threes in the 1st quarter, Porzingis who I'm not a fan of played really well on both ends, Powell doesn't put up big numbers but I just like the way he positions himself on the court, later in the game Curry had a nice stretch, Brunson is playing solid (hated his dad on the Bulls) Kleber was efficient and had 2 outstanding drives on Embiid finishing with a dunk and a left hand layup plus the foul

They just seem to find ways to win and play good team basketball, gotta give credit to Carlisle for getting a roster that didn't look amazing on paper to play so well.

The Sixers fans are the worst, as soon as their team falls behind by 8 they start booing, this was just the 2nd home loss of the season for the Sixers and they were booing them like they'd only won 2 at home all season. It does bring me happiness to see Embiid and Simmons lose though, I can't stand either of those guys, but Thybulle needs to be a Bull one day, you can't have bull in your name and not play in Chicago!

I was telling the guys that Dallas hasnt got that bad of a team,they have some solid vets,winning thursty players, good team chemistry, Carlisle is making better rotations lately and they found their groove. Even with Luka out atm,they are capable of playing winning bb.

[PrimzyBulls81]

The 2019-20 Miami Heat is crazy smart. This team has zero pedigree. The highest draft pick of anybody who plays is Justice Winslow, at #10. The starters are two very late lottery picks (#13 and #14), one late first rounder, and two undrafted players. The lead guy off the bench was a 2nd rounder.

And they have a better record (slightly) than The Process because all they do in the court is share, share, share. Tonight, they had 20 assists on their first 20 made baskets. Man.

They have a identity, a sound culture and they know what the expectation is.

yeah,Im glad for them - but as I said before,Im not sure if they are mature and experianced enough to make deep in playoffs just yet,despite having some vets like Jimmy, Goran, JJ, Olynyk.. I see 2nd round exit this year,maybe even first.

[PrimzyBulls81]

Really think mid season tourney is meaningless as a fan, I couldn't care less if we win one. I'm not going to tell my grandkids about that awesome Thanksgiving tourney we won that one year. It's silly to think any star would care. Hell I bet load management takes care of a few of them lol.

I agree.. its just dumb and dumber to have this tournament. They want to reduce games to 78 ,then to have this MT and overall they will have even more games then! Silver you moron!