NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 4

Post #1801 » by **nate33** » Wed Oct 7, 2020 2:19 pm

Anthony Davis has been a defensive monster these playoffs. He is the reason LA is dominating.

I thought it really interesting that they put Davis on Jimmy Butler in Game 4, with Lebron guarding Adebayo. It really worked. Butler just couldn't finish at the rim and was unwilling to take perimeter shots with Davis challenging. Meanwhile, Lebron was strong enough to prevent Adebayo from bullying him like he would if he was guarded by any ordinary forward in this league.

Post #1802 » by **Ruzious** » Wed Oct 7, 2020 2:24 pm

nate33 wrote:Anthony Davis has been a defensive monster these playoffs. He is the reason LA is dominating.

I thought it really interesting that they put Davis on Jimmy Butler in Game 4, with Lebron guarding Adebayo. It really worked. Butler just couldn't finish at the rim and was unwilling to take perimeter shots with Davis challenging. Meanwhile, Lebron was strong enough to prevent Adebayo from bullying him like he would if he was guarded by any ordinary forward in this league.

They're probably the 2 most physically imposing freaks in the NBA. That is a bold move to put Davis on Butler. Butler's just not a 3 point shooting threat anymore. I'm surprised Miami's not getting blown out - with Dragic out.

Post #1803 » by **nate33** » Sat Oct 10, 2020 3:52 am

Man, you gotta love Jimmy Butler. That guy is cold blooded. He just carried the Heat down the stretch, made every free throw, and guarded Lebron at the other end. Wouldn't let his team lose.

Post #1804 » by **montestewart** » Sat Oct 10, 2020 4:04 am

nate33 wrote:Man, you gotta love Jimmy Butler. That guy is cold blooded. He just carried the Heat down the stretch, made every free throw, and guarded Lebron at the other end. Wouldn't let his team lose.

Best game of series. Very exciting and (since I'm for the Heat) very satisfying. Alltime performance by Butler, but Robinson pretty spectacular too.

FAH1223 · Post #1805 » by **FAH1223** » Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:20 am

montestewart wrote:
nate33 wrote:Man, you gotta love Jimmy Butler. That guy is cold blooded. He just carried the Heat down the stretch, made every free throw, and guarded Lebron at the other end. Wouldn't let his team lose.

Best game of series. Very exciting and (since I'm for the Heat) very satisfying. Alltime performance by Butler, but Robinson pretty spectacular too.

Markieff Morris literally threw away an NBA Finals game. #SoWizards :lol:

queridiculo · Post #1806 » by **queridiculo** » Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:24 am

FAH1223 wrote:
montestewart wrote:
nate33 wrote:Man, you gotta love Jimmy Butler. That guy is cold blooded. He just carried the Heat down the stretch, made every free throw, and guarded Lebron at the other end. Wouldn't let his team lose.

Best game of series. Very exciting and (since I'm for the Heat) very satisfying. Alltime performance by Butler, but Robinson pretty spectacular too.

Markieff Morris literally threw away an NBA Finals game. #SoWizards

I laughed out loud when I saw that play.

Definitely my Wizards most hated.

Post #1807 » by **Ruzious** » Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:38 am

And what about Kendrick Nunn? He's not just a 3 point shooter - he's got some serious athleticism and has played some excellent defense. Honestly, they should have been using him more, and it took Dragic's injury for him to get any PT. Amazing that he wasn't drafted.

closg00 · Post #1808 » by **closg00** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 3:21 am

Pre-season is underway, Wall to Cousins, Houston drained 24 3-pointers

Read on Twitter

Post #1809 » by **nate33** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 2:56 pm

For some reason, I watched the extended "highlights" of the Detroit New York preseason game. What a mess. Final score was 90-84. There was a combined total of 46 turnovers and outside of some random dude named Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk who shot 4-8 from 3 in garbage time, Detroit shot 6-31 from 3 and New York shot 5-23. LOL.

For the Pistons, Killian Hayes looked terrible with 7 turnovers. Doumbouya did nothing. He played only 11 minutes, which is not encouraging. Blake Griffin was a statue out there. He is very highly skilled and could do some nifty things on offense with his shooting and passing, but he was clearly uninterested in playing a preseason game. He made no effort to get back on D at all. He literally would stand still as New York went on a fast break the other way.

The best player for the Knicks was Nerlens Noel. He was everywhere defensively and looked really good. Interestingly, Mitchell Robinson remains a bench player, where he put up some good rebounds and steals numbers but didn't score a FG. Obi Toppin looks pretty good, showing a respectable back-to-the basket game, although he isolated for about 4 seconds before getting his shot off. Barrett still looks like a guy who is in desperate need of floor spacing so he can have room to maneuver.

Post #1810 » by **nate33** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 3:06 pm

Cousins still looks terrible to me. The guy has no lift and still plays like a guard on offense with inefficient tendencies. I cringe every time he starts dribbling because I know it's going to end up with a midrange shot or wild, contested layup. Having him purely as a pick-and-pop 3-point threat will work well offensively, but the coach will need to convince him not to do anything else. And they are going to get destroyed on D.

Houston managed through sheer effort and intensity to be the 23rd best defense last year. They did it because they believed that they were contenders so everyone was willing to sacrifice on D. Now, they're without Covington, Tucker is a year older, and they are playing the immobile and unswitchable Cousins at center. Their defense will be worse on personnel alone, and as soon as the players sense they are out of contention, their effort level on D will drop too. That defense might end up as the worst in the league.

gambitx777 · Post #1811 » by **gambitx777** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 4:39 pm

The Lakers sat what 6 of their top 8 guys last night and beat the clippers.

And the blazers are gonna be a problem they look nasty. Man the west is gonna be a blood bath this year.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

Post #1812 » by **nate33** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 5:24 pm

gambitx777 wrote:The Lakers sat what 6 of their top 8 guys last night and beat the clippers.

And the blazers are gonna be a problem they look nasty. Man the west is gonna be a blood bath this year.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

Don't draw conclusions from preseason games, particularly for veteran teams. The Clippers starting unit with Paul George and Kawhi outscored the Lakers by 13 points in 14 minutes of action. The Lakers won because their garbage time lineup outplayed the Clippers' garbage time lineup. We learned nothing meaningful from the game.

gambitx777 · Post #1813 » by **gambitx777** » Sat Dec 12, 2020 7:50 pm

I know what you mean but they looked good and duck glad of these guys ain't playing in a month let's face it. The Lakers are pretty deep right now.

nate33 wrote:
gambitx777 wrote:The Lakers sat what 6 of their top 8 guys last night and beat the clippers.

And the blazers are gonna be a problem they look nasty. Man the west is gonna be a blood bath this year.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

Don't draw conclusions from preseason games, particularly for veteran teams. The Clippers starting unit with Paul George and Kawhi outscored the Lakers by 13 points in 14 minutes of action. The Lakers won because their garbage time lineup outplayed the Clippers' garbage time lineup. We learned nothing meaningful from the game.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app

closg00 · Post #1814 » by **closg00** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:36 pm

6:35, the crazy no-look behind the back pass is must-see....Melo's shot though...

Watch on YouTube

Post #1815 » by **nate33** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 6:28 pm

God d**m Jokic is so freaking good:

Watch on YouTube

26, 10 and 5 in 23 minutes, and he didn't even look like he was trying. He also looks about 15 pounds lighter. He was very light on his feet and getting up and down the court didn't seem like a chore. He is going to have a great season.

payitforward · Post #1816 » by **payitforward** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 7:14 pm

Jokic is absolutely unbelievable!

Dark Faze · Post #1817 » by **Dark Faze** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 7:29 pm

It's extremely early, but didn't take long at all for Okoro to show he can be a player in this league. Literally the only starter with a positive +/- which is bizarre. The nearest starter? +0 lol. Had to do a double check of the box score when I saw "D.Wade" on the bench, apparently it's Dean Wade lol, a PF.

Anyway Okoro with slashes of 18pts, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 ast, 3 steals, 4 turnover, 6/9 FG, 2/4 3ptFG, 4/4 FT.

Honestly I thought Obi looked great too--guy was working his butt off out there.

Post #1818 » by **Rafael122** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 8:26 pm

closg00 wrote:6:35, the crazy no-look behind the back pass is must-see....Melo's shot though...

Watch on YouTube

Saw a lot of tweets about Melo last night. Basketball IQ is clearly there but if he can't shoot, I'm not sure what his upside could be. Rubio?

Post #1819 » by **nate33** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 8:42 pm

Rafael122 wrote:
closg00 wrote:6:35, the crazy no-look behind the back pass is must-see....Melo's shot though...

Watch on YouTube

Saw a lot of tweets about Melo last night. Basketball IQ is clearly there but if he can't shoot, I'm not sure what his upside could be. Rubio?

Rubio was at least a plus defender. If Lamelo is a terrible shooter, then his upside is more like Jason Williams - bad defense plus bad shooting to go with really flashy passing.

It's a little early to be capping his upside though. I'm not saying he is a bust at all. He's young and he has the innate court vision that you can't teach. Let's give him some time to see if his shooting and defense come around.

bsilver · Post #1820 » by **bsilver** » Sun Dec 13, 2020 10:24 pm

Rafael122 wrote:
closg00 wrote:6:35, the crazy no-look behind the back pass is must-see....Melo's shot though...

Watch on YouTube

Saw a lot of tweets about Melo last night. Basketball IQ is clearly there but if he can't shoot, I'm not sure what his upside could be. Rubio?

How about the obvious, Lonzo Ball? Games look similar, but obviously too early to tell. Surprisingly, Lonzo made himself into a good 3 pt shooter (37.5% last season), while still managing a free throw % of 56.6.

It's amazing that there are so many NBA players with such poor shooting technique. I can understand staying with bad form if you're successful, but if you stink, try the right way.