Around the NBA (2020-21 season)

[The Rebel]

51 point loss by the Clippers today, I get not being super focused and Kawhi being out, but wtf?


On another note, has anybody else realized that George is at his best when he has a good PG? His best season by far was with Westbrook that 2nd year. The next best 1 was when Jeff Teague was still a good PG.

[skywalker33]

51 point loss by the Clippers today, I get not being super focused and Kawhi being out, but wtf?


On another note, has anybody else realized that George is at his best when he has a good PG? His best season by far was with Westbrook that 2nd year. The next best 1 was when Jeff Teague was still a good PG.

Lots of CRAZY games so far this season, gonna be another strange one IMO

[Maf]

Jerami must be really happy now. He has his cash, he has his shots, he has his stats. And they're 0-4 but who cares about that?

[THE J0KER]

Kevin Durant will quarantine, miss four games over seven days after exposure to COVID-19, per report

No updates about MPJ, but if 7 days is the new NBA standard for COVID19 quarantine, this means Porter should be available for the JAN-7 game vs Dallas if his quarantine started before the JAN-1 game vs Phoenix Suns, but will not play against Mavs if his quarantine started since JAN-1.

[THE J0KER]

NBA PER (Week 3)
1. Ja Morant: 32.2
2. James Harden: 30.8
3. Nikola Jokic: 29.7
4. Stephen Curry: 28.1
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 27.7
6. Nikola Vucevic: 27.7
7. Joel Embiid: 27.5
8. Trae Young: 27.2
9. Alec Burks: 27.1
10. Kevin Durant: 26.5
11. Michael Porter Jr.: 26.4
12. C.J. McCollum: 26.3
13. Kyrie Irving: 26.0
14. Karl-Anthony Towns: 26.0
15. Jaylen Brown: 25.5
16. Paul George: 24.5
17. LeBron James: 24.2
18. Christian Wood: 24.2
19. Ivica Zubac: 24.2
20. Chris Boucher: 24.0
21. Luka Doncic: 24.0
22. Derrick Favors: 24.0
23. DeMarcus Cousins: 24.0
24. Jayson Tatum: 23.8
25. Rajon Rondo: 23.7

Nothing new for Jokic of being close to the top in PER, but look who is there too.


From the same source full Denver Nuggets advanced stats this season so far (after just 6 games):

[NuggetsWY]

Spoiler:

NBA PER (Week 3)
1. Ja Morant: 32.2
2. James Harden: 30.8
3. Nikola Jokic: 29.7
4. Stephen Curry: 28.1
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 27.7
6. Nikola Vucevic: 27.7
7. Joel Embiid: 27.5
8. Trae Young: 27.2
9. Alec Burks: 27.1
10. Kevin Durant: 26.5
11. Michael Porter Jr.: 26.4
12. C.J. McCollum: 26.3
13. Kyrie Irving: 26.0
14. Karl-Anthony Towns: 26.0
15. Jaylen Brown: 25.5
16. Paul George: 24.5
17. LeBron James: 24.2
18. Christian Wood: 24.2
19. Ivica Zubac: 24.2
20. Chris Boucher: 24.0
21. Luka Doncic: 24.0
22. Derrick Favors: 24.0
23. DeMarcus Cousins: 24.0
24. Jayson Tatum: 23.8
25. Rajon Rondo: 23.7

Nothing new for Jokic of being close to the top in PER, but look who is there too.

From the same source full Denver Nuggets advanced stats this season so far (after just 6 games):

They say 15 is average. That puts 6 Nuggets above average and one right average and one real close. Nice!

[skywalker33]

So, though we have a LOT of the season left to go, does look improbable to get the top seed, we may be able to see a home court series in the playoffs. However, if we don't I see us a very unfavorable matchup to whoever draws us in the playoffs. Our team chemistry has yet to gel IMO but plenty of time for that. So here's my question: Can we advance in the playoffs if we don't get HCA or do we just flame out like POR did last year ??

[NuggetsWY]

So, though we have a LOT of the season left to go, does look improbable to get the top seed, we may be able to see a home court series in the playoffs. However, if we don't I see us a very unfavorable matchup to whoever draws us in the playoffs. Our team chemistry has yet to gel IMO but plenty of time for that. So here's my question: Can we advance in the playoffs if we don't get HCA or do we just flame out like POR did last year ??

Will there be HCA? At the rate teams are losing people to covid protocol, teams are going to need to use 20 players just to survive and if they don't do a bubble for the playoffs ...

[The Rebel]

So, though we have a LOT of the season left to go, does look improbable to get the top seed, we may be able to see a home court series in the playoffs. However, if we don't I see us a very unfavorable matchup to whoever draws us in the playoffs. Our team chemistry has yet to gel IMO but plenty of time for that. So here's my question: Can we advance in the playoffs if we don't get HCA or do we just flame out like POR did last year ??

I don't see why we wouldn't be able to advance in the playoffs this years even without homecourt. The biggest issue is that our bench is going to have to gel.

[skywalker33]

So, though we have a LOT of the season left to go, does look improbable to get the top seed, we may be able to see a home court series in the playoffs. However, if we don't I see us a very unfavorable matchup to whoever draws us in the playoffs. Our team chemistry has yet to gel IMO but plenty of time for that. So here's my question: Can we advance in the playoffs if we don't get HCA or do we just flame out like POR did last year ??

I don't see why we wouldn't be able to advance in the playoffs this years even without homecourt. The biggest issue is that our bench is going to have to gel.

Have to agree with the bench gelling but we also have some gelling on the starter as well. MPJ's COVID issues aren't helping solve any identity/chemistry issues while also removing Barton from the bench role/rotation. I also have questions about Millsap's production, Murray's consistency (although he appears to be a playoff warrior), and even if Harris will be able to maintain his recent-found scoring (wouldn't that be incredible).

Plenty of season left to answer those but as this season goes on, what else are we gonna have to deal with ?

[The Rebel]

Am I the only one that thinks the Nets screwed up? If Kyrie comes back they are contenders on paper, but we all saw what happens with Westbrook, Durant, and Harden. Kyrie is pretty ball dominate as well. I don't think they are a championship team although they may be the best team in the eastern conference.

The picks they paid are crazy to me though. Durant and Harden do not have that many years left, those picks in a few years are going to come back to bite them like the KG/Pierce deal did on them.

[skywalker33]

Am I the only one that thinks the Nets screwed up? If Kyrie comes back they are contenders on paper, but we all saw what happens with Westbrook, Durant, and Harden. Kyrie is pretty ball dominate as well. I don't think they are a championship team although they may be the best team in the eastern conference.

The picks they paid are crazy to me though. Durant and Harden do not have that many years left, those picks in a few years are going to come back to bite them like the KG/Pierce deal did on them.

Does look like a pretty sweet deal for HOU, especially given the situation there. Also getting Olipado wasn't a bad move IMO

[NuggetsWY]

Rockets win simply because they got rid of a major cancer, other than that, I don't think they are better now. However, they got a bundle full of 1sts; so, maybe ... they are better in the future - probably will be.

Cavaliers win because they get Allen & Prince (mostly Allen).

Pacers win because they traded Oladipo's expiring for LeVert.

Nets are a question mark IMO. If Irving is done; Durrant with Harden just might work out. But will it be enough? I don't think so. They traded away to much. If Irving decides to become a basketball player again; Brooklyn has a problem IMO. Durrant, Irving, Harden are all three in the top-20 in usage.

Oladipo, Kurucs, Exum are winners because they are going to a team that will appreciate any player that actually wants to play. Plus, Houston has a fairly decent fan base. IMO they will be appreciated.

LeVert wins - somewhat. He elevates his importance, by a lot. But goes from contender to playoff level - maybe.

Allen & Prince win because they will both be appreciated and probably get more playing time.

[skywalker33]

Nurkic broke his wrist, that boy needs more calcium in his diet. We also need to start winning more consistently to take advantage of situations like this, see POR dropping a few more games, although we may be small-ball in the NW.

[NuggetsWY]

Northwest Division - Last year Oklahoma surprised everyone and we had a four team race - it's looking like a three team race this year

Utah --- Good team last year and not as many changes as the Nuggets made - looking solid, especially with Conley starting to fit in

Portland - Nurkic getting hurt is going to make things rough for the Blazers - I really liked their off-season additions - Covington & Jones are going to make for a nice pair of forwards (starting or bench) - Giles is a nice bench center/forward who may still improve quite a bit

Oklahoma - is rebuilding and it seems they are going to be worse this year, but looking great for 2-4 years from now

Minnesota - has some nice talent, but they are going to have to find some more players to rebuild enough to compete

[NuggetsWY]

Pacific Division

Golden State doesn't have a very good record but Curry is proving his value - again. Wiseman seems like a great choice for them.

Three acquisitions that have surprised me at how effective they have been. Nope, not great stats, but still a little surprising IMO.

Wiggins seems to be having his best season ever. He even seems engaged on defense. Could it be that Kerr has finally reached through and found a way to motivate him? No, I'm not ready to proclaim him a star, but I am impressed.
Oubre's shooting has been widely discussed, but his drives to the basket keep him relevant and his length/defensive effort seems decent.
Bazemore is only playing 15 mpg but he seems like a nice fit and I expect him to get more minutes as the season progresses.

Sacramento just confuses me. They have some nice, young talent; but they just don't seem to have an effective team. I guess I'll wait until next year to hope they find a way to become playoff significant.

Phoenix has got a nice mix of young talent like Booker & Ayton & Bridges (and others) along with some veterans. But they seem to be proving just how valuable Chris Paul can be. (For those few who forget what happened last year in Oklahoma and elsewhere in his career.)

LA Clippers made some changes and they are significant; but I haven't decided if they are better than last year or not. What I'm fairly certain of is that they are no worse - and that makes them fairly good.

LA Lakers made some changes and are, of course, significant. I'm still not convinced their roster is better than last year. They certainly are significant - as long as they have LeBron and Davis. But if one of them is injured, I'm not sure they can compete. Their only other significant players are Kuzma, Harrell, Schroder, and Caldwell-Pope. That means they basically rely on just six players - not going to be good if they have injury or worse, any kind of covid outbreak.

[NuggetsWY]

Draymond Green being called for an unwarranted technical foul shouldn't be a surprise. He's claimed the refs do that all the time, but he has a reputation for yelling at, screaming at, arguing with, verbally attacking refs.

The refs just don't seem to like anti-ref attitudes - when it goes to an extreme.

Jokic complains about lack of calls constantly, but seldom gets a technical - there's a difference.

[Richard Miller]

Ok, I have a totally off topic question, not sure where to ask, maybe a mod move it to a better topic. For a long time I've felt Jamal's English sounds a bit peculiar, but couldn't quite put a finger on it, I was trippin' it sounds a bit like Irish, no idea why, haha. Never knew that his father is a Jamaican actually, maybe that explains it, read today in that GB topic. English is not my first language tho, so maybe I'm just imagining things?

[Manolito]

Ok, I have a totally off topic question, not sure where to ask, maybe a mod move it to a better topic. For a long time I've felt Jamal's English sounds a bit peculiar, but couldn't quite put a finger on it, I was trippin' it sounds a bit like Irish, no idea why, haha. Never knew that his father is a Jamaican actually, maybe that explains it, read today in that GB topic. English is not my first language tho, so maybe I'm just imagining things?

I have similar problem, it is hard for me to understand him (english is not my first language as well). I have always thought it is because he is canadian and his accent might be completely different to what I am used to.

[NuggetsWY]

Ok, I have a totally off topic question, not sure where to ask, maybe a mod move it to a better topic. For a long time I've felt Jamal's English sounds a bit peculiar, but couldn't quite put a finger on it, I was trippin' it sounds a bit like Irish, no idea why, haha. Never knew that his father is a Jamaican actually, maybe that explains it, read today in that GB topic. English is not my first language tho, so maybe I'm just imagining things?

I have similar problem, it is hard for me to understand him (english is not my first language as well). I have always thought it is because he is canadian and his accent might be completely different to what I am used to.

I never thought about. In my profession, I dealt with people from all over the world. I guess what you are hearing is a mix of the influence of his father's Jamaican along with the difference between American & Canadian - and remember that some parts of Canada have a strong French influence. (Don't believe the French-Canadian is part of his accent though, but maybe just a tiny bit.)