The Around The NBA Thread

[Chewie]

Spoiler:

I didn't think it was possible to dislike anyone else's flopping more than Trae's but Embiid takes the cake.

Embiid is incredible to watch. This quarter is one of the most skillful displays I've seen from a center ever. Get your eyes fixed.

Will never doubt how skilled Embiid is. Doesn't take away what a flopper he is....and he doesn't need to do it.

[MrFortune3]

You just don't get blown out by 40 points in the playoffs unless there is something seriously wrong with your team.

Bud is getting **** canned after this year. There is no way he survives this if they lose this series.

It’s their last move to give hope to a different outcome for next year.

Milwaukee bucks in the regular season and bambis in the playoffs

I get that the Bucks don't have the deepest roster in the world but something is wrong when you team plays dominant in the regular season and then with a 2 time league MVP they fold in the post-season.
Bud is going to have to be removed if they don't come back and win.

[Andi Obst]

The Charlotte Hornets — a team already littered with former Boston Celtics players on their roster — may be looking to bring yet another into the fold this offseason. According to The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell, there is a belief around North Carolina that the team could make a run at ex-Celtic turned Chicago Bulls big-man, Daniel Theis.

“Mitch Kupchak (Hornets GM) said yesterday that he could see adding multiple centers this off-season,” Bonnell tweeted. “A name I’ve heard might be on the list of options: Free agent-to-be Daniel Theis.”

https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/daniel-theis-hornets-free-agency-rumors/

Makes perfect sense. The Hornets like to go small, switch on defense and don’t really have any options at center. I can see it.

Also, RIP Rick Bonnell.

[CobyWhite0]

Read on Twitter

I remember reading quite a bit on this board about how the Vuc trade was worthless because Centers are done in this league... but Centers just finished 1 and 2 in the MVP voting this season.

Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid.

[kulaz3000]

Read on Twitter

I remember reading quite a bit on this board about how the Vuc trade was worthless because Centers are done in this league... but Centers just finished 1 and 2 in the MVP voting this season.

Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid.

I've said this before, with how dominate both Jokick and Embiid are, if either of their teams really make the jump into a championship team, teams are going to have to match up with those two players with better quality big men who can either make them work more on the defensive end, or bring in defensive versatile big men who can defend them.

It was always going to be inevitable, the players and the structure of the teams with success are always copied, but as I've said, until a team win a championship with their best player as a big man, it likely won't happen in a rush, but once they do, you'll probably see a slight resurgence with big men actually getting more minutes or bigger roles on teams again.

As for Vuc vs Embiid, they are quite comparable at least statistically, with close wins and lose records too. As for match up against Jokic, points total and rebounds are similar, but Jokic has a clear assists advantage and Denver usually wins the games.

[CobyWhite0]

Read on Twitter

I remember reading quite a bit on this board about how the Vuc trade was worthless because Centers are done in this league... but Centers just finished 1 and 2 in the MVP voting this season.

Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid.

I've said this before, with how dominate both Jokick and Embiid are, if either of their teams really make the jump into a championship team, teams are going to have to match up with those two players with better quality big men who can either make them work more on the defensive end, or bring in defensive versatile big men who can defend them.

It was always going to be inevitable, the players and the structure of the teams with success are always copied, but as I've said, until a team win a championship with their best player as a big man, it likely won't happen in a rush, but once they do, you'll probably see a slight resurgence with big men actually getting more minutes or bigger roles on teams again.

As for Vuc vs Embiid, they are quite comparable at least statistically, with close wins and lose records too. As for match up against Jokic, points total and rebounds are similar, but Jokic has a clear assists advantage and Denver usually wins the games.

Out-standing post. Deserves more than the single +1 I'm allowed to give.

I'm old enough to remember 30 years ago this month, when it was no longer "impossible" to win a title without an All-Star big man. "Impossible" to win with a SG as your #1 option. And I'm pretty positive that '91 Michael Jordan was the first player to win a title while leading the league in scoring.

If anything, with the league going smaller and smaller, superstar big men will become harder to stop than superstars at any other position.

Common sense tells me that Gobert's team defense and help defense will be much less effective if he's busy guarding Jokic or Embiid or Vuc. Especially come playoff time.

And while you nailed the Vuc vs Embiid and Vuc vs Jokic comparisons, I have to point out that I only bolded and underlined "Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid" as a disclaimer to the inevitable "you're comparing Vuc to Joker and Embiid? Are you insane, they're both 100 times better than Vuc"

[HomoSapien]

Here's the most random stat for you:

Sherman Douglas faced off against Michael Jordan 30 times in his career and lost all 30 times. You're welcome.

[CobyWhite0]

Here's the most random stat for you:

Sherman Douglas faced off against Michael Jordan 30 times in his career and lost all 30 times. You're welcome.

That is freaking awesome!

[sco]

Speaking of MVP's - Rose got a vote this year.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/yes-derrick-rose-really-got-a-first-place-vote-for-nba-mvp-005920532.html

[MGB8]

Speaking of MVP's - Rose got a vote this year.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/yes-derrick-rose-really-got-a-first-place-vote-for-nba-mvp-005920532.html

He's the forever MVP.

[CobyWhite0]

https://sports.yahoo.com/yes-derrick-rose-really-got-a-first-place-vote-for-nba-mvp-005920532.html

"Shortly after the reveal, the NBA provided an explanation. A media member did not cast the vote for Rose. That vote arrived courtesy of fan voting, which collectively counts for one of the 100 votes.

And that makes more sense. Kind of.

It's hard to imagine an organic tally from NBA fans resulting in a vote for Rose. This reeks of an orchestrated campaign by Rose stans and Knicks fans. For now, though, that's a mystery that remains unsolved.

In the meantime, the Knicks are going to enjoy it."

[kodo]

Reminds me of when Carlos Boozer got 1 NBA All-Defensive team vote.

[DASMACKDOWN]

The Pacers are really in this weird spot. Them firing Nate Bjorkgren this quickly says alot.

They got rid of a good coach in Nate McMillan.

They got rid of him because they said he couldnt get over the hump in the playoffs. But every year he had someone missing on their roster or injured.

Now they get a new coach who again has several people missing due to Covid and injuries and gets fired.

I dont know if its because they want Terry Stotts or seeing if Coach Bud becomes available. But its not a good look right now in Indy.

[sco]

The Pacers are really in this weird spot. Them firing Nate Bjorkgren this quickly says alot.

They got rid of a good coach in Nate McMillan.

They got rid of him because they said he couldnt get over the hump in the playoffs. But every year he had someone missing on their roster or injured.

Now they get a new coach who again has several people missing due to Covid and injuries and gets fired.

I dont know if its because they want Terry Stotts or seeing if Coach Bud becomes available. But its not a good look right now in Indy.

I'd love coach Bud here and would fire Billy to do it, so firing Bjorkgren seems like a no brainer. There are no "good looks" in Indy, any way you slice it.

[Dresden]

Read on Twitter

I remember reading quite a bit on this board about how the Vuc trade was worthless because Centers are done in this league... but Centers just finished 1 and 2 in the MVP voting this season.

Vuc is not as good as Jokic or Embiid.

Yeah, funny that. I think centers are less valued just because there aren't many real good ones around anymore. You take a guy like Ewing, Robinson, Shaq, Hakeem, David Cowens, Bob Lanier, Nate Thurmond, Kareem, Walton, and on and on, and those guys would be highly sought after in today's NBA. Ok, maybe I'm stacking the deck just listing HOF centers, but OTH, what the hell happened to all the great big men who could dominate in the paint? The league used to always have at least half a dozen outstanding big men at any one time. Now it's 3, maybe 4, and even those aren't true centers all the time, like AD.

Ayton should be dominating more than he does. He's got the body for it, and the athletiicism.

[johnnyvann840]

Ayton should be dominating more than he does. He's got the body for it, and the athletiicism.

He's starting to. He's really coming into his own so far in these playoffs and he did a fantastic job on Joker in game 1 of this series. He looks like a completely different player right now. I will go as far as saying he completely won the match up in game 1 against Jokic and even looked dominant at times. Jokic could not handle his quickness and Ayton forced him into several turnovers at key times.

[kodo]

The Pacers are really in this weird spot. Them firing Nate Bjorkgren this quickly says alot.

They got rid of a good coach in Nate McMillan.

They got rid of him because they said he couldnt get over the hump in the playoffs. But every year he had someone missing on their roster or injured.

Now they get a new coach who again has several people missing due to Covid and injuries and gets fired.

I dont know if its because they want Terry Stotts or seeing if Coach Bud becomes available. But its not a good look right now in Indy.

The Bjorkgren & coaching staff situation was absolutely toxic. Assistant coaches going after their own players to fight them mid-game? Players confronting the HC to tell him he needs to stop screaming at the staff? Assistants quitting mid season? There was no way that was going to last no matter who was available.

[DASMACKDOWN]

The Bjorkgren & coaching staff situation was absolutely toxic. Assistant coaches going after their own players to fight them mid-game? Players confronting the HC to tell him he needs to stop screaming at the staff? Assistants quitting mid season? There was no way that was going to last no matter who was available.

Oh wow didnt realize all that was going on. Well I guess good for Indy in that regard. Guess that guy wont get a job anytime soon unless he is going back Toronto.

[Michael Jackson]

Ayton should be dominating more than he does. He's got the body for it, and the athletiicism.

He's starting to. He's really coming into his own so far in these playoffs and he did a fantastic job on Joker in game 1 of this series. He looks like a completely different player right now. I will go as far as saying he completely won the match up in game 1 against Jokic and even looked dominant at times. Jokic could not handle his quickness and Ayton forced him into several turnovers at key times.

Yeah Ayton is doing just fine. He is overlooked because of being the number one pick in a draft that had Young and Luka but he is absolutely progressing as a great center. He might be the starting center on a NBA finals team this year… not just a throw in bum but a key piece to a balanced team. I think he only gets better from here. His efficiency is really good his defense is solid and he seems to have a good enough IQ. He is not exactly the guy you build your franchise on like Luka or Young but he is a potential #2 in the future.

[Michael Jackson]

The Pacers are really in this weird spot. Them firing Nate Bjorkgren this quickly says alot.

They got rid of a good coach in Nate McMillan.

They got rid of him because they said he couldnt get over the hump in the playoffs. But every year he had someone missing on their roster or injured.

Now they get a new coach who again has several people missing due to Covid and injuries and gets fired.

I dont know if its because they want Terry Stotts or seeing if Coach Bud becomes available. But its not a good look right now in Indy.

The Bjorkgren & coaching staff situation was absolutely toxic. Assistant coaches going after their own players to fight them mid-game? Players confronting the HC to tell him he needs to stop screaming at the staff? Assistants quitting mid season? There was no way that was going to last no matter who was available.

Should have signed Sprewell to have words with the coaching staff.