Official General NBA Discussion Thread V2.0

[Mr.Raptorsingh]

Yo Golden State Warriors, we'll see y'all in the Finals come June.

[Kabookalu]

Its easy to see why the Pelicans are so bad. They are not using AD correctly, the guy should be the main focal point on offence, like Bosh when he played for us.

The guy is a beast, if we had him, we would be championship contenders.

The thing is that AD isn't actually that creative of a scorer. He doesn't have a refined face up game and his post game is barely existent. He's an amazing pick and roll player, but the only guy that can find him is Jrue Holiday. He's the best "loose ball" player in the NBA, he gets tons of boards, tons of 50/50 balls and when the play has broken down and he's in that 0-9 foot area he can rise and finish with ease.

He can knock down the J, he can drive and elevate, but he doesn't have the type of amazing slashing ability and footwork that Bosh had when he was with us. Putting him in Iso and post-up situations would be misusing him. They just got to keep him moving around the offence, setting screens and cutting to the basket and that will drive the defence nuts because they'll have to keep track of him and shift around so much due to him being unstoppable when he catches the ball with any breathing room around the paint.

Great post. To Davis' credit though seems like he's getting better. His game is still rough, but it's scary to think what a fully developed Anthony Davis is going to do to the league. He's an automatic efficient 20ppg scorer just by being in the right place at the right time. If he could create his own shot, oh man.

[Kinger95]

Just saw that there's only 2 players in the nba in the top 50 in scoring that are currently shooting below 40%

Guess who ?

That's right .., Kobe and DeKobe!

[SFour]

Saw this comment on a NBA Youtube video....funny how people say that the Raptors' record is fools gold.

[jeffya2]

Quality of opponents too.

Sustainability in a playoff situation when you're heavily scouted.

These things matter and would factor into the discussion.

Do you know we have had tougher schedule than Warriors? Hollinger Warriors with 23rd toughest schedule (vs ours 17).

I agree with you we won't keep this high pace, but I would bet Warriors are more easily scouted than us. They basically rely on Curry + Klay occasionally get in the act. It is very difficult to stop the Raptors offense. When you have balanced attack (any night DD/Lowry/Vaz/Lou + JJ) can go for 20 easy.

+ PPat & Ross
Very hard to scout indeed

[KrazyP]

Pelicans need new guards. They don't deserve AD.

When you luck into landing a player like Davis, it affords you the luxury of building slowly.....you have him guaranteed for 4 yrs and can match any offer after that. With this in mind, I dont understand why the Pelicans felt the need to bring in mediocre talent in order to try to win right away. Looking at their roster now, what long term piece do they really have outside of Davis??? Their build looks similar to what the Cavs did with Lebron the first time around....it will end in failure.

[Undefeated]

But from what we have seen this Raptors do and will have more effective offense than GS/Spurs. Spurs current rating is similar to their rating from last year.

We'll agree to disagree, but I don't think in their mind would say the Raptors are a better offensive team than the Spurs. Spurs have shown they can score at an elite rate in the playoffs last year almost matching the Mavs' historic rating this year.

[pbj]

But from what we have seen this Raptors do and will have more effective offense than GS/Spurs. Spurs current rating is similar to their rating from last year.

We'll agree to disagree, but I don't think in their mind would say the Raptors are a better offensive team than the Spurs. Spurs have shown they can score at an elite rate in the playoffs last year almost matching the Mavs' historic rating this year.

In all fairness, we have a better rating than the historic Mavs' rating from earlier in the year. I think it was at like 115.1 or something? We're at 116.3.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... by=off_rtg

So far, we've been running with the best ORTG since the 3PT line was instituted.

[KrazyP]

But from what we have seen this Raptors do and will have more effective offense than GS/Spurs. Spurs current rating is similar to their rating from last year.

We'll agree to disagree, but I don't think in their mind would say the Raptors are a better offensive team than the Spurs. Spurs have shown they can score at an elite rate in the playoffs last year almost matching the Mavs' historic rating this year.

In all fairness, we have a better rating than the historic Mavs' rating from earlier in the year. I think it was at like 115.1 or something? We're at 116.3.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... by=off_rtg

So far, we've been running with the best ORTG since the 3PT line was instituted.

Yeah, its really odd how good the Raps offense is because its not like they're a run and gun team or a team with great ball movement or a team thats great at running the pick and roll or other offensive sets. I guess maybe it just comes down to having great team chemistry and a lot of offensive weapons so the opposing teams cant really game plan against you.

[LLJ]

Pelicans need new guards. They don't deserve AD.

When you luck into landing a player like Davis, it affords you the luxury of building slowly.....you have him guaranteed for 4 yrs and can match any offer after that. With this in mind, I dont understand why the Pelicans felt the need to bring in mediocre talent in order to try to win right away. Looking at their roster now, what long term piece do they really have outside of Davis??? Their build looks similar to what the Cavs did with Lebron the first time around....it will end in failure.

Anything can happen in the next 4 years, let's not write them off. Although it's very tough to build out West.

AD is pretty much the next Hakeem. NO really lucked out on getting him.

[LLJ]

We'll agree to disagree, but I don't think in their mind would say the Raptors are a better offensive team than the Spurs. Spurs have shown they can score at an elite rate in the playoffs last year almost matching the Mavs' historic rating this year.

In all fairness, we have a better rating than the historic Mavs' rating from earlier in the year. I think it was at like 115.1 or something? We're at 116.3.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... by=off_rtg

So far, we've been running with the best ORTG since the 3PT line was instituted.

Yeah, its really odd how good the Raps offense is because its not like they're a run and gun team or a team with great ball movement or a team thats great at running the pick and roll or other offensive sets. I guess maybe it just comes down to having great team chemistry and a lot of offensive weapons so the opposing teams cant really game plan against you.

The eye test seems to indicate a higher pace, but the stats do not. To be honest, it's one of the things that bears examining further. I really don't know how we're hanging 120 points nearly every night. I only know that Lou's production in limited minutes is only part of the answer, and even that bears examining as to how Lou manages to pack about 35 minutes of offense into his 25 minute or so playing time. It doesn't look like he's just chucking it either and it's not like he's shooting 75%.

[pbj]

Posting this so I'll remember to use it as a reaction gif later on

[James_Raptors]

Last year in the western conference Dallas was the 8th seed finishing 49-33.The Oklahoma City Thunder currently sit at 5-13 and they would need to finish the season 44-20 (a .687 clip) , in that same western conference, just to finish with that 49-33 record.Hypothetically if they were to do that, LOOK OUT.Because they would obviously need to play fantastic ball to get there.Although it's incredibly early in the season, right now the 6th and 7th seed teams are San Antonio and the LA Clippers at 13-5, playing at a .722 clip.But down in 8th are those Phoenix Suns (once again) who missed out last year by 1 game.They're currently 11-8 (.579).For a reference point, a 49-33 record equates to a .598 winning percentage.

Obviously OKC is going to have to play out of their minds to have a chance at this.Some have already said that they've dug themselves too deep a hole.If I was betting I would agree, but I do think there's a chance because I believe there will be drop off between the 7th and 8th seed.Unlike last year where there was 1 game separating each seed, 6th through 9th.

[Kabookalu]

Last year in the western conference Dallas was the 8th seed finishing 49-33.The Oklahoma City Thunder currently sit at 5-13 and they would need to finish the season 44-20 (a .687 clip) , in that same western conference, just to finish with that 49-33 record.Hypothetically if they were to do that, LOOK OUT.Because they would obviously need to play fantastic ball to get there.Although it's incredibly early in the season, right now the 6th and 7th seed teams are San Antonio and the LA Clippers at 13-5, playing at a .722 clip.But down in 8th are those Phoenix Suns (once again) who missed out last year by 1 game.They're currently 11-8 (.579).For a reference point, a 49-33 record equates to a .598 winning percentage.

Obviously OKC is going to have to play out of their minds to have a chance at this.Some have already said that they've dug themselves too deep a hole.If I was betting I would agree, but I do think there's a chance because I believe there will be drop off between the 7th and 8th seed.Unlike last year where there was 1 game separating each seed, 6th through 9th.

Jeremy Lamb, after years of mediocrity, looks like he's finally found his groove as a player. Ditto Perry Jones. If these two can be serious contributors off the bench the injuries may have been a blessing in disguise. Finding weapons outside of Durant and Westbrook was always the problem for OKC. Reggie Jackson has molded himself into a wonderful player, but they need more than him. Jones and Lamb may be the pieces they need. If the Thunder can go back to producing the way they had last year, in addition to increased play from Jones and Lamb, that's a better team than they've ever had since Harden was on the team.

[James_Raptors]

Last year in the western conference Dallas was the 8th seed finishing 49-33.The Oklahoma City Thunder currently sit at 5-13 and they would need to finish the season 44-20 (a .687 clip) , in that same western conference, just to finish with that 49-33 record.Hypothetically if they were to do that, LOOK OUT.Because they would obviously need to play fantastic ball to get there.Although it's incredibly early in the season, right now the 6th and 7th seed teams are San Antonio and the LA Clippers at 13-5, playing at a .722 clip.But down in 8th are those Phoenix Suns (once again) who missed out last year by 1 game.They're currently 11-8 (.579).For a reference point, a 49-33 record equates to a .598 winning percentage.

Obviously OKC is going to have to play out of their minds to have a chance at this.Some have already said that they've dug themselves too deep a hole.If I was betting I would agree, but I do think there's a chance because I believe there will be drop off between the 7th and 8th seed.Unlike last year where there was 1 game separating each seed, 6th through 9th.

Jeremy Lamb, after years of mediocrity, looks like he's finally found his groove as a player. Ditto Perry Jones. If these two can be serious contributors off the bench the injuries may have been a blessing in disguise. Finding weapons outside of Durant and Westbrook was always the problem for OKC. Reggie Jackson has molded himself into a wonderful player, but they need more than him. Jones and Lamb may be the pieces they need. If the Thunder can go back to producing the way they had last year, in addition to increased play from Jones and Lamb, that's a better team than they've ever had since Harden was on the team.

I do agree with your comments about their lesser players stepping up.Whenever main pieces suffer an injury is spells opportunity for other members of the team to step in and see what they can do, gain confidence, etc.And then when your key players return your team will be that much stronger (in theory).This does lead me to what I believe is the root poison of this OKC team though and it's Durant vs Westbrook.Specifically, Russell Westbrook, although incredibly talented is an alpha dog much like KD.Westbrook is playing the point guard position, however, and all too often turns the game into a me-first-let-me-get-mine tunnel vision mentality.Before you know it he's shooting 6-22 (or whatever).

Unless Westbrook changes his attitude and learns more of a team first mentality, I have incredibly strong doubts that this pairing will ever lead them to the promised land and I say that knowing how close they've come to the prize.I think we'll see changes as soon as this off-season if they don't make the playoffs or (likely) if they bounced in the 1st round.It's possible the axe will fall on Scott Brooks first though, and they'll give their alpha dog pairing one last season to see if they can work out their differences.

[raptorstime]

wow miami is dleague without lebron

[Mister Ze]

wow miami is dleague without lebron

What does that make Toronto for losing to a d league team

[Mister Ze]

I knew the Knicks would be "out of the top 8" bad but not "1 less loss than Philly" bad. In their defense they've lost a lot of close games but they're supposed to have one of the best closers in Melo.

One observation I made while watching them a few times was their pick and roll defense, attrocious. Their inability to get back to the man setting the screen kills them and I'd say Jose is one of the reasons, if he wasn't that slow they wouldn't have to double team the player with the ball.

I'm calling it now, look for Amir, Jonas, and Patterson to have strong games against the Knicks.

[UnderdogRaptors]

Wizards will take the 1st seed soon enough just checked there schedule it's charmin soft, they are not this good there schedule has just been real easy they have beat 1 team with an above. 500 record.

[dlts20]

Wizards will take the 1st seed soon enough just checked there schedule it's charmin soft, they are not this good there schedule has just been real easy they have beat 1 team with an above. 500 record.

dont hate. We are better then you think