thecampster

Time for Dieng to earn his pay.

My one positive thought here is CLE is spending a ton of energy.

We are plying far too casual. I do not feel good about this right now.

Cavs spending a lot energy early. Hawks forcing things inside trying to get fouls but just turning it over. A smidge nervous.

If you haven't watched the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I don't know how we can continue our already tenuous friendship. Its entire show built around the most jacked up things going on in @KG01 's head most days.

When I moved her to Atlanta, my wife made it abundantly clear that she was not going to sit there while I watch sports every night. She now reminds me what night the game is on, has a jersey, a Hawks polo and t-shirt and yells "that's a foul" at the tv. A few times a year she checks ticket prices before I ask to see if there are good seats available. She tried MARTA with me once but does terrible in crowds. She's okay with the extra 20 minutes getting out of town. I'm lucky though, I can go either 75 or 20 to get home. Its the same time for me.

Hey @KG01, do you remember when we recorded this? That was a great day. I was late to the game that day too!

Why you stalking me Bro?

I grew up an hour east of Chicago. I spent every summer on the Northside, south of Wrigleyville for years. I'd rather live in Atlanta and drive in Chicago. The Dan Ryan is a Sunday stroll compared to an accident happening on the downtown connector. Chicago wins at pot holes and that's about it. I challenge you to live in North Gwinnett or Cobb County, work downtown and get home, pick up the family and make it down town for a game. I dare you to try.

I hadn't even thought of that but I know the few times I've wanted to shell out more than a few clams for tickets, I haven't been able to get good lower bowl seats. Many of them are company owned.

I think another part of Atlanta that is different from other cities is the comfort level of the homes. A lot of those in the burbs have a helluva place to watch a game, right in their living room. I know when I was younger and lived up north, it was a big deal to get a night out. There are bars everywhere and "going out" going to "the spot" was a really big part of life. Suburban Atlanta life is much newer housing, big open floor plans, lots of venues if you want to go out. I don't think "getting to the stadium" is as big of a deal here as other places except maybe the Braves from a history standpoint.

No really please....tell me more about my bad choices and poor values system. Tell me how traffic and commutes are exactly the same in each city. How age/family demographics play no part in a city and how they support their teams. No really, I'd love some insight on exactly what's lacking in the hearts and minds of 6 million people you've never met. Pot meet kettle!!!

I'll bite. Why did you become an Atlanta fan? You're obviously no fan of our city. Have no ties and a disposition way more angry than the typical southerner? Lemme explain this is I can. Atlanta proper is a circle and that circle takes more than 30 minutes to drive straight across. Now I know the picture looks tiny on your phone but in rush hour traffic leaving that circle is >30 minutes. About 750,000 people live in the circle. Another 5.3 million live outside the circle and Atlanta metro is as much as 2 hours in rush hour traffic outside the city. Yes, greater than 80% of Atlanta people live between 15 minutes and 1.5 hours from down town. If work gets out at 5 PM. The a typical 9-5 cat can't get home changed and back to the stadium faster than 45 minutes and the vast majority more like 2.5 hours. That puts their return time to the stadium at 7:30. This is why typical Hawks and Braves games start at 7:30 not 7. You see, Atlanta doesn't have any natural borders on the left, right, up or down. The city does not experience regular snowfall or temperatures cold enough to freeze water pipes under ground (unlike say, NY or Boston). So as the city grew, there was no impetus to building houses on top of each other as tightly as possible. Also, Atlanta is built in the foothills of the Appalachians. This means unlike NY or most norther cities, cities blocks have to be built around terrain. This led to the city being spread out to incorporate the natural terrain into the city's natural beauty and that style followed out into the suburbs. Lastly, this prick Sherman burnt the whole area to the ground in the war of Northern Aggression (I kid). So whereas NY, Boston, Philadelphia are built based on designs dating back to the 1700s, Atlanta's main development is all post 1900. Houses aren't in rows, on top of each other. We are spread out here. But last night's game was an NBA event and NBA East Coast events start at 7:00 to satisfy our NY, Boston and Connecticut TV overlords. Now I know not being from around here you believe southerners still hate each other based on color, are 70% illiterate and can't drive in snow (okay that last one is true), but most Atlantans these days are imports from northern cities. The metro area was a scant 1 million back in the 80's and is now 6 times larger. You don't have a 500% population increase in 40 years due to a lack of family planning education in schools, but instead because Yankees like myself (hangs head in shame) moved here in the 90's and 2000's. We aren't native Atlantans but fans from the same cities you propose are probably the best fans in the world. That population increase in a city that grows out not up leads to traffic challenges, plain and simple. The main difference here is in April, its 70+ degrees outside and we have outdoor restaurants open. Whereas in NY, they're wondering about snowfall this weekend. Atlanta life is outdoors. Northern life is indoors 6 months a year. If you adopt the team because of a man crush on a player, have the decency to adopt the town and learn a smidge.

You just never know where that dude will pop up.

Absolutely but it isn't so cut and dry. Trae is initiating beyond the 3 point line, most of Luka's damage happens when he faces up or backs down inside 12-15 feet. There is no need to double Luka coming across court (nor would it work because of his height). A fair assessment takes into account they are very different players with a very different mindset. Trae is the chicken that Rocky never catches. You have to throw everything at him to catch him. With Luka, its about pushing him off his spot without giving up defense on his other players. This is typically done with showing on him to stop him from driving to his spots. If you force Luka off his spots he becomes very mortal. With Trae, no 1 person is going to stop him. Philly tried last year and was embarrassed.

You see....you come in here confusing people with facts....geez man!

Well and the game teetered on blow out in the first a few times with missed shots, ball handling errors inhibiting the flood gates. There were a few times in the 1st I was like, yup, here it goes...then a turnover.

I can agree with that since Luka's methodology is to effectively start posting and backing at about 12 feet and command the help to sell out to get the ball out of his hands. Again, I think the board is confusing Trap vs Double vs Help.

Pick up at 19 minute mark to get the lingo...then jump to 40 minute mark which is the zone version of what we are facing. Earlier in the year when we struggled in a game with the press, you heard me talk about passing mid to side to break the press to create the appropriate angles. This video does a great job of letting you be a coach in your head and see these things how they're designed. Now second video does a good job of explaining help defense vs double team (ignore how unathletic this dude looks, the information is solid). Like 14 years ago Diesel and I argued whether or not Joe Johnson was getting doubled when in reality most of the doubles he was seeing was just help defense because well...Iso Joe. Instruction picks up at the 1 minute mark. He alludes to help in zone when is just repositioning the zone but its effect is still help defense.

Which is essentially a trap and not a traditional double team but yes...I agree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_team#:~:text=In basketball%2C a double team,guard a single offensive player. I'm getting a bit in the weeds here, but help defense happens a great deal when a player sags off his man to cut off penetration or attempt to block a shot but he hasn't given up on his man altogether. Or in the case of zone, shades out of his zone to another zone to deter a man from driving that direction. In a double team, a player leaves his man in order to act as a second dedicated defender and causing the other 3 players on his squad to rotate as needed. Minor annoyance but we have a day off so thought I'd clarify for the sake of the discussion. In basketball, a double team (also double-team, double teaming, or double-teaming) is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player.

I think they're saying "doubled beyond the 3 point line"....not doubled in general. I also hate the term double team. We easily confuse double with help defense. They are similar but not the same. A double is committing to the player and leaving your man.

So one of the interesting thing about Jordan, Pippen and the Bulls is after their 1st 2 championships, other players were seen mimicking their styles of play. You can longer players leaking into passing lanes and taking risks. You had point guards all over practicing 3 relentlessly. You had anyone 6-5-6.8 going relentlessly to the hole in isolation sets. It could be fair to say that Trae's successful style of play is elevating the game of other players trying to copycat him (no different than he copycat'd Curry's long 3s). No difference is a bit strong but it would be fair to say quickly could have some success driving the ship like Trae. He'd just need a stronger supporting cast and a year or two to practice his copycattery.

So probably the last update here but wanted to let you all know how its going. We're 8 months into his rehab. Dash will never be a "normal" dog. He will always be sensitive to certain triggers (screaming children, diesel trucks, rattling paper), but he's come to the point he is no longer a serious flight risk. His harness has come off a few times at the park from pulling out of fear and he doesn't run, but sits patiently waiting for it to be put on. We are now his people. He will occasionally try to wrestle with the other dogs when excited and no longer hides when visitors arrive. He will even greet outsiders he recognizes. At this point, he's about 80% a normal dog and great companion. He is less nocturnal than when he got here but still prefers to roam at night. He still does weird things like steal our socks and toys and line the perimeter of the fence with them. If we're eating dinner in the living room, he'll go pick up a mouthful of food and drop it by my chair so he can eat with the family. But leashes, harnesses, food bowls, boxes, birds, cats, toys, balls, frisbees no longer eat dogs. He's mostly normal around them all. Most recent progress is he's now catching food tossed to him. In the passed, anything air mailed was super dangerous and reason to scramble for cover. Now he'll catch most bits of food tossed his way and doesn't run most of the time if a ball is tossed to the other dogs. Thanks for indulging this thread and if anyone ever needs help with a dog they're having problems with, don't hesitate to message me directly. I am not a professional trainer, I am not a professional. I just come from the school that dogs should be treated with respect. They are companions, not watchdogs, family members, not property.

If the Nets make it out of the play in and then Ben Simmons plays in the first round....all bets are off for the East. The Nets instantly become a better defensive team, a better rebounding team and a better passing team. People forget that Ben Simmons is better when he can move toward the basket. In a team where Kyrie and Durant will have the the ball in their hands most of the time, it frees up Simmons to cause havoc. I want them out before that nonsense begins.