2023-24 NBA Regular Season: Notes/Tidbits/Updates etc.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[kg01]

18 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

That's too bad.  RIP 

[kg01]

3 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

Doubling down on offense when the league is letting guys actually play defense is the last thing I want to do.  At some point, offensive efficiency can't get much better and what you need is more possessions: better rebounding, less turnovers, better defense, etc.  Have you watched these playoffs?  Most physical the playoffs been since 2016 Cavs team was allowed to play football on Golden State.  Now is not the time to go all-in on offense with a guy that's averaging 50 games a year the past 5 years and has half a meniscus

And is about to be on the wrong side of 30.

Quiet as it's kept, PHI has the same issue with JoeLLLL. 

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

to the free thinker and best hippie and rep of the 70’s and the Blazers and all he did. Prayers to his family! 
 

Funny story about Bill, not sure I shared this but my best friend are season ticket holders of the warriors going on over 2 decades now and in the 2007 “we believe” season where they knocked off Dirk and the Mavs in a huge upset and had the Jazz sweating as well. Anyhoo one of my friends saw him in the bathroom in the next urinal over and after they were done and he was washing his hands my friend said : Hey Bill, you havin a good time? Bill said: I ALLLWAYYYSS have a good time when I’m at THE ORACLE!  

We got a good laugh about it for years and to this day. If you heard Bill announce games then you can hear the voice …

RIP  

[aali34]

Main reason I saw the Wolves lose was because none of their bigs are legit rim runners and lack playmaking skills. 
 

Reed and KAT were slipping and popping on every screen instead of making hard contact and Gobert can’t finish for shit. 
Ant can’t run the pnr well either, he couldn’t extend the defense and get his bigs involved in short roll actions and he plays at one pace pretty much. Ja in his spot would have won a game or two in my opinion. 
 

Rudy also was forcing them to play KAT as a wing to maximize spacing. He’s not coordinated enough to be driving through traffic and hitting off the move catch and shoot jumpers. Their offense looked better with Kyle Anderson and Reed cause Anderson can play in that short roll paint area and Reed was hitting his shots, but neither can put pressure on the rim as an athletic vertical spacer. 
 

Ant is like Kobe and Tatum, he needs a high IQ big like Gasol/Horford to be the playmaking hub for him so he can focus on scoring and there isn’t a high level passer on this MN team. 

[kg01]

Man, if I'm IND, I'm pissed.  Dude played all season tryna get to 65 games and is out when it matters most.  Now he gonna be suprmaxxxx'd.  Yuck. 

[AHF]

I’m pretty sure the Western Conference was rock paper scissors this year.

Minnesota beats Denver

Dallas beats Minnesota

Denver beats Dallas

[benhillboy]

17 hours ago, aali34 said:

Main reason I saw the Wolves lose was because none of their bigs are legit rim runners and lack playmaking skills. 
 

Reed and KAT were slipping and popping on every screen instead of making hard contact and Gobert can’t finish for shit. 
Ant can’t run the pnr well either, he couldn’t extend the defense and get his bigs involved in short roll actions and he plays at one pace pretty much. Ja in his spot would have won a game or two in my opinion. 
 

Rudy also was forcing them to play KAT as a wing to maximize spacing. He’s not coordinated enough to be driving through traffic and hitting off the move catch and shoot jumpers. Their offense looked better with Kyle Anderson and Reed cause Anderson can play in that short roll paint area and Reed was hitting his shots, but neither can put pressure on the rim as an athletic vertical spacer. 
 

Ant is like Kobe and Tatum, he needs a high IQ big like Gasol/Horford to be the playmaking hub for him so he can focus on scoring and there isn’t a high level passer on this MN team. 

Spot on all of this.  Ant is gonna have to tighten up his cutting game and catch and shoot a lot.  He doesn’t do near enough of the former, looks very uncomfortable with the latter.  It ain’t happening overnight either but he’s still going to be a wonderful player.

They were likely looking for Mike Conley to solve some of those playmaking issues you outlined but he dropped the ball after waltzing through the first couple series.  Towns and Gobert had a nice paint pass game going but that has dried up too.  Dallas’ vastly improved D within season simply caught OKC and now Minny by complete surprise.  They’re on a string out there, those load ups on Ant look reminiscent of Bad Boy Pistons Jordan Rules.

Hand checking and swallowed whistles are back in full effect.  And it is glorious.  I was so ready to abandon the NBA at the height of the Harden Era.  Now with so much talent and their freedom to defend each other I’m loving the league like the Jordan Era I grew up in.

Edited May 28 by benhillboy

[Spud2nique]

Not gonna reveal who I want to win but it ain’t Luka and it’s a lot of and #fckthemavs

[h4wkfan]

Laughable how that type of shot is judged depending who takes it. 

Edited May 29 by h4wkfan

[terrell]

KAT redeemed himself tonight.. lol

[kg01]

14 minutes ago, h4wkfan said:

Laughable how that type of shot is judged depending who takes it. 

Omfg!  I was like wait that's been a call on the floor and no shots for 2 years now!

Except tonite? 

[terrell]

Luka going crazy..

Come on Wolves!!! smh

[kg01]

54 minutes ago, terrell said:

Luka going crazy..

Come on Wolves!!! smh

Eh, seems they're laying down and gettin a good belly rub before going to sleep. 

[terrell]

8 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Eh, seems they're laying down and gettin a good belly rub before going to sleep. 

They seem Happy just to not get swept.... smh

[AHF]

Luka & Kyrie 60 - Minnesota 66

Going to be close.

[Hawkmoor]

Kyrie vindication.  All them critics are ghost now.

 

 

[noble]

On 5/27/2024 at 8:46 AM, kg01 said:

Why do yall still care so much?

Because we would rather win than have inefficient play and no superstar, well not a top 20 player at least. 

[benhillboy]

Damn.  Disappointed in Ant not shaking hands at the end.

I had no idea Mike Finley was VP of Basketball Ops.  Always was a fan of homes.

So fitting for Luka to win the Magic Johnson trophy, so much of Magic and Larry in his game now.  

I would’ve never called him a proper shooter before this season.  Now he’s getting soft rim love on his mid range shot and releasing deep threes with the ease of a free throw.  Tightening his shot fully unlocked the kid. He forces the defense to guard two with one on so many possessions through his floor scanning and Jokic level passing out of double teams in all areas of the floor with his post and probe game as an always reliable backup plan.  Add in his very underrated team defensive value (finally) and you have a clear Top 3 player for years to come. 

That said Kyrie had a great case for the award as well.  He was absolutely sublime with his one-of-a-kind shot making.  No coincidence though he’s reached his obvious 14-year peak playing under Kidd and alongside The Don.

The Celtics starting 5 has 4 All Star level dudes with one of the best glue guys in the league, kinda reminiscent of the 60 win Hawks and Larry Brown Pistons, a stout squad no question.   But I think the Mavs should and will eat the them alive with Derrick White the only Celtic escaping criticism.  

My deep-seeded Jimmy Butler fandom had me dead wrong about last year’s Finals though.  Lucky for fans both teams are fully healthy.  If the Celtics finally bring it home I gotta tip my cap, they would’ve beaten a juggernaut of chemistry and problem solving in the Mavs after a practice waltz through the East.

Edited May 31 by benhillboy

[AHF]

2 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

Kyrie vindication.  All them critics are ghost now.

 

 

Nobody damaged his rep like Kyrie did himself.  He would have a lot of rings if he had stuck with LeBron years ago instead of letting his ego take control of his career.  The talent has always been there to be a great #2 and he plays that role well on this team.  Next up is to see how he does returning to Boston where he struggled in every sense before losing his mind for a few years.