NBA thread 2017-18 v. I dub thee champions

[TAC]

No U.

 

I'm not confident they will get by Toronto with all the injuries this year.

You just worry about getting out of the first round.

Your NHL team is calling you!

[bosk1]

Yeah, I don't like Boston's chances much at the present moment.

So, Chad, who you want next?  Cavs or Pacers?

[TAC]

I think the Pacers are for real.

[jingle.boy]

No U.

 

I'm not confident they will get by Toronto with all the injuries this year.

You just worry about getting out of the first round.

Your NHL team is calling you!

Disney is calling you.

BTW, I knew I was setting myself up for that response.

@ Bosk... dunno.  I don't think Lebron has enough support to put everyone on his back and drag them too far into the playoffs - but he is The King; and I don't know jack about the Pacers.  The 6rs are the real threat, and they are fuckin legit - 24-1 at home in 2018.   

[TAC]

Disney is calling you.

Disney is always calling me!

[bosk1]

I predict two teams will be 2-0 after tonight.

[jingle.boy]

I predict two teams will be 2-0 after tonight.

Not if the Heat have anything to say about it.  They are making it interesting.

[Accelerando]

If Kawhi is not playing because he’s playing diva, I’m going to be PISSED.

[Nekov]

If Kawhi is not playing because he’s playing diva, I’m going to be PISSED.

That whole drama thing is very unlike him and unlike the Spurs as an organization. I'm not sure what to think of it.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

And Embiid is taking the opposite approach of Leonard.


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23208816/joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-takes-instagram-express-frustration-not-playing

"F---ing sick and tired of being babied," Embiid wrote on his Instagram account.

Embiid has been sidelined since March 28 after suffering a broken orbital bone and concussion in a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz. He underwent surgery to repair the fracture.

When asked about the Instagram post, Embiid told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne: "I promised the city the playoffs and I'm not on the court and I may not be on Thursday either. I wish more than anything that I was out there. I just want the green light to play."

Sixers coach Brett Brown said there is no specific timetable for Embiid's return.


Brown said Monday that he did not have a problem with Embiid showing frustration about his absence.

"He just wants to play basketball. He wants to be with his team. He wants to play in front of the fans, and he wants to see this through," the coach said after the Sixers' 113-103 loss. "And when he's not able to do that, he gets frustrated, and we respect his frustration. It's born out of competitiveness, and it's born out of him wanting to be with his team."

[bosk1]

I predict two teams will be 2-0 after tonight.

Oh, well.  I got the most important one anyway. 

But the NBA needs to go back and revisit the tape and issue a flagrant on Bertans.  Idiot should have been ejected.   

[Azyiu]

That whole drama thing is very unlike him and unlike the Spurs as an organization. I'm not sure what to think of it.

This whole thing reminds me of a former colleague of mine who just left last week. He was once a team player, a very good programmer; possibly the best one at my company. Yet underneath all these, he kept everything to himself good or BAD... and mostly the bad things. And he also tended to over thinking things. In the end he just shut himself from everyone and decided to leave for no good reasons.

Not sure if this is the case for Leonard, instead of money or whether he is the alpha dog or what not.

[Samsara]

If Kawhi is not playing because he’s playing diva, I’m going to be PISSED.

That whole drama thing is very unlike him and unlike the Spurs as an organization. I'm not sure what to think of it.

My read on it is this:

Leonard clearly has an issue with Pop. He knows he'll never win that in the court of public opinion. He has an injury that is likely healed, but he went to his own doctors, so that he has a built in "it's not right" scenario, so he can just claim it is a medical reason, so that he looks good in front of the public, and his teammates. The problem is, the vets on the team are all loyal to Popovich, who has probably told them it is personal, not medical. It's like a walking soap opera.

The end result will be Leonard being traded this summer. My guess would be to the Lakers, for Ingram, Lopez (through sign and trade), and a pick. Because Kawaii is still young, they won't mind trading Ingram, and Lopez is young enough and still good enough to have value...and the Spurs have cap room, particularly if guys are let go and/or retire.

Spurs then are re-loaded a little bit, with a young star SF in the making, a solid center, and Aldridge. And the Lakers have a young two-way superstar SF to pair up with Kuzma, Ball, Hart, and whatever other FA they bring in (Lebron or PG 13). Win-win for everyone involved. And if I remember right, Leonard is from San Diego...so SoCal is home...

[TAC]

If I'm the Spurs, I don't make a deal with the Lakers that does not include Kuzma.

[Azyiu]

If I'm the Spurs, I don't make a deal with the Lakers that does not include Kuzma.

As a Lakers fan I am thinking about the same. Kuzma will have to be included for a Leonard deal to happen. In fact, I won't be surprised if the Spurs also want Lonzo Ball, as they need a good ball handler / floor general in the worst way possible.

[TAC]

Not sure Pop would want the Big Baller circus.

[Azyiu]

Not sure Pop would want the Big Baller circus.

If the Leonard situation isn't resolved swiftly, other teams will sell the Spurs low... so it is not like Pop has much of a choice, IF the Lakers indeed willing to part ways with both Kuz and Ball for Leonard.

[Accelerando]

I predict two teams will be 2-0 after tonight.

But the NBA needs to go back and revisit the tape and issue a flagrant on Bertans.  Idiot should have been ejected.   

You mean when Draymond popped Bertans in the throat? Why would Bertans get thrown out? All he did was hold Draymond. That does not warrant anyone getting hit in the throat. 

[bosk1]

I predict two teams will be 2-0 after tonight.

But the NBA needs to go back and revisit the tape and issue a flagrant on Bertans.  Idiot should have been ejected.   

You mean when Draymond popped Bertans in the throat? Why would Bertans get thrown out? All he did was hold Draymond. That does not warrant anyone getting hit in the throat. 

You can't see it in the slow-mo replay because they cut to it too late, but back up to just before that where you can see the whole play in real time.  Bertans runs into Draymond and leads with his arm to Draymond's neck, and then wraps Draymond's arm, shoulder, and neck with both arms, which prompts Draymond to throw the elbow to get him off.  Yes, Bertans should have gotten called and thrown out (or at least called) for that.  He's also lucky Draymond didn't turn around and knock him out.*


*And, yes, the Warriors as a team are also lucky he didn't do that, since he would have rightly received a flagrant 2 and been tossed if he went that far. 

[KevShmev]

Draymond Green would never commit a dirty act on another NBA player, said no one ever.

[bosk1]

Good, because nobody is saying that.  Try sticking to the facts instead of your tired schtick.

[Aefenwelg]

I don't think anything more than a common foul should've been called on either player, and that would be Bertans for the hold.
I watched the video and, honestly, I thought it looked worse in slow-mo.

This is just a case of Draymond's reputation working against him.

[bosk1]

^I can agree with all of that.  And I think what also worked against Draymond was the fact that Bertans flopped and was writhing on the ground, and then Draymond turned around to angrily confront him, not realizing he was on the ground.  The elbow was just a simple "get off me!" extrication type move that, often times, will just be seen as some aggressive extra contact that gets a common foul.  It looks worse when followed by Draymond then whipping around looking for him, which looks like, "Let's throw down!"

[Accelerando]

I agree Bertans committed the foul. But, Bertans isn't a dirty player, and it looks like a typical tangle up big men find themselves down in the post. I found myself in those situations blocking out for a rebound when I played in college. It's part of the game. Whether Bertans sold the foul or not, Draymond still went for the throat in retaliation. Getting hit in the throat still hurts lol.

I don't think anything will come of this. They both will move on to Game 3 in San Antonio wondering WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS KAWHI LEONARD DOING.

I never thought I'd be praising Lamarcus Aldridge during the playoffs, who pouted the past few post seasons, and glaring at Kawhi Leonard, who seemed like he had the stature of Robinson and Duncan.

[Accelerando]

I love that when Igoudola stared down Ginobli (after a wide open dunk too btw), Ginobli gave him a look that said "What are you doing? I'm a four time champion and an Argentina LEGEND. There's nothing you can do to me." 

[bosk1]

I agree Bertans committed the foul. But, Bertans isn't a dirty player, and it looks like a typical tangle up big men find themselves down in the post. I found myself in those situations blocking out for a rebound when I played in college. It's part of the game. Whether Bertans sold the foul or not, Draymond still went for the throat in retaliation. Getting hit in the throat still hurts lol.

I don't think he got hit in the throat.  I thought he got hit in the face (but I could be wrong). 

In any case, I don't think you can say Draymond "went for the throat"--he wasn't even looking and just threw the elbow back. 

I haven't followed Bertans, so I'll take your word that he isn't a dirty player.  From the manner of the contact in this game--especially what he did on THAT specific play, as well as Draymond's reaction to it (say what you will about Draymond, but he doesn't typically overreact to a player that is very physical, but is clean), I drew the conclusion that he was actually pretty dirty.  But, again, I haven't watched them much and don't know anything about him other than what I've seen this series, so I'll take your word for it.  If that's truly the case, then, yeah, it is just a one-time unfortunate incident of a typical tangle up of big men down in the post that just got a bit heated.  I think the refs got it wrong, but at the same time, they did mostly just let guys play in that game without calling every ticky-tack bit of contact, which I prefer.

I don't think anything will come of this. They both will move on to Game 3 in San Antonio...

Yeah.  Except for the "points" system that can get a player ejected for something relatively minor farther along in the playoffs.  That's what I hate about this.  Now, he has a point against him, so some guys and some teams may start to target him with extra physicality to see if they can push his buttons and make him snap again.  The problem then is, when a guy plays with as much physicality and as much emotion as Draymond, with his reputation, refs aren't as inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt on a play where someone else instigates something, and he ups the physicality in a way that might look a lot worse than it actually is.

But anyway...

I love that when Igoudola stared down Ginobli (after a wide open dunk too btw), Ginobli gave him a look that said "What are you doing? I'm a four time champion and an Argentina LEGEND. There's nothing you can do to me." 

I must have missed that. 

[bosk1]

@ Bosk... dunno.  I don't think Lebron has enough support to put everyone on his back and drag them too far into the playoffs - but he is The King; and I don't know jack about the Pacers.  The 6rs are the real threat, and they are fuckin legit - 24-1 at home in 2018.   

Aside from every fiber of my being wanting the Cavs to go down in flames, I actually don't think they will get past the Raptors in the second round (assuming they turn the present series around and get past Indiana).  But we'll see...

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I love that when Igoudola stared down Ginobli (after a wide open dunk too btw), Ginobli gave him a look that said "What are you doing? I'm a four time champion and an Argentina LEGEND. There's nothing you can do to me." 

Manu is one of my all-time favorites. It will be a sad day when he retires.

[jingle.boy]

Hard to believe this is the first time the Raps have ever had a 2-0 series lead.

[Azyiu]

Hard to believe this is the first time the Raps have ever had a 2-0 series lead.

Well, they have never been a dominate team... let's see if they can build on this, and possibly go for a 4-0 sweep. 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Hard to believe this is the first time the Raps have ever had a 2-0 series lead.

I am trying to be cautious about the playoffs, but Toronto's regular season performance was legitimately great. Having the second-best record and second-best point differential in the whole league is no joke. The only two teams that I feel are clearly better are Golden State and Houston. It really just comes down to whether or not the Raptors maintain their level in the postseason, which they never do, but this is also a very different team from the usual.

[bosk1]

It's easy to say this about a #1 seed, but they really are the team in the east that looks most likely to be a threat to go all the way.

[TAC]

Who in the East is going to beat them?

[Samsara]

If I'm the Spurs, I don't make a deal with the Lakers that does not include Kuzma.

I agree. All it may take is Ingram, Lopez (with Lakers signing and trading to Spurs), and a pick. There may be other pieces to make the salary work, of course.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Who in the East is going to beat them?

I am legitimately scared of Philly. Otherwise... Maybe the Cavs. But they are not very good. They have one transcendent player surrounded by offense-only players who are completely reliant on him. Also, Tyrone Lue is probably one of the worst coaches in the league. I am so thankful for Dwane Casey.