OT: For those who don't watch the NBA, as well as those who do..

[Knicks411]

Also, can I just mention real quick that Russell Westbrook is playing INCREDIBLE basketball right now? His per 36 numbers so far this year:

32 points, 8.3 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 4.6 TOs (obviously the hole in his game right now)

And he's doing it on 49.5-35.5-82.5% shooting. He seems to have somehow taken his game to a new level since returning from injury.

Westbrook seems to get better the more he gets injured.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Most explosive player in the league is Westbrook, hands down imo

 

[CaptainJ]

As someone who has shunned the NBA for a time, I'm sincerely asking how does it compare now to when the Knicks had to take Jordan and the Bulls to the final game of a series on multiple occasions? Sure, I'm guessing the dunks may be better than the time little John Starks dunked over Horace Grant and Michael Jordan in a playoff game and literally "posterized" them, but otherwise?

 

[moqui]

As someone who has shunned the NBA for a time, I'm sincerely asking how does it compare now to when the Knicks had to take Jordan and the Bulls to the final game of a series on multiple occasions? Sure, I'm guessing the dunks may be better than the time little John Starks dunked over Horace Grant and Michael Jordan in a playoff game and literally "posterized" them, but otherwise?

the top NBA teams today are playing basketball at the highest level it has ever been played; anywhere, at any time. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

 

[CaptainJ]

the top NBA teams today are playing basketball at the highest level it has ever been played; anywhere, at any time. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but how is the competition and how are the rivalries?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Crowder is down to like 10 minutes a game and it sounds like there's a good chance he's involved in the Rondo to Dallas trade that sounds like it's pretty close to going down. .

And the West just got a little bit stronger with the addition of Rondo to the Mavs.

 

[Knicks411]

the top NBA teams today are playing basketball at the highest level it has ever been played; anywhere, at any time. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

The 2013 finals were probably the best basketball you could possibly get. So I guess the NBA is ok

 

[Fireball Jr.]

As someone who has shunned the NBA for a time, I'm sincerely asking how does it compare now to when the Knicks had to take Jordan and the Bulls to the final game of a series on multiple occasions? Sure, I'm guessing the dunks may be better than the time little John Starks dunked over Horace Grant and Michael Jordan in a playoff game and literally "posterized" them, but otherwise?

The greatest players from around the world, not just the U.S., are in the NBA now, the product's never been better.

 

[two3zone]

The Ok City, Golden State game was sick. The shooting was insane.

 

[Melancer46]

And the West just got a little bit stronger with the addition of Rondo to the Mavs.

We'll see. I'm not really sure how much this helps them really. Dallas is already the best offensive team in the league, and unless Rondo simply wasn't trying for Boston, he's become a poor defender, so he doesn't help Dallas on that end either. Meanwhile there's a pretty good chance that he disrupts the flow of the offense, hurts floor spacing with his inability to shoot, and is a poor pick-and-roll PG so that hurts Tyson Chandler's impact on that end of the floor too. I think there's going to be a pretty big learning curve to adjusting to life with Rondo for them, and in the meantime, they also lose possibly the best bench big in the league in Brandan Wright and are likely looking at replacing him with the carcass of Jermaine O'Neal.

And I personally thought they were a contender before the trade anyways, so in my mind, this isn't really some shift of power in the West.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We'll see. I'm not really sure how much this helps them really. Dallas is already the best offensive team in the league, and unless Rondo simply wasn't trying for Boston, he's become a poor defender, so he doesn't help Dallas on that end either. Meanwhile there's a pretty good chance that he disrupts the flow of the offense, hurts floor spacing with his inability to shoot, and is a poor pick-and-roll PG so that hurts Tyson Chandler's impact on that end of the floor too. I think there's going to be a pretty big learning curve to adjusting to life with Rondo for them, and in the meantime, they also lose possibly the best bench big in the league in Brandan Wright and are likely looking at replacing him with the carcass of Jermaine O'Neal.

And I personally thought they were a contender before the trade anyways, so in my mind, this isn't really some shift of power in the West.

Rondo wasn't trying in Boston. He wasn't motivated. He'll be motivated playing against Lillard, Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Parker, and Conley every night. Best part about the trade for Dallas is he will get the other guys shots. I wouldn't worry about Dallas floor spacing being bad. Jameer Nelson was the worst starting PG in the league before this trade.

 

[Cowtown]

Meh. All the reasons I don't like the NBA are still present ... :noidea:

 

[Melancer46]

Rondo wasn't trying in Boston. He wasn't motivated. He'll be motivated playing against Lillard, Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Parker, and Conley every night. Best part about the trade for Dallas is he will get the other guys shots. I wouldn't worry about Dallas floor spacing being bad. Jameer Nelson was the worst starting PG in the league before this trade.

We'll see. Regardless of how hard he tries or not, it would be pretty much impossible to improve Dallas on the offensive end. If anything, this will likely hurt them offensively. If he can bring it back on the defensive end that would be a huge plus, but I'm skeptical about the reasoning that he's been a poor defender for 2 years now because he hasn't tried at all. I think he's just nervous about reinjuring himself trying to stay in front of guys and taking charges and stuff; same reason he doesn't attack the rim nearly as much as he did back when he was a great offensive player.

And while the Jameer/Harris/Barea trio aren't very good, they're all lightyears ahead of Rondo in terms of shooting and Rondo literally cannot get Dallas better looks than they were already getting. I'm just not sure this improves them much if at all. Having a PG that can't shoot, isn't willing to attack anymore, might be the worst FT shooter in the NBA regardless of position, doesn't run the pick and roll, and hasn't played defense in two years is a tough peg to fit into a team that was already the best offensive team in the NBA.

 

[Knicks411]

Tom Haberstoh had a stat yesterday saying for the third year in a row, Boston has a better offense without Rondo on the court than with. Also I saw he has had 15 trips to the line this year to shoot 2 foul shots, and he's made both exactly once. And Chandler isn't exactly the most durable dude in the world, so losing Wright could really hurt.

Then again, Rondo could go totally nuts. I concede I may be biased against him.

 

[Alsacs]

Dallas won the trade as you always trade ponies for a horse and Rondo is a horse when motivated.

Boston should have traded Rondo when they traded Pierce/KG 2 years ago if they wanted more value. I am a C's fan and liked ROndo but he had to go for Marcus Smart to be given the keys. Rondo is not worth a max contract with Boston and honestly he isn't a max player overall IMO. He will do well with Ellis/Parsons/Dirk on the floor and he will play more motivated.

I don't think Boston would have gotten more this year and they can still flip Jeff Green, Brandon Wright at the trading deadline.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Dallas won the trade as you always trade ponies for a horse and Rondo is a horse when motivated.

Boston should have traded Rondo when they traded Pierce/KG 2 years ago if they wanted more value. I am a C's fan and liked ROndo but he had to go for Marcus Smart to be given the keys. Rondo is not worth a max contract with Boston and honestly he isn't a max player overall IMO. He will do well with Ellis/Parsons/Dirk on the floor and he will play more motivated.

I don't think Boston would have gotten more this year and they can still flip Jeff Green, Brandon Wright at the trading deadline.

I think the Clippers would take Green off Boston's hands. I'm just not sure what they have to offer.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Anyone else think all-star rosters should be 15 instead of 12?

Personally, I think 15 is perfect. A lot of these guys don't care how much they play, if at all, in these games, so more players on a roster has little impact.

There are (at least) 15 deserving players in each conference, whether it be due to individual talent/stats or contribution to overall team record.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Meh. All the reasons I don't like the NBA are still present ... :noidea:

The NBA has changed a lot. Most of the good teams, especially in the west play a wide open almost EURO style basketball, and still play good defense. This isn't the mid 90's to mid 00's NBA where teams like the Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, and Spurs played in the half court and would just just mug people on defense to get their way to 50 wins every season.

 

[Alsacs]

I think the Clippers would take Green off Boston's hands. I'm just not sure what they have to offer.

The Clippers have no assets. The C's have the LAC pick for this year and I doubt they would give up next year's as well.

I think OKC, San Antonio, Cleveland, Toronto, Golden State one of them will offer a 1st round pick for Green where he can be an elite 6th man or 3rd/4th best player on a contender.

 

[Alsacs]

Anyone else think all-star rosters should be 15 instead of 12?

Personally, I think 15 is perfect. A lot of these guys don't care how much they play, if at all, in these games, so more players on a roster has little impact.

There are (at least) 15 deserving players in each conference, whether it be due to individual talent/stats or contribution to overall team record.

I think the NBA all-star game should try the NHL concept. Have Lebron and Durant draft teams. It would be more fun than East-West dunk fest. The West has so many more quality all-stars this year than the East.

Who are the 12 East all-stars? The East goes about 9 deep
Lebron
Love
Irving
Lowry
DeRozien
Wall
Horford
Noah
Gasol
????
Joe Johnson?
Chris Bosh?
Dwayne Wade?
Note: I think Carmelo Anthony is an All-Star player, but not this year with injuries.

 

[moqui]

The 2013 finals were probably the best basketball you could possibly get. So I guess the NBA is ok

as the years go by, we're going to talk about that series like people from the 60s talk about Woodstock

 

[Knicks411]

The Clippers have no assets. The C's have the LAC pick for this year and I doubt they would give up next year's as well.

I think OKC, San Antonio, Cleveland, Toronto, Golden State one of them will offer a 1st round pick for Green where he can be an elite 6th man or 3rd/4th best player on a contender.

Teams are really hoarding first rounders now; I don't see Green bringing one back.

 

[moqui]

I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but how is the competition and how are the rivalries?

the competition among the top 20 or so teams is outstanding. the rivalries are not the same ones that old timers talk about - Lakers/Celtics are both down, Knicks/Sixers are both down - but there are new rivalries all the time. The Texas Trio, plus OKC, is probably the greatest regional rivalry with the biggest collection of talent ever: Durant, Westbrook, Nowitzki, Harden, Duncan . . .

 

[NineOneSeven]

I think the NBA all-star game should try the NHL concept. Have Lebron and Durant draft teams. It would be more fun than East-West dunk fest. The West has so many more quality all-stars this year than the East.

Who are the 12 East all-stars? The East goes about 9 deep
Lebron
Love
Irving
Lowry
DeRozien
Wall
Horford
Noah
Gasol
????
Joe Johnson?
Chris Bosh?
Dwayne Wade?
Note: I think Carmelo Anthony is an All-Star player, but not this year with injuries.

You could argue Millsap/Teague as well from the Hawks.

Chris Bosh is absolutely an all-star this year. Wade likely as well. Carmelo will also be on the team. Records aside, I could also make arguments for guys like Al Jefferson/ Nikola Vucevic.

The West will be much more challenging as the guard talent is insane.

 

[Alsacs]

Teams are really hoarding first rounders now; I don't see Green bringing one back.

I can't see Danny just giving Green away. The Celtics have a 12.9 million dollar trade exemption now. They will flip Green/Wright and will likely try to trade one of them and if they package it correctly I can't see a team that is a contender not giving up a pick in the 20's.

The Celtics have so many future picks it is hilarious.
Boston has Philly's 2015 2nd round pick(going to be 31st from last yr's Joel Anthony trade),
Los Angeles Clippers 2015 unprotected 1st round pick(Doc Rivers trade),
Dallas 2015 1st round pick(protected 1-3, 15-30) or 2016 Dallas first round pick(protected 1-7), or unprotected in 2017.
Brooklyn's 2016 first round pick unprotected(Thanks Billy King)
Cleveland's 2016 first round pick which is top 10 protected thru 2018 and unprotected in 2019.
Boston can flip first round spots with Brooklyn in 2017.
Brooklyn's 2018 first round pick unprotected.

What we learned Billy King is really a moron and got fleeced by Danny Ainge as all of Brooklyn's bad contracts are thru 2018.