2023-24 NBA Season

[Day2]

The two best teams in the west kick off the season’s first game!

You misread. The Nuggets aren’t hosting the Suns. The Suns are playing in the second game.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

And that’s the truth, Ruth

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Long live the GOAT!

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Without reason I am not an LBJ guy, however I admit (with some admiration) the guy has been in the public eye since high school and (to my knowledge) has never had a misstep, which is amazing. He always seems to do the right thing. Even “the decision” was done to raise money for a worthy cause (Boys Club?). Then he got together with Rich Paul and changed the rules for Agents and players.
One thing I wish he had done (I would not have thought of this at 17, so I am not criticizing) was threaten not to play in his televised high school games unless ESPN agreed to pay for college for his teammates.
Also, he won an NBA championship with RJ Smith as an important piece. Who does that?
MJ had guys like Pippen, Rodman, etc. Phil was his coach for all championships. LBJ’s best teammate was Kyrie. His best coach was Mike Brown. Enough said.
Also, the influx of foreign hall of fame level players during LBJ’s time has resulted in more good teams. The usage of the 3 point shot has given lesser teams better chances to beat the better teams.
I think MJ is the nostalgic GOAT for men of a certain age.

 

[MikeSU02]

Slovenia is resting Luka today against the US. Bummer.

 

[Day2]

Without reason I am not an LBJ guy, however I admit (with some admiration) the guy has been in the public eye since high school and (to my knowledge) has never had a misstep, which is amazing. He always seems to do the right thing. Even “the decision” was done to raise money for a worthy cause (Boys Club?). Then he got together with Rich Paul and changed the rules for Agents and players.
One thing I wish he had done (I would not have thought of this at 17, so I am not criticizing) was threaten not to play in his televised high school games unless ESPN agreed to pay for college for his teammates.
Also, he won an NBA championship with RJ Smith as an important piece. Who does that?
MJ had guys like Pippen, Rodman, etc. Phil was his coach for all championships. LBJ’s best teammate was Kyrie. His best coach was Mike Brown. Enough said.
Also, the influx of foreign hall of fame level players during LBJ’s time has resulted in more good teams. The usage of the 3 point shot has given lesser teams better chances to beat the better teams.
I think MJ is the nostalgic GOAT for men of a certain age.

LBJ’s best teammate was Wade. Brown may have been his third-best coach after Spoelstra and Lue.

Those aren’t the only things wrong with your post, that’s just all I’m bothering to correct.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

LBJ’s best teammate was Wade. Brown may have been his third-best coach after Spoelstra and Lue.

Those aren’t the only things wrong with your post, that’s just all I’m bothering to correct.

Thank you

 

[OrangeDW]

Without reason I am not an LBJ guy, however I admit (with some admiration) the guy has been in the public eye since high school and (to my knowledge) has never had a misstep, which is amazing. He always seems to do the right thing. Even “the decision” was done to raise money for a worthy cause (Boys Club?). Then he got together with Rich Paul and changed the rules for Agents and players.
One thing I wish he had done (I would not have thought of this at 17, so I am not criticizing) was threaten not to play in his televised high school games unless ESPN agreed to pay for college for his teammates.
Also, he won an NBA championship with RJ Smith as an important piece. Who does that?
MJ had guys like Pippen, Rodman, etc. Phil was his coach for all championships. LBJ’s best teammate was Kyrie. His best coach was Mike Brown. Enough said.
Also, the influx of foreign hall of fame level players during LBJ’s time has resulted in more good teams. The usage of the 3 point shot has given lesser teams better chances to beat the better teams.
I think MJ is the nostalgic GOAT for men of a certain age.

JR Smith averaged 12 ppg, shot 37% from 3, and was in the league for 16 years. He was a fine role player.

If you’re talking about him being a knucklehead….he was nowhere remotely in the same ballpark as late 90’s Dennis Rodman in that regard.

 

[Day2]

BTW, Jordan has won 10 scoring titles to LBJ’s one.

More championships, more MVP awards, and more scoring titles. Enough said.

 

[OrangeDW]

BTW, Jordan has won 10 scoring titles to LBJ’s one.

More championships, more MVP awards, and more scoring titles. Enough said.

Nothing is more annoying than when people do the “he didn’t win without Pippen!”…..you mean he didn’t carry crappy teams in like his first 4-5 years to titles? Lol. So dumb. There’s not one NBA champion ever without multiple studs. Just because it was the same guy who was #2 for all 6 of Jordan’s titles while LeBron has had Wade, Kyrie, and Davis. Every champion has a second stud. And then they either have a 3rd stud or a really deep plethora of good role players.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

LBJ’s best teammate was Wade. Brown may have been his third-best coach after Spoelstra and Lue.

Those aren’t the only things wrong with your post, that’s just all I’m bothering to correct.

Forgot about them. Was strictly thinking Cleveland.

 

[cuseattle]

LBJ’s best teammate was Wade. Brown may have been his third-best coach after Spoelstra and Lue.

Those aren’t the only things wrong with your post, that’s just all I’m bothering to correct.

He did seem to forget about the heat years, but he is spot on about LeBron's maturity and character from such a young age. I also agree with the sentiment that some folks seem to think appreciating LBJ insults Jordan's legacy somehow.
It's easy to appreciate them both.

 

[Day2]

Nothing is more annoying than when people do the “he didn’t win without Pippen!”…..you mean he didn’t carry crappy teams in like his first 4-5 years to titles? Lol. So dumb. There’s not one NBA champion ever without multiple studs. Just because it was the same guy who was #2 for all 6 of Jordan’s titles while LeBron has had Wade, Kyrie, and Davis. Every champion has a second stud. And then they either have a 3rd stud or a really deep plethora of good role players.

He also made the playoffs every year those first 4-5 years. LBJ missed the playoffs his first two years. Actually, Jordan never missed the playoffs with the Bulls. He only missed the playoffs the two years with the Wizards. LBJ has missed the playoffs four times.

And Jordan made Pippen into a stud. He did a much better job of making his teammates better than LBJ ever has.

 

[Day2]

Forgot about them. Was strictly thinking Cleveland.

You were not. If you were, the Mike Brown praise makes even less sense. He won the title with Lue.

 

[Day2]

He did seem to forget about the heat years, but he is spot on about LeBron's maturity and character from such a young age. I also agree with the sentiment that some folks seem to think appreciating LBJ insults Jordan's legacy somehow.
It's easy to appreciate them both.

He was talking about The Decision, yet forgot about the Heat years? Don’t give him that much credit.

You’re right, though. There’s room to appreciate both players.

I would argue that LBJ wasn’t that mature early on. He threw his teammates under the bus when Cleveland didn’t make the playoffs his rookie year. Charitable cause or not, The Decision was a debacle.

As far as character goes, LBJ is a much better person than Jordan. While Jordan has done a lot for himself and his brand, LBJ has done so much more for others.

 

[OrangeDW]

He also made the playoffs every year those first 4-5 years. LBJ missed the playoffs his first two years. Actually, Jordan never missed the playoffs with the Bulls. He only missed the playoffs the two years with the Wizards. LBJ has missed the playoffs four times.

And Jordan made Pippen into a stud. He did a much better job of making his teammates better than LBJ ever has.

The 6 titles in his last 6 real seasons is just nuts, really. The only season they didn’t win was the one he started playing in March.

It’s incredibly hard to repeat, let alone 3 peat. 3 peating twice is just nuts. Never say never, but if I had to make a prediction, I don’t think we’ll ever see a team have a chokehold on the title like that again.

 

[MikeSU02]

BTW, Jordan has won 10 scoring titles to LBJ’s one.

More championships, more MVP awards, and more scoring titles. Enough said.

Great stats in a way worse league with defensive rules that helped him (and spare me with the hand check rule).

 

[Day2]

Great stats in a way worse league with defensive rules that helped him (and spare me with the hand check rule).

And that equates to a difference of nine scoring titles?

Didn’t stop Durant from winning three in a row, or four in his career. Didn’t stop Harden from winning three in a row either. During LBJ’s tenure, five different players have won multiple scoring titles. LBJ has just the one, way back in 2008. Jordan led the league in scoring when he was 35.

Despite everyone during the Jordan era playing by the exact same rules, Jordan essentially led the league in scoring ten years in a row (not including the two years he sat out). Did the rules help him more than any other player?

 

[OrangeDW]

Great stats in a way worse league with defensive rules that helped him (and spare me with the hand check rule).

Scoring titles are scoring titles?

And in regards to his late career scoring titles….wouldn’t scoring 28-30 ppg when teams only averaged 95 points be even more impressive?

 

[MikeSU02]

And that equates to a difference of nine scoring titles?

Didn’t stop Durant from winning three in a row, or four in his career. Didn’t stop Harden from winning three in a row either. During LBJ’s tenure, five different players have won multiple scoring titles. LBJ has just the one, way back in 2008. Jordan led the league in scoring when he was 35.

Despite everyone during the Jordan era playing by the exact same rules, Jordan essentially led the league in scoring ten years in a row (not including the two years he sat out). Did the rules help him more than any other player?

I'm talking all of his stats, but if you want to talk scoring, the illegal defense rules helped him tremendously and the best players during his major run was Barkley and then Hakeem and then maybe Shaq by the end for a beat.

You are cherry picking one stat against guys that weren't going to beat him in literally one scoring measurement.

His titles? No way he's winning that many if he's going against the Dubs or even Bron in the east.

More MVPs? You think he's running roughshod with the MVP with KD, Steph and Bron? No.

And, yes, the illegal defense helped him a ton. What KD, Bron, Kawhi, Steph et al had / have to deal with is wayyyyy harder. MJ literally gawked about the change during an all star weekend.

It was easier for MJ to outscore everyone because the rules helped him, the best players in the 90s weren't as good as the top players now and the overall depth of the league wasn't close to as good.

So congrats on the scoring titles.

 

[MikeSU02]

Scoring titles are scoring titles?

And in regards to his late career scoring titles….wouldn’t scoring 28-30 ppg when teams only averaged 95 points be even more impressive?

He could shoot as much as he want. The post referenced more than just scoring. But if we want to talk scoring, congrats on the late scoring titles. Let's look at 97-98.

He shot over 23 FGs per game. Next highest was 20.8.

PPG? 4th is Mitch Richmond, 5th is Antoine Walker, 6th is Glen Rice and 7th is Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Let's look at this past year in the NBA top 10:
Joel, Luka, Dame, Shai, Giannis, Tatum, Mitchell, Kyrie, Jaylen Brown, Ja.

I mean, let's be real here.

 

[Day2]

He could shoot as much as he want. The post referenced more than just scoring. But if we want to talk scoring, congrats on the late scoring titles. Let's look at 97-98.

He shot over 23 FGs per game. Next highest was 20.8.

PPG? 4th is Mitch Richmond, 5th is Antoine Walker, 6th is Glen Rice and 7th is Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Let's look at this past year in the NBA top 10:
Joel, Luka, Dame, Shai, Giannis, Tatum, Mitchell, Kyrie, Jaylen Brown, Ja.

I mean, let's be real here.

The object of the game is to score the most points, right? So scoring should be weighed heavily when determining the GOAT, no?

Yeah, let’s be real. You’re overvaluing some of today’s players (Lillard, SGA, Mitchell, Brown, Morant) and discounting some of the players from Jordan’s era. Richmond and Rice were legit scorers. You’re completely disrespecting Barkley and Olajuwon.

But let’s look at some of the other players Jordan beat in scoring over the course of his career:

Larry Bird
Dominque Wilkins
Alex English
Karl Malone
Clyde Drexler
Chris Mullin
Bernard King
Patrick Ewing
David Robinson

If you don’t recognize the talent on that list, I’ll be forced to pull the age card.

The bottom line is Jordan has done more than LBJ, both as an individual player and as a team player. And he didn’t have to jump from team to team to find star players to win with.

And I don’t want to hear about star players joining the Bulls. Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper were not at the relative level of Bosh and Wade. Or Anthony Davis alone. I mean, look at the big men Jordan had as teammates. In an era that featured a good chunk of the best big men of all time.

 

[MikeSU02]

The object of the game is to score the most points, right? So scoring should be weighed heavily when determining the GOAT, no?

Yeah, let’s be real. You’re overvaluing some of today’s players (Lillard, SGA, Mitchell, Brown, Morant) and discounting some of the players from Jordan’s era. Richmond and Rice were legit scorers. You’re completely disrespecting Barkley and Olajuwon.

But let’s look at some of the other players Jordan beat in scoring over the course of his career:

Larry Bird
Dominque Wilkins
Alex English
Karl Malone
Clyde Drexler
Chris Mullin
Bernard King
Patrick Ewing
David Robinson

If you don’t recognize the talent on that list, I’ll be forced to pull the age card.

The bottom line is Jordan has done more than LBJ, both as an individual player and as a team player. And he didn’t have to jump from team to team to find star players to win with.

And I don’t want to hear about star players joining the Bulls. Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper were not at the relative level of Bosh and Wade. Or Anthony Davis alone. I mean, look at the big men Jordan had as teammates. In an era that featured a good chunk of the best big men of all time.

Object of the game is to win.

If we’re going back to the start of their careers career, then count Melo, AI, Kobe, Ray, Duncan, KG, CP3, D Rose, Wade, Dirk. And, again, that’s just a snippet, not counting Kawhi, KD, Steph, Harden, etc.

You are way overvaluing Mitch Richmond, etc.

You are focusing now on one aggregate stat.

That list you had, Steph is better than all of them, save Bird. Same KD. Same Kobe. same Duncan. same Shaq.

I can go on.

You out the illegal D rule back in play, KD is scoring 35 a game. Same with prime Bron. Same with Luka. Same with Steph.

 

[Day2]

Object of the game is to win.

If we’re going back to the start of their careers career, then count Melo, AI, Kobe, Ray, Duncan, KG, CP3, D Rose, Wade, Dirk. And, again, that’s just a snippet, not counting Kawhi, KD, Steph, Harden, etc.

You are way overvaluing Mitch Richmond, etc.

You are focusing now on one aggregate stat.

That list you had, Steph is better than all of them, save Bird. Same KD. Same Kobe. same Duncan. same Shaq.

I can go on.

You out the illegal D rule back in play, KD is scoring 35 a game. Same with prime Bron. Same with Luka. Same with Steph.

Agree to disagree.

 

[Knicks411]

JR Smith averaged 12 ppg, shot 37% from 3, and was in the league for 16 years. He was a fine role player.

If you’re talking about him being a knucklehead….he was nowhere remotely in the same ballpark as late 90’s Dennis Rodman in that regard.

Game 1 of the 2018 finals might beg to differ

I'm mostly joking. But that's like a mt rushmore knucklehead moment