2024-25 NBA Season / Playoffs

[Cusefan0307]

Returning the favor for Chuck doing NCAA Tourney studio shows.

I was wrong. Apparently he’s done a few this year and is the replacement for Hubie Brown. The worldwide leader gets cheaper every year.

 

[Melancer46]

Is there a more overrated NBA player than Trae Young?

I feel like hes one of those guys that basically everyone hates and is therefore maybe a little underrated if anything because the pendulum has swung too far the other direction.

Having said that, I would have zero interest in giving him the supermax that he's eligible for this off-season. Same sort of vain as LaMelo Ball where they're very fun to watch and indisputably good players but just not the kind of player I would want to build around.

In Trae's defense though, he did lead them on that miracle run to the ECF back in 2021 or whatever it was and they've generally given him very little talent to work with (and while they did swing big with the Dejounte Murray trade, it just never made sense as a fit, which is of course part of the problem with Trae).

 

[Knicks411]

I feel like hes one of those guys that basically everyone hates and is therefore maybe a little underrated if anything because the pendulum has swung too far the other direction.

Having said that, I would have zero interest in giving him the supermax that he's eligible for this off-season. Same sort of vain as LaMelo Ball where they're very fun to watch and indisputably good players but just not the kind of player I would want to build around.

In Trae's defense though, he did lead them on that miracle run to the ECF back in 2021 or whatever it was and they've generally given him very little talent to work with (and while they did swing big with the Dejounte Murray trade, it just never made sense as a fit, which is of course part of the problem with Trae).

A team like Orlando could really use Trae. He has his flaws but he’s a great passser and they could really use the offense and they could cover for some of his defensive deficiencies.

 

[Eric15]

I feel like hes one of those guys that basically everyone hates and is therefore maybe a little underrated if anything because the pendulum has swung too far the other direction.

Having said that, I would have zero interest in giving him the supermax that he's eligible for this off-season. Same sort of vain as LaMelo Ball where they're very fun to watch and indisputably good players but just not the kind of player I would want to build around.

In Trae's defense though, he did lead them on that miracle run to the ECF back in 2021 or whatever it was and they've generally given him very little talent to work with (and while they did swing big with the Dejounte Murray trade, it just never made sense as a fit, which is of course part of the problem with Trae).

I definitely don’t hate Trae. I think he’s an exciting player and a talented scorer. It’s actually pretty incredible what he does at 6 feet 160 lbs. And in his defense the Hawks are a morbid franchise.

But I think he’s better suited as a #2 similar to a Jamal Murray or Tyrese Maxey. He’s just too inefficient to be a franchise player.

 

[Melancer46]

I definitely don’t hate Trae. I think he’s an exciting player and a talented scorer. It’s actually pretty incredible what he does at 6 feet 160 lbs. And in his defense the Hawks are a morbid franchise.

But I think he’s better suited as a #2 similar to a Jamal Murray or Tyrese Maxey. He’s just too inefficient to be a franchise player.

With his skillset, he's obviously gonna have the ball in his hands a ton whether hes technically the #1 or #2 or whatever, but yeah, if you could get him a running mate that he can feed a lot, that would help tremendously. With the Spurs rumors that swirled this past off-season, I can't help but imagine what he could do throwing lobs/kickouts to Wemby.

As Knicks mentioned, a team like Orlando that has defense everywhere but nobody that really creates super well would be interesting too. Obviously Paolo and Wagner can create some but it's more self creation with them rather than getting teammates open looks. And as inconsistent as Trae's shooting can be, Orlando has nobody really close to the kind of spacing he can help provide.

 

[Knicks411]

With his skillset, he's obviously gonna have the ball in his hands a ton whether hes technically the #1 or #2 or whatever, but yeah, if you could get him a running mate that he can feed a lot, that would help tremendously. With the Spurs rumors that swirled this past off-season, I can't help but imagine what he could do throwing lobs/kickouts to Wemby.

As Knicks mentioned, a team like Orlando that has defense everywhere but nobody that really creates super well would be interesting too. Obviously Paolo and Wagner can create some but it's more self creation with them rather than getting teammates open looks. And as inconsistent as Trae's shooting can be, Orlando has nobody really close to the kind of spacing he can help provide.

Also would have been a pretty clean fit because the spurs own the hawks picks the next 3 years. But they clearly preferred Fox and holding onto those hawks picks

 

[Eric15]

Barkley: “The playoffs have been great. I’ve watched every game.”
Kenny: “Impressive. That’s literally your job.”

 

[cuseattle]

Ty Jerome with a productive 25 minutes
28 points on 10-15 shooting, 5-8 from 3... 5 boards, 4 helpers

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Great job by the TNT crew letting us know the call is being challenged but we were never told what the original call even was

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Barkley: “The playoffs have been great. I’ve watched every game.”
Kenny: “Impressive. That’s literally your job.”

It also just freaking started

 

[Cusefan0307]

The Rockets and Lakers are not winning their series.

 

[MikeSU02]

The Rockets and Lakers are not winning their series.

I think the Lakers will be fine.

I think the Rockets are playing a fundamentally different team in GSW since the Butler trade (I get that falls into the 'ya think so, doctor?' type statement) and don't have the seasoning / experience to hang.

OKC might outscore Memphis by 125 total points in a four game sweep.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think the Lakers will be fine.

I think the Rockets are playing a fundamentally different team in GSW since the Butler trade (I get that falls into the 'ya think so, doctor?' type statement) and don't have the seasoning / experience to hang.

OKC might outscore Memphis by 125 total points in a four game sweep.

Lebron looked real old Saturday(I know he is). They might have to average 125 in the series to win it. They aren’t stopping anyone.

 

[MikeSU02]

A team like Orlando could really use Trae. He has his flaws but he’s a great passser and they could really use the offense and they could cover for some of his defensive deficiencies.

I like Trae, oddly. Not in terms of him being a top tier player, but I think for his size, you get a good ROI.

Agreed that if you put him on ORL or a SAS, he would fit well. It just applies so much pressure to the rest of your team, especially needing rim protectors, if you have someone like Trae who can't really stop the ball at all.

Luka, for all his defensive issues, is at least a big dude that, if he gets mad enough, will put up a fight.

 

[Newhouser]

Luka needs to facilitate - at least a little. LeBron seemed oddly passive for such a big environment, and I think in the playoffs Reaves is going to get exposed a little bit. Minnesota is good and has been playing great for a while.

 

[Knicks411]

I think the Lakers will be fine.

I think the Rockets are playing a fundamentally different team in GSW since the Butler trade (I get that falls into the 'ya think so, doctor?' type statement) and don't have the seasoning / experience to hang.

OKC might outscore Memphis by 125 total points in a four game sweep.

I agree with this, but they did just play like two weeks ago and Houston totally locked them up (Thompson forced Curry into 1-10). But their offense just may not be enough

 

[kirbivore]

MSG was rocking in the 4th quarter. Huge comeback win going away. Jalen Brunson was awesome. (26 mil a year deal just to compare with Trae)

and that mo mo Detroit coach left timeouts in his pocket during that run.

 

[MikeSU02]

This is worth the read: Firings, dysfunction and chaos: Inside Dallas' lost season and the end of the Luka Doncic era

Snippet:

A few days after returning to Dallas' Love Field from the Hall of Fame event, when the franchise that had endured a frustrating, losing season was on a high from honoring Nowitzki, Harrison informed Smith that they needed to meet. Smith replied that it wasn't possible to meet in person; he had gone to his hometown in Ohio to be at the side of his gravely ill mother in the final weeks of her life. Harrison set up a video conference meeting instead.

Smith was then informed that his services in Dallas were no longer needed, ending a nearly two-decade tenure with the franchise. The reason for the dismissal centered on Smith being "too negative," according to sources briefed on the discussion who interpreted the vague reasoning to mean Smith wasn't enough of a yes-man.

"He was 100 percent threatened by him," a team source told ESPN, referring to Harrison's concern that Smith's voice carried too much weight with the franchise. "He's going to show that I'm in charge and nobody else can question that."

 

[NashvilleOrange]

This is worth the read: Firings, dysfunction and chaos: Inside Dallas' lost season and the end of the Luka Doncic era

Snippet:

A few days after returning to Dallas' Love Field from the Hall of Fame event, when the franchise that had endured a frustrating, losing season was on a high from honoring Nowitzki, Harrison informed Smith that they needed to meet. Smith replied that it wasn't possible to meet in person; he had gone to his hometown in Ohio to be at the side of his gravely ill mother in the final weeks of her life. Harrison set up a video conference meeting instead.

Smith was then informed that his services in Dallas were no longer needed, ending a nearly two-decade tenure with the franchise. The reason for the dismissal centered on Smith being "too negative," according to sources briefed on the discussion who interpreted the vague reasoning to mean Smith wasn't enough of a yes-man.

"He was 100 percent threatened by him," a team source told ESPN, referring to Harrison's concern that Smith's voice carried too much weight with the franchise. "He's going to show that I'm in charge and nobody else can question that."

Great read. It paints Nico to be sociopath, which he probably is. What's especially perplexing is how good of a job Nico was doing building a team around Luka prior to the trade. Loved the Gafford trade, snagging PJ Washington too, for not much. Then pulling Naji Marshall (admittedly had a down year shooting 3s but is the exact type of 3 and D type you want to put next to Luka.) Of course the Kyrie risk also panned out nicely when he was considered toxic, damaged goods.

 

[cuseattle]

Trae Young vs Jason Brunson player comparison stats. I'm like a dog with a bone.

Jalen Brunson vs. Trae Young Comparison

Head-to-head comparison between the NBA stars Trae Young and Jalen Brunson that includes championships won, honors and awards obtained, regular season and playoffs stats and other data put side by side.

www.google.com

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Both of these Pistons/Knicks games have been fun.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Detroit is tough. I still think Knicks in 6 but it’ll be a battle.

 

[Newhouser]

Detroit is tough. I still think Knicks in 6 but it’ll be a battle.

I think the Knicks are in trouble. Pistons have been the better team for 7 of 8 periods.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

NBA action is fannnn-tastic.

 

[Eric15]

The Pistons had the 6th greatest turnaround in NBA history. I find theirs more impressive than the top two on this list. The first was just building an off-season super team, and the second was simply due to David Robinson being injured and coming back with Duncan.

• *2007-08 Boston Celtics: 42-win increase (24 to 66).
• 1997-98 San Antonio Spurs: 36 (20 to 56).
• 1989-90 San Antonio Spurs: 35 (21 to 56).
• 2004-05 Phoenix Suns: 33 (29 to 62).
• 1979-80 Boston Celtics: 32 (29 to 61).
• **2024-25 Detroit Pistons: 29 (14 to 43).
• 1969-70 Milwaukee Bucks: 29 (27 to 56).