It's showtime -- let the (NBA) games begin!

[KaiserUEO]

I think if you lightened the schedule you'd see a significant drop in the number of guys sitting out. Would it drop to 0? Probably not, and that's also probably not reasonable to expect. I dont know how close they can come to completely eliminating back to backs, but it would go a long way.

or just play them all at MSG.

nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever sits out a game there.

and the other thing I found comical in this whole thing is...some GM said something like...well 2 of our stars were reasonably hurt and we didn't want to send the 3rd out there by himself.

-U.

Melo has been 'going out there by himself' since Day 1 of his Knick career.

mini-rant over.

thank you.

 

[Knicks411]

or just play them all at MSG.

nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever sits out a game there.

and the other thing I found comical in this whole thing is...some GM said something like...well 2 of our stars were reasonably hurt and we didn't want to send the 3rd out there by himself.

-U.

Melo has been 'going out there by himself' since Day 1 of his Knick career.

mini-rant over.

thank you.

it was Cleveland, and Lebron is leading the entire league in minutes played, so i kinda get where he's coming from.

I was curious, they both came in the league the same year, so the comparison is easy. Lebron has played 16% more regular season minutes than Melo has. An extra 5,701 minutes. He's basically played nearly 2 full seasons worth of minutes more than Melo in the same number of years. That's before you get into the 6,000 extra playoff minutes he has. That's kinda crazy.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

it was Cleveland, and Lebron is leading the entire league in minutes played, so i kinda get where he's coming from.

Seems like there are a few ways to slice the pie.

Lebron could play in every game, but fewer minutes. :noidea:

 

[Knicks411]

Seems like there are a few ways to slice the pie.

Lebron could play in every game, but fewer minutes. :noidea:

I agree that they've played him too many minutes this year. I think once you get in a game though, it's hard for some (most?) coaches to take the long term view. You're in a close game, your team is generally pretty terrible when Lebron sits (and Lebron doesn't want to sit anyway) it can be difficult to pull the guy off the court for an extended period of time and potentially throw a game away. Whereas if he's sitting in a suit and tie, you don't have much of a choice.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I agree that they've played him too many minutes this year. I think once you get in a game though, it's hard for some (most?) coaches to take the long term view. You're in a close game, your team is generally pretty terrible when Lebron sits (and Lebron doesn't want to sit anyway) it can be difficult to pull the guy off the court for an extended period of time and potentially throw a game away. Whereas if he's sitting in a suit and tie, you don't have much of a choice.

Agreed. That's a different problem to solve though.

 

[Knicks411]

Agreed. That's a different problem to solve though.

Pop has job security, no other coach really does, certainly not to the extent he does. So he can more easily punt a game, so to speak, by playing Kawhi 30 instead of 35 minutes or something.

At the same time, I also wouldn't be surprised if teams have research that indicates that not all minutes are created equal. For instance, playing 30 minutes in 5 games is probably not the same as playing 37.5 minutes a night for 4 games and sitting out the fifth. I would imagine there's a benefit to completely having the day off to rest your body, as opposed to sitting for an extra few minutes each night. That makes intuitive sense to me, but I can't back it with any research.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

So Knicks are going to be full triangle next season...

 

[Knicks411]

So Knicks are going to be full triangle next season...

Just fantastic

 

[Cusefan0307]

If the owners really care about the stars playing, maybe they get these other events like concerts/rodeos/circuses/dog shows and everything else out of their arenas and make the NBA have first choice at scheduling. Not give optional entertainment first choice.

 

[Knicks411]

If the owners really care about the stars playing, maybe they get these other events like concerts/rodeos/circuses/dog shows and everything else out of their arenas and make the NBA have first choice at scheduling. Not give optional entertainment first choice.

How many owners totally own their buildings?

I realize I don't know how this really works.

 

[Alsacs]

Boston has the best odds on 538 to finish with the 1 seed in the East.
Cleveland is one game up. They play 12 games.
6 road/6 home
Boston has 10 games 7 home/ 3 road.
Cleveland has more back to backs.
Cleveland plays at San Antonio on Monday and at Boston in 10 days.
Boston getting the 1 seed would force Cleveland to. beat both Washington and Boston.
They would still win both series but it wouldn't be a cake walk. They would go 5-6 games each series.

 

[Cusefan0307]

How many owners totally own their buildings?

I realize I don't know how this really works.

Not sure, but I heard Mark Cuban bring this up and it's a great point.

For example San Antonio goes on that long road trip every year because the Rodeo comes to town, hence the rodeo road trip.

I would guess some are owned by outside agencies/corps, but if thats the case shouldn't the owners still be able to negotiate the terms of their lease?

I know the Knicks and Nets own their building. Not sure team for team.

 

[Knicks411]

Boston has the best odds on 538 to finish with the 1 seed in the East.
Cleveland is one game up. They play 12 games.
6 road/6 home
Boston has 10 games 7 home/ 3 road.
Cleveland has more back to backs.
Cleveland plays at San Antonio on Monday and at Boston in 10 days.
Boston getting the 1 seed would force Cleveland to. beat both Washington and Boston.
They would still win both series but it wouldn't be a cake walk. They would go 5-6 games each series.

If Cleveland beats Boston, they'd have the tiebreaker, in which case I would think it would be very difficult for Boston to catch them. Boston has 2 days off prior to that game, Cleveland has Orlando at home the night before. I'd imagine you'll see some guys rest for the Magic game

 

[Alsacs]

If Cleveland beats Boston, they'd have the tiebreaker, in which case I would think it would be very difficult for Boston to catch them. Boston has 2 days off prior to that game, Cleveland has Orlando at home the night before. I'd imagine you'll see some guys rest for the Magic game

Teams don't sit players at home though.
I could easily see Love out of the Boston game on the back to back.

I don't think HCA advantage really matters to Cleveland.
There are 3.5 decent teams in the East behind Cleveland being elite.
Boston, Washington, Toronto and .5 Atlanta.

So the Cavs would still have a series with Toronto if they got the 1 seed.

Looking at the Celtics schedule they should go 7-3 or 8-2.
4 games against .500 teams.
2 vs. and @ Milwaukee
1 vs. Cleveland
1 @ Atlanta

Road game vs. tanking Knicks, road game vs. Charlotte
Home games vs. Suns, Heat, Magic, Nets.

I think unless Cleveland tries the odds favor Boston being the 1 seed.

 

[longislandcuse]

Teams don't sit players at home though.
I could easily see Love out of the Boston game on the back to back.

I don't think HCA advantage really matters to Cleveland.
There are 3.5 decent teams in the East behind Cleveland being elite.
Boston, Washington, Toronto and .5 Atlanta.

So the Cavs would still have a series with Toronto if they got the 1 seed.

Looking at the Celtics schedule they should go 7-3 or 8-2.
4 games against .500 teams.
2 vs. and @ Milwaukee
1 vs. Cleveland
1 @ Atlanta

Road game vs. tanking Knicks, road game vs. Charlotte
Home games vs. Suns, Heat, Magic, Nets.

I think unless Cleveland tries the odds favor Boston being the 1 seed.

I want to see Cavs/Heat first round and then Cavs playing the Raptors at some point, however it shakes out.

 

[MikeSU02]

Draft Express has the Knicks taking Dennis Smith at #7. If he falls that far and the Knicks get him I will be ecstatic. Love his potential.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Draft Express has the Knicks taking Dennis Smith at #7. If he falls that far and the Knicks get him I will be ecstatic. Love his potential.

Good. The Markkanen projection they had until yesterday made no sense. I'm not totally sold on Smith, but I would think he will give more effort once he gets to the league.

 

[Knicks411]

De'aaron Fox is my guy

 

[Alsacs]

The Sixers, Kings, Knicks, T-Wolves, Magic battle for ping-pong balls is a fight to watch.

Monk, Fox, Smith will be a available for 3 of the 4 as the Wolves won't take a PG.

How long till Melo and Rose are shutdown for the season?

 

[Melancer46]

Good. The Markkanen projection they had until yesterday made no sense. I'm not totally sold on Smith, but I would think he will give more effort once he gets to the league.

DraftExpress generally doesn't apply team needs to their mock drafts until we get into the offseason, so I wouldn't put much weight behind the Markannen match. That's basically just DraftExpress saying the Knicks are 7th and Markannen is the #7 prospect.

 

[Knicks411]

The Sixers, Kings, Knicks, T-Wolves, Magic battle for ping-pong balls is a fight to watch.

Monk, Fox, Smith will be a available for 3 of the 4 as the Wolves won't take a PG.

How long till Melo and Rose are shutdown for the season?

If the Knicks want to lose, they should keep playing Rose.

 

[Melancer46]

In the past 3 weeks, the Bucks playoff odds have increased from 12% to 88% according to 538. Hell of a run we're having right now.

 

[Alsacs]

Devin Booker is Photobucket burning couchtonight.
61 points with only three 3's.

I will say the Celtics aren't really playing their hardest but still dude is a stud.

 

[Cusefan0307]

70 points. They still lost. Crazy. He's going to be a great player.

 

[Alsacs]

70 points. They still lost. Crazy. He's going to be a great player.

He could have scored 100 if he made shots in the first quarter.
Boston basically giving 1 on 1 with Isaiah Thomas as his primary defender.
Boston was up 20 points most of the game and just let Booker score and score back.