NBA 2017-2018 thread

[Cusefan0307]

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion Cleveland makes the finals. Isaiah coming back is going to help them offensively, but that’s not where they struggle. I think the Celtics can win the east this year.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

Yeah. Cavs aren't even in the playoffs right now.

Cavs need to get their house in order first, but if you want to crown 'em, crown 'em.

I know it's the current popular narrative but, IMO, the Cavs are clearly just bored & coasting. They're not taking the early regular season seriously. They'll get themselves together, go on like a 20-5 run sometime midseason & will finish 2nd or more likely 3rd in the East behind Boston & Wash. Winning the East one last time will be LeBron's final act in Cleveland.

Full disclosure, this is all coming from someone who watches maybe 2-3 regular season NBA games a year before locking in for the playoffs.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I know it's the current popular narrative but, IMO, the Cavs are clearly just bored & coasting. They're not taking the early regular season seriously. They'll get themselves together, go on like a 20-5 run sometime midseason & will finish 2nd or more likely 3rd in the East behind Boston & Wash. Winning the East one last time will be LeBron's final act in Cleveland.

Not to say the old days are better, and maybe they did dog it in the regular season, but I don't remember the Dream Team era championship contender teams ever "coasting" during the regular season.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Not to say the old days are better, and maybe they did dog it in the regular season, but I don't remember the Dream Team era championship contender teams ever "coasting" during the regular season.

LeBron's a month from turning 33, is in his 15th season, has led 2 different teams to the finals 7 straight years, has won 3 championships, is among the league leaders in minutes played, is among league leaders in points (28.5), rebounds (7.3) and assists (8.5). I'm sure he's far from perfect, but has demonstrated the ability to lift teammates' games. He's an unselfish player who works to get other players involved better. His passing is uncanny

Not bad for a slacker.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

LeBron's a month from turning 33, is in his 15th season, has led 2 different teams to the finals 7 straight years, has won 3 championships, is among the league leaders in minutes played, is among league leaders in points (28.5), rebounds (7.3) and assists (8.5). I'm sure he's far from perfect, but has demonstrated the ability to lift teammate's game. He's an unselfish player who works to get other players involved better. His passing is uncanny

Not bad for a slacker.

Yeah, I don't really like him.

 

[br801]

LeBron's a month from turning 33, is in his 15th season, has led 2 different teams to the finals 7 straight years, has won 3 championships, is among the league leaders in minutes played, is among league leaders in points (28.5), rebounds (7.3) and assists (8.5). I'm sure he's far from perfect, but has demonstrated the ability to lift teammate's game. He's an unselfish player who works to get other players involved better. His passing is uncanny

Not bad for a slacker.

He's only shooting 59% from the field and 82% from the line, too. He's putting together an all-time great mail-it-in season.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Yeah, I don't really like him.

Well, hard to argue with that.

Woke up early today, needed a fix of caffeine bad, but good mood arrived even before the coffee was ready. Hit me the Cavs are in the Garden tonight to play the Knicks -- and even though I'm a Cavs fan (until LeBron retires or heads elsewhere), I love seeing a competent, capable, exciting young team in NYC again (although I think Philly's America's greatest hoops city).

Not sure what Ty Lue has to throw at Porzingas -- one of the Cavs' best defenders, all-league rebounder Tristan Thomas, is out -- but should be fun to watch. And I'm sure the TV announcers and NYC media and perhaps the Knicks themselves probably will make hay of LeBron saying two nights ago that the Knicks mighta drafted the wrong young point guard.

I'm a little familiar (cough, cough) with sports gambling and I figured the the Knicks would be a 2-, 2 1/2-point favorite, what with the game being in Manhattan, the big buzz about the Knicks and their good start, the Cavs' meh first month and no Kyrie, no Isaiah yet, to go to in emergencies -- Rose is out (not the worst thing for the Cavs), there's no point guard after Calderon to go to and Lue ain't going to him.

The oddsmakers, who continue to amaze me to this day, 45 years after I made my first call to a bookie, see it differently: Cleveland's opened as a 4- to 5-point favorite. Very interesting.

Everyone Is Worried About the Cavs. Except the Cavs.

 

[Melancer46]

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion Cleveland makes the finals. Isaiah coming back is going to help them offensively, but that’s not where they struggle. I think the Celtics can win the east this year.

Going into the season, I figured Cleveland would struggle until Isaiah returned but would still easily make it to the Finals. I'd still have them as the favorites, but I'm not nearly as confident now. They've struggled even more than I expected them to.

 

[Trueblue25]

Still here, still winning.

Go celtics

 

[Knicks411]

Not to say the old days are better, and maybe they did dog it in the regular season, but I don't remember the Dream Team era championship contender teams ever "coasting" during the regular season.

There was at least one year the Shaq lakers did; Shaq came in really fat that one year.
Early 90's though, I don't think so. The game has really changed; I think I've made this point before, but in 98, Jordan's last real season, he was 34, and played every game, averaging 38.8 minutes per game. There's no way any team would do that to their franchise player in this day and age.

 

[MikeSU02]

There was at least one year the Shaq lakers did; Shaq came in really fat that one year.
Early 90's though, I don't think so. The game has really changed; I think I've made this point before, but in 98, Jordan's last real season, he was 34, and played every game, averaging 38.8 minutes per game. There's no way any team would do that to their franchise player in this day and age.

"I got hurt on company time, so I’ll rehab on company time." - Shaq.

Jordan also had the two years off to play baseball so he should have had more energy.

Regarding the effort by players, on the defensive side of the ball, it's night and day from what it used to be, both in complexity and effort. If you watch those old NBA classic games, featuring some of the best teams of the 80s and early 90s, especially the Boston/LA teams of the 80s, the defensive intensity just isn't there until the end of the game or if someone got pissed off.

Part of that was lifestyle, travel, nutrition, medical advances, etc, where they just couldn't go that hard every night, but if you dropped the GSW into that era, they wouldn't know what the was happening on offense and GSW's defense would shut them down.

 

[Oráiste]

"I

Part of that was lifestyle, travel, nutrition, medical advances, etc, where they just couldn't go that hard every night, but if you dropped the GSW into that era, they wouldn't know what the was happening on offense and GSW's defense would shut them down.

If you drop the Warriors into that era, then you are using that era's referees and ethos, which means much more physicality is allowed for the defenders. I don't know about the other great teams of the time, but I would give better than even money that Chuck Daly's Detroit Bad Boys would first break their spirit and then break their bodies. Or maybe vice versa. Either way, I'm taking Detroit over the Warriors in that alternate reality.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

If you drop the Warriors into that era, then you are using that era's referees and ethos, which means much more physicality is allowed for the defenders. I don't know about the other great teams of the time, but I would give better than even money that Chuck Daly's Detroit Bad Boys would first break their spirit and then break their bodies. Or maybe vice versa. Either way, I'm taking Detroit over the Warriors in that alternate reality.

I'm quite sure that Draymond, Iguodala, and several others would greatly enjoy that. Draymond set free would be something to watch.

And Klay ain't backing down from any of the Piston guards...

Zaza, McGee... Yeah, they would enjoy being set free a bit. I have no question they would rise to that challenge quite well.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I was curious, so I looked. Here is the Warriors roster -

And here is the Pistons roster -

Laimbeer was only 5 pounds heavier than KD. Advantage KD.

Rodman is 5 pounds lighter than Klay and he played power forward.

There is no way that Detroit competes in either era. In my mind anyway. Curry and Thomas are essentially the same frame. Curry just longer and a touch heavier.

 

[Knicks411]

The 1990 Pistons made 177 3's all year. After 13 games this year, the Warriors have made 179.

This is probably a good bar trivia question; who lead the 1990 Pistons in 3's made?

 

[OrangeDW]

- Lebron - Knicks should’ve taken Dennis Smith.

- Kanter defends his rookie.

- Lebron: “Enes always has something to say.”

Uhhh, YOU had something to say. Enes is just sticking up for his guy. Worry about your own team. I like Lebron, but this was kinda weird.

 

[Oráiste]

I was curious, so I looked. Here is the Warriors roster -

View attachment 114901
And here is the Pistons roster -

View attachment 114902
Laimbeer was only 5 pounds heavier than KD. Advantage KD.

Rodman is 5 pounds lighter than Klay and he played power forward.

There is no way that Detroit competes in either era. In my mind anyway. Curry and Thomas are essentially the same frame. Curry just longer and a touch heavier.

you know what they say . . . it's not the size of the dog in the fight .

I think these guys would be shocked at the level & intensity of physicality allowed in the game in those days. Then again, Steph does throw a mean mouth guard. That might back Dumars down. :rolling:

 

[Cusefan0307]

Knicks by 15 tonight.

 

[Cusefan0307]

you know what they say . . . it's not the size of the dog in the fight .

I think these guys would be shocked at the level & intensity of physicality allowed in the game in those days. Then again, Steph does throw a mean mouth guard. That might back Dumars down. :rolling:

Meh the perimeter defense in that era was pitiful. Guys backed off guards by 5 feet on the three point line.

 

[MikeSU02]

Meh the perimeter defense in that era was pitiful. Guys backed off guards by 5 feet on the three point line.

Yeah - knocking someone down attacking the rim didn't mean the defense was physical. It was BS cheap shots. These guys trying to guard from 28 feet out would be laughable.

And not for nothing, the toughest person out of those two rosters would be David West.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

- Lebron - Knicks should’ve taken Dennis Smith.

- Kanter defends his rookie.

- Lebron: “Enes always has something to say.”

Uhhh, YOU had something to say. Enes is just sticking up for his guy. Worry about your own team. I like Lebron, but this was kinda weird.

LeBron's known Smith since he was a teen (not all that long ago), just played against him Saturday night when he made that statement. And Smith looked pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Many people think the Knicks shouldn't have passed on Smith, it's not an unconventional opinion. And, more importantly, it gave LeBron a chance to take a shot at Philip, the possemeister.

LeBron: Smith talk meant to troll Phil Jackson

 

[Oráiste]

Meh the perimeter defense in that era was pitiful. Guys backed off guards by 5 feet on the three point line.

Matthew Dellavedova bothered Stephie. I have no doubt that Zeke and Joe would dog him out.
Because they didn't need to does not equate to "they couldn't"

 

[OrangeDW]

LeBron's known Smith since he was a teen (not all that long ago), just played against him Saturday night when he made that statement. And Smith looked pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Many people think the Knicks shouldn't have passed on Smith, it's not an unconventional opinion. And, more importantly, it gave LeBron a chance to take a shot at Philip, the possemeister.

LeBron: Smith talk meant to troll Phil Jackson

It just seemed weird that he picked the Knicks...why not the Kings? They passed on him for a PG before the Knicks did.

But yeah, probably a shot at Phil...in which case I think it would’ve been better if he directly said something about Phil.

Unless of course he wanted all the media attention about this rather than on the Cavs struggles.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

you know what they say . . . it's not the size of the dog in the fight .

I think these guys would be shocked at the level & intensity of physicality allowed in the game in those days. Then again, Steph does throw a mean mouth guard. That might back Dumars down. :rolling:

Dumars would be getting backed down by Klay all night, completely incapable of stopping him even once.

I think you might be shocked at the physicality allowed in the game these days.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Matthew Dellavedova bothered Stephie. I have no doubt that Zeke and Joe would dog him out.
Because they didn't need to does not equate to "they couldn't"

If Zeke and Joe are covering Steph, who's got Klay?