NBA Thread 2019-20 Season

[Melancer46]

Only like 9 or 10 games into the season or whatever, but a really nice rebound from the playoffs for Eric Bledsoe (especially considering he still looked hurt the first couple games this year). His Giannis impersonation is working very well in the early going, averaging 23/7/7 per 36 minutes on 59% TS%. I really hope he can keep his head on straight in the playoffs this year; very few PGs can guard him when he's playing his game. He seems poised to make the all-star team this year after getting snubbed last year.

Carmelo a Trailblazer? Nice!

I don't expect it to be pretty but I'm definitely happy to see him find a spot somewhere.

 

[Melancer46]

For Knicks PG watch, I don't know how I feel about him as an NBA prospect yet, but this kid looks fun to watch and I know Givony has him in the top 10:

 

[OttoinGrotto]

For Knicks PG watch, I don't know how I feel about him as an NBA prospect yet, but this kid looks fun to watch and I know Givony has him in the top 10:

Nico Mannion is his own thing.

 

[Melancer46]

 

[CuseFaninVT]

That form is awful

 

[Melancer46]

That form is awful

I can see why he's so scared to shoot now.

 

[Melancer46]

 

[JeffCuse]

I knew the celtics would be better this year. The best I could get out of the national talking heads was that Kemba "wasnt better" although may be a "better fit" for "this team" but that they were still no better than a 4/5 seed.

I dont know how this will shake out in the end. Maybe that bears out. But this team is more fun to watch this year. They have a confidence. Last year they would have lost last nights game. Excited to see how this team develops. Im sure they'll lose their fair share but its how they bounce back that will tell the story.

As an aside. Kyrie is a more physically gifted player, but when you factor in leadership skills and team play, and mental state, Im not sure Kemba is not a better NBA player.

 

[OrangeDW]

Load Management Leonard sits again, Clips lose to lowly Pelicans.

I’d be heated if I was a Clips fan and bought tickets and this guy was just hanging out that night.

 

[Alsacs]

I knew the celtics would be better this year. The best I could get out of the national talking heads was that Kemba "wasnt better" although may be a "better fit" for "this team" but that they were still no better than a 4/5 seed.

I dont know how this will shake out in the end. Maybe that bears out. But this team is more fun to watch this year. They have a confidence. Last year they would have lost last nights game. Excited to see how this team develops. Im sure they'll lose their fair share but its how they bounce back that will tell the story.

As an aside. Kyrie is a more physically gifted player, but when you factor in leadership skills and team play, and mental state, Im not sure Kemba is not a better NBA player.

To be fair most analysis has been the Celtics are the 3 or 4 seed in the East.

Everyone who follows the NBA knew the damage Kyrie did to Jaylen Brown and Gordon Heyward. Hell even a guy like Marcus Morris talked about how Kyrie was toxic and he is gone.
Kyrie has talent but the guy is very moody and replacing him with Kemba wasn’t a major difference talent wise.
The Celtics are one big short to compete with the Sixers AND Bucks. Now if they lucked their way into 1 seed which I don’t expect then I guess they could beat one of them but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Miami is lurking as a decent 4th team in the East.
Celtics need a buyout big in February/March or hope Timelord keeps developing as he has gotten better this year.

 

[Trueblue25]

Pretty sure Kemba owns Kyrie head to head though

 

[Knicks411]

Load Management Leonard sits again, Clips lose to lowly Pelicans.

I’d be heated if I was a Clips fan and bought tickets and this guy was just hanging out that night.

It's definitely a sticky situation because of what you say (the game was in New Orleans, though actually I think that makes it worse; a clippers fan has 41 chances, plus playoffs, to see him, a Pelicans fan has 2). By the same token, after how it went for Leonard and his team last year, obviously they're going to do it again this year.

The answer down the line I suppose is a shortened season, but we clearly aren't there yet. So it just kinda sucks,

 

[jncuse]

I knew the celtics would be better this year. The best I could get out of the national talking heads was that Kemba "wasnt better" although may be a "better fit" for "this team" but that they were still no better than a 4/5 seed.

I dont know how this will shake out in the end. Maybe that bears out. But this team is more fun to watch this year. They have a confidence. Last year they would have lost last nights game. Excited to see how this team develops. Im sure they'll lose their fair share but its how they bounce back that will tell the story.

As an aside. Kyrie is a more physically gifted player, but when you factor in leadership skills and team play, and mental state, Im not sure Kemba is not a better NBA player.

The Celtics could certainly still finish 4th, I don't think their is anything silly about claiming that right now.

Strong cases can be made for Milwaukee and Philly obviously, but also the Raptors right now have been about as good as the Celtics.

The Raptors are 3-1 on a western swing, without having Ibaka and Lowry for 4 games, and without having Anunoby for 3 games. That is 3 of their top 7 in their rotation, and Masai Ujiri may have done it again in finding key bench pieces. (Although it took injuries for Nurse to have to trust them -- which is a good thing, but he was running the top 7 way too hard)

The Raptors were not losers before Kawhi -- but they needed a Kawhi to win the title, and don't have that this year. But regular season wise, They were 17-5 without him last year. They won 51, 56, and 59 games in the 3 seasons pre Kawhi. The current star scorer Pascal Siakam, is very likely to be more efficient than Demar Derozan. Kyle Lowry is not what he was 2 or 3 years ago, but Van Vleet is better. The bench seemed much weaker however this year, but now that Roberts, Boucher, and RHJ stepped up this road trip, they may have 10 reliable players.

Not to say that I think the Raptors are better than the Celtics, or that they will finish ahead of them. I think it's quite close. I could see the top 4 in the East all having more than 53 wins this year.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It's definitely a sticky situation because of what you say (the game was in New Orleans, though actually I think that makes it worse; a clippers fan has 41 chances, plus playoffs, to see him, a Pelicans fan has 2). By the same token, after how it went for Leonard and his team last year, obviously they're going to do it again this year.

The answer down the line I suppose is a shortened season, but we clearly aren't there yet. So it just kinda sucks,

I don't think a shortened season solves it.

Less in-season mileage is viewed as a competitive advantage. You shorten the season, that lessens the mileage for everybody. So how do you regain an advantage and stay fresher as a player than the competition in a shortened season?

Load management.

 

[Alsacs]

Why wasn’t load management an issue for Michael Jordan, Kareem, Magic Era?
It just reinforces the belief the regular season really doesn’t matter.
Everyone should take less money owners/players reduce the season and the product becomes better.
Sitting out if a player isn’t healthy is fine but if it’s just scheduled rest it’s a joke.

 

[OrangeDW]

So how long before it becomes a rule that you have to decide ahead of time which games, which guys are sitting out...and then faked injuries become a thing...and then...

Get on the court and check ball, wusses.

 

[Knicks411]

I don't think a shortened season solves it.

Less in-season mileage is viewed as a competitive advantage. You shorten the season, that lessens the mileage for everybody. So how do you regain an advantage and stay fresher as a player than the competition in a shortened season?

Load management.

I see that to an extent, but a lot of it is just the research that seems to say these guys are putting too many miles on themselves with all these games. I do think if the season was say, 65 games, you wouldn't see Kawhi sitting out nearly as large a % of games as he has last year and this year.

Why wasn’t load management an issue for Michael Jordan, Kareem, Magic Era?
It just reinforces the belief the regular season really doesn’t matter.
Everyone should take less money owners/players reduce the season and the product becomes better.
Sitting out if a player isn’t healthy is fine but if it’s just scheduled rest it’s a joke.

Probably because we just didn't have any idea the effect the pounding these guys were taking? (Especially if you read the Baxter Holmes story from a few months back, the AAU circuit and all the games these guys are playing as kids really is taking a toll it seems).

Additionally, Bird played one season of more than 60 games after age 31, maybe he could've played for longer if he was managed differently. (maybe not, maybe the back was just gonna go) Jordan effectively took a season and a half off.


Another interesting point I've seen I think Zach Lowe bring up, is the media narrative of so many people now is that titles are the only thing that matter, if you don't win a title you're a loser/choker etc, so really, treating the regular season this way is just a natural extension of that.

 

[Day2]

Load Management Leonard sits again, Clips lose to lowly Pelicans.

I’d be heated if I was a Clips fan and bought tickets and this guy was just hanging out that night.

I don’t have a problem with it at all.

 

[Day2]

Why wasn’t load management an issue for Michael Jordan, Kareem, Magic Era?

What about Shaq?

 

[Day2]

So how long before it becomes a rule that you have to decide ahead of time which games, which guys are sitting out...and then faked injuries become a thing...and then...

Get on the court and check ball, wusses.

It’s already a rule for nationally televised games.

Here’s my question: Why is this only a debate for basketball? Nobody says anything when players rest in baseball and hockey.

 

[Alsacs]

What about Shaq?

People can rip Shaq for not keeping himself in shape and that causing him to get hurt.
That was the issue for him. He didn’t sit out games for load management.
He got hurt because the guy wasn’t in the best shape.
When Shaq was in shape he was unstoppable.

 

[OrangeDW]

It’s already a rule for nationally televised games.

Here’s my question: Why is this only a debate for basketball? Nobody says anything when players rest in baseball and hockey.

I don’t follow hockey like that to know, especially in the regular season.

Baseball - not really a fan of the direction of a lot of things in this sport. If my Dodgers weren’t on a run of being a legit contender for 7 years in a row and instead had missed the playoffs 7 years in a row, I probably wouldn’t be following the sport any closer than I do hockey.

Though to offer a more concrete answer...a star basketball player has a far bigger impact on the game than a star baseball player. A baseball player is only getting up 3-5 times a game no matter what. You can’t bat him whenever you want. Your star b-ball player is involved on every single offensive possesion that he’s in the game.

 

[Day2]

People can rip Shaq for not keeping himself in shape and that causing him to get hurt.
That was the issue for him. He didn’t sit out games for load management.
He got hurt because the guy wasn’t in the best shape.
When Shaq was in shape he was unstoppable.

I would say he did sit games for load management when he was with the Lakers.

 

[OrangeDW]

What about Shaq?

Shaq was kindve bizarre. He basically played every game his first few years in Orlando. Then he got hurt like 3 years in a row. I remember he broke his thumb getting hacked, with the Lakers. He tore his abdominal one year too. Teams would just hammer him, trying to stop him. It was all they could do.

Then he was healthy like 3 years in a row again(one was a strike year though).

Then he was in his 30s and put on weight and while he was dominant force for a few more years, he wasn’t the freak athlete that he used to be, and he started breaking down more and playing less.

Like 1993-2001 Shaq that was in his 20s didn’t take games off. He just had a few unlucky injuries in the middle years of that stretch.

 

[Day2]

I don’t follow hockey like that to know, especially in the regular season.

Baseball - not really a fan of the direction of a lot of things in this sport. If my Dodgers weren’t on a run of being a legit contender for 7 years in a row and instead had missed the playoffs 7 years in a row, I probably wouldn’t be following the sport any closer than I do hockey.

Though to offer a more concrete answer...a star basketball player has a far bigger impact on the game than a star baseball player. A baseball player is only getting up 3-5 times a game no matter what. You can’t bat him whenever you want. Your star b-ball player is involved on every single offensive possesion that he’s in the game.

If they have a bigger impact on the game, then they’re probably exerting themselves more physically as well. The studies have been done. Basketball players are playing too much, too early. The NBA back-to-backs take a toll. If a player wants to rest and has the support of his coach and team, then let him rest.