NBA Thread

[ADegenerate]

1 hour ago, BGleas said:

Agree, Philly is going to be good for a long time. Embiid is ridiculous and Simmons is just going to get better as he develops a perimeter game. Will be interesting what happens though if Reddick, Belinelli and Illyasova all leave. They will have some holes to fill. I really hope they don't get LeBron, it will completely stunt Simmons growth, and I don't think it will go well. 

I agree with you on the Pacers as well. Vic is just going to get better as he gets more comfortable being a star and they have a nice supporting cast. It would be helpful if they can sign a fringe star to accompany him though, just a reliable scorer to take some pressure off. Not sure I agree with you on the talent around him or him being a better star than anyone on Boston. I love Vic, Kyrie is better though, and the supporting cast of Horford, Brown, Taytum and Hayward is better than anyone the Pacers have around Vic. I may have misinterpreted your thought there though?

Taytum is going to be a star in his own right. He just passed Kobe last night for the youngest player ever to have 4 straight 20-point playoff games. Dude is going to be a perennial all-star at some point. 

The Bucks have good pieces, but I think if they don't make some playoff noise really soon that Giannis is going to look to bolt when his contract is up. He won't want to toil in Milwaukee being a first round exit every year. 

Sorry to cherry pick one small minor point of your post but I’m not sure if Simmons will ever really develop a perimeter game. I don’t think he shot a three in college and I think he’s only launched one half court three in his nba career. I’m not sure that the dude knows which hand to shoot with. I saw him air ball a two footer badly in that first quarter in game 2. I think he’s a monster talent though. If he can somehow get in the mid 30’s for three he’ll be even more of a nightmare.

[BGleas]

As an IU fan and a Celtics fan, I love Archie Miller, but man I hope Brad Stevens stays with the Celtics and NBA for the rest of his career. The dude is a magician. 

[Seeking6]

6 minutes ago, BGleas said:

As an IU fan and a Celtics fan, I love Archie Miller, but man I hope Brad Stevens stays with the Celtics and NBA for the rest of his career. The dude is a magician. 

As someone just posted on twitter. Give BS a mozzarella stick and he'll average 10 and 5. With that said...I'm still ticked about Pacers series. Shows how close yet how far. Cavs will sweep Toronto obviously and I'll say Celtics might win 1 game. 

[BGleas]

9 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

As someone just posted on twitter. Give BS a mozzarella stick and he'll average 10 and 5. With that said...I'm still ticked about Pacers series. Shows how close yet how far. Cavs will sweep Toronto obviously and I'll say Celtics might win 1 game. 

Celtics are not going to lose to Cleveland in 5. I’d say it goes 6 or 7. If Kyrie was healthy I would pick the Celtics in 6. I’d pick Cleveland to win at this point, but not confidently. Celtics are tough, and while LeBron is out of his mind right now, the Celtics have multiple long, athletic guys to throw at him, and at every other position the Celtics will have a big advantage in terms of length and athleticism. 

Again, I’d pick Cleveland going into it, but it should be close. 

[NotIThatLives]

Cavs are rolling now.  I pick LeBron in 6.  If it goes to 7 its going to be one for the ages.  

[ADegenerate]

What a clutch game tying 3 OG!

[ADegenerate]

🐐🐐🐐

 

Lebrons insane. 

[Hoosierhoopster]

10 hours ago, ADegenerate said:

What a clutch game tying 3 OG!

OG had a great game, hit the tying 3 (before yet another game winnner by LBJ), finished with 18 on 7-12 and 4-7 from the arc, to go with 4 boards and a block, just 2 fouls. OG has a bright future.

The Raps took a good shot at the comeback, with DeRozan on the bench. That's pretty rough on DeRozan, who was dealing with the same double teams the Cavs have been using against the other teams's lead guy, held him to 3-12.

[IU Scott]

14 hours ago, BGleas said:

As an IU fan and a Celtics fan, I love Archie Miller, but man I hope Brad Stevens stays with the Celtics and NBA for the rest of his career. The dude is a magician. 

I would rather see Brad in the college game since I like the college game a lot more than the NBA  To me if you really care about just coaching then the college game is where it is at because the NBA is ran by the players.

[BGleas]

13 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

I would rather see Brad in the college game since I like the college game a lot more than the NBA  To me if you really care about just coaching then the college game is where it is at because the NBA is ran by the players.

Agree and disagree. Yes, the college game is more ran by the coaches than the player, compared to the NBA, but I’d counter and say the college game goes a bit too far in that other direction. They treat the coaches like gods and I think they sometimes get too much credit  

Also, the NBA being run by the players depends on the organization. The Celtics most certainly are not run by the players. The Spurs are not run by the players. Phil Jackson was in complete control of the Bulls and Lakers sideline when he was in both spots. The good teams are managed by well run organizations, not individual playoers. 

Is OKC going to pretty much do whatever Westbrook wants to keep him, absolutely. But not all teams are like that. If Kyrie Irving went to the Celtics and said fire Stevens or trade me, Irving would be playing somewhere else. If Westbrook said fire Donovan or trade me, Donovan will be fired. Depends on the team. 

But the point of my post was that Stevens is the best coach at either level right now, and I don’t want him anywhere near another college program. 

Edited May 6, 2018 by BGleas

[IU Scott]

Well the Spurs are being held hostage right now by the Leaonard situation and will probably have to trade him.

[rico]

43 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

I would rather see Brad in the college game since I like the college game a lot more than the NBA  To me if you really care about just coaching then the college game is where it is at because the NBA is ran by the players.

To me, JMHO, the NBA coaching gig is less stressful than college.  In college you deal with recruiting, academics, and the like.  

[BGleas]

6 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

Well the Spurs are being held hostage right now by the Leaonard situation and will probably have to trade him.

Just like college programs are held hostage by grad transfers, kids declaring for the NBA and not hiring agents, over 700-800 regular transfers per year, etc. 

Plus, Pop will get this figured out. 

Edited May 6, 2018 by BGleas

[FW_Hoosier]

53 minutes ago, BGleas said:

Agree and disagree. Yes, the college game is more ran by the coaches than the player, compared to the NBA, but I’d counter and say the college game goes a bit too far in that other direction. They treat the coaches like gods and I think they sometimes get too much credit  

Also, the NBA being run by the players depends on the organization. The Celtics most certainly are not run by the players. The Spurs are not run by the players. Phil Jackson was in complete control of the Bulls and Lakers sideline when he was in both spots. The good teams are managed by well run organizations, not individual playoers. 

Is OKC going to pretty much do whatever Westbrook wants to keep him, absolutely. But not all teams are like that. If Kyrie Irving went to the Celtics and said fire Stevens or trade me, Irving would be playing somewhere else. If Westbrook said fire Donovan or trade me, Donovan will be fired. Depends on the team. 

But the point of my post was that Stevens is the best coach at either level right now, and I don’t want him anywhere near another college program. 

And I don’t know why anyone would want Stevens to take a step backwards from the highest level of basketball in the world. Stevens has a chance to become an all-time great at the absolute pinnacle of his profession, he’s not going to pass that opportunity up.  Would be like wanting to see Archie coach a high school team.

[Hoosierhoopster]

1 hour ago, BGleas said:

Agree and disagree. Yes, the college game is more ran by the coaches than the player, compared to the NBA, but I’d counter and say the college game goes a bit too far in that other direction. They treat the coaches like gods and I think they sometimes get too much credit  

Also, the NBA being run by the players depends on the organization. The Celtics most certainly are not run by the players. The Spurs are not run by the players. Phil Jackson was in complete control of the Bulls and Lakers sideline when he was in both spots. The good teams are managed by well run organizations, not individual playoers. 

Is OKC going to pretty much do whatever Westbrook wants to keep him, absolutely. But not all teams are like that. If Kyrie Irving went to the Celtics and said fire Stevens or trade me, Irving would be playing somewhere else. If Westbrook said fire Donovan or trade me, Donovan will be fired. Depends on the team. 

But the point of my post was that Stevens is the best coach at either level right now, and I don’t want him anywhere near another college program. 

Agree with everything up to Stevens is the best at either level. When he has won multiple titles then he may surpass Pop, but it is at best premature to say he’s better than Pop now. What Pop has done in San Antonio is next to none 

[FW_Hoosier]

8 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Agree with everything up to Stevens is the best at either level. When he has won multiple titles then he may surpass Pop, but it is at best premature to say he’s better than Pop now. What Pop has done in San Antonio is next to none 

On the other hand, Pop has had two all-time greats in Robinson and Duncan his entire career, along with another potential Hall of Famer in the post-Duncan era in Leonard.  What Stevens has been able to achieve up to this point with far less talent has been arguably as impressive as what Pop achieved in his first five years in the league.  But agree that he needs to get a couple rings first — little doubt those will come eventually though.

[KoB2011]

37 minutes ago, FW_Hoosier said:

On the other hand, Pop has had two all-time greats in Robinson and Duncan his entire career, along with another potential Hall of Famer in the post-Duncan era in Leonard.  What Stevens has been able to achieve up to this point with far less talent has been arguably as impressive as what Pop achieved in his first five years in the league.  But agree that he needs to get a couple rings first — little doubt those will come eventually though.

Manu and Parker are also HOFers. Pop is great but he has had great talent. 

I personally think he deserves a ton of credit for having that talent, though. 

[FW_Hoosier]

8 minutes ago, KoB2011 said:

Manu and Parker are also HOFers. Pop is great but he has had great talent. 

I personally think he deserves a ton of credit for having that talent, though. 

You’re right, losing 47 games in his first season was a genius strategy to get Duncan 😂

But in all seriousness, I agree, he does deserve credit for getting those players.  He and the front office have put together the right staff to identify and develop players like Manu, Parker, and Kawhi.  Stevens will need to do the same thing to achieve the success Pop has had.

[Hoosierhoopster]

Pop built his teams, there’s really almost no one in the League who wouldn’t acknowledge he’s been the best coach in the NBA for many years. And then there’s this season as another example, Kawhi out essentially the whole year, aging Roster, no new established star, and Pop’s record consecutive playoff appearances, in the West, just continues. He’s the best, Brad may get there, he’s not there yet 

 

[BGleas]

1 hour ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Agree with everything up to Stevens is the best at either level. When he has won multiple titles then he may surpass Pop, but it is at best premature to say he’s better than Pop now. What Pop has done in San Antonio is next to none 

Agree. Stevens has to win some titles before passing what Pop has done. I got ahead of myself there. I was probably just thinking Pop is sort of on his way out in the next few years. 

[5fouls]

If I owned wn NBA team and had my choice of coaches, I would acknowledge how great Pop is but I would hire Stevens.

[FKIM01]

2 hours ago, 5fouls said:

If I owned wn NBA team and had my choice of coaches, I would acknowledge how great Pop is but I would hire Stevens.

Absolutely.  It's the same trajectory conversation we've had about Vic and PG.

[5fouls]

Vic filling Kenny Smith's studio chair tonight on TNT.

[Hoosierhoopster]

2 hours ago, FKIM01 said:

Absolutely.  It's the same trajectory conversation we've had about Vic and PG.

Count me out of your trajectory dialogue! PG had a great year, DESPITE playing with Westbrook and Melo. His trajectory is fine, he’s in his prime. Vic also had a great year, in a geat fit. PG is not nearing the end of his career, there’s no actual trajectory comparison there!

[Hoosierhoopster]

6 hours ago, BGleas said:

Agree. Stevens has to win some titles before passing what Pop has done. I got ahead of myself there. I was probably just thinking Pop is sort of on his way out in the next few years. 

Yeah, but note i’m agreeing Stevens is already in line to take the mantle. That’s really saying something, he’s still fairly early on in his NBA coaching career and he’s been amazing! Must be nice to be a C’s fan now, team stacked with young and now playoff experienced talent, and led by a b-ball genius who connects well with his players and gets the most out of them