FW_Hoosier

1 hour ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Maybe. GS is playing great ball - without KD.

But Toronto just won 3 in a row against the team with the best record, who hadn’t lost 2 in a row, with Kawhi at less than 100 percent, and from down 2. I’d say 6

To your point, even if the Warriors do roll in the Finals like I think they will against either team, Kawhi is playing on another level right now.

21 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Toronto is for real and Kawhi is incredible 

Warriors in 5.

40 minutes ago, KDB said:

Why would they?  Anthony Davis for Darius Garland?  Yeah right.  They should trade him to the Knicks and become the New Orleans Blue Devils.

2 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

That's why I'm curious if the draft is as weak as people say it is...could the Pacers actually trade up from current spot without having to give as much?

I don’t see any difference makers outside the top three... Hell, Garland is being projected at 4.  Of course there are always guys that work hard to improve and can surprise people, but that’s the way it looks right now.  My Bulls fan friends are suicidal right now.

6 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

Welp, 30 assists on 42 field goals.  Golden State is back in business. 

I am the conductor of the “Warriors are better without KD” hot take train.  Climb aboard.

4 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Interesting. The Nets were a good team this year -- and a heck of a lot better than the Knicks, who are really just a name at this point in search of trades and free agents. 

Some similarity in how the Clips are in the rumor picture for Klay Thompson, and not the Lakers.

I think it would be a huge mistake for the Nets to sign Kyrie... You can’t compete for a championship with Kyrie as your best player.  Bad locker room guy, bad defender, volume shooter.  He needs to be a secondary scorer alongside a truly elite player like he was in Cleveland with LeBron.  The Nets don’t have that type of player, not to mention that there’s no way Kyrie would be able to coexist with D’Angelo Russell.

44 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

I completely agree Harden gets away with way too much, during the regular season anyway (though also against the Jazz in the playoffs) in drawing fouls. He draws more fouls than any other player in the League, by a good margin. Part of that is that he's good at it, part of it is BS. However, that said, what the Warriors are doing looks extremely dirty, and multiple NBA players from other teams have weighed in with their disgust at the officiating. It needs to be addressed.

It’s a tough issue.  Defenders landing in a shooter’s area is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, but the new rule also leads to players like Harden trying to game the system by needlessly jumping forward/kicking their legs just to try and draw a BS foul.  Like Green said after the game, “When you land 3 feet ahead of where you shoot the ball from, that really ain't my issue. I've been fouled by James on a James 3-pointer before."

This wouldn’t be an issue if players like Harden just didn’t try to game the system. No sympathy from me.

51 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Are the Warriors dirty? 

The repeated defenders (more than one) "close outs" under Harden/in his space (and others) when he (or others) is/are shooting 3's looks pretty damn deliberate. After what Pachulia did to Kawhi in those playoffs, it's amazing to me that the refs are not all over GS for this -- to me, grossly improper and calculated, dirty play that can end a player's career. The flip side is that Harden is a big time flopper, maybe the biggest in the game.

Posting this as a question as I'm not sure I can look at GS's "defense" objectively any more. Draymond, now even Klay?

If this is deliberate, and it really looks like deliberately illegal D to me, meaning they're actually being coached / told to get in/under the shooter's space, man, that needs to be addressed and seriously. Absolutely pathetic, from my point of view. Not giving a shooter a place to land, especially after what happened to Kawhi, as a result of Pachulia's clearly illegal D, just no excuse.

https://247sports.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/ContentGallery/Warriors-Rockets-refs-Game-1-reactions-131620792/#131620792_1

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26629293/the-officiating-rockets-vs-warriors-series-threatens-define-rivalry

 

Looks like they missed some calls on Klay earlier in the game, but the whining about the no-call on Harden’s last shot is ridiculous.  That wasn’t a foul by Draymond.  Harden clearly went out of his way to kick his legs forward trying to draw the foul, but the refs aren’t going to, and shouldn’t, make that call in a playoff game. 

This has always been the problem with Harden’s game... Once the playoffs start, refs stop letting him game the system to draw BS foul calls like he does during the regular season.  Maybe if he was more concerned with actually making the shot than trying to kick his legs out and draw a cheap foul, he could’ve tied the game.

45 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

Well did they not win a title without KD so they can still be a title contender without him.

Did I say they’re not going to be a title contender without KD?  Of course they will be, but they won’t be the unstoppable juggernaut that no one has a chance to beat.

8 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Just a general comment. Imagine being a GM or All Star during the Jordan years. Guys like Reggie, Patrick Ewing, Malone/Stockton, Barkley...all the other good to great teams like Pacers, Knicks, Suns, Seattle, Cavaliers,etc....never having a real chance to win a title because of Jordan.

Feel the same way now as it relates to Golden St. We can spend all season long talking about our teams but as it stands no one is beating Warriors. It's going to take players in the off season to add 1 if not 2 all star type players to their teams to beat them. Just don't see how it's possible honestly. I love watching greatness perform. But when you go into a season knowing you have less than 5% chance of ultimate success the league becomes boring, right? Or am I looking at it the wrong way. Should I just sit back and cheer for the one team (West or East) that can somehow pull off the upset of all upsets by beating GSW 4x?

All signs are pointing to KD leaving this summer, so I think their reign of terror is just about over.  Sounds like there’s a small chance they lose Klay as well if they try to lowball him.

1 hour ago, IU Scott said:

Looked up Nate McMilian's playoff record and it isn't pretty.  He has coached 18 years and made the playoffs 10 times and has only won a series once.  Not saying he should be fired but it seems like he can only get you so far but not over the hump.  The problem right now that there are not many great candidates out there to hire.

Without Vic, the Pacers had the worst roster in the playoffs this season.  I don’t know what you expected.

Nets and Magic looking great in the playoffs today... Wouldn’t have believed that two years ago.

The Lakers organization is an absolute embarrassment.  Buss/Magic/Pelinka ran that team into the ground, and then Lebron just blew everything up.  I can’t believe how big of a mistake he made going to LA... Honestly might ruin his legacy to a certain extent.

Seriously impressive, I always thought Bryant had a future in the league.

As a side note, I had no idea that Vic shot 60% from the field his junior year.  That is insane.

Heady play by Zeller, lol

23 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Sixers picking up Tobias Harris is a pretty solid move. Harris is a very good player, Sixers just got better.

But did you see how much they gave up?  Sounds like the final deal was Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, and the Sixers’ first round picks in 2020 and 2021 and second round picks in 2021 and 2023.  The 2020 first is lottery protected, and the 2021 first is totally unprotected.  

That is a ridiculous amount of players/picks to give up for a borderline all-star who is about to hit free agency this summer... And for what?  To lose in the second round?  A “Big 4” of Butler, Simmons, Harris, and Embiid isn’t winning anything meaningful.

1 minute ago, Seeking6 said:

I think I'm getting this story right. John Wall has been recovering from bone spurs and he apparently slipped in his home and ruptured his Achilles. Out for at least a full year. Supermax starts on contract I believe next year....owed roughly $165M guaranteed over next 4 years.

Wizards might as well blow it up and flip Beal for picks.  Wall is done.

2 hours ago, NotIThatLives said:

Khawi got paid full salary last year.  Now that is b.s.  

Yep, the problem with the super-max contract that was designed to help keep stars in small markets is that players have realized they can sign the contract, lock in the guaranteed money, and then just force their way out later.

8 minutes ago, iuthruandthru said:

Lebron did an Instagram post yesterday and did an @ to Kyrie.  It was a song in the video and it was clearly Lebron making it clear he was good to get back to playing with Kyrie.

As someone posted above I feel like the next CBA the NBA needs to figure out a way to stop this. Not sure exactly what they do and  It’s going to be hard but these small market teams and fans deserve better than to be treated like this.

I see what you’re saying, but Boston ain’t a small market team, lol.  I feel like it will be nearly impossible to stop the players from arranging these things themselves, but it does present a difficult issue.  Bottom line is, in the current system, small market teams need to provide superstar players with what they need to compete for championships.

Davis was in New Orleans for 7 years of his prime, and they never once put a championship level team around him.  So now he wants out.  One way to prevent this would maybe be to allow teams to void guaranteed money on a player’s contract if they force their way out.  But I doubt the players would agree to that in the next CBA.

2 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Good to see them both have success. Was watching NBA live the other day and was surprised to hear a Philly guy basically begging the 76ers to do whatever they can to get Vonleh. I know he barely unpacked his bags while at IU but it was nice to hear. We can debate what he did with the talent he had but not many coaches can say they have 6-7  guys ( Zeller, OG, Yogi, Vic, Vonleh, Bryant, Troy (on/off)) in the league playing and contributing. Can't imagine more than 5 other coaches can say that. The more I type the more sad I get. Haha.

Yeah, I have no hard feelings for Vonleh anymore really... He’s obviously my least favorite of the former IU players currently in the league, but I’m still glad to see him do well.  For all his flaws, Crean really did do a great job of developing players for the NBA at IU.  Was weird how he lost so much recruiting momentum with so many players doing well in the pros.

No discussion of Thomas Bryant’s game winning layup that got called for goaltending today??  And Vonleh hit the go ahead shot for the Knicks just before that.  They’ve both been starting this season, good to see them have some success.

http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401071341

3 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Just a general comment. When did Jimmy Butler think he became the 2nd coming? Wouldn't be surprised if Philly tries to deal him. 3 teams. 3 times he's had problems with his role. 

Dude thinks he’s Lebron when he’s really a rich man’s Robert Covington.

On 12/20/2018 at 4:50 PM, IU Scott said:

I think VO needs to change the way he plays that will allow everyone to stay involved in the game especially at the end of the game.  So far this year I feel like the team has played way better without VO and has been more entertaining to watch

Just checked this thread for the first time in a couple weeks to comment on Vic’s OT buzzer beater tonight, and this was the first post I saw, hahaha

4 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Negative ghost rider. PG's pro career in a nutshell was this week. PS...the Bulls suck. No one should be losing to them. I don't recall a city having the #1 pick in 2 major sports but between Bulls and Blackhawks it could happen. 

 

At least the Raiders will be picking #32!

11 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Thomas Bryant with a career high 16 last night for Wizards.

A three, 4 dunks, and a block in this clip.  Glad to see him have some success, I think he can be a good player in the NBA.