BGleas

I doubt it. It was always going to Gobert, Simmons or Giannis. Turner is a good player for sure, I just don't think that would change much for Boston, and like I said Williams is becoming a very similar player. Per 36 this year he averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds and over 3 blocks.

I don't know that would have done anything other than make them slightly better and screw up their payroll even more. Robert Williams is really turning into a good player and does everything Turner does except stretch the floor.

The Celtics are just so undermanned right now. You can't beat a team like this when you're missing 3 of your top 5-6 guys. @dgambill, agree on Smart. I love his effort and energy, and in a way he's the heart and soul of the team, but the Celtics need an offensive and size talent upgrade at the Smart's salary slot. They have so much money tied up in Tatum, Brown, Kemba and Smart, and that is not a championship foursome. Ainge will need to figure that out this offseason. Ideally, you'd want to move Kemba and/or Smart, but unfortunately it might be Brown that goes since he would net more in return.

This summarizes the Nets for me...

It's unbelievable how Kevin Durant has come back from a torn Achilles and is arguably better. That is almost always a devastating career altering injury.

Yes! He's always played good D, but he was able to hit two 3's which he typically doesn't do. I'm interested to see how aggressive he is tonight. So far with the Celtics he basically runs away from the ball at all costs, but at this point with Kemba and Brown out, he's going to have opportunities and he's going to need to take them.

Bad news for the Celtics, Kemba is out tonight. The interesting part for IU fans is that Langford is getting the start.

Huge win for the Celtics. I have no expectations for the rest of the series, but as a franchise and a fanbase the Celtics needed that win.

The Celtics are getting HOSED by the refs. Durant barrels over Smart and gets called for a charge. Nets challenge. All 3 announcers spend the entire break talking about what a great call it was and no chance it gets overturned. What happens? Call gets overturned, so the Nets get a free throw and the ball because it was a deadball foul.

Hard to win this game with basically nothing from Kemba.

The crap Harden gets away with in terms of drawing fouls is ridiculous.

Brooklyn is going to win this. Just too many guys. The Celtics need Tatum to basically be Superman to pull this out.

That's kind of what I was getting at. Dumping popcorn on a player is unacceptable and the fan should and is being dealt with, but the player who it happened too is what makes this a bigger story. Russell Westbrook seems like an overly-emotional, overly-sensitive guy who is going to make a mountain out of a anthill. That doesn't mean throwing popcorn at a player is ok, just that how the recipient handles it determines how big of a story it's going to be. While Westbrook is certainly the "victim" in this interaction with the fan, as well as a few other fan interactions, he's a guy that often seems to find himself in these situations and doesn't necessarily handle them really well. I think opposing fans know they're going to get a big reaction out of him so they target him a bit.

I kind of think both you and @5fouls have a point here. There is absolutely no reason for a fan to dump a box of popcorn on any player's head. It shouldn't be done and while it's just popcorn and not a battery or something, it still absolutely crosses the line. From what I hear, the fan has had his season tickets revoked. With all of that said, doing something like this to Russell Westbrook is a situation where he is a player that is ultra-sensitive and is going to overreact. If it was another player then the fan is dealt with but the reaction is probably much smaller. Westbrook is a guy that is super emotional and sensitive, and very vocal about his stance that fans should cheer their team and then basically be quiet. Yell at hime, jeer him, etc. and he's going to make a big deal out of it.

The problem with the Clippers are that they are leaderless. They made Kawhi the face of the franchise, but he can't be a leader because he doesn't communicate and he's not a culture builder. We all know Paul George isn't a leader either. With Kawhi, he won in SA because the culture was established and Pop, Duncan and Parker were the vocal leaders. He won Toronto because the culture was established and Kyle Lowry was the vocal leader. The Clippers made Kawhi their leader but he doesn't communicate. He's not a guy that's going to talk, rally the troops, etc. It's not a coincidence that the Clippers were one of the worst teams in the NBA in the last 5 minutes of close games. Nobody is in charge.

Well, he shot 21. Not surprising.

That play 2 possessions ago where Ayton got his shot blocked, Booker passed up the ball on the wing with the defender sagging.

Same! Hadn't seen the Suns much this year, but a really fun team. I think Booker has to figure out how to get involved down the stretch for them to pull this one out though.

It's really true. It seems like almost every team has at least one solid to all-star level UK guy. Watching the Suns, I'm reminded of the debate between them recruiting Devin Booker or James Blackmon, Jr.

Wow, Kawhi with 30 first half points on 10-of-14 shooting.

I don't condone knocking somebody out. With that said, there is a reddit thread on this where even Iowa fans are calling Bohannon a total jerk, and sharing stories of him being a complete jerk on campus repeatedly. Like even Iowa fans are saying if anyone deserved to get punched that it is Bohannon. Again, it doesn't excuse it and it shouldn't happen, but apparently Bohannon has a very negative reputation around there.

Over/Under on Anthony Davis free throw attempts in this game? 11.5?

Absolutely. Though I'd rather see that fight back when KD runs his mouth as opposed to just taking it. KD clearly said something to Fournier while Fournier was talking to the ref.

Love that Fournier went at KD.

Blake Griffen just hurt his hand smacking Robert Williams in the face while dunking, and of course they called the foul on Williams' face!?!? Yes, I realize I'm complaining about a 30pt game.