NBA Thread

Golden State just could not score today. Klay was a non factor and Iggy was as well. Kudos to the Spurs for having a big hand in that of course. Insane rebounding edge for the Warriors, but LMA hit some clutch albeit trash shots that was just enough to keep the Warriors at bay.
 
The Pacers are such a weak team. It’s more of an indication of how Cleveland might not have it this season. The Raptors are in trouble as it is with Washington. I fully expect Cleveland to be back in the finals. Toronto might be better, but until they beat Cleveland I defer to the Cavaliers by default.
 
Absolutely. Not sure how other teams view him though.

To be honest I don’t see his market being for good. He’s an electric player without question, but all the triple-doubles in the world don’t mean a thing. He’s an empty stats kind of player. Fun to watch, but he isn’t shouldering the load and leading teams to deep playoff runs.
 
I actually disagree that Westbrook isn't worth trading for—that he's merely "an empty stats kind of player" (though I do think he's been somewhat overrated the past few years)—but I agree it's hard to envision much of a market for him, one that would make it worth OKC's while to trade him. Who out there really has the combination of assets and needs to really pursue him?

Boston would have been an interesting option before acquiring Irving. But OKC, while perhaps too proactive in trading Harden, maybe should have been a bit more proactive in moving Westbrook once Durant left; exploring something with Boston last off-season would have qualified as proactivity.

San Antonio would be an interesting dark-horse if Popovich keeps coaching, they can resign LMA, and they decide they want to cash-in for one final window (hoping for the best with respect to Leonard's ever recovering). But I don't know enough about their assets, cap-space, et cetera, to judge if it's viable—plus it doesn't seem like the kind of move their FO would find "prudent". And yet, I think Popovich is the kind of coach who could maybe channel Westbrook's best abilities and curb his worst proclivities.

Maybe the bumbling Bulls FO would be desperate enough to accelerate their rebuild (and keep their jobs a little longer) to consider Westbrook. But I'd be surprised if they'd be willing to give up this year's higher first (#6 pre-lottery), and I'd likewise be surprised if OKC would accept anything less as the key to the package.

It's just a tough time to be rebuilding in general, with teams hoarding picks as they are—Cleveland wouldn't even trade Brooklyn's first to placate LeBron at the deadline. Though who knows: maybe they'd work as an option if they were willing to let that pick (plus other assets) go and pair LeBron and Westbrook (contingent on James' re-signing, obviously).
 
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This is the muckiest muck muck fest. Each possession for both teams are ending in fouls and the fouls are actually legit.
 
no love for russ after last night?
hate on him when he's down, then give it up for him after an otherworldly night.
 
no love for russ after last night?
hate on him when he's down, then give it up for him after an otherworldly night.

39 shots is not other worldly?

We've never developed the way we should have because he has to dominate the ball.
 
39 shots is not other worldly?

We've never developed the way we should have because he has to dominate the ball.

he played great.
i'd blame the guy running the team for lack of development over russ. this team simply isn't that good. your coach giving way more minutes to melo over grant until this last game certainly wasn't helping, either.
 
he played great.
i'd blame the guy running the team for lack of development over russ. this team simply isn't that good. your coach giving way more minutes to melo over grant until this last game certainly wasn't helping, either.

Playing Melo is a terrible decision I admit that.

Russ runs the team. You can't play a team oriented system when your superstar doesn't want to.
 
Playing Melo is a terrible decision I admit that.

Russ runs the team. You can't play a team oriented system when your superstar doesn't want to.

def not saying russ is without his (glaring) faults. but this team's lack of success is due to lack of talent and bad (or cowardly) coaching. brewer and melo getting as many minutes as they have will doom a lot of teams to failure. adams is good but it's not like he's dominant, especially on the offensive end where he's not a scorer. two guys on the team are even capable of scoring, and those two are very good at it. but when it comes down to it, right now this team is deeply flawed. there's no depth whatsoever. melo is finished as a player (or, at the very best, as a starter). him starting alongside russ at this point in the season, after all we've seen, is a joke. it's unbelievable.

i think they'd be better off starting grant with russ, giving him most of the minutes, and bringing melo off the bench to partially run things when russ needs a break.
 
That was quite the show from Russ and PG once Gobert went out with foul trouble. Hats off to the them. That was very impressive.

Game 6 is going to be very interesting to see if OKC’s adjustments will have the same impact with Gobert and Favors in the game and not in foul trouble.
 
I think OKC wins this series. The Thunder made the adjustment to switch everything and the Jazz don’t have the ball handlers (especially with no Rubio) to create offense.

Game 5 is going to sting for a while.
 
Utah tried to give that one away last night. That possession at the end where the Thunder had five cracks at it. All they did was chuck up three pointer after three pointer. There was 30 plus seconds remaining and they should have gone for a 2 instead. Poor coaching and even worse execution. Good to see Russ was gracious in defeat too.
 
Utah tried to give that one away last night. That possession at the end where the Thunder had five cracks at it. All they did was chuck up three pointer after three pointer. There was 30 plus seconds remaining and they should have gone for a 2 instead. Poor coaching and even worse execution. Good to see Russ was gracious in defeat too.
I think they went for two twice in that six shot period.

The PG non-foul call will get a lot of attention, but OKC was really physical on those offensive rebounds; Grant clearly fouled Donovan Mitchell on the rebound attempt that went out of bounds.
 
I’d like to say Utah can give the Rockets trouble, but offensively I don’t see them being able to keep up. Houston is one of the best scoring teams if not the best. I think Utah is going to need some serious help from guys like Burks and Crowder if they want this series to go more than 5 games. Aside from Mitchell who can score in bunches and have a 25 point night? Capela matches up with Gobert pretty well and those two will probably cancel themselves out. Another guy I think is important is Derrick Favors. Houston doesn’t really have someone to check him. Ryan Anderson isn’t going to. Trevor Ariza won’t. An ancient Nene is probably their best shot.
 
Raptors gonna raptor. Pretty good choke in game 1. Ended the fourth quarter missing 15/16 shots. Lebron needs more help. JR Smith, Korver, Jeff Green, and Tristan Thompson being the greatest player ever.
 
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