OT: NBA season has begun! [Potential Spoilers]

[boomforeal]

imo, lebron is the best, most complete player in the history of pro ball, even if

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by sales guy

I agree. I am and have been done with LBJ since forever. It's funny, I was talking to someone who is a Cavs/LBJ fan. I told him i am a warriors fan. He was like, oh, you're just jumping on the band wagon. I was like, ummm...did you like LBJ before he left? Answer: yes. Were you pissed when he left? Answer: Hell yeah! Do you like him now? Answer: yeah! I was like, you know you are just on the band wagon then, right? He turned around and walked away.

I think people are getting tired of the bullying he does. They still watch cause it's like a car crash. They HAVE TO WATCH! I can't stand it. He's a great player, yeah. But he's not the best, EVER! I think there are many many players who in the past alone are better. And they certainly did more than talk about how great they are.

People watch because he's one of the three greatest players ever. The passive aggressive social media and interview comments are just icing on the cake.

Besides, he's a player who understands his value and his worth, and hasn't compromised that. Its why he's playing on year to year deals now and made Dan Gilbert eat a whole ton of humble pie when he returned.

[Jaybee]

Rejoice, Bron haters! The King was ejected for the first time ever last night!


though to my eye, Draymond does exactly what LBJ did 3 times a game and Green usually only gets a single T from it.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Rejoice, Bron haters! The King was ejected for the first time ever last night!


though to my eye, Draymond does exactly what LBJ did 3 times a game and Green usually only gets a single T from it.

Stunned it wasn't Joey Crawford who did the deed.

[myth_jimmy]

I don't get the LeBron hate.

As a player he is amazing and awesome to watch. He's powerful and graceful and skilled. I don't care if he's the best ever r not, he's sure as hell been the most consistently best of the last 15 years, anyone arguing against that is a fool at best.

As a person he seems flawed but does meaningful good things for other human beings with his wealth and stature.

How is he a bully? To who?

I genuinely don't get people hating basketball players.


I don't have a team I care about
I like the Celtics having just lived there for 6 years....but before that the only team I liked were the 90s Hornets while living back in Australia.
I was all in on the Warriors once Bogut was traded there and love watching them, but I was genuinely happy for LeBron when the Cavs won.
So maybe I don't have the emotional baggage of LeBron kicking my team's ass for years.

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

And the Pistons just took it to the Celtics in the Garden.

The kids look to be for real.

Pistons are 0-5 in last 5 games.

Drummond is almost a waste as a max player because he can’t create his own shot. He scores off of rebounds or pick and rolls. He won’t be a draw 2 player till he can create his own shot - but he has shown no inclination to develop low post moves, a consistent jump hook or a mid range jumper.

The Pistons don’t have a draw 2 player, which means they have to play near perfect basketball every night to win. It’s especially glaring in close games at crunch time.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by 93legendti

Pistons are 0-5 in last 5 games.

I'm just glad the Warriors were able to hold them off. It was a good game to watch.

The Cavs lost. No 14 straight!

And the Celtics, they were up 13 -1 at the start of their game. Not secretly hoping the Spurs can win out tonight to bring the Celts down a bit.

For the comment on LBJ getting ejected for the first time, it happens. I will say the calls against the Warriors the first few games of their road trip were total BS. Look at what the ref did to Livingston! SL is standing there and the ref runs into him and throws him out! SL didn't even move. it was all on the ref. totally intentional. And i'm glad the ref got booted for a week.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by 93legendti

Pistons are 0-5 in last 5 games.

Drummond is almost a waste as a max player because he can’t create his own shot. He scores off of rebounds or pick and rolls. He won’t be a draw 2 player till he can create his own shot - but he has shown no inclination to develop low post moves, a consistent jump hook or a mid range jumper.

The Pistons don’t have a draw 2 player, which means they have to play near perfect basketball every night to win. It’s especially glaring in close games at crunch time.

Two of those losses are the Spurs and Warriors. All of the games were close. It's a long season and it's a young team.

Drummond showed last year he's not a back to the basket player, and that kind of player isnt exactly in demand in today's NBA. Look at the haul for Okafor for the Sixers. He's got some sweet post moves and can't buy a cup of coffee in the league.

But there is a lot of value in a guy who is a defensive terror, leads the league in rebounding, facilitates from the elbow and rolls to the rim off the pick and roll like a demon. Who, it should be said, you can't foul anymore.

He's one of the three best centers in the league, an All Star, and not even 25 yet.

So sure, by the standards of the 1990s NBA, he's not valuable. But it ain't been the Smash Mouth Knicks heyday for a long time. The shot maybe will come with time, but he's plenty good today.

As the modern NBA shows, you create space with movement, off ball action and guys who can keep the ball moving around the floor to open gaps.

[boomforeal]

i have an nba conspiracy theory to run by you guys:

just finished watching the first half of yesterday's celtics/spurs game. spurs went down by 12? early, never panicked. got more physical, started featuring lemarcus, went up by 1 at the buzzer on a vintage ginobli air-square 3

celtics colour guy says he thinks lma is playing the best ball of his career. and i'm thinking, he might be right. guy's still a beast in the post and money from the elbow, and now he's stepping into threes? setting great screens, playing smart if static defence... all this after it sounded last summer like he and the spurs were pretty much done

so here's my theory: kawhi is fine. no tendonitis, nothing. pop asked him to sit out the first 1/3 of the season so the spurs could feature lemarcus, pump up his tires and figure out how to run the team around him. and of course its totally working: they're 3rd in the west!

kawhi is meant to come back next week. i predict he slides in like a greased slug, and the spurs have a top-tier offense for 48 minutes a game



pop is the $%*&@ man

[Jaybee]

If that was just an excuse to post the dancing Spurs gif, I approve.

As to the substance of the conspiracy to pump up LMA, not so sure that was the original goal, but Pop has never been in a rush to get his stars back on the court for December basketball. They grind away, develop a bench, and then Davis Bertrans is hitting meaningful shots in a playoff game. Amazing system, amazing culture.

[cadence90]

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[93legendti]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Two of those losses are the Spurs and Warriors. All of the games were close. It's a long season and it's a young team.

Drummond showed last year he's not a back to the basket player, and that kind of player isnt exactly in demand in today's NBA. Look at the haul for Okafor for the Sixers. He's got some sweet post moves and can't buy a cup of coffee in the league.

But there is a lot of value in a guy who is a defensive terror, leads the league in rebounding, facilitates from the elbow and rolls to the rim off the pick and roll like a demon. Who, it should be said, you can't foul anymore.

He's one of the three best centers in the league, an All Star, and not even 25 yet.

So sure, by the standards of the 1990s NBA, he's not valuable. But it ain't been the Smash Mouth Knicks heyday for a long time. The shot maybe will come with time, but he's plenty good today.

As the modern NBA shows, you create space with movement, off ball action and guys who can keep the ball moving around the floor to open gaps.

0-6.

You’re right on it being a young season. I already posted that. I posted that Pistons would come back to earth and they did.

Drummond one of the 3 best centers? That’s laughable. He wasn’t an all star last year. He can’t create his own shot.
If you can’t play with your back to the basket then you should at least have a mid range jumper. He has neither - he scores on pick and rolls and put backs. If you can’t develop a post game or a jump shot you are not great and never will be. He is a waste of $25 million a year
Baynes was smart to take less money to play for a coach who knows basketball.

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by sales guy

I was like, ummm...did you like LBJ before he left? Answer: yes. Were you pissed when he left? Answer: Hell yeah! Do you like him now? Answer: yeah! I was like, you know you are just on the band wagon then, right? He turned around and walked away.

to me it seems like the opposite; sticking with your team and learning to get over some ridiculous crap a player did. because... you know... he's like incredibly good and stuff, and that'll be good for your team.

[cadence90]

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[myth_jimmy]

Speaking of retirement jerseys....UW is retiring Isaiah Tomas' jersey in Feb....I'm not a UW alum but I do love IT from when I lived in Boston so I bought some tix to the game and I can't wait.

It should be super fun.

IT was crazy fun to watch on the Cs from the moment he was traded. Made going to random games in the middle of winter fun.