NBA 2019 - Now the Joy in My World is in Zion

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

35 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

Are you suggesting this doesn't look bad for nike, or it shouldn't? 

It’s pretty minor for them. It’s only legit bad if they can’t sign him once he goes pro. Zion is at least the most hyped prospect since LeBron, maybe ever. Missing out him would be terrible.

OTOH, Zion, assuming he’s okay, is a major winner here. The lore of his strength grows even more and it exposed how much Duke needs him even though they have two other top five prospects.

[Relic]

1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said:

Are you suggesting this doesn't look bad for nike, or it shouldn't? 

Should be inconsequential. It's not like they are recalling 200,000 shoes because they explode when the fuel injector overheats. It was a freak accident. Fucking Twitter turns everything into a god damn "story", i swear. 

[dbunting]

Whether is should be a big deal or not, Nike stock took a hit today, it would be huge if the same thing happened to another player or an NBA player on the same day/night. I have no doubt the stock value will come right back though.

 

[briantw]

As Tywin said, unless this ends with him not signing with Nike, it's a non-issue.  Certainly wouldn't be good if he signed elsewhere, but at the end of the day, they're still Nike.  

[briantw]

 

I do think there's a good chance they get Kyrie and Durant, btw.

[BigFatCoward]

Paul George has apparently been in touch with Nike, I can just imagine the conversation, 'make sure my signature trainers don't fall apart again'.  Nike 'thanks for the advice, hadn't thought of that'. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

 

#winning

[SkynJay]

Big game tomorrow.  Denver vs OKC could have huge implications.  If Denver wins they get the tie breaker and have a strong chance at the number two seed.  If OKC wins then we could see high drama right down to the end as the two fight for it (with Houston having a chance as well).

I am assuming GS has the 1 seed, despite Denver only being a game behind right now.  Don't see them not turning it on down the stretch.

As a Denver fan that 2 seed would be huge.  It means no OKC, SA, or Hou for the first round.  

[Calibandar]

 

On 2/22/2019 at 4:34 AM, briantw said:

 

I do think there's a good chance they get Kyrie and Durant, btw.

I still don't get the Durant to New York talk. At all. It seems so alien to me and grabbed out of thin air. 

I mean..... why? Where does this come from? On ESPN a majority of experts think he goes there and I just don't see it. It seems so unlikely. 

I still think he re-signs with Golden State. If he does leave its because he wants something new elsewhere with less chance of winning rings. I'd rather see him sign with the Lakers then and play a few more years with LeBron and maybe Davis. 

5 hours ago, SkynJay said:

Big game tomorrow.  Denver vs OKC could have huge implications.  If Denver wins they get the tie breaker and have a strong chance at the number two seed.  If OKC wins then we could see high drama right down to the end as the two fight for it (with Houston having a chance as well).

I am assuming GS has the 1 seed, despite Denver only being a game behind right now.  Don't see them not turning it on down the stretch.

As a Denver fan that 2 seed would be huge.  It means no OKC, SA, or Hou for the first round.  

There is a very interesting battle in the West for "who is second best"?

I'm not just talking regular season, but overall, who is best behind Golden State?

I'm looking at like OKC and Houston are the two most likely to advance the furthest, closely followed by a second tier of three equl teams, which I deem to be Denver, Utah and Portland. I just think that the core 3 of Adams/Westbrook/George and Capela/Harden/Paul respectively will just edge out these other teams, but it's by a hair. I like this OKC team. But the difference between 2-6 in the West is negligible.

After that, San Antonio looks very lacklustre. I guess they'll probably make the playoffs since Pop's teams can still grind out close wins and just make it by the skin of their teeth. But they are below those other teams in the West. Clippers, Lakers or Kings for the other spot, and we cannot rule out the Kings at all. With Fox and Hield as guards, and Cauley Stein and Bagley Jr doing good work up front, having added Harrison Barnes as well ( solid but unexceptional but an upgrade nevertheless) they have a very solid shot. I'd prefer the Lakers and Kings to make the playoffs over Clippers and Spurs in terms of enjoyment.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Calibandar said:

I still think he re-signs with Golden State. If he does leave its because he wants something new elsewhere with less chance of winning rings. I'd rather see him sign with the Lakers then and play a few more years with LeBron and maybe Davis. 

He's leaving. The locker room is toxic and he doesn't seem like he has the mentality to deal with it.

Furthermore, KD thought going to GS and winning titles would validate him. It has instead earned him a great amount of scorn. My bet is he wants to leave to change his legacy. Going to NY and winning a title fixes everything, even if he does so while pairing up with another star. 

[SkynJay]

5 hours ago, Calibandar said:

 

I still don't get the Durant to New York talk. At all. It seems so alien to me and grabbed out of thin air. 

I mean..... why? Where does this come from? On ESPN a majority of experts think he goes there and I just don't see it. It seems so unlikely. 

I still think he re-signs with Golden State. If he does leave its because he wants something new elsewhere with less chance of winning rings. I'd rather see him sign with the Lakers then and play a few more years with LeBron and maybe Davis. 

There is a very interesting battle in the West for "who is second best"?

I'm not just talking regular season, but overall, who is best behind Golden State?

I'm looking at like OKC and Houston are the two most likely to advance the furthest, closely followed by a second tier of three equl teams, which I deem to be Denver, Utah and Portland. I just think that the core 3 of Adams/Westbrook/George and Capela/Harden/Paul respectively will just edge out these other teams, but it's by a hair. I like this OKC team. But the difference between 2-6 in the West is negligible.

After that, San Antonio looks very lacklustre. I guess they'll probably make the playoffs since Pop's teams can still grind out close wins and just make it by the skin of their teeth. But they are below those other teams in the West. Clippers, Lakers or Kings for the other spot, and we cannot rule out the Kings at all. With Fox and Hield as guards, and Cauley Stein and Bagley Jr doing good work up front, having added Harrison Barnes as well ( solid but unexceptional but an upgrade nevertheless) they have a very solid shot. I'd prefer the Lakers and Kings to make the playoffs over Clippers and Spurs in terms of enjoyment.

I think Houston and OKC are the favorites here, but I don't think it is even me being a homer that would put Denver in the same tier.  I would take OKC's big two over Harden/Paul (if only because of age and minutes played) and certainly both pairs over Joker/Murry (Murry is still in that 'could be a star stage'). But stretch it out and I would take the rest of Denver's starting lineup and the top of their bench over the other two. 

In regular season there is something of a rock/paper/scissor thing going on there the last two years.  Houston owns Denver, who is currently handling OKC, who holds the edge over Houston (though only by two games).

Of course OKC and Houston have infinite more playoff experience than Denver so that works in their column.  

If I had to pick one to lay money on I would say OKC is the best bet.  But if the Nuggets snag the two seed I think they have a strong chance of getting beat by GS in the WCF. 

[Calibandar]

12 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

He's leaving. The locker room is toxic and he doesn't seem like he has the mentality to deal with it.

Furthermore, KD thought going to GS and winning titles would validate him. It has instead earned him a great amount of scorn. My bet is he wants to leave to change his legacy. Going to NY and winning a title fixes everything, even if he does so while pairing up with another star. 

I just don't buy any of that, seems like media narrative to me.

Is the GS locker room toxic? It hasn't seemed like that for a good while. 

These guys are racking up win after win and we've not heard of any bad blood since the incident early in the season between KD and Green. Maybe it's still simmering, maybe not, we certainly don't hear that it is.

As for this validation, maybe there is something to that, maybe KD doesn't care about that at all and winning Rings year after year is enough validation for him. And I still think that if he does leave, why the Knicks?

[BigFatCoward]

How much would Green/Durrant cost, because if its remotely similar you take Durrant 100 times out of 100. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

11 hours ago, Calibandar said:

I just don't buy any of that, seems like media narrative to me.

Is the GS locker room toxic? It hasn't seemed like that for a good while. 

These guys are racking up win after win and we've not heard of any bad blood since the incident early in the season between KD and Green. Maybe it's still simmering, maybe not, we certainly don't hear that it is.

Maybe? It has to be. KD is next level petty and sensitive. He won't forgive Green completely for what he said.

Quote

As for this validation, maybe there is something to that, maybe KD doesn't care about that at all and winning Rings year after year is enough validation for him. And I still think that if he does leave, why the Knicks?

I'd look at it like this, KD will never be seen as the greatest player of his generation if he stays with the Warriors. If he goes and wins a few titles for the Knicks while LeBron never wins again, he has a chance to pass him, or at least Kobe. KD has a path to being a top 10 all-timer, but that path is not in GS.

11 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

How much would Green/Durrant cost, because if its remotely similar you take Durrant 100 times out of 100. 

You take KD if he wants $200m over five years and Green will play for the minimum. Green is falling apart. KD, OTOH, has a game that will age beautifully in today's age. 

[Jaime L]

5 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

You take KD if he wants $200m over five years and Green will play for the minimum. Green is falling apart. KD, OTOH, has a game that will age beautifully in today's age. 

This. Green's completely lost his ability to shoot 3's. He's shooting 25% from distance this season. He's one year from 30 and if his athleticism declines 5-10% he's no longer even a fringe all-star as an undersized big who can't shoot. He's getting dangerously close to being a liability but his playmaking and his heady defense sustain him for the time being. 

KD is like a better version of Dirk. He'll have a decade as a top 5 player in the NBA. He's 30 now and with his shooting touch and overall size/skill, he's likely to stay very good until he's 37+ just like Dirk did, declining very gradually. The only reason Knicks fans haven't ordered their "Don't Kill Myself" books from Amazon yet is based on the hope they'll have him as a centerpiece the next 5 years.........and that 14% shot at Zion.

[briantw]

1 hour ago, Jaime L said:

This. Green's completely lost his ability to shoot 3's. He's shooting 25% from distance this season. He's one year from 30 and if his athleticism declines 5-10% he's no longer even a fringe all-star as an undersized big who can't shoot. He's getting dangerously close to being a liability but his playmaking and his heady defense sustain him for the time being. 

KD is like a better version of Dirk. He'll have a decade as a top 5 player in the NBA. He's 30 now and with his shooting touch and overall size/skill, he's likely to stay very good until he's 37+ just like Dirk did, declining very gradually. The only reason Knicks fans haven't ordered their "Don't Kill Myself" books from Amazon yet is based on the hope they'll have him as a centerpiece the next 5 years.........and that 14% shot at Zion.

If the Knicks get the number one pick and Durant, I'd imagine they'll trade the pick for Davis.  I think that would trump anything Boston could offer.

[Jaime L]

3 hours ago, briantw said:

If the Knicks get the number one pick and Durant, I'd imagine they'll trade the pick for Davis.  I think that would trump anything Boston could offer.

Agreed. Zion > Tatum.

And young guys don't win in the NBA. If you have Durant at the end of his prime, it makes sense to pair him with another star at the peak of his powers rather than a rookie who will only be peaking once Durant is in decline. 

The only issue is the cap. If you go AD/Durant I don't think the Knicks have room for another star with only the two max slots they have now. Maybe you still ride with two top 5 (top 3?) overall talents and go for titles Kobe/Shaq style. And maybe Dennis Smith or Kevin Knox emerge as a third guy.

The other option is Durant, Kyrie + Zion on a rookie deal. I think they can fit that in.

Not sure which makes more sense. The former seems the better immediate title option. The latter has more upside. Either way is Relic's wet dream.

[Calibandar]

I think Portland is clearly a good to very good team. 

I'd also say that generally, I don't consider Boston/Philly to be above them or OKC/HOuston/Denver.

There are some clear problems with Boston that are rightly being highlighted, they know it themselves.

That team is not right. No one expected that after last season but it's now become clear that this is a season long issue.

Philly is inconsistent. Your win over them was in a game without Embiid. But even with him, they are inconsistent, they have lost too many games they should be expected to win for me to consider them the top candidate to come out of the east. We'll have to see if the addition of Harris makes them stronger and more consistent. To me, they are at this point least likely to advance out of the East of the 4 major candidates.

[IamMe90]

yeah, the East top 5 might be overrated. Thankfully, the Bucks are the best team in the NBA (until the playoffs and GSW's inevitable metamorphosis into the unstoppable killing machine they are) 

I feel 70% confident the Bucks will be representing the East in the finals. And I think we'll win at least 2 games if we make it that far.  

[Maithanet]

On 2/27/2019 at 11:07 PM, Triskele said:

Blazers win @ Boston and have cobbled together a nice little road trip having also won @ Philly.  Is the West still lightyears better and this newfound tough top of the East is just another smokescreen?

Golden State lost two straight to the #8 and #10 teams in the East, not to mention OKC losing at home to Philly last night.  Is it possible that the West is actually terrible?

Or perhaps we shouldn't read too much into just a couple of regular season games?