Jump to content

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


Relic

Recommended Posts

33 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

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? 

The best team is in the West, but like I said months ago, the next best four teams are in the East. And don’t be shocked if the Bucks end up winning the championship. They match up well against the Warriors.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Maithanet said:

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? 

It's important not to read too much into stuff, but I do think its been clear for a while that the Warriors aren't as good as they have been in the past couple seasons. They are still incredibly good, but no longer transcendently good. Could they flip a gear in the playoffs and become unstoppable again? Definitely. But I could also see them getting pushed to the limit a few times, and I could see the Bucks beating them in the finals. I'm also curious to see if that January blowout against the Nuggets was a fluke or if the Warriors really got their number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe my previous post wasn't clear, I was mostly just poking fun at Trisk for acting like maybe the East is overhyped based on a sample size of two Blazers games. 

As for whether GSW has regressed, it's possible.  Green's numbers are much worse, his defense and 3 point shooting have regressed significantly in the past three years.  Iguodala and Livingston are getting a step slower on defense, and that's their bread and butter.  Cousins isn't fitting particularly well, at least thus far. 

But they still have Curry, Thompson and Durant.  They still have an almost astonishing level of talent and depth.  Count me in the "they'll definitely turn it on" camp.  I hope I'm wrong, but honestly I doubt anybody even pushes them to 7 this year.  Nobody in the West will.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Maybe my previous post wasn't clear, I was mostly just poking fun at Trisk for acting like maybe the East is overhyped based on a sample size of two Blazers games. 

As for whether GSW has regressed, it's possible.  Green's numbers are much worse, his defense and 3 point shooting have regressed significantly in the past three years.  Iguodala and Livingston are getting a step slower on defense, and that's their bread and butter.  Cousins isn't fitting particularly well, at least thus far. 

But they still have Curry, Thompson and Durant.  They still have an almost astonishing level of talent and depth.  Count me in the "they'll definitely turn it on" camp.  I hope I'm wrong, but honestly I doubt anybody even pushes them to 7 this year.  Nobody in the West will.

I fully believe they’ll turn it around. But that isn’t what makes me wonder if they can be had by the Bucks. I think they can easily beat the other powers in the East, but the Bucks really bother the Warriors. Their length nukes a lot of what the Warriors like to do on offense, and I don’t know if they have anyone who can handle Giannis. The Bucks are the third best team offensively and the best defensive team while the Warriors are the best offensive team and 16th defensively. The Warriors will get better on the latter end in the playoffs, but the Bucks are built to push them. I hope it’s the match up we get in June.    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, IamMe90 said:

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.  

I'll be pulling for them.  Would be nice to see another small market topple the evil empire.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darth Curry, Darth Kevin and their despicable henchman General Drayvous.

Anyway, I don't see the Bucks toppling them. 

I wonder whats going on at Boston though and whether they will get it on the rails after all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This Bulls-Hawks game is wild. It’s in the 4th OT now. My mind says lose by my heart wants the win. 

Trae has 49 and 16 dimes.

LaVine has 47.

ETA: 108 three-pointers attempted in this game. Also Bulls have won 5 of 6 for no fucking reason. Morons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Ramsay B. said:

This Bulls-Hawks game is wild. It’s in the 4th OT now. My mind says lose by my heart wants the win. 

Trae has 49 and 16 dimes.

LaVine has 47.

ETA: 108 three-pointers attempted in this game. Also Bulls have won 5 of 6 for no fucking reason. Morons.

I've been watching highlights of Bulls games lately because of Lavine and Markannen, who are both striking me as very big talents that are very enjoyable to watch. I wish the Bulls had some more good pieces or could add them over the summer, I wonder what their outlook is, because with these two guys they have a core that looks very promising, but obviously it needs more. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the Lakers are going to miss the playoffs right?  What happens if they land the top pick?  Conspiracy theories abound of course in that scenario, but does Zion’s game help Lebron win right away?

As a corollary, I was wondering this morning... with the softening of the West this year, if Lebron had stayed with Cleveland and picked up a free agent or two; would the Cavs have been a real contender to win it all again?  Certainly think they’d have better odds than last year.  (Assuming they get out of a stronger East)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Rhom said:

So the Lakers are going to miss the playoffs right?  What happens if they land the top pick?  Conspiracy theories abound of course in that scenario, but does Zion’s game help Lebron win right away?

As a corollary, I was wondering this morning... with the softening of the West this year, if Lebron had stayed with Cleveland and picked up a free agent or two; would the Cavs have been a real contender to win it all again?  Certainly think they’d have better odds than last year.  (Assuming they get out of a stronger East)

Now that Love is back, the Cavs actually look better than the Lakers with LeBron, or at least the Lakers since LeBron destroyed team chemistry at the trade deadline.  That Lakers roster is just so poorly put together to take advantage of LeBron's strengths.  Pretty much the way to win with LeBron is to surround him with shooters and, ideally, another top-tier playmaker (Wade in Miami, Kyrie in Cleveland).  If you can add a Bosh or a Love to be the third banana, all the better.  People were way down on Love in Cleveland, but his gravity is undeniable.  He opens up the floor for the other guys because he can't be ignored at the three point line. 

LeBron just doesn't have anyone like that to open things up for him on the Lakers, and he lacks that high-end secondary playmaker as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Calibandar said:

I've been watching highlights of Bulls games lately because of Lavine and Markannen, who are both striking me as very big talents that are very enjoyable to watch. I wish the Bulls had some more good pieces or could add them over the summer, I wonder what their outlook is, because with these two guys they have a core that looks very promising, but obviously it needs more. 

Their outlook should be to get a high draft pick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

10 minutes ago, KingintheNorth4 said:

Their outlook should be to get a high draft pick.

Indeed, and that would be excellent. I'm hoping the Bulls get Zion actually, they have a gap in their roster at his position anyway.

I see they have 12.5 percent chance, and if they keep winning as they are now, that'll go down.

3 hours ago, briantw said:

Now that Love is back, the Cavs actually look better than the Lakers with LeBron, or at least the Lakers since LeBron destroyed team chemistry at the trade deadline.  That Lakers roster is just so poorly put together to take advantage of LeBron's strengths.  Pretty much the way to win with LeBron is to surround him with shooters and, ideally, another top-tier playmaker (Wade in Miami, Kyrie in Cleveland).  If you can add a Bosh or a Love to be the third banana, all the better.  People were way down on Love in Cleveland, but his gravity is undeniable.  He opens up the floor for the other guys because he can't be ignored at the three point line. 

LeBron just doesn't have anyone like that to open things up for him on the Lakers, and he lacks that high-end secondary playmaker as well.

I thought even at the start of the season ( before any trade deadline shit) that this current Lakers team with LeBron is clearly not as good as the Cavs with LeBron. It's still not really clear to me why LeBron left to go the Lakers, presumaly the idea is to set up a new dynasty in LA. But I think the plan might have been to snag a big player this season already, and they failed to do so ( perhaps not through a fault of their own, but there you are). This always seemed to me like a wasted year for LeBron, dangerous considering his age, and it has turned out as a wasted year indeed. This team is ready for a complete overhaul.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Rhom said:

So the Lakers are going to miss the playoffs right?  What happens if they land the top pick?  Conspiracy theories abound of course in that scenario, but does Zion’s game help Lebron win right away?

 

I see the Lakers have only 1% chance of getting the top pick so...

 

http://www.tankathon.com/pick_odds

 

I mean, that would be really rich, wouldn't it?

 

And yeah, was thinking this morning that after this loss to Phoenix, they're not making the playoffs anymore, they are too far out now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I kinda believe Bill Simmons' conspiracy theory that the Lakers were going to land Paul George, but the tampering was so wildly blatant that the league office quietly said it would not allow him to sign with them, and that screwed up the entire plan for this season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/2/2019 at 2:56 PM, Calibandar said:

I've been watching highlights of Bulls games lately because of Lavine and Markannen, who are both striking me as very big talents that are very enjoyable to watch. I wish the Bulls had some more good pieces or could add them over the summer, I wonder what their outlook is, because with these two guys they have a core that looks very promising, but obviously it needs more. 

Well they do have the youngest team in the NBA right now. Zach and Lauri are obviously the cornerstones, with Wendell Carter Jr. coming up behind them. I’m starting to get very cautiously optimistic about the direction they’re heading... barring Paxson/Foreman don’t fuck things up.

Unfortunately with Markkannen getting healthier, they’re starting to win more. I’m really hoping they can get a top 3 pick at least because I can see them taking someone like Reddish and him being a total bust(dude is shooting 36% in college surrounded by the top 2 players in the country). I’m also doubting Kris Dunn is the answer, so in a perfect world Ja Morant will be running things soon. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Ramsay B. said:

Well they do have the youngest team in the NBA right now. Zach and Lauri are obviously the cornerstones, with Wendell Carter Jr. coming up behind them. I’m starting to get very cautiously optimistic about the direction they’re heading... barring Paxson/Foreman don’t fuck things up.

Unfortunately with Markkannen getting healthier, they’re starting to win more. I’m really hoping they can get a top 3 pick at least because I can see them taking someone like Reddish and him being a total bust(dude is shooting 36% in college surrounded by the top 2 players in the country). I’m also doubting Kris Dunn is the answer, so in a perfect world Ja Morant will be running things soon. 

 

Speaking of Morant.  I went to Murray State last night and watched him.  He makes everything look so easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Fez said:

I kinda believe Bill Simmons' conspiracy theory that the Lakers were going to land Paul George, but the tampering was so wildly blatant that the league office quietly said it would not allow him to sign with them, and that screwed up the entire plan for this season.

Seems like the type of theory a GM who is a popular former player who completely failed to land any of his targets would float out there to make himself look like less of a fool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Pistons have clawed their way back to a 6th seed and are playing pretty well since getting Ish Smith healthy, picking up Wayne Ellington and Luke Kennard really heating up as a perimeter threat to give them a bit more of an inside-outside game than they had with just Andre, Blake and Jackson.

If this holds they would potentially face a Olapaido-less Pacers club in the first round, the Pacers would not be a shoe-in to advance in such a matchup imo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

If this holds they would potentially face a Olapaido-less Pacers club in the first round, the Pacers would not be a shoe-in to advance in such a matchup imo.

I wouldn't count of the Pacers holding onto the 3 seed.  Yes, they've held on admirably thus far, but I don't imagine they can keep it going down the stretch.  The Sixers are only half a game back, they are both talented and motivated to catch them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...