NBA - The upside down

[Rhom]

50 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Brittney Griner Released By Russia To United States

That's a fine line to walk in an online discussion thread.  I'm happy she's released, but I also fully acknowledge that she's only home because she's a celebrity.  Lesser known Americans abroad would be left to sit rather than release an arms dealer.  And while she was obviously held as a political pawn, I think most of us can fully believe in a world where she did actually commit the violations she was accused of.

[Maithanet]

8 minutes ago, Rhom said:

That's a fine line to walk in an online discussion thread.  I'm happy she's released, but I also fully acknowledge that she's only home because she's a celebrity.  Lesser known Americans abroad would be left to sit rather than release an arms dealer. 

I don't think she would have been kidnapped in the first place if she weren't a celebrity.  But she was a lesbian, American celebrity, and that just checked all the boxes on Russia's hatred bingo card. 

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And while she was obviously held as a political pawn, I think most of us can fully believe in a world where she did actually commit the violations she was accused of.

She had like trace amounts of CBD oil on her bag?  Yeah, I can imagine she did indeed commit that "violation".

[Rhom]

31 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I don't think she would have been kidnapped in the first place if she weren't a celebrity.  But she was a lesbian, American celebrity, and that just checked all the boxes on Russia's hatred bingo card. 

She had like trace amounts of CBD oil on her bag?  Yeah, I can imagine she did indeed commit that "violation".

I travelled to India on a clinic abroad trip in 2003.  Long story short, one of my fellow classmates was a former police officer.  His carry on bag was the bag that he used to take with him to the shooting range.  We went through security in Chicago, Amersterdam, and Mumbai on the flight over.  We had our clinic for a week.  Then we flew from Pune to New Delhi to do a week of sight seeing.  When passing through security in Pune, one loose bullet was found down in the lining of one of the side pockets.  Skipping a few steps of the story, we all headed home in the third week of October.  He stayed as a guest of the Indian government until the week of Christmas.

Rules are different when you travel to other countries.  The fact that she was hated for who she was probably should be a consideration before entering said country.  Is it fair?  Of course not.  Is it a real consideration?  Absolutely.  

I almost went to jail one night because I was in the backseat of a friend's car that was pulled over and a drug dog found the end of a roach that had been left in the ashtray when someone borrowed the car weeks earlier.  That was here in the states, but if I was in a country with a zero tolerance policy?  Well, that's their laws not mine and I'm in their country.

She's lucky to be home and I'm glad she is.  Probably ought to stay put for a while.

[Tywin et al.]

And on the flip side, I was caught with weed in Mexico and was allowed to go on my way after I surrendered it and a healthy amount of the money I had on me. 

She should have been fined, denied entry into the country and put on the next flight home. Anything beyond that is excessive. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Tywin et al.

[Maithanet]

1 minute ago, Rhom said:

I travelled to India on a clinic abroad trip in 2003.  Long story short, one of my fellow classmates was a former police officer.  His carry on bag was the bag that he used to take with him to the shooting range.  We went through security in Chicago, Amersterdam, and Mumbai on the flight over.  We had our clinic for a week.  Then we flew from Pune to New Delhi to do a week of sight seeing.  When passing through security in Pune, one loose bullet was found down in the lining of one of the side pockets.  Skipping a few steps of the story, we all headed home in the third week of October.  He stayed as a guest of the Indian government until the week of Christmas.

Rules are different when you travel to other countries.  The fact that she was hated for who she was probably should be a consideration before entering said country.  Is it fair?  Of course not.  Is it a real consideration?  Absolutely. 

I'm really not sure what the takeaway is supposed to be from this story.  Russia gave Griner a show trial and sentenced her to whatever it was (nine years?)  While the infractions between Griner and your friend are basically equally (non)serious, the resulting reaction from the countries involved was not. 

You cannot argue with a straight face that this was because Russia takes CBD oil much more seriously than the United States does.  The relevant "cultural difference" is that Russia thinks it is acceptable to kidnap citizens for political gain and Griner, a US citizen, did not realize that was the case. 

[DMC]

8 hours ago, Calibandar said:

I suspect you will get the pick from the Bulls as well. They will not be bad enough for it to fall in the top 4 and they dont  want to tank it seems. Its also going to be hard to be that bad with a team that has LaVine and DeRozan on it, especially considering we already have 6 bad teams below them.

Possibly they might play themselves into a play-in though, and then that pick gets mediocre.

My worry is that the sixth-worst team has nearly a 35% chance of getting a top four pick.  That drops to about 20% for the eighth-worst team, which would be ideal in terms of my comfort level.  But yeah, the bigger worry is that the Bulls play themselves into a pick in the 12-18 range, which would significantly devalue that pick.  IF the Bulls get a top four pick, then at least the Magic would still be in line to get theirs next year (when it's only top 3 protected). 

Anyway, this is all just the cherry on top after getting Carter and Wagner.  And frankly even a 12-18 pick could be pretty damn good in this draft.

[Argonath Diver]

I'm quite sure the Bulls are going to manage to be pitifully underperforming for the majority of the season, while also winning just enough games to have a puncher's chance in the play-in garbage. I predicted 39 wins pre-season, and I think we'll be just a couple under that once LaVine or DDR get hot and win some clutch games for once - something that's eluded them for the most part this season compared to last.

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So far this season, the Bulls are a league-worst 2-9 (18.2%) in clutch games after finishing fourth last season at 25-16 (61.0%). DeRozan has yet to hit a clutch 3-pointer this season, but does have 14 two-point shots and 15 free throws to his credit.

https://www.nba.com/news/stats-leaders-who-are-top-clutch-scorers-this-season

I'm morbidly pessimistic about the Bulls' future, and I'm generally assuming Orlando will be happily picking about 10 next year.

[KingintheNorth4]

This meltdown by the Sixers has been peak comedy. 

[DireWolfSpirit]

Zion is fierce again.

N.O.'s shining with some super efficient scoring and effective inside/outside mix.

Take their latest win over the Suns, they outscore at points in the paint 72-38.

While as a team N.O. is shooting a non shabby 37% from 3.

Thats going to be hard to stop if they stay healthy and at this efficiency.

[Tywin et al.]

Pelicans somehow have the one seed. That would be unthinkable a year ago.

[Relic]

9 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Pelicans somehow have the one seed. That would be unthinkable a year ago.

How are you feeling about the T-Wolves these days?

[Tywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Relic said:

How are you feeling about the T-Wolves these days?

I figured it take a quarter to half a season for them to figure shit out and KAT getting hurt only slows that down. The issue though isn't him and Gobert fitting together, it's that no one is consistent, especially Ant. I don't get how one night he can look like a top ten player and the next he does nothing. It's rather bizarre. 

[DMC]

Orlando just won their third straight game for the first time since February 2021.  Yeebus.  It was their second in a row against Toronto.  And was a REALLY ugly game, but encouraging they stuck with it.  The box score tells you neither Wagner nor Banchero shot very well, but they're really starting to look like quite the one-two punch.  Perhaps most impressively they both stayed out of foul trouble (five Magic players had 4 or more fouls).  Mo Bamba also had quite the game - 18/9/2 on 6/6 shooting (2 threes) in 23 minutes.

[Calibandar]

On 12/11/2022 at 2:06 AM, DireWolfSpirit said:

Zion is fierce again.

N.O.'s shining with some super efficient scoring and effective inside/outside mix.

Take their latest win over the Suns, they outscore at points in the paint 72-38.

While as a team N.O. is shooting a non shabby 37% from 3.

Thats going to be hard to stop if they stay healthy and at this efficiency.

And thats without Ingram and Herb Jones, starters.

[DMC]

Orlando scored 50 points in the first quarter tonight to win their fourth straight against an Atlanta team without Murray or Collins.  Eight guys in double figures; Banchero, Wagner, and Bol all scored 20 or more; Fultz put up 16/9/7/4/1 - they are now 4-4 since he came back.  And also, Bol did this:

Wemby who?

[DireWolfSpirit]

Its messed up that Detroit had Bol in a trade but got spooked by his failed physical and let him slip away!

A lot of people were grumbling that it was a lost opportunity at that time.

[Calibandar]

On 12/15/2022 at 3:46 AM, DMC said:

Orlando scored 50 points in the first quarter tonight to win their fourth straight against an Atlanta team without Murray or Collins.  Eight guys in double figures; Banchero, Wagner, and Bol all scored 20 or more; Fultz put up 16/9/7/4/1 - they are now 4-4 since he came back.  And also, Bol did this:

Wemby who?

I always liked Bol Bol at Denver and thought it was a shame he never got a real chance there to get some minutes.

Him and Michael Porter Jr both looked like real talents but clearly its only at Orlando that Bol Bol is starting to show what he can really do. I enjoy watching this guy.

[Ramsay B.]

I watched the Bulls game Wednesday and some of the disaster from yesterday. They are legitimately bad. No cohesion, just a bunch of guys doing their own thing forcing dumb shots. Horrible defense. Ugh.

Blow this thing up. They’re in in-between hell right now. Just go for the top 4 now with this class coming in. Burn it down!

[Argonath Diver]

Hey but did you see Benny the Bull swish a halfcourt shot at halftime! Go Bulls!

(this team blows chunks and I dislike the entirety of the roster and coach and it sure seems like all of AKME's decisions have backfired completely. 

[DMC]

Magic just won their sixth straight, the last two against Boston at The Garden.  Tatum didn't play this afternoon, but still a very impressive statement game.  Banchero went 6 for 7 from three - while, it should be noted, going 3 for 14 from two.  If he can integrate being a true three point threat on a consistent basis, his offensive game is about as complete as one can imagine.