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NBA the slenderman cometh.


BigFatCoward
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On 11/26/2023 at 8:57 PM, Wilbur said:

I just want to point out again how fortunate we are to see the sort of offensive efficiency the NBA is offering fans today.

Some outstanding coaches, combined with smart, thrilling players, and we are getting an exciting brand of basketball played (almost) consistently across the league.

Such a step-function upgrade over the talent-diluted league in the 90s, and the iso-heavy bore-fests of the 00s.

I honestly feel like dozens and dozens of players have taken a huge leap forward into performances that were the unique preserve of LeBron and Curry just a handful of years ago, demonstrating LeBron's game intelligence and athleticism as well as Curry's willingness to exploit the entire court all the time, every time.

This transition is the sports-cultural equivalent of the arrival of Bird and Magic in the league, but spread out to forty or fifty different players whose coaches have given them the tools and the green light to play in a transformative fashion like Bird and Magic had way back when.

Watch the NBA now, folks, because despite some warts, it is fantastic.

 

See I come to the complete opposite conclusion.

300 point games are less interesting to me than the hard fought defensive battles with lots of blocks, steals and on ball shutdown play.

Give me Lindsey Hunter and Akeem O and i'll pass on the Harden and Steph moonshots for 40 minutes a night.

Unfortunately, like the NFL now, the pro leagues now covet the 70 point NFL and 300 point NBA games so thats the new feature not a bug.

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40 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

Only having watched highlights, is the in season tournament working? Are teams taking it anymore seriously than regular season games? 

Too early to tell, but I think so. Hopefully this will help move the NBA to a model that looks more like soccer. 

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its a shame they do the little league before the knock out stages, if there were 32 teams a straight knockout format would be better.  They could do that by putting the previous years East and West champions through with a bye into the last 16.  

Edited by BigFatCoward
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On 12/8/2023 at 8:56 AM, Tywin et al. said:

Too early to tell, but I think so. Hopefully this will help move the NBA to a model that looks more like soccer. 

How is it too early to tell? It's been a massive success.

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1 hour ago, Relic said:

How is it too early to tell? It's been a massive success.

Idk if I'd call it massive, but it's good to see the players are buying in. The question will be if it carries over the next few seasons. 

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I just looked at the top three draftees' stats. Wemby is mostly as expected, but his shooting percentage are not good. Miller is actually better than I expected, but like Wemby, his play isn't leading to wins. And then there's Scoot. Holy shit scouts might have missed on him. He's been terrible. There's no stat that suggests he's been even decent. Now obviously some players can turn things around, but yeesh. 

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On 12/3/2023 at 10:52 PM, DireWolfSpirit said:

See I come to the complete opposite conclusion.

300 point games are less interesting to me than the hard fought defensive battles with lots of blocks, steals and on ball shutdown play.

Give me Lindsey Hunter and Akeem O and i'll pass on the Harden and Steph moonshots for 40 minutes a night.

Unfortunately, like the NFL now, the pro leagues now covet the 70 point NFL and 300 point NBA games so thats the new feature not a bug.

I also like good defense.

For instance, the IST championship game was an outstanding defensive performance from the Lakers.  They had a solution to slow the Pacers, then to wreck the PNR.  And they had Anthony Davis playing at his top form, which was a show.

But they aren't going to play at that level of intensity all season long.  No team will, the season is just too long.  Offense, and especially good offense, is easier to play, so it overwhelms the effort on defense in the 82-game season.

The sweet spot is to break the season into two 30-ish game halves, one before the IST, and one after.  The IST should be a single-elimination tourney between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the winner (and maybe runners-up) obtaining some advantage in the playoffs.  (Play the IST final somewhere meaningful, like The Palestra or Butler Fieldhouse, not Vegas.  Maybe even The Pit or The Octagon of Doom.  The television scenes would be amazing, and the NBA could charge $10,000 a "seat" in the cracker boxes.)

So you get 30 games prior to Thanksgiving (got to start a little earlier), the IST, the second 30, and then the real playoffs and finals concluded in May.  Nice long summer break.  All the players have fewer stress fractures and so on, a little less need to load manage, we might get some more intense defensive effort, and the games are worth more.

Lakers-in-the-IST-final defense plus modern offense all season long, a break for bad team to recover and revise, a Christmas final in The Palestra, and healthy team in the playoffs?  Commissioner Silver needs to get to this, instanter.

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10 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

You really have to wonder what the fuck Zion is doing off the court. How can someone who trains every day look like that. What a waste. 

 

He was a beast in the win over Minny. His ability to score so effortlessly at the rim is incredible. If only he had Kobe's drive.

What do you as a cop make of Ja's testimony?:

Quote

The altercation, which attorneys representing both sides questioned Morant about at great length, came during a pickup basketball game at Morant's Memphis-area home after Holloway, allegedly frustrated by losing several games, was accused of throwing a one-handed pass at Morant during a check ball situation. The ball hit Morant in the left side of his face, Morant testified Monday.

"You testified that this basketball was a weapon, yes?" Morant was asked by Holloway's attorney, Rebecca Adelman, during the cross-examination part of his testimony.

"Yes," Morant replied.

"A lethal weapon?" she asked.

"It hurt," Morant said.

Morant testified that during the altercation, he asked Holloway, "What you on?" Then, Morant said, Holloway didn't reply but instead pulled up his shorts.

"Him pulling up his shorts, where I'm from, that's a fighting stance," Morant said.

Morant said Holloway took a step toward him and that he then stepped forward and punched Holloway.

"I hit him first -- to protect myself," Morant said.

After that blow, Morant's close friend Davonte Pack, who also was in court Monday, punched Holloway.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39093519/ja-morant-takes-stand-says-punched-teen-self-defense

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6 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

What, are they all thirteen years old?

Once you are old enough to drive, you probably need to be able to manage unsupervised play without a punch-up.

https://defector.com/ja-morant-hearing-stupid-questions

Edited by Wilbur
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13 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

You really have to wonder what the fuck Zion is doing off the court. How can someone who trains every day look like that. What a waste. 

 

Its Fat Tuesday and Wednesdays, Thursdays, Friday's, Saturday's, Sundays and Mondays .......Everydays!

 

Edited by DireWolfSpirit
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8 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Agreed Wilbur the season is ridiculously too long. Splitting it into two 30 game halves would be an improvement on injury reduction alone.

I've said it several times, add two teams and make the season 62 games where you play everyone once home and away.

 

Oh Draymond, at least you punched someone on the other team this time...

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