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2021-22 Basketball Thread


Pariah

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And as the league kicks off...first 2 games of the season were last night...dysfunction is already raging on the East Coast.  With Irving gone until he accepts vaccination, or the pandemic recedes enough to take the indoor mask mandates down (several months away at best, I would think), the Nets are threatening the same issue as last year...no cohesion.  Not that I like Kyrie and Harden in the same backcourt in the first place, but they need consistent on-court time to work things out, if they can be worked out.

 

And then the whole Ben Simmons fiasco in Philly.  Think it was some of the ESPN talking heads suggesting the Sixers are going to get him on the court, and let the fans express themselves.  This IS Philly, the town that booed Santa Claus.  I think they're hoping for enough dereliction from him so they can cut him loose altogether *for cause* so they can get out from the $140M they owe him through the 24-25 season.  (Yep.  $140M.  Fully guaranteed, but that's usually out the window if the player's actions break the terms.  Like when Jay Williams signed with, IIRC, Detroit after his college POY at Duke...then injured his leg badly racing on a motorcycle...a prohibited activity.  All that money...PPPPOOOFF!!!)

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1 hour ago, Pariah said:

 

As the article noted, I wouldn't be surprised if Rondo gets a fine from the league.  My take is, the fan was saying things that went past acceptable first, but the finger gun gesture just doesn't fly these days.  I'll concede a bias here;  I'm always prepared to believe in fan Bad Behavior.

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  • 1 month later...

So, to no one's surprise, Steph Curry broke the record for career 3 pointers made tonight, passing Ray Allen.

 

Here's the insane, obscene, unreal aspect.

 

Allen did it in 1300 games.

Tonight was #788 for Steph.  60%.  

 

He's going to set a mark that *may* stand with, say, Nolan Ryan's strikeout total.  He's averaging 3.77 3's per game.  Next best is 3.24, so 40 less per season, 500 less over a dozen years.  James Harden is 2.77, for comparison.  

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  • 4 weeks later...

In the absence of anything more interesting, flipped over to Hawks vs. Lakers, in LA.

 

My GOSH, these Laker unis are hideous.  Primarily purple, but the shade isn't one I like that much.  Not as a primary color.  The side trim on the shorts is a shiny, bright, light blue.  Logo, then numbers underneath on the front;  name and number on the back.  Both sides, the numbers are flanked with 5-point stars.  UGH...

 

 

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On 10/20/2021 at 6:11 AM, Pariah said:

I didn't see that we had a thread for basketball, so here's one.

 

Bucks' championship rings feature 360 diamonds and a QR code, can turn into necklace

 

 

Most championship rings in pro sports are ostentation beyond belief. Most people would set it aside in a trophy case in their house and never out it on. But I can see Giannis wearing it on the right occasion. This ring is as beautiful as their 2020-'21 season..

 

I remember there were complaints that Suns-Bucks was a bad final — but I read that before the inspired Game Five. After that classic game, nobody anywhere will forget Giannis' name (I remember his last name, I just can't spell it.).

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Lakers played in Sacramento the other night.  The Kings had a little fun with Russell Westbrook.  They played Cold As Ice at intro...well, he was 6-26 in his last 2 games.  They played it every time he missed a shot...which may have gotten a bit old.  Because he was 2-14, including 0-5 from 3.

 

So apparently the NBA is telling them to knock it off.

 

Say wha................????  

 

Not vulgar.  Safe for work.  Timely and appropriate.  Gimme a break, this is great for the fans.  Heck, Westbrook wasn't even upset in the postgame.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a fun video showing Chris Paul dribble between another player's legs.  I tried to find a good quality video this is best I could find.  Really hope everyone is able to see the players on the court.

 

 

 

*Disclaimer:  anyone with light/color/horrible uniform sensitivity may be subject to seizures/convulsions and projectile vomiting.*

 

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7 hours ago, Starlord said:

*Disclaimer:  anyone with light/color/horrible uniform sensitivity may be subject to seizures/convulsions and projectile vomiting.*

 

 

TOO LATE!!!!!

 

Well, TBH I saw them on SC last night.  Not quite the worst color choice ever but probably top 15.  Ya gotta admit, the list of candidates is horrifyingly long.

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Kiss of death yet again...
 

"No, we're not gonna trade James Harden."

 

Boom.  

Simmons to Nets, Harden to Sixers.  An exchange of problem children.  

 

If there's such a thing as a lose-lose trade, this may be it.  It's one of those where everyone looks at the players involved with rose-colored glasses firmly in place.  In practice?  They have yet to show they really work.  Does Simmons *really* want to play and win?  I'm in the camp that if he truly did, he'd work on his abject weaknesses;  he never has.  Harden's backstabbed his team massively in Houston, and many believe with the Nets.

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Simmons' offensive limitations are extreme, tho, and makes it nigh impossible to be a primary ball handler.  That may be well and good;  I like the notion, mostly, of lining him up as the 5, but that's when Kyrie is the PG.  If Simmons is at best the #3 option, that'll probably be OK.

 

But I worry that you're just trading one set of dysfunctionality for another.  Yeah, honestly, I don't care that Harden can score.  His liabilities >> his *potential* contributions.  He's the most toxic player in the league...and that's saying a lot.  (James is #2, Irving is #3, Simmons is #4.)  But as I said earlier, where is Simmons' head?  Talent doesn't win titles without determination, and he's never shown that.

 

One thing about Simmons' contract, tho?  OK, yeah, Harden will cost several mill more this year ($11M a year difference, there's what, maybe 1/3 of the season left) and $12M more next...but it's not like Simmons is cheap.  He's $32M then $35M for next year.  AND, if he doesn't work out, there are 2 more years and about $78M guaranteed.  So if this *doesn't* work out?  Ugh.  Durant's a UFA after THIS season...what will it take to sign him again?  He should have at least 2-3 more good years (he's 33 now) and with his body type and style, 5 more wouldn't surprise me.  So he's gonna cost an arm and a leg.  Irving's contract has only 1 more year.  Simmons doesn't work, IMO, without BOTH of them...well, if Irving works at all.  

 

Flip side:  those 3 combined will run in the $115M to $120M range.  That already puts the Nets up against the salary cap, and the luxury tax threshold for next year is expected to be about $147M.  So there's not much maneuvering room.  Personally, I think the Lakers have done the worst job with roster construction...it's plausible that an Irving/Durant/Simmons core could work, whereas the James/Davis/Westbrook core was never gonna cut it.  (And we're seeing that big time, but Westbrook's contract for next year is at Harden levels.  Lakers would have to eat a massive amount of it to trade him.)

 

You might be right;  and yeah, ok, push come to shove, Simmons has more potential to fit in, while Harden's pattern is very clearly known.  So I'd rather have Simmons but that's a bar at ground level.

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That 17+ million per season is on the low end though. Harden's player option for next year is 47 million and then he'll want a max  extension. That extension will come in at 67 million in his age 37 season. And Philly can't afford to let him walk after what they gave up for him.

 

I don't blame Harden for leaving OKC, they had decided that he was option 3 but then he couldn't be the lead dog with a young core in Houston. So they brought in Chris Paul and he couldn't get along with him and lobbied for Westbrook. Houston complied and the results were underwhelming. So they dumped Westbrook for Wall and what did he do. He held out all of camp, showed up for the regular season and went through the motions in the first week so he could force a trade. He basically quit on the team after they designed an offense and built a roster around him. 

 

For all his shooting woes,, Simmons still gives you 18 per game.  He may never be Durant, but Kawaii and LeBron weren't good shooters at first either. Both  Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace are in the Hall of Fame and Simmons is a better player than either. Until this year's holdout, he was a model if eccentric teammate who always played hard at both ends of the floor. Even his holdout shows more character than Harden's pout fest to escape Houston. He could have showed up, given half effort and cashed his full salary.

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