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'18-'19 NBA Thread, aka "The #&$!&#* Warriors win again"


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On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 9:05 PM, Pariah said:

Wasn't there a time when Carmelo Anthony was a pretty good player, and not just a punchline?

 

Or is my memory going out again?

 

Well, he is still a decent offensive player, if memory serves (albeit selfish and inefficient).  Always been indifferent on defense, and indifferent and old.  He's a bench player who thinks he is still a starter.

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He basically won Syracuse a national championship single-handedly.  He developed into an excellent scorer, but never more than that IMO.  Strangely, he was the best player on the last Olympic team, possibly because he could concentrate on being a spot-up shooter with height over Euro players and seems very motivated when he plays for his country - I think he has more basketball medals than any other player.

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18 hours ago, Amorkca said:

Maple Leafs… 

Decent Season...

 

ROFLMAO

 

12 hours ago, Pariah said:

 

Hey, it is at least theoretically possible....

Not just possible, happening. There is some great young talent on the leafs, wit Austin Matthews part of the next generation of stars. And they recently acquired John Tavares, one of the better offensive talents in the Eastern Conference. Their coach won Stanley Cups in Detroit and has made the playoffs the last two season in Toronto. All they haven't done yet is have a deep playoff run, and they are capable of one.

 

The Leafs aren't great yet, but they're good, and the NHL is in a generational flux right now. And if an expansion team can make a Finals run, who knows what can happen?

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12 hours ago, Starlord said:

He basically won Syracuse a national championship single-handedly.  He developed into an excellent scorer, but never more than that IMO.  Strangely, he was the best player on the last Olympic team, possibly because he could concentrate on being a spot-up shooter with height over Euro players and seems very motivated when he plays for his country - I think he has more basketball medals than any other player.

 

Yeah, his spot-up ability is definitely why he still has some decent value.  He definitely difficulty understanding the concept of not being the #1 option in OKC. If he still desires that, he might have to go someplace crappy like Sacramento or Brooklyn.

 

Edit: Though, he could be the perfect 6th man for Philly, they could use a couple more sharpshooters. Not as a starter though, Covington plays defense.

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Kevin Love has not had the greatest of pro careers -- a good player, but not the superstar he looked like coming out of the draft. Still, the Cavs just signed him to a contract extension worth $30 Million a year for four years. Interestingly, it does not come with a no-trade clause.

 

I'm not sure what Cleveland is trying to do. Clearly they have no championship window in 2019. Modern NBA logic says the obvious answer is to blow up the roster, start over with youth, and wade through a few years of being awful in order to get back on track through the draft and judicious signings. So the logical thing to do would be to trade Love. However, I'm not sure any of the teams in a position to give the Cavs something they would want would be willing to accept the cap hit even if they can unload a few expiring contracts to make up for it. 

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At least Green isn't accusing the team of intentional malfeasance (Kahwi might not be so charitable, especially now), but as an old-school Blazer fan I saw both sides of this problem in the '70s and early '80s. On one hand, there was the foot injury to Bill Walton that the team mishandled to try to keep him active for the playoff run. On the other there were Sam Bowie's people concealing the knee problems that would utterly derail his promising NBA career right out of the draft. I also wonder how much the Blazers knew about Greg Oden's knees when he was drafted (had he been healthy he might have been a transformational talent, but he never was as a pro).

 

Athletes want to compete. It's in their nature. If it isn't in your nature, you would probably want to do something else for a living. At the same time, they also have to prepare for life after basketball, like it or not, and just just financially. They do in fact need to think about their long-term health. Thus any athlete in any sport who suffers an injury that may or may not be serious faces a difficult personal dilemma. It even might be a moral dilemma where priorities conflict.

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32 minutes ago, Starlord said:

My initial thought was "He's still in the league?". I find myself wondering who he continues to hold on when it is obviously a shell of the player he once was (the one who made the highlight reels at least five times a game every game, and was worth the price of admission by himself).

 

Then I remember there is talk of Dwayne Wade finishing out his storied career in China, one of the fastest-growing markets for pro basketball. Not only would he get millions, but China might not even collect taxes on it depending on the contract.

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On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 7:52 AM, Starlord said:

 

Cant say it necessarily vindicates or not.  It places doubt, yes.   Though, I do wonder with Green's injury if it didn't just actually heal, and he had a re-injury in the final series before the exit physical.  I have to study that a before I can form an opinion.

 

Unfortunately, the Kawhi situation is multi-layered.  Not only do we have the injury or not question, we also have his apparently poor communication skills with his own team.   I don't see any vindication possibility for that.  I think your teammates will understand injury and 2nd opinions, keeping in the dark on when/if you will be there to back them up, not so understanding.  I think that is the true frustration towards Kawhi (definitely mine).  

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On 7/21/2018 at 9:10 AM, Starlord said:

Remember, several big free agents come available next year, the LAbrons aren't just pinning their hopes on Kawhi.

 

As I said, the Raptors made a HORRIBLE move.  They are seemingly on tilt - ditching the Coach of the Year and their best player for essentially nothing.

 

On 7/21/2018 at 8:18 AM, Michael Hopcroft said:

I fail to see how trading for Kahwi makes any sense for Toronto, and especially trading the face of the franchise in DeRozean. The latter was set on being a Raptor for life until he was swapped for a one-year rental who might not be good for even that (I don't think he'll hold out for a trade to LA, but I have no doubt he will want out of Canada as soon as he can manage the feat). The Raptors swapped the core of the team for little to nothing.

 

If I were the Lakers management, I would not wan Leonard under these circumstances. Maybe if he puts up a solid year in Toronto and shows he's willing to be a good teammate again, but right now they don't need that headache; They have headaches enough dealing with the Ball clan and trying to figure out how to get Lebron some help that's willing to play in his system.

They get one year of a shot at the finals? They traded up over DeRozen, didn't have to part with their best young players, and if Kahwi tries at all they have a solid shot at ECF which they can use to try and maintain him - they put off the rebuild for a year.

They did what all good, not great teams do when they want to take the next step. They swung for the fences. 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Starlord said:

They'd have gone to the finals last year if it wasn't for someone who is now in a different conference.

 

LeBron? Or DeRozen?

 

13 hours ago, Badger said:

Unfortunately, it just gives them the opportunity to lose to the Warriors.

If you play you have a shot of winning. 

 

The Celtics will be the team to beat in the East, but if Kawhi is engaged and healthy, and the younguns improve, there's a pretty good chance Toronto is at the top. 

 

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Nah, this coming year will be a big free agent market, Kawhi walks and they have money to get one of the bigger agents people are all chasing, and they have a lot to sell if they can stay atop the east. But we never know. Given the disparity in relative prowess of the eastern teams, Toronto can find themselves in the top three no matter what happens. 

 

And besides, Lowry's not getting any younger and...wow...Toronto is a pretty young team. I mean Lowry, Miles, and Green are over 30,  Ibaka is 29, but the rest of the team are 27 or younger...

 

Yeah, I think they're hoping to sell Toronto to him like OKC managed to do with Paul George.

 

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The bewildering thing, on reflection, is that Lebron has no coattails this time. I'm sure that with all the cap space they had available the Lakers hoped they could sign Lebron and one max contract this season, and that would transform the team. That hasn't happened, and although Lebron definitely makes the Lakers a sure playoff team with a chance for better he doesn't make them a champion by himself. They need another piece, and that will likely come in 2019-20.

 

For now, the Lakers (and Raptors, for that matter) won't really know what the have until about 30 or 40 games into the season. For the Lakers, other than LBJ I really don't think they know what they've got on the court. We know he's going to put in a lot of effort and energy, because that's what he does, but who else really is on that team? Where is he going to go when he needs to find an open man to take the spot-up three? Who's going to defend Stephan Curry and Chris Paul?

 

As for locals, the Blazers barely did anything valuable in free agency. Which means there is going to be a significant talent gap in the division between them and the Thunder.  They're probably a playoff team unless the wheels fall off, but another first-round exit seems likely. Portland just isn't that desirable a destination anymore, and the big question is whether Damien Lillard moves on when he gets the chance, leaving the team to fast=-track their reconstruction.

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7 hours ago, Enforcer84 said:

Nah, this coming year will be a big free agent market, Kawhi walks and they have money to get one of the bigger agents people are all chasing, and they have a lot to sell if they can stay atop the east. But we never know. Given the disparity in relative prowess of the eastern teams, Toronto can find themselves in the top three no matter what happens. 

 

And besides, Lowry's not getting any younger and...wow...Toronto is a pretty young team. I mean Lowry, Miles, and Green are over 30,  Ibaka is 29, but the rest of the team are 27 or younger...

 

Yeah, I think they're hoping to sell Toronto to him like OKC managed to do with Paul George.

 

 

Yeah, I know they are trying to sell Leonard on Toronto.  But,  I think the Paul George thing might end up giving a lot of GMs some irrationally false hope for the next few years.

 

Toronto does have some young talent, so they should recover quickly if he leaves, especially with the extra money they'll have.

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Yeah, it is worth a shot at it.  But, it isn't a good idea to put too much weight into it.  I think Toronto does have their backup plans.

 

Edit: On another note, (might have mentioned it already) I have enjoyed the internet comments of "Spurs wont even make the playoffs this year."  I think they won 47 games last year, and their changes from that team has been Danny Green for DeRozan and Potl.  I don't think making the playoffs will be a problem.  Going further might be a problem, when it comes to the West.

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