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NBA 2016-2017 Season |OT| What do the Liberty Bell and Ben Simmons have in Common?

I joked about it before, but now that the Mavs are 20-30 (barely behind Portland), have a 4 game win streak, and finally have committed to a small ball lineup with Barnes at the 4, I officially need them to take 8th seed.

Then I need the Yogi "Yogi Bear" Ferrell/"Sous Chef" S. Curry/Wesley "Goku" Matthews/Harrison "Max" Barnes/Dirk "Wall-Puncher" Nowitzki to take revenge for 2007 and take out the Warriors in an all time classic We Believe Mavs season.


Hell, give Durant the MVP over Harden if that's what is needed.

Always bet on Max Barnes
Would be funny if he had better stats than KD in a playoff series if they meet up
 

rambis

Banned
It's because Lebron was whining about it and throwing his own team under the bus to let everyone know that he wants help on the court.
"We need a playmaker.... our team is Top Heavy, it's just me, Kyrie and Love...."
Had he just made a trade or signed someone and added them to the team, no one would have said shit.

so like I said before:


But I do find it pretty funny if Briante Weber was actually the player Lebron was scouting from D-league. Seeing that 2 other teams besides the Dubs offered him a contract, Bronbron was a little late to pull the trigger there.

I read a news story on him a little while ago trying to figure out who he was, and not only was he player of the month in January, but was apparently 1 steal away from a legit* quadruple double, which would have been a first in D-League history.

*(legit Quadruple double as opposed to a WB QD where TO's are a +10 stat too)

Talking to the media puts public pressure on the front office. I personally don't like it, but I can't blame him if they arent trying to make moves.

You arent addressing the point though. Chuck is an idiot for saying Lebron doesnt want to compete when the 73 win warriors, that were already the most stacked team is adding MVPs and the Cavs are losing players. Saying "they have enough they just won a championship" is dumb as fuck, teams don't remain the same.

I'm not sure what "people" your are referring to, but most arguments I've seen weren't directed at LeBron wanting to fill an open roster spot, but how he went about letting everyone know that he needed it filled.

You can quote this as many times as you want and youre still wrong. The video is easily available. we know what Barkley said. I still dont know how this became a thing when Shaq owned Barkley right as it happened but here we are.
Cavs need help because the GM isn't scraping the Dleague for 10-day veteran talent? GAF pls.

I don't think it's honest of Lebron (or Cavs fans) to suggest the difference between an elite 65-win team and a team that plays a month of .500 basketball is some journeyman pg, the 23 year old equivalent of Ramon Sessions. If that's the case they should be begging the Clips for Austin Rivers or the Nets for Jeremy Lin.
Who said this? They were working people out like Lance Stephenson and Jordan Famar. The rotation they have now is Dleaguers.

You're missing the point entirely though. The warriors have signed alot more than Dleaguers this season as well. Lebron is the oldest All Star in the league and also leading the league in minutes played because they don't have a real ball handler outside of him anymore. This isnt new either, this issue was the very first thing him and Kyrie bumped heads about.
 
Who said this? They were working people out like Lance Stephenson and Jordan Famar. The rotation they have now is Dleaguers.

You're missing the point entirely though. The warriors have signed alot more than Dleaguers this season as well. Lebron is the oldest All Star in the league and also leading the league in minutes played because they don't have a real ball handler outside of him anymore. This isnt new either, this issue was the very first thing him and Kyrie bumped heads about.

This kinda proves my point though.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story?id=18592373&src=desktop&rand=ref~%7B"ref"%3A"http%3A%2F%2Fm.espn.com%2Fnba%2Fplayercard%3FplayerId%3D3062892"%7D

The Cavs are working out guys like a washed Kirk Hinrich, a loose cannon like Stephenson (who Lebron hates btw), a bum like Farmar, and a "will he ever have NBA athleticism again" shot in the dark like Super Mario Chalmers.

Yes, they have a trade exception, but it would still require a) shortening their depth at another position and/or b) dumping another 1st round pick, most likely for 2019, which is extremely dangerous for the Cavs FO because Lebron will be an unrestricted FA after that season. They had to dump two vets and a first to get Korver.

If you logically take Frye, Anderson, and Jefferson off the table (because they have zero other depth at positions 3-5), you have to trade one of their SGs to get a PG.

No GM in their right mind is picking up JR's contract without getting an unprotected first, and the Cavs actually like him. So you're looking at trading Shumpert and filler for a decent player like Jamaal Crawford (another terrible contract), or scraping by with the charity cases above, or an unproven d-leaguer for your playoff run.

I don't think any of those guys are worth 5+ wins over the course of a season, let alone the month of January. With all those variables, is there any surprise that the GM is like "Kay Felder is a warm body, let him run the point off the bench"?
 
Talking to the media puts public pressure on the front office. I personally don't like it, but I can't blame him if they arent trying to make moves.

You arent addressing the point though. Chuck is an idiot for saying Lebron doesnt want to compete when the 73 win warriors, that were already the most stacked team is adding MVPs and the Cavs are losing players. Saying "they have enough they just won a championship" is dumb as fuck, teams don't remain the same.

You can quote this as many times as you want and youre still wrong. The video is easily available. we know what Barkley said. I still dont know how this became a thing when Shaq owned Barkley right as it happened but here we are.

I'm not mad at him for wanting to fill his teams open roster spot. He speaking to the media and addressing the team being short a man on the bench is fine too. It's still about him whining that he needs help that is the issue.
He could have said "We are short a man on our bench, and I'm putting out a call for open tryouts for a playmaking back-up PG position to the whole NBA" or something to that nature, and there would have been no controversy over this.

And I did address the issue, because you originally said "people", and not "Barkley", but all of a sudden you are only focused on what Barkley said, even though Barkley's "Doesn't want to compete" comment was directed at the exact same mentality of whining for some established NBA star help, after Lebron had already been the GM when it came to hiring, firing, & salary decisions, while assistant GM'ing their roster into the highest paid lineup in NBA history.
I'm not trying to argue in circles here because you are gonna side w/ who you side with, but rings or no rings, Barkley was right. Shaq can throw it in his face all he wants, and as often as he wants, but that doesn't invalidate Barkley's point.
How much help does Lebron need now when he more or less hand crafted this team?
The Cavs are stuck where they are with contracts and salary caps because of Assistant GM Lebron. Do the Cav's need to be better? sure, but that still doesn't excuse Lebron's approach to all this, and I'm sure if Lebron could do it again, he would handle it differently.

Which is why probably Lebron didn't bother to address the criticism, but Tristan Thompson did.
 
Fuck it, I've changed my mind, give the MVP to that stat padding ball of fury in OKC. I won't have this normalized goddammit!

lol, that is an awful call.

What the hell? So tired of seeing shit like this happen when they take 8 minutes and all of the momentum out of games reviewing something only to STILL make the wrong call.

At some point are they at least gunna change what can be reviewed?

The only thing I like about Harden's game is how effortless he makes everything look.
But i HATE the way he plays to create "fouls" in place of out playing his opponent. I think it's up to the league and the officials to put some sort of rule in place to counter act the Harden style of play though.
But that vid up top is a really bad call.

Other initiated contacts intended at drawing a foul that need to be addressed are:
- Shooters jumping into defenders when they are clearly going to fly right by them
- and Harden style wrapping the defenders arm up in his shot attempt

those should both be considered offensive fouls.
 

rambis

Banned
I'm not mad at him for wanting to fill his teams open roster spot. He speaking to the media and addressing the team being short a man on the bench is fine too. It's still about him whining that he needs help that is the issue.
He could have said "We are short a man on our bench, and I'm putting out a call for open tryouts for a playmaking back-up PG position to the whole NBA" or something to that nature, and there would have been no controversy over this.

And I did address the issue, because you originally said "people", and not "Barkley", but all of a sudden you are only focused on what Barkley said, even though Barkley's "Doesn't want to compete" comment was directed at the exact same mentality of whining for some established NBA star help, after Lebron had already been the GM when it came to hiring, firing, & salary decisions, while assistant GM'ing their roster into the highest paid lineup in NBA history.
I'm not trying to argue in circles here because you are gonna side w/ who you side with, but rings or no rings, Barkley was right. Shaq can throw it in his face all he wants, and as often as he wants, but that doesn't invalidate Barkley's point.
How much help does Lebron need now when he more or less hand crafted this team?
The Cavs are stuck where they are with contracts and salary caps because of Assistant GM Lebron. Do the Cav's need to be better? sure, but that still doesn't excuse Lebron's approach to all this, and I'm sure if Lebron could do it again, he would handle it differently.

Which is why probably Lebron didn't bother to address the criticism, but Tristan Thompson did.

Youre confusing the hell out of me. We've been talking about the barkley comments for pages now and this thread moves at a snails pace. Theres multiple people saying "barkley is right". You're saying it now and still not addressing the point. So no maybe we shouldnt "argue" anymore if you cant follow that we were still addressing Barkleys comments which you are misrepresenting. He was directly arguing with Shaq that they dont need anybody and just won the championship.

And the whole point of Lebrons comments is that they are not stuck. They have roster space and have lost Delly, Mo and Smith(till Mar/Apr) since last year, getting worse while their competition is getting better. This is what Chuck doesnt get and what players like Magic and Shaq and Isaiah have chimed in on agreeing with Lebron.


I've already said I dont necessarily agree with his methods, so unless you are disputing that they actually need somebody youre talking in circles.



This kinda proves my point though.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story?id=18592373&src=desktop&rand=ref~%7B"ref"%3A"http%3A%2F%2Fm.espn.com%2Fnba%2Fplayercard%3FplayerId%3D3062892"%7D

The Cavs are working out guys like a washed Kirk Hinrich, a loose cannon like Stephenson (who Lebron hates btw), a bum like Farmar, and a "will he ever have NBA athleticism again" shot in the dark like Super Mario Chalmers.

Yes, they have a trade exception, but it would still require a) shortening their depth at another position and/or b) dumping another 1st round pick, most likely for 2019, which is extremely dangerous for the Cavs FO because Lebron will be an unrestricted FA after that season. They had to dump two vets and a first to get Korver.

If you logically take Frye, Anderson, and Jefferson off the table (because they have zero other depth at positions 3-5), you have to trade one of their SGs to get a PG.

No GM in their right mind is picking up JR's contract without getting an unprotected first, and the Cavs actually like him. So you're looking at trading Shumpert and filler for a decent player like Jamaal Crawford (another terrible contract), or scraping by with the charity cases above, or an unproven d-leaguer for your playoff run.

I don't think any of those guys are worth 5+ wins over the course of a season, let alone the month of January. With all those variables, is there any surprise that the GM is like "Kay Felder is a warm body, let him run the point off the bench"?
They have a predictament sure but I don't think that excuses them from not looking which seemed to be the case. From a competitors standpoint you have Golden State who were just as close to the title last year continually getting better and the Cavs getting worse. If the FO isnt continually trying to improve then they deserved to be called out.

Again this highest salary in the league shit is a moot point. Golden State is still playing with house money by not having to pay Curry his worth or they would be above the Cavs with their current roster. Theres really no excuse not to be doing anything.
 
Youre confusing the hell out of me. We've been talking about the barkley comments for pages now and this thread moves at a snails pace. Theres multiple people saying "barkley is right". You're saying it now and still not addressing the point. So no maybe we shouldnt "argue" anymore if you cant follow that we were still addressing Barkleys comments.

And the whole point of Lebrons comments is that they are not stuck. They have roster space and have lost Delly, Mo and Smith(till Mar/Apr) since last year, getting worse while their competition is getting better. This is what Chuck doesnt get and what players like Magic and Shaq and Isaiah have chimed in on agreeing with Lebron.


I've already said I dont necessarily agree with his methods, so unless you are disputing that they actually need somebody youre talking in circles.

I did address the point. I addressed what you said, what Lebron said and what Barkley said. It just boils down to approach. It's not about the fact that Lebron needs to fill a roster spot, it's that he was whining about it and throwing his team under the bus in the process,
Lebron has largely gotten everything he's asked for up to this point, so to publicly lambaste the organization and his team for not giving more is just whiny.

That's what the "don't want to compete" comment was all about.
Crying out for help publicly when you already have Kyrie & Love plus 12 other "bodies" on your team, including Thompson, Shumpert, Smith and Frye, is a bad look for someone as physically dominating and talented as Lebron is in this sport.
Filling an open roster spot with someone that plugs a whole in your current lineup, is in my opinion, not what is even being argued about.
 

rambis

Banned
I did address the point. I addressed what you said, what Lebron said and what Barkley said. It just boils down to approach. It's not about the fact that Lebron needs to fill a roster spot, it's that he was whining about it and throwing his team under the bus in the process,
Lebron has largely gotten everything he's asked for up to this point, so to publicly lambaste the organization and his team for not giving more is just whiny.

That's what the "don't want to compete" comment was all about.
Crying out for help publicly when you already have Kyrie & Love plus 12 other "bodies" on your team, including Thompson, Shumpert, Smith and Frye, is a bad look for someone as physically dominating and talented as Lebron is in this sport.
Filling an open roster spot with someone that plugs a whole in your current lineup, is in my opinion, not what is even being argued about.
You are conflating your point with Barkleys. Rewatch the video.

Barkley is arguing that " they just won the chanpionship" and that " he has enough and Lebron "just doesnt want to compete" and that "Lebron wants all the good players". Chuck even says that there is" fundamentally something wrong" with Lebron wanting another player.

Again, we have all mostly agreed against the methods that Lebron is using. So unless you are taking issue with the above statements from Barkleys rant, you arent addressing those points and are talking in circles.
 
Youre confusing the hell out of me. We've been talking about the barkley comments for pages now and this thread moves at a snails pace. Theres multiple people saying "barkley is right". You're saying it now and still not addressing the point. So no maybe we shouldnt "argue" anymore if you cant follow that we were still addressing Barkleys comments which you are misrepresenting. He was directly arguing with Shaq that they dont need anybody and just won the championship.

And the whole point of Lebrons comments is that they are not stuck. They have roster space and have lost Delly, Mo and Smith(till Mar/Apr) since last year, getting worse while their competition is getting better. This is what Chuck doesnt get and what players like Magic and Shaq and Isaiah have chimed in on agreeing with Lebron.


I've already said I dont necessarily agree with his methods, so unless you are disputing that they actually need somebody youre talking in circles.




They have a predictament sure but I don't think that excuses them from not looking which seemed to be the case. From a competitors standpoint you have Golden State who were just as close to the title last year continually getting better and the Cavs getting worse. If the FO isnt continually trying to improve then they deserved to be called out.

Again this highest salary in the league shit is a moot point. Golden State is still playing with house money by not having to pay Curry his worth or they would be above the Cavs with their current roster. Theres really no excuse not to be doing anything.

Much of GS' cap situation is timing and luck.

They signed Curry just before his first breakout season to a long term deal, and they signed Durant just as the salary cap got adjusted upwards.

They still lost Bogut, Barnes, Ezelie, Rush, Barbosa, and Speights under the reality that winning is a payday for most role players and you can't afford to give out big contracts to everyone on your roster. So GS got more top heavy (*gasp*) with less depth after signing Durant. It's a huge gamble, because an injury to any of their rotation guys means playing guys like Patrick McCaw or JaVale McGee heavy minutes. In hindsight the Cavs could have re-signed Mozgov and Delladova but a) those guys are making a ridiculous $25 million combined this season, and b) the Cavs weren't even using Mozgov for most of the second half of last year.

The front office turned shit into wine by turning a retiring Mo Williams and Dunleavy into Korver, an all time great shooter who's already playing well for the Cavs. There's just not much else to be done...other than trading Shumpert (and their future picks) or picking up free agent scraps. Even then, i doubt the Warriors would ever be heard complaining "Ian Clark being out for 6 weeks has really depleted our bench. Unless management starts making moves to fill out our chair warmers, our roster of highly paid superstars will struggle to win games. Even though our playoff rotation will be 8 guys, 9 with foul trouble."

Jordan Farmar or Mario Chalmers don't stop you giving up 140 points to the Pelicans.
 

rambis

Banned
Much of GS' cap situation is timing and luck.

They signed Curry just before his first breakout season to a long term deal, and they signed Durant just as the salary cap got adjusted upwards.

They still lost Bogut, Barnes, Ezelie, Rush, Barbosa, and Speights under the reality that winning is a payday for most role players and you can't afford to give out big contracts to everyone on your roster. So GS got more top heavy (*gasp*) with less depth after signing Durant. It's a huge gamble, because an injury to any of their rotation guys means playing guys like Patrick McCaw or JaVale McGee heavy minutes. In hindsight the Cavs could have re-signed Mozgov and Delladova but a) those guys are making a ridiculous $25 million combined this season, and b) the Cavs weren't even using Mozgov for most of the second half of last year.

The front office turned shit into wine by turning a retiring Mo Williams and Dunleavy into Korver, an all time great shooter who's already playing well for the Cavs. There's just not much else to be done...other than trading Shumpert (and their future picks) or picking up free agent scraps. Even then, i doubt the Warriors would ever be heard complaining "Ian Clark being out for 6 weeks has really depleted our bench. Unless management starts making moves to fill out our chair warmers, our roster of highly paid superstars will struggle to win games. Even though our playoff rotation will be 8 guys, 9 with foul trouble."

Jordan Farmar or Mario Chalmers don't stop you giving up 140 points to the Pelicans.
I mean I know what happened with Golden State, not sure why the paragraphs. None of that changes the fact that they improved their core and are still making moves.

If the Cavs werent trying to fill their empty spot before they got called out then they deserved to be called out. It doesnt particularly matter who it is they get. If the Cavs come out of this with a better roster after the deadline then it was well worth it.
 
Draymond on Barkley-Lebron

I'm all for destroying Barkley. You know, Barkley talk a lot. A whole lot for a guy who has not won a championship. I think Shaq should talk about the champions. Kenny should talk about the champions. Ernie can talk about the champions. When it comes time to speak about someone who has a championship, Barkley should be muted. You know how on ”Around the Horn" where they just ice somebody out on the screen? They should be be able to do that with Barkley any time the name of a champion come up.
https://www.uninterrupted.com/watch/F4Zm7U1S/the-inauguration?playlist=N4M8xKh5

Valanciunas in Houston's offense...

Blech, nah man, we NEED our center to be a DJ type. Pick and roll, rim protecting, can get rebounds.

Capela would be good except he gets dominated by the bigger, more experienced centers. When it comes to protecting the rim against other positions, he's fine.

About the Mavs btw: Yogi Ferrell, Wes Matthews, Seth Curry, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Salah Mejri all went undrafted. Yogi also agreed to a 2 year contract with the Mavs
 
Draymond is a fucking nobody next to Charles Barkley. Shut the fuck up man. You have a championship cause you play next to Curry and Klay (and Cavs had half of their time injured).

Go play with Cedric Ceballos against Jordan.
 

U2NUMB

Member
Ooooo, that's unfortunate. I'm sorry Wolves fans, no more space jam.


The team actually has played very well without him this year but it does suck. He is fun as hell to watch and is developing into one hell of a player. But as a wolves fan I sort of expect these things to happen... Sadly.
 

rambis

Banned
Draymond is a fucking nobody next to Charles Barkley. Shut the fuck up man. You have a championship cause you play next to Curry and Klay (and Cavs had half of their time injured).

Go play with Cedric Ceballos against Jordan.
I kinda agree but at the same time Chuck has gone out his way to shade them and not give them credit. I don't think he gives a shit but he has to show respect if he expects people to respect him.
 
Khris Middleton, the Bucks' 24 year old shooting guard/small forward, and leading scorer last year, is coming back Wednesday. Tony Snell has been starting in his place up until now. Brings a much needed outside shot presence to the team, another ball handler for the Bucks, etc. Bucks are going to be ridiculous in the future.

Malcolm Brogdon (24) / Khris Middleton (24) / Giannis Antetokounmpo (22) / Jabari Parker (21) / Thon Maker (19)

Bench wise, they would have Dellavedova, Michael Beasley, Greg Monroe, and Jason Terry for veteran locker room leadership (he was a leader in the Rockets locker room the past 2 years, and was big for us in that way)

Middleton and Giannis both have 4 more years, with Middleton's contract gradually decreasing. Maker is on his rookie contract, Brogdon has 3 more years, Parker is on his rookie contract for 2 more years.

Now that they have Miles Plumlee TERRIBLE contract off their books, within the next two years (when Parker becomes an RFA), Monroe, Beasley, Hawes, Snell, etc. all come off the books. The biggest issue for the Bucks long term was that they had gotten themselves stuck overpaying too many free agents and would thus have cap space issues. They still have Henson and Teletovic's terrible contracts, but that Plumlee trade was crazy for them.

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/yearly/cap/

They've slipped to 21-28 the past few weeks, but I think they'll rebound back now, now that they're getting another ball handler asides from Giannis and an outside shooting threat. They have to get past the Knicks (likely), Hornets (tough one, hard to say), Pistons (hard to say if they've finally given up on Reggie), Bulls (possible), to get to the playoffs.

Btw, how did every single hot team from 2016 suddenly start struggling in 2017? Rockets, Thunder, Cavs, Bulls, Bucks, Knicks, Hornets, Spurs (????). And then a bunch of struggling teams when on a run: Sixers, Heat, Mavericks, Warriors (as in no MVP level Curry ffs), Celtics, Timberwolves, Pacers, arguably the Clippers.

The only team that was consistent between December and January at being good were the Wizards.
 
Draymond is a fucking nobody next to Charles Barkley. Shut the fuck up man. You have a championship cause you play next to Curry and Klay (and Cavs had half of their time injured).

Go play with Cedric Ceballos against Jordan.

Chuck also rips on the Warriors, alot. I think he only rips on the Rockets more (although, for a period, he seemed to admit his mistake, and he's been up on Harden this year).

And the weird thing is, from what I've seen this season, between the Sixers (and Barkley acknowledging Hinkie, giving credit to Embiid before the season), Rockets (and Barkley crediting Morey, Harden, and D'Antoni), etc. he tends to at least, at some point, be way better than any of the other 3 at admitting when he was wrong.

I think it's obvious he doesn't follow teams very much, but I imagine if it someone strapped Barkley to a chair and showed him the Warriors in-the-paint scoring and their defensive rating, and got it through to him, he'd would talk about how he was wrong on air.
 

Fjordson

Member
Love that Draymond ripped Chuck. Fuck that clown.

Also lmao @ the idea of Draymond only having a ring because of Curry and Klay. The Warriors don't win a ring without Draymond in that series, especially Klay given how mediocre he was. Even last year Draymond was probably the only guy who really showed up in game 7.
 
Lavine is done for the season with a torn ACL. Thibs making his presence felt.

Timberwolves might have just become the leading candidate for the tank race. They now get to tank, see if alot of Wiggins' problems are actually because he's better as a 2 than a 3, and they can try to get that missing point guard again.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Draymond is a fucking nobody next to Charles Barkley. Shut the fuck up man. You have a championship cause you play next to Curry and Klay (and Cavs had half of their time injured).

Go play with Cedric Ceballos against Jordan.
Wait... Is this a serious post? Can't tell anymore.
 
I joked about it before, but now that the Mavs are 20-30 (barely behind Portland), have a 4 game win streak, and finally have committed to a small ball lineup with Barnes at the 4, I officially need them to take 8th seed.

Then I need the Yogi "Yogi Bear" Ferrell/"Sous Chef" S. Curry/Wesley "Goku" Matthews/Harrison "Max" Barnes/Dirk "Wall-Puncher" Nowitzki to take revenge for 2007 and take out the Warriors in an all time classic We Believe Mavs season.

Hell, give Durant the MVP over Harden if that's what is needed.
It's nice to want things bruh

Only anime gifs that should happen here is when the GOAT Slam Dunk is mentioned. All of you who haven't seen it are doing a disservice to yourselves. One of the funniest shows and the main games are fucking amazing. It's a shame the anime ends shortly before the manga finishes though, because the last game in the manga is one of the best fictional pieces I've ever read/watched. Had a boner from the greatness of it the entire time. GOAT sports series. If you disagree, you have trash taste and these are the facts.

And people who are getting mad at Draymond lol.. Chuck's been talking shit about the Warriors for 2 and a half years relentlessly, this was the only time the entire Warrior squad was clapping and dancing at Bron's comments. They were never going to go to his defense but throw more gasoline to the fire. I do agree the idea that only winners can talk is dumb as fuck, but Draymond is trying to throw some more jabs at Chuck. He even said he would go off on Chuck if there was one person because he's talked the most shit out of anyone during this time.
 
I've always enjoyed watching games, but I'm trying to understand basketball more now, how should I begin?

Stuff like Zach Lowe's weekly "10 Things I Like and Don't Like", watching the game, and discussing it with people who actually know what they're talking about.

Also, Whiteside is having a 30/20/3 blocks game against the 76ers (Noel and Holmes at the 5), and Dion Waiters is officially not just playing well in just some strange aberration
 

TTG

Member
I've always enjoyed watching games, but I'm trying to understand basketball more now, how should I begin?

Don't only watch the ball. You'll start to pick up the way teams screen and cut, why it is that the best shooter is open in the corner despite everyone in the arena knowing that shouldn't happen. On the other side you'll see the way teams rotate, switch and "help the helper." The way they'll shade and almost zone to someone like Lebron or Westbrook or play Steph and Klay at the 3 point line differently.
 

mjp2417

Banned
I've always enjoyed watching games, but I'm trying to understand basketball more now, how should I begin?

Read Zach Lowe and don't be afraid to watch old games on Youtube in addition to the current league (you start picking up on nuances as you see the game evolve over time). Ignore everything you hear on Inside the NBA.
 

Brashnir

Member
Don't only watch the ball. You'll start to pick up the way teams screen and cut, why it is that the best shooter is open in the corner despite everyone in the arena knowing that shouldn't happen. On the other side you'll see the way teams rotate, switch and "help the helper." The way they'll shade and almost zone to someone like Lebron or Westbrook or play Steph and Klay at the 3 point line differently.


Another tip - Don't even watch the players. Watch the empty space on the floor.
 
Don't only watch the ball. You'll start to pick up the way teams screen and cut, why it is that the best shooter is open in the corner despite everyone in the arena knowing that shouldn't happen. On the other side you'll see the way teams rotate, switch and "help the helper." The way they'll shade and almost zone to someone like Lebron or Westbrook or play Steph and Klay at the 3 point line differently.

This is good advice. Off ball movement can be some of the coolest stuff to watch in basketball, because when you finally understand how a play or defensive scheme works, it feels really satisfying.
 
I've always enjoyed watching games, but I'm trying to understand basketball more now, how should I begin?

Other than watching more games... is say watch old games. Like the playoff games the NBA legends played. Read on the games history too. Also what the fundamental numbers to know in a basketball stat. Then from there read the nerd shit the sabermetricians been working on currently about advanced stats. Look up on the basketball jargons you hear often too. I cannot emphasize watching old games and learning the games history enough.
 

Fjordson

Member
Draymond just checked back in. Hmm.

I don't know shit about this stuff, but don't they need an MRI before they can rule out anything torn? I remember a few years back Rondo playing 10 minutes on a torn ACL.
 

TTG

Member
Draymond just checked back in. Hmm.

I don't know shit about this stuff, but don't they need an MRI before they can rule out anything torn? I remember a few years back Rondo playing 10 minutes on a torn ACL.

Lavine played for 5 minutes on one last night. I also know shit about this stuff, but I don't think you can see soft tissue damage on an X-ray. I'm guessing nothing is torn, but past that it's up in the air.
 
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