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You don't pass on Lauri. Lauri is gonna be the number 1 pick.
Especially after the Hornets get the number 1 pick.
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NBA 2017 Playoffs |OT| WE DID IT
- Thread starter Jarate
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You don't pass on Lauri. Lauri is gonna be the number 1 pick.
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2015 - http://globalnews.ca/news/1958080/kyle-lowrys-health-questioned-amid-raptors-playoff-struggles/
Yup.
2014 they lost to a veteran Brooklyn team, and most of those players didn't have much playoff experience.
I think what you saw last year is actually somewhat encouraging, because Lowry was playing hurt, his shot was off, and as a result, he focused more on keeping to distributing the ball and playing defense properly. That's also what has me excited to see DeRozan this year - if he was ending the season as mainly just a scoring threat again I'd be down on him, but he expanded his game this year, and picked up on defense.
Most of all, the Raptors, of the 4 major teams, have probably shown the lineups with the stingiest defense this year. That's what carried them post-ASB. Their crunch time lineups are looking to be Lowry/DeRozan/Tucker at 3/4 / Ibaka at the 5. Slot it one of Powell or Patterson or Carroll, depending on the game. The only major questionable defender there WAS DeRozan, but otherwise that's a really good lineup for the playoffs, where defenses tend to lock down more
Only shot I've seen him create is step backs..good luck with that in the NBA as a guard..he won't get his shots off.
By that definition Nikola Jokic is a pure PG. My defenition is creates for others by using superior agility in halfcourt situations to force the defense to rotate.
I dont think Ball fits that category despite being a great passer.
The Lakers definitely have multiple needs, however at some point you have to consider avaliable talent. The Guard talent this draft is just so much better then the Big man talent that it makes more sense to try and sign a big in free agency (Ibaka?) or try and uncover a 2nd round steal.
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So psyched to see Beverley and if he pulls this shit off again. If he can, Rockets in 5 with a ton of confidence
Depends on the team. I'm hoping he gets to Phoenix, because if he goes to a team where he is gonna have to be a scoring threat to start off, or he goes to a team that's constantly under the microscope, I don't like his chances. On the other hand, Phoenix already has star young players, and he definitely has enough of a shot to prevent opponents from sagging off of him. If his main role, at least to start off, is distributing between other players that can score, I think he can more effectively ease his way into the NBA.
Depends on the team. I'm hoping he gets to Phoenix, because if he goes to a team where he is gonna have to be a scoring threat to start off, or he goes to a team that's constantly under the microscope, I don't like his chances. On the other hand, Phoenix already has star young players, and he definitely has enough of a shot to prevent opponents from sagging off of him. If his main role, at least to start off, is distributing between other players that can score, I think he can more effectively ease his way into the NBA.
He needs the right team AKA Rondo. Surround him with 3 HOF's he will be great..I see no explosiveness or shot creating from him. Pretty much all the best guards are the opposite of him nowadays. All score first.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Meh, we'll see. Defensively, Raptors are stingy but I'm not confident they have the firepower to knock teams out with the way those two have performed. We'll see as they're both fit this year and see if anything will change. I still am of the impression that they need to prove themselves, rather us expect it of them.
Expecting to see a lot of this, and loving it.
Gully State
Member
I think he just has to hit open ones to keep D's honest and properly spaced (I mean that form of his makes it hard for him to pull up). If his passing is as advertised, he should make teams pay for guarding him up close. I'm not exactly super high on him but he isn't exactly going to bust like Jimmer.
Hyperactivity
Banned
Hahahaha, holy shit, I'm high on seeing if the Bulls can pull an upset, and I think the Celtics are probably worse than their record makes them out to be, but still, there's almost an unprecedented amount of disrespect for them right now. I'm seeing some almost talk as if the Bulls are favorites or something.
Crazy Diamond
Member
I was thinking the same thing. I get not picking Boston to win the East, but they're not even considered a possibility, based on what I've been hearing.
CreepingFear
Member
As a Bulls fan, I honestly don't know what will happen in the Bulls/Celtics series. The Bulls were so inconsistent this year, hence the.500 record. On the other hand, if Butler is destroying people, Wade is playoff Wade, and Rondo goes Rogue, anything is possible. It's not like Boston has an unstoppable force like LeBron.
I think people are right to be high on the Bulls. The Celtics really aren't all that scary for a #1 seed. The Bulls are just a good matchup for the Cs and they're not a typical 8 seed themselves. Chicago will own the glass (lol Horford's rebounding) and Rondo/Wade/Butler's games are better suited for the grind-it-out, half-court postseason. They won't have it easy with Bradley/Smart and others hounding them but they're playoff battle-tested. They'll also need guys like Mirotic to hit those 3s and open things up.
The Bulls will definitely do their best to stifle IT and Butler is completely capable of winning that series for them, he's that good and the best player on either team.
Only reason why I wouldn't count Boston out and probably favor them to win is because Brad Stevens is a goddamn basketball genius who can coach circles around Mayor Hoiberg and he'll figure out a way to make it work for Boston.
The Bulls will definitely do their best to stifle IT and Butler is completely capable of winning that series for them, he's that good and the best player on either team.
Only reason why I wouldn't count Boston out and probably favor them to win is because Brad Stevens is a goddamn basketball genius who can coach circles around Mayor Hoiberg and he'll figure out a way to make it work for Boston.
I would go bpa in the draft and in this case it will likely be a guard.
Also, by that definition Steve Nash wasn't a pure PG.
the_batman
Banned
wow, people sleeping on the Celtics. they're going to pound the Bulls.
LyleLanley
Banned
Saying this about a 1 seed is hilarious.
Thats not really true though, Steve Nash uses his low center of gravity, agility and ball handling to draw defenders and create open lanes/looks for team mates https://youtu.be/hPSpvdpnxUw or here https://youtu.be/1_bcliaCXBI (long video)
Now skilled players of all sizes can and should do this, its just that against a set defense a fast player with a low center of gravity is less likely to turn it over or have a defender stay in front of them.
Just look at some footage of Memphis Tony Allen defending Kevin Durant in 2014. Durant clearly struggles to get to his spots because a smaller faster player is already there. https://youtu.be/K6NmStl50jw or https://youtu.be/h875iRcQG7Y
The same happens with Kawhi Leonard vs a bunch of taller players. https://youtu.be/agMgUrX47kI
Added Height is very advantageous in basketball for many things, however it makes your handle worse since the ball is out of a taller players hands longer when dribbling when compared to a smaller player and that longer timeframe allows defenders with fast hands to get steals much easier then on smaller players.
Except he's not a threat to score from anywhere on the court. He can only shoot going one way and doesn't do much of anything in halfcourt. What Steph is and what Ball is are entirely different animals when it comes to scoring. I know you're talking about mostly just range, but Ball doesn't score at all three levels so "anywhere" isn't what Ball does when it comes to scoring.
Factor in the loose handle and the fact that he's not going to want to be a SG much of the time -- even though that's the best way to use his current skills -- and there's lots of reasons his tangible skills might not even be able to be used to their full potential.
They don't believe, it's ok. We are about to be the first team ever to win the 1 seed and win the finals.
friskykillface
Banned
Playoff hortford is different than regular season hortford 🤔
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Rondo knows every play they're gonna run, Wade has more rings than the Celtics have playoff wins, Jimmy is what all of these Celtics wish to be when they grow up. It's already over, all that's left is for them to inbound to IT and for Rondo to say, "shoot it you fucking midget."
See you in the second round Bulls.
LyleLanley
Banned
Time to shock the world and not get swept by the 8 seed.
Not an upset tbh
The Clippers have the third best starting 5 in the NBA, Utah has been banged up to a point where they haven't played together much, I don't see it. Could the Clippers find a way to flame out yet again? Sure and Utah is probably the best bottom half team to take advantage when they do, but I'm not calling it.
No one believed it could be done
LeroyPantwether
Member
lol, no way this is not a troll post.
LyleLanley
Banned
The Celtics have the lowest point differential (+2.7) for a No.1 seed since the 1978-1979 Seattle Supersonics
I have to assume their season will end the same way.
I have to assume their season will end the same way.
Hyperactivity
Banned
That honestly depends, because if a player's wingspan/reach, compared to their height, is somewhat abnormal, meaning they have much longer arms, then that can easily mitigate that time. Giannis isn't known for his handles to be precise, but he also doesn't struggle as much with this because his strides can be ridiculous and he can cover distance in such a short amount of time, and because his arms are so much longer that they end up being closer to the floor.
My personal prediction? By the end of game 1, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Boris Diaw, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood, George Hill, Gordon Hayward, Dante Exum, Alec Burks, and Shelvin Mack are all on stretchers. Austin Rivers is already out. For reference, this means neither team has a point guards (Jazz's 3rd string PG is already out smh)
The series ends up being the Clippers bench, with players such as Mo Speights, Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, playing with starters Reddick and DeAndre Jordan.
vs
Utah: Joe Johnson, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, etc.
The series ends up being a race of who can make sure they can still put out 8 players for the next game.
Funny that you bring that year up, I honestly think we're going pretty quickly towards another era where a ton of teams have talent, so you end up getting 1 seeds with, for historical purposes, not too impressive win totals, because most teams are in the 30s and 40s for wins, and low 50s means top of the conference.
Oh it is happening
Hyperactivity
Banned
Good news, this has also had the best Washington record since that year
BlackGhost
Banned
Go Cav.
Peter Ian Staker
Member
People underestimate how catastrophically inconsistent the Bulls are.
Watch Mirotic 0/10 from 3 now that March is over.
Watch Mirotic 0/10 from 3 now that March is over.
panthapanda
Member
Wait, the Jazz were a 50 win team? Lol wow.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
That's why I wouldn't be shocked if they beat the celtics lol.
The bulls have three guys that can be best player on the court on any given night. Wade is rested and he always takes the regular season off. Rondo can still do it when he feels like it, and Butler can be a beast. Bulls have a lot of big guards to throw at Thomas too.
If course i wouldn't be shocked if they were swept either lok
Cornbread78
Member
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That team had so many injuries it was fucking ridiculous. How Gobert missed the all-star nod is beyond me (I guess they gave it to DeAndre because he didn't have one yet, but Gobert was far better in that mold of player than DeAndre this year). He deserves 1st or 2nd All-NBA for sure.
mangameslost.com said:Games Missed Due to Injury vs Team Wins plot. Bottom Right = BAD, Top Left = GOOD, Bottom Left = fewer injuries, fewer wins, Top Right = more injuries, more wins. Bubble size indicates Lost-ws metric (cumulative quality of players lost by Lost Win Shares metric).
That bubble to the right of Toronto is Utah. Also, mind you, I'm pretty sure that Miami is counting Bosh, and Philly of course has Embiid and Simmons. Also, most of the other teams that were screwed by injuries had players go out for a consistent amount of time - they were ruled out for the full season. Heat had Winslow and Bosh, Sixers Embiid and Simmons, Blazers had Festus Ezeli, etc. Jazz losing their players to strains, random toe or finger injuries, and struggled in creating a consistent lineup, which in a way is even worse, at least for the regular season.
The Raptors, the Clippers, and the Pelicans are the only comparable teams, imo.
Also, mind the fact that the Jazz, luckily enough, close the season out relatively healthy. They were way ahead of the other winning teams early on
mangameslost.com said:
Code:
Rk G GS MP 3PA 3P% 2PA 2P% eFG% FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS/G
1 Gordon Hayward 73 73 34.5 5.1 .398 10.7 .506 .536 5.9 .844 0.7 4.7 5.4 3.5 1.0 0.3 1.9 1.6 21.9
2 Rudy Gobert 81 81 33.9 0.0 .000 7.7 .664 .663 5.9 .653 3.9 8.9 12.8 1.2 0.6 2.6 1.8 3.0 14.0
3 George Hill 49 49 31.5 4.8 .403 7.6 .523 .554 4.0 .801 0.5 2.9 3.4 4.1 1.0 0.2 1.7 2.3 16.9
4 Rodney Hood 59 55 27.0 5.2 .373 6.1 .439 .494 1.9 .783 0.3 3.2 3.4 1.6 0.7 0.2 1.1 2.2 12.7
5 Joe Ingles 82 26 24.0 3.4 .441 2.1 .471 .589 0.8 .735 0.3 2.9 3.2 2.7 1.2 0.1 1.3 2.0 7.1
6 Derrick Favors 50 39 23.7 0.2 .300 8.1 .491 .490 2.2 .615 1.8 4.3 6.1 1.1 0.9 0.8 1.2 2.1 9.5
7 Joe Johnson 78 14 23.6 3.3 .411 4.7 .454 .521 1.0 .818 0.4 2.7 3.1 1.8 0.4 0.2 0.9 1.2 9.2
8 Shelvin Mack 55 9 21.9 2.2 .308 4.7 .510 .495 1.4 .688 0.4 2.0 2.3 2.8 0.8 0.1 1.6 1.8 7.8
9 Dante Exum 66 26 18.6 2.3 .295 3.3 .516 .486 1.1 .795 0.5 1.5 2.0 1.7 0.3 0.2 1.2 2.2 6.2
10 Boris Diaw 73 33 17.6 1.1 .247 3.4 .512 .477 0.5 .743 0.6 1.5 2.2 2.3 0.2 0.1 1.2 1.1 4.6
11 Trey Lyles 71 4 16.3 2.9 .319 3.3 .400 .436 1.1 .722 0.7 2.6 3.3 1.0 0.4 0.3 0.9 1.4 6.2
12 Alec Burks 42 0 15.5 1.8 .329 4.1 .430 .450 1.9 .769 0.4 2.5 2.9 0.7 0.4 0.1 0.8 1.2 6.7
13 Raul Neto 40 0 8.7 0.8 .323 1.5 .517 .505 0.2 .889 0.1 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.1 0.4 1.2 2.5
14 Jeff Withey 51 1 8.5 0.0 .000 2.0 .539 .534 0.9 .750 1.0 1.4 2.4 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.3 1.0 2.9
15 Joel Bolomboy 12 0 4.4 0.3 .250 1.0 .667 .594 0.5 .500 0.3 1.1 1.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.8Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/15/2017.
Hayward also missed the beginning of the season, and was on a minutes restriction to start off. If they weren't such a deep team and if Gobert hadn't improved so much, they don't sniff 50 wins. Snyder deserves way more consideration than he's getting for COTY (then again, every award this year that isn't MIP is hard, and despite being obvious, MIP is gonna exclude some deserving players too. Pop, D'Antoni, Stevens, Snyder, Casey, and Brooks all have seriously impressive cases to make for COTY this year).
Let me explain how bad that injury list is.
The starting lineup for Utah was supposed to be - Hill/Hood/Hayward/Favors/Gobert, with Burks as their 6th man.
That starting lineup averaged 10.9 minutes per game, in 14 games played. At 152 total minutes played together, it's also their most played 5 man lineup, with the 2nd swapping Hood for Ingles (who became a key contributor to them staying together) with 149 minutes in 16 games.
Look at the drop-off in total minutes after the #1 spot, and how close some of the higher games played and lower games played lineups are (tell you that important players were missing)Jazz 2 Man Lineups said:
Most played lineup is with a 29 year old who I'm sure no one was expecting to have a career year in almost every metric, becoming a 44.1% 3 pt shooter on a higher volume (could probably be higher if his release wasn't so slow). Their 3 most important players had 40 games together, and it's probably important to consider minute restrictions due to coming back from injuries there too.[/QUOTE]Jazz 3 Man Lineups said:
Jazz 4 Man Lineups said:
Jazz 5 Man Lineups said:
The games played together numbers speak for themselves.
All their lineups, sorted by total minutes played together
Yeah he's worse 😐
BlackGhost
Banned
I need to talk to y'all about a serious issue. All week I've been sweating , all week I've been nervous, ive been super worried. Time was ticking down, I had lost all hope.
BUT finally it happened, right before the Deadline last night. lebum did it
BUT finally it happened, right before the Deadline last night. lebum did it
Crisis adverted fam, go Cav.
LyleLanley
Banned
Wow, can't believe LeBrong did it.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
It literally says 2016 on the tweet smh
BlackGhost
Banned
Lmao you are right my bad B.
Crisis once again adverted. We did it!LeBron James‏ @KingJames
Zero Dark Thirty-23 Activated!! #StriveForGreatness🚀
11:40 PM · Apr 14, 2017
Hyperactivity
Banned
Imo, Snyder actually deserves COTY. Spoelstra overall had the most brilliant stretch, and if I had a vote I might've omitted D'Antoni until I forced myself to remember how bad we were at actually having schemes and out of timeout plays under McHale and Bickerstaff (Rockets are number 1 out of timeout on scoring, and on defense it's typically Bzdelick that is coaching like a madman for clutch possessions). I used to get nervous on every half-court set, now that's our specialty.
Also, Bill Simmons, when talking about how 60ish wins wouldn't normally drop a player from an All-NBA team, or even drop them down to 3rd necessarily, mentioned that this year might end up being an exception because of how many players were having career years while being unusually healthy.
And that's probably true. Compare 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 for injuries (note, the first graph uses an estimated impact of games missed, not purely wins. Later graphs use size of circle for this):
[QUOTE = mangameslost.com]We report injury numbers and other reasons that NBA players don't play in games. We also calculate TMITT (Time Missed Impact To Team) metrics to measure the ‘quality' of the missing players using the performance metrics PER, WS/48, and VORP. (Note: there's a TMITT value calculated for all 3 metrics)[/QUOTE]
For all the controversy resting created this season, injuries at least appear to be down.
In other news, onto the Miami Heat
They're gonna get $25 million off the books from not having to pay Bosh, which will be huge. Looks like they definitely are going to try and get Dion and James Johnson back. I doubt they get a name like Hayward or Griffin, but if they do, that could be a really exciting team to watch.
Playoff Lebron is online. Or offline. Idk. East about to get fucked over either way.
Also, Bill Simmons, when talking about how 60ish wins wouldn't normally drop a player from an All-NBA team, or even drop them down to 3rd necessarily, mentioned that this year might end up being an exception because of how many players were having career years while being unusually healthy.
And that's probably true. Compare 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 for injuries (note, the first graph uses an estimated impact of games missed, not purely wins. Later graphs use size of circle for this):
[QUOTE = mangameslost.com]We report injury numbers and other reasons that NBA players don't play in games. We also calculate TMITT (Time Missed Impact To Team) metrics to measure the ‘quality' of the missing players using the performance metrics PER, WS/48, and VORP. (Note: there's a TMITT value calculated for all 3 metrics)[/QUOTE]
For all the controversy resting created this season, injuries at least appear to be down.
In other news, onto the Miami Heat
They're gonna get $25 million off the books from not having to pay Bosh, which will be huge. Looks like they definitely are going to try and get Dion and James Johnson back. I doubt they get a name like Hayward or Griffin, but if they do, that could be a really exciting team to watch.
Playoff Lebron is online. Or offline. Idk. East about to get fucked over either way.
Stabby McSter
Member
how many days until he starts liking instagram booties again
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Warriors are gonna body them worse than Spurs in 14' if they're fit for the final. Mark my post to show that I'm right
and endless trolling if I'm wrong ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
The East needs to spread them cheeks though.
Gully State
Member
Him and Curry are completely different and I wasn't even thinking about that direction given how Curry is utilized. Ball would be more like a Ricky Rubio type player but with a shot to keep defenses from sagging off to take away his drive/passing lanes. Of course, him not playing much pick and roll and having questionable finishing ability is a bit of a red flag for a PG.
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