..My bad for the delay.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

and get the ball out of his hands. If they don’t…he eats up whatever man is in front of him. I know Thybulle (sp?) is supposed to be that dude, defensively…but, he cannot stay in front of this kid.

In the next few years teams will start to rough him up like they did curry

Trae’s floaters are fun to watch and look effortless. But I also remember 2013ish, early sky- fucking Steph make ridiculous shots in the paint look regular.

He’ll need to bulk up like steph did eventually. For now it’s fun as shit tho. Speaking of FUN, Trae doesn’t seem to have the fun ball tendencies that Steph to this day struggles eith.

Though it's increasingly clear the balance of this series rests on Embiid's knee


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Boy got that look on his face that makes you wanna run with him

he looks like he’s dragging, too.

i'm all about going above and beyond for covid safety but how hard is it to require vaccination documentation and opening it up more? i know the state has regulations in place but them shits are not being followed anywhere right now. la is open open.

also, la/california is doing well with the covid statistics. probably better than a lot of these cities opening up their stadiums. no one feels bad for this clippers team but they're definitely not getting the benefit if a gm 7 home court advantage right now obviously.

...they’re being so careful. The official “opening up” date for the whole state was supposed to be June 15, but now it looks like Newsom is possibly delaying it. He’s dealing with what’s very likely a doomed recall effort, but he’s being very careful to not give his opponents any legit ammo.

and opening it up more.

i know the knicks had vaccination only sections and apparently if they made it to round two everyone in the stadium would have to show proof of being vaxxed.

this isn't georgia or utah or some place where people would riot if they had to show proof of vaccination.

I sorta suspect they may do something similar for Clippers games in the second round.

… but I imagine the indoor seating stuff is a different animal. At least for California.

I'm happy it probably made Jalen happy but...c'mon man


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

But really they lost this up 30-11 in game 3 and he took Luka out until the game was tied

... I wouldn't have given Trey Burke any minutes over him. That's... not what I would have done.

>... I wouldn't have given Trey Burke any minutes over him.
>That's... not what I would have done.

Somebody referred to Luka haters on OKS

I guessed that’s a reference to me

To clarify...my issue is with the media trying to crown Dude MVP before the season started

He was shooting +20% from 3 for a couple of months
...and he still hasn’t shown up vs the 6ers...

I think he’s great
Maybe one day he call fulfill the prophecy
But damn, they want this dude to be the face of the league so bad...
...just let these young guns play...
One of them will separate from the pack eventually
But for now, it’s entertaining to watch all of them...why isn’t that enough?

"Upcoming NBA Season Preview" is and enjoyable worthwhile aspect of the game.

"Who do you expect to take that leap to the next level" is a perfectly reasonable and valid question to tackle at the start of any nba season.

Luka is one of the players who looked poised to take such a leap. His second year stats were fucking bonkers. Luka plays for the Mavs.

If "entertaining just to watch them" were enough for you, you wouldn't be be on a niche section of a nichressage baord discussing sports at all.

You wouldn't be reading articles or watching commentary or discussing it yourself.

Basically, your issue, as expressed, is with the part of sports that actually allows professional sports to thrive: passionate fandom and media.

So maybe it's time for you to logoff, since you seem to think it's enough to just watch and be entertained,thus no reason for you to be here spitting ass backward opinions.

A couple of other players that were poised to make that leap also
...and did...
?

Not...gonna take a leap...they were making the statement
Luka WILL be this year’s MVP
Almost to a man...and you have to wonder why
Especially considering he obviously came in to the year out of shape and shooting dog$hit
Sure...preseason predictions aren’t expected to hit errytime
But this felt different
Felt forced
Agenda
Look at the league right now...there’s a bunch of young guns
Not one of the other young guns was even considered
Somehow everyone decided, not only is he leader of the pack, but he’s better than every player in the league
...because he balled out vs a sus LAC’s team...?
It felt and looked different than a preseason preview of the upcoming season
They tried to crown dude
Let him earn it.

Luka put up MVP numbers..his team aint have the success needed to support the case though.

But luka's numbers were there.

I need articles and names. Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe this wasn't the usual preseason speculation we always get, every single year, since forever, about everything from rookie of the year to the best team to, yes, league MVP.

Maybe everyone, everywhere said that he will be the MVP and crowned him as such.

Because all season long, I've seen Brawn, 'Yannis, and Harden. I recall a particular top five list that left off KD, due to people not knowing what to expect due to his injury.

Can you show me the consensus crowning of Luka as MVP? I'm happy to eat my words when I'm proven wrong.

But as it stands, I don't see or recall that at all.

Luka's having an absolutely insane start to his career, and warrants all the attention he's getting for it. It's not like he's out here doing Ja Morant numbers (very good for a second year player) and people are talking about him like the GOAT.

But in terms of his personal stats, he's in rare company.

Second time before he turns 23. And he led the Mavs to a first place finish in their division. And they damn near knocked off a Clippers team that had the second highest Vegas odd of winning the Finals despite a wild talent disparity.

is not good enough for him to win MVP

a Great White Hope.

And white nba fans in general...a few on here...are proof that they desperately want it too. Its fascinating and sad to watch.


Luka is nice- I don't think anyone would say otherwise.


But the idea that he is nicer than guys like Dame, etc? FOH


Its that curve. The white boy curve.


He should be roasted for his FT shooting...yet he isn't. If he wasn't white? He'd be ROASTED.


He was labeled an early favorite for MVP based on...what? If he wasn't white? Nah.


Their game 5 win? They didn't win because of dude down the stretch, they won in spite of him. He was not good those last few minutes...the Clips were in too deep of a hole.

But he gets praised and complimented for "facilitating"


Again, Luka is nice.


But cmon. This is the league, the media, and white nba fans anxious for a new hero.


Its not hard to see.


Put a lot of really good guys on that Mavs team in that system, they put up similar numbers.

Would they get the love? Cmon.

If you value rebounding guards, Luka wins easily

What other guys are you talking bout that would put up Luka numbers in Dallas AND win???

I’ve never seen a player so disrespectfully overlooked
This dude balled the f out this year
Best player on the best team
Hadn’t heard his name in the media’s MVP convo...all year
IMO, one of the more glaring snubs I think I’ve ever seen
MVP typically goes to the best player on the best team
He took THAT leap this year
He’s got that dawg in him, ultra-competitive, mamba mentality
Improves every year
I’m having a hard time understanding why he doesn’t get the same hype as Luka?
Young player
Western conference team
Not a major market
...?

He did 26/4/5 on 44% shooting. 3.5 box plus minus, 2.5 VORP.
Luka did 28/8/9 on 48% shooting. 6.7 box plus minus, 5.0 VORP.

Also, Donovan's three best teammates are a Defensive Player of the Year/All-NBA big man, an All-Star PG, and the Sixth Man of the Year. Luka's best teammates are Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., and... Dorian Finney-Smith, I guess?

So it's not much of a surprise that Luka has more hype than Mitchell. Mitchell is the best player on a very, very good roster. Luka's currently a one-man team-- yet he's still hyper-efficient and still ultra-conducive to winning.

They aren’t that far apart to rationalize the disparity in coverage

You think DMitch couldn’t do bigger numbers on a worse team?

One of the replies asked that question...and it’s an easy answer

JWill on this morning...talking about...this is the face of the NBA

Bet that tune changes by the end of the playoffs...

Point being, these other dudes are earning it
DMitch...best team in the league
Joker...MVP, WCF
JT...ECF
Trae...playoff W
etc...

But they crowning this dude...for 2 first round exits

Just saying, I’ve seen other so called nexts dragged for less

He’s earned praise...but...
Next
Face of the league
GOAT trajectory
...that’s too much...

Give some of that shine to other guys

Wouldn’t it be better for the league if all these young guys were great, competed against each other for careers, etc...?

Why force the Luka narrative?

League’s in great hands for the Bron handoff...just let it happen.

One could argue that Mitchell isn't the most important player on the Jazz, that their most important player is Gobert.

Look at that Jazz roster. Royce O'Neal is a genuinely good individual defender. Conley is smart but he's definitely gotten slower with age and isn't really the individual defender he was in his mid-20s. But outside of that? Mitchell is bad on defense. Clarkson is famously bad on defense. Bogdanovic is terrible on defense. Niang is bad on defense. I can try to be generous to Ingles and say he plays smart considering he's one of the slower players in the NBA, but he is also bad on defense. So you have five bad defenders and a sixth defender who's savvy buy aging... yet this defense is basically top 3 every season. That's how insanely good Gobert is.

And the on/off numbers for Gobert are *nuts.* When Gobert's on the court, they're a +16.6. When he's off the court, they're a -2.5. That's an over-19 point swing in the team's quality depending on if Gobert is playing or not! I wouldn't be surprised, without looking, if that's the biggest swing in the NBA. Which is crazy... until you consider Gobert led the NBA in rebounds, led the NBA in blocks, and led the league in FG% too for good measure.

Now, do I think Mitchell is probably their most important player *in the playoffs*? Absolutely. Because big men get stretched out in today's NBA in the playoffs, and while Rudy is fucking brilliant on defense, he has limitations in efficacy away from the rim. If they play Denver, for instance, Jokic will just sit on the perimeter and pop 3s all day-- and if Gobert goes out there to guard him, Jokic will hit cutting wings for layups all day. So they need their offense to carry a heavier load in the playoffs, and that's definitely where they need Mitchell to be The Guy, because perimeter creation in the playoffs is the absolute name of the game.

But it's going to be hard for Donovan Mitchell to be viewed as an All-NBA caliber player, an MVP caliber player, as long as people aren't sure if he's the Jazz's most important player. That's why people always put him behind the Lukas, the Tatums, the Traes imo-- because those guys are indisputably the most important players when it comes to their teams winning. I'm not saying this argument is fair to Mitchell, but imo this is why he tends to be viewed as a slight tier below. It's the same with Jamal Murray playing with Jokic tbh.

Boban Marjanović played better

Didn't Cuban agree to sign him that a four year contract extension with full knowledge that Porzingis was going to sit out half the year the Knicks/Mavs trade occurred?

but that may not be good enough to win a title.

I’ve no doubt that Cuban is gonna wheel, deal, and spend this summer. Cuz this was embarrassing for their front office.

But New York Knick's version of KP is obviously never coming back. Dude literally just stood there the entire time watching his team try to win, with an occasional jacked up three along the way.

>But New York Knick's version of KP is obviously never coming
>back. Dude literally just stood there the entire time watching
>his team try to win, with an occasional jacked up three along
>the way.


This is a possibility. If I'm not mistaken, Porzingis has had surgeries on his screwed up knee twice since he was traded to the Mavs. This is in addition to his injury issues while he was on the Knicks.

The number of 6'10 and up guys who take 4+ 3s a game has doubled in the last four seasons-- and I expect it to easily double in the next four seasons with guys like Holmgren, Banchero, Baldwin, etc. on the way. More and more, young bigs understand the value of their ability to pick-and-pop and spread the floor offensively. The thing that made Zingis seem like a unicorn in 2015-- a big guy who can step out and make 3s at a reasonable volume and rate-- is now something that over half the teams in the NBA have, more or less.

Zingis was a fine defender at the rim in New York, and while he was never laterally quick, he was definitely quicker than he is now, a.k.a. he wasn't disastrously slow. So the injuries definitely played a role. But I'm also not convinced that paying Zingis that much was wise when his main special skill was becoming increasing prevalent in young bigs and incoming prospect bigs.

>The number of 6'10 and up guys who take 4+ 3s a game has
>doubled in the last four seasons-- and I expect it to easily
>double in the next four seasons with guys like Holmgren,
>Banchero, Baldwin, etc. on the way. More and more, young bigs
>understand the value of their ability to pick-and-pop and
>spread the floor offensively. The thing that made Zingis seem
>like a unicorn in 2015-- a big guy who can step out and make
>3s at a reasonable volume and rate-- is now something that
>over half the teams in the NBA have, more or less.
>
>Zingis was a fine defender at the rim in New York, and while
>he was never laterally quick, he was definitely quicker than
>he is now, a.k.a. he wasn't disastrously slow. So the injuries
>definitely played a role. But I'm also not convinced that
>paying Zingis that much was wise when his main special skill
>was becoming increasing prevalent in young bigs and incoming
>prospect bigs.

Strictly shooting 3's wasn't what made Porzingis unique. Before the injuries and surgeries accumulated in his short career, he was also able to use his relative speed for someone that's 7'4" to go to drive to the hole or create his own offense in the mid range with a combination with speed/footwork. That is largely gone now since it appears he's just content for whatever reasons to shoot long range shots. IMO, it makes sense that the injuries and surgeries would take away some of his speed since he's a fairly large dude, but I don't watch the Mavs with that much consistency, so I could be wrong in that regard.

Zingis is more or less still as efficient a shooter as he was in New York. A little less efficient from mid-range, much more efficient at the rim, shooting the same from 3. And he's creating for himself a little less, but that's largely due to Luka getting him open looks inside so frequently-- with the Knicks, 64% of his 2s were assisted and nearly 99% of his 3s were assisted, while in Dallas, 72% of his 2s are assisted and 97% of his 3s are assisted. So outside of playing at the rim more and shooting off the bounce in the mid-range a little less, not much has changed in terms of his relative offensive efficiency imo, even without the speed, just because he can straight up shoot over most people. If anything, Luka's made his life a little easier getting open shots, so they probably wish his 3P% off the catch (38%) was higher.

The problem isn't his offense as much as it is his defense, that's where the lack of speed is really glaring. He's not even rotating over to protect the rim as efficiently. The Mavs don't need Knicks Zingis on offense, but they badly needed Knicks Zingis on defense-- namely, a guy who is okay for his size on switches and is a very competent rim protector. Now, he's appalling on defense, a total liability to the point where I don't know what they can do with him. They need his 20 points a game, but he also has the worst defensive on-off numbers of any of their major contributors by a lot, to the point the Mavs were a notably better team by the numbers when he wasn't on the floor. (Meanwhile, his last two years on the Knicks, they were a much *worse* defensive unit without Porzingis on the floor by the numbers.)

So really, they don't need much from Zingis on offense beyond what they have-- and the things they need offensively from him wouldn't even really be helped by added mobility. He just needs to shoot off the catch at a slightly higher percentage to help spread the floor. But man, they could *really* use his Knicks mobility on the defensive end. So the injuries affected that, for sure.

But going back to the original point, even if Zingis was a Knicks-level competent defender, they paid him the same amount that, like, Minnesota paid Karl Anthony-Towns and Phoenix paid Devin Booker. Denver paid less for Jamal Murray, Boston paid less for Jaylen Brown. If you're paying that for Zingis, you have to think he's the second best player on a title contender at minimum... and they paid him that *after* he sat out for a year due to ACL surgery. That is... a *lot* of faith.

he turned into a bitch. he wasn't like this in NYC.

Luka getting the FULL LeBron experience.

I was starting to get nauseous

breh need to work on his free throws, which im not worried about that coming along

and come into the season in shape. dude's tracksuit eastern euro genes are winning right now.

but other than that he certified. PG and Kawhi see it too that boy gave them hell by himself 2 years in a row

dallas isnt some big name market

the lack of state income tax is cool but you saw how long it took for him to get dirk help? and that was a rag tag bunch of once upon a time all-stars and has-beens and a herculean effort from dirk

And Cuban is clearly willing to spend.

That said, you are correct that it generally hasn't had the sort of appeal that smaller markets like Boston or Miami have had.

That said again, they've never had a guy this good at this young. Wouldn't surprise me if, like Jrue heading to Milwaukee (and Bogdanovic trying to go to Milwaukee), having a major MVP candidate not even in his prime yet attracts the sorts of talent that helps a young stud bring in titles.

Maybe not a super team... but it also wouldn't surprise me if the next super teams aren't built around Giannis, Jokic, Luka, etc. These guys who are 26 and under but already playing at MVP/All-NBA first team levels. Especially Luka, being only 22.

Luka was insane. You can really tell that he turned pro at like 14/15. Always composed like a veteran; well beyond his years. Canelo was like that as well. When he was 19 he was outclassing world-class fighters - product of turning pro as a teen with deep experience at very young age.

Kawhi really bossed up. Best he's ever played offensively. Dallas really had a great chance at closing out the series in Game 6. They were up late and playing well - but Kawhi went off late. That saved the series for Clippers.

-->

saw it in 2019 playoffs... when he can, he will dominate a game. If not for some late game BS w/the Warriors, that series would have been done in 5 with Kawhi at the helm

Pretty wild how that one injury changed the fortunes for so many franchises.

that dude was getting buckets and Klamping Luka at the same damn time. had our watch party going crazy

.

games as the defense against him becomes faster and more aggressive.

Even Bird played a lot faster, or sped up his play against the Lakers in order
to be able to match their speed. Also, Jokic is a lot quicker than Luka with the ball
as a facilitator and scorer. Jokic is sneaky quick.

Luka just seems like he is stuck in quicksand at times when he is getting
into the offense, and on defense he is basically not even there because he
is too slow to react.

So the question is being asked should Luka be the primary ball handler?

Would he be better at the 2 or 3, especially in the second half of games,
and let a quicker, faster player run the point?

I’m not really a fan of his game. I’m more of Jokic guy, so there is some bias there.

He needs to get happy fast. The only time the word "star" appears next to Porzingis these days is in the phrase "startlingly slow."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31579933/nba-playoffs-2021-luka-doncic-superstar-ascent-created-table-dallas-mavericks

"Then there are questions about the chemistry between Doncic and Porzingis. The Mavs' franchise cornerstones admittedly aren't friends, a distant dynamic that team owner Mark Cuban has compared to the early stages of the partnership between Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, which ultimately produced two NBA Finals appearances and a championship.

But Porzingis has been frustrated, often feeling more like an afterthought than a co-star as Doncic dominates the ball and the spotlight, sources told ESPN. Porzingis frequently made thinly veiled references during his postgame media availabilities, such as saying the "ball actually moved tonight" after high-scoring performances or stating that the offense didn't involve him on low-scoring nights.

"It's just the plays we were running," Porzingis said after an April 7 loss to the last-place Houston Rockets when asked why he didn't get any shots in the fourth quarter despite scoring 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting in the game. After a pause, he added: "Happened before also.""

nonetheless I agree with your earlier comments about his injuries and not exactly being a unicorn anymore. When he came in the League it was kinda hard to fine anyone above 6'9 with his skill set...now you got other 7 footers doing it better

LOL he may feel like Luka stole his thunder...but there wasn't that much smoke there. First off, gotta be healthy.......

Not by MANY but 45-42.

every one that wins it gets fired a year or 2 later

The Knicks aren’t all that better. They benefited from other teams being
plagued with injuries and missing players. Atlanta exposed all that.
They have zero offense. ...That’s not coach of the year worthy. That
Is more like honorable mention worthy.

Suns went from not making the POs to having the second best
record in the NBA, and they have an opportunity to go all the way
to the finals. They are great on both sides of the ball.

Monty Williams should have gotten it....or even Nate Mcmillian.
He got that offense clicking ,and he has improved Trae Young’s ability

Nate should’ve gotten a lot more votes.

Regardless, the Pacers flopped without him and the Hawks are going strong. Says it all.

of a five year deal, so an extension probably won't happen until year four. I would hope this COTY award will be a long distant memory by then in terms of evaluating Thibs and giving him a contract extension.

Secondly, the way things can quickly go left in NYC, this award could be more of a liability than an asset in terms of Thibs staying in NYC for the long term.

I wasn't a fan of him before the season started, but Thibs succeeding means the Knicks succeeding, so in the short term, I don't want him to go, at least not yet.

Him playing Randle and Barrett for the long playing times like he did during the regular season will eventually hurt the Knicks though, if that's what you're referring to in terms of wanting him to go.

Blake was just basically bullshitting in Detroit like
Moss was in Oakland..

like bud is saying, "i don't know, y'all figure it out on the floor" in the timeouts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFsmCRGJnoQ&t=12s

Bucks are missing Donte badly...don’t have that other athletic guard
to hit 3s, rebound or play defense....

They got Middleton at the two. HE can’t guard Irving! And Tucker as a SF

"i dont understand this cant you just tell him to not shoot from there"

own thing out there as the franchise guy.

because if it's latter he's going to need some spo/riley tough love from whatever coaching staff is brought in.

They're about to cake walk to the Finals. Even the Bucks cant make this competitive. I don't know how anyone could be happy with these games and lack of intrigue.

But Blake is....and clearly he was dogging it in detroit

And Aldridge would have been here if it weren’t for his health.

Even without Harden. Its obvious Blake Griffin was full of shit in Detroit and just not trying. He's still Blake Griffin.This is a team with four bonafide Team USA All-NBA players beating the dog shit out of a fairly good team.

in principle. i like all of the big 3 and harden is my favorite player. i hope harden gets a ring so folks will stop talking about him derisively. generally i agree that superteams aren't great for the league. i remember being sick of the warriors and their fans even when i was barely paying attention to basketball

however

right now the nets are "merely" a very good playoff team, especially in the east. it's "only" 2 superstars and a bunch of roleplayers, one of which is an aging ex-superstar. they don't even have their best defender in jeff green. they're winning mostly because they had an adverse regular season where their starting lineups were constantly an unknown. they were frequently giving away big leads and having to fight to get them back, generally with only 1 or 2 of the big 3 on the court. they came back from 20 point deficits 4 times this season and if i'm not mistaken 0 of those games were with all 3 superstars playing. they built a lot of chemistry and developed a strong resilient spirit during those games. that's why they are kicking the shit out of an opponent with an about equal offense and a superior defense

>in principle. i like all of the big 3 and harden is my
>favorite player. i hope harden gets a ring so folks will stop
>talking about him derisively. generally i agree that
>superteams aren't great for the league. i remember being sick
>of the warriors and their fans even when i was barely paying
>attention to basketball
>
>however
>
>right now the nets are "merely" a very good playoff team,
>especially in the east. it's "only" 2 superstars and a bunch
>of roleplayers, one of which is an aging ex-superstar. they
>don't even have their best defender in jeff green. they're
>winning mostly because they had an adverse regular season
>where their starting lineups were constantly an unknown. they
>were frequently giving away big leads and having to fight to
>get them back, generally with only 1 or 2 of the big 3 on the
>court. they came back from 20 point deficits 4 times this
>season and if i'm not mistaken 0 of those games were with all
>3 superstars playing. they built a lot of chemistry and
>developed a strong resilient spirit during those games.
>that's why they are kicking the shit out of an opponent with
>an about equal offense and a superior defense

They had a resilient spirit and were fun before they got the big three and the few players BKN still has carried it over. Joey Buckets out there looking like he got through a swordfight with all the red lashes on him during the regular season even.

how is it that the Bucks got close to nada in the paint in game two? you telling me Durant leading the team offensively as well as shutting down Brook in the post? How many times the bucks got the ball poked out on a drive?

Clax going out of his way to communicate when there is an open man on the perimeter

Shamet, Brown, James, all had really key buckets

And yeah Griffin been playing inspired ball, bringing veteran savvy and experience. I'm loving that he is getting to prove doubters wrong (though I agree he was bullshitting in Detroit)

Blake aint aging or a vet hes 32 years old fully in his prime ya'll be making shit up to justify these bullshit teams

He doesn't have to play any physical defense down low or fight over the tops of screens outside. He's just sagging back and letting Giannis have several feet of space when Giannis is floating around the perimeter or the free throw line.

Add to that that Blake is (and has been) a better passing big man than most of the bigs in the NBA, and he can really supercharge the Nets offense even when he's not doing the scoring just by nature of his really smart ball movement.

much and his team is looking good.

He avg'd 10 and 5 on < 50% shooting with Brooklyn during the reg seas and that's even with the big 3 constantly missing games.

in the playoffs he's averaging 7 and 6. If he was on portland or dallas or the knicks or some other team that got sent home, you would be talking bout how washed he is.

>

Dude has a lot of miles on him. He’s in his 13th season. Plus, he’s had knee problems, since Oklahoma. He was hurt, that last year, in Detroit. He actually played really well, when he got there. Casey had him initiating offense, he was handling the ball, had a nice little outside shot going. He’s clearly not washed…but people acting like he’s Clipper, dunking on Mosgov Blake, are being disingenuous.

Both were incredibly interesting games that were close, and the Nets lost both.

The 'super team' thing is not an issue when you consider how well the Nets bench and role players played.

Again, the Bucks look like TRASH but I doubt they will fold for a third game (and third year) straight. I could be wrong, but they are way more capable than they are showing and that has zero to do with Kyrie and KD playing on the same squad.

Playoffs are a completely different animal....as seen by two straight beat downs, without Harden even playing yet.

cmon you telling me these guys are playing to their potential?

during one stretch.

Jrue had some flashes and Middleton kind of came on in the second half.

There's no way the Bucks can continue to play this poorly, they gotta win at least one at home

Seems like the same thing happens every year in the playoffs.

Giannis just aint that guy like that.

these types cannot be anything more than a third or fourth option vs a playoff defense.

same thing goes for ben. and julius (kind of).

He cant function against "playoff" defenses. The bully over people stuff goes out the window with defensive adjustments in the playoffs, leaving his game exposed. He looks terrible

Giannis is still really effective going to the rim, but the rest of the Bucks ain't doing shit! It's embarrassing how badly they're shooting the ball. Not even getting to the line, all they're doing is missing jumpers.

Game 1 they were

45/101 FG (29/77 without Giannis' numbers)
6/30 3PT (4/25)
11/19 FT (11/16)


Game 2

37/84 FG (28/69 without Giannis' numbers)
8/27 3PT (8/24)
4/9 FT (2/2)

That shit just ain't gonna cut it. I can live with Giannis going 0-3 from three, but the rest of you fucks cannot go 4-25. Can't live with only 1 person beside Giannis going to the line 1 time. The fuck.

>these types cannot be anything more than a third or fourth
>option vs a playoff defense.
>
>same thing goes for ben. and julius (kind of).
>
>

especially on those last few championship teams

season guy.”

Him (2003), Dream, and Dirk are the only guys in the past 30+ years to win a title w/o a dominant teammate. Not at all saying they’re the best, but they’re in unique company.

The same 2000 team that destroyed the Knicks in ‘99 couldn’t make it out of the first round the next year. Wonder why? Timmay got injured right before the playoffs. Before Manu and TP developed into stars (which didn’t happen til the mid 2000s), the Spurs were garbage w/o Duncan. He played considerably more minutes than everyone else and was relied upon the shoulder more of a load than any of his teammates by a considerable margin. His numbers always went up in the postseason. Hence him being the exact opposite of what you’re trying to falsely claim he is. Can’t believe you’re still holding on to all that hate after so many years.

Sounded like a convict reading his written letter out loud.

We all chilling and shit..tell earl I said what’s up, and send some Newports.

and well educated and highly regarded Chris Haynes sounds like a convict? What you only like to hear white men speak?

He is just bad at reading the teleprompter ..white and black ain’t got
shit to do with it.

But thank you for reaching and trying to pull the race card...

>He is just bad at reading the teleprompter ..white and black
>ain’t got
>shit to do with it.

I mean, that's a long standing pattern with you.

You say a lot of shit that reads like you're reciting entries of the White Guy Thoughts On The World reference manual.

>But thank you for reaching and trying to pull the race
>card...


As if on cue, you just said "trying to pull the race card".

You've also been a little coy about identifying your race, from what I recall. Even if you're not white, you hold a lot of positions that correspond with predominantly white perspectives.

It comes up because it's glaring.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

.

CP3 got a lot of points by getting Joker to matchup

... and then errybody was doing it...

Ayton outplaying another Top 5 guy

PHX advances...dare I say he has arrived

Joker too slow and no shot block threat on defense

It will be interesting to see how DEN adjusts in Game 2

No Murray, no barton, no dozier. Phx is exploiting that. They are
good defensive team compared to Portland.

However, Barton and Dozier are expected to return during the series.

everybody forget and Terry Stotts was to dumb to exploit it


>Joker too slow and no shot block threat on defense

When PHX is making shots

Probably goes for every team

Switching everything always results in ISO matchups vs the worst defender

I'm cracking up at the thought of Caruso/Schroeder trying to check Kyrie and Harden.


Another dynasty is unfolding before our very eyes.

Boston exposed them with that one win. They couldn’t stop Tatum,
and if Brown were there that series would have been different.

The Bucks are just limited offensively, and don’t have the high offensive
talent that is necessary to compete with Brooklyn. You have to be able
to score in different ways to compete against Brooklyn, and have a high BB
IQ.

I think a team like ATL can surprise them...they have highly skilled offensive players
who can get buckets. Or the Clippers..

So I think ATL/ Clippers can beat them...especially with no Harden.

>So I think ATL/ Clippers can beat them...especially with no
>Harden.
>
>
>
>
>
>

Kyrie will check out

So as one of the biggest believers in Atlanta on this board, and as the guy who said in a previous post, before the Knicks series was over, that I felt Atlanta would beat a fully healthy Philadelphia... I don't think Atlanta has a chance if their plan is simply to outscore Brooklyn. Especially since Atlanta defensively is the same as Brooklyn, and I'd argue worse than Brooklyn because so many of Brooklyn's defensive deficiencies during the season were simply due to not giving a shit.

It'd be an *insanely* fun series, though. And I think it'll happen. But yeah, I'd absolutely put money on Brooklyn in that series.

WONDERS defensively

There were a ton of takeaways by the nets last night

They're all about ball movement and shiftiness and putting players on the floor to help space for the stars, and Jordan is... just none of those things, lol. He put up the worst on-off numbers on the team this year by a pretty sizable margin.

>He put up the worst
>on-off numbers on the team this year by a pretty sizable
>margin.

Fans have been clamoring for Clax all season. He's a great perimeter defender.

It's fun watching 10 lobs per game but DJ throws off the defensive cohesion (blake stays holding his hands up in confusion after a score off penetration too but he's been hustling at least lol), with the smaller unit they've been able to clog the Bucks up before they can dump down to Brook or penetrate effectively.

and the ball movement offensively is next level. Would be much more fun to watch if Bucks could answer offensively

By the On/Off numbers, no player on the Nets affected their defense negatively more than DJ this year. Which, considering their roster, is *really* saying something, lol.

He doesn't even really protect the rim the best. Claxton posts a higher block rate, and the team as a whole block a higher percentage of shots with DJ on the bench.

He's just not the guy he used to be. Like, unless they face a team with a slow big man who only plays at the rim, I don't know how DJ helps... and even then, I'd rather play Claxton.

Atl is not the Bucks. They have some walking buckets.

And Trae will put penetrating pressure on their interior defense,
and Capela will dominate the board and block shots.

Styles make fights...and ATL has the style and coaching to make it a fight.

You are putting way too much stock in a loss to the Celtics that took a 50 point effort from Tatum and some defensive lapses by Brooklyn


>Atl is not the Bucks. They have some walking buckets.
>
>And Trae will put penetrating pressure on their interior
>defense,
>and Capela will dominate the board and block shots.
>
>Styles make fights...and ATL has the style and coaching to
>make it a fight.
>
>

And we see this all the time ,a so called sure shot to win the title.

Brooklyn faced a Boston team without their second best player.

And they are facing a limited Milwaukee team.

I’m saying without Harden, Atl will put up a fight if they can
get past philly. They got bigs, shooters, defense, and outstanding
coaching.

I just think ATL and the Clippers have the personnel that can match up.

I have no problem with fading the public.

-->

I didn’t care about that series.

And they didn’t have brown.

in this post:
https://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2729785&mesg_id=2729785&page=

"No matter how you want to incorrectly describe it. Two of those players are volume chuckers, with zero knowledge of playing defense. Basketball is a two way effort. Also take a trip down basketball history.

I still don’t put them ahead of Milwaukee, Philly or Boston, because of their lack of defense.

But go ahead and hype this shit up."

Turns out I rather correctly described it - and you ate up another epic L.



-->

You’re so desperate for a win you will up and try anything.

Keep that same energy, champ. It will make my partying
so much greater.

You'll pretend you've won by moving a goalpost.

You'll dance around and make the same posthoc rationalizations you always do, in order to delude yourself that you've "won".

Someone will point out exactly why you're wrong, and you'll do the equivilant of plugging your ears and shouting "LALALALALLALALA"

In the process, you'll say some shit that sounds like it was ghost written by the sort of white republican dude who has a last name for a first name.

Someone will call you out on it, and as if entirely oblivious to the point, you'll talk about a "race card" being played.

Some people will attempt to engage you with sincerity.
Other people will wonder why they bother.

Others will mock you mercilessly for your absurdity.

Some will react with a combination of the aforementioned, and you'll pretend that they just can't debate your superior intellect with reason and civility.

Then you'll get incredibly loud and wrong again, Groundhog's Day will proceed as always.

Goalpost on that.

You always write a word buffet. Learn how to be concise with your
garbage...I mean verbiage.

I wrote ten concise sentences, clearly formatted and everything.

Twenty seconds of reading, tops.

That's hardly a "buffet". I've already pointed out the way you respond when someone clearly shows that you're wrong, or otherwise takes you to task.

I laid out your entire gimmick, chapter and verse, with clarity, detail and accuracy.

Of course you'll deflect to word count, despite there not being all that many words.

Also, the term you're looking for- and incorrectly, clumsily trying to apply- is "word salad".

Word salad would be understating your garbage....uh, I meant verbiage.

Again- there's a reason you don't actually address the content of those words.

Everything I said is specific, detailed and accurate representation of a significant portion of your interactions.

But it's easier to make these dumb, blanket dismissals than it is to address that.

.

That has nothing do with the actual playoff series..I didn’t care either way.
We were ranking those teams at that time...and just because I ranked
those teams ahead at that time had nothing to do with the PO series.

Just make sure you’re back here when the championship is all said done
so you can collect another colossal L


Now go back to auctioning of your lebron jerseys on EBay
and sit in the epic Lakers and Lebron L

Obviously, that wasn’t going to last
Really expected MIL to be a matchup problem for BKN
Didn’t expect Middleton to disappear
...but KD looks locked in on both ends of the floor...

You might be right...because Giannis is a DPOTY...and KD giving him work

Only questions remain are health

I believe they will need Harden in the ECF/Finals

That hammy kept him out for a couple of weeks...but yeah, they’re a nightmare

I like Jay, but he does that a lot…especially with KD. I dunno if KD told him this or not, but if he did, he should have kept it to himself.

https://twitter.com/TheUndefeated/status/1402279473169502219?s=20

https://twitter.com/KDTrey5/status/1402278410030882826?s=20

SMH

His response to the injury question in the post-game was ruthless too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiqAGU3ZUfE

.

Blake has a certain skillset that helps BK's offense flow much more smoothly, but it's not as though he's doing Prime Blake Griffin work out there.

He's providing valuable passing and ball movement, and doesn't overplay Giannis on the perimeter.

He's a good role player doing just the right things his team needs from him.

People see highlights and the reductionist comments about how he was faking it in Detroit, and assume that's the case.

He's clearly a shell of the guy who took the league by storm way back when. It's just that that shell was a perfect match for the team around him.

He's dunking now.

Doesn't that mean that he exactly the same as the all-star caliber player he used to be, because he also did dunks?

Right?
Anyone?
Bueller?

Now he's high flying all of a sudden.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have said this in response.

Its called effort. Yes he is doing what they ask of him. But a pro player going from not even trying and having people think he is a shell of his former self, and forcing his way out to leaping and posturizing the Defensive Player of the Year....as if he couldn't still drop 20 and 10 on a team with say....not three other ALL NBA PLAYERS. Keep playing dumb though

and now he posterizing Giannis and getting putbacks. thats what people are reacting to

I mean, two seasons ago, he put up 25-8-5, and he gritted it out through a knee injury in a playoff series just to try to throw a team on his hobbled back. Again, that was *two years ago.* Since arriving in Brooklyn, he's averaging 10-5-2.

It's clear he was saving at least some gas in the tank from 2020 on-- considering he can't keep hurting his knees on losing teams if he wishes to remain in the league, that's not a big surprise. So I'm also not terribly surprised that he can still unleash the occasional dunk that reminds you, "oh yeah, he's Blake Griffin." He's just transformed into Glue Guy Griffin, a guy too washed to carry even a bad NBA team, but not nearly so washed that he can't be a valuable fourth best player on a contender.

(Aldridge would fall into this category too imo-- imagine this team with him on the roster also!)

he was HURT in Detroit….a lot. He had a knee surgery as recently as Jan of last year. He tried, in Detroit. I watched a lot of their games, because he was there. Casey basically said before the season, they were going to expand his game out to the three point line. He’s very skilled. Now he’s healthy(er) and a time or two he can bang one, but this is not Lob City Blake out there.

Maybe read before you reply.

That helps.

.

against the Suns. Nuggets had the lead going into the half, but
fell off the map in the second half. Makes sense now.

He is still expected to play tomorrow, but for a young player, who has had microdiscectomy surgery, that has to be very concerning

He is the second best player on the floor for denver, and he is 20 years old.

If Jokic pulls this series off, shitttt....Best international player on the planet.

He should get more prime time announcing gigs for TNT. He isn't too awkward, doesn't try to force any corny jokes during the game, and isn't prone too making gaffs or mistakes in his basketball observations.

Hopefully he'll take the spot Chris Webber left with TNT dismissing him. If I'm not mistaken, normally Webber or Reggie Miller normally got the prime time announcing gigs for TNT games in the past.

They are not there to overly praise or champion players. They stick to the
fundamentals of the game when it comes to analyzing, and they don’t
over-exaggerate the action.

Also, Grant Hill has grown on me. I used to think he was a soft analyst,
because of how he commentated college games. He is totally different
when covering NBA basketball. He goes in, so maybe he doesn’t have
the same type of analytical freedom when covering the NCAA for CBS.


Reggie is still the man, though. He rarely does the early games. He usually
does the second game, and is usually the one on the Clipper/Lakers games.

He should be on the tonight’s Clipper

I’m down with that.

Surprising that Miller isn’t on the game

.

team. The Knicks were one of the best defensive teams as well.

Embid looks fine. He is doing his thing big time in the paint.

Good game.

.

going, because ATL went up by 1.

He hasn’t really been getting tick, and only played 6 mins I believe in the
last game. He drops 14 points and Philly goes on 24-3 run.

Craziest shit I have ever seen.

AtL players were like WTF?

Still watching most of these games in bars after work, sound off


What a fun ass second half


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

The Nets would have zero ways to stop him, but he looked pretty ginger on that after the game

If this Hawks series goes the distance and the Nets do their part he would do serious damage playing every other game

I didn’t see all the next GOAT ZOMG FUTURE FACE OF THE LEAGUE think pieces this morning

?

Best player
on the best team
Deserves more recognition
...and don’t use market as a plea cop, there was plenty of adulation and awards for Stockton/Malone...

DMitch on that trajectory.

>I didn’t see all the next GOAT ZOMG FUTURE FACE OF THE
>LEAGUE think pieces this morning
>
>?
>
>Best player
>on the best team
>Deserves more recognition
>...and don’t use market as a plea cop, there was plenty of
>adulation and awards for Stockton/Malone...
>
>DMitch on that trajectory.

Stockton/Malone did it for how long?

Donovan Mitchell is better than the majority of the PGs listed in that bullshit ass rankings of yours

edit and John Stockton is overrated as fuck.

Kenny Anderson Rod Strickland Terrell Brandon Sam Cassell or any of those so called "second tier" pgs would have put up John Stockton numbers if they played alongside a top 5 HOF PF for damn near two decades in the same PnR



>>I didn’t see all the next GOAT ZOMG FUTURE FACE OF THE
>>LEAGUE think pieces this morning
>>
>>?
>>
>>Best player
>>on the best team
>>Deserves more recognition
>>...and don’t use market as a plea cop, there was plenty of
>>adulation and awards for Stockton/Malone...
>>
>>DMitch on that trajectory.
>
>Stockton/Malone did it for how long?
>

>Donovan Mitchell is better than the majority of the PGs
>listed in that bullshit ass rankings of yours

if Donovan is a point guard what is your boy Conley?

theyre both PGs...

Mitchell is better than Ja, Jrue, Ben Simmons, and Westbrook

>>Donovan Mitchell is better than the majority of the PGs
>>listed in that bullshit ass rankings of yours
>
>if Donovan is a point guard what is your boy Conley?

Ya’ll gone learn

and this is coming from a 6ers fan

He better.

He took the ROTY award as a snub
and he’s been on a mission since...
I’m not sure what you’re watching

he just likes guys who run fast and jump high


>Ya’ll gone learn
>
>and this is coming from a 6ers fan
>
>He better.
>
>He took the ROTY award as a snub
>and he’s been on a mission since...
>I’m not sure what you’re watching

>edit and John Stockton is overrated as fuck.
>
>Kenny Anderson Rod Strickland Terrell Brandon Sam Cassell or
>any of those so called "second tier" pgs would have put up
>John Stockton numbers if they played alongside a top 5 HOF PF
>for damn near two decades in the same PnR

Clarkson 6moty
Rudy dpoty

So it’s not like Utah gets overlooked because it’s not LA/NY

...and these are insiders, media personalities, etc...that vote on this stuff anyway

He’s been voted an all-star by the fans twice

https://cdn-nba-com.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/cdn.nba.com/manage/2021/06/kia-mvp-voting-results.jpg

The best player on the best team...didn’t get a single vote for MVP

...feels different...

He is explosive....but I think Booker is more efficient.

Shout out, they look like a legit chip team

His fate is in CP3’s hands TBH

Sypda was giving out work since day 1

and he’s the leader on the best team in the league

>>> (at this point in their career)

I wouldn’t be mad if Book wins

They don’t really have a replacement for his defensive versatility and intangibles. Like, Solomon Hill isn’t the answer there.

I can count on Trae, Bogie, Collins, and Capela to do what they do… but Trae and Bogie can’t defend, and Capela can’t do EVERYTHING defensively. They need some supporting piece to either make some capable defensive rotations/stops or to go fucking nuclear on offense to make up for the lack of versatility defensively in these lineups.

Plus, while Cam’s been improving, DeAndre in particular just has a knack for making the right play and avoiding mistakes. His IQ is just so high— he’s the best possible fifth guy in your lineup, really. So losing him and replacing his minutes with a Solomon Hill or something… it sounds dumb to say “losing a fifth guy makes it hard to win!” but in a series that’s fairly evenly matched, it really does make a difference.

and Reddish for most of the last two months of the season,
and kept on rolling. So they know how to play without him.

Hill, Snell, Heurter all stepped up in his absence last time. They will
have to do it again. However, they can’t afford anymore injuries.

Even leaving that play aside, like… it’s so obvious that he’s DPOY. They’re an elite defense…. but of their top eight players, they have four bad defenders, two smart but slow defenders, O’Neal… and Gobert. They’re elite because no other big man can clean up as well as he can at the rim. It’s crazy how terrific he is at the rim.

Like there wasn’t a clear cut choice but Rudy is really fucking good.

AD was robbed last year tho

They aren’t going to make a decision based on if they think this puts him into the HOF convo.

If they could pull off a title this year, that'd come close to sealing the deal tho.

And if he can maintain this level of elite defense for let's say three more seasons? Yeah, he'll be in.

dude would be michael sweetney if he didnt play alongside 3 of the greatest shooters ever


>If they could pull off a title this year, that'd come close
>to sealing the deal tho.
>
>And if he can maintain this level of elite defense for let's
>say three more seasons? Yeah, he'll be in.

But I’m a Jokic Stan, love his game, but I’m not sure he can carry this team.

And Porter looks like a stiff board out there ...he doesn’t look right
at all. Maybe he will get better as the game rolls on.

.

Terrible.

pitiful stuff

give the audience a thrill

Any game where that’s true, you’re losing.

I bought into the story that moving him to a better team, w/better teammates around him and playing meaningful games would be a boost for him. It's looking like he pretty much is what his is - just pretty ok.

You gotta walk with that.

stop wasting our time bro

dude got zero bag
cant shoot FTs
cant shoot 3s but shoot a ton of em

this clip of him saying he doesn't watch other teams' games and leaves his phone in the other room is pretty telling because i'm sure most of the messages he gets are from his coaches and teammates saying, "hey watch this team we're going to play. you need to learn how to beat their defense and stop their offense"

https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-explains-why-he-doesnt-watch-the-rest-of-the-nba/

It was novel at first watching him euro step from so far away from the basket. And when he bulked up and started hoopin like he wanted to kill you

But we are entering the Now What stage of his career.

where blake got a hand on the ball is just stupid

I was more of a fan before having to watch him more consistently

and the mean-mug on the dunk was just corny

Middleton keeping this series alive

Home cooking. Might be one of those series where neither team can win on
the road.

(that’s why it is in capital letters )

Not IS

Nice try though ...keep it up the energy.

any james will do

Bucks can get whatever they want in the paint. We saw it in the first half
of the first game.

They go up by 20 in the first quarter by attacking the rim, and then
they start taking jumpers in the second quarter and blow a big lead

It’s the dumbest shit ever.

.

They just continue to waste possessions with ISOs and terrible jump shots...

.

do something to get kd or kryie the ball there

That was close to a Carlton stealing the ball from Will moment

At least Bud was smart to keep the ball in middleton’s hand
going down the stretch.

But with better coaching, Bucks could kill the nets without Harden.

Nets are too small in the paint,,,just keep attacking.

Those Silly ass 3 point shots drive me crazy.

Also god damn I hate the clippers ., dirty ass Reggie Jackson and Pat Bev on one team is repulsive

I hope PG and Kawhii leave ASAP.



..My bad for the delay.
>
>
>*skatin' the rings of saturn*
>
>
>..and miles to go before i sleep...

.

His decisions have been appalling this series and last.

https://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2739345&mesg_id=2739345&page=#2739685

since coming back from injury is he playing on fresh legs.

He missed most of the regular half of the season, so this is
like the beginning of the season for him. That dude is going
to be on max power for the entire playoffs.

Clippers went 7 games in the series against Dallas, and Kawhi looks
tired, and it’s going to take another huge effort from him to get the
clippers back into the series....

following your logic...Harden should be balling right now

and the PO last season was in a bubble, everybody was prolific.

I’m not taking away from his greatness. I’m just saying he even has
MORE bounce than others. Compared to most of the top players in the
POs, he has the fresher legs....even more than his own teammates. And
it’s going to give him an advantage as the POs roll on.

I’m pro Mitchell, always have been.

He is fully healthy.

Harden doesn’t apply, because his hamstring never truly healed...which
Is why he is out again....he isn’t healthy. Hamstring issue is a different
beast. If Harden was fully healthy, having fresh legs would be an advantage.

Shoving Tucker...type of $hit is that?

Fans running on the court, KDs bodyguard being allowed to escalate a situation?

i really like KD but sometimes he's on that goofy shit

So he is a staff member, no different than an assistant running in to defuse
a combative moment between two players

They missed easy shots and played lousy defense, and just like that
they are down by 20 points.

Danny Green injured his calf and he now has a walking boot on. It doesn’t look
good at all....

76ers have been very locked in these past 6 quarters. They’ve been limiting the careless turnovers and spreading the ball around nicely on offense. As long as Embiid stays healthy and they get consistent play from Toni, Seth Curry, Simmons, and at least one guard (Korkmaz, Shake, Thybulle) they’ll be fine. Should probably win 4 straight, but I can see this going 6 games.

And honestly both are such likable teams.

Porter is playing injured.
Murrary is injured
Dozier is injured
And Barton just came back

He is playing with Campazzo and Austin Rivers as his backcourt.

He went 35-20-10 last night....He destroyed Ayton.

What was the point of even them signing McGee? another body to throw at AD?

Denver overachieved after they beat Portland without Murray

>Porter is playing injured.
>Murrary is injured
>Dozier is injured
>And Barton just came back
>
>He is playing with Campazzo and Austin Rivers as his
>backcourt.
>
>He went 35-20-10 last night....He destroyed Ayton.

because you're dumb.

I was watching a YouTube video that was basically the last minute of every NBA Finals, since 1995.

Mario Elie

Forgot Orlando got swept

Teams were terrified of MJ with a live dribble…they constantly left good shooters wide open

MJ stealing the ball from Malone

Fuck was happening in the league that New Jersey was in the Finals, two years straight?

Man, I miss Kobe

Detroit beat the Lakers in 5?!

Sasha Vujacic

Eddie House shot a 3, with 30 seconds left and Boston up by 40, lol.

Boston was up by 40

Forgot Gary Payton won a title with the Heat.

Pop was always so gracious, win or lose.

Man, I miss Stuart Scott

Headband Bron, to no-headband Bron, back to Headband Bron

Wonder what happens if GS didn’t accept the switch and left Klay on Kyrie? They didn’t though and he put that 3 in Steph’s eye.

That Cavs team won 1 game in 2 Finals.

Steph had a shot, man…to send that thing to a Game 7. Board Man got paid.

shit was hilarious. most of my friends know to never question me when i tell them something happened in nba history but dude swore i was wrong

then flashed to the bench and Gary Payton and Zo were wilding. I had a legit, hearty laugh, with myself.

>Fuck was happening in the league that New Jersey was in the
>Finals, two years straight?

Jason Frederick Kidd, probably should've gotten an MVP one of those years...

>>Fuck was happening in the league that New Jersey was in the
>>Finals, two years straight?
>
>Jason Frederick Kidd, probably should've gotten an MVP one of
>those years...

and it's about to get worse.

>Fuck was happening in the league that New Jersey was in the
>Finals, two years straight?
>

Watching Kenyon dunk ferociously on EVERYONE was a thing of pure beauty.

when he signed with the Lakers.

But if he had half the stuff KD has going on off the court, fake twitter accounts, social media beefs with D-list celebs, the J-Will back and forth, bodyguards running in the court during games, folks would be losing their minds.

With KD its just "oh that's KD". His basketball skills are unquestioned and he's probably back to being the best player in the world right now but how is he not the biggest cornball ever?

KD gets shitted on like crazy and is hated.

If Lebron were to do things similar to KD, people wouldn’t bat an eye....dude breached COVID protocol, and the league acknowledged it , but refused to penalize him. “ Yes, Lebron did breach protocols, but he will not be penalized.” LOL

Lebron got on national TV and stated that whoever came up with
play-in games should be fired...KD would have been fried had he said
that.

You are bugging hardcore.

KD and Kyrie are constantly demonized, and the only thing that keeps
them from being canceled are their insane basketball skills.

So are you saying KD is not corny?

But you put it as if he gets away with stuff that lebron wouldn’t be
able to get away with, when it is directly the opposite.

People gave KD shit for joining Steph to get rings, and some don’t think
he is a legit champion...

.Leborn has created all types of super teams , but he is still KIng James..
shit the media is saying that he needs to go out and get Bradley Beal and
Derozan now. Lol....Meanwhile, people hate the Nets for being a super team...lol

Lebron is basically untouchable. Something KD will never be.

>shit the media is saying that he needs to go out and get
>Bradley Beal and
> Derozan now. Lol....Meanwhile, people hate the Nets for being
>a super team...lol

I'm down for Beal on the Lakers, I'm cool on Derozan

https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durants-reported-personal-bodyguard-suspended-after-after-shoving-pj-tucker-220420329.html

>but how is he not the biggest cornball
>ever?

Where have you been bruh?
Lol

of the game, and they know the X and Os of the game, but the silly
cultural references they make are improper at times.

“ Kawhi got his braids down, so I know he is ready.”

It comes off as condescending and degrading in a way. It’s
scripted shucking and jiving.

Or all the Lemon Pepper Lou comments and references.

It’s tacky and classless. Dude is possibly the greatest sixth man of all time.

Shannon Sharpe is guilty of it too.

https://youtu.be/jBzns-T4KyE

SMH

We already see you dissing Kamala Harris

.

.

.

Terrance Mann, Patrick Williams(Bulls)....FSU creates ballers who play both sides of
the ball.

T-Mann stay making veteran plays as a youngin.

hes super likeable and his life story is amazing but god damn is he one dimensional....hes like Ben Simmons in a 7+ foot frame

James Harden was right about him

>hes super likeable and his life story is amazing but god damn
>is he one dimensional....hes like Ben Simmons in a 7+ foot
>frame
>
>James Harden was right about him

shut the fuck up

>>hes super likeable and his life story is amazing but god
>damn
>>is he one dimensional....hes like Ben Simmons in a 7+ foot
>>frame
>>
>>James Harden was right about him
>

being your usual troll self?

>being your usual troll self?

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4666fd_8c821007bae64df8b5589eeafd62893f~mv2.gif

>>being your usual troll self?
>
>https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4666fd_8c821007bae64df8b5589eeafd62893f~mv2.gif

lmao, that's good

>

PJ Tucker turned all the way up.

Bucks finally realizing that they are the bigger team, plus
hitting shots.

Bury these bums!

kyrie injury didn't help matters. KD isn't dialed in and it seems like he thinks he has to do everything. joe harris needs to do more besides hit folks in the head and miss open shots. several times during the regular season BKN came back from larger deficits against about equal teams so maybe they can put something together in the 4th

.

.

Blake Griffin is the only player for the Nets who
can guard Giannis and was doing a solid job. Nash
never brought him back for the 4th quarter, and he barely
played the third.

He just stood there watching Giannis move Claxton
and Green around like paperweights.

>Blake Griffin is the only player for the Nets who
>can guard Giannis and was doing a solid job. Nash
>never brought him back for the 4th quarter, and he barely
>played the third.
>
>He just stood there watching Giannis move Claxton
>and Green around like paperweights.
>
>

Like yeah, we need you to coach now bruh. Can we get someone an easy shot. Sheeesh

everything was KD twisting himself in knots, trying to get a shot off.

.

When has he been in that situation before? He's always been surrounded by elite teammates (especially in playoff situations). Whether it was Russ, Harden, Ibaka in OKC or Splash brothers x Draymond in GS -- and now Harden/Kyrie/Griffin in NJ - I don't think he's ever looked around and felt that kind of individual pressure in a high leverage situation before. He looked like he wanted nothing to do with that 2nd half.

Hate to see Kyrie go down - especially with Harden already out. But if Kyrie & Harden can't go, it'll be interesting to see if KD can will out this series. He's at his best when he's an offensive assassin, volume scoring like a sniper to change the balance of power in a series. But this next game may require him to take on a role he's never really had to play before.

-->

aint no way Kyrie gonna be back in good condition by Tuesday. he might play but his moves will tear his ankle up by the end of the first quarter

and they said Harden aint even working yet really.

Look at your focking Nets now!

That's the only way you don't get embarrassed.

-->

Keep popping those double standards.

Never did and never would do that. That’s your lane.

But thanks for showing that you’re still mad and bitter off the Lakers and LeBron winning yet another ‘chip.

-->

get calls his body language and effort takes a hit, which is a testament to his lack of leadership

He's been playing tough defense and had 10+ boards yesterday. He's doing more than scoring and I think that speaks to him being tougher than his critics give him credit for

yeah HUGE IF but if the Nets can win at home with just KD and role players, KD gets a huge bump in the books

He barely hit his face. Bullshit call.

Should have been a flagrant one. A huge wind up,but he got all
ball and was going after the ball.

That was Jokic’s first flagrant foul in 3 years!

Nba is focking terrible... Nuggets were putting up a fight.

.

You can't eject the MVP in an elimination game unless he's trying to start a fight or some shit. I'm rooting for the Suns in this series, but that's bullshit.

>You can't eject the MVP in an elimination game unless he's
>trying to start a fight or some shit. I'm rooting for the Suns
>in this series, but that's bullshit.

>You can't eject the MVP in an elimination game unless he's
>trying to start a fight or some shit. I'm rooting for the Suns
>in this series, but that's bullshit.

Uncalled for ejection. I think the only reason they ejected him is because the Suns are the type of team to retaliate and muddy the game up with dirty play - but you can't eject a guy based on how the other team might react. Bad ejection.

-->

Thought from the early description that Jokic straight punched him, lol. But clearly dude meant to just deliver a hard body hit while swiping at the ball.

Easily a flagrant... but if you're gonna flagrant 2 the MVP, he better be cold cocking a dude.

He stared him down with a very cold "try me" glare that had Booker like "nah i'm good actually"

-->

All of em do

.

...doing the Kobe swing though on a loose ball...
Which is actually a rule change and an automatic T
= no call

But they ejected the MVP for that...?

WTF

huge stretch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_I89VejE0c

He framed his arm keep the other team from crashing the boards, wasn't no targeted elbow thrown your man ran straight into an extended arm and clotheslined himself

If that's dirty let the league go back and give G-anus (terrible name but fuck him) a flagrant for going up under Kyrie like that

on broadcast

it wasn't Joe's arm

edit:
https://twitter.com/superteamharden/status/1404276379349360644?s=21

.

Gordon some shit too.

>..My bad for the delay.
>
>
>*skatin' the rings of saturn*
>
>
>..and miles to go before i sleep...

This is a hell of a run this late in his career.

Same for Booker getting to shine on a big stage for the first time.

They beat the champs and absolutely bodied the MVP en route tonhis first CF.

Of the remaining Western teams, I want to see Phoenix get that Finals berth the most.

especially with D'Antoni campaigning for a HC gig again...

one more run with a healthy Jamal Murray and Barton?

before Murray tore his ACL, there was an ESPN insider bit saying how they should shop Murray and Porter Jr to Washington for Bradley Beal and some picks, since it was unsure if Murray's playoff performance was just an isolated bubble show that he put on or whether hes legit...

but that's moot now since his injury.


>..My bad for the delay.
>
>
>*skatin' the rings of saturn*
>
>
>..and miles to go before i sleep...

MPJ is happening
Needs another year

Murray will need a year to play in to shape

Joker’s gonna be interesting...it’s different when you’re the hunted.

They advanced, w/o their 2nd best player

I wouldn’t fire the coach based on this season

Especially if ‘ is the best name you can come up with

...2 more years...

just a thought...

In the case of Harden, a hamstring injury could be more attributable to prep and recovery habits. Though I'll admit Kyrie's ankle was a freak thing that happens in hoops all the time.

But I can't help but wonder if the risk-averse regular season approach could actually make the body less durable? KD was coming off an extreme injury, monitoring his minutes and being super conservative is the right approach. But the other two...

I could be persuaded either way, haven't made my mind up on this yet, but I think there could be something to it. The wild card NFL team that wins the Super Bowl comes to mind, we've seen it many times where even having that bye week can do more harm than good.

their going to magically form into Voltron in the playoffs was unrealistic.


>But I can't help but wonder if the risk-averse regular season
>approach could actually make the body less durable? KD was
>coming off an extreme injury, monitoring his minutes and being
>super conservative is the right approach. But the other
>two...

KD's played 40+ these last 2 games and will probably be in that area again for game 5

Kyrie was a freak incident

Has nothing to do with 'he's made of glass' bullshit criticism his haters will say

Durant absolutely should have be load managed coming back from a season off, but he's looking OK now (crossing fingers)

Harden has a history of not missing many games, and for the majority of the time he was the workhorse for Brooklyn, night after night

He did NOT load manage and ended up injuring and aggravating, then re-aggravating an injury that could very well have benefited from more time off when he initially felt 'tightness', but instead played through it until it became a tear

So the answer is pretty obviously no

The question is does 'load management' lead to lack of cohesion down the stretch?

If you have inconsistent starting personnel you may know more of what the bench has to offer but you also have limited time on the court with the main core

I was thinking more about health, but chemistry and feel have to be negatively impacted by inconsistent regular season lineups

who gives a fok?

Let's get to the basketball part

Injuries been a concern for BKN since they signed Kyrie AND KD

It was always there...people forced this narrative about a superteam...and ignored the literal achilles heel

They worked Harden like a dawg to try and get the 1 seed

...now he's got a hammy...at +30Y.O....after leading the team in MPG

How any of this relates to less load management is beyond me

I believe you are over thinking it

Old people get hurt.

Nash deserves all of the criticism for the Harden situation

He should have conceded the 1 seed...and been resting his guys for the offs

He pushed...they broke.

he's been insanely durable for the load he's carried in his career
add to that him coming in out of shape to force a trade. its not totally surprising.

and Kyrie is just a common hoops injury

Basa don't even post here anymore
You upping posts about guys out the league
That desperate for attention?
Who hurt you?
You okay?

It’s such a weird thing to constantly do, especially on a board that’s on life support. The majority of the people in those old posts are long gone.

>Basa don't even post here anymore
>You upping posts about guys out the league
>That desperate for attention?
>Who hurt you?
>You okay?

That's the point, a lot of self-anointed drafted experts hype these dudes up.

And people that don't post doesn't mean they don't read.

I'm just having fun at people's expense.

either I TOLD YOU SO or YOU WERE WRONG LUL. somewhat unsurprising given the turnover but still pretty weird and petty

We don’t even have game posts really

This thread is for the nba offs

Posters would see the...told you so reply

Upping posts made by posters who don’t post here anymore...is something else.

series posts when we get to the conference finals

... being upped by someone who has said over the years that he watches very limited college basketball.

Like, I don't think it's a surprise he said "Nope" to Thomas Robinson in that 2012 Justivity post and nearly all of the people on the board who consistently watch a ton of college basketball were in on him.

Now he gets to dunk on people because he stated a one-word opinion based on, who knows, 1-2 tournament games, and the people who watched Robinson play double digit games of basketball over multiple seasons were "proven wrong" because what was at the time a very safe pick didn't work out. Broken clocks, etc.

But hey, that's his right. And no one else has his energy to look through his various opinions over the years and up those, so in that sense, he's gonna win this battle between him and no one in particular.

these days but I've been watching basketball for 35+ years so I feel like I know the game pretty well. I've said before I don't feel like I need to watch 100+ current regular season games to have a opinion on a player.

As far as Thomas Robinson dude was an obvious tweener with a limited skillset. I don't know why people were so high on him. "the speed of Kobe and a body like LeBron's" shit and the "20 & 10" predictions were comical to me.

It seems like "tweener" guys are the biggest busts. Outside of Julius Randle I can't think of many that panned out and he took a minute.

check out what TheTruth had to say about me upping a post about the Mavs/Knicks Porzingis trade: https://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2686068&mesg_id=2686068&page=2#2739547

One of the funniest replies in memory.

We don't need to see the signature to know the artist.

Luka Doncic Snapped at Mavs Exec, Team Concerned over Star's Future in DAL

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10005662-report-luka-doncic-snapped-at-mavs-exec-team-concerned-over-stars-future-in-dal

degenerate gambler AND a nerd ass analytics guy?

I hate watching games with both these types of people, or even being around them to be honest.


https://theathletic.com/2649806/?source=twitterhq#

Inside the Mavericks front office, Mark Cuban’s shadow GM is causing a rift with Luka Doncic

Tim Cato and Sam Amick 3h ago 228
In early February, during the second quarter of a home game against the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic carelessly turned over the ball and received feedback from a Dallas Mavericks employee he didn’t care for: Haralabos Voulgaris, a well-known sports gambler hired by team owner Mark Cuban in 2018.

Voulgaris, sitting with an open laptop in his typical courtside seat across from the Mavericks’ bench, motioned downward with his hands, which Doncic specifically interpreted as Voulgaris telling him to calm down, multiple team and league sources tell The Athletic. Doncic snapped back, telling Voulgaris, according to one source’s recollection, “Don’t fucking tell me to calm down.” The same sources say Voulgaris later professed that his motion wasn’t solely directed at Doncic, but regardless of intent, it only worsened an already inflamed relationship between the two.

Doncic, multiple league sources say, intends to sign the supermax extension — which he will be eligible for once named to this season’s All-NBA team — with Dallas, worth more than $200 million over five seasons after his rookie contract expires next summer. “I think you know the answer,” he said, smiling, when asked whether he would at last week’s exit interview. But a high-level power broker within the league says the Mavericks recognize that there’s urgency to build a contending team around Doncic after losing in the first round in each of the past two seasons. The clock is ticking.

Internally, there are concerns the front office’s dysfunction has hurt its ability to do so — and that poor relationships Doncic has with key members of the franchise, including Voulgaris, could impact his current desire to remain in Dallas long-term. The team’s most recent postseason defeat against the LA Clippers served as a direct indictment on the roster constructed around him. Can Mavericks management remedy that in time? Or, as some team sources fear, will they pay the price for the dysfunctional dynamics that exist in some corners of the organization?

Dallas announced Voulgaris’ hiring in the fall of 2018 with a title — director of quantitative research and development — that vastly understated his actual role. Multiple league and team sources tell The Athletic that Voulgaris has been the most influential voice within the Mavericks front office since joining the team, either initiating or approving virtually every transaction made over the past two seasons. Those same sources add that Voulgaris has frequently gone as far as scripting the starting lineups and rotations for longtime head coach Rick Carlisle.

That influence has spanned Doncic’s three seasons in Dallas. While he had been drafted prior to Voulgaris’ arrival — Donnie Nelson, the team’s longtime president of basketball operations, was the driving force behind trading up to acquire the Slovenian wunderkind, a process he described in detail to The Athletic last year — Cuban had sought out Voulgaris’ basketball advice in the years before putting him on the team’s payroll. As one team source says, “Mark Cuban is the most powerful person in the organization, but whoever he’s listening to is second.” Cuban was won over by Voulgaris’ vision: an analytics-driven spread pick-and-roll offense with Doncic as the focal point which he has tried implementing in the past seasons.

It’s unclear when the Cuban and Voulgaris relationship began, but their coming together is perhaps unsurprising given Cuban’s origin as a self-made tech billionaire whose first major purchase was the Mavericks. Voulgaris has never been shy about his desire to run a team. In an ESPN feature from 2013, Voulgaris is quoted as saying, “The whole process (of becoming a highly successful gambler) has led me to believe that I’d be able to put together a better team than almost any general manager in the league. If not maybe all.”

The way Voulgaris tells it — the ESPN feature is the only notable reporting ever focused on him, and he declined an interview request from The Athletic shortly after being hired — he began gambling on the NBA in the late 1990s and had made millions by the early 2000s. His success, he says, came in part from an instinctual reading of certain coaches. It finally failed him during the 2003-04 season, causing him to lose much of his gambling wealth and step away temporarily, only returning once he’d developed an analytics model that brought back his old edge. He says he did exactly that, his new model beating the odds at a rate higher than five percent. In 2009, he gave up gambling again to consult for an unnamed NBA franchise. The advisory role lasted one season; he returned to his previous life afterward and began publicly promoting himself. In the coming years, he became a well-known presence in the basketball world.

Voulgaris spent a limited amount of time around the Mavericks during his first season of employment, attending about one-quarter of the team’s games. He attended fewer games the following season, but his imprint on the team’s roster grew substantially that offseason. It was Voulgaris who initiated the team’s acquisitions of Seth Curry and Delon Wright, with multiple sources telling The Athletic that Voulgaris believed Wright should start next to Doncic. “He was the only person that believed that,” one team source says. Wright did start the season opener before being moved to a full-time bench role the following game, barely playing in the team’s first-round defeat in the 2020 postseason. He was traded that offseason.

Because Voulgaris’ influence was greater than his official role, those within the front office — and executives around the league who interacted with them — were often confused about who actually held power. “We had two general managers,” a team source says. Nelson remained the team’s president of basketball operations, a role he has held since 2005, and other executives and agents continued largely communicating with him or Cuban regarding personnel matters. Nelson continued to spearhead major moves, including trades for Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. in 2019, Josh Richardson in 2020 and J.J. Redick in 2021. But team sources say Voulgaris was supportive of the transactions — or explicitly approved them.

Multiple league and team sources point to the 2020 draft as a particularly egregious example of Voulgaris’ power, an evening one source described as “embarrassing.” Most members of the scouting department joined the team’s war room remotely through Zoom and were surprised when Voulgaris, attending in person, didn’t consult them for either of the team’s first two selections (Josh Green and Tyrell Terry) despite disagreements they held with at least one of the players he picked.

“What did (he) sell to Mark to make him believe (he) can do this?” asks one source with an intimate knowledge of the situation. “Nobody knows.”

It marked another throughline of Voulgaris’ tenure with the Mavericks: that his personality and decision making has steadily irritated and exasperated the team’s front office employees and players over the course of the three seasons he’s been employed. “He doesn’t know how to talk to people,” that same source says.

That’s best exemplified by Dallas’ franchise player disliking him. Doncic’s strained relationship with Voulgaris predated their incident in February, multiple sources say. It wasn’t the only incident, either. This season, Voulgaris attended his first game in mid January, frequently appearing courtside at home and also traveling with them on the road in the months that followed. In mid-April, during the final minute of a home defeat to the New York Knicks, Voulgaris was seen on the game’s broadcast footage standing up and leaving with about 45 seconds remaining. While the Mavericks were trailing by 10 points at the time, they cut the deficit to six and extended the game seven more possessions before eventually losing.



Doncic noticed Voulgaris’ early departure. In the locker room after the game, multiple league and team sources say he told teammates he viewed Voulgaris leaving before the game’s conclusion as him quitting on them. Voulgaris would not attend another game the rest of the year.

Multiple team sources confirm Voulgaris remained involved in the team’s gameplans and in-game adjustments in a remote role. But Voulgaris, who earlier this season appeared likelier than not to wrest further control over the front office and perhaps even drive out Nelson entirely, now heads into a summer with his contract set to expire and uncertainty surrounding his future.

When reached for comment on Monday, Cuban defended Voulgaris’ involvement. “I really like what Bob brings to the table. He does a great job of supporting Rick and the front office with unique data insights.”

Cuban added: “Bob has a great grasp of AI and the opportunities it creates for gaining an advantage. Which is important to me. But he isn’t any more influential than any other data source on the team.”

Voulgaris declined to comment for this story when reached on Sunday.

Doncic’s relationship with his head coach, Rick Carlisle, has been publicly scrutinized since joining his team. It’s expected Carlisle will return next season, multiple league sources say, something Cuban publicly voiced support for last week shortly after the first round defeat.

“Let me tell you how I look at coaching,” he told ESPN. “You don’t make a change to make a change. Unless you have someone that you know is much, much, much better, the grass is rarely greener on the other side.”

Multiple sources were surprised to see Cuban’s prompt backing of Carlisle, however, even though Cuban’s support for Carlisle has hardly wavered over the past decade. During the season, it was believed Carlisle’s future could be reconsidered following the season, partly due to a belief Doncic had tuned him out.

“It was very much up in the air,” one source with intimate knowledge of the situation said.

Sources say some players have been frustrated with Carlisle after they lost playing time despite doing exactly what they felt he had asked of them, and for stiff rotation patterns, the latter of which they viewed — correctly, team sources confirm — as being dictated directly to him by Voulgaris. Early on, Doncic also disliked Carlisle’s timeouts and frequent calling of plays.

But Carlisle, who’s “adaptable as a motherfucker,” as one league source put it, began to modify his coaching style as a way of relieving some of the pressure from this sensitive situation. Beyond Carlisle’s obvious coaching acumen, he has always been able and willing to, in essence, read the room when it came to which personal battles he could win and which ones he couldn’t. This was no different.



Doncic’s greatness, so evident so early on, clearly compelled Carlisle to consider the changing hoops politics at hand. Since being hired in May of 2008, Carlisle has had his fair share of friction with key players, in large part because of his well-known tendency to be controlling. But Rajon Rondo, this was not.

In truth, it was far closer to the difficult dynamic that he’d successfully navigated with then-point guard Jason Kidd en route to winning the franchise’s first and only title in 2011. It took an intervention of sorts to get through that friction back then, when then-Mavericks assistant coaches Tim Grgurich, Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts stepped in to tell Carlisle that he needed to loosen the reins on Kidd. In the end, of course, it was a wise and necessary move.

The championship took Carlisle’s credibility to another level in those coming years. He was, with good reason, virtually untouchable when it came to the job insecurities that most coaches face. Such is life when you reach the NBA’s mountaintop for a franchise that has never been there before.

But as Doncic started to look more and more like a modern-day Dirk Nowitzki these past three seasons — the kind of once-in-a-generation player who the Mavericks could build around for the next two decades — the landscape that surrounded Carlisle began to change. And Carlisle, quite clearly, decided to change along with it.

“You can’t win against the next Nowitzki,” one source said.

Doncic has a healthy relationship with the Mavericks organization at large. League sources say he angled to be drafted by the team in 2018, and he has been particularly complimentary of his relationship with Nowitzki, whose final season coincided with Doncic’s first. Those feelings could change if the team’s postseason struggles continue, as the Mavericks haven’t advanced past the first round since their 2011 championship run. It’s not that Doncic’s situation with the team is at a critical inflection point right now. Multiple team sources simply fear that it’s heading that direction.

Those concerns mostly center on Cuban and the decisions he makes regarding who he trusts and imbues with power. Sometimes, it’s examples like Voulgaris, a sports gambler with no league experience being given near total control of the team’s roster. Other times, it’s the relationships he doesn’t sever: The Mavericks’ front office has come to be known around the league for its long-existing power structure that, Voulgaris aside, has barely changed.

Doncic has provided the Mavericks a chance to return to prominence. He’s a generational star the team was fortunate to draft, seamlessly taking the mantle from the franchise player before him. But after beginning another offseason sooner than hoped for, the focus falls upon the organization around him: on how the dynamic that existed over the past seasons was allowed to operate in such a haphazard manner, and whether it can be fixed before it’s too late.

(Images: Getty Images – Illustration: Wes McCabe/The Athletic)

Can’t have the future of the NBA irrelevant...even for a minute

SMH