Approaching the final 2 weeks of the season, with damn-near every team in the western conf making a mad dash for the finish line.

What say you?



*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

But tonight is especially important. The Lakers blowing the Rockets and Mavs games pretty much means that they've got to create some separation in that logjam in the standings.

I feel like they go 6-3 in their last 9, going 42-40 for an 8th seed.

is it any worse than any other year?

was it the racial bias topic that made folks feel like we have somehow reached new uncharted waters for the lack of civility in award debates?

its kinda funny that when jokic was looking like the overwhelming frontrunner to win mvp...the mvp discourse was apparently perfectly healthy and wholesome.

now that the script has flipped and embiid is looking like the solid favorite...nba media members are saying the mvp discourse is nasty, dark, toxic, etc.

one subtle narrative i see out there too...

embiid (who has sat several 4th quarters in dominant blowout wins) is apparently 'desperate' to win his 1st mvp...

meanwhile jokic (who is still in games up 20 points in garbage time) apparently 'doesnt care about stats or individual awards'...

this shit is a trip fam.

You'd think that journalists who spend so much of their lives as close to an unfiltered experience with the league wouldn't generate and follow such stale, cliched narratives.

But I guess it's like artisan trades that vote on awards like The Grammys or The Oscars who can't seem to separate the artwork from stereotypes or tired tropes about the art.

TL;DR - even smart people are dumb

so they get stuck in a constant feedback loop.

all it takes is one influential media member to get others to herd towards the same narrative.

A few folks calling out the clear double standards Jokic has benefitted from...Embid pulls ahead...and shit goes sideways.

I don't think its that even smart people are dumb...its that a lot of people are fucking racist...even if they don't necessarily realize it.

EVERYONE MUST GO. AD. I WANT HIM GONE

THIS SEASON IS OVER. CLEAN THE SLATE.

still cant believe they went the entire season without adding any size inside and chose to waste 2 rosters spots on andre iguodala and anthony lamb.

Okc got no bigs so it would’ve been embarrassing if he didn’t

Let’s go. Get out of the play in.

after being banished to the bench for whatever reason, Dennis had a nice game too

https://twitter.com/sixfivelando/status/1639484763516858371

seems like hes alluding to something in his personal life but the media will prolly blame it on kyrie lol.

either way...kyrie is outta there after this season and prolly luka too before his contract is up.

Offensively they click.

However, they have no defense in the paint….no true rim protectors or
Shot blockers, and Christian Wood is absolutely terrible on defense. He is
Chris Kaman.

Also Luka is flat out slow and awful on defense.

Their main problem is defense. It’s actually worse when Luka plays. This
is why Dallas looks better with just Kyrie playing…When Luka is out, Josh
Green usually gets the start, and he provides better perimeter defense.

Kidd has nothing else on that bench to give them better defense.

With him and Caruso on the floor, Zach doesn’t have to worry about defense,
and can just do what he only cares about and that’s offense.

It’s a poor man’s version of Ball and Caruso, but it works.

We have better defense along the perimeter to slow down ball
penetration.

Ball just had a third surgery and will be out for next season, so we can keep
Beverly for another year, and see if Ball can return to the court…If he can’t, buy
him out and move on.

Let Vooch walk…please don’t bring him back!

Let’s go after AD by offering Lavine..

AD-Williams-Derozan-Caruso-Beverly…I’ll take that for one season.

Mgt. saved face with the Bev move, because up until that they had been
horrible….hopefully, it continues to work.

.

What a disaster.

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1639728646306029568

2-3 more months turned into just in time to get his legs for the playoffs.

People talk about the Nets as the greatest superteam dud of all time, but the Clippers have done literally nothing with this squad they assembled. Bunch of injuries and load management. Thats about it.

>People talk about the Nets as the greatest superteam dud of
>all time, but the Clippers have done literally nothing with
>this squad they assembled. Bunch of injuries and load
>management. Thats about it.

And technically we can’t really say their window is closed until they dismantle the team, but it feels like Kawhi and PG have just accepted that they’re on a disappointing team and they’re gonna ride it out/hope things change?

Definitely a parallel with a fun, youngish team that people really enjoyed becoming an unfun superstar team in one offseason.

Badoom-chick

Crossrown Beef (c) aside

This team seems to have some sort of basketball curse on it
Like the ghost of Elgin Baylor is out here fucking with them on some revenge shit

I don’t even believe in shit like that. But the point is they just can’t seem to get it right even with top tier talent.

I’m happy to see it continue as long as the Lakers are floundering.

Just wanted to force y’all to engage with that.

wouldnt be surprised if the mavs play better with him out next game (assuming the tech isnt rescinded).

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/1640045862406504450

looks like this jason kidd prediction didnt play out.
https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/1640017249783226377

now they might not even make the play-in.

whatever degree of blame you think kyrie deserves for the mavs performance (they have other major issues for sure)...hes got 2 of the biggest disasters in recent memory on his resume. back to back too.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1640079842917117953

We can’t get a stop for shit

Bulls shitted on the Lakers.

Moving Zach to the 3, and putting Pat Bev and Caruso in the backcourt was a
genius movement…

Stopping all ball penetration….

And Zach, Vuch and Derozan can just focus on offense!

What was the currency for Elton Brand? A bag of schlongs?

..that's the difference btwn wins & losses in an ugly game.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

someone in the playoffs.

A playoff game is generally won and lost in the half court and the Bulls can certainly play and defend in the half court. Got two of the better bucket getters out there in addition to coby white finally coming into his own. not to mention vuc still being one of the more skilled offensive bigs in the game. and now the pat bev/caruso backcourt has the defense on a string. billy has been preaching the point of attack stuff and it seems like we finally have the players to make that happen (it was definitely working with lonzo as well).

The top ranked defense since the all star break is a wild revelation. Add that to zach playing all-nba ball and coby proving to be a solid 3rd/4th option and you have the makings of a team that should annoy the hell out of whoever they play.

We can make some noise and come out of the PI for sure.

Even Bev walked over Lebron…

LOL

Not a playoff series win
Not a playoff game

But a game. One game.

Which is funny, since the Bulls have one more loss, one less win, and a lower seed right today than the Lakers.

But by all means, tell us more about "tasty Ls"

You really are a reactionary buffoon

That's not an insult
That's not petty name calling

That's a ready and accurate observation

10th place?

TENTH FUCKING PLACE?

That’s “mastery”?

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I think we bring back this core group.

I think Rui might be the odd man out though. I don't think he comes back.

I think DLo and Reaves are locks to return. I think we need a better backup center and Bamba might still get a look for that given his age.

I'd rather bring back TB or LW4 than Rui though.

But yeah. Chi caught fire and we couldn't rebound for shit, plus too many turnovers.

But I still like this group. Whatever happens the rest of this season will be a bonus. I think Rob put together a far better group than anyone thought was possible, without giving up every last asset in the chest.

I still think AD is overdue for a return to When Healthy status, but so far he's proven me wrong. I hope that continues. But we now have a group that looks worth going all in on, and i think we do that. I wouldn't be shocked if they swung something on draft night with this year's pick plus the remaining 1st and a couple seconds, and one of the team option cats.

bron is gonna force them to.

prolly a sign and trade with dallas so kyrie can get the most money possible. and they hand over a lot of their young depth to get the big/flashy name.

theyll be a talent top heavy team with bron, ad, and kyrie...and we will be in march again with lakers fans praying for 2 of the top 3 to be healthy so they can push for a play-in spot.

>bron is gonna force them to.
>
>prolly a sign and trade with dallas so kyrie can get the most
>money possible. and they hand over a lot of their young depth
>to get the big/flashy name.
>
>theyll be a talent top heavy team with bron, ad, and
>kyrie...and we will be in march again with lakers fans praying
>for 2 of the top 3 to be healthy so they can push for a
>play-in spot.

God I hope not.

But I can’t argue that shit either.

I’m hoping they’ve learned their lesson regarding depth.

cat for another 20-25 games.

But I do think they will be able to weather a few smallish storms

Like, sure...Kyrie may be on the table but given the nightmare of the last few years I just HAVE to hope that the front office doesn't just look at names to move tickets.

That's mostly just...optimism, I guess.

I genuinely believe that.

literally just stares at the cutter with his mouth open and the ball cocked waiting to make the pass.

defenders pick him off by just getting their arms up in the passing lane. he will throw the ball right into them.

with steph in the game.

everyone knows that. it's about who you want taking the shot at the end.

do you want Steph w/ the rock (who will get doubled and have to pass to a less desirable option), or do you want Poole trying to find Steph (or Klay) for the game winner when Steph is running around breaking down the opposition defense w/ his off ball movement (or the movement allows for Poole to use his quickness to get to the rim to score).

i mean, it's easy to pick on Poole in these situations, obviously, but that IS the answer to your question.

Klay and Poole are suitable catch and shoot options when the double happens and Steph can also beat the double

>Klay and Poole are suitable catch and shoot options when the
>double happens and Steph can also beat the double

Steph still THE guy and should and wants to take that shot.

it is what it is.

kerr seems to like having poole handle the rock with the 3g curry-klay-poole lineup and it never pays off the way they think it will.

including last year lol.

this jordan poole initiating the offense is some new shit this year and we have seen the results.

i mean...down the stretch last night with poole controlling the rock...2 costly turnovers from him...an ill advised deep 3 with like 16 secs left on the shot clock...and then couldnt even get the ball *to* steph to attempt a game winner.

theres a reason kerr finally took poole out the closing lineup and the warriors started winning close games more.

steph 'causing chaos' off the ball doesnt supersede the actual real life results of having jordan poole handle the ball in crunch time. it leads to terrible possessions and ultimately losses.

poole had one good game closing with the starters (dallas) and kerr went back to the experiment. and we see what happened.

shot POORLY.

if either of them performed up to par? we're not even talking about this loss.

i mean, you'd be complaining about Poole's turnovers cuz you always do and i get it - they are annoying, but it'd have at least been a W.

.

where it actually might on the table for them to tank due to the fact they are outside of the play-ins as of today. To be clear, the article was for a New York online newspaper, so the article was slanted from the perspective of the Knicks potentially not getting a draft pick from them.

Pretty wild how terrible a position they are in; outside of the play-ins, but their record isn't terrible enough to seemingly land a high enough draft pick to help out their squad. Pretty much in purgatory.

When on earth are national mainstream media going to fry Luka? Only makes sense since he was given all the glory for how talented he is; it only makes sense to fry the man if his team isn't performing up expectations. Doesn't make sense for the dude to get all the glory yet none of the blame for the Mavericks' current failures.

To be clear, Cuban does deserve a grip of blame for how terrible the roster as been, plus the huge about the changes within the past two seasons can't amount for a decent amount of consistency as well. But I still need to hear media folks fry Luka. Westbrook was called Westbrick and the man was a former MVP winner.

Their offseason is going to be very very interesting. I have to assume Kidd knows he's going to get the axe after the 82nd game in April.

Like, okay - do I think they're MUCH better in an alternate timeline where they keep Brunson and never get Kyrie? Not really.

But I think Luka's flaws are too big to ignore at this point. That WCF last year did a *LOT* for the narrative that he was about to make the jump. Then, he didn't.

but if they had signed Brunson, they would at least had him and Luka to build around for the next 3 or so seasons, regardless of how this season went. What foundation do they have to build around now outside of Luka?

That Mavs front office screwed up majorly. Dunno if Cuban is the sole decision maker in that regard, but they aren't the sharpest knives in the shed. Competition being what it is in the West is only going to make it even harder for the Mavs to improve I would imagine.

I'm very curious how they're going to salvage this Kyrie situation, assuming they aren't going to resign him.

Which is more why I think letting Brunson go was a huge mistake.

Would he have taken the near-all star step this year WITH Luka? I mean, Randle is a pretty ball dominant dude to play with. Who's to say he couldn't have been a really nice running mate for Luka?

Again with regards to Kyrie - I think they've only played like 12ish games together, but the record with the two of them is yikes. Luka is quickly reaching, "CAN he play with another star" status.

Oh well, I'm sure that if we busted their ass plenty of people would be in here acknowledging it.

Just like they did Saturday when we did that to MIL.

Oh wait.

you're just gonna have to deal w/ that.

it'll never happen.

I don't know what the Jazz have to do with anything... must not have factored in accuracy while trying as hard as you were to be cool and dismissive.

Anyway, I'll bet I can go back in every NBA thread on this board and find slick talk when the Nuggs took a high profile L this year. Especially as pertains to a certain all-time great who is having his best season ever.

So, yeah, I'll go ahead and talk some shit when we're winning. And laugh at all the "iono fam, 2nd round exit" dweebs who haven't had a lot to say since Saturday.

*shrug*

I was wondering if Michael Malone is now allowed to comment on other subjects in the NBA, in your esteemed opinion.

Could be you just don't know all that much about hoop.

or i just mixed up teams from the two whitest states that are geographically close who've rarely mattered when it comes to NBA history, which is what i actually did.

my bad. hopefully you can understand the easy mix up in light of that.

have a great day.

It was a pretty hard joke to botch, but you found a way.

... when you keep showing back up

How is the best team in the west w a 3X mvp forgettable? Maybe to a casual

Lol bc they don’t have a gun toting fuckface at PG or an anti semetic shithead or a corny cheerleader like KD?

Stop . They’re the favorites to win the west ( lol at Phoenix)

i explained the mixup. honest explanation. they are arguably (didn't check the demographics to confirm) the two whitest NBA locales, both in/near the rockies, etc. i mix them up in my mind quite often. take it or leave it.

IF either team ever wins something, then they'll start approaching "maybe i should reserve space in my brain for them" status.

as far as Jokic being forgettable FOR ME? yeah, i don't like the guy so i try to forget him.

LOL

>LOL

Apologies in order. Big time.

I mean, Jokic was the reigning back to back MVP. I know Luka was rubber stamped as this year's MVP (and probably has been for like 3 preseasons running now), but still - that would be egregious.

A quick search shows:

ESPN - Jokic 2, Luka 3
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34643584/nbarank-2022-ranking-best-players-2022-23-5-1

Bleacher Report - Jokic 2, Luka 3
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10052096-br-predicts-top-100-nba-players-for-2022-23-season

NBC Sports - Jokic 4, Luka 7
https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/2022-ranking-top-20-nba-players-right-now

Complex - Jokic 6, Luka 9
https://www.complex.com/sports/best-nba-players-rankings

I can keep googling but...no.

And the conversation continued on as such up until basically the Kyrie trade.

The persecution complex is weird.

I'll wait for you to bring some receipts that aren't "outliers" like ESPN, Complex, etc.

so you refuted him w/ said lists and now those lists are "outliers."

hilarious.

Give my my L.

When there was even *less* reason to do so.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35293605/nba-christmas-day-ranking-top-25-players-hitting-court-espn-five-game-feast

in those write ups?

boy, you are SENSITIVE about Jokic.

sheesh.

I didn't constrain the rankings (that I was wrong about) to any specific type of thing.

Luka ain't shit yet. He ain't done shit. Especially not compared to my guy.

Just pointing out that there *is* shit like that out there. But who cares? I already took the L on this point. I mean, it's not a "confusing the best team in the Conference with a lottery team"-level L, but I'm taking it anyway.

but that aside, giving any creedence to THAT article is silly.

it was an article about, essentially, who is the funnest to watch on ONE SPECIFIC DAY OF THE YEAR, lol.

and, in Luka's write up they were like "yeah, he has no shot to win MVP his team sucks."

lol. relax man.

lastly, meaning to type "nuggs" but typing the word "jazz" on accident isn't the L you think it is. usually it's just called a typo in most circles. just lends to your sensitivity when it comes to these topics. go' head, Ms. Badu.

it's gonna be fine. Nuggs will probably make the WCF at minimum.

>lol. relax man.
>
>lastly, meaning to type "nuggs" but typing the word "jazz" on
>accident isn't the L you think it is. usually it's just called
>a typo in most circles. just lends to your sensitivity when it
>comes to these topics. go 'head, Ms. Badu.

I mean, it's an L if you're trying to do super cool quipz! Which, like, you were. But keep going on, jokes are definitely funnier when they're explained for the 4th time.

good luck in the playoffs.

When things are made right and the Sonics have a team again, same to you. Sincerely.

>Luka ain't shit yet. He ain't done shit. Especially not
>compared to my guy.

extension after this season he needs to request a trade.

He is a star star in the making and should make the all defense team.

>extension after this season he needs to request a trade.
>
>He is a star star in the making and should make the all
>defense team.
>
>
>

>Approaching the final 2 weeks of the season, with damn-near
>every team in the western conf making a mad dash for the
>finish line.
>
>What say you?
>
>
>
>*skatin' the rings of saturn*
>
>
>..and miles to go before i sleep...

the real question is why did they have him playing a back to back on a bad calf.

if anything, he might be low key pissed they stressed him too much and he couldn't put it on Jokic again to further solidify his MVP bona fides.

Always sitting out games in Denver ever since Jokic hit the game winner on his head

Whether it’s an upset stomach or a hangnail or sore foot or some bullshit


>if anything, he might be low key pissed they stressed him too
>much and he couldn't put it on Jokic again to further solidify
>his MVP bona fides.

Games in December count WAY more, btw.

That win was definitely nothing to brag about and imma take the high road on the injury. Would be a shame if this whole ordeal costs Embiid the MVP though. Big talk for quite a bit from his end, leading up to one of the better regular season matchups in recent memory. And only one guy played :(

with everything on the line RIGHT NOW, and with how confident Embiid is outwardly, you think he's cowering at the thought of playing last night vs. Jokic?

i mean...

One guy played, the other didn’t. Speculate away… it means fuck all from either side. Legitimately a shame, because they definitely aren’t seeing each other until next year.

Guru posted no lies about how often Embiid suits up against Joker though. It’s gonna stop feeling coincidental at some point. And overall the optics aren’t amazing for him here.

But do cling on to him being “outwardly confident”… lolol. Great quality in a used car salesman.

i don't care if embiid played or not at the end of the day.

i just think it's a HIGHLY unlikely a MVP caliber player skipped a game out of a FEAR of a player on the opposition and i'd be saying that if you substituted Hakeem, Tim Duncan, etc for Jokic.

these are some of the most confident people on earth. irrationally at times. that's not to say they don't have fears, lol, but that it'd be about having to play against a guy just rings off as really odd. and, even for guys who have admitted they were sort of scared of playing against someone (like playing against Mike for instance)? those guys STILL played if they were healthy.

they don't play there often, one game he had covid and another he was injured. i think it's 3 or 4 games total since 2019. plus, he clearly outplayed Joker in their last matchup. PS i know you're not the one saying Embiid is scared.

or at least i HOPE they don't.

If Joker outplays him AGAIN in Denver and drops another triple double , then Embid slips again beneath Giannis and Joker in the MVP race

And given how much embid has cried the last two years about not winning and how “analytics don’t tell the whole story” blah blah blah (while Joker takes the high road and praises Embid every chance he gets) , I don’t think he’s that confident at all esp now that the Nuggets have won 4 of 6 or whatever , it’s not far fetched at all


>with everything on the line RIGHT NOW, and with how confident
>Embiid is outwardly, you think he's cowering at the thought of
>playing last night vs. Jokic?
>
>i mean...

but you don't think Embiid would have people in his ear going "hey, if you wanna win MVP as badly as you seem to want to, ducking this game - if that's what you're doing - is a really bad look that could ultimately cost you the award"?

i could be wrong but i don't buy it at all.

unfortunately for him, if it's true that it's a calf issue? yeah, you gotta be super sensitive w/ that shit.

It could be the case where the Sixer's doctors and front office values the team's theoretical long term playoff success over the immediate short term success of the team winning the game in Denver.

I don't have a cart in this MVP debate at all because I'm not a huge fan of either Embiid of Jokic, but it would suck if the media members look down on Embiid because he sat out this game; he was playing like a demon a week or two ago while the Nuggets had their brief slide with loses.

i'm sure embiid wanted to attempt to put up another 40 piece on jokic but with him playing slightly hurt and harden out, sixers staff/FO likely made a call to rest and prepare for the playoffs

the reddit threads on this "ducking" are hilarious. makes a lot of the same points made in the above convo, including glossing over embiid's injuries and covid absences in previous games in denver. thought OKS was morally above reddit's latent racism and disingenuous trolling but i guess not 🤔

>thought OKS was morally above reddit's
>latent racism and disingenuous trolling but i guess not 🤔

He wanted to give him 40... but he didn't. He was rocking street clothes. Again.

This time it was this thing... last time it was that thing... the time before it was something else.

Always an excuse or five for Joel.

Well, he can settle it in the finals. Jokic will be there. Will Joel be able to get there with a former MVP, finals-winning coach, and excellent role players? Who knows. He's had better help in the past, and fallen flat on his face. But, yaknow, there's an excuse for that as well, I'll bet.

Philly fans so sensitive

>He wanted to give him 40... but he didn't. He was rocking
>street clothes. Again.
>
>This time it was this thing... last time it was that thing...
>the time before it was something else.
>
>Always an excuse or five for Joel.
>
>Well, he can settle it in the finals. Jokic will be there.
>Will Joel be able to get there with a former MVP,
>finals-winning coach, and excellent role players? Who knows.
>He's had better help in the past, and fallen flat on his face.
>But, yaknow, there's an excuse for that as well, I'll bet.

Kinda hits different

https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1640537375058333696

>https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1640537375058333696
>

Watching the Rockets is like watching what the Cavs would be without Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley. The last two could have been Rockets.

2 more games to 50 wins, where that 4th seed is locked. Knicks, Nets, and Heat far behind. There is a chance for 3rd seed with the Sixers slipping, but where the Cavs are now? Good.

Consolidating this roster with Donovan Mitchell (and Caris LeVert) has solidified what SHOULD have happened last season. Growth of Evan Mobley is really making this team better.

This is season 1 together. There will be changes.

But playoffs for the first time since LeBron left only took 4 seasons. First playoffs for the franchise outside the LeBron years since '98.

We coming.


LOL

Cavs remaining games are Hawks, Knicks, Pacers, Magic, Magic, Hornets.
Sixers remaining schedule is rough - Mavs, Raptors, Bucks, Celtics, Heat, Hawks, Nets

and hasnt mentioned missing the entire season in his discussions with the team.

https://twitter.com/KerithBurke/status/1640875218465071104


if youre healthy and working out every day with no stated intention of sitting out the entire season...why not just get in the facility and around the team?

this is so weird.

add a dumb shooting foul at 3/4 court right before the buzzer to the mix.

just moping around with his head down and watching shit develop like a bystander.

dude just gives up tryna close out on any shooter and slowly walks toward the rim where he doesnt even try for the rebound if the shooter misses.

I'd think he'd crank up the effort come the playoffs.

I've no clue what Poole's excuse on defense is other than "he can't defend."

a lot of gambles for steals that the rest of the defense pays for, a lot of getting beat off the dribble and trying to reach from behind, a lot of leaving players who shouldnt be left and helping on players who dont need to be helped on, etc.

klay just aint trying. its like he shuts down mentally when he isnt smoking hot shooting the ball.

he's a foul hunting fraud, one of the three worst in the league and at least the other 2 have good basketball skills.

Stat padding motherfucker.

In addition the "landing space" foul needs to be wiped from the rule book, the way shooters grift their way into getting it. Defenders can't do shit to shooters unless they run them off the line. that's not basketball, that's bootyball.

Fleece Johnson ass refs, get the fuck up outta here.

better question/debate for you (as the cavs guy around here): would you trade darius for ja? (me? nope..)

and my answer is also "nope". The brand of basketball DG plays will scale out over his career IMO. A new CP3 (with less of the negatives).

just to see how much the Cavs would have to give up for the dollars to make sense. I was surprised when I saw how much Garland is getting. I'm assuming he signed that relatively large contract extension before the Mitchell trade occurred. Makes sense given that he was 1A and Sexton was 1B in terms their young budding stars before the Mitchell trade went down. I don't watch enough Cavs games to know if that current contact is an overpay or not.

Good on the Cavs to be able to afford both Donovan Mitchell and Garland.

the Cavs will be over the cap next season, but they have Bird Rights on LeVert so they can sign him without issue.

It's gonna be an MLE fest to fill in players around the margins.

I went from skeptical to absolutely loving this dude.

I can’t say the same about you when the Bulls trashed the Lakers
last week….

DJR stepped up though, but that was it.

THT unloaded to squeak by the damn Spurs.
Detroit blew it in 7 seconds.
Russ decided, “time for a good game”.

Sigh.

At least we won

https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1641275499019108352

these dudes really about to miss the play-in smh.

.

Honestly, Russ’ salary was his biggest hinderance. Not only was he a guy the Lakers had to give up depth for to not be able to fit the roster, but he’d have pretty much have had that problem no matter where he went because of the kind of money he was making.

All that said…even MVP Russ wasn’t shooting 5/5 from 3…this is just one of those games.

and thank you Pistons for not putting a body on him. 🙏🏾

especially if Wiggins still is on DNP status.

Will be interesting if the Warriors continue to struggle on the road for that series. The fact all the games will literally be in the same state should help the Warriors, but they've been so bad on the road so far, it's hard to have much confidence in them.

The fact Kerr and Mike Brown know each other's coaching strats could be fairly interesting as well.

In 2023. That, above anything else, should give Riles and the Miami Heat front office some serious pause because for the most part, the Knicks have been very very lacking on the defensive end thus far this season.

Gonna be interesting to see what if anything Miami will do in the off-season.

He is one of my favorite analysts …but dude is huge and seems like he
can barely move when standing.

Another lakers nation L is coming!….

Ryan, keep your calendar open for your L ceremony

>Another lakers nation L is coming!….
>
>Ryan, keep your calendar open for your L ceremony

Anyway.

The Bulls are a disaster. As per usual.

Mike brown is COTY in my book. They have a solid core to build on and the org for once should be commended. Everyone was on them for the halliburton trade. Myself included, but in hindsight Sabonis was the exact piece they needed to complement Fox.

Their fans can be quite annoying and not exactly the most savvy bball heads. But they’re passionate and have supported them throughout.

I’ve gone to quite a few home games cuz my parents live out there now. Every missed call from a ref is a budding conspiracy lol. I get it from their history, but it’s tiring over time.

and both Holiday and Giannis had big games

but they aren't that much better.

Brogdon definitely makes them different tho.

tryna conspire against the lakers and let the pelicans win cuz jokic dont want that a.d. first round smoke (c) lakers fans

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1641540110595268609

its tight (only 2 point lead). jokic has more 1st place votes but embiid leads 2nd place votes by enough to tilt the margin in his favor.

i thought embiid was done after sitting out that matchup but hes still got a good shot to win...and the nuggets/jokic might take the foot off the pedal with the #1 seed close to being locked up.

In recent years is strange to me. Less crazy but getting there in NFL maybe cuz usually a more clearcut favorite.

But feels very media driven. People watching sports just as much for the thrills they get from off court dram and media reaction.

Any thoughts? Was anyone THIS concerned about mvp 10 years ago? 20? In 1990?

>In recent years is strange to me. Less crazy but getting
>there in NFL maybe cuz usually a more clearcut favorite.
>
>But feels very media driven. People watching sports just as
>much for the thrills they get from off court dram and media
>reaction.
>
>Any thoughts? Was anyone THIS concerned about mvp 10 years
>ago? 20? In 1990?

There's always been a lot of talk when a 2-time MVP was going for his 3rd whether it was:

Barkley beating out MJ in 93

KG beating out Duncan in 04

Dirk beating Nash in 07

Rose over Bron in 11

KD over Bron in 14

Russ over Steph in 17

Jokic over Giannis in 21

about and then fans argue it too. Also add to it at player that's gunning for it and has felt slighted previously.

its on their best interest to make it as important as possible so that *they* remain relevant.

and Brogdon has added a much needed 3rd scorer to break down defenses. I still say Celtics winning the east again.

He'll have 2-3 35+ point games in a row, followed up by a 15 pointer or a wildly inefficient 7-20 type game.

I do have the Bucks above them, but obviously the Celtics are capable of winning a series against them.

like show up in a kobe shirt then take 2 shots the entire 2nd half lol.

https://twitter.com/JDumasReports/status/1641905030273064968

add this to steve kerr saying the team has been in constant contact with him and he has been working out every day...and my hopes are officially up.

>https://twitter.com/JDumasReports/status/1641905030273064968
>
>add this to steve kerr saying the team has been in constant
>contact with him and he has been working out every day...and
>my hopes are officially up.

Still after not playing competitive basketball for a couple months will he be able to pick up where he left off? Will what whatever was bothering him to stay out all that time magically go away or will it still be in his head?

he looked like complete dogshit.

so hes def gonna need some type of ramp up and some type of minutes restriction.

AD went nuclear.

Let’s go.

TJ MAX ROSS MARSHALLS EVERYONE MUST GO SALE!!

You always get pissy when I give you negative attention when you do this.

So I'll try to reason with you, like you're a rational, sensible human being who isn't just playing the role of malcontent on a message board.

It *was* a stance at *a* point in time, under an entirely particular and different set of circumstances.

Those circumstances have changed.

Which means that mantra has changed.

Repeating this outdated call for change in the face of changed circumstances is asinine.

It's not funny, it's not clever, and it's not valid.

This is a team that has *something*, and that something is enough that we now need to buckle down with all hands on deck. They need to go all in on this team, tinkering around the edges, and hope for the best.

Because, again, the circumstances have changed.

If healthy, we're The Team Nobody Wants To Face In The Playoffs, even if we're not favorite in a series. We're a fucking dark horse for sure though, particularly with our defense since the deadline. Can we win a series? Maybe. But that's still a tall order against Denver or Phoenix, in particular. But the rest of the field? They shouldn't take us lightly, bare minimum.

And next year may be the ultimate When Healthy season, because THIS team- especially after some tinkering on those edges- could actually contend. I don't know about win, but we can definitely contend.

So the mantra has changed. They need to go all in and hope for the best. Because THIS team is not THAT broken, tangled, seemingly hopeless mess we had at the time I was saying that.

Which is why you beating this drum is asinine.

predictably started the game like shit and went like 0-15 from 3.

thank jah they brought him back.

sitting 4 of 5 starters tonight (including a 2nd straight game for jokic).

>Approaching the final 2 weeks of the season, with damn-near
>every team in the western conf making a mad dash for the
>finish line.
>
>What say you?
>
>
>
>*skatin' the rings of saturn*
>
>
>..and miles to go before i sleep...

4 games under .500.

not mathematically eliminated from the play-in yet but you can prolly stick a fork in em.

i think luka fakes an injury every game hes losing. always limping, grabbing a body part, etc.

kyrie is officially fry worty at this point. just on autopilot out there with no aggression/urgency.

since the merger (1976).

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1642355857793974273

walk for what they gave up, will they offer him the max and can he afford to walk away from that?

And yet, him signing doesn’t mean they’re ok either.

Terrible position.

...love to see it

than just chucking more 3s.

they were killing the nuggets in the paint to open their biggest lead of the game early even while they were struggling from 3. then they just start hunting 3s.

jordan poole...for all his faults...is the only dubs player that makes a point to attack the rim regularly. and he gets rewarded with a lot of foul calls even when he misses.

klay had his best stretch of the season when he was pump faking dudes on the close out then going to the rim and either finishing or dishing to a cutter. hes basically abandoned that.

and dont get me started on them fucking turnovers.

i have no idea why kerr has so much faith in anthony lamb. but if he aint hitting open 3s then hes useless. dude has become a dumb pass straight into the defenders arms machine lately too.

season almost over and this team still has some enduring bad habits that they arent good enough to overcome this year.

i think they got a good chance to hurt somebodys feelings in the 1st round.