1st quarter of the season coming to a close this week, with the Lakers holding court.

No excuses.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

https://twitter.com/kobeblvd/status/1353204754495639553?s=21

Wonder what that was about. I think I was game surfing during this moment

Also anyone else feel like Kuz and THT don’t really fw each other? I swear I see them wide ass open and won’t pass to each other a lot.

<--- Big Baller World Order

You can’t be the GOAT when you were dominated by other players and teams,
especially after building a super team to go after championships.

Curry is 3-1 vs Lebron in Championships. Kawhi won a championship
vs Lebron. Dirk won a championship against Lebron. KD won 2 championships
against Lebron.

Curry and the Warriors built a dynasty off beating Lebron. Every last one
Of their championships were against Lebron.

Curry changed the way the NBA played basketball and he
owned Lebron.

Curry is the GOAT of this generation.
And MJ is the forever GOAT.

Sorry, Charlie.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

..Dude, your context skills are severely lacking.

Step outside of your Bron hatred long enough to BREATHE. get some fresh air, fool. LMAO!


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

that no one was even talking about.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

..hilarisad.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

<--- Big Baller World Order

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

But it’s close!

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

It's LeBron. Good.

..you okay? LOL


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

if they're talking Wardell or LeGOAT

At some point, folks will have to start talking about the 6ers.

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

As far as DPOY, I think the nod goes to Andrew Wiggins right now. He guards
the best player of each team that he faces. He held Lebron to 6-16 shooting,
and he is holding players to 6 percent under their normal FG pct.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

PHI has the better record but they have a better team too. PHI could conceivably win a game with embiid out. it's inconceivable that DEN wins a game without jokic playing

>PHI has the better record but they have a better team too.
>PHI could conceivably win a game with embiid out. it's
>inconceivable that DEN wins a game without jokic playing

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

for the entire year, he will win it.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

IIRC, DEN was the lead dog for parts of last season

They fell to the 3rd seed late in the year

This season, Joker’s avg a triple double...and they’re worse

I think it’s important to not just make a stats argument in the run and gun nba of 2021

If he’s the mvp and his numbers are up...why are they worse?

Legit asking

Watched them a couple of times

They don’t look bad...but aren’t closing.

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

i think if advanced and traditional stats between two MVP candidates are comparable — jokic and embiid have nearly identical PIE as of this post — the tiebreaker should be how much worse the team would be without that player, using some kind of wins-over-replacement-like stat. to me the definition of "most valuable" is lifting a team that would normally have a 30% win rate up to a middle or high seed in the playoffs. i think this is the case with DEN and jokic this year. and for the record, 1/3 of the NBA is at or just above .500. right now the nuggets are in the playoffs. without jokic they would be like 2-14

but what do i know? i'm one of the dummies that thought harden should have won over yawnis cantshootafreethrow in 18-19 because harden had to overcome more during that season. eurostep bully won it because he had to overcome more in life. the beard and the freak's advanced and traditional stats were almost identical that year. giannis got the award because his narrative (humble beginnings, loves his GF, warm, kind of dumb, and goofy) was more pleasing than harden's (less humble beginnings, strip clubs and gyms, comparatively cold and distant)

to your question, DEN's record is worse because they lost all their best defenders in grant, plumlee, and craig. DEN's biggest problem over the last couple of years has been how inconsistent everyone but jokic is on offense. previously they had a decent D to cover that up but now they're really exposed. they're at least close in most of the losses. they've also been missing a lot of offense with murray struggling to find his rhythm and battling minor injuries and MPJ being out for weeks being a covid denying dumbass

offensive glory he's a defensive liability.

You can hide a weak guard on defense you can't hide a center

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

offensive glory he's a defensive liability.

You can hide a weak guard on defense you can't hide a center

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

Sure, they could conceivably win games without him, but they’re not. They can play with anyone if he’s in the lineup, but lose to anyone (as they recently did to Detroit) when he’s not in the lineup.

He has some nice pieces around him, but the team is entirely dependent on him.

the 76ers are a top contender in the East. I love his focus, drive, and discipline. It really feels like he cares about his legacy and is doing the things necessary to play at an elite level.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

They had a full, healthy lineup last night and lost to a decimated T-Wolves team. BI is entering his prime and is playing well, a young Zion - who most thought would have a Shaq/Lebron-esq entrance to the NBA, Steven Adams, Lonzo, Reddick. They’re definitely not devoid of talent, but continue to play like a sub-par, lottery team.

They give up more 3s on defense than any team-- and teams hit 3s against them at a high clip. Then, on offense, they take fewer 3s than nearly any team, and they hit 3s at a well below-average clip (shout out to Lonzo shooting over 7 3s a game and hitting 29% of them!).

So, y'know, I'm no basketball wizard... but if you're at the bottom of the league in making and taking 3s, and the team facing you is at the top of the league is making and taking 3s... that seems bad.

Hard to tell how much of this is by design. SVG's obviously an old school dude, but it's not like he hasn't run perimeter offenses before. The whole Orlando Finals team was centered around taking 3s and preventing your opponent from taking 3s. Obviously they had a Hall of Fame center and guys who could make 3s, so it's easier to scheme around that roster construction... but still.

Most non-Ingram players on the team have deficiencies right now one way or another, so there's on-the-floor blame to go around... but yeah, Lonzo's playing 31 MPG, doing under a 2:1 A:TO ratio and launching 7+ 3s a game at a 29% hit rate. If the player playing the third most MPG on your team has negative VORP, then either he needs to wake up, or the coaches need to make a change.

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

Perennial bottom of the league in 3pt stats when alladem dudes were LALs.

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you can't understand it without an explanation

you can't understand it with an explanation

Reticent, sorta introverted

Ingram, Ball, Adams, Bledsoe, even Zion...You can’t tell if they
are winning or losing.

Where is the vocal, aggressive leader(s)? Where is the big personality player?
Who is the Alpha on this squad?

They are all talented and skillful, but the drive just isn’t there.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

aint no way dude gonna stay happy with these stat lines.

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

It’s Allen Iverson all over again, similar trajectories.

Iverson was tough, but inefficient. He went to the finals, but lost.
Got traded to Denver, and paired up with Carmelo, but it amounted to nothing.
Got traded to Detroit ,I believe , and things really went down hill.
He wouldn’t listen, and he never changed his game. Once his athleticism left
, he turned into a below avg player.

Westbrook is tough, but highly inefficient. He went to the finals, but lost.
Got traded to Houston, paired up with Harden, things turned into a shit show.
Now he is playing in Washington, and his game has regressed even further.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

Painful to watch him play right now.

For him to be missing layups and midrange is bad. He has a quad injury currently that Brooks says he's "healed" from....yeah okay.....

I think he tried to dial it back some this game and facilitate, but he's got a lot of work to do if he still wants to be in the league after this contract.

Thibs can't act like he doesn't see it

------------------
One Hundred.

>Thibs can't act like he doesn't see it

<---
Fuck a sig, my presence is enough.

Hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later. Pretty wild that the Knicks found their starting point guard in the second round of the draft. It's been about a 15-20 year hunt for a good long term solution at point.

I'm hoping he improves even more next season; I wonder if he'll put on more size since he's relatively young.

"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.

but yeah, IQ actually looking really solid.

could it be Barrett is getting HELP?!!

We keep being told that Tatum is an Mvp level player...but Jaylen Brown is playing like the superstar.

------------------
One Hundred.

I thought Tatum was better, and Brown was NyQuil, now it looks like Brown has switched to the orange stuff.

2017-18 Tatum was a shockingly great player for a rookie. I almost thought they would beat the Cavs in the ECF.

Brown's ascension is the one thing that is gonna keep the Celtics hype train going.

Tatum will catch back up.

Celtics need another good guard. Kemba and Smart (if anything, he's dependable for the things he is) are cool.

Yes, I'm mad. Let's move on.

Jays | Cavs | Eagles | Sabres | Tarheels

PSN: Dr_Claw_77 | XBL: Dr Claw 077 | FB: drclaw077 | T: @drclaw77 | http://thepeoplesvault.wordpress.com

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

But did you just say trade Jayson Tatum for Lauri and Otto? Lol

Jayson and Jaylon are avg the same numbers

Jaylon- 27/6/3 53fg pct / 43 3pt pct
Jayson - 26/7/3 47fg pct / 43 3pt pct

Lauri - 18/6/1 47fg pct / 36 3pt pct
Otto - 12/6/1 47 fg pct/ 41 3pt pct

And Lauri and Otto are shit defenders.

As a bulls fan, Sure, if Ainge is that unintelligent to do that trade.
But I know he isn’t dumb enough to do something like that.

And before the win yesterday against a Cavs team playing a back to back,
Celtics had lost three in a row Knicks/sixers/sixers ...they are bad without Jayson.

What would make you think of a crazy trade like that?

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

But did you just say trade Jayson Tatum for Lauri and Otto? Lol

Jayson and Jaylon are avg the same numbers

Jaylon- 27/6/3 53fg pct / 43 3pt pct
Jayson - 26/7/3 47fg pct / 43 3pt pct

Lauri - 18/6/1 47fg pct / 36 3pt pct
Otto - 12/6/1 47 fg pct/ 41 3pt pct

And Lauri and Otto are shit defenders.

As a bulls fan, Sure, if Ainge is that unintelligent to do that trade.
But I know he isn’t dumb enough to do something like that. There is
a reason why the bulls have yet to extend Lauri.

And before the win yesterday against a Cavs team playing a back to back,
Celtics had lost three in a row Knicks/sixers/sixers ...they are bad without Jayson.

What would make you think of a crazy trade like that?

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

and lol @ that trade. yeah, the Celtics will trade a 22-year-old All-Star for the Kirkland Brand Dirk and a guy whose contract is expiring. maybe the Celtics will throw in Kemba if the Bulls include Garrett Temple and Thaddeus Young!

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

>We keep being told that Tatum is an Mvp level player...but
>Jaylen Brown is playing like the superstar.

You’re acting like they don’t fit or something. Not only do they play well together, but they are both locked in for years to come.

Yes, they statistically put up numbers together, but Boston is stuck in a rut. Better than most of the teams in their conference, but not good enough to get to the finals. The Kyrie experiment failed. Kemba as a replacement was nice but they ran into buzzsaw in Miami that they couldn't get around. Do they wait and build some more through the draft or make a move? We know they aren't replacing the coach.

I think that the fit is not there for them to progress to the next level.

------------------
One Hundred.

>I think that the fit is not there for them to progress to the
>next level.

Tatum is 22. Brown is 24. Both signed through 2024, Tatum signed through 2025. There is no reason to sell on either of them. Especially for two *worse* players, both of whom are on expiring deals. Like... that suggestion, even disregarding fit, is bonkers, lol.

Furthermore, the idea that Tatum and Brown are the ones who don't "fit" into Stevens's switch everything, wing-oriented offense... is really strange. Their entire scheme is built around the fact that they fit what Stevens wants to do so well. He wants four players on the perimeter who can create for themselves and others while also, perhaps most importantly, credibly switching everything on defense. Tatum and Brown are perfect for this scheme.

If anyone on the floor doesn't fit, it's honestly Kemba. He can't credibly switch on defense against wings or bigger players. The ideal fit for Stevens's system here is a taller guard. Kemba's very good, but he's 6 feet and 185 lbs, and we saw him struggle when teams targeted him (much like they did Kyrie and Rozier) on the switches in the pick and roll last playoffs. Stevens's ideal point guard is someone like Malcolm Brogdon or maybe Jrue Holiday-- someone who can shoot and distribute well enough but who can also capably defend through all those switches. If we're looking for a reason why Stevens can't break through to the Finals, it's because every PG he plays-- Walker, Rozier, Kyrie, Lil Zeke-- is too small to defend on switches. So if we're trying to solve fit, that's honestly the place to start. (Also, he's already 30, and he's only signed through next season, so when looking for players to trade, he fits the profile.)

Furthermore, Lauri's just a terrible fit for Stevens. Does Lauri play the 5 in this proposed scheme? A Kemba/Smart/Brown/Porter/Lauri lineup? Stevens wants a burly 5 to set hard screens, goon in the paint, and switch reasonably onto perimeter players-- so guys like Thompson, Theis, Grant Williams, they all make sense. Lauri isn't good at any of the things Stevens wants big men to do. And if the goal is to make Lauri a 4, that might be worse, because on top of having to defend even more perimeter players, which Lauri can't do, Stevens wants four guys on the outside who can all make plays for themselves and others, and Lauri has one of the lowest assist rates in the league for guys with such a high usage. He'd immediately be one of the worst passers on the roster.

You may be right that making a move is a good idea for the Celtics-- although making the ECF three out of four seasons with stars that still haven't entered their prime doesn't necessitate panic either-- but you don't move your two guys who (a) are both under 25, (b) are both signed to long term deals, and (c) are both absolutely perfect for the coach's scheme.

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

For example, in Philly the eternal question is "Simmons and Embiid are fantastic, but can they fit together?" Boston certainly does need another piece, but that problem of fitting together doesn't apply to Tatum and Brown. We need to take a hard look at the rest of the team, not those 2 guys.

And also, this may all be overreacting because we haven't truly seen what they can do with a healthy Kemba. Given how Theis has worked out as a starter and Smart does everything... it actually could still work as is. Would I bet on it? No, but I don't see the need to panic just yet.

Plus, like Frank said, they're still young and are locked in for years. I've been a critic of how Ainge handled this past offseason, but also I'm glad he didn't make a panic move that could hurt the chemistry of the team (like trading one of those guys for Harden).

..I find it interesting that the NBA is having enough trouble fielding healthy rosters, yet its already pushing to allow fans?

I'm not a fan of this move at all.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

Wiz just missed two weeks for their COVID outbreak and still barely had enough players for last night.

I don't know if it is a good idea to keep playing at all....And no clue how the Wiz are gonna make up 6 games.....

..They have enough of a challenge keeping players healthy in that limited environment, why on earth would they think its a good idea to increase the number of people in these arenas while this virus is surging?


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

But.......


Money.........


How is Carnival Cruise lines doing for Micky Arison right now? Gotta get some revenue in some kind of way I guess.....

They will keep rolling.

College basketball postpones about 4 games a day....and the big ten
Can’t go a week without postponing games. And Michigan will probably
be unable to play for about 2 weeks due to the latest outbreak.

Compared to college basketball , the NBA’s situation isn’t that bad.The majority
of games are being played.

No way in hell should fans be let in though.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

And everything.

If you're against fans all together, fine.

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

..we're not against fans in the stands
but we are against those dumb-ass billionaires determined to put even more people at risk unnecessarily

*cue synthesized bass*

FOOL, THIS RONA AIN'T GOOOOOONE
FOOL, THIS RONA AIN'T GOOOOOONE
FOOL, THIS RONA AIN'T GOOO-OO-OO-OO-ONE
SO KEEP Y'ALL ASSES AT HOOO-OO-OO-OO-OME

*Paid for by Bone Thugs 'N Harmony*


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

>..I find it interesting that the NBA is having enough trouble
>fielding healthy rosters, yet its already pushing to allow
>fans?
>

I mean, in Florida’s defense, they’ve basically been open this whole time and they don’t have it as bad as my state (California) or many others, but regardless of the numbers no one’s gonna tell Florida what to do.

Also there’s not a chance these dogs can actually sniff out COVID. If there’s anything less accurate than the rapid tests, it’s gotta be COVID-sniffing dogs.

if the dogs are gonna sniff out COVID, wouldn't in turn give them COVID?

"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

>I mean, in Florida’s defense, they’ve basically been open
>this whole time and they don’t have it as bad as my state
>(California) or many others, but regardless of the numbers no
>one’s gonna tell Florida what to do.

It wasn't that long ago that basically admitted they were going to stop reporting to the CDC and cook the numbers to make them look good. I imagine things are a lot worse down there than they're letting on. But they'll still let anyone do anything.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

yet the miami heat are certain that the science behind covid sniffing dogs is solid enough to roll this out as a solution?

unsurprisingly... "most of these findings have not yet been peer reviewed or published, making it hard for the wider scientific community to evaluate the claims" and "Groups need to boost their sample sizes before the wider scientific community can evaluate how useful the dogs might be."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03149-9

..BUT $$$ is the only direction these fools pay attention to.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


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

U still going in or naw?


____________

DALLAS LAKERICKS LETS GO!!

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0