The Basketball Thread

Arkandel · Oct 20, 2017, 2:53 PM

@ganymede The thing is... I feel bad for him. It's not his fault his dad is a loudmouthed idiot, and the kid himself hasn't said anything offensive (well, more than anyone at that age might). In fact everyone who meets him apparently walks away with that observation too, because we all expect him to be his father's son.

Then again he's getting paid $$$ to play ball, so... I don't feel that bad for him.

Nothing I see so far suggests the finals will be anything than Warriors - Cavs again though, with the Warriors winning fairly easily. The Cavs if healthy have a lot of firepower and a great bench but their defense is suspect at best; IT, DRose and the 35-year old version of DWade can't keep up with the Dubs. KLove is what he is, and LeBron can't guard everything.

In the West the Spurs are old as dirt, OKC is a new team essentially and they'll need time to gel. Houston might if they just get in the zone for a full series since they have so many shooters but that's hardly something to count on, and both CP3 and Harden have had an iffy playoff history so far.

Ganymede · Oct 20, 2017, 3:22 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

Nothing I see so far suggests the finals will be anything than Warriors - Cavs again though, with the Warriors winning fairly easily.

I guess this means that we'll be hearing more from Sir Charles on how awesome hockey is.

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 2:33 PM

@ganymede All I want from the NBA this season is to not hear Giannis got injured.

Because that kid can do some stuff we haven't seen since Shaq, at least. And he has a freakin' work ethic.

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 2:38 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

All I want from the NBA this season is to not hear Giannis got injured.

Because that kid can do some stuff we haven't seen since Shaq, at least. And he has a freakin' work ethic.

Um. Yao?

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 2:39 PM

@ganymede Yao is one of those could-have-beens. If Tracy McGrady had stayed uninjured, if China wasn't playing him every summer to the ground... if...

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 2:58 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

Yao is one of those could-have-beens. If Tracy McGrady had stayed uninjured, if China wasn't playing him every summer to the ground... if...

Could-have-beens? Yao was fantastic. His impact to the NBA is something that is scarcely noticed, but which a lot of owners know about and love.

During his injury-riddled tenure, he was a dominant force for the Rockets. He played in a big market that became a huge one. He brought the NBA into China, the league's second-biggest market. The NBA is so popular in China now that, when the L.A. Kings played a hockey game there fans showed up because they heard that Kobe Bryant was going to be there (he wasn't, but there was a message from Kobe before the game).

He finished his career with a respectable 19.0 PPG, and just under 10 RB/GM. What made him a threat was that his FT percentage always hovered around 80-85 percent, which meant you couldn't just hack at him (like you could with Shaq). In the era where dominant Cs were phased out in favor of flashy PGs, Yao is in the conversation with Dwight Howard, in terms of quality players: you don't want to build a franchise around him, but he's pretty damn handy to have in the paint.

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 2:58 PM

@ganymede He's a could-have-been not because he wasn't a great player (and a really nice person - everything I read about him even after the end of his career confirms it) but because his career did end up cut too short, and he never came particularly close to winning a chip.

Guys like Yao or Embiid (If you want to project a bit, Greg Oden) are a special, dying breed of NBA player; the true bigs, but with something extra in the mix.

That's why sometimes I'm annoyed at Shaq. He was the unicorn in that regard - an enormous juggernaut of a guy, who did win a lot, but who could have won more if he wanted to work for it. But he didn't. Which ... I can't really begrudge him for, yet I do anyway.

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 4:56 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

That's why sometimes I'm annoyed at Shaq. He was the unicorn in that regard - an enormous juggernaut of a guy, who did win a lot, but who could have won more if he wanted to work for it. But he didn't. Which ... I can't really begrudge him for, yet I do anyway.

Um. Tim Duncan?

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 5:10 PM

@ganymede Timmy fulfilled his potential and then some. I can hardly see how he could have had a better career, or that he earned every bit of it.

Shaq was just lazy. He admits it himself. He relied on his immense physical gifts to get by, and even refused to do rehab during the off season because "I get hurt on company time, I rehab on company time".

I mean I get it. He won rings and did relatively little work for it. But he could have been the best ever if he had the crazy work ethic of someone like Kobe.

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 7:07 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

I mean I get it. He won rings and did relatively little work for it. But he could have been the best ever if he had the crazy work ethic of someone like Kobe.

Shaq doesn't even come close to KAJ or Russell. Not even close.

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 7:12 PM

@ganymede I would take 2001 Shaq - specifically - over any player who has ever played the game on any level. Ever.

Prime Shaq was just absurd.

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 7:13 PM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

Prime Shaq was just absurd.

Russell-Tron would dick-punch Shaquillous Prime with a ring on each of his punching fingers.

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 7:39 PM

@ganymede Pft, comparing players between completely different eras is futile. You can't do it.

I mean Wilt was a physical specimen for sure in any era, but Russell would be a PF in today's game, and there's no way in hell he could do much to stop a rampaging 230 pounds of muscle prime Shaq backing him into basket.

Source: Kevin Garnett, who said every time he had to defend Shaq in his prime he felt like he was holding up a brick wall for an hour and a half, and the next day he could barely move.

Ganymede · Oct 24, 2017, 7:38 PM

@arkandel

I suppose you're right, except for the dick-punch part.

Ghost · Oct 24, 2017, 7:44 PM

+10 for dick punching.

Arkandel · Oct 24, 2017, 7:46 PM

@ghost Found Draymond Green's account!

buttercup · Oct 25, 2017, 2:09 AM

I am a rabid basketball fan of the Phoenix Suns. Been some hard years. Going to be a hard year. About to be some hard years on the horizon.

This was, hands down, one of the better offseasons for the NBA I think.

Shame about the Celtics injury. I think the Timberwolves could do some things once they get it down. I love Butler, Thibs... KAT...

Tempest · Oct 25, 2017, 2:13 AM

@buttercup said in The Basketball Thread:

I am a rabid basketball fan of the Phoenix Suns. Been some hard years. Going to be a hard year. About to be some hard years on the horizon.

I don't follow basketball at all, but I just happened to catch a snippet of ESPN about the Bledsoe thing and them interviewing the team exec or whatever.

I genuinely started laughing my ass off at the way that guy set up that explanation. It totally reeked of him being about to handwave it like it wasn't a big deal (re: the 'i dont wanna be here' tweet and the guy saying he was at a hair salon). The 'and I don't believe him, so he's fucking out of here' felt so out of left field. I loved it.

Arkandel · Oct 25, 2017, 2:48 AM

@tempest Their management is bad. I mean it's bad overall, but basically broadcasting to everyone a player is done with you (and being liable to getting sued by his agent if you bench him for too long) means he has to be traded as soon as possible.

The Suns won't get their money's worth in return for him. Not that Bledsoe is great - he's a good defender and cutter but not a great shooter, and he's 28. That combination means no elite team wants him, and very few building teams will trade real assets for him.

The Bucks and the Nuggets are it. That's not a big market.

Ganymede · Oct 25, 2017, 2:53 AM

@arkandel said in The Basketball Thread:

The Suns won't get their money's worth in return for him. Not that Bledsoe is great - he's a good defender and cutter but not a great shooter, and he's 28. That combination means no elite team wants him, and very few building teams will trade real assets for him.

I'll bet the Cavs would trade J.R. Smith for him.

Then again, if I were the Cavs, I'd trade J.R. Smith for a ham sandwich; the sandwich would be more reliable.