NBA (whenever)...

[the AntiPusher]

Gee I missed so much these past few weeks. I did say NY would get to the finals, but I was expecting SGA & Co to thump them. What had happened to OKC? They lose their identity for a millisecond? Anyway, Knicks did the thang against a very immature Spurs who should regret this series w/ those last 2 games in particular as the worst finals appearance in SA history.

Brunson has been carrying NY for years. Remember last year. They got to the ECF because he was that dude in the 4Q. After dropping all those close games to Indy, they turned the tables this year and did the opposite to SA.

Spare a thought for Randle, who may never win a ring since he was traded to Minny.

Keli, what happened is OKC was not at full strength because Jalen Wi had a bad hamstring and Chet got punked by an Alien. As for Randle no team will EVER win a title with him as the number 2 or 3 options. Randle and Rudy were exposed by the Spurs.. well you know Antman was compromised which meant Chris Finch was coaching Hero Ball if that's can be done. Brunson was not afraid of an Alien who is all about hero ball himself and is a giant that stays in his feelings like the young man he is. Victor was given more leverage by the NBA refs than any player in the history of the NBA. He should have been suspended for at least two games in the Finals. Brunson saved the NBA because he showed the world he is the ultimate winner (high school n the state of Illinois, in college with Villanova and now with the Knicks); the only other person to achieve so much at that size was Isiah Lord Thomas. DeAaron Fox should be investigated because he definitely sabotage the finals in my opinion. I hope that clarifies things.

 

[kskate2]

Keli, what happened is OKC was not at full strength because Jalen Wi had a bad hamstring and Chet got punked by an Alien. As for Randle no team will EVER win a title with him as the number 2 or 3 options. Randle and Rudy were exposed by the Spurs.. well you know Antman was compromised which meant Chris Finch was coaching Hero Ball if that's can be done. Brunson was not afraid of an Alien who is all about hero ball himself and is a giant that stays in his feelings like the young man he is. Victor was given more leverage by the NBA refs than any player in the history of the NBA. He should have been suspended for at least two games in the Finals. Brunson saved the NBA because he showed the world he is the ultimate winner (high school n the state of Illinois, in college with Villanova and now with the Knicks); the only other person to achieve so much at that size was Isiah Lord Thomas. DeAaron Fox should be investigated because he definitely sabotage the finals in my opinion. I hope that clarifies things.

Yep. Thanks for the recap. Chet getting punked by an alien sums it up. Hee hee

 

[Federberg]

Keli, what happened is OKC was not at full strength because Jalen Wi had a bad hamstring and Chet got punked by an Alien. As for Randle no team will EVER win a title with him as the number 2 or 3 options. Randle and Rudy were exposed by the Spurs.. well you know Antman was compromised which meant Chris Finch was coaching Hero Ball if that's can be done. Brunson was not afraid of an Alien who is all about hero ball himself and is a giant that stays in his feelings like the young man he is. Victor was given more leverage by the NBA refs than any player in the history of the NBA. He should have been suspended for at least two games in the Finals. Brunson saved the NBA because he showed the world he is the ultimate winner (high school n the state of Illinois, in college with Villanova and now with the Knicks); the only other person to achieve so much at that size was Isiah Lord Thomas. DeAaron Fox should be investigated because he definitely sabotage the finals in my opinion. I hope that clarifies things.

let's be fair. De'Aaron Fox had a high ankle sprain. He was not performing up to his ability. That's not to say he couldn't have used his brain. Not running down the clock was nothing to do with injury! But let's be fair and put the win over OKC into context. Both teams were battered. And frankly I think OKC won last year because of Halliburton going down with an ACL so I personally NEVER want to hear injury as an excuse for that team. Not for any team really.

 

[DarthFed]

Yep. Thanks for the recap. Chet getting punked by an alien sums it up. Hee hee

Yeah you didn’t miss much. Watching the Finals was sobering in some ways because I know that was way better than average bball for today’s standards. The games were close and the Knicks in particular actually move the rock around. And yet it still was mostly trash.

In some bizarre world I could hear Brother Mouzone telling Wemby to take his 7’5 alien ass down to the post where it belongs. And you had Barkley and others criticize the Spurs for being stupid in game 4 by shooting and missing 8 straight 3’s despite having a big lead. And cap that off with Fox being a total idiot. But that’s what the NBA is today. Aside from some of the old G’s do you actually expect anyone to play intelligently? They all just have it drilled in their heads to shoot 3’s with 15+ on the shot clock no matter what.

 

[brokenshoelace]

it blows my mind that the Mavericks had both Doncic and Brunson. Both franchise players, and somehow managed to completed mess it up. It's mind blowing. I know we all like to laugh at the Kings, the Wizards and the Nets. But in the last decade.. no!....the last two decades... has there been a bigger calamity? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not sure two such ball dominant guys like Doncic and Brunson could have played together longer term. But surely you sell Brunson, get a pile that transforms that Mavericks team into sustainable contention? But I guess it becomes understandable when you realise the GM who did this was in a past life the Nike executive that lost them Steph Curry? The guy is a spectacular fumble machine. He's the reverse King Midas really

Honestly the even more incredible part is Brunson being the one to win a championship first (as a true franchise player). Meanwhile you look at Luka and wonder if it's going to happen while he's still in his prime. Cause right now, in the West, his chances are looking grim.

 

[Federberg]

Honestly the even more incredible part is Brunson being the one to win a championship first (as a true franchise player). Meanwhile you look at Luka and wonder if it's going to happen while he's still in his prime. Cause right now, in the West, his chances are looking grim.

It's not going to vindicate Nico Harrison, but yup I think the chances of Luka winning a ring a pretty slim. I'm not sure what the Lakers GM can do about it. I'm frankly delighted

 

[Federberg]

Yeah you didn’t miss much. Watching the Finals was sobering in some ways because I know that was way better than average bball for today’s standards. The games were close and the Knicks in particular actually move the rock around. And yet it still was mostly trash.

In some bizarre world I could hear Brother Mouzone telling Wemby to take his 7’5 alien ass down to the post where it belongs. And you had Barkley and others criticize the Spurs for being stupid in game 4 by shooting and missing 8 straight 3’s despite having a big lead. And cap that off with Fox being a total idiot. But that’s what the NBA is today. Aside from some of the old G’s do you actually expect anyone to play intelligently? They all just have it drilled in their heads to shoot 3’s with 15+ on the shot clock no matter what.

It's funny really. Everyone blames Golden State for the 3s, but if you watch them, now or even in their peak, the threat of the 3 opened up the floor for layups. When it was close in the fourth they found ways to cut for easy layups generally. Obviously Steph took 3s in clutch time, but he's Steph! That's not the same as anyone else... EVER

 

[brokenshoelace]

let's be fair. De'Aaron Fox had a high ankle sprain. He was not performing up to his ability. That's not to say he couldn't have used his brain. Not running down the clock was nothing to do with injury! But let's be fair and put the win over OKC into context. Both teams were battered. And frankly I think OKC won last year because of Halliburton going down with an ACL so I personally NEVER want to hear injury as an excuse for that team. Not for any team really.

Haliburton going down with an ACL was horrible and made for an anticlimactic finish, but it cannot be equated to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell's injury. Hali went down in a game 7 with the score 14-10 on the road, against a favored team. It's impossible to tell what would have happened if he didn't get hurt. A four point first quarter lead means absolutely nothing. Of course, him going down absolutely made OKC's job easier and killed the Pacers' chances.

Now if Dagneault or Shai are bringing up injuries that's one thing. But for fans and/or pundints to say that OKC going 7 games with the Spurs without their 2 secondary ball handlers, one of which being an all NBA player means they probably would have won the series, that's just a far more defensible take, especially when discussing the Spurs' flaws and overall performance in the finals.

 

[Federberg]

Haliburton going down with an ACL was horrible and made for an anticlimactic finish, but it cannot be equated to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell's injury. Hali went down in a game 7 with the score 14-10 on the road, against a favored team. It's impossible to tell what would have happened if he didn't get hurt. A four point first quarter lead means absolutely nothing. Of course, him going down absolutely made OKC's job easier and killed the Pacers' chances.

Now if Dagneault or Shai are bringing up injuries that's one thing. But for fans and/or pundints to say that OKC going 7 games with the Spurs without their 2 secondary ball handlers, one of which being an all NBA player means they probably would have won the series, that's just a far more defensible take, especially when discussing the Spurs' flaws and overall performance in the finals.

Ah! I get where you're going, but Halliburton suffered a hamstring injury in the Eastern conference finals already. As we are all starting to understand that seems to be a precursor to these ACL's. So it wasn't as if he was anywhere near optimal shape from the start of the finals. That needs to be factored in. One could easily make the counter-factual that if he hadn't suffered the hamstring against the Celtics, he would have been even more effective before game 7. This is why I give short shrift to what ifs for OKC in this years conference finals. It swings both ways so best not to even talk about it

 

[brokenshoelace]

Ah! I get where you're going, but Halliburton suffered a hamstring injury in the Eastern conference finals already. As we are all starting to understand that seems to be a precursor to these ACL's. So it wasn't as if he was anywhere near optimal shape from the start of the finals. That needs to be factored in. One could easily make the counter-factual that if he hadn't suffered the hamstring against the Celtics, he would have been even more effective before game 7. This is why I give short shrift to what ifs for OKC in this years conference finals. It swings both ways so best not to even talk about it

No that's fair. Winning a championship nowadays is really about health as much as it is about basketball.

 

[Murat B.]

Just going by the numbers , Halliburton seems to be more important to his team than any other player to any other team dealing with a star player injury. Which is not good for Indiana. Someone needed to step up this season and noone did. I expected Siakam to be that guy. He did not show up.. His points went up but his percentages went down from the field, three points and free throws.

 

[Federberg]

Just going by the numbers , Halliburton seems to be more important to his team than any other player to any other team dealing with a star player injury. Which is not good for Indiana. Someone needed to step up this season and noone did. I expected Siakam to be that guy. He did not show up.. His points went up but his percentages went down from the field, three points and free throws.

Siakam can't really create for others. They needed secondary guards, particularly Nembhard, to step in but that didn't happen. You would think they were tanking for this upcoming draft, but it's weird as they don't actually have draft picks this year. I've been very confused about what they're doing to be honest

 

[DarthFed]

It's not going to vindicate Nico Harrison, but yup I think the chances of Luka winning a ring a pretty slim. I'm not sure what the Lakers GM can do about it. I'm frankly delighted

I wouldn’t give up on Luka just yet but I do kind of agree with this. The most impressive thing to me about Luka is still being fairly efficient despite his usage rate. But I also question if anyone not named LeBron can win with a usage rate like that. Luka is obviously a poor defender to boot.

I think the Lakers have to rip the bandaid off and let LeBron walk. He is 41, and an old one at that. While Bron still steps up his defense and overall play in the playoffs I don’t think it’s close to enough unless they drastically improve the roster around them which isn’t going to happen. And if they are smart they don’t throw the bag at Reaves. But if you lose both those guys in one offseason without much coming back, then you clearly do not have a good team next year. And teams with superstars in their prime aren’t known for playing the long game, and for good reason.

 

[DarthFed]

Just going by the numbers , Halliburton seems to be more important to his team than any other player to any other team dealing with a star player injury. Which is not good for Indiana. Someone needed to step up this season and noone did. I expected Siakam to be that guy. He did not show up.. His points went up but his percentages went down from the field, three points and free throws.

Well, I think that 4 letter word the NBA hates that starts with a “T” and rhymes with prank is at play. They were never going to be good without Hali anyways.

 

[DarthFed]

Bucks are on the clock to trade Giannis. I do wonder if there will be a surprise team that swoops in last second. I just don’t see how Miami gives the Bucks a decent trade while having enough guys to still field a contending team. I just read Jaylen Brown has no interest playing in Milwaukee…not surprised. And not sure what kind of decent deal the C’s can make without including him or Tatum.

Overall, it’s pretty telling the lack of suitors. I think Giannis’s stock has taken a big hit the past couple years, particularly this one.

 

[Federberg]

Well, I think that 4 letter word the NBA hates that starts with a “T” and rhymes with prank is at play. They were never going to be good without Hali anyways.

they have no picks in this upcoming draft though? I don't get it

 

[Murat B.]

Well, I think that 4 letter word the NBA hates that starts with a “T” and rhymes with prank is at play. They were never going to be good without Hali anyways.

Buy they had like a 20 game losing streak at the beginning of the season without even knowing how the team was going to respond without Halliburton. If you are saying they tanked from day one...

 

[the AntiPusher]

Bucks are on the clock to trade Giannis. I do wonder if there will be a surprise team that swoops in last second. I just don’t see how Miami gives the Bucks a decent trade while having enough guys to still field a contending team. I just read Jaylen Brown has no interest playing in Milwaukee…not surprised. And not sure what kind of decent deal the C’s can make without including him or Tatum.

Overall, it’s pretty telling the lack of suitors. I think Giannis’s stock has taken a big hit the past couple years, particularly this one.

Its got to be OKC .. nobody has a plethora of #1npicks like they do. Yes Sir going from Milwaukee to Miami is like going from horse poop to kitty kat paradise but the business move is gonna be making a trade with OKC

 

[DarthFed]

they have no picks in this upcoming draft though? I don't get it

You’re right. Well no need to tank then.

 

[DarthFed]

It’s got to be OKC .. nobody has a plethora of #1npicks like they do. Yes Sir going from Milwaukee to Miami is like going from horse poop to kitty kat paradise but the business move is gonna be making a trade with OKC

That’d be by far the best scenario for the Bucks.

I’m kind of surprised Miami is Giannis’s preference as he always talks about not liking the big cities. I get it’s a well run franchise and maybe just having Spo and Riley is enticing to him but you still need to field an actual good team and not sure how they do that by trading 2-3 of their limited decent players for Giannis