NBA (whenever)...

[Federberg]

Hmm I may be remembering wrong but I dont remember Steph saying much politically. I know he declined a visit to the White House and Trump predictably insulted him and then LeBron went after Trump in defense of Steph. LeBron has made other comments on Trump and then was outspoken about a couple questionable police shootings around the time of the Bubble. He also posted a pic of one of the cops on social media and said “you’re next”. And to make matters worse for him he totally jumped the gun on one of the police shootings which ended up being completely justified (Jacob Blake).

So there was quite a lot. I personally thought it was hilarious that the US team was calling him Captain America at the last Olympics. Oh man did that piss off a lot of people

lol! I missed the Captain America thing.

I was referring to stuff like this...

 

[DarthFed]

lol! I missed the Captain America thing.

I was referring to stuff like this...

I’m surprised Trump didnt go after Curry hard for that unless maybe he did? He usually goes nuts when someone high-profile goes after him haha. Maybe he has too many enemies to keep track of

 

[Federberg]

 

[Murat B.]

Enes, the triple double machine ! My girl is going to kick some ass....

 

[Federberg]

Now I fully understand why AD never takes the bubble ring seriously

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Is it just me, or are people seriously overrating LaMelo Ball? People are mentioning him in the same sentence as Giannis and LeBron, and think he is going to be the difference maker that leads Minnesota to a Championship. I just don't see it. Ball is a defensive liability, and that makes Minnesota a much worse team defensively, especially getting rid of Naz Reid and Julius Randle.

 

[Federberg]

Is it just me, or are people seriously overrating LaMelo Ball? People are mentioning him in the same sentence as Giannis and LeBron, and think he is going to be the difference maker that leads Minnesota to a Championship. I just don't see it. Ball is a defensive liability, and that makes Minnesota a much worse team defensively, especially getting rid of Naz Reid and Julius Randle.

It's a tough one mate. I think in reality people are making a bet on AntMan. The argument is this... AntMan is likely to explode as an offensive player off the ball. Say whatever you want about LaMelo, he's one of the best assist makers in the league. AntMan has been complaining for years that he's getting double and triple teamed. With Lamelo controlling the ball, AntMan will be unleashed. I actually think there's a strong case that AntMan will be a serious contender for MVP this year because of this. As to LaMelo's defensive deficiencies, let's wait and see. He's not been in a team with serious winning aspirations before. I have a suspicion that not only will he contribute more defensively than people think, but Finch will create schemes that protect him. Besides all that, I think Lamelo is going to be dishing out so many dimes that the likes of Rudy, McDaniels and AntMan will be only too happy to protect him. I think they'll be a fun team to watch. I also think that they'll be better defensively that people think. Naz Reid and Randle were competent defensively but when you think Timberwolves defence most people would mention Rudy, McDaniels and AntMan before those two. That's not to say they won't be missed but the proof of concept will be whether their offence takes a quantum leap more than their defence is impaired. To me... it's not certain, but I wouldn't be surprised if the offence is more turbo charged than folks think

PS, I think the real danger for them is whether LaMelo is able to stay on the floor and not have injuries than any defensive weaknesses

 

[Federberg]

Is this true?

 

[the AntiPusher]

Is it just me, or are people seriously overrating LaMelo Ball? People are mentioning him in the same sentence as Giannis and LeBron, and think he is going to be the difference maker that leads Minnesota to a Championship. I just don't see it. Ball is a defensive liability, and that makes Minnesota a much worse team defensively, especially getting rid of Naz Reid and Julius Randle.

I bitched about it when they made the damn trade. It makes no sense to give up Reid when they could have given up one of my favorite wings Ayo or Terrance Shannon Jr aka TJ plus some picks. The Ball Brothers are damaged goods due to being physically overtrained before they bodies grew and developed into their adult bodies by the greatest Hype Man since Ser Davos of Game of Thrones. Naz Reid's had a high basketball IQ and I have championed him for doing the dirty work on the team. Can you imagine what happens now when Denver plays them or if Victor elbows LaMelo in his kisser?

 

[Federberg]

I bitched about it when they made the damn trade. It makes no sense to give up Reid when they could have given up one of my favorite wings Ayo or Terrance Shannon Jr aka TJ plus some picks. The Ball Brothers are damaged goods due to being physically overtrained before they bodies grew and developed into their adult bodies by the greatest Hype Man since Ser Davos of Game of Thrones. Naz Reid's had a high basketball IQ and I have championed him for doing the dirty work on the team. Can you imagine what happens now when Denver plays them or if Victor elbows LaMelo in his kisser?

If I didn’t already know you’re also partial to the Dubs I wouldn’t understand this. But I’ve also seen Naz torch us with threes over the years. Problem is he’s not that guy against most other teams

 

[Federberg]

good grief! Lakers sold again. For $12.5bn?? The Dodgers guy just flipped a $2.5bn profit in one year! Outstanding!!

 

[the AntiPusher]

good grief! Lakers sold again. For $12.5bn?? The Dodgers guy just flipped a $2.5bn profit in one year! Outstanding!!

Does special time with Jeanie Buss comes with the acquisition?

 

[Federberg]

Does special time with Jeanie Buss comes with the acquisition?

tell me more!

 

[the AntiPusher]

good grief! Lakers sold again. For $12.5bn?? The Dodgers guy just flipped a $2.5bn profit in one year! Outstanding!!

the former owner Mark is under investigation by the Feds.. dude need some quick money to get out of some fraud loans ..I think 16 billion worth

 

[Murat B.]

Westbrook retiring. The dude made the triple double an ordinary thing. Before him, it was all the way back to Robertson that someone averaged a triple double in a season. One of the most powerful point guards I have ever seen. I have not heard him speak much so I would be interested in listening to him as a commentator or something.

 

[Federberg]

Westbrook retiring. The dude made the triple double an ordinary thing. Before him, it was all the way back to Robertson that someone averaged a triple double in a season. One of the most powerful point guards I have ever seen. I have not heard him speak much so I would be interested in listening to him as a commentator or something.

He always came across as a bit gruff in interviews, but everything I've heard about him in private is that he's a lovely family guy. What an athlete! I still think the MVP he got was more of a narrative story than fully justified. So many of those triple doubles were manufactured. As Oscar Robertson said, if he had realised triple doubles were such a big deal he could have had many more. It just goes to show the records we treasure are often on the backs of greats who were just doing their business and not targeting metrics.

 

[Murat B.]

He always came across as a bit gruff in interviews, but everything I've heard about him in private is that he's a lovely family guy. What an athlete! I still think the MVP he got was more of a narrative story than fully justified. So many of those triple doubles were manufactured. As Oscar Robertson said, if he had realised triple doubles were such a big deal he could have had many more. It just goes to show the records we treasure are often on the backs of greats who were just doing their business and not targeting metrics.

How do you manufacture a triple double? And if you can, why is it a bad thing? Rebounding and assisting is not like scoring. You can hog the ball and take all the shots to help your numbers for scoring but for assists and rebounds, you have to work and depend on others too. Damn, I wish everyone manufactured shit like that

 

[Federberg]

How do you manufacture a triple double? And if you can, why is it a bad thing? Rebounding and assisting is not like scoring. You can hog the ball and take all the shots to help your numbers for scoring but for assists and rebounds, you have to work and depend on others too. Damn, I wish everyone manufactured shit like that

I recall many games where bigs deferred to Russ for rebounds to keep the streak going. So to me that's a bit manufactured. It was less about winning and more about sustaining the narrative. That's ok, but to my mind it's not quite the same as what we see Jokic doing now

 

[DarthFed]

Westbrook was one hell of an athlete and competitor with an endless motor. Give him a decent jumper and some Basketball IQ and he’d easily be one of the best to ever do it.

I have to agree that the stats are misleading as he’d literally push his own players out of the way for rebounds those few years. Mainly, in an era that is largely about efficient scoring he was never efficient at his best and was extremely inefficient once he was no longer at his peak athletically. I remember having arguments with Shoelace and someone else about Westbrook over Chris Paul. Even with CP3’s playoff struggles I think it’s a joke of a comparison.

 

[Federberg]

Westbrook was one hell of an athlete and competitor with an endless motor. Give him a decent jumper and some Basketball IQ and he’d easily be one of the best to ever do it.

I have to agree that the stats are misleading as he’d literally push his own players out of the way for rebounds those few years. Mainly, in an era that is largely about efficient scoring he was never efficient at his best and was extremely inefficient once he was no longer at his peak athletically. I remember having arguments with Shoelace and someone else about Westbrook over Chris Paul. Even with CP3’s playoff struggles I think it’s a joke of a comparison.

I 100% agree. CP3 was a more winning player in my view. I'm amazed that anyone would rank Russ higher than CP3