NBA Thread

[Aaron 4,577]

54 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

I was a big PG fan for a long time -- and consider a lot of the 'bad attitude' he was cast with while on the P's to Bird's idiotic, overbearing and genuinely stupid demands, insisting on playing PG at power forward and basically running off the P's then star player -- that said, PG's play for money to leave the Clips Z(where he was largely outstanding) and join the Sixers was itself selfish, short-sighted and well, dumb, and he got what he deserved in making that bad decision. But regardless his broken leg injury from the stanchion isn''t comparable to an achilles tear. Durant's is a direct comparison, and he returned after a  year out to continue to dominate as the League's most efficient scorer and a legit superstar. Yep, Hali should be fine, just have to be patient waiting on his return.

Exactly on all of that. PG and Bird were like a married couple who were both at fault for acting like morons and refused to listen to each other and consider each other's views (ironically my parents got divorced for exactly this reason and are much better for it). 

 

 

[Demo 24,068]

https://www.patreon.com/posts/moving-on-from-7-132217420
 

Very nice read from Caitlin Cooper on sort of the nature of fandom and, specifically, Pacers fandom. Such a fan of her work.

[rayl456 965]

19 minutes ago, Demo said:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/moving-on-from-7-132217420
 

Very nice read from Caitlin Cooper on sort of the nature of fandom and, specifically, Pacers fandom. Such a fan of her work.

Thanks!  That IS a very good piece.  Moving on is part of life.  We all face it…that moment when you have to let go…and move on.  As Coach McCracken would loudly say…Next play.

[rayl456 965]

Just now, rayl456 said:

Thanks!  That IS a very good piece.  Moving on is part of life.  We all face it…that moment when you have to let go…and move on.  As Coach McCracken would loudly say…Next play.

Next play!   :))

[Demo 24,068]

Wow, to add insult to the injury of how badly he lost the genetic lotto, as Cooper Flagg’s hugging his twin brother Ace after being drafted it’s pretty clear that Ace at the ripe old age of 18 has a receding hairline. Swear to God, that kid can’t catch a break. 

[OliviaPope40 7,480]

Dylan Harper at 2nd in the draft interesting. 

[Stuhoo 90,002]

Ace Bailey in Salt Lake City is priceless good news.

The bling-iest, lowest defensive effort guy in the draft goes to the least bling-iest place in North America.

 

[LamarCheeks 22,201]

BTW -- before tonight, can anybody name the last white American college player to go No. 1 in the draft? 

Here's a hint ... 

[Demo 24,068]

Silver said during the broadcast last night that there were 7 achilles injuries League-wide this year after none last year and they’re digging into it.

And the Pacers had 3 of them? I’m not a statistician but the odds of that sound kind of long. 

[Stuhoo 90,002]

Odds that this going to go well?

VERY long:

 

[Home Jersey 16,401]

12 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Odds that this going to go well?

VERY long:

 

What about that interview do you think portrays him as having a bad attitude about being in Utah? Seems like a nice young man that got some bad advice in the pre-draft process. Hope it works out for him. Ainge is a good GM. 

[Stuhoo 90,002]

13 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

What about that interview do you think portrays him as having a bad attitude about being in Utah? Seems like a nice young man that got some bad advice in the pre-draft process. Hope it works out for him. Ainge is a good GM. 

Nothing about this interview screams "bad attitude." (said with zero sarcasm). I didn't say "bad attitude;" I said very long odds this is going to go well.

This whole situation screams "terrible fit" and bad team now with a talented, immature, very inefficient, inconsistent-defensively interested (and that's being kind) young Ace Bailey who now is in a very different place than he is used to, and is gong to a team that will have pretty much no veteran leadership except for Clarkson, who the Jazz are aggressively trying to deal away.

 

[RaceToTheTop 31,374]

7 hours ago, LamarCheeks said:

BTW -- before tonight, can anybody name the last white American college player to go No. 1 in the draft? 

Here's a hint ... 

Benedict Benson?  Last time I saw him he was sitting behind Purdue's bench.

[Home Jersey 16,401]

19 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Nothing about this interview screams "bad attitude." (said with zero sarcasm). I didn't say "bad attitude;" I said very long odds this is going to go well.

This whole situation screams "terrible fit" and bad team now with a talented, immature, very inefficient, inconsistent-defensively interested (and that's being kind) young Ace Bailey who now is in a very different place than he is used to, and is gong to a team that will have pretty much no veteran leadership except for Clarkson, who the Jazz are aggressively trying to deal away.

 

I guess I interpreted sharing the clip and saying odds that it goes well are “VERY” long felt like the clip was supposed to be supporting evidence of the odds being long, lol. We’ll see how it shakes out… Ainge tends to know what he is doing IMO. Definitely taking a shot drafting him without having done a workout. Upside potential is good too though. Bailey was always going to be a high risk/high reward pick.

[RaceToTheTop 31,374]

3 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

I guess I interpreted sharing the clip and saying odds that it goes well are “VERY” long felt like the clip was supposed to be supporting evidence of the odds being long, lol. We’ll see how it shakes out… Ainge tends to know what he is doing IMO. Definitely taking a shot drafting him without having done a workout. Upside potential is good too though. Bailey was always going to be a high risk/high reward pick.

His upside certainly looked a lot better when he was 6'10" than 6'7.5"

[Home Jersey 16,401]

1 minute ago, RaceToTheTop said:

His upside certainly looked a lot better when he was 6'10" than 6'7.5"

Sure… and still deemed talented enough to take at #5 overall without the drafting team even getting to work him out first lol. He’s got a lot of upside if he’s 6’7.5 or 6’9 in shoes or whatever. He has a 7’ wingspan. Him and Clayton give Utah fans plenty to be excited about. And perhaps going somewhere less flashy is exactly what Bailey needs to lock in on his development and tune out negative influences in his camp. Could just as easily see it working out as going bust.

[Demo 24,068]

52 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Odds that this going to go well?

VERY long:

 

I think there’s a pretty decent chance that Ainge drafted him as an asset and not a piece and he’s open for business on moving him on to 1 of the teams that wants the kid. They’ve got a ton of overlapping pieces and maybe they use him to make a deal to get off a contract like Sexton or Clarkson. Or, they think the kid’s a star and there’s nothing he’s gonna do about it.

[Stuhoo 90,002]

10 minutes ago, Demo said:

I think there’s a pretty decent chance that Ainge drafted him as an asset and not a piece and he’s open for business on moving him on to 1 of the teams that wants the kid. They’ve got a ton of overlapping pieces and maybe they use him to make a deal to get off a contract like Sexton or Clarkson. Or, they think the kid’s a star and there’s nothing he’s gonna do about it.

Ainge is nothing if not a gambler. He absolutely hit the jackpot in Boston ... twice; when he got Allen and Garnett, and in 2013 when he traded for picks that became Tatum and Brown (in 2016 and 2017). He was arguably ahead of the curve in trading "whatever it takes" to get a top 20 player in the league. Now everyone knows that can be a winning formula.

Ainge's four+ years in Utah? Not good at all. Trading Gobert and Conley before they started to slide was bad and trading Donovan Mitchell was way worse.

The Jazz's successive yearly wins under his tenure so far? 49, 37, 31, 17. And no apparent franchise players-to be ala San Antonio in the offing.

[moyemayhem 1,799]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Ainge is nothing if not a gambler. He absolutely hit the jackpot in Boston ... twice; when he got Allen and Garnett, and in 2013 when he traded for picks that became Tatum and Brown (in 2016 and 2017). He was arguably ahead of the curve in trading "whatever it takes" to get a top 20 player in the league. Now everyone knows that can be a winning formula.

Ainge's four+ years in Utah? Not good at all. Trading Gobert and Conley before they started to slide was bad and trading Donovan Mitchell was way worse.

The Jazz's successive yearly wins under his tenure so far? 49, 37, 31, 17. And no apparent franchise players-to be ala San Antonio in the offing.

I think you are leaving out a lot of context in Ainge’s time in Utah.  The Jazz weren’t going deep in the playoffs with Gobert and Mitchell, and made a decision to reboot.  Ainge was brought in to tear it down, and he did a really good job maximizing return in the process.  Getting 4 first round picks for a guy making $40+ million a year that often doesn’t play crunch time in playoff games is a great deal. Mitchell didn’t formally ask for a trade, but it was understood that he preferred to be traded.  Conley had a great career, but he’s not a difference maker anymore.  They will be bad for a while, especially in the West, but they at least have the picks and front office now to turn it around.

[Stuhoo 90,002]

18 minutes ago, moyemayhem said:

I think you are leaving out a lot of context in Ainge’s time in Utah.  The Jazz weren’t going deep in the playoffs with Gobert and Mitchell, and made a decision to reboot.  Ainge was brought in to tear it down, and he did a really good job maximizing return in the process.  Getting 4 first round picks for a guy making $40+ million a year that often doesn’t play crunch time in playoff games is a great deal. Mitchell didn’t formally ask for a trade, but it was understood that he preferred to be traded.  Conley had a great career, but he’s not a difference maker anymore.  They will be bad for a while, especially in the West, but they at least have the picks and front office now to turn it around.

Why weren't they going to go deep in the playoffs with Donovan Mitchell?

Admittedly, the East likely to kinda suck next season, but Cleveland is the #1 favorite to win the East next year with Mitchell as their alpha.