2023-2024 NBA Season Thread

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Last night may have brought me to this realization: If Denver wins the trophy this year, Jokic will be only behind Wilt & Jabaar as the best center of all time.

3 MVP's in 4 years, a couple of rings, and not one other all star on his team.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

3 MVP's in 4 years, a couple of rings, and not one other all star on his team.

I had a long text debate w/my bro & friend on this.

Their take : Current glut of true centers in the NBA, Jokic's D. lack of "athletes" at the position

My take: His performance vs the current multi DPOY, what era had centers w/the athleticism & size to prevent Jokic from doing what he does now?, lack of D is countered by being the undisputed best shooter & passer ever @ his position, today's big men are better equipped to defend outside of the paint than those of the past.

I try not to be a prisoner of the present. And I try not to be married to "back in the day". But if this guy gets his ring this year, and if you give your mind a chance to think about it, you realize the notion can't be dismissed out of hand.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I had a long text debate w/my bro & friend on this.

Their take : Current glut of true centers in the NBA, Jokic's D. lack of "athletes" at the position

My take: His performance vs the current multi DPOY, what era had centers w/the athleticism & size to prevent Jokic from doing what he does now?, lack of D is countered by being the undisputed best shooter & passer ever @ his position, today's big men are better equipped to defend outside of the paint than those of the past.

I try not to be a prisoner of the present. And I try not to be married to "back in the day". But if this guy gets his ring this year, and if you give your mind a chance to think about it, you realize the notion can't be dismissed out of hand.

His last game, 40 points, a bunch of boards and assists, and not a single TO. That's damned impressive, at ANY season in BB history.

[Cobra Mgr]

What does the NBA have against close games?

[dsvitak]

I just found out the other day that the five seed, Dallas, had the best defensive record in the entire NBA after the middle of December. Their trade for Washington was pivotal.

Anyway, tight game tonight...Dallas up by a couple, late.

[Cobra Mgr]

This was like only the 2nd good game in the playoffs.

SGA needs one of his fellow young guns to step up & be his sidekick. Not enough consistency from the "others".

One question I have: Am I supposed to believe Melo drinks Corona or 1800 Tequilla @ the games?

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

This was like only the 2nd good game in the playoffs.

SGA needs one of his fellow young guns to step up & be his sidekick. Not enough consistency from the "others".

One question I have: Am I supposed to believe Melo drinks Corona or 1800 Tequilla @ the games?

Agree with SGA...excellent player. Love to see him with Jokic.

[Cobra Mgr]

Lot of people calling out ESPN's pro-Nix pregame today.

I'm assuming they haven't been watching ESPN this entire postseason.

The sports media is a main reason why I pull against all teams north of Delaware.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Lot of people calling out ESPN's pro-Nix pregame today.

I'm assuming they haven't been watching ESPN this entire postseason.

The sports media is a main reason why I pull against all teams north of Delaware.

Knicks got hurt, and Indy played loose.

Don't think Celtics will have any problem with them.

Same with Timberwolves against Dallas. Kyrie's and Luka's nice run is going to run hard into Towns and Gobert. Lively (the rookie), is gonna get TORE UP.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Knicks got hurt, and Indy played loose.

Don't think Celtics will have any problem with them.

Same with Timberwolves against Dallas. Kyrie's and Luka's nice run is going to run hard into Towns and Gobert. Lively (the rookie), is gonna get TORE UP.

C's shouldn't have a problem. But they will find a way to let this thing go to 6 anyway.

I think Mavs v Wolves will be a great matchup. Simply because I don't think the superstars in this one can put together 3 strong games in a row.

[Cobra Mgr]

I think I hate NY fans today just as much as if they won yesterday. Geez, what an obnoxious group.

[thehef]

I had a great first round. Was basically swimming in mythical gambling winnings...

Originally Posted by thehef

2-4 picking Play-In games... On to the playoffs...

C's over Heat, 4-1 - I figured the C's would lose focus & effort and drop one against the Heat. They sure did but otherwise handled biz...
Knicks over Sixers, 4-3 - Nailed this one...
Pacers over Bucks, 4-2 - Got another one exactly right...
Cavs over Magic, 4-2 - Was off by one game...
Overall, I was only off by one game for the whole EC 1st round. Not bad...

Thunder over Pels, 4-1 - Missed it by one; it was a sweep...
Nuggets over Lakers, 4-1 - Nailed it...
Wolves over Suns, 4-2 - T-wolves swept so I was off by two games. My worst pick of all the first rounds series' until...
Clips over Mavs, 4-2 - The only series where I picked the wrong winner. Didn't see the Clips performing as poorly as they did, but then again, didn't see Kawhi taking so many games off...

Easy come, easy go on those mythical winnings:

Originally Posted by thehef

C's over Cavs, 4-3 - I still see this one going the distance... I mean, the C's are tough when they are focused, and so they could blow thru the Cavs. But the Cavs will probably hold serve at home, and Boston will help once or twice by failing to execute in crunch time... or just showing up flat once at home... I think 4-3 or at least 4-2 would've been the outcome, but once Mitchell went out after game 3, that was pretty much it for the Cavs. So I got the winner right, but not close on the # of games...
Knicks over Pacers, 4-2 - This still sounds about right... Had the Knicks not been further decimated by injuries than they already were going in, this was probably their series, 4-3. That they took it to seven games despite being so short-handed was impressive...

Thunder over Clips, 4-2 - The new pick is Thunder over the Mavs in 6... A wrong pick, without injuries to blame. I realize Luca is great and Kyrie is very good, but I didn't at all see the Mavs getting this far...
Nuggets over Wolves, 4-2 - Well, with the T-Wolves looking so good in the first round sweep and in taking game one, this looks more like Denver in seven. But gotta stick with the original pick Got this one wrong, too. Are the Nuggets just not that good (I mean, after other-worldly Jokic and near-star Murray, it's just a few decent role players & then spare parts for a bench, right?), or are the T-wolves really good?

On to the conference finals...

Originally Posted by thehef

C's over Knicks, 4-3 - The new pick is the C's over the Pacers in 6. Indy will earn a win with some insane offense, and Boston will hand them one by losing focus - probably in game 1 or 2...

Nuggets over Thunder, 4-3 - Well neither of those <<< teams are around... Who saw a T-wolves/Mavs WC final? At any rate, this has to be when the slipper no longer fits and the Mavs get smoked, right? Then again, the T-Wolves showed a bit of immaturity, acting like they won the crown by beating the Nuggets. Not sure of where their heads are at. Conley should set them straight. T-Wolves in 6.

[Cobra Mgr]

some notes on Game 1 of Indy v Bos............

1. Whether it is 4 games or 7, the Pacers will blame a series loss on game 1's end of game TO's

2. Haliburton needs better handles

3. This whoie postseason I've been hearing ex players say Siakim's game is lame.
Reg season 21.7 / 7.1 / 4.3 / .3 / .8 / 53.6% / 34.6% / 73.2%
Post season 21.3 / 7.9 / 3.8 / .5 / .9 / 53.6% / 30.8% / 59.3%
If his game is so lame why can't anyone stop him from producing?

4. I know Indy is well known for not getting to the stripe. But I don't see how you can win if you are giving up almost 3x's the FTA's & twice t he amount of fouls. Pacers need to give FT's more value.

5. There are probably not 5 NBA players whose game is more undervalued & more team 1st than Jrue Holiday.

[thehef]

A buddy of mine had texted me that he thought the C's should roll through the Pacers given that Indy's only there because they beat two teams decimated by injuries. Then I realized that both EC finalists beat two teams that were significantly shorthanded:

- Indy beat a Milwaukee team that was without Giannis, then beat the Knicks who started out missing Randle and then saw several other key dudes suffer injuries...

- Boston beat a Heat team that was missing Jimmy Butler and starting PG Terry Rozier; then beat the Cavs, who were missing Donovan Mitchell after game three, plus starting center Allen for the whole series, and Lavert for the final game...

Seems that injuries play a role every year to one degree or another, but the east this year - counting Porzingis' absence for Boston - has really been hit...

[Cobra Mgr]

Why is Tony Brothers officiating every frikkin' game?

[Cobra Mgr]

Why'd he do that man like that?

[Cobra Mgr]

You see what I see?

[Cobra Mgr]

So far this playoff, I've heard the media crown 3 different players as the best in the NBA today.

They are so fickle.

[dsvitak]

I love Luka. He's an a$$hole, but he backs it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWQX79EYUWM

Luka Doncic..highest scoring average in NBA history in elimination games, at 35.5.

Luka Doncic..highest scoring average in NBA history for game 7's...at 40.5.

I love the Celtics...I know many people that know Jason Tatum, as he's from St. Louis. I am completely OK with either team winning..but I can't see ANY team with two dudes, (Doncic and Kyrie) that WANT the ball, late.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

I love Luka. He's an a$$hole, but he backs it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWQX79EYUWM

Luka Doncic..highest scoring average in NBA history in elimination games, at 35.5.

Luka Doncic..highest scoring average in NBA history for game 7's...at 40.5.

I love the Celtics...I know many people that know Jason Tatum, as he's from St. Louis. I am completely OK with either team winning..but I can't see ANY team with two dudes, (Doncic and Kyrie) that WANT the ball, late.

Solid post.

I'm taking C's in 7. Mavs winning would not surprise me, though. I think a pretty good ranking of the top four players in the series is - in order - Luka, JT, JB, Kyrie. So that's pretty even. JT and JB are solid in the clutch (as they've proven in these playoffs) but Luka and Kyrie are clutch animals. Where the C's advantage lies is in the 2nd tier of players, as the next four - maybe arguably - are Celtics: Porzingis, D White, Jrue, and Horford. These four are not only better overall than the Mavs next four (Lively, PJ, Jones Jr, Gafford), but - specifically White & Holliday - are also proven clutch performers.

That said, I also go back to some very questionable crunch-time play by the Celtics during the regular season... Sure, they seemed to have worked that out during these playoffs. But as we know, those crunch-time wins came against significantly shorthanded teams (iow, teams that were largely without their own crunch-time players), so the Mavs may have a pretty significant clutch advantage...

At any rate, nobody is stopping Luka, but the C's more than any other team the Mavs have seen in these playoffs, are equipped to switch onto Luka when the Mavs will inevitably run screen after screen to force switches.

My recommendation would be for the C's to have D White stick to Kyrie like glue, and then - which will happen some of the time regardless due to screens & switches - give Luka a constant mix of Jrue, JT, and JB. Three different sized/skilled, elite-level defenders. And then on offense I would mercilessly prey on Kyrie, as he's not a particularly good defender, and both of Boston's guards - Holliday and White (plus Brown, when he swings to the backcourt) - have size/strength advantages.

Finally, my C's-in-7 prediction assumes that Porzingis a) won't need more than a game, if that, to recover his groove, and b) will remain healthy for the series. Should either of those not occur, then the C's can still win the series, but I'd see it more of tossup, perhaps even a slight Mavs advantage...