2022-2023 NBA Season Thread

[Syd Thrift]

I feel like the league doesn’t do this as much anymore but it’s possible that Gobert isn’t entirely 7’1” either…

[Cobra Mgr]

Unc trying to take his frustration w/Skip out on the Grizzlies.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

I feel like the league doesn’t do this as much anymore but it’s possible that Gobert isn’t entirely 7’1” either…

Everyone was supposedly remeasured before the 2018-2019 season. But yeah, there is a good chance he is not 7'1

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Unc trying to take his frustration w/Skip out on the Grizzlies.

It's amazing these days, the platforms that are provided for ignorant people to demonstrate their shortcomings.

[thehef]

Of the two NFL brothers I seem to recall that Shannon Sharpe has always been the blowhard moron, with Sterling being the classy one... Guess that hasn't changed a bit.

Pretty sure that if some Joe Schmoe pulls this stuff on an NBA sideline, he doesn't get the opportunity to smooth things over (or whatever occurred in the tunnel during halftime) and return to his seat.

[Cobra Mgr]

I thought both were wrong. I'm not in favor of national sports media being fanboys. I don't mind them having opinions but their fandom shouldn't bleed into the public forum.

But why are the Grizzlies allowed to go into the stands & confront fans? It was trash talk and as far as I know, wasn't vulgar or overly personal. So Memphis should be used to it. Sharpe is just like any other fan and I bet nothing was said that they hadn't heard before.

[Syd Thrift]

I mean, we don’t know what was said, do we? He didn’t get tossed out of the game so maybe it wasn’t anything huge, but on the other hand Sharpe did feel the need to apologize and I don’t know, maybe take a person at their word when they say they did something wrong…

[Antonin]

Our own Donovan Mitchell a 2023 All-Star Game starter!

The Cavs are a very good team, but we need to be more consistent. We should not have lost at home to a depleted Golden State team. No excuse for that.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Antonin

Our own Donovan Mitchell a 2023 All-Star Game starter!

Best pickup of the year? (Worst - also from the Utah rebuild - is probably Rudy Gobert.)

Originally Posted by Antonin

The Cavs are a very good team, but we need to be more consistent. We should not have lost at home to a depleted Golden State team. No excuse for that.

My Celtics are driving me nuts, having a few brain-dead stretches that have cost them three games in a row...

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by thehef

My Celtics are driving me nuts, having a few brain-dead stretches that have cost them three games in a row...

One of them a loss to, of all people, the Knicks and at the TD to boot! Yeah, call the EMT's for the Celtics.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

One of them a loss to, of all people, the Knicks and at the TD to boot! Yeah, call the EMT's for the Celtics.

Yup. Hopefully the national TV clash with the Lakers tomorrow evening will snap them out of whatever funk their in!

[thehef]

Quite an entertaining game last night, C's vs L's...

No sympathy whatsoever for James on that no-call on the final play, as no player in NBA history has been the beneficiary of as many phantom calls (well, he and Magic are probably neck-and-neck for that dubious honor). And the number of players that have been hacked but gotten a no-call in that situation (due the NBA's moronic but unwritten rule of "letting the players decide the game") is countless... If anything, he should be pissed at his own team for blowing a late lead, and some pretty poor execution in OT... And while Pat Beverly's put-back with dunk with 19 seconds left was dramatic and impressive, he then bricked one of his FT's with about 14 seconds left, which (counting the next FT that he made) would've essentially put the game out of reach. And then he committed the bonehead foul on Jaylen Brown's put back with four seconds left that allowed JB to tie the game with the FT. Then, as a capper to his 3 minutes of... something..., after the no-call on James and before the start of OT, he brings a camera out onto the court to show the ref the missed call, earning - charitably - a technical foul. (I say charitably because that should've warranted an ejection...)

At any rate, the question we Celtics fans have after a pretty bad stretch of basketball - the three-game losing streak, ugly losses to the Magic, Heat, and Knicks, and the very entertaining but unimpressive win over the Lakers - is, which is the real Celtics?

- The one that played decent defense and shot lights out from three to start the season 21-5?
- Or the one that is playing mediocre defense and shooting threes probably around the league average, and has gone 15-10?

The 21-5 team is the favorite to win the title. The 15-10 team gets bounced in the 2nd round...

[thehef]

A buddy just messaged me that the tech on Beverly for showing the ref the camera was the best (most entertaining) tech he had seen since Rasheed Wallace's Death Stare T

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by thehef

Quite an entertaining game last night, C's vs L's...

No sympathy whatsoever for James on that no-call on the final play, as no player in NBA history has been the beneficiary of as many phantom calls...

To be clear, I'm not a Lakers fan. But perhaps the refs are just making up for all the hacks-that-were-never-called he received during his first go-round with the Cavs. Trust me (or not), it was a major issue here during those years. It was a frequent topic of discussion on Cleveland sports talk radio. Some analysts concluded that because of LeBron's size and freakish physical strength, referees often just ignored it when he got fouled, because he would often get hit and not react. To be sure, he is a drama queen, but he used to also take a whole lot of punishment.

But, regarding the incident you are referring to, LeBron should have at the very least received a tech for his reaction to the non-call. He's lucky he didn't get ejected. And Beverly bringing a camera onto the court was worthy of an ejection at least.

Non-calls are an issue the NBA should address but is never going to. The league wants to see its star players play, because that is what the fans want. All the big stars--LeBron, Davis, Luka, Joker, Curry, etc etc etc--benefit. How many times a game do you see this: elite 3-point shooter pulls up way beyond the line, defender goes straight up, hands raised straight up, shooter's shooting motion carries him forward into the defender's space, shooter then collapses onto the floor, referee calls a foul on the defender and the play is reviewed for a possible flagrant because the defender took away the shooter's landing space.

[dsvitak]

Luka Doncic poured in 53, after the opposing assistant coach started "chirping" at him.

I mean..why would you do that? Players like Luka, and MJ, and others, when angry, can just dominate a game.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by thehef

A buddy just messaged me that the tech on Beverly for showing the ref the camera was the best (most entertaining) tech he had seen since Rasheed Wallace's Death Stare T

I despise Bev, but his T was no more warranted than 'Sheed's. I hate when refs are allowed to affect the game because they got their feelings hurt. Act like you got a pair even if you don't.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I despise Bev, but his T was no more warranted than 'Sheed's. I hate when refs are allowed to affect the game because they got their feelings hurt. Act like you got a pair even if you don't.

Not a Bev fan, either. But I think walking onto the court with a camera to show a ref the video of a call he blew certainly falls under the heading of 'showing up a ref' - and very publicly. Same category as waving arms and screaming "ball don't lie!" right in a ref's face. As entertaining as it was, he should've been tossed, IMO. And probably would've been in most situations.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by thehef

Not a Bev fan, either. But I think walking onto the court with a camera to show a ref the video of a call he blew certainly falls under the heading of 'showing up a ref' - and very publicly. Same category as waving arms and screaming "ball don't lie!" right in a ref's face. As entertaining as it was, he should've been tossed, IMO. And probably would've been in most situations.

So if a player shows a ref his error, its showing him up. But if the league puts out a report itemizing every error the zebras made in the last 2 min, that is doing what exactly? Too much ego & not enough humility here. Own your mistakes, apologize & move on. I always say no one claims to be perfect, but somehow even fewer admit they were wrong.

And Sheed's famous T was for doing NOTHING. He said nothing. He gestured nothing. He mumbled nothing. All he did was look, LOOK, at the ref. Stupidest, butt hurt act I've ever seen from a ref. At least when Tim Duncan got tossed he was laughing w/his teammates. Sheed just had his eyes open in the direction of the ref & the zebra claimed he was being intimidated. Buncha bull.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

So if a player shows a ref his error, its showing him up. But if the league puts out a report itemizing every error the zebras made in the last 2 min, that is doing what exactly? Too much ego & not enough humility here. Own your mistakes, apologize & move on. I always say no one claims to be perfect, but somehow even fewer admit they were wrong.

And Sheed's famous T was for doing NOTHING. He said nothing. He gestured nothing. He mumbled nothing. All he did was look, LOOK, at the ref. Stupidest, butt hurt act I've ever seen from a ref. At least when Tim Duncan got tossed he was laughing w/his teammates. Sheed just had his eyes open in the direction of the ref & the zebra claimed he was being intimidated. Buncha bull.

I agree with you on Rasheed's T...

On Bev, I think it depends upon the context. If PB had approached the ref - not on the middle of the court but maybe less-obviously near the sideline - and calmly said, "hey man, I've got it on video right here that shows there's was a foul... do you wanna see it?" Then that would be different. Refs are generally known to give plenty of leeway when guys are arguing but doing it respectfully and not so demonstrably.

At any rate, maybe the ref felt he had already given James a TON of leeway by not teeing him up despite his lunatic ravings after the no-call. Any other player, any other time, and that's at least a T. Possibly an ejection.

As far as the league issuing their 'last two minutes report' ... That supposedly is done for transparency purposes; not to embarrass refs, although that can be part of it. Bev's display served no useful purpose. At all.

That all said, if you are in charge and you allow the type of shenanigans that PB pulled with the camera, then where do you draw the line on showing up refs? Can a player slam the ball to the court in frustration, while the whole team just screams at a ref, and the coach waves his arms in dismissive motions and calls the ref an blind-azz-effin' moron who must have money on the other team?

[Syd Thrift]

I’m sorry man but if you walk up to a ref holding a camera you’re asking to be kicked out in any sport. It’s one step north of walking up to them and trying to hand them glasses. I’m generally not a fan of refs/umpires being overly sanctimonious but this is way over the line.