2018-2019 NBA Season Thread

[TheMaus2]

rockets now have to figure out how to contend with an aging CP3 on a max for the next 3 years. not ideal.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

@ hef......I think "hindsight" is the operative word here. Speaking for myself, 2 seasons ago I saw Kyrie as a player who was possibly maturing. As rude stated, dude is an "odd duck". But I thought he just had a different outlook on things as far as basketball is concerned. Yeah, it seems obvious now. But we forget these guys come into the NBA as teenagers. Five year vets aren't 25 yet. Some of these guys are growing up not just on the court. So I thought, and possibly Ainge thought, that was the case here. Then if that is the thought process, it would be counter productive to bring in a vocal veteran to usurp the leadership from Irving. That would stunt his growth.

I was fooled. And possibly Ainge was fooled as well. And I can't blame him for that. That's Kyrie's fault for not living up to how he presented himself.

Don't think we disagree. I just want to clarify that I'm not really talking about *vocal* veterans. I just think that if you're putting together a roster and your marquee player is 25 years old (at the time), and the rest of your projected rotation is almost exclusively younger, having a couple of mentor vets - not necessarily vocal ones who usurp leadership, but wise & grizzled types who know their place & role, but also know how to provide some calming guidance when needed - would've been the wise move with a team - and "leader" - that young.

That said, it's entirely possible that Kyrie is so flawed as a "leader" that it wouldn't have mattered.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I think the issue is that they have too many good to very good players. That seems like a good thing but in the NBA you need a set rotation where everyone more or less knows what to expect on a given night.

I would amend this to "... the issue is that they have too many good to very good players who are also young." When you have 8 or 10 year veterans off the bench who are of the ability of, say, Rozier or Brown, they are - generally - accustomed to their role and are just trying to maintain the level they're at. But guys like Rozier and Brown (and Smart, and Tatum) are in the early stages of their careers and all - understandably - see big things in their futures, and want the requisite minutes and touches that they feel should come with that.

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

They probably should have dealt either Rozier or Smart.

Perhaps, depending upon what they received in return. I wouldn't have dealt Smart, though. It's always good to have a real standout defender.

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

And the big money for Heyward is not looking like it will pan out and he does not seem like he will ever be the same player he was.

I really think it's too soon to tell. Some guys take longer to recover from major injuries. Bernard King took three years to return to form. Tommy John missed a year and then had a so-so comeback year before several dominant seasons... Just a couple of examples... Time will tell. But when you see the flashes that Gordon showed later in the season, plus consider his age, I'd bet on a return to form before I'd bet that he'll remain a shell of his former all-star self...

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

And Tatum went from best player in that draft to okay starter in his second year and Jaylen Brown was wildly inconsistent.

I think both of these guys would mature and benefit from a) the departure of Kyrie, b) the experience of this past season, and c) some real veteran leadership.

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Only Irving and Horford were good from start to finish and Irving as stated is an odd duck at best.

Morris & Smart were pretty reliable but, yeah, I get what you're saying... Ainge certainly has his work cut out for him as far as this offseason goes...

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Houston now HAS to win this series. Since they lost to the Dubs last year, the cry has been "If CP3 hadn't been hurt....". Now GW is w/o Durant. No excuses.

Originally Posted by TheMaus2

rockets now have to figure out how to contend with an aging CP3 on a max for the next 3 years. not ideal.

It should be obvious now that the Rockets are a team that's built for the regular season, not the playoffs. They only have one legitimate star (Harden, of course). Paul is still decent, but is nowhere near the level of player that a championship contender needs as it's #2 player. (George Hill has better 2019 playoff stats...). Capela, PJ, and Gordon are all nice rotation players, but if all three are starting for you, your other top guy - in addition to Harden - better be a Durant, LeBron, Steph, George, or the Freak; not a Chris Paul. And Houston's bench? A joke. The 6-7-8 guys are 9-10-11 on almost any other team. You'da thought they'd learned their lesson from last year's playoffs....

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by thehef

Don't think we disagree. I just want to clarify that I'm not really talking about *vocal* veterans. I just think that if you're putting together a roster and your marquee player is 25 years old (at the time), and the rest of your projected rotation is almost exclusively younger, having a couple of mentor vets - not necessarily vocal ones who usurp leadership, but wise & grizzled types who know their place & role, but also know how to provide some calming guidance when needed - would've been the wise move with a team - and "leader" - that young.

That said, it's entirely possible that Kyrie is so flawed as a "leader" that it wouldn't have mattered.

We aren't disagreeing. We're discussing.........


I see where you are coming from. But all of this hindsight hinges on whether Irving was sincere in wanting to be a true leader, or his imaginary vision of what is a leader. My 20/20 says he wasn't sincere and we, and Ainge found out we were fooled too late. I can't 2nd guess giving him the benefit of the doubt. That's Kyrie's fault for taking unfair advantage.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

No games tomorrow but two game 7’s on Sunday. What the hell NBA?

Right? NBA playoff scheduling rarely makes sense...

Sunday: Raptors by 20... Nuggets by 3...

Conf Finals: Bucks over Raptors in 6... Warriors over Nuggets in 6...

Finals: Bucks over Warriors in 7...

[Cobra Mgr]

In other news......gotta say I'm disappointed in the internet. I swore when I woke up this morning there would be a meme of Curry in CP3/Beard's State Farm commercial dressed in Clutch's uniform.

[pilight]

I'm shocked, shocked to find a Mike D'Antoni team choking in the playoffs

[Cobra Mgr]

[Cobra Mgr]

F.L.O.P.S.

[Cobra Mgr]

In CP3's defense, it worked for a half.

[Cobra Mgr]

Weren't LBJ & DWade bff's w/CP3?

[TheMaus2]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Weren't LBJ & DWade bff's w/CP3?

boring talking head point, even cp3 has to respect curry for what he did after not giving curry practice time before the game

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by TheMaus2

boring talking head point, even cp3 has to respect curry for what he did after not giving curry practice time before the game

your opinion....


Wonder if Mason Plumlee was having flashbacks watching CJ McCullom end his season once again.

[TheMaus2]

the way i see it, lebron and wade are great friends with cp3, but they can respect or congratulate a man on his gamesmanship. its not like bron and chris are some type of exclusive couple of friends and then bron cheated on chris. you can still be best/great/close friends with someone and respect that friend's rival. hell, bron and curry were petty rivals with each other last june.

[TheMaus2]

quick shoutout to kawhi who solidified his reputation as a legend in toronto and will shortly depart for sunnier climes

good riddance to brett brown and the other big expiring contract to be named later

and remember, blazers in 5

[rudel.dietrich]

That ball is still bouncing on the rim in Toronto.
One of the greatest endings I have seen.


Warriors in 5
Bucks in 6

Bucks in 7

[thehef]

Originally Posted by TheMaus2

quick shoutout to kawhi who solidified his reputation as a legend...

This is why I hate narratives. Not that I'm disagreeing with TheMaus because what he says is true. That is certainly the common take - the narrative... No disrespect to Kawai at all, because I think he is a phenomenal player. But the reality is that he shot 16-39. He missed a key FT. The last shot was just a chuck-up and happened to go in. These things happen...

- Derrick Fisher hits a lucky turnaround jumper with no time on the clock. He may as well have been wearing blinders. Good for him. But there's a reason no team ever called a play to inbound to Fisher for a blind, 18-foot turnaround...
- Moments before, Tim Duncan hits a clutch 15-foot jumper to seemingly give the Spurs the win. That shot is now just a mostly-forgotten footnote. But had Fisher's shot bounded out, Duncan's shot would've been legendary. It was no-less-so a great shot (or a lucky one) due to subsequent events...
- Kobe turns in a complete clunker of a game 7 in the 2010 NBA Finals. Yet, because of events out of his control - teammates stepping up, questionable calls, injuries to the opponent - all anybody remembers is that Kobe won a ring in 2010. Those same things that were out of Kobe's control go a different way, and Kobe is a game seven goat.
- Larry Legend (my fave) makes an amazing steal, and has the presence of mind to see a cutting DJ, and passes to him for the winning layup. Seconds before, though, Larry is rejected on a driving layup. If Detroit calls timeout, this game, and likely the series, is over... And if DJ's VERY difficult layup rims out? Same. And Larry's steal is just a footnote.

Sometimes - in fact, MANY TIMES - players play hard, balls bounce this way and bounce that way, and things just happen.

That said...

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

That ball is still bouncing on the rim in Toronto.
One of the greatest endings I have seen.

True!

Finally...

Originally Posted by thehef

Sunday: Raptors by 20... Nuggets by 3...

This is why I don't bet real money. Only office pools and low-dough friendly wagers.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by TheMaus2

the way i see it, lebron and wade are great friends with cp3, but they can respect or congratulate a man on his gamesmanship. its not like bron and chris are some type of exclusive couple of friends and then bron cheated on chris. you can still be best/great/close friends with someone and respect that friend's rival. hell, bron and curry were petty rivals with each other last june.

I have zero problem with the respect angle. I have a suspicion about the tone of the tweets. It had an "I told you so" ring to it. As if they were expecting & predicting this.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

That ball is still bouncing on the rim in Toronto.
One of the greatest endings I have seen.


Warriors in 5
Bucks in 6

Bucks in 7

I'm amazed that is the 1st buzzer beater in NBA game 7 history. In fact, it almost seemed like the buzzer stopped before the ball finally fell thru the hoop.