2023-2024 NBA Season Thread

[Cobra Mgr]

Giannis. uh-oh.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

https://twitter.com/treykerby/status...59262103933092

I have already watched this 50 times and I am no closer to figuring out what happened here.

[dsvitak]

Jontay Porter is in DEEP trouble.

I don't think I have ever read about a more egregious violation of betting rules, as this APPARENTLY is. Remarkable.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/adam-si...194739237.html

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Jontay Porter is in DEEP trouble.

I don't think I have ever read about a more egregious violation of betting rules, as this APPARENTLY is. Remarkable.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/adam-si...194739237.html

What amazes me is how easily culprits give it away. Bet a small amount, get some chump change, keep it among yourself & you can keep a steady income. But these fools let others in on the secret, bet large amounts to cause a red flag & then ruin the scheme.

[kq76]

How's the NBA's investigation going on the question of whether insiders profited off the knowledge of the memo to refs to clamp down on foul calls. Oh, right, it's not.

As interesting as I find gambling odds to be, I don't have any sympathy for the leagues after they got in bed with all these gambling companies. At this point I think the public just needs to accept that some insider somehow is probably making a buck off gambling on any game that they're watching.

I wonder, though, did the Black Sox scandal really impact people's interest level in the game? Was it just Babe Ruth or the end of the deadball era that saved baseball? Would it really matter that much if it came out that an ump or a player or management fixed a World Series today? I mean with undeniable and verifiable evidence. Some people love WWE, which I understand is entirely scripted. Is there really that much of a difference? What % of the fanbase quit watching baseball after the Astros scandal? I don't doubt that there's got to be at least one MLB umpire that is profiting off their own blown calls and I don't let that turn me away from the game.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by kq76

How's the NBA's investigation going on the question of whether insiders profited off the knowledge of the memo to refs to clamp down on foul calls. Oh, right, it's not.

As interesting as I find gambling odds to be, I don't have any sympathy for the leagues after they got in bed with all these gambling companies. At this point I think the public just needs to accept that some insider somehow is probably making a buck off gambling on any game that they're watching.

I wonder, though, did the Black Sox scandal really impact people's interest level in the game? Was it just Babe Ruth or the end of the deadball era that saved baseball? Would it really matter that much if it came out that an ump or a player or management fixed a World Series today? I mean with undeniable and verifiable evidence. Some people love WWE, which I understand is entirely scripted. Is there really that much of a difference? What % of the fanbase quit watching baseball after the Astros scandal? I don't doubt that there's got to be at least one MLB umpire that is profiting off their own blown calls and I don't let that turn me away from the game.

There was a much bigger issue with throwing games in the 1870s and that does appear to have made baseball a bit less big at the time. It’s definitely true that Ruth et al made everybody forget about the Black Sox in a big hurry, to the point that it’s possible to be conspiratorial about it, but part of the thing there, too, is that the league came down very hard on those eight guys while also quietly expelling a few others who were also well known fixers (notably Hal Chase) and I think that that’s a big part of why the scandal didn’t consume everything.

Also of course there’s the fact that the league pretty well swept it under the rug when Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb were accused of fixing in the late 20s. I know that outside of those two they were kind of public in going after guys (well, I once spoke to Chase’s grandson and he was told he could go and ask anyone he wanted to play for but apparently the league had conspired to never rehire him so nobody did) and maintaining the relatively clean image. Im sure that if there was another big fixing scandal like that, it’d be devastating the way it was devastating for college basketball in the 50s.

It’s very hard to tell if something that didn’t happen would have happened, of course.

[Antonin]

Not sure how the Cavaliers are going to end their season, but it would not surprise me if the coach is fired after the smoke of the playoffs dies down. One of the favorite pastimes of Cleveland sports fans is demanding that the coach of [insert team name] be fired. The only exception I can think of is retired Guardians skipper Terry Francona, who is so well liked he could have had the job for another 10 years.

I'm not one of people always agitating for a coaching change, but Coach Bickerstaff makes some strange lineup decisions. And I wonder what, if any, "adjustments" he makes when things are not going well.

As far as the playoffs are concerned, I wonder if *anyone* can beat Boston in a series.

I wonder if the Cavs can get beyond the first round. Unfortunately, our 3-point ace, Sam Merrill, has a neck injury.

When my wife and I watch NBA games we are always pleased to see former Cavs doing well with other teams. Lauri Markkanen in Utah. Lamar Stevens with Memphis. Tyronn Lue with LA Clippers. And our old buddy Mike Brown in Sacramento. And of course, LeBron James at LA Lakers.

One night I was watching British pro basketball, and there was former Cav Sam Dekker on the London Lions. Cavaliers are everywhere!

[Antonin]

The Cavs looked pretty bad against the Hornets today, especially in the 4th quarter. Craig Porter Jr, our promising backup point guard, sprained his ankle early. Charlotte was badly depleted; our TV broadcast crew said they only had 9 guys in uniform.

In the 4th quarter the Cavs deep reserves played like they simply did not care. That's surprising, especially for guys who have spent most of the season in the G-League. You would think that they would try harder, with this being FAN APPRECIATION DAY. It was the same thing, over and over: dribble, dribble, dribble, lose the ball, jog back on defense while Charlotte frantically gets down the court to score. Or dribble, dribble, dribble, jack up a shot, don't bother to box anybody out, then jog back on defense while Charlotte grabs the rebound and scores. On one possession, after we lost the ball, I saw Emoni Bates just trot back on defense while the Charlotte player raced down the court. I told myself "I will be happy to never see this guy in a Cavs uniform again." When we drafted Bates he had a reputation for being a good shooter, but a "raw" player otherwise,

In the 4th quarter, after we lost the lead, the fans started to boo. I normally hate it when fans boo their own team, but this time I completely sympathize. It was FAN APPRECIATION DAY, which means you are supposed to show the fans you appreciate all the money they spend on tickets. All season, Cavs fans show up no matter how bad the weather is, no matter if it's October at the start of the season or a blustery Tuesday night in January. After the game the TV broadcast crew did not mention the booing.

At halftime it seemed that Max Strus was a bit upset at the lack of effort. I wonder what he said in the locker room after the game.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by kq76

I wonder, though, did the Black Sox scandal really impact people's interest level in the game? Was it just Babe Ruth or the end of the deadball era that saved baseball?...

Dennis Snelling's excellent book on the PCL (covering it's history through 1957) has a chapter on it's biggest gambling scandal, which occurred at essentially the same time the Black Sox were throwing World Seres games against the Reds. In the second-to-last week of the 1919 regular season, the Salt Lake City Bees were paid off to essentially collapse against the Vernon, allowing the Tigers to keep pace with the LA Angels in a race for the pennant*

*The Tigers used the wins over the Bees to springboard over the Angels in the final series of the season, taking six of seven games - including sweeping a doubleheader on the final date of the season - to clinch the PCL pennant. The Tigers then moved on to the Western World Series against AA champion St Paul, winning 5 games to 4 over the Saints in what was a hard fought series that ended in two-out, walk-off fashion.

Connecting this to kq76's question is the first paragraph of the chapter that deals with the above scandal, previous PCL gambling-related scandals, and touches on the Black Sox scandal (which ended up being intertwined with the PCL's 1919's game-fixing scandal:

"Gambling was a great danger to sports, as paying fans demanded to know that contests were on the up and up. Horseracing and prize fighting had lost most of their credibility because of crookedness. The integrity of baseball in the West had been challenged several times during the nineteenth century. The California League collapsed in 1893 in part because fans did not feel the game was being played on the level."

So it's probably not unreasonable to surmise that these scandals had a significant effect on fans' interest, and that Babe Ruth (and the general increase in HR's & other offense, which was happening in the PCL and other minor leagues, too), along with the efforts by Commissioner Landis, PCL President McCarthy (who was actually the PCL's version of Landis as it relates to cleaning up gambling in his league), and others helped baseball move past those scandals.

As an aside, for anyone interested in baseball history, especially the 1900-1950's era and/or PCL history, I can't recommend Snelling's book - The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957" - highly enough

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Antonin

As far as the playoffs are concerned, I wonder if *anyone* can beat Boston in a series.

i think the C's are unlucky to be so dominant, & yet are likely to see the Heat or Sixers in the 1st round. Maybe only Milwaukee would be a worse draw. The dif between the #2NYK & #8 Miami is only 4 games. A buzzer beater here, a late missed call there & 2-8 could be completely reversed. That 's a bad spot to be in when you're dealing w/a preseason contender who, due to injury, are now in a "what do we have to lose" mode. I think Boston's toughest matchup in the east will be the 1st round.

[Cobra Mgr]

Playoffs start Tuesday

LA & NO 730pm TNT
GS @ Sac 10PM TNT

Wed

Mia @ Phil 7pm ESPN
Atl @ Chi 930PM ESPN

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Antonin

As far as the playoffs are concerned, I wonder if *anyone* can beat Boston in a series.

I'm a life-long C's fan, going back to the final ('76) Havlicek-Cowens-JoJo title. I'm hoping for banner #18, but I have my doubts about this team. I mean, I'm picking them as the favorite, but I have these concerns:

- They no longer seem invincible at home
- Tendency to give up big leads
- Poor execution in crunch time (I don't care that the numbers show them in the top 5; they eye test is all I care about)
- Routinely get destroyed on the offensive glass
- Not getting to the line
- Inability to adjust when the threes are falling

When you have the best talent in the league, you can mask the above over the long haul of an 82-game season. We shall see if talent can overcome these shortcomings in the postseason, where effort and focus are just as important as talent...

I would not be surprised to see any of their four potential first round opponents - nor any of their potential second-round and EC finalist opponents - take them to seven games... Still, I'll favor them all the way through the NBA finals, with the only exception being the Nuggets, whom I'd take over the C's. The defending champs play very smart, have the best big man in the league, and beat Boston twice this year... That said, Denver probably has a tougher path out of their conference than does Boston... We shall see...

[jcard]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Playoffs start Tuesday

LA & NO 730pm TNT
GS @ Sac 10PM TNT

Wed

Mia @ Phil 7pm ESPN
Atl @ Chi 930PM ESPN

[Deleted—accidental post]

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

i think the C's are unlucky to be so dominant, & yet are likely to see the Heat or Sixers in the 1st round. Maybe only Milwaukee would be a worse draw. The dif between the #2NYK & #8 Miami is only 4 games. A buzzer beater here, a late missed call there & 2-8 could be completely reversed. That 's a bad spot to be in when you're dealing w/a preseason contender who, due to injury, are now in a "what do we have to lose" mode. I think Boston's toughest matchup in the east will be the 1st round.

That's a kind of unlucky I think a lot of people in Cleveland would be happy to have!

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Antonin

That's a kind of unlucky I think a lot of people in Cleveland would be happy to have!

Well, you know, congratulations I guess because thanks to your head coach blowing the last game on purpose, you could possibly have faced the 6ers yourselves (I mean, the Knicks did just barely beat the Bulls in game 82 but that was a coinflip all the way); instead, you'll "only" be facing the Pacers in the first round. And then you'll more than likely be playing the Celtics in the 2nd but I guess JB Bickerstaff wasn't thinking that far ahead...

[Cobra Mgr]

So the Dubs are headed to Cancun. How active do you think their front office will be this summer?

[Cobra Mgr]

Interesting thought on the radio: Will you remember Draymond for helping the Dubs win 4 rings or Dray costing them a chance to win 6 or 7?

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Interesting thought on the radio: Will you remember Draymond for helping the Dubs win 4 rings or Dray costing them a chance to win 6 or 7?

I would say both.

[David Watts]

Man Zion was on fire last night. Really thought the Pelicans were going to beat the Lakers. Then in a blink of an eye he's heading towards the locker room. Has anything been said in terms of what his injury is? I haven't seen anything yet.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Man Zion was on fire last night. Really thought the Pelicans were going to beat the Lakers. Then in a blink of an eye he's heading towards the locker room. Has anything been said in terms of what his injury is? I haven't seen anything yet.

Haven't heard. But this is the prob w/the Pelicans. When Zion is there, this team can beat anyone on any night. But you are afraid he is going to be out on any night. You'd rather he be the 3rd option but McCullom & Ingram don't have the makeup to be alphas.