NBA

[rhfarmer]

The NFL already went through the whole All Star game is meaningless thing, and I think the NBA and fans and pundits just need to accept that the players are going to ham it up and not play defense since they don't want to end their careers in a meaningless game.

I don't understand why everyone hates it and expects something else.

 

[CK86]

 

[bdotling]

It’s baffling people keep hiring him

 

[rome8180]

The good cycle continues its bukkake-style ejaculation all over the sport of basketball. The Celtics, Pelicans, Mavs, and Magic all win. The Magic and Mavs even did it over good teams in the Cavs and Suns respectively.

Zion had 27 pts and 10 assists. Tatum had an efficient 25 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, and 3 stl.

The lone drawback I can find from this night is that, contrary to predictions on this board, Lively has definitely seen his role diminish with Gafford and Washington there. I know he's just coming back from injury. But he's played 16 and 17 minutes in the last two games. In the last game he played before the trade, he played 41 minutes.

 

[DurhamSon]

Point Zion back. Actually finished with 27 and 10 respectively

 

[rome8180]

Point Zion back. Actually finished with 27 and 10 respectively

JJ's been all over the return of Point Zion. This video brings up some good numbers.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Can’t convince me that half of all NBA players wouldn’t absolutely dominate the NFL.

 

[DurhamSon]

Legler is one of ESPN's very very few analysts who actually knows the league very well at a predictive level and whose opinions I respect greatly. I'm still not seeing what in Dallas is supposed to overcome Luka's heliocentric play, Kyrie's hot and cold performance, and the defensive shortcomings, but he sees something so I suppose it's time to really start considering them as one of the finals contenders.

Brooklyn franchise probably needs to fold, they'll never recover from trading KD and Kyrie for no good reason.

 

[rome8180]

Well, the Pelicans lost to the evil pointless Heat. At home. This bumps them down the West standings and bumps the Heat over the Magic, I believe.

The Heat will probably shit all over themselves in the next game against a team I don't care about. They exist just to ruin everything.

The other conclusion I draw from this is that Duke is losing and UNC is winning tomorrow.

 

[rome8180]

Just saw footage of the Heat's dirty foul on Zion and the ensuing brawl. I hope someone blows up that fucking fascist state of Florida with their horrible government and disgusting swamp weather and dumb beach culture full of ugly women with fake tits and oceans full of jellyfish that sting the shit out of you.

 

[rome8180]

Honestly, this shoulder-lowering/flailing-on-contact doesn't bother me as much as the Eurostepping-into-a-backpedaling-defender's-chest thing. But they both suck.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

We’ve hit equilibrium. This is what NBA games will look like for a long time, unless rule changes happen. Didn’t take very long at the pro level to reach optimal offense and defense once the Warriors and Rockets started us down this road. I’d give the college game about 20 more years to get here.

 

[CK86]

Jokic is such a freak. I really don't expect anyone to beat him in a 7 game series.

 

[rome8180]

This video makes the argument that the Celtics are the most reliant team on the 3pt shot ever, and that their title chances will basically just come down to 3pt variance.

 

[rome8180]

Need a Fred VanVleet-like hot streak from Derrick White, imo. We know Jrue Holiday always shits his pants in the postseason, offensively anyway.

 

[rome8180]

In more evidence of the bad cycle, New Orleans drops their second straight to a team they should beat. Both games were at home. Miami is one thing, but fucking Chicago?

It appears that Point Zion isn't the fix after all. He's racking up assists, so there's that. Maybe he needs to fucking shoot more?

 

[torontoduke]

Need a Fred VanVleet-like hot streak from Derrick White, imo. We know Jrue Holiday always shits his pants in the postseason, offensively anyway.

White has been a stud all year.

He can keep that momentum

 

[rome8180]

Need a Fred VanVleet-like hot streak from Derrick White, imo. We know Jrue Holiday always shits his pants in the postseason, offensively anyway.

White has been a stud all year.

He can keep that momentum

He's probably the player I trust most on the team in a "clutch" situation.

 

[DurhamSon]

Even with the current press, Boston is kind of flying under the radar still for a team that's on pace for a gaudy 65+ win, all time great regular season.

Everyone just assumes the other shoe is going to drop b/c they were reeling in 2022 going into the finals (while the Warriors had a cakewalk), and lost a 7 game ECF in which Miami probably had a top 1%ile out-of-body shooting experience.

Another surprise given their "weak" bench is that they have a Bench net-rating of +5.3. Not sure how it's calculated but it would be one of the highest marks the last 25 years.

The numbers on the White-Zingis and Tatum-Zingis PnRs are so filthy it's almost impossible to process. If Mazzulla can get the team to commit to more of that in crunch time, instead of typical Tatum/Brown isoball, it's a wrap.

At this point 27% implied odds of winning the title is probably disrespectful and worth hammering.

 

[rome8180]

New Orleans, Orlando, and Boston all win tonight. Only downer was Dallas losing to Max Strus's halfcourt shot. If the bad cycle is already over, it was mercifully short.