NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2017-18

jk23

Just after watching the Raptors/Cavaliers game, Lebron was unbelievable :O when Kevin Love is playing that well too it takes the pressure of LBJ. Thought Hill and Green were very good tonight also

LuckyLloyd

The King is risen. Just shows why you hang on in the playoffs: Indiana a better team but Cavs strong favourites for a fourth successive Eastern Conference Finals appearance now.

At 33, James scored or assisted 77 points, the most in his playoff career to date, 226 games in.

Meatyfubu

I wasn't particularly hot on LBJ's shot selection at times, a good few long 2's but they dropped. It wasn't even like the Raptors played bad 54% from the field with 40% from deep.
If they get swept here, they'll need to move some pieces because what they're doing isn't working.

One of the best numbers from last night was the Cavs having 3 turnovers. That is ridiculous and they'll be delighted LBJ only played 41 mins. That's a win in itself.

On an unrelated note, I heard a great stat about GSW given they're touted as a 3pt shooting team. They were 17th in the NBA this season in 3pt attempts.
They were 1st in percentage but phenomenal that's what they're known for but they actually beat you elsewhere so much of the time.

ButtersSuki

Mother of God Toronto, way to shut up the doubters. :rolleyes: I honestly think that's it for this team now in it's current format - for good, not just this series. This series is over. No way Toronto are winning 4 out of the next 5 bar LeBron getting hurt (which never happens). This was their year, their window; and I just can't see how they get a better chance than this as next year Philly are a year older and more experienced etc., and Boston have everyone back. They'll be middle of the pack next year in the East Playoffs and their path to the East Finals alone will be much tougher. Some really hard decisions to make now, but TBH given their cap situation they have very little options. And there's no trade value for their two best players, let alone the rest of the roster.

Very surprised at Boston winning again - and I'm a Celtics fan. Talent-wise, they shouldn't be where they are, and I really wonder how long this lasts? I still wouldn't rule Philly out though.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

On an unrelated note, I heard a great stat about GSW given they're touted as a 3pt shooting team. They were 17th in the NBA this season in 3pt attempts.
They were 1st in percentage but phenomenal that's what they're known for but they actually beat you elsewhere so much of the time.

Yeah it's a funny one in some ways; but can also be a symptom of teams copying their style/part of their style without the talent to make it work. Looked it up and they were actually 16th, but I take the point.

Plus factor in Curry was out for a significant number of games this year and given how much he shoots that's going to seriously affect the numbers - he shot (and made) his lowest number of 3's since 2011-12 this year. He also just missed another 50-40-90 season by 4 shots (he was 49.5% on FG%) :eek: You also have to remember that it's only a few years since Curry alone took and made more 3s than some TEAMS in the league and the exponential growth of 3 point shooting attempts across the league year on year in recent seasons and there's bound to be some catch up. Take him out for a large % of the season and of course the number of attempts drop.

Klay and Durant also missed time too. It all adds up. If all 3 played 75 or more games, those numbers would look a lot different. Steph alone missed 31 games, Klay 9 and Durant 14. Even 2 more attempts per game pushes them into the Top 8.

The fact they're (GS) still 1 in % made though says a lot, esp. when all 3 are back and healthy. If all 3 are playing though they're likely Top 5 in attempts - still behind Houston of course (who are 15th in %).

Houston are 1 in actual makes with 15.3 and GS 8th with 11.2; but again, add all 3 players in that changes IMO.

Hazys

That Rozier-Tatum alley oop was a thing of beauty...a complete dagger in Philly’s heart.

Also Simmons and Flutz combining for a total of 1 point while Tatum goes for 20, is hilariously awesome if your a Celtics fan

ButtersSuki

Hazys wrote: »

That Rozier-Tatum alley oop was a thing of beauty...a complete dagger in Philly’s heart.

Also Simmons and Flutz combining for a total of 1 point while Tatum goes for 20, is hilariously awesome if your a Celtics fan

Yup. Simmons is a bum. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

1 game dude, 1 game. Boston would trade Tatum in a heartbeat for Simmons if the chance ever came up. And again, I'm a Celtics fan!

Gwynplaine

Watched some highlights of Toronto v Cavs. Spotted 2 occasinos LBJ took at least 3 steps taking the ball to the rim. How is this not called on?

LuckyLloyd

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Watched some highlights of Toronto v Cavs. Spotted 2 occasinos LBJ took at least 3 steps taking the ball to the rim. How is this not called on?

Because travelling is rife across the NBA. It's super fast in the moment and refs have been giving the advantage to the attacker for years. It's utterly pointless to focus on individual examples imo.

ButtersSuki

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Watched some highlights of Toronto v Cavs. Spotted 2 occasinos LBJ took at least 3 steps taking the ball to the rim. How is this not called on?

Travelling is rife, I've often posted it's my biggest gripe with the NBA. He's not the only one who gets away with it by any means, but it's so blatant sometime it's a joke.

There's some funny LeBron travelling videos on YouTube - as well as other, like I said, it's not just him by any means but he does seems to shall we say take advantage of it.

ButtersSuki

A couple of funnies from years past:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKMAnM9rtNg

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

:pac:

Hazys

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Hazys wrote: »

That Rozier-Tatum alley oop was a thing of beauty...a complete dagger in Philly’s heart.

Also Simmons and Flutz combining for a total of 1 point while Tatum goes for 20, is hilariously awesome if your a Celtics fan

Yup. Simmons is a bum. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

1 game dude, 1 game. Boston would trade Tatum in a heartbeat for Simmons if the chance ever came up. And again, I'm a Celtics fan!

Jaysus I can’t have some fun with that stat from last night?

Simmons is obviously a fantastic talent and has had a better year than Tatum but honestly Celtics making that trade in a heartbeat is a stretch. They are both incredibly young and showing tremendous talent. At this point, knows who’ll be the better talent in 5 years, Simmons might have better odds of turning out to be better right now but I wouldn’t rule out Tatum.

And obviously it’s only 2 games and given how we played away in the last series, there is long way to go.

Damn that’s a lot of typing to justify a fun stat when I’m riding high lol

Meatyfubu

Crazy how the jokes you find funniest are always LBJ related #Isaidhesthebest

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Mother of God Toronto, way to shut up the doubters. :rolleyes: I honestly think that's it for this team now in it's current format - for good, not just this series. This series is over. No way Toronto are winning 4 out of the next 5 bar LeBron getting hurt (which never happens). This was their year, their window; and I just can't see how they get a better chance than this as next year Philly are a year older and more experienced etc., and Boston have everyone back. They'll be middle of the pack next year in the East Playoffs and their path to the East Finals alone will be much tougher. Some really hard decisions to make now, but TBH given their cap situation they have very little options. And there's no trade value for their two best players, let alone the rest of the roster.

Very surprised at Boston winning again - and I'm a Celtics fan. Talent-wise, they shouldn't be where they are, and I really wonder how long this lasts? I still wouldn't rule Philly out though.

I struggle to understand how this makes much sense to be honest. I'm not hot on Toronto generally but it's hard to imagine that this team isn't going to get better.

OG, Siakam, Poeltl, Valanciunis, Powell, VanFleet, Nogueira are all 26 or under.

Also DeRozan is only 28 and makes 27m for the next 3 years which seems fair for a player who's an all-star at a position that isn't particularly loaded who's game is not predicated on athleticism and has a developing 3pt shot so he probably has a lot of trade value.

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Yeah it's a funny one in some ways; but can also be a symptom of teams copying their style/part of their style without the talent to make it work. Looked it up and they were actually 16th, but I take the point.

Plus factor in Curry was out for a significant number of games this year and given how much he shoots that's going to seriously affect the numbers - he shot (and made) his lowest number of 3's since 2011-12 this year. He also just missed another 50-40-90 season by 4 shots (he was 49.5% on FG%) :eek: You also have to remember that it's only a few years since Curry alone took and made more 3s than some TEAMS in the league and the exponential growth of 3 point shooting attempts across the league year on year in recent seasons and there's bound to be some catch up. Take him out for a large % of the season and of course the number of attempts drop.

Klay and Durant also missed time too. It all adds up. If all 3 played 75 or more games, those numbers would look a lot different. Steph alone missed 31 games, Klay 9 and Durant 14. Even 2 more attempts per game pushes them into the Top 8.

The fact they're (GS) still 1 in % made though says a lot, esp. when all 3 are back and healthy. If all 3 are playing though they're likely Top 5 in attempts - still behind Houston of course (who are 15th in %).

Houston are 1 in actual makes with 15.3 and GS 8th with 11.2; but again, add all 3 players in that changes IMO.

Well in all games played together you're right that line up did shoot more 3 pointers than any other GSW line up but it still is down on the numbers attempted by others,
Rockets attempted 17.7 when Ariza, Capela & Harden shared the floor for example.
They're 6th in attempts with that line up though they would lead in makes shooting at a 45% clip.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

Crazy how the jokes you find funniest are always LBJ related #Isaidhesthebest
.

Ah you do realise the Thong Song parody is entirely complimentary to LeBron, right?

And you could argue that the Stephen A. and Skip one is too.

I found them amusing, that's all; but hey go ahead and overanalyse!

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

Well in all games played together you're right that line up did shoot more 3 pointers than any other GSW line up but it still is down on the numbers attempted by others,
Rockets attempted 17.7 when Ariza, Capela & Harden shared the floor for example.
They're 6th in attempts with that line up though they would lead in makes shooting at a 45% clip.

I wasn't saying that.....the point I was trying to make is the 1st in % is I believe accurate; however the 16th in attempts is an anomaly this year given the injuries. Houston btw (IMO) would still be 1 in attempts given the offence they play even if all GSW players were 100% healthy and played all 82games; but GS wouldn't be 16th in attempts, they'd be Top 5.

And we were talking about teams I thought v line ups?

Meatyfubu

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Ah you do realise the Thong Song parody is entirely complimentary to LeBron, right?

And you could argue that the Stephen A. and Skip one is too.

I found them amusing, that's all; but hey go ahead and overanalyse!

Hardly an over analysis it's a simple observation. You linked 3 tweets from that account and 2 were LBJ related. Like I said simple observation.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

I struggle to understand how this makes much sense to be honest. I'm not hot on Toronto generally but it's hard to imagine that this team isn't going to get better.

OG, Siakam, Poeltl, Valanciunis, Powell, VanFleet, Nogueira are all 26 or under.

Also DeRozan is only 28 and makes 27m for the next 3 years which seems fair for a player who's an all-star at a position that isn't particularly loaded who's game is not predicated on athleticism and has a developing 3pt shot so he probably has a lot of trade value.

Your opinion, which you're entitled to. Mine is different.

I don't see them getting much better (I think they'll regress), but for the sake of argument even if they do the rest of the East's young guns will I believe be significantly better next year and that is part of the problem for Toronto. Even if they improve I believe they'll be overtaken by Boston and Philly next year (assuming no injuries of course).

Last summer this exact scenario was discussed at length on numerous podcasts and the general consensus was that there was little value out there for the Toronto talent. I'm not saying you couldn't get something, but it's likely not the transformational talent that can change a franchise direction. I just feel they're treading water.

The fans must be devastated tbh after last night.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

Hardly an over analysis it's a simple observation. You linked 3 tweets from that account and 2 were LBJ related. Like I said simple observation.

Except neither of those videos were from that account.....

Meatyfubu

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Except neither of those videos were from that account.....

The previous tweets you linked 2 of 3 were LBJ related and those 2 videos were also LBJ related.
What does the source matter, I never mentioned the source?
I was referring to something entirely separate and how it appears that the bball related jokes you link appear to contain alot of LBJ.

As far as the Raptors are concerned it's hard to understand how a team which finishes 1st in a conference is treading water.

Finally regarding the GSW bit, I agreed that if that line up had played more for that team you're right their attempts were likely to increase but that the team was still likely to attempt less given Houston's line up of Harden Ariza and Capela had launched more.

I highlighted that the line up of Durant Klay and Steph was 6th so they're likely to be around Top 5 as a team. I wasn't disagreeing with your top 5, just providing facts.

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Except neither of those videos were from that account.....

Meatyfubu wrote: »

The previous tweets you linked 2 of 3 were LBJ related and those 2 videos were also LBJ related.
What does the source matter, I never mentioned the source?
I was referring to something entirely separate and how it appears that the bball related jokes you link appear to contain alot of LBJ.

Ok......except you did....

Meatyfubu

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Ok......except you did....

:rolleyes:
Ok the pedantry doesn't really negate the point which we all know is correct.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

As far as the Raptors are concerned it's hard to understand how a team which finishes 1st in a conference is treading water.

Finally regarding the GSW bit, I agreed that if that line up had played more for that team you're right their attempts were likely to increase but that the team was still likely to attempt less given Houston's line up of Harden Ariza and Capela had launched more.

I highlighted that the line up of Durant Klay and Steph was 6th so they're likely to be around Top 5 as a team. I wasn't disagreeing with your top 5, just providing facts.

I stated more than once I thought no matter what they'd attempt less than Houston; but hey, just ignore that!
You started talking about team attempts, then switched it to line ups. I was merely pointing out that - again - the attempts figures were a little distorted due to injuries but hey, go off on tangents all you like.


As for Toronto....

1. It's the East!
2. They were the only ones who a 1 seed seemed to matter to
3. In the recent LeBron era he's not taken the regular season seriously, so that impacts the 1 seed
4. Boston were missing their 2 best players and others - they were the 1 seed last year so by your logic have they dis-improved? I doubt you'd find a Boston fan out there who isn't happier with where the team are now v last year

Honestly dude, it seems like you'd start an argument with your shadow so good luck to you. I also stated you're entitled to your opinion, which is fine. You have yours, I have mine.

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

:rolleyes:
Ok the pedantry doesn't really negate the point which we all know is correct.

Lol, the irony.

LuckyLloyd

The answer for what Toronto should do is the same as what Portland should do: stand pat.

They've finished 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd in conference the last half decade. They've reached a conference finals and two conference semi finals. That's an excellent period of success. As noted above, their squad is young with room to improve on individual levels. LeBron is also 33 so in the event he stays in the East his influence has to start waning over the next couple of years.

They're competitive and have a good platform to potentially win it all with a bit of luck in the postseason. Keep doing what you're doing imo.

ButtersSuki

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The answer for what Toronto should do is the same as what Portland should do: stand pat.

They've finished 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd in conference the last half decade. They've reached a conference finals and two conference semi finals. That's an excellent period of success. As noted above, their squad is young with room to improve on individual levels. LeBron is also 33 so in the event he stays in the East his influence has to start waning over the next couple of years.

They're competitive and have a good platform to potentially win it all with a bit of luck in the postseason. Keep doing what you're doing imo.

Really? Portland? Look at how their season ended up.

Meatyfubu

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Really? Portland? Look at how their season ended up.

3rd in the West after being touted as a potential 8th seed and losing to a team with a top 5 player, a championship winning veteran and one of the best two way guards in the league.

Sounds awful.....

For balance I will say they made a big mistake on Turner, if they could hoodwink someone into taking him and not wanting much in terms of picks I'd take it.
Otherwise it was a relatively good year

ButtersSuki

Meatyfubu wrote: »

3rd in the West after being touted as a potential 8th seed and losing to a team with a top 5 player, a championship winning veteran and one of the best two way guards in the league.

Sounds awful.....

For balance I will say they made a big mistake on Turner, if they could hoodwink someone into taking him and not wanting much in terms of picks I'd take it.
Otherwise it was a relatively good year

3rd yes, but from memory 3 games up from not getting into the play offs at all. When you consider the significant injuries or abscences (Leonard, Cousins, Butle etc) many teams below them had I’m not so sure it’s as good a season as some think....and that’s before we talk about the embarrassing play off loss to a team touted as not making the play offs at all at the start of the season but esp after Boogie went down.

Just giving some context!

Btw, I’ve neverto my mind heard about the two way play of McCollum as being up there amongst the leagues best. You do mean Mccollum, right?

On Turner, it’s easy say it’s bad now - and even to a degree at the time - but that was one of those crazy summer deals from 2016 (I think?) where the players association backed the cap only ever going up. There’s a lot of those deals out there and they’ll hurt some teams more than others over the next few years. The Lou Williams deal at the end of the season was a market correction type deal, but there’s going to be a few guys on some teams getting really pissed off at the money they’re making as contributors v certain bench or low rotation players over the coming years. Will also likely play havoc with some teams ability to negotiate as people will be like “well if so and so is getting 21m for 3points a game then I’m worth 40m”......

kmart6

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Has anyone watched AMATEUR on Netflix? I saw a trailer for it last night and it looked like it had some promise, but the reviews are very mixed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cQ3sBXpNtw

Finally got around to watching this, thought it was pretty poor tbh.

ButtersSuki

kmart6 wrote: »

Finally got around to watching this, thought it was pretty poor tbh.

Cheers!

LuckyLloyd

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Really? Portland? Look at how their season ended up.

Again, as I said specifically on Portland, you're making money / you're competitive / there's always the chance you could run hot and win a series you're not supposed to and suddenly you're in the finals. Blowing it up in the hope of a better contender the other side of a half decade rebuild is far too easy a thing to suggest when you're not an owner or fan of the franchise concerned.