NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2017-18

Igotadose

Gregk961 wrote: »

Watched a lot of ball tonight. Melo put in a really awful performance against the knicks, got a few buckets early and then pretty much killed his team with terrible all round play. Dont think he scored after the 1st quarter. Meanwhile his opposite number Beasley drops 30. OKC look a lost cause. I like Westbrook but they are awful to watch aswell, I cant stand looking at static ISO ball for an entire game.

Just like when he played for the Knicks... Was gracious in the post-game interview and it was nice the team did something for him in the intros, but he needed to be gone years ago from NYC. As with so many sports teams, though, it's first and foremost about the owner's egos and not about the fans.

Paully D

Igotadose wrote: »

Just like when he played for the Knicks... Was gracious in the post-game interview and it was nice the team did something for him in the intros, but he needed to be gone years ago from NYC. As with so many sports teams, though, it's first and foremost about the owner's egos and not about the fans.

I'm sure when all is said and done and the lights have stopped flashing, he'll always wonder "what if?" about going to Chicago a few years ago.

ButtersSuki

Paully D wrote: »

I'm sure when all is said and done and the lights have stopped flashing, he'll always wonder "what if?" about going to Chicago a few years ago.

Well it's all on him. He made a very bad call that year.

I've never been a fan, but that could have been his shot and he blew it.

Gregk961

Not sure how accurate the Love for Melo trade rumours were during the summer but I reckon it would have been game over for this Cavs team if it had gone ahead.

I havnt always been a Melo hater but he has been shocking this year. Not sure how coach K convinced him to play any form of team basketball, but it might just be greatest coaching achievement of all time.

For Forks Sake

Bulls now on 6-0 run. We'll end up accidentally making the playoffs at this rate :rolleyes:

ButtersSuki

Gregk961 wrote: »

Not sure how accurate the Love for Melo trade rumours were during the summer but I reckon it would have been game over for this Cavs team if it had gone ahead.

I havnt always been a Melo hater but he has been shocking this year. Not sure how coach K convinced him to play any form of team basketball, but it might just be greatest coaching achievement of all time.

Welcome to the Melo Haters Club!

You make some good points. One of my regular pods covered the Houston trade recently and said the same....as in he’d have messed it all up.

On the Olympics, it’s a lot easier “pretend” to play a more team-oriented role when you know you’re going to/are almost guaranteed to win. Plus I’d imagine there was a lot of peer pressure on him to do more from the likes of LeBron and Paul (in ‘08 and ‘12) and others. Plus it was like 6 games each time - big difference in that and losing in November in an 82 game season.

I could go on...!


And again on Love, he’s still under-rated and badly utilised in Cleveland. On another/the right team he’d look like the old Kevin Love again. If my choice was Melo or Love, I’d take Love every time.

Gregk961

It seems too simple to be true but on so many OKC possessions this year when they run any sort of play it ends in a good shot. Donovan is getting a lot of the blame for them under-performing but he actually seems to have some good sets lined up.

The problem seems to be Russ running full tilt at the rim or Melo isolating on wayyy too many possessions. Meanwhile George is hanging around the 3pt line not getting the ball in any sort of decent setup. Good performance tonight though, they blew out the Jazz in the first half in a pretty balanced display.

Paully D

7 wins in a row for the Bulls!

I don’t want to get carried away, but we’re probably going to the Finals. :pac:

LuckyLloyd

For all the criticism of Oklahoma, they're 7 - 3 over their last 10; have moved into a positive points differential and are now 6th.

Just checking some odds there...Raptors at 10/1 to win the Eastern Conference is a good shout I think.

Playing some great basketball and have at this stage played 6 less home games than away games and are 11-1 at home

OG has been a delight, what a capture!

ButtersSuki

Deleted User wrote: »

Just checking some odds there...Raptors at 10/1 to win the Eastern Conference is a good shout I think.

Playing some great basketball and have at this stage played 6 less home games than away games and are 11-1 at home

OG has been a delight, what a capture!

If it was to have the best record in the East I'd be all over it but to win it? Can't see past Play Off LeBron and Cleveland. Celtics regressing lately and the Cavs will take a month off on defence at some stage as well as showing last year they don't care about play off seeding could see Toronto take the 1 seed, but they're not going to the Finals.

Carcharodon

Was at the Lakers game last night and left after the third quarter after they gave out those stupid balloon things that people hit together, must be the most obnoxious and unnecessary things invented since the vuvuzela
Going to Cavs game xmas day, looking forward to watching lebron and Durant going head to head

Gregk961

Carcharodon wrote: »

Was at the Lakers game last night and left after the third quarter after they gave out those stupid balloon things that people hit together, must be the most obnoxious and unnecessary things invented since the vuvuzela
Going to Cavs game xmas day, looking forward to watching lebron and Durant going head to head

Nice, great game to be going to. Its on 8pm Irish time too so ill probably tune in after the feed.

Slightly off topic but I actually watched a segment of Undisputed there and it was watchable thanks to Skip and Shannon not being present. Chris Brousard seems to appear on the worst programs but has a great knowledge of basketball. If he had his own show id probably watch it from time to time.

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

If it was to have the best record in the East I'd be all over it but to win it? Can't see past Play Off LeBron and Cleveland. Celtics regressing lately and the Cavs will take a month off on defence at some stage as well as showing last year they don't care about play off seeding could see Toronto take the 1 seed, but they're not going to the Finals.

ahhhh, I am very stupid! I was thinking this was to win the eastern conf. (best record) not actually win the playoff portion. My apologies!

NufcNavan

I wonder if Oladipo will become the first player to win MIP and MVP in the same season.

ButtersSuki

NufcNavan wrote: »

I wonder if Oladipo will become the first player to win MIP and MVP in the same season.

Not a chance. If Curry didn't do it a few years ago I don't think we'll ever see that....and statistically his season was significantly better than Oladipo's, team won more games etc.

He's likely a lock for most improved and he's deserved it based on what he's produced so far; but he's not going to be close to winning the MVP. It's bizarre when you look back at the trade during the summer and people were almost unanimously saying how bad it was for Indiana. As it stands, Oladipo should be an All Star in the East, Sabonis is playing well, and George will most likely not make the West All Stars.

If you're interested, there's a 40+min interview with Oladipo on the Woj Pod that went up very recently (I listened to it this morning). It's interesting and worth a listen (even though Woj is so monotone he's hard to listen to at times). He talks about his parents/family and their values a lot. And you can tell how much his experiences in the NBA (5 coaches in 5 years) have affected him, but how much he's learned from it.


And he talks about his body/diet transformation briefly - have you seen this btw?


What it does show again though is something I've highlighted a lot of times in that how important it is to have the right system to play in that works for your skillset. It's something we've seen time and time again in the NBA when players change teams - and equally you'd have to say it's applicable when guys move to teams that don't suit their skills.

ButtersSuki

Haven't fact-checked this but from memory the 82 points the Warriors put up last night is their lowest score in a regular game in years.

Carcharodon

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Haven't fact-checked this but from memory the 82 points the Warriors put up last night is their lowest score in a regular game in years.

The only other low scoring game this year was the Celtics I think, but that’s nearly to be expected. They were due a bad night at the office, they have been in automatic mode this month.

Ended up selling my Cavs tickets for today, was kind of by accident, had them on the nba resale marketplace for months for a high price, didn’t look like they were going to be bought, wasn’t too pushed if they sold cos Xmas day games are really fun but they sold yesterday, ahh well

ButtersSuki

Carcharodon wrote: »

The only other low scoring game this year was the Celtics I think, but that’s nearly to be expected. They were due a bad night at the office, they have been in automatic mode this month.

Ended up selling my Cavs tickets for today, was kind of by accident, had them on the nba resale marketplace for months for a high price, didn’t look like they were going to be bought, wasn’t too pushed if they sold cos Xmas day games are really fun but they sold yesterday, ahh well

Out of curiosity......tell us the face value and what they sold for (if you want - not trying to be nosy, just genuinely curious esp. as you're in SF and we all know the Warriors (bandwagon) fans go overboard on ticket prices).

Carcharodon

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Carcharodon wrote: »

The only other low scoring game this year was the Celtics I think, but that’s nearly to be expected. They were due a bad night at the office, they have been in automatic mode this month.

Ended up selling my Cavs tickets for today, was kind of by accident, had them on the nba resale marketplace for months for a high price, didn’t look like they were going to be bought, wasn’t too pushed if they sold cos Xmas day games are really fun but they sold yesterday, ahh well

Out of curiosity......tell us the face value and what they sold for (if you want - not trying to be nosy, just genuinely curious esp. as you're in SF and we all know the Warriors (bandwagon) fans go overboard on ticket prices).

Yea, don’t mind saying it all.
Face value for tickets are $160 each I think, give or take a few dollars.
Sold them for $400 each, had 3 so made $1200, not a bad days work
4 of us are in it together through our company so we can write 50% of cost off in taxes and when you sell the tickets you don’t have to declare that money.
It’s tough enough having to sit next to some of the fans, they really don’t have a clue, regular fan has been priced out.

Vital Transformation

Refs ruined the end of that game not calling KD's foul.

ButtersSuki

Carcharodon wrote: »

Yea, don’t mind saying it all.
Face value for tickets are $160 each I think, give or take a few dollars.
Sold them for $400 each, had 3 so made $1200, not a bad days work
4 of us are in it together through our company so we can write 50% of cost off in taxes and when you sell the tickets you don’t have to declare that money.
It’s tough enough having to sit next to some of the fans, they really don’t have a clue, regular fan has been priced out.

Cheers for that, and nice little earner.

In bold - yeah, but you could say that for any major market really (NY (inc. BKN), Chicago, Boston, LA, SF, etc.). I typically pay $150 - 400 (most I've paid ever is $500) and the casual fan element is especially true in those cities. Prices in general have gone up a lot in the last few years especially.

I had really good seats for Orlando v Pacers a few weeks back in Orlando and that was $200; a few nights later in Miami for Heat v Celtics and I paid $250 for Row 1000 Z. Food and drink in both places were crazy though; though nothing is quite the rip off like the Barclays Center. What are they like in Oracle?

I saw the 2008 US Olympic Team in Vegas play Steve Nash's Canada for $40 and I was pretty much courtside. Laughable now when you think about it!

Notorious

ButtersSuki wrote: »

In bold - yeah, but you could say that for any major market really (NY (inc. BKN), Chicago, Boston, LA, SF, etc.). I typically pay $150 - 400 (most I've paid ever is $500) and the casual fan element is especially true in those cities. Prices in general have gone up a lot in the last few years especially.

I went to a Knicks game at MSG in October and paid about $80. Tickets on the second tier and were a long shot away from the nose-bleeds. I couldn’t stomach paying too much more than that. Picked up a beer on the way in and I paid $12 iirc. Daylight robbery!
Great craic overall though. I’ll definitely go to another when I’m back there.

Carcharodon

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Carcharodon wrote: »

Yea, don’t mind saying it all.
Face value for tickets are $160 each I think, give or take a few dollars.
Sold them for $400 each, had 3 so made $1200, not a bad days work
4 of us are in it together through our company so we can write 50% of cost off in taxes and when you sell the tickets you don’t have to declare that money.
It’s tough enough having to sit next to some of the fans, they really don’t have a clue, regular fan has been priced out.

Cheers for that, and nice little earner.

In bold - yeah, but you could say that for any major market really (NY (inc. BKN), Chicago, Boston, LA, SF, etc.). I typically pay $150 - 400 (most I've paid ever is $500) and the casual fan element is especially true in those cities. Prices in general have gone up a lot in the last few years especially.

I had really good seats for Orlando v Pacers a few weeks back in Orlando and that was $200; a few nights later in Miami for Heat v Celtics and I paid $250 for Row 1000 Z. Food and drink in both places were crazy though; though nothing is quite the rip off like the Barclays Center. What are they like in Oracle?

I saw the 2008 US Olympic Team in Vegas play Steve Nash's Canada for $40 and I was pretty much courtside. Laughable now when you think about it!

To say they have gone up is the understatement of the year, I understand supply and demand but the level of price increase is insane. I remember less than 10 years ago you could get an upper level for $20-$30, Parking is a minimum of $40 now.
A beer is $13 and food is around the same for the basics.
I could rant for hours about the whole thing but I got lucky getting in on season tickets, I earn decent enough money, nothing special for the area but enough to be comfortable and I wouldn’t be able to go to games regularly at these prices now, imagine how an average family is supposed to go.
I would only pay a lot for playoffs really, bit of a cliche but ever since the warriors got really good, a bit of the romance has gone for me, I suppose we are just so spoiled with such a good team, I try not and take it for granted but it’s hard
I can only imagine what the prices will be when they move to San Francisco year after next, they already want 30k for the rights to the seat or something that you get back in 15 years or some BS, it’s all about the money
I think this season Iam going to travel to an away game maybe for the playoffs

Carcharodon

Vital Transformation wrote: »

Refs ruined the end of that game not calling KD's foul.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration in my opinion.
I think jeff van gundy went a bit overboard with his reaction on how it should of been a foul, these calls happen all the time.
I will admit in the way the game is refereed now it probably was a foul, marginal though.
I do believe that it should be the call made every time, you have to allow some contact and let them play, don’t want it going the way of the nfl where refs are throwing flags left right and center.
It just needs to be consistent.

ButtersSuki

Carcharodon wrote: »

To say they have gone up is the understatement of the year, I understand supply and demand but the level of price increase is insane. I remember less than 10 years ago you could get an upper level for $20-$30, Parking is a minimum of $40 now.
A beer is $13 and food is around the same for the basics.
I could rant for hours about the whole thing but I got lucky getting in on season tickets, I earn decent enough money, nothing special for the area but enough to be comfortable and I wouldn’t be able to go to games regularly at these prices now, imagine how an average family is supposed to go.
I would only pay a lot for playoffs really, bit of a cliche but ever since the warriors got really good, a bit of the romance has gone for me, I suppose we are just so spoiled with such a good team, I try not and take it for granted but it’s hard
I can only imagine what the prices will be when they move to San Francisco year after next, they already want 30k for the rights to the seat or something that you get back in 15 years or some BS, it’s all about the money
I think this season Iam going to travel to an away game maybe for the playoffs

I've read a lot about the Bay Area and the recent (and by that I mean the last 10years) upsurge in property prices so I guess it's a classic Catch 22 re. the knock on effect elsewhere.

It really has become all about money though, which is sad.....but people are clearly willing to pay - there's 32,000 people on the Warriors Season Ticket WAITING list!

Carcharodon

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I've read a lot about the Bay Area and the recent (and by that I mean the last 10years) upsurge in property prices so I guess it's a classic Catch 22 re. the knock on effect elsewhere.

It really has become all about money though, which is sad.....but people are clearly willing to pay - there's 32,000 people on the Warriors Season Ticket WAITING list!

Yea, I work in construction and it’s just become ridiculous, some of the money being thrown around is mind boggling.
People in Ireland jaws drop when I say I have a great deal on my rent cos it’s only $2500 a month, should be at least $3000.

I will give the Warrior owners credit though in how they do things, they are a well run organization and seem to be making smart moves, especially with the new stadiums location, unlike the 49rs they have gone about it in a much better way.
I think because of where they are moving to and the market here in general, that waiting list will keep on growing even when they go bad.

mixery

Rondo with 25 assists last night ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Q7wo4TZMI ). I've always had a soft spot for him despite the (deserved) criticisms. Hopefully he finds his way within that team and they get some success, it'd be a nice change of pace.

mixery

That Boston comeback was something else, fair play to Marcus Smart!

ButtersSuki

Just watched the Boston v Houston game.

Some context is needed I feel as Houston played without both Paul and Capella, but impressive win for Boston nonetheless. They only led once in the whole game - Horford's basket at the end.

Can't believe how dumb Harden was in doing something so blatant TWICE in a row. I'm slightly less amazed the refs called it both times even if it was the correct call - and it was the correct call both times. Harden learning the hard way he's not at the super elite level yet (at least in the eyes of the refs) to get superstar calls. Harden likely figured he'd get the call or there'd be a no call on both plays.

The two refs was strange (back spasms on the 3rd official pre-game); I was shocked to learn they don't travel in 4s. I think they used to but I may be wrong with that. Very strange situation, but for Harden to complain about it afterwards was very childish - I don't think he was complaining when they were 26 up for example so it rings a little hollow at the end, esp. when both calls were 100% correct - they were both offensive fouls.