Around the NBA V: Live and Let Die

[wco81]

Bill Simmons said the Nuggets team is the best team since the 2017 Warriors, the first season with KD.

New dynasty is looking shaky.

Joker offers no rim protection and whether he plays drop or switches to the guard or wing, teams will punish him like Curry and Poole did in 2022.

Murray shot unconscious in a couple of postseasons. He made two game-winners vs. the Lakers but otherwise, not shooting too well.

I really wonder his on/off numbers without Jokic. In one of the Warriors games vs. Denver this season, Warriors put up a double digit lead with Jokic on the bench and Murray unable to carry the second unit.

If the Nuggets lose, the narrative will be that Murray, KCP and even Reggie were all hobbled.

[vvoland]

Damn these wolves look amazing on defense. Just so much length and athleticism on the perimeter.

Nuggets struggle with consistent ball-pressure, Wolves are excellent at it

Nuggets struggle with athletic guards... Wolves have Ant

I think the West plays out like I said earlier, because the other "great" team that has serious weaknesses? Dallas

Out East, Knicks were gifted a game 1 win at home on some sketchy calls, but thats going to be a good series. Both teams are better than people think they are. Brunson/NYK are the Ant/MIN of the East, and I really undersold what Brunson is. He's a legit #1.. I know people are prepping for Boston to come out of the East, but with the way they match up against NYK/IND, I really think whoever wins that series is going to rep the East. Especially if the Cavs put up a solid fight against Boston.. not betting on that though. It took some straight up heroism from Mitchell just to clear the Magic

With a healthy zinger, I expect boston to cut through the east with little problem

[CDM_Stats]

Damn these wolves look amazing on defense. Just so much length and athleticism on the perimeter.

Nuggets struggle with consistent ball-pressure, Wolves are excellent at it

Nuggets struggle with athletic guards... Wolves have Ant

I think the West plays out like I said earlier, because the other "great" team that has serious weaknesses? Dallas

Out East, Knicks were gifted a game 1 win at home on some sketchy calls, but thats going to be a good series. Both teams are better than people think they are. Brunson/NYK are the Ant/MIN of the East, and I really undersold what Brunson is. He's a legit #1.. I know people are prepping for Boston to come out of the East, but with the way they match up against NYK/IND, I really think whoever wins that series is going to rep the East. Especially if the Cavs put up a solid fight against Boston.. not betting on that though. It took some straight up heroism from Mitchell just to clear the Magic

With a healthy zinger, I expect boston to cut through the east with little problem

Matchups matter a lot in the playoffs.. people expected Boston to roll us as well. But once we used our malleable defense to force guys like Derrick White and Al Horford to beat us, the wheels started coming off once Tatum and JB couldnt do everything themselves. NYK, MIN, and OKC could present significant problems for them if Tatum and JB cant really carry the water. MIN especially.. I would have said OKC was their toughest matchup about 2 months ago. In fact think I did.. but Anthony Edwards has been different since then

But in the East, if OG and Hart can put a crimp on the wings - and I believe they can - then it's going to be a dogfight. And while I like Boston's attitude overall, the Knicks are all dogs right now. I dont think there's a team that's more in their coaches' image than the Knicks

[CDM_Stats]

Christian Wood accepts the player option of 1 year, 3m. Barely above league minimum after a godawful season

I'm glad that option wont be one thrown around this year after 2 consecutive years of hearing it

[vvoland]

Nuggets struggle with consistent ball-pressure, Wolves are excellent at it

Nuggets struggle with athletic guards... Wolves have Ant

I think the West plays out like I said earlier, because the other "great" team that has serious weaknesses? Dallas

Out East, Knicks were gifted a game 1 win at home on some sketchy calls, but thats going to be a good series. Both teams are better than people think they are. Brunson/NYK are the Ant/MIN of the East, and I really undersold what Brunson is. He's a legit #1.. I know people are prepping for Boston to come out of the East, but with the way they match up against NYK/IND, I really think whoever wins that series is going to rep the East. Especially if the Cavs put up a solid fight against Boston.. not betting on that though. It took some straight up heroism from Mitchell just to clear the Magic

With a healthy zinger, I expect boston to cut through the east with little problem

Matchups matter a lot in the playoffs.. people expected Boston to roll us as well. But once we used our malleable defense to force guys like Derrick White and Al Horford to beat us, the wheels started coming off once Tatum and JB couldnt do everything themselves. NYK, MIN, and OKC could present significant problems for them if Tatum and JB cant really carry the water. MIN especially.. I would have said OKC was their toughest matchup about 2 months ago. In fact think I did.. but Anthony Edwards has been different since then

But in the East, if OG and Hart can put a crimp on the wings - and I believe they can - then it's going to be a dogfight. And while I like Boston's attitude overall, the Knicks are all dogs right now. I dont think there's a team that's more in their coaches' image than the Knicks

Derrick White is a different animal than he was when they played us and it's him and Porzingis that are making the celtics elite, this season. I don't think Cle will be too much trouble and if Kristaps is back for the ECF, I don't see the knicks as a problem. Particularly as their starters will be going into that series having played 55 minutes per game.

Curious if the Pacers would have enough offense to threaten Boston but I don't think they get past NYK. With the knicks having 4 days off before game 2, this was probably the Pacers' best chance to steal a game and they didn't quite have the execution late to do so. A banged up Hali didn't help, either.

[CDM_Stats]

With a healthy zinger, I expect boston to cut through the east with little problem

Matchups matter a lot in the playoffs.. people expected Boston to roll us as well. But once we used our malleable defense to force guys like Derrick White and Al Horford to beat us, the wheels started coming off once Tatum and JB couldnt do everything themselves. NYK, MIN, and OKC could present significant problems for them if Tatum and JB cant really carry the water. MIN especially.. I would have said OKC was their toughest matchup about 2 months ago. In fact think I did.. but Anthony Edwards has been different since then

But in the East, if OG and Hart can put a crimp on the wings - and I believe they can - then it's going to be a dogfight. And while I like Boston's attitude overall, the Knicks are all dogs right now. I dont think there's a team that's more in their coaches' image than the Knicks

Derrick White is a different animal than he was when they played us and it's him and Porzingis that are making the celtics elite, this season. I don't think Cle will be too much trouble and if Kristaps is back for the ECF, I don't see the knicks as a problem. Particularly as their starters will be going into that series having played 55 minutes per game.

Curious if the Pacers would have enough offense to threaten Boston but I don't think they get past NYK. With the knicks having 4 days off before game 2, this was probably the Pacers' best chance to steal a game and they didn't quite have the execution late to do so. A banged up Hali didn't help, either.

My biggest concern at this time. Thibs does not care about the back half of his roster's career, thats for damn sure. And White, IMO, is the biggest concern for the Knicks. Even in losses, his impact is better than a lot of the other Celtics.. very high floor player. But if they can make him passive by beating him up a bit, he does turtle up a bit. But how can they do it? Brunson has to guard someone..

However if the Knicks, assuming the beat the Pacers as they should (they can always get hot but they are a massive dog) can encourage Tatum and JB to try their luck against perceived 'good' matchups like they tried to do against Looney 2 years ago.. thats when the Celtics start showing weakness. The bad offense leads to bad defense, etc etc. And when the Celtics start having the wheels come off, they sometimes dont recover. Just not a very resilient team. Hit em in the mouth often and hope for the best. The Knicks seem like the best chance to do that.. gonna monitor the odds on that one for sure. Currently at +1400, and I might take it. I have OKC at +1400, MIN at +1700, IND +6000... Indy was just my longshot, do one every year. But a OKC/MIN WCF would be a dream, I parlayed that with Boston in the ECF. Could be a very good month for me

[vvoland]

Matchups matter a lot in the playoffs.. people expected Boston to roll us as well. But once we used our malleable defense to force guys like Derrick White and Al Horford to beat us, the wheels started coming off once Tatum and JB couldnt do everything themselves. NYK, MIN, and OKC could present significant problems for them if Tatum and JB cant really carry the water. MIN especially.. I would have said OKC was their toughest matchup about 2 months ago. In fact think I did.. but Anthony Edwards has been different since then

But in the East, if OG and Hart can put a crimp on the wings - and I believe they can - then it's going to be a dogfight. And while I like Boston's attitude overall, the Knicks are all dogs right now. I dont think there's a team that's more in their coaches' image than the Knicks

Derrick White is a different animal than he was when they played us and it's him and Porzingis that are making the celtics elite, this season. I don't think Cle will be too much trouble and if Kristaps is back for the ECF, I don't see the knicks as a problem. Particularly as their starters will be going into that series having played 55 minutes per game.

Curious if the Pacers would have enough offense to threaten Boston but I don't think they get past NYK. With the knicks having 4 days off before game 2, this was probably the Pacers' best chance to steal a game and they didn't quite have the execution late to do so. A banged up Hali didn't help, either.

My biggest concern at this time. Thibs does not care about the back half of his roster's career, thats for damn sure. And White, IMO, is the biggest concern for the Knicks. Even in losses, his impact is better than a lot of the other Celtics.. very high floor player. But if they can make him passive by beating him up a bit, he does turtle up a bit. But how can they do it? Brunson has to guard someone..

However if the Knicks, assuming the beat the Pacers as they should (they can always get hot but they are a massive dog) can encourage Tatum and JB to try their luck against perceived 'good' matchups like they tried to do against Looney 2 years ago.. thats when the Celtics start showing weakness. The bad offense leads to bad defense, etc etc. And when the Celtics start having the wheels come off, they sometimes dont recover. Just not a very resilient team. Hit em in the mouth often and hope for the best. The Knicks seem like the best chance to do that.. gonna monitor the odds on that one for sure. Currently at +1400, and I might take it. I have OKC at +1400, MIN at +1700, IND +6000... Indy was just my longshot, do one every year. But a OKC/MIN WCF would be a dream, I parlayed that with Boston in the ECF. Could be a very good month for me

Those all seem like solid bets except Indy, even at those odds I just don't believe they'll win, in any scenario. If it was to make the ECF or Finals, sure. Not to win, though.

I'll be rooting for the knicks to get past both Indy and Bos but while I expect the former, I can't imagine how the latter happens. Even if what you outline takes place, NYK still has to execute down the stretch. Brunson has to play defense, and the roster can't die from exhaustion. All big question marks. The MRob injury really hurts with Bogdan already out. I"m assuming even Thibs can't figure out how to play Josh Hart 96 minutes per game, right?

[wco81]

I don't know what his percentage is but he's hitting plenty of big shots in the playoffs, including 3s.

[KevinMcreynolds]

looking back it's kind of strange we didn't take Brunson considering the Warriors brass is BFFs with Jay Wright. I know all 29 teams made the same mistake but we didn't even go for a high upside guy over him, we took Jacob Snoozefest Evans.

[KevinMcreynolds]

The 20/20 Hindsight Warriors:

Steph
Brunson
Murphy III
Franz
Whoever

[Onus]

looking back it's kind of strange we didn't take Brunson considering the Warriors brass is BFFs with Jay Wright. I know all 29 teams made the same mistake but we didn't even go for a high upside guy over him, we took Jacob Snoozefest Evans.

The one player from those villanova squad we did sign Omari Spellman thanks Jay!

[KevinMcreynolds]

looking back it's kind of strange we didn't take Brunson considering the Warriors brass is BFFs with Jay Wright. I know all 29 teams made the same mistake but we didn't even go for a high upside guy over him, we took Jacob Snoozefest Evans.

The one player from those villanova squad we did sign Omari Spellman thanks Jay!

Paschall and DDV too, we’ve basically had that entire team EXCEPT Brunson

[wco81]

DDV is shooting 41.7% from 3 in 8 playoffs games, on 7.5 attempts.

He's made several big ones in the 9th game, game 3 at Indiana.

They're like catch and shoot in one motion, the kind the Splash Brothers were taking during their peak.

Yes, very unlikely or impossible for the Warriors to keep him.

[xdrta+]

DDV is shooting 41.7% from 3 in 8 playoffs games, on 7.5 attempts.

He's made several big ones in the 9th game, game 3 at Indiana.

They're like catch and shoot in one motion, the kind the Splash Brothers were taking during their peak.

Yes, very unlikely or impossible for the Warriors to keep him.

DiVincenzo gives Steph some credit for improving his shooting.

“I used to think feet squared, shoulders squared, release and everything had to be aligned and everything,” DiVincenzo said. “And I get he’s almost an anomaly. But what’s so much different is as long as his shoulders are good, he doesn’t care about anything else.”

[cpower]

Donte 29 ppg on 67%TS vs pacers

[wco81]

The only thing I can think of is that they could have offered him more on that initial contract. It wasn't the full TMPLE IIRC?

I don't know if with the full TMPLE they could have come close to the deal he signed. I think he's making about $10 million this season, which is an absurd bargain.

But he's due to make $11.5, $11.9 and $12.5 million the next 3 seasons. Warriors could have come close maybe if they started with the full TMPLE?

He had been traded by the Bucks and didn't do much with the Kings in like 20-30 games, had low percentage. So the Warriors were able to buy low and save luxury taxes.

If they had any inkling that he could become this kind of shooter as well as have an overall good floor game, they might have paid the most they could.

Because his impact is similar to Derrick White on the Celtics. Not quite as good obviously, since White is at least the 3rd best player on a 64-win team. But Knicks may make the ECF and he's the #2 player on that team.

[xdrta+]

The only thing I can think of is that they could have offered him more on that initial contract. It wasn't the full TMPLE IIRC?

I don't know if with the full TMPLE they could have come close to the deal he signed. I think he's making about $10 million this season, which is an absurd bargain.

But he's due to make $11.5, $11.9 and $12.5 million the next 3 seasons. Warriors could have come close maybe if they started with the full TMPLE?

In 22-23 the taxpayer MLE was $6.4M. They had earmarked a chunk of it to sign Ryan Rollins to a multi-year contract but even if they somehow signed Donte to the full TMLE, $6.4M for the first year, the best they could do would be 3yr/$20.1M. Compare that to the 4yr/$46.8M he got from the Knicks. Warriors were locked out no matter what.

[wco81]

The only thing I can think of is that they could have offered him more on that initial contract. It wasn't the full TMPLE IIRC?

I don't know if with the full TMPLE they could have come close to the deal he signed. I think he's making about $10 million this season, which is an absurd bargain.

But he's due to make $11.5, $11.9 and $12.5 million the next 3 seasons. Warriors could have come close maybe if they started with the full TMPLE?

In 22-23 the taxpayer MLE was $6.4M. They had earmarked a chunk of it to sign Ryan Rollins to a multi-year contract but even if they somehow signed Donte to the full TMLE, $6.4M for the first year, the best they could do would be 3yr/$20.1M. Compare that to the 4yr/$46.8M he got from the Knicks. Warriors were locked out no matter what.

OK, it wasn't as close as I thought.

[wco81]

Hawks beat 3% odds to get first pick of the draft.

Meanwhile Detroit and other teams with worst record are out of the top 3?

Yeah sure NBA.

[watch1958]

Some fun times during this offseason: Pelinka says he wants the next coach to be a “grinder”, which Lakerfan has morphed into “looking for a coach on Grind’r.”