NBA 2019-2020

[syrian_scholes]

Beal on OKC would elevate us to the 6th seed. Above the Spurs and possibly the Warriors. I really don't think there's much difference between OKC and the Pelicans. In fact, if Paul and Gallinari stay for some reason I'd be confident we'd finish higher. Pelicans are being overrated, IMO. It's moot though because Beal doesn't fit the OKC timeline.

I think you're overrating Paul a bit here, he was really bad last year, probably due to age, Gallinari is a good player though.

 

[ZDwyr]

Really? I thought he was okay. I will take your word for it though since you watched him more. Anyway, even if he is declining I'd still have him above Lonzo (or certainly wouldn't have Lonzo ahead of him). Paul, SGA, Roberson/Ferguson, Gallinari and Adams is a solid starting five. The lack of shooting will be an issue for the Pelicans. They'll need to be good in transition.

 

[kouroux]

What's embarrassing about it? The NBA is not some sort of democratic cultural institution out there promoting human rights, it's a fecking cartel with no meaningful competition. Every decision made by the NBA is made to benefit the financial success of the league. The NBA is a closed shop cartel engineered to make as much money as possible for the 30 billionaires who control the franchises. Speaking out against China is detrimental to the financial success of the league, therefore the guy was told to pipe the feck down.

Makes perfect logical sense.

This reminded of an interesting on HBO with The Rock called "Ballers", it's set in the NFL and in this final season the real life character he's playing actually becomes an owner of a team and he realizes how much greedy his peers really are

 

[Sarni]

Really? I thought he was okay. I will take your word for it though since you watched him more. Anyway, even if he is declining I'd still have him above Lonzo (or certainly wouldn't have Lonzo ahead of him). Paul, SGA, Roberson/Ferguson, Gallinari and Adams is a solid starting five. The lack of shooting will be an issue for the Pelicans. They'll need to be good in transition.

I don't think lack of shooting will be that much of an issue for them. They do have some very good shooters on their roster. Redick is one of the best in the league, Hart is a competent shooter, Alexander-Walker can shoot and they have a great bench shooter in Moore. Ball seems to have worked on his shot and his 3-point efficiency wasn't that bad before to be honest, he had some games where he went crazy from downtown. Holiday can shoot too, and Ingram can develop into a 38% shooter easily. I think the whole lack of shooting issue is blown out of proportion for them, the only non-shooters they have are really Favors and two rookies in Zion and Hayes, both of whom can easily improve that aspect of their game as well. I'll be surprised if Hayes doesn't become a threat from three.

 

[Sarni]

This is nuts.

 

[freeurmind]

Dude is a guard. I'm the worst player on every basketball court I step onto and even I can hit a 3.

 

[freeurmind]

The only thing that agers me is that I'm gonna have to watch Celtics games all year to see this guy play.

 

[SportingCP96]

The only thing that agers me is that I'm gonna have to watch Celtics games all year to see this guy play.

Baring injury I think Tacko could be a GOOD player in the league. He is a cheat code.

 

[ravi2]

This reminded of an interesting on HBO with The Rock called "Ballers", it's set in the NFL and in this final season the real life character he's playing actually becomes an owner of a team and he realizes how much greedy his peers really are

Is ballers good?
I've been looking into what new TV series I can get into

 

[freeurmind]

Is ballers good?
I've been looking into what new TV series I can get into

The first 2 season were aite. Not a fan of the later stuff.

 

[kouroux]

Is ballers good?
I've been looking into what new TV series I can get into

It's ok tbh. Nothing groundbreaking but at least it is a bit different from other shows.
It explores behind the scenes stuff of NFL.
The Rock is, as usual, very good in it

 

[Redplane]

Thought this was kinda cool. Pistons opened their new training center in downtown after their move back to the city from Auburn Hills:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/3906217002

 

[Sarni]

Dude is a guard. I'm the worst player on every basketball court I step onto and even I can hit a 3.

I think it's a confidence issue. He even commented on that, whenever he sees an open lane he wants to go to the basket which has been super easy for him in high school and college, and not that difficult in NBA either, rather than pull up and shoot. Eventually he should learn to shoot though as that would actually also open up lanes for him as defenders would have to step out to perimeter to defend him. Being able to hit a three isn't just about scoring extra points, it's also about opening additional space.

 

[syrian_scholes]

Really? I thought he was okay. I will take your word for it though since you watched him more. Anyway, even if he is declining I'd still have him above Lonzo (or certainly wouldn't have Lonzo ahead of him). Paul, SGA, Roberson/Ferguson, Gallinari and Adams is a solid starting five. The lack of shooting will be an issue for the Pelicans. They'll need to be good in transition.

He is okay but his shooting abilities have gone down immensely, maybe he will benefit from a change of scenery.

 

[mav_9me]

I think it's a confidence issue. He even commented on that, whenever he sees an open lane he wants to go to the basket which has been super easy for him in high school and college, and not that difficult in NBA either, rather than pull up and shoot. Eventually he should learn to shoot though as that would actually also open up lanes for him as defenders would have to step out to perimeter to defend him. Being able to hit a three isn't just about scoring extra points, it's also about opening additional space.

Exactly. The extra points only really work if you are a good and volume shooter like Harden or Curry. All he needs to do is get a 3 point shot which people have to respect and he can just slash to basket at will.

 

[Sarni]

He is okay but his shooting abilities have gone down immensely, maybe he will benefit from a change of scenery.

His contract doesn't make sense either which will prevent him from going to a good team, except maybe Miami. I think when he's ageing he will focus on passing more and he's quite excellent at that. He should be a good mentor for SGA too, could probably teach him a thing or two about basketball.

This Thunder team is too good to tank but not good enough to be competitive in the West, which is not exactly where you want to be. Gallinari should probably be on the trade block soon and could fetch good value, Schroder will at best get you another bad contract in return unless you attach assets to offload him (which makes no sense if you are trying to rebuild). Adams is an intriguing one, he's a perfect fit for teams like Hawks or Kings and I could see him getting traded for like Parsons and a very distant first rounder (e.g. 2023, 2024). He seems to have worked on his shot and if he could stretch the floor he would be an amazing center for Atlanta.

 

[Suedesi]

This reminded of an interesting on HBO with The Rock called "Ballers", it's set in the NFL and in this final season the real life character he's playing actually becomes an owner of a team and he realizes how much greedy his peers really are

I watch the Ballers, thought last season was piss poor, and not really getting into the new one just yet.

But to the point, people think sports in the US are 'socialist' because of the salary cap and draft rules (lowest team has first dibs). No, it's because sports in the US are run by cartel organizations made up of several franchises, whereby and the cartel is only interested in keeping the profits for the league overall steady and growing. They do that by keeping a level playing field for all franchises, because that guarantees the highest level of interest and $ coming in the league. And there's no promotion from lower levels of the game to higher: this happens with players, yes of course, but not with teams themselves. The effect of this is that of course teams don't fall down through the levels as a result of a series of bad seasons. Also owners are allowed to move locations as they see fit in pursuit of greater revenues for the league. Also the league-cartel is known for squashing PR problems that could hinder profits - they're not afraid to fine, GM's/owners (Mark Cuban), or in most extreme examples force owners to outright sell (Don Sterling).

 

[ravi2]

It's ok tbh. Nothing groundbreaking but at least it is a bit different from other shows.
It explores behind the scenes stuff of NFL.
The Rock is, as usual, very good in it

Thanks, I think I'll give ballers a go.

 

[cesc's_mullet]

Dude is a guard. I'm the worst player on every basketball court I step onto and even I can hit a 3.

Why aren't you an all star in your second year playing and a ROTY then?

Yeah I'm defensive, so what?

 

[cesc's_mullet]

Exactly. The extra points only really work if you are a good and volume shooter like Harden or Curry. All he needs to do is get a 3 point shot which people have to respect and he can just slash to basket at will.

Exactly. And suddenly his defender has to respect his shot enough to not be able to sag off and clog the paint for Embiid. It will transform their whole game.

 

[Sarni]

Zion is a force. 29 points on 12-13 shooting and all shots from virtually the same place.

 

[freeurmind]

 

[freeurmind]

The worst part has been seeing noted "social Justice" advocates and Trump critics, Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich punt on this issue.

 

[SportingCP96]

Zion is a force. 29 points on 12-13 shooting and all shots from virtually the same place.

Almost Shaq like the way he dominated the paint. If he gets a decent jumper RIP to the rest of the league. Inside the paint he is a problem.

 

[freeurmind]

 

[syrian_scholes]

Damn!

 

[Sarni]

Apparently salary cap could go down from projected $116million to $98million in 2020-21 because of China issue. 2020 free agency consists mostly of 2016 free agents who got overpaid that year because of salary cap jumping from $70million to $94million over one Summer, coinciding with a weak free agency it meant that players like Biyombo, Turner, Fournier, Mahinmi or Mozgov got well over $15million a year. They will either get inflated short team deals offers again, just because their current teams can't sign anyone else and they will want to keep them in order to match salaries in trades in the future (it makes sense), or they will get just minimum contracts from other teams as nobody will have any money.

It takes away a lot of leverage from restricted free agents who haven't signed with anyone yet, e.g. Ingram, Brown and Hield. They might not get huge offer sheets anymore and could get decreased offers from their current teams who won't need to go over the top to retain them.

 

[freeurmind]

There's way too much money involved for the Chinese firms. No way the NBA doesn't get streamed over there. The ad revenue alone must be enormous.

 

[elmo]

The worst part has been seeing noted "social Justice" advocates and Trump critics, Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich punt on this issue.

Or they realised it wasn't their business to be commenting on what another country does when they might not know enough to comment on it.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

LeBron has properly embarrassed himself tonight

 

[Beans]

LeBron has properly embarrassed himself tonight

The man has more money than Jesus and he's worried about his future earnings in China. Pathetic.

 

[Sarni]

LeBron has properly embarrassed himself tonight

Indeed. I had and still have respect for him as a human but that was pathetic.

 

[UweBein]

LeBron has properly embarrassed himself tonight

What happened?

 

[Sandyman]

What happened?

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Desert Eagle]

Lebron, steve kerr and pop can all go suck dick. Bunch of bitches. Lebron with the tweets just stop. Play well for the lakers, try not to get injured then buzz off.

 

[Grib]

Any users with the league pass, tempted to go for the team option or the lowest tier even, doubting I'd have time to watch 82 games

What's it like, stream quality, catch up, is it limited to one device

 

[Fosu-Mens]

The man has more money than Jesus and he's worried about his future earnings in China. Pathetic.

Same reasons as for why people involved with Manchester United does not critisize owners/upper management at the club.

 

[elmo]

What happened?

His fanboys finally realise he's just a corporate shill.

 

[Fridge chutney]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Sarni]

Any users with the league pass, tempted to go for the team option or the lowest tier even, doubting I'd have time to watch 82 games

What's it like, stream quality, catch up, is it limited to one device

I have had full league pass for over two years. Currently using the India subscription which is somehow available here for basically £1 a month so I will never change as long as they don’t tell me it’s not available anymore.

Quality is awesome, you get to choose commentary etc., it’s fast and gets you a lot of additional content. Well worth the price.