2023-24 NBA Thread

[ngineer]

I don't see an NBA thread, so figured I would start this. While Bball has never been one of my top sports to follow (football, baseball and collegiate wrestling come before), I do enjoy watching the athleticism of the game, and being my locale, I follow the 76ers. The recent trade of Hardin to LA Clippers has seemed to create a whole new dynamic in the Sixers team/manner of play. The ball and the players are in motion and pushing the play as opposed to standing around while Hardin dribbled for 15 seconds before anything happened. While the season is very young, the production of Maxie and Oubre has been eyeopening and with Embiid and Harris, they have a core that can be expected to score at least 80 points a night, plus their bench. This might be a bigger deal than many expect.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves get a real test with Boston up next. They gave Denver their first loss last week.

[bonarae]

Meanwhile, the 2025 NBA All Star Weekend is awarded to the Golden State Warriors and Chase Center.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves hand the Celtics their first loss in OT.

[ngineer]

And the Sixers continue to roll. After beating the Celtics for their 6th straight win, then had a 'let down' tonight in Detroit and were trailing by 16 in the second quarter. Trimmed the deficit to 8 by the half, and destroyed the Pistons in the second half. This team is fun to watch. Without Harden, the offense had really opened up. A lot of ball movement and players running around. Guys like Tobias Harris now have a chance to show what they can do. The players they have added are also an upgrade from last year's second string. Very little lost when the subs come in. This could be their year, assuming Embiid and Maxey remain healthy.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves take care of Wemby and the Spurs for 5th straight win. Warriors up next. Steve Kerr told Anthony Edwards he would not draft him after a pre-draft workout.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves Win 7th strait with back to back wins over the Warriors.

[bonarae]

Are there primadonnas in the NBA who are more pronounced like James Harden? Give him a lifetime ban and maybe he'll shut up? xchinscratchx

[Gil Dobie]

At least for today, the Timberwolves are in first place in the West.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves get Philly on the road and Lakers at home on consecutive days this week. That will be a great test for the young team.

[grizband]

At least for today, the Timberwolves are in first place in the West.
Not to jinx anything Gil, but a month later they still remain atop the West (20-5).

[bonarae]

Welp, a bad fact: the two highest-paid NBA HCs this year are both in potential lottery-bound teams xsmhx

[bonarae]

And... the Pistons' L streak has gone up to 25...

[Gil Dobie]

Not to jinx anything Gil, but a month later they still remain atop the West (20-5).

They are playing the tough part of their schedule. Split with Philly and the Lakers. Sac and OKC are next.

[ngineer]

For the first time since 1961, the Sixers, tonight, had three players with 30 or more points in one game. Embiid, Maxey and Tobias Harris were on fire tonight. Sixers have really put together a much deeper lineup in large part due to the guys received as part of the Harden deal. They are moving, the ball is moving. A great mix of veterans, younger vets and some youngsters.

[bonarae]

Pistons' L streak now at 26, maybe perhaps matching an NHL team's or even MLB's. xsmhx

[bonarae]

Pistons' L streak now at 27, perhaps setting a new record in the process when all is said and done? xbawlingx

https://sports.yahoo.com/longest-losing-streaks-in-us-sports-history-will-detroit-pistons-break-record-for-all-pro-leagues-034633885.html

[ngineer]

Pistons' L streak now at 27, perhaps setting a new record in the process when all is said and done? xbawlingx

https://sports.yahoo.com/longest-losing-streaks-in-us-sports-history-will-detroit-pistons-break-record-for-all-pro-leagues-034633885.html

Just need one more "L" for one "L" of a record!

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves vs Clippers tonight for #1 seed in the West.

[grizband]

Division Leaders as of this morning (2/19/24)

Boston (43-12): 10 game lead
Cleveland (36-17): 2.5 game lead
Miami and Orlando (30-25)

Minnesota (39-16): 1.5 game lead
LA Clippers (36-17): 4 game lead
New Orleans (33-22): 1 game lead

[bonarae]

Will LBJ honor a WNBA GOAT's request for him? xchinscratchx

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/wnba-legend-offers-thoughtful-retirement-advice-for-lebron-james-its-just-as-much-about-the-fans/

[bonarae]

Are the NBA officials the worst in all of basketball? xsmhx

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/monty-williams-livid-pistons-react-to-worst-call-of-the-season-in-loss-vs-knicks-refs-admit-mistake/

[bonarae]

LBJ has hit 40K points. Is he Springfield-bound on the first ballot once he retires?

[Gil Dobie]

KAT out until the playoffs. Will be tough to get the #1 seed in West.

[bonarae]

Will the fan be banned for life?

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/pistons-gm-troy-weaver-gets-into-verbal-altercation-with-fan-who-told-him-you-suck-at-your-job/

[bonarae]

Dante Exum, once considered a bust, found his way overseas and is now back thriving with the Mavs this time...

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/how-mavericks-dante-exum-a-former-lottery-pick-found-his-game-overseas-and-made-it-back-to-the-nba/

[bonarae]

Good riddance? G League Ignite will become history at the end of the season.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/g-league-ignite-shutting-down-nba-cites-ncaas-nil-policy-as-reason-for-ending-developmental-team/

[bonarae]

T-Wolves are not for sale once again.

Also, if this is passed by the owners as well as by Commissioner Adam, would you support a "USA vs. the World" NBA All-Star Game? https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-considering-pivot-to-usa-vs-world-all-star-game-format-but-it-would-be-a-complicated-switch/

[Gil Dobie]

Big game tonight, Wolves vs Denver.

[Gil Dobie]

T-Wolves are not for sale once again.

Also, if this is passed by the owners as well as by Commissioner Adam, would you support a "USA vs. the World" NBA All-Star Game? https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-considering-pivot-to-usa-vs-world-all-star-game-format-but-it-would-be-a-complicated-switch/

Sounds like A-Roid didn't have the money after the J-Lo breakup

[clenz]

Sounds like A-Roid didn't have the money after the J-Lo breakup
They had the money. The backer for the final payment fell through a couple weeks ago but Mark and A-Rod found a new backer and submitted the funds. However, the NBA BOG needs to approve such things and they didn't do anything to get the approval done. So the fact it isn't done is on the BOG at this point.

This is entirely seller's remorse on the part of ****face Taylor. The team is finally good and has momentum (Because he is being taken out of the picture) and has almost doubled in price since he agreed to the price in 2021. He saw the door had half a millimeter before it was completely closed on the sale and he's going to try to bully his way through it and take all the credit and then sell again in 2 years when the team is worth closer to 4 billion.

It's not going to help Taylor's case when he admitted in a public interview with Chad Hartman that the value of the team going up played a large part in him deciding to back out by making a bad deal 2 years ago.

This is going to drag out in court and Taylor is a ****ing bitch that needs to stop using oxygen others could be using.

[Gil Dobie]

They had the money. The backer for the final payment fell through a couple weeks ago but Mark and A-Rod found a new backer and submitted the funds. However, the NBA BOG needs to approve such things and they didn't do anything to get the approval done. So the fact it isn't done is on the BOG at this point.

This is entirely seller's remorse on the part of ****face Taylor. The team is finally good and has momentum (Because he is being taken out of the picture) and has almost doubled in price since he agreed to the price in 2021. He saw the door had half a millimeter before it was completely closed on the sale and he's going to try to bully his way through it and take all the credit and then sell again in 2 years when the team is worth closer to 4 billion.

It's not going to help Taylor's case when he admitted in a public interview with Chad Hartman that the value of the team going up played a large part in him deciding to back out by making a bad deal 2 years ago.

This is going to drag out in court and Taylor is a ****ing bitch that needs to stop using oxygen others could be using.

It wasn't A-Roids money, he was looking for backers, overcharging them for his percentage and thats why the first group pulled out. I was hoping they could make the sale, because Taylor and David Stern reduced the Wolves to rubbish. Taylor knows little about basketball, taking Sterns advice and hiring David Kahn. There is still an option to sell to A-Roid.

[bonarae]

If you were the Warriors' owner, should you force Draymond to play overseas or for another team like the MLB forced Trevor Bauer?

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/draymond-green-continues-to-undercut-warriors-and-somehow-stephen-curry-continues-to-shoulder-the-blame/

[grizband]

LBJ has hit 40K points. Is he Springfield-bound on the first ballot once he retires?
Lebron was a first ballot Hall of Famer five years ago.

[bonarae]

Jerry West: finally Springfield-bound?

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/vince-carter-chauncey-billups-jerry-west-will-be-part-of-2024-basketball-hall-of-fame-class-per-reports/

[Gil Dobie]

Jerry West: finally Springfield-bound?

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/vince-carter-chauncey-billups-jerry-west-will-be-part-of-2024-basketball-hall-of-fame-class-per-reports/

Again!

[bonarae]

Jontay Porter gets the Pete Rose effect: banned from the NBA for the rest of his career.

[bonarae]

Meanwhile... the Dubs were bounced in the PIT; is this the end of the Dynasty of the 2010s?

I'm for the C's now... xrulesx

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves win game 3 in Phoenix, go up 3-0 in the series.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves sweep the Suns. Waiting on Nuggets vs Lakers winner.

[Gil Dobie]

Fun watching the National media discover Ant in the playoffs. Nuggets Wolves could be a great series.

[clenz]

Fun watching the National media discover Ant in the playoffs. Nuggets Wolves could be a great series.
Denver has to be the favorites, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Denver beat LA 4-1 but LA had the lead for something like 70% of that series. They just collapsed game after game after game. Denver really struggled with what LA was doing to the defensively.

Minnesota does what LA does, but they do it about 10 times better, and more efficiently than LA does it.

[bonarae]

Do you think Denver-Minnesota will go the full seven?

The generation of Durant, LBJ, etc. is finally bowing down to the likes of Ant, the Canadian-born NBA players (SGA, Murray, among others), etc.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/with-lebron-james-kevin-durant-fading-into-sunset-changing-of-the-nba-superstar-guard-is-officially-underway/

[Gil Dobie]

Do you think Denver-Minnesota will go the full seven?

The generation of Durant, LBJ, etc. is finally bowing down to the likes of Ant, the Canadian-born NBA players (SGA, Murray, among others), etc.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/with-lebron-james-kevin-durant-fading-into-sunset-changing-of-the-nba-superstar-guard-is-officially-underway/

I'm guessing Timberwolves in 6. Minnesota didn't have McDaniels and Reid last year in the playoff, so they are better. They split 2-2 in the regular season, KAT played in one of those games, the only one all the starters from both teams played, and Wolves won. This is the playoffs, so it's a different atmosphere than the regular season.

[bonarae]

Ant thanks the national team and the team may thank him back for the favor come Olympics.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/anthony-edwards-thanks-team-usa-for-game-1-explosion-but-this-summer-theyre-going-to-be-thanking-him/

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves take game 1 in Denver. Ant scores 43.

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves take game 2 in Denver. Throw back to some great defensive teams. Hold Nuggets to 80 points.

[Bisonator]

The officiating is atrocious, NBA should be embarassedxflaggedx

[bonarae]

The officiating is atrocious, NBA should be embarassedxflaggedx

Worst in all North American pro sports?

Meanwhile, the Pacers seem right at this...

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/knicks-vs-pacers-indiana-files-78-complaints-to-league-office-over-officiating-in-games-1-and-2-per-report/

[bonarae]

Denver thrashed the Wolves at home... xsmhx

[bonarae]

Is the NBA harsh at its players and coaches criticizing the league itself or its officials? xchinscratchx

[bonarae]

TWolves and Nuggets going the distance (the full seven)... I was right!

[Gil Dobie]

Anybodies guess for game 7, Go Wolves!.

[Chalupa Batman]

Anybodies guess for game 7, Go Wolves!.

Wolves lead by double digits going into the 4th quarter, then lose by double digits. It's the Minnesota way.

#BOOKIT

[Gil Dobie]

Wolves lead by double digits going into the 4th quarter, then lose by double digits. It's the Minnesota way.

#BOOKIT

#MinnesotaSportsPTSD

This Wolves run feels like 2010 or 2011 Bison feel. Championship caliper, can the knock off the #1 team? This is their best team with their best coach.

[Gil Dobie]

Expect a lot of fouls tonight, Scott Foster crew working the Wolves game.

[bonarae]

Wolves advance to face Dallas.... Boston vs. Indiana in the East.

[Gil Dobie]

Minnesota vs Dallas series, Bring Ya Ass!

[bonarae]

Have replays and officiating been screwed up in this year's Playoffs? xsmhx

[bonarae]

Boston vs. Dallas in the NBA Finals.