Anyone watching NBA Playoffs?
-
@approxinfinity Players want the refs to be perfect when they do not foul or are fouled. They are happy when the refs miss their fouls or are undeservedly awarded FTs.
Replay is funny because of the possibility of improved calls vs ridiculous attempt at perfection. I am all for allowing a couple of challenges per game, but not for a 2 minute replay to decide if 3 tenths of a second should be put back on the clock after every play in the last 5 minutes of every game. The NCAA tourney was excruciating with those.
-
I really like this perspective from JR Smith:
“That’s pretty much who I’ve been my whole life. I’ve always been the one guy who is the butt of the jokes or the one guy who does something crazy and everybody has got to look at or whatever the case may be. And then I just come back and be myself and play the next day,” Smith said. “I don’t really dwell on things too much. I’ve been like that my whole life, and that’s what it looks like it’s going to continue to be. So I just got to go out there and be me. I told somebody right after the game that I’m glad it happened to me, as opposed to anybody else on my team. To be in that situation is tough, and it’s not a situation that everybody can handle. So I’m glad it happened to me.”
-
You know they only called 2 fouls on LeBron the entire game including that reversed call so he really had no reason to complain at all. Not many fouls called, 12 on the Cavaliers starters and 15 on the Warriors.
-
@JayHawkFanToo After the strip was called, he started complaining about fouls on the other Cavs and non-calls on the Warriors, exacerbated by the reversed charge call. LBJ played a helluva game but certainly let the refs get in his head, which (with exhaustion, probably, that seemed to affect everybody as I think you said) really diminished his OT performance.
Maybe we should go to playground rules, get rid of refs, and have players call the fouls. Challenges go to replay upstairs, where a group of refs with access to a huge screen vote within a minute of the first replay or their vote doesn’t register. Any call that is reversed results in change of possession, or free throws to the other team, or better yet, 5 mins bench time for the flopping player. Any challenged call that is upheld gets an extra FT. Use Internt’l rules for goaltending and eliminate charge calls altogether.
-
I am not sure how much NBA you watch, since I have the NBA TV package,I watch quite a bit so I am fairly familiar withe the players and attitudes. LeBron complains every single time a foul is called on him and every time he thinks he has been fouled and a foul is not called; some players are just built that way. In the current NBA LeBron is in my opinion the biggest whiner of them all; it does not mean he is not good, he is without a doubt the best player in the League and one would think that with all that talent he would just play and quit complaining…you seldom saw Duncan or other great player complain much.
I have no doubt that a lot of dislike of him derives from his “i am perfect and I don’t foul and when I turn the ball over is because I was fouled” attitude. He is not alone in this regard and many of the big names are/were this way even when they get a favorable whistle the majority of the time, Jordan certainly did. See if you can find the video of an interview with Jordan where he details all the tricks he used to get calls like grabbing the shirt of the player guarding him and pulled against him and a foul would be called against the othre player every time and s on.
-
@JayHawkFanToo Tim Duncan is the exception not the rule for greats, isn’t he? Most everyone is not as classy as Duncan.
-
Yes and no, he did not complain to the refs but often made the face of disbelief that many consider whining. While it is true that a lot of the great ones complain a lot there are also many that do not or did not. I started following basketball in the very early 70s and in all this time I have seen my share of whiners and LeBron might not the biggest of all time but, among current players, he is up there near the top with Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.
-
@JayHawkFanToo This face? The man has a large mouth. Makes him look very demonstrative.
Ref, “please don’t eat me.”
-
Trae Young is two years younger than Steph Curry was when he entered the NBA. He’s not where Curry is now as a ball handler and passer, but he is certainly ahead of where freshman Steph Curry was. Now, that obviously doesn’t mean that Trae Young will become an NBA all star and MVP. But he is much further along as a PG prospect now than Steph Curry was after his freshman season at Davidson.
We have to remember that Curry was not a major prospect coming out of high school. Curry was not even an NBA prospect after his freshman year, when he averaged 21 points, but less than 3 assists per game.
Curry didn’t average more than three assists per game until his junior year, when it became clear that he could run a team. Young has been doing that since he was in high school, and averaged over 8 assists per game at OU. Curry’s assist to turnover ratio was basically 1 his freshman and sophomore years. Young’s was not great, but it was better than that, and again, he did that as a freshman, while Curry didn’t equal that production until he was a junior.
-
@justanotherfan so you think he will be successful?
-
@Crimsonorblue22 I should have said “I don’t know” to that question when you put me on the spot. I take back what I said, having had some time to mull over it…I think playing second fiddle to LeBron might break Young’s soul. Running the show on a crappy team where they’re expected to stink for a couple years is probably exactly what he needs.
-
He has a quick shot that he can get off in lots of different situations, particularly off the dribble. Being able to shoot off the dribble and in catch and shoot situations, as well as being a gifted passer means that even if he doesn’t develop a real slashing type game at the next level, he can still shoot >40% from three in the NBA while averaging 6-8 assists. That won’t make him an all star, but he can be a good starter with numbers like that.
Can he be a star? That’s a more difficult question because it is difficult for a player that size to be a star in the NBA without having elite athleticism. You basically have to be Steph Curry. He, like most guys his size in the NBA that aren’t super athletes, will be a liability defensively, although he isn’t a bad defender, just that he will be physically overmatched most nights at the next level.
So if “success” means star, or even all star, then no. The chances that he will develop into that combination of player (Steph Curry 2.0) are low. But that’s a pretty high bar for success. I think he can be a good player and a starter on a playoff, championship caliber team. If that is the definition of success, I think he meets that.
-
@JayHawkFanToo Go Warriors
-
Go Capitals!
-
May the best team win, hopefully without any more controversy.
-
I don’t know why? Yet I’ve made a point to watch this NBA Championship series.
A few musings?
The King is playing the best he’s ever played. Yet Dude does whine a lot.
Warriors are just loaded. They can just take over a game in a blink of an eye. That 3 point shooting is deadly.
Refs getting to much blame and the spot light.
Warriors are going to win another championship.
The King should move on from Cleveland. He paid his dues. I would say Philadelphia would be a great place for him. If the Lion Killer can stay healthy? They would become the best team in the history of the game.
Anyways take my comment with a grain of salt. As I don’t watch much NBA, yet I would like to hear some feedback from those that do.
-
I believe LeBron wants to finish his career in the biggest stage which means either L.A. or NYC. He bought a second mansion in L.A for $23M a few months ago and if I were a betting man I would say the Lakers are the most likely destination.
-
@JayHawkFanToo But how do you think he would get along with the dysfunctional Balls? Edit: which is all of them…
-
Why would Lebron go to the west, having to battle the Rockets and Warriors, when he can stay in the East and deal with the Celtics? Lebron would have to get another superstar like Paul George or Kawhi Leonard (if healthy) to join him in LA to even dream of having that team compete with Houston or Golden State with the distance between those squads and the Lakers.
Maybe he goes to Philly. The Knicks are so poorly run I can’t imagine him there, and the Nets don’t have enough assets to make sense.
The only options are to either go somewhere with a foundation in place (Philly) or have a deal in place with another superstar to join up in an unnamed location. Lebron plus another star makes any East team an immediate title contender.
-
@justanotherfan Philly seems like a great choice.
-
The Lakers indicated the have no interest in Liangelo that already worked out for them and little Ball is a few years away. In any case, if they get in the way, Lebron will squash them and ship them out like he has done before with other players. Daddy Ball is no match for LeBron’s clout.
-
@JayHawkFanToo I don’t know…after all, Daddy Dumshit says he coulda stomped MJ. LBJ may be no match for his charm and intellect!
-
…only if he is wearing his $500 Chinese made Baller shoes of which he must have lots left since not many were sold.
-
mayjay said:
@JayHawkFanToo But how do you think he would get along with the dysfunctional Balls? Edit: which is all of them…
Man hater?
-
Looks like the Ball League has been a comical failure so far…
-
-
Low quality hoops in large arenas is not going to work.
Ball should have been looking for small arenas (4,000 seat max), with ticket prices maxing out at $15, with most seats available for $5.
I’ve been to some T-Bones games. That’s about the equivalent quality you could expect here. The T-Bones have lots of tickets for under $10. It’s cheaper than going to a movie or a nice restaurant. Smaller settings aren’t bad, especially if you can get good local following. Unfortunately, Ball wants this to be a big deal rather than building with some saavy.
Heck, even the MLS found their success by building smaller soccer specific stadiums. The teams that have soccer specific stadiums all have capacity of 31,000 or less. Many MLS teams started out in larger stadiums and then eventually downsized as they built their own facilities.
-
Agreed. The G League that has considerably better basketball drew 1.6M fans total including the playoffs which drew large audiences and inflated the numbers. When you consider it had 25 teams playing 50 games, it averages an attendance just over 1,000 per game. Most team have ongoing promotions the include 2 free children tickets with one adult ticket which means the paid attendance is likely under 1k per game at $5-$15 per ticket. I try to catch games with former KU players and the attendance looks to be in the hundreds. Since the teams are associated with NBA teams, they get to use the facilities at little or no cost, most of the teams have some sponsorships and none is even close to being profitable.
-
The G-League isn’t intended to turn a profit. It is a developmental ground for everything - coaches, trainers, players, front office staff, support staff - because you literally are running a franchise.
The Rockets have used their G-League team to develop strategy.
The Raptors use their to develop potential coaches. The Spurs have as well.
Several teams have sent young executives to their G-League teams to help run them. That’s why every NBA team will have an affiliate in the next couple of years. They are about developing talent and strategy at every level more so than turning a profit.
The G-League is beyond just developing players, although that will likely be the next frontier as the G-League expands player development strategy.
The G-League’s growth will likely kill off any real secondary basketball league in the U.S. because other leagues have to turn a profit, while the G-League will access better talent without needing to turn a profit.
-
Again, agreed. My point was that with all the player talent it has and all the help it gets teams cannot even break even. How exactly does daddy Ball expect to stay in business under his current business model?
Daddy Ball just posted that after Lonzo contract is over, he will only play for a teams that signs all 3 of them…i get the feeling Lonzo was not consulted on this…
-
Totally agree on those points.
My guess is that a team will offer LiAngelo a G-League deal, while Melo and Lonzo are in the NBA. LiAngelo on a G-League roster isn’t too far fetched. He’s a solid player, just not an NBA player.
That will certainly affect the market for Lonzo, and could handicap him ultimately. But its not out of the ordinary for NBA teams to sign the less talented brothers of top players for a few years.
-
I watch last few minutes last night because it was a close game and I’m quickly reminded why I dislike the NBA. You could’ve called numerous moving screens that were obvious and everytime a player gets a foul called against him he throws a complete fit, what a great message for the young viewers. No wonder we see more arguing with the refs in college, most of them watch this trash.
-
@kjayhawks The NBA is unwatchable for me.
-
-
LeBron:
“Understanding especially where my boys are at this point in their age. They were a lot younger the last time I made a decision like this four years ago. I’ve got a teenage boy, a preteen and a little girl that wasn’t around as well. So sitting down and considering everything, my family is a huge part of whatever I’ll decide to do in my career, and it will continue to be that. So I don’t have an answer for you right now as far as that.”
It seems he wants to leave but only his family keeps him in Cleveland.
-
LeBron bough a $25M house in LA a couple of months ago and now has two homes in LA and the one in Cleveland/Akron. He wants to finish his career in the biggest entertainment place in the country and that is without a doubt Los Angeles. It would not surprise me to See the Lakers shed a few players and get LeBron and another big name to make a run for multiple championships…of course, LeBron will also need a Former Jayhawk to win more titles…
-
@JayHawkFanToo LeBron won’t win anything with the Lakers. Even if they land him and Paul George, they’re not making it past Golden State or Houston anytime soon.
-
Both Golden State and Houston have free agents coming up and only so much money so their make up in a couple of years will be in all likelihood different. This has been the norm in the NBA and the period of dominance by a single team runs in cycles.
-
@JayHawkFanToo Warriors are going to keep everyone, this is why KD is opting out so he can make a deal with GS to keep their core together.
Houston isn’t losing either of our key free agents either. Chris Paul has already said he’s going to resign and they’re not letting Capela go either. Trevor Ariza is only question mark, but he would likely be part of a sign and trade if LeBron chooses Houston
-
If LeBron leaves Cleveland which I think he will I think he ends up in Boston or Philadelphia. Doesn’t make sense to join a team in the West unless it’s Houston.
-
@Woodrow LeBron isn’t going to Boston with Kyrie there. LeBron ends up in either Philly, LA, or Houston and LA probably is the favorite so LeBron can start setting up his post NBA career out there.
-
If LeBron was smart he’d go to Philly. I don’t think LeBron is the Goat (Wilt and I’ll argue) but the level of play he has been at for 14 years is unbelievable, the question to me becomes how many more years can he play at this level? He better off with a group of young fellas can only get better so he doesn’t have to carry the team 90% of the time. I believe Joel is already a top 5 player at his position when healthy and has a chance to become the best within a few years. Simmons is already a great athlete and passer, could also become a top 5 player at his position within a year or 2. I’d gladly take Saric and Reddick over Hill and Smith any day of the week. You add LeBron and Paul George or Leonard to that group and only the only Celtics when healthy could hold a candle to them in the east. The West gets so much tougher unless he goes to Houston, I’d say he’s a complete fool if he goes to the lakers idc if they get him and Paul George, they ain’t better than the 4th or 5th team in the West.
-
This is an opportunity for LeBron to write his history. I agree that the options are Philly, Houston and GS from a basketball perspective. But Philly keeps him close to family and guarantees him a trip to the finals every year.
Is LeBron willing to treat Embiid and Simmons as equals, like he attempted to do with Wade and Bosh? I think if he does, history will be kind to him joining up with Philly.
-
@approxinfinity I agree, don’t know that he’d take the bigger pay cut to be in Houston or Oakland. But if it’s all about cash he’ll be in gold with the lakers.
-
Sure. I think he makes enough money regardless of what he does. It seems most about legacy at this stage, and influence. Maybe LA ties him into things and puts him in position to write history regardless of future success as a player. I don’t think he wants that. I think he wants to win. But we’ll see.
-
Can a .369 3pt% team (PHI) + LeBron beat a .391 3pt% team (GSW)?
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHI/2018.html https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/GSW/2018.html
(HOU was .362, LAL was .345)
-
Why would LeBron go to LA? They are terrible. Approximately zero chance he goes to LA.
-
@Woodrow There’s actually a pretty high chance he goes to LA. LeBron also mentioned wanting to stay close to family. He already owns 2 homes in the LA area, including a $23 million mansion in Brentwood he bought in December. This will likely be the final contract he signs and since his oldest son appears to be a pretty highly regarded recruit, setting up in LA with all the prep schools in the general vicinity, including the Las Vegas area prep schools, makes sense from what LeBron has actually said will influence his decision.
The Lakers also have the cap space this offseason to sign 2 max level players. The Lakers have $20 million more than any other team so they could sign both LeBron and Paul George without much issue. There’s also talk that if the Lakers sign both of those two, they may make a run at trading for Leonard as well to give themselves a core of James, George, Leonard, Ball, and Kuzma.
The Rockets are a more complicated scenario, but after what Daryl Morey pulled off last summer to land Chris Paul, don’t doubt that he can work his magic again this offseason to swing something to land LeBron if LeBron wants to come to Houston. The key to any scenario involving the Rockets landing LeBron centers around the Rockets dumping Ryan Anderson’s $20 million contract. Morey will do anything to get rid of that albatross of a contract which is probably the worst deal he’s ever made.
-
Also wondering about Milwaukee. They could dump Parker, trade Middleton, Dellevadova and Henson for no return or maybe for a future pick, and afford LeBron. Benefits are: not too far from Cleveland, easier East, play with LeBron 2.0 (giannis) and bledsoe, while having a couple younger player prospects and the 17th pick for upside. Small market, though. But Milwaukee has already changed its marketing strategy to be global with the Greek Freak as a centerpiece.
-
@Texas-Hawk-10 people are extremely over reacting to LeBron owning a house in LA. He’s not going to the Lakers. If he leaves Cleveland it is going to be to a team that has established superstars that can compete for titles.
