2016-17 NBA Season

[FiddySicks]

Sigh. ?

[The Six]

People erroneously said the Clippers were screwed when Chris Paul got injured a few weeks ago, but here we are: now he's back, and the team is fine. The Warriors will be fine.

[KittSmith_95]

Same with Toronto & Lowry. The Wizards are on back-to-back tonight..... if we want that 2nd seed, this is a must win. 

[dfwabel]

17 minutes ago, The Six said:

People erroneously said the Clippers were screwed when Chris Paul got injured a few weeks ago, but here we are: now he's back, and the team is fine. The Warriors will be fine.

For LAC, "Fine" is not making the playoff as seed 4-7 and a first round defeat. Neither is giving 20+ minutes/night to

Luc Mbah a Moute.

 

[The Six]

What.

[Wings]

Let's just say the Warriors slip to the 2 seed and OKC stays at 7. Hmmmm.....

[SCalderwood]

Halftime in Toronto and Wizards are really beating up on the Raps... Wiz are up by 16 and at one point I think the Wiz went on a 26-1 scoring run.  Wouldn't be surprised if the Raps make a comeback, though.  We shall see.

 

Beating the Warriors and Raptors on back-to-back nights would be quite a feat for the Wiz.

[FiddySicks]

6 hours ago, Wings said:

Let's just say the Warriors slip to the 2 seed and OKC stays at 7. Hmmmm.....

 

They'd still probably beat the tar out of OKC even without Durant. 

[~Bear]

The T-Wolves have been starting to play much better in the last 10. Their defense is getting better and the team is clicking. Hopefully we can push into the 8th seed. 

[PrimalCookie]

38 minutes ago, ~Bear said:

The T-Wolves have been starting to play much better in the last 10. Their defense is getting better and the team is clicking. Hopefully we can push into the 8th seed. 

You've got as much as a chance of that as my Magic do...

 

Plus, why do you want playoffs this year*? I've given up on the season, and I actually don't mind that we're losing right now. This draft class is the deepest one in years. Maybe we can luck out with the #1 pick and get ourselves a Lonzo Ball.

 

*I understand the Wolves were supposed to break out this year. They were "supposed" to get the 6 or 7 seed. I think those expectations killed the team from the start.

[dfwabel]

6 hours ago, ~Bear said:

The T-Wolves have been starting to play much better in the last 10. Their defense is getting better and the team is clicking. Hopefully we can push into the 8th seed. 

 

5 hours ago, Magic Dynasty said:

You've got as much as a chance of that as my Magic do...

 

Plus, why do you want playoffs this year*? I've given up on the season, and I actually don't mind that we're losing right now. This draft class is the deepest one in years. Maybe we can luck out with the #1 pick and get ourselves a Lonzo Ball.

 

*I understand the Wolves were supposed to break out this year. They were "supposed" to get the 6 or 7 seed. I think those expectations killed the team from the start.

The thing which has killed MIN is what killed the Bulls... Tom Thibodeau.

 

Townes and Wiggins are #2 and #3 in minutes played, only behind James Harden.  Plus, before his ACL tear, Zach Lavine was likely going to lead the league in minutes as he was at 37.2/game. 

[~Bear]

If we don't make the playoffs, we aren't going to get a high lottery pick. At this point it's about maturity rather than stockpiling. With a deep class, we can still get a potential starter. We have cap room, so maybe we can sign someone in free agency. 

 

I mean, you can't expect to rebuild forever. We are 3 games back, and the Magic are 7, so it's hard to compare these two teams right now. If the T-Wolves fall off in the next couple, then I won't mind tanking for a high pick. But for me and the players, it's a morale booster and exciting to see the team on the cusp. 

 

As for Thibs, I've been disappointed. His defensive scheme is finally starting to show. It may be too late for this season, but hopefully the team will be better in his scheme next year. 

[PrimalCookie]

33 minutes ago, ~Bear said:

If we don't make the playoffs, we aren't going to get a high lottery pick. At this point it's about maturity rather than stockpiling. With a deep class, we can still get a potential starter. We have cap room, so maybe we can sign someone in free agency. 

 

I mean, you can't expect to rebuild forever. We are 3 games back, and the Magic are 7, so it's hard to compare these two teams right now. If the T-Wolves fall off in the next couple, then I won't mind tanking for a high pick. But for me and the players, it's a morale booster and exciting to see the team on the cusp. 

 

As for Thibs, I've been disappointed. His defensive scheme is finally starting to show. It may be too late for this season, but hopefully the team will be better in his scheme next year. 

Yes, but the 8 seed in the West is significantly worse than the 8 seed in the East. (at least record-wise). That's why I compared the two.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Warriors lost their first back-to-back regular season game since April 2015. I think it has less to do with not having Durant, and more to do with the Chicago Bulls - they're undefeated on TNT since February 2013.

[masterchaoss]

This is what happens when you get rid of all your depth to sign a player and said player gets hurt. 

[dfwabel]

22 minutes ago, masterchaoss said:

This is what happens when you get rid of all your depth to sign a player and said player gets hurt. 

Kerr is unlikely to change the bench rotation/minutes, so McCaw will continue to start until they feel comfortable with Matt Barnes.

 

McCaw had 25 minutes tonight and was 4-5 shooting, but was -9 overall. Barnes wasn't much better as he was -11 in 11 minutes.

 

Regardless of who makes up for Durant's minutes, Klay and Draymond should be responsible for making up the scoring.

 

Hell, Klay was 5-22 tonight with 1-11 ftom 3PT.

[dfwabel]

Oh, T-Wolves.

 

Crunch's stunt went wrong and hurt the wrong guy, Karl Anthony Towns, Sr.

 

From the SI.com story:

Quote

The Timberwolves’ prophetically named mascot, Crunch, appeared to lose balance towards the end of a high-speed sledding stunt and hit an empty front row seat next to the aisle. That seat, in turn, crashed into the right knee of Towns Sr., who was sitting next to the empty seat. The elder Towns is now exploring potential legal options, including the possibility of suing his son’s team for negligence.

 

Towns Sr. suffered considerable pain and was given an ice pack to reduce swelling. The Crossover has learned that while arena attendants encouraged Towns Sr. to leave the game and seek care at a local hospital, he refused to do so. Towns Sr. believed that his son—the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2016—would notice his father’s absence. In turn, Towns Sr. reasoned, Towns Jr. might worry about his father’s health and not play as well. Towns Sr. stuck around for the rest of the game, but by the end, his knee had begun to swell considerably and he couldn’t put any weight on it. Arena attendants provided Towns Sr. with crutches. He hobbled out of the arena and was taken to a local hospital for an MRI.

Three weeks later, Towns Sr. was spotted at All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars Challenge, in which his son played. Towns Sr. was on crutches at the time and appeared to be moving in pain.

 

[dfwabel]

Thank you Buss Family for a great weekend story and a family struggle. The brothers tried to pull "an Al Davis"!

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-buss-lakers-20170303-story.html

 

If you cannot access the LA Times story due to paywall, just read Ramona Shelburne's Twitter timeline.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ramonashelburne?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Steph Curry is turning into hot garbage these days. How much longer before the "does Steph have the yips?" narrative comes into play?

 

12.9% from three over the last three, and 5-16/3-10 3PT so far today.

[dfwabel]

One minute in to his Cavs career, Bogut breaks his leg. Time to call it a career.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/andrew-bogut-fractures-left-leg-leaves-first-cavs-game-after-one-minute/