2020-2021 NBA Season Thread

[FinsUp1214]

1 hour ago, Sport said:

I see a lot of NBA twitter is doing the "actually this is bad for the league" thing that seems to happen in the NHL whenever a big market team gets eliminated. 

 

A. it'll be fun to have new franchises in the mix instead of Lakers-Heat

B. Other than Milwaukee you have Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Phoenix in the final four. Those are the 2nd, 7th, and 11th largest media markets in the US. Calm down. 

C. It's like when the Royals won the World Series - If the dang ass Suns, Clippers, Hawks, or Bucks can win an NBA title then literally anybody can. The hope  will get extended to perennial sadsacks like the Grizzlies or Pacers or Twolves or Nuggets or Wizards, etc. That's good for the league for the fans of every team to feel like they do have a shot. That hasn't really ever been the case in the NBA. 

Agreed with all of this. As a fan of a small-market team in the NBA, there is ALWAYS a persistent feeling of disadvantage and having one hand tied behind your back when it comes to title hopes. Not that it’s impossible - I always look at the Spurs’ successes and find some hope there - but the possibility of breaking through often feels very, very distant. Even though my team just got ousted, years like this one nevertheless instill more hope than the NBA usually offers. The league’s more palletable like this.

 

I also find it funny as well that some people are losing thier minds over who’s left, market-wise. One of the biggest associations I have with Atlanta is television and media! Phoenix is plenty big, LA is LA, and Milwaukee has a bonafide super-mega-star on the roster that everyone will tune in to watch. I personally don’t care about markets and ratings myself, but if anyone really is having a cow over them? The sky’s not falling. The Finals will be great.

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The NBA has its best concentration of great young talent since the 2003 draft, and those players -- like Booker and Giannis and Trae -- are clearly ready to take off. There's the possibility that these guys lift their respective markets to sustained success and runs of titles just like LeBron did Cleveland, Melo did Denver, Wade did Miami, Bosh did Toronto, Dwight did Orlando, Chris Paul did New Orleans, and Derrick Rose did Chicago.

 

I don't mean to be flip, but see what I mean? The talent pool is ultra, ultra high...but the arc of NBA history is concentrating talent in a few legacy markets, with the opportunity for outliers like the Warriors and Spurs. Booker and Ayton could be the next Stockton and Malone...or the next T-Mac/Kobe and Shaq. Giannis could be the new Lew Alcindor or the next Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Luka could be the next Magic Johnson...by signing an FA deal and winning a :censored:-ton of titles in LA.

 

Stars need help to win titles. And, in the case of the 15 Warriors, the 19 Raptors and whoever the champion is this year, sometimes a ton of luck with a run of injuries through opposing teams.

 

We could be seeing the dawn of a new era with Booker and Giannis going at each other year over year for titles. And I think that would be great if it's the case! And while I could put money on seeing Booker and Giannis exchanging NBA Finals trophies over the next decade, I don't have the highest confidence it'll be for the Suns and Bucks.

[Indigo]

30 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

The talent pool is ultra, ultra high...but the arc of NBA history is concentrating talent in a few legacy markets, with the opportunity for outliers like the Warriors and Spurs. Booker and Ayton could be the next Stockton and Malone...or the next T-Mac/Kobe and Shaq. Giannis could be the new Lew Alcindor or the next Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Luka could be the next Magic Johnson...by signing an FA deal and winning a :censored:-ton of titles in LA.

 

And while I could put money on seeing Booker and Giannis exchanging NBA Finals trophies over the next decade, I don't have the highest confidence it'll be for the Suns and Bucks.

That’s the same person.

 

A Suns/Bucks rivalry would be great for the league.  I see Luka as one of two people, either he leaves in free agency and  wins chips with Chicago or someone, or he stays with Dallas and only wins when one of the dynasties temporarily goes out. (Hakeem in the 90’s-ish).

[DG_ThenNowForever]

9 minutes ago, LA Fakers+ LA Snippers said:

That’s the same person.

 

 

 

I'll spell it out -- Giannis could win a title in Milwaukee and then win four more in LA. Or none in Milwaukee and a handful in LA.

[Lights Out]

2 hours ago, DEAD! said:

 

On top of that, maybe Ty Lue should get more appreciation than he's had.

 

 

I agree.  I was skeptical of Lue initially because his resume looked a lot like Doc's at first glance. But the difference is that Lue makes adjustments, and his teams generally don't choke, they come back. He also has the best record in series-clinching games of any coach in NBA history while Doc has the worst. I had largely assumed this was all a product of LeBron, and of course it always helps to have the greatest player of all time on your team, but I was wrong.

[rmackman]

I just noticed the Atlanta Hawks current home and road uniforms are not listed on Sportslogos.net. Does anyone have them to load?

[Wings2]

Hope it's Bucks vs. Suns. It's kind of fitting as both Milwaukee & Phoenix entered the league as expansion teams in 1968.  

[DEAD!]

38 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

 

I agree.  I was skeptical of Lue initially because his resume looked a lot like Doc's at first glance. But the difference is that Lue makes adjustments, and his teams generally don't choke, they come back. He also has the best record in series-clinching games of any coach in NBA history while Doc has the worst. I had largely assumed this was all a product of LeBron, and of course it always helps to have the greatest player of all time on your team, but I was wrong.

In many ways, it was mostly a product of LeBron. Once LeBron left and the Cavs cratered (they started 0-6 the next season), the perception was fair and deserved.  But Ty did deserved another chance and, yes, having Kawhi and Paul George helps, but look at the way the Clips have come back from 0-2 twice and not to forget the 2016 finals, and you're right, it proves that Lue can be calm and is willing to make adjustments. Doc had all this time with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin as well, and well, they didn't reach the conference finals like Lue did. Coincidence? 

[FinsUp1214]

14 minutes ago, Wings2 said:

Hope it's Bucks vs. Suns. It's kind of fitting as both Milwaukee & Phoenix entered the league as expansion teams in 1968.  

I was trying to remember, have two teams from the same expansion class ever met up in the Finals before? I couldn’t recall others; the closest I could come up with was Spurs/Nets in 2003, but they were merger teams together rather than expansion.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

34 minutes ago, DEAD! said:

In many ways, it was mostly a product of LeBron. Once LeBron left and the Cavs cratered (they started 0-6 the next season), the perception was fair and deserved.  But Ty did deserved another chance and, yes, having Kawhi and Paul George helps, but look at the way the Clips have come back from 0-2 twice and not to forget the 2016 finals, and you're right, it proves that Lue can be calm and is willing to make adjustments. Doc had all this time with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin as well, and well, they didn't reach the conference finals like Lue did. Coincidence? 

 

Some coaches are good for young talent; others are good to kick veterans in the ass to get them to move. Lue is clearly the latter. Not everyone can be a championship coach because not everyone can tell a LeBron or a PG they need to do better.

[Wings2]

40 minutes ago, FinsUp1214 said:

I was trying to remember, have two teams from the same expansion class ever met up in the Finals before? I couldn’t recall others; the closest I could come up with was Spurs/Nets in 2003, but they were merger teams together rather than expansion.

 

I think it would be the first time. 

[Lights Out]

1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Some coaches are good for young talent; others are good to kick veterans in the ass to get them to move. Lue is clearly the latter. Not everyone can be a championship coach because not everyone can tell a LeBron or a PG they need to do better.

 

Lue isn't even a hardass type of coach. He's very calm and doesn't get too high or too low.

 

I'm glad he's proving that he can do it without LeBron. Doc was such an ass for saying "he was sitting next to me, there won't be any adjustments." There's no limits to who he'll throw under the bus when it's convenient for him.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

14 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

 

Lue isn't even a hardass type of coach. He's very calm and doesn't get too high or too low.

 

I'm glad he's proving that he can do it without LeBron. Doc was such an ass for saying "he was sitting next to me, there won't be any adjustments." There's no limits to who he'll throw under the bus when it's convenient for him.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/in-taking-control-of-lebron-tyronn-lue-has-created-a-monster-in-cleveland/

 

Quote

 

Blatt's use of Kevin Love, refusing to get him the ball in the post and relegating him to a stand-still shooter when all else failed, bordered on ridiculous. By letting James overwhelm him in the huddle during timeouts, Blatt unwittingly ceded control -- and demoralized the rest of the team. By not being comfortable enough to rein in James, the dynamic of the team became one of LeBron and then everybody else.

 

"They felt they were doing this for LeBron," the person familiar with the internal workings of the team said, "instead of with LeBron."

 

Lue changed that the moment he first told James in a huddle, "Shut the [expletive up]. I got this," according to a person who heard the exchange -- and a few others like it. If Lue was going to get the stars and the role players to buy into the strategic changes he was determined to implement -- play faster, space the floor, move the ball, take full advantage of Love's versatility -- he was going to have to restore order first.

 

He did it in every way possible, starting with James -- calling him out in film sessions, barking at him in practice, seizing control back. Only then could the Cavaliers evolve into the juggernaut we are witnessing now.

 

 

But that's not really being a hardass -- it's just not putting up with bull :censored:, which is two different things. Lue can manage egos, which is sometimes even more important than managing Xs and Os.

 

Lue's been making great adjustments as a high-level coach that he couldn't do when Cleveland had nothing left after LeBron went to LA.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

By the way, how stupid is it there's no NBA tonight? Couldn't we have had Sixers/Hawks yesterday and Suns/Clippers game 1 tonight?

[GDAWG]

14 hours ago, Sport said:

I don't know why I totally forgot about them. That's probably the least likely franchise to win a championship that I've ever seen. 

 

  

 

Because it's unlikely that injuries will wipe out the Nets and Lakers again next year? 

 

What are the chances a 100% fully healthy Golden State returns to prominence?  

[GriffinM6]

First time commenting in the NBA thread this season because I'm usually just on Reddit game threads during Hawks games. I just gotta say wow, I knew this team could make a splash and a name for themselves this postseason, but I surely wasn't expecting this. 

 

Nate McMillan is the freaking man btw. I was a big fan of hiring him as an assistant in the offseason, and the move to make him the head guy was fantastic. He just seems to understand his players way better than Coach Pierce did. 

 

Also, I was at game 3 in Atlanta for the Knicks series, and that place was rockin'. Probably the second most fun I've had at a sporting event ever besides Miami vs. FSU 2018. People have always said that Hawks fans are casuals, but there are so many people under 30, like myself, who moved here young and have grown up and made the team their own. It's way different now than even 10+ years ago. when I first started getting into the Hawks. 

[Digby]

With Doc Rivers looking worse by the year, thinking about how he was only ever successful in Boston AND his most prominent assistants at that time were… Lue and Thibs. Less coaching tree and more coaching critical structure, maybe.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Maybe it's ESPN's broadcast, but does this crowd sound kind of quiet to anyone else?

[Indigo]

And PG just choked 2 free throws. Clippers gonna clip.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

5 minutes ago, LA Fakers+ LA Snippers said:

And PG just choked 2 free throws. Clippers gonna clip.

 

Ayton alley-oop dunk off the inbound to win?

 

JFC. I feel like this game has been a snore, but what a finish!