2020-2021 NBA Season Thread

[Alex Houston]

12 hours ago, Discrim said:

Giannis....maaaaaaan, Giannis.  Way to save the best for last

(And as an aside, man...rookie Giannis looked like a little kid compared to Giannis now)

 

I ain't saying the guy is juicing but dude looks so damn huge compared to his initial form, it's insane. I know a Bucks fan and I'm happy for him this morning. Even if they only get this one, the Bucks accomplished something most folks didn't think they could do. Good on them. 

[Sport]

Gotta feel good for Milwaukee. They're like the Raptors in that they're proof that anybody can win it all, which hasn't always been the case in the NBA. They're a smaller market that isn't a sexy destination for NBA players and they also did it without going through The Process. Found a diamond in the rough, developed him, then built around him. They're the argument against tanking. 

[FiddySicks]

So this means them and Tampa Bay have to face off in a game of baseball to determine who the real Buccin champion is, right? 

[tjs11]

I live 2 blocks from the Fiserv. The honking and cheering didn't stop til 3am.  The amount of people walking by was ridiculous and they just kept coming. 

 

Not complaining by the way. It was awesome to see.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, Sport said:

Gotta feel good for Milwaukee. They're like the Raptors in that they're proof that anybody can win it all, which hasn't always been the case in the NBA. They're a smaller market that isn't a sexy destination for NBA players and they also did it without going through The Process. Found a diamond in the rough, developed him, then built around him. They're the argument against tanking. 

 

My favorite nugget about the Process -- an effort to have as many draft picks to draft as many great players as possible -- is that failed genius Sam Hinkie passed on Giannis not once but twice, first for Nerlens Noel and then for Michael Carter-Williams. Losing is never a great recipe for winning.

  

3 hours ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Well, other than losing the starting point guard for the season during the playoffs.

I'm not an NBA fan, but it sure was fun watching this with my youngest son last night. I don't think he fell asleep until right before I left for work this morning.

 

Championships are fleeting! I'm glad your son got to enjoy his team winning a title.

[Magnus]

14 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

Congrats to Milwaukee, congrats to Giannis, congrats to anyone who says a :censored:hole market like Milwaukee will never win.

 

Now that Giannis put a banner in the gym, you kind of get the feeling he's not done doing that.

 

Hoping for Bucks/Lakers in 22 (maybe Paul's in LA?).

 

Now looking forward to a full off-season where players can actually get healthy.

I'm hoping for anyone but the Lakers in the Finals next season.

[Sport]

54 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

My favorite nugget about the Process -- an effort to have as many draft picks to draft as many great players as possible -- is that failed genius Sam Hinkie passed on Giannis not once but twice, first for Nerlens Noel and then for Michael Carter-Williams. Losing is never a great recipe for winning.

 

 

That's fantastic. Tanking can work, but I get annoyed when people act like it's the only way to build a contender, and it is the worst way to build a contender from the standpoint of what pain you put your fans through. And there's the argument that it creates a culture of losing that can make it more difficult to overcome, which I totally buy but you can't quantify that.  

 

 My frustration with The Process was entirely because people treated Hinkie like a genius as if he'd invented the entire concept, which was pure nonsense at the time. The only thing he invented was sucking on purpose for way way longer than any reasonable person ever had before or would attempt to and I half believe that was because he liked the praise. As long as he kept losing on purpose and explaining it's part of his plan people would continue to buy the con. There was no risk in being bad because even if it wasn't purposeful in, say, year 3, he could just lie and say it was and keep wearing his hat that said "genius" on it. The risk was always that as soon as he'd pull the "Start to Try Again" lever and his plan didn't work then he'd look like a real doofus. Turns out it was all smoke and mirrors. Guy didn't know what he was doing, the picks didn't work, and he saddled Philly with years of an unwatchable product for no good reason. If I was a Sixers fan and I saw him in person I'd trip his goofy ass. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

The Sixers brought on Hinkie because they were tired of stalling out in the second round of the playoffs.

 

Guess who hasn't been out of the second round of the playoffs since Hinkie's run?

 

EDIT: Also, guess who was on the roster of the last time the Sixers made the second round? This guy.

[sky1324]

Congrats to the Bucks, they absolutely earned it. This seriously brings hope to the rest of us small-market fans and all we need is for the team to hit on a superstar talent willing to stay! Hornets might be there sooner than we think...

[BBTV]

6 hours ago, Sport said:

Found a diamond in the rough, developed him, then built around him. They're the argument against tanking. 

 

It's actually an argument for tanking.  The fact that everyone was so amazed that the Bucks of all teams could make the finals shows how hard it is to break through if you're not one of the destination teams, and they had to find a diamond in the rough to do it.  It's hard to find a diamond in the rough.  It doesn't prove anything.

 

5 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

My favorite nugget about the Process -- an effort to have as many draft picks to draft as many great players as possible -- is that failed genius Sam Hinkie passed on Giannis not once but twice, first for Nerlens Noel and then for Michael Carter-Williams. Losing is never a great recipe for winning.

 

A lot of teams passed on Giannis.  If you want to make a jab at the process, it's that the official kickoff of it was trading Jrue Holliday for those picks (Noel and MCW.)  Noel was never supposed to play for one or maybe even two years - and if we dig up the thread, I'm fairly certain I remember people here praising the pick.  It wouldn't have mattered, because the point wasn't to get good players right away.  

 

Whether they ever win a title is irrelevant.  The fact that the Sixers are relevant, sell out the building every night for years, and have a chance every year makes it a success.  Are there other ways to do it?  Of course.  

 

I guess another way of doing it is just to be in LA and have the best history of any team and sign the best player of all time.  If you want to say that's a better way than The Process, then I can't argue that.

 

[Dynasty]

I would've been fine with either victor, but I felt like the Bucks (or Giannis) needed this more because legacy and all.

 

A good end to the season imo.

[Rockstar Matt]

1 hour ago, QCS said:

Congrats to the Bucks, they absolutely earned it. This seriously brings hope to the rest of us small-market fans and all we need is for the team to hit on a superstar talent willing to stay! Hornets might be there sooner than we think...

 

I think it's awesome that another "small" market team has won a title. 2nd in the last 3 seasons, but let's not get too carried away with hoping this can be a trend going forward. The Bucks definitely earned this title, deserve praise for identifying the talent in Giannis, sticking with him and helping develop him into the generational talent he is, but what they have done is extremely rare. I can't emphasize that enough. 

 

They found and developed an all-time top 10 player. A true generational talent (and we throw out that term far too often IMO). 

[dont care]

2 hours ago, QCS said:

Congrats to the Bucks, they absolutely earned it. This seriously brings hope to the rest of us small-market fans and all we need is for the team to hit on a superstar talent willing to stay! Hornets might be there sooner than we think...

Who are the hornets getting/have that could be anywhere as good as giannis?

[sky1324]

6 minutes ago, Rockstar Matt said:

 

I think it's awesome that another "small" market team has won a title. 2nd in the last 3 seasons, but let's not get too carried away with hoping this can be a trend going forward. The Bucks definitely earned this title, deserve praise for identifying the talent in Giannis, sticking with him and helping develop him into the generational talent he is, but what they have done is extremely rare. I can't emphasize that enough. 

 

They found and developed an all-time top 10 player. A true generational talent (and we throw out that term far too often IMO). 

I know you're used to your teams being successful and anything less than an NBA championship is a disappointment to the Lakers, but for a team who's literally never won their division seeing that this is even a possibility is great to see. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see the Hornets even be relevant and we finally have some hope for the first time since Kemba Walker.

 

11 minutes ago, dont care said:

Who are the hornets getting/have that could be anywhere as good as giannis?

You may have forgotten, but the Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball was pretty damn good last year.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

13 minutes ago, dont care said:

Who are the hornets getting/have that could be anywhere as good as giannis?

 

LaMelo Ball is the best Ball and could absolutely be a top ten player in just a couple of years. His ceiling comp is Kyrie, but maybe more focused on basketball.

[MilSox]

Went home so I could go to the Deer District last night.  We made it all the way to the barricade by the sound board.  Not sure how to describe the atmosphere, but "electric" feels like an egregious understatement.  I think the fans wanted it even more than the players... which is saying a lot because those boys played the last 4 games, and really, the last 3 series like their lives were at stake.  I couldn't be prouder of them either... I can't think of the last time I saw a team in any sport where the camaraderie amongst teammates seemed this genuine.  Giannis himself comes across as the most likable guy in the world.

I may have made it all the way to middle age to do it, but I've finally seen my city bring home a championship!

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, BBTV said:

 

 

Whether they ever win a title is irrelevant.  The fact that the Sixers are relevant, sell out the building every night for years, and have a chance every year makes it a success.  Are there other ways to do it?  Of course.  

 

I guess another way of doing it is just to be in LA and have the best history of any team and sign the best player of all time.  If you want to say that's a better way than The Process, then I can't argue that.

 

 

The Process was never about relevancy but about winning. And they haven't done that. And they look farther away from that now than they were in 2019.

 

The other mistake about the Process is that it's presented as either/or. Either you're LA (which has won one title in a decade) or you tank and draft the next LeBron. That's simple thinking.

 

Good teams draft well, develop well, sign well, and coach well. There's no silver bullet to NBA team development, but Hinkie pretended like there was. And that's why he sucked as an NBA GM and the Sixers have flatlined as a franchise.

 

And FWIW, the Lakers spent the late Kobe/pre-LeBron years tanking. But while doing that, they delivered a Kobe-led team that sold tickets and then they also developed a core they could trade for AD. 

[The_Admiral]

10 hours ago, Sport said:

Gotta feel good for Milwaukee. They're like the Raptors in that they're proof that anybody can win it all, which hasn't always been the case in the NBA. They're a smaller market that isn't a sexy destination for NBA players and they also did it without going through The Process. Found a diamond in the rough, developed him, then built around him. They're the argument against tanking. 

 

It's really great to see them pull it off for exactly that reason, proving that it's not just a six-team league where everyone else is a supernumerary in the opera. The only sour note to this whole thing is the way that Scott Walker ramrodded the taxpayer-funded arena through by defunding the university system. Would they have been able to win it all in the Bradley Center? I don't know; too many variables. I just know that the origin of the building made a lot of people in Wisconsin very upset. At least the Bucks won soon after. Lots of teams bamboozle their governments into giving them free real estate and then suck for years.

[Rockstar Matt]

3 hours ago, QCS said:

I know you're used to your teams being successful and anything less than an NBA championship is a disappointment to the Lakers, but for a team who's literally never won their division seeing that this is even a possibility is great to see. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see the Hornets even be relevant and we finally have some hope for the first time since Kemba Walker.

 

Totally get that.

 

I know I'm a Lakers fan, but my other favorite teams in other sports have been utterly useless and heartbreaking my whole life lol. It's only with the Lakers have I experienced success (and the LA Kings too, but they've been really bad the last few years, back to how they've normally been their whole history).

 

You need a superstar to be serious contender, or catch lightning in a bottle with ascending stars (like Phoenix just did with Booker). Luckily, y'all have a player who could actually be that in a few years. Like DG said, the Hornets have the best Ball brother and he has some serious potential.

[packerfan21396]

1 hour ago, the admiral said:

 

It's really great to see them pull it off for exactly that reason, proving that it's not just a six-team league where everyone else is a supernumerary in the opera. The only sour note to this whole thing is the way that Scott Walker ramrodded the taxpayer-funded arena through by defunding the university system. Would they have been able to win it all in the Bradley Center? I don't know; too many variables. I just know that the origin of the building made a lot of people in Wisconsin very upset. At least the Bucks won soon after. Lots of teams bamboozle their governments into giving them free real estate and then suck for years.

Hated Walker as a County Exec, hated Walker as a governor, but this isn't a politics board so I'll leave it at that.  It's interesting to look at the lean years for the Bucks and how it's matched up perfectly to their time at the Bradley Center, so maybe the change of scenery helped reinvigorate the team and the fanbase.  My heart is full after seeing the packed Deer District and I can only imagine how big the sprawl of people will reach tomorrow at the parade and celebration.  Can't want to enjoy Milwaukee's first championship parade in 64 years!