2016-17 NBA Regular Season Thread

[Heatles84]

15 games played since Feb. 16

Lue/James have to say SOMETHING to try to calm the situation.
Wiggy has to repeat it.

Thats an average of 1 game played every 3 days.

With the amount of rest Lebron has had, he should be looking good. But as trojan mentioned, his defense has slipped. I said it last year, Lebron has 2-3 years left as best player in the league. He'll continue to be his dominant self on defense, no doubt. But his ability to guard the 1-5 and lock down the other team's best player on a nightly basis looks like those were the days of yesterday.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

So.......
Warriors adjust to live without their best player and start to kick ass.

Cavs.....not so much.

Warriors could beat the Cavs right now, without Durant plus all the pieces they had to let go to acquire him.

Maybe James will ask Silver if they can just start in round 2 so he can rest an extra couple weeks?

 

[Heatles84]

@Mecca made me the side bitch

As long as she's willing to sit on my face, we all good playa

Congorats, my friend. My reign was good while it lasted.

 

[bksballer89]

Jusuf Nurkic with a hell of a game to stick it to this former team.

32, 14, and 3.

 

[Bolts]

Jusuf Nurkic with a hell of a game to stick it to this former team.

32, 14, and 3.

That should end the race for 8th, Blazers have a much easier schedule to end the season and now hold the H2H edge. 2 game lead with 8 to go.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

ICYMI


• Steve Kerr on becoming the fastest coach in pro sports history to 200 wins: "I know how lucky I am. ... It's all about the guys you coach."


• The Warriors are just the 2nd team in NBA history with 200 wins in a 3-season span, joining the 1995-98 Bulls (203) (via Elias Sports Bureau)


• The Warriors are the 5th team in NBA history to win 60 games in 3 straight seasons, the first since the 1995-98 Bulls. (via Elias Sports Bureau)

 

[bksballer89]

He gone

George questions Pacers' pride following loss

 

[Heatles84]

He gone

George questions Pacers' pride following loss

Hey, a winner of a poster told me at the beginning of the year it wouldn't be long before the Pacers were in the Finals.

 

[Wamu]

Has wiggy come to his senses yet & accepted that his Cavs have been playing like shit lately?

 

[bksballer89]

Has wiggy come to his senses yet & accepted that his Cavs have been playing like shit lately?

No

 

[Shanemansj13]

So I haven't been doing too good betting wise (real cash). I had ML on the Heat last night risking $165 to win $100. This will be the first and only time I ever say this:

Thank you Hassan. lol

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

We might be under .500 but this regular season is about as much fun as I can remember.

 

[WiggyRuss]

With the amount of rest Lebron has had, he should be looking good. But as trojan mentioned, his defense has slipped. I said it last year, Lebron has 2-3 years left as best player in the league. He'll continue to be his dominant self on defense, no doubt. But his ability to guard the 1-5 and lock down the other team's best player on a nightly basis looks like those were the days of yesterday.

during the regular season i agree. LeBron is not going to go full bore in the regular season anymore- ESPECIALLY defensively- that actually started a couple years ago.

Its just not his priority.

He has one priority- winning in the playoffs as much as he possibly can.


you guys will see soon enough.

 

[WiggyRuss]

We might be under .500 but this regular season is about as much fun as I can remember.

i gotta say- thats kinda pathetic. lol.

although- hey more power to you. If you can enjoy a team fighting for the last spot in the East like it appears you do- i gotta say- good for you.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Has wiggy come to his senses yet & accepted that his Cavs have been playing like shit lately?

apparently you cant read- I said they havent been playing well lately

i also said it doesnt matter. I cant imagine a scenario where a mostly-healthy Cavs team losses 4 playoff games to anyone in the East.

talent and experience in the playoffs matter- and the Cavs have TONS more than any of the other lightweights in the East.

 

[WiggyRuss]

That's because even when the Lakers suck...They Rule!!

Bow down beches!!

u getting nervous? the Suns are right there for the Worst team in the Western Conference raise ... only a "half game" back.

I saw Brandon Ingram- who cant drink alcohol legally is sitting with tendinitis....thats not exactly something you see everyday. A guy under 21 with tendinitis

Suns are really really pushing the ethical bounds of tanking if you ask me---- they are going out of there way to lose in some creative ways. its bad.

whoever gets last in the West will have really earned it.

 

[Wamu]

apparently you cant read- I said they havent been playing well lately

i also said it doesnt matter. I cant imagine a scenario where a mostly-healthy Cavs team losses 4 playoff games to anyone in the East.

talent and experience in the playoffs matter- and the Cavs have TONS more than any of the other lightweights in the East.

I can't read? What a mean thing to say! You have ruined my day. Just for that I hope the Cavs & Heat meet in the 1st round. Cause I got Miami in 3!

 

[WiggyRuss]

I can't read? What a mean thing to say! You have ruined my day. Just for that I hope the Cavs & Heat meet in the 1st round. Cause I got Miami in 3!

I hope they meet too--- it will be so much fun.

I cant even imagine it around here. lol.

Itll be an ass-whooping of epic proportions. I mean- if Miami makes it and the Cavs are in position to face them.

Throw everything else out the window for a second and lets ignore that the Cavs will have at least the 3 best players on the court....

Miami is in a dogfight just to make the playoffs- Waiters is out, Dragic is banged up- and they have to go balls to the walls every night.

Not a great position to be in when you will be facing a Cavs team that will hopefully not give into crackpots and alarmists who think LeBron and KI shouldnt rest even more.

Shit- the Cavs have like a dozen or so games left- id sit them HALF of them if they could get away with it ----- maybe just 2-3 is more likely though.

Playing in Cleveland- against a rested Cavs team- that is far more talented---- against a team that has been playing for the playoff lives for the last couple months?

that is setting up an absolute massacre.

 

[Wamu]

I hope they meet too--- it will be so much fun.

I cant even imagine it around here. lol.

Itll be an ass-whooping of epic proportions. I mean- if Miami makes it and the Cavs are in position to face them.

Throw everything else out the window for a second and lets ignore that the Cavs will have at least the 3 best players on the court....

Miami is in a dogfight just to make the playoffs- Waiters is out, Dragic is banged up- and they have to go balls to the walls every night.

Not a great position to be in when you will be facing a Cavs team that will hopefully not give into crackpots and alarmists who think LeBron and KI shouldnt rest even more.

Shit- the Cavs have like a dozen or so games left- id sit them HALF of them if they could get away with it ----- maybe just 2-3 is more likely though.

Playing in Cleveland- against a rested Cavs team- that is far more talented---- against a team that has been playing for the playoff lives for the last couple months?

that is setting up an absolute massacre.

With how lousy your Cavs have been playing I'm not sure they could beat any of the upper teams in the EC in a 7 game series right now. They have 9 games to get outta this funk they have been in. I still wouldn't bet against LeBron but your team is playing it's worst basketball of the year @ the wrong time. They are running out of time to turn things around.

 

[WiggyRuss]

the only reason the Cavs won the Finals last year is because they have an experienced roster with great leadership that had experienced and overcome adversity.

Thats what i love about this team so much- that they thrive when the going gets tough. As David Griffin has said multiple times- (and multiple times he said he doesnt exactly like it)- the Cavs are a team that likes to chase instead of being chased.

last year on March 24th the Cavs lost to the Nets-

LeBron James looked extremely frustrated in a bad loss to the Nets

LeBron James did not look happy as the Cavaliers fell 104-95 to the 51-loss Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.

It likely wasn’t a personal frustration as James scored 30 points on 13 of 16 shooting. After the Nets stretched the lead late, James yelled and turned to the direction of the Cleveland bench.

Did I mention that LeBron didn’t look happy? Because …This all comes after James’ remarks about wanting to play with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul in “someplace warm.”

The drama doesn’t appear to be stopping with LeBron and Cleveland, and it’s all coming at the worst-possible time. Following the game, LeBron spoke about a “process.” It’s late March. There shouldn’t be a process that the team still needs to understand. Not what Cleveland wanted to hear.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Embarassing Loss Against Nets Suggests Problems

In all my years of covering the Cleveland Cavaliers, this is easily the most frustrating 50-win team I have ever witnessed.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a team that was the equivalent to the “Big Three” of the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat? Wasn’t Kyrie Irving going to take the next step with Kevin Love and become a force that has never been seen in Cleveland? Wasn’t LeBron James supposed to be the unheralded leader of the team and bring the best out of everybody?

or whatever reason, they cannot shake the lethargic efforts against bad teams. They were coming off a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they were 10-6 off of those games. From start to finish, they were lost on both ends of the floor. Irving wouldn’t stop shooting three-pointers as he went 1-for-8 from there and only 6-of-22 overall (27 percent).

wrote about the defensive stats of Irving which were very unimpressive, however, Love’s are even more worrisome. According to NBA.com/stats, in his defense in the post among opposing centers and forwards, he ranks 493rd in the NBA. Opposing players are scoring on him at a 45 percent rate.

Interior defense continues to still be the biggest issue with this team, and it showed on Thursday. Brook Lopez had 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53 percent) and had a clear path to hole almost every time. Timofey Mozgov and Love were no match for him, nor was Tristan Thompson.

I’ve mentioned for several months how the Cavaliers needed to address the interior defensive issue by trading for Tyson Chandler of the Phoenix Suns, but they figured that Mozgov would turn it around — and he hasn’t.

I see no difference in this offense except the players. Is it because head coach Tyronn Lue isn’t being clear and assertive enough about it, or do the players have no interest in running a transition offense? Only they know.

There is only about three weeks until the playoffs start. The team is showing more regression than they are progress. They must do some soul-searching, and find it within themselves to produce some kind of consistency because as of right now, It’s hard to see this team even making the Eastern Conference Finals with their efforts.