2018-2019 NBA Regular Season Thread

[TurnUpTheHeat]

like you did about Wade?

or should i found some posts where you crucified Bosh for wanting to try and continue to play?

Never crucified Wade personally or what he accomplished here.
I said Heat made him a fair offer, and business wise you can’t give him a long term, big money deal.


As far as Bosh, he never had even a remote chance to play again.
Im sure I did comment things like that when you said he possibly might return.

 

[Shanemansj13]

yah--- Gilbert is an MSU alum and loved Green. He deferred to Griffin----- as i said in my previous post- he deferred to Griffin on Bennett too instead of Oladipo when Gilbert wanted Oladipo

I think those are 2 big reasons why Gilbert did not exactly feel like he NEEDED to keep Griffin. While i think that they DEFINITELY should have kept Griffin, i think this is a reason why they didnt.

I know that Gilbert was a huge Sexton fan.

Well if Gilbert was still there...Sexton might not be a Cav. Griffin was a genius GM but I wouldn't say he was the best for the draft. If Gilbert would have handled the draft and Griffin would have handled everything else--offseason moves, trades, etc. it would have been a match-made in heaven. I'm glad they got Sexton bc I really believe he can be a star.

 

[raptorlife4]

2018-2019 Official Playoffs Predictions Thread

Thank you sir

 

[msgkings322]

some credit? sure. But sometimes picks like these are dumb luck. If he knew Curry would be Curry so way he sits there and hopes he falls to him. And same for Green. But, yeah...he's the one who took them (well, Green).

Fair enough
Frankly the guy who took 3 PGs for Minnesota in the same draft before Curry got drafted is the real hero here

 

[Wamu]

 

[Shanemansj13]

Well if Gilbert was still there...Sexton might not be a Cav. Griffin was a genius GM but I wouldn't say he was the best for the draft. If Gilbert would have handled the draft and Griffin would have handled everything else--offseason moves, trades, etc. it would have been a match-made in heaven. I'm glad they got Sexton bc I really believe he can be a star.

meant *Griffin

 

[WiggyRuss]

Well if Gilbert was still there...Sexton might not be a Cav. Griffin was a genius GM but I wouldn't say he was the best for the draft. If Gilbert would have handled the draft and Griffin would have handled everything else--offseason moves, trades, etc. it would have been a match-made in heaven. I'm glad they got Sexton bc I really believe he can be a star.

I would agree. Griffin was excellent at finding guys that fit the Cavs culture, making trades, cap mauenvering, etc.....but as far as the draft goes him, and Grant, def. had their draw backs.

Honestly i think thats the biggest reason why Gilbert did not feel compelled to keep Griffin. I think gilbert should have kept griffin and that its one of his biggest mistakes not too- but i think that Gilbert has really immersed himself into basketball operations and, at least as the draft goes, has pretty solid instincts.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Fair enough
Frankly the guy who took 3 PGs for Minnesota in the same draft before Curry got drafted is the real hero here

made just zero sense.

i mean if you take rubio- a guy that cant shoot- you dont take flynn, another guy that cant shoot.

Curry with his 3 pt shooting would have made logical sense next to Rubio- who was a bigger type guy that was a bad shooter. That would have worked.

but- Twolves

its how you become one of the worst franchises in the league and miss the playoffs in a team where over half the teams make the playoffs for a decade or more in a row like they did.

 

[Shanemansj13]

made just zero sense.

i mean if you take rubio- a guy that cant shoot- you dont take flynn, another guy that cant shoot.

Curry with his 3 pt shooting would have made logical sense next to Rubio- who was a bigger type guy that was a bad shooter. That would have worked.

but- Twolves

its how you become one of the worst franchises in the league and miss the playoffs in a team where over half the teams make the playoffs for a decade or more in a row like they did.

Imagine if they went DeMar and Steph lol

 

[shopson67]

Cleveland Cavaliers‏Verified account @cavs
Love is in the rarefied air. Congratulations to @kevinlove on becoming just the 8th player in @NBA history to tally 12K points, 7K rebounds and 1K three pointers made!


He is 30. Will go down as one of the very best big man shooters in the history of the game.

Moving forward however, his stats will become normalized.

 

[CitySushi]

True. We know GS thought of him. Cavs might have but who knows. But still...Ezeli?

People seem to forget that Ezeli was really coming into his own as a center his last year in GS. Yes he was bad in the Finals, but it was obviously a poor matchup situation for him and he shouldn't be out there.

It's not his fault he had a career ending injury. At worst if he was still able to play I don't think you'd find many around here that would argue he'd at the very least be a viable backup center. And with the 30th pick, that's really what you're hoping for. A solid rotation guy, with the potential to maybe start. Ezeli was on his way to becoming a starting caliber center.

 

[CitySushi]

Imagine if they went DeMar and Steph lol

Then Boogie instead of Wesley Johnson.

 

[CitySushi]

i mean not only that- but they picked Festus Ezeli over him just a few picks before. lol...i mean cmon.

Gilbert supposedly wanted to draft fellow MSU alum Green but deferred to the front office. Supposedly Gilbert also wanted Oladipo over Bennett------- but thats when he did not used to meddle. Now he meddles, and maybe I can see why sometimes.

I addressed this in another post I just made, but again you keep ragging on Ezeli like he was a complete bust. He was on his way to becoming a starting caliber center, or at the very least a really good backup one. With the 30th pick that's what you're hoping for. It's not his fault he suffered a career ending injury.

 

[dtgold88]

People seem to forget that Ezeli was really coming into his own as a center his last year in GS. Yes he was bad in the Finals, but it was obviously a poor matchup situation for him and he shouldn't be out there.

It's not his fault he had a career ending injury. At worst if he was still able to play I don't think you'd find many around here that would argue he'd at the very least be a viable backup center. And with the 30th pick, that's really what you're hoping for. A solid rotation guy, with the potential to maybe start. Ezeli was on his way to becoming a starting caliber center.

I will admit I totally forgot he had a career ending injury.

 

[shopson67]

Fair enough
Frankly the guy who took 3 PGs for Minnesota in the same draft before Curry got drafted is the real hero here

The third PG was for another team via trade, to be fair, and was after Curry was selected. There was some question as to when Rubio would come over from Spain, which likely affected their decision to double up on PGs. Curry wasn't necessarily being scouted as a PG either, as he didn't play PG for Davidson until his final year there and was viewed as a combo guard. Hindsight makes these decisions look silly, but doesn't accurately reflect the group think at the time. This wasn't a Jordan falling to 3rd kind of mistake.

From NBADraft.net:

Weaknesses: Far below NBA standard in regard to explosiveness and athleticism ... At 6-2, he's extremely small for the NBA shooting guard position, and it will likely keep him from being much of a defender at the next level ... Although he's playing point guard this year, he's not a natural point guard that an NBA team can rely on to run a team ... Struggles defensively getting around screens ... Can overshoot and rush into shots from time to time (vs. WV) ... Hasn't had to deal with getting benched due to poor performance (shooting) which has allowed him to shoot through any slumps. Will have to adjust to not being a volume shooter which could have an effect on his effectiveness ... Doesn’t like when defenses are too physical with him ... Not a great finisher around the basket due to his size and physical attributes ... Makes some silly mistakes at the PG position. Needs to add some muscles to his upper body, but appears as though he'll always be skinny ...

 

[CitySushi]

The third PG was for another team via trade, to be fair, and was after Curry was selected. There was some question as to when Rubio would come over from Spain, which likely affected their decision to double up on PGs. Curry wasn't necessarily being scouted as a PG either, as he didn't play PG for Davidson until his final year there and was viewed as a combo guard. Hindsight makes these decisions look silly, but doesn't accurately reflect the group think at the time. This wasn't a Jordan falling to 3rd kind of mistake.

From NBADraft.net:

Curry was far from a sure thing, but consider the Wolves were always drafting Rubio here. The appeal of him was that he was a big PG at 6'5" and had the defensive chops to guard the best perimeter player. That meant that the Wolves essentially were looking at pairing him with another scoring guard. So they opted for Flynn as a scorer over Curry, which makes no sense. Even from the perspective that you thought Curry would always be an undersized 2, that makes him an IDEAL fit next to Rubio. On top of that the biggest knock on Rubio (and still is) was his inability to shoot the ball. Wouldn't adding a shooter next to him make sense?

The logic just doesn't pan out. It's mind boggling to me that the Wolves didn't take him at 6. I'm not really concerned about the teams above them taking Curry because like you said he was far from a sure thing. But he was absolutely the logical guy there.

 

[shopson67]

Curry was far from a sure thing, but consider the Wolves were always drafting Rubio here. The appeal of him was that he was a big PG at 6'5" and had the defensive chops to guard the best perimeter player. That meant that the Wolves essentially were looking at pairing him with another scoring guard. So they opted for Flynn as a scorer over Curry, which makes no sense. Even from the perspective that you thought Curry would always be an undersized 2, that makes him an IDEAL fit next to Rubio. On top of that the biggest knock on Rubio (and still is) was his inability to shoot the ball. Wouldn't adding a shooter next to him make sense?

The logic just doesn't pan out. It's mind boggling to me that the Wolves didn't take him at 6. I'm not really concerned about the teams above them taking Curry because like you said he was far from a sure thing. But he was absolutely the logical guy there.

If you look at the draft profiles for each, Flynn was actually rated above Curry by a few points. Curry led in jump shooting of course, but that was about it.

Jonny Flynn | NBADraft.net

Stephen Curry | NBADraft.net

 

[msgkings322]

The third PG was for another team via trade, to be fair, and was after Curry was selected. There was some question as to when Rubio would come over from Spain, which likely affected their decision to double up on PGs. Curry wasn't necessarily being scouted as a PG either, as he didn't play PG for Davidson until his final year there and was viewed as a combo guard. Hindsight makes these decisions look silly, but doesn't accurately reflect the group think at the time. This wasn't a Jordan falling to 3rd kind of mistake.

From NBADraft.net:

Actually this is WAY worse than Jordan falling to third. Olajuwon was the first pick that year, absolutely no shame in that choice. So it's about Bowie going before Jordan. Portland already had a hall of fame talent at SG, so passing on Jordan made more sense than what Minnesota did with Curry

Yes these are both easy for us to mock in hindsight, but the Curry miss was WAY worse

 

[Shanemansj13]

If you look at the draft profiles for each, Flynn was actually rated above Curry by a few points. Curry led in jump shooting of course, but that was about it.

Jonny Flynn | NBADraft.net

Stephen Curry | NBADraft.net

You think they would have wanted to pair Rubio - great defender/distributor with a great scorer/shooter Curry. Flynn couldn't shoot so if the plan was to put Rubio at PG, why would you put Flynn at SG when he can't shoot and is very undersized. Easy to look back at now but still the fit wasn't there imo

 

[shopson67]

Actually this is WAY worse than Jordan falling to third. Olajuwon was the first pick that year, absolutely no shame in that choice. So it's about Bowie going before Jordan. Portland already had a hall of fame talent at SG, so passing on Jordan made more sense than what Minnesota did with Curry

Yes these are both easy for us to mock in hindsight, but the Curry miss was WAY worse

I disagree. Jordan was a known entity coming into the league; Curry was not. Pretty clear from that scouting report.