2018-2019 NBA Regular Season Thread

[Shanemansj13]

So, Curry & Dray being out shouldn't be a big deal? You are so ridiculous.

IMO that wasn't a good win for the Raptors when we consider they led the entire game only to go into OT and barley win despite GS being down two of their main rotation guys.

I'm not a betting person, but I'm willing to bet the Raptors didn't go back into the locker room after that game thinking it was a good win. I would imagine it was more along the lines of how did it go to OT when they were in control the entire game without Steph & Dray on the floor.

Ok then why didn’t the W’s beat the Pistons when Steph came back? When you have KD, the 2nd best player in the world, on fire you want the ball in his hands for every single shot. Klay played pretty well to and Jerebko! He has been struggling and poured in 20 lolz. I hate to break it to you but KD is a beast, just bc a guy is injured doesnt mean they automatically win a game. When they all play great they are the best team ever arguably but say just bc they were benched they win is just dumb. They didnt even gameplan for Steph or Dray to play, they just couldnt stop KD 18-31

 

[LAD]

I think it is going to be a lot harder than some people may think to find a 2nd max player to go with LeBron in LA.

We shall see what happens in the offseason- but articles like this succinctly lay out the case why other younger super stars are just not all that interested in playing with LeBron. Not only that, but towards the beginning of next year LeBron will be 35.

If you are say, Kawhi Leonard, do you want to tie your future to LeBron in his age 35, 36, 37 seasons?

It will be fascinating to watch and see what happens.

If you were to just flat out guess right now @CitySushi , who do the Lakers sign in the offseason? Out of Durant, Klay, Kyrie, Butler, Kawhi, Kemba, Cousins, Middleton, Horford, etc.

Funny because I tend to agree. But when Kobe was at this stage in his career the narrative was that guys didn't want to play with him because he's a bad team mate when in actuality the reasons were all the same that you listed. Not to mention there was no other star player publically saying he'd rather leave a winning team than play with him.

 

[CitySushi]

I think it is going to be a lot harder than some people may think to find a 2nd max player to go with LeBron in LA.

We shall see what happens in the offseason- but articles like this succinctly lay out the case why other younger super stars are just not all that interested in playing with LeBron. Not only that, but towards the beginning of next year LeBron will be 35.

If you are say, Kawhi Leonard, do you want to tie your future to LeBron in his age 35, 36, 37 seasons?

It will be fascinating to watch and see what happens.

If you were to just flat out guess right now @CitySushi , who do the Lakers sign in the offseason? Out of Durant, Klay, Kyrie, Butler, Kawhi, Kemba, Cousins, Middleton, Horford, etc.

Great question. Gun to my head I think Klay, Middleton and Horford are the ideal guys for the Lakers to go after. Lebron needs ancillary players who are able to play their roles perfectly. Those guys wouldn't really have to adjust their games to play along Lebron and still thrive. Butler, KD, Kawhi, Kemba, Kyrie, etc, all would have to have major adjustments to how they play.

Boogie is still an option, but the Lakers weren't willing to give him a deal before he went to the Warriors (which he inquired and the Lakers declined due to his injury). That could also be a factor with his free agency with respects to the Lakers as well.

It's kind of funny because I think Julius Randle would be great with Lebron right now as a running 3/4 tandem.

If KD leaves, I see him wanting to build his own squad. Brooklyn or NY would be ideal destinations. Big markets for his Nike endorsements and also the cap space to make things happen to suit Durant. I really can't see Kemba or Kawhi leaving their situations right now. Butler is more in the air.

 

[LAD]

Well of course he wanted to play with him. At the time it was forseen the difficulty they would have meshing together. It's why they didn't win the ship their first year as a "superteam". But it shouldn't take away from the fact that Wade had to majorly step back from his role and adjust to playing with Lebron, rather than the other way around.

I don't think my point was clear...I think he wanted to play WITH LBJ because he couldn't beat him. So, I think the adjustment was a compromise that allowed him to continue to win.

 

[bksballer89]

So, Curry & Dray being out shouldn't be a big deal? You are so ridiculous.

Never said that. Point was the Warriors should still be a good team without those guys. Durant and Klay are 2 of the top 15 players in the league.

Not many teams can say they have 2 top 15 players on their roster.

 

[LAD]

Great question. Gun to my head I think Klay, Middleton and Horford are the ideal guys for the Lakers to go after. Lebron needs ancillary players who are able to play their roles perfectly. Those guys wouldn't really have to adjust their games to play along Lebron and still thrive. Butler, KD, Kawhi, Kemba, Kyrie, etc, all would have to have major adjustments to how they play.

Boogie is still an option, but the Lakers weren't willing to give him a deal before he went to the Warriors (which he inquired and the Lakers declined due to his injury). That could also be a factor with his free agency with respects to the Lakers as well.

It's kind of funny because I think Julius Randle would be great with Lebron right now as a running 3/4 tandem.

If KD leaves, I see him wanting to build his own squad. Brooklyn or NY would be ideal destinations. Big markets for his Nike endorsements and also the cap space to make things happen to suit Durant. I really can't see Kemba or Kawhi leaving their situations right now. Butler is more in the air.

It's interesting that Klay would probably be a great fit. But after reading this (and also from reading the body language on the court when they've played against each other) it's hard to believe Klay wants to play with LBJ.
Klay Thompson calls the Cavaliers 'idiots' for antagonizing the Warriors after 2016 Finals loss

 

[LAD]

Never said that. Point was the Warriors should still be a good team without those guys. Durant and Klay are 2 of the top 15 players in the league.

Not many teams can say they have 2 top 15 players on their roster.

And the point you missed is they are not the "super" team when they have two key guys missing. The fact that they're still able to keep things in tact while they're not at full strength should NOT be the expectation.

 

[CitySushi]

It's interesting that Klay would probably be a great fit. But after reading this (and also from reading the body language on the court when they've played against each other) it's hard to believe Klay wants to play with LBJ.
Klay Thompson calls the Cavaliers 'idiots' for antagonizing the Warriors after 2016 Finals loss

I take everything the players say and do with a grain of salt. Remember last year when Boogie went down the hall way trying to find Draymond and KD to fight them? Now they're teammates. Same with KD and Draymond getting into the year before he signed.

All things have a way of smoothing themselves out if it works out in everyones favor.

 

[LAD]

I take everything the players say and do with a grain of salt. Remember last year when Boogie went down the hall way trying to find Draymond and KD to fight them? Now they're teammates. Same with KD and Draymond getting into the year before he signed.

All things have a way of smoothing themselves out if it works out in everyones favor.

I agree in most cases. but I don't think a player stunting their growth to play alongside LBJ qualifies as working out in their favor.

 

[bksballer89]

Hassan had to take a shit and its getting blown up.

 

[Taddy Mason]

what it is, how's everyone doing here? y'all talking the warriors future currently i don't feel like reading what seems like a paragraph. sixers - raptors on espn tonight, should be a good time, enjoy.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Hassan had to take a shit and its getting blown up.

people still talking about that garbage player? to each their own. enjoy, i guess.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Never said that. Point was the Warriors should still be a good team without those guys. Durant and Klay are 2 of the top 15 players in the league.

Not many teams can say they have 2 top 15 players on their roster.

i wonder how many can say that...

off the top of my head i can think of the Thunder MAYBE if you say George is top 2...of course GSW....probably Houston...anyone else?

 

[CitySushi]

i wonder how many can say that...

off the top of my head i can think of the Thunder MAYBE if you say George is top 2...of course GSW....probably Houston...anyone else?

Philly probably close with Embiid and Butler. Simmons might be in the 20 range.

 

[LAD]

i wonder how many can say that...

off the top of my head i can think of the Thunder MAYBE if you say George is top 2...of course GSW....probably Houston...anyone else?

Is it fair to question whether or not Klay is top 15 or 20 on a team other than GS?

 

[msgkings322]

It's still very early, and any injuries of consequence could really shake up things up, especially in the tight West. I don't think anyone is a lock this early in the West outside of the Warriors (would take a rash of injuries to knock them out IMO).

See, to me it goes without saying injuries can change everything. When we play prediction games don't we automatically assume we're talking about the team being healthy? If healthy Denver is a top 4 lock.

And the Warriors are not as robust as you say. We just saw without one guy, Curry, they are very beatable.

 

[bksballer89]

Durant: Lakers may not get star to help LeBron

 

[msgkings322]

I think it is going to be a lot harder than some people may think to find a 2nd max player to go with LeBron in LA.

We shall see what happens in the offseason- but articles like this succinctly lay out the case why other younger super stars are just not all that interested in playing with LeBron. Not only that, but towards the beginning of next year LeBron will be 35.

If you are say, Kawhi Leonard, do you want to tie your future to LeBron in his age 35, 36, 37 seasons?

It will be fascinating to watch and see what happens.

If you were to just flat out guess right now @CitySushi , who do the Lakers sign in the offseason? Out of Durant, Klay, Kyrie, Butler, Kawhi, Kemba, Cousins, Middleton, Horford, etc.

Cousins

 

[trojanfan12]

Wins against two teams disappointed in their seasons by a team with a chip on it's shoulder. Also, against two teams never really considered for the final 4, so it proves what?

Stop it. That "they didn't want to be there/they were disappointed" nonsense was started by SEC fans a couple of years or so ago when the conference didn't perform as well as expected during bowl season.

If a team can't get themselves up to win their bowl game against a supposedly inferior opponent to have a positive end to their season, then that doesn't say much about their team or their coaches. And it certainly doesn't downgrade the opponents win.

 

[trojanfan12]

Durant: Lakers may not get star to help LeBron

Funny that KD says that since his Mama loves Lebron, Magic and Magic's wife Cookie.

KD's Mama is gonna make him sign with the Lakers.

It's also hilarious that people want to use the fact that Kawhi and Butler were traded to other teams as somehow meaning they wouldn't want to play with Lebron. It's not like they or the Lakers had any say in the matter. All the Lakers could do was make an offer and hope it was accepted. The Spurs were hellbent on making sure they didn't trade Kawhi to the Lakers.

PG was shortsighted enough to stay in OKC because he was butthurt that the Lakers didn't want to give up a bunch of assets to trade for a guy that they could have signed in the off-season without giving up any assets. Part of the reason they were willing to let Randle go was to make sure they had the cap space for PG.