2018-2019 NBA Regular Season Thread

[WiggyRuss]

I don't think this is the same old Paper Clipps team....I think they will make the postseason. Having Harrell and Sweet Lou come off the bench is just sick.

Wondering who the Jazz bump out....

you arent wondering...you know....deep down you know. lol

Nugz, GSW, OKC, HOU are of course locks

I think the Blazers and Spurs make it. Blazers are too good not too- especially at home.

I still think its the Clippers, Jazz, Lakers fighting for 2 of the last 3 spots--- but it also wouldnt surprise me if the Twolvees, Pelicans, Kings, Griz--- one of those teams had a good 2nd half and got into the convo.

 

[WiggyRuss]

also, the fact that the Cavs cut McCrap for Cam Payne, who unexpectedly became available- is a good fact.

 

[bksballer89]

I'd rather get him when he first gets back instead of later when he and the team have melded better. Looking forward to a dominant day from McGee/Chandler/Zubac! (lol)

This is very true. I don't think he is going to fit in immediately so chance for the Lakers to win another game vs the Dubs

 

[bksballer89]

you arent wondering...you know....deep down you know. lol

Nugz, GSW, OKC, HOU are of course locks

I think the Blazers and Spurs make it. Blazers are too good not too- especially at home.

I still think its the Clippers, Jazz, Lakers fighting for 2 of the last 3 spots--- but it also wouldnt surprise me if the Twolvees, Pelicans, Kings, Griz--- one of those teams had a good 2nd half and got into the convo.

If Lebron is healthy and doesn't get injured again, Lakers won't be fighting for one of the final spots. They were literally a top 4-5 team before he got hurt. I have no doubts about them finishing ahead of Portland once he is healthy the rest of season. Said it basically since the summer that I think they're likely going to finish between 4-6.

 

[DJ]

What's up with Osman's shooting, @WiggyRuss? He doesn't do the things Ball does when his shot isn't falling.


Asking for a friend.

 

[flyerhawk]

Sixers with the easy win over the Washington Generals...

Landry Shamet with 8 3s. Shake Milton played 20 minutes after playing 37 minutes for the D League Delaware Blue Coats.

 

[WiggyRuss]

What's up with Osman's shooting, @WiggyRuss? He doesn't do the things Ball does when his shot isn't falling.


Asking for a friend.

he has been awful for long stretches.

I think this is due to 3 things mainly-

-the Cavs offense overall is awful and with Hood missing a bunch of games/underacheiving and Love missing practically the whole season (the 2 guys that were supposed to be there "main" scorers) it has put a ton of pressure on the young guys Osman and Sexton to score- and they are seeing a lot of defensive pressure

-Osman has been playing out of position most of the season because of all the injuries.

-He just hasnt played that well.

 

[shopson67]

Lowry looking like Seymour Hoffman out there tonight. "Rainman...clunk"

 

[DJ]

also, the fact that the Cavs cut McCrap for Cam Payne, who unexpectedly became available- is a good fact.

Facing a possible fine and loss of a 1st rounder.....

 

[Black Adam]

What's up with Osman's shooting, @WiggyRuss? He doesn't do the things Ball does when his shot isn't falling.


Asking for a friend.

#Cediowns

 

[WiggyRuss]

Facing a possible fine and loss of a 1st rounder.....

LOL

DJ, wanna bet that nothing happens?

I know nothing is going to happen....you know nothing is going to happen.

its pretty funny to be honest.

name your odds/the bet

 

[DJ]

#Cediowns

#Wiggyshog

 

[WiggyRuss]

Cavaliers' alibi in Patrick McCaw complaint filed by...

The day the Cavaliers signed Patrick McCaw, they had nine healthy players available for a game that night in Miami.

It was Dec. 28 when McCaw signed an offer sheet for two years and $6 million with the Cavs, none of it guaranteed. They lost to the Heat, 118-94. One of their starters on the wing, Jaron Blossomgame, is on a two-way deal and began the season in the G League. Another of Cleveland’s bench players in that game, Jalen Jones, is also on a two-way contract.

This is just the start of the Cavs’ alibi for signing McCaw and then waiving him Sunday, a day before they would have had to pay him $3 million for the season. The Warriors, McCaw’s former employer, complained to the NBA about it, and the league is investigating, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic. The New York Times first reported the Warriors’ complaint and investigation.

If the Cavs are found guilty of basically signing McCaw with the implicit agreement to waive him so he could be an unrestricted free agent — thereby getting him out from under the thumb of the Warriors, who had his rights — the stiffest penalty could be quite serious. Cleveland, the NBA’s worst team, could even lose a first-round pick.

Unless McCaw or his agent, Bill Duffy, tells the NBA that such an agreement existed, it’s hard to envision a case. The Cavs’ alibi is a roster in shambles. Neither Cleveland’s front office nor Duffy would comment.

When Cleveland signed McCaw, a 6-7 wing, Rodney Hood, their scoring two-guard, was out with Achilles soreness. David Nwaba, another wing, hasn’t played since Dec. 23 due to lower leg injuries. And again, two G-League players were getting major minutes.

The Warriors had the weekend to match the Cavs’ offer sheet to McCaw but chose not to because of the enormous salary-tax implications involved. Had the Warriors matched the deal and kept McCaw (a restricted free agent, in other words) past the Jan. 7 deadline, he would’ve cost them $11 million in luxury-tax penalties. Keep that in mind.

So McCaw arrived in Cleveland and practiced on New Year’s Eve. When he made his 2018-19 season debut (remember, he never came to agreement with the Warriors, so he’d been out the whole season), McCaw scored two points in 18 minutes against the Heat on Jan. 2. In that game — a 25-point loss — Cleveland’s backup point guard, Matthew Dellavedova, stepped on another player’s foot.

The next game was Jan. 4 against the Jazz. Dellavedova was out with the injury, leaving struggling rookie Collin Sexton as the only point guard on the roster. McCaw shot 1-of-5 for three points with three turnovers in 18 minutes.

Dellavedova was still out the following night against New Orleans. McCaw missed both shots he took in 17 minutes. The Cavs lost by 35 that night, and their starters were so bad in the third quarter that coach Larry Drew pulled four of them — including Sexton. The problem: With Dellavedova hurt, there was literally no other point guard to put on the floor.

Sexton is statistically one of the worst defenders in the NBA and generates few assists as a point guard. Drew expressed interest in being able to bench or at least threaten to bench Sexton when he struggles, but he couldn’t really do that without any other healthy point guards.

So when McCaw was waived Sunday, he was replaced by Cameron Payne, a true point guard who was waived by the Bulls Jan. 3, seven days after McCaw signed with Cleveland.

In three games, McCaw shot 22 percent from the field.

“I don’t think it was as much what didn’t happen (with McCaw), it was really mostly what we needed,” Drew said of McCaw and Payne. “With Delly going down, we really didn’t have a backup point. I had to throw Alec (Burks) in there as backup point, and that wasn’t really fair to him. So we made the decision. We really need another ballhandler in the worst way. That was our reason for bringing in Cameron. We needed someone that was a true point guard at that position, somebody that could come in and play some backup minutes until Delly came back.”

Signing McCaw and keeping him past the Jan. 7 deadline also would’ve had salary-tax implications for the Cavs. For the first time since LeBron James rejoined the team in 2014, Cleveland is attempting to avoid paying luxury-tax penalties. Doing so would give them far greater flexibility to go over the cap in future seasons, and given the team’s current trajectory (losing), now is not the time to again spend over the NBA’s luxury-tax line of $123.7 million. Keeping McCaw would’ve pushed the Cavs up against that line (their current payroll is about $119.7 million), and perhaps limited their flexibility at the Feb. 7 trade deadline.

If you wanted to poke a hole in this, you might say Dellavedova played Tuesday in a 123-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers — Cleveland’s first game with Payne instead of McCaw. Also, Hood and Nwaba were still out. But Payne scored 10 points in 22 minutes, more than McCaw in three games with the Cavs.

The weirder part was McCaw’s refusal to sign a two-year, roughly $5 million deal the Warriors offered him over the offseason that was guaranteed. When McCaw was asked after his first practice with the Cavs why he did this, he didn’t have a good answer.

The Warriors and Cavs are no longer rivals — their annual finals battles are effectively finished — but of all the teams to effectively pry McCaw loose, Golden State was not thrilled it was Cleveland.

“I don’t worry about stuff like that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday. “I got enough to worry about. I read that, too. I haven’t even talked to Bob (Myers) about it. News to me. I wasn’t aware of us being involved with anything like that. The whole thing was kind of strange. I’m not sure there’s been a totally nonguaranteed offer sheet before — maybe there has — but it’s news to me the league is investigating it.”

The Cavs’ answer when the league asks them what happened should be airtight.

 

[trojanfan12]

hes not coaching- he is assistant AD and teaching classes at OSU- his family is from here- this was his dream job...there is no job that would give him what he had here--- great recruting, but without the same kind of pressure that comes at other places like Alabama----

I have heard a ton of this on the radio locally and tons of guys come in and the people that are actually close to him and the program seem to think that he is done.

The only thing I could POSSIBLY see- and this is like a 5% chance- is if it was years, like 4-5 years down the road because he is bored, healthy and his kids are older.

he would have kept coaching the buckeyes next year if he still wanted to coach.

From what i hear he has no desire to throw himself into something a 100% like that- esp. places like ND or USC that dont have the same advantages as OSU and arent home like Columbus is.

it would SHOCK me if he coached again.

anyone that wants to bet on this i would GLADLY take this bet.

there is no way i could see him up rooting his family and starting from scratch some where where the advantages are less- and to leave his dream job to do it.

Yeah, I tend to agree. But, folks thought he was done when he left Florida. You just never know with these guys.

Apparently, the reason he retired this time was health, but a different issue than what he had at Florida. So, if he is able to get a better way to deal with it, who knows? If coaching is in his blood, he may get the itch again.

The report I heard out here, and it was one guy who heard from a guy inside tOSU (so should be taken with a grain of salt) that the only jobs he'd return for are ND and USC.

What could be interesting, imo, is if the Buckeyes new coach doesn't perform to expectations, does Meyer become the tOSU coach again to "right the ship".

 

[Mecca]

Landry Shamet with 8 3s. Shake Milton played 20 minutes after playing 37 minutes for the D League Delaware Blue Coats.

Shamet was such a underrated pick.

Guy can shoot.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Yeah, I tend to agree. But, folks thought he was done when he left Florida. You just never know with these guys.

Apparently, the reason he retired this time was health, but a different issue than what he had at Florida. So, if he is able to get a better way to deal with it, who knows? If coaching is in his blood, he may get the itch again.

The report I heard out here, and it was one guy who heard from a guy inside tOSU (so should be taken with a grain of salt) that the only jobs he'd return for are ND and USC.

What could be interesting, imo, is if the Buckeyes new coach doesn't perform to expectations, does Meyer become the tOSU coach again to "right the ship".

4-5 years from now, if Day does now work out, i could MAYBE see that, but it would have to depend on Meyers health..and even that i seriously seriously doubt.

He is from Ohio, this was his dream job, he likely knew that they could get Fields, they just finished #3 in the country- yet he still retired.

Maybe when his kids are older and moved out it will be a different story. But i dont know.

 

[shopson67]

Cavaliers' alibi in Patrick McCaw complaint filed by...

The day the Cavaliers signed Patrick McCaw, they had nine healthy players available for a game that night in Miami.

It was Dec. 28 when McCaw signed an offer sheet for two years and $6 million with the Cavs, none of it guaranteed. They lost to the Heat, 118-94. One of their starters on the wing, Jaron Blossomgame, is on a two-way deal and began the season in the G League. Another of Cleveland’s bench players in that game, Jalen Jones, is also on a two-way contract.

This is just the start of the Cavs’ alibi for signing McCaw and then waiving him Sunday, a day before they would have had to pay him $3 million for the season. The Warriors, McCaw’s former employer, complained to the NBA about it, and the league is investigating, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic. The New York Times first reported the Warriors’ complaint and investigation.

If the Cavs are found guilty of basically signing McCaw with the implicit agreement to waive him so he could be an unrestricted free agent — thereby getting him out from under the thumb of the Warriors, who had his rights — the stiffest penalty could be quite serious. Cleveland, the NBA’s worst team, could even lose a first-round pick.

Unless McCaw or his agent, Bill Duffy, tells the NBA that such an agreement existed, it’s hard to envision a case. The Cavs’ alibi is a roster in shambles. Neither Cleveland’s front office nor Duffy would comment.

When Cleveland signed McCaw, a 6-7 wing, Rodney Hood, their scoring two-guard, was out with Achilles soreness. David Nwaba, another wing, hasn’t played since Dec. 23 due to lower leg injuries. And again, two G-League players were getting major minutes.

The Warriors had the weekend to match the Cavs’ offer sheet to McCaw but chose not to because of the enormous salary-tax implications involved. Had the Warriors matched the deal and kept McCaw (a restricted free agent, in other words) past the Jan. 7 deadline, he would’ve cost them $11 million in luxury-tax penalties. Keep that in mind.

So McCaw arrived in Cleveland and practiced on New Year’s Eve. When he made his 2018-19 season debut (remember, he never came to agreement with the Warriors, so he’d been out the whole season), McCaw scored two points in 18 minutes against the Heat on Jan. 2. In that game — a 25-point loss — Cleveland’s backup point guard, Matthew Dellavedova, stepped on another player’s foot.

The next game was Jan. 4 against the Jazz. Dellavedova was out with the injury, leaving struggling rookie Collin Sexton as the only point guard on the roster. McCaw shot 1-of-5 for three points with three turnovers in 18 minutes.

Dellavedova was still out the following night against New Orleans. McCaw missed both shots he took in 17 minutes. The Cavs lost by 35 that night, and their starters were so bad in the third quarter that coach Larry Drew pulled four of them — including Sexton. The problem: With Dellavedova hurt, there was literally no other point guard to put on the floor.

Sexton is statistically one of the worst defenders in the NBA and generates few assists as a point guard. Drew expressed interest in being able to bench or at least threaten to bench Sexton when he struggles, but he couldn’t really do that without any other healthy point guards.

So when McCaw was waived Sunday, he was replaced by Cameron Payne, a true point guard who was waived by the Bulls Jan. 3, seven days after McCaw signed with Cleveland.

In three games, McCaw shot 22 percent from the field.

“I don’t think it was as much what didn’t happen (with McCaw), it was really mostly what we needed,” Drew said of McCaw and Payne. “With Delly going down, we really didn’t have a backup point. I had to throw Alec (Burks) in there as backup point, and that wasn’t really fair to him. So we made the decision. We really need another ballhandler in the worst way. That was our reason for bringing in Cameron. We needed someone that was a true point guard at that position, somebody that could come in and play some backup minutes until Delly came back.”

Signing McCaw and keeping him past the Jan. 7 deadline also would’ve had salary-tax implications for the Cavs. For the first time since LeBron James rejoined the team in 2014, Cleveland is attempting to avoid paying luxury-tax penalties. Doing so would give them far greater flexibility to go over the cap in future seasons, and given the team’s current trajectory (losing), now is not the time to again spend over the NBA’s luxury-tax line of $123.7 million. Keeping McCaw would’ve pushed the Cavs up against that line (their current payroll is about $119.7 million), and perhaps limited their flexibility at the Feb. 7 trade deadline.

If you wanted to poke a hole in this, you might say Dellavedova played Tuesday in a 123-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers — Cleveland’s first game with Payne instead of McCaw. Also, Hood and Nwaba were still out. But Payne scored 10 points in 22 minutes, more than McCaw in three games with the Cavs.

The weirder part was McCaw’s refusal to sign a two-year, roughly $5 million deal the Warriors offered him over the offseason that was guaranteed. When McCaw was asked after his first practice with the Cavs why he did this, he didn’t have a good answer.

The Warriors and Cavs are no longer rivals — their annual finals battles are effectively finished — but of all the teams to effectively pry McCaw loose, Golden State was not thrilled it was Cleveland.

“I don’t worry about stuff like that,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday. “I got enough to worry about. I read that, too. I haven’t even talked to Bob (Myers) about it. News to me. I wasn’t aware of us being involved with anything like that. The whole thing was kind of strange. I’m not sure there’s been a totally nonguaranteed offer sheet before — maybe there has — but it’s news to me the league is investigating it.”

The Cavs’ answer when the league asks them what happened should be airtight.

If the Cavs had signed McCaw because of the state of their roster, wouldn't they have signed someone they could add immediately, not someone who had a waiting period to allow the Warriors to watch if they wished? Plus the Warriors could've matched, leaving the Cavs still without a player to help their roster. To act as if Payne is clearly the better player that the Cavs had to get instead once waived is silly. Payne is only notable for his dancing routine with Russ a few years back; he has rarely been much more than roster filler. McCaw is easily the better prospect IMO.

The Cavs definitely played dirty, just depends on whether or not that can be proven.

 

[flyerhawk]

Shamet was such a underrated pick.

Guy can shoot.

He got dinged because he couldn't stay healthy and because he is not a big guy and will likely always be a defensive liability. But if he shoots 40% from the arc, the Sixers can live with his defensive weaknesses. Especially with guys like Joel, Simmons, and Butler on the field.

 

[DJ]

If the Cavs had signed McCaw because of the state of their roster, wouldn't they have signed someone they could add immediately, not someone who had a waiting period to allow the Warriors to watch if they wished? Plus the Warriors could've matched, leaving the Cavs still without a player to help their roster. To act as if Payne is clearly the better player that the Cavs had to get instead once waived is silly. Payne is only notable for his dancing routine with Russ a few years back; he has rarely been much more than roster filler. McCaw is easily the better prospect IMO.

The Cavs definitely played dirty, just depends on whether or not that can be proven.

This.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Looks like the Suns picked up another W. Thank you