2021 NBA regular season thread

[Wamu]

There are 5 players with the stats right now:

LeBron
Curry
Embiid
Jokic
Lillard

LeBron and Embiid also have standings on their side.

But I agree with @bksballer89 that Lillard should be firmly ahead of Jokic and Curry. But for some reason he doesn’t seem to be.

Which stats are better?


player a) 27.4 ppg, 11.1 rebs, 8.6 asts, 1.6 stls / FG%- .570, FT%- .871, 3 pt.%- .402

player b) 29.8 ppg, 4.4 rebs, 7.7 asts, 1.1 stls / FG%- .451, FT%- .933, 3 pt.%- .384

 

[Shanemansj13]

Which stats are better?


player a) 27.4 ppg, 11.1 rebs, 8.6 asts, 1.6 stls / FG%- .570, FT%- .871, 3 pt.%- .402

player b) 29.8 ppg, 4.4 rebs, 7.7 asts, 1.1 stls / FG%- .451, FT%- .933, 3 pt.%- .384

Well both stats are impressive not taking position into account, but if we are talking about MVP..record matters. Blazers are 18-10 and without their 2nd best player. The Nuggets are 15-13. Still not even halfway through the season though. What Jokic is doing is pretty remarkable though

 

[tlance]

Which stats are better?


player a) 27.4 ppg, 11.1 rebs, 8.6 asts, 1.6 stls / FG%- .570, FT%- .871, 3 pt.%- .402

player b) 29.8 ppg, 4.4 rebs, 7.7 asts, 1.1 stls / FG%- .451, FT%- .933, 3 pt.%- .384

Clearly Jokic individual stats are better.

Lillard just seems to have more impact. And you can’t tell me that Jokic doesn’t also have a lot more surrounding talent. Especially with CJ and Nurkic out.

Point is both have MVP caliber stat lines. I was disappointed when Westbrook won because I said then, and I say now, stats don’t always speak to the full extent of a player’s impact.

 

[Batman]

And everyone here dogged Harden for his antics in Houston. Rightly so.

That isn’t the same as what Anthony Davis did, or what Paul George did, etc.

True. But Draymond wasn't talking about the reaction in here, which is usually pretty high level.
He was talking about the reaction of sports columnists & fans & owners.

I think back to when LeBron left the Cavs. Even though he was a free agent, the Cavs fans were viscous. The sports writers were mostly negative toward LeBron and sympathetic to the Cavs. And owner Dan Gilbert wrote an open letter declaring LeBron's behavior a "cowardly betrayal".(In fairness, the NBA fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter)

Fans identify with owners and their efforts to build a winning franchise. When good player wants to leave "their" club, they see it as a snub.

Draymond is just trying to get people to see things a little less from the owner's perspective and a little more from the player's.

I see alot of commentary(not so much here) about how the NBA has gone downhill because the players have too much power, too little loyalty and too much ability to influence trades. I agree with Draymond in the sense that players owe no more loyalty to owners than the owners owe to them.

 

[trojanfan12]

Clearly Jokic individual stats are better.

Lillard just seems to have more impact. And you can’t tell me that Jokic doesn’t also have a lot more surrounding talent. Especially with CJ and Nurkic out.

Point is both have MVP caliber stat lines. I was disappointed when Westbrook won because I said then, and I say now, stats don’t always speak to the full extent of a player’s impact.

Yeah, I think folks get too wrapped up in who has better stats. Yes, those are very important...but more important is, how do those stats impact winning?

While Joker is having a great season...So far, as you said, Dame's stats look to be impacting winning more than Jokers.

 

[tlance]

True. But Draymond wasn't talking about the reaction in here, which is usually pretty high level.
He was talking about the reaction of sports columnists & fans & owners.

I think back to when LeBron left the Cavs. Even though he was a free agent, the Cavs fans were viscous. The sports writers were mostly negative toward LeBron and sympathetic to the Cavs. And owner Dan Gilbert wrote an open letter declaring LeBron's behavior a "cowardly betrayal".(In fairness, the NBA fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter)

Fans identify with owners and their efforts to build a winning franchise. When good player wants to leave "their" club, they see it as a snub.

Draymond is just trying to get people to see things a little less from the owner's perspective and a little more from the player's.

I see alot of commentary(not so much here) about how the NBA has gone downhill because the players have too much power, too little loyalty and too much ability to influence trades. I agree with Draymond in the sense that players owe no more loyalty to owners than the owners owe to them.

Exactly.

And I totally agree.

Players need to do what is best for themselves and their families every step of the way. The team and fan loyalty usually only lasts as long as that player is helping them win.

 

[Wamu]

Well both stats are impressive not taking position into account, but if we are talking about MVP..record matters. Blazers are 18-10 and without their 2nd best player. The Nuggets are 15-13. Still not even halfway through the season though. What Jokic is doing is pretty remarkable though

I think when the regular season ends the Nuggets will have a better reocrd than the Blazer. Both are having damn good seasons though.

 

[Wamu]

Clearly Jokic individual stats are better.

Lillard just seems to have more impact. And you can’t tell me that Jokic doesn’t also have a lot more surrounding talent. Especially with CJ and Nurkic out.

Point is both have MVP caliber stat lines. I was disappointed when Westbrook won because I said then, and I say now, stats don’t always speak to the full extent of a player’s impact.

Not sure how to properly judge which player has the bigger imapct. But one of them leads their team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and FG%. One thing for sure though. If either miss any major time both of their teams are in trouble.

 

[thunderc]

Exactly.

And I totally agree.

Players need to do what is best for themselves and their families every step of the way. The team and fan loyalty usually only lasts as long as that player is helping them win.

Teams can be too loyal too. Were the Lakers smart to break the bank for Kobe all those declining years? They did it though.

 

[msgkings322]

Exactly.

And I totally agree.

Players need to do what is best for themselves and their families every step of the way. The team and fan loyalty usually only lasts as long as that player is helping them win.

Rooting for laundry and sech

 

[msgkings322]

Teams can be too loyal too. Were the Lakers smart to break the bank for Kobe all those declining years? They did it though.

Super rare. Kobe, Draymond, who else can you think of that got a thank you overpay?

 

[bksballer89]

The NBA continuing plans to have the All Star game when players said they were against it tells me all I need to know. They don't care about player's safety and on top of that they decide to have in a city where they never cared about covid protocols. People been going to Atlana and Miami a lot because there's very few restrictions. It is such a bad idea IMO. Players are likely going to break protocol (and i can't blame them)

 

[bksballer89]

What happens if the top players boycott the game?

 

[Gman]

The NBA continuing plans to have the All Star game when players said they were against it tells me all I need to know. They don't care about player's safety and on top of that they decide to have in a city where they never cared about covid protocols. People been going to Atlana and Miami a lot because there's very few restrictions. It is such a bad idea IMO. Players are likely going to break protocol (and i can't blame them)

What happens if the top players boycott the game?

I agree overall that it's a bad idea.

That said... we all know why this is gonna happen... it's all about the $$$$$.

And that money train rolls downhill. We can complain about the greedy league and the greedy owners... but the players aren't saints here, and they know decisions like this impact them in the pocketbook too at the end of the day.

So the players will grumble some, but in the end they'll play and they'll cash another paycheck.

 

[tlance]

Teams can be too loyal too. Were the Lakers smart to break the bank for Kobe all those declining years? They did it though.

Knew someone would bring that up.

For every Kobe, there are 2 dozen of the opposite example.

 

[tlance]

Super rare. Kobe, Draymond, who else can you think of that got a thank you overpay?

And Draymond isn’t even a thank you overpay.

He is getting overpaid, but who are the Warriors going to get in his place that will contribute as much to their system?

Nobody. Because they were capped out when they resigned him.

 

[tlance]

Not sure how to properly judge which player has the bigger imapct. But one of them leads their team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and FG%. One thing for sure though. If either miss any major time both of their teams are in trouble.

It isn’t possible to judge completely.

But I will say this, stats don’t accurately capture defense and they don’t capture intangibles and leadership.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Which stats are better?


player a) 27.4 ppg, 11.1 rebs, 8.6 asts, 1.6 stls / FG%- .570, FT%- .871, 3 pt.%- .402

player b) 29.8 ppg, 4.4 rebs, 7.7 asts, 1.1 stls / FG%- .451, FT%- .933, 3 pt.%- .384

Which one is Jared Dudley?

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

What happens if the top players boycott the game?

The next tier will step up to the plate.

 

[bksballer89]

Is he dumb? Don't have it in a city that's open how Atlanta is or don't have the all star game at all. Talk about being a clown