2021 NBA regular season thread

[Duckboy33]

Sure but they should have a couple years to win a title with those 3

Agreed. And the front office will have a little more time to build a more complete roster. That's why I don't consider this season championship or bust for the Nets.

 

[msgkings322]

Have the playoffs started? The Suns played decent defense on occasion too.

Lemme check

 

[Duckboy33]

I'll believe it if I see it in the playoffs when defense picks up. Until then, they are the D'Antoni/Nash Suns.

This roster is significantly better. This is closer to GSW with Durant, Curry, and Thompson than the Suns with Nash. They just don't have the chemistry that GSW had...at least they don't have it yet.

 

[tlance]

Then out of Lebron, Kawhi and Jokic do you cut to make room for Dame?

There's more than 5 superstars in the West so that means that no matter the format, somebody is always going to get the cut.

Yeah I agree.

In this case, Dame is more deserving than both Luka and Kawhi, so I would sit either one for him.

 

[trojanfan12]

This roster is significantly better. This is closer to GSW with Durant, Curry, and Thompson than the Suns with Nash. They just don't have the chemistry that GSW had...at least they don't have it yet.

lol

No they aren't. The Warriors played defense significantly more than the Nets have.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Well you ain't getting rid of LeBron. Jokic will get screwed. He's the unathletic looking white-guy. It should go by games played. Yeah, I might be a little biased. Joker's played all 28 games so far. The Claw- 23 of 30 games played. Big Game Dame (hey, give James Worthy his nickname back dammit!) 27 of 28.

But the Clippers (# 3) and the Blazers (# 4) have better records than the Nuggets (# 8). Which is kinda important. Like you said, the WC is loaded this season. Possibly more than one player might be a little upset. Hope the A.S. game is good this season and not a glorified lay-up & dunk fest.

I just look at it from the point of view of, If I were to create an all-star team which 5 players, regardless of position, would I pick?

Steph, Dame and Luke would not all be in the starting lineup.

If I were to just pick between Jokic and Dame, I pick Dame 99/100 times. But when it comes to the starting a team, it just doesn't make sense to have all 3 guards starting.

 

[Wamu]

Agree on Harden. As for BG and Drummond...it depends on why they're sitting. Did they want to sit or is the team sitting them? If it's the team, then it's not on BG and Drummond, it's on the team.

As for AD, you are way off. AD said all along that he would honor his contract and play, the Pels chose to sit him. That is far different than what Harden did. In fact, if memory serves, the only minutes they did play him were because the league basically forced them to play him.

I understand a team sitting a player that they are looking to trade. If that player suffers a serious injury, there trade value drops considerably.

Didn't AD make it clear he wouldn't be resigning with them? After that it was in the teams best interests not to play him to avoid injury. He could have just played the season out instead of going public that he was leaving no matter what.

So I guess it's not exactly what Harden did to the Rockets. But I don't think it's much different. He still forced his way outta town.

 

[Duckboy33]

lol

No they aren't. The Warriors played defense significantly more than the Nets have.

Nets defense has been slowly improving as they are getting more time to work together. And offensively, they are probably even better than the Warriors were.

 

[tlance]

This roster is significantly better. This is closer to GSW with Durant, Curry, and Thompson than the Suns with Nash. They just don't have the chemistry that GSW had...at least they don't have it yet.

GS had players with skill sets that fit together seamlessly.

KD fits with everyone. Harden and Kyrie have redundant skill sets, so it isn’t as easy for them to work it out. They are the 2 best in ball scoring guards in the league and only 1 can have the ball at a time.

They are closer to GS in terms of talent, but we won’t really know what this team can do until they are tested in May and June.

I won’t be shocked if they win the whole thing, but I am not betting on it. At least not yet.

 

[Wamu]

It is 100% in the teams’ best interest to sit him.

The team ability to move him is negated if he gets injured. So I think your assumptions that this is a player decision is way off base.

We don’t know who made the call. But both parties benefit from Drummond sitting out right now. There is no good reason to force him to play.

Yeah I understand why things have happened the way they have. Both sides are only protecting their own interests. I'm just not a fan of it. But it's necessary.

 

[tlance]

Didn't AD make it clear he wouldn't be resigning with them? After that it was in the teams best interests not to play him to avoid injury. He could have just played the season out instead of going public that he was leaving no matter what.

So I guess it's not exactly what Harden did to the Rockets. But I don't think it's much different. He still forced his way outta town.

Sure. He said he wouldn’t resign.

What would you prefer if you were the team? For your star to tell you he wasn’t coming back a year in advance? Or to not say anything and then leave via free agency?

LeBron and KD did not have their minds made up a year in advance. But again, there is a strong case to be made that what AD did actually helped the Pelicans.

Harden is a different story. What he did was clearly messed up.

 

[Wamu]

I just look at it from the point of view of, If I were to create an all-star team which 5 players, regardless of position, would I pick?

Steph, Dame and Luke would not all be in the starting lineup.

If I were to just pick between Jokic and Dame, I pick Dame 99/100 times. But when it comes to the starting a team, it just doesn't make sense to have all 3 guards starting.

My starting 5 would be- Steph, Dame, Kawhi, LeBron & Jokic. Tough to leave Luka off my list. But the tiebreaker was record. Mavs under .500. The 5 I picked all their teams are above .500

 

[Duckboy33]

GS had players with skill sets that fit together seamlessly.

KD fits with everyone. Harden and Kyrie have redundant skill sets, so it isn’t as easy for them to work it out. They are the 2 best in ball scoring guards in the league and only 1 can have the ball at a time.

They are closer to GS in terms of talent, but we won’t really know what this team can do until they are tested in May and June.

I won’t be shocked if they win the whole thing, but I am not betting on it. At least not yet.

I'm actually not that concerned about Kyrie and Harden. They seem to be finding their roles with the team and their skill sets are not as similar as the casual fan may think. Kyrie willing to play off the ball will allow Harden to distribute (which he does extremely well) and will get Kyrie in more situations where he has chances to beat his defender without help (which he does extremely well). I'm far more concerned about the team's interior defense than I am about Kyrie and Harden playing together.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

My starting 5 would be- Steph, Dame, Kawhi, LeBron & Jokic. Tough to leave Luka off my list. But the tiebreaker was record. Mavs under .500. The 5 I picked all their teams are above .500

I agree with you there. I think I would leave Luka out too in that case. But then again like I mentioned earlier, the all-star game vote is a popularity contest and Luke is HUGE in Europe.

 

[thunderc]

This is a very important moment for Kyrie Irving's career. He 100% chose to go to Brooklyn and play with other stars. If he can help lead Brooklyn to a title (or multiple titles), he will be looked at very differently IMO. I'm not sure it's everything or bust but the Nets would have to at least win the East to avoid labeling the season a disappointment.

Noting can make Irving look any different at this point, that ship has sailed.

 

[Wamu]

I agree with you there. I think I would leave Luka out too in that case. But then again like I mentioned earlier, the all-star game vote is a popularity contest and Luke is HUGE in Europe.

He should get alotta votes. Haven't been paying attention to who leads in votes. But if Luka isn't up there I'd be surprised.

 

[Duckboy33]

Noting can make Irving look any different at this point, that ship has sailed.

People have short memories. If the Nets win a couple of titles, people's opinions will change (except maybe Cav and Celtics fans)

 

[tlance]

I'm actually not that concerned about Kyrie and Harden. They seem to be finding their roles with the team and their skill sets are not as similar as the casual fan may think. Kyrie willing to play off the ball will allow Harden to distribute (which he does extremely well) and will get Kyrie in more situations where he has chances to beat his defender without help (which he does extremely well). I'm far more concerned about the team's interior defense than I am about Kyrie and Harden playing together.

Yeah, I agree.

They are playing together better than expected. Harden’s willingness to be pass first and Kyrie’s willingness to play off the ball have made things work.

Defense is definitely the larger issue.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Yeah, I agree.

They are playing together better than expected. Harden’s willingness to be pass first and Kyrie’s willingness to play off the ball have made things work.

Defense is definitely the larger issue.

I genuinely don't know the answer to this question but how many games have KD, Kyrie and Harden actually played together and what was their record?

For the Nets to win a title, all 3 will have to play perfectly with each other.

 

[msgkings322]

I'm actually not that concerned about Kyrie and Harden. They seem to be finding their roles with the team and their skill sets are not as similar as the casual fan may think. Kyrie willing to play off the ball will allow Harden to distribute (which he does extremely well) and will get Kyrie in more situations where he has chances to beat his defender without help (which he does extremely well). I'm far more concerned about the team's interior defense than I am about Kyrie and Harden playing together.

Yep. Kyrie already said he will be the 2 so Harden can be the 1. They fit together fine and they can score better than anyone in the league. The defense is the key, and it has been improving. If they play good D in the playoffs they should win the East