2013-14 NBA Season: Random Thoughts Thread

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr

J.R.Smith is toxic. Knicks supposedly shopping him. Under no circumstances would I want to see him mucking things up for Dirk and the Mavericks. I figure the Knicks will have to pay some team to take Smith off their hands. The question: Who would take him and how much would they charge the Knicks for the trouble?
Thoughts? Anyone?

J.R. Smith would be a perfect fit for a Rodman-coached North Korean team.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Underdog

It was actually Rondo's idea to be assigned to the D-League so he could work out without bogging down the Celtics game plan... He was recalled a couple of hours ago...

FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUU *ignites Rondo Mavs jersey*

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Don't think the Knicks are fooling anyone with their rhetoric. JR knows that no one wants him. The team wants to pretend that they are shopping him, because they don't want to admit that he has no value.

I agree, except it's not even any secret that as far as the NYKs are concerned, he has negative value--he's an erratic, disruptive, low-IQ player, coming off a surgery that is limiting his productivity.

Knicks will have to put together some kind of deal that compensates a team for taking Smith off their hands. It's the parameters of that deal that I"m kind of interested in.

Apparently Smith has POed even Jimmy "Buy High, Sell Low" Dolan with his nonsense antics, so Dolan wants him gone--like he did with Camby, Sprewell, Marbury, Robinson, Larry Brown and probably a few others I'm forgetting. I'm just wondering how much of a premium they (the Knicks) will have to pay to be done with him.

And also, what team would take Smith and his contract on--a cellar-dweller willing to take on a headache for a little payout? A contender who thinks they can bend Smith into shape and get some productivity out of him ? (Good luck.)

[grndmstr_c]

Originally Posted by spreedom

Three-way deal, as reported by Woj:

Heat send out Joel Anthony, Philly's future protected first, and a future second and receive Toney Douglas.

Celtics send out MarShon Brooks and Jamal Crawford and receive Joel Anthony, two future 2nds, and a future protected first (Philly's, now belonging to Miami)

Warriors send out Toney Douglas and a future second and receive MarShon Brooks and Jamal Crawford


Looks to me like the Celtics are ramping up those tanking efforts...

Good trade for the Warriors. There's a piece up on ESPN right now criticizing GS for not mixing their starters and their bench players enough, but I take a different view, and tend to think that their starting lineup has been so, so good (check the +/- stats for 5-man units around the league: they dominate that stat about as much as Dirk dominates in post-scoring), that their best bet was to try to upgrade their bench so that they wouldn't have to alter their rotations (and could keep Curry from having to play too many minutes). I don't love Crawford's game, but he does fill their need for a another backcourt initiator, so job well done.

[spreedom]

Fun 3OT game between the Bulls and Orlando. Bulls just won it 128-125... Jimmy Butler played 60 out of 63 possible minutes. Taking us right up to the opening tip in LA!

Edit: My fantasy team loved this game... I have Oladipo and Joakim Noah.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by spreedom

Fun 3OT game between the Bulls and Orlando. Bulls just won it 128-125... Jimmy Butler played 60 out of 63 possible minutes. Taking us right up to the opening tip in LA!

Edit: My fantasy team loved this game... I have Oladipo and Joakim Noah.

This is a joke right? Thibs is unbelievable. 60 of 63?! It's borderline abusive

[Burn this City]

A lot of clutch shots in that Bulls/Magic game. Oladipo looked awesome.

[sike]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

Oladipo looked awesome.

copy and paste this x500 for his career.

Kid is legit. Once he figures the League out, Orlando will have a superstar.

[Burn this City]

Originally Posted by sike

copy and paste this x500 for his career.

Kid is legit. Once he figures the League out, Orlando will have a superstar.

Something tells me once he figures the league out, he'll be a free agent and sign with the Lakers. Poor Orlando...

But yea, Cleveland really screwed up by passing on Oladipo.

[adonis]

If LeBron 3-peats this year, I would take his 3-year stretch over any player in NBA history. Only Shaq 2000-02 and MJ 91-93 come close.

[Burn this City]

The Bucks have such a promising future assuming they don't make any bone-headed moves...between Brandon Knight, John Henson, the Greek Freak, Larry Sanders, and what should be a top 3 pick in the draft - they've got a really awesome young core.

[alby]

It's still Milwaukee.

[spreedom]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

The Bucks have such a promising future assuming they don't make any bone-headed moves...between Brandon Knight, John Henson, the Greek Freak, Larry Sanders, and what should be a top 3 pick in the draft - they've got a really awesome young core.

I like all of those guys except for Knight... he seems like a player without a position to me. Not a natural PG and not tall enough to be a SG. He should have a nice career as a 3rd or 4th guard but I wouldn't build around him as a starter.

[Burn this City]

^ Ya he's not a natural PG but if he could cut down the turnovers, he could be a George Hill-type player (better scorer). He had 26 & 7 last night and he just turned 22...

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by adonis

If LeBron 3-peats this year, I would take his 3-year stretch over any player in NBA history. Only Shaq 2000-02 and MJ 91-93 come close.

I would take our 4-peat denial over anything else in NBA history in that case.

[Burn this City]

Break up the Lakers...they've won 2 in a row...

Seriously though, Kendall Marshall is putting up crazy assist numbers like he's back at UNC.

[dude1394]

Hmm....jkiddo seemingly getting brooklyns stuff together.

[Burn this City]

"Kevin Durant has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, two games behind the record for consecutive 30-point games in a single season."

Kobe did it 10 times last season...

[twelli]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

"Kevin Durant has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, two games behind the record for consecutive 30-point games in a single season."

Kobe did it 10 times last season...

Dirk's my hero, but I have no problem accepting that KD is probably better these days than Dirk was in his best days.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10...n-durant-climb

[dude1394]

KD is definitely a freak... Fantastic player.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by twelli

Dirk's my hero, but I have no problem accepting that KD is probably better these days than Dirk was in his best days.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10...n-durant-climb

Durant is amazing but he's been getting superstar calls consistently almost since he entered the league that Dirk could only ever dream of.

[alby]

Originally Posted by mac222b

Durant is amazing but he's been getting superstar calls consistently almost since he entered the league that Dirk could only ever dream of.

I agree. But we can't take anything away from him -- the shots he's been taking and hitting are simply ridiculous. Dirk also gets calls other guys don't get as well.

[alby]

Melo has 62 early in the 4th.

[Burn this City]

Lakers lose to Orlando...poor Kobe...

[alby]

I don't feel sorry for him at all

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

Lakers lose to Orlando...poor Kobe...

Lakers weren't going anywhere this season anyway. Their one saving grace has been the miraculous breakout of Kendall Marshall who has been just amazing considering expectations.

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by alby

Melo has 62 early in the 4th.

He's no Bernard King.

[Burn this City]

After Melo scores 62, Terrence Ross goes off for 51 - out of nowhere...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

After Melo scores 62, Terrence Ross goes off for 51 - out of nowhere...

How is that even possible??? Ross didn't play the Mavs...

[Burn this City]

Lebron vs. KD last night....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1dOhukFbhM

[mcsluggo]

Originally Posted by Burn this City

"Kevin Durant has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, two games behind the record for consecutive 30-point games in a single season."

Kobe did it 10 times last season...

how can that be the record...?? when Wilt averaged around 50 points a game one season?

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by mcsluggo

how can that be the record...?? when Wilt averaged around 50 points a game one season?

It's a consecutive games record... If Wilt sprinkled in a 20-something point game every few games and several 50+ point games to balance out his average, then I could see him missing the mark.

Plus, stats were wonky back in his day - I mean, he averaged 48.5 MPG in 80 games that season... Were the games longer, or did they just get stuck in a lot of overtime situations?

Too bad there aren't any game logs from back then...

[spreedom]

Denver is now down to 11 healthy players, with Gallinari and Nate Robinson finished for the year, JaVale McGee still out with the leg fracture, and Darrell Arthur back out after returning from a hip/groin injury. Ty Lawson is expected back from his rotator cuff/shoulder injury any day now, but he's had a very uneven season as well.

Will Denver be sellers at the deadline? And if so, could a team get Faried (who Brian Shaw apparently isn't fond of as a player) if they took on Wilson Chandler's salary? They're going to be interesting to watch.

[EricaLubarsky]

http://deadspin.com/terrence-ross-in...ity-1513707348

Lots of posterizations, but it's been a while since I've seen something this good.

[Skywalker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85kW7Ws-Hk8

if theres a player other than Dirk that really gets my sports weenie going its Steph Curry. If hes ever a Mav ill be a very happy man

[Burn this City]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85kW7Ws-Hk8

if theres a player other than Dirk that really gets my sports weenie going its Steph Curry. If hes ever a Mav ill be a very happy man

Completely agree. I remember the run he made with Davidson in the NCAA tourney a few years ago...I basically stop everything to watch Warriors games now. If he gets hot in the playoffs, they could beat anybody.

[EricaLubarsky]

Pacers have signed Bynum for the rest of the season. We'll see if being on a winner cracks the whip for him.

[dirt_dobber]

Report: Luol Deng shocked at mess that is the Cavaliers
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...the-cavaliers/
by: Brett Pollakoff

When Luol Deng was traded from the Bulls to Cleveland, he was coming from the only team he had known in his nine-plus NBA seasons. His Chicago teams, especially under head coach Tom Thibodeau in recent years, have been the epitome of professionalism in pursuing winning above all else.

The Cavaliers, apparently, are the complete opposite.

Deng reportedly is shocked at some of the goings on in his new surroundings, the particulars of which are detailed by Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News:

As Deng recently told one close friend, “the stuff going on in practice would never be tolerated by the coaching staff or the front office back in Chicago. It’s a mess.”

Deng was brought in to help clean it up when he arrived in a deal for Andrew Bynum on Jan. 7. But since then, he’s seen players get thrown out of practice, take off their uniform tops at halftime and threaten not to play, mouth off to Brown and generally act like spoiled brats. …

There is no accountability, as Dion Waiters found out when he was kicked out of practice last week but still got his usual minutes against the Knicks.

Mike Brown may have done an adequate job when he had LeBron James on the roster during his first stint in Cleveland, but his personality is geared toward basketball more than it is charismatic leadership or taking on the role of a disciplinarian.

When things start to go bad on one of Brown’s team, they snowball to a level that gets out of control extremely quickly — which is exactly what happened when he was relieved of his duties as coach of the Lakers just five games into last season.

There are real problems with personalities in the Cavaliers locker room — Waiters is immature, and Irving lacks the level of star power to command enough respect. The accountability needs to come from the top, and it doesn’t seem like Brown or GM Chris Grant are able to get the players on the same page.

The good news for Deng is that he’s an unrestricted free agent once this season is finished. The Cavaliers, however, will be stuck with this mess moving forward unless the required changes are made, which seemingly need to take place at multiple levels of the organization.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by dirt_dobber

Report: Luol Deng shocked at mess that is the Cavaliers
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...the-cavaliers/

[dirt_dobber]

yep