NBA Chatter Thread

[Genghis Khan]

Philly is nice right now. Young, but not soft...feel good about at least a series win.

And now Embiid is out, possibly 2-4 weeks.

 

[NoDak]

Sixers win their 13th in a row, beating the Cavs to take over 3rd place in the East. With JoJo on the bench.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Sixers win their 13th in a row, beating the Cavs to take over 3rd place in the East. With JoJo on the bench.

 

[Smitty]

Bulls completely fucked their draft positioning.

 

[Simpleton]

Bulls completely fucked their draft positioning.

Yea, I really like Mikal Bridges though, guys like Porter, Bamba, Bagley, Young and so forth clearly have a higher ceiling but I wouldn't be shocked at all if Bridges ends up a better pro than all of them. Same could also be said for Carter to a lesser extent, although I definitely like Bridges more.

They won't be franchise cornerstones, guys like Porter, Bagley or Young could be and that's why they'll get picked ahead of them for the most part, but I also feel good about Bridges ending up as another Otto Porter while Bagley could easily end up being Julius Randle or Bamba being Nerlens Noel.

 

[Smitty]

I don't hate Bridges and Carter but they are role players and not future top-10 or top-20 players in the league. They are your Luol Dengs or Joaqim Noahs at best.

The Bulls need a second star to put next to Markkenen and they had it in the bag if they hadn't had useless win after useless win this season, even after trading away Mirotic.

They just last week had like a three game win streak, beating Orlando, Washington, and Charlotte. If they hadn't won all those games, they are tied for 3rd right now.

Even if they had beaten just Orlando, they are tied for 5th.

Instead, they are tied for 7th and they MUST lose out the rest of the way to keep 7th. And they only have the most remote chance to maybe tie for 6th if Sacramento can pull out a win.

We are talking about the difference between Doncic or Bagley versus Wendell Carter or Bridges. We are talking about potential future all-stars next to Markkenen versus just solid journeymen starters maybe.

What a waste.

 

[Simpleton]

I don't hate Bridges and Carter but they are role players and not future top-10 or top-20 players in the league. They are your Luol Dengs or Joaqim Noahs at best.

The Bulls need a second star to put next to Markkenen and they had it in the bag if they hadn't had useless win after useless win this season, even after trading away Mirotic.

They just last week had like a three game win streak, beating Orlando, Washington, and Charlotte. If they hadn't won all those games, they are tied for 3rd right now.

Even if they had beaten just Orlando, they are tied for 5th.

Instead, they are tied for 7th and they MUST lose out the rest of the way to keep 7th. And they only have the most remote chance to maybe tie for 6th if Sacramento can pull out a win.

We are talking about the difference between Doncic or Bagley versus Wendell Carter or Bridges. We are talking about potential future all-stars next to Markkenen versus just solid journeymen starters maybe.

What a waste.

I know what happened, my point is that there is nothing about a top 5 pick that means a second star is "in the bag". Obviously your chances are much higher picking at 3 vs. 7, and obviously you'd rather pick at 3 than 7, but my point is that there isn't anything about a top 3 or 5 pick that guarantees anything, especially if you look at recent draft history.

Bridges is definitely not going to be a star but I wouldn't be surprised if 3 years from now there are only 1 or 2 guys taken out of that top group of 6 that are better than him. Which 1 or 2 will it be?

Who knows, but there isn't a "can't miss" Anthony Davis or Towns that you know is going to be a future All Star. I love Doncic but he has his warts, just like Ayton, Bagley, Bamba, Jackson, Young, and obviously Porter who we've barely seen play.

 

[Rev]

I guess I'm the only Rockets fan on the board now.

Amazing regular season. Just amazing. I'm still nervous going forward.....

 

[Simpleton]

I guess I'm the only Rockets fan on the board now.

Amazing regular season. Just amazing. I'm still nervous going forward.....

Looking forward to Rockets/Warriors in the WCF.

I still don't like Harden, so fuck him basically, but I have always loved Paul so if they win it all I'd be pretty happy.

 

[Kbrown]

I guess I'm the only Rockets fan on the board now.

Amazing regular season. Just amazing. I'm still nervous going forward.....

I am a Rockets fan. Just not a hardcore basketball fan.

 

[Rev]

I am a Rockets fan. Just not a hardcore basketball fan.

I guess you are only 1/3 a monster.


I'm not hardcore as well.

 

[NoDak]

15

 

[Genghis Khan]

15

It's been a long time since I've been this excited about the 76ers.

 

[NoDak]

It's been a long time since I've been this excited about the 76ers.

Yep. Especially considering they've continued the second half of this winning streak without Embiid. Amazing.

Also, Markelle Fultz is looking like a very nice complement to Ben Simmons. That kid has some juice. And speaking of Simmons... ~swoon~

I never would have believed the Sixers would win 50+ games this year at the beginning of the season. Hell, I would have bet against it 3 weeks ago. What they are putting together is nothing short of incredible. They will certainly be fun to watch over the next decade if they can keep everyone healthy.

 

[1bigfan13]

Any initial thoughts on the playoff matchups?

I thought the Warriors caught a huge break with the Spurs settling into the 7th seed. I think that's a far more favorable matchup for the Curry-less Warriors than teams like OKC, Utah, and Denver.

I'm really interested in watching Rockets-Timberwolves as well. The Timberwolves aren't your typical 8th seed. They had a stranglehold on the 3rd seed in the West until Jimmy Butler suffered his knee injury and missed about 20 games. Now that he's back I think this at least a 6 game series.

In the East, I think the Sixers make quick work of the Heat. Miami's wing players have good length and athleticism but I don't think they have enough to win more than a game in this series. The only way I see Miami turning this into a long series is if Wayne Ellington finds his 3 point shooting stroke again. He hit 8 last night but his numbers have taken a significant dip over the last month or so compared to the first few months of the season.

If I had to pick the likely upset of round 1, my guess would be Bucks over Celtics, despite their piss poor performance last night. The Celtics have the coaching edge by a significant margin but I think you can make the argument that the Bucks have 3 of the 4 best two players in the series on their roster (Greek Freak, Middleton, Bledsoe).

 

[Simpleton]

Utah/OKC and Portland/New Orleans are the most intriguing matchups for me.

I agree that the Warriors got lucky with San Antonio and that Minnesota will give Houston way more problems than a typical 8 seed. Houston will definitely win, probably in 6, but I think it could go 7.

The East is blah, we all know where that's headed. The Sixers will be a story because they should make the ECF as their road is a shit Miami team and then hobbled Boston/Milwaukee, but just like the last 5 or so years there are no real threats to LeBron's path to the finals.

 

[1bigfan13]

I'm hoping Toronto finally get over their postseason mental block. They are the only team in the East who have a legit shot at beating Lebron, IMO.

 

[Simpleton]

I'm hoping Toronto finally get over their postseason mental block. They are the only team in the East who have a legit shot at beating Lebron, IMO.

Toronto is a regular season team, I doubt their matchup vs. Cleveland will look any different than it has in years past unless the Cavs suffer some sort of injuries.

 

[NoDak]

 

[Smitty]

Simmons may be rookie of the year, but Markkanen is the runner up.