The NBA Thread

[smokew11]

2OT on the road on the 2nd night of a back to back without Embiid and Tobi. Damn.

[gonz085]

Originally Posted by smokew11

2OT on the road on the 2nd night of a back to back without Embiid and Tobi. Damn.

Ricky Council has grown on me a lot. He hustles hard on defense every possession and made some incredible heads up decisions on offense.

[smokew11]

Originally Posted by gonz085

Ricky Council has grown on me a lot. He hustles hard on defense every possession and made some incredible heads up decisions on offense.

he had some great contributions those last few minutes. the free throws were huge and then wrapping that pass around Wemby but a hell of a play by a rookie- situational awareness, vision, etc

[JimBeam41]

Originally Posted by gonz085

Hell of a win for the Sixers.

The end of regulation play call from Nick Nurse was awesome, finally us Sixers fans have a head coach who can design an inbound play after suffering the last 10+ years with Brett Brown/Doc Rivers.

[dmbfd15]

Mavs are 16-2 in last 18 games. 1 GB Los Angeles for 4th seed

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by DMBstandUP1984

Huge choke year if the Cs don’t win it all

They are poorly coached and Tatum has never been a consistent big game player so I'm not sure I agree, they are the most talented team and maybe that'll be enough to win this year

[neumdogg]

Man, I hate looking at the standings every fucking day. I just want the damn 8 spot. Is that so much to ask!?

[justinandimcool]

just watched Minnesota/Denver

masterclass by Jokic


sneakily good loss for the Wolves. id rather the 2 seed and avoid Golden State/Lakers at all costs. while at the 1 seed the Nuggets would dispatch those veteran teams easily, Wolves would struggle

by no means is that race at the bottom over, Warriors and Lakers could easily rise up to 7th, but New Orleans has been playing well and i do like Phoenix in a 7/8 game

[justinandimcool]

some reading on the Holiday deal:

-keep him happy for this year
-stay away from his 40m player option next year
-guarantees them to be in the second apron at the start of 2024-2025 even if they part ways with Horford, Springer, and Tillman
-can go as low as 30m next year to have SOME flexibility to get out of the second apron in 2025-2026, which gives them flexibility to get back OVER the apron in 2026-2027 without having a pick frozen
-keeps him from opting out and signing w Philadelphia
-still waiting for terms on his player option at the end of this extension

[DMBstandUP1984]

A Boston team paying one of their star players BEFORE they need too?!?!

Almost unheard of around these parts

[jwehaeDMB]

Derrick White should be up next

[DMBstandUP1984]

How much of a problem will this Knicks team be in the playoffs for the Celtics

[justinandimcool]

until Thibodeau can prove this style works in the playoffs, none….


Boston the most equipped to guard Brunson than anyone in the league…

[DMBstandUP1984]

Originally Posted by justinandimcool

until Thibodeau can prove this style works in the playoffs, none….


Boston the most equipped to guard Brunson than anyone in the league…

They didn’t do a great job showing that last night

[jwehaeDMB]

^ I wouldnt read far into that game. Honestly surprised they played the starters, unlike tonight (6 players out ). Boston just waiting for playoffs to start with full health

[justinandimcool]

yeah lmao it’s asinine that the starters even played…much less expected to make a statement game with the top overall seed clinched 15 times over


i am worried ZERO about the Boston Celtics until Nikola Jokic comes knocking

[DMBstandUP1984]

Yea when the lineups came out and I saw everyone in it I was pretty surprised

And then they got blown out

[jwehaeDMB]

Denver baby what! is you doing???

[justinandimcool]

just watched. wow, pretty big consequences for Denver, though again a blessing in disguise as they may avoid the 4-5 winner in the second round

and Sacramento stinks. tremendous letdown at the end which potentially pushes them out of the 7-8 game

[neumdogg]

Tomorrow is going to be wacky. Would really love to stay in the 8 spot.

[justinandimcool]

Charlotte with the stupidest win lol…San Antonio can lose and tie with Charlotte and Portland for 3rd best lottery odds

it looked dicey but Orlando thankfully took care of business…they risked dropping to the 7-8 game with a loss. this locks them into 5th i believe

Milwaukee not the worst loss in the world i think…not sure if they meant to lose…a win might have matched them up with Philadelphia, now they safely get Indiana

Cleveland not a horrible loss either, perhaps they like the Orlando matchup better…i think they saw Milwaukee was gonna lose and stopped trying

[justinandimcool]

wait the Knicks stopped trying lmaoooooo

this puts Milwaukee back up at 2nd and possibly against Philadelphia

absolute shenanigans hahaha

[justinandimcool]

jk New York was trying…they want the Embiid smoke apparently

Milwaukee vs Indiana will be funnnn

[justinandimcool]

lots of blowouts taking away the drama

San Antonio giving the loss right back smh….they will have the 5th best odds in the lottery

New Orleans completely popping the bed smh…we’re looking at a rematch of this game vs the Lakers if they don’t come back

Minnesota i think making the wise choice and tanking, they’ll be the 3 seed and fully avoid the Lakers in the first round. they will still be challenged by Phoenix but by far an easier matchup

we’ll see if Denver holds on though…

[dmbfd15]

Dallas C squad has yet to put up 50 points against OKC with 6 minutes left in the third lol

[TwoStep2888]

playoff prediction: my Bucks are going nowhere fast

rooting for anyone but the Celtics

[justinandimcool]

Originally Posted by justinandimcool

again players are ranked based on who id rather have for the rest of the season and playoffs based on their 2023-2024 play, factoring in some history

tier 1 Jokic
tier 2 Antetokounmpo healthy Embiid Doncic
tier 2 Leonard Gilgeous-Alexander
tier 3 Curry James Booker Durant Tatum
tier 4 Butler Davis
tier 5 Brunson Lillard Wembanyama Irving Williamson Haliburton Mitchell
tier 6 Markkanen Sabonis George Gobert Sengun Edwards
tier 7 Fox Porzingis Brown Young Towns
tier 8 Siakam Morant Murray Banchero Maxey AdebayoCunningham
tier 9 RandleHolmgren


MVP: Jokic…so far. to answer another poster, if Gilgeous-Alexander keeps his foot on the pedal and Jokic takes his off, things would get interesting
DPOY: Gobert and it’s not remotely close at all
Rookie: Wembanyama and it’s not close either
Coach: Daigneault, with Mazzulla, Finch, Nurse, Lue, and Hardy close

Boston over Milwaukee in 6 (can easily see Cleveland instead of the Bucks)
Denver over Dallas in 6 (takes everything in my power to not say Golden State will make the conference finals)

Boston over Denver in 7

last player rankings until end of playoffs

and “deserve” awards not “narrative” awards


tier 1 Jokic
tier 2 Gilgeous-Alexander Embiid Doncic
tier 2 Leonard
tier 3 Curry James Booker Durant Tatum
tier 4 Butler Davis Wembanyama
tier 5 Brunson Lillard Irving Williamson Haliburton Edwards
tier 6 Markkanen MitchellGeorge Gobert Sengun
tier 7 Fox Porzingis Brown Young Towns Sabonis
tier 8 Siakam Morant Murray Banchero Maxey Adebayo Cunningham
tier 9 Randle Holmgren Harden J. Williams
tier 10 J Green Ingram Mobley Derozan Wagner

MVP:
Jokic
Gilgeous-Alexander
Doncic

DPOY:
Gobert
Wembanyama


Rookie: Wembanyama

Coach:
Daigneault
Mazzulla
Finch

[justinandimcool]

woops Antetokounmpo second tier

[dmbfd15]

Mavs/Clippers Pt III. “Third times the charm”. Mavs in 6