Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto

[Soren]

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Sure, teh b-ball doesn't get the love around these parts as other sports. We don't have our fearless leader talking about the Milwaukee Bucks on Twitter. Or get bonus segments on podcasts like hockey does. But who cares. This thread is all about celebrating our love for the roundball. Cue the music!

Even after losing a crushing 7 games series, and with their MVP/human cheat code Stephen Curry playing below his ungodly self during the Finals the Warriors are still far and away the favorite to win the 2016-17 NBA Championship. Not only do they boast the core of Curry, human microwave Klay Thompson, habitual nut puncher Draymond Green and all around old guy Andre Iguadola but they've made a few notable additions.


An MVP going to a fully stacked team seems unfair, but there's fair question to how Durant will mesh with the rest of the offense, and how shots will be distributed from now on. There's also the question of depth and avoiding injury. Also, we need centers. But never fear because...

We also have Zaza Pachulia! The man who's biggest claim to fame is the video above. In addition he was nearly voted to the All-Star game this year thanks to the votes from his home country of Georgia.

Need more reason to root for this super team? Well, you'll certainly love the hijinks of one JaVale Lindy McGee! Don't know who he is? Check out this "highlight" reel!

In addition to all that glorious talent we also have your usual assortment of unabashed ring chasers (David West), scrappy guys off the bench (Shaun Livingston, Anderson Varejao), scrubs (James Michael McAdoo, Ian Clark, Kevon Looney) and rookies who fell into a golden opportunity but will never play (Damian Jones, Patrick McCaw).

So what are you waiting for? Come join the hype train! Warriors always come out to play!

[Adrock]

The Warriors replaced an unreliable Harrison Barnes with a top three player. There's going to be an adjustment at the beginning of the year then total and utter domination for the rest and into the playoffs. The only times they'll lose is if they get bored on defense toward the end of the season well after they've locked up home court. See last year when The Lakers managed to beat them in a game that meant nothing to no one.

Speaking of, I sincerely hope The Lakers are terrible again this year. I want another top three pick which has the added benefit of making the first round pick owed to Orlando into two second round picks. Sure, it makes the 2018 pick conveyed to The Sixers unprotected, but adding one more young piece to their already decent young core would be nice. Only The Timberwolves may have a better young core. Otherwise, this will be a growth year for the team without Kobe high jacking the offense. I think Russell and Ingram have the potential to be All-stars.

[BlackNMild2k1]

JaVale Mcgee is coming to the Warriors!?

LMAO, his clips on Shaq'tin A Fool are all I know about him, but this should make for a comical season in all the best and worst (in the best) ways possible.


Oh, and don't forget that 3 of the Warriors Starting 5 are starting on the Olympic Dream Team right now.
Durant, Clay & Green seem to play well together from the limited amount of clips I've seen of Olympic Trial highlites.
If Curry had shown up... we would be previewing next season already.


edit: Oh and Soren.... +1 from me, for biting the bullet on thread creation here.

[nickmitch]

Yes, the Warriors were the best team last year (that Draymond Green suspension was bullshit and ruined the Finals).

That nutchecker deserved that suspension.  He should've suspended in the previous series after hit hit the same player in the nuts in back-to-back in the previous series.  That should've cost the Warriors the Conference Finals.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Yes, the Warriors were the best team last year (that Draymond Green suspension was bullshit and ruined the Finals).

That nutchecker deserved that suspension.  He should've suspended in the previous series after hit hit the same player in the nuts in back-to-back in the previous series.  That should've cost the Warriors the Conference Finals.

He should have been suspended in the OKC series... I agree with that. But you forget that the Warriors lost the game after that happened anyway. so a Green suspension may not have changed anything with the outcome of that series.

The Finals though... that was some grade A fuckery from above (and I mean top of the NBA food chain) with the post game fix. The way they went back, moved the call that was made on an aggressive rebound attempt, to a series of fouls that were never called during the game (even though the ref stood right there several feet away and watched the whole altercation from beginning to end yet never blew his damn whistle during any of it), just so that they could "upgrade" them unevenly to a Tech and a Flagrant, and then claim that the call they made didn't suspend him, but automatically triggered a suspension, was such bullshit that I couldn't help but laugh at it all.

Of course, none of that excuses the Warriors for losing any of the following games, especially game 7. Game 6 tho... wow. The Fixer was in on that one. and if you don't know who I'm talking about, check the ref that made the last 4 calls on Curry to foul him out. 2 of those were total BS, 1 was questionable, and one was stupid on Curry's part.

[nickmitch]

I would've preferred if the NBA just said, "That's the third time he hit someone in the nuts; he's getting suspended".  That roundabout **** they pulled was entirely unneeded.

Curry played like an idiot to foul out.  You can call BS on 3 of the fouls, but why is he guarding that close with 5 fouls?  What are you doing, Steph??

But, at the end of the day, Warriors lost Game 7 at home.  They didn't deserve it.

[Soren]

But, at the end of the day, Warriors lost Game 7 at home.  They didn't deserve it.

Agreed. For a team that has had so much misery it's nice to get to talk about them blowing something that's actually meaningful just a year removed from winning a championship.


I'm wary of saying the T'Wolves are going to be fun to watch because I said the same last year and well...

[BlackNMild2k1]

I would've preferred if the NBA just said, "That's the third time he hit someone in the nuts; he's getting suspended".  That roundabout **** they pulled was entirely unneeded.

Curry played like an idiot to foul out.  You can call BS on 3 of the fouls, but why is he guarding that close with 5 fouls?  What are you doing, Steph??

But, at the end of the day, Warriors lost Game 7 at home.  They didn't deserve it.

Except he didn't hit anyone in the nuts the "3rd" time. Lebron wasn't aware of the swipe until he was showed the video after the game, and thats when the team started crying about it publicly to the press. That's when the NBA went behind the scenes and changed the calls to upgrade them. it was total BS.

Curry's foul out was equal parts BS and stupidity. but the BS was quite obvious, especially because of the Ref that was calling all of it.

But yes, Game 7 was called pretty fairly, and there was no excuse as to why they lost other than the Cavs just wanted it more (and that Barnes and Ezeli both sucked ass in the times they were needed the most).

I'm not mad at Lebron for exploting a possible moment to gain advantage, I'm more upset with the NBA for fixing meddling with the game in the first place, and then being so damn obvious with it.

[Soren]

(and that Barnes and Ezeli both sucked ass in the times they were needed the most).

This cannot be emphasized more. Barnes wilted under the pressure to the point where he routinely passed up open jumpers and the ones he did take were painfully off the mark. Which betrays the fact that he had at least showed up on previous playoff series. This put more pressure on Iggy who was injured and Livingston who can really only give you 20 minutes at most on any given night.

Ezeli was more egregious. That Varejao played nearly as many minutes as he did during Game 7 shows how much Kerr had lost confidence in him.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Ezeli missed the first 2 dunks in the game... he needed to be benched immediately.
That was the 4 pts they lost by right there. Barnes was just consistently bad since post All-Star break, and he shouldn't have been getting the playtime he was.

for Ezeli to have been put back in the game in the last minutes of the game, and setup to be exploited by LBJ was just bad coaching on Kerr's part.

Not that none of the blame fell on Curry, but, even with Curry's turn-overs, Ezeli and Barnes were just liabilities that cost them game 7. (period)

[rygar]

Knicks fan checking in. Outside of Mike Woodson's first season-and-a-quarter, things have been pretty dreadful since Van Gundy left, but I am cautiously optimistic about the Rose trade. There isn't nearly the cap risk as there was when they signed Amar'e, they didn't give up anything of real value, and Rose has the potential to be their best back court player since Walt Fraizer. I'm hoping for an Atlantic Division crown, first round playoff victory, and a competitive showing in the semis. I'd probably settle for them playing great defense and showing much improved integration on offense.

My favorite Warrior:

[Adrock]

The knee to Steven Adams' groin was a during a basketball play. The kick to Steven Adams' groin was blatant flopping which Draymond Green should have been fined for in addition to the Flagrant Foul. I didn't think it was worth a suspension. The make-contact-when-whistle-is-blown-to-get-a-foul-called is a smart play though I think the NBA should look at it on a case by case basis. A shooter jumping into contact after a defender falls for a pump fake isn't the same thing as a player kicking his legs out and flailing his arms. That isn't exclusive to Green as players have been using that tactic for some time now.

The so-called groin swipe to Lebron James was total bullshit. He stepped over Green which is completely disrespectful. Green's reaction seemed more like "get off me" than a cheap shot. I know it sounds like I'm a Draymond Green apologist, I'm just calling it he way I see it.

The suspension shifted the momentum of the series. Steph Curry made some dumb plays at the end of game seven (like a behind the back pass on the baseline... what the hell was he thinking?). Then, Steve Kerr left Curry on Kyrie Irving. The Warriors should have won game seven, but it never should gotten to that point. Had Green not been suspended for game five, the series would have been over. That collective clusterfuck was worse than 2007 when Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for game five.

[Shaymin]

The kick to Steven Adams' groin was blatant flopping which Draymond Green should have been fined for in addition to the Flagrant Foul.

I thought he got $25k for the Sports-Ent **** Punt.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The so-called groin swipe to Lebron James was total bullshit. He stepped over Green which is completely disrespectful. Green's reaction seemed more like "get off me" than a cheap shot. I know it sounds like I'm a Draymond Green apologist, I'm just calling it he way I see it.

That play should have been blown dead the minute Lebron threw Green to the ground with that leg sweep. It should have never got to the step over, and then the swipe. The ref was literally 5 feet away and watching the entire thing. and they still didn't blow the whistle till 3-4 seconds later after Dray had gotten up and he and Lebron were both going for a rebound.
the movement of the call by the league from the rebound that the whistle was blown for, over to the step-over/swipe incident several seconds earlier that the whistle wasn't blown for, and then calling it a nut shot when for one, it didn't look like an intentional swipe at his groin, and two, he didn't even hit him in the groin was complete and total bullshit, and Adam Silver should be ashamed for even trying to pass off his bullshit as not tampering with the game in hopes to stretch out the series for an extra game or 2.

and I think choosing Scott Foster to ref game 6 was a deliberate attempt at having a Ref that has ties to fixing the game (calling it the way the league wants) and what appeared to be a bias against the Warriors. So it was no surprise that he made all the bad foul calls against Curry in game 6. Curry should have had maybe 3 of those fouls, but the quick 3 called on him (by the same ref) during the momentum shift come back in gm6 was total BS and I understand why he got frustrated.

W's took the L in game 7, and I firmly see it as them losing the game, much more than I see it as the Cav's winning it. The Warriors seem to beat themselves with terrible players (Ezeli and Barnes), bad coaching (Kerr) and stupid plays (Curry WTF!?).

[Adrock]

I thought he got $25k for the Sports-Ent **** Punt.

He got fined for the flagrant foul. I was saying he should have additionally gotten fined for flopping. Maybe the NBA didn't think it was necessary to stack the fines.

[BlackNMild2k1]

But he didn't flop, he flailed.

unless flop is being redefined here...
flopping is like when Lebron gets grazed by an elbow from his own team mate and then then flys back like he got sucker punched by a superhuman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJRnX0O9vrA

or when Varejao gets barely bumped and then flys back like he braced for impact from a wrecking ball to the chest.

I think floppers should get called more often.
I know people sometime exaggerate the contact to get the call because the refs can't see everything, but now the few have ruined for the whole when they exaggerate every contact in hopes of drawing a false call and disrupting the flow of the game.

[Adrock]

I equate flopping to overselling. Green is a large man. He's flailing excessively to sell that call. I mean, look at these shenanigans:

[BlackNMild2k1]

Yes Flailing Excessively - that's so unnecessary a movement not related to getting the call at all, and almost looks intentional. (he flails like that often, so I'm not sure it was actually intentional, but still could and probably should have been called as such)

I would consider it a flop had he just fallen to the ground holding his wrist or something after throwing the ball away.

[Adrock]

I consider flailing to be a type of flopping because these very large men are acting like they're getting bulldozed. I'm not willing to devote more time debating the semantics of flopping especially when we ultimately agree that the suspension was nonsense. The NBA got a few more games out of the series. Personally, I felt like that cheapened it. The Warriors had a harder road to The Finals then they have to deal Green getting suspended for nothing. Granted, I feel like they should have had more poise to still pull off a victory, but here we are.

Anyway, what is everyone's favorite team and why?

[nickmitch]

I think making more calls against flopping isn't the right fix.  I think the refs need to make less foul calls overall.  The fouls are an essential part of the game now, so you kind of need to sell them if you're a player.  If more types of contact are deemed ok, then you get less guys trying to get more calls.

[Soren]

So I had to be reminded by a friend that the season started yesterday. So yeah. And to kick things off the Warriors got punched in the face by the Spurs! Yay!

I'm actually ok with this. After getting smoke blown up their butts all through the offseason about the inevitable Warriors/Cavs Round 3 Finals it's nice to be reminded that hey, the Spurs are really good team and they'll be a worthy opponent in the West.

This will be a daily reminder that the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals

And hell, Javale got posterized on the first night of the season.

[rygar]

Knicks season didn't start any better. I was going to post in here to remind people the season was tipping, but I wasn't sure if your thread title change was sincere, lol.

[rygar]

   

[BlackNMild2k1]

OMG, my sides hurt right now
https://twitter.com/LGhail/status/793601086296842241

[BlackNMild2k1]

Warriors CRUSHED Westbrooks spirits by constantly and purposely setting up Durant tonight.
It really was a glorious thing to watch happen. Total blowout from 2nd qtr till the end. I don't even think Westbrook came back in during the 2nd half.

If you could have seen the look on Westbrooks face. LOL
he had that look of "I can't believe this **** right now, I would say I don't even know deez niggas, but we all wearing the same jersey.... and we kinda rode here together"


Durant was straight Stuntin' on on ALL of OKC, and Curry was going out of his way to help him do it. Green was happy to take a Tech just to let OKC know Durant found a new home, where he was actually happy now. I almost feel bad for them. It's kinda sad now that I think about it... the amount of hurt WB must feel right now.