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Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Wed May 1, 2024 5:27 pm
by madvillian
MrSparkle wrote:Was it me or did Maxey travel on the insane 4-point play (2nd to last make, in regulation)? I'm genuinely curious how the F* you can take 2.5 steps behind the 3P line without dribbling, switch to the left pivot foot, and then jump off the right foot? Looked at it in slow-motion several times, and if I was a Knicks fan, I'd be livid. Cause on top of that, Embiid is clearly moving on his screen (with a shoulder bump on top of it), at no point in stance.
Otherwise , as a 3rd party watcher, it was a wild shot (not to mention the next one), and exciting ending. And despite my problem with the footwork, in real-time, that would've been dicey to call a travel for any ref, and Maxey totally deserved that MIP award over Coby (despite Coby's bigger jumps statistically). He went from MIP (fringe star) to MIP 2.0 (perennial all-star).
Maxey was a prospect I liked... along with Jrue. Sometimes these clear stud guards drop to the late first round, and it makes no sense to me. My hot take is that college FG%s need to be taken with a grain of salt. Smaller sample size with way less games and minutes, 1-and-done/quicker learning curve, wild variances in SOS, usage, tighter spacing, tighter coaching, etc.
In general the "swallow the whistle" trope in the last possession never made any sense. I agree that Joel was moving, and they will never call that there, and that's wrong.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Wed May 1, 2024 5:37 pm
by Ice Man
madvillian wrote:In general the "swallow the whistle" trope in the last possession never made any sense. I agree that Joel was moving, and they will never call that there, and that's wrong.
That said, Hartenstein got called for a moving screen in the final minute. (Or maybe 1 1/2 minutes.)
In the end, rough justice was delivered. The Knicks won Game 2 on a combination of final-minute miracles and a swallowed whistle, and then the Sixers took Game 5 in the same fashion.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Wed May 1, 2024 5:39 pm
by madvillian
Ice Man wrote:madvillian wrote:In general the "swallow the whistle" trope in the last possession never made any sense. I agree that Joel was moving, and they will never call that there, and that's wrong.
That said, Hartenstein got called for a moving screen in the final minute. (Or maybe 1 1/2 minutes.)
In the end, rough justice was delivered. The Knicks won Game 2 on a combination of final-minute miracles and a swallowed whistle, and then the Sixers took Game 5 in the same fashion.
usually evens out. Not always, but usually. Been a pretty great playoffs can't complain really. Officiating hasn't really affected it.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Wed May 1, 2024 5:55 pm
by MrSparkle
madvillian wrote:Ice Man wrote:madvillian wrote:In general the "swallow the whistle" trope in the last possession never made any sense. I agree that Joel was moving, and they will never call that there, and that's wrong.
That said, Hartenstein got called for a moving screen in the final minute. (Or maybe 1 1/2 minutes.)
In the end, rough justice was delivered. The Knicks won Game 2 on a combination of final-minute miracles and a swallowed whistle, and then the Sixers took Game 5 in the same fashion.
usually evens out. Not always, but usually. Been a pretty great playoffs can't complain really. Officiating hasn't really affected it.
Yeah, I dunno - tell it to the Sacramento Kings.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Wed May 1, 2024 10:22 pm
by dumbell78
Ice Man wrote:dumbell78 wrote:Pretty crazy Knicks were up 6 with under 30 seconds left and blew it.
I assume that people do those "real time odds of winning" calculations for basketball, too. The Knicks must have been 99%+. Even with Maxey draining two very difficult 3s, the Knicks very likely win if -
1) Mitchell Robinson doesn't foul on one of those 3s
2) Josh Hart makes both his free throws
3) The Knicks score on the last possession
Then again, the Sixers lost in much the same way in Game 2. Such are the dice of Fate.
Yeah real-time odds the Knicks winning at that time was 95%. Just something I read on Twitter. I agree game 2 was just as much a fluke.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 1:51 am
by MrSparkle
The Bulls owe the Heat an apology for being upset with their 20 point loss. They saved us from a -40 net-rating sweep against Boston.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 2:23 am
by dumbell78
Who the F challenges a call 6 minutes into the 1st quarter of a pivotal game 5? JKidd that is who.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 2:45 am
by DuckIII
MrSparkle wrote:Such a big talent gap between the Bulls and all these teams this week. I almost feel like I enjoy the NBA again.
Yeah, I really hope Bulls fans take a good long look and realize just how pathetically hopeless our “win now” situation is no matter what we do. We are light years from competing at this level. It’s such a joke what they’ve done, and unless DDR saves us from them we are as stuck as it gets.
But I’m enjoying these playoffs really loving the changing of the guard out west in particular. That and the Knicks/Philly drama, I mean series.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 3:57 am
by jump
I gotta say I really enjoy seeing Derrick Jones Jr do his thing for the Mavs. Don’t know why BD couldn’t let him no do that for us more often. DJJ showed, it but Billy couldn’t see it.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 4:13 am
by kodo
Derrick didn't look as good here because Donovan played him at ... Center. Well when a 6' 6" 190 lb guy matches up against guys his size and is positioned out on the perimeter, all of a sudden he looks a lot better. Jones has hops but he doesn't have the body mass or non-jump standing reach of a true 7 footer.
Tonight's games are continuing the trend of the officials allowing more physical play has really revived the 2 point game. Luka & Kyrie are killing LAC but it's all been on 2 pointers, they're 3-15 from 3 as of now.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 4:29 am
by dumbell78
I dont care the seeding, Clippers are a mess and have some hard decisions to make, no matter what the outcome of this series. Similar to Phoenix in outlook. Kawhi looks like he is done frankly, you just have to count on him not being there at the end of the season.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 5:31 am
by Ccwatercraft
dumbell78 wrote:I dont care the seeding, Clippers are a mess and have some hard decisions to make, no matter what the outcome of this series. Similar to Phoenix in outlook. Kawhi looks like he is done frankly, you just have to count on him not being there at the end of the season.
It will be interesting to see what they do.
The only money limit is the cba rules, I don't think Balmer is ready to quit spending but he absolutely has to be frustrated beyond imagination
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 5:43 am
by Repeat 3-peat
The Clippers are old, injury prone, and have no assets.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 8:55 am
by jc23
Repeat 3-peat wrote:The Clippers are old, injury prone, and have no assets.
and worst of all their the Clippers.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 1:04 pm
by DuckIII
jump wrote:I gotta say I really enjoy seeing Derrick Jones Jr do his thing for the Mavs. Don’t know why BD couldn’t let him no do that for us more often. DJJ showed, it but Billy couldn’t see it.
Back when everyone was wringing their hands over Pat getting too many minutes at Green’s expense, I kept saying how it was DJJ who was getting screwed.
I think the criticisms of BD are incredibly overblown (unless you believe he plays a major part in constructing the roster, which I do not). But his preference for Green and Pat over DJJ is one of the biggest head scratchers for me, and presumably that was entirely in BD’s control.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 2:04 pm
by Ice Man
dumbell78 wrote:Who the F challenges a call 6 minutes into the 1st quarter of a pivotal game 5? JKidd that is who.
Pretty sure that Thibs did the same thing in the first quarter of his Game 5. As I recall, he won that one and then sat on his second challenge until very late in the game.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 2:10 pm
by Ice Man
DuckIII wrote:But his preference for Green and Pat over DJJ is one of the biggest head scratchers for me, and presumably that was entirely in BD’s control.
If you have Javonte, you don't need DJJ. If you have DJJ, you don't need Javonte. They do the same job. But sure, if you think that DJJ was clearly better, then Billy erred.
At any rate, DJJ has been the same player for many years now. Before he was on Dallas this season under Jason Kidd, he played for Monty Williams, Spo, and Billy Donovan, none of him gave him the minutes that Jason Kidd has. So if Billy is at fault, so are Monty and Spo.
Of course, the likeliest answer is that none of them are at fault, and that DJJ' s minutes depend upon who else is on the roster.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 2:38 pm
by DuckIII
Ice Man wrote:DuckIII wrote:But his preference for Green and Pat over DJJ is one of the biggest head scratchers for me, and presumably that was entirely in BD’s control.
If you have Javonte, you don't need DJJ. If you have DJJ, you don't need Javonte. They do the same job. But sure, if you think that DJJ was clearly better, then Billy erred.
Yeah Green and DJJ were just two of numerous redundant players on the team. But DJJ was clearly better (for the Bulls) in the sense that he was more versatile than Green.
At any rate, DJJ has been the same player for many years now. Before he was on Dallas this season under Jason Kidd, he played for Monty Williams, Spo, and Billy Donovan, none of him gave him the minutes that Jason Kidd has. So if Billy is at fault, so are Monty and Spo.
Of course, the likeliest answer is that none of them are at fault, and that DJJ' s minutes depend upon who else is on the roster.
It does matter who else is on the roster with him, no doubt. It mattered in Chicago for sure, which is why he should have been playing a lot more than he was.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 3:51 pm
by ChiefILL53
If we're being honest, Javonte, AC, and DJJ were all redundant. Green shoulda been a 2/3, DJJ shoulda been a 3/4 (I've always said this about DJJ), and AC is a 2/3. However due to roster construction (and really Billy's stubbornness using actual bigger players on the roster) they all ended up being 4/5s. They all have different offensive skills with AC being the best shooter and Green being a slasher and DJJ being a rim runner, so they prolly couldnt have been on the court at the same time. Buuttttttt, the defense prolly woulda been elite in spurts with those 3 and maybe like ayo and drummond to round out the position rest of the 5 on the floor.
Re: Around The NBA : 2023-24 Season #2
Posted: Thu May 2, 2024 4:26 pm
by MrSparkle
The original concept was that Demar, Zach, Vuc give you enough more than enough offense, so you surround them with defensive specialists.
The truth was that the trio was a last-place rated offensive trio (per usage/volume) in the league. They suck; couldn't outscore teams, and they obviously couldn't defend.
It was a mistake to try and build chemistry on that group after 1 full season.
Now beyond this, I wanted Billy to play more defensive oriented groups, with AC/Javonte/DJJ/Vuc sharing minutes, as opposed to going slower. Would this have worked? I don't know. The sample size is just about non-existent for going "tall." I understand the argument for better defensive rotations, maximizing his best scorers' minutes, and keeping the ball moving/faster, but Billy refused to try DJJ at a smaller position. Dallas is comparatively playing pretty big (PJ/Lively/Gafford rotation at PF/C), but they have Luka and Kyrie. 2 much more gifted offensive players.