2015-2016 NBA Discussion Thread

yeah kinda saw this coming, they had a really tough game last night

 

Don't really understand Walton's choices this game. I feel as if with a better coach they could've kept the streak going, the lineup just didn't work against the Pacers so idk how it would've worked here.

 

The warriors got exposed. The length of the bucks were too much.

 

What a fucking upset

 

gg gsw, had to happen eventually

 

7th game of a road trip, and the second night of a back-to-back. Tough for any team. Also, Klay wasn't 100% and Harrison Barnes was still out. Warriors have a good amount of home games coming up, so I won't be surprised if they start another streak.

 

Their schedule gets much tougher so I doubt it will be long.

 

Not to mention the double OT the night before. Interestingly there's been no team in NBA history to go 7-0 on a road trip. If the Celtics game went 4 quarters, I think the Warriors would have had a really good shot.

Also a bunch of papers this morning saying that every season the Bucks have ended a 12+ game win streak they've gone on to win it all. Just can't see it this season though lol.

 

not part of the gsw discussion but shame to not see Wiggins live up to his expectations, as least so far

 

How is he not living up to expectations? He averaged 16.9/4.6/2.1 his rookie year. He's currently averaging 20.6/3.6/1.6 in his sophmore year. He's doing this while picking up a lot of the slack on a rebuilding Timberwolves team. I'd also like to mention that he's only 20 years old right now. He's got tremendous upside.

 

Tremendous upside and trending there, but his offensive and defensive efficiency aren't that great right now. For example he was -17 on the floor yesterday. Defense definitely is below expectation though

 

While he's still below average defensively, he's not bad offensively. His TS% is around .515, which isn't bad. You have to take into consideration that he's only 20 years old. Not only that, but he's on a rebuilding team. He's surrounded with offensively/defensively inept players. That would negatively impact him. Do you think his defensive statistics would be worse if he had a strong, veteran rim protector on his team? Also, do you think his FG% would be worse if he had players who could create for themselves and relieve some of his scoring burden?

Like I said, he's still below average defensively, but he's improving. He has the skills and physical abilities to be a great defender. I'm not sure what you're expecting from a 20 year old in his second year on a rebuilding team. I believe he has a high ceiling, and in the future, given Andrew Wiggins will be surrounded with players that complement him, he could very well be a superstar. He is definitely not disappointing.

 

and oddly enough, the eastern conference is the stronger conference so far this season, who would have thought lol.

 

I hope the 76ers go 1-81, LMAO.

 

Jahlil Okafor got into a scuffle because of some heckler bashing him and the 76ers a few weeks ago. It's gotten that bad.

 

The bulls and d rose is such a frustrating situation

 

Honestly, if all you're going to contribute are shitposts piggybacking off others' comments, and echoing the sentiments of others without providing any of your own insight I don't understand why you keep on posting here. Not hating just wondering why you keep posting when nobody's gaining anything from your posts, and it appears you aren't gaining anything from others' posts (except for post count, of course).


OT: Anyone else excited for the NBA Christmas Day games? My picks are obviously Pelicans over Heat, Spurs over Rockets, and Clippers slaughtering the Lakers. The two interesting matchups are of course Bulls @ Thunder and the marquee event, Cavs @ Warriors. I did a little piece for my school magazine on this, gonna do a brief summary of it here.

Bulls are looking good this season, surprised at their anemic offensive production though. Fewer minutes for Noah and Gibson obviously play into their sharp decline in offensive rebounding, but the burden for all-around offense has to go on Gasol and Rose to have more efficient shooting for the Bulls to really patch the holes in their game. Thunder, on the other hand have one of the league's best offensive rebounding (if not the best, someone correct me if I'm wrong), but turnovers are killing killing them (see: Russel Westbrook). However, the 50+ ppg from Westbrook and Durant aren't to be overlooked, the Thunder's offensive production has been nothing short of incredible, only behind (who would have guessed?) the Warriors.
My Pick: Homecourt advantage and standout performances from Westbrook and Durant will power OKC to a statement win over the Bulls.

Cavs and Warriors, ohboy. A rematch of last year's finals, both teams look like powerhouses this year with the Warriors obviously dominating the league and the Cavs managing a formidable 18-7 record atop the East despite injuries to Irving and Shumpert. The Warriors' offensive production has picked up where they left off last season obviously, Curry and Green both having breakout seasons (albeit one more than the other - not to undermine Draymond but it's hard to stand out when you're on a team with Curry lol). Their defensive capabilities have dropped a bit without Kerr though. Cavs on the other hand have quietly been putting together a solid season, with Mo Williams scoring with the greatest efficiency of his entire career, shooting a ridiculous 66% from 16ft to 3pt line. Defensively, you can't really poke holes in the Cavs either, ranking top 10 across the board for defensive rebounding, opponent's free throw rate, and defensive effective FG%. The way for both teams to handle this is to shut down the other teans' superstar. Putting 2 guys on Curry is what the Cavs did last year, but it opens up a 4v3 advantage for the Warriors the other way. If Green, Barnes, and Iguodala can hit their 3s they can exploit this scenario and abuse the Cavs defence. On the other hand, watch for the Warriors to guard Lebron's passing lanes and make him go for his struggling jumper. Hitting a few jumpers early will help Lebron demand more attention and create more opportunities for the team.
My Pick: Gonna have to say the Warriors here, although I think it'll be a good one.

 

Warriors are gonna kill it vs the Cavs on Friday!

 

Cannot wait for the warriors vs the cavs, nothing is stopping me from watching this brawl.

 

Yeah since Kyrie's back