The Official NBA Regular Season Thread—-20/21 Edition

[rustywest]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Wish we could keep him our lil' secret.

Come on man, stop claiming all the thick daddies!

Loved Luguentz from the moment he stepped on the court. Anybody with eyes could see he was going to be a menace on D and a straight Abrams but folk were saying he couldn't shoot the 3. I always thought his 3 ball stroke was ok, and the main thing was he was confident enough to let it fly (unlike dre).

I honestly never thought he could score 40+ though. My goodness...

[tjforce]

Big one today: Philly vs Brooklyn.

Currently tied at the top of the East. This game counts for 2, as the winner also gets the tie breaker.

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Big one today: Philly vs Brooklyn.

Currently tied at the top of the East. This game counts for 2, as the winner also gets the tie breaker.

Philly will get a blowout tonight.

Durant, Harden, Aldridge, and Griffin are all out.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

Philly will get a blowout tonight.

Durant, Harden, Aldridge, and Griffin are all out.

Hoping so....Difference between the 1 and 2 seed in the East is big.

Home court advantage AND you get to avoid the Bucks in round 2.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

Philly will get a blowout tonight.

Durant, Harden, Aldridge, and Griffin are all out.

All pussies. Embiid will smash his way through them once they can no longer hide.

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Hoping so....Difference between the 1 and 2 seed in the East is big.

Home court advantage AND you get to avoid the Bucks in round 2.

Exactly. It's shocking that Brooklyn doesn't care to win this. Avoiding the Bucks is the biggest in the East since there are really only 3 teams that can do anything. The team that only has to play 1 of them instead of both will have a nice advantage.

[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by rustywest

Come on man, stop claiming all the thick daddies!

Loved Luguentz from the moment he stepped on the court. Anybody with eyes could see he was going to be a menace on D and a straight Abrams but folk were saying he couldn't shoot the 3. I always thought his 3 ball stroke was ok, and the main thing was he was confident enough to let it fly (unlike dre).

I honestly never thought he could score 40+ though. My goodness...

Yeah, I didn't either. 40 is eye opening for an UDFA touted primarily for his defense. I'm all aboard now. OKC maybe a piece or two + experience away from making some real noise in the west.

Shame CP3 didn't stick around a little bit longer...

[escapegoat]

Embiid backs down anyone with ease it seems like.

would be fun to see prime embiid vs prime shaq

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by tjforce

It goes to show how good of a job Doc is doing, and how piss poor of a job Brett Brown did.

It's not just about Embiid closing... it's about the team being built around getting him the ball in position to be a threat any time he's in the game.

I don't think you can blame B. Brown for too much. They were growing as a team together. Doc has taken over when they understand their games so much better. Embiid used to complain about being out on the 3 point line shooting but now he's putting up 6 per game and hitting them at a good clip.

They had a great style of play when they had Redick, Ersan and Bellinelli. But they went away from that.

Doc has them rolling but I feel they'd be in this position anyway without him. You have essentially 2 DPOY level guys, plus D. Green. Plus shooting in Seth, plus a 20 pt scorer in Tobias. It's a coaches dream to come in to. Got plenty of deep Playoff runs ahead.

I'm calling Philly for the Finals vs Lakers. We'll see tho.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by drobfan8

I don't think you can blame B. Brown for too much. They were growing as a team together. Doc has taken over when they understand their games so much better. Embiid used to complain about being out on the 3 point line shooting but now he's putting up 6 per game and hitting them at a good clip.

They had a great style of play when they had Redick, Ersan and Bellinelli. But they went away from that.

Doc has them rolling but I feel they'd be in this position anyway without him. You have essentially 2 DPOY level guys, plus D. Green. Plus shooting in Seth, plus a 20 pt scorer in Tobias. It's a coaches dream to come in to. Got plenty of deep Playoff runs ahead.

I'm calling Philly for the Finals vs Lakers. We'll see tho.

Biggest difference I see....

Under Brown, Embiid used to get the ball at the three point line with multiple decisions to make. He'd stand there and have to think, and make a lot of mistakes.

Not you'll notice if he gets the ball out there he doesn't spend much time before making a decision... it's either shoot, drive, or hand off to a ball handler. No more him trying to make entry passes, dribble with the intention of anything other than finding his shot, etc.

Also, there is so much more of a team emphasis on getting in the ball in a scoring position, i.e. both feet in the paint, or mid range in the triple threat position.

The one that sticks in my mind was playoffs vs Toronto, when Embiid get stuck in no mans land 6 feet beyond the 3 point line. Kahwi comes from across the court... everyone sees it but Joel.... strips the ball and takes it for a dunk. The team has just been about giving him more efficient touches this year, especially through the 2 man game between he and Simmons that seems to be working well (never saw that with Brown).

Also... the draft capital that Brown was given, and the degree that it didn't pan out, is a big knock:
-Michael Carter Williams
-Joel Embiid
-Jahlil Okafor
-Ben Simmons
-Markelle Fultz


I can only say that 1 of those guys has outplayed his potential at draft day. Simmons as lived up in some ways, but not others. Okafor and Fultz were both major busts. Some of that is coaches development.

[oshmeehan]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Hoping so....Difference between the 1 and 2 seed in the East is big.

Home court advantage AND you get to avoid the Bucks in round 2.

The Sixers and Nets would probably both rather face the Bucks than either the Celtics or Heat should they be the 4/5 seeds.

Some big games coming up though in the next couple weeks, Bucks have a B2B vs the Sixers and then B2B against the Nets. All 4 being in Milwaukee

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Biggest difference I see....

Under Brown, Embiid used to get the ball at the three point line with multiple decisions to make. He'd stand there and have to think, and make a lot of mistakes.

Not you'll notice if he gets the ball out there he doesn't spend much time before making a decision... it's either shoot, drive, or hand off to a ball handler. No more him trying to make entry passes, dribble with the intention of anything other than finding his shot, etc.

Also, there is so much more of a team emphasis on getting in the ball in a scoring position, i.e. both feet in the paint, or mid range in the triple threat position.

The one that sticks in my mind was playoffs vs Toronto, when Embiid get stuck in no mans land 6 feet beyond the 3 point line. Kahwi comes from across the court... everyone sees it but Joel.... strips the ball and takes it for a dunk. The team has just been about giving him more efficient touches this year, especially through the 2 man game between he and Simmons that seems to be working well (never saw that with Brown).

Also... the draft capital that Brown was given, and the degree that it didn't pan out, is a big knock:
-Michael Carter Williams
-Joel Embiid
-Jahlil Okafor
-Ben Simmons
-Markelle Fultz


I can only say that 1 of those guys has outplayed his potential at draft day. Simmons as lived up in some ways, but not others. Okafor and Fultz were both major busts. Some of that is coaches development.

You're blaming Brown for those draft picks? They were rubbish players from day 1 and where are they now? Unless you think Brown broke them. Which I don't.

I'm not saying Doc isn't an upgrade. On experience alone he's gonna beat out Brown and BB had some serious flaws.

I just think the key is that Simmons knows his role. And Embiid has turned in to the MVP level guy they always needed him to be to progress.

I'm looking forward to this Playoff run.

[kd the sniper]

Idk give a f*** what anybody says, but Alize Johnson has the best first name in the NBA.. ( favorite drink to steal as a youngin)

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by oshmeehan

The Sixers and Nets would probably both rather face the Bucks than either the Celtics or Heat should they be the 4/5 seeds.

Some big games coming up though in the next couple weeks, Bucks have a B2B vs the Sixers and then B2B against the Nets. All 4 being in Milwaukee

Speaking for the Sixers... I don't think they would.

They've handled the Celtics 3 times this year. Boston has no answer for Embiid, and Kemba is a defensive liability for the Celtics against the Sixers size.

[pingbling23]

Embiid 39 and 13 in 33 minutes to take the tie breaker against the nets and stay at the top of the east. Clutch free throws down the stretch. Mvp.

[minnesotachill]

the Nets were playing with half their team and still almost came back to win the game.

I would not be sleeping well tonight if I were a Sixers fan.

[pingbling23]

Originally Posted by minnesotachill

the Nets were playing with half their team and still almost came back to win the game.

I would not be sleeping well tonight if I were a Sixers fan.

Nah, sixers bench fell asleep with a big lead for a bit and the nets got hot. It’s the nba, it happens.

[19royaldecker87]

Nuggets are likely signing Austin Rivers to replace Jamal. hopefully he picks up some of his scoring

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by pingbling23

Embiid 39 and 13 in 33 minutes to take the tie breaker against the nets and stay at the top of the east. Clutch free throws down the stretch. Mvp.

Friday on ESPN vs Clippers

Monday ESPN vs Warriors

Wednesday NBA TV vs Suns

Thursday TNT vs Bucks

Saturday TNT vs Bucks....

He's going to have the opportunity to make his case with a lot of eyeballs on him

[pingbling23]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Friday on ESPN vs Clippers

Monday ESPN vs Warriors

Wednesday NBA TV vs Suns

Thursday TNT vs Bucks

Saturday TNT vs Bucks....

He's going to have the opportunity to make his case with a lot of eyeballs on him

Cream rises to the top, we shall see.

[kobebeast2020]

The Knicks are fun to watch.

[rhigh2390]

Steph with 42 through 3. Just another night at the office.

[ninjacookies]

Gigantic nutcase, but 'Rie's skill is still undeniable. Dropped 37 dolo against one of the best defensive squads and actually kept the game competitive.

[Donkaylove]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

Steph with 42 through 3. Just another night at the office.

seriously, 50? qtr warriors pushin?

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

Gigantic nutcase, but 'Rie's skill is still undeniable. Dropped 37 dolo against one of the best defensive squads and actually kept the game competitive.

If Kyrie decides to play like he cares, he's one of the most fun players to watch of all time.... He just doesn't always care is the problem.