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

[imbluestreak23]

Damian Jones dunk of the night. Goodness

[Giantrobot]

Someone didn’t see Ja Morant’s windmill alley-oop tonight..

[tjforce]

Jazz about to drop into that 2 seed... Suns on top!

Who saw that coming back in December?

[daeve]

Booker did Gobert dirty

https://streamable.com/eefzul


close-up

https://streamable.com/uj9nvu

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Jazz about to drop into that 2 seed... Suns on top!

Who saw that coming back in December?

I actually really enjoy watching the Suns and would actually love to see CP3/ Booker take this team deep. Utah was without both Mitchell and Conley tonight however. The Jazz without Mitchell simply aren’t the same team. They can still thrash average teams with him off the court, but not upper echelon squads like Phoenix.

However, now that AD and Bron are back, look for the Lakers to crush some dreams in the Western conference. I would love to see the Jazz or Suns vs Philly or the Bucks, but I feel like we are just going to end up with Lakers vs Nets in the end. I would love to be wrong FWIW.


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[tjforce]

Originally Posted by daeve

Booker did Gobert dirty

https://streamable.com/eefzul


close-up

https://streamable.com/uj9nvu

Here's another angle:



Between that play and blowing the assignment against the T-Wolves, not making a strong finishing argument for DPOY

[kd the sniper]

Kings!

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Akphillips86

I actually really enjoy watching the Suns and would actually love to see CP3/ Booker take this team deep. Utah was without both Mitchell and Conley tonight however. The Jazz without Mitchell simply aren’t the same team. They can still thrash average teams with him off the court, but not upper echelon squads like Phoenix.

However, now that AD and Bron are back, look for the Lakers to crush some dreams in the Western conference. I would love to see the Jazz or Suns vs Philly or the Bucks, but I feel like we are just going to end up with Lakers vs Nets in the end. I would love to be wrong FWIW.


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Yea... by bet would be Lakers or Clippers vs Nets......

but what if the Suns can hold it together?

As for the Nets.. the one team that I think has a shot is Philly, if they can stay healthy (like they are right now) and keep home court advantage.

Nobody can stop KD/Kyrie/Harden.... but if anyone can at least come close, it's Simmons, Embiid, Green, and Thybulle.

And about Simmons... basic stat lines just don't show how much of an impact this guy has. I just crunched some numbers comparing the 6ers in the 51 games he has played this year vs the 12 he's missed:

Record: With: 73%
Without: 42%

Point Allowed per Game:
With: 107
Without: 114

Points Scored per Game:
With: 114
Without: 111

To put into context the 7 points per game more they give up with him out of the lineup, the difference between giving up 107 per game and 114 per game is the difference between the 3rd best team defense in the NBA 23rd best.

[SK40]

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.

Originally Posted by tjforce

Yea... by bet would be Lakers or Clippers vs Nets......

but what if the Suns can hold it together?

As for the Nets.. the one team that I think has a shot is Philly, if they can stay healthy (like they are right now) and keep home court advantage.

Nobody can stop KD/Kyrie/Harden.... but if anyone can at least come close, it's Simmons, Embiid, Green, and Thybulle.

And about Simmons... basic stat lines just don't show how much of an impact this guy has. I just crunched some numbers comparing the 6ers in the 51 games he has played this year vs the 12 he's missed:

Record: With: 73%
Without: 42%

Point Allowed per Game:
With: 107
Without: 114

Points Scored per Game:
With: 114
Without: 111

To put into context the 7 points per game more they give up with him out of the lineup, the difference between giving up 107 per game and 114 per game is the difference between the 3rd best team defense in the NBA 23rd best.

Your love for Simmons is tremendous.

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by Akphillips86

I actually really enjoy watching the Suns and would actually love to see CP3/ Booker take this team deep. Utah was without both Mitchell and Conley tonight however. The Jazz without Mitchell simply aren’t the same team. They can still thrash average teams with him off the court, but not upper echelon squads like Phoenix.

However, now that AD and Bron are back, look for the Lakers to crush some dreams in the Western conference. I would love to see the Jazz or Suns vs Philly or the Bucks, but I feel like we are just going to end up with Lakers vs Nets in the end. I would love to be wrong FWIW.


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They just lost to the Wolves twice.

[The_Reverend]

Man how sweet would it be for the Lakers to drop behind Mavs and Blazers all the way into the play in tournament. The NBA would hemorrhage even more money if the mighty Lakers went down like Frazier!

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

They just lost to the Wolves twice.

Fair point.

I haven’t followed the Jazz as closely since Mitchell’s injury. That fact that you mentioned is pretty glaring evidence of that haha. I think I’m just used to people counting the Jazz out and I’m hoping they prove some doubters wrong this postseason.

On second thought, let’s please hurry and get D Mitch back on the court to make the Western conference playoffs more interesting.

I’m pulling for a Utah, but ultimately I just want to see some awesome playoff basketball like the Nuggets/Jazz in the bubble last year. Nothing worse than injuries leaving you to play the “if only game” at the end of the year. I was particularly sad that Murray went down for a Denver. No Jamal is going to kill Denver’s chances for a deep run.


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[NeedChapmans]

The order in which the West shakes out will be fascinating. So many possible combinations right now, just about everyone in the top 4 can change their current position as they wish; same w/ the 5/6/7 seeds.

Some teams will try to move up, others move down.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by SK40

Your love for Simmons is tremendous.

Yes... I'm a fan of the game and certain players in it.

It's nice when a guy who for a long time got more shade thrown his way than almost anybody not named LeBron, KD, or Kyrie finds success.

Plus he doesn't have his his own active thread discussing him.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by The_Reverend

Man how sweet would it be for the Lakers to drop behind Mavs and Blazers all the way into the play in tournament. The NBA would hemorrhage even more money if the mighty Lakers went down like Frazier!

Well, they would get an extra Lakers Do-or-Die game to broadcast. Heck.. at least then they'd have the story of "Lakers try to go from Play-in to Finals."

As far as the the 1st round match up... I'm not sure how much it would matter. Right now, would it be a tougher matchup as the 7th seed vs Utah or as the 6th seed vs the Clippers?

For what's been a pretty boring second half of the year, there is suddenly a lot of drama around playoff seeding.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Well, they would get an extra Lakers Do-or-Die game to broadcast. Heck.. at least then they'd have the story of "Lakers try to go from Play-in to Finals."

As far as the the 1st round match up... I'm not sure how much it would matter. Right now, would it be a tougher matchup as the 7th seed vs Utah or as the 6th seed vs the Clippers?

For what's been a pretty boring second half of the year, there is suddenly a lot of drama around playoff seeding.

Exactly. The air that LBJ let out the ball after his quick to judgment deleted tweet really puts a damper on this season. 2022 will be critical FOR the NBA. IF they don’t stop the hemorrhaging of money they know who to blame, their leadership. Now I hear they trying to use a marvel tie in to increase ratings. They better start giving away marvel packs. Lol

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Well, they would get an extra Lakers Do-or-Die game to broadcast. Heck.. at least then they'd have the story of "Lakers try to go from Play-in to Finals."

As far as the the 1st round match up... I'm not sure how much it would matter. Right now, would it be a tougher matchup as the 7th seed vs Utah or as the 6th seed vs the Clippers?

For what's been a pretty boring second half of the year, there is suddenly a lot of drama around playoff seeding.

The most interesting story for me at this point is the Lakers seeding.

A bad streak and they can end up playing to get into the playoffs, only to face Utah without home court advantage in the first round and then the Clippers in the second round just to get to the Conference Finals. Or, they can gain steam with LeBron back, face Alpaca-less Denver then Phoenix before the WCF.

I don't see them repeating in the first scenario, they have a very good chance of doing so in the second one. It's gonna be fun.

[RogerGodahell]

I don't think home court advantage means as much for some teams as it does others. You can clearly see some teams thrive at home based on their home/road record. Some teams play better on the road. Is it covid fan related, barely anyone in the audience? You would think every team would play better at home but that's just not the case.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by RogerGodahell

I don't think home court advantage means as much for some teams as it does others. You can clearly see some teams thrive at home based on their home/road record. Some teams play better on the road. Is it covid fan related, barely anyone in the audience? You would think every team would play better at home but that's just not the case.

Lakers actually have a better road record this season than home.

I keep harping on this, but the 1 seed in the East means a lot for Philly.

Philly is 25-7 at home, 17-14 on the road.

Brooklyn is 25-8 at home, 18-13 on the road.

More importantly, the 2 seed will have to go through Milwaukee, where the 1 seed with get the Knick, Hawnks, Celtics, or Heat.

Man.. I'm just ready for playoff basketball!

[RogerGodahell]

The Lakers and Mavs have almost an identical home/road record and they will tonight if the Mavs can win at home vs Wizards. They would also move into 5th knocking the Lakers down to 6.

That 5 seed in the West is really important for the Mavs imo. It's about the best spot they could hope to be going into the playoffs. They've done very well vs Denver over the last 2 season going 4-2.

It would also make things really interesting if the Lakers were 6 or 7. If the Mavs and Lakers could both pull off a first round upset based on rankings the second round would be very interesting.

[tjforce]

Another very interesting thing....

Denver. They'd won 4 in a row without Murray, but it's been in home games vs Houston, Memphis, NO, and Toronto. They've looked pretty good against some so-so opponents, and the sinking ship that is Houston.

Next up they have:
@Clippers
@Lakers
Knicks
@Jazz
Brooklyn

Talk about a test to see where you are at.

[ninjacookies]

There is no way the Lakers don't make the Finals this year, barring some catastrophic setback to their big 3.

This is the same guilty pleasure hopium people took in the Cavs 2017 season where they 'eeked' their way to a 4th seed in the Yeast. Yes, I know, the West isn't the same. But LA did the same sans a legit 3rd star last year, and I don't see any squad posing a legit threat to them this year in a 7 game series.

What about regular season record, seeding, etc etc?

Bron's been out for a Chinese lunar year. KCP and Air Norwood will be well rested.

Lakers don't care. They just want to get in. Home floor means nothing in this covid environment, unless you consider artificial crowd noise pumped by Facetime juggalos a factor. They just want/need to get in, which they will. They'll have to face the best the West has to offer en route to their final destination regardless.

[RogerGodahell]

Oh they'll get in i have no doubt about that. But i wonder about the gauntlet they'll have to run if they're the 6, 7, or 8 seed. And will AD be at peak health? He hasn't looked like it so far. DAL ran around him like he was a cone drill on defense. Time will tell.

[bigjbasketball]

LaMelo back on the court and he already had a highlight assist with a full court underhand pass to Bridges. Now that’s he’s back I don’t see how he doesn’t win ROY easily.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by RogerGodahell

Oh they'll get in i have no doubt about that. But i wonder about the gauntlet they'll have to run if they're the 6, 7, or 8 seed. And will AD be at peak health? He hasn't looked like it so far. DAL ran around him like he was a cone drill on defense. Time will tell.

I’m with you on the AD thing, but the west is weird in that the worse seeding isn’t necessarily the toughest path.

Would you rather be 8th right now and play Phoenix, Denver/Dallas to get to the Conf finals, or be 6 and play the Clippers, then Utah in round 2?