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Suns beat the Lakers. In a season where it looked like we were seeing some epic tanking, no team is going to hit 70 losses. Very high chance that Bulls, Cavs, Knicks, and Suns were warned by the league about tanking given all 4 teams have started winning some games again recently.

On a side note, Lakers now 3 games below 0.500 and very good chance of missing the playoffs. Kind of embarrassing for the team that nabbed Lebron James in free agency.
 

tiger0330

Legend
Suns beat the Lakers. In a season where it looked like we were seeing some epic tanking, no team is going to hit 70 losses. Very high chance that Bulls, Cavs, Knicks, and Suns were warned by the league about tanking given all 4 teams have starter winning some games again recently.

On a side note, Lakers now 3 games below 0.500 and very good chance of missing the playoffs. Kind of embarrassing for the team that nabbed Lebron James in free agency.

If the Lakers don't make the playoffs, I'd expect them to fire Walton and then Lavar is going to start running his mouth about I told you they needed to fire him. Luke put his foot in his mouth taking the blame for that Bucks loss in saying he took the blame for that KCP inbounds pass that got intercepted and they turned into a 3. Nice of him to take the hit for his guy but KCP said it was on him and saying stuff like that will get you fired.
 

tiger0330

Legend
I said I liked watching Trae more than Luca but after seeing this I don't know. Doncic is sensational with his play above the rim something Trae can't do.



 
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Kiyaman

Legend
If the Lakers don't make the playoffs, I'd expect them to fire Walton and then Lavar is going to start running his mouth about I told you they needed to fire him. Luke put his foot in his mouth taking the blame for that Bucks loss in saying he took the blame for that KCP inbounds pass that got intercepted and they turned into a 3. Nice of him to take the hit for his guy but KCP said it was on him and saying stuff like that will get you fired.


Poor Walton and poor Gentry both ex-GSW coaches may loose their jobs in the offseason.
I'm not sorry for either of them for taking all the credit for Mark Jackson hard work in turning two individual isolation players into the "SPLASH-Brothers".
The Lakers became a mismanagement organization (players vs GM) when they could'nt pull off the CP3 trade .. And now the Lakers put their foot in the same deep hole trying to make a trade for AD .. Good Luck to them LMFAO
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I said I liked watching Trae more than Luca but after seeing this I don't know. Doncic is sensational with his play above the rim something Trae can't do.




Last night Brooklyn Nets embarrassed the rookie Doncic Mavs from the beginning of Tip-off till the final seconds of the game, plus ex-Knicks Timmy, C.Lee, and T.Burke played like Sh... happy we traded them.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I been watching closely to all the strong .500 NBA teams that have a good chance at making it to thier conference finals ..
Believe me it's a better watch than watching all the NBA teams in the "ZION" race LOL

After last night games between 1-seeded Bucks vs 3-seeded Pacers, the missing Olydipo showed in the pacers rotation vs the mighty Bucks .. then watching the 3-seed OKC vs 5-seed Blazer, great game! Kanter's over-time performance on defense tip the win to his ex-OKC team SMH ..
Having less than 20 games remaining in the regular season, all the 1-8 seeded teams has been playing hard for the win night after night, especially when their match up against another playoff team.

Tonight games on ESPN will be a good showdown between two 4 seeded teams 76ers vs Rocks, and then the late night game has two teams fighting for the win to be the West 1 seeded team .. GSW vs Nuggets.

The East coast standing today show 5 qualifying teams (Bucks, Raptors, Pacers, 76ers, and Boston) has a good chance to be in the ECF.
The West coast standing today show 6 qualifying teams (GSW, Nuggets, Thunders, Rocks, Blazers, and Jazz) has a good chance to make it to the WCF.
 
Both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram now shut down for the season. This season of Lebron for the Lakers has not worked out as they were expecting and now some of their trade chips for the offseason might be losing value.
 

tiger0330

Legend
Both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram now shut down for the season. This season of Lebron for the Lakers has not worked out as they were expecting and now some of their trade chips for the offseason might be losing value.
They also better worry about Father Time catching up with LeBron. I remember someone asking the question of whether age was catching up with him several years ago and I replied I thought time wouldn't start catching up with him until he turned 35. He turns 35 this DEC and the Lakers may be stuck with paying max money to an aging superstar that can no longer attract players to come play for minimum contracts like he's done every where else he's been.
 

paris401

Starter
i guess the hired gun is no longer the fastest gun in the west.... u picked la... hope u like the sun and surf, cause your days of playing in june r over...
 
I wonder if Golden State looks to move Draymond Green given that Kerr seems fed up with him and it would increase their chances of resigning Durant in my mind.
 
Cleveland won tonight. They could potentially slip out of the bottom 3 if they win a few more and Chicago escalates the tank. Continuing to seem very likely we will finish with worst record in the NBA.
 
Westbrook got into it with a courtside fan again, except much more aggressive this time. Two very different versions of what the fan said are being told. At least Dolan isn?t yelling that he is going ?**** up? the fans.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I wonder if Golden State looks to move Draymond Green given that Kerr seems fed up with him and it would increase their chances of resigning Durant in my mind.

GSW winning BIG-3 are Curry/Klay/Green!
Draymond Green's last 5 yr performance (11 pts, 7 rb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 1 Blk) are the Back-Bone and 4th qtr. stopper for GSW Splash-Brothers consecutive FINALS appearance. Kerr would lose his Job a year or two after trading Barkley, I mean Draymond Green !!!
 

tiger0330

Legend
He had that magical season for the Celtics and became the lowest drafted player to become an All-Star and who wouldn't root for a guy 5'9" tall playing a game meant for guys a foot taller than him. I was hoping the best for him in his comeback with the Nuggets but after 9 games the Nuggets will probably look to be moving on from Isiah after his contract expires this off season. The guy has not looked good in his return, a combination or rust, declining ability and fit are probably the reasons. I hope he finds a spot some place next season in the league.


Isaiah Thomas returned to the court on February 13, following 11 months away from basketball recovering from hip surgery. This was a moment of personal triumph for Thomas. For fans of his new team, the Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, this was a moment of dread; Thomas was horrendous last season for the Cavs, while also recovering from hip surgery, and his prickly discontent in LeBron?s orbit torpedoed that team?s chemistry. Now, one month and just nine appearances later, the question has been settled. Thomas has reportedly been yanked from head coach Mike Malone?s rotation, indefinitely.
Malone tried to put a positive spin on this, saying the decision is ?never about Isaiah,? and that this was simply about tightening up the rotation to eight men as the team heads toward the playoffs. But that?s a rationale that would only apply if the three reserves that round out that eight-man rotation didn?t include anyone at Thomas?s position, which they do. Second-year point guard Monte Morris is playing more than 24 minutes a night in Malone?s rotation; in Tuesday night?s 26-point demolition of the Timberwolves, Morris played 27 minutes, while Thomas received his first DNP-Coach?s Decision of the season. Thomas apparently knew what was coming before the game:
Malone said he plans on keeping the rotation smaller down the final few weeks of the regular season, and had explained the rotation to Thomas, whom he?d previously coached in Sacramento, before the game.
?Oh, you definitely talk to him (about the decision), and I?ll keep that conversation between IT and myself,? Malone said. ?(It?s) not an easy conversation, but that?s my job.?

The fact that Morris is having a really good sophomore season?10 points and 4 assists a night on 49/43/79 shooting splits, and a 5.2 net rating?gives a kind of cover to Malone?s decision that, frankly, it doesn?t need. Thomas has mostly been terrible. He?s shooting 37 percent from the floor, and 27 percent from three-point distance, and just 63 percent from the line. He?s produced more turnovers than assists, and is turning the ball over at a career-high clip, and is using an ambitious 26.5 percent of Nuggets possessions when he?s on the floor. Since his debut, the Nuggets are an insane, mind-boggling 15.5 points per hundred possessions worse during his minutes; Denver?s offense scores nearly 20 points more per hundred possessions when he?s off the court. Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer dug into some of the more specific reasons why their offense sucks so much reeking ass when Thomas is on the court:
Before Denver?s game against the Lakers, Malone talked about how unless the team completes 300 passes in a game, it?s not playing ?Nuggets basketball.? Before Thomas made his way back onto the court, Denver averaged 308 passes a game, good for a top-10 mark in the league. Afterward, that number dipped to 283, a bottom-10 mark. Given Thomas?s low minutes, there isn?t a direct correlation, but when he is on the court, the team?s 27 assists per game plummet to eight.

Part of this is Thomas having played so little basketball, and in such varied systems, over the past two seasons. Last year he missed the first 36 games of the season, then played 15 games for the Cavaliers before being dumped unceremoniously on the Lakers, for whom he played 17 games before being shut down for the remainder of the season. He?s rusty, and is new to Denver?s system, and is trying to play his way into a rhythm. That?s a luxury he probably shouldn?t and can?t be afforded on a team with a very realistic shot at earning the West?s top playoff seed, but it probably accounts for those putrid shooting numbers, anyway.

Another part of this, though, is how poorly he fits into Denver?s system, even in theory, and in ways that go beyond Malone?s Norman Dale-esque pass quota. The other guards on Denver?s roster are versatile and athletic, and big enough to make attractive targets running around handoffs and cutting on the baseline and in all other ways orbiting around the playmaking of Nikola Jokic. The interior threat in Denver?s offense isn?t their big guys, it?s their little guys cutting inside and scoring off the sweet dimes of their big guys. Morris is listed at 6-foot-3; Gary Harris and Jamal Murray are 6-foot-4; Malik Beasley is 6-foot-5; Will Barton is 6-foot-6. Even if that overlapping size and athleticism started off as a coincidence, it is now a feature of how the Nuggets play?the threat of Jokic floating a touch pass over the top to a sturdy guard knifing down the paint gives those guards a kind of off-ball gravity that they wouldn?t normally enjoy anywhere inside the arc. Isaiah Thomas, generously listed at 5-foot-9, is a different kind of player altogether, and in a way that causes the Nuggets to contort themselves out of their preferred groove in order to accommodate his appetite for possessions.
The Nuggets are currently just one game back of the Golden State Warriors for the number one seed in a tough-as-hell playoff field. Their next six games include tilts against a foundering Mavericks team, the ****ty and fading Wizards, and the long-dead Knicks. Meanwhile, the Warriors kick off a four-game road trip tonight that will take them to Houston, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. There?s a very real chance that, if the Nuggets hold to their non-Thomas form, they will find themselves a game or two up for the top spot by the time they next face another Western Conference contender. It?s a good time for Malone to shrink his rotation, but even if he decided not to, it would still be an excellent time to nail Thomas to the bench.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
If I were Denver's coach i would not mess-up or change the 45-22 record rotation, Isiah Thomas experience on the bench is a plus for Denver come playoff time.
Hopefully, after this season rehab, Isiah Thomas should have his speed & B.ball wits back to be a nice FA pickup in the off-season to become a teams 3rd best guard on next season roster.

Brooklyn Nets stands as a 6 seeded team in the East going on a 7 game road trip with 6 of the games out West, putting up a good losing fight against OKC 108-96 to start their road trip off. Will Brooklyn Nets remain a playoff team after the 7 game road trip ???
 

tiger0330

Legend
If I were Denver's coach i would not mess-up or change the 45-22 record rotation, Isiah Thomas experience on the bench is a plus for Denver come playoff time.
Hopefully, after this season rehab, Isiah Thomas should have his speed & B.ball wits back to be a nice FA pickup in the off-season to become a teams 3rd best guard on next season roster.

Brooklyn Nets stands as a 6 seeded team in the East going on a 7 game road trip with 6 of the games out West, putting up a good losing fight against OKC 108-96 to start their road trip off. Will Brooklyn Nets remain a playoff team after the 7 game road trip ???
No excuses for the Nets, they're healthy with Lavert and Dinwiddie back and the best 3 pt shooter in Joe Harris. I'm rooting for them to make the playoffs.
 
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