NBA Thread 2020-21

[JustinLewisFanClubPres]

Only took one great play by Jae to make up for his poor game. Good players step up.

Great play by Jae. Great play call by Monty Williams. Glad to see Monty having success as I've always heard he is a class act. Hoping the Bucks can mop the floor with his squad in the finals. 

[MuggsyB]

Only took one great play by Jae to make up for his poor game. Good players step up.

Enormous play from JC.  Perfect pass under prime-time pressure. 

[Billy Hoyle]

Wasn't that at least close to goaltending? I'm surprised they didn't review it since they reviewed everything else.

[Jockey]

Wasn't that at least close to goaltending? I'm surprised they didn't review it since they reviewed everything else.

There is no goaltending on an inbounds pass.

[MUBurrow]

Wasn't that at least close to goaltending? I'm surprised they didn't review it since they reviewed everything else.

I think there is no goaltending directly off an inbounds pass?  Breen and Van Gundy were half explaining it on the broadcast but I was having trouble following.  Maybe since the inbounding team can't score without the ball being touched, the inbounder can't technically "shoot", so its a live ball out of his hands regardless of where the ball is in proximity to the hoop? 

[Billy Hoyle]

There is no goaltending on an inbounds pass.

Makes sense why it hasn't been discussed on ESPN. Thanks for the explanation.

[MU82]

I think there is no goaltending directly off an inbounds pass?  Breen and Van Gundy were half explaining it on the broadcast but I was having trouble following.  Maybe since the inbounding team can't score without the ball being touched, the inbounder can't technically "shoot", so its a live ball out of his hands regardless of where the ball is in proximity to the hoop?

Basically, yes.

The refs did let at least two illegal things go on that play, though. Ayton clearly grabbed Zubac's jersey to basically steer Zubac into Booker, who clearly set a hard moving screen on Zubac. Both of which got Ayton just enough daylight to dunk home Jae's perfect pass.

Afterward, Payne was interviewed on ESPN and said something like, "Everybody knows that the refs let stuff go in those kinds of situations."

Only took one great play by Jae to make up for his poor game. Good players step up.

Jae didn't have a great offensive game but he battled George most of the night on defense, and George ended up 10-23 overall and 1-8 on 3s. Jae also made what would have been the best pass of the game earlier on another amazing alley-oop to Ayton.

He's the kind of player every winning team needs, one who does the dirty work and plays his role without ever complaining. The Heat definitely missed him.

Here's what Ayton said afterward about his decisive dunk:

"I'll start off by saying that's definitely Jae game-winner, making a great pass for a 7-footer."

Meanwhile, of his two FT bricks with 8.2 seconds left that gave the Suns a shot at that play, the self-proclaimed "Playoff P" said this:

"I'm not gonna put too much on that."

Perfect, Playoff P. Way to be a leader and hold yourself accountable.

[JWags85]

To be fair, despite having a horrific nickname, Paul George played like an animal down the stretch in the Utah series and is the primary reason they are still in the playoffs once Leonard went down.  I don't put too much stock in him not wanting to focus on the FTs.  He didn't blame or point fingers, I don't put too much emphasis on self flagellation

[The Sultan]

Hakeem would be the best player in the league right now

???  He was only the best player during his era when MJ retired for a bit.  He wouldn't be the best player now.

You guys WAY overrate 1990s NBA.

[The Sultan]

Great play by Jae. Great play call by Monty Williams. Glad to see Monty having success as I've always heard he is a class act. Hoping the Bucks can mop the floor with his squad in the finals. 

He was my choice when the Bucks canned Kidd.  Got an absolutely raw deal in New Orleans.

[PGsHeroes32]

To be fair, despite having a horrific nickname, Paul George played like an animal down the stretch in the Utah series and is the primary reason they are still in the playoffs once Leonard went down.  I don't put too much stock in him not wanting to focus on the FTs.  He didn't blame or point fingers, I don't put too much emphasis on self flagellation

He also was the reason they were in that position with the lead last night. His play late in the 4th was massive. He struggled for a while but took over down the stretch.

Overall hes had a fantastic playoff.

[MU82]

To be fair, despite having a horrific nickname, Paul George played like an animal down the stretch in the Utah series and is the primary reason they are still in the playoffs once Leonard went down.  I don't put too much stock in him not wanting to focus on the FTs.  He didn't blame or point fingers, I don't put too much emphasis on self flagellation

Agree about the Utah series. Playoff P finally lived up to the name he gave himself.

And I don't think the supposed team leader acknowledging "my bad" would have been self-flagellation. He didn't need to "focus" on the missed FTs, but he might have acknowledged them. Or not. It's a pretty minor thing, just part of his long legacy of playoff failure ever since he decided he was "Playoff P."

Look, when you publicly call yourself Playoff P, you'd better be damn great in the playoffs. It's like when Cam Newton did the whole Superman schtick -- he damn well better play like Superman more times than not. In 2015 he did ... until the Super Bowl ... when he played like Jimmy Olsen. So he deserved all the crap he had to take.

Reggie Jackson didn't come up with "Mr. October," but he embraced it ... and then he effen performed in October.

[lawdog77]

Agree about the Utah series. Playoff P finally lived up to the name he gave himself.

And I don't think the supposed team leader acknowledging "my bad" would have been self-flagellation. He didn't need to "focus" on the missed FTs, but he might have acknowledged them. Or not. It's a pretty minor thing, just part of his long legacy of playoff failure ever since he decided he was "Playoff P."

Look, when you publicly call yourself Playoff P, you'd better be damn great in the playoffs. It's like when Cam Newton did the whole Superman schtick -- he damn well better play like Superman more times than not. In 2015 he did ... until the Super Bowl ... when he played like Jimmy Olsen. So he deserved all the crap he had to take.

Reggie Jackson didn't come up with "Mr. October," but he embraced it ... and then he effen performed in October.

Granted giving your self a nickname is lame, but his Playoff stats were pretty good

PPG (points per game, not playoff Paul George)
year      Reg          Playoff
2013     17            19
2014     22            23
2016     23            27
2017     24            28
2018      22           24
2019      28           28

[Warrior Code]

https://twitter.com/nbaleave/status/1306068599765901313?s=20


PG is a fine player but you run the risk of people dunking on you anytime you give yourself a nickname

[MU82]

Granted giving your self a nickname is lame, but his Playoff stats were pretty good

PPG (points per game, not playoff Paul George)
year      Reg          Playoff
2013     17            19
2014     22            23
2016     23            27
2017     24            28
2018      22           24
2019      28           28

His stats were pretty good last night, too ... until he missed those 2 FTs to help cost his team the game.

His stats often look OK, but he has quite the history of choking.

For example ...

2013 - Game 7 at Miami - 7 points on 2-for-9 shooting.

2014 - Game 6 at Miami - 0-for-6 in the first half as Ind fell behind 60-34.

Lost in the first round in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 as ...

2016 - Game 7 at Tor - 2-for-8 in the second half and 7 turnovers for the game.

2017 - Swept by Cleveland as he shot .386 and committed 13 TOs.

2018 - Game 6 at Utah - 2-for-16 with 6 TOs.

2019 - Committed 20 TOs in losing to Portland in 5 games.

Then, 2020 in the bubble - Clippers took a 3-1 series lead vs Denver ... and he proceeded to shoot .382 over the next 3, including 4-for-16 in Game 7, when he also committed 5 TOs.

Playoff P, ladies and gentlemen!

[lawdog77]

His stats were pretty good last night, too ... until he missed those 2 FTs to help cost his team the game.

His stats often look OK, but he has quite the history of choking.

For example ...

2013 - Game 7 at Miami - 7 points on 2-for-9 shooting.

2014 - Game 6 at Miami - 0-for-6 in the first half as Ind fell behind 60-34.

Lost in the first round in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 as ...

2016 - Game 7 at Tor - 2-for-8 in the second half and 7 turnovers for the game.

2017 - Swept by Cleveland as he shot .386 and committed 13 TOs.

2018 - Game 6 at Utah - 2-for-16 with 6 TOs.

2019 - Committed 20 TOs in losing to Portland in 5 games.

Then, 2020 in the bubble - Clippers took a 3-1 series lead vs Denver ... and he proceeded to shoot .382 over the next 3, including 4-for-16 in Game 7, when he also committed 5 TOs.

Playoff P, ladies and gentlemen!

Those are pretty bad, my only minor quibble would be the 2019 series, where he scored 36 on 14 for 20 shooting in the final loss (with 9 rebounds), and game four where he had 32 pts, 10 reb and 6 assists

[MU82]

Those are pretty bad, my only minor quibble would be the 2019 series, where he scored 36 on 14 for 20 shooting in the final loss (with 9 rebounds), and game four where he had 32 pts, 10 reb and 6 assists

Fair. The TO total probably stemmed from him trying to do too much.

Look, he obviously is an immensely talented player, and he's had some darn good playoff performances, including several this postseason. But when you call yourself Playoff P, you'd better not go 2-for-16 with 6 TOs or not show up for entire halfs of deciding games.

He still has a chance to rewrite his personal history this postseason. Bricking those 2 FTs ain't gonna help, though.

I think the concept of "legacy" is badly overplayed, and often meaningless. I mean, there were people who actually thought Jordan would "diminish his legacy" by playing with Washington at the end of his career.

But in George's case, his legacy isn't too good. And he really has a chance to do something about it now. We'll see what he does.

[lawdog77]

Fair. The TO total probably stemmed from him trying to do too much.

Look, he obviously is an immensely talented player, and he's had some darn good playoff performances, including several this postseason. But when you call yourself Playoff P, you'd better not go 2-for-16 with 6 TOs or not show up for entire halfs of deciding games.

He still has a chance to rewrite his personal history this postseason. Bricking those 2 FTs ain't gonna help, though.

I think the concept of "legacy" is badly overplayed, and often meaningless. I mean, there were people who actually thought Jordan would "diminish his legacy" by playing with Washington at the end of his career.

But in George's case, his legacy isn't too good. And he really has a chance to do something about it now. We'll see what he does.

Agree, his name should be Playoff P down the leg (in memory of Chico)

[wadesworld]

He's going to be in the Hall of Fame.  His legacy is just fine.

[MU82]

Agree, his name should be Playoff P down the leg (in memory of Chico)

That made me laugh out loud. Though I do hope you know that hoopaloop didn't invent that phrase.

He's going to be in the Hall of Fame.  His legacy is just fine.

Sure, and he also will have made hundreds of millions of dollars. Still, right now, his "legacy" (for lack of better word) will include ... "but he never even reached the NBA Finals, and he had a long history of personal postseason failures."

George is obviously nowhere near alone on that list. For instance, Bob Lanier never made it to the NBA Finals, either ... but he also didn't spit the bit as often as George has. And, of course, he didn't nickname himself Playoff B.

[lawdog77]

Though I do hope you know that hoopaloop didn't invent that phrase.

What's a hoopaloop?

And yes, I do know that. Chicos didnt have any original content.

[reinko]

He's going to be in the Hall of Fame.  His legacy is just fine.

I mean Ben Wallace just made the HOF, averaging single digits points and rebounds for his career, (yadda yadda pts and rebounds are just for noobs who don't understand basketball), but c'mon the Basketball HOF is not the best barometer for talent.

[MuggsyB]

Trae Young is absolutely torching the Bucks right now. 

[JWags85]

I mean Ben Wallace just made the HOF, averaging single digits points and rebounds for his career, (yadda yadda pts and rebounds are just for noobs who don't understand basketball), but c'mon the Basketball HOF is not the best barometer for talent.

Wallace was 4 time NBA DPOY. His 5 year peak was as defensively dominant as a player has been in the modern era.  He averaged 9.6 rebounds for his career.  You take out his rough, non starter years in Washington and he is well into double digits.

But as for your last statement, LMAO WTF?!  Please tell me a bunch of other HOF players that don't deserve to be there and show it's not a good measure of talent or performance

[reinko]

Trae Young is absolutely torching the Bucks right now.

A teams best player is "torching" us, and the Bucks are shooting 14% from 3, and they are still up by 3.