NBA Thread 2020-21

[Skatastrophy]

https://streamable.com/953rkd

Nice play by the Suns. Jae looking great keeping a good position to always be open, and keeping the rock moving with no dribbling.

Coach Bud with another Wojo speach in game 2 - https://streamable.com/9dp88f

[MuggsyB]

https://streamable.com/953rkd

Nice play by the Suns. Jae looking great keeping a good position to always be open, and keeping the rock moving with no dribbling.

Coach Bud with another Wojo speach in game 2 - https://streamable.com/9dp88f

"Play random".  What does that mean?

[The Sultan]

Coaching most definitely wasn't the issue last night. Unless you think a hype speech is going to get Khris and Jrue to shoot better.

[BM1090]

Suns are the better team. I thought the gameplan was good last night. Bucks played well. The Suns are just the better team and hit a high percentage of threes at a high volume. Tip your cap.

[MUfan12]

Make or miss league.

Defensively I liked what they did trying to combat the PNR, but some bad habits snuck back in with the overhelping. 17 corner three attempts is way too many to concede, especially to that team.

Unless the Bucks get screaming hot from three over the next few games this thing is over.

[The Sultan]

Make or miss league.

Defensively I liked what they did trying to combat the PNR, but some bad habits snuck back in with the overhelping. 17 corner three attempts is way too many to concede, especially to that team.

Unless the Bucks get screaming hot from three over the next few games this thing is over.

If you're going to overplay the PNR and help in the lane, that's what's going to happen.  They have to pick their poison.

[Billy Hoyle]

I haven't been abe to watch the series (Pacific Time) but looking at the stats, do you think the Suns game plan is the let Giannis get his and shut down the supporting cast?

[MUfan12]

I haven't been abe to watch the series (Pacific Time) but looking at the stats, do you think the Suns game plan is the let Giannis get his and shut down the supporting cast?

They've made a point to try and shut Middleton down, for sure. Jrue is getting pretty good shots but just missing 2/3 of them.

[MuggsyB]

Make or miss league.

Defensively I liked what they did trying to combat the PNR, but some bad habits snuck back in with the overhelping. 17 corner three attempts is way too many to concede, especially to that team.

Unless the Bucks get screaming hot from three over the next few games this thing is over.

You're right to a degree.  The Bucks have basically shot the triple very poorly during the playoffs.  I believe during the year they were in the top 5.  That said Phoenix is getting much better looks both in their half-court sets and transition.   They move the ball with excellent passing and spacing.  So people can say "it's a make or miss league" but there's a huge difference in the quality of shots Phoenix is taking vs Milwaukee.  The bottom line is Paul and Booker are destroying Holiday and Middleton and that's going to have to change for the Bucks to have any chance in this series.

[The Sultan]

I think their success shutting Giannis down in game one lead them to believe they could minimize his damage by putting Ayton or Jae on him.  That just didn't work in the second game.  And the Bucks were just one shot away from making it a three point game with about five to go.  He was the only one dragging the Bucks back into that game.

[forgetful]

I haven't been abe to watch the series (Pacific Time) but looking at the stats, do you think the Suns game plan is the let Giannis get his and shut down the supporting cast?

I don't think so. To me it looked like their game plan is to beat the crap out of anyone that gets close to the tin, and essentially punish players to overcome their weakness in the paint.

Giannis was just able to play through it in game 2. He was a beast.

[lawdog77]

I haven't been abe to watch the series (Pacific Time) but looking at the stats, do you think the Suns game plan is the let Giannis get his and shut down the supporting cast?

You need youtube.tv.  They only advertised it seemingly every commercial break.

[Billy Hoyle]

You need youtube.tv.  They only advertised it seemingly every commercial break.

Been getting home from work too late, that's the issue.

[MU82]

An AP profile on Monty Williams includes this anecdote:

There are cameras and microphones everywhere at the NBA Finals, and they happened to catch an interaction late in Game 2 that was going viral before the game was even over.

It was Phoenix coach Monty Williams, talking to Suns center Deandre Ayton during a time out and trying desperately to cheer him up on what was a slow night statistically against the Milwaukee Bucks. Ayton's head was down. His body language was awful. Williams wasn't having it. He started talking, then grabbed Ayton's wrist to further commandeer his attention.

Mind you, his voice was raised high enough only so Ayton could hear him over the din of the crowd. No yelling, no screaming, no swearing, no histrionics.

"You set a high level for yourself," Williams said. "That's why you're down. That's great. Now go reach that level, OK? And you can reach it with force. Doesn't have to be stats all the time. Go dominate the game with force, because you set a high level for yourself. Go dominate the game with force. Let's go."

Ayton scored shortly after that time out ended. A few seconds after that, he got a steal. A couple minutes later, with Milwaukee within six and still having hope, Ayton found Chris Paul for a 3-pointer. The Bucks were never within two possessions of tying the game again.

I love that, because I love anything that "proves" a successful coach can be a good guy, and need not be a hard-arse to win big.

In 2014-15, Williams coached the Pelicans to a 45-37 record before they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Warriors.

The Pelicans then fired Williams. They thought they could do much better.

He was an assistant for 2 years, spent a couple years as a team executive, and spent a little time away from basketball as he mourned the loss of his wife, who died in a car accident.

The Suns hired him as coach before the COVID-19 season, when they had their best record in years and capped it by going 8-0 in the "mini-bubble."

This season, Williams is two wins away from the NBA title for a franchise that has never won one.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, are about to be on their third coach since they fired Williams. New Orleans is a basketball wasteland; AD already left and most expect Zion to do the same.

When (If) Monty Williams lifts the championship trophy over his head, the Pelicans can reflect on how much "better" they've done without him.

[MuggsyB]

An AP profile on Monty Williams includes this anecdote:

There are cameras and microphones everywhere at the NBA Finals, and they happened to catch an interaction late in Game 2 that was going viral before the game was even over.

It was Phoenix coach Monty Williams, talking to Suns center Deandre Ayton during a time out and trying desperately to cheer him up on what was a slow night statistically against the Milwaukee Bucks. Ayton's head was down. His body language was awful. Williams wasn't having it. He started talking, then grabbed Ayton's wrist to further commandeer his attention.

Mind you, his voice was raised high enough only so Ayton could hear him over the din of the crowd. No yelling, no screaming, no swearing, no histrionics.

"You set a high level for yourself," Williams said. "That's why you're down. That's great. Now go reach that level, OK? And you can reach it with force. Doesn't have to be stats all the time. Go dominate the game with force, because you set a high level for yourself. Go dominate the game with force. Let's go."

Ayton scored shortly after that time out ended. A few seconds after that, he got a steal. A couple minutes later, with Milwaukee within six and still having hope, Ayton found Chris Paul for a 3-pointer. The Bucks were never within two possessions of tying the game again.

I love that, because I love anything that "proves" a successful coach can be a good guy, and need not be a hard-arse to win big.

In 2014-15, Williams coached the Pelicans to a 45-37 record before they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Warriors.

The Pelicans then fired Williams. They thought they could do much better.

He was an assistant for 2 years, spent a couple years as a team executive, and spent a little time away from basketball as he mourned the loss of his wife, who died in a car accident.

The Suns hired him as coach before the COVID-19 season, when they had their best record in years and capped it by going 8-0 in the "mini-bubble."

This season, Williams is two wins away from the NBA title for a franchise that has never won one.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, are about to be on their third coach since they fired Williams. New Orleans is a basketball wasteland; AD already left and most expect Zion to do the same.

When (If) Monty Williams lifts the championship trophy over his head, the Pelicans can reflect on how much "better" they've done without him.

Budenholzer to the Pelicans?

[Dish]

Team USA was -30 tonight.

Last time Team USA played Nigeria, they won 156-73 in London in 2012.

[JWags85]

Team USA was -30 tonight.

Last time Team USA played Nigeria, they won 156-73 in London in 2012.

Beyond being cold from deep and Nigeria being hot from 3, I genuinely question Pop's approach. You have a bunch of lights out shooters and insane athletes, why are you trying to be methodical on offense?

Don't even get me started on the final possession down 3. It was some of the stupidest basketball I've seen since end of game Wojo.  You're running weaves to try and get Lavine open when you have Beal, Lillard, and Durant there? And Tatum?  Baffling. When I saw Lillard get the ball and not even look to shoot cause it was blatant he was supposed to toss to Lavine, I blurted out "what?!"

[HutchwasClutch]

Two good things to come out of USMNT humiliating loss tonight-

1) Exhibition game

2) Belongs to Popovich - this being especially good. 

[HutchwasClutch]

Team USA was -30 tonight.

Last time Team USA played Nigeria, they won 156-73 in London in 2012.

Lost to a team 2-8 all time in Olympic play and #22 in FIBA rankings. 

It can't be sugar coated how embarrassing a loss this is. 

Nice going Pop.

[MuggsyB]

Jay Wright should take over the HC position immediately.

[MU82]

Lost to a team 2-8 all time in Olympic play and #22 in FIBA rankings. 

It can't be sugar coated how embarrassing a loss this is. 

Nice going Pop.

I guess it can't be "sugar coated" ... except for the fact that it was an exhibition game that nobody outside of Nigeria gives a rat's rump about.

If the US team has a bad Olympics -- which by our standards means anything less than gold -- it will be remembered as the reddest of red flags. But if Pop's team wins gold, it will have meant ... well, is there such a thing as less than nothing?

So we'll see.

[tower912]

Jay Wright should take over the HC position immediately.

Because of all of his experience coaching pros?     

[MuggsyB]

Because of all of his experience coaching pros?   

Pop has lost it.   They could go with Kerr maybe. 

[HutchwasClutch]

Because of all of his experience coaching pros?   

Great point.  Look at the problems Coach K had coaching NBA players, 75-1 all time, 3 for 3 Olympic gold. 

[tower912]

In the words of Linkin Park... In the end, it doesn't even matter.