2023-24 NBA Thread

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

This Doc Rivers experiment seems to be going off the rails faster than I ever thought it would.

[Uncle Rico]

This Doc Rivers experiment seems to be going off the rails faster than I ever thought it would.

He’s a bad coach.  Not surprised

[MUfan12]

This Doc Rivers experiment seems to be going off the rails faster than I ever thought it would.

10 games to judge?

[MU82]

It's gonna work out stupendously for Rivers, no matter what.

[wadesworld]

I’d bet on over 15 points, over 7 rebounds, and over 3 assists per game for him this year. Over 1 block, but he’s thin and 3 blocks is a lot.

Even I undersold him.  Looking back at the first few pages of this thread is funny.

[Hards Alumni]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39588370/spurs-victor-wembanyama-posts-5x5-night-loss-lakers

Wembanyama joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001) as the only NBA rookies to have a 5x5 game -- posting at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a game -- and became just the second player to have 5 blocks and 5 steals in consecutive games, joining Michael Jordan.

Wembanyama paused to consider Jordan's feat and then asked, "I wonder if he did it in wins."

What a great comment.

[HutchwasClutch]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39588370/spurs-victor-wembanyama-posts-5x5-night-loss-lakers

What a great comment.

Hilarious.  A rookie on an 11-46 team about a legend who was 6-0 in NBA Finals. 

[wadesworld]

Hilarious.  A rookie on an 11-46 team about a legend who was 6-0 in NBA Finals.

Wemby isn’t really the issue there…

But I do recall him being a bust after the first exhibition game.

[HutchwasClutch]

10 games to judge?

Very solid win last night for the Bucks.  Have to build on it and not crap the bed like they did after blowing Denver out. It’s encouraging. 

[BM1090]

Wemby isn’t really the issue there…

But I do recall him being a bust after the first exhibition game.

Yeah I’m not sure what else Wemby is supposed to do. He’s been good. He’s learning. He hasn’t said anything dumb.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I like the Clippers new logo.  Very sharp. Had no idea why they were called the clippers until now

[WhiteTrash]

I like the Clippers new logo.  Very sharp. Had no idea why they were called the clippers until now

Are they see-through?

[MuggsyB]

I was wrong about Jaquez.  I thought he'd be a serviceable NBA player.  The guy is proving to be much more. 

[StillAWarrior]

DePaul’s own Max Strus went on a hell of a heater in the closing minutes of the Cavs game tonight.

https://x.com/hoopmixonly/status/1762671055930359939?s=46&t=h4SZwr6Xm-yQoPfDH3gYKw

[MuggsyB]

DePaul’s own Max Strus went on a hell of a heater in the closing minutes of the Cavs game tonight.

https://x.com/hoopmixonly/status/1762671055930359939?s=46&t=h4SZwr6Xm-yQoPfDH3gYKw

Heck of a shot. 

[PGsHeroes32]

Yeah that Strus shot was bad ass just saw it.

[Skatastrophy]

https://heavy.com/sports/miami-heat/jimmy-butler-max-strus-instagram/

[withoutbias]

https://heavy.com/sports/miami-heat/jimmy-butler-max-strus-instagram/

Ah man.  How do you not just absolutely love this dude?  Just a true dude's dude.  A guy being a guy.  Good old fashioned ribbing of his buddies.  What a funny, down to earth guy.

[JWags85]

Ah man.  How do you not just absolutely love this dude?  Just a true dude's dude.  A guy being a guy.  Good old fashioned ribbing of his buddies.  What a funny, down to earth guy.

Way to clearly show you have no friends from the African American community where roasting your friends is a way of life.  This isn’t even particular extreme.

But none of them are offended or upset cause they aren’t pathologically broken brained like you.  Maybe they called him out but the receipts vanished like all the court records of JFB in front of Milwaukee judges

[withoutbias]

Way to clearly show you have no friends from the African American community where roasting your friends is a way of life.  This isn’t even particular extreme.

But none of them are offended or upset cause they aren’t pathologically broken brained like you.  Maybe they called him out but the receipts vanished like all the court records of JFB in front of Milwaukee judges

Literally what I said.   I wasn't aware that it was a cultural thing at all, either.  My white friends do it with each other all the time.  Didn't realize we were being posers by doing that.

It was try hard attempts and they were lame as hell.

Maybe he's jealous Strus's alma mater is having a day for him.  Wonder why Marquette isn't having any Jimmy Butler days.

Things that make you go, "Hmm..."

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Literally what I said.   I wasn't aware that it was a cultural thing at all, either.  My white friends do it with each other all the time.  Didn't realize we were being posers by doing that.

It was try hard attempts and they were lame as hell.

Maybe he's jealous Strus's alma mater is having a day for him.  Wonder why Marquette isn't having any Jimmy Butler days.

Things that make you go, "Hmm..."

You are implying something that isn't the actual reason. But keep going.

[cheebs09]

Why are we bringing up an article from November 2021?

[MU82]

Wemby vs Chet tonight. This from Yahoo Sports:

Two of the greatest rookie seasons ever collide tonight in San Antonio, where Victor Wembanyama's Spurs host Chet Holmgren's Thunder in their third matchup of the season, Jeff writes.

Tale of the tape: Holmgren leads the season series, 2-0, over Wembanyama, but it's the 7-foot-4 French prodigy who's taken a commanding lead in the Rookie of the Year race (-650 at BetMGM) over the 7-foot-1 Minneapolis native (+500). Don't let that fool you, though: Chet's numbers are nearly as staggering as Wemby's.

Making history: It took just 48 games for Wembanyama to become the first player in NBA history with 150 blocks, 150 assists and 75 three-pointers in a season — and Holmgren has since joined him as the second, doing so in 57 games. And that's not where their similarities end.

Take those blocks, for example. They're not just good for rookies: Wemby leads the league with 3.3 per game and Holmgren is tied for second, with 2.7.

Their overall defense is also elite: Among the 200 players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, they're tied for the fourth-best defensive rating.

Where Wembanyama has the edge: I mean, have you seen him play? He looks like a different species. How does the same player who makes this effortless block also do this from behind the arc? And then there are the eye-popping stat lines.

His first career triple-double was among the fastest ever (21 minutes), and his second was of the rare variety that featured 10 blocks.

Last weekend he one-upped himself with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks, becoming the 15th player in NBA history with a "5x5" game. He also became the second ever with consecutive games of 5 steals and 5 blocks. The other? Michael Jordan.

Where Holmgren has the edge: While Wemby's Spurs (11-48) are in dead last, Chet's Thunder (41-17) are 0.5 games out of first. It's one thing to put up stats on a cellar-dweller, but Holmgren has fit seamlessly into — and indeed helped fuel — a legitimate championship contender.

His 6.8 win shares are tied for 12th in the NBA, and if he maintains this pace he'll end the season with the third-best rookie mark this century, behind only Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

He's also been the much better shooter, with significantly higher percentages from both the field (54.2%) and behind the arc (40.1%) than Wembanyama (46.6%; 31.7%).

The bottom line: It will still take a herculean effort by Holmgren to wrest the ROY award away from Wembanyama, but don't let that distract you from the fact that both of these rookie supernovas are having seasons for the ages.

[HutchwasClutch]

How about Rivers and those Bucks, hey?    Small sample size as stink of that Memphis loss before the All Star break lingers, but trending in a very positive direction. 

[GB Warrior]

Bulls are a bunch of babies. Bucks get no bonus points for beating up on bad teams, but after a season of making these games harder than they should be, they're trending the right way.

This road trip out West will tell us if they might be back.