2024-25 NBA Thread

[Jockey]

Since the Bucks got Giannis in 2013, not one of their 20+ draft picks is a starter in the NBA.

Without that one stroke of luck, we are the Washington Wizards.

Clean the f'ing house - then burn it down.

[The Sultan]

Since the Bucks got Giannis in 2013, not one of their 20+ draft picks is a starter in the NBA.

Without that one stroke of luck, we are the Washington Wizards.

Clean the f'ing house - then burn it down.

Donte is an occasional starter and Horst selected him.

But before that Hammond was fine. Brogdan was ROY and Parker likely would have been more had it not been for his injuries.

[cheebs09]

Since the Bucks got Giannis in 2013, not one of their 20+ draft picks is a starter in the NBA.

Without that one stroke of luck, we are the Washington Wizards.

Clean the f'ing house - then burn it down.

Without Giannis, we are probably picking in the lottery and not mid-teens/20s.

[MuggsyB]

This Pistons crowd is electric.  Beasley might want to make an open shot. 

[JWags85]

I thought this, from Yahoo Sports, was real interesting:

The Clippers host the Nuggets tonight in the inaugural playoff game at the Intuit Dome, where Los Angeles will unleash its unique home-court advantage: The Wall.

51 rows of distraction: When Steve Ballmer spent $2 billion on his team's new arena, he included an unusually steep section right behind one of the baskets featuring 51 rows of seats reserved only for pre-vetted super fans. One intent of "The Wall" was to be the league's best home-court advantage, distracting opponents at the free throw line. Turns out, it worked.

‌By the numbers: Opponents shot just 73.4% from the line this season when facing The Wall, which would have ranked dead last in the NBA and was well below what they shot on the other end of the floor (76.1%), per Sportico. That 73.4% figure was also 4.7% worse than league average (78.1%), representing the second-largest gap this century between one environment and the rest of the NBA.

Perhaps most telling: The Clippers' advantage grew as the pressure mounted later in games, with opponents shooting an abysmal 67.7% against The Wall in the second half, per statistician Mike Beuoy. That might explain why twice as many teams chose to face The Wall in the first half rather than risk distraction in crunch time.

‌What they're saying: "Yeah, it was crazy," said Kevin Durant after missing two fourth-quarter free throws in an October game. "I was just staring at it the whole time. You're not used to that."

How it came to be: The concept for The Wall came after the Clippers researched the world's most rabid fanbases, specifically those in college sports and European soccer, ultimately drawing inspiration from Borussia Dortmund's "Yellow Wall" in the Bundesliga.

They couldn't quite replicate the sheer volume of 25,000 yellow-clad fans in a single section, but they've gotten as close as could be reasonably expected in their 18,000-seat arena.

Only pre-certified fans can purchase tickets, cheering for the other team (or wearing their gear) is prohibited and diehards have a dedicated section right behind the basket.

What to watch: In the small sample of a playoff series, it stands to reason that the teams most affected by The Wall would be the ones who usually make a living at the charity stripe. Well, the Nuggets just so happened to take the most free throws of any team this season.

This is actually awesome.  Fun and clever and if it has an actual advantage, even better.

[MuggsyB]

Heck of a game. 

[MuggsyB]

Kevin Harlan is truly a national treasure. 

[MuggsyB]

Pippen Jr. has gone medieval. 

[MuggsyB]

I know Morant got hurt but I think Memphis was up 29 in this game. 

[MuggsyB]

I've seen meltdowns before.....this one is way up there. 

[MuggsyB]

Who ya got tonight in Bucks/Pacers and Lakers/Wolves? 

Ty. 

[MuggsyB]

Idiotic foul there fron Giannis.

[MuggsyB]

Dumpster fire 1st half for the Bucks. 

[The Sultan]

God this Bucks team is bad. Poorly constructed and coached.

[BM1090]

God this Bucks team is bad. Poorly constructed and coached.

I'm honestly not sure if it's poorly constructed. It might be, but I'd need to see it with competent coaching.

Brutal shooting half. Need something from Dame and need someone other than Trent to make a shot.

[MuggsyB]

I'm honestly not sure if it's poorly constructed. It might be, but I'd need to see it with competent coaching.

Brutal shooting half. Need something from Dame and need someone other than Trent to make a shot.

That 2nd foul Giannis committed simply can't happen.  Probably a 20 pt swing because of an idiotic reach.  That said, the Bucks have monumental probs.  Clean house?

[BM1090]

That 2nd foul Giannis committed simply can't happen.  Probably a 20 pt swing because of an idiotic reach.  That said, the Bucks have monumental probs.  Clean house?

If they don't find a way to win the series, yeah. But they won't have the balls to do it. I still think they win this game but they seem up against it mentally with the shooting. Dame needs to hit a few. That changes the geometry big time.

[MuggsyB]

If they don't find a way to win the series, yeah. But they won't have the balls to do it. I still think they win this game but they seem up against it mentally with the shooting. Dame needs to hit a few. That changes the geometry big time.

This team has roster issues, but they're poorly coached.

[The Sultan]

That 2nd foul Giannis committed simply can't happen.  Probably a 20 pt swing because of an idiotic reach.  That said, the Bucks have monumental probs.  Clean house?

The Pacers made their run with Giannis back on the floor.

[MuggsyB]

The Pacers made their run with Giannis back on the floor.

But he was ineffective defensively because of his 2 fouls.

[MuggsyB]

Brook Lopez has not looked good in this series from what I've seen. 

[BM1090]

Brook Lopez has not looked good in this series from what I've seen. 

He can't guard anyone on Indiana. Would be a much better fit in a series against Cleveland and Jarrett Allen

[MuggsyB]

Scoop provided motivation for the Bucks. 

[MuggsyB]

Wow. I've had 9 triples before, but they were in my driveway.  I didn't know Trent could go medieval. 

[BM1090]

Got a series now. Still need more from Kuzma, Porter and mostly Dame. But getting that win with only Trent and Giannis feels pretty big. Dame looked a lot better in the second half than he did in the 1st.