2024-25 NBA Thread

[MuggsyB]

In your life have you ever seen anything like this?? 

[JWags85]

In your life have you ever seen anything like this?? 

Hali is on the most indescribably extreme heater I've ever seen in playoff basketball (in my 39 years).  Dirk's  performance in/and the Mavs run in 2011 was the high water mark, but this eclipses it by sheer absurdity. The optics/aesthetic of it make it all the more incredible.  Hali doesn't play smooth, he and the Pacers' comebacks are chaotic and frantic, and the biggest shots he hits look ill advised or a mistake, but it just keeps happening and he keeps getting it done.

Thunder did what we ALWAYS hate from Marquette teams, stop playing their game at the end and protect the lead.  How they haven't learned that you can't let the Pacers breathe even if you're up 10 with 2 min left.  Don't shorten the game, just score the ball.  You can't give up a lead if you score points.

Even if they lose this series, this is a Rick Carlisle legacy year.  Holy F is he absolutely unreal. I'm out of superlatives for what he has done with the Pacers.  Not to mention he was the coach for that aforementioned Mavericks miracle run.  The most underrated coach of the last 25 years, if not more.  Additionally, to further emphasis his brilliance, he's coaching a team that is freewheeling, loose, and scores TONS of points.  Well, he was also the coach of the Pacers for a fairly successful run in the mid 2000s during the anti-offense era of the Eastern Conference where those series with the Pistons that had games in the 70s

[Shaka Shart]

Pacers are such front runners

[MuggsyB]

Hali is on the most indescribably extreme heater I've ever seen in playoff basketball (in my 39 years).  Dirk's  performance in/and the Mavs run in 2011 was the high water mark, but this eclipses it by sheer absurdity. The optics/aesthetic of it make it all the more incredible.  Hali doesn't play smooth, he and the Pacers' comebacks are chaotic and frantic, and the biggest shots he hits look ill advised or a mistake, but it just keeps happening and he keeps getting it done.

Thunder did what we ALWAYS hate from Marquette teams, stop playing their game at the end and protect the lead.  How they haven't learned that you can't let the Pacers breathe even if you're up 10 with 2 min left.  Don't shorten the game, just score the ball.  You can't give up a lead if you score points.

Even if they lose this series, this is a Rick Carlisle legacy year.  Holy F is he absolutely unreal. I'm out of superlatives for what he has done with the Pacers.  Not to mention he was the coach for that aforementioned Mavericks miracle run.  The most underrated coach of the last 25 years, if not more.  Additionally, to further emphasis his brilliance, he's coaching a team that is freewheeling, loose, and scores TONS of points.  Well, he was also the coach of the Pacers for a fairly successful run in the mid 2000s during the anti-offense era of the Eastern Conference where those series with the Pistons that had games in the 70s

There are so many unbelievable stats from this game.  But somewhat lost in them is that OKC only shot 39.8%.  They only converted 11 pts from 25 turnovers.  As I stated a few days ago, Indiana can make threes.  They went 6/10 and 18-0 in the 4th Q.  I'm wondering if there's ever been an NBA game, let alone in the Finals, when a team has lost taking 12 more shots and had 6 vs 25 turnovers?  Absolutely incredible. 

[MU82]

It's impossible that OKC lost that game.

[MuggsyB]

How about this stat:  OKC hasn't lost at home to an Eastern Conf team (until last night) since March of 2024.  And that team was the Pacers. 

[MU82]

How about this stat:  OKC hasn't lost at home to an Eastern Conf team (until last night) since March of 2024.  And that team was the Pacers. 

The only stat that matters is that Indiana leads the series 1-0 after OKC, against all odds, choked away a game it controlled for 47 minutes.

[Billy Hoyle]

How about this stat:  OKC hasn't lost at home to an Eastern Conf team (until last night) since March of 2024.  And that team was the Pacers. 

They only lost one game to an Eastern Conference team all season, at Cleveland.

It's almost like the Pacers are a team of destiny. Haliburton's heroics have been made possible by their role players, Nesmith and Nemby, coming up huge in the last two game ones (along with massive shots by Toppin last night to keep them within striking distance).

[MU82]

D-Wade's reaction is priceless ...

https://x.com/wynetwork/status/1930839576546791873?

[tower912]

Don't overthink it.  Muggsy panic jinx.

[cheebs09]

How does Jason Kidd keep getting teams interested in him to be their coach?

[JWags85]

How does Jason Kidd keep getting teams interested in him to be their coach?

To be fair, he's been pretty good in Dallas.  A finals appearance and a conference finals appearance in 4 seasons, and they were a playoff team until they traded Luka this year.

Is that good enough for the Knicks to want to poach him? Not sure, but he's been a much better coach than he was for the Bucks

[MU82]

It was nice of Chet to show up last night.

[MU82]

Good thing the NBA already finalized its huge TV/media rights deal, because NBA Finals ratings have been a disaster - lowest in nearly 40 years.

[The Sultan]

Good thing the NBA already finalized its huge TV/media rights deal, because NBA Finals ratings have been a disaster - lowest in nearly 40 years.

Three problems.

1. Small markets
2. Stars who have yet to fully emerge. Neither Halliburton nor SGA means anything to the non-NBA audience.
3. New CBA makes it harder for teams to accumulate superstars.

[Uncle Rico]

Good thing the NBA already finalized its huge TV/media rights deal, because NBA Finals ratings have been a disaster - lowest in nearly 40 years.

Go woke, go broke

[WhiteTrash]

The N

Good thing the NBA already finalized its huge TV/media rights deal, because NBA Finals ratings have been a disaster - lowest in nearly 40 years.

The NBA is too white now.

[MuggsyB]

Pascal Siakam's story is incredible.  He played soccer until he was 16.  He never wanted to hoop because his brothers played basketball.  He messed around a bit, but never really played.  Then he told himself he was too tall to play soccer and started to focus on hooping.  He was discovered, got a schollie, and the rest is history.  What a badass.  And a great dude.  This is why I have stated MU should have scouts in Cameroon.  And add 🇸🇳, 🇳🇪, 🇲🇱, and 🇸🇩 as well.  MU must have all hands on deck so to speak in this NIL nonsense era. 

[Billy Hoyle]

Pascal Siakam's story is incredible.  He played soccer until he was 16.  He never wanted to hoop because his brothers played basketball.  He messed around a bit, but never really played.  Then he told himself he was too tall to play soccer and started to focus on hooping.  He was discovered, got a schollie, and the rest is history.  What a badass.  And a great dude.  This is why I have stated MU should have scouts in Cameroon.  And add 🇸🇳, 🇳🇪, 🇲🇱, and 🇸🇩 as well.  MU must have all hands on deck so to speak in this NIL nonsense era. 

it's a total waste of time and money since international students will no longer be allowed to attend US universities.

[Scoop Snoop]

Pascal Siakam's story is incredible.  He played soccer until he was 16.  He never wanted to hoop because his brothers played basketball.  He messed around a bit, but never really played.  Then he told himself he was too tall to play soccer and started to focus on hooping.  He was discovered, got a schollie, and the rest is history.  What a badass.  And a great dude.  This is why I have stated MU should have scouts in Cameroon.  And add 🇸🇳, 🇳🇪, 🇲🇱, and 🇸🇩 as well.  MU must have all hands on deck so to speak in this NIL nonsense era. 

The bolded perfectly describes your silly-ass theory that Marquette should have scouts in African countries. Might as well include the rest of the world as well. The next big star for Marquette may be a Greenlander or a Samoan.

If you so fervently believe in this Muggsy, tell us how much money you are willing to donate to Marquette earmarked for this quest as well as the projected expenses of having an army of international scouts.

[The Sultan]

Dude, Muggs is 98% vibes and 2% logic. It's best not to ask him logical questions.

[Uncle Rico]

The bolded perfectly describes your silly-ass theory that Marquette should have scouts in African countries. Might as well include the rest of the world as well. The next big star for Marquette may be a Greenlander or a Samoan.

If you so fervently believe in this Muggsy, tell us how much money you are willing to donate to Marquette earmarked for this quest as well as the projected expenses of having an army of international scouts.

I volunteer we send Willie as our lead scout to find hidden talent across the world.  His vast experience as a centuries-long fan should serve him well. 

[MuggsyB]

The bolded perfectly describes your silly-ass theory that Marquette should have scouts in African countries. Might as well include the rest of the world as well. The next big star for Marquette may be a Greenlander or a Samoan.

If you so fervently believe in this Muggsy, tell us how much money you are willing to donate to Marquette earmarked for this quest as well as the projected expenses of having an army of international scouts.

No reason to disparage Greenland or the Samoan Islands. 

[Billy Hoyle]

The bolded perfectly describes your silly-ass theory that Marquette should have scouts in African countries. Might as well include the rest of the world as well. The next big star for Marquette may be a Greenlander or a Samoan.

If you so fervently believe in this Muggsy, tell us how much money you are willing to donate to Marquette earmarked for this quest as well as the projected expenses of having an army of international scouts.

It will be cheaper to recruit there when they become the 52nd state

[Uncle Rico]

It will be cheaper to recruit there when they become the 52nd state

Hope we don't give up a road game to Greenland so a player can play in front of friends and family