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Nba 2017

20-plus games in, here are the highs, lows and meh.

Meh: NBA regular season in general. Westbrook tying MJ's 7-straight triple doubles. Anthony Davis averaging over 31 points on a very crappy team. Lakers looking better but far from yet being "good"; add to that list the Knicks, Bulls and Bucks. 82 games of watching the Cavs, Warriors, and Spurs beating up on lesser teams reminds me too much of college football.

Lows: Pacers had so much promise coming in; their 11-12 record indicates that promise was misplaced. Timberwolves, Pelicans and Mavericks all under-performing horribly. Hawks falling back to 500 after starting out strong, beating Cleveland, and having the early look of a contender. Sixers being Sixers.

Highs: Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, although a bit inconsistent, emerging as a possible new superstar. Houston staying in the conversation with the Spurs and Clippers as possible Warrior road blocks moving forward. Same with the Grizzlies--anyone know when they left Vancouver? (I jest) Why didn't they change their name?--16 wins isn't half bad.

Speaking of 16 wins, Cavs and Toronto are tied in that category. Raptors are looking pretty good, but they have to beat Cleveland now and then, and that hasn't happened since Game 4 of last year's conference finals. That's an 0-fer over the last four games. Toronto is two losses to Cleveland out of first place. I'm sure they will hang around to give the LeBrons some competition once Daylight Savings time kicks in.
 
Wow! Just watched Memphis spank the Warriors, 110-89. I didn't think anyone could hold GS to scoring under 90 points. Good D, best in the league.

Next up: Cavs. Tuesday, I believe.

nba-playoffs-oklahoma-city-thunder-memphis-grizzlies-e1426986921683.jpg


Maybe it's good that they kept the name.
 
Why NBA regular season sucks: last night the Grizzlies "rested" Gasol. Tonight, the Cavs will not even dress any of their three stars. Hell they aren't even taking them along on the trip to Memphis.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue opts to rest Big Three against Grizzlies

If ever there was proof that the season is too long, this is it.
 
Cleveland's scrubs played the Grizzlies pretty tight in Memphis tonight, losing by only 8 while holding them to 93 points. I expected a 15-point blow out, with Memphis scoring at least 105.
 
Craig Sager
1951 - 2016


Craig Sager is honored during the 2016 ESPYS. (Getty Images)


Beloved TV sportscaster, known for outlandish wardrobe, dies at 65
Mr. Sager, an NBA sideline reporter, continued to work while fighting leukemia. He died within days of his induction into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame on Dec. 13.

  • By Matt Crossman
  • 1 hour ago
 
Rest in Peace

[h=1]Longtime Turner broadcaster Sager dead at 65[/h]Craig Sager worked for Turner for more than 30 years. The legendary sideline reporter had battled acute myeloid leukemia since 2014.



Life is precious. Often times we associate people who battle cancer as survivors. God bless Craig who battled cancer what, three times? He literally fought it tooth and nail, even going to work while on chemo.

Everyone's time will eventually come. May God give me the courage that he gave Craig. A great man that touched so many lives.
 
In the East, Raptors are still right on Cleveland's heels. Tied in the win-column, with only the two losses separating them, Toronto is only 1 game back.

Cavs face a back to back, with Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo beginning tonight. An away and home set, that could theoretically give the Cavs two losses. Milwaukee owned the Lebrons the last time they played. Should be a good pair of games, assuming Lue doesn't sit his three stars again.

Out West, it's all GS. Spurs are two wins and a loss (1.5 games) behind. Rockets are a full 3 games behind. Warriors and Cavs face off on Christmas day again. I think that game is on at the same time as the Pittsburgh Ravens game. I'll probably flip back and forth a bit, at least until one game goes blow out.

Cleveland could very well lose three of four this week; Two and Two is probably the realistic outcome though. 3-1 or a full 4-game sweep....highly unlikely.
 
Tonight's Cavs vs Bucks game did not disappoint. Cavs win 114 to 108 in overtime. This Milwaukee team is going to be pretty good in a year or two. No question.

Hot payer tonight was Jabari Parker. Well, he was until he missed two free throws in OT right after James nailed a three.
 
Cavs definitely solved the Bucks, blowing them out last night by stopping their drives to the paint. Milwaukee simply cannot shoot. And, that showed.

Cavs, OTOH, can shoot lights out, especially from three-land. And, they did it again last night, with two of their better three-point shooters out due to injury. But, LeBron found his stroke this year, and that is a good thing.

BTW: Kyrie Irving is absolutely phenomenal. He scored over 30 points yesterday with 13 assists. Can they beat Golden State? I don't know. They need to get healthy. And, it would not hurt to pick up another bench player or two.

Mo Williams hung them out to dry, and Chris Anderson's season ending knee injury handcuffed them a bit. Now, JR Smith is out for two months. That's three players being paid who cannot play. But, the Cavs do spend money. So, we'll need to see what the home mortgage guy can do with his checkbook to shore up this club.
 
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In the East, Raptors are still right on Cleveland's heels. Tied in the win-column, with only the two losses separating them, Toronto is only 1 game back.

Cavs face a back to back, with Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo beginning tonight. An away and home set, that could theoretically give the Cavs two losses. Milwaukee owned the Lebrons the last time they played. Should be a good pair of games, assuming Lue doesn't sit his three stars again.

Out West, it's all GS. Spurs are two wins and a loss (1.5 games) behind. Rockets are a full 3 games behind. Warriors and Cavs face off on Christmas day again. I think that game is on at the same time as the Pittsburgh Ravens game. I'll probably flip back and forth a bit, at least until one game goes blow out.

Cleveland could very well lose three of four this week; Two and Two is probably the realistic outcome though. 3-1 or a full 4-game sweep....highly unlikely.
Four. And. Oh!

Man, the game this afternoon was absolutely awesome. 36 by Durant; 24 by Klay Thompson; 15 by Steph; 20 from Kevin Love; two jams by 36-year old Richard Jefferson; four 3's by LBJ, but it all comes down to one word:

KYRIE!!!

 
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That's the most fun regular season game I've seen in a long time. Some great highlights and a fantastic comeback despite a disappointing shooting performance from the Cavs.

But particularly hilarious was the sequence of 1) Lebron chasing Iguodala the entire length of the court, 2) a spooked Iguodala shoveling the ball off to Pachulia at the last second, and 3) Lebron swatting it into the stands out of Pachulia's hands.

The Cavs' pre-game psychological warfare ("Cavaliers troll Warriors with blown-up picture of LeBron James block") seems to have worked. Well, that and there seems to be some lingering psychological damage from the Warrior's epic collapse in the Finals last year.

I haven't followed the Warriors closely enough this year to know: is Finals Curry just regular Curry now or is this a Cleveland-specific phenomenon?
 
That's the most fun regular season game I've seen in a long time. Some great highlights and a fantastic comeback despite a disappointing shooting performance from the Cavs.

But particularly hilarious was the sequence of 1) Lebron chasing Iguodala the entire length of the court, 2) a spooked Iguodala shoveling the ball off to Pachulia at the last second, and 3) Lebron swatting it into the stands out of Pachulia's hands.

The Cavs' pre-game psychological warfare ("Cavaliers troll Warriors with blown-up picture of LeBron James block") seems to have worked. Well, that and there seems to be some lingering psychological damage from the Warrior's epic collapse in the Finals last year.

I haven't followed the Warriors closely enough this year to know: is Finals Curry just regular Curry now or is this a Cleveland-specific phenomenon?

I think we are finally seeing career average Curry...although his 3-point shooting percentage this year is below even that.

Stephen Curry Stats - Golden State Warriors - ESPN

Last year may have been a fluke.
 
Although LeBron is without question still the man in Cleveland--he's the unquestionable leader and bigger and stronger than anyone else in the league, with his specific skill sets--Kyrie is rapidly becoming the second best player in the league. I would not be surprised to see him become the superstar of the club in a few years. Maybe after two more titles :)
 
Although LeBron is without question still the man in Cleveland--he's the unquestionable leader and bigger and stronger than anyone else in the league, with his specific skill sets--Kyrie is rapidly becoming the second best player in the league. I would not be surprised to see him become the superstar of the club in a few years. Maybe after two more titles :)

Irving is good but lets not get ridiculous.
 
Irving is good but lets not get ridiculous.

Let's jut say he is on the right path. And, at 24, his ceiling is still 3 or 4 years away. What I am seeing from him right now, the dude has kicked it up a level. At the very least, he takes a lot of pressure of off an aging LeBron.
 
Kings really need to trade DeMarcus Cousins. He's just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

He needs to be on a real team under real leadership. Wizards would be a good fit with his buddy John Wall. Ideal fit imo would be the Clippers.

Imagine how good Cousins would be with a point guard? I would trade Blake Griffin for Cousins in a heart beat if I were the Clippers.
 
Kings really need to trade DeMarcus Cousins. He's just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

He needs to be on a real team under real leadership. Wizards would be a good fit with his buddy John Wall. Ideal fit imo would be the Clippers.

Imagine how good Cousins would be with a point guard? I would trade Blake Griffin for Cousins in a heart beat if I were the Clippers.

Adding Cousins on any team in the East would have an immediate impact. Miami has the cap space. Riley might even be able to get the man focused.
 
Adding Cousins on any team in the East would have an immediate impact. Miami has the cap space. Riley might even be able to get the man focused.

Miami would actually be a tremendously bad fit since they already have Whiteside.
 
Miami would actually be a tremendously bad fit since they already have Whiteside.

That's who I would trade.
Clips have Jordan. So, since you suggested he go to LA, I figured we were not excluding teams with good centers already on the roster.


Speaking of LA, Lakers are probably the team that can best absorb Cousins without upsetting current chemistry or roster space; it's not like Mosgov is exactly tearing up the rim. I'm not sure Walton would want him though. But, then again, he got along great with Green in GS.

Spurs would probably be the team which can win a championship with him the soonest. This year even. And Aldridge could easily be moved to power fwd. Pop would be a good coach for DeMarcus, IMO.

Out East, the Bulls could use him. The Knicks need someone like him. Charlotte would probably rather have him than Kaminsky. And, Milwaukee would probably be the team with the most talent to trade to get him.
 
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