2023-24 NBA (Playoffs!) Thread: Celtics win East and now wait to see whether Luka or Kyrie suffer season-ending injury (11 Viewers)

[Mister CIA]

I can't remember another series that flipped so hard mid-series.

was 2012 the Spurs-Thunder series that the Spurs went up 2-0 and then OKC destroyed them in 4 straight? That's the biggest one I remember.

Maurice Lucas and 1977 say hello.

 

[Desert_Power]

, and therefore the ones he's been rooting for, are perennial losers (Timberwolves, Vikings, Mets and Maple Leafs).

Yea I didn’t catch this. Are you mad?

No, I was a child. I'll explain.

Vikings and Timberwolves - My parents are both from Minnesota so Minnesota teams were impressed upon me as a child. I'll still root for the Twins and Wild as secondary teams.

Mets - When I was three they won the World Series so they were all over the media. I loved baseball and, being a kid, liked their colors. I recall then in preschool telling somebody I liked the Mets and they responded back negatively. I grew up near Philly so the fact that I chose a rival and it antagonized people made me enjoy it all the more. And, the Mets were pretty good in the late 80s and early 90s where baseball was my life. Plus, we lived close enough to Philly and NYC that I probably got to go to a Mets game (at either Shea or Veterans Stadium) at least once a year whereas I didn't get to go to as many Twins games.

Maple Leafs - I initially cheered for the North Stars but they moved to Dallas. I then played a bunch of NHL 94 and NHL 95 and the Maple Leafs were my team on those games (Gilmour, Potvin, Gardner, Tkachuk, etc.) so I picked them to be my team to replace the North Stars.

Finally, what can I say other than that I'm a loyal albeit masochistic guy?

If you ever start following European soccer, please choose someone like Manchester City to get some titles in your life. Based on your post though, I'd guess you may already be a Tottenham fan.

 

[Kanil]

So as he's done during the morning after the later evening weekday games where he usually has to be in bed by halftime, Little Woz immediately woke up and came to find me to get the result of the game. This time though, instead of the usual "Did the Timberwolves win?" said with optimism, it went like this:

Little Woz: "Did the Timberwolves lose?"
Me: "Yeah buddy, unfortunately."
Little Woz: "Because of The Joker?"
Me: "Yeah, he played really good."

Little Woz starts to form some tears so I send him off to get some breakfast. He comes back a few minutes later and this exchange occurs...

Little Woz: "Daddy, will the Timberwolves win next game?"
Me: "I hope so, but the Nuggets are very good. The game is in Minnesota though so I like our chances."
Little Woz: "Oh. I think I might cheers for the Nuggets and The Joker. Can we be Nuggets fans and get new hats?"
Me (heart breaking a bit): "Well, this is part of being a sports fan. We should stick by our team even if they lose. And this time they're losing to a really good team. It's also not over. How about we cheer for the Timberwolves for now and if the Nuggets win we can cheer for them the rest of the playoffs?"
Little Woz (clearly disappointed): "Okay."

He then goes upstairs and punches his little sister and gets in trouble. He at least did so wearing his Timberwolves hat.

Rough morning in the Woz household. I just couldn't bring myself to explain to him that the teams I root for, and therefore the ones he's been rooting for, are perennial losers (Timberwolves, Vikings, Mets and Maple Leafs). I'll be honest though, I thought for a split second about trying to save him from years of pain being a Timberwolves fan, but I still have a ton of faith in Edwards going forward.

Send me your address, I'll send him a hat!

Edit: That said, until very recently, being a Nuggets fan has not been the happiest of times either.

 

[Kanil]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Only the second best center to ever play the game would stand a chance, Dikembe Mutombo!

 

[Long Ball Larry]

GUYS, THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WENT DOWN 2-0 IN THE EFFING FINALS AND WON THE SERIES 4 GAMES TO 2 IN THE YEAR OF YOUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY-ONE

i took the spirit of the question as the first 2 games look like one team is clearly going to dominate the series and then suddenly the roles reversed and the other team dominated the rest of the series. That finals was much more even than that.

 

[Zow]

, and therefore the ones he's been rooting for, are perennial losers (Timberwolves, Vikings, Mets and Maple Leafs).

Yea I didn’t catch this. Are you mad?

No, I was a child. I'll explain.

Vikings and Timberwolves - My parents are both from Minnesota so Minnesota teams were impressed upon me as a child. I'll still root for the Twins and Wild as secondary teams.

Mets - When I was three they won the World Series so they were all over the media. I loved baseball and, being a kid, liked their colors. I recall then in preschool telling somebody I liked the Mets and they responded back negatively. I grew up near Philly so the fact that I chose a rival and it antagonized people made me enjoy it all the more. And, the Mets were pretty good in the late 80s and early 90s where baseball was my life. Plus, we lived close enough to Philly and NYC that I probably got to go to a Mets game (at either Shea or Veterans Stadium) at least once a year whereas I didn't get to go to as many Twins games.

Maple Leafs - I initially cheered for the North Stars but they moved to Dallas. I then played a bunch of NHL 94 and NHL 95 and the Maple Leafs were my team on those games (Gilmour, Potvin, Gardner, Tkachuk, etc.) so I picked them to be my team to replace the North Stars.

Finally, what can I say other than that I'm a loyal albeit masochistic guy?

If you ever start following European soccer, please choose someone like Manchester City to get some titles in your life. Based on your post though, I'd guess you may already be a Tottenham fan.

Haha you're not the first person to make this joke.

Should my free time ever get big enough where I can follow a fifth sport, I'll consider a team that wins titles.

 

[Kev4029]

GUYS, THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WENT DOWN 2-0 IN THE EFFING FINALS AND WON THE SERIES 4 GAMES TO 2 IN THE YEAR OF YOUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY-ONE

i took the spirit of the question as the first 2 games look like one team is clearly going to dominate the series and then suddenly the roles reversed and the other team dominated the rest of the series. That finals was much more even than that.

That was definitely the spirit of the question. It's easy to go look up 2-0 series that ended with the other team winning.

The Wolves were -700 to win the series after game two. The Nuggets are now -500 after game five.

 

[Kev4029]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

 

[Gr00vus]

I think prime Shaq would have posed some problems for Jokic. Maybe neither one slows the other down much, but I think Shaq's brute force may have taken a toll over the course of a game.

 

[Zow]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

No Shaq or Wilt?

 

[Courtjester]

So as he's done during the morning after the later evening weekday games where he usually has to be in bed by halftime, Little Woz immediately woke up and came to find me to get the result of the game. This time though, instead of the usual "Did the Timberwolves win?" said with optimism, it went like this:

Little Woz: "Did the Timberwolves lose?"
Me: "Yeah buddy, unfortunately."
Little Woz: "Because of The Joker?"
Me: "Yeah, he played really good."

Little Woz starts to form some tears so I send him off to get some breakfast. He comes back a few minutes later and this exchange occurs...

Little Woz: "Daddy, will the Timberwolves win next game?"
Me: "I hope so, but the Nuggets are very good. The game is in Minnesota though so I like our chances."
Little Woz: "Oh. I think I might cheers for the Nuggets and The Joker. Can we be Nuggets fans and get new hats?"
Me (heart breaking a bit): "Well, this is part of being a sports fan. We should stick by our team even if they lose. And this time they're losing to a really good team. It's also not over. How about we cheer for the Timberwolves for now and if the Nuggets win we can cheer for them the rest of the playoffs?"
Little Woz (clearly disappointed): "Okay."

He then goes upstairs and punches his little sister and gets in trouble. He at least did so wearing his Timberwolves hat.

Rough morning in the Woz household. I just couldn't bring myself to explain to him that the teams I root for, and therefore the ones he's been rooting for, are perennial losers (Timberwolves, Vikings, Mets and Maple Leafs). I'll be honest though, I thought for a split second about trying to save him from years of pain being a Timberwolves fan, but I still have a ton of faith in Edwards going forward.

Send me your address, I'll send him a hat!

Edit: That said, until very recently, being a Nuggets fan has not been the happiest of times either.

Preach on!!

I have watched them for close to 50 years and seen some really good teams, just not be good enough because of the Showtime Lakers, the Spurs or Golden State's championship runs. Then you fall in love with a roster only to see it be gutted and a rebuild happen with draft picks that you tell yourself, "These are the guys that can turn it around!!" Then being a small market club, we can't keep the stars around for long. I can't even remember how many tanks and rebuilds I have seen. That is why last year was so amazing and meant so much. However,I am not counting my chickens yet because I can see a prideful Wolves team showing up and forcing a game 7.

 

[Kev4029]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

No Shaq or Wilt?

Defensively, no.

 

[Jayrod]

I'm surprised at the lack of consideration for Kareem. His early years with the Bucks and even for a while with the Lakers he was absolutely a brute force on both ends and had the length, quickness and skill to give Jokic trouble. I think he honestly tops my list of guys who could have outplayed Jokic.

 

[the moops]

I'm surprised at the lack of consideration for Kareem. His early years with the Bucks and even for a while with the Lakers he was absolutely a brute force on both ends and had the length, quickness and skill to give Jokic trouble. I think he honestly tops my list of guys who could have outplayed Jokic.

Jokic outweighs Kareem by like 60 pounds. He would get backed down and would have no chance

 

[mr. furley]

GUYS, THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WENT DOWN 2-0 IN THE EFFING FINALS AND WON THE SERIES 4 GAMES TO 2 IN THE YEAR OF YOUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY-ONE

i took the spirit of the question as the first 2 games look like one team is clearly going to dominate the series and then suddenly the roles reversed and the other team dominated the rest of the series. That finals was much more even than that.

THE BUCKS WERE WORLD CHAMPEENS IN TWENTY 21

THEY BEAT THE SUNS SO BADLY THAT PHOENIX ALMOST FOLDED THE FRANCHISE UNTIL GIANNIS TOLD THEM NOT TO

 

[mr. furley]

Dennis Rodman would find a way to make life difficult for Jokic. maybe he's not holding Jokic to 3/15 - 3 rebounds and 2 assists or something but absolutely i think he would have disrupted the Nuggets rhythm and impacted the outcome in a way no other player could.

 

[Kanil]

So as he's done during the morning after the later evening weekday games where he usually has to be in bed by halftime, Little Woz immediately woke up and came to find me to get the result of the game. This time though, instead of the usual "Did the Timberwolves win?" said with optimism, it went like this:

Little Woz: "Did the Timberwolves lose?"
Me: "Yeah buddy, unfortunately."
Little Woz: "Because of The Joker?"
Me: "Yeah, he played really good."

Little Woz starts to form some tears so I send him off to get some breakfast. He comes back a few minutes later and this exchange occurs...

Little Woz: "Daddy, will the Timberwolves win next game?"
Me: "I hope so, but the Nuggets are very good. The game is in Minnesota though so I like our chances."
Little Woz: "Oh. I think I might cheers for the Nuggets and The Joker. Can we be Nuggets fans and get new hats?"
Me (heart breaking a bit): "Well, this is part of being a sports fan. We should stick by our team even if they lose. And this time they're losing to a really good team. It's also not over. How about we cheer for the Timberwolves for now and if the Nuggets win we can cheer for them the rest of the playoffs?"
Little Woz (clearly disappointed): "Okay."

He then goes upstairs and punches his little sister and gets in trouble. He at least did so wearing his Timberwolves hat.

Rough morning in the Woz household. I just couldn't bring myself to explain to him that the teams I root for, and therefore the ones he's been rooting for, are perennial losers (Timberwolves, Vikings, Mets and Maple Leafs). I'll be honest though, I thought for a split second about trying to save him from years of pain being a Timberwolves fan, but I still have a ton of faith in Edwards going forward.

Send me your address, I'll send him a hat!

Edit: That said, until very recently, being a Nuggets fan has not been the happiest of times either.

Preach on!!

I have watched them for close to 50 years and seen some really good teams, just not be good enough because of the Showtime Lakers, the Spurs or Golden State's championship runs. Then you fall in love with a roster only to see it be gutted and a rebuild happen with draft picks that you tell yourself, "These are the guys that can turn it around!!" Then being a small market club, we can't keep the stars around for long. I can't even remember how many tanks and rebuilds I have seen. That is why last year was so amazing and meant so much. However,I am not counting my chickens yet because I can see a prideful Wolves team showing up and forcing a game 7.

I hear you. I turn 45 next month and it's just been a lifetime of misery. I mean, the greatest highlight I remember from before this group was coming in as the 8th seed, beating Seattle, then getting kicked out in round 2.

 

[thecatch]

Is there a good source for defensive statistics on how a player performs in one on one post defense matchups? I've always been under the impression that Gobert is more a team defender and not a great 1 on 1 guy on the block, based on my own anecdotal viewing history.

Best I could find in my limited time this afternoon was this. I'm not totally sure how to read some of the stats. It looks like Gobert didn't exactly lock any of the better centers in the league up during the regular season.

 

[the moops]

Dennis Rodman would find a way to make life difficult for Jokic.

No chance

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

I think it’s ridiculous that some team is going to overdraft Bronny so they can be part of the LBJ circus of playing on the same team as his son

If drafting Bronny resulted in Lebron signing with the team, there would be like 28 teams willing to do so.

I don’t think LBJ would go to just any team but I certainly do think he would put pressure on “some teams” to draft his kid. I don’t think someone with the talent Bronny has displayed so far would typically be draftable but suddenly he is because of his dad.

In the end, LBJ has that kind of sway and power - good for him.

 

[the moops]

A day in the life of Nikola Jokic

https://x.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1790813051010052154

 

[Major]

GUYS, THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WENT DOWN 2-0 IN THE EFFING FINALS AND WON THE SERIES 4 GAMES TO 2 IN THE YEAR OF YOUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY-ONE

i took the spirit of the question as the first 2 games look like one team is clearly going to dominate the series and then suddenly the roles reversed and the other team dominated the rest of the series. That finals was much more even than that.

That was definitely the spirit of the question. It's easy to go look up 2-0 series that ended with the other team winning.

The Wolves were -700 to win the series after game two. The Nuggets are now -500 after game five.

Rudy T warned you guys back in 95 what you should never underestimate. Shoutout to the FBG in here who took those Denver odds to win it all down 0-2 and the Minnesota homer who said they'd find a way to lose the series. Apologies for the terrible notebook.

 

[Major]

A day in the life of Nikola Jokic

https://x.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1790813051010052154

bruh

 

[mr. furley]

Dennis Rodman would find a way to make life difficult for Jokic.

No chance

OK

 

[mr. furley]

Calculating Individual Offensive and Defensive Ratings | Basketball-Reference.com

How to calculate individual offensive and defensive ratings

www.basketball-reference.com

quick, someone do the math in Oliver's defensive ratings formula so we can find out who can hold Jokic under 50/20/20 triple doubles every night

Defensive Rating​

Just as Oliver's Offensive Rating represents points produced by the player per 100 possessions consumed, his Defensive Rating estimates how many points the player allowed per 100 possessions he individually faced while on the court.

The core of the Defensive Rating calculation is the concept of the individual Defensive Stop. Stops take into account the instances of a player ending an opposing possession that are tracked in the boxscore (blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds), in addition to an estimate for the number of forced turnovers and forced misses by the player which aren't captured by steals and blocks.

The formula for Stops is:

• Stops = Stops1 + Stops2

where:

• Stops1 = STL + BLK * FMwt * (1 - 1.07 * DOR%) + DRB * (1 - FMwt)
• FMwt (Forced Miss weight) = (DFG% * (1 - DOR%)) / (DFG% * (1 - DOR%) + (1 - DFG%) * DOR%)
• DOR% = Opponent_ORB / (Opponent_ORB + Team_DRB)
• DFG% = Opponent_FGM / Opponent_FGA
• Stops2 = (((Opponent_FGA - Opponent_FGM - Team_BLK) / Team_MP) * FMwt * (1 - 1.07 * DOR%) + ((Opponent_TOV - Team_STL) / Team_MP)) * MP + (PF / Team_PF) * 0.4 * Opponent_FTA * (1 - (Opponent_FTM / Opponent_FTA))^2

Also necessary is the calculation of Stop%, which is the rate at which a player forces a defensive stop as a percentage of individual possessions faced (essentially the inverse of Floor%, but for defenders):

• Stop% = (Stops * Opponent_MP) / (Team_Possessions * MP)

With those numbers in hand, individual Defensive Rating can be computed:

• DRtg = Team_Defensive_Rating + 0.2 * (100 * D_Pts_per_ScPoss * (1 - Stop%) - Team_Defensive_Rating)

where:

• Team_Defensive_Rating = 100 * (Opponent_PTS / Team_Possessions)
• D_Pts_per_ScPoss = Opponent_PTS / (Opponent_FGM + (1 - (1 - (Opponent_FTM / Opponent_FTA))^2) * Opponent_FTA*0.4)

 

[Yo Mama]

Half of the Cavs team is catching an early flight to Cancun and will miss tonight’s game vs the Celtics.

 

[General Malaise]

I got Boston -3.5 right before the tip at Draftkings. Is that a mistake or something? Thought the line was 13?

And again, why is the TV feed 60 seconds behind Draftkings? Is latency usually this long of a lag?

 

[scoobus]

I got Boston -3.5 right before the tip at Draftkings. Is that a mistake or something? Thought the line was 13?

And again, why is the TV feed 60 seconds behind Draftkings? Is latency usually this long

Sure you didn’t get 1st quarter?

 

[Boston]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

I would add Kevin McHale to the mix.

 

[Capella]

Shoutout to the FBG in here who took those Denver odds to win it all down 0-2

 

[PIK95]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

I blame the rest of the defense ironically. In the first two games they were all swarming around, super active. I didn't see that at all last night.

 

[Capella]

Dennis Rodman would find a way to make life difficult for Jokic.

No chance

OK

Rodman appears to have weighed 210 when he played which seems generous but whatever. He’d be giving up 75 pounds and maybe 6 inches to Joker.

I think Rodman is probably the best individual defensive player ever but how the hell would he have a chance here. He’d be dominated.

 

[PIK95]

Why in the world would you challenge that? Da fq Joe.

 

[PIK95]

Dennis Rodman would find a way to make life difficult for Jokic.

No chance

OK

Rodman appears to have weighed 210 when he played which seems generous but whatever. He’d be giving up 75 pounds and maybe 6 inches to Joker.

I think Rodman is probably the best individual defensive player ever but how the hell would he have a chance here. He’d be dominated.

Dennis was a pretty patient defender and was great at moving his feet and getting his body in position ahead of the other guy. Joker and Rodman would be epic to watch.

 

[identikit]

Why in the world would you challenge that? Da fq Joe.

2nd Row Joe

 

[the moops]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

 

[identikit]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

More than one baby out there

 

[PIK95]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

Jayson Tatum....also such a baby.

 

[Kev4029]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

I would add Kevin McHale to the mix.

His 9 foot wingspan would be useful.

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas. Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

 

[PIK95]

A rebuttal of sorts on the Gobert narrative

Why Nikola Jokic's Game 5 evisceration of Rudy Gobert doesn't have anything to do with the DPOY conversation

There isn't a soul who could've defended Jokic in his 40-point, 13-assist performance in Nuggets-Wolves Game 5

www.cbssports.com

Yea Gobert is a great defender but Joker is just a way better player. There’s nobody in the league who can stop him. I doubt there’s many players all-time who could stop this version of him.

Prime Kareem, Russell or Olajuwon, maybe Ben Wallace?

I don’t really know honestly. Assume Russell and Wallace would be too small for him. Wallace would be interesting I guess, he was a beast.

Wallace would be similar to Draymond Green - Wallace was listed at 6'9" (and 240lbs) but was probably closer to 6'6" or 6'7". Green was measured at 6'6" and 236 lbs at the combine. Strong enough to get under Jokic and keep him off his spot, but not long enough to affect his shot.

Duncan and Hakeem are the only two dudes that I think would have a chance 1v1 against Jokic in the post because they were similarly sized, more athletic, and incredibly fundamentally sound. Another guy that should have been brought up is David Robinson, but we see what Hakeem did to him in 1995 in the conference finals (35.3-12.5-5.0), so I think he is probably a level below Duncan/Hakeem but a level above Russell/Kareem/Wallace/Howard/Rodman/Mutombo in this fictitious 1v1 matchup.

I would add Kevin McHale to the mix.

His 9 foot wingspan would be useful.

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas. Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

Kobe is my whole list of overrated.

Is your list shtick or something? Wilkins? McHale? Both really UNDERRATED.

 

[the moops]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

Jayson Tatum....also such a baby.

Agreed. But to call a tech cause the guy waived at you is weak sauce

 

[PIK95]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

Jayson Tatum....also such a baby.

Agreed. But to call a tech cause the guy waived at you is weak sauce

On brand and in market as the half chowd would say.

 

[the moops]

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas . Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

Can't agree on McHale. He seems ranked where he should be. Agree on the rest though. Probably add Melo to the list

 

[the moops]

Tony Brothers

Such a baby

Jayson Tatum....also such a baby.

Agreed. But to call a tech cause the guy waived at you is weak sauce

On brand and in market as the half chowd would say.

Officials get yelled at and whined at all the time. A lot by Tatum, no argument here. But he literally just waived his hand at him, that is terribly thin skinned. Call it when he actually bitches, I am all for it

 

[scoobus]

ejection imo

 

[Kev4029]

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas . Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

Can't agree on McHale. He seems ranked where he should be. Agree on the rest though. Probably add Melo to the list

I thought about Melo, but I think the pendulum has swung back. Certainly he was overrated during his playing time, but I think he was so well known to be overrated toward the end of his playing days that he is roughly properly rated.

 

[PIK95]

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas . Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

Can't agree on McHale. He seems ranked where he should be. Agree on the rest though. Probably add Melo to the list

I thought about Melo, but I think the pendulum has swung back. Certainly he was overrated during his playing time, but I think he was so well known to be overrated toward the end of his playing days that he is roughly properly rated.

Melo was amazing that year at Cuse. I won the FBG contest having them winning it all. His NBA career was wicked overrated imo.

 

[the moops]

Side note - in my notebook of most overrated players in the history of the NBA, Kevin McHale is #2, behind Isiah Thomas . Some others on the list - Kobe, Wilkins, Durant, Reggie Miller, James Worthy, and anybody other than Russell on all those 60s Celtics teams.

Can't agree on McHale. He seems ranked where he should be. Agree on the rest though. Probably add Melo to the list

I thought about Melo, but I think the pendulum has swung back. Certainly he was overrated during his playing time, but I think he was so well known to be overrated toward the end of his playing days that he is roughly properly rated.

How about Ewing? Or Karl Malone?

 

[identikit]

No Flex Zone

Oy

 

[the moops]

Marcus Morris?? geez