NBA Season 2015-16

[Rodster]

What's interesting is the comment Kerr made after the game. He said he had his team using Pop's strategy of cutback moves in and out of the paint trying to find an open shot. I didn't see the game but read that Curry smoked Leonard during the game as well as Aldridge.

[wco81]

I don't know about smoke but Leonard didn't cover Curry all the time and a couple of the times he did, Curry was able to make a couple of 3-pointers.

The thing is, if they put Leonard on Curry, that means Parker or one of their smaller players have to guard Barnes or Thompson. Now those guys didn't have such a great game last night. And when Duncan plays, he'll double team any time the opponents post up a smaller Spurs player.

I think I heard that the Warriors play the Spurs twice in the last week of the season. I would imagine they will try different strategies just to get a feel for how they'll attack the Warriors if they should meet in the playoffs.

If you look at the box score, no Spurs played more than 25 minutes last night. The game was in doubt through about half way through the 3rd quarter and once the lead got over 20, it doesn't seem like the Spurs tried that hard to come back, unless their backups and young players managed to do it. So he sat Leonard, Parker and Aldridge most of the second half.

The Warriors got a lot of easy baskets or layups last night. That has to be an aberration considering how good the Spurs defense has been. It would be one thing if they made a lot of contested shots but that wasn't the case.

[dbdynsty25]

Blake Griffin = genius

[pk500]

Blake Griffin = genius

The dysfunctional ghost of Donald Sterling lives on.

Doesn't matter, anyways. The Clippers aren't beating Golden State, San Antonio and probably OKC in the playoffs, even if healthy.

[Diablo25]

Great time court side at the Sixers Suns game tonight. Sixers snagged a W. Ironically, 6 of their 7 wins are agains the west. I sat in on Brett Brown's presser after the game. Pretty cool experience. I was on SportsCenter highlights after a Rashaud Holmes dunk.

[pk500]

Great time court side at the Sixers Suns game tonight. Sixers snagged a W. Ironically, 6 of their 7 wins are agains the west. I sat in on Brett Brown's pressed after the game. Pretty cool experience. I was on SportsCenter highlights after a Rashaud Holmes dunk.

Too cool! What a thrill.

[dbdynsty25]

Great time court side at the Sixers Suns game tonight. Sixers snagged a W. Ironically, 6 of their 7 wins are agains the west. I sat in on Brett Brown's presser after the game. Pretty cool experience. I was on SportsCenter highlights after a Rashaud Holmes dunk.

2 against Phoenix tho, so those don't count.

[Diablo25]

Great time court side at the Sixers Suns game tonight. Sixers snagged a W. Ironically, 6 of their 7 wins are agains the west. I sat in on Brett Brown's presser after the game. Pretty cool experience. I was on SportsCenter highlights after a Rashaud Holmes dunk.

2 against Phoenix tho, so those don't count.

I thought the same thing.

[Rodster]

What not to do during your contract year. Whiteside gets suspended 1 game by the League for throwing an elbow to the head of Boban Marjanovic. This kid just doesn't learn and i'm sure all this stuff that's happened is piling up on Riley's desk and it'll be reflected in the Heat's offer which he'll probably turn down and go with another team.

The bottom line is the Heat are a better team MOST of the time without Whiteside. When he shows up and plays to his POTENTIAL then he makes the Heat a better team but those games are few and far between. If he were under contract past this year he would be shopped just like the Rockets are rumored to be with Dwight Howard.

[Rodster]

It appears that the Pat Riley (win it now and to hell with the future) model has boxed the Heat in a potentially bad spot. There's now word that Chris Bosh might retire if another blood clot is found in his leg due from a nagging calf strain. If he retires no cap space relief this year and they owe him his contract which runs out in 2019.

Then there's D-Wade who says Goran Dragic is valuable to the team except you'll find D-Wade most of the time handling the ball while Dragic is standing all alone in the corner. Yesterday word broke that Houston and the Heat are talking a Howard for Whiteside trade but you have to give up Deng, Birdman, Haslem, and maybe two other players to make it work salary cap wise. So the Heat were working at a 3rd seed in the playoffs, now could be out. If that happens then Philly won't get their protected pick this year but will be unprotected next year.

The only way forward might be to think about a reset for youth which Riley is opposed to because he's pushing 70 and doesn't want to wait for everything to come together.

[dbdynsty25]

Then there's D-Wade who says Goran Dragic is valuable to the team except you'll find D-Wade most of the time handling the ball while Dragic is standing all alone in the corner.

Welcome to the reason Dragic wanted out of Phoenix. It'll happen in Miami too I'm sure. Dragic needs the ball and he's a borederline all-star. As a spot up shooter he's barely an NBA starter.

[wco81]

Noble for Bosh to try to come back but realistically the Heat aren't going to do much, maybe get to the second round.

Going for the youth movement is not that easy. Wade still looks like the best scorer on the team. Winslow may become a good player but Wade was a better scorer as a rookie than Winslow is.

If they'd gotten someone like Towns or Porzingis, then you could build a team around that kind of player but Miami would have to get a top 3 or top 5 pick in a strong draft.

Would Miami tank to get to the top of the draft? Otherwise, try to get a young superstar in free agency, I.e. Durant.

[Rodster]

I can't see someone like KD wanting to play in Miami with an aging Wade who wants the ball and is stuck playing half court ball because of Wade. Bosh was the reason for possibly a big name to play in South Beach. It's quite possible Wade might not even re sign next year and with Riley's age he could let someone else do a total rebuild. This is why giving up 2 first rounders for Dragic was risky. So between now and 2021 they owe 3 1st rd picks.

[pk500]

Durant may go to L.A. He already owns a house there and spends summers there. Don't be surprised to see the Lakers make a big push for KD as the cornerstone of a post-Kobe rebuilding program.

That said, many people believe KD will take a one-year extension from OKC this summer so he will be on the same contract cycle as Westbrook and Ibaka before the 2017-18 season, making them an attractive "Big Three" package in free agency.

[Brando70]

It's hard to see Durant leaving OKC while Westbrook and Ibaka are with the team. Where would he go to have a better shot at a title? He's already on a top 3 team, and he's not going to go to Golden State or San Antonio. Going to Lakers next year would make them the Knicks West, a team MacGyvered around a superstar that might become a low-seeded playoff team depending on who else the Lakers could lure. The logical choice would be to take that one-year deal and make the championship push now.

[dbdynsty25]

It's hard to see Durant leaving OKC while Westbrook and Ibaka are with the team. Where would he go to have a better shot at a title? He's already on a top 3 team, and he's not going to go to Golden State or San Antonio. Going to Lakers next year would make them the Knicks West, a team MacGyvered around a superstar that might become a low-seeded playoff team depending on who else the Lakers could lure. The logical choice would be to take that one-year deal and make the championship push now.

Even if he does go to LA w/ Westbrook & Ibaka, what makes them think they'd be more successful there than they've been in OKC? I mean it's one thing to consider yourself the big three, but you might wanna win something first. One losing trip to the finals doesn't exactly scream juggernaut.

And easy on the Knicks west...Durant >>>>> Anthony. Tho they do both have the same amount of rings so I see what you did there.

Durant signing a one year deal is more of a financial boon than anything. The cap goes up significantly NEXT year, so him signing the max 1 year deal now before signing the long term extension NEXT year will get him in excess of 30 million extra dollars. THAT's why he'll do it. Westbrook and Ibaka being on the same timeline is just an added bonus.

[pk500]

It's hard to see Durant leaving OKC while Westbrook and Ibaka are with the team. Where would he go to have a better shot at a title? He's already on a top 3 team, and he's not going to go to Golden State or San Antonio. Going to Lakers next year would make them the Knicks West, a team MacGyvered around a superstar that might become a low-seeded playoff team depending on who else the Lakers could lure. The logical choice would be to take that one-year deal and make the championship push now.

Durant wouldn't go to the Lakers next season. He would sign a one-year deal to take advantage of the elevated cap during his next free agency period, as DB said, and also to be aligned chronologically with the contracts of Westbrook and Durant.

Why LA? Many reasons.

One, the Lakers are a marquee franchise that have the chance to re-emerge as the dominant team in that market. The Clippers' window with this current core of Paul, Griffin and Jordan is closing very quickly.

Two, there are far better endorsement opportunities in LA than OKC, although Durant already is doing very well with off-the-court income.

Three, Durant supposedly loves LA. He lives there all summer. The City of Angels is filled with celebrities and offers him the anonymity he can't get while being the biggest fish in the very small pond of OKC.

Four, what if the Lakers hire a quality coach? Donovan is adapting to the pro game better than Hoiberg among first-year college imports, but success in the postseason is the true barometer of acumen and execution.

Five, what if Phil returns to the Lakers in upper management as is being rumored? That's a potential draw for players.

[Brando70]

This has also been about as disappointing Bulls season as I can remember. I didn't think they were going to be able to beat the Cavs, but I at least thought they could make a push to get in that position. Now they really need to just give up on this season and try to get something for Pau Gasol before he walks at the end of the season.

[Rodster]

This has also been about as disappointing Bulls season as I can remember. I didn't think they were going to be able to beat the Cavs, but I at least thought they could make a push to get in that position. Now they really need to just give up on this season and try to get something for Pau Gasol before he walks at the end of the season.

I think firing Thibs was a bad move. The Bulls always had a swagger about them under Thibs.

[pk500]

This has also been about as disappointing Bulls season as I can remember. I didn't think they were going to be able to beat the Cavs, but I at least thought they could make a push to get in that position. Now they really need to just give up on this season and try to get something for Pau Gasol before he walks at the end of the season.

They may want to try to get a proper NBA head coach, for starters. Hoiberg has looked out of his depth most of the season.

[Brando70]

This has also been about as disappointing Bulls season as I can remember. I didn't think they were going to be able to beat the Cavs, but I at least thought they could make a push to get in that position. Now they really need to just give up on this season and try to get something for Pau Gasol before he walks at the end of the season.

I think firing Thibs was a bad move. The Bulls always had a swagger about them under Thibs.

I liked Thibs a lot, but I also think he wasn't the answer any more either. He burned players out too much, and last year this same roster showed signs of the inconsistency that's now hit a downward spiral. It's just clear that this iteration of the team has run its course and they need to revamp the roster.

[pk500]

This has also been about as disappointing Bulls season as I can remember. I didn't think they were going to be able to beat the Cavs, but I at least thought they could make a push to get in that position. Now they really need to just give up on this season and try to get something for Pau Gasol before he walks at the end of the season.

I think firing Thibs was a bad move. The Bulls always had a swagger about them under Thibs.

I liked Thibs a lot, but I also think he wasn't the answer any more either. He burned players out too much, and last year this same roster showed signs of the inconsistency that's now hit a downward spiral. It's just clear that this iteration of the team has run its course and they need to revamp the roster.

Agree on Thibs. He's like John Tortorella in the NHL -- has a shelf life of three to four years per team. Both drive their teams incredibly hard all the time, with volcanic personalities to match. It's not a formula for staying power in one job in professional sports today.

[pigpen81]

Curry and the warriors....holy sh**

Curry is beyond anything I have ever seen.

[Rodster]

Curry and the warriors....holy sh**

Curry is beyond anything I have ever seen.

That's exactly what I said when Curry dropped a 3 from almost half court right before the halftime buzzer in Miami. He didn't just heave the shot, he took the shot just like it was a normal 12 footer. I was like damn, this team is like a video game Boss.

[pk500]

Curry has turned NBA Jam into reality more than any player since Jordan.