Taking it to the hole. Hoops 2K17 Thread.

[Hurlshort]

Klay Thompson is pretty good at basketball.

[Leferd]

Klay Thompson is pretty good at basketball.

60 pts in 29 minutes on 11 dribbles and 1.5 seconds per touch. That's pretty damn efficient.

[Guard Dog]

Hey Leferd. I have just two words for you my friend! Grizzlies WIN!

 

Grizz 110 - GS 89 huzzah!

 

About bloody time really. They haven't beaten the Warriors in forever. 

[Leferd]

I didn't think Memphis was gonna be as good as they are now.

[Leferd]

Since ALL STAR voting is underway, here's who should be in:

 

WEST

Westbrook

Harden

Durant

Kawhi

Brow

Curry

CP3

Draymond

Boogie

M.Gasol

Lillard

KAT

 

EAST

Lowry

DeRozan

LeBron

Giannis

Whiteside

Irving

Butler

PG13

Love

Isaiah

Kemba

Porzingis

 

January 1st Awards:

 

MVP: Harden

ROY: Embiid

COY: D'Antoni

DPOY: Draymond

6MOY: Eric Gordon

MIP: Giannis

 

ALL NBA FIRST TEAM

Harden

Westbrook

LeBron

Durant

Brow

 

ALL NBA SECOND TEAM

Curry

CP3

Kawhi

Giannis

Boogie

 

ALL NBA THIRD TEAM

Lowry
DeRozan

Love

Draymond

M. Gasol

 

ALL NBA DEFENSE FIRST TEAM

Avery Bradley

Patrick Beverley

Kawhi

Draymond

Rudy Gobert

 

ALL NBA DEFENSE SECOND TEAM

Tony Allen

Butler

Giannis

Durant

M. Gasol

[Volourn]

Outside of name value, has Curry done enough to be an all star this year? He seems - despite his team's record - has been rather under the radar.

 

It is also too bad that James  keeps getting the shaft for MVP simply because others often pad their stats flashly. Both Harden and Westbrook are worthy of MVP as they have had beyond fantastic years statsically but stilkl, would ANYONE take them over Lebron? Doubtful. Stats or not, he is clearly the best player and the MOST VALUABLE. Cleveland's record without him in the line up proves it. Does anyone think Cleveland would be a contender without him? Even with Harden and Westbrook's superstats does anyone really see their teams as serious contenders to the championship?

 

That being said, the MVP is Harden's to lose.. Westbrook needs to get his team a better record.And, James should be on the all defensive teams EVERY YEAR.

[Leferd]

Outside of name value, has Curry done enough to be an all star this year? He seems - despite his team's record - has been rather under the radar.

 

It is also too bad that James  keeps getting the shaft for MVP simply because others often pad their stats flashly. Both Harden and Westbrook are worthy of MVP as they have had beyond fantastic years statsically but stilkl, would ANYONE take them over Lebron? Doubtful. Stats or not, he is clearly the best player and the MOST VALUABLE. Cleveland's record without him in the line up proves it. Does anyone think Cleveland would be a contender without him? Even with Harden and Westbrook's superstats does anyone really see their teams as serious contenders to the championship?

 

That being said, the MVP is Harden's to lose.. Westbrook needs to get his team a better record.And, James should be on the all defensive teams EVERY YEAR.

 

The counting numbers are certainly down for the Warriors' big four and Curry's taken the biggest hit. But he's still very efficient and the Warriors won't be as dominant as they are without him. Besides, his shooting percentages tend to spike up after the All Star break. He definitely has the ball less than he used to and is taking far less pull up transition triples from beyond 27 feet. Numbers aside, I'd still take Curry over any other Guard in the league. No question.

 

Career Pre-All Star Game Averages

FG% .472

3FG% .427

FT% .901

PTS: 21.6

AST: 6.7

REB: 4.3

 

Career Post-All Star Game Averages

FG% .485

3FG% .466

FT% .913

PTS: 23.7

AST: 7.0

REB: 4.5

 

Curry's currently #'s:

.466

.403

.936

23.9

5.9

4.2

 

...

 

Harden has the greatest single player on-court impact in the league outside of Westbrook, except that the Rockets are a significantly better team than OKC and unlike Westbrook, Harden has been much more efficient. LeBron's #'s are not mind-boggling and the Cavs record is almost equaled by Houston --who play in the West. That's why LeBron won't be winning the MVP.

[Volourn]

No. Lebron won't win MVP because everyone has to win one. Cleveland is 0-3 this season when Lebron sits. They are 4-18 overall without him since his return.  The reward is MVP not 'flashiest stats'. Lebron gets the job done and forces his team to win.

 

That said, like I said above, no doubt at this point Harden is assuredly the MVP by the way it is actually voted on not by how it actually is.

 

Again, who would teams rather have? Harden or James? It is clear. they would take James no question. That is the definition of the TRUE MVP.

 

 

p.s. Post all star stats are irrelevant since those aren't used to determine one going to the ASG for obvious reasons.

[Guard Dog]

Hey Leferd, did you see GSW vs the Grizz last night? Draymond Green does the near impossible. A triple double, boards, steals, and assists and does it without scoring. Well, the Grizz have has their way with GS so far. Last night the worm turned.

[Guard Dog]

I think the biggest story of this season has got to be the resugence of the Miami Heat. That is a team with little talent and little hope and was looking like they were heading for a lottery pick. Now they are riding a 13 game win streak are just six games under .500. That's impressive.

[Leferd]

Had an after-hours post work social function last night but caught some of the game at the bar. I did see Draymond's stat line. The dude is the ultimate Swiss Army Knife. Yeah, the Grizz have always given Golden State problems for years, but sometimes the Warriors catch a break and eek out a victory from them once in a while. They were due.

 

I've really been impressed by Isaiah Thomas this year. He's out Iversoning Iverson.

[Volourn]

Good game by Green. But, he should have found a way to get a quadruple double. That be cute.

 

As for the Heat, they at eon a row, but bottom line, they still suck.

[Leferd]

OK. The cupcake thing is pretty good.

[Volourn]

Nah. It is just stupid, whiny,s elfish, piece of crap, Nazi, slaver 'fans' crying like the little babies they are. Complete and utter trash.

[Guard Dog]

I've got tickets to see the Grizz play the Pelicans on Wednesday. It will be the first game I've made it to this season.

[Guard Dog]

In other news the NBA D League has sold it's naming rights to Gatorade: http://dleague.nba.com/news/nba-development-league-to-become-nba-gatorade-league/.

 

The upshot there is Gatorade is going to collaborate with the league on player development. If that means improving training and coaching then it's a plus. I didn't know that 40% of NBA players have had time in the D league. I didn't think it was near that high.

 

And is the NBA considering expansion to 32 teams? This article doesn't confirm it but then cities are putting together bid packages in a time when no teams are relocation candidates it makes you wonder. Where there is smoke there is usually fire. http://www.sbnation.com/2017/2/13/14596586/nba-expansion-louisville-seattle-adam-silver

 

Whenever expansion comes up you have to ask if the talent pool of the league can support two new teams. I think the skill level of the average NBA player has never been higher but must clubs still have bench depth problems. At the same time the game has never been more popular overseas and several nations in Europe and elsewhere have leagues that play at a high level. The talent pool may be there.

 

What do you guys think? 

[Hurlshort]

Baseball and hockey have complex minor league systems, so I think it is good that basketball has been growing theirs. 

 

I'm always a fan of expansion, although basketball is a bit different because you usually only have a couple super teams. How will they ensure those teams are competitive? 

[Guard Dog]

That is where talent pool dilution becomes a concern.  Are there enough NBA caliber players to fill out two more rosters. For this sport, I think the answer is yes since the game is a global one now. Of the "Big 4"  sports in North America basketball is the only one I can say that about. But only because the roster sized are considerably smaller than the other leagues.

[ShadySands]

I agree that there is enough talent to spread around but I also agree that top talent has been pooling on teams to try to dominate

 

What was the last championship team to not have multiple superstars? Dallas? The last one to not really have any? Detroit?

[Leferd]

The best way to build a team is to follow The Process:

 

1) Get lucky in the draft and develop a superstar.

2) Find the right coach and install a system built around the skills of the superstar.

3) Sign and draft the right mix of players and personalities to complement the superstar.

4) Draw large crowds and budget appropriately to retain the superstar and complementary players.

 

I agree that the talent level in the NBA is fine, but also that smart teams can always find specialists overseas or in the D-League to develop. Good scouting and advanced analytics can find these players.

 

And yes, Seattle absolutely has to have the Supersonics back.

[Hurlshort]

Would the 2014 Spurs Champ team be considered a superstar laden team? Tim Duncan is obviously a legend, but he was pretty old by then.

[Leferd]

Kawhi Leonard may not have had superstar recognition, but by then he was a superstar talent. He's top five right now.

[Guard Dog]

When you're good you make it look easy: http://www.nba.com/video/2017/02/14/0021600832-cle-min-lebron-james-no-look-assist-derrick-williams

[Guard Dog]

What a sorry effort by the Grizzlies last night. They were sleepwalking through the first three periods. Especially the third. Then a furious comeback attempt in the 4th that just came up short. The hole was too deep to dig out of. I had decent seats though. The were the last row of the lower level even with the foul line.

[Leferd]

Kyrie is on to THEM.

 

http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/02/17/cavaliers-kyrie-irving-flat-earth?xid=socialflow_twitter_si