Taking it to the hole. Hoops 2K17 Thread.

[Gromnir]

To be fair to Shaq, he claims he was joking.

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/shaquille-oneal-isnt-a-flat-earther-after-all-im-joking-you-idiots-183258371.html

yeah, we heard how shaq claimed he were joking, but in light o' charles barkley's moon anecdote, am a bit dubious.  the moon-is-closer-than-LA and a flat-earth mentality is consistent, no? 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Leferd]

Then again, I've come across some lunatics over here as well. Which put in perspective, kinda shifts Shaq a bit more towards the rational side.

[Gromnir]

Then again, I've come across some lunatics over here as well. Which put in perspective, kinda shifts Shaq a bit more towards the rational side.

hmm.  if by "here" you mean the obsidian forums, then am gonna suggest you is setting a low baseline.  bolster shaq by comparing with a few o' the more obdurate, obtuse and opinionated loons from these boards?  am no longer knowledgeable 'bout what constitutes the obsidian demographic insofar as purchasers o' their games is concerned, but the wot portion o' the board has attracted... colorful personalities.  

 

but getting back to basketball, the wins by wisconsin and xavier actual has peaked our interest in the tourney.  seeing how deep a genuine cinderella can go is almost always what keeps us watching the tournament. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Leferd]

UCLA v Kentucky tonight. Keeping an eye out for Lonzo Ball. His dad is an insufferable WWF style promoter, but the Ball kids definitely have talent.

[Leferd]

Devin Booker dropped 70 points last night. Damn.

[Guard Dog]

Did you guys see Florida's buzzer beater 3 in OT to beat Wisconson? Amazing!

[Keyrock]

So, the entire season the Cavs have been coasting, doing just barely enough to get the 1 seed... except they're no longer in 1st. Oops.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Keyrock

[Leferd]

The Cavs have the 27th ranked defense after January 1st. Obviously, giving heavy minutes to Irving, Love, Korver, Frye, Jefferson, and JR Smith is not a exactly a defensive boon. But they can shoot just as well as the Spurs and Warriors. I'll still take them over Boston, DC, and Toronto. No one in the East can stop a motivated LeBron.

[Volourn]

Nobody is gonna care if the Cavs are 1`st or lwoer seed. The only thing that matters is if they win the championship. If they win it, greats eason, if they don't, it was a garbage season. It's the reaosn that depsite Lebron being the best player in the league he will never win another regular season MVP. Championship or bust.

[Keyrock]

No doubt the Cavs are going to be the favorites in the east even if they don't get the 1 seed, it's just kind of crazy because it seemed to everyone that them getting the 1 seed was a foregone conclusion.

[Leferd]

Bah. Brutal Final. Refs just couldn't help themselves from blowing the whistle.

[Guard Dog]

Bah. Brutal Final. Refs just couldn't help themselves from blowing the whistle.

Totally agree. There were many games with bad officiating but the finals, particularly the 2nd half was awful.

[Guard Dog]

The Nets scored 141 points last night. I will repeat that. The Brooklyn Nets scored 141 points, 81 of which was in the first half. Of course they gave up 118 because neither they nor the 76's can play defense.

 

Whats the NBA record for combined score I wonder?

 

In other news the Grizz lost to San Antonio AGAIN. WTF? Do you realize the Grizz are 22-65 against San Antonio all time? By far the worst percentage of any opponent. Talk about a team just having your number.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Guard Dog

[Leferd]

 

Doug Moe ran it with style.

 

 

But as far as a 48 minute regulation game, you have to combine the powers of Doug Moe with Don Nelson's Run TMC.

[Guard Dog]

Two nights left. The Westen Conference is set but there is still drama in the east. If the Heat can win and get some help from either Brooklyn or Atlanta they can make either the 7th or 8th seed. I'm pulling for them a little bit. Not just for former South Florida loyalty but because they were utterly gutted, got off to a terrible start and fought their way back. You have to like that.

[Leferd]

Leferd's Regular Season Awards

 

Pre-season picks.

 

Mid-season picks.

 

MVP

1. Curry

2. Kawhi

3. Harden

4. Russ

5. LeBron

 

ROY 

1. Joel Embiid

2. Malcolm Brodgon

3. Dario Saric

 

DPOY

1. Draymond

2. Gobert

3. Kawhi 

 

COY

D'Antoni

 

6MOY

1. Andre Iguodala

2. Eric Gordon

3. Lou Williams

 

MIP

1. Giannis

2. Jokic

 

ALL NBA FIRST TEAM
G: Russ
G: Harden
F: LeBron

F: Kawhi
C: Anthony Davis

ALL NBA SECOND TEAM
G: Curry
G: Isaiah
F: KD
F: Giannis
C: Gobert

ALL NBA THIRD TEAM
G: Wall
G: DeRozan
F: Gordon Hayward
F: Draymond Green
C: Nikola Jokic

ALL NBA DEFENSE FIRST TEAM
G: Avery Bradley
G: Tony Allen
F: Kawhi Leonard
F: Draymond Green
C: Rudy Gobert

ALL NBA DEFENSE SECOND TEAM
G: Patrick Beverley
G: Danny Green
F: Andre Iguodala
F: Andre Roberson
C: Marc Gasol

 

All Rookie Team

Joel Embiid

Dario Saric

Malcolm Brogdon

Buddy Hield

Pass

Edited April 15, 2017 by Leferd

[Leferd]

ROUND 1.

 

1. Warriors v. 8. Blazers  = Warriors

2. Spurs v 7. Grizzlies = Spurs

3. Rockets v. 6. Thunder = Rockets

4. Clippers v. 5. Jazz = Jazz

 

1. Celtics v. 8. Bulls = Celtics

2. Cavs v. 7. Pacers = Cavs

3. Raptors v. 6. Bucks = Bucks

4. Wizards v. 5. Hawks = Wizards

 

Round 2.

 

Warriors v. Jazz = Warriors

Spurs v. Rockets = Rockets

 

Celtics v. Wizards = Celtics

Cavs v. Bucks = Cavs

 

Conference Finals.

 

Warriors v. Rockets = Warriors

Celtics v. Cavs = Cavs

 

The Finals.

 

Warriors sweep the Cavaliers

[Volourn]

Sweep? L0L Beat? Most likely.

 

And, L0L Youa re such a GS fnaboy. Both MVP and DPOY? LMAO MVP is either Harden or Westbrook. DPOY is clearly Leonard. And, if not him, the udnerrated  Howard who people want to ignore because they hate  him but is clearly one of the best defenders in the entire league.

 

 

My 1st round picks: CHI, TOR, AT, and CLE in the East.  GS, SA, HOU, and LAC in the West.

[Keyrock]

MVP

1. Curry

2. Kawhi

3. Harden

4. Russ

5. LeBron

 

Homerism much?  Are you freakin' kidding me?  I don't have an issue with LeBron at 5, I'd put him there too since I refuse to give him serious MVP consideration for the simple fact of how piss poor the Cavs were down the stretch.  A team with LeBron AND Kyrie should not end the season with only 51 wins.  That's bonkers.  I don't have an issue with Kawhi over Russ and can sorta see Kawhi over Harden.  Kawhi excels on both ends of the floor, something you can't say about Russ, Harden, or Curry, and he led a team that won 61 games.  I'd have Kawhi at #2.  Steph is on a team that won 67 games and that's impressive, sure, but a good bit of that was with much help from KD, who was arguably the league MVP before he got hurt.  I'd have Steph at #4.  Russ just had one of the most impressive statistical seasons ever, maybe the most impressive.  The thing is, Russ is a stat compiler the likes of which we have not seen since Wilt.  Dude's obviously been ball hogging this year (his whole career, really) and padding his stats, his obscene usage numbers back that up.  His team won 47 games, about what they were projected to.  Russ is going to win the MVP, but I have him at #3.  Harden should be the MVP.  The utterly insane stats he put up this year are not that far off Russ' stats.  The difference being that Harden makes his teammates better, whereas Russ just pads his stats.  The proof is in the win total.  Houston won 55 games, that's nearly 15 games over their projected win total.  I don't buy the argument that Russ has a weaker supporting cast either.  If anything, OKC has more talent around Russ, they just don't get to show it much as they stand around and watch Russ do his thing.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Keyrock

[Volourn]

  "A team with LeBron AND Kyrie should not end the season with only 51 wins.  "

 

Of course, the team was 0-8 without Lebron so it shows how valuable he is.

 

 

The biggest issue with Leonard being MVp is that SA always does good. It is never because of one player. It is the whole team, the coach, and the entire system so to give him MVP? Nah.

 

With Curry, his team is stacked, and they were still the best team even when Curry was in the 'background' (relatively speaking) to Durant.

 

Lebron, of coruse, loses MVP lustre for two reasons. a) He clearly no longer cares about the RS (that is the fault of media and the fans) and b) He does have Irving playing with him.

 

It is why Harden and Westbrook clearly are top candiates. I'd give to to Harden. His team improved gretaly from lasts eason despite losing a top defender and Harden becoming a PG.

 

Let's also not forget the BOS and  WSH dudes too. They should be up there as well. But, still, Harden it is.

[Keyrock]

The biggest issue with Leonard being MVp is that SA always does good. It is never because of one player. It is the whole team, the coach, and the entire system so to give him MVP? Nah.

 

Yeah, it's always hard to make a case for a Spurs player because everyone on that team buys into Pop's plan and they all play team-first and don't care about individual glory, which is why they always get a top 3 seed and why Pop is arguably the greatest NBA coach ever.  Still, Kawhi is freakin' amazing, I guess I just want the guy to get some individual attention.  At least we're on the same page about Harden.  What The Beard did this year has been remarkable.

[Guard Dog]

It really is a rotten stroke of luck for the Grizz to be matched up against the Spurs.Nonetheless I'll be watching tonight

[Leferd]

Curry hasn't been the best or most impressive player in the league, but he's been the most effective and impactful for his team.

 

 

Curry's shooting numbers are only merely great this season, but couple that with the gravity he has on the court and that equals a +/- of over 1000 this year -- by far the highest in the league (nearly +200 more than the nearest player, and over +500 more than LeBron, and +600 over Kawhi and Harden.)

 

The MVP should go to the most impactful player on the best team. If not him, then the most impactful player on the next best team. Neither Harden, Westbrook, or LeBron's teams qualify. Curry has been the biggest difference maker on by far the best team, and when he's on the court, he makes the team much better. Period.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Leferd

[Guard Dog]

F-----g Spurs.

[Leferd]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19167406/isaiah-thomas-sister-chyna-thomas-killed-one-car-accident

 

This is horrible.