NBA 2023-24

It's hard for me to figure out either the groupthink or the actions required for the NBA to provide the Spurs an unearned advantage. And if that's their goal, it's not working very well. This is Pops fourth losing season.

And again, if you're thinking like a business and had that kind of influence, the New York Knicks wouldn't being going on 25 years since their last Finals appearance, and 50 years since their last championship. 

My guess is that the League is pretty thrilled to have a very young OKC in the mix, and teams like Orlando making noise again. Of course they'd take Lakes vs Celtics every year in a heartbeat. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
It's hard for me to figure out either the groupthink or the actions required for the NBA to provide the Spurs an unearned advantage. And if that's their goal, it's not working very well. This is Pops fourth losing season.

And again, if you're thinking like a business and had that kind of influence, the New York Knicks wouldn't being going on 25 years since their last Finals appearance, and 50 years since their last championship. 

My guess is that the League is pretty thrilled to have a very young OKC in the mix, and teams like Orlando making noise again. Of course they'd take Lakes vs Celtics every year in a heartbeat. 
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I believe the groupthink in general can recognize the SA Spurs are old hat, but there is something brewing in SanAntonio with Popovich again, and I don't think any of us want to see them rebound and rebuild a new dynasty because of The Spur System. 

The Spurs won the lottery and got the #1 pick last season, getting Wemby,  and still stink this year, and this summer will get a top 3 pick again.  That's 2 prolific top 3 picks in back-to-back years.  And unlike MLB or the NFL, you play basketball with 5 guys.  

I am not sure NBA fans want to see that happen or see the SA Spurs become one of the best teams again.  They had their fun and their time for 2+ decades.  Right now it's better with them out of the picture while new blood and different teams are balling in the NBA, and it's a breath of fresh air.  

The only consistent team having a great run that I enjoy seeing is the Golden State Warriors.  Sorry Spurs fans, it is what it is.

I love seeing Minnesota T-Wolves and Okla City at the top of the West.  I love Denver and felt like last year's championship was the 2nd greatest feeling ever watching the finals since the Mavericks won in 2010-2011.  

And I enjoy seeing these teams like Sacramento and the Pelicans battling for a top 5 seed or top 7 by mere margins.  And you add in Denver, the LA Clippers, Golden State, Dallas, Phoenix with the T-Wolves and OKC, and you realize that the NBA doesn't have room for San Antonio.  I mean, even the LA Lakers get so much pub hanging around.  Good thing Portland and Utah are having off years..... sheesh

And speaking of LA Lakers - did you hear how Anthony Davis had a "historical night" because he got 25 rebounds?  Of course.  But you don't ever hear about Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis.  In his last 5 games his rebounding stat line is ...15, 21, 20, 17, 15.  And you def didn't hear about his 26 rebounds in one game 6 weeks ago.  Sabonis leads the NBA in double-doubles with 60..... only one other player has 50 and that's Jokic.  Plus Sabonis is averaging 8.4 assist per game (with nearly 14 rebounds a game).

Spurs, Lakers, Clippers and Phoenix (because of Durant and Booker) can kiss my a$$.

This new NBA is fun with Denver, OKC, the T-Wolves, some Luka Magic, and the OG golden state warriors.  With the Pels, the Kings playing fast and fun with them.  While Utah and Houston are down right now, unfortunately.

I love the NBA West. I am done with LA Lakers, the Spurs, Phoenix and the Clippers.  And once upon a time I used to like the Suns.  But not in the past 5-10 years for sure.  I liked Nash with the Suns.  But I also hated Mike D'antonio, his mustache and horse teeth.  I just Can't stand their team.  

 
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admo said:
I believe the groupthink in general can recognize the SA Spurs are old hat, but there is something brewing in SanAntonio with Popovich again, and I don't think any of us want to see them rebound and rebuild a new dynasty because of The Spur System. 
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Watched the Spurs last night.  Catch them a couple times a year when they’re on TV.  They don’t look like a well coached team. Offense is disorganized and they do some really dumb things on defense. They do play hard…but otherwise it’d be tough to guess a HoF coach was on their bench by just watching the team. 
 

Either Pop is doing an awesome stealth tank job, or he’s mailing it in. We’ll find out I guess since he just got extended 

 
Jason Sitoke said:
Watched the Spurs last night.  Catch them a couple times a year when they’re on TV.  They don’t look like a well coached team. Offense is disorganized and they do some really dumb things on defense. They do play hard…but otherwise it’d be tough to guess a HoF coach was on their bench by just watching the team. 
 

Either Pop is doing an awesome stealth tank job, or he’s mailing it in. We’ll find out I guess since he just got extended 
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Four seasons is also a reasonable time frame for Pop to have identified, assembled and coached up competitive young talent, and/or worked with the GM to buy or rent some proven performers. If you tanked for Wemby and still boast the worst record in the league, who would you get out of this years' tanking? 

 
Jason Sitoke said:
Either Pop is doing an awesome stealth tank job, or he’s mailing it in. We’ll find out I guess since he just got extended 
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I don't know if it's known to him or not, but I think he has simply lost the fire. Hard not to when you've achieved about all you can achieve and have done it for this long. Nothing new under the sun and all that, and he's always seemed like a pretty well adjusted guy as far as highly competitive coaches go. 

 
Lorewarn said:
I don't know if it's known to him or not, but I think he has simply lost the fire. Hard not to when you've achieved about all you can achieve and have done it for this long. Nothing new under the sun and all that, and he's always seemed like a pretty well adjusted guy as far as highly competitive coaches go. 
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It may not be a coincidence that Popovich lost his wife in 2018 and was pretty devastated. Some assumed he would quit coaching as he was getting older and had already accomplished everything, but he may have re-committed just to keep himself busy. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
It may not be a coincidence that Popovich lost his wife in 2018 and was pretty devastated. Some assumed he would quit coaching as he was getting older and had already accomplished everything, but he may have re-committed just to keep himself busy. 
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Yeah but it's 2024. 

San Antonio has played below average for years. 

They tanked last year for the Wemby sweepstakes.

By NBA magic they got him.

They have a worse record with Wemby than last year.

Somehow Wemby will earn the Rookie of Year award despite it all..... And San Antonio will get another top 3 lotto pick this Summer.

I'm sorry to say but I'm not sending Popovich flowers.  He needs 2 of the best draft picks on a 5 man team to win.

Back in the day I thought and said he was the greatest NBA coach ever. 

Turns out that he is like Belichik without Brady (best players).  

When San Antonio becomes great again, it won't be because of Pop 

It will happen because they sucked and tanked and got the best players in the draft out of it.  And then add pieces.

I'm seeing the light 

 
PATHETIC BREAKING NEWS

15 days ago I was reading up on Phila and saw that Joel Embiid was cleared by the physicians 100,% for full athletic movement.

And he still not playing. 

His representatives says that Embiid will be ready right before playoffs.

How much of a puss can you be ??

Paid professional quite handsomely.

Team and coaches would love you on the court to help win games.

Doctor clears you from a minor procedure.

Is Embiid so concerned about his current stat lines since January that he won't go 20 minutes in a game ??  Won't play until the final week??

I mean, the doctor cleared you 2 weeks ago

What a puss

 
admo said:
Yeah but it's 2024. 

San Antonio has played below average for years. 

They tanked last year for the Wemby sweepstakes.

By NBA magic they got him.

They have a worse record with Wemby than last year.

Somehow Wemby will earn the Rookie of Year award despite it all..... And San Antonio will get another top 3 lotto pick this Summer.

I'm sorry to say but I'm not sending Popovich flowers.  He needs 2 of the best draft picks on a 5 man team to win.

Back in the day I thought and said he was the greatest NBA coach ever. 

Turns out that he is like Belichik without Brady (best players).  

When San Antonio becomes great again, it won't be because of Pop 

It will happen because they sucked and tanked and got the best players in the draft out of it.  And then add pieces.

I'm seeing the light 
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Well that's pretty much what I said in my Sunday post.

But I'm still willing to call Popovich one of the NBAs greatest coaches. I got no quarrel with Bill Belichik either. I guess you could accuse any coach of thriving with great players, but sometimes they become great players by playing in dynasties. A lot of players were drafted ahead of Parker and Ginobli. And Brady. 

I will say that Phil Jackson got incredibly lucky twice. Still a great coach by most accounts. I'm sure there are coaches who are famous for getting the most out of lesser players, but no one is jumping to mind. 

 
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admo said:
PATHETIC BREAKING NEWS

15 days ago I was reading up on Phila and saw that Joel Embiid was cleared by the physicians 100,% for full athletic movement.

And he still not playing. 

His representatives says that Embiid will be ready right before playoffs.

How much of a puss can you be ??

Paid professional quite handsomely.

Team and coaches would love you on the court to help win games.

Doctor clears you from a minor procedure.

Is Embiid so concerned about his current stat lines since January that he won't go 20 minutes in a game ??  Won't play until the final week??

I mean, the doctor cleared you 2 weeks ago

What a puss
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I don't know about this. Given the original injury, it was considered highly optimistic Embid would return for the regular season, and the best case scenario was getting him back for the playoffs. Being cleared for practice isn't the same as being cleared to play. I've never heard anyone doubt Embid's competitive fire or call him a pu&&y outside of Reddit forums. You sure don't want to come back too early if the rest of your career is on the line.

On the other hand....last year Zion Williamson was reportedly cleared to play for a New Orleans team scrapping to make the playoffs, but didn't return, saying he was "physically fine" but it was a matter of when he mentally "felt like Zion."

And then there's Kawhi Leonard, who sure seems like a competitive beast, but has sat out long stretches of his career, refusing to let team doctor's treat or diagnose him. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
I don't know about this. Given the original injury, it was considered highly optimistic Embid would return for the regular season, and the best case scenario was getting him back for the playoffs. Being cleared for practice isn't the same as being cleared to play. I've never heard anyone doubt Embid's competitive fire or call him a pu&&y outside of Reddit forums. You sure don't want to come back too early if the rest of your career is on the line.

On the other hand....last year Zion Williamson was reportedly cleared to play for a New Orleans team scrapping to make the playoffs, but didn't return, saying he was "physically fine" but it was a matter of when he mentally "felt like Zion."

And then there's Kawhi Leonard, who sure seems like a competitive beast, but has sat out long stretches of his career, refusing to let team doctor's treat or diagnose him. 
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I'd echo this.  I'm a Nuggets fan, so I only really follow injury news as it pertains to my team...but Jamal Murray was cleared for on-court activities in April of 2022, right as Jokic and a very shorthanded Nuggets team was playing the eventual champion Warriors in the 1st round.  He didn't feel ready, and hence didn't play.  He caught some flak for it, but since he's played multiple times through ankle sprains, hamstrings, etc  since, I think he's confirmed that he's super competitive and prefers playing through injuries whenever he can.  Looking back, if he didn't feel ready then he wasn't fully healthy.  I am no defender of Embiid, but he just had knee surgery.  I'm not going to flame him for not jumping on the court once the team doctor says he's good.

 
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Not a starter

Played 6th most minutes per game

4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg

Declare for the draft

36/67/26

But it will be a circus


 
Mavric said:
Not a starter

Played 6th most minutes per game

4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg

Declare for the draft

36/67/26

But it will be a circus
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I think he transfers after hearing what the scouts say he needs to improve on. A lot of wild speculation about where he ends up, I don't think he stays in the draft.

 
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