600

Yeah. Jmurph said it a couple of days ago, and everybody here knows it, but James being able to put up numbers like this approaching age 39 in his 21st season in the league is remarkable.

Jordan Poole went 2-11 for 8 points, with 4 assists and 5 turnovers tonight.

Four years, $128 million dollars.

LeBron is amazing, this is a fact.

I do wonder if the inevitable PED expose will be a thing people care about or not. I have never really understood why some athletes people care about PEDs and some they don't.

I do wonder if the inevitable PED expose will be a thing people care about or not. I have never really understood why some athletes people care about PEDs and some they don't.

it's an ####### index.

bonds, clemens, lance == world class ########

mcgwire, pettitte == sufficiently benign

Keep an eye on GSWs shot distribution. They've never been a great rim pressure team, but this year I wonder if they've reached a tipping point. Some of that is schedule (Minnie and Cleveland twice), some of that is Chris Paul without a legit rim runner, but some of it could be reduced athleticism, even for guys like Steph (8% rim frequency this season).

TBH I think they reached this point last year. Though historically they're actually pretty good, they dominated points in the paint during their 2022 title run just generating open looks through their motion offense. They sucked last year though, and until proven otherwise the default assumption should be that it's not coming back. They've gotten a bit better this year, particularly evening up free throw attempts, but they really need Wiggins in particular to play with more force in the paint and Klay to not suck to open up more space from the perimeter.

so, um the Bulls are getting off to a slow start.

7 minutes into the first quarter of tonight's game, the Bulls were still sitting on 1 point.

On the one hand, Shake Milton isn’t a very good shooter but on the other hand he seems to want to shoot in critical moments.

Can I blame stiggles for this?

On the one hand, Shake Milton isn’t a very good shooter but on the other hand he seems to want to shoot in critical moments.

Can I blame stiggles for this?

he's a better shooter than tony wroten.

Milton’s social media handle is SniperShake. SniperShake!

KAT has been the Wolves' best player far too many games recently.

Pump up that trade value!

Bulls managed to come all the way back and win. Miami can't rebound.

Chet has 36, 10, and 5 on 14-22 shooting and hits a three at the buzzer to tie it, Shai goes 18-29 for 40 with 10 points in OT and the Thunder beat the Warriors on the road for the second straight time (this one with Curry) to move to 9-4.

It may already be here.

OKC/GS: Caught the OT on NBATV after Dal/Mil. I think Phoenix, the Clippers, the Lakers, and Golden State, while dangerous, all are relying too much on guys in their 30s for this era. This may get Milwaukee, too. Holmgren is better than I thought he would be.

Dal/Mil: It was a very good game; both teams pretty much went with "Heroball" down the stretch. Doncic missed a bunch of shots late, Lillard got hot, and Milwaukee won. I have not seen many games in which a guy showed exactly why a team traded for him more clearly than Lillard did in that game.

This is very meta but I watched the end of the Wolves game and it'd be funny what The Narrative would be if Towns committed a bad foul, fouled out, and gave up go ahead free throws, and then Edwards won the game as opposed to the vice versa which actually happened last night.

Towns is a weird dude, but from everything I hear is actually also a good dude. I hope his early season slump is behind him, because right now he is playing really well and he seems much happier on the court. Early in the season, the guy looked miserable.

The narrative would have been totally different though. Charisma matters and Ant just has the it factor, and so that and because he is young he gets a pass too often.

i was gonna write something about KAT, but i'll leave it on the cutting room floor.


i'll just say that i hope he gets to a situation where he can be the chris bosh on a championship caliber team.

Detroit Lions have won 10 games in 2023 calendar year. Detroit Pistons still stuck on 9.

I don't believe for a second that LeBron thought about retiring last year. Goodness, he still has so much left in the tank.

Orlando and Houston appear to be much better than I thought. Also, OKC shot 60% from 2, 61% from 3, and beat Portland 134-91 on the road. So, yeah, maybe they are here now.

I have noticed this a couple of times this year while playing Immaculate Grid: does the bb-ref picture of Blake Griffin look like a video game image to anyone else? It freaks me out.

I do wonder if the inevitable PED expose will be a thing people care about or not. I have never really understood why some athletes people care about PEDs and some they don't.

I think some of this comes down to the context in which they're doing it and what is legal at the time. I suspect that Lebron is on all kinds of supplements that are either legal or right on the line of what can pass a test. He hasn't had a "come at me, bro" moment like Lance, Clemens, Palmeiro, and others. I also think we're through the initial shock of the '00s when the blissfully ignorant portion of casual sports fans woke up to the fact that there have always been different forms of PEDs in sports. I don't think it will ever be as much of a big deal as it was during that time.

OKC/GS: Caught the OT on NBATV after Dal/Mil. I think Phoenix, the Clippers, the Lakers, and Golden State, while dangerous, all are relying too much on guys in their 30s for this era. This may get Milwaukee, too. Holmgren is better than I thought he would be.

Also impressed by the variety in Chet's game. Based on seeing him in college, I didn't think he would have the power or body control to get into the paint as much as he has. Between him and SGA, OKC is clearly ahead of schedule. They have a super interesting supporting cast with so many different types of guys who all bring something to the table. The wing Jaylen Williams is incredible. They have the luxury of not having to rush into anything to make a win-now trade, but can see how this team gels for at least the rest of this year before deciding if they need to consolidate. The nice thing about having all that draft capital is that they can basically just keep rolling it over year over year until they want to use it. Someone will always trade tomorrow's pick for one today. Also, my loathing for OKC is not what it once was, possibly because I'm not in Seattle and possibly because that first wave of players (Durant and Russ, especially) are gone from the franchise. Now I just enjoy watching them.

KAT has been the Wolves' best player far too many games recently.

Is this such a bad thing? He turned 28 this week. He was a 1.1 draft pick and has made All-NBA twice. Yes, he's probably better as the 2nd option on a contender, but the 2nd option will carry a team ~1/3 of the time, especially when that 2nd option is an offensive specialist. I'm thrilled that the Wolves actually have enough depth to get him closer to the role he's meant for and that Ant has a guy who can smooth out some of the bumps on the road to becoming the franchise player. Again, the shame here is that it's nearly impossible to envision what the combination of them with Gobert looks like beyond this year due to the luxury tax changes.

Also, my loathing for OKC is not what it once was, possibly because I'm not in Seattle and possibly because that first wave of players (Durant and Russ, especially) are gone from the franchise. Now I just enjoy watching them.

I was only a Seattle resident for a short time so am just a Sonics sympathizer and not a real fan, but I totally agree with all of this.

Also, OKC shot 60% from 2, 61% from 3, and beat Portland 134-91 on the road. So, yeah, maybe they are here now.

In the second half of a back-to-back after an overtime game, no less.

But also ... Portland.

I for one am enjoying this changing of the guard in the Western Conference. Wemby and Chet are the most interesting new stars to come on the scene in a while, and I find myself tuning into their games just to see how they're playing. Will be fun to see Denver try to make hay while the sun is shining too, and then try to hold off the upstarts as they grow into their games.

The Warriors are beyond stale at this point, and the novelty of watching CP3 has already worn off. I'm still watching the games as I can from the East Coast but the honeymoon from 2022 is long gone at this point. This is how I imagine Lakers fans felt in the late Kobe era -- I know the team is not going to really do anything, I don't necessarily expect them to win games against good teams anymore, I'm mostly watching to see Steph do something cool. There are some subplots I have a minor investment in (Moody and Kuminga! CP3 leading the second unit) and some that I wish would go away (Draymond and Klay), but I mostly just tune it out as much as I can. I'm now surprised when a Klay jumper goes in.

Tonight is Dregs Host Contenders Night: Clippers (ok not a contender but still in top ten for odds) @ Spurs, then Nuggets @ Pistons, Celtics @ Hornets, Bucks @ Wizards.

As someone used to his team being in the basement and who looks too often at point spreads, the awful teams this year seem extra awful compared to recent seasons for this part of the year.

So far here are the wins for the bottom five (not counting Grizz, yet)

Pistons 2-12 (Bulls, Hornets)
Hornets 3-9 (Hawks, Pacers, Wizards)
Wizards 2-10 (Hornets, Grizzlies)
Blazers 3-10 (Pistons, Grizzlies, Raptors)
Spurs 3-10 (Rockets, Sunsx2)

So combined 13-51. Take out games against each other and you get it to 9-47 (I think). And Spurs three wins came three weeks ago and they've been losing by like 20/game since.

What is up with the Spurs btw?

They're 28th on defense and they really shouldn't be.

They're 28th on defense and they really shouldn't be.

Are you perhaps saying something about the sartorial state of a certain emperor?

Are you perhaps saying something about the sartorial state of a certain emperor?

Is it even taboo to say that Pop's lost his fastball? I thought that was just common belief.

I mostly think it's kind of dumb to play Wemby at PF or Sochan at PG. With Tre Jones on the court, they have a 117.5 ORTG, and with him off the court, it's 101. Tre Jones isn't that good.

What is the goal for the Spurs this season? If it's winning, then playing Sochan at PG and Wemby at PF is dumb. If it's developing those players over winning, maybe even with an eye to getting another good draft pick, then I'm not sure it's dumb. Obviously this is only true up to a point and the Spurs aren't in a Process-style position right now, but I'm not sure their short- and long-term winning goals are aligned, which may be a lot of what is up with them right now.

Aidan LaPorta
@AidanLaPorta69
·
6h
Since Instagram dropped in 2010, the Pistons are the ONLY team to not win a single playoff game. No insta post has ever been made about a pistons winning a live playoff game

If it's developing those players over winning, maybe even with an eye to getting another good draft pick, then I'm not sure it's dumb.

Developing them into what? The problem with how they're using Sochan and Wemby is that it has no coherence.

If you believe that you just put players at the position that they need to learn to grow the most, then what are you doing with Wemby at 4 when he's clearly going to be a 5 at his peak?
If you believe that you have to put players in a position to succeed so that they can build on success while being protected from dispiriting failure, then what are you doing with Sochan at PG?

I mean I haven't watched much of the Spurs this season so I don't have a nuanced understanding of any of this, but it seems like Pop is trying to find out if Sochan can hack playing PG in the NBA, as he's much more valuable if he can than if he can't given that he doesn't really look like a player that's ever going to shoot all that efficiently. Wemby may well be playing with a center to protect him while he puts on his grown man muscles. I don't know if either move is going to succeed or is the smartest option, necessarily, but I don't think either is incoherent either.

I don’t mind Wemby at 4 as much (for skill development + he pairs well with Collins + he really needs more bulk before he bangs his too too much on D) nearly as much as Sochan at the point (he’s a forward, full stop, and it’s maybe hurting Wemby’s development not to be paired with a legit playmaker).

Good Ringer piece on Cade.

Giannis 19-21 from the floor against Washington with a few minutes left.

So that's something

Finishes 20-23 plus 2 free throws for 42 points.

I take the Sochan thing as a developmental nudge to improve his playmaking. He could become the sort of secondary playmaking forward (SloMo, Odom type who can run a possession here and there but isn't the primary PG). That's probably his ultimate upside. To get there, they must want to get him as many in-game reps as possible at playmaking. If doing that means losing a few more games and getting a few more lottery balls, that's not such a bad thing.

Is it possible that Pop is no longer a positive needle mover as a coach? Definitely. And I'd add that they have also had a huge brain drain over the years. Messina, Hammon, Hardy, Udoka, Borrego have all left the coaching staff in the last 5 years and gone on to do good things. They did get Brett Brown back.

To get there, they must want to get him as many in-game reps as possible at playmaking. If doing that means losing a few more games and getting a few more lottery balls, that's not such a bad thing.

I understand this, and on a team full of mediocre vets I'd probably agree. But the priority here should be on developing Wemby. If they want to give Sochan some run at PG when Wemby's on the bench, or in G league, sure. But more and more I've come to believe that prospects need to be surrounded by actual talent in order to succeed in their development.

Exactly

For most times I love letting the young players explore the studio space (so to speak), but there are three places/situations where I think there needs to be a bit of structure/veterans/organization.

1) Defense. What I mean is that there needs to be a certain level of expectations on defense. Putting the work in, good positioning, and so forth. It seems to me you need enough "Give a crap" and knowing what to do on defense on the team or it can really seem to poison the young players.

2) PG. More generally having an organized offense with a plan. Doesn't always have to be the PG exactly, but I think there needs to be enough organization and play-making on the floor somewhere to instill good habits (pretty much like on defense above). Young players should be able to try new things and expand, but both a "free for all everyone get theirs" and a stale "no playmaking or passing here" can hurt the development of young players in my view.

3) Critical mass. It is a cliche, but I think you do need some level of veteran presence on the floor and in the locker room. Not many, but at least a couple.

co-sign 641. what's maddening about the Spurs in particular is that they do have two competent (not great, but competent) point guards in Tre Jones (who is getting minutes) and Devonte' Graham (who mostly isn't). Both of whom have significantly positive on/off numbers (while Sochan is very negative).

Other early rookie feedback: Brandon Miller looked pretty good to me? The numbers are predictably bad (though it's obviously very early), but based on exactly one time seeing him play, you can see the potential to be a legit two way, big wing. Seeing how the Miller vs Scoot thing plays out will be interesting.