NBA 2016-2017 Regular Season

[The G Man]

Steph had the most ridiculous game at the rim I've ever seen tonight against the Wizards. He made several layups that seemed impossible. Here's a video of one of them. https://twitter.com/KNBR/status/848713367392985089 He also had a one handed long layup while he was falling away over the baseline. https://twitter.com/bballbreakdown/stat ... 8613397504 The play that will hit the highlights is none of the above. It was when Gortat was defending Curry beyond the arc. Steph faked him out so badly that Gortat went into a spin cycle before the shot went up and in. https://twitter.com/KNBR/status/848691546719309824

Steph said he learned a lot of his moves around the rim watching Barbosa play for the Suns.

Livingston had a great game tonight. The Wizards played well but the Warriors were playing at their best at home.

Since January 1, the five players with the highest eFG% since January are three centers, Korver and Igoudala.

[The G Man]

Zach Lowe on Andre a few days ago.

https://twitter.com/samesfandiari/statu ... 2910532612

[The G Man]

Chicago with Wade not playing: +1.2
Chicago with Wade in the game: -3.5

Wade net +/- -4.7. He was -5.0 last year with Miami. His +/- was among the best in the league from 2005-6 through 2012-13.

[Captain Hate]

LeBron played pretty well against the Celtics last night.

[The G Man]

LeBron played pretty well against the Celtics last night.

I watched the first half. The Cavs dominated the boards even with Thompson out and Korver being the nominal center for stretches.

[Captain Hate]

Really don't like this blonde skirt they replaced Sage Steele with; is ESPN incapable of not fucking things up?

[The G Man]

Really don't like this blonde skirt they replaced Sage Steele with; is ESPN incapable of not fucking things up?

Michelle Beadle has been doing TV sports for a long time. I remember when she did Nets games during the Kidd/Carter/RJ era. She's knowledgeable about the NBA and has more personality than Steele. Beadle and Steele were splitting NBA Countdown duties until Steele was just removed.

That said, there are suspiciions expressed in the press that Steele was moved off NBA Countdown two weeks before the start of the playoffs for running afoul of liberal orthodoxy. She criticized MIke Evans of TB for not standing for the anthem, expressed annoyance at flights being delayed during protests of Trump's immigration orders and had the nerve to say back in February, "“The worst racism that I have received (she is biracial and her husband is white) and I mean thousands and thousands over the years, is from black people, who in my mind thought would be the most accepting because there has been that experience. But even as recent as the last couple of weeks, the words that I have had thrown at me I can’t repeat here and it’s 99 percent from people with my skin color. But if a white person said those words to me, what would happen?”

The ESPN response to that is why would she being working The Masters if they were going to get rid of her.

http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-pr ... ation.html

[jon abbey]

wow, the Cavs are a mess, blowing a 26 point lead after 3 to ATL today and losing in OT. outscored 44-18 in the 4th, nice defense.

[The G Man]

Minnesota vs. Lakers - two teams needing to lose.

What does Thibs do? He plays KAT 41:16, Wiggins 38:25, Dieng, 37:27.

[Steve Minkin]

Haven't seen the Lakers in a while, and here they come on a five-game winning streak, high-powered offense really clicking, young, impressive athletes sharing the ball . . . But at some point, Luke is going to have to break it to them about defense. Doesn't even seem to be a rumor yet on this team.

Speaking of defense, Dubs rested Dray and Andre tonight. KD was five for seven on threes tonight (after going 0-9 against the Pelicans and Jazz), and seemed fluid and fully effective for the first time since he's been back. Just in time.

After this season, 7 of the 10 most prolific individual three-point seasons belong to the Dubs' current backcourt, the three outliers being Ray Allen (6th place, 269, 05-06 41.2%), Dennis Scott (8th, 95-96, 267, 425%), and this year's James Harden slipping into 9th shooting 34.7% . Curry last year sank 402 threes, shooting 45.4%, which is an outlier in itself. (Should note parenthetically that that is also Coach Kerr's NBA all-time leading career mark, although at a considerably less ambitious rate, of course.) This year Curry repeats as the only player to surpass 300, with a relatively modest (for him) 41.1%

I am SO ready for these playoffs to begin!

[The G Man]

Real Plus Minus wins added for the season
Rank Player Previous year rank
1 LeBron (2)
2 Steph (3)
3 Butler (-)
4 Westbrook (4)
5 Draymond (1)
6 Gobert (-)
7 Harden (9)
8 Leonard (7)
9 Paul (5)
10 AD (-)
11 Giannis (-)

The last name on this list made NBA history by leading his team in Scoring, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. The next step is to get his three point shooting at least up to 34-35% (Harden/Westbrook) range.

Durant fell off the list because of the games lost due to injury and Paul on a per game basis was #1 in 2016-17. Isaiah Thomas ranked #4 per game in offensive rpm but at the bottom on defense. He may not be that terrible because teams hit a high percentage of threes when he was on the floor, mostly bad luck.

My MVP voting is 1. Westbrook, 2. LeBron, 3. Harden, Leonard (tie).

[Steve Minkin]

ESPN and Wikipedia are listing Pau Gasol as the qualified 3 pt percentage leader -- in what would be an NBA record -- but I don't think he has enough makes to legitimately qualify.

What's the rule regarding technicals for the playoffs? If there a reset or do they add games to the 16 before suspensions? My recollection is that they don't.

[Captain Hate]

Whoever is the MVP this season is meaningless to me because good arguments can be made for each of the four Gordo listed.

When Gasol made a three in an ABC game he looked over at Hubie, who hectored him to always stay below the free throw line when he coached him in Memphis. Funny how long both Gasols played in Memphis.

[The G Man]

ESPN and Wikipedia are listing Pau Gasol as the qualified 3 pt percentage leader -- in what would be an NBA record -- but I don't think he has enough makes to legitimately qualify.

What's the rule regarding technicals for the playoffs? If there a reset or do they add games to the 16 before suspensions? My recollection is that they don't.

I go by basketball reference which has Korver #1 at 45.1%. His % was 40.9 with Atlanta and 48.5 with Cleveland.

[Captain Hate]

Lost in the team's lethargic play down the stretch has been how well Korver and Derrrrrron have fit in with the Cavs, particularly on the latter's part in an OT loss to Miami (sans LeBron and Thompson and with JR playing one of the worst games I've seen him have when he's mentally focused but just can't hit a fucking thing). Korver has gotten used to an offense where he isn't continually running guys off picks so I think he's stayed fresher late in the game, which might be why his percentage is higher, and is also playing decent defense.

[Steve Minkin]

I go by basketball reference which has Korver #1 at 45.1%. His % was 40.9 with Atlanta and 48.5 with Cleveland.

I agree. That's a helluva % with Cleveland!

Wiki has now dropped listing Gasol, hasn't replaced it with Korver yet. The page says you need 82 makes to qualify, Pau has 56. ESPN still lists him as the leader.

[Steve Minkin]

Gordon: in the past couple of days I've heard a couple of interviews of Marcus Thompson talking about his new book, Golden, the miraculous rise of Stephen Curry. Thompson was the beat reporter when Steph was drafted, and through his early years with the team. A couple of major themes:

Nobody expected Steph to be this good because they failed to take into account his work ethic, desire to improve, and intelligence. He transformed himself. Others saw him as a privileged rich kid, which he was, but he was also raised with strict rules and household responsibilities. All three of the Curry kids are succeeding athletically and in life.

He is a genuinely nice, down-to-earth, unpretentious, easy-to-talk to individual off the court. On the court he is as intense an competitor as anyone, and Thompson finds it somewhat unique that he is able to switch it off once he leaves the court.

Steph has engendered some visceral hatred on the part of other star players who feel that he has garnered way too much of the public's attention. Westbrook leads the field in this, but is not alone.

[jon abbey]

Nobody expected Steph to be this good because they failed to take into account his work ethic, desire to improve, and intelligence.

wasn't the main issue his foot problems? no one expected those to somehow go away, but seems like they pretty much have.

[The G Man]

Nobody expected Steph to be this good because they failed to take into account his work ethic, desire to improve, and intelligence.

wasn't the main issue his foot problems? no one expected those to somehow go away, but seems like they pretty much have.

Replace foot with ankle and yes, that's true.

I've read most of the book Steve referenced and will comment on it when finished.

[Steve Minkin]

Nobody expected Steph to be this good because they failed to take into account his work ethic, desire to improve, and intelligence.

wasn't the main issue his foot problems? no one expected those to somehow go away, but seems like they pretty much have.

Before the ankle issues arose, he was seen as a potential marksman like his dad. But nobody anticipated his development as a ball-handler or finisher around the basket. Thompson has a number of stories to illustrate how shaky Steph's career seemed early on. One he repeats that Kerr told at Steph's first MVP ceremony is that Steph's mother, Sonya, saw Steve (then with Phoenix) at a tournament game at which Steph was being scouted, and asked Steve if he thought Steph could make it in the NBA. "His own mother wasn't sure!" Kerr said.

My recollection is that by the time the ankle issues arose he had already begun to threaten Monta's position on the team.