NBA Season - now 24/25

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

yeah, it's like a couple of years back where we just waited for LeBron v the Warriors

I think the East is actually very competitive, and i am not yet willing to pick that winner. If the Nets can find the capital to add a couple of defensive role players, then it's a lock.

Yeah you'd think they could find a few ring-chasing veterans around buyout time.

I've been impressed by the Celtics and by the Sixers. For all the 'trade Ben Simmons' talk the team is clicking as good as I've ever seen it, thanks mainly to good form by Embiid and Harris. But that's all facilitated by Simmons.

People potting Simmons because he isn't a big scorer miss the point. The obsession with shooting leads us to the cult of Russell Westbrook, racking up big numbers but at the expense of winning games. Simmons decline in PPG this season could be viewed as a positive, if it means guys like Seth Curry and Harris are getting more shots in better positions.

there's a big difference between wanting a guy to shoot all the time, and bagging a guy for not shooting when he the only open guy.

But they have found the mix that works, and are sitting pretty at the top.

East is def not a lock yet. Bucks, Nets, Celts and Philly all in it.

Simmons gets a hard time, but it is pretty amazing his reluctance to shoot. He actually shies away from the all in crunch time for fear of being fouled, thats not ideal. Embiid is the heater and soul of that team and should be MVP fav right now

@voodoo hard to be totally effective when you aren't a scoring threat

@voodoo said in NBA Season 20/21:

East is def not a lock yet. Bucks, Nets, Celts and Philly all in it.

Simmons gets a hard time, but it is pretty amazing his reluctance to shoot. He actually shies away from the all in crunch time for fear of being fouled, thats not ideal. Embiid is the heater and soul of that team and should be MVP fav right now

The mechanics of his shot is still a problem. I wonder if he can do a Tony Parker....

This regular season is even more weird and I reckon by the playoffs it will be some form of bubble.

The only real positive thing about that Nets v Wizards game was there was a glimpse of that killer instinct Russ back. Sure the Wizards have issues and they are missing some key guys, but I actually like that Russ. He’s got edge and the NBA needs that IMO.

@barbarian said in NBA Season 20/21:

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

yeah, it's like a couple of years back where we just waited for LeBron v the Warriors

I think the East is actually very competitive, and i am not yet willing to pick that winner. If the Nets can find the capital to add a couple of defensive role players, then it's a lock.

Yeah you'd think they could find a few ring-chasing veterans around buyout time.

I've been impressed by the Celtics and by the Sixers. For all the 'trade Ben Simmons' talk the team is clicking as good as I've ever seen it, thanks mainly to good form by Embiid and Harris. But that's all facilitated by Simmons.

People potting Simmons because he isn't a big scorer miss the point. The obsession with shooting leads us to the cult of Russell Westbrook, racking up big numbers but at the expense of winning games. Simmons decline in PPG this season could be viewed as a positive, if it means guys like Seth Curry and Harris are getting more shots in better positions.

It was the way that Ben played those final possessions that showed a glaringly obvious flaw in his current game. I’m a fan, but if he is going to be in the game when it’s on the line in the final minutes/seconds, what is his role? He’s dribbling up the top, I’m defending and playing way off him. If he’s off the ball he’s either clogging the paint or he’s a non-issue on the wings and his man can go help defend.

It’s a problem

A good game between the Nets and Clippers today. The Nets didn't shit the bed in the end but it was close. Irving had a huge game while KD and Harden had their moments. They played some D as well.

@Bovidae said in NBA Season 20/21:

A good game between the Nets and Clippers today. The Nets didn't shit the bed in the end but it was close. Irving had a huge game while KD and Harden had their moments. They played some D as well.

Probably the best game they’ve played given the opposition.

Warriors (Curry) also played well even though they lost a close one to the Celtics. I’m expecting the Warriors to make a move before the trade deadline that will help them snag a playoff spot.

@Bovidae their jelly tip chocolate is fucking sex in a packet

Almond Gold in the photo. We'll ignore the Aussie product.

Rum and Raisin for me.

@Bovidae said in NBA Season 20/21:

Rum and Raisin for me.

that's disgusting. you disgust me

you see LaMelo's finish to the game yesterday? picking Embiid's pocket and draining a huge 3? That kid seems to be making every post a winner

LaMelo with 34 points and 8 assists today.

Rockets have not been totally wrecked by the Harden trade....yet. They've won 7 of their last 8 games.

@Dice Wow, great effort from the rookie. How else is in the ROTY conversation? And speaking of rookies, how's RJ Hampton going???

@Dice said in NBA Season 20/21:

Rockets have not been totally wrecked by the Harden trade....yet. They've won 7 of their last 8 games.

Enjoying watching the Rockets play. Tate has been playing good minutes and getting buckets. Wood is playing at all-Star rate. Boogie appears to have bought into his role. Wall is still a handful.

@Dice said in NBA Season 20/21:

LaMelo with 34 points and 8 assists today.

He’s in a hot streak right now. It was interesting that during a Pelicans game when Lonzo had the ball the commentators wanted to talk about LaMelo’s form

@shark said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice Wow, great effort from the rookie. How else is in the ROTY conversation? And speaking of rookies, how's RJ Hampton going???

Tyrese Haliburton and Immanuel Quickley are probably in the ROTY conversation, but with LaMelo getting an uptick in minutes, I think he'll win the award without much problem.

RJ Hampton is barely getting any game time. He's only averaging 3 minutes a game, but he got 27 minutes today and had 7 points and 10 rebounds.

@Dice said in NBA Season 20/21:

@shark said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice Wow, great effort from the rookie. How else is in the ROTY conversation? And speaking of rookies, how's RJ Hampton going???

Tyrese Haliburton and Immanuel Quickley are probably in the ROTY conversation, but with LaMelo getting an uptick in minutes, I think he'll win the award without much problem.

RJ Hampton is barely getting any game time. He's only averaging 3 minutes a game, but he got 27 minutes today and had 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Is RJ playing for the Nuggets?

@canefan said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice said in NBA Season 20/21:

@shark said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice Wow, great effort from the rookie. How else is in the ROTY conversation? And speaking of rookies, how's RJ Hampton going???

Tyrese Haliburton and Immanuel Quickley are probably in the ROTY conversation, but with LaMelo getting an uptick in minutes, I think he'll win the award without much problem.

RJ Hampton is barely getting any game time. He's only averaging 3 minutes a game, but he got 27 minutes today and had 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Is RJ playing for the Nuggets?

Yes

@KiwiMurph said in NBA Season 20/21:

@canefan said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice said in NBA Season 20/21:

@shark said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Dice Wow, great effort from the rookie. How else is in the ROTY conversation? And speaking of rookies, how's RJ Hampton going???

Tyrese Haliburton and Immanuel Quickley are probably in the ROTY conversation, but with LaMelo getting an uptick in minutes, I think he'll win the award without much problem.

RJ Hampton is barely getting any game time. He's only averaging 3 minutes a game, but he got 27 minutes today and had 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Is RJ playing for the Nuggets?

Yes

Not likely to get many minutes then

Yeah not too embarrassing not getting minutes on the Nuggies. And ten boards is a handy stat.

RJ was pretty average for the nuggets yesterday.

Really only Haliburton and Melo in the current conversation. Quickley has been good but he's more in the Wiseman Edwards next tier.

Cole Anthony is getting minutes but I wouldn't want him on a team I support

2 things:

1. I guess I should eat some of that turd-flavoured humble pie on LaMelo. He really has been pretty good, way better than I expected. He tries on D, and his shooting is MILES better than I thought it would be. His Per36 numbers right now are 19 / 8 / 8 on .43 / .36 / .79 with 2 steals. That's insane for a 19yr old, and I didnt see it coming, especially the scoring/shooting

2. Steph Curry is shooting 43% for 3 this year. And that only places him 26th. Twenty-fucking-sixth!!! That's insane. There are 58 guys shooting > 40% on > 50 attempts. Man did the league learn how to shoot.

@voodoo it's incredible the way the talk around LaMelo has changed from "obvious bust" to "holy shit how good is this kid going to be?"

His improvement in shooting is almost unbelievable

Rockets got blown out in the end but how good is Tate playing. Love what he is bringing and you can tell that playing against grown men in the NBL last season has made him sharp and able to deal with the physicality. Rockets are missing Wood and Victor was rested but will play tomorrow.

Same with LaMelo and the little things that playing in a pro league has come to the fore. He’s definitely embraced his starting role.

Would be something if both LaMelo and Tate make the all-rookie first team. Massive ups for the NBL

Most importantly the Suns have improved to 15-9 after getting the wobbles and Book scored 30 to put the Bucks away.

Lol Steph Curry

halfway through the third quarter, and he has 25 points, on 9 of 14 shooting (no FT)

2 from 2 for 2. 7 of 12 from 3!

@voodoo is going to lose his shit

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

Lol Steph Curry

halfway through the third quarter, and he has 25 points, on 9 of 14 shooting (no FT)

2 from 2 for 2. 7 of 12 from 3!

@voodoo is going to lose his shit

at least they can actually shoot the things - Houston took 50 from beyond the arc today at 30% :face_vomiting:

@voodoo said in NBA Season 20/21:

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

Lol Steph Curry

halfway through the third quarter, and he has 25 points, on 9 of 14 shooting (no FT)

2 from 2 for 2. 7 of 12 from 3!

@voodoo is going to lose his shit

at least they can actually shoot the things - Houston took 50 from beyond the arc today at 30% :face_vomiting:

without Harden and Westbrick? that takes work...

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

@voodoo said in NBA Season 20/21:

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

Lol Steph Curry

halfway through the third quarter, and he has 25 points, on 9 of 14 shooting (no FT)

2 from 2 for 2. 7 of 12 from 3!

@voodoo is going to lose his shit

at least they can actually shoot the things - Houston took 50 from beyond the arc today at 30% :face_vomiting:

without Harden and Westbrick? that takes work...

Eric Gordon and Danuel House have never been shy of just jacking it up from 3.

Just watched the Celtics and Raptors game. Nice game from the Celts with the supporting cast getting it done. When Tatum and Jalen Brown are your 4th and 5th top scorers and you beat a decent team like the Raptors, that’s a good win.

Nets beat the Warriors in a shootout as KD returns to the Bay area.

Balanced scoring from the Nets' starters and shooting 54% from the field.

@Bovidae said in NBA Season 20/21:

Nets beat the Warriors in a shootout as KD returns to the Bay area.

Balanced scoring from the Nets' starters and shooting 54% from the field.

Apparently having Wiggins be the tallest guy in your team for the last 7 games isn't so good for winning, who knew?

@voodoo said in NBA Season 20/21:

@Bovidae said in NBA Season 20/21:

Nets beat the Warriors in a shootout as KD returns to the Bay area.

Balanced scoring from the Nets' starters and shooting 54% from the field.

Apparently having Wiggins be the tallest guy in your team for the last 7 games isn't so good for winning, who knew?

Unfortunately no one in their G League team is worth bringing up. They have their 3 tallest - Wiseman, Looney and Chriss all out at the same time.

A super aggressive Ben Simmons scores 42 against the Jazz. It was an interesting game with the 76ers looking the goods in the 1st without Embiid.

Then Jazz went on a tear with Clarkson (and Ingles) for the next two quarters. Then in the 4th the 76ers looked like they could peg it back but then the Jazz were too clinical to close the game out.

I’m not a Jazz fan, but they do play decent team ball. Playoffs will be interesting after last years disappointment.

Draymond Green did not miss in his press time yesterday did he?

And you know what? He's got a point. I had a crack at Harden forcing that trade, but i never say shit when a team just openly tries to move someone.

I'm not even close to the point where i am advocating the players have more control, in fact i wish contracts were worth more when it comes to breaking them early. BUT, i also think the same should apply the other way.

I don't have even the foggies clue how the mechanics of that would work, but i know i hate the current system.

@mariner4life said in NBA Season 20/21:

Draymond Green did not miss in his press time yesterday did he?

And you know what? He's got a point. I had a crack at Harden forcing that trade, but i never say shit when a team just openly tries to move someone.

I'm not even close to the point where i am advocating the players have more control, in fact i wish contracts were worth more when it comes to breaking them early. BUT, i also think the same should apply the other way.

I don't have even the foggies clue how the mechanics of that would work, but i know i hate the current system.

I dont think there is a solution. Players and teams will often have conflicting interests. No different from football teams sitting their players during trade negotiations to avoid injury risk

@ACT-Crusader said in NBA Season 20/21:

A super aggressive Ben Simmons scores 42 against the Jazz. It was an interesting game with the 76ers looking the goods in the 1st without Embiid.

Then Jazz went on a tear with Clarkson (and Ingles) for the next two quarters. Then in the 4th the 76ers looked like they could peg it back but then the Jazz were too clinical to close the game out.

I’m not a Jazz fan, but they do play decent team ball. Playoffs will be interesting after last years disappointment.

Simmons is super grumpy that Devin Booker is honing out his ex Kendall Jenner and they're now Instagram official.

The data for these lists is based on sales since the beginning of the 2020-21 season from the official online NBA Store in Australia, which is operated by Fanatics.

Top 10 Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Australia
1. LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets 2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors 3. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers 4. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets 5. Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards 6. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks 7. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks 8. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks 9. Steven Adams, New Orleans Pelicans 10. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

Top 5 Most Popular Team Merchandise in Australia

1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. Brooklyn Nets 3. Golden State Warriors 4. Boston Celtics 5. Charlotte Hornets

Top 10 Most Popular NBA Jerseys in New Zealand
1. Steven Adams, New Orleans Pelicans 2. LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets 3. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets 4. Russell Westbrook, Washington Wizards 5. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors 6. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers 7. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks 8. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks 9. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns 10. Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers

Top 5 Most Popular Team Merchandise in New Zealand

1. New Orleans Pelicans 2. Brooklyn Nets 3. Boston Celtics 4. Los Angeles Lakers 5. Charlotte Hornets

OKC is now irrelevant in NZ.