****2018-2019 Official NBA Regular season thread****

[dirk digler]

Didn't see anybody starting this thread so I guess I will.

Anti climatic season starts tonight and my prediction is GS vs Boston in the NBA Finals.




First 2 Games tonight on TNT with Philly vs Boston and OKC vs GS. Westbrook is out tonight so that game will be a blowout most likely.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I literally said nothing about the “best ever” talk?

I’m just saying a guy that’s arguably better than Lebron today isn’t going to to want to play in his shadow and for a team that Lebron has complete control over.

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but part of the reason I’m so confident is how quick the Kawhi to Lakers rumors died down after they signed Lebron. It seems pretty clear if you’ve been paying attention that Kawhi doesn’t really want to play with Lebron.

Yet he's going to have a meeting with them now? That seems counter productive if he doesn't want to go play with them.

Lebron will probably be gone in a year or two anyway, then Kawhi and AD can stay and become Lakers for life. I'm guessing that would carry more than wherever else he went, if he cared about that.

Which with Kawhi, who the hell knows if he does or not.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I don't blame them - I might do the same thing.

But that doesn't mean I don't respect the hell out of the other guys. It doesn't mean I don't prefer root for the psychotically competitive dudes who would just as soon step on an opponents throat then help them off the ground.

I won't necessarily judge former, but I still like the latter better.

Westbrook is that for sure, but damn, can he win a playoff series atleast?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

I understand that average guys cost more in the NBA but currently the Lakers have 3 players under contract and if they add 1 more max player they will have hardly any money to fill out their roster. You have any aging player in Lebron who might have to play 35 minutes a game.

So if I was a Laker fan I would want Lebron to play way less minutes and have a deep bench ala earlier GS or like the Raptors. Don't know if they can afford that though.

They're gonna have that issue either way.

So they can either add a great player that eases the load on LeBron while he's on the court, thus lessening the need for significant depth. Or they can get 2.5 mediocre players who soak up minutes but demand that Lebron work a lot harder when he's out there.

Signing Patty Mills, John Henson and Josef Nurkic just means that LeBron and Davis are gonna be busting their asses for 35 minutes/gm to cover for the fact that those 2 (and Kozma) are going to be playing with mediocre help around them. Whereas if you have a true max-level guy, they can all play 30 minutes a game and distribute the load among themselves a little better.

In the former situation you're still struggling to find another 6 roster players. In the latter you're gonna have to hustle to find 8. So all you've really done is change the back of your bench a little and in the process you've diminished your starting 5 and put a heavier load on your superstars.

Nah - I think that's just completely wrong.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yet he's going to have a meeting with them now? That seems counter productive if he doesn't want to go play with them.

Lebron will probably be gone in a year or two anyway, then Kawhi and AD can stay and become Lakers for life. I'm guessing that would carry more than wherever else he went, if he cared about that.

Which with Kawhi, who the hell knows if he does or not.

He’s probably doing it out of respect for Lebron.

For a while it was Kawhi wants to go to the Lakers, then it all of a sudden changed when Lebron signed there and it’s been that way since till we now hear about a visit, which doesn’t mean much since it sounds like he’s taking quite a few.

[staylor26]

Westbrook had his chance, but he wasn’t aware of who the best player on his team was, and it probably pushed him away.

[O.city]

Just take the stars, throw in some midlevel guys and make it to the playoffs healthy.

Once you're there, let the stars run.

Everyone is pumping the "Raptors model" right now, but if the Warriors aren't a mash unit by the finals, i'm pretty sure we all know how that series ends.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

Just take the stars, throw in some midlevel guys and make it to the playoffs healthy.

Once you're there, let the stars run.

Everyone is pumping the "Raptors model" right now, but if the Warriors aren't a mash unit by the finals, i'm pretty sure we all know how that series ends.

No doubt.

If the Lakers added a max guy to go with Davis, LeBron and Kuzma, their 'core 4' would be comparable, though a tick behind, the GS 4.

The reason being that Draymond is incredibly overrated and I think Klay oftentimes gets a bit more love than he deserves.

And that team, built on a stars and scrubs model, would've waxed Toronto. Now the counterargument is that the reason they lost is that they didn't have the depth to survive Durant/Thomas going down.

But do you think the Raptors could've survived had Kawhi went down? Even with their vaunted depth? Hell, they probably lose that series if Siakam goes down. If Durant had dropped, Thomas stayed healthy and Siakam went out early, that series is over in 5. The depth of the Raptors was given too much credit for that series when it was really it's superstar player and the injuries from GS that determined the outcome.

Depth in the NBA only matters if the stars are healthy. If you lose your big dog (especially 2 of your top 3 guys), all the depth in the world won't mean shit.

[ChiefsCountry]

Being James Worthy in LA is a pretty good gig for Kawhi.

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Lol do you see all the free vacations, free food, free whatever the **** he wants offers he’s been getting to stay?

Yes, he’s a god in Toronto and the biggest sports star in the country.

He's not a star in the country until he resigns. Until then he is just a rental who helped them win a championship. He signs somewhere else trust me all the love he is getting in Toronto will be gone.

So you can stop with the 'God' talk. Acting like he is Jordan or Kobe or Bird and has been with the Raptors his whole career.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Do you think he cares about being "3rd fiddle" on a team that'll contend for championships for years to come?

Yes. He can be first fiddle on the raptors and clippers and with him they're championship contenders too.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

He's not a star in the country until he resigns. Until then he is just a rental who helped them win a championship. He signs somewhere else trust me all the love he is getting in Toronto will be gone.

So you can stop with the 'God' talk. Acting like he is Jordan or Kobe or Bird and has been with the Raptors his whole career.

Wtf do you really think that? Toronto will forever love him and will one day hang his number up just for 2018-2019. No matter what happens, he's the guy who brought the city their first championship. He'll be a God there forever for that.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

He's not a star in the country until he resigns. Until then he is just a rental who helped them win a championship. He signs somewhere else trust me all the love he is getting in Toronto will be gone.

So you can stop with the 'God' talk. Acting like he is Jordan or Kobe or Bird and has been with the Raptors his whole career.

I don’t understand why this upsets you so much, but the city of Toronto absolutely loves Kawhi and he’s a god there at the moment. You could argue it all you want, but it’s the truth.

[O.city]

IIRC, PA is a big Spurs fan so make with that what you will.

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by Jerm

I just don't see anything wrong with that.

If I could make my job a lot easier, get paid out the ass for it, and get the acclaim...you'd bet my ass I'd do it.

I just hate the flack that modern day players get for it and we let a lot of legends with rings get a pass...Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, etc. they were all playing on stacked teams.

Call it what it really is and stop sugarcoating it you simply are not very competitive and only care about money/living easy life. Which is fine but not everyone is like that... Some players are extremely competitive and don't want to play with the best they want to beat the best.

Kobe/MJ stayed with team that drafted them through thick and thin. You act like the Bulls were always stacked. They weren't. It took MJ a long time before he won his first championship. So acting like Bulls were always stacked is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by staylor26

I don’t understand why this upsets you so much, but the city of Toronto absolutely loves Kawhi and he’s a god there at the moment. You could argue it all you want, but it’s the truth.

It does not upset me it's just simply not true. But hey if you think Canadians think Kawhi is a God then that is fine believe whatever you want.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

Call it what it really is and stop sugarcoating it you simply are not very competitive and only care about money/living easy life. Which is fine but not everyone is like that... Some players are extremely competitive and don't want to play with the best they want to beat the best.

Kobe/MJ stayed with team that drafted them through thick and thin. You act like the Bulls were always stacked. They weren't. It took MJ a long time before he won his first championship. So acting like Bulls were always stacked is ridiculous.

Kobe wasn't drafted by the Lakers and he demanded a trade at least twice...