Official 2015-2016 NBA Regular Season Thread

[KevB]

I don't believe this thread has been started yet, so here you go.

Good start to the season, key guys appear to be relatively healthy. As a basketball fan, good to see the Thunder back at full strength, as a Grizzlies fan notsomuch.

The West is just so deep, hard to figure out who comes out on that side. If the Cavs stay healthy, hard to imagine they don't represent the East.

If we have a group interested in a fantasy basketball league, I'd be happy to set it up.

[RobBlake]

i still laugh at people elevating Lebron as the number two goat lol

We only have opinions.. and all time players prob do not really give a shit about comparisons

[RobBlake]

Originally Posted by -King-

Brian Windhorst . Really? That's a source you trust?

I get that you're a LeBron fanboy but come on.
Posted via Mobile Device

Windhorst is the biggest Lebron dick gobbler

[bricks]

I haven't read this thread but all I'm gonna say is GO RAPTORS!! 7 wins in a row baby!!

Tomorrow the Clippers shall beware.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

We've gone over those specific moves many, many times now in the LeBron v. Griffin GM debate. All the moves actually. This is just you rehashing the same shit by blaming LeBron for any move that you don't like and crediting Griffin for every move that you did.


Yes...butthurt for years. It's a pretty bad case of butthurt when it extends for this long. Just go re-read some of your posts about LeBron from the Miami era, there was some pretty funny stuff in there.

The fact that he's on the Cavs now, though, really hasn't changed much of anything for you in that regard. And let's be honest, if it wasn't for what LeBron could potentially do for you//Cleveland (win a championship), you and most Cavs fans wouldn't have taken him back. If this was a LeBron on his last legs returning to ask his hometown for redemption, the reaction would have been entirely different.


Oh, it's the same jilted lover stuff. I was bitter for years about how that ended (and Vince Carter actually did do, or at least tried to do, those things you refer to there...not that I'd expect you to know the ins and outs of Raptors history) and it doesn't surprise me that Cavs fans still feel the same way.

Answer my post.

What in my "silly" rant about shit LeBron did did I get wrong? Did LeBron basically engineer the love trade? Did he not lobby for Varejao and Tristan? Did he not rope in mike Miller, James Jones, Shawn Marion, and, (if he could have), Ray Allen?

And the article damning his behavior toward blatt? That was wojo.ome of the most credible nba reporters in the game. Since you called me out for silly accusations, I think you should at least call out why I'm being "silly" for pointing out that LeBron is responsible for a lot of the terrible moves made in Cleveland.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Answer my post.

I have for years now when you've bitched about the same thing endlessly. You can blame LeBron solely for every move you don't like and credit Griffin solely for every one you do all you want, but that isn't going to make it any more true or that the motivations for it aren't based in something much more petty.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by RobBlake

i still laugh at people elevating Lebron as the number two goat lol

We only have opinions.. and all time players prob do not really give a shit about comparisons

An example of the Kobe diehard without any knowledge of the game.

[New World Order]

Lebron gets another coach fired after getting blown out on national television.

Very Jordan like.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by bricks

I haven't read this thread but all I'm gonna say is GO RAPTORS!! 7 wins in a row baby!!

Tomorrow the Clippers shall beware.

Lolz **** the raptors. **** the bluejays. **** maple syrup. And **** you.

[KC_Connection]

You can at least say this for Wojnarowski’s Pistons coverage: His news scoops were accurate, however he procured them. On other subjects, though, his reporting has been consistently wrong, and he has lashed out with vicious opinion columns. His favorite targets include the New York Knicks management, the “Carolina way,” John Calipari, Larry Brown, college basketball coaches, former player’s union executive director Billy Hunter, agent David Falk, and Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge. But Wojnarowski has saved his most lethal ammunition for the best player on the planet: LeBron James.

Wojnarowski’s problems with James are endless. He passes the ball to teammates and fails in the clutch (here and here and here). He had a me-first attitude during the 2004 Olympics (here and here and here). He doesn’t want “it” enough and is soft (here and here and here). He hangs out too much with his “sycophantic” high school buddies (here and here and here). “You can see something there that was very personal,” one team executive told me.

When Wojnarowski wasn’t busy writing about James with “prose lifted from Travis Bickle’s diary,” as Tommy Craggs once described it at Slate, he was flailing around for James-related news. Between 2008 and mid-2010 Wojnarowski wrote ten columns about James’ impending free agency. He brought up nearly a quarter of the league as potential destinations—including devoting one column to the ludicrous idea that James would join the Dumars-led Pistons. It was only a little over a month before James’s ill-fated ESPN special “The Decision” that Wojnarowski mentioned James’ eventual destination, Miami, for the first time—and even then, he returned shortly to naming incorrect teams.

Wojnarowski would likely say that he was merely relaying what league sources told him, not definitively saying that James would or would not sign with a specific team. But that’s precisely the problem. Wojnarowski’s reporting is rife with opinion, conjecture, and speculation—whether his own or an anonymous league source’s—and it can be impossible to tell what he is actually reporting. When Wojnarowski wrote “the Chicago Bulls are still the team to beat, with Cleveland a close second and New Jersey the looming wild card” a week before James chose Miami, there was no indication whether that was sourced information, a guess, or something in-between. Four days before James left Cleveland, Wojnarowski wrote a similarly incorrect and murkily sourced sentence about James meeting with teams: “he needed the threat of leaving [Cleveland], even if there was never truly the intent.” As one beat writer described Wojnarowski’s writing in relation to his peers: “Most of those guys, [USA Today’s Sam] Amick and [Yahoo’s Marc] Spears and [ESPN’s Marc] Stein … just write straight news, and you don’t really get as confused by news and what is their opinion.”

A week after “The Decision,” Wojnarowski wrote a 4,000 word ticktock assuredly describing how James came to choose Miami, a stunning act of hubris. His reporting on LeBron James was consistently sloppy and poorly sourced, yet Wojnarowski had the audacity to present his piece as the definitive account. With just two quotes from anonymous sources and a history of being wrong about James, it doesn’t deserve to be treated as reliable. NBA writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss summed it up well: “If all this was so telegraphed, then Wojnarowski missed multiple Morse [code] memos. Now Adrian claims retroactive omniscience? My temples throb at the thought. Insiders should prove their status with a hefty helping of named sources. I give leeway to those with impeccable track records, but Adrian just whiffed on a big one.”

Four years later, Wojnarowski whiffed again. Last February he wrote a piece titled “How Cleveland lost its way, and lost a chance at LeBron's return.” LeBron James returned to Cleveland five months later.

Those within the league think Wojnarowski’s criticism of LeBron stems from reporting failures. “I don’t know if LeBron’s whole camp or just LeBron shafted [Wojnarowski], but [Wojnarowski] was having trouble getting to him,” a former team employee he tried to cultivate as a source told me. Somebody else familiar with Wojnarowski and James’ relationship said, “Adrian does not talk to LeBron, or people in LeBron’s camp. He doesn’t do any reporting with LeBron James or his people.” (Both spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears that Wojnarowski would harm their careers.)

https://newrepublic.com/article/120572/adrian-wojnarowski-how-basketballs-reporting-machine-gets-his-scoops

When you see all of Woj's hit jobs over the years on LeBron listed in one piece, it really is pretty remarkable. The guy has a hate on for him worse than chiefzilla.

[okcchief]

A team like the Raptors can't beat Lebron in the playoffs. That's been proven time and time again. That being said Lebron isn't doing himself any favors playing GM. It's his choice though he's been the best player in the World for a long time and just having him puts you in the conversation.

[bricks]

Originally Posted by okcchief

A team like the Raptors can't beat Lebron in the playoffs. That's been proven time and time again. That being said Lebron isn't doing himself any favors playing GM. It's his choice though he's been the best player in the World for a long time and just having him puts you in the conversation.

Raptors have good team chemistry.

You know what their problem is? they're a bad shooting team. You know why? Ok #1 they lack playmaking ability. I mean I have a hard on for Kyle Lowry but
like as a team there is not enough ball movement. They lack poise and patience.

I would like to see them take their time a little more when they have the ball. You know move the ball well, wait for guys to set up and get those open looks. Not enough of that sh*t goes on. And as a result, they rush their shots and miss as well. The lack of poise, patience, playmaking ability in turn affects their shooting ability.

If they could just improve the team dynamics within, I tell ya they'd be a better shooting team.

They could match up against Lebron if they were a good shooting team. But as it stands now, it's not the case. If the Raptors played Cleveland today they'd lose in 5 games. But if they improved the team dynamics and overall shooting, Cleveland and Raps would go to 7 games. And game 7 could go either way.

*At the end of the day, I love my Raptors still. We the North baby! Woooo! Sorry I just had to throw that in there guys

[bricks]

Originally Posted by KC native

Lolz **** the raptors. **** the bluejays. **** maple syrup. And **** you.

I just want to take the time to say thank you for the love man. Muahhhhhh!

[RealSNR]

Brendan Haywood, who played for the Cavaliers last season had this to say about former Cavs head coach David Blatt:

"Coach Blatt was very hesitant to challenge LeBron James. It was one of those situations where, being a rookie coach, and LeBron being bigger than life, it was a little too much for him. I remember we had James Jones [talk] to Coach about how, ‘Hey, you can’t just skip over when LeBron James makes a mistake in the film room.’ Because we all see it.

And we’re like, ‘Hey, you didn’t say anything about that. You’re going to correct when Matthew Dellavedova‘s not in the right spot. You’re going to say something when Tristan Thompson‘s not in the right spot. Well, we see a fast break and LeBron didn’t get back on defense or there’s a rotation and he’s supposed to be there, and you just keep rolling the film and the whole room is quiet.’ We see that as players. That’s when … as a player, you start to lose respect for a coach.

Slowly but surely, that respect started chipping away where he would kind of be scared to correct LeBron in film sessions. When he would call every foul for LeBron in practice. Those type of things add up. Guys are like, ‘C’mon man, are you scared of him?’"

David Blatt, please show on the doll where Lebron touched you

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

I have for years now when you've bitched about the same thing endlessly. You can blame LeBron solely for every move you don't like and credit Griffin solely for every one you do all you want, but that isn't going to make it any more true or that the motivations for it aren't based in something much more petty.

And you again have yet to tell me what bad move on my list is incorrectly attributed to Lebron (Love trade, Tristan & Varejao extensions, James Jones/Mike Miller/Shawn Marion/attempt at Ray Allen). I can back each one up with PLENTY of links. And what good move attributed to Lebron did I miss? Very loosely you can say he approved the Shumpert/Smith trade... that's it. Most of the bad moves the Cavs have made not only had Lebron's fingerprints on it, it was clear he was calling the shots.

And that's not even including the Blatt firing, which everyone and their mother knows was very influenced by Lebron despite what the PR will tell you.

[mcaj22]

Originally Posted by bricks

Raptors have good team chemistry.

You know what their problem is? they're a bad shooting team. You know why? Ok #1 they lack playmaking ability. I mean I have a hard on for Kyle Lowry but
like as a team there is not enough ball movement. They lack poise and patience.

I would like to see them take their time a little more when they have the ball. You know move the ball well, wait for guys to set up and get those open looks. Not enough of that sh*t goes on. And as a result, they rush their shots and miss as well. The lack of poise, patience, playmaking ability in turn affects their shooting ability.

If they could just improve the team dynamics within, I tell ya they'd be a better shooting team.

They could match up against Lebron if they were a good shooting team. But as it stands now, it's not the case. If the Raptors played Cleveland today they'd lose in 5 games. But if they improved the team dynamics and overall shooting, Cleveland and Raps would go to 7 games. And game 7 could go either way.

*At the end of the day, I love my Raptors still. We the North baby! Woooo! Sorry I just had to throw that in there guys

and by "they" on the Raptors you just mean DeRozan lol