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SMiLE Brian
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« Reply #500 on: October 06, 2017, 09:08:43 AM »

No Hockey mullet? Wink
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« Reply #501 on: October 06, 2017, 09:12:20 AM »

Just saw someone on ESPN deflated the Sixers hype this week as all hype...here we go again. I mean I'm not going to be watching but it is good for the city and area overall to be excited about a sports franchise every decade or so.
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« Reply #502 on: October 06, 2017, 09:18:43 AM »

I think injuries are going to be the story of the 76ers season. If Embiid plays less than two-thirds of the season, if Simmons gets hurt again, if an aging Redick gets banged up, if some of the other backcourt role players (Bayless, Stauskas) miss substantial time and thin out the rotation, they could be terrible. But there are so many more options this season, and obviously so much better high-end talent, I think at least high 30s is a realistic win total. And a playoff run if everyone is healthy is entirely possible.
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« Reply #503 on: October 06, 2017, 09:21:51 AM »

Meanwhile the Bulls will win 15 games....
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And production aside, I’d so much rather hear a 14 year old David Marks shred some guitar on Chug-a-lug than hear a 51 year old Mike Love sing about bangin some chick in a swimming pool.-rab2591
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« Reply #504 on: October 06, 2017, 09:29:35 AM »

If Chicago even tries to win games (at the front office level .. obviously the people on the floor should try), they're beyond idiots. They need to win 15 games and get that chance at a high pick. I actually think they were stupid to retain Mirotic, too, since he's a serviceable veteran. They should have let him go, or maybe done a sign-and-trade at most, so they could get more playing time for Bobby Portis or Cristiano Felicio or whoever. They should let LaVine rehab until after All Star break. Role with Kris Dunn turnovers and air-balled floaters. Laugh as Denzel Valentine tries and fails on defense.

This team most of all needs new management. I wonder whether "consultant" Doug Collins wasn't actually brought in to advise ownership on the futures of Paxson and Forman. And by advise on, I mean walk into their offices and fire them.
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« Reply #505 on: October 06, 2017, 09:45:13 AM »

So, who wins more games: Knicks or Bulls? What other teams are their main competition for the #1 draft pick? I've been focusing so much on the improved teams that I'm not so sure who the worst teams are. Obviously, health will probably be the main factor. No doubt KP misses some games here and there, as well.

I'm actually looking forward to watching the Knicks, though. If they play hard on both ends and play unselfishly, I'll watch. Not having that superstar-type guy is refreshing to me. Players often end up deferring to such an extent it stifles the game. Ultimately, it comes down to culture, but still...
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« Reply #506 on: October 06, 2017, 09:52:22 AM »

Oh, the Knicks will win more games almost for sure. The Bulls, man ... they're going to be terrible. Just terrible. Off the top of my head, these are the likely options.

PG: Jerian Grant, Kris Dunn
SG: Denzel Valentine (Zach LaVine eventually)
SF: Paul Zipser?
PF: Niko Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Lauri Markkanen
C: Robin Lopez, Cristiano Felicio

I mean, wow. that's not a good team. I'm probably forgetting somebody, but I doubt he's any good. My guess is that Chicago wins 15-22 games.

The second-worst team? Probably Atlanta, who has moved almost everyone who's any good. Their best player, arguably by far, is now Dennis Schroder. Yikes.

Then it's into the Brooklyn, New York, Phoenix, Dallas, Orlando, Sacramento, LAL territory, where I could imagine anywhere from 23 to 33 wins depending on how the chips fall, who gets hurt, etc.

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« Reply #507 on: October 06, 2017, 10:02:14 AM »

Yeah, tough times ahead in Chicago due to Paxton and Forman running talented coaches/players out of town...
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« Reply #508 on: October 06, 2017, 10:15:28 AM »

They just haven't had a coherent strategy.

First, they went all-in with Thibs and that style. They won big. They alientated Thibs and made clear they had no intention of retaining him, to the point that it was obvious Hoiberg was the coach-in-waiting even while Thibs was still there.

They hire Hoiberg, but leave him with more or less Thibs' roster. He struggles.

Rather than really rebuild to suit Hoiberg's style, they build last year's ridiculous Frankenstein's Roster with Wade, Rondo, Butler, and Lopez, plus Grant, Portis, Valentine, etc.

At least now they're really rebuilding. But they're about two years too late.
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« Reply #509 on: October 06, 2017, 10:19:06 AM »

And when I say rebuild, I'm not even saying they necessarily should have blown it all up. But they took a tepid approach that got nothing done. They could have moved some of the Thibs players for Hoiberg-style players and tried to retool on the fly. But no. They half-rebuilt, half-didn't.
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« Reply #510 on: October 07, 2017, 07:44:09 AM »

Oh, the Knicks will win more games almost for sure. The Bulls, man ... they're going to be terrible. Just terrible. Off the top of my head, these are the likely options.

PG: Jerian Grant, Kris Dunn
SG: Denzel Valentine (Zach LaVine eventually)
SF: Paul Zipser?
PF: Niko Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Lauri Markkanen
C: Robin Lopez, Cristiano Felicio

I mean, wow. that's not a good team. I'm probably forgetting somebody, but I doubt he's any good. My guess is that Chicago wins 15-22 games.



Justin Holiday is another wing whom I'd forgotten. And I have to admit he's all right. Not good as a key player, but a decent low-rotation guy. Too bad he'll probably start...
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« Reply #511 on: October 12, 2017, 11:52:05 AM »

Yeah but thats why I am a Wizards fan this year!
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« Reply #512 on: February 08, 2018, 02:02:44 PM »

Wow, so the Cavs traded Thomas, Rose, Wade, Crowder, Frye, Shumpert, and their 1st round pick today.  LOL

Kinda funny how they traded expiring contracts to the Lakers so the Lakers can go after LeBron in the offseason.

I really buy into LeBron wanting to go west to "protect" his win/loss finals record. I wouldn't mind if he joined the Spurs, but I doubt that's the most likely destination. Makes a lot of sense, though.  

I like the Knicks trading McDermott for Mudiay (and swapping 2nd round picks). Nice move. Doesn't quite make up for not playing Hernangomez all year and then trading him for 2nd rounders. Especially in the wake of KP's injury...

Looking forward to The Decision part 2, remember this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keIdgoJYiy8

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« Reply #513 on: February 08, 2018, 04:53:21 PM »

For what was being discussed as likely a quiet deadline day, it turned out pretty interesting.

Cleveland was amazing today. I don't know if Koby Altman deserves the credit, or if Lebron/Maverick Carter do, but whoever orchestrated the day did well. Cleveland needed to do something ... something big. That team was GARBAGE lately. All of a sudden, they are younger and more athletic at the guard and wing spots, but simultaneously have better shooting and less ball-dominant players in those spots. In other words, they fit Lebron better. And what do they give up? Nothing. Non-factors on the court (or detractors on the court) and some picks of minimal value.

But then they also are far better positioned going into next year if Lebron leaves, as the likes of Hood, Clarkson, and Nance are solid contributors to put around Love and guys like Osman and Thompson. (Hill, we'll see. Obviously he didn't react well to being in a rebuild in SAC.) And why mention a Lebronless Cleveland next year? Well, those two max slots that opened up out in LA--thanks to Cleveland--sure raise eyebrows.

Seriously, to do right by the short-term AND long-term interests of Cleveland, even while helping LAL? Quite a bit of maneuvering.

I'm more suspicious of the Mudiay trade, though they weren't playing McDermott anyway. But if you've got Frankie Smokes as your future PG, do you want another non-shooting big guard to pair him with? And moving Hernangomez was idiotic. Especially once Zinger went down and you could play him more.

On this end, I'm assuming we'll sign Rose and Noah once they're bought out. Hell, Deng, too. Why not just ruin my life.
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« Reply #514 on: February 08, 2018, 05:43:15 PM »

Bulls got gar-pax another year..... Roll Eyes
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« Reply #515 on: February 16, 2018, 11:02:28 AM »

(Hoping that came across as a joke, not a nasty swipe. Glad to shift the talk elsewhere.)

WHAT I DID TODAY:

Decided to work from home, meaning I'm wasting time online with y'all (he said in a faux southern accent for no reason). Also was mean to the dogs, in their opinion, by not sharing the bagel I ate for breakfast. And about to go workout, which I hate doing more than anything other than dying from eventual complications that could have been avoided by exercise! (Plus it'll help me justify the happy hour I'll head out to in a few hours.)


Thoughts on the "new" cleveland Cavs? Wink

Great trades.
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« Reply #516 on: February 17, 2018, 12:07:56 PM »

Its like a new team, I hope Lebron stays in Cleveland now.
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« Reply #517 on: March 11, 2018, 05:51:58 PM »

Bought a Bullls jersey for $2.00 (I love basketball)
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« Reply #518 on: March 30, 2018, 10:10:13 AM »

Huge win for the Spurs last night! I was worried that Aldridge wasn't going to be able to play. All these 4-10 seed western conference matchups the past week or so have been a lot of fun. Spurs will win tiebreaker w/OKC and if they manage to beat the Pelicans again they will win that tiebreaker as well. The Wolves schedule is probably the easiest the rest of the way. Big games against the Nuggets and Jazz but also MEM, DAL, and LAL.

The Kawhi situation is really becoming troublesome. I'm starting to worry that Kawhi will leave SA. I thought the media was overreacting at first, that once he was healthy everything would be fine and work itself out, but I always assumed he would return at some point this season. Now, it feels like Kawhi is just content to write off the whole season. Is it really that hard for him to communicate? Bizarre.
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« Reply #519 on: March 30, 2018, 11:28:57 AM »

While the Wolves' schedule has been favorable, unfortunately we're also playing it (as far as we know) without the by-far best player on the team, Jimmy Butler. As talented as Towns, Wiggins, and to a lesser extent Teague, Gibson, Bjelica, Crawford, Jones, and Dieng are, this Butler-less team is nothing close to the Butler-led team. He's really remarkably good. I'd seen him at Marquette and with the Bulls, but when he's on my team I'm really appreciating it. He's spectacular.

Without him, though, it's just not enough horses for the way Thibs apparently is unwilling to stop racing: starters get 40 minutes or more. Period. Tyus Jones, who has been fantastic all season as backup point guard, is often getting 5-10 mpg. Bjelica goes from a similarly limited bench role to 35-40 mpg as a starter in lieu of Butler. It's insane. It's wearing out the team, as has been obvious in their late-game collapses as of late. (The Philly and Memphis losses...my god. Especially Memphis. At home.)

Yeah, it was nice to see Towns destroy Atlanta in his 56-15 game. But that's an Atlanta that's a shell of not only its recent playoff self, but its early-season self, as Belinelli and Ilyasova are now 76ers thanks to the waiver wire, and Schroder and Bazemore were both out.

I'm afraid we're going to drop in the seedings, and possibly all the way out. I'm also both scared a) Thibs won't be fired, and b) he will.
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« Reply #520 on: April 14, 2018, 09:05:38 AM »

I made my predictions at nba.com/bracketchallenge which only reinforced in my mind how epic the playoffs could be this year. So many interesting matchups!

I think HOU, GS, TOR, and (to a slightly lesser extent) CLE should advance relatively easily. On the other hand, I could see UTA, NO, MIL, and MIA winning. I'm not predicting any "upsets" but I have each of those series going 7. I doubt that'll happen, but I'm that conflicted. PHI securing the 3rd seed was huge for them. I'm really high on PHI, but I'm trying not to overrate them before they even play a playoff game. The streak was impressive, but not that impressive. Really, it's incredible how easy of a stretch that was. Ultimately, I have PHI reaching the conference finals. In the other series, MIL has by far the best player, UTA has been playing better than OKC, and NO has Anthony Davis. Okay, long story short, I think this is the year TOR beats CLE (and PHI) and advances to the finals (where they lose decisively to HOU). Sure, we could very well get another GS - CLE rematch but it feels a little more likely to me that we get some other match up - which would be a refreshing change. GS lucked out with seeding in the first round.

Anyway, any predictions or thoughts?
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« Reply #521 on: April 14, 2018, 09:49:00 AM »

I'm not going to give any predictions, because what the hell do I know (about what hasn't happened yet)? But I'm pretty excited for the games. My main regret is that we won't see Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, or probably Kawhi Leonard, and that we've got to wait to see Steph Curry and Joel Embiid. It's a shame to see teams at less than full strength.

As great as it is for the Wolves to be back into the playoffs after a LONG time, I'm not optimistic about their chances against Houston. Still, it would be great to steal a win or two, if possible, especially at home.

I'm probably more excited to see Philly than any other team, especially once Embiid returns. I just love so many of those players, Simmons first among them. I've been following him from afar since he was maybe 16ish, so getting him onto the court in the NBA has been a joy to see. He's a brilliant player, really high IQ, something like a freight-train version of Lamar Odom, unfortunately so far minus the jump shot. Not to be sacrilegious, but he's almost like a (far more explosive) young Magic Johnson, who also wasn't an especially good shooter early on.

Utah will be my other team of choice, I think. I've still got so much love for Rubio, it pains me to see his playoffs debut in another uniform. But I think Snyder in general has done a great job coaching, and that team is so balanced and versatile. I'd love for them to advance.

Lastly, I really hope Golden State gets healthy and puts it together. Curry and Durant are simply transcendent, and Thompson and Green can be great, too. We'll see how the role players do, and especially (early on) Quinn Cook.
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« Reply #522 on: April 14, 2018, 10:34:41 AM »

I'm really anxious to see how GS performs today. This Curry-less Warriors team seems far from invincible. I would have liked the Wolves chances a lot better against GS than HOU. Though, once Curry returns I could definitely see GS flipping the switch and returning to championship form. I guess we'll see... and who knows? Maybe at some point Harden will disappear again. I still can't believe what I witnessed last year against the Spurs.

I'm also really excited to watch Philly. Man, they have a bright future. I can't help but get swept up in the hype living in Jersey.

It will be interesting to see how well Mitchell performs in the playoffs, offensively. OKC has some big time scorers. I don't have any faith in OKC, though. Westbrook can be very dysfunctional late in games.
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« Reply #523 on: April 14, 2018, 10:40:55 AM »

It's crazy to consider Golden State vulnerable, though I know what you mean. But really, on paper? This team has one of the three or four best players of the generation, Kevin Durant, as well as legit all-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. They have guys like Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, David West, and Zaza Pachulia as role players. It's crazy how many good players there are on that team. But I think more than missing Curry, they've been dealing with both players coming and going with injuries, as well as probably a certain amount of malaise. I think at least the latter should be taken care of, just by being in the situation.

You're right about Mitchell. Though that team can also get points out of some of those other guys. Ingles, Burks, Favors, Crowder, Exum, Goubert, and sometimes even Rubio ... they can manufacture points through their sets. Exum, in particular, I think is going to be a great help for them off the bench, especially if he can hit some jumpers. Because even after his injuries, he's a freak athlete and can get to the hoop.
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« Reply #524 on: April 14, 2018, 10:50:57 AM »

Similarly, it's hard to bet against LeBron in the East. Despite how terrible the Cavs are defensively and all the turmoil they've endured this season, LeBron is still so dominant and he's got capable 3pt shooters. Not to mention the psychological edge he seems to have over TOR.
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