2023-24 NBA Thread

[WilyWestbrook0]

Ja Morant hit the buzzer beating shot in his return last night. He's an idiot whose off-court stupidity makes it hard to root for, but he's admittedly a very entertaining and talented player on the court. Shame he leaves his brains on it apparently.

Also, Cavs are actually winning a lot since the injuries to two of their main players. They even won tonight without Donovan Mitchell. Admittedly, their schedule has been pretty easy, but the strong play of bench guys that JBB hardly ever gives minutes to otherwise, should make him consider expanding his rotation. Most NBA teams have 9 man rotations, but JBB usually just runs 8 players when the Cavs are fully healthy. He really needs to reconsider that and trust his bench more.

[WilyWestbrook0]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ies-nba-record

So the Pistons are now officially tied for the most straight losses in a single season. If the Pistons lose their next game, they'll break the single season record. The most consecutive losses going through two seasons is 28, so if they lose two more, they could tie that, and three more would make it the longest losing streak ever in NBA history regardless of season.

I like Monty Williams as a person, but a truly good coach would never allow something like this.

[WilyWestbrook0]

And so we start the new year! Any predictions/expectations/comments on league happenings?

Pistons finally ended their losing streak in their last game.

I'm particularly excited for OKC, who's looking even better than I think people expected, and the expectations were already to be a playoff team. They currently have the 4th best record in the league. All of their team stats look pretty good except rebounding, which is a real weakness, particularly on the offensive end. But they're among the best shooting teams in the league while also being a good defensive team, being among the league leaders in blocks and steals ("stocks," as the stat junkies call them today).

Having watched them a lot, OKC excels in part because they take really smart shots. They're fairly average in assists because SGA and JDub do a lot of iso, but both of those guys take really smart shots on iso, not jacking up stuff. When they don't have good looks, they're both good at finding the shooters.

And of course Chet is as good as advertised, giving them the much needed multifaceted big who can take pressure off SGA on offense while providing height and rim protection on D. Along with turning around their outside shooting, which was one of the league's worst last season and is now one of the league's best, the addition of Chet has turned them from a play-in team to a team that looks like it will not only make the playoffs, but perhaps make some noise and get into the semis already. Perhaps in another year or two, they could compete for the Finals much like the young core of Durant, Westbrook, and Harden did over a decade ago.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Major news -- Bucks fired Adrian Griffin already. Reportedly he will be replaced by Doc Rivers.

[pwaldo]

Major news -- Bucks fired Adrian Griffin already. Reportedly he will be replaced by Doc Rivers.

Whoever in the NBA that is trying to make Doc Rivers happen really needs to stop. How many times does this guy need to fail with a championship team before more teams give him another shot?

[WilyWestbrook0]

Whoever in the NBA that is trying to make Doc Rivers happen really needs to stop. How many times does this guy need to fail with a championship team before more teams give him another shot?

I think this has to be his last chance. Most fans are already tired of him.

Today was a big NFL day, but I also watched some of the Pistons/Thunder game. Very embarrassing loss for the Thunder. They have a major weakness of not being physical or strong in the paint (Chet is skinny and doesn't have a very strong backup), which doesn't bode well for a playoff run this year. I used to think they might still make the second round, but now I think they go out in the first round in the tough West unless they add another big.

Speaking of, Chet has just been weak overall lately, which doesn't bode well for him in the ROY race. Chet's hit a wall while Wemby is dominating and getting his percentages up. Wemby also outplayed Chet in the matchup earlier this week. I do think Wemby should be the favorite for ROY now. He's completely outplayed Chet in January, and if this continues, I think Wemby gets it.

[pwaldo]

I used to think they might still make the second round, but now I think they go out in the first round in the tough West unless they add another big.

True

The West is tough again this year and it doesn't look like the East will ever be more dominant. Utterly odd as so many other sports standards have been smashed and untouchable records have been broken lately but the West just keeps on dominating the East in strength year after year.

And speaking of unbreakable records. I never thought 100 would be broken but after seeing what people in the NBA are dropping night after night I would say that will eventually fall (in an overtime/double overtime game but still).

[WilyWestbrook0]

Trade deadline just concluded in the last hour. No super big moves, but OKC got Hayward from Charlotte. I was hoping for a bigger body, but he's honestly bigger than some of the guys they've been throwing out at the five lately, including 6'6" Kenrich Williams. He can rebound, shoot, pass...still a versatile and useful player, when he's actually healthy. They also got rid of some of the guard glut and an undesirable salary/unneeded player in Bertans. I wonder if we'll see more Giddey off the bench and in the point guard role now that Micic is gone and Hayward is here.

[pwaldo]

So the East continues to be super weak.

Can we cross off the 76ers with that injury? The Bucks now look like garbage with Doc and I don't think anybody really believed in the Celtics as the best record in the NBA. So again you really don't have much in the East and certainly not more than 8 seeds needed.

Now the West is super stacked again and I don't really think at this point there is any clear cut favorite out there. The season would be infinitely more entertaining if only 8 made the playoffs as you might have had the Lakers and or Warriors miss the playoffs. Now not so much. And could you imagine getting the #1 seed in the West this year only to face the Lakers or the Warriors in the first round as your reward?

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yeah the Cavs and Knicks have really been surging lately, and now that Embiid is hurt and Doc has taken over for the Sixers and Bucks, respectively, the East has gotten weaker.

I'm not a big fan of JBB as the Cavs coach, but the injuries to Mobley and Garland forced his hand and made him expand his rotations and got the Cavs to play better team ball. Mitchell has really improved his passing and the team is including their shooters a lot better than earlier in the season. Mobley's shown increased three point shooting since returning from injury as well; if he can become the Unicorn they hoped, perhaps they might make some serious noise in the East. It does remain to be seen if JBB can coach playoff level basketball, but if he doesn't revert to his earlier stubbornness, the Cavs could surprise. I hope they do as I still follow and like them despite Love's departure to Miami last season.

As for the West, yep, it's stacked enough that I'm thinking we could see some lower seeds beat higher seeds come playoff time. Minnesota and Oklahoma City are still especially young and unseasoned when it comes to playoff experience, so they'd be the most likely to get knocked off by a more veteran team like the Lakers or Warriors. I think we could see a Nuggets/Clippers WCF if the Clippers manage to stay healthy. I know a lot of people are doubtful about the Clippers given their history, but if Kawhi especially can remain healthy, I can't write them off -- he's been there, done that with two different teams, and Coach Lue has done that with egos the size of LeBron and Kyrie, so if anyone can manage Kawhi/George/Harden, it's him. The Suns are also one to watch. I'm less enthused about Dallas; I don't think they have enough surrounding Luka and Kyrie to get past the semis.