The Official 2017-18 NBA Regular Season Thread
 

I mean, Gordon Hayward warrants a season opening NBA thread, I'd think?

Yeah, I'd say so. Horrendous. Should be interesting to see what Tatum does now though, I guess.

Just horrendous, talk about star-crossed (or something).

Based on the texts I received earlier and the stuff I saw on social media, I am actually happy I just got home from my son's game and missed this injury.

It wasn't at the level of PG's break, but not something I need to see again.

So despite the injury, this is a 2 point game with under 10 minutes left in the 4th. The box score for the Cavs' starters is kinda stinky. The team is 3-15 from three.

That Nike/Chuck D/Lebron James commercial is the tits.

To be fair, The C's are not better at 6-25. I am talking more about the number of attempts as opposed to the percentage.

Cavs came out flat from halftime, but Lue has had his usual spell of bad lineup decisions and inability to adjust when Smart decided he was going to destroy Korver in the post every possession.

There must be few things as scary for a guard than being out on the break with the ball with LeBron just lurking a few steps behind you...

Shump in post-season form already with that foul on the inbound.

Something in the water at Oakland. Now swaggy cant miss.

Nice ending to the Rockets-GS game

Rockets fought back... Draymond getting hurt probably opened the door. Warriors played kind of sloppy with turnovers and looked like they got the nice lead and thought they could coast.

Harden and Paul seem like an odd combo so I am still not sure how that is going to end up. Paul just kind of defers to Harden and watches, at least tonight he did.

This is pretty spot on. Paul just sort of stood around a lot. Chris Paul standing around while Harden goes iso-ball is not a great strategy.

Is Paul a little banged up? Didn't seem to move well. There was one possession in the 2nd half where he was iso on Durant and he made what looked like a 50% effort attempt to get an open look before passing the ball away, just didn't look like himself.

Sat out the final minutes with a sore knee. Pretty much all who commented afterwards -- player, coach, teammates -- talked about him gutting it out as best he could but with Eric Gordon healthy & ready, that was a better option than a less than healthy CP.

Ah, thanks. Had the audio muted with the family over, pretending to be paying attention to conversations. :D

I was at the game, electric atmosphere. 5 minutes and 15 seconds later the wind was taken out of the building, and this was Cleveland. I was on the opposite end of the floor so I couldn't see exactly how he landed or how bad it was. But we could tell it was bad because of all of the other player's reactions. Very unfortunate.

The guy who asked Kyrie how shocking it was to see Hayward's injury should probably lose his press pass pending remedial journalism training.

Just incredible. Had me all fired up.

Also, can Kobe please be my life coach?

Black Mamba put it best in his message to Gordon Hayward. pic.twitter.com/hDO2snP5H9

— Colby Giacubeno (@ColbyGHoops) October 18, 2017

Kobe, don't make me like you now.

Get used to this, Houston.

Yes and no. While somewhat tasteless, it is not out of question for a reporter to seek a comment about an event, even a horrific one, from someone else close to the play. From a journalism perspective, it's more egregious if the reporter asked Kyrie a leading question by assuming he would be shocked.

To be fair, that message from Kobe was kind of self serving. That's great, but if Kobe wants to tell GH this, he can always just pick up the phone and call. It's not like he won't answer Kobe. But the message is still a good one.

Just felt like a lazy question to me. We saw the video. Kyrie was shocked. Not sure why we needed a nuanced discussion of the level of shock.

[IMG][/IMG]

Probably not a great idea to poke the bear. And if he only actually knew how good the Warriors actually are on defense.

Well, if Houston won that means that GS gave up more points so if Houston's D isn't serious then what does that say about GS?

I get where D'Antoni is coming from. Granted, Draymond is basically batshit & probably just needs to be ignored most of the time, but maybe part of dealing with the GS thing might be to call out the crazy stuff. {shrug}

Sixers looked pretty good today, they should be entertaining to watch those 20-odd games today's starting 5 play together... ;)

Fultz looked better today than the preseason games I watched, but still drives right to left and spins every single time he gets the ball. Simmons looked like RotY, super excited to see what he can do for Aussie basketball.

Jeremy Lin. :(

It was terrible to see on TV, and my kids were sitting with me, excited for their first NBA game. The fall looked bad, but it was the fact that the commentator shouted "Hayward broke his leg" just one second after he fell that most disturbed me. As they were changing angles my brain was in slow motion thinking, how bad is this that he knows that already? Gruesome.

The Suns are already in midseason tanking mode. After 3 quarters at home against Portland, they were down 98-55 :D

I can't think of a worse start for Boston, they lose Hayward, their first 2 games and now Lin is out (making the Brooklyn pick even more valuable).

Is it crazy though? Warriors were ranked 2nd in team defense last season - pretty incredible considering they were ranked first offensively. This is just MDA trolling the defensive player of the year over one game. Probably not super smart since D'Antoni's teams are historically marginal on defense. But the soap opera is one of the things that makes the NBA so great, so please continue shit talking.

I would link it, but it's on Deadspin and I've learned my lesson about linking to there on FOFC. But search out today's story on Yi Jianlian.

If, like me, the first mention of Yi makes you think of him going up against a chair in a pre-draft workout, it appears we have all been conned by Bill Simmons taking a Danny Ainge joke as gospel and then running with it for a decade.

The Lin injury sucks. He's been such a great story in the NBA and unfortunately a patellar tendon tear is one of the worst injuries you can have as an athlete and likely ends any productiveness he has left in his career.

I meant in general (re: Draymond & batshit)

I'm reminded a little of the thing that wrestlers knew about promos, how you don't bury the guy you're going to beat 'cause it makes you look like you didn't do anything.

For DG to try to smack talk about the D of a team that you just gave up more points than ...

yeah, it has spawned several takes in me. Like the dude, he's a great bad player. But suddenly DeAngelo Russell might get a chance to shine and i like that dude's talent. But the Cavs own the Brooklyn pick so now I'm not sure if Brooklyn will be better or worse without Lin.

I think it's pretty clear they will be worse. Here's what ESPN had in their stats department:

Plus bad, selfish Kyrie showed up last night. Hopefully it was over compensating after Hayward's injury, but having the ball stop that much last night is not what we want (or what we saw in preseason/Cleveland.) I also think Theis should be getting more minutes and Nader less at the end of the rotation, but Milwaukee is an odd team to matchup against (and if Giannis plays like he did last night, look out!) At least Jaylen & Rozier have continued the gains they showed in preseason.
I think Draymond said the quote either in the offseason or during last year's playoffs, and opening night they were still winning comfortably when he left with a knee sprain. But I have no problem with D'Antoni needling him - if I coached/played against Draymond I'd 100% try to get under his skin too so he does something dumb.

My fault for assuming the quote was current.

And your other point is well taken.

It all started when D'Antoni was talking about how the new look Houston and Golden State couldnt stop each other and how it would be a fun game.

Being a defensive person I am sure Draymond took offense to that comment and made that quote in response to D'Antoni.

Personally, I think D'Antoni probably isnt even aware of how efficient that the Warriors defense is which is sad when you are a NBA coach. He would strike me as the old school guy that only looks at points per game to make his conclusion.

Knicks rookie Ntilikina looking like he needs a couple of months in the G-League... First two shots airballs, and coughs up an awful turnover.

Fultz better get 475,000% better on defense and do it soon. Wall was salivating every time Fultz got switched onto him. He scored 10 points in 18 minutes and was still a -18. Also, how is it possible for his FT form to be that bad?

Yeah no doubt. He wasn't good (and if there was a re-draft would even go in the top 5?), but he wasn't as terrible as he looked preseason.

"Positionless" is usually a compliment, but maybe not with Ingram... still no idea what he projects to be. He isn't overly athletic, can't create good looks off the dribble, shooting stroke isn't automatic, hasn't shown many flashes of being a good defender... just seems to be lukewarm in every way.

Ball is definitely from the Westbrook school of rebounding. Good to see athletic PGs go attack the glass, it used to be a good way for less agile PGs to make a living on the defensive end (Andre Miller comes to mind) because no opposing PGs ever box out.

I'll try not to flood this thread, but with a newborn and 4 weeks parental leave, I'm watching way more live NBA than I'm used to... :D

I have zero idea what's going on with Fultz's FT stroke - I assume it's partially shoulder injury related, but why would any team let him practice bad habits like that - but you really think he'd drop out of the top 5 already? Dennis Smith would go higher than #8 for sure, I'm coming around to Danny Ainge's PoV on Jayson Tatum, maybe the Lakers still felt obligated to take Ball, and Donovan Mitchell/Kyle Kuzma look much more NBA-ready, but they're much older, and Fultz has those crazy good skills for a spread pick & roll system.

I'm much more ready to write off Ingram's superstar potential. He'll have a place in the league as a rotation guy, but like you I just don't see him having the necessary athleticism to be elite. Ironically enough that was what I assumed Jayson Tatum was coming out of Duke, but he's looked much more fluid, and obviously has much more bulk to go with the same level of quickness.

Fultz might come around, but he's got some serious red flags... At this point I would take Tatum, Ball (despite today), Fox, and Smith over him in some order for sure, and Mitchell also most likely based on preseason. I didn't rate Jackson or Isaac before the draft, and haven't really seen anything to change that since, and would probably pick Fultz over them.

The highlights of Patrick Beverly giving lil' Lonzo the business were entertaining.

Hopefully there'll be 81 similar nights.

I watched the Lakers/Clippers game which was my first real experience with Lonzo.

Starting your first pro game with Beverley on you is a brutal welcoming.

He’s in a rough spot because even the plays/passes he made that were really nice end up in the hands of shitty shooters. Is he always that dead eyed(emotionally/visibly, not shooting). I couldn’t tell if that’s just him or if he was petrified.

The Thunder game I was more interested in and it had some promising moments. Hard to make too much out of it because it was the Knicks though. Westbrook seems like he will not mind sharing.

Melo and George both shot pretty bad. I have more faith in PG figuring it out than Melo but we’ll have to see.

Knicks are going to have an extremely long year.

Lozno is pretty devoid of emotion. A lot of his passes were great passes, where the shot was either missed or because of the spacing, another pass or two and it was made. No assist, but the play was actually executed correctly.

The world is ending.

Deandre Jordan, Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside are shooting 100% from the free throw line.

Taking Donovan Mitchell over Markelle Fultz based on a handful of preseason and summer league games is incredibly short-sighted.

Maybe, but Fultz was a bad FT shooter in college (64.9%) and can't play a lick of defense. He's a smooth offensive player in the half court, but that's all I've seen so far.

I'm not ready to say so early on that Mitchell is better than Fultz, but having watched Fultz some when he was with the Huskies, I never understood why he was the clear #1 in this draft. The faults you put out there are clear, and that doesn't even touch his me-me-me mentality I saw in college. He might end up a very good scorer, but I don't see him being on a championship team the way he is right now. Kinda like Melo, except not as talented.

Maybe, but Mitchell has looked really good to me. Smooth driving to the basket, good jumper, good passer, and doesn't force things. Looked like a 2nd or 3rd year pro.

Sounds a lot like Paul George at Fresno his freshman year (69.7% FTs, poor defensive numbers against a weak schedule). Sounds also like Isaiah Thomas as a freshman (68% FT, literally no D). How about Ben Simmons? 67% FTs and similar defense.

If free throw % and defense as a freshman in college are how we rate prospects, half the good players in the league would get tossed. Fultz may not make it, but he is a lot better at many important things (3P %, eFG, Off rating, A/TO) as a freshman in college than many current great players were. I think we need to give him some time to see. Just because the Boston mafia is out to discredit him after Ainge passed doesn't mean he will stink.

Did you see his FT motion? How about his defense? Neither of those areas is AAU quality right now.

Silky smooth...

https://streamable.com/gjj42

:lol:

Dude is 19 years old, can we wait more than a couple of games to judge a guy that’s young?

2 for 2 so far today.

He's a -8 with 4 fouls in 17 minutes tonight. He's a zero effort guy on D and his FT stroke is almost Shaq bad. He'll score within the offense most nights, but there's nothing to suggest he's a starter on even a decent team.

Again, he’s 19 and it’s his second game. I know you have an agenda, but let’s wait until at least mid season before we call him a bust. :shrug:

That would seem fair. And he missed a good portion of last season. Imagine if the Lakers or Timberwolves would have given up on Bryant/KG directly after preseason and 1 regular season game.... :lol:

Imagine either of them making no effort on defense at all even at that young of an age.

Yep, that was Kobe. And well KG made an effort but was so skinny coming out of high school that got shoved all over the place. Took them both a bit to mature and figure out what the NBA is about. Gotta give a kid time.

Seriously, did you even watch either of those guys in their rookie seasons?

Randle is a bust

Fultz was awful tonight. Blocked 3 times going to the hoop, should've been 4 but he was bailed out with a call, and another game where he fouls a 3pt shooter. Kyrie took him to the cleaners for a minute or so to get the Celtics ahead and that was game. Luckily for him Saric was worse... Not a very exciting game really, Redick/Bayless working off the ball was the most fun part of the game.

Celtics got the W, but a lot of stretches where they just didn't look like they could score points. Brown is really going to need to be a consistent scoring option for them with Hayward out.

Looking at the Lakers/Suns boxscore, was there any defense played, or was it basically an all-star game agreement?

I think the refs took away any semblance of a rhythm for both teams. The amount of offensive fouls called basically killed any attempt to run a play with a screen.

This. Refs butchered that game for both teams.

With the reliance on Tatum and Brown, I expect there to be some inconsistent nights in the early part of the season - especially without Smart and Morris defensively. With that said, I love the aggressiveness and confidence of both Tatum/Brown on the offensive end.

pretty impressive to get 65% with that :p Also, somewhere Chuck Hayes is smiling.

:confused: I've been very impressed by Tatum (and that seems to be the general consensus...), but I've also been very pro-Fultz. I think he profiles really similarly to James Harden and he'll be a great spread pick & roll playmaker as long as he has the work ethic and attitude.
He didn't shoot that way in college... worked this offseason on changing his stroke, and somehow that's the result. I have no idea why a professional organization would be okay with it. It's a freaking shot put off his palm, there's no way you can get touch on a shot like that.

Warriors big 2 handled the Griz loss about as badly as possible.

Fultz 6 points, 4-8 FT, -20 in 24 minutes of play. I think he'll be a good scorer at some point, but that FT motion and his complete inability to even compete defensively is stunning.

Was this something on court or in postgame press conferencds? I didn't watch the game but I looked at the box score, and they both did great there (in fact, they were the only ones who did).

Curry got ejected for throwing his mouthpiece at/near a ref in the final minutes.
Durant got ejected for rushing the ref to complain about the ejection.

edit: Much as I don't care for DG, he actually had a great line in the postgame presser, about how he needed to talk to those guys about the importance of staying on the floor and not getting ejected.

Chrome is stopping me from embedding videos, but one of those FT misses was about a foot wide of the hoop.

https://i.imgur.com/L5VRdvY.gifv

And with Bledsoe tweeting "I don't want to be here", fun times in Phx!

They're only a game behind the Warriors, though.

Maybe he'll demand a trade to Boston.

Seems to be what all the cool kids are doing, right?

That OKC-Wolves ending was pretty insane. KAT hits a tough floater for the two point lead, Melo hits a 3 with 4.8 seconds left to go up 1, then Wiggins knocks down the long 3 with no timeout for the win.

Bledsoe wanted out over the offseason. That's why his name was in 100 different trades:

Eric Bledsoe Rumored to Have Requested Trade Before Suns Season Started | Bleacher Report

Watson was a travesty at coach. I know the Suns are young and not slated to win much - but the effort has been horrible for two seasons. Watson apparently doesn't teach any basic defensive tactics, nor does he hold anyone accountable for being out of position (playing half ass). No one got subbed out after this play:

I still had this in my video roll from last night, while people are praising Lonzo, my God the Suns defense is horrendous. pic.twitter.com/MsXBI9Cx69

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 21, 2017

The Suns can play up to 12 guys and I would pull anyone who half assed a defensive rotation or didn't give effort. There is just no accountability with Watson - he looks like he doesn't care on the sideline so the players don't. This team needs an experience coach, not an ex-player who everyone likes. It was a bad fit from the start and I still don't understand why the team brought him back after last season. Pretty much every young player has gotten worse under him and no one has ever played any defense.

Watson wasn't the sole reason they are this bad, but they need a coach that both teaches them how to play D, installs some form of offense that doesn't involve Booker, Warren or Bledsoe going one-on-one for 10 seconds and hold players accountable when the effort isn't there. So, switching out Watson is the first move in the slow rebuild process the Suns find themselves on.

Well his me for at ucla was Steve Lavin, so fundamentals weren't exactly commonplace

He seemed like a nice guy and a decent leader, but he just wasn't ready to lead a team of young guys in the NBA. He needs to go be an assistant to an established coach and learn how to call plays, setup offensive and defensive rotations and just manage men. He was ill equipped to handle that in Phoenix.

I don't follow the NBA very closely (usually just glancing at box scores and standings), but I'm curious: Is the $50k fine for Curry a normal amount? That seems pretty stiff for throwing his mouthpiece. I mean, I watched the clip and agree there should have been a fine, but $50k seems awfully high.

So, am I missing some Curry context here or is that a reasonable amount of $$?

It's pretty reasonable. He's a repeat offender, and first time fines for throwing stuff on the court for other players have landed in the 15-25K range. Plus, Curry makes $425,000 a game. Avoiding the suspension is the big thing.

Then that makes sense (especially since he's a repeat offender). Thanks!

He also threw it "at" the ref. I think that's a deciding factor in the extra amount of the fine.

Surprised they didn't suspend him, to be honest.

Ben Simmons with his first triple double vs the Pistons, and the first ever NBA triple double for an Australian.

Umm... look out.

Giannis sure has flaws in his game, but it's just insane how good he has become. I kinda neglected to follow the league last season and saw maybe 1 1/2 Bucks games in total, so this is doubly shocking for me ... Only four games in, but he's averaging about 37 on 65% from the field and really taking responsibility late in games. It's incredible how he manages to put himself into scoring positions despite his lack of a jump shot. Sure a lot is his athletic ability, but he also has terrific footwork and great spatial awareness.

It's nice to have a legit star in Milwaukee that isn't hankering to get out of town at the first chance....

Suns fire Watson, bench their "leader" who was buddies with Watson and they win. They are still an abomination, but it will be interesting to see how they do without a malcontent leader and a coach who actually knows how to lead an NBA team. They may be back to watchable again.

Dwight Howard did not get the memo. 0-9 last night in a close loss to MIL. Ouch.

Lavin sucked but Watson was one of his rare players that was fairly solid with the fundamentals. No idea why he's not good at teaching them in the pros.

https://www.si.com/nba/2017/10/24/da...pick-cavaliers