The Official 2015-2016 NBA Regular Season Thread

[ColtCrazy]

When I was growing up, my Dad got Colts tickets that became our father-son bonding. We're giving them up at the end of the year since my son is basketball through and through. We bought a mini-package to the Pacers for all 3 generations to go to. Our first game is the 8th...against Golden St. My son took my phone while we were out shopping to watch the gamecast of GSW-TOR and was jumping up and down when the Warriors won. He's hoping they beat the Nets and come to town undefeated. Frankly, I'm pumped for the game too.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't see how Curry isn't the MVP again if he doesn't like miss 2 months with another ankle injury or forget how to shoot(not happening) or something. As far as I'm considered there's him .... then a huge gap ... then everyone else. I don't think anyone else is even in the conversation.

Originally Posted by whomario

The Spurs meanwhile are also en route to another 60+ win season, even with Aldridge having a bad season (not just surface-stats, hes still really struggling). Kawhi has become a legitimate 2-way star, i would never have expected him to become quite this good.

I don't think Aldridge is doing that badly. His defense has been better than a lot of people said it would, and offensively he's having good games and bad games. For example, Danny Green is doing a lot worse, he absolutely cannot buy a shot right now. San Antonio is excelling on defense, but to have any realistic chance to beat Golden State they'll definitely need all cylinders firing on offense. A lot of work to do there, not just shooting but the whole thing ... too early to be worried about IMO.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Austin Rivers? Is he only in the league because of Doc? Or does he play some impressive defense that keeps him around? Because he is awful on offense.

I don't know if you are talking about the game last night specifically but man was he brutal against the Magic on both ends of the court. The thing about Rivers is he goes completely against the stereotype of the coach's son. His basketball IQ is shocking low.

[Groundhog]

Rivers had a bit of a hot streak during the playoffs last year, but outside of that I have seen absolutely nothing about him that tells me he should be seeing minutes on a half-decent NBA team. Reasonably athletic, but no real skills outside of that, and a horrendously poor decision maker.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by wustin

Curry is the shoe in to win MVP again but it's gonna be him vs Kawhi for the award. Perhaps Westbrook if OKC ever stops playing like crap.

No one's touching Curry, but I'd probably have Paul George #2 slightly ahead of Kawhi. Just great as a fan to see him come back at full strength - I only hope Durant can join him a.s.a.p. Also, LeBron should probably still be #2, but that's boring.

Article on Philly and the process here - How much patience will Sixer fans and the NBA have for 'The Process'?

[murrayyyyy]

So anyone got an idea what Philly is doing now? Seems strange going out and hiring Colangelo as their Chairman of Basketball Operations. Is he there to handcuff Hinkie?

[nol]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

So anyone got an idea what Philly is doing now? Seems strange going out and hiring Colangelo as their Chairman of Basketball Operations. Is he there to handcuff Hinkie?

Maybe but he could also be a figurehead who's there to make peace with the agents who hate Hinkie.

[bhlloy]

Randle and Russell benched in LA. I'm convinced that Scott feels like the problem with his team is you just aren't allowed to haze these damn uppity rookies any more. Meanwhile Kobe goes 3-17 a game for the rest of eternity.

[BishopMVP]

What's going on with Phoenix? Huge 4th quarter comeback tonight, but Markieff Morris only 7 minutes after a DNP-CD last game. He does have a very cheap contract (4/$32) partially due to the weird deal Phoenix gave him & his brother, but he also seems like a complete asshole and a little crazy, so I'm not sure there's a big trade market for him.

Btw, Jon Leuer's my leading candidate for most outrageous dollar amount this summer.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Randle and Russell benched in LA. I'm convinced that Scott feels like the problem with his team is you just aren't allowed to haze these damn uppity rookies any more. Meanwhile Kobe goes 3-17 a game for the rest of eternity.

It astounds me that a franchise with the rich tradition of the Lakers can be as clueless and terrible as they are at selecting coaches.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by nol

Maybe but he could also be a figurehead who's there to make peace with the agents who hate Hinkie.

Or to make peace between Brown and Hinkie, or Hinkie and ownership. The summer rumor was that Hinkie and Brown didn't want Embiid to show up at Summer League, but assumed the other would take care of it and blamed each other when he showed up (and when he was drinking gallons of shirley temple's each day at the hotel or dunking and landing on his foot before he was medically cleared.)

Also, maybe Okafor should've just sat out a couple more games. Damn SB Nation NBA on Twitter: "The 76ers lost by 51. And Boban Marjanovic did this to Jahlil Okafor. https://t.co/Bm9oo7O8ue https://t.co/YSOmgYDc1r"

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

7'3 Spurs rookie Boban Marjanovic is toying with Jahlil Okafor like he's a little kid - SBNation.com https://t.co/YSOmgYDc1r"[/url]

Funny as hell, but Marjanovic travelled...

[Neon_Chaos]

Boban also made Psycho T reconsider his sport of choice early in the season...

Boban Marjanovic scares Tyler Hansbrough NBA - YouTube

[RainMaker]

Was everyone at that game a Spurs fan? Took me a second to realize it wasn't in San Antonio. The crowd erupted.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

What's going on with Phoenix? Huge 4th quarter comeback tonight, but Markieff Morris only 7 minutes after a DNP-CD last game. He does have a very cheap contract (4/$32) partially due to the weird deal Phoenix gave him & his brother, but he also seems like a complete asshole and a little crazy, so I'm not sure there's a big trade market for him.

Btw, Jon Leuer's my leading candidate for most outrageous dollar amount this summer.

Bulls aren't particularly good. Basically the same team as last year but went from a good coach to a bad coach.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by nol

Maybe but he could also be a figurehead who's there to make peace with the agents who hate Hinkie.

I can't see anyway that Colangelo is just a figurehead. I do think he will come in and be the adult in the room for basketball operations.

[RainMaker]

Sounds like other owners wanted the commissioner to step in.

NBA owners lobbied league office for Philadelphia 76ers changes

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

Boban also made Psycho T reconsider his sport of choice early in the season...

Boban Marjanovic scares Tyler Hansbrough NBA - YouTube

Marjanovic is also pretty good and shows way more versatility than i thought he would. Imo he will be a factor in the POs and play good minutes post-Duncan.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Funny as hell, but Marjanovic travelled...

Baby crab walk. Didn't watch the game but I'm sure the refs were ignoring anything that might have stopped the clock and probably would have had a running clock in the 4th like they do with 5 year old kids if they would have been allowed to do it.

Anyone know why Okafor didn't start? Or is this just more punishment from his outside activities?

[albionmoonlight]

It seems like the 76ers's big sin is being open about their strategy. Other teams have had really bad stretches, but as long as they made noises about caring about hitting the 8th seed in any given year, everyone was fine with it.

[nol]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I can't see anyway that Colangelo is just a figurehead. I do think he will come in and be the adult in the room for basketball operations.

Right, and that means he'll identify and go after inexpensive locker room veterans in free agency, which was more or less going to happen in 2016-17 anyway.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Or to make peace between Brown and Hinkie, or Hinkie and ownership. The summer rumor was that Hinkie and Brown didn't want Embiid to show up at Summer League, but assumed the other would take care of it and blamed each other when he showed up (and when he was drinking gallons of shirley temple's each day at the hotel or dunking and landing on his foot before he was medically cleared.)

Also, maybe Okafor should've just sat out a couple more games. Damn SB Nation NBA on Twitter: "The 76ers lost by 51. And Boban Marjanovic did this to Jahlil Okafor. https://t.co/Bm9oo7O8ue https://t.co/YSOmgYDc1r"

He could have also passed to a wide open cutter coming down the lane.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Funny as hell, but Marjanovic travelled...

When you're throwing ball fakes at rim height in a 50-pt blowout no one's looking at your feet.

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Anyone know why Okafor didn't start? Or is this just more punishment from his outside activities?

They claim "illness" and he'll be back in next game, but I'm not sure what kind of cold you could have where you're healthy enough to play 29 minutes but not start. They have been trying to separate Okafor and Noel a lot more recently.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Sounds like other owners wanted the commissioner to step in.

NBA owners lobbied league office for Philadelphia 76ers changes

Screw them. 12 of them voted against lottery reform at the last minute, and every indication is that this is just more bitching from small market owners who are missing out on like $1-$2 mil each they could be receiving if Philly was much more profitable. Go bitch at Prokhorov, Buss or Dolan for running their even bigger market teams into the ground too, or better yet don't move teams to the the 45th biggest (from the 14th), 48th biggest, or 53rd biggest media markets and then complain about other owners not maximizing their revenue potential.

[Ajaxab]

Watched the Sixers-Spurs in its entirety last night. Never before have I seen a pro team shoot 2 air balls on the same possession and 8 air balls in a game. A loss by 51 to a San Antonio team without Leonard, Duncan, or Ginobili stepping onto the floor. Brutal...

[kingfc22]

Warriors drop 62 on Indy in 1.5 quarters so far.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Warriors drop 62 on Indy in 1.5 quarters so far.

Well Thompson hitting 8-10 from beyond 3 helps a little. How bad does it have to be when you shoot 42-43-73% and you are down 19 at the half. Warriors outscored the 76ers last night in just one half by 11 points.

[heybrad]

When I work from home I'll have First Take on for nothing more than sports background noise. Today they were spouting off about how Golden State hadn't faced anyone of Paul George's caliber and expected the streak to come to an end tonight.

[wustin]

Indiana plays the same style of smallball GSW does, the problem is that their bench isn't as good and they don't have playmakers who can keep up the pace. If and whenever Paul George can develop into a point-forward (kinda like how McGrady did at Houston) that team is going to be scary.

[Young Drachma]

Gonna take the W's having a bad night and some other team shooting lights out to take 'em down. They're firing on all cylinders.

[Groundhog]

Paul George is having a sneaky-amazing season so far.

[AENeuman]

So what do you think, the Warriors streak is at 23 or 27?

Also, I was remembering the time warriors owner was booed while Chris Mullen was being honored. At the time, they said it was the Bogut trade that did it. Funny how things work out.

Why did Warrior fans boo? | ProBasketballTalk

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

So what do you think, the Warriors streak is at 23 or 27?

26.

[murrayyyyy]

Hornets' Jefferson suspended for violating drug program | NBA.com

Guess Al didn't lose all that weight by cutting out fried chicken after all...

[stevew]

The Sixers are the NBAs answer to the Trump campaign. Most people are appalled by what's going on but nobody can stop talking about it

[BishopMVP]

What a weird stat for a 12-9 team considering how many NBA titles the Celtics won in the time frame.

DOUBLE-DIGIT CELTICS WINS THROUGH 21 GAMES (Last 50 seasons) 2007-08: 16 1984-85: 14 1966-67: 13 1990-91: 12 2015-16: 11

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 8, 2015

[wustin]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

So what do you think, the Warriors streak is at 23 or 27?

Also, I was remembering the time warriors owner was booed while Chris Mullen was being honored. At the time, they said it was the Bogut trade that did it. Funny how things work out.

Why did Warrior fans boo? | ProBasketballTalk

Klay is questionable for the Celtics game. If they have a chance to lose, it will be that game if Curry can have a bad night. Though most likely Curry will probably drop 50 seeing as he would need to pick up the slack for Klay.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by stevew

The Sixers are the NBAs answer to the Trump campaign. Most people are appalled by what's going on but nobody can stop talking about it

Well one major difference is Trump is in the lead still unlike the 76ers

[BishopMVP]

The ultimate "No, no, NO, YESSSSSSS!!!!!" shot



"Very unlikely, since normally Matt Barnes will drive really far to take a shot" (stolen from Deadspin comments)

[wustin]

anyone watch the warriors game?

Horrible officiating on both sides. A lot of no calls on the warriors, refs reversed a call and gave Curry a reach-in foul (his 4th) during free throws in the 3rd quarter when he was 5 feet away from the ball. Sullinger missed a free throw, and the refs let him re-do it. A bunch of questionable Curry out of bounds calls they didn't show any replays of.

Celtics could've won it but Isiah Thomas kinda threw it away a few times. The game really showcased how disadvantaged being 5'9 can be.

[heybrad]

I watched it. You summed it up pretty well but it was still a pretty exciting game. The 4th foul on Curry was stupid and changed the whole flow.

[Groundhog]

Warriors were lucky to keep the streak today. Celtics didn't exactly execute so well down the stretch offensively, but still had about 3 good chances to win that game that didn't go down. Thomas was tired, you could see it in his miss at the end of regulation and the open 3 he missed in the 2nd OT - both short, tired legs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

both short, tired legs.

I see what you did there

[Vince, Pt. II]

Hard to see the Warriors winning tomorrow against the Bucks. Iguodala, Curry and Green played 44, 47, and 50 minutes respectively tonight, Thompson and Barnes are probably not playing, and it's the second half of a back-to-back at the end of a long 7-game road trip.

[nol]

Draymond Green may have breached the rare ceiling of being a top 30 player with his 24-11-8-5-5 performance tonight. Seriously though, in the last couple close Warriors games I've watched (Jazz and Celtics) he's wrestled a rebound away from a seven-footer when the game was in the balance. He's absolutely an all-star and I wouldn't blink if he was named first or second team all-NBA this season.

[RainMaker]

I'd say he's top 20. The fact he can defend every position is so valuable these days. I think he's the 2nd most important player on that team.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Warriors were lucky to keep the streak today. Celtics didn't exactly execute so well down the stretch offensively, but still had about 3 good chances to win that game that didn't go down. Thomas was tired, you could see it in his miss at the end of regulation and the open 3 he missed in the 2nd OT - both short, tired legs.

Oh man, I love Brad Stevens and IT4, but I was screaming at the TV to call timeout once it got down to 6-7 seconds left in regulation and IT was clearly setting up for the hero long jumper. Not that the result turned out any better when he drove the next time we got into that situation, but I want him driving every time. Reminded me a little of bad Paul Pierce when he would spend more time worrying about getting his shot off exactly at the end of quarter buzzer instead of trying to shoot in rhythm or attack early and see if a hole opens up on D or he can draw a foul.

We also had AB cutting to the rim for the backdoor alley-oop win at the end of OT1 (iirc) after Draymond jumped Kelly's pop, but Turner didn't see it.

Originally Posted by wustin

Celtics could've won it but Isiah Thomas kinda threw it away a few times. The game really showcased how disadvantaged being 5'9 can be.

Every game shows that, which is why his game is so insane. I don't understand how he gets any shots off near the rim, let alone takes 40% of his shots in the paint and finishes them at an above-average clip. He's far from a perfect player, and this game completely showed why we need that go to guy (DMC? Gordon Hayward? Danilo? Shit, if Kristaps wasn't showing this well I might even be trying to talk myself into a Carmelo trade) before we're a real threat, but make no mistake - we're nowhere close to this level without Isaiah. He's the only guy on the roster other than Rozier (who I still love, but has been atrocious in his regular season minutes so far), and maybe Jerebko/Crowder when they play smallball 4, who can actually beat his man and get the defense moving. I coach a lot of lacrosse, which is basically the same as basketball on offense, at a somewhat smaller and thus less athletic school than all the other top 10-15 teams in the state, and I've always said all we need is one athletic kid who can beat his man and draw the double. As long as the other kids aren't complete zeros, anyone can attack a closeout (example A - Jae Crowder), be taught how to cut vs a distracted defender, or attack a 4v3, but everything is predicated on that initial dodger being able to break down a set defender and get the defense moving, and IT4's that guy. (Marcus Smart is actually decent at this as well, but I'm not sure if it's sustainable in the playoffs because he's such a bad shooter/finisher off the dribble I think some smart team eventually will just stop leaving anybody else to help on him even if he gets a step. And obviously my binky Rozier's first step alone gives him the potential to do it if he learns the game, but that's not happening this year.)

Btw, I did miss close to the first 3 quarters due to another obligation, and I guess he played 15 minutes then without killing us, but holy shit we had James Young playing crunch time minutes. And Evan Turner at the same time! Plus Crowder at times on O and IT4 almost all the time on D! I know Golden State has injuries to Klay/Barnes, we clearly cared a little more (and had a legitimate home crowd - even in Year 1 of the Big 3 I'm not sure people were that excited for a regular season game), but we were there toe to toe with the best NBA team in at least a decade while on our 5th/6th string shooting guard and playing not a single above-average shooter. Brad Stevens is a wizard, and clearly merely playing hard makes good things happen. Don't care one bit we lost, and seeing as GS is my 2nd favorite NBA team as long as we pushed them to the limit I'm secretly a little happy they won and have a chance to keep going for 34 vs. what would've been a relatively meaningless win for us long term.

[nol]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I'd say he's top 20. The fact he can defend every position is so valuable these days. I think he's the 2nd most important player on that team.

That was the case last season, and with Klay scoring less and Draymond being improved in every facet of the game it's not even debatable now.

Last night's game is evidence that even if Klay isn't shooting lights out, the threat of him still opens things up offensively, but I don't think there are 5 players on the planet who could've stepped in for Draymond this season and kept the Warriors undefeated to this point.

In 76ers news, looks like the immediate results of the Jerry Colangelo hiring is that the team's looking to bring in Mike D'antoni as an associate head coach. I've thought for a while that there's some inefficiency in making one guy the undisputed head coach when there are coaches who are clearly best suited to have an offensive/defensive coordinator role, so that could be interesting. Also, there's this:

#shirleytempledidthis pic.twitter.com/F7lHa1GABT

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) December 12, 2015

[whomario]

As much as the Spurs are "struggling" on offense (aside from Aldridge still acclimating you also have Danny Greene basically shooting 30% from the field), their defense has been amazing.

The Hawks just scored just 25 in the first half against them, shooting 9-37.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Hard to see the Warriors winning tomorrow against the Bucks. Iguodala, Curry and Green played 44, 47, and 50 minutes respectively tonight, Thompson and Barnes are probably not playing, and it's the second half of a back-to-back at the end of a long 7-game road trip.

Good call. Bucks win!

[Vince, Pt. II]

The Bucks played a great game; Monroe was fantastic, and Mayo hit the open shots he needed to. The crowd up there was amazing as well - it sounded like a soccer match with all the chanting and singing during the game. Fun to watch. I'll be sorry to see that sort of crowd presence disappear on the road now that the streak is over.

It was strange to see Klay so off; he hadn't played since Tuesday, but appeared just as gassed as everyone else, missing almost every shot short. I have to imagine he's still not 100% from the ankle injury.