SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[cormag001]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 16th, 2018

Someone Has To Stop Joel Embiid

In the waning moments of their second straight road win in the Eastern Conference Finals, Joel Embiid made sure everyone knew the impact he had thus far in the series. Sizing up Valanciunas from the elbow, Joel pulled up for a quick jumper. Valanciunas lunged towards him, desperately trying to slow down the Sixers’ star to prolong the game, and watched as the high arching shot sailed in the air towards the basket. It was almost in slow motion – it really felt like Embiid was destined to hit that dagger.

But while everyone else was anticipating the game clinching shot, Joel Embiid was going for the rebound.

Immediately after the ball left his hand, Embiid charged towards the basket, leaping towards the sky. When his shot clanked off the front of the iron, Embiid was right there to grab it with two hands, put it behind his head, and fiercely slam it home to silence the rowdy Toronto crowd once and for all.

And it did.

Even Drake, loud and slightly obnoxious all game, sat down to admire and take in the ferocious slam.

Embiid let out a yell that could be heard from the nosebleeds before slyly finding the nearest camera and striking a pose. He knew the significance of tonight. He knew winning two straight in Toronto put him in a great spot. He knew many would see tonight as a stepping stone towards stardom. He knew that thirty rebounds in a conference finals game doesn’t just happen. Yet he continues to be unfazed.

For some, Embiid is creting the new era of the NBA big man. He can grind down low like the old time centers or step outside and shoot like a new era big.

The Raptors have to do something to bring him back down to Earth. Ibaka, one of the premier post defenders, continues to get absolutely cooked. Jonas doesn’t have the quickness to stay with Joel. Pascal just isn’t ready.

But one of them is going to have to do it.

The Raptors avoided embarrassment on their home floor from LeBron James (by way of injury), but didn’t skip a beat when another superstar came to play. In Game 3, I’d look for a determined Serge Ibaka to get physical with Embiid. I wish I had some technically sound, great basketball advice to tell him how to slow the third year player down…. but I don’t there how much you really can do.

So, Mr. Potential-Coach-of-the-Year Dwane Casey, show us what you got. Show us you can slow down a star.

Philly will be watching.

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Thursday, May 17th, 2018

[johnstone1987]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

LMAO BB out of DC? No surprise when you're basically the only player trying to carry a team lol

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[bryan3169]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 18th, 2018

Welcome to First Take! Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman will be breaking down Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals as well as previewing the Western Conference Finals Game 3 that'll be taking place tonight.

MK: "The Raptors played their best game of the season let alone the playoffs last night against the Sixers on Philly's home turf, one of the most hostile environments in the NBA. They played rough and tough basketball, Stephen A, where has this Raptors team been all year?"

SAS: "Well Max, first off, the last 48 hours has been extremely trying for this Raptors franchise, first getting the news of Kyle Lowry going down to an MCL injury that he played through in Game 2, they lose him. Going down 2-0 going into Philadelphia, alot of talking in the North were already putting head coach Dwayne Casey out to dry if they ultimately lose this series, things just flying every which way for this franchise. Game 3 was an emotional statement win for the Toronto Raptors."

MK: "A statement win? I just think it was an off game for the younger 76ers team, their playoff immaturity is starting to show its ugly face a little bit but in the end the cream rises to the top. Simmons/Embiid/Saric is just too much for 1 superstar in DeMar DeRozan."

SAS: "Max, it's still too early to call this, if Toronto plays as tough of defense as they played in Game 3, they can steal another game in Philly. They won the rebound battle the first time all series and went to the line more than Philadelphia did for the first time this series...tough defense and getting to the line and winning the rebound battle, Toronto can get back in this. If this series ties up 2-2, everything changes. Of course if Philadelphia goes up 3-1 it's their series to lose."

MQ: "What do you two feel like are the keys to victory for each of these teams to take Game 4. Stephen A, we will start with you."

SAS: "Toronto, has to continue to win at team ball to even have a chance in this series. DeRozan has to continue to dominate and he needs help from his supporting cast. Do I think Delon Wright is the guy who should be on the court in the most critical series in this franchise's history...absolutely not, but I'm not Dwayne Casey. He has to believe in the guy that's going to carry out his gameplan as the main ball distributor on the court, his floor general if you will. We will see in Game 4."

MK: "The supporting cast is going to have to step up in a major way in Toronto, you aren't going to hold Philadelphia to zero points. If Delon Wright is going to be on the floor for 25-30 minutes he has got to contribute more than 9 points 3 assists, 3 points of which came from the stripe. OG Anunoby has to show up offensively. The bigs did a great job in Game 3 they are the difference makers in slowing down Embiid can they continue that level of play is the question."

MQ: "Quick thoughts on what Philadelphia might need to do to take Game 4?"

MK: "Settle down, take smarter shots and stick to the gameplan, this series will be over soon enough!"

SAS: "Max, you can't be serious??? I wouldn't be in a rush to close anything out too soon. It's two super power's on the other side in the Western Conference in the MVP in James Harden and company or the Thunder and it's ruthless warrior, Russell Westbrook and company. Philadelphia needs a new game plan they've become to predictable, waiting for Joel Embiid to bail them out of games. They'll close this series out doing what they are doing now, but the Western Conference will show no mercy.

MQ: "Speaking of the Western Conference really quick what do you guys expect out of Game 3 tonight in OKC?"

MK: "I expect a complete and utter destruction of the OKC Thunder with Westbrook free shooting the ball when they are down 10-20 point while everybody else just watches...the offense has no movement, completely opposite of what the Rockets do. They will put on a show and destroy the Thunder tonight to take a commanding 3-0 in this series."

SAS: "As much as I don't like agreeing with my co host, Max Kellerman, I have to echo his sentiments. The Rockets have too much fire power and OKC has not enough effort from other players not named Westbrook on that team to even have a snow ball's chance in hell of winning tonight against the Rockets. Houston takes a commanding lead."

MQ: "Trevor Ariza and a few other Rockets players have echoed the same statement over the last few days in post game interviews that they were hoping to match up against the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals. Thoughts on these statements from players Stephen A?"

SAS: "Injuries robbed us of that series plain and simple. With Curry being out, the flow of the Warriors has been out of wack for a while now and apparently has caused some tension in the locker room. But the blatant disrespect of the OKC Thunder by the Rockets players is totally uncalled for, they earned their spot to be in their current position and they are being overlooked and laughed at as a non threat by this Rockets team. And so far, they have proven they can't hold the Rockets candle. Hopefully the tide can turn tonight in Game 3."

Well that's all for First Take, thanks for joining us. This has been Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim, and Max Kellerman. Thank you and join us tomorrow!

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Friday, May 18th, 2018

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[AdamJones113]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Chris Paul and the Rockets have raced out to a 3-0 lead on the Thunder

Adam Jones

May 18, 2018


Why the Rockets Are Up 3-0 on the Thunder

Corner: Here's a stat whose bad side you don't want to be on. The Rockets, in each of the three games of the Western Conference Finals so far, have attempted more threes than the Thunder have made field goals. Now, the Rockets take a lot of threes—44, 41, 42 this series—but the math just doesn't give the Thunder good odds. Three is superior to two, and Houston takes full advantage of that. They've been hot, too, shooting no less than 38% from three and even 50% in the huge game 1 win. Trevor Ariza hit more treys—9! of 16!—in game 1 than the entire Thunder squad did (5). Harden has averaged just under four a game, but it's been a team effort beyond the arc, with Houston having at least four players a game take 5 threes or more. They haven't been afraid to let fly. P.J. Tucker, who missed all five of his three-point attempts in game 1, has hit 3-11 and 4-11 since then. Harden's burden has never been lighter, and while he's playing nearly 39 minutes per game, he's dished out an astounding 13 assists per game. He hasn't missed a free throw since the last round, either.

Top of the arc: The Thunder haven't been terrible, measured in terms of pure offense. They've just been worse. Oklahoma City has only "won" 1 quarter each game, and only one of those closed the gap significantly. But they've averaged fewer than 19 assists per game (56 total), a mark which the Rockets destroyed in the first two games alone (67 total) and continued to leave behind in game three—Houston averages over 30 assists per game. Besides for game 1, where the large entering-Q4 deficit got the bench lots of playing time, the Thunder were outscored 35-19 and 32-18. That's not good. Similarly not good is the fact that the Thunder bench has not gotten a double-digit scoring game. Raymond Felton, Alex Abrines (both 9), and Patrick Patterson (7) have "led the charge" for the Thunder's reserves. The Rockets have gotten double-digit scoring from at least two of their reserves in all three games. Anthony, George, and Westbrook have all had two good games—no spectacular ones. Only George has scored more than 25 points (33 in game 1).

Corner: What does this mean for each team in the long run? Assuming the Thunder don't pull off the miraculous comeback, this series means a lot, actually. The Rockets are now the dominant team in the West with the Warriors having fallen. Their ethos—live by the three—is strong; their players are in their primes; and they are a deep team that gets the job done. They are presumptive title favorites over whichever Eastern Conference team emerges. The Thunder, by contrast, look old. Their ethos is inconsistency. Melo is no longer a star. Steven Adams has been completely outplayed by Clint Capela. Westbrook has been unable to take over games. The sound of Thunder, it seems, is far slower than the Rocket which it pursues.

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[bryan3169]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 19th, 2018

Bill Simmons on Rocket's 3-0 lead on OKC: "Houston is establishing their dominance and no team can stop them from winning. This is an NBA Championship team. I'm personally crowning them the NBA Champions today. Up a 3-0 lead on the OKC Thunder in the WCF. Harden is unstoppable as the MVP should be. Rockets have a superb bench outscoring OKC's bench 32-18. Harden flirted with a triple double. Harden and Ariza contributed heavily. There is nothing Westbrook and George can do without help from Carmelo Anthony."

Nick Wright on Carmelo Anthony: "Carmelo Anthony has to be one of the biggest cancers and wastes of space in his current capacity in the NBA. He is eating up too much money to be outscored by Corey Brewer and Steven Adams! This team counts on him too much for him to have mediocre stat lines like 10-5-3 and not TAKE a SINGLE SHOT from behind the arc. Almost 28 million against the cap to do that? It's definitely not a great return on investment."

Billy Donovan on a win or go home situation going into Game 4: "I know the team is in a rock and a hard place at home. Regardless of the series outcome, Game 4 is a game I refuse to lose. We owe it to our fans to not get swept at home. Russ said it best, Game 4 we are swinging for the fences we have nothing else to lose."

Golden State Warriors General Manager, Bob Myers issues a statement pertaining to Draymond Green's tirade on social media: "The Golden State Warriors are aware and have contacted Draymond Green's representation after his profane tirade against the team, staff and management. This matter will be dealt with swiftly and harshly and we will sit down and have a meeting in-house with Draymond once he returns from vacation in Miami to discuss punishment and so he can air his grievances against the team or discuss his future with the organization. Thank you!"

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[ronyell]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

[johnstone1987]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

Lets be honest, if Westbrook wasn't such a damn primadonna crybaby, OKC wouldn't be down 3-0 to Houston.

It always amazes me OKC turns a blind eye to Westbrook's cancerous attitude.

[ayyitskev]

Re: SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

May 20th, 2018

By: Kevs

Around The NBA - 5/20/18

Mike Conley Still Loyal to Memphis. In a Twitter Q & A, Mike Conley answered fan questions. Of them, his favorite drink is orange Fanta, his favorite animal is a porcupine, and his favorite city? Memphis. Following up that Memphis was his favorite city, he told fans he knows some hard times may be coming with the potential trade of Marc Gasol and the coaching changes. He was sure to let fans know that he and the team are on the same page in keeping him around.

Devin Booker Viral Video Surfaces. In a positive piece of news, Suns star Devin Booker was seen wearing his Phoenix jersey walking around downtown Phoenix greeting fans and taking pictures. In one particular moment, he gives a young boy the sneakers off of his feet after he signs them. He later told TMZ, "It's all about the fans, and I love going out there and meeting 'em".

DeMar DeRozan Calls Reports Bullsh*t. In DeRozan's fantastic playoff run, reports begun to surface that he's better off without Kyle Lowry. Of course, he defends his good friend and fellow all-star teammate. He told reporters, "Y'all can say whatever, but we're like Yin and Yang. Jay-Z and Kanye. Peanut Butter and Jelly. We got each other's backs no matter what. Get that bullsh*t outta here."

Sacramento Kings Expect to Release Zach Randolph. Sources close to the team has told me that Sacramento will be releasing Z-Bo in the offseason if they can't find a trade partner. In his first year in Sac-Town, Z-Bo was caught with marijuana, and just recently, he was caught saying a racial slur towards white basketball players at a team charity event. He has since apologized, but the damage has already been done.