Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

[ioanastasis]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Great thread thus far. I actually started the exact same thing. I have one question. Do you suggest I keep the box scores and stuff in the results of the games or just the score?

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Great thread thus far. I actually started the exact same thing. I have one question. Do you suggest I keep the box scores and stuff in the results of the games or just the score?

I'd say to chose whichever lessens the workload for you since covering the entire league daily is a pretty large undertaking. I've cut top performers from my nightly scoreboards and I'm going to cut down my power rankings from weekly to monthly so I can get through the season a bit quicker.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Detroit Pistons moving downtown
Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press| Published 2:47 p.m. ET Nov. 12, 2016

It's official: The Pistons are moving to Detroit to play at Little Caesars Arena beginning in 2017 after 29 years in Auburn Hills.
The word came Tuesday in an announcement by team owner Tom Gores and his new business partners, Detroit's Ilitch family, at Cass Technical High School in Detroit that ends years of speculation about the Pistons leaving their Oakland County home since 1988 and returning to the city where they first played beginning in 1957.
“This is the right call for our fans, for our players, for how we can impact the community,” Gores said.
The move must be approved by the National Basketball Association. Additionally, because the new arena is owned by Detroit's Downtown Development Authority, a revised lease must by approved by the DDA board. Mayor Mike Duggan said a formal agreement would go before the board early next year.
"This isn't a final deal," Duggan said. "It's preliminary."



"We are delighted to not just move into the city but commit to all these community benefits," Arn Tellem, vice chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment, told the DDA board. "We want to be all-in on Detroit. We want to do right by the city and the community here. From an NBA team’s perspective, I don’t know where it ranks, but I don’t know of any team doing more than what we are now."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Sunday that the Pistons moving to the city "greatly enhances" the chance of an NBA All-Star game being held in Detroit.
The Pistons and Red Wings will become the 11th pair of NBA and National Hockey League franchises to share an arena.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


Hawks Trade Kyle Korver To Cavs
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Nov 12, 2016

The Cleveland Cavaliers filled a need at guard by acquiring Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a protected future first-round draft pick, the teams announced Saturday.
"We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family," Cavs general manager David Griffin said in a statement. "Among the most prolific and dynamic 3-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless and team-first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor."

"Kyle is somebody who was a big part of us building our culture and our success over the past five years," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters Saturday. "I have a ton of respect for him and an appreciation for him as a player, more so as a human being."
The 35-year-old Korver, who is earning $5.2 million this season in the final year of his current contract, is averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 40.9 percent on 3-pointers. He was an All-Star in 2015.

"Obviously, it's a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland," Korver said Thursday amid reports that the deal to Cleveland would happen. "So I'm very excited about that part of it. But there's a lot of relationships that I care about here that I'm going to miss. From a basketball perspective, [Cleveland is] a great, great fit for me. And I know that."
The Hawks, meanwhile, continue to mull the direction their franchise is headed.

"My answer to that is I don't think there should be any assumptions made about anything," said Budenholzer, who is also the Hawks' president. "Organizationally, we have to make hard decisions. I think it's important that each one of them puts us in the best situation, the best place, to be a great organization. In this case, we made a trade that wasn't easy. It was a hard decision. This is a good team that we have. This is a team that has shown an ability to compete at a high level. Keeping it together is something ... I just wouldn't make any assumptions going forward."

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


Rudy Gobert Breaks Leg; Out 4-6 weeks
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Nov 13, 2016

The Utah Jazz have suffered a pretty big blow to their playoff chances this season as they lost DPOY candidate Rudy Gobert for up to a month and a half due to a broken leg. Gobert injured himself last night against the Miami Heat after attempting to block a shot.

An MRI was completed this morning and revealed the fracture in his right leg confirming the Utah medical staff fears. Gobert was in surprisingly good spirits after the injury though. "I think we'll be alright as a team and I'll be back very soon."

The Jazz will now look to backup center Jeff Whithey to fill the void left by Gobert. Sources say the Jazz aren't planning to try and trade for an intermediate replacement nor pick up anyone left in free agency currently. The feeling is they can do it by committee going small using players like Derrick Favors, Boris Diaw, and even Trey Lyles for small bursts.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

11/13/16



11/14/16

11/15/16


11/16/16


11/17/16


11/18/16


11/19/16

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Hassan Whiteside: Superstar?

San Antonio, Tx (AP) - Heat center Hassan Whiteside had a game for the ages Monday night against the Spurs. Whiteside went for a career high 54 points while also tying his career high in rebounds with 25 in the 131-135 double OT loss to the Spurs. Hassan also set a new franchise mark for field goals made, going 23-34 from the field.

To put into perspective how amazing and historic Hassan's night was, his game was the 3rd highest scoring game in the franchises history (LeBron-61, Wade-55), and tied himself for the second most rebounds in a game (Seikaly-34, Whiteside-25). Whiteside joins players like Dwyane Wade, Glen Rice, Lebron James, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal as some of the franchises record holders. Whiteside already holds the Heat single game record for blocks with 12. He accomplished that on January 25, 2015.

"I'm trying to get a [win] man," Whiteside stated after the loss. "We're playing kind of bad and I know we needed to step up our play and I'm the guy who has to lead by example."

Hassan will look to continue his stellar play as the season progresses and Heat fans hope he can duplicate even a fraction of the production he had tonight on a consistent basis. If he does, Miami has its post Big 3 Era superstar to build around, which would be welcome news to the likes of Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison. If not, then this will be a blip in an otherwise long rebuild coming for one of the most successful franchises of the past decade.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

11/20/16



11/21/16

11/22/16


11/23/16


11/25/16


11/26/16


GD's Highlights

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


Demar DeRozan to have surgery on Left MCL; Out 1-2 months
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Nov 23, 2016

Toronto continues its run of bad luck this season with the loss of Demar Derozan to a torn left MCL. The Raptors have already been without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry since the 3rd game of the season (still not due to return for a couple of weeks), now DeRozan will miss a minimum of a couple of months.

DeRozan was having an incredible start to the 2017 season having had to step into the void left by backcourt running mate Kyle Lowry. DeRozan is averaging a career high 27.7ppg and recorded a career high of 46 just last week, November 18th, against the Denver Nuggets.

Looking to combat their rash of injuries, Toronto has released forward Bruno Caboclo to open a roster spot for some free agent help. Sources indicate that Toronto is seriously considering signing enigmatic swingman Lance Stephenson to help fill the void left by DeRozan and Lowry.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


Raptors sign Lance Stephenson
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Nov 25, 2016

The Toronto Raptors have signed former Pacers guard Lance Stephenson to a one year deal worth the veteran's minimum. Stephenson was out on the market after being cut by the New Orleans Pelicans due to a groin injury he suffered in training camp (non guaranteed contract). The Raptors deal is guaranteed for the entire year.

With a glaring need for some wing firepower this was kind of a no brainer move for GM Masai Ujiri. The Raptors are hoping Stephenson can channel his near All-Star level days of play back in Indiana if the Raptors are to keep pace in the playoff picture until both of their stars return from injury.

With Stephenson in the fold, Toronto will have another dimension added to its team once everyone is healthy. Their bench no has a legitimate 6th man for the 1st time since Lou Williams was let go. Sources say the Raps may not be done either with their obvious interest in All-Star forward Paul Millsap.
Atlanta has made it obvious to teams around the league that he is available for the right price and Toronto are one of the few teams that have shown strong interest.

[nuka]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Demar DeRozan to have surgery on Left MCL; Out 1-2 months
Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Nov 23, 2016

Toronto continues its run of bad luck this season with the loss of Demar Derozan to a torn left MCL. The Raptors have already been without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry since the 3rd game of the season (still not due to return for a couple of weeks), now DeRozan will miss a minimum of a couple of months.

DeRozan was having an incredible start to the 2017 season having had to step into the void left by backcourt running mate Kyle Lowry. DeRozan is averaging a career high 27.7ppg and recorded a career high of 46 just last week, November 18th, against the Denver Nuggets.

Looking to combat their rash of injuries, Toronto has released forward Bruno Caboclo to open a roster spot for some free agent help. Sources indicate that Toronto is seriously considering signing enigmatic swingman Lance Stephenson to help fill the void left by DeRozan and Lowry.

noooooo

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

noooooo

Don't worry, I'm sure once they return they'll start racking up wins and make the playoffs. They are in the East

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

11/27/16


11/28/16


11/29/16


11/30/16

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Monthly Recap: November


(So what do you guys think? Kind of rough, but I'm hoping to improve it a bit. Write-ups on the top storylines are to follow these btw)

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA





Harden and Westbrook Leading the Pack
By John Schuhmann NBA.com
@johnschuhmann
Dec 1, 2016

The MVP race is hot this year with no clear frontrunners for this years award. After last seasons unanimous MVP Steph Curry took control early and continually tightened his grip as the season progressed, this season seems to be taking a different direction. A lot of guys got of to hot starts and were caught during the latter stages of November. Some came on toward the end of the month. One thing is for certain though, this will be one of the best MVP races in recent memory.

This month is headlined by James Harden and Russell Westbrook who both are having phenomenal seasons and are putting up some ridiculous numbers:

1. James Harden - 31.8ppg, 7.6rpg, 7.1apg, 50%, 44% 3pt, PER: 32.1

Team Record: (11-7)

James Harden is having one helluva season post Dwight skipping town. Mike D'Antoni has revived a lot of players' careers, but this season has been about Harden's transition to PG more than anything or anyone else. After an initial period of adjustment, the Rockets have taken off and won their last 6 games in a row led by the MVP candidate. He's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage and he's also fresh off of scoring a career high 53 points leading the Rockets to an epic 24 point comeback in Portland.

Standout MVP Performance

2. Russell Westbrook - 30ppg, 11.3rpg, 9.8apg, 47%, 35.5% 3pt, PER: 29.8

Team Record: (13-7)

Angry Russ is a sight to behold and is on track to be the first player to average a triple-double since The Big O. Russ has 7 triple doubles in his first 20 games and has led the Thunder to a respectable record despite the loss of arguably the second best player in the NBA in Kevin Durant and defensive dynamo Serge Ibaka. If Harden was having a normal year, Westbrook would be the runaway for number 1. As it stands now, Harden's efficiency gives him the slightest of edges between these two with how close they are. Can we have Co-MVP's?

3. Anthony Davis - 31.5ppg, 12.6rpg, 2.5bpg, 54%, 37% 3pt, PER: 33

Team Record: (12-7)

Davis started the season like gangbusters and while his production as dipped ever so slightly (now second in the league in scoring and 5th in rebounds), he's still having a monster season (as evidenced by his league leading PER of 33). The Pelicans have come back down to Earth as well after a hot start, but if they can somehow pick their level of play back up and sneak ahead of the Rockets or Thunder, don't be surprised if AD jumps ahead of the two guys above of him on this list even with their gaudy numbers.

4. LeBron James - 22.6ppg, 10.6rg, 9apg, 51% fg, 35% 3pt, PER: 27.6

Team Record: (14-2)

You can't have an MVP list without this guy hovering near the top. His prime years are coming to an end, but he's still arguably the best player in the NBA and will be for at least another year or two. His stats always show he's one of the most well rounded players in the league and his Cavaliers continue to steamroll the Eastern Conference in their effort to reach a third consecutive NBA Finals, and an 7th straight for LeBron. His efficiency has begun to slip a tad, but he's crazy good and dominant when he wants to turn it on. Just ask the Raptors after he dropped a 44 point triple double on them in early November.

5. Damian Lillard - 25.1ppg, 6rpg, 9.6apg, 43% fg, 37% 3pt, PER: 24.3

Team Record: (14-6)

Damian Lillard was the leading candidate here for about two weeks, mainly because the Blazers had a ridiculous start to the year and were leading the West until about a week and a half ago. After that though, the Blazers have been around a .500 team and Damian suffered an ankle injury the sidelined him for two weeks. In his place CJ McCollum had a decent stretch of games highlighted by a 51 point outburst. This in turn has affected Damian's MVP chances, but make no mistake, he's not out of the running just yet. Never count out Dame Dolla, he loves it.