Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

[Cruzerr]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

I'm glad that the angry small man down in Portland is giving it to the people, what is Dame averaging?

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

I'm glad that the angry small man down in Portland is giving it to the people, what is Dame averaging?

24.4ppg, 5rpg, and 9.8apg while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from 3. CJ McCollum is actually the reason they beat LA. He's averaging 29ppg and 7apg in the playoffs.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

We just had one of the more exciting first rounds of the NBA Playoffs in recent memory, led by the upset of the Clippers, Rockets, and Raptors. We now look forward to an interesting 2nd round of match-ups that most thought wouldn't happen until at least the conference finals before the playoffs. For example, the Warriors will meet the San Antonio Spurs in the 2nd round as opposed to the conference finals. In the East, the Celtics meet LeBron and company and have a chance to prove if they really are the 2nd best team in the east as they believe. The Wizards will face the upstart Bucks featuring The Greek Freak and the surging Blazers take on the much larger Grizzlies.

Here are the semi-final match-ups:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Wizards Vs. #5 Milwaukee Bucks

Season series tied 2-2

Washington handed their business in round 1 quickly dispatching the misfit Bulls, but they'll see a whole other animal here in round 2 going up against Giannis and the Bucks. Many people consider The Greek Freak as the next superstar of the NBA and while he may not quite be there yet, he's well on his way and is nearly unstoppable now. The Wizards however should prioritize shutting down the Bucks' shooters and shrink the floor as Milwaukee has a lack of playmaking outside of Antetokoumpo and Jabari Parker. Wall and Beal will have a bit of a fight on their hands having to deal with Matthew Dellavadova and Malcolm Brogdon applying pressure on the ball. But if Washington can continue moving the ball and finding open shooters and those guys hit their shots, we may be looking at these young Wizards making history.

The Bucks are coming off of their first playoff series victory in 16 years and the get the pleasure of meeting John Wall in the 2ns round. Unlike the past though, Giannis Antetokoumpo appears ready to lift the Bucks to heights they haven't seen since the early 1970's when Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was patrolling the paint. Jabari Parker came alive in the 1st round as well looking the part of a legitimate 2nd option for the Bucks. The question is though, does this team have enough firepower to challenge a Wizards team intent on reaching it's first conference finals in 38 years?

Prediction
Wizards in 6

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. #3 Boston Celtics


Boston won season series tied 4-0

The Celtics just escaped Paul George and the Indiana Pacers because they didn't have enough depth to continue sustaining what was needed to beat them. That won't be the case this round...LeBron has more than enough help to get through this Celtics team and if we're honest, he probably could take them out without another all-star on the roster. This is a mismatch of the highest order, and while most will cling to the fact that Boston won all 4 games in the regular season, you should know by now Playoff LeBron is different from regular season LeBron. After missing on averaging a triple double in the first round by 1 assist, he seems to be locked in.
There's also Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love is back too...

Prediction
Cavaliers in 4

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Golden State Warriors Vs. #5 San Antonio Spurs

Golden State won season series 2-1

The Warriors showed their potential and championship pedigree last series against the Jazz. They fought a tough battling Utah squad that would never quit and now they go up against the team many thought they'd face in the conference finals. They'll have their work cut out for them trying to contain both Kawhi and LaMarcus Aldridge not to mention the plethora of androids, err I mean, role players the Spurs continually find.

The Spurs are heading into a series as underdogs for the first time in a while, but I definitely can see them pulling the upset. Whenever you have a talent like Kawhi Leonard and a Hall of Fame coach like Gregg Poppovich, you have a legitimate shot. The key for them will be can their bench depth and size make up for what they lack in starting firepower. They may not have the top tier talent the Warriors posses but their overall team may give them the edge. At least enough to make this a series.

Prediction
Warriors in 6

#6 Memphis Grizzlies Vs. #7 Portland Trailblazers


Memphis won season series 2-1

I'm pretty sure no one had these two teams in the conference semis, and if they did, they didn't have them facing each other. After both surprisingly took out the higher seeds they were facing in 5 games, this makes for probably the most interesting match-up of the postseason. Just like last series the Grizz face a team that plays almost the complete opposite to how they play in the Blazers. They'll once again turn to their size down low and grittiness on D to slow down the Blazers offensive attack and hopefully return to the conference finals for the 2nd time in franchise history.

Portland reaches the 2nd round for the 2nd year in a row but unlike last year, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are both playing out of their minds with help from bigman Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic will look to help mitigate the size difference for the Blazers against Memphis along with guys like Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh. The biggest key though will be if the Blazers shooting can turn the tide in this series because the Grizzlies may not have enough offensively if the Blazers get hot. If they do, we could be looking at the Blazers making their first conference finals appearance since 2000.

Prediction
Grizzlies in 6

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

2nd Round Recap

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Golden State Warriors Vs. #5 San Antonio Spurs

Golden State wins series 4-1

Game 1: SA-99 vs GS-108
Game 2: SA-74 vs GS-138
Game 3: GS-80 vs SA-84
Game 4: GS-96 vs SA-93
Game 5: SA-91 vs GS-103

The Warriors are on their way to their 3rd consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance and are showing no signs of slowing down. They just eliminated who many believed was their biggest threat in 5 games and are now heavily favored to reach their 3rd consecutive NBA Finals. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry continued their stellar play in the postseason as well as both averaged over 24ppg for the series. The guy lost in the background in Klay Thompson, who has struggled finding his shot over the last coupe weeks.

The Spurs head into another long off-season (for them) after going out in the 2nd round for the 2nd time in 3 years (both times to Kevin Durant led teams). They have some legitimate questions to answer this summer like: How can R.C. Buford and Co. improve this roster without significant means to do so? The gap between them and Golden State is pretty wide right now and you have to wonder if the run for the Spurs being title contenders is over for the immediate future.

#6 Memphis Grizzlies Vs. #7 Portland Trailblazers

Memphis wins series 4-2

Game 1: POR-132 vs MEM-102
Game 2: POR-81 vs MEM-82
Game 3: MEM-119 vs POR-117
Game 4: MEM-117 vs POR-93
Game 5: POR-123 vs MEM-79
Game 6: MEM-113 vs POR-81

Congratulations Memphis, The Grizz are back in the Western Conference Finals for the 1st time in 4 years. In what may be the final season of the "Grit & Grind" era, this is quite the accomplishment. The Grizz were seen as underdogs heading into this postseason and even had a pretty mediocre season, but now they're in the conference finals for staying true to themselves. Marc Gasol has dominated smaller competition as has Zach Randolph off the bench, while Mike Conley and Tony Allen have terrorized guards on the perimeter with their defense. Throw in the surprising return of the Houston version of Chandler Parsons and this team has made believers of us all. Their depth gave Portland trouble as they just continued to come at them in waves wearing down CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. Whatever happens next round shouldn't matter, this was a successful season and era for the Grizzlies.

The Blazers head home after upsetting the Clippers in the 1st round again, but this time they came within 2 games of breaking through to the conference finals. Damian and CJ gave everything they had, but there just wasn't enough firepower on their end to offset the Grizzlies depth. In 5 of the 6 games, Memphis had 6 or more players score in double figures, where as for Portland they only had 3 or more players score in double figures twice. With Portland's cap situation moving forward, it remains to be seen how much they can improve that though and you have to wonder how much longer they'll go into the Lillard era without making significant progress before they decide to make a change.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Wizards Vs. #5 Milwaukee Bucks

Washington wins series 4-0

Game 1: MIL-91 vs WAS-98
Game 2: MIL-85 vs WAS-90
Game 3: WAS-97 vs MIL-66
Game 4: WAS-103 vs MIL-100

The Wiz surprised a lot of people and quieted a bunch of haters questioning how good they really were with their sweep of the Bucks. Led by a dominating 4 game series from John Wall (averaged 21ppg and 10apg) the series was hardly ever close. The Wizards looked the part of a team with playoff experience and overall were the more hungry of the 2 squads. The support players also made it difficult for Milwaukee to build any momentum in this series. They now will move onto their first conference finals appearance in 38 years where they will face who else but LeBron James.

The Bucks just made their first conference semis since the early 2000's so this season was an extremely successful one. With that out of the way and Giannis' continued ascension of the next NBA superstar, the next step is putting the talent around him that can amplify his ability and allow the Bucks to compete for a title. Right now, the Bucks have a lot of talent, but it doesn't really fit together perfectly. They also lack the shooting needed to maximize his abilities and minimizes his biggest weakness, which is shooting. It'll be interesting to see the direction they take this summer as they continue to build.

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. #3 Boston Celtics

Cleveland wins series 4-0

Game 1: BOS-105 vs CLE-121
Game 2: BOS-76 vs CLE-86
Game 3: CLE-95 vs BOS-61
Game 4: CLE-104 vs BOS-81

The Cavs reach their 3rd consecutive conference finals since LeBron's return to Cleveland as expected as they received very little resistance from the Celtics in the playoffs this year. They abused whoever Isaiah Thomas was trying to guard and LeBron waltz his way to the basket almost at will as Boston threw numerous guys on him to no avail. As you'd probably expect, the Cavs are favored to reach their 3rd straight NBA Finals as well for another rematch against the Warriors.

Danny Ainge and the Celtics head into a monumental off-season for their franchise moving forward as Ainge has to make a splash this summer if this iteration of the Celtics are to compete on a serious level moving forward. The number one headline for this summers free agency will be Gordon Hayward reuniting with his former college coach Brad Stevens in Beantown, but even if he does, is that enough to beat LeBron and the Cavs? This is where the bevy of assets Ainge has amassed will come into play as this may be the time to cash some of them in to land another impact player for the Celtics.

Sights and Sounds

[trekfan]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Warriors vs. Grizzlies! New-school vs. Old-school. The matchup that could define the West for years to come ... can the old-school Grizz get past their greatest foe? Lots of drama there.

Out East, LeBron's coronation awaits. Waltzed all over the poor Celtics. The Wizards likely won't give them more trouble.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

NBA Returns To Seattle!

After a long 10 year hiatus, NBA Basketball will be returning to the great Pacific Northwest as the city of Seattle's bid for an expansion franchise was granted today. The NBA's Board of Governors announced today they've accepted the proposal after carefully vetting several bids. Sources say the league took proposals from numerous cities, but the most serious candidates included Mexico City, Vancouver, Kansas City, and Las Vegas but decided on an already proven market for it's first expansion since 2004.

"We're excited and thrilled to return to such a great basketball city here in Seattle and I couldn't be happier than I am to have this happen when it did," NBA Commissioner said at today's press announcement. "We know the support the Sonics have here and we wanted this to happen as much as they did, the logistics, however, prevented that."

Those logistics he's referring are more than likely the arena issues the city has dealt with over the last dozen years, which led to the original franchises exit. Currently, the NBA will allow the franchise to start play as immediate as next season in their old home "Key Arena" as the yet to be named arena in the "SoDo" District of Seattle is built.

There was also an issue of making it worthwhile to owners that expansion was the right move given they'd have to split revenue even further.To combat that, sources indicate the expansion was placed somewhere in the range of $1-$1.5 billion dollars. That wasn't an issue to this new ownership group led by Chris Hansen, the Nordstroms, and a surprising late addition in Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

"We plan to have the most technologically advanced multi-purpose arena in the world right here in Seattle, where the Sonics will play from here on," Hansen said of the project. "We'll be partnering with Microsoft to make this happen and I couldn't be more thrilled about the potential this could have, not only for us, but the league in general."

The Sonics also introduced their new front office for the first time, and it has some familiar faces. Former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie will take the leading role as President of Basketball Operations, a distinct jump up in power after his ouster in Philadelphia. He'll be joined by former Lakers Director of Scouting and son of NBA legend Jerry West, Ryan West who'll take his first GM position. Former Sonics great Gary Payton will serves as a consultant and another Sonic legend Ray Allen may join on in a player development role once they decide on a coaching staff. Sources say the frontrunners for the position are former Rockets and Wolves coach Kevin McHale, & assistant coaches Kaleb Canales and Ime Udoka.

The NBA has already notified teams they have until the start of the conference finals to choose 8 players they'll keep from the expansion draft to be held May 13th, just before the NBA Draft Lottery. Seattle will be grandfathered into the 4th overall pick as an expansion franchise which will affect the lottery odds a bit this season.

Age Limit Lowered/ League Changes Division Setup

The Board of Governors also released other major changes coming to the league starting this summer. The Board agreed to lower the NBA's age limit back to 18 for the 1st time since 2005 allowing High School basketball prospects to jump straight to the pros once again. This could have a major impact on incoming draft classes as most prospects in the top half of the draft are one and done players already. Even more interesting is next off-season when one of the most anticipated draft classes of all time could possibly add the player many consider to be the best prospect in college and high school, and the best player they've seen since LeBron James in Da'sean Davis. Davis will play his senior season next year and is yet to declare for college, and with this development, you can imagine he may forgo the college experience.

The NBA's divisional structure also has changed as the league will rename the Pacific, Atlantic, & Northwest divisions to the West, East, & North divisions. The divisions will break down as follows:

East
Washington Wizards
Boston Celtics
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets

Southeast
Charlotte Hornets
Atlanta Hawks
Orlando Magic
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans

Central
Cleveland Cavaliers
Memphis Grizzlies
Indiana Pacers
Detroit Pistons
Toronto Raptors

North
Minnesota Timberwolves
Milwaukee Bucks
Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz

Southwest
Oklahoma City Thunder
Dallas Mavericks
San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets
Phoenix Suns

West
Seattle Supersonics
Portland Trailblazers
Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Warriors vs. Grizzlies! New-school vs. Old-school. The matchup that could define the West for years to come ... can the old-school Grizz get past their greatest foe? Lots of drama there.

Out East, LeBron's coronation awaits. Waltzed all over the poor Celtics. The Wizards likely won't give them more trouble.

Crazy cause they've faced 2 lesser versions already in Houston and Portland but GS is another beast entirely.

As for LeBron...yeah, lol.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA


Sonics select Gasol, Bosh, Gay in expansion draft
Marc J. Spears
ESPN.com
May 13, 2017

The NBA held the expansion draft for the reincarnated Seattle Supersonics franchise today, and to the surprise of many, they selected former All-Star and NBA champion Pau Gasol with the 1st overall pick. This comes as a surprise considering Gasol was already considering opting out of the final year of his deal with the Spurs, and while there is a serious possibility he still does, the idea of playing in Seattle and being apart of the franchise's return "intrigues" him.

With the second pick the Sonics selected former forward Chris Bosh, who said he expects to play next season, although in a limited capacity as he tries to return from possible career ending blood clots. Sonics President of Basketball Operations Sam Hinkie said he expects Bosh to play a big role for the team moving forward and that his leadership will be invaluable to the young players on the team.

That player he's most likely to mentor was the teams 4th overall pick, Jahlil Okafor, who was a former draft pick of Hinkie's in his previous stop of Philadelphia. "We know the talent that Jah has and we plan to have him as a building block for us moving forward," Hinkie said of Okafor. With this being his last season before hitting restricted free agency, this is probably his best chance at showcasing his skills and upping his value around the league.

The rest of the Sonics draft picks are listed below:

Round 1) Pau Gasol*
Round 2) Chris Bosh
Round 3) Rudy Gay*
Round 4) Jahlil Okafor
Round 5) Loul Deng
Round 6) Will Barton
Round 7) Allen Crabbe
Round 8) Ramon Sessions
Round 9) Rashad Vaughn
Round 10) Raul Neto
Round 11) Jordan Hill
Round 12) Joseph Young
Round 13) Jared Dudley

(*)Denotes players with opt out option

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

DALLAS DOES IT!
Mavericks land #1 overall pick for first time in team history

The Dallas Mavericks landed the number overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft after the ping pong balls fell. Mark Cuban's team overtook the Boston Celtics who had the best odds heading into the night at 22.5%, but ended up falling to the 5th spot. Dallas wasn't to far behind though at 22.4% thanks to an adjustment to lottery odds and the return of the Seattle Supersonics (they will pick 4th by way of their expansion).

"This is huge for our franchise and our city in general. It's been a tough couple of years for us and while we haven't been at the level we expect, we're excited this will help get us back there sooner rather than later," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "It's exciting for our fans, obviously. We know we're going to get a good young player and go from there," coach Rick Carlisle said.

This is huge for the Mavs who just suffered through their worst season since the Nowitzki era began. While this will be the first time the franchise will pick first overall, they aren't strangers to picking in the lottery. The Mavericks held a lottery pick in 9 out of 10 seasons from 1989-1998 (only missing 1997, though they had 2 picks in 1996). The highest pick they've ever held was 2nd overall in 1994 when they chose to select future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd.

By most accounts, the top overall prospect in this years' draft is a player who played in nearby Waco, Texas. Stephon Vaden out of Baylor (who was raised in Fort Worth) may get to live the dream of playing at home as it's widely expected the Mavs will select the hometown prospect. The team, however, will explore all of its options with the pick and will consider other prospects such as sophmore center Jermaine Craig out of Alabama. Other players include one and done prospects E'twuan Mason Jr. out of Kentucky, combo guard LeBryan Blackman out of Oregon, shooting guard J.T. Horton out of UNLV, and point guard Charlie Hoffman out of Cincinnati.

The rest of the lottery results:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Miami Heat
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Seattle Supersonics
5. Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn)
6. Orlando Magic
7. New York Knicks
8. Philadelphia 76ers (via Los Angeles)
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Philadelphia 76ers
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Atlanta Hawks
14. Chicago Bulls (via Sacramento)
15. Denver Nuggets

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

#1 Golden State Warriors Vs. #6 Memphis Grizzlies

Golden State wins series 4-0

Game 1: MEM-100 vs GS-116

Game 2: MEM-80 vs GS-102

Game 3: GS-93 vs MEM-91

Game 4: GS-122 vs MEM-92

The NBA Finals will be in Oakland for the 3rd consecutive year as the Golden State Warriors took care of business against the Grizzlies. Led by performances from each of their 4 stars, the Warriors were never legitimately threatened in this series, hitting shot after shot and shutting Memphis down at every turn. There were mismatches all over the court for the Grizzlies trying to deal with Kevin Durant and Co. Speaking of Durant, he makes his return to the NBA Finals for the 1st time since 2012 where he lost to a familiar foe in LeBron James.

The Grizzlies were swept in the conference finals for the 2nd time in their short history, but this was nothing short of a miraculous season for them. After the universally panned contract they gave to Mike Conley, which after this summer will seem meager, they proved everyone wrong. Conley was huge for them these playoffs as was upcoming free agents Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, & Vince Carter. Memphis will have a decision to make this off-season on whether it's time to take a new direction or bring the core back for one more go, but if indications are true, this might have been the last stand.

#1 Washington Wizards Vs. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland wins series 4-1

Game 1: CLE-117 vs WAS-112

Game 2: CLE-82 vs WAS-96

Game 3: WAS-99 vs CLE-126

Game 4: WAS-84 vs CLE-98

Game 5: CLE-99 vs WAS-93

The Wizards entered with homecourt advantage and a newfound confidence, but it made little difference against the best player in the world, LeBron James. They just couldn't muster the offense that they used to blitz teams in the first 2 rounds. Instead, it was the Cavs who blitzed them and their suddenly vulnerable defense. Otto Porter struggled to guard LeBron, which honestly everyone does, and Kyrie dribbled circles around any big that switched onto him. The lack of bench scoring also came back to hurt the Wiz and they'll definitely look to alleviate that this off-season.

LeBron and Co. will head back to the Finals for another June series against their rivals in 'The Bay.' Anyone who expected different was kidding themselves as no one in the east are any competition for this team with their overwhelming talent difference. Now with Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams off the bench, one has to believe this may be the best Cavs team in the 2nd LeBron era.

Sights and Sounds

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

#1 Golden State Warriors Vs. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden State wins series 4-0

Game 1: CLE-80 vs GS-102

Game 2: CLE-90 vs GS-121

Game 3: GS-106 vs CLE-101

Game 4: GS-128 vs CLE-111

Finals MVP
Stephen Curry - 29ppg, 8apg, 3.3rpg, 2spg, 55.3%, 54.8% 3pt

The Larry O'Brien Trophy is headed back to Oakland after taking a one year hiatus in Cleveland. The Warriors exacted revenge for last years' loss by sweeping the Cavaliers and handing LeBron his 2nd NBA Finals sweep and 1st since 2007 in his first trip against the San Antonio Spurs. The Cavaliers fought hard, but the Warriors firepower was just too much as was exemplified in game 3 as the Warriors just eased their way through Kyrie and LeBron going off. Kevin Durant vindicated his move to The Bay winning his first title after 10 long years in the league. David West also won his 1st championship after a long elusive chase. "It's indescribable man...It's crazy," West said in the locker room amidst the scrum of players uncorking champagne bottles.
The Warriors, namely GM Bob Meyers, will now face the unenviable task of bringing back this championship group. It's almost a forgone conclusion that the max guys Steph and KD will be back, but guys like Andre Igoudala and Shawn Livingston may look elsewhere if Golden State opts to not pay as much as they may have to-to keep everyone together. They're already in the luxury tax and the longer they keep this team together the tax bill only increases.

Cleveland heads into the off-season facing tons of questions on how to improve to compete with this Warriors team moving forward. Rumors are already starting about the team possibly chasing after All-Star Pacers Forward Paul George with his stated desire to leave Indiana barring a title shot (which we know is highly unlikely). The problem will be Cleveland's lack of assets and could they convince George to stick around long term. There's also that large elephant that always seems to be in the room, LeBron's possible free agency next summer. Currently it seems unlikely he'd leave Cleveland for a 2nd time, but with his well known distaste for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and the unlikelihood this team can improve much moving forward, maybe he again leaves. Some around the league believe that the "Banana Boat" crew may try to form as all 4 (James, Paul, Wade, Anthony) could possibly be free agents next summer.

Sights and Sounds

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

NBA ALL-Rookie 2nd Team

Spoiler

Malcolm Delaney, Jamal Murray, Marquise Chriss, Domantas Sabonis, Buddy Hield

NBA ALL-Rookie 1st Team

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Kris Dunn, Brandon Ingram, Caris LeVert, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric

NBA 2nd Team ALL-Defense

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Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen, Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard

NBA 1st Team ALL-Defense

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Russell Westbrook, John Wall, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond

ALL-NBA 3rd Team

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ALL-NBA 2nd Team

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ALL-NBA 1st Team

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2017 NBA Rookie of the Year

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Joel Embiid - 16ppg, 9rpg, 2.3bpg

2017 NBA Most Improved Player

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Dennis Shroder - 15ppg, 7apg, 1.9spg

2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year

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Andre Drummond - 15.3rpg, 2.3bpg, 1.2spg

2017 NBA Coach of the Year

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Stever Kerr - Warriors (67-15)

2017 NBA Most Valuable Player

Spoiler

Russel Westbrook - 27ppg, 10.8rpg, 10apg

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

Mock Draft for Top 10 Picks: Vaden Still at 1

Chad Ford
ESPN.com
Jun 20, 2017


Despite some great performances by guys throughout the year, the draft combine, and great individual workouts the consensus remains the same on who the top pick will be. Stephon Vaden is a supremely talented and versatile kid who stood out all season. The question is whether or not the Mavericks feel the same. So far nothing has been guaranteed and they've had every other top prospect in for a workout besides Vaden. With only a couple of days before the draft, one has to wonder, but sources indicate he will visit Dallas before the draft.

1. Dallas Mavericks - Stephon Vaden - Baylor - 19, 6'8" 219lbs, SF/PG:
With Wes Matthews already in place as the starting SG and the Mavs reluctance to bring the versatile wing in for a workout, one has to wonder if they'll pass. But make no mistake, that could be a huge game given his upside as a top 2 way player at the next level.

2. Miami Heat - LeBryan Blackman - Oregon - 20, 6'5" 207lbs, SG/PG
The Heat have Hassan Whiteside at C so picking Craig here doesn't make sense. They have Dragic at point and will probably end up bringing Dion Waiters back, but Blackman may be the long term play for life after Dragic. The Heat are just starting their rebuild so one would assume this pick wouldn't just be about this season.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves - Marvin Nichols - Michigan - 20, 6'9" 238lbs, PF
The Wolves jumped up a few spots, but are likely to still likely to take the last piece to their starting lineup in a power forward. Nichols is about a good a fit as possible with his potential to stretch the floor and rebound the ball. His defense may be lacking, but the hope is Coach Thibs and with Karl Anthony Towns behind him it'll mask his deficiencies.

4. Seattle Sonics - Charlie Hoffman - Cincinnati - 20, 6'2" 196lbs, PG
The newly formed Sonics have some veteran pieces and a talented young big in Jahlil Okafor. With only Ramon Sessions and Raul Neto, I'd be surprised if they went away from choosing the best pg prospect in the draft. He's young, and very crafty with a decent shot. He's a sneaky athlete as well.

5. Boston Celtics - E'Twuan Mason Jr. - Kentucky - 19, 6'8" 260lbs, C
This is the best match for the Celts at this spot. Their lack of rebounding and size would be bolstered by Mason Jr. who's somewhat undersized but plays larger due to his athleticism and wingspan. Perfect fit next to Al Horford and good replacement for Amir Johnson who may leave in free agency.

6. Orlando Magic - J.T. Horton - UNLV - 19, 6'6" 216lbs, SG
The Magic could use more shooting and with what's looking like a mistake in drafting Mario Hezonja a couple years ago, they could atone by taking the best shooter in the draft this year. Horton is also capable of creating off the dribble for himself and teammates.

7. New York Knicks - Jermaine Craig - Alabama - 20, 7'0" 268lbs, C
If you're New York you have to take Craig who'd be a steal this late. His scoring ability down low and decent mid range shot would slide right in next to Porzingis not to mention he does fit the triangle.

8. Philadelphia 76ers - Matthew Rollins - Oregon State - 20, 6'6" 197lbs, SG/PG
His playmaking ability from the wing combined with his scoring prowess makes this a no brainer for Philly. Combine him with the frontcourt of Embiid, Simmons, Covington and suddenly the Sixers have a legit shot at something moving forward.

9. Phoenix Suns - Uros Drobnjak - Slovenia - 20, 6'9" 245lbs, SF
Known as the Slovenian Lebron, the Suns have had their eye on the athletic wing all year long. I'd be utterly SHOCKED if they didn't take him here.

10. Philadelphia 76ers - Bo Singleton - Michigan State - 20, 6'6" 218lbs, SG
Adding to their wing depth will be important as we're all aware most of their lottery picks have all been big men. Singleton is a junkyard dog on defense and his a surprisingly good shooter despite his ugly form. One has to wonder though if he'll have to change his shot as it's a bit slow to get off.

[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA

First Round Recap


NO.1 Pick

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No.2 Pick

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No.3 Pick

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No. 4 Pick

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No. 5 Pick

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No. 6 Pick

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No. 7 Pick

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No. 8 Pick

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No. 9 Pick

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No. 10 Pick

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No. 11 Pick

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No. 12 Pick

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No. 13 Pick

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No. 14 Pick

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No. 15 Pick

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No. 16 Pick

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No. 17 Pick

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No. 18 Pick

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No. 19 Pick

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No. 20 Pick

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No. 21 Pick

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No. 22 Pick

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No. 23 Pick

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No. 24 Pick

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No. 25 Pick

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No. 26 Pick

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No. 27 Pick

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No. 28 Pick

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No. 29 Pick

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No. 30 Pick

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No. 31 Pick

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[lakers24]

Re: The League: Reign of The NBA