2016/2017 Daily Discussion Thread

[air gordon]

So is Horford the unique tweener big man?! He hasn't been traditionally a good rim protector or rebounder. Has the Celts defensive numbers gotten worse since his arrival?!

[Sauru]

zaza being number 2 for frost court votes is amazing. it proves how shitty the fan voting system has always been. i have always said, if they plan to continue using all star games as a measure of greatness than than need to remove the fans from the voting process all together. either change the name to something else or remove the fan vote

[Andrew]

zaza being number 2 for frost court votes is amazing. it proves how shitty the fan voting system has always been. i have always said, if they plan to continue using all star games as a measure of greatness than than need to remove the fans from the voting process all together. either change the name to something else or remove the fan vote

As I said before, I used to defend fan voting because when it came down to it, there were at most a couple of questionable selections, and even then they were generally still up there in terms of being star players. A couple of years in the early 2000s, there were some iffy selections at centre, but that comes down to the talent in the league at the time, and the old G-G-F-F-C format for the ballot. The most popular players, or at least the players the fans cast their votes for, tended to be the top players anyway. To that end, I'd disagree that the system has always been broken and horrible. It worked pretty well for a long time, and it's not like the coaches haven't made lousy picks for the reserves, either.

However, something's definitely starting to go awry. I agree with the suggestion that the ballot needs to go back to a selection of top talent, second-tier stars and borderline stars, rather than everyone in the league. At this point, I'm also wondering if the Frontcourt-Backcourt format for the ballot is actually now the more problematic approach. If they just restrict the names on the ballot though, it cuts down on joke votes, and any grassroots campaigns to get undeserving players selected.

[Sauru]

the system allows for players to get in on past greatness though. many players have made it simply because of who they are not because they were having the best year. thats why i always said it needs to be named something us otherwise put the best players that season in the game

[Andrew]

That's always a possibility, but going back to the 80s and 90s, and even through to the mid 2000s, how many starters each year absolutely didn't deserve to be there? Maybe one or two out of ten at most, every now and again?

[I Hate Mondays]

Ironically, Paul George debuts new shoes, goes 2-12 FG.

[Axel The Great]

I agree with the suggestion that the ballot needs to go back to a selection of top talent, second-tier stars and borderline stars, rather than everyone in the league.

I do like this approach, but then that would raise a few questions. Like, what is considered a second-tier and borderline star? I think the top talent category is pretty much clear-cut, but it'd be hard to draw a line as to what borderline stars to put on the ballot. That can be highly subjective, and could cause some voters to be upset that a certain player they believe to be worthy of the ASG is not on the ballot. Also, what if a certain player starts to have a breakout season after the ballots are released? Is that too bad so sad, or does he get added to the ballot? If it's the latter, he would miss out on votes he could've had if the ballots weren't restricted.

Either way, this approach does seem to work better than the current system, because at least that would make sure that the most deserving players do play in the ASG. There will always be snubs, but at least the players who get selected in place of those snubs are also solid selections themselves.

[Andrew]

They seemed to have a good handle on it back in the day, so I assume they could work out some reasonable criteria.

[Phil89]

[Andrew]

Huge block. Love it.

[Phil89]

Huge block. Love it.

As entertaining as he has been off the court, it is great to finally see him playing. And playing well, too.

He is averaging almost 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, whilst still on a minutes restriction

[Andrew]

Brighter days ahead for the 76ers. Trust The Process, indeed.

[big-shot-ROB]

I was watching NYvsTORONTO. Do the Knicks even try to win?

[I Hate Mondays]

I was watching NYvsTORONTO. Do the Knicks even try to win?

So you face losing streaks constantly, your young core and arguably the best player on the team is out with some minor injury, you make some changes to your starting lineup days before the game, setting new strategies and you add Lance Thomas...aaaand he gets a head injury literally the first minute of the game. You add the backstage drama with Melo complaining about not getting the ball against the 76ers and already the boring subject about Rose going MIA, you spice it up with a matchup against the 2nd team in the East and a hell of a good team IMO, and you get one of the poorest performances by the Knicks in a long time.
It's a good thing Raptors were leading by as much as 37 points near the end of the 3rd quarter. They realised the game is over by the start of the 4th and they sent their benchwarmers in. At least Knicks lost by an "ok" 15 points deficit. Actually, 15 points is more than ok when you were trailing by 37.

[Phil89]

God I hate watching Warriors games. Refs are always garbage.

They literally stopped the game right before Sabonis made a three pointer just because Draymond was still up the other end of the court.

OKC weren't going to win, but it killed all the momentum and now the Warriors have blown out what was a good contest.

[I Hate Mondays]

Feel bad for Rudy Gay. Not the best time for him to get a season ending injury.

[air gordon]

Seriously- when is it a good time for an athlete to have a season ending injury?

That jokic guy is good

[Andrew]

Seriously- when is it a good time for an athlete to have a season ending injury?

A minor ankle injury on the last day of the season that'll heal in a week or two, for a player on a lottery-bound team. Then again, it's probably not so much good timing as "doesn't really matter".

[big-shot-ROB]

Is it crazy to start a debate how far or how close is Leonard from KD and LeBron? Watching Kawhi this season, I might be afraid Leonard is now two steps ahead than KD. LeBron is a though matchup, as you can not see his realself until the postseason comes.

[Andrew]

It depends. I would still call LeBron the best player in the league, but in terms of this year's MVP race, I'd probably be inclined to rank The Claw ahead of him.

[Phil89]

Big night for Russ. He got his 22nd triple double of the season (38/10/10), 59th overall (ties Larry Bird for 5th most ever) and sank the game-winning shot.

phpBB [video]

[Andrew]

His former teammate had quite a night, too.

phpBB [video]

[air gordon]

It depends. I would still call LeBron the best player in the league, but in terms of this year's MVP race, I'd probably be inclined to rank The Claw ahead of him.

How about James Harden?!

And how about this- mike d'antoni as a favorite for coach of the year. He certainly gets drubbed around here.

[Andrew]

Sure, and Westbrook as well. Westbrook, Harden, and Leonard would probably be top three in my MVP race, though like I said, I'd still actually call LeBron the best player in the league.

Gotta hand it to Mike D'Antoni. His methods have yet to yield a championship, but when he's got some decent players and a star playing some MVP-level basketball, he can at least have an impressive regular season.

[air gordon]

id say those phoenix suns had postseason success. multiple trips to the Western Conference finals. involved in some pretty darn good series.. most memorably perhaps coming back from 3-1 deficit against the lakers.

no disagreement regarding James