NBA 2014/15 Season Thread

[Benjamin]

Oh wow, I got it screwed up. Apparently the Spurs had a game yesterday. And here I was waiting for Wednesday against the Hawks. I'm dumb.

And yikes, looking at the box score for yesterday's game, we apparently shot atrociously. Ginobili went 0-7 and only put in two assists and Parker had to do just about everything outside the perimeter, it seems. Leonard was a beast on the boards, though, that guy is going to be a fucking star. A really, really tight win and a bad game to start the season off sucks.

[Quom]

Didn't they also play opening night?

[Benjamin]

Yeah. I didn't get their schedule right, thought they played opening night and their next game wouldn't be till the 6th.

[Monkey D. Lars]

Our first win of the season! Perry Jones had a great game. Perk with 17, yes 17 points!!!!

[gunnar hendershow]

3 games into the season but Otto Porter has made some major strides so far. Given that he was downright awful last year and averaged 2 a game there was only one way to go but up but he looked great in summer league and has continued with that so far.

[Mofoticon]

You put Rose AND Westbrook into your fantasy team? It actually isn't a surprise it's doomed.

Didn't Westbrook play every game for like four or five seasons before missing his first game? I remember he and KD being new gen iron men.

Monta Ellis has played every game in the past 2 years, and they don't talk about him >_>

Also, good on Rubio to get a good deal. He's one of the smoothest passers in the league, and if he can continue improving his shooting touch he can become very very valuable. It's just a shame he's stuck on a team that seems to be spinning it's wheels all the time. But hopefully the Rubio extension will make other players more enticed to stick around.

Giving a PG who is a complete liability shooting the ball 55 million is probably going to make it less likely people will stick around. Hopefully for the TWolves sake he will develop into a semi-decent scoring threat but that contract has all the makings of a disaster if not.

Yes, I'm sure having a pass first PG is a massive deterrent to other players. It isn't like Rubio jacks up 25 shots a game and hits 35% of them, he averages 8-9 shots a game whilst playing over 30 minutes. I also see Love leaving as a reason some guys will be more likely to stick around. Everything was run for Love, now if you're hot or open you'd better get ready for Rubio to get you the ball.

Beyond all that, Rubio has been working with a shooting coach who is now on staff. He's hitting his shots this year (small sample I know), he has even developed a shot fake to get defenders in the air and to draw a foul off them Kevin Martin style. He's shooting 9/22 through his first two games (40%) which includes two half court heaves at the end of quarters, take those out and it's 45%. Every night he's a triple double threat, he's one of the best rebounding PGs, is always close to 10 assists per game and always comes close to leading the league in steals and despite what lazy reports say it isn't from gambling. At most it's from taking a step into a passing lane which he can recover from, it isn't Brewer running 5 feet off his man to try and steal.

But yes, I'm sure 99% of NBA players are going to hate hearing "we have a PG who would much rather pass you the ball in a good position than take a shot themselves, so unfortunately you will need to shoot the ball more from good positions".

People like to play with Rubio because of his passing for sure, and I'm not saying he doesn't have a place in the NBA for it, but right now he is on pace to go down as one of the worst shooters ever (his FG% would qualify as 13th worst in NBA history). There is simply no way that a guy who shoots so poorly and is a huge liability at the most important aspect of the game is worth 55 million over 4 years. The TWolves are clearly banking on him improving, which he definitely could since he's young still (much like Jason Kidd, who was a terrible shooter early in his career and developed into an asset at shooting) but until then it will be an overpay that will limit what they can do on offense.

[Quom]

You put Rose AND Westbrook into your fantasy team? It actually isn't a surprise it's doomed.

Didn't Westbrook play every game for like four or five seasons before missing his first game? I remember he and KD being new gen iron men.

Monta Ellis has played every game in the past 2 years, and they don't talk about him >_>

Also, good on Rubio to get a good deal. He's one of the smoothest passers in the league, and if he can continue improving his shooting touch he can become very very valuable. It's just a shame he's stuck on a team that seems to be spinning it's wheels all the time. But hopefully the Rubio extension will make other players more enticed to stick around.

Giving a PG who is a complete liability shooting the ball 55 million is probably going to make it less likely people will stick around. Hopefully for the TWolves sake he will develop into a semi-decent scoring threat but that contract has all the makings of a disaster if not.

Yes, I'm sure having a pass first PG is a massive deterrent to other players. It isn't like Rubio jacks up 25 shots a game and hits 35% of them, he averages 8-9 shots a game whilst playing over 30 minutes. I also see Love leaving as a reason some guys will be more likely to stick around. Everything was run for Love, now if you're hot or open you'd better get ready for Rubio to get you the ball.

Beyond all that, Rubio has been working with a shooting coach who is now on staff. He's hitting his shots this year (small sample I know), he has even developed a shot fake to get defenders in the air and to draw a foul off them Kevin Martin style. He's shooting 9/22 through his first two games (40%) which includes two half court heaves at the end of quarters, take those out and it's 45%. Every night he's a triple double threat, he's one of the best rebounding PGs, is always close to 10 assists per game and always comes close to leading the league in steals and despite what lazy reports say it isn't from gambling. At most it's from taking a step into a passing lane which he can recover from, it isn't Brewer running 5 feet off his man to try and steal.

But yes, I'm sure 99% of NBA players are going to hate hearing "we have a PG who would much rather pass you the ball in a good position than take a shot themselves, so unfortunately you will need to shoot the ball more from good positions".

People like to play with Rubio because of his passing for sure, and I'm not saying he doesn't have a place in the NBA for it, but right now he is on pace to go down as one of the worst shooters ever (his FG% would qualify as 13th worst in NBA history). There is simply no way that a guy who shoots so poorly and is a huge liability at the most important aspect of the game is worth 55 million over 4 years. The TWolves are clearly banking on him improving, which he definitely could since he's young still (much like Jason Kidd, who was a terrible shooter early in his career and developed into an asset at shooting) but until then it will be an overpay that will limit what they can do on offense.

Yep the 17 assists he had yesterday and the defence he played did make him look like a total liability. Meanwhile Mo Williams who is a top notch offensive player and paid to score went 1-7 from the field and didn't do much else. At the end of the day this is a pointless argument though, people who don't watch him and just look at basic stats aren't ever going to understand what he brings to the table.

Also PPG is like the least important stat in the NBA taken in isolation. Unless you mean offence as a whole, in which case I'd point to him having the fourth best point guard WAR (wins above replacement) rating last year. Ninth (PG) in RPM (Real Plus Minus), second (PG) in DRPM (Defensive Real Plus Minus), 3rd in the league in AP48M (assists per 48 minutes), 6th in the league in Assists to Turnovers, led the league in Steals Per 48 minutes (second in steals per game), 4th (PG) in Rebounds per 48 minutes. This next one is a huge one, he actually had the best iso defence of any guard last year, allowing only 33% FG pct.

So sure he doesn't score a lot of points himself, but what these stats show is that with him on the floor you're still going to outscore your opponents. Offence doesn't win games, outscoring your opponents does and it's much easier to achieve if you have solid defence and a great playmaker. Add in he now has a full-time shooting coach and reports are he's living in the gym working on his shooting and I'd say I'm very happy we re-signed him.

[Red Devil-Taker316]

Ricky Rubio is my 3rd favorite (well, depending on Steve Nash) player in the league. He has elite defensive skills and passing ability for sure. But his shooting IS that bad.

Quom, I like the use of some advanced stats (WAR, for example), but the one that really matters, WS/48, aren't and haven't been there. Even if he shot at a below average rate, something like 40-42% and not in the 30s, he'd be much more effective. ]

He's the poor man's Jason Kidd. Until he shoots the ball at some decent %, it will stay that way.

[JasonM]

Also, speaking of OKC. Are we sure that Perry Jones didn't do a Space Jam and steal Durant's basketball ability for himself? That turnaround three was just ridiculous stuff.

It's amazing what the team can do when they're fired up, backs against the ropes. Only 8 guys for the entire game, and they still hammer the Nuggets.

[Quom]

Ricky Rubio is my 3rd favorite (well, depending on Steve Nash) player in the league. He has elite defensive skills and passing ability for sure. But his shooting IS that bad.

Quom, I like the use of some advanced stats (WAR, for example), but the one that really matters, WS/48, aren't and haven't been there. Even if he shot at a below average rate, something like 40-42% and not in the 30s, he'd be much more effective. ]

He's the poor man's Jason Kidd. Until he shoots the ball at some decent %, it will stay that way.

Seriously? The stat that says Patty Mills was the fifth best PG in the league last year and D.J. Augustin, George Hill and Isaiah Thomas the eighth, ninth and tenth best PGs is the one we should take in isolation?

Edited November 2, 2014 by Quom

[Plubby]

THE KNICKS FUCKIN' RULE

THE KNICKS FUCKIN' RULE!!!

[Rafael]

You guys were lucky MKG didn't play the whole game.

[Monkey D. Lars]

Reggie Jackson will make his return! Perry was amazing saturday. Goooo Thunder!

[Plubby]

You guys were lucky MKG didn't play the whole game.

Yeah, otherwise we would have won by more...dat -9. Notice how they came back AFTER he left the game?

[Rafael]

Sure. 6 points on 3/4 shooting, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal in under 10 minutes was such a terrible performance.

Edited November 3, 2014 by RafaelFms

[Plubby]

I mean, sure, read that box score. I was only at the game

[Rafael]

I watched the game too! :@

[Plubby]

On Television? The internet? How cute.

[Rafael]

Stop rubbing your first-world privileges on my face!

[JasonM]

The Mavs/Celtics game was a heartstopper for sure. Mavs walk away with a win in the first half, and once more they just lose the plot in the second half and manage to fight to a win that should've been a blowout.

Hopefully they can learn to not lose the plot in the 3rd quarter next time, because they're asking for trouble if they keep making games tight in the second half. In better news at least Chandler Parsons was on fire with 27 points, because if he hadn't been they would've lost to the Celtics.