Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 260. (Read 914716 times)

Yep, the Celtics look like a very strong team based on the regular season. I'm not sure if they will be champions this season, but they don't have much competition in the Eastern Conference playoffs at first glance. I think the Cavs, Bucks, and Heat are probably the only teams that could be a problem for the Celtics.

Yes, I thought that it will be a close game as Phoenix have their own version of the big 3. And two of them, Booker and Beal are two known trash talkers, so it's really a great game to watch. And it was a very close game, but only in the first half only. In the 3rd quarter, Boston shows why they are the best team in the league, Brown, Tatum and Horford was good enough to break or negate Phoenix big 3 scoring. And I think they will get as close as 65++ game winning this season. Not sure if any teams can get close to them. But we all know that all of this is nothing if they choke on the playoff so better be Boston ready for the bigger stage during the playoff and hopefully there are no meltdown just like the last time they went into the finals with the Warriors.

To be fair, he was born in the wrong era, nowadays everyone plays either inside or shoots threes, whereas derozan shoots midrange which is deemed unworthy, and I do agree that it is not efficient in most cases but sometimes it wins you games like this if the player is good enough.

I wouldn't say it's a bad judgement, I mean look at Kobe, we all remember him being one of the best players in the world, in history of NBA, but look at his FG, dude played with some bad players, and this resulted with him being doubled team at midrange and miss many shots. So all in all, the style Derozan plays is outdated, and sometimes just pure class and talent shows itself even with inefficient ways, and yet it is not as common as it used to be.

Celtics is showing once again they're the best team in the league. They beat the Suns easily. The score was neck and neck in the first half because they gave too many offensive rebounds to the Suns, but right at the beginning of the second half they went on a run and opened the gap. The Celtics used Grayson Allen's defensive weakness very well. Every time someone matched up with him, they went ahead to him and scored. Brown, Tatum and Horford were very good.

After 66 games, the Celtics became the first team to secure a play-off spot. There's a big difference between Boston and the other teams. They are by far the best in the regular season, but the most important thing will be their play-off performance.

The Sixers are really having trouble finding ways to win games without Joel Embiid. Here, against the Bucks they really did good in the first 2 quarters as they were able to put a great defense on Giannis. And then former Buck player hitting three points. But the Bucks were able to held their ground and make a comeback at the start of the 3rd quarter and that's it, cruise control on the 4th as Giannis almost put up a triple double performance. They are in the 6th spot in the East, but I think the Pacers and the Heat are going to caught up with them and maybe they will slide down into the 8th spot.

And I guess you can say that he was in the wrong conference that time, as Lebron is dominating the East and how many times Lebron broken the hearts of Toronto fans when DeRozan was still there? That is his strength, the mid range, and I think this could be the best version of DeRozan as he is again becoming the leader of the Bulls in absence of Lavine.

But I will say that he needs more help, Vucevic and others should be consistent, as there are games that they can win but usually choke in the 4th quarter as either DeRozan was guarded and can't make his jumpshot or other team members are not helping him out. It's good that he has to take over this game, force OT and then hit those crucial free throws also he missed some in the last seconds but they have a good lead already.

Nah most likely they won't get that 14-3 record since lots of teams are more stronger now and unpredictable. Chances for rockets is so low to get in play in spots since Alfred Sengun is injury and they seems not doing well this season.

For Boston? They are always serious and always on top but the problem in playoffs everything changed and they always choked and get defeated. But hopefully this year we can see a different result and this team will perform well since they has a lot of potential to became a champion but always come up short since maybe they don't have enough experience and get always nervous when playing a do or die game on more experience team.

Seems like a long shot for them that's a lot of games with this amount of time to go.  To rip off a 14-3 finish and jump someone else seems unlikely.  What I want to see happen as a kmicks fan is a serious run at the 3 hole.  Landing a series against the Magic wouldn't be bad but I'd hate to see them immediately have to go to Boston.  Boston is serious this year.

DeRozan is a great player, but he's in the wrong era.  His strength seems to be midrange game and he's not the most skilled player at getting open shots.  I once saw a stat that showed DeRozan takes a higher percentage of shots with close coverage from the defender than any other player in the NBA.  That shows me he either needs teammates that can spread the floor and get him open, he takes bad shots, or he struggles getting open either by moving away from the ball or using dribbling skills to get to his spot.  In the 80s he would have dominated probably.  Today, his game just isn't fit for what works in the NBA.  That's why I think Toronto had to get rid of him to win a championship.  He's a hell of a player, but his style isn't efficient enough at getting points to help his team win.

I haven't watched my Chicago Bulls real closely all year, but last night I was tuned in from begging to the end, and it sure disappoint, which is normally what happens with my Chicago bulls.

DeRozan is one heck of a player, and honestly I'm wondering why he's still on the Bulls.  I of course love him and having a great player like him on the team, but they suck, and aren't anywhere near competing for anything meaningful, I just don't understand why he wasn't traded.  Anyways, great OT shot, what a player.

Yes the streak is still active. Currently, he has made 33 field goals without any miss in his last 5 games. Current record is held by Wilt Chamberlain with 36. Well, I hope that it will be broken by next game.

Another one to note on that game is that, the one who posterized during their last game got posterized as well. I'm talking about Jackson-Davis who got posterized by Gafford. Anyway, as for Luka's injury, it seems that he will be out in their next game against OKC because of that hamstring injury. He got the record already of 7 straight triple-doubles already, and that's a record that's kind of hard to break. Luka has been always in the top 5 in terms of the MVP race this season, and with his past performances, his rankings might go up TBH.

As for him winning the MVP, I don't think so especially now that they're at the play-in spot. For me, there's a chance that Jokic might get it again especially if the Nuggets will again get the top seed after the regular season.

They're constantly upgrading, and getting new players every season. Their problem last season is getting a reliable big, and they got Lively as well as Gafford. I just don't know why the hell they are still at a play-in spot. I guess the toughness of the competition in the West is the main reason isn't it?

Kind of unfortunate TBH especially now that he's their one of the go-to guy when it comes to offense. With this one, I guess they will not get that 10th spot anymore. I will remember Sengun as the guy who got posterized by Wemby .

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Anyway, got some good news for those NBA fans out there. Pistons are on a 2-game winning streak currently. 

Nice trivia, didn't know that. Not happy with that too, lol.. I loss my bet on the Lakers, thinking they are well rested and could bet the home team. Again, I fall into the trap thinking the Lakers are for real, they are just messing with my money, never agian. 

But back to the topic, honestly I don't know that Davis was 0-10 vs Sabonis. I think I'll research more on that. That says also that Sabonis is very underrated as a player.

Kings offense are just impressive, although they have their best player but the ball movement was really impressive. They are not afraid to shot the ball, that's the Warriors style their coach had learn, now they are better than the Warriors since they have healthy and young players.

He was really one of the best player in the NBA now. his work ethic made him wha the is now, and it seems like this guy is just so cool as we haven't heard a lot of issues about him being a demanding player or whatsoever. The bulls are playing undermanned but it looks like they are very competitive now, and have a chance to be in the play-in. I think the current line up is really capable of winning, so I'm happy to bet on them everytime as they are undervalued most of the time.

That I cannot deny.. I also witnessed their inconsistency as well, they are bad on bad teams and good on strong teams, so if you are a bettor, bet on them when they are up against a strong team.

How about the games between the Bulls and the Pacers, DeRozan put up a massive 45 points in a win in OT against the home team Pacers. I thought that the Pacers are going to win without going into OT, but DeRozan mid range shot proved to be still his best weapon, him and Kawhi I would consider has put that as their main weapons, and no one can stop it with their fade away shots.

However, I'm not a hater of Bulls, but there are games that they are inconsistent that's why I stay away from betting on them. But congrats to those who have ride on them on this big win against the Pacers.

Is it?
Warriors will also lose some of their games without Steph Curry. I think he will be out for at least 2 or 3 more games although reports say he is cleared for the on-court workout. They cannot just force it yet.
This is the chance for the Rockets to try and get near their standings. Yes, it will be a feat that will be difficult to achieve but still as long as there is a chance then I bet they will play hard.


Kristaps Porzingis is not an inside man, more like an outside shooter and that's not what the Mavs need. The same goes for Christian Wood.
Gafford and Lively III are the perfect combination for the star duo Doncic and Kyrie. They need someone who can make second chance opportunities for them and not someone who won't even box out to get the rebounds.

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Anthony Davis still hasn't won against Domantas Sabonis. That's 10-0 now.
Sacramento Kings. Despite playing a back-to-back game against 2 elite teams, they still managed to win today against the Lakers. They are strong. Sabonis is strong and he recorded another triple-double just like their last game against the Lakers too on March 7.
They badly need each win. They are trying to put a gap between them and the Phoenix Suns so they can get a safe spot for the playoffs.

Lakers and Warriors are so inconsistent so what if they continue to lose until the end of their remaining days then Rockets surprisingly get a good run and earn wins on each games they play? For sure the phase became different so I can still see the play in spot is so tight until we see that there's still a lot of games remaining so the ball is rolling and none of them are safe to get a play in spot. It would be more exciting each game to see if this teams can able to win since we can nearly see who's going to compete on play in and still get a chance to kick in until finals.

That's a tough challenge for both Lakers and Warriors but who knows, the game still rolling and they still have games to compete the position still unsecure to all of them and with good plays and good adjustments with the system that they are executing they might find that winning rhythm and maybe they both start winning games again, though just the same with your opinion, those teams above are also competitive teams which is not an easy opponents to beat, they need to come up with good adjustments to make things possible while trying to survive during this regular season.


Yeah, Mavs needs someone who can help them inside, not sure why both CWoods and KP didn't workout for them, but looking at Gafford seems that he's benefiting from how Luka and Kyrie is playing the game, just need to be there when the team needed him maybe not that much with offense but with good defense and inside presence.

I also doubt that the Rockets will go to at least the play-in. It will be a 4 team tournament, Warriors, Lakers and Mavs and Kings. I don't think that the rankings will move though, and even if it move, it will not make any difference at all unless someone in the top 6 will have like a losing streak. But I doubt that it will happen, they are going to protect it at all cost and just hoping that there will be no major injuries for their star player. So still a very competitive play-in tournament in the West. Not that much in the East though, I think it's more predictable as who will be in the playoff for the East as the 8th-10th are not in this kind of close W-L records.

Yeah, they have experimented with a lot of big men in their last couple of seasons, if I remember it correctly, they got CWood as well, but he was not a perfect fit on how they play. And not sure why the Wizard unload him, he is a good big men. So it was a great pick for the Mavs indeed.

I think it's not that serious injuries, although it could re-occur. I also remember that James Harden has this kind of hamstrings too since the days with the Houston Rockets. And there will be time that we will missed games and then will go on stationary bike prior to the game to warm up his hamstrings.

Nah, there's no hope for the Rockets unless they win at least 80% from their remaining games and considering the Lakers and the Warriors will also lose 60-70% of their remaining games. Every team below the 10th seed has only very little to no chance of making to the play-ins.
On the other side, the Pelicans, Kings, Suns, Mavericks, Lakers, and Warriors are tightly contesting for the playoffs and play-in spots. And it looks like the Lakers and the Warriors are most likely not gonna secure a spot in the playoffs without playing for the playins and try to find their way to the playoff spot. Too bad for both of these teams as the teams who's above them are not an easy teams to beat. In fact a couple of these teams just gave them a really bad beating this season. The Lakers just got swept by the Kings this season. AD has absolutely no answer against Sabonis who recorded 0-10 against him his whole career.
It's gonna be exciting to watch whether or not the Lakers or the Warriors can make it again to the playoffs coming off the play-in tournament.