Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 355. (Read 914439 times)

More likely there are more teams that deserve more attention? Or recently we have the Green situation and then Ja Morant coming back.

And probably there are less likely fans of Clippers here? They are still in the 6th position, tied with the Mavericks.

But I do agree with your observations, they are started to blend it, but we wanted them to test Mavericks and then OKC next and then Boston. But that will be great game and if they continue their winning streak and beating them with huge offensive weapons, then maybe we can have discussions how good are the Clippers.

Yeah, but him not playing today is a big factor to their lost. I thought that the rest of the team can win without him, but obviously, even at home, the team performed bad. So the Sixers, can't really rely on the team with Joel, sad to say.

So with that, I think the Celtics is more complete team though. And they have the best duo right now, in Tatum and Brown. And the acquistion of Porzingis and then Holiday was really very impactful for them as they are the first team to win 20 games, beating another great team in Orlando Magic.

Many here are talking about the Warriors and other teams, but no one is talking about how the Clippers are playing right now.
Why is that?

I mean they just won against one of the best offensive teams right now in the league Indiana Pacers, and they're currently on an 8 game winning streak. They have a record of 13-2 in their last 15 games, and right now, they are in the top 5 in terms of defense, and offense which is quite rare nowadays. Everybody is talking about Harden and his acquisition, but aside from that, there are 3 reasons that I think the Clippers are playing better right now.

1. Westbrook's adjustment from being a starter to now a bench player. For me, this is the main reason why they're playing better now. 2 ball handlers can't be playing together at the same time, and it's a good thing that he adjusted for the betterment of the team. Now he's mentoring those young players, and he's willing to adjust if that means winning the title... or will they?
2. Kawhi and PG are more healthy than they are. F*ck the load management. Now they're playing better already. Kawhi didn't miss any game while PG missed only 1 game. Now look where they are right now. They're better, and I just hope that either one of them will not get injured when the playoff comes.
3. Harden is back to his old self. I believe Harden is starting to come back to his old self already. Not the Harden when he's in the Rockets where he's a scorer, but the Harden we used to see when he was at Brooklyn, and Philly. The passer-type Harden and this is a good thing for the Clippers.

The chemistry is starting to build up already, and we've seen it in their past games. The only question right now is will they sustain this type of performance until the end of the season? If they will play like this all throughout the whole season, I believe they will be at the top 4 at least.

Klay Thompson never recovered mentally. There are still signs of being afraid about something bad might happen.
About Draymond Green, it will be difficult for them without him because of the high success rate of pick and roll with him and Steph Curry and then he is a big factor in their defensive positioning.
He can indeed be replaced but if we consider the time it will take for a new player to learn all that play, months or years of practice will be needed and Steph doesn't have that because of his age. All the Warriors can do now is put some players that would enhance their winning rate. Well, Brandin Podziemski is one of those players. Then, Kuminga is also stepping up his game and so is Moody. These players will be the key factors to win games, especially without Draymond around. But I will still not say they don't need him, he can be replaced but it's like starting all over again.
What they really need is for Wiggins to step up his game. He is back to that Timberwolves inconsistent player who I hate the most. I loved him last year because of his great contribution and phenomenal energy but this season had been a bad one for him. Too many errors and his post-up is not that good anymore. He played well against the Portland Trail Blazers but like I said it is inconsistent.

Honestly I'm impressed with the sixers.  Joel embid is indefensible right now.  They need consistency from their other players but he is playing with a chip on his shoulder right now.  I think the sixers are way better without Harden on the team with them.  That was definitely addition by subtraction.

Even if the Miami Heat does land on the seed below they can still be a treat to some teams just like they did in the last season of the NBA, and if the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers didn't become more consistent with their games and progress in a higher position they will not have a chance in getting into the playoffs but right now they are in a good position so far,


Maybe this is a plan for the Warriors to play their reserve players even more, and looking at the performance with 18 minutes of playtime Trayce Jackson-Davis is making great progress, and in that short time he has gotten 8 rebounds 3 assists, and 14 points for the latest game of the Warriors, and now Brandin Podziemski even though he played 33 minutes he just got 5 rebounds 5 assist and 10 points, and for sure Klay Thompson is heating up in every game he played,

No, it's not the age if we talk about Klay Thompson. His versatility and agility aren't on his usual now because of serious injuries. It was started in season 2018-19 when he tore his left knee ACL and injured his right Achilles the next season. He can still explode nowadays but the consistency is not there anymore. Look at Curry, still consistent because he has never been in a serious injury before, unlike Klay. For players to maintain their shooting form, they need the help of their lower body.

Not the age factor for Draymond Green too as he's not a scorer but rather his stats are unwritten in the book. Though it's obvious that as years pass by, he's not that much contributing to the team on both written and unwritten stats especially when the Warriors began revamping their roster.

I've seen some clips of a young Trayce Jackson-Davis, who fans says could be the answer for Draymond Green in Warriors uniform. I think though that it's too early, Green mentality is very different. But it's good that Kerr is now trying to experiment lineups with Trayce and even Podziemski has been playing solidly and has been in the starting lineup, not sure how many games already though.

However, they almost lost another game as it could be another collapse against Portland, good thing is that Klay Thompson delivered in this game again and so they are in a 2 game winning streak. But they are still way below the .500 mark, and their next game will be against league leading Boston at Chase center. This will be a big test for them.

There are games that Ponzi was out though, so perhaps  that will affect his average. But as far as his impact with the team, yeah it's huge. And him and Jaylen Brown seems to found a new bond, Ponzi with a screen and then Brown giving him that alley-oop and Ponzi delivering a shattering dunk. Or even in a fast break, Brown always find Ponzi so it's good to see him play like this. And they are blowing up good teams with double digit win and easily covering handicap for us bettors. Only the Bucks and specially the Sixers are coming close to what the Celtics are doing right now. So I wouldn't be surprised that they are the first time to win that 20 games this season.

Of course they don't need Green they can continue to play, but he is the one of the leader of the Warriors, those intangibles that Green can bring to them is huge, just saying. It's not about Klay though, as you can see in his last 3 games, he scored 30,24,28.


I think this is the main reason, they are getting old, getting another old PG in CP3 and they are using old system that maybe some of the teams have caught up with them already. And maybe the dynasty is already over, and perhaps it will only be Curry who will be left in the Warriors uniform when the management decided it's time to break up and star fresh.

I honestly doubt that Warriors "need" Draymond Green, he is not a bad player that they would not use or anything like that, but I honestly think that they could play without him and be fine as well. The real trouble for them is the fact that Klay never really recovered from his injury, he is not as good as he used to be, that dude was nuclear from three at some times, and he is not that anymore and his defence is still better than Curry but not as elite as he used to be.

If Klay was what he was, then even without Dyramond they could have won the title. In any case, I just think they are way too old now, and the chance for them to win a title is gone, they got one last ring and they should be happy with that, it's over and they should go home.

I searched this on YouTube since I haven't watched it, like what others say it wasn't a flop. Dillon Brooks just really wanted to save the play (ball) and the referee thought/saw that he was flopping for the pushing foul. That's the reason why he got the first technical foul. The reason he got the 2nd technical foul is because of his words to the referee. We know that having 2nd tech will toss out in the game. That 2nd tech was a soft move by the referee, especially considering there was less than a minute left in the game.

1 more game and then Ja Morant will be back. Memphis Grizzlies is on their 4th losing streak and their record is bad at 6 wins and 18 losses.
Will Ja Morant be the answer to go back as a playoff contender?
Grizzlies will need a big contribution from him because they have been lacking in everything and they are undermanned.

Ja Morant reflects on his 25-game suspension ahead of season debut
https://www.nba.com/news/ja-morant-speaks-on-suspension-ahead-of-return-2023

He can play Tuesday against the Pelicans if he is available.


I think this is a good learning point for him. He should keep in mind that he ain't a dude on the block anymore. Every decision he makes outside the basketball floor might affect his career. There are kids looking up to him, some of them might want to be like Ja when they grow up. A high-flying player who dunks on everyone and a leader of a team at his young age.

What I miss more is to see him at every top 10 highlights of the week either with his high-flying 360 layups or his dunks. Time to play and I hope that will be the last mistake that he will make outside the NBA. I bet it will be a different punishment the next time he does something foolish.

That two win give them a life since despite on those controversy they faced they still manage to win without Green on the rotation. For seeing Wiggins and Klay is having a impressive performance for that games then if they can sustain that maybe we can see a Warriors in champion form with that. If they can win against Boston without Green there then maybe its up to the management to decide if they want to take out the toxic player in their team and they focus to give a exposure to their rookies then train them to became more better player. They also have good talents so without Green Warriors can still able to compete.

They only won against Brooklyn and Portland, and yes they might be a mediocre team, but those 2 wins might be the start of the team gaining momentum in their future games. In that game against Portland, we saw Wiggins and Thompson stepping up, and maybe this is the start of them gaining momentum in their future games... or not. I mean they're very inconsistent at the start of the season.

TBH, I don't know if they will win against the Celtics. They're on a 5 game-winning streak as well, and as for Draymond Green, just let him do his sh*t out there and just serve his indefinite suspension. If the Warriors will be playing better without him in the next games, that might be a sign for him to get traded to another team already. Kuminga might not be the same as Green in terms of defense, but what's good in Kuminga is he's very explosive, can help on offense, and an athletic player as well. Ohhh wait his young as well.

What are your thoughts on the flopping tech called on Dillon Brooks against the Bucks? The call looks ridiculous to me as it seems he was pushed while trying to save the ball. I don't see the flopping there. This is only the regular season so imagine getting erroneous decisions like this come playoff time.

I'm doubtful about their chances of winning against the best team now in the NBA. Celtics are very conident now as they are enjoying a winning streak, the teams that they beat on their home court are much better than the current Warriors, so I believe the Warriors would really struggle.

I still remember when they have a losing streak on their home court when they lose to OKC, and Wolves twice, that's with Draymond Green, so without him, it's not worth trusting the Warriors. In addition, Boston might take this seriously as the Warriors are the team that beat them in the NBA Finals, they'll not gonna forget that.


Surely they need Draymond Green as playoffs are a different atmosphere. With the Warriors experience, they'll beat a talented team that has less experience, just like what they did to the Kings last playoffs.

Yeah, right, Draymond's experienced and leadership boost the team up, just need to adjust with such emotion and bring back the old ways
I mean just play the game the way it should be.

I personally think that Draymond is already eaten by pride and the mindset that he's already a superstar that can do anything and he can escape
to any damage that might result to his action, but that's not what happened the last time.

He needs that focus to listen to any counselling that he will get from NBA and GSW's management. No doubt the team needs him
but it should be the career-oriented Draymond and not the kind of attitude he has right now.

Good thing they managed to win. But it's not that significant knowing they won against mediocre teams. And the Warriors only won by slim margins. The real score will be known in their next game as they will be hosting the Boston Celtics. If they can win that game then it's a sign that there is hope even without Draymond.

If the Warriors can maintain a rank in the top 8, then they'll be fine even without Draymond. But they'll need Draymond during the playoff games. The deep experience, superb defense, and the ability to set up plays are just too good to be missed by the Warriors.

Yes, so far the Celtics are the most consistent team in the East now. Among the 3 teams, (Celtics, Bucks, and Sixers), It's the Celtics that will likely win the competition, but only if we are not including other teams such as the Miami Heat. The good thing with the Celtics this season is that they made a great changes on their line up, adding Porzi was a good thing as they were able to acquire additional size and offense from him, and good thing also because he is a good team player.

As we can see ; https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/porzikr01.html... his average have dropped compared to last season but his impact to the team is very positive, so I think Porzi probably had found a team that could give him the ultimate success in basketball, and that is to win a championship.