Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 740. (Read 917665 times)

2 more days until we get to see Durant make his home debut with the Suns. A little crazy how last time he attempted it he ended up getting hurt in the layup line. Still, Phoenix should be buzzing with excitement. That game will be on ESPN against the Timberwolves and will surely be worth catching.

Davis' injury always impacted to how Lakers will perform, with him and LeBron Lakers will still have the chance to move their way
to the next round or even the play-in, they just need to keep winning.

We don't know what will happen to them as there are still changes in terms of team standing and if ever they push their way
the next series of games will continue to be tough for them.

And just like that, the Los Angeles was defeated at home by the visiting team, the Chicago Bulls. It was really a bad game for the Lakers because they committed so much mistakes that gave the Bulls an advantage they couldn't refuse and apart from that, the home team seems to be out of synched on Lebron's arrival, most of them don't know what to do compared to the Lakers when Lebron was still injured. Next match-up is against the Bulls again, no room for some mistakes if they still want to participate.

Kyrie will leave for sure, no need to doubt that. Lula's extension just kicked in so unless they trade him he will be in Dallas for a while. His contract is at least until the end of 25/26 season with a 1 year player option after that.

Many people thought the deal was worthless. Dinwiddie is a solid player and DFS a good shooter + solid defender. A half year rental of Kyrie was never worth that much. It weakened their defense dramatically and we now see any other night.

From being a dark horse in the title race to maybe not making the playoffs, sad story. Not the first time Dallas front office messed up, guys like Chandler Parsons, Deandre Jordan, Rajon Rondo all got payed too much for nothing.

Not to forget splitting up the 2011 championship team.

Do not forget the ultimate blazer flub, was passing on drafting Micheal jordon at #2 and picked Sam bowie instead.  I hate doing the draft re look thing but you can't deny the Blazers just might be that cursed.  Oden would have been a monster but injuries, etc.  How would basketball be different if the blazers teamed up Drexler and Jordan in 2 consecutive drafts.

I keep remembering the video that caught Mark Cuban's reaction when he found out they got Kyrie. I wonder how he looks inside the office now. He's definitely not happy with how things have turned out.

Luka will be disappointed if they don't qualify for sure but he'll remain with the team. Kyrie is questionnable. He may demand another transfer hehe.

You got that right.  That was a tough loss at home for them, with KAT back they will be a force to reckon with.  Last year the Grizzlies and wolves series was my favorite series to watch.  Hoping the wolves can sneak back into a series with Grizzlies with both of them at full health.

As far as the bulls and theor chances, the east is too top heavy if they get into the playoffs they would likely go against the Bucks or Boston both of which would be the over whelping favorite.  I like theor style of play though wouldn't mind seeing them in this year.

That's the Atlanta Hawks for you, they are sort of viewed as an underrated team which gives them an advantage because the opposing team tends to underestimate them and will likely play like it's not their A-game but when that happens, it will be too late for the opposing team to rally back because they are already buried and the Hawks did established it already. And most likely this team don't fail to surprise us in almost every game they had.

Yes, gotta hand it to the Denver Nuggets for defeating the Milwaukee Bucks with a huge margin. It was an intense battle of 1st seed in both conferences and the Nuggets showed why they are 1st in the West. But if the Bucks will be given a chance to have a rematch in the next day, I'll surely side with the Bucks and believe me, they will return the favor.

They should be cautious in their next game because one more wrong move and miscalculation, will send them away from NBA playoffs and they have to gamble in the play-in tournament which no team in the NBA really wants to be there when they have the chance to secure a playoff spot.  

I hope the Bulls will somehow enter the NBA play-in tournament and will find a way to be in the NBA playoffs this year that would be another milestone for Patrick Beverly and he will gonna given a chance to celebrate that championship-like celebration once again but this time with another team.  

It's a very important game for both of them, and Warriors is the favorite to get this one as they have been playing great in their homecourt. But they really started very slow in the game, not sure what Curry is doing in the last couple of games as he started to orchestrate and involved his team mates more, in this game he had 9 assists. But I guess it's the offense that we needed from him. Poole try to be that guy, but it was enough for them to get that win. So their big win against Philly is negated with this lost. They are still in the 6th spot though, but every game is really a must win for those teams in the 6th-12th spot. They could have overtaken the Suns if I'm not mistaken to go 4th place if they got the dubs tonight.

Not only that turnover by Draymond Green was a huge bummer, but also the next possession was terrible for the Warriors. Warriors played the last 30 seconds like this year's Rockets, like a super inexperienced young team, not like the multiple times champions they are. And Towns had an amazing 3. The key was Timberwolves' defense. They were quite successful at stopping GSW. It was a very important game for the 6th spot in the West. 5 teams still have chance for the play-offs, not play-ins, I mean the 6th spot. This race for the 6th spot is almost good as the playoffs itself in my opinion. Wolves tried hard against GSW, especially defensively. It will be immensely interesting to see who will be left out of the playoffs.

The current roster of the Lakers right now is a good one already compare to their roster a few years ago (back when Westbrook is still there), but their roster when they won a title is probably the best since Lebron joined the Lakers. Overall, I agree with what you said that the Lakers might be a strong contender next season with their current roster. There are 2 problems that I'm seeing though with them.

1. Injuries. I mean I know that injuries are inevitable already, but Lebron and AD are more prone to injuries especially AD. Lebron is also not on his prime anymore though he can still lead the team, he can't carry the team like he was doing in the past anymore. I believe they need another all-star or some current role players step up offensively especially when Lebron and AD are out.
2. Trades. We know Rob Pelinka has been a controversial GM because of that Westbrook trade which is kind of unexpected if you will ask me. As long as he and Le-GM will not make huge trades that will affect the team too much, I guess they will be a playoff contender next season.

As for the Bulls, they are currently at the 10th seeded, and only 0.5 game behind the 8th seeded Hawks. Their remaining games is kind of tough as well, because out of the 8 teams that they're facing, 6 of them are also fighting for a spot especially the Mavericks. Good thing though is that the 11th seeded team Pacers are 3 games behind them.

I expected the lakers to win this game, bookmakers and so many places I saw comments, were optimistic comments about a lakers victory, although the bulls would not facilitate this game. in the first half the lakers were having a good performance, mainly because in the 3 minutes that remained of the first half they were with 19 points against 1 points of the bulls, but strange that the bulls started to gain ground, they turned the game and started to win the game and as a consequence the bulls won in the first half with a difference of 13 points, in the second half things did not change and the bulls won, in the third half it was the same thing and the bulls won, the lakers only managed to win the fourth half, this result shows that the lakers only had an advantage on paper, in practice they had no chance against the bulls from the beginning of the game until the end of the game

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Celtics 137 - 93 Spurs

in the first half the spurs managed to win, although the difference in points was very small, something like 2 points, but it was something that gave hope that the spurs had a chance of winning the game, but the celtics in the second period destroyed that hope by winning with a difference of 12 points, and in the third period things only got worse for the spurs because they lost again by a difference of 9 points. and to leave no doubt that the celtics would not give the spurs any chance, the celtics won in the fourth quarter with an overwhelming difference, there were 25 points of difference. well the spurs didn't stand a chance in this game

Slow MO Kyle seems to do a lot of work now to help the Timberwolves. Yeah, I saw that shot clock buzzer beater too, and damn it must felt good for him because he was smiling afterward, he didn't expect it to sink in too.  
The most frustrating part for the Warriors is they are shooting pretty well, especially Klay Thompson, but his second-half game went bad. I thought they will have a good game and just finish it with a bang but foul troubles got to their nerves too.
Steph Curry 2 fouls early in the 1st quarter with 7 minutes remaining, and Steve Kerr had no choice but to bench him.
I do believe they will play better in their next game. With GP2 looking healthy again and playing 15 minutes, their defense leveled up once again, that's one of the missing pieces that would complete their formidable defensive line, and then Wiggins.

It’s starting to look like the Dallas Mavericks are going to miss the playoffs and even the play-in tournament as a result of their Kyrie Irving trade. Luka can’t be happy. They fell out of the play-in for now and couldn’t capitalize on a Lakers loss. Dallas is 3-7 now in their last 10 games during a time they should be turning it on.

That was really a disappointing turnover for the Warriors but also an amazing steal from Wolves and the shot made by KAT. And those remaining seconds secured the 2 points lead by the T-Wolves. I thought that 3-pt shot and a foul on Klay would lead him on the free throw but it wasn't.
If it does, that would lead them to an OT as that's for sure Klay would get in those 3 free throws. It just so happen that T-Wolves are greater tonight and that's given, it was too close and almost there but not enough.

A healthy Memphis squad would annihilate the Lakers.  The Sacramento series might be a little better but who would guard bane and Ja, austin reaves lol.  Lakers upgraded over the trade deadline but they are anything but a contending team.  In a playoff like game they lose to the bulls.  They are pretty much in do or die games from here on out with how tight the west is.

Very disappointing lost for the Warriors tonight, I mean they claim back from a huge deficit in the 4th and have the chance to win the game. But it was a costly mistake on the part of Green, Wolves was able to steal that ball and then KAT that dagger 3 on transition.

The Wolves though are shooting great % in 3's at Warriors home, Naz Reed connected a lot of it.

Even Slow mo Kyle Anderson has one to beat the buzzer.

The Lakers will be a strong contender next season that is for sure. But there is always the risk of suffering injuries again, especially to the ultra-sensitive Anthony Davis. So they better try to give it all in their remaining games. The Grizzlies and the Kings are not very experienced in terms of playoffs games so they seem beatable by a healthy Lakers squad.

Just like the Lakers, the Bulls are also etching to have a better ranking in the east. The Bulls just stopped the dream of the Trailblazers this season to try to advance into the playoffs. Lillard might be rested in the remaining games. And then today, they beat the Lakers in LA. Still, high chances for the Bulls to lose LaVine next season unless they can go deep in the playoffs which is very unlikely.

I am thinking about their chances this season more than next season. LeBron has already returned, but it's unfortunate that they lost against the Bulls. However, they are still somewhat safe to qualify for the play-in as long as they maintain their current ranking.

Speaking of the other game, the Warriors vs Wolves, I was really disappointed with their performance. They could have won that game, but they got careless with a costly turnover. Then, KAT made a clutch 3-point shot.