The Heat are about to drop to 4-7 as they're getting their heads handed to them tonight by the Pistons. They're only 1-4 without Jimmy Butler. Obviously he'd help. Yet they're the assumed serious contender off to the worst start.
The Heat are about to drop to 4-7 as they're getting their heads handed to them tonight by the Pistons. They're only 1-4 without Jimmy Butler. Obviously he'd help. Yet they're the assumed serious contender off to the worst start.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
No C.J. for the 2nd half as Capela landed on his ankle pretty hard.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Knicks up on Boston by 20 with five minutes left in the 3rd.
Randle and Quickley look good. (Quickley especially so after so few Summer League games to get acclimated.) I'm patient on Toppin too-- he'll get another few months at least to show what he can do. Mitchell Robinson has taken a small step forward. So has Kevin Knox. Neither looks like a difference-maker, but both look like they might be serviceable. The veterans signed-- Bullock, Payton, and especially Burks (when healthy)-- have been better than is typical for their salary and expectations. Randle has been producing at an All-NBA clip. (Seriously. It's nuts.)
I keep waiting for RJ Barrett to "get it." So far this season, he's not turning the ball over as much. He's defending slightly better. But he's still a mason-- nearly every shot is a brick. Until he can find 45% from two and 33% from three, he's going to be an extreme liability on offense. And he's not even close to those putrid numbers.
Dude has to get better in a hurry for the Knicks to get relevant. The good news is that he's still just 20. He's got time. The bad news is that, at the pace he's going, he'll be a serviceable wing sometime around age 38.
The Eastern Conference has 5 teams at .500 or better, the Western Conference has 11. So much for the East closing the gap.
That's the kind of win Knicks fans can ride for a while.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Clippers/Pacers was going to be great had Turner played (apparently three days isn't enough rest for hand, even though he played 37 minutes with it effectively on Thursday). Probably feeling that they should take advantage of the three days with the ability to add two more while also being able to evaluate it in Indiana after being away from home for what seems like two weeks.
Game should still be great, though, tonight.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Stray (01-18-2021)
The West is deeper, but there's a big drop after the Lakers. Lots of decent teams in there, but the 2-4 slots look to be highly in play. Might not be that big a gap from 2 to 10. The East has some stratification. The top teams there are pretty good. The Bucks might be really good.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
It'll be interesting to see how Kemba works back into the Celtic rotation.
On a side note, Jason Tatum might well be more valuable than anyone had thought. Without him today, Boston sucked. No one could get a shot up. Jaylen Brown was adequate-- everyone else stunk on ice. (And Brown was really only good early in the first.)
The Quickley to Toppin connection was effective all day long. It seems as if Toppin's long distance shot goes 30 feet in the air-- it's a serious rainmaker and is beautiful to watch. Did he shoot like that in college as well, or is this new to the Knicks?
M2 (01-17-2021)
So far, Jokic has to be the MVP, right? His numbers are just ridiculous.
14th in points per game.
7th in rebounds per game
1st in assists per game
A 30.66 PER.
Unreal.
Fwiw, my All-NBA 1st team, as of 1/17/21, has Jokic (MVP), CJ McCollum, Kevin Durant, Doncic, and Kawhi.
I struggled to find a PG and a SF.
Doncic wins right now because he's playing premier defense according to the metrics. (Lots of steals and lots of blocks help, but so does smart positioning.) Kawhi is Kawhi, but somehow less so. LeBron is still brilliant. DeRozan has improved as a point wing.
PF was by far the most difficult spot to pick. AD and Giannis have both been typically extraordinary. Sabonis and Randle deserve major props for their all-around games. But Durant is just so smooth. It's nice to have Durant back.
Last edited by Bourgeois Zee; 01-17-2021 at 09:57 PM.
ScotlandRed (01-18-2021)
De'Aaron Fox with a monster of a game tonight.
Kingspoint (01-18-2021)
This season has been so weird I'm not even sure who the "good" teams are in the East after the top few. Nobody is playing at full strength, whether covid related or rest. Milwaukee/Boston/Nets obviously, but the Heat are likely right there, or close, if they can ever get their full team going. Jimmy has hardly played all year. Toronto too. Philly maybe.
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