Ben Simmons is the most overrated player in the NBA.
Ben Simmons is the most overrated player in the NBA.
He's an odd player, capable of being both good and bad at the same time. He's a playmaker who turns the ball over way too much. He's extremely efficient around the rim, but he's no better than the #3 option on offense. And he can't shoot. He's an excellent defender. He's kind of cut from the Draymond Green mold. Put a good team around him and he'll provide the glue. Yet he's not a star who can carry a team.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
GSW are punting tonight. They aren't even going to try against Phoenix.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Secret basketball fact: you now have to have a neck tattoo to play center for the Celtics.
Watched the Celtics-Raptors. Kyle Lowry looked great, and they really ought to be shopping him because he's a FA after this season and Toronto's not a threat to go far. Boston had one of those games where you can see where they should be really good, but they keep bumping their heads on an invisible ceiling.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
The Wizards beat the Clippers to go 3-3 through their recent tricky stretch. They've got a relatively soft schedule. They might yet climb out of that hole they dug for themselves.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Kingspoint (03-04-2021),RichRed (03-05-2021)
The out of bounds call you're talking about (O'Neale) was confirmed because the ball touched the official out of bounds before O'Neale did. That wasn't missed. I actually watched the Utah post-game feed and one of the Jazz announcers actually issued an apology to the officials due to them going all nutty over it during the game. I've never seen that before. The issue was that the officials didn't explain it when they upheld the call and the announcers lost their minds.
The last two minutes report is in, BTW. You might want to take a look at it because there are non-calls- including critical ones- that went against BOTH teams. One of the more egregious was the non-call at @1:14 left in the fourth where Embiid was obviously fouled by Gobert while the Sixers were down by three. The offensive foul by Mitchell in OT was upheld by the league. There's an angle of it where Mitchell actually hooks Simmons around his leg. It's hard to see from the angle we get on TV, but the baseline official clearly identified it and you can see it if you look really closely as the two players turn.
Three incorrect No-Calls benefitted the Jazz in the last two minutes of the 4th and OT. Two benefitted Philly. I guess three if we're going to call a missed kicked ball with no possession change a "benefit". The officiating was not good, for sure, and I felt like the fourth quarter, in particular, included a sequence of makeup calls. But Mitchell was over-the-top for no good reason. I understand that he was probably frustrated. He missed like 10 consecutive shots. But a tech (it could have been given to Gobert as well) at that point in the game was Draymond-level inexcusable, nevermind the rambling profanity-laced post-game tirade.
Last night was not a good night for the Utah Jazz brand. I think tonight we saw a pretty interesting response from LeBron and Durant.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
UTA can sulk on this...
Mitchell and Gobert were the last two standing when LeBron and Durant made their picks. Gobert was last.
https://www.nba.com/news/2021-all-star-draft
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
I never know what to think about Jokic. He's a great passer and a solid shooter in a system that maximizes his talents. But he's also a doofus. I probably have to get past that. He is having his best season, so no reason he shouldn't be in the MVP conversation.
And, surprisingly, it wasn't just Embiid last night, but also Dwight Howard. In their last matchup, the Sixers just went at Gobert sans Embiid and it worked well enough to compete. The did the same thing with Embiid and it worked even better. The Jazz need to be careful because the NBA- like any other sports league- is a league of copycats. If other teams figure out that the way to neutralize Gobert is to stop worrying about his tallness and to go right at him, that's a problem because teams have already figured out that Bogdanovic can't guard anyone.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
Depends on how you rate him. He might be the best overall defensive player in the NBA. He doesn't take threes or really any shots outside the paint, yet his shooting efficiency replicates an effective three point shot. He assists on more three point shots than just about anyone. He does turn the ball over a bit too often, but his half-court aggression is directly tied to his free throw confidence and, as that's improving, we're seeing him get more aggressive. Only a couple other players- maybe- are as dangerous running downhill as Simmons.
He's an All-Star, not an MVP. He's a potential DPotY candidate, not a first-team All-NBA guy.
I think how he's rated and who he is are pretty much in sync.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
Yeah I read it. There is no angle where that was a foul of Mitchell and I’ve yet to see an angle where the ball touched the ref, seemed like a massive CYA move on their part.
The tech on Mitchell didn’t matter. Once they blew the call the game was over. I suppose there is a miracle sequence, but that was it. Who cares. He’s gonna get exactly what he wants out of it, which is less BS calls, this is how it works.
As for the picks tonight...let’s just say I think lebron is going to regret it even if he thought he was being funny.
Last edited by BuckeyeRed27; 03-04-2021 at 11:19 PM.
Best start POR has had since 2014-15.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
How good is Jimmy Butler? Since he's back the Heat have gone 12-6 while he's gone 22.3/8.3/8.8.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
M2 (03-05-2021)
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