NBA Season 2016-2017

Yeah been meaning to make that new NCAA thread. Still about 8 days until actual non exhibition games start.

Now that Mizzou and SLU basketball are so awful (hopefully Travis Ford catches lightning in a bottle for the Bilikens) there is zero college basketball talk in town. It's when I see friends on Facebook posting about Kansas that start to get excited. It's totally snuck up on me this year, and Kansas should be outstanding again.

*shoos college basketball out*

https://theringer.com/college-basket...

I was going to make a joke about the thread suddenly getting boring, but then briefly getting exciting in March, but figured it would be too complicated to explain.

Blind_Evil wrote:

*shoos college basketball out*

https://theringer.com/college-basket...

Maybe you should take notes from the article. I have actually begun enjoying the NBA again. It's a little hard because St. Louis doesn't have a team, but I've found a lot to enjoy.

Ellis isn't a college player anymore, anyway. He got cut by the Hornets, but signed with their D-League team. I'm rooting for him to make it to the The League, but he is quite the long shot.

I struggle through the last couple games of the tournament every year and that's plenty for me.

I'm just hoping Joel "The Process" Embiid keeps it up. The last time I was I to college basketball in any fashion was watching him.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I struggle through the last couple games of the tournament every year and that's plenty for me.

Every year, around March, I start to think "huh, maybe I should have watched a bit more college basketball". Then I watch it, and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

Stele wrote:

NCAA Basketball thread is up now. :P

LeBron entered the top 10 career NBA scorers list. ESPN did a really cool infographic on the all time scoring list.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17952070/follow-lebron-journey-top-10-nba-scoring-list

Pop really is the best.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CwiKcmxUsAA4PDz.jpg:large)

DSGamer wrote:

LeBron entered the top 10 career NBA scorers list. ESPN did a really cool infographic on the all time scoring list.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17952070/follow-lebron-journey-top-10-nba-scoring-list

That's an awesome piece of work. I really enjoyed that.

From a FoxSports article on athletes' reaction to last night, Joel Embiid on the election:

IMAGE(http://b.fssta.com/uploads/2016/11/10-5.vadapt.767.high.0.png)

Also:

I often get bitter about the 2012 NBA Draft. Charlotte, my team from 1991-2002 and 2014 til now, tanked real hard in hopes of landing a one in a thousand talent, Anthony Davis. Luck wasn't on their side and they ended up with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist instead at number 2.

But 4 years later Davis' team is 0-8 and,the Hornets are 6-1. The world is cray sometimes.

The Hornets aren't too bad this year!

Granted, they're playing a very soft schedule at the moment -- I think the Jazz (last night's victims) is the only team that Charlotte has played that has a winning record. But the Hornets are healthy, they're beating the teams they should be beating and they're looking pretty good in the process.

I'll definitely take first in the Southeast. Yeah, it's November, but baby steps.

I have seen the soft schedule sentiment, I'm not sure I agree. Indiana (4-4) Milwaukee (4-3), and Miami were all projected as playoff teams by various outlets. The next week of games will be harder. Raptors, Cavs, T-wolves and Hawks. It eases out after that, and I wouldn't be shocked if they were sitting at 20-8 or so at some point.

I'll retract the "very" from the soft statement above. But Charlotte did three of those wins against the Sixers, Nets and a Wade-less Miami.

Can't wait to see Kemba & Co. do against the TOR-CLE-ATL trifecta. Those (plus Boston) are still the measuring sticks in the East.

This Bulls at Heat game is about as ugly as these Heat uniforms.

The Ringer on the Hornets:

The problem for Steve Clifford is that fixing one problem in his lineup invariably opens up another. Kaminsky is a better shot creator than either Zeller or Williams, but he’s not nearly as good as a perimeter defender. Their defense would improve without Kemba, but their offense would collapse. Taking out MKG would improve their spacing, but it would come at the cost of their best defender, and Batum can no longer handle the defensive assignments MKG gets, not with the load he has to carry on offense. Clifford has done an excellent job of building a system around the limitations of his best players, but it’s a very delicate balance, with each member of the starting five covering for the holes in the games of their teammates. Pull one thread and the entire thing collapses.

Worth a read.

I like that the Hornets are getting a little national attention there, but I disagree with the main thrust of the article. It's hard for me to agree that the Hornets would fall apart without one of their core 6 or 7 guys, when MKG played 7 games last season and they won 48 games.

I think the main thrust of the piece is that the Hornets have no room for error. Maybe that changes around the trade deadline, but right now a major injury to any of their core 6-7 will screw things up.

I still disagree. By hook or crook they seem to do ok. MKG was out against the Raps on Friday and they only lost by 2.

To go a little deeper, I think the only guy they absolutely can't cope without for a stretch is Kemba.

Batum is their second best player. He had all star buzz last year. Counting the playoffs last year he missed 14 games. Hornets won 8 of them. That isn't the collapse you expect when a thin team loses its second best player.

Addendum: Hornets up 48-45 at half vs Hawks. Kemba has two FT makes and 0 field goals. Finding a way to compete

Can't believe this is only the sixth season for Kemba Walker. It felt like he's been around forever.

The Pelicans local broadcast is brutal. No energy and a ton of misinformation.

This is why I remain bearish on the Hornets. Sure, they can compete against Cleveland and Toronto these days. But they're also prone to occasional Sixers-esque performances like last night. Plus their injury list is growing longer.

Slight overreaction, I say. Look at the Grizzlies' two prior box scores. Sometimes you just run into a ridiculously hot team.

I still see 50 wins, knock on wood with regard to injuries.

Some crazy numbers last night. Cavs had a big one then Warriors did even bigger. 149 points, most in regulation in 6 years by any team. 47 assists, franchise record. Some ridiculous efficiency by Steph, Klay, and Kevin. And historically bad defense by the Lakers, of course.

Anthony Davis was awesome last night, too. He must not have been happy that KAT was taking his place as the best young big man.