Random NBA Observations 2018 - 2019

GoddamnyamanProf

Countdown to Armageddon
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They've been vulnerable every season, and every season a perfect storm of injuries and lucky bullshyt coalesces around them and carries them to victory. Let's see how it happens this year.
 

Regular_P

Just end the season.
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Cook is decent. Jerbko is a decent signing. They have a slew of generic bigs who can set screens and soak up an o or two for a wide open shooter. Plus there’s always old vets like Crawford that can be pick up for a pack of twizzlers and a quarter water. I mean who in the west can bother them? Houston and all those defensive sieves at the perimeter? Utah and their non shooters?
I'm not saying they're gonna lose or this thread won't turn into a neg train in eight months. Right now though, it feels like this is gonna be their toughest regular season in a minute. Those main guys are gonna have to carry more weight during the regular season to keep their win total up and it's possible they'll be more worn down than usual heading into the playoffs. I don't see any wild cards on their roster at the moment like Nick Young, David West, etc. that can get hot once a week and ease the burden.
 

Rigby.

The #1 Rated Mixtape of all Time
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We got enough proof now that:
A. Celtics and specifically Baynes are a really tough (and special) case against Philly's chances. No one matches up with them this well, primarily because
B. Ben's lack of shooting can make his impact completely negligent in the clutch time. He looked better coming out than he had against them during most of last year's series, but he once again faded away late. Really stymies the entire offense when they dont have jump shooters anymore
C. Fultz's tentativeness is gonna be the crusher. I think there's enough defensive help to get them over the Green hump on the roster, but the offense is very dependent on Fultz being able to score from anywhere and whatever looks they were giving him prevented him from scoring ANYwhere :picard: First game as a starter in god knows how long, I get it, but for someone whos already had questions about his mentals, Stevens is gonna exploit the fukk outta that going forward

Even with all this, I still think Philly can make it work but they desperately need an alpha who can get his regardless of the team flow and can push Simmons to the less meaningful Rondo role hes gonna have to play against these guys. Thats really why I dont blame them for trying to clear out everything for Bron or wanting to push the button for Kawhi, if they could be blessed with another terrible Bucks year, Id think about inquiring for Giannis and putting Simmons name in the hat if that's what its gotta be :yeshrug: not saying Ben's story is already written but you gotta think realistic upsides for a sec.

It may not matter because Curry and Durant are so great, but Golden State is very thin on scorers/shooters. If Cousins isn't right this season, I could see them getting pushed more than ever in the postseason.
Thats really how the team was built last year, probably why they gambled so heavy on Swaggy P working too. It SHOULDVE blew back in their face with how well Houston matched up with those issues, but alas....their roster could be worse or better, but outside of Lakers and OKC, I cant think of anyone in the West truly matching up with them defensively.
 

CarltonJunior

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We got enough proof now that:
A. Celtics and specifically Baynes are a really tough (and special) case against Philly's chances. No one matches up with them this well, primarily because
B. Ben's lack of shooting can make his impact completely negligent in the clutch time. He looked better coming out than he had against them during most of last year's series, but he once again faded away late. Really stymies the entire offense when they dont have jump shooters anymore
C. Fultz's tentativeness is gonna be the crusher. I think there's enough defensive help to get them over the Green hump on the roster, but the offense is very dependent on Fultz being able to score from anywhere and whatever looks they were giving him prevented him from scoring ANYwhere :picard: First game as a starter in god knows how long, I get it, but for someone whos already had questions about his mentals, Stevens is gonna exploit the fukk outta that going forward

Even with all this, I still think Philly can make it work but they desperately need an alpha who can get his regardless of the team flow and can push Simmons to the less meaningful Rondo role hes gonna have to play against these guys. Thats really why I dont blame them for trying to clear out everything for Bron or wanting to push the button for Kawhi, if they could be blessed with another terrible Bucks year, Id think about inquiring for Giannis and putting Simmons name in the hat if that's what its gotta be :yeshrug: not saying Ben's story is already written but you gotta think realistic upsides for a sec.


Thats really how the team was built last year, probably why they gambled so heavy on Swaggy P working too. It SHOULDVE blew back in their face with how well Houston matched up with those issues, but alas....their roster could be worse or better, but outside of Lakers and OKC, I cant think of anyone in the West truly matching up with them defensively.

At the end of the day all of Philly's players have another 5+ years to grow and play with each other and have more than enough time to work out the kinks. There shouldn't be any button pushing or impatience when it comes to them, all of their issues are correctable.

Celtics however are operating on borrowed time because they're going to have to open up the checkbook, so I don't think Philly needs to be overly concerned and overcompensate trying to compete with Boston. The last thing they need is to OKC themselves
 

Voice of Reason

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Going through Oklahoma's line up reminded me of how crazy good their defense is gonna be this year. They won't beat Golden State in the playoffs, but I think they can beat Houston in a 7 games series once Roberson comes back.



Yeah from what I saw in the first half there defense was good shooting was a major problem though.
 

G-Zeus

G-Zeus Chrystler...the brehsident
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Quinn Cook is going to wake ppl up this season. Looney is better than most backup bigs.
those "old rookies" that got undrafted or low drafted are a thing for play off teams..

this guy was undrafted.. i asked about him after seeing some duke highlights... and now dude eating.

those dude comes physically NBA ready, i am happy for him.
 
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