I would not. I hate Luka’s game. And I’m a pretty big fan of Steph.
I mean, the age thing is precisely what makes the comparison so freaking amazing. What Steph is doing at his size and age (37 in March!) is completely insane. Isiah Thomas and Pistol Pete were done at 32. Jamal Murray looks washed at 27, and who knows what’s up with Ty Haliburton at 24. Steph’s less than a year younger than Kyle freaking Lowry.
We've also been lucky that Steph's injuries, while problematic at times (mostly ankles), have not been catastrophic, as with Pistol Pete and Isaiah Thomas. (I assume you are referring to the Isaiah who is still kicking around, and not Isiah Thomas, the Piston great.)
Pretty sure he’s referring to Isaiah Thomas, Pistons great, because the more recent one is completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding great basketball players.
True. FYI the Piston great's name was Isiah, not Isaiah. And his career also ended due to a catastrophic injury, an ACL tear back when that was usually a basketball death sentence more or less.
I love having Buddy so this doesn’t mean much to me but it’s funny how during his hot start, fans of previous teams said he always does this on a new team for the first 10 games and then tapers off.
And when you look at the splits
Games 1-10: 18 ppg shooting 50% from the field and 48% from 3
Man just saw one of my children Ryan Rollins recently dislocated a shoulder and is out for awhile. He seems to have found a groove with the Bucks. Also good to see Davion beasting on defense along with Okongwu.
Yeah, it’s a bummer to see Rollins get injured after things were finally starting to click for him. Hopefully he can heal up and pick up where he left off
In the West yes I believe, meaning that I wouldn't bet on it but I find it entirely believable. But in the league I have trouble believing because look at all the terrible teams that Boston and Cleveland get to play.
they're a terrible team but they have some good players, and they were clearly motivated by the cup game (imho) while for us it was a scheduled win. Javonte Green, Trey Murphy, and Robinson-Earl played their asses off and Brandon Boston played well too.
Dallas has a decent chance of being the wildcard team with their +38 in point differential, second only to Houston (who is currently in first place in their group so they wouldn't be potential competition for Dallas unless they lose a Cup game)
In each conference, Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the two teams with the best record in Group Play games, and the team with the best record in Group Play games will host the wild card team. In the event two or more teams are tied for the higher seed in a conference, the tie among the teams will be broken following the same tiebreaker protocol as described [below].
• Head-to-head record in Group Play;
• Point differential in Group Play; ^^
• Total points scored in Group Play; ^^
• Record from the 2023-24 NBA regular season; and
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers).
But is it East or West? Do they all the qualifiers go in one big pot? I'm gonna be honest, if you told me their next opponent would be the Harlem Globetrotters, I wouldn't be shocked.
We are living in the era of the greatest basketball player of all time. Nikola Jokic. Five more years of this and what's the counterargument? That he never won the big one? Missed too many games? A selfish headcase who makes his team feel bad with his tantrums? I mean come on.
The guy is *leading the league in rebounds per game, assists per game, and three point percentage* His points per game is at 29, which is fourth in the league. His shooting splits are 56-56-84 and no I didn't make that up. He's also become a really good defender. His wife just gave birth to their first son, who has probably been signed by Real Madrid to a youth developmental team. Savor the era.
The counterargument goes something like: (1) shooting splits and fantasy / triple double stats are not everything; (2) defense is half the game, and his defense is okay but can be exploited (viz. Curry and Poole roasting him in the ‘22 playoffs); (3) winning matters — one NBA Finals appearance, never part of a team that was that special, max 57 wins, only four seasons out of ten over 50 wins; (4) has never captured the hearts and minds of the general public the way Steph, MJ, LeBron, Magic, Bird, Kareem, et al. have.
But I don’t find him all that interesting to watch. Big men passing well and often is a relatively recent phenomenon, and still holds some novelty, but ultimately scoring and passing over smaller people isn’t impressive to me. Or to him, by all accounts.
Yes! Portland native here! But the exception proves the rule- and having watched all of Arvydas’ too short/late NBA career, where he battled Shaq and a cabal of celebrity-awed/mafia-owned whistle swallowers, I contend he is still owed one billion free throws.
Gotta have some more postseason success, but yeah, he's pretty good. Dray might have had an argument as the best second rounder ever at one point, but that title is 100% out the window now.
The all-time center list is pretty damn stacked: Kareem, Bill, Wilt, Shaq. And let's be honest, Duncan was probably a center for 75% of his career. I'm not sure I could get Jokic past any of those 5 until he has at least 3 rings. But he's the scariest I've seen since Shaq.
Remember that time Duncan hit a three and had this look of amazement and everyone was like "WOW A TALL GUY HIT A THREE WHAT A PLAYER!!!" To me, that's one of the two things that separates Jokic: outside touch, in a three point era. And the other of course is his passing. He makes about eight passes a game that literally none of those guys could make. Kareem had a better offensive repertoire and better rim protector. Russell was obviously a better defender (than anyone). Wilt could score and rebound like a mad dog. Shaq could dominate in the paint. Duncan had his scoring and rebounding skills.
I watched them all play, including a bit of the oldest guys. To me, Jokic is just a better basketball player.
Low key if the Clippers get Kawhi back they could be a real MFer to deal with in a playoff series. Kawhi doesn't need to be healthy for four straight playoff series, he'd just need to be healthy for one series against your favorite team.
New thread up!
Klay's minutes played are dropping:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thompkl01/gamelog/2025/
when will he lose his starters spot!
Kinda like the old joke about the two old ladies at the diner…
— The food at this place is terrible!
— I know … and such small portions!
(Per 36 minutes)
Player A: 27.6 pts on .664 TS / 8.0 ast / 6.5 reb / 2.1 stl / +14.3 on court
Player B: 27.6 pts on .550 TS / 7.5 ast / 7.5 reb / 1.5 stl / +7.6 on court
A is Old Man Steph, B is all-NBA first team PG Luka Doncic.
Steph got his first MVP and first Ring in his sixth season. Luka, in his seventh season, does not have either one.
Now type in their ages.............Would you trade Steph for Doncic?
I would not. I hate Luka’s game. And I’m a pretty big fan of Steph.
I mean, the age thing is precisely what makes the comparison so freaking amazing. What Steph is doing at his size and age (37 in March!) is completely insane. Isiah Thomas and Pistol Pete were done at 32. Jamal Murray looks washed at 27, and who knows what’s up with Ty Haliburton at 24. Steph’s less than a year younger than Kyle freaking Lowry.
We've also been lucky that Steph's injuries, while problematic at times (mostly ankles), have not been catastrophic, as with Pistol Pete and Isaiah Thomas. (I assume you are referring to the Isaiah who is still kicking around, and not Isiah Thomas, the Piston great.)
Pretty sure he’s referring to Isaiah Thomas, Pistons great, because the more recent one is completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding great basketball players.
True. FYI the Piston great's name was Isiah, not Isaiah. And his career also ended due to a catastrophic injury, an ACL tear back when that was usually a basketball death sentence more or less.
Even with Buddy regressing a bit of late:
(Per 36 this season)
Buddy 24.1 pts on .633 TS
Klay 16.7 pts on .518 TS
Turns out playing alongside Steph makes you look pretty good.
“ Know thyself” 😇
After last night, there are now THREE teams with losing records in the West, and ELEVEN teams with losing records in the East. Quite amazing, really.
I love having Buddy so this doesn’t mean much to me but it’s funny how during his hot start, fans of previous teams said he always does this on a new team for the first 10 games and then tapers off.
And when you look at the splits
Games 1-10: 18 ppg shooting 50% from the field and 48% from 3
Games 11-15: 12 ppg on 41/34
I think the New Orleans players are getting hurt because they play on ice. The one thing that has a sheen like that court is black ice…..at night.
Man just saw one of my children Ryan Rollins recently dislocated a shoulder and is out for awhile. He seems to have found a groove with the Bucks. Also good to see Davion beasting on defense along with Okongwu.
his 3pt shot is also beastly
Yeah, it’s a bummer to see Rollins get injured after things were finally starting to click for him. Hopefully he can heal up and pick up where he left off
NBA Cup standing leaders:
West Group A: Rockets (2-0), Clippers (1-1)
West Group B: Lakers (2-0), Thunder (1-1)
West Group C: Warriors (3-0), Mavericks (2-1)
East Group A: Magic (2-0), Knicks (2-0)
East Group B: Bucks (2-0), Pistons (2-0)
East Group C: Hawks (2-1), Celtics (2-1)
Lakers gonna win it all again arent they?
A free throw fest is what everyone wants to see!
Suns and Thunder are waiting for them. And OKC has got Hartenstein back to counter AD.
Next games:
Rockets: @ Wolves (11/26), @ Kings (12/3)
Clippers: @ Wolves (11/29), vs. Blazers (12/3)
Lakers: @ Suns (11/26), vs. Thunder (11/29)
Thunder: @ Thunder (11/29), vs. Jazz (12/3)
Warriors: @ Nuggets (12/3)
Mavericks: vs. Grizzlies (12/3)
Magic: @ Nets (11/29), @ Knicks (12/3)
Bucks: @ Heat (11/26), @ Pistons (12/3)
Pistons: @ Pacers (11/29), vs. Bucks (12/3)
Hawks: vs. Cavaliers (11/29)
Celtics: @ Bulls (11/29)
Is it possible to get both Shroder and Cam Johnson without trading Wiggins?
yes but you'd have to trade 2 of GP2, Kuminga, Looney, Anderson, Hield, in addition to Melton.
I would definitely have to consider Kuminga + Melton (+ pick probably) for Cam
Sure trade Steph.
Perfect idea
Is there anyone who believes that the Warriors will be #1 at the end of the season?
1 seed in the Western Conference? Why not?
In the West yes I believe, meaning that I wouldn't bet on it but I find it entirely believable. But in the league I have trouble believing because look at all the terrible teams that Boston and Cleveland get to play.
We just played a terrible team, Pelicans. We barely beat 'em.
they're a terrible team but they have some good players, and they were clearly motivated by the cup game (imho) while for us it was a scheduled win. Javonte Green, Trey Murphy, and Robinson-Earl played their asses off and Brandon Boston played well too.
And they might have been thinking of the two previous losses to the Warriors.
We also played Cleveland, OKC and Boston and beat all three.
Well, two outta three ain't bad.
We were masked and in disguise.
Yes. There are 7 people.
Please name them.
Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey, Doc and Sleazy
Bashful. No way.
12 teams in the West are .500 or above. 4 in the East. Their #5 seed is 6-7.
Abolish conferences.
divide and conquer.........
Dallas and clippers are major problems in the west for sure - definitely need to stack wins to get good seeding
Add Houston, OKC, and possibly the Lakers.
Dallas has a decent chance of being the wildcard team with their +38 in point differential, second only to Houston (who is currently in first place in their group so they wouldn't be potential competition for Dallas unless they lose a Cup game)
Who do the Dubs play in the QF? One of the other division winners?
One of the other west group winners, or the west wildcard team.
From https://www.nba.com/news/nba-cup-101
“
In each conference, Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the two teams with the best record in Group Play games, and the team with the best record in Group Play games will host the wild card team. In the event two or more teams are tied for the higher seed in a conference, the tie among the teams will be broken following the same tiebreaker protocol as described [below].
• Head-to-head record in Group Play;
• Point differential in Group Play; ^^
• Total points scored in Group Play; ^^
• Record from the 2023-24 NBA regular season; and
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers).
“
TBD.
But is it East or West? Do they all the qualifiers go in one big pot? I'm gonna be honest, if you told me their next opponent would be the Harlem Globetrotters, I wouldn't be shocked.
“In each conference” so I figure that means that the west wild card plays the west team with the best record.
I thought the Warriors played the Harden Globewalkers last game
We are living in the era of the greatest basketball player of all time. Nikola Jokic. Five more years of this and what's the counterargument? That he never won the big one? Missed too many games? A selfish headcase who makes his team feel bad with his tantrums? I mean come on.
The guy is *leading the league in rebounds per game, assists per game, and three point percentage* His points per game is at 29, which is fourth in the league. His shooting splits are 56-56-84 and no I didn't make that up. He's also become a really good defender. His wife just gave birth to their first son, who has probably been signed by Real Madrid to a youth developmental team. Savor the era.
The counterargument goes something like: (1) shooting splits and fantasy / triple double stats are not everything; (2) defense is half the game, and his defense is okay but can be exploited (viz. Curry and Poole roasting him in the ‘22 playoffs); (3) winning matters — one NBA Finals appearance, never part of a team that was that special, max 57 wins, only four seasons out of ten over 50 wins; (4) has never captured the hearts and minds of the general public the way Steph, MJ, LeBron, Magic, Bird, Kareem, et al. have.
#StephBetter, but yes, Jokic is utterly amazing.
In Europe, every 10 Curry jerseys and 20 LeBron jerseys, I can see one Nikola Jokic jersey (in playgrounds)
In Europe. Where he is born
He is unquestionably good.
But I don’t find him all that interesting to watch. Big men passing well and often is a relatively recent phenomenon, and still holds some novelty, but ultimately scoring and passing over smaller people isn’t impressive to me. Or to him, by all accounts.
>>>Big men passing well and often is a relatively recent phenomenon
Walton, Arvydas and Pau say “hi”.
Wilt led the league in assists one year…
Yes! Portland native here! But the exception proves the rule- and having watched all of Arvydas’ too short/late NBA career, where he battled Shaq and a cabal of celebrity-awed/mafia-owned whistle swallowers, I contend he is still owed one billion free throws.
He is the original SloMo.
https://i.ibb.co/fDNtdCF/389176667-ee726ea1-9f15-4eb3-b8ab-8f19d9715268.png
I do like that.
Gotta have some more postseason success, but yeah, he's pretty good. Dray might have had an argument as the best second rounder ever at one point, but that title is 100% out the window now.
look at you going out on a limb: "he's pretty good." Yuuuupp
The all-time center list is pretty damn stacked: Kareem, Bill, Wilt, Shaq. And let's be honest, Duncan was probably a center for 75% of his career. I'm not sure I could get Jokic past any of those 5 until he has at least 3 rings. But he's the scariest I've seen since Shaq.
OK can we at least agree that Embiid winning his MVP in the middle of the Jokic Era is a flat out joke?
Not really any more of a joke than all the times MJ got jobbed out of MVPs.
Edit: or as others have noted, Rose, Westbrook, etc…
Reminds me of Rose over Lebron
Or Andre winning Finals MVP
Eh, Westbrook won an MVP in Steph's prime/Lebron's late prime. Still sillier.
That's not silly, that's criminal.
Remember that time Duncan hit a three and had this look of amazement and everyone was like "WOW A TALL GUY HIT A THREE WHAT A PLAYER!!!" To me, that's one of the two things that separates Jokic: outside touch, in a three point era. And the other of course is his passing. He makes about eight passes a game that literally none of those guys could make. Kareem had a better offensive repertoire and better rim protector. Russell was obviously a better defender (than anyone). Wilt could score and rebound like a mad dog. Shaq could dominate in the paint. Duncan had his scoring and rebounding skills.
I watched them all play, including a bit of the oldest guys. To me, Jokic is just a better basketball player.
Duncan hits a three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trdsKp94Io0
Well, TJD shot a 3 today. That puts him in the mix, right? lol
#1 BBIQ, Jokic.
By a mile.
Clippers beat the Kings 104-88
And they were without warriors killer powell
Kings bench only had 9 points vs the Clipppers 39. Yikes.
Low key if the Clippers get Kawhi back they could be a real MFer to deal with in a playoff series. Kawhi doesn't need to be healthy for four straight playoff series, he'd just need to be healthy for one series against your favorite team.
ugh don't say that
I wouldn't want to see them in the playoffs, especially the first round.
We are toast if we have to face them in the playoffs