AROUND the NBA:

[OBX Maverick]

Is it real?  suns Ryan Dunn goes 6-11 from three in the preseason yesterday.  Why it matters…he could wind up being an elite if the elite defenders in the nba.  The issue is he couldn’t shoot in college.  Not even a lick.

If he can be just a respectable shooter, than that is a home run draft pick by the suns.  Only one game but for a guy who passed up shots in college, this is a nice development

As a UVA homer, that ain’t gonna stick. He didn’t pass up shots….he just couldn’t shoot.  Awesome defender, but kid couldn’t hit a 10’ jumper let alone a FT.

[Chicagojk]

@Sean_Barnard1
Not gonna fully sound the alarm but Paul George is not on the bench to start the second half as the Sixers resume their preseason matchup with the Hawks

This play did not look great for PG


https://twitter.com/sean_barnard1/status...07660?s=46

All this talk on how deep the league is, injuries will probably be a huge factor on how teams wind up.   

I watch some of these preseason games and I wonder how there aren't more injuries in these games.   While we typically don't look at the 9-12 people on a roster, it is probably a good idea to look at these spots on teams.   Replacing a star is really, really hard, but teams will need to dip into their 9-12 during the season for bigger roles.    Some of these rosters have young kids or older guys past their prime that won't be able to hold up.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5843850...ms-parity/


Breakdown of NBA roster building, GM Management

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://nypost.com/2024/10/15/sports/jul...icks-feud/


Personal stuff behind DiVincenzo/Knicks feud.

[SleepingHero]

First sub in:

https://streamable.com/hh71jd

First bucket for Lonzo Ball's return:

https://streamable.com/mjceak


Defense of Lonzo!:
https://streamable.com/w64rvo

[SleepingHero]

Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania)
Thunder say Isaiah Hartenstein suffered a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand in Tuesday’s preseason game in Denver and will be re-evaluated in five-to-six weeks.

[SleepingHero]

(@ShamsCharania)
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, league sources tell me and @NotoriousOHM.

[SleepingHero]

(@ShamsCharania)
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, league sources tell me and @NotoriousOHM.

Even though it's Kawhi, it's pretty shocking he's going to now be out for an "indefinite" period.

The dude got a bag and is basically acting semi-retired now. Cannot believe the Clippers handed him an extension knowing he has this knee/quad/whatever it is issue that has never been better, but refused to give Paul George a similar extension. 

Balmer got swindled.

[KillerLeft]

Even though it's Kawhi, it's pretty shocking he's going to now be out for an "indefinite" period.

The dude got a bag and is basically acting semi-retired now. Cannot believe the Clippers handed him an extension knowing he has this knee/quad/whatever it is issue that has never been better, but refused to give Paul George a similar extension. 

Balmer got swindled.

It will get even better if/when Paul George balls out for Philly this season.

[Mavs2021]

It will get even better if/when Paul George balls out for Philly this season.

Highly unlikely imho.

[SleepingHero]

It will get even better if/when Paul George balls out for Philly this season.

George already hyperextended his knee and is out for some time too so I'm not even sure it will get better for the Clips. 

I don't think the Clippers made the wrong choice moving on from Paul George either, but the way they went about it was mind-numbingly dumb. The writing has been on the wall for a while now with Kawhi. They need to rebuild pretty badly and should've blown things up at last year's TDL and get whatever they could've gotten.

Now they have another 3 years of Kawhi being out and lost George for free.  

And don't get me wrong, I'd love to have either of those two dudes on the Mavs as 2nd/3rd options. When healthy, they are still forces. But they are never really healthy. Plus the contract Kawhi is now on looks like it's going to be a pretty toxic one to the capsheet.

[SleepingHero]

Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett)
On the NBA's preseason ref education call, Monty McCutchen just said the league is looking to limit leading teams wasting time late in games after made baskets by "losing" the ball or delaying the inbound.

A cousin of - you guessed it - the dog-walk: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/3551...-ja-morant

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

All this talk on how deep the league is, injuries will probably be a huge factor on how teams wind up.   

I watch some of these preseason games and I wonder how there aren't more injuries in these games.   While we typically don't look at the 9-12 people on a roster, it is probably a good idea to look at these spots on teams.   Replacing a star is really, really hard, but teams will need to dip into their 9-12 during the season for bigger roles.    Some of these rosters have young kids or older guys past their prime that won't be able to hold up.

(@ShamsCharania)
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, league sources tell me and @NotoriousOHM.

Dude has been stealing money since signing in LAC.  He's not just injury prone; he IMO way over does the recovery time.

[KillerLeft]

I don't think the Clippers made the wrong choice moving on from Paul George either, but the way they went about it was mind-numbingly dumb. The writing has been on the wall for a while now with Kawhi. They need to rebuild pretty badly and should've blown things up at last year's TDL and get whatever they could've gotten.

They should've either moved on from BOTH, or kept Paul George. 

If they could ONLY keep one, and were dead-set on that path, I'd suggest PG was the more reliable choice. The problem, I think, is that they formed the current strategy AFTER giving Kawhi his extension, but BEFORE Paul George's time came. 

Personally, I'd have just paid PG and continued to hope they got everyone healthy by the end of one of these seasons. It would have been hard to swallow, but better than where they are today. I swear that team would've worked, had they ever reached the finish line with everyone still in the race.

[KillerLeft]

Highly unlikely imho.

Why do you say that? 

He has been consistently good these past few years. He's not on a level where he can carry a team like Luka or Kawhi, but he's a problem, especially when playing next to a guy like that. 

The problem in Philly, to my mind, is Embiid. He's quite overrated, imho. But, he will take focus off of PG to a point where George can thrive, I think.

[Jym]

Crazy picks situation for the Clippers
They don't outright own any of their own until 2030

They have a chance of keeping their own pick this year if they finish with a better record than the Rockets. OKC can pick which of those teams they want to swap picks with
and the 2029 pick swap to Philly is top 3 protected

[SleepingHero]

Crazy picks situation for the Clippers
They don't outright own any of their own until 2030

They have a chance of keeping their own pick this year if they finish with a better record than the Rockets. OKC can pick which of those teams they want to swap picks with
and the 2029 pick swap to Philly is top 3 protected

It’s eerily reminiscent of the 2013-17 Brooklyn Nets. No hope to improve due to Billy King trading away all the picks for old stars. Those aging oft-injured stars leading the way to a middle of the pack seed with bloated salary.


I just hope they remain good enough so OKC doesn’t get any more 1st picks

[Mavs2021]

Why do you say that? 

He has been consistently good these past few years. He's not on a level where he can carry a team like Luka or Kawhi, but he's a problem, especially when playing next to a guy like that. 

The problem in Philly, to my mind, is Embiid. He's quite overrated, imho. But, he will take focus off of PG to a point where George can thrive, I think.

Consistent is the last word I´d use to describe PG.

For one he has only played over 60 games once in the last five years. He´s injured already and 34 years old. His play-off performances are very up and down, especially his scoring/shooting comes and goes.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Consistent is the last word I´d use to describe PG.

For one he has only played over 60 games once in the last five years. He´s injured already and 34 years old. His play-off performances are very up and down, especially his scoring/shooting comes and goes.

Ya, more like the opposite of consistent.

[KillerLeft]

Consistent is the last word I´d use to describe PG.

For one he has only played over 60 games once in the last five years. He´s injured already and 34 years old. His play-off performances are very up and down, especially his scoring/shooting comes and goes.

I don't know, man. Yes, he has been injury-plagued, but I think that became less of a problem as he went along on this last deal (I suppose it might've been with getting the next deal in mind, we'll see), and when he's out there, I still really like his game, personally. He's still a good defender, three level scorer, facilitator, high basketball-IQ. There's a lot to like. 

Relative to Kawhi Leonard, who I felt at one point was on his way to becoming one of the 10-15 best ever, George's availability seems robust. Maybe it's the relativity of those two that's got me supporting George, Idk. I do think he'll play well for Philly this year, provided he's healthy.