NBA

[OrlandoDon]

Haven’t seen an NBA thread so figured why not!

Big Laker fan, lived in LA when Shaq and Kobe dominated, and when it was Kobe and Pau. Not into American sports, football, hockey, baseball, even MLS, but the NBA can be pretty entertaining. 
lakers had real momentum but that kills losing Luca and Reeves, season over. They were keeping me enthused with the dons being shit.

wemby vs Shay should be an NBA finals match up, don’t like the east west format, although with Tatum back the Celtics are pretty decent, as are Detroit is Cade comes back healthy. 

[Jute]

I watch a bit of NBA and been to Golden State games a few times in the old stadium in Oakland and once in new stadium in San Francisco. 
 

Got into it watching Larry Birds’s Boston team in 80s.

More recently been lucky enough to see Warrior team with Steph Curry and Clay Thompson but Warriors this season have been poor and Steph isn’t getting any younger. 

[OrlandoDon]

27 minutes ago, Jute said:

I watch a bit of NBA and been to Golden State games a few times in the old stadium in Oakland and once in new stadium in San Francisco. 
 

Got into it watching Larry Birds’s Boston team in 80s.

More recently been lucky enough to see Warrior team with Steph Curry and Clay Thompson but Warriors this season have been poor and Steph isn’t getting any younger. 

I watched it in Scotland in the late 80s I think, we started to get nba games on Chanel 4 maybe? Got here in 95 so got the end of Jordan, Pippen, and the bulls, the Houston team, Knicks and Ewing etc., Barkley, basically when it was better bball. Now it’s a little soft, diff type of game, but entertaining all the same.

golden state were fun with Klay and Curry in their prime, it’s the thunder and spurs that are top dogs these days, good young players.

[Jute]

Enjoy watching Wembanyana at Spurs, Jokic at Denver and Doncic even though he is at the Lakers. 
 

Seems to be a few teams in rebuild mode this season and possibly tanking for draft positions. Something that I don’t like in US sport. See in in the Hockey and NFL as well. 

[OrlandoDon]

The nba is pretty good at the moment, no longer LeBron, Steph, and kawhi Leonard, wemby, joker, Tatum, shai, Cade cunningham, good young players, plus Luca doncic obviously in LA.
Agree on the ranking though, hate that side of it and there’s talk of rule changes in regards to how that plays out in relation to the bottom teams and the draft.

[LuanaMiller]

I still enjoy the NBA but I do miss the edge and rivalry from the older era. Felt like every big game in the 90s turned into a war. Knicks vs Heat, Bulls vs Pistons, proper hatred between teams. Modern game is obviously more skilled overall and the shooting level is ridiculous now, but sometimes it feels a bit too friendly and whistle-heavy.

Wemby is just absurd though, genuinely looks like a create-a-player at times. Him and Shai are probably the future of the league if they stay healthy. Jokic is still my favourite to watch though purely because he plays basketball like someone controlling the game in slow motion while everyone else panics around him.

Agree completely on tanking too. It’s one thing rebuilding naturally, but actively losing for draft odds always feels wrong no matter the sport.

[OrlandoDon]

14 hours ago, LuanaMiller said:

I still enjoy the NBA but I do miss the edge and rivalry from the older era. Felt like every big game in the 90s turned into a war. Knicks vs Heat, Bulls vs Pistons, proper hatred between teams. Modern game is obviously more skilled overall and the shooting level is ridiculous now, but sometimes it feels a bit too friendly and whistle-heavy.

Wemby is just absurd though, genuinely looks like a create-a-player at times. Him and Shai are probably the future of the league if they stay healthy. Jokic is still my favourite to watch though purely because he plays basketball like someone controlling the game in slow motion while everyone else panics around him.

Agree completely on tanking too. It’s one thing rebuilding naturally, but actively losing for draft odds always feels wrong no matter the sport.

Absolutely. I moved here in the late 90s and the NBA was a competitive league. Teams hated each other, players were not friends. A little bit of nastiness was a good thing. Not unlike the SPL a few years ago. You definitely had flair players surrounded by the muscle.
i lived in LA and loved the way Kobe played. He was a very competitive guy, not a friendly guy either. Loved the Lakers rivalry with the kings in the early 2000s, it definitely had a nastiness to it, players like ron artest and Matt Barnes too, they weren’t afraid to mix it up.

the league is entertainment now, plus contact is a foul most of the time. All rather nice now.

Not a big fan of SGA, too much of a flopper, but I do like wemby, big time player and only getting better. Hope he stays healthy. Like you, joker is one of my favorites, hoping the lakers get to pair doncic with him in the future!

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[Jute]

Think Thunder are winning Western conference seem miles ahead of rest. East is tougher to call. Surprised Boston were beaten by 76ers. 

[OrlandoDon]

1 hour ago, Jute said:

Think Thunder are winning Western conference seem miles ahead of rest. East is tougher to call. Surprised Boston were beaten by 76ers. 

Boston losing was a surprise, but Tatum was injured again and missed games.

the spurs and thunder are a step or more ahead of everyone. Think the spurs have a higher upside and will be the best team in the nba soon enough, but not this year. Thunder are defending champions for a reason, plus I’m not sure wemby can stay healthy for an nba western finals series, 7 games in a short period of time is demanding. 

Detroit are a gritty team, I see them coming out of the east. Cade Cunningham is a stud, hard to beat his team over 7 games. Although saying that, the magic should have beaten them! Whoever wins the west wins the whole thing.

[LuanaMiller]

22 hours ago, LuanaMiller said:

I still enjoy the NBA but I do miss the edge and rivalry from the older era. Felt like every big game in the 90s turned into a war. Knicks vs Heat, Bulls vs Pistons, proper hatred between teams. Modern game is obviously more skilled overall and the shooting level is ridiculous now, but sometimes it feels a bit too friendly and whistle-heavy.

Wemby is just absurd though, genuinely looks like a create-a-player at times. Him and Shai are probably the future of the league if they stay healthy. Jokic is still my favourite to watch though purely because he plays basketball like someone controlling the game in slow motion while everyone else panics around him.
 

Agree completely on tanking too. Loot Casino provides nonstop action with loot-casino.uk entertaining challenges and exciting rewards. It’s one thing rebuilding naturally, but actively losing for draft odds always feels wrong no matter the sport.

Even now, when the games actually matter, you start seeing a bit more edge and intensity again. Not quite 90s level where teams looked like they genuinely despised each other, but definitely closer. The Thunder look terrifyingly complete to me though. SGA gets criticism for the foul hunting but he controls the tempo ridiculously well and they defend harder than most modern teams.

Agree on Wemby’s health being the big question. Talent-wise he could dominate the league for years, but that frame over an 82 game season plus playoffs is a lot. Jokic still feels like the most unstoppable player overall because he dictates everything without needing athleticism. Watching him dismantle defenses is ridiculous. Feels like he’s always three passes ahead of everyone else.