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2018-19 NBA Thread: Magic Johnson leaves Lakers in order to pursue other jobs to be completely terrible at (1 Viewer)

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The Hawks may win <20 games this year.
and the Bucks may win 55+. for some reason when i was thinking of the top 8 teams by the end of the year, they kept slipping down and down a bit. i think i was underestimating Buldenhozer

 
took me a second to remember why the name Ekpe Udoh sounded familiar.  I didn't know he was still in the league. 

 
Some way-too-early Nets observations: they've improved substantially, just in time to ruin their lotto odds. Amazing.

This summer, a lot of Brooklyn players were saying Caris LeVert was poised for a breakout year. Sure enough, he scored a career high 27 points in the season opener, and followed it up with 28 points tonight. Was really hoping to get him in fantasy, @Moe.  :angry:  

So far, one of Sean Marks' best moves as GM has been trading 26 games of Bojan Bogdanovic to the Wizards for a first round pick (used to take Jarrett Allen). Dude is already an elite shot blocker and is averaging 16/10.5/4 at 20 years old.  :wub:

Brooklyn's recent second round pick (Kurucs) might be better than their first round pick (Musa).

 
It's never too early to note how poor the officiating is in this league. I don't know how these refs aren't embarrassed to be so inept.

 
Warriors sleep walk through the first half, give up 81, and still win.  Jazz with only 42 in the second half... not gonna get it done.

 
bagley and jjj looked spry and aren’t starting yet.  i love the “veteran” presence BS coaches give.  jaymichal, there’s a chair.  nemanja, sit there, next to iman.  seems logical.

 
The way the Warriors were celebrating you'd think this was a bigger deal than winning the championship. Whatever it takes to get rid of the malaise of winning too much.
I thought it was a cool moment knowing that Utah didn't want Jerebko back and he won the game against them.

 
Simmons out and Fultz still doesn’t just try to take over like a #1 pick should. And if McConnell is playing over you in the 4th, something isn’t right. 

 
Joker - 35pts in 31 min. 11-11 FG 3-3 3pt . 10-11 FT . 12 RB. 11 A. 1 Blks. 4 STL.  0 Turnovers 

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good

 
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Rondo and Ingram will not be seen on a basketball court for a while. Paul claims he was spit on - but  looks like he'll be sitting out a while as well.

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
Simmons out and Fultz still doesn’t just try to take over like a #1 pick should. And if McConnell is playing over you in the 4th, something isn’t right. 
Was at the game tonight.  Fultz just couldn't get anything to fall. Actually played pretty well, but nothing was falling.  Even missed a wide open lay up.  Ugh. 

 
In an era where bigs can be had cheap it is malpractice that the Lakers only have J. McGee down low.  

No shooting + No rim protection = No chance.

 
Lakers are gonna be bad this year, real bad. From a betting perspective, there will be a lot of money to be made because the public isn't going to catch on right away...

 
Was at the game tonight.  Fultz just couldn't get anything to fall. Actually played pretty well, but nothing was falling.  Even missed a wide open lay up.  Ugh. 
I feel like he just needs to play and be allowed to run the offense more. Too often he is passing it off early in the clock and running to the corner or opposite side of the ball. 

If he is a starter, treat him like one  he should have been running the O in the 4th.  Or have him lead the second unit and start reddick.  This half assed rotation is hurting Fultz and the team  

 
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I feel like he just needs to play and be allowed to run the offense more. Too often he is passing it off early in the clock and running to the corner or opposite side of the ball. 

If he is a starter, treat him like one  he should have been running the O in the 4th.  Or have him lead the second unit and start reddick.  This half assed rotation is hurting Fultz and the team  
Exactly this. He seems scared to screw up out there.  Brings the ball up confidently, passes confidently, but you can tell he's in his own head out there. 

 
I have no idea but I kind of thought that they may not make the playoffs before the year and these two games have only solidified that. 
I don't think a sample of only two games can solidify anything.  Making the playoffs in the NBA isn't difficult.

 
I have no idea but I kind of thought that they may not make the playoffs before the year and these two games have only solidified that. 
You kinda addressed what I was going to bring up in the next couple of posts.  Last season—the Nuggets missed the playoffs going 46-36.   I do think the Lakers will make the playoffs—but the reason why I responded to Stuart—is that he claimed that they are going to be “really bad” this year.  In 2 games—I saw a completely brand new team with only a few games of chemistry under their belt play very compettive against 2 really good teams  for 40 plus minutes each of those games.  The Lakers were 3 and 3.5 point underdogs in their first 2 games—so it’s not like them going 0-2 is a surprise . Portland at home is one of the toughest places to play.  The Rockets are also a very solid team that has far more chemistry than the Lakers.  I would not gauge how good the Lakers are until maybe the 15th-20th game of the season.   They have done about what I’ve expected them to do in their first two games.  They’ve competed against 2 really solid teams for 80% of a game and the lack of chemistry allowed both of their opponents to pull away in the last 7-8 minutes.  I haven’t seen the train wreck that some of the people in here seem to be claiming. 

 
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You kinda addressed what I was going to bring up in the next couple of posts.  Last season—the Nuggets missed the playoffs going 46-36.   I do think the Lakers will make the playoffs—but the reason why I responded to Stuart—is that he claimed that they are going to be “really bad” this year.  In 2 games—I saw a completely brand new team with only a few games of chemistry under their belt play very compettive against 2 really good teams  for 40 plus minutes each of those games.  The Lakers were 3 and 3.5 point underdogs in their first 2 games—so it’s not like them going 0-2 is a surprise . Portland at home is one of the toughest places to play.  The Rockets are also a very solid team that has far more chemistry than the Lakers.  I would not gauge how good the Lakers are until maybe the 15th-20th game of the season.   They have done about what I’ve expected them to do in their first two games.  They’ve competed against 2 really solid teams for 80% of a game and the lack of chemistry allowed both of their opponents to pull away in the last 7-8 minutes.  I haven’t seen the train wreck that some of the people in here seem to be claiming. 
they got into a fist fight on the court (just seeing the aftermath, so maybe it was different on the court). Really setting the bar low saying all this is fine, and it is normal for team to feel the need to throw down. I am sure they will spin it as some great chemistry bonding thing, but guess we will all see

 
they got into a fist fight on the court (just seeing the aftermath, so maybe it was different on the court). Really setting the bar low saying all this is fine, and it is normal for team to feel the need to throw down. I am sure they will spin it as some great chemistry bonding thing, but guess we will all see
Rondo threw a punch because Chris Paul basically stuck his fingers in Rondo's eyes.

 
they got into a fist fight on the court (just seeing the aftermath, so maybe it was different on the court). Really setting the bar low saying all this is fine, and it is normal for team to feel the need to throw down. I am sure they will spin it as some great chemistry bonding thing, but guess we will all see
They got into a fist fight?  CP3 nearly gouged Rondo’s eye out—what is he supposed to do—just sit there and take it?  This was shortly after Ennis clotheslined Josh Hart and miraculously only got a flagrant 1 for it.  For a new team with a lot of new players—I absolutely love that the Lakers players showed some fight.   One thing Luke Walton has always preached to his team is standing up for teammates and creating a culture.   The motivation of the Lakers is not to be a contender this season.  Their motivation is about developing some chemistry, developing their young players,  and to create a culture where they are in a position to succeed starting next season.   Look at Portlands home record from last season and Houstons road record from last season.   They were expected to lose both games—and frankly—they looked pretty dang good for the vast majority of both games.  I get that a lot of people in here hate Lebron and want to create a narrative where the Lakers are playing like an absolute dumpster fire—but that’s just not true.  

 
fight recap from The Athletic  (long)

LOS ANGELES – More than an hour had passed since the last punches were thrown on the Staples Center floor, and all the leading experts on NBA fisticuffs had departed for the night.

Charles Oakley, on hand to see fellow Ohio native LeBron James make his Staples Center debut against Houston, weighed in on the midcourt melee between Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo that stole the show before disappearing into the night.

“You walk up on somebody, you’d better be ready to fight,” Oakley told The Athletic. “That’s what they always told me. I know Chris and Rondo, and they’re feisty guys, so #### happens.”

Ditto for Metta World Peace, the former Laker of “Malice at the Palace” infamy who came by press row in the aftermath to joke with reporters about how they were starting trouble. And then there was Floyd Mayweather, the prize fighter who was sitting at midcourt when Paul started spreading the word that an alleged spit from Rondo had sparked all this fury.

But when 11 p.m. arrived on the loading dock inside this storied arena, the tension remained. There were cars of the most luxurious kind all around, with police officers stationed on the perimeter and red-coated security guards also keeping watch.

There were Lakers players coming and going – some who had been involved in the fight (Brandon Ingram) and others who were not (Lance Stephenson, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart among them). There was Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy of BDA Sports, monitoring the scene after his accused client had already departed. And there was Paul, in a red Winston-Salem State University sweater and black glasses, sitting on the back of a golf cart with his wife while waiting for their black Chevy Suburban to arrive.

For nearly a half hour, he sat there taking visitors. His new Rockets teammate, Carmelo Anthony, came by and was quickly followed by their other Banana Boat buddy, LeBron, repping the Dodgers in a personalized cap, before he left in a white Maybach.

Each player had his view on what was a sudden and explosive altercation near the end of a celebratory night. So, too, no doubt, did the NBA’s resident enforcer of discipline, vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, who was also on hand for the game.

With the Rockets set to play at the Clippers on Sunday, VanDeWeghe will have to study the security tape and consult with his staff before deciding on the forthcoming discipline.

What he sees will determine the severity of the punishment for the brawl’s most active participants – Paul, Rondo and Ingram.

The Athletic collected several other views as well. Lakers writer Bill Oram, Rockets writer Kelly Iko, NBA insider Shams Charania and fellow Los Angeles writer Jovan Buha were also all in attendance and contributed to this report.

This is what those who were part of it saw.

Carmelo Anthony, Rockets forward: It was bull####. Plain and simple. Unacceptable.

JaVale McGee, Lakers center: I didn’t see it personally, but I just saw it like everybody else saw it — on Instagram.

Mike D’Antoni, Rockets coach: I saw it from a distance, I wasn’t getting into that. I had glasses on. I couldn’t go in there.

P.J. Tucker, Rockets forward: It’s crazy. Situations get out of hand, and that’s fine. They get testy – that’s fine. But you start swinging and going wild, stuff starts happening, doing disrespectful stuff, and that’s when stuff gets to another level.

Tension had been building since early in the game. Harden received a technical foul in the second quarter after bumping Lance Stephenson after the Lakers swingman, a famed instigator in his own right, scored his third of three straight baskets. On another Rockets possession, Paul sent Rondo sprawling on his backside after driving hard from the right and seemed to celebrate his own strength afterward by flexing – twice – before mimicking push-ups as he ran the other way. But the Lakers pointed to a different play in the fourth quarter as precipitating the eventual melee.

Luke Walton: The clothesline, like three minutes prior to that. I saw that and I have zero idea how that’s a flagrant 1. … He clotheslined our guy, he picked him up off his feet and slammed him on his back. It was a flagrant 1. That is, to me, if I’m a player or teammate, ‘If that’s only a flagrant 1, then we can play a little more physical.’ I didn’t sense anything too crazy besides our guys were a little irritated that that happened and wasn’t penalized more.

The play Walton was referencing came with 9:47 remaining in the game. Lakers guard Josh Hart tried to cross over Rockets forward James Ennis III for a layup. Ennis fouled Hart across the chest flipping him onto his back.

Josh Hart: I was just clotheslined. I don’t really know what else you want me to say.

Officials reviewed the play, eventually ruling it a flagrant 1. A flagrant 2 would have resulted in an automatic ejection. The Lakers trailed 103-97 after the hard foul, but climbed back to pull within one four minutes later.

Hart: Whenever you have something that’s not a basketball play, you know sometimes tensions flare. I think that definitely aided to some things.

Kyle Kuzma, Lakers forward: We got a little bit of momentum from (the flagrant), but didn’t really do enough.

McGee: I feel like that motivated us to even go harder. Josh Hart is one of the toughest guys on the team, he got knocked down with a flagrant 1 and got right up. It didn’t take the sweat off his brow.

The Lakers trailed 109-108 when LeBron James missed a six-foot hook shot, and James Harden grabbed the rebound. He went coast-to-coast, colliding with Lakers forward Brandon Ingram. Harden flailed after the contact, and Ingram was whistled for his fourth foul.

Lance Stephenson, Lakers guard: I think (the Rockets) was picking on him. That’s why I tried to grab him as quickly as possible and tell him, ‘Hey don’t fall for the trick.’ And um, I guess we fell for it.

Visibly frustrated by the call, Ingram turned from the basket and shoved Harden. When referee Jason Phillips tried to intervene, the typically mild-mannered Ingram appeared to berate the veteran referee.

McGee: He’s usually quiet, but I mean, you poke a bear, bound to get bit.

LeBron James, Lakers forward: I’m learning everyone around here. That’s all part of it. I love B.I. and in my small time with him so far, I am with him throughout whatever.

Stephenson: Nobody really wanna fight. I felt like the other team was trying to provoke us, and we fell for it. But nobody really wanna fight. We just want to play hard and win the game.

James: I don’t know about provoking and all that. We just want to play basketball.

Lonzo Ball, Lakers guard: He’s a tough dude. So obviously something happened.

Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul, two of the fieriest point guards in the NBA, both ran in to help break up the escalating kerfuffle. The two veteran point guards have history themselves.

Rondo and Paul proceeded to have a heated discussion. Sources told The Athletic that Paul was adamant Rondo had spit in his face before he proceeded to poke the Lakers point guard in the eye.

Anthony: You don’t do that. You don’t do that to nobody. In sports, on the streets, that’s blatant disrespectful. That’s unacceptable.

P.J. Tucker, Rockets forward: You’re a grown man. If somebody spit on you, it’s crazy. It’s over (at that point). There ain’t nothing else to talk about. Nothing else to talk about. That’s just the ultimate disrespect. Not even swinging (is worse). Spitting on somebody is the ultimate.

Paul wiped his face as the two stood face to face. A source close to Rondo, meanwhile, was adamant that Rondo had not spit on Paul.

Lonzo Ball: I didn’t see that. I saw Chris Paul touch his face then go from there.

Stephenson: I gotta look at the replay. I didn’t see that or hear that.

James Harden, Rockets guard: As a man, all you can do is react and stand up for yourself. So we’ll see how it play out. But it is what it is.

Rondo threw three punches, landing two of them. Paul responded with an uppercut of his own.

Ingram, who had been pulled to center court, sprinted back into the fracas. Video showed him throwing a punch into a crowd that included Paul, Rondo and Tucker.

Walton: I didn’t see it happening. I saw them get into it but the refs were there. I thought at that point, it was broken up. I started to get into my board to think about what play we wanted to run, if we were going to make substitutions or things like that. And I looked back up and there was mayhem going on. I didn’t see how the whole thing escalated.

Harden: I got pushed in the back. I looked and CP and Rondo kind of laughed it off so I turned my head and walked away. So I kind of didn’t see what happened.

The drama extended beyond the court. A heated Paul told teammates and coaches in the locker room afterward that Rondo’s girlfriend had sparked a verbal confrontation with Chris’ wife in the stands, according to sources.

Tucker: We’re all grown men. That’s where it should be (left, on the court), unless somebody gets disrespected in the kind of way where they feel like it was taken further, then it is what it is.

Stephenson: I felt like (Paul) shouldn’t have put his hand in Rondo’s face. ‘Cause you hit somebody in the face, you know what’s gonna happen after that.

Kuzma: (Rondo’s) just a competitive guy. He goes out and gets it every single night and emotion got the best of him. But at the same time that’s gonna happen.

Anthony wrapped Ingram in a bear hug and pulled him away, while Ball and Stephenson helped shepherd him to the far end of the court.

Ball: My job was just to get him out of there before he got the tech.

Kuzma: There’s definitely a time and place, but at the end of the day I’d rather see a guy with some fight in him.

McGee: Unfortunately it means somebody’s probably going to get suspended. We need all our players, especially Rondo. He’s one of the vocal leaders and the leaders on the team who really jells and keeps us together, so that’s going to be unfortunate.

D’Antoni: The NBA will sort it out, it was some heated stuff. I’m sure some spit was thrown and when you cross the line it happens.

Harden: Once they come out with it, maybe we don’t agree. But we’ll move on from there. Chris had to stand up for himself. It is what it is.

Oakley: They ain’t gonna do nothing. It’s a different league now. A soft league. And the people who run the league are soft.

Bill Oram, Kelly Iko, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha contributed to this story.
 
They got into a fist fight?  CP3 nearly gouged Rondo’s eye out—what is he supposed to do—just sit there and take it?  This was shortly after Ennis clotheslined Josh Hart and miraculously only got a flagrant 1 for it.  For a new team with a lot of new players—I absolutely love that the Lakers players showed some fight.   One thing Luke Walton has always preached to his team is standing up for teammates and creating a culture.   The motivation of the Lakers is not to be a contender this season.  Their motivation is about developing some chemistry, developing their young players,  and to create a culture where they are in a position to succeed starting next season.   Look at Portlands home record from last season and Houstons road record from last season.   They were expected to lose both games—and frankly—they looked pretty dang good for the vast majority of both games.  I get that a lot of people in here hate Lebron and want to create a narrative where the Lakers are playing like an absolute dumpster fire—but that’s just not true.  
Punting a season with LBJ at this stage of his career just isn't very smart.  And give me poise over chemistry all day every day.  These guys have played with a new set of teammates every year n their formative years.  If they know the game they can adapt to knew teammates.  

 
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