2024-25 NBA Thread: Thunder starting to question having 140 pound guy playing in post in Finals (44 Viewers)

[Tau837]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

 

[Yo Mama]

Tatum and Halliburton game 1 highlights.

x.com

x.com

 

[msudaisy26]

At least we can finally put to rest the Tatum is a top-5 guy in the NBA thing that rattles around in here with the Celtics fans get chipper.

Are we also going to throw Embiid into this argument too?

Tatum's +/- today? 0
Embiid was a -8

Don't hate on Embiid like that!

 

[msudaisy26]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

 

[Tau837]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

Right. It wasn't hockey when the other guy body checked Durant in an obvious non-basketball play, making no play on the ball. And it wouldn't have been hockey if Lebron body checked him on the next possession.

 

[the moops]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

Right. It wasn't hockey when the other guy body checked Durant in an obvious non-basketball play, making no play on the ball. And it wouldn't have been hockey if Lebron body checked him on the next possession.

TikTok - Make Your Day

I'm not seeing anything ridiculous here. Yes, it's a foul, but the other guy got the worst of it, not KD

 

[msudaisy26]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

Right. It wasn't hockey when the other guy body checked Durant in an obvious non-basketball play, making no play on the ball. And it wouldn't have been hockey if Lebron body checked him on the next possession.

Yeah, but you want retaliation and if not the rest of the world will play bully ball against the US. That is hockey.

 

[Tau837]

Durant was coming off injury and the dude made a clear non-basketball play body check on him. I'm surprised no one else shares my reaction to that foul.

 

[Instinctive]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

Right. It wasn't hockey when the other guy body checked Durant in an obvious non-basketball play, making no play on the ball. And it wouldn't have been hockey if Lebron body checked him on the next possession.

Durant was coming off injury and the dude made a clear non-basketball play body check on him. I'm surprised no one else shares my reaction to that foul.

I absolutely agree with you. If Durant was Steve Nash, half the team would have been suspended.

 

[Gr00vus]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

It isn't hockey.

Right. It wasn't hockey when the other guy body checked Durant in an obvious non-basketball play, making no play on the ball. And it wouldn't have been hockey if Lebron body checked him on the next possession.

Durant was coming off injury and the dude made a clear non-basketball play body check on him. I'm surprised no one else shares my reaction to that foul.

I absolutely agree with you. If Durant was Steve Nash, half the team would have been suspended.

Yeah, I was hoping they'd set up a nice surprise back pick on that guy for the next play, with a forearm to the head in the process.

In the end, they won by 26, and Durant went to town on them, I guess that's revenge enough.

 

[offdee]

I like Wade as an announcer

Really? I thought he was terrible. Just talked about himself and how great he is the whole time. And used the dumb he/him pronoun joke on multiple players. Cringey.

 

[Jayrod]

I like Wade as an announcer

Really? I thought he was terrible. Just talked about himself and how great he is the whole time. And used the dumb he/him pronoun joke on multiple players. Cringey.

There was the play vs Serbia where LeBron threw that guy down and then one of the Serbs got smacked in the face by Embiid (ended up being a flagrant) and Embiid pulled him to the ground.

Wade thought the dude was faking it and lauded how great it was that LeBron pushed the other guy down. He's just not a very aware announcer. I catch it from Reggie Miller too, where they just don't actually see or understand what happened but keep talking like they do.

 

[offdee]

I like Wade as an announcer

Really? I thought he was terrible. Just talked about himself and how great he is the whole time. And used the dumb he/him pronoun joke on multiple players. Cringey.

There was the play vs Serbia where LeBron threw that guy down and then one of the Serbs got smacked in the face by Embiid (ended up being a flagrant) and Embiid pulled him to the ground.

Wade thought the dude was faking it and lauded how great it was that LeBron pushed the other guy down. He's just not a very aware announcer. I catch it from Reggie Miller too, where they just don't actually see or understand what happened but keep talking like they do.

Out of nowhere “oh there I see it!” Other announcer, ummmm huh? “A Wade jersey in the crowd!” Uh ok. “You know my name”.

 

[trader jake]

Some underrated things from game 1:
Steph Curry setting back screens.
His shooting gravity draws a crowd, but his willingness (and ability) to set those screens opens up the floor even more. Of course it also opens him up for a defender to simply run into him full speed, like the play where he banged his knee. Overall, Steph's movement is sorely needed on a team with so many one-on-one players.
Jrue Holiday & Devin Booker's perimeter defense.
Jrue (rightfully) gets a lot of credit for his defense, but on this team Booker is able to use more energy on defense and the results showed against Serbia. I think Kerr is wise to start these two with Steph & LeBron.
Derrick White's quick decision making.
Too many times the ball sticks on offense or a defensive hustle play isn't quite made by Team USA. That's just not the case with White and those "glue guy" traits are so important for this squad off the bench.
Kevin Durant's fearlessness.
Kind of a no-brainer after his shooting performance yesterday, but his skillset can be maximized in the Olympic setting. See also: his time in Golden St. Put him in one-on-one situations with a little space and his already great jumper becomes lethal.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I like Wade as an announcer

Really? I thought he was terrible. Just talked about himself and how great he is the whole time. And used the dumb he/him pronoun joke on multiple players. Cringey.

There was the play vs Serbia where LeBron threw that guy down and then one of the Serbs got smacked in the face by Embiid (ended up being a flagrant) and Embiid pulled him to the ground.

Wade thought the dude was faking it and lauded how great it was that LeBron pushed the other guy down. He's just not a very aware announcer. I catch it from Reggie Miller too, where they just don't actually see or understand what happened but keep talking like they do.

Out of nowhere “oh there I see it!” Other announcer, ummmm huh? “A Wade jersey in the crowd!” Uh ok. “You know my name”.

I did find that very strange

 

[Moe.]

Giddey looks fantastic again. There are going to be points over the next few years where that trade looks dumb from the Thunder’s side

 

[the moops]

Giddey looks fantastic again. There are going to be points over the next few years where that trade looks dumb from the Thunder’s side

Looking good in international ball is a far different animal than the NBA. If it wasn't Patty Mills would be all NBA every year and a future hall of famer

 

[Capella]

International basketball legend Carlos Arroyo

 

[Juxtatarot]

Giddey looks fantastic again. There are going to be points over the next few years where that trade looks dumb from the Thunder’s side

Well, he’s not a good off ball player and SGA obviously deserves the ball. He asked to be traded and he’s due for a substantial raise after this season. It’s hard to make the case that they shouldn’t have made the trade.

It will be interesting to see if Giddey can develop even an average 3 point shot. He has a lot of potential if he does.

 

[Moe.]

Giddey looks fantastic again. There are going to be points over the next few years where that trade looks dumb from the Thunder’s side

Looking good in international ball is a far different animal than the NBA. If it wasn't Patty Mills would be all NBA every year and a future hall of famer

Sure, but we’ve already seen Giddey produce at a higher level than anything Mills ever did in the NBA, and he’s 21 and has size. His ceiling is not even in the same ballpark as Mills

 

[the moops]

Giddey looks fantastic again. There are going to be points over the next few years where that trade looks dumb from the Thunder’s side

Looking good in international ball is a far different animal than the NBA. If it wasn't Patty Mills would be all NBA every year and a future hall of famer

Sure, but we’ve already seen Giddey produce at a higher level than anything Mills ever did in the NBA, and he’s 21 and has size. His ceiling is not even in the same ballpark as Mills

NBA champion Patty Mills

 

[GOB]

Josh Diddy if you ask me

 

[Frostillicus]

Japan has now blocked both Wemby and Gobert at the rim in the last 3 minutes in the fourth. Doing some stuff.

 

[Frostillicus]

Crazy game here. 4-point play by France to tie witih 9 seconds left.

 

[Desert_Power]

I like Wade as an announcer

Really? I thought he was terrible. Just talked about himself and how great he is the whole time. And used the dumb he/him pronoun joke on multiple players. Cringey.

There was the play vs Serbia where LeBron threw that guy down and then one of the Serbs got smacked in the face by Embiid (ended up being a flagrant) and Embiid pulled him to the ground.

Wade thought the dude was faking it and lauded how great it was that LeBron pushed the other guy down. He's just not a very aware announcer. I catch it from Reggie Miller too, where they just don't actually see or understand what happened but keep talking like they do.

I thought he was talking about the player that Embiid grabbed faking about having his face grabbed.

(yeah, this was stuck in my posting cache)

 

[Yo Mama]

Crazy game here. 4-point play by France to tie witih 9 seconds left.

That was such a weak foul call. Rui’s ejection was pretty weak too. Home cooking for the French.

Great game regardless.

 

[SWC]

When that Serbian player body checked Durant, I was a bit disappointed that there was no retaliation. I don't mean a punch or something stupid, but just a really hard foul on that guy within the next minute of play. I was thinking, what would Barkley or Malone have done if some opponent did that to Bird or Stockton or Mullin in 1992...

So I was happy to see Lebron throw that guy down later in the game when he got too physical. I suspect the better international teams think they can bully the US some, and I think the US should demonstrate that's not going to work.

there was retaliation both tyrese and tatum put vodoo hexes on the serbian team and kerr saw thier voodoo doll and that is why he benched them for unsportsmanlike voodoo hexing take that to the bank brochacho

 

[Deamon]

Random thought/hypothetical:

How do you guys think NBA teams would do in the olympics? Say... if the Celtics or the Nuggets had a team entered?

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

 

[scoobus]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

 

[Deamon]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

 

[the moops]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

NBA rules or FIBA rules?

There are some really bad NBA teams that team Canada would absolutely wallop. There are a bunch of teams that they would lose against too though. How's that for a non answer!

 

[Grahamburn]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

How many NBA players does Team Canada have? Because an NBA team has only NBA players. <---- Thanks, Captain Obvious.

I've always hated this argument for teams like Alabama in college being able to beat an NFL team too. Not likely.

 

[Capella]

Canada has SGA and Murray so that alone would kill Detroit, Washington and many other scrub teams that I don’t want to think about in the summer.

 

[Capella]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

How many NBA players does Team Canada have? Because an NBA team has only NBA players. <---- Thanks, Captain Obvious.

I've always hated this argument for teams like Alabama in college being able to beat an NFL team too. Not likely.

They have a full rotation of nba guys. Some maybe not very good but the Pistons also have a full rotation of not very good nba guys.

 

[scoobus]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

Well a team like Denver is certainly different than any NBA team. Surely you and your friend don’t think a team with SGA and Murray (and Dort and brooks and Barrett and a host of other nba guys) would be unable to beat teams like Washington and Detroit, to name a few.

 

[Deamon]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

Well a team like Denver is certainly different than any NBA team. Surely you and your friend don’t think a team with SGA and Murray (and Dort and brooks and Barrett and a host of other nba guys) would be unable to beat teams like Washington and Detroit, to name a few.

Ah I see the confusion. When I said "any" nba team I meant like "all nba teams"..... "could they beat any nba team they played against?" would have been a better way to put it.

If they got to keep their team in tact, (not losing murray), I think they probably could beat Denver.... but a team playing together all year surely has that as an advantage too.

 

[Deamon]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

NBA rules or FIBA rules?

There are some really bad NBA teams that team Canada would absolutely wallop. There are a bunch of teams that they would lose against too though. How's that for a non answer!

Hmmm good question. Not sure it matters a ton as Canada is almost all NBA players anyways.

What about a team like Boston or Denver, would they be favourites to win Silver? (I doubt they could beat Team USA, but with their cohesiveness and experience playing together, I wonder how they would do against France, Spain, Germany, Etc.)

 

[Brunell4MVP]

I think what is being asked is if chemistry matters. Because we know any all star team of 5-8 guys is going to have the better talent. The answer in my mind is it does ... like BOS could probably beat Serbia. It would be a good game though. It's not like basketball needs a ton of chemistry when you've played it for 15-20 years, half of the time in pick up games in the hood or switching from AAU/HS team year after year.

It doesn't in football because there are way more guys on the field. The #15 player at OSU is not close to the #15 player on an NFL roster. But when you only need to go 7-8 deep, there's enough talent that chemistry matters.

 

[scoobus]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

Well a team like Denver is certainly different than any NBA team. Surely you and your friend don’t think a team with SGA and Murray (and Dort and brooks and Barrett and a host of other nba guys) would be unable to beat teams like Washington and Detroit, to name a few.

Ah I see the confusion. When I said "any" nba team I meant like "all nba teams"..... "could they beat any nba team they played against?" would have been a better way to put it.

If they got to keep their team in tact, (not losing murray), I think they probably could beat Denver.... but a team playing together all year surely has that as an advantage too.

Gotcha, in that case I don't think so. Even just taking Denver, Canada's biggest weakness by far is their big men, Jokic would absolutely eat them alive.

 

[the moops]

(Me and a buddy were discussing if Team Canada could beat any NBA team)

Wut?

What is so confusing?

Wondering if Canada's national team (who don't play together all year) could beat a team like the Nuggets (with Murray playing for Denver)

NBA rules or FIBA rules?

There are some really bad NBA teams that team Canada would absolutely wallop. There are a bunch of teams that they would lose against too though. How's that for a non answer!

Hmmm good question. Not sure it matters a ton as Canada is almost all NBA players anyways.

What about a team like Boston or Denver, would they be favourites to win Silver? (I doubt they could beat Team USA, but with their cohesiveness and experience playing together, I wonder how they would do against France, Spain, Germany, Etc.)

I think it does matter. The canadian guys are NBA players but also have FIBA experience. NBA teams are made up of NBA players but few if any have FIBA experience.

If FIBA rules, I think a lot of these Olympic teams would fare very well against the best NBA teams.

If NBA rules, I think only the Detroits and Washington's of the world would get trounced

 

[Capella]

It’s going to take a miracle for somebody to beat this team.

 

[Zow]

It’s going to take a miracle for somebody to beat this team.

I mentioned it in the Olympics thread but they looked so good that first half. Everybody playing hard on both sides, ball movement is fantastic, etc.

Really happy for the guys like Bam, White, and Jrue who are not they ultra-superstars the other players are but are clearly all equally impactful players on the team.

 

[Major]

Tatum earning those starter minutes with a whopping 2 points. Top 5 NBA player imo.

 

[Yo Mama]

Sudan has been hunting Curry on D almost every trip down the court.

 

[scoobus]

Steph has been ****ing awful.

 

[Instinctive]

Sudan has been hunting Curry on D almost every trip down the court.

Working super well

 

[Desert_Power]

Sudan has been hunting Curry on D almost every trip down the court.

Working super well

All you can really do. Try to get matched up with the smol guy.

 

[the moops]

Tatum earning those starter minutes with a whopping 2 points. Top 5 NBA player imo.

Starters should be

Jrue, Ant, KD, Lebron, AD

Curry and Tatum have looked awful

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I think what is being asked is if chemistry matters. Because we know any all star team of 5-8 guys is going to have the better talent. The answer in my mind is it does ... like BOS could probably beat Serbia. It would be a good game though. It's not like basketball needs a ton of chemistry when you've played it for 15-20 years, half of the time in pick up games in the hood or switching from AAU/HS team year after year.

It doesn't in football because there are way more guys on the field. The #15 player at OSU is not close to the #15 player on an NFL roster. But when you only need to go 7-8 deep, there's enough talent that chemistry matters.

The usual assumption is that a team of all-stars - thrown together with very limited practice time - won't beat a team of players who've worked together and developed a playing system. This is surely true with sports like football or soccer where even a poor professional team will generally be far superior to the best all-star or national teams in the world. The difference with the current version of basketball - whether NBA or FIBA - is that its not much of a team game anymore and is much more focused on individual players creating plays, so its possible for a group of high-talent guys who've never worked together before to successfully play as a team.

 

[Zow]

I think what is being asked is if chemistry matters. Because we know any all star team of 5-8 guys is going to have the better talent. The answer in my mind is it does ... like BOS could probably beat Serbia. It would be a good game though. It's not like basketball needs a ton of chemistry when you've played it for 15-20 years, half of the time in pick up games in the hood or switching from AAU/HS team year after year.

It doesn't in football because there are way more guys on the field. The #15 player at OSU is not close to the #15 player on an NFL roster. But when you only need to go 7-8 deep, there's enough talent that chemistry matters.

The usual assumption is that a team of all-stars - thrown together with very limited practice time - won't beat a team of players who've worked together and developed a playing system. This is surely true with sports like football or soccer where even a poor professional team will generally be far superior to the best all-star or national teams in the world. The difference with the current version of basketball - whether NBA or FIBA - is that its not much of a team game anymore and is much more focused on individual players creating plays, so its possible for a group of high-talent guys who've never worked together before to successfully play as a team.

I don't disagree, but I've frankly been impressed by the ball movement in the games I've watched so far - especially with Team USA (sans Curry on occasion when it's clear he just wants to shoot).