NBA (whenever)...

[the AntiPusher]

I remember when teams used to bring in specific players to target specific deficiencies against specific teams, like Bulls getting Rodman to rebound and defend against the Jazz, for the most part . Now the issue is who do you bring in against the Alien, if you are OKC. I see OKC and Spurs going at it for the next 5-6 years as they are both young teams. Giannis is great but it does not solve that problem and I am not sure if he is the right player for OKC. They have a great chemistry as it is. And G is much older and injury prone.
Let's see how this series go.
By the way, I am on the camp that believes OKC did a decent job on Wemby in game one tactically. If the game ended in regulation and say OKC won by a point or two, one could have lived with Wemby's numbers up to that point. 27 points, 9 out of 19 field goals, a couple of assists, 17 rebounds, no 3s made. . I would take that any day. The tactic did not help much with the rebounding but that can be managed somewhat with some adjustments.

On another note I feel bad for the Beard. When the other team's main tactic becomes attacking you as the weakest link, that must hurt.

Harden survived the curse of the Kardashian women, he will be Aight.

 

[Murat B.]

How good has Caruso been for OKC? What were the Lakers thinking?

 

[kskate2]

How good has Caruso been for OKC? What were the Lakers thinking?

I don't know what they were thinking, but I do not like him. He's one of those annoying players always buzzing around like a fly. Where's my swatter when I need it?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Holy shit, the refereeing discourse is out of control. These two games have been some of the best basketball we've ever witnessed and all the talk is about officiating. Same thing is happening in soccer. Social media discourse is actively influencing games/broadcasts. Reggie Miller acting outraged that Hartenstein was pulling Wemby is nuts (the hair pull on Castle the other hand was a shameful play by Hart, who otherwise had an amazing game). All the physically imposing players get fouled a lot and some of it won't get called. Shaq, Lebron, Wemby, etc... The broadcast actually focusing on that, with replays to boot, was honestly excessive. Does Reggie think Shai gets denied the ball through Castle's sheer will power? He's getting held all the time and he has to wrestle his way out of it. Same goes for Wemby but in a different way. Everyone has been clamoring for physically defense and real playoff basketball and now that we're getting it it's been nothing but complaints.

Just a reminder that Wemby elbowed someone in the face and he was treated like a conquering hero on his return. I get everyone is excited and eager to see him win, and he will, very potentially as early as this season, but we need to calm down. Because once he does, he's going to get hated on A LOT.

 

[Federberg]

Holy shit, the refereeing discourse is out of control. These two games have been some of the best basketball we've ever witnessed and all the talk is about officiating. Same thing is happening in soccer. Social media discourse is actively influencing games/broadcasts. Reggie Miller acting outraged that Hartenstein was pulling Wemby is nuts (the hair pull on Castle the other hand was a shameful play by Hart, who otherwise had an amazing game). All the physically imposing players get fouled a lot and some of it won't get called. Shaq, Lebron, Wemby, etc... The broadcast actually focusing on that, with replays to boot, was honestly excessive. Does Reggie think Shai gets denied the ball through Castle's sheer will power? He's getting held all the time and he has to wrestle his way out of it. Same goes for Wemby but in a different way. Everyone has been clamoring for physically defense and real playoff basketball and now that we're getting it it's been nothing but complaints.

Just a reminder that Wemby elbowed someone in the face and he was treated like a conquering hero on his return. I get everyone is excited and eager to see him win, and he will, very potentially as early as this season, but we need to calm down. Because once he does, he's going to get hated on A LOT.

I watched SGA being blocked and that looked like honest face to face physicality.

Some of what Hartenstein was doing, almost applying an arm bar, looked dangerous.

Chet intentionally standing on Wemby's foot to prevent him from rebounding?

I'm not saying the Spurs were saints. But... and I'll keep saying it over and over again.... these OKC guys do dark things (don't get me started on Dort), that could actually hurt someone, and if that wasn't bad enough, the thing that sets me off is that SGA flops if you breathe on him. This is the thing some people (not talking about you) either don't seem to get or are wilfully blind to. If it was just spiteful physicality on defence but ethical hoops on offence that's one thing. But these guys are doing BOTH! At the same time! It's seriously annoying.

Wondering how Wemby will deal with it in the next game. He'll have to figure out a counter

 

[Federberg]

This… please no one tell me SGA needed to flop on these shots. Totally unnecessary and it’s why he’ll get perceived as a Harden-type who just has big game balls

 

[brokenshoelace]

I watched SGA being blocked and that looked like honest face to face physicality.

Some of what Hartenstein was doing, almost applying an arm bar, looked dangerous.

Chet intentionally standing on Wemby's foot to prevent him from rebounding?

I'm not saying the Spurs were saints. But... and I'll keep saying it over and over again.... these OKC guys do dark things (don't get me started on Dort), that could actually hurt someone, and if that wasn't bad enough, the thing that sets me off is that SGA flops if you breathe on him. This is the thing some people (not talking about you) either don't seem to get or are wilfully blind to. If it was just spiteful physicality on defence but ethical hoops on offence that's one thing. But these guys are doing BOTH! At the same time! It's seriously annoying.

Wondering how Wemby will deal with it in the next game. He'll have to figure out a counter

I really wouldn't label anything Hartenstein did as dangerous. Certainly no more dangerous than this (which I wouldn't call particularly dangerous either).



Here's Wemby holding Chet in game 1:



This stuff happens all the time. I don't expect it to be called nor do I want it to be. And we can't call for physical basketball then be upset with this stuff especially when it's not being ref'd one sidedly.

But speaking of dangerous, how about this?



Yeah, he's diving for a loose ball. He also knows the risks when you're a 7'5 guy going down into a traffic of legs there. Players have gotten injured on similar plays enough to where everyone is aware of the risk. Competitive, heat of the moment, diving for a loose ball...all true, doesn't make it any less reckless.



Re: SGA not getting fouled:



Literally all of these are fouls (please ignore the dumb voice over. I don't know who this guy even is. I just want you to look at the clips), except the Barnes one on Joe. That was a clear flop. You just don't see them cause your algorithm is anti-OKC, while mine is pro-OKC. Neither one of us has the high ground here. There's obviously mutual bias in how these things are presented. I'm just saying we need to pump the breaks on the silliness when so much great basketball is being played.

No doubt that Shai flopped on a lot of the clips you showed in your video. But he also only went to the line 6 times, and there's a LOT of shit not getting called including a crucial no call on Castle in game 1 that arguably cost OKC the game.

My point is this easily cuts both ways. I realize we can nit pick the nuances but the general idea is that we've just watched two back to back tremendous games with little refereeing controversy and yet it's all everyone, including the incompetent broadcast was talking about/alluding to.

And here we are, talking about refereeing

 

[the AntiPusher]

I think it would be a serious over reaction on Chet. He's facing an alien. Against just about everyone else he's pretty nice. He's young, has room to grow, as great as Giannis is, I'm really not sure it's worth the bother for OKC. They have a wonderful team dynamic

Chet is 7’1 and is on a max contract ..

 

[Federberg]

I really wouldn't label anything Hartenstein did as dangerous. Certainly no more dangerous than this (which I wouldn't call particularly dangerous either).



Here's Wemby holding Chet in game 1:



This stuff happens all the time. I don't expect it to be called nor do I want it to be. And we can't call for physical basketball then be upset with this stuff especially when it's not being ref'd one sidedly.

But speaking of dangerous, how about this?



Yeah, he's diving for a loose ball. He also knows the risks when you're a 7'5 guy going down into a traffic of legs there. Players have gotten injured on similar plays enough to where everyone is aware of the risk. Competitive, heat of the moment, diving for a loose ball...all true, doesn't make it any less reckless.



Re: SGA not getting fouled:



Literally all of these are fouls (please ignore the dumb voice over. I don't know who this guy even is. I just want you to look at the clips), except the Barnes one on Joe. That was a clear flop. You just don't see them cause your algorithm is anti-OKC, while mine is pro-OKC. Neither one of us has the high ground here. There's obviously mutual bias in how these things are presented. I'm just saying we need to pump the breaks on the silliness when so much great basketball is being played.

No doubt that Shai flopped on a lot of the clips you showed in your video. But he also only went to the line 6 times, and there's a LOT of shit not getting called including a crucial no call on Castle in game 1 that arguably cost OKC the game.

My point is this easily cuts both ways. I realize we can nit pick the nuances but the general idea is that we've just watched two back to back tremendous games with little refereeing controversy and yet it's all everyone, including the incompetent broadcast was talking about/alluding to.

And here we are, talking about refereeing

as I said I don't think the Spurs are saints. I'm far from a Spurs fan. The holding on SGA is par for the course. I'm a Warriors fan, this is what we see every single game. Not saying it's right. That's one type of thing, it's quite another when you're actively doing things that might injure the opposition player. And I'm not giving Wemby a pass, far from it! But what I saw in this game was a deliberate strategy. I'll find you some clips if I have a moment. As for SGA getting fouled sometimes, of course he does. But look again at the flops I showed you.. .no contact or he makes the contact then flops. If you like that kind of stuff then fine. But it's not for me

Again... and I can't stress this enough. It's the combination of dark arts on one side and SGA marginal contact flopping that's pissing me off. So I'm not sure if there's much utility in showing a few clips. If we can't even admit that's what OKC are doing then what's the point?

 

[brokenshoelace]

as I said I don't think the Spurs are saints. I'm far from a Spurs fan. The holding on SGA is par for the course. I'm a Warriors fan, this is what we see every single game. Not saying it's right. That's one type of thing, it's quite another when you're actively doing things that might injure the opposition player. And I'm not giving Wemby a pass, far from it! But what I saw in this game was a deliberate strategy. I'll find you some clips if I have a moment. As for SGA getting fouled sometimes, of course he does. But look again at the flops I showed you.. .no contact or he makes the contact then flops. If you like that kind of stuff then fine. But it's not for me

Again... and I can't stress this enough. It's the combination of dark arts on one side and SGA marginal contact flopping that's pissing me off. So I'm not sure if there's much utility in showing a few clips. If we can't even admit that's what OKC are doing then what's the point?

It's not about admitting or denying. There can be no denying. It's about how ridiculous that this has become the main discourse when this hasn't even been a top 5 deciding factor in this series so far, and when the level of basketball itself is spectacular. I just find the talk about refereeing to be tiresome, especially for someone who's been watching long enough to see the the Lakers rob both Portland and Sacramento in the early 2000's.

 

[Federberg]

Interesting!

 

[Federberg]

It's not about admitting or denying. There can be no denying. It's about how ridiculous that this has become the main discourse when this hasn't even been a top 5 deciding factor in this series so far, and when the level of basketball itself is spectacular. I just find the talk about refereeing to be tiresome, especially for someone who's been watching long enough to see the the Lakers rob both Portland and Sacramento in the early 2000's.

Well I’m glad there’s no denying. Not even sure I mentioned the refs. My point is that OKC seem to be somewhat unique. They’re finessing the game. Yes we can find fault with officiating but my point is that they’re hard to like

 

[Federberg]

lol! I remember when this happened. Didn’t have access to replay so I naturally cursed Barnes. Moment I saw him playing I realised SAS would have a tough night.

Harrison… my bad bro! I apologise

 

[DarthFed]

Interesting!

While he makes some good points it’s funny hearing him call the Cavs underachievers LeBron’s last two seasons there since they didn’t make the finals. That kind of exposes his bias there as he is acting like that roster was decent aside from LeBron. And also the 2018-19 Cavs…lmao at Thompson and a washed up mentally ill Love missing games being the reason they sucked.

How were all the teams he played on doing before he got there and after he left? Sometimes a spade is a spade. His impact on making every team an automatic contender until his late 30’s tells you all you need to know.