I think the bigger problem with the "award the best pick to the worst team" is that teams like the Clippers, Warriors and Timberwolves get routinely the high picks, yet don't do anything with it.
Clippers and Warriors yes. The Timberwolves have had the worst luck of any team in the lottery. They never get the #1 pick. They almost always seem to end up with the pick that is one past where the no-doubt, NBA stars are. In their inaugural season, they picked 10th, and until this year the best pick they've had is 3rd (they took Derrick Williams with 2nd pick this year).
Granted, between McHale and Kahn, there have been a lot of bad picks. I'm not discounting that, but they've been exceedingly unlucky in terms of lottery balls.
I wasn't talking about the highest pick, but high picks. And there is the problem - bad management. Why give Sterling any incentive to only field mediocre to bad teams? Even this year it is not a given, that they'll have any success.
Same with the Warriors. I know Simmons isn't that well regarded around here, but he did a good write up of the events that led to the fans boo the owner at Mullins jersey retirement ceremony. That team hasn't been managed well in forever.
Bubba asks above "why punish the Bobcats with a bad pick" - But why reward them with a high pick when they don't make decent use of it? They had mid to high lottery picks for most of their short existence. Neither Okafor (#2), Felton (#5) nor Morrison (#3) play for them anymore. They gave away Gerald Wallace & Tyson Chandler and seem to be heading for perpetual lottery territory. Same as above - bad management. Why reward them for it every year? Although the jury is still out on what Rich Cho can do with the team and there more recent draft picks of Kemba Walker & DJ Augustin.
I know that it is not possible that there are only Sam Presti's and RC Bufords in the league or only teams with the deep pockets like Knicks, Mavericks, Lakers - but the current system sucks and needs changing, in a lot of ways.
Also, I don't think Simmons is an idiot, and I kinda like his tournament idea. Maybe not as a means to end tanking, but from a pure entertainment standpoint. And it would give fans of teams at the bottom of the standings some hope that their teams might actually still make the playoffs.
I agree on this. I think there has to be a better way the the lottery. Waiting for "luck" to get a top-tier player is wrong.
Play the tournament for entertainment purposes, then.
But having a non-playoff tournament impact the lottery is an anti-competitive measure, and will create a permanent NBA underclass.
What chance does Charlotte have in some kind of Simmons tourney? They're not going to beat Utah or Milwaukee or Phoenix or Portland or Minnesota - just look at the Bobcats' horrible roster. Under Simmons' idea, Charlotte has NO chance at a good lottery pick - even though they're the team that needs a good pick the most out of all those teams.
Simmons is robbing the poor to feed the middle class, saying "Eventually the poor will be robbed so much that they'll have no choice but to pull themselves up into the middle class by their own bootstraps, out of pure self-interest!"
It's not going to happen, because without the draft the worst teams in the league have no way to improve. Free agents aren't going to go to Charlotte and lose 90% of their games without demanding substantial overpayment above market value. And without good draft picks, the Bobcats don't even have trade assets - a top 5 pick is worth at least 2x a pick in the #10-15 range.
And Simmons is an idiot for many other dumb ideas besides (or rather, in addition to) this one.
perhaps we would expect these perpetually terrible teams to manage their rosters differently if there were fewer incentives to have a completely terrible roster
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
Impressive shot, but not the best play to make considering the situation.
As far as it being a no pressure regular-season game: LA still has room to fall in the standings and at this point any marks in the L column are going to be increasingly hard to make up. They can't afford to throw games like that one
Impressive shot, but not the best play to make considering the situation.
As far as it being a no pressure regular-season game: LA still has room to fall in the standings and at this point any marks in the L column are going to be increasingly hard to make up. They can't afford to throw games like that one
It was about the score. It's more about the difference between making a "game winner" when you're already winning and making one when you are behind.
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
Impressive shot, but not the best play to make considering the situation.
As far as it being a no pressure regular-season game: LA still has room to fall in the standings and at this point any marks in the L column are going to be increasingly hard to make up. They can't afford to throw games like that one
It was about the score. It's more about the difference between making a "game winner" when you're already winning and making one when you are behind.
Winning by 1 when they will have another possession to contest it is still a situation where you really want to put some more distance on the board. It wasn't a "game winner" it was a closing shot, and a poor shot choice to boot.
Impressive shot, but not the best play to make considering the situation.
As far as it being a no pressure regular-season game: LA still has room to fall in the standings and at this point any marks in the L column are going to be increasingly hard to make up. They can't afford to throw games like that one
It was about the score. It's more about the difference between making a "game winner" when you're already winning and making one when you are behind.
Winning by 1 when they will have another possession to contest it is still a situation where you really want to put some more distance on the board. It wasn't a "game winner" it was a closing shot, and a poor shot choice to boot.
Speaking of the Lakers in general, I dunno about this team come playoff time:
- Gasol plays inspired basketball once ever 3-4 games. The man is getting old.
- Andrew Bynum is basically a petulant child, acting out against the coach, ownership, and fans in ways that have been only partly disclosed. No telling how that drama turns out.
- Nobody wants to question an aging Kobe Bryant cranking bad threes every game, despite his making less than 30% of his attempts.
- The Lakers look to Sessions to revitalize their backcourt. Their playoff hopes ride on staying healthy + what this one guy can bring them. It's sexy that they got him basically for free. Too bad he's a starting point guard for a contender, but has never played an NBA playoff game before. I'm very wait and see on him.
So many question marks there, so many unresolved storylines. I need some answers soon, NBA.
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y2jake215certified Flat Birther theoristthe Last Good Boy onlineRegistered Userregular
edited April 2012
Sessions has put up numbers (on bad teams) for years. I've never really gotten to see him play outside of a couple LA games this past week, though. I was bummed they got him for nothing. He's certainly better than Fisher or Blake
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Sessions has put up numbers (on bad teams) for years. I've never really gotten to see him play outside of a couple LA games this past week, though. I was bummed they got him for nothing. He's certainly better than Fisher or Blake
Sessions is pretty average in ability. He is very Jameer Nelson tier. The fact that he can evidently notch 10 assists a night with that skill set is a credit to how good his supporting cast can be, and is even more damning evidence of how bad Fisher and Blake are.
Like seriously? They couldn't average more than 3 assists passing the ball to a frontcourt of monstrous, dominating 7 footers in Bynum and Gasol, or to the second-best two guard the game has ever seen in Kobe freaking Bryant?
There is this way of thinking that upgrading that PG spot from "awful" to "okay" is just as big a leap as going from "okay" to "all star." I agree with it. I am on board.
I just don't know how Sessions performs in the playoffs. Nobody does yet. It's one of many unanswered questions with that team.
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y2jake215certified Flat Birther theoristthe Last Good Boy onlineRegistered Userregular
Guess when I will get tired of watching Griffin dunk on Gasol. Never. The answer is never.
If only he could play basketball, too!
He's averaging 22/11.6/3.5/1 demoralizing dunk on pure athleticism. If he ever gets a real coach he could be something special
On phone so ill save you my anti blake diatribe but...Did you watch the game tonight? Dude was turrble
He's great for the highlight reel and I don't actually think he's awful, but he just doesn't perform well in critical moments or dominate any sort of real defense on a consistent basis
Guess when I will get tired of watching Griffin dunk on Gasol. Never. The answer is never.
If only he could play basketball, too!
He's averaging 22/11.6/3.5/1 demoralizing dunk on pure athleticism. If he ever gets a real coach he could be something special
On phone so ill save you my anti blake diatribe but...Did you watch the game tonight? Dude was turrble
He's great for the highlight reel and I don't actually think he's awful, but he just doesn't perform well in critical moments or dominate any sort of real defense on a consistent basis
Kia and posters do not a game winning player make
Yeah, I'm not saying he's a special player now. Well, he is a pretty special player, but that doesn't mean he's a great player. But 20/10 players aren't that common, especially not from day 1 in the NBA, and the fact that he can be so inconsistent and still put up those kind of numbers gives me hope that with some better coaching and some more time he can improve. The areas that need improvement (midrange jumper, free throws, and defense) are skills that can actually be worked on. His post game looked pretty bad tonight, but I don't think it's that bad. He's already got the athleticism and is an above-average passer.
I hope he does get better, because I like watching him. And I think there's a better chance of him continuing to improve than that he's already plateaued.
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
Blake Griffin gets hacked and destroyed under the basket, far worse than most other players --> Because opposing bigs are unafraid to foul him --> Because he can't make free throws --> And so his sophomore development consists of thinking that this is how the game is played.
Which is an incredible shame.
Somewhere on my DVR, I still have a Spurs game where Blake Griffin kicks Tim Duncan square in the dick and dunks on him all in one fluid motion. Duncan is hunched down, hands on his knees and about to go fetal position from the discomfort, and at full speed you think "Did getting posterized by Blake hurt that much?" Then on review, you see him take a size 15 shoe to the babymaker.
And that kind of thing is not uncommon. If Griffin improved his FT% to 70-75%, it would improve more than just his scoring efficiency. His whole outlook on the power forward position would change.
griffin's dunks are hard to beat and he certainly has a lot of potential
but why is he such a child
he was more stoic in the 2010-2011 season and now he's just a spoiled rotten prince of dunks
To be fair, he's pretty humble about it off the court, though.
"I hoped it would give us momentum," Griffin said. "It might have. I don't know, but we're not really thinking about that now. We're not thinking about a dunk that didn't mean anything. I have to play better than I did."
Seems to be pretty realistic about his level of play and what effect it has on his team. He realizes he needs to be more than a dunk-mascot, but he's not there yet. I really hope this offseason is all about extending his range and FT%, and becoming a better on-ball defender.
The Suns realized years ago that they would need a worthy successor to Steve Nash at some point. They solved this problem by getting rid of Goran Dragic in favor of Aaron Brooks (who is now a dominant basketball player...in China) and Sebastian Telfair (who is awful worldwide).
It's very much a Jeremy Lin situation, where teams have the guy they need for the job all along, but coaching and management are too incompetent to even properly evaluate their own bench warmers.
Brooks was really good that one year in houston, but then he got hurt and it doesn't seem like his game ever really recovered. Which is too bad because I'd like to see him do well; I will never forget the ridiculous shorts he always wore when he played at oregon
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I wasn't talking about the highest pick, but high picks. And there is the problem - bad management. Why give Sterling any incentive to only field mediocre to bad teams? Even this year it is not a given, that they'll have any success.
Same with the Warriors. I know Simmons isn't that well regarded around here, but he did a good write up of the events that led to the fans boo the owner at Mullins jersey retirement ceremony. That team hasn't been managed well in forever.
Bubba asks above "why punish the Bobcats with a bad pick" - But why reward them with a high pick when they don't make decent use of it? They had mid to high lottery picks for most of their short existence. Neither Okafor (#2), Felton (#5) nor Morrison (#3) play for them anymore. They gave away Gerald Wallace & Tyson Chandler and seem to be heading for perpetual lottery territory. Same as above - bad management. Why reward them for it every year? Although the jury is still out on what Rich Cho can do with the team and there more recent draft picks of Kemba Walker & DJ Augustin.
I know that it is not possible that there are only Sam Presti's and RC Bufords in the league or only teams with the deep pockets like Knicks, Mavericks, Lakers - but the current system sucks and needs changing, in a lot of ways.
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
Here, at the end of all things, you add Shannon Brown to battle against his former home!? The Fantasy Basketball gods will not smile upon you!
Play the tournament for entertainment purposes, then.
But having a non-playoff tournament impact the lottery is an anti-competitive measure, and will create a permanent NBA underclass.
What chance does Charlotte have in some kind of Simmons tourney? They're not going to beat Utah or Milwaukee or Phoenix or Portland or Minnesota - just look at the Bobcats' horrible roster. Under Simmons' idea, Charlotte has NO chance at a good lottery pick - even though they're the team that needs a good pick the most out of all those teams.
Simmons is robbing the poor to feed the middle class, saying "Eventually the poor will be robbed so much that they'll have no choice but to pull themselves up into the middle class by their own bootstraps, out of pure self-interest!"
It's not going to happen, because without the draft the worst teams in the league have no way to improve. Free agents aren't going to go to Charlotte and lose 90% of their games without demanding substantial overpayment above market value. And without good draft picks, the Bobcats don't even have trade assets - a top 5 pick is worth at least 2x a pick in the #10-15 range.
And Simmons is an idiot for many other dumb ideas besides (or rather, in addition to) this one.
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a
BAMF
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As far as it being a no pressure regular-season game: LA still has room to fall in the standings and at this point any marks in the L column are going to be increasingly hard to make up. They can't afford to throw games like that one
It was about the score. It's more about the difference between making a "game winner" when you're already winning and making one when you are behind.
Winning by 1 when they will have another possession to contest it is still a situation where you really want to put some more distance on the board. It wasn't a "game winner" it was a closing shot, and a poor shot choice to boot.
Speaking of the Lakers in general, I dunno about this team come playoff time:
- Gasol plays inspired basketball once ever 3-4 games. The man is getting old.
- Andrew Bynum is basically a petulant child, acting out against the coach, ownership, and fans in ways that have been only partly disclosed. No telling how that drama turns out.
- Nobody wants to question an aging Kobe Bryant cranking bad threes every game, despite his making less than 30% of his attempts.
- The Lakers look to Sessions to revitalize their backcourt. Their playoff hopes ride on staying healthy + what this one guy can bring them. It's sexy that they got him basically for free. Too bad he's a starting point guard for a contender, but has never played an NBA playoff game before. I'm very wait and see on him.
So many question marks there, so many unresolved storylines. I need some answers soon, NBA.
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
Sessions is pretty average in ability. He is very Jameer Nelson tier. The fact that he can evidently notch 10 assists a night with that skill set is a credit to how good his supporting cast can be, and is even more damning evidence of how bad Fisher and Blake are.
Like seriously? They couldn't average more than 3 assists passing the ball to a frontcourt of monstrous, dominating 7 footers in Bynum and Gasol, or to the second-best two guard the game has ever seen in Kobe freaking Bryant?
There is this way of thinking that upgrading that PG spot from "awful" to "okay" is just as big a leap as going from "okay" to "all star." I agree with it. I am on board.
I just don't know how Sessions performs in the playoffs. Nobody does yet. It's one of many unanswered questions with that team.
Dunk 1!
Dunk 2!!!!!
Bynum's reaction to Pout Gasol getting a facial (or as the announcer put it, "exploded on")
picture's too big to embed so here's a link
http://a.yfrog.com/img441/6536/9vo.png
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
If only he could play basketball, too!
He's averaging 22/11.6/3.5/1 demoralizing dunk on pure athleticism. If he ever gets a real coach he could be something special
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
What? 3 barely count b/c he was riding on shaq like a small person on a thoroughbred.
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On phone so ill save you my anti blake diatribe but...Did you watch the game tonight? Dude was turrble
He's great for the highlight reel and I don't actually think he's awful, but he just doesn't perform well in critical moments or dominate any sort of real defense on a consistent basis
Kia and posters do not a game winning player make
Oh, you
Yeah, I'm not saying he's a special player now. Well, he is a pretty special player, but that doesn't mean he's a great player. But 20/10 players aren't that common, especially not from day 1 in the NBA, and the fact that he can be so inconsistent and still put up those kind of numbers gives me hope that with some better coaching and some more time he can improve. The areas that need improvement (midrange jumper, free throws, and defense) are skills that can actually be worked on. His post game looked pretty bad tonight, but I don't think it's that bad. He's already got the athleticism and is an above-average passer.
I hope he does get better, because I like watching him. And I think there's a better chance of him continuing to improve than that he's already plateaued.
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
but why is he such a child
he was more stoic in the 2010-2011 season and now he's just a spoiled rotten prince of dunks
Blake Griffin gets hacked and destroyed under the basket, far worse than most other players --> Because opposing bigs are unafraid to foul him --> Because he can't make free throws --> And so his sophomore development consists of thinking that this is how the game is played.
Which is an incredible shame.
Somewhere on my DVR, I still have a Spurs game where Blake Griffin kicks Tim Duncan square in the dick and dunks on him all in one fluid motion. Duncan is hunched down, hands on his knees and about to go fetal position from the discomfort, and at full speed you think "Did getting posterized by Blake hurt that much?" Then on review, you see him take a size 15 shoe to the babymaker.
And that kind of thing is not uncommon. If Griffin improved his FT% to 70-75%, it would improve more than just his scoring efficiency. His whole outlook on the power forward position would change.
To be fair, he's pretty humble about it off the court, though.
"I hoped it would give us momentum," Griffin said. "It might have. I don't know, but we're not really thinking about that now. We're not thinking about a dunk that didn't mean anything. I have to play better than I did."
Seems to be pretty realistic about his level of play and what effect it has on his team. He realizes he needs to be more than a dunk-mascot, but he's not there yet. I really hope this offseason is all about extending his range and FT%, and becoming a better on-ball defender.
Tony Allen is out with "mouth soreness." The fuck?
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
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maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
Yeah...that game just reminded me how hard David Stern screwed over New Orleans.
Also, that the Lakers play terribly against teams they don't think they can lose to
It better be by the Rockets, or I will throttle Daryl Morey for letting him get away after all these seasons of hunting for a replacement all-star.
Wherever he goes I just hope he gets to play every day. He has always shone when given the chance
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
I agree. His numbers as a starter this season are spectacular, and he's already proven he can do it in the playoffs.
It's very much a Jeremy Lin situation, where teams have the guy they need for the job all along, but coaching and management are too incompetent to even properly evaluate their own bench warmers.
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DWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!