NBA

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Likely Drummond and Griffin against the Celtics in round 1.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

 

[torontoduke]

I think the Celtics and a lot of other teams are really overvaluing late first-round picks. If I have a chance to make the NBA Finals, I trade my late first for a player of Evans' caliber every time. Anything that late in the draft is such a crapshoot anyway.

The only team I can think of off hand that consistently hits with late 1st round picks is the Spurs.

 

[CMon85]

I think Ainge wants to keep all of his picks to make a huge trade this summer.

 

[rome8180]

Likely Drummond and Griffin against the Celtics in round 1.

That should work out real well for Al Horford.

 

[torontoduke]

Likely Drummond and Griffin against the Celtics in round 1.

That should work out real well for Al Horford.

Could be rough for the Celts - but sometimes a team with a superior frontcourt cannot turn this advantage into a win.

 

[physicsfactor]

Could be rough for the Celts - but sometimes a team with a superior frontcourt cannot turn this advantage into a win.

Too soon, toronto

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Pistons 10-1 is bizarre.

 

[Devilsforlife]

Maybe LeBron just feels most comfortable in chilly and depressed Midwestern cities.

 

[DurhamSon]

I don't think Stevens has proven to be anything but a league average coach on the offensive side of the floor, but Ainge is such a stingy jackass for valuing what will amount to the 26th or 27th pick over a player like Evans while ballhog jackasses like Morris and Rozier get to shoot a combined 25 times a game

 

[DurhamSon]

I don't think I can stand best4heisman (?) or whoever it was continue to defend Al Softford again either. He was getting clowned, again, in the 4th on the glass, literally flinching away from the ball. Yeah he does a lot on defense (except rebounding, no big deal, right?) and is a good passer, but he's not a $30 million dollar a year player, not even close. Boston fans are also happy to say scoring is 'not his role', but then what player in the league who doesn't reliably score is worth getting paid more than 30 million? I really hope he ends up as trade bait, because woof if they are going to pay him out through 2020 otherwise.

Boston fans are completely, 100% delusional about this too. God I can't wait to watch defenses force the Celtics to play 4 on 5 in the playoffs with guys like Smart or Rozier getting the Duval treatment. And for Horford to be dominated on the glass against any opponent in the playoffs. I just wish there was a way to make money off it.

 

[rome8180]

I don't think Stevens has proven to be anything but a league average coach on the offensive side of the floor, but Ainge is such a stingy jackass for valuing what will amount to the 26th or 27th pick over a player like Evans while ballhog jackasses like Morris and Rozier get to shoot a combined 25 times a game

I don't think it's fair to judge Stevens's offense quite yet. Isaiah Thomas did have one of the best offensive seasons a guard has ever had while playing for him. I think a lot of that was due to the way Thomas was used. It's also telling that the Celtics have one of the best offenses in the league whenever Kyrie is on the floor.

If Hayward returns to full health and some bench scoring is added and they are still in the 17-20 range on offense, then I'll feel it's fair to criticize Stevens's offensive acumen. I do think you can say he values defensive players over offensive ones too frequently right now.

 

[torontoduke]

Tyus getting crunch minutes for the Wolves

 

[torontoduke]

Damn, Cavs look good. Really taking it to the Celts.

 

[DurhamSon]

Cavs got rid of dead weight trash like Rose, Crowder, Wade, Shumpert and IT and brought in young athletic players who can shoot. LeBron's passive aggressive "mediocre" play got the job done, and Altman came through for Cleveland. They get players like George Hill who people were erroneously judging based on his poor play on an awful Kings team but are fantastic shooters. Even Nance never shot this well in LA, not even close.

 

[torontoduke]

Truth.

 

[childress22]

Cavs got rid of dead weight trash like Rose, Crowder, Wade, Shumpert and IT and brought in young athletic players who can shoot. LeBron's passive aggressive "mediocre" play got the job done, and Altman came through for Cleveland. They get players like George Hill who people were erroneously judging based on his poor play on an awful Kings team but are fantastic shooters. Even Nance never shot this well in LA, not even close.

Agreed. He brought in four players who basically are all better this year (not talking about who they used to be last year or any other year) than any of the seven guys going out.

 

[childress22]

Even Nance never shot this well in LA, not even close.

He was 2-5 today, and he was a 60% shooter in 42 games for the Lakers.

 

[childress22]

I'm trying to remember the last time a Top-10-or-so team (tough to call the pre-trade Cavs a "contender") made such dramatic changes at the deadline. I'm presuming that Hill and Hood end up starting, and that Clarkson is essentially the sixth man, with Nance probably getting the 9th-most-minutes eventually. So, 3 of the top 6 and 4 of the top 9 will be guys in new spots.

I wouldn't say it's "gutsy" to give up on a team that's openly bickering and can't play defense, but it's definitely shrewd to be able to basically change a team's chemistry and overhaul its personnel mid-season. I still can't believe Altman got such useful pieces for what looked to be like bad, broken versions of Thomas, Crowder, and Rose. The only thing they gave up that might hurt their team is actually Channing Frye, who's a great locker room guy and a rotation stretch 4/5 while Love is hurt.

 

[CMon85]

I'd guess that Hood comes off the bench since he has that stomach thing and throws up before games.

Hill, Smith, Bron, Love and Thompson is what I think will be their starting lineup once Love is back.

But I think the best lineup against the Warriors is Hill, Clarkson, Hood, Bron, Love.