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Synopsis: the shift to playing more center has helped LeBron post some of the best rim finishing numbers of his career.

I have to think he can be a dominant player until he's 40 if finds a roster where he can play center full time. As good a story line as LeBron returning to the Cavs seems like it would be, it's probably not a good idea for him to play on a team with two big men already playing major roles. If you could insert 2009 LeBron onto a roster with Garland, Allen, and Mobley, that would be a different story.

 
Looking down the list, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas all seem like awesome fits if those teams are willing to do a sign-and-trade for LeBron and play him 2/3rds of his minutes at center. Probably wouldn't even have to give up anything too crazy, since I'm envisioning a scenario where he's going to become a free agent anyway.
 
Oh, for fuck's sake. Fucking Spencer Dinwiddie is shooting like 90% in the clutch since coming to Dallas. Beat Boston on a late three. Just beat Brooklyn on a late three. It's like he's existing just to piss me off.

This dude is like a career 32% three point shooter who suddenly can't miss.
 
Dallas has been playing great of late. They actually look like they'll be a tough out come playoff time. It actually surprises me how well they've done with Kidd as coach.
 
CK86 said:
Marcus Smart knocked Steph Curry out til mid-April so Warriors are done.
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Not necessarily. Playoffs start in mid-April. I guess the issue is that their seed is going to be way worse by the time he gets back.
 
rome8180 said:
CK86 said:
Marcus Smart knocked Steph Curry out til mid-April so Warriors are done.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. Playoffs start in mid-April. I guess the issue is that their seed is going to be way worse by the time he gets back.
Click to expand...

They basically have no time to gel for the postseason. They've been without Draymond for 2 months. Andre hasn't played in 2022. Klay just came back and is still working off the rust. Now Steph out of the lineup. Basically have to hope that Steph is healed enough by the time the playoffs start and the chemistry between Steph/Klay/Draymond picks back up where it was pre-injuries (2 seasons ago).
 
CK86 said:
rome8180 said:
CK86 said:
Marcus Smart knocked Steph Curry out til mid-April so Warriors are done.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. Playoffs start in mid-April. I guess the issue is that their seed is going to be way worse by the time he gets back.
Click to expand...

They basically have no time to gel for the postseason. They've been without Draymond for 2 months. Andre hasn't played in 2022. Klay just came back and is still working off the rust. Now Steph out of the lineup. Basically have to hope that Steph is healed enough by the time the playoffs start and the chemistry between Steph/Klay/Draymond picks back up where it was pre-injuries (2 seasons ago).
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Yeah, but they may be playing a Nuggets team that's basically just Jokic. Or if the Nuggets have gotten some players back, they'll be in the same boat of having to reintegrate key guys.
 



Celtics odds have dropped from +2500 to +1600 since the all-star break, but this is still massively disconnected from objective metrics when considering their odds relative to: Suns +330, Nets +475, Warriors +550, Bucks +700, Sixers +750, Heat +1000, Jazz +1800 (DraftKings). And especially when considering how weak the East is relative to the West. 538 has Celtics as the best team, with a 21% chance of winning the title.

My head/eye test tells me the Nets and Sixers are going to be better than the Celtics when high leverage playoff possessions boil down to nothing more than creating mismatches and getting buckets out of iso against switching defenses. I don't buy the Suns, Bucks or Heat being better than the Celtics using any subjective or objective criteria, though, other than "these cores have made the Finals in recent years." After years of consistently proving what they are in the playoffs, the Jazz shouldn't be anywhere close to this version of the Celtics.

I hate what the Pistons are doing. In this draft, their rise might be a good thing, though. Any scenario where Paolo Banchero is completely off the table is a net positive. Falling to the 5-7 range gets them AJ Griffin or Shaedon Sharpe.
 
I'll take the Celtics over the 76ers in the playoffs. This may end up looking foolish. But I think Tatum has shown that he can manufacture points better than Harden in a playoff setting. I'm not saying Tatum is a better player than Harden, but Tatum is not as reliant on free throws and has much better size. Also, all my memories of Embiid are of him dominating the first quarter of every playoff game and then being complete dogshit in the 4th. And he'll be guarded by Horford, who has held him to something like 6% worse than his career FG%.

Lastly, I have no idea how Udoka will be as a playoff coach. But it's hard to be worse than Rivers in the playoffs.
 
The Nets are kind of done, imo. I doubt the mayor of NY lifts the mandate in the next month at this rate. And I doubt Simmons is back and fully healthy and integrated.

In the West, I see no reason the Suns shouldn't cruise to the Finals now that the Warriors are a giant question mark almost on the level of the Nets. Suns-Celtics finals?

ETA: my comment about seeding was dumb. Their path is basically the same either way. What they want is a path of Cleveland-Philly-Miami somehow. Not sure if there's a means to that happening.
 
Nets will be fine I think. Because of the Yankees and Mets situation, they pretty much have to remove the mandate by opening day.

It's one thing to keep pressure on when it's just a kook like Irving, but there's no way they don't fold when half the Mets and Yankees wouldn't be able to play home games in outdoor stadiums, with a good number of them being black and latino to boot, and especially if Aaron Judge can't play. NYC is just looking for a way to save face

Toronto will likely play its way to the 6th seed spot so all Brooklyn has to do is win one game against either Cleveland or Charlotte? I think they got it.
 
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DurhamSon said:
Nets will be fine I think. Because of the Yankees and Mets situation, they pretty much have to remove the mandate by opening day.

It's one thing to keep pressure on when it's just a kook like Irving, but there's no way they don't fold when half the Mets and Yankees wouldn't be able to play home games in outdoor stadiums, with a good number of them being black and latino to boot, and especially if Aaron Judge can't play. NYC is just looking for a way to save face

Toronto will likely play its way to the 6th seed spot so all Brooklyn has to do is win one game against either Cleveland or Charlotte? I think they got it.
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Screenshot_20220318-170819_Twitter.jpg
 
Planning starting pitcher assignments around COVID rules is going to be a pain. Given the lack of black players in baseball versus the obvious predominance in basketball, this could be a civil rights lawsuit led by Al Sharpton.
 
JFC, I didn't realize a phone screenshot would be so gigantic on here. Sorry about that.
 
I'd be so pissed if this happened to Duke. LeBron's shot was absurd, but it's LeBron. I would wager the odds of him making that are still higher than Russ actually playing good defense and then hitting a three.

Gary Trent with the big stepback, btw.

 
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