2017-18 Daily Discussion

TBH I don't know why they haven't been playing like this all season. They played really well after trading plumlee for nurkic (a huge upgrade) but dude got hurt at the end of the season.

TBH I don't know why they haven't been playing like this all season. They played really well after trading plumlee for nurkic (a huge upgrade) but dude got hurt at the end of the season.

I think its just inconsistency at other positions, honestly. They havn't been able to confidently fill that SF or PF spots in the starting lineup with confidence. That's two players night in and night out that start the game that they can't really rely on. Granted, Aminu has gotten better as the year has gone on.

Top to bottom when you look at the roster they don't look that impressive, I think that Dame is that good, and Nurkic and CJ are just good enough.

The team has hit a really easy stretch of schedule. Obviously 11 straight wins is extremely impressive, but they were probably favored in eight or nine of them. Between that, Lillard's hot streak and the role players making their shots, they've jumped up the standings. The real test will be the rest of the season, which gets much tougher. Still, I think 50 wins is likely, which I wouldn't have predicted coming into the season (or all-star break, for that matter)

Also a shout-out to Zach Collins, who has poor averages, but has really come on as of late. Excited to see what he can do.

Collins can start for us at PF next season. His length, agility and skillset can be a great bonus for us in the starting lineup. I hope he will be ready for the challenge.

Haha. Good to see Zach Collins making some noise. I remember reading up on him as one of the sleepers in the draft at boxscoregeeks site that I seldom visit.

Here's what I dug up.

“I know everybody is hyped about the Fultz-Ball rivalry but Zach Collins is a sleeper similar to Kawhi back in 2011. Boston is going to go with Fultz and it might work out but i'm gonna stick with the odds. I think Boston should go with a big man and Collins should be that guy. Mock drafts have him in the top 10 at least but if he ends up going to Sacramento, which I highly doubt because the double V's are running things over there.”

Seriously though, what is not to love about Collins? It seems many will fall for the minutes trick. As a freshman at a good school, Collins was going to play fewer minutes, but in those minutes he was fantastic. You should be looking for upside in the NBA draft, and Collins looks like he has some amazing skills. Andrew notes that’s Collins per-minute numbers make him comparable to Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Kevin Love! The Celtics could easily trade down, get a great future big, and even offload Al Horford’s bloated contract (yes he played well in the playoffs, which means it’s time to sell high!)

Haha, some bold statement on sleepers that was. (ofc, Lonzo was a beast in terms of college stats, one of the best ever)

Not to confuse with another stellar rookie Collins kid from the Hawks.

Watched the blazers destroy the clippers last night and man CJ can basically pull up from anywhere and bury the shot in your face. Harkless and aminu were also on point hitting their open jumpers. Collins was surprising. He played well. Isn't he basically like a better Meyers Leonard?

Collins actually has great basketball instincts especially on the defensive end, unlike Meyers. Collins jumpshot might be the only comparable thing to Leonard.

Unless Zach Collins breaks out, which he has a decent chance to do, he'll be compared to Meyers forever because they're both tall, athletic white guys. Collins does a lot of things well, his defense being the most exciting. Still a little rough around the edges because he's so young and didn't even start at Gonzaga, but he's already playing meaningful minutes for a playoff team, so that's a positive sign. I'd say his ceiling is being a smaller version of Porzingis, but I might just be basing that on the fact that he's a tall white guy..

I would like to see more plays run through Collins before I give any verdict. In truth tons of superstars would struggle if system didn't center around them so it's not surprising to see his struggle in his confined role under guards heavy system. But for now his inefficiency makes him the worst player in Portland rotation. It seems though coach is trying to give him consistent minutes to develop.

Who would have ever thought Aminu would be shooting over 40% three pointers at almost 5 attempts per game any time in his career? Credit to the guy for raising his game.

I dont see Collins getting a starting spot on Blazers anytime soon, Aminu is playing good enough to keep himself in the starting Pf rotation.

But the Raptors are the #1 seed...

LeBron reminds us of his greatness: 35 pts, 17 asts, 7 rebs, 0 turnovers

Somewhere, Nick Wright fainted. In all seriousness though, a great performance. 17 assists with zero turnovers is a rare feat indeed.

I really want to pick the Raps to come out of the East, but deep down I know we're getting Cavs/Warriors round 4, even if Cleveland loses the rest of regular season games.

Apr 3rd, their match up will be another fun one. Who'd have thought the Raptors would be the best Eastern team this season. Cleveland with defense problem, is very beatable imho.

I really want to pick the Raps to come out of the East, but deep down I know we're getting Cavs/Warriors round 4, even if Cleveland loses the rest of regular season games.

Why would you want Raptors to face the Warriors? It won't even be a competition. At least with the greatest player of all-time it will be a 6 game series.

Apr 3rd, their match up will be another fun one. Who'd have thought the Raptors would be the best Eastern team this season. Cleveland with defense problem, is very beatable imho.

I so want to see Larry Nance Jr. & Kevin play together. It will be something special. Only if players like TT, Swish or Hood contributed something to the team.

Also crazy how durable LeBron at his age is. No DNP this season and still going strong as fuck. Durability is one of the most underrated skills in the league btw.

I really want to pick the Raps to come out of the East, but deep down I know we're getting Cavs/Warriors round 4, even if Cleveland loses the rest of regular season games.

Why would you want Raptors to face the Warriors? It won't even be a competition. At least with the greatest player of all-time it will be a 6 game series.

It wasn't really a competition last year, when the Warriors beat the Cavs in 5. And that was when the Cavs had a better roster. Right now half their rotation was just acquired at the trade deadline, and their coach took a leave of absence due to stress. Yeah, LeBron has the Raptors' number, and I think he would will them to another Finals appearance. But if Golden State's big four are all playing, Cleveland has no chance.

Toronto would also lose to the Warriors, but I think they have a better team overall than Cleveland. They're excellent on both sides of the ball, with Casey getting his team to buy in despite ups and downs over the years. Rather than watching the Cavs go through the woodchipper again, I'd like to see a different team represent the East for a change. And what better team than the Raptors, who represent what is possible if you don't tank.. A lot of people thought they should tank for Wiggins in 2014 (LOL), but instead they have a chance to be like the 2011 Mavericks.

I would have liked to see the Celtics Vs the Warriors rather than Raptors but it seems now Irving might be out for the season as well. Tough luck.

It'll be interesting to see if they're able to win a first round playoff series without Hayward, Irving, and possibly Smart as well. On paper they don't have enough talent, but Boston seems to keep winning so idk

Also crazy how durable LeBron at his age is. No DNP this season and still going strong as fuck. Durability is one of the most underrated skills in the league btw.

He's got a lot of miles on his body too. What has been his stance on resting this year?

Warriors Rockets will be the real finals this year

It does seem like he's determined to play all 82 games for once.

Also crazy how durable LeBron at his age is. No DNP this season and still going strong as fuck. Durability is one of the most underrated skills in the league btw.

He's got a lot of miles on his body too. What has been his stance on resting this year?

He plays when he wants, rests when he wants, fuck Lue.

It does seem like he's determined to play all 82 games for once.

Seems like he’s leaving Cleveland, again, and giving it all this season.

Bad news for Curry and the Warriors.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with an medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee, with an MRI coming on Saturday, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Initial tests on Curry’s knee showed a degree of an MCL injury, which will be determined fully in the MRI, sources said.

Curry suffered the injury in Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, his first game back after missing six games with a right ankle sprain.