AROUND the NBA:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Rick Carlisle: ‘One of the pictures from the 2011 finals was one where Jason Kidd was picking up full court against LeBron James. So, we were going to be full court, we were going to make nothing easy, and we were going to be persistent. We were always going to be there. We had a zone defense that we developed during the previous summer to prepare for that season, and Tim Grgurich was a big part of that. Now, Grg came on board with us that year. You know Grg well, and Grg is, to me, really the godfather of modern player development, and he's just a charismatic figure on a coaching staff. And so, we knew our zone was going to have to give us some help in that series because the matchups just weren't there. We had Peja Stojakovic, who had played well in the previous series against the Lakers, but the matchups were very difficult against Miami, and so the zone had to help us there.’

[DallasMaverick]

Shaquille O'Neal says Knicks had 'a lot of luck' winning 2025-26 championship: If you don’t get that tip, it’s over… you don’t win that game… If dumb ass De'Aaron Fox don’t f***ing try to score with 8 seconds left… If they don’t let the 29-point lead go. I’m just saying y’all won, but you had a lot of luck

YouTube

I think we could say the same about pretty much any champion in the past 20 years.  Just a bounce here or there...

[Knutsen]

I think we could say the same about pretty much any champion in the past 20 years.  Just a bounce here or there...

Was about to say the same. With the exception of the Warriors in their best seasons, they didn’t need luck - you needed luck to beat them.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Agree with both.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

AJ Dybantsa says he WANTS to guard Luka Doncic "I just want to be on like an ISO island. This sounds crazy, but I want to be on an ISO island and just really see if he's moving that slow." (Via @RoadTrippinShow)

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Carlisle coached Doncic during the Slovenian superstar's first three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, witnessing his rapid transformation from a highly regarded European prospect into one of the NBA's best players. "I said this during the year, from a talent standpoint and ability and everything else, he's the most unique player I've ever worked with," Carlisle said. "He's just so good. And he's a killer, you know? He's a killer competitor, too."

BasketNews

[Scott41theMavs]

AJ Dybantsa says he WANTS to guard Luka Doncic "I just want to be on like an ISO island. This sounds crazy, but I want to be on an ISO island and just really see if he's moving that slow." (Via @RoadTrippinShow)

x.com

(Getting out the popcorn) Dis gun be guud.

[mvossman]

Was about to say the same. With the exception of the Warriors in their best seasons, they didn’t need luck - you needed luck to beat them.

I would say that Boston team didn't need any luck.  They mowed through the playoffs not letting any team get more than 1 win.

The Nicks were lucky in the sense that they ran into a young team not quite ready.  Both The Nicks and they Spurs were lucky OKC had a couple of key injuries, or they probably would have repeated.

[windjc]

I would say that Boston team didn't need any luck.  They mowed through the playoffs not letting any team get more than 1 win.

The Nicks were lucky in the sense that they ran into a young team not quite ready.  Both The Nicks and they Spurs were lucky OKC had a couple of key injuries, or they probably would have repeated.

Please. The Spurs fought through as many injuries at OK.

[numnuts23]

Please. The Spurs fought through as many injuries at OK.

OKC was missing 2 of it's top 5 players....I'm not sure how SA was close to that? 

A healthy Williams and Mitchell would have made a huge difference for them and likely got them past the Spurs.

[windjc]

OKC was missing 2 of it's top 5 players....I'm not sure how SA was close to that? 

A healthy Williams and Mitchell would have made a huge difference for them and likely got them past the Spurs.

Well let’s see if they win it this year.