AROUND the NBA:

[Knutsen]

Joker's avoid major damage to his knee, thankfully.

Very happy to hear that. Will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks, that means that SGA will definitely win his second MVP award now, right?

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Very happy to hear that. Will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks, that means that SGA will definitely win his second MVP award now, right?

Geez, I hope not. Joker was on his way before this.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Who is over scouting for Memphis? They already have Jalen Wells, and Cam Spencer among others. So I'm watching Memphis vs Philly and this guy Cedric Coward is showing his ass. He's doing it all, defending, scoring, rebounding setting up teammates. He should be in the ROY conversation. Flagg, Knueppel, Harper, Bailey, Fears, and Queen among others, have all had their moments. This has to be one of the better classes in recent memory.

[Chicagojk]

Who is over scouting for Memphis? They already have Jalen Wells, and Cam Spencer among others. So I'm watching Memphis vs Philly and this guy Cedric Coward is showing his ass. He's doing it all, defending, scoring, rebounding setting up teammates. He should be in the ROY conversation. Flagg, Knueppel, Harper, Bailey, Fears, and Queen among others, have all had their moments. This has to be one of the better classes in recent memory.

Wasn't that the pick they got int the Bane trade?  I really like Bane and thought the trade put memphis in a weird spot...sort of stuck in the middle.  Coward might have already paid that trade off and don't they get three more firsts coming to them from that trade?   

Memphis does a real great job evaluating talent.  They have found value in the first and second rounds.   Just real good stuff.  Unfortunately, they just bet on a bad horse to be their franchise guy...at least so far.

[Chicagojk]

Joker's avoid major damage to his knee, thankfully.

Obviously great news for Nuggets fans, but we will see how this plays out.  You see teams who can galvanize and push through for short stretches.   Is Gordon and Braun out for the near future?   Time for Murray to step up and lead the team.    The Jonas signing may pay its dividends now.   

#2 to #6 is very tight in the West.  Maybe one team drops out, but there is a real good chance the Nuggets are at #5 or #6.    It will be interesting to see if teams try to avoid #4 or #5.   I bet the other teams all hope the Nuggets get this spot though.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Obviously great news for Nuggets fans, but we will see how this plays out.  You see teams who can galvanize and push through for short stretches.   Is Gordon and Braun out for the near future?   Time for Murray to step up and lead the team.    The Jonas signing may pay its dividends now.   

#2 to #6 is very tight in the West.  Maybe one team drops out, but there is a real good chance the Nuggets are at #5 or #6.    It will be interesting to see if teams try to avoid #4 or #5.   I bet the other teams all hope the Nuggets get this spot though.

I bet they're glad they signed Valenciunas. He's no Jokic, but he's an very adequate backup center. Better than trotting DeAndre Jordan out there. They need Gordon and Braun to come back from injury until Jokic gets back.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Detroit spanking the Lakers on LeBron's birthday, lol.

[Chicagojk]

Clippers win again against the hapless Kings (how in the world did they look good against the Mavs?).   Is this just a matter of a bad team winning some games or is something more?  Hard to imagine watching them play about two weeks ago.   Is there a world where they are the LAL team that other teams don't want to play?

I watched some of the Pistons game last night.  Really impressive.  Boy is their bench a bunch of dawgs.   My advice to them is just be patient with that roster.  Maybe look for a veteran shooter off the bench but I would not mess with much with them.   I have no idea what level of influence Dennis Lindsay has there.  A lof their players predates his arrival, but they have done excellent filling in the gaps or finding value.   They just beat down LAL last night and choked them out out like OKC typically does.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Detroit spanking the Lakers on LeBron's birthday, lol.

I was watching that game.  Ron Holland was awesome

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

They just beat down LAL last night and choked them out out like OKC typically does.

Yep, that was impressive

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I was watching that game.  Ron Holland was awesome

So was Marcus Sasser, who had 19 pts off the bench. He has lost some pt to Daniss Jenkins. They're deep on the bench but could use more 3-point shooting. They play the Knicks on Monday at home, in a playoff rematch.

[Chicagojk]

Mavs fans have some doozies.  As a Cowboy fan, I know with the increased fandom the moron rate also goes up similar degrees.   I think the Lakers fandom is sort of comparable to the Cowboys fandom.  I do find it interesting some of the Laker forums(especially after a loss) with the Luka discussion. I checked this morning for the first time in awhile and was quite surprised.  I did watch some of the game last night, but there is a lot of debate both ways on Luka's play.

[Chicagojk]

Mavs fans have some doozies.  As a Cowboy fan, I know with the increased fandom the moron rate also goes up similar degrees.   I think the Lakers fandom is sort of comparable to the Cowboys fandom.  I do find it interesting some of the Laker forums(especially after a loss) with the Luka discussion. I checked this morning for the first time in awhile and was quite surprised.  I did watch some of the game last night, but there is a lot of debate both ways on Luka's play.

Here is a thread on the general NBA reddit page on Luka.   There has been a lot of Luka posts lately.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1q...is_weight/

[loki]

Here is a thread on the general NBA reddit page on Luka.   There has been a lot of Luka posts lately.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1q...is_weight/

I really thought the embarrassment of being traded was going to be what Luka needed to take the next step. After the hot start though it looks like he's just the same old guy. He's put weight back on, he barks at the refs instead of getting back on defense, refuses to close out to shooters, chucks step back 3's instead of getting to the rim, and is foul bating at an all-time level. The Mavs may suck, but I've honestly enjoyed watching them more this year without all that garbage.

[Winter]

I really thought the embarrassment of being traded was going to be what Luka needed to take the next step. After the hot start though it looks like he's just the same old guy. He's put weight back on, he barks at the refs instead of getting back on defense, refuses to close out to shooters, chucks step back 3's instead of getting to the rim, and is foul bating at an all-time level. The Mavs may suck, but I've honestly enjoyed watching them more this year without all that garbage.

"He moves on defense like he's trying to keep stuff from falling out of his pockets."

That one was pretty funny.

[Mavs2021]

Dumont better get his apology speech ready for 2028.

It´s funny the Lakers thought LeBron will show Luka how to be him, so Luka will just skip the Miami part and goes went straight to the Cavs home arc with Kyrie and three more #1 picks waiting with Flagg, Risacher and Dybantsa.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Yea, I've been noticing the public tide on Luka is slowly turning now that people actually watch Lakers games. It's not just dumb Lakers fans. (and yes Lakers, Cowboys, Yankees fans are the dumbest) The national narrative is changing. Even the Hoops Tonight guy Jason Timpf, who is a Lakers fan, had a post about how Luka is no longer on the same tier as Jokic and SGA. How Luka's best offensive move is getting someone off balance and foul baiting them.

Luka looks like he took Ozempic for three months and lost a lot of weight. He doesn't actually look like a guy that eats a healthy diet and works out. Still doesn't play defense. Still complains a lot. Still shows up to games looking like he was out drinking. Still chasing triple double stats.

[Dirknows]

I really thought the embarrassment of being traded was going to be what Luka needed to take the next step. After the hot start though it looks like he's just the same old guy. He's put weight back on, he barks at the refs instead of getting back on defense, refuses to close out to shooters, chucks step back 3's instead of getting to the rim, and is foul bating at an all-time level. The Mavs may suck, but I've honestly enjoyed watching them more this year without all that garbage.

He looks like he doesn’t care at all cuz he never wanted to go to LA in the first place.

[Chicagojk]

I think Luka will be fine and will probably continue to thrive in LAL. We have seen him shoot better as the year goes on and a Luka led team is typically a top rated offense. I will also miss not worrying about him in big moments.

I will be honest that I watched a few games recently and found myself not really missing the Luka offense. Although it feels much different when you have skin in the game. Either rooting for him or having him destroy the team you are rooting for.

[cow]

I still miss Luka. He might be a chubby bastard, but he's our chubby bastard.