Around the league thread

[AbeVigodaLive]

That might have been the best game I've ever seen a guy who went 0 - 5 fg with 6 TOs play... Draymond Green was incredible on defense.



[Note: Alex Caruso was impressive in his own way.]

Yeah Draymond was all over the place defensively. Somehow those good instincts just arent enough for him to be super helpful offensively in the same capacity he used to be. Caruso made huge timely plays for LA. That guy is a winner for sure.

They still use him as Curry's release valve and he still makes some great passes... but with no threat to score anymore...

Yeah hes smart in the system. But his inability to shoot is a problem for them without Klay. It was a really fun game. Lebron was ok until he needed to be great. That shot was insane.

There were times when all five Lakers were taller/bigger than each of the Warriors players they were guarding. The Lakers can go really really big. But they're only doing so to placate Davis. In the playoffs, we'll see Davis at the 5... which makes them nearly unbeatable. Heck, he played more minutes at the 5 last night than the entire season so far. Expect more for obvious reasons.

James showed why he's arguably the greatest ever. Again.





... And why I never cared for him as much as other players. The several minutes of histrionics over the eye rake made this unabashed Steve Nash fan groan. And then there was the rubbing of the chin and referee pleading after Toscano-Anderson's elbow MISSED James by several inches.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lakers had the #1 D-rating in the League. Size still matters when it comes to that side of the floor. Also having bulldogs like Caruso helps. As someone else mentioned, that guy is a winner.

[Monster]

Lakers had the #1 D-rating in the League. Size still matters when it comes to that side of the floor. Also having bulldogs like Caruso helps. As someone else mentioned, that guy is a winner.

Caruso never averaged 10ppg in college went undrafted and is a key contributor to a championship team. It's quite the story.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lakers had the #1 D-rating in the League. Size still matters when it comes to that side of the floor. Also having bulldogs like Caruso helps. As someone else mentioned, that guy is a winner.

Caruso never averaged 10ppg in college went undrafted and is a key contributor to a championship team. It's quite the story.

We see these kinds of stories populating title-winning rosters all the time: Seemingly non-descript 2nd rounders and undrafted free agents becoming key contributors to winning teams. Draymond Green, Fred VanFleet, Danny Green, etc.

We have our fair share of high-end talent at this point in terms of carrying the scoring and ball-handling load. Rosas needs to keep upgrading the players around them. You don't need a constant stream of lottery picks to do so, as these high-end role player are often found well outside of the lottery.

[BloopOracle]

Wiggins is missing wide open threes and shots at the rim here in the 4th quarter of this win or go home game

[BloopOracle]

Wiggins just took a three down by one with a minute left in overtime and missed it so bad that it hit the backboard and didn't touch rim

[Lipoli390]

Wiggins just took a three down by one with a minute left in overtime and missed it so bad that it hit the backboard and didn't touch rim

I saw that. It was a great game and Memphis definitely deserved to win, although I'd fire their head coach for not contesting that foul call late in the 4th that sent Curry to the line for 3 shots. There's a good chance that call would have been overturned, in which case Memphis would have won in regulation.

But Wiggins was pretty bad in the 4th quarter and overtime. His missed shot at the rim was worse than his three that missed the rim, although his decision-making on that missed three was another layer of bad. On the other hand, Wiggins wasn't terrible. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. He just wasn't Klay Thompson. It's worth noting the difference one player can have, even if he's not your best player. If Klay were playing instead of Wiggins, there's no question that the Warriors would have won this game.

And how about Ja Morant? He's a great player. He reminds us that mid-range shots by guards still matter in today's game and guards need great floaters to be great players.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Ja is so much fun to watch. He makes some really questionable decisions sometimes. And he needs to stop kind of hopping backwards on his 3 point shot. But man, his ability to cut through traffic and hit crazy scoop shots and floaters is a blast to watch because you never know exactly what's going to happen.

I was impressed with Tillman too, and Brooks' defense on Curry plus all that double-teaming they did on him in the second half was just enough to pull it out. If Klay were still out there, it would never work because they'd get so many open threes as Curry passed out of the double. But the Grizz basically forced anybody else to beat them and the Warriors were so thin they couldn't do it. Nobody else could really score for them.

Great game. It's a shame JJJ has been so bad and they're missing Clarke and Winslow sucks otherwise they might actually have a decent series with Utah. As it is, though, the Jazz should handle them easily.

[Lipoli390]

Ja is so much fun to watch. He makes some really questionable decisions sometimes. And he needs to stop kind of hopping backwards on his 3 point shot. But man, his ability to cut through traffic and hit crazy scoop shots and floaters is a blast to watch because you never know exactly what's going to happen.

I was impressed with Tillman too, and Brooks' defense on Curry plus all that double-teaming they did on him in the second half was just enough to pull it out. If Klay were still out there, it would never work because they'd get so many open threes as Curry passed out of the double. But the Grizz basically forced anybody else to beat them and the Warriors were so thin they couldn't do it. Nobody else could really score for them.

Great game. It's a shame JJJ has been so bad and they're missing Clarke and Winslow sucks otherwise they might actually have a decent series with Utah. As it is, though, the Jazz should handle them easily.

I was thinking the same thing, Drew. This is the end of the line for Memphis without Clarke and Winslow. But they should be commended for getting this far.

[Lipoli390]

Big upset today with the Mavs beating the Clippers. Portland is giving Denver a run for their money tonight and might pull off an upset. The Bucks barely squeaked by the Heat. The Nets were the only favored team that lived up to expectations today.