NBA Season 2021-22

[#1P4P]

I understand why the Cavaliers are 6-4 now. They’re playing solid defense, excellent energy and smooth switching. Their reserves play well too; Rubio going off with 30 points, 7 for 7 from 3, 7 assists, and passing well out of the double.

[celticsclay]

East flexing its muscles and depth again today. Pacers beat the kings on the road (after nearly beating the blazers). Cavs continue to show they are for real. Wizards remain impressive beating bucks. Somehow the magic even beat the jazz. I have no clue who will make playoffs in East, but the Celtics better get it together because there are a lot of really good teams.

[Moranis]

The good ole don't say anything the last few days when the west was beating the east more and wait for the east to have a good day and post again.  Classic stuff right there.  East does still hold a 22-15 advantage in the head to head matchups, though.  However, every team in the play-in in the west is .500 or better that isn't the case in the east right now where the 10th seed is 4-6 (4 of the 6 worst records are in the west, but from top through playoffs, the west is better).  Granted that 4-6 team is the defending champs, but it still is their record.

[#1P4P]

East flexing its muscles and depth again today. Pacers beat the kings on the road (after nearly beating the blazers). Cavs continue to show they are for real. Wizards remain impressive beating bucks. Somehow the magic even beat the jazz. I have no clue who will make playoffs in East, but the Celtics better get it together because there are a lot of really good teams.

The East is better this season, we have our work cut out for us as there won’t be too many nights this team can mail it in and still win (that might not be a bad thing).

The Celtics have the potential to have the best defense in the NBA as long as that’s their calling card, we’ll have a chance to win every game. This is Udoka’s first season as a HC and he’s made certain adjustments that let me know that he’s willing to adapt.

It’s early in the season, we’re tied with the Bucks and Hawks in the standings (who would’ve guessed before the season it’d be tied for 10th place?), only 4 behind 1st with 72 left, I have no doubt that this team will improve and make a strong run at a top seed before the season is over.

[celticsclay]

The good ole don't say anything the last few days when the west was beating the east more and wait for the east to have a good day and post again.  Classic stuff right there.  East does still hold a 22-15 advantage in the head to head matchups, though.  However, every team in the play-in in the west is .500 or better that isn't the case in the east right now where the 10th seed is 4-6 (4 of the 6 worst records are in the west, but from top through playoffs, the west is better).  Granted that 4-6 team is the defending champs, but it still is their record.

Dude your honestly just getting weird at this point. The Wizards and cavs are the biggest surprises in the entire league (I’m surprised you are not more excited about the cavs to be honest). I’ll be the first one to admit I was wrong on the cavs. That being said, please just stop your nonsense on this topic. There are a legit ten good teams in the east right now. Get over it. Note it didn’t hurt or kill me to admit I was wrong on the cavs who I voted as the most hopeless franchise before the season started. I had a bad take on them. You have had a bad take. Just grow up and stop doubling down. It’s painful for everyone.

[Moranis]

The good ole don't say anything the last few days when the west was beating the east more and wait for the east to have a good day and post again.  Classic stuff right there.  East does still hold a 22-15 advantage in the head to head matchups, though.  However, every team in the play-in in the west is .500 or better that isn't the case in the east right now where the 10th seed is 4-6 (4 of the 6 worst records are in the west, but from top through playoffs, the west is better).  Granted that 4-6 team is the defending champs, but it still is their record.

Dude your honestly just getting weird at this point. The Wizards and cavs are the biggest surprises in the entire league (I’m surprised you are not more excited about the cavs to be honest). I’ll be the first one to admit I was wrong on the cavs. That being said, please just stop your nonsense on this topic. There are a legit ten good teams in the east right now. Get over it. Note it didn’t hurt or kill me to admit I was wrong on the cavs who I voted as the most hopeless franchise before the season started. I had a bad take on them. You have had a bad take. Just grow up and stop doubling down. It’s painful for everyone.

And there are legit 10 good teams in the West.  I've objected to your pretty consistent statement that the East is way better than the West (and I did think it was funny you only said something after a good East day and said nothing the last several days when the West was the better conference).  I just don't see it.  The West has more of the really good teams.  The West has more of the really good players.  The West will, just as it has been, be the better conference again this year (though I do think Brooklyn and Milwaukee will be the 2 best teams in the sport when it all shakes out).  The West does have 2 really bad teams (OKC, Houston) and who knows what New Orleans will be (obviously depends on Zion).  San Antonio is bad, though not really bad.  East seemingly only has 1 really bad team (Detroit), though Orlando and Indiana are also bad teams (like the Pelicans with Zion, Warren should help the Pacers but who knows how much).  I don't buy Washington or Cleveland as legit playoff teams either, though I never thought they would be really bad teams.  Maybe the 10 games to start the year is indicative of what they will be, but I certainly need to see more with them.  Which is also the point I've been making.  A few weeks at the start of the year says nothing about the conference.  If you look at BetGm's title odds as of this morning, 7 of the top 11 are in the West, in order they are - BKN, LAL, MIL, GS, UTA, MIA, PHO, LAC, PHI, DEN, DAL (this tends to match most of the sites, at least generally).  The Cavs have the 6th worst odds and the Wizards are the 8th worst odds.  So Vegas isn't sold on them yet and they still think the West has more of the really good teams. 

[Birdman]

LeBron James is not going to play half the season cause of “injuries” is my prediction..he just want to be healthy when playoffs begins

[Phantom255x]

LeBron James is not going to play half the season cause of “injuries” is my prediction..he just want to be healthy when playoffs begins

It's probably not even a bad move and it makes sense.

Problem is, the Lakers probably aren't that good enough without him for that long where they can finish with a Top-6 record in the West. They kind of made similar gambles last year and had to play the play-in game, then were early exits in the playoffs.

[Who]

LeBron James is not going to play half the season cause of “injuries” is my prediction..he just want to be healthy when playoffs begins

It's probably not even a bad move and it makes sense.

Problem is, the Lakers probably aren't that good enough without him for that long where they can finish with a Top-6 record in the West. They kind of made similar gambles last year and had to play the play-in game, then were early exits in the playoffs.

I am not sure LAL will be a top 6 team with LeBron playing. Not the way Vogel is coaching that team.

They need to commit to small run and gun basketball to be a top 6 team. In order to get proper spacing for Westbrook & LeBron to function together.

[Moranis]

LeBron James is not going to play half the season cause of “injuries” is my prediction..he just want to be healthy when playoffs begins

It's probably not even a bad move and it makes sense.

Problem is, the Lakers probably aren't that good enough without him for that long where they can finish with a Top-6 record in the West. They kind of made similar gambles last year and had to play the play-in game, then were early exits in the playoffs.

I am not sure LAL will be a top 6 team with LeBron playing. Not the way Vogel is coaching that team.

They need to commit to small run and gun basketball to be a top 6 team. In order to get proper spacing for Westbrook & LeBron to function together.

They are 4-2 with Lebron and only 1-3 without him thus far this year.  And while a very small sample size, that matches with what I would think over the course of a season i.e. a really good team with everyone and a bad team without Lebron.  That has been the story of Lebron's career i.e. his teams just need him on the floor.  And while he is old, he is also still very good and impactful to the scoreboard.  The Lakers absolutely cannot afford for Lebron to miss half the season.  They need him to play.

[gift]

LeBron James is not going to play half the season cause of “injuries” is my prediction..he just want to be healthy when playoffs begins

It's probably not even a bad move and it makes sense.

Problem is, the Lakers probably aren't that good enough without him for that long where they can finish with a Top-6 record in the West. They kind of made similar gambles last year and had to play the play-in game, then were early exits in the playoffs.

I am not sure LAL will be a top 6 team with LeBron playing. Not the way Vogel is coaching that team.

They need to commit to small run and gun basketball to be a top 6 team. In order to get proper spacing for Westbrook & LeBron to function together.

They are 4-2 with Lebron and only 1-3 without him thus far this year.  And while a very small sample size, that matches with what I would think over the course of a season i.e. a really good team with everyone and a bad team without Lebron.  That has been the story of Lebron's career i.e. his teams just need him on the floor.  And while he is old, he is also still very good and impactful to the scoreboard.  The Lakers absolutely cannot afford for Lebron to miss half the season.  They need him to play.

On the other hand we have another example of Anthony Davis failing to lead a good team without Lebron.

[celticsclay]

The good ole don't say anything the last few days when the west was beating the east more and wait for the east to have a good day and post again.  Classic stuff right there.  East does still hold a 22-15 advantage in the head to head matchups, though.  However, every team in the play-in in the west is .500 or better that isn't the case in the east right now where the 10th seed is 4-6 (4 of the 6 worst records are in the west, but from top through playoffs, the west is better).  Granted that 4-6 team is the defending champs, but it still is their record.

Dude your honestly just getting weird at this point. The Wizards and cavs are the biggest surprises in the entire league (I’m surprised you are not more excited about the cavs to be honest). I’ll be the first one to admit I was wrong on the cavs. That being said, please just stop your nonsense on this topic. There are a legit ten good teams in the east right now. Get over it. Note it didn’t hurt or kill me to admit I was wrong on the cavs who I voted as the most hopeless franchise before the season started. I had a bad take on them. You have had a bad take. Just grow up and stop doubling down. It’s painful for everyone.

And there are legit 10 good teams in the West.  I've objected to your pretty consistent statement that the East is way better than the West (and I did think it was funny you only said something after a good East day and said nothing the last several days when the West was the better conference).  I just don't see it.  The West has more of the really good teams.  The West has more of the really good players.  The West will, just as it has been, be the better conference again this year (though I do think Brooklyn and Milwaukee will be the 2 best teams in the sport when it all shakes out).  The West does have 2 really bad teams (OKC, Houston) and who knows what New Orleans will be (obviously depends on Zion).  San Antonio is bad, though not really bad.  East seemingly only has 1 really bad team (Detroit), though Orlando and Indiana are also bad teams (like the Pelicans with Zion, Warren should help the Pacers but who knows how much).  I don't buy Washington or Cleveland as legit playoff teams either, though I never thought they would be really bad teams.  Maybe the 10 games to start the year is indicative of what they will be, but I certainly need to see more with them.  Which is also the point I've been making.  A few weeks at the start of the year says nothing about the conference.  If you look at BetGm's title odds as of this morning, 7 of the top 11 are in the West, in order they are - BKN, LAL, MIL, GS, UTA, MIA, PHO, LAC, PHI, DEN, DAL (this tends to match most of the sites, at least generally).  The Cavs have the 6th worst odds and the Wizards are the 8th worst odds.  So Vegas isn't sold on them yet and they still think the West has more of the really good teams.

Got another one of the mo specials here. When we were talking about this preseason and I mentioned win totals you scoffed about how the odds are completely meaningless. I could pull it up again to embarrass you if you want. Now you think the Vegas odds support you not having to admit you were wrong so you are using them. Completely classic  .

[Moranis]

The good ole don't say anything the last few days when the west was beating the east more and wait for the east to have a good day and post again.  Classic stuff right there.  East does still hold a 22-15 advantage in the head to head matchups, though.  However, every team in the play-in in the west is .500 or better that isn't the case in the east right now where the 10th seed is 4-6 (4 of the 6 worst records are in the west, but from top through playoffs, the west is better).  Granted that 4-6 team is the defending champs, but it still is their record.

Dude your honestly just getting weird at this point. The Wizards and cavs are the biggest surprises in the entire league (I’m surprised you are not more excited about the cavs to be honest). I’ll be the first one to admit I was wrong on the cavs. That being said, please just stop your nonsense on this topic. There are a legit ten good teams in the east right now. Get over it. Note it didn’t hurt or kill me to admit I was wrong on the cavs who I voted as the most hopeless franchise before the season started. I had a bad take on them. You have had a bad take. Just grow up and stop doubling down. It’s painful for everyone.

And there are legit 10 good teams in the West.  I've objected to your pretty consistent statement that the East is way better than the West (and I did think it was funny you only said something after a good East day and said nothing the last several days when the West was the better conference).  I just don't see it.  The West has more of the really good teams.  The West has more of the really good players.  The West will, just as it has been, be the better conference again this year (though I do think Brooklyn and Milwaukee will be the 2 best teams in the sport when it all shakes out).  The West does have 2 really bad teams (OKC, Houston) and who knows what New Orleans will be (obviously depends on Zion).  San Antonio is bad, though not really bad.  East seemingly only has 1 really bad team (Detroit), though Orlando and Indiana are also bad teams (like the Pelicans with Zion, Warren should help the Pacers but who knows how much).  I don't buy Washington or Cleveland as legit playoff teams either, though I never thought they would be really bad teams.  Maybe the 10 games to start the year is indicative of what they will be, but I certainly need to see more with them.  Which is also the point I've been making.  A few weeks at the start of the year says nothing about the conference.  If you look at BetGm's title odds as of this morning, 7 of the top 11 are in the West, in order they are - BKN, LAL, MIL, GS, UTA, MIA, PHO, LAC, PHI, DEN, DAL (this tends to match most of the sites, at least generally).  The Cavs have the 6th worst odds and the Wizards are the 8th worst odds.  So Vegas isn't sold on them yet and they still think the West has more of the really good teams.

Got another one of the mo specials here. When we were talking about this preseason and I mentioned win totals you scoffed about how the odds are completely meaningless. I could pull it up again to embarrass you if you want. Now you think the Vegas odds support you not having to admit you were wrong so you are using them. Completely classic  .

I know what is in that thread.  I objected to you ignoring the odds that didn't support your argument, while only using the odds that did.  You have pretty consistently ignored many of the more objective factors because they don't support your weird position that the east is the better and deeper conference this year.

[Celtics2021]

Philly is going through a significant Covid outbreak, with Embiid now out, on top of Harris, Thybulle, and Isaiah Joe.

[Moranis]

Sexton has a torn meniscus and will be out awhile for the Cavs.