NBA Season 2022-23

[Goldstar88]

KD’s playing his first game with the Suns. They are up 16 at the half.

[celticsclay]

KD’s playing his first game with the Suns. They are up 16 at the half.

Won’t go too wild since it the hornets who don’t even ball now, but he does look to be in good form.

[smokeablount]

So I guess the Bucks aren’t going to lose to Orlando 3x then.

[gouki88]

Wow, Jokic with 40pts on a ridiculous 14-21 FGA and 12-15 FTA along with 17 rebounds and 10 assists. That is insane production and efficiency.

3 steals for good measure as well.

To me this is the most wild stat about Jokic's season:

Per ESPN: Jokic ties the record for most consecutive games shooting at least 50%, joining Robert Williams at 48 straight games.

It's impressive enough for Rob to have part of that record, but he's scoring mostly on lobs, layups and put-backs.  Jokic has an all-around offensive game, and he's barely missing.

That's incredible. It doesn't even make sense that he has been able to do that with all the long shots, midrange shots and difficult shots he takes. And with that volume of shots too.

Yeah, Jokic nearly triples the amount of PPG of RWIII and is the main (sometimes only) focus of opposition defences.

Shaq only shot better from the field than Jokic has this season once, and it was his brief stint in Boston.

If Jokic is the main focus of opposition defenses, how come he isn't even in the top 20 players who face double teams? 
https://nbacourtoptix.nba.com/en/metrics/double-teams

Lol, are you serious? That is the be-all and end-all?

Here's a hint: Jokic is the best passer in the entire NBA, and one of the best passers ever. Double teaming him would be a death sentence immediately

This is where I am at as well. I raised this point earlier. People are certainly better off double teaming a player like jaylen brown that has a higher chance of committing a turnover (especially if Tatum is not in). Another factor is who the teammates are. The lakers had such awful shooters the first part of the season so they still double teamed Lebron a decent amount even though he is a good passer. You want to let a wide open Westbrook shoot? Go ahead.  The stat is pretty irrelevant as to whether he is their number one option (and as someone that watches the nuggets in person a lot he is definitely the main focus of opposing defenses). Murray has not returned to the player he once was so far, Gordon is very limited offensively and Porter is a good shooter and can create some but isn’t a star.

Unfortunately Perk on ESPN has turned the Jokic v Embiid debate into a racial issue.

https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1631029611638259717?s=20

Dirk was 5th in overall points and =10th in PPG. Perk is a moron.

And the other two were elite passers who had a transformative effect on their teams.

Jokic is leading a top-3 team, with a ridiculous on-court / off-court differential, while averaging a triple-double on insane efficiency.  I'm a big Giannis guy and would vote him MVP just about any season, but this year it belongs to Jokic.

I keep coming back to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsE3ZcQ25Zw

[bopna]

So I guess the Bucks aren’t going to lose to Orlando 3x then.

Bucks look unbeatable. they just have all the tools to dominate tbh.

And please lets stop the talk that our B team almost beat them because our A team was dismatlned by the freakin Knicks and Thunder... heck we can't even beat the Magic.

[gouki88]

So I guess the Bucks aren’t going to lose to Orlando 3x then.

Bucks look unbeatable. they just have all the tools to dominate tbh.

And please lets stop the talk that our B team almost beat them because our A team was dismatlned by the freakin Knicks and Thunder... heck we can't even beat the Magic.

Did you forget us beating them by 21 on Christmas? Or does it not count when we do well?

[Neurotic Guy]

So I guess the Bucks aren’t going to lose to Orlando 3x then.

Bucks look unbeatable. they just have all the tools to dominate tbh.

And please lets stop the talk that our B team almost beat them because our A team was dismatlned by the freakin Knicks and Thunder... heck we can't even beat the Magic.

Did you forget us beating them by 21 on Christmas? Or does it not count when we do well?

Bucks look good.  I doubt they’re thinking that they’ll just  blow past Tatum, Brown, Al, Rob, Smart, White, Brogdon, etc.  Likely will be quite a clash if they meet in the ECF.  About 20 games to tune up. Silly to presume either is a lock to come out of the East.  A couple other teams in the mix as well.  Looking forward to it. 

[Birdman]

That #1 gotta be very important of course…don’t want to play Philly in 2nd round plus if Bucks gets home court, they not losing there

[Moranis]

So I guess the Bucks aren’t going to lose to Orlando 3x then.

Bucks look unbeatable. they just have all the tools to dominate tbh.

And please lets stop the talk that our B team almost beat them because our A team was dismatlned by the freakin Knicks and Thunder... heck we can't even beat the Magic.

Did you forget us beating them by 21 on Christmas? Or does it not count when we do well?

Adding Middleton and Crowder is worth significantly more than adding Muscala. 

[celticinorlando]

Bucks will be out of gas by the time they get Boston in playoffs. Middleton doesn't look right at all. Giannis is always nicked up. Crowder will shoot them out of games.

They are winning right now against bad teams. They are not unbeatable at all.

[celticinorlando]

That #1 gotta be very important of course…don’t want to play Philly in 2nd round plus if Bucks gets home court, they not losing there

I would rather play Philly than the Cavs in round two. Philly is not built to beat Boston in a series. As for the Bucks not losing in Milwaukee...Boston won there last year in game 6. I think home court is vastly overrated. The Celtics won just about as many road playoff games as they did home one last year.

[Vermont Green]

It should be a surprise to no one that MIL is going to be a tough out to get past to get to the finals or to beat out for the #1 seed.  We barely got by them last season and they didn't have Middleton (albeit, we had a gimpy Rob).  Since last season, MIL now has Middleton back and has added Crowder.  We have added Brogdon and to some extent Hauser (at this point, I don't see Muscala being a factor).  MIL also has probably the best player in Giannis (will get all the calls).  Not to mention, we lost our coach.

This isn't anyone's fault, it is just the reality of what this team is up against.  Getting to the finals is never easy, much less wining a title.

[Donoghus]

HCA would be nice but certainly not a necessity for this Celtics.

They can beat any time in this league in a 7 game series.  With or without HCA. 

[Moranis]

Interesting note, the Heat have basically gone from the best 3 point shooting team in the league last year to one of the worst this year.  The only time in history that has happened before was the Warriors when they lost Durant, Klay was hurt, and Curry only played 5 games following the season they lost to Toronto in the finals.  Of course the Heat have mostly the same roster, which is what makes it so strange.

[Phantom255x]

Interesting note, the Heat have basically gone from the best 3 point shooting team in the league last year to one of the worst this year.  The only time in history that has happened before was the Warriors when they lost Durant, Klay was hurt, and Curry only played 5 games following the season they lost to Toronto in the finals.  Of course the Heat have mostly the same roster, which is what makes it so strange.

That's the issue with Miami this season. They are simply missing shots. Even wide open ones, they are bricking. It's not like their defense is terrible either, but their shooters are shooting poorly so none of it really matters.

I still think MIA is a tricky opponent because if they find their shot again, they will be tough for anyone. And Butler is a playoff beast