The Indy Talks To Himself (NBA) Thread.

In the last five years Toronto, Milwaukee, and Denver have won titles. That’s good for the league.

 

Good for Jokic. Best player in the world.

Jamal Murray is a helluva number 2 though. Dude was excellent throughout the postseason.

 

Jimmy Butler is a really good example of how expectations dictate the level of praise/scorn you receive for your performances.

No one expected the Heat to go anywhere this postseason. They trailed the Bulls with 2 and a half minutes to go in the second play-in game, where, had they lost, they wouldn't have even made the playoffs. So when they beat the Bucks (albeit with an injured Giannis, which matters, imo), and Jimmy went off, he was praised to the ends of the earth. And he deserved it.

But I don't see anyone complaining about his performances in this gentleman's sweep against the Nuggets. 21-3-5 on 28% shooting is pretty average. He scored 13 points in their game 1 loss. Never scored more than 30. And I've got one of my dumbass buddies texting me after game 2 about how Jimmy got a win off the Nuggets with a bunch of nobodies when LeBron couldn't do it with multiple all-star teammates.

I get that that guy is just a troll, but I do think it's interesting how we react to these guys' performances. I've been singing Jimmy's praises for a while now, so I'm not intending to talk down about him here. But he was not elite in this series, and he doesn't deserve a pass for that when we would roast others in his shoes.

 

If he wants to compare James and Butler vs the Nuggets in the playoffs, he isn't going to like what he finds.

 

I know, but it doesn't matter. If what he finds doesn't agree with his stance, he will just fall back to stupidity like 6-0 > 4-6 and the normal nonsense. The stance informs the evidence that matters to him, not vice versa. He's been a lot less interested in talking about Jimmy Butler since game 2.

But I don't want to make this about LeBron. He just happens to be the name Jordan stans can't keep out of their mouths and were using as a comparison to Butler. But now that Butler struggled and the Heat were basically dominated, it's crickets. I just think it's interesting to see who gets away with those performances and who doesn't.

 

My thoughts on the postseason/offseason:

• Nuggets - Best team, best player, 100% deserved it, etc. etc. I'm not taking anything away from them. But we can acknowledge reality while still giving them their due. The Wolves were garbage, the Suns were an overhyped, deeply flawed roster, the Lakers were gassed from playing essentially an extra month or 2 of playoff basketball before the playoffs actually started, and the Heat were 2 and a half minutes from missing the playoffs entirely. I think the Bucks could have beaten them if circumstances were different. I think the Lakers could have beaten them if circumstances were different. Hell, I'd even give the Warriors a punchers chance if circumstances were different. But they're the champs, so good for them.
  
  
• Heat - They need to make roster changes. This team punched WAY above its weight and probably loses to a healthy Bucks squad in round 1. I hope they make a splash move this offseason, as they're a lot of fun when they're really good. Also, Spo is probably the best coach in the league.
  
  
• Celtics - Joe Mazzulla will get better, but I don't think they can win it all with this group of players. If it was me, I'd move off of Brown, but I anticipate they will keep him. There are a number of trades they could make that would really shake things up though, so that's what I'm rooting for.
  
  
• Lakers - Honestly, I wouldn't change much. I truly believe that the 2-10 start to the season killed this team. It turned every game into a playoff game down the stretch of the regular season, and I think that ultimately led to their demise in the playoffs. There's a reason every game against the Nuggets was competitive, but they just couldn't get over the hump. DLo is the obvious piece they have to figure out, but I wouldn't be super upset if they signed him and then traded him at the deadline. I don't think Kyrie is the answer to their problems, but I could be okay with Fred VanVleet.
  
  
• Suns - This team has the potential to be scary good this year. Free agents will want to play there, and if Chris Paul comes back for less money, they'll be in a good spot. The Ayton situation is interesting, especially with them hiring Frank Vogel. I thought for sure Ayton was gone, but that move gives me pause. I'm hoping we see Devin Booker take that next step alongside KD and everyone stays healthy. They'll be a fun team to watch.
  
  
• Warriors - They're in trouble. Draymond is clearly more important to their success than Poole, but they can't pay Draymond because of Poole. They either have to tear the whole thing down or trade away all their young talent to give it one last go with the core players. I'm not sure either options is a good one, to be honest, and they may just be out of their window.
  
  
• Grizzlies - LOL
  
  
• Bucks - Still like Giannis. Still like Jrue. Middleton is the big question mark. I'm not sure they can afford to waste many more years of Giannis's prime counting on him as their #2
  
  
• Clippers - Is it time to shut it down and move off of Kawhi and PG? I say yes. They can't stay healthy. If they ever do, it could be magical, but they can't, so why bother thinking about it? They also know that the Lakers only have a year, 2 years max of LeBron left. Retool the roster now and be ready to take over LA when LeBron leaves or really starts to fade.
  
  
• Philly - I wouldn't bring Harden back, but I think they will. It's disappointing, as Embiid is now in a great position to make his next jump after finally getting his MVP. Just can't see it happening with Harden on the team in his current state. Also think Maxey could take his next leap faster without Harden on the floor.

 

The whole “Jokic doesn’t really care about this” schtick is already extremely tiresome. The horses. Wanting to skip the parade. Losing the finals mvp trophy. If you’re having to push the narrative this hard, it starts to feel like a bit of an agenda.

 

I had no idea that pro mascots made a lot of money. Apparently the Nuggets mascot makes over $600k a year.

 

What is this world?

 

Relax IMO

 

25 games feels a little light…

 

Only because poor PR made it seem like Silver was about to publicly behead him.

 

I have confidence Ja will do something stupid to get even more games added to this before next year.

 

Honestly expected 57 more games

 

I don't think it's him intentionally pushing the narrative. But someone either from the league or the Nuggets wants it to be known that this stuff doesn't mean as much to him as it does to everyone else. It's weird.

 

What the…

 

Celtics gets:
Porzingis
2023 first round pick
2024 first round pick

Memphis gets:
Marcus Smart

Wizards get:
Tyus Jones
Danilo Gallinari
Mike Muscala
2023 second round pick