NBA Thread

[GwillMac6 20,683]

1 hour ago, aujeff11 said:

Belly Nelly shoots too damn much. His 10 points a game is pretty pedestrian considering he’s so bad on D and shoots so much.

Him and jose calderon look like any generic bond villain lol.

[GwillMac6 20,683]

O and congrats to the raptors for finally not choking in game 1 of a playoff series and actually winning!!!! IDK how you lose 10 game 1's in a row before this BUT YALL MANAGED TO DO IT! haha

[GwillMac6 20,683]

COME ON BRO!!!! KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE! MAKE HISTORY BABY!!! WOOOO!!!!

[GwillMac6 20,683]

OMGSH AS A UNABASHED MEMBER OF THE ZACH COLLINS FAN CLUB I say....... dooooo work young man!!!

[aujeff11 6,243]

Do not understand Lue sometimes. He claimed he was going to have a ten man rotation but Tristan Thompson only played one minute. Pretty surprising loss at home but I still think they make it to the finals.

[aubearcat 2,137]

☘️??

[GwillMac6 20,683]

1 hour ago, aujeff11 said:

Do not understand Lue sometimes. He claimed he was going to have a ten man rotation but Tristan Thompson only played one minute. Pretty surprising loss at home but I still think they make it to the finals.

lol that is what you do not understand by mr magoo?!?!??! That was the 1 good thing he did!!!!!! Tristan is a undersized center who's best trait is his ability to get offensive rebounds which he gets most of the time because the defense completely sags off of him and is nowhere near him because he is a 0 on offense so he has no one around him when he grabs said offensive rebounds! lol.......  I was completely flummoxed by how little rodney hood played!!!! HE IS WHO THEY NEED to be the third option!!!!  But this was your classic regular season playoff game. the LeBrons played with regular season intensity and they got punched in the mouth for it because the pacers blitzed the crap out of them and played with a fury of playoff intensity. Regardless even if the Cavs ramp it up to playoff level of effort the pacers are just quicker, more switchy, more 3 and more athletic than them. Effort alone is not going to win them this series. They have to make shots. K love also cannot be 2016 nba finals K love and only score 9 points. 

[GwillMac6 20,683]

4 hours ago, aubearcat said:

☘️??

congrats man!!!! your boys seem to every year be dealt a tough hand in the playoffs because of injuries! really gritty win. Happy for ya.

[aujeff11 6,243]

3 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

lol that is what you do not understand by mr magoo?!?!??! That was the 1 good thing he did!!!!!!

I’m just saying the coach said himself that he’d use a 10 man rotation so you’d think TT would be used more. I know he’s been dead weight but that is Lebron’s Guy just like JR. 

In other news, Harden put on a show. He was almost entertaining too. Can’t believe that Chuck tried to say that Harden is more unguardable as a scorer than the likes of KD and Kobe. SMDH!!

[GwillMac6 20,683]

22 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I’m just saying the coach said himself that he’d use a 10 man rotation so you’d think TT would be used more. I know he’s been dead weight but that is Lebron’s Guy just like JR. 

In other news, Harden put on a show. He was almost entertaining too. Can’t believe that Chuck tried to say that Harden is more unguardable as a scorer than the likes of KD and Kobe. SMDH!!

KD is the best scorer in NBA history even though I hate his guts and plan his demise year round like I do with bowl cut lolol.  so that is a no from muhhhhhhhhhh lol.

[aujeff11 6,243]

16 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

KD is the best scorer in NBA history even though I hate his guts and plan his demise year round like I do with bowl cut lolol.  so that is a no from muhhhhhhhhhh lol.

Kawhi Leonard has to be the biggest mystery in all of basketball. He has gone from being all business to being absent and leaving Pop pissed. Maybe he’s a closet republican?

[GwillMac6 20,683]

1 minute ago, aujeff11 said:

Kawhi Leonard has to be the biggest mystery in all of basketball. He has gone from being all business to being absent and leaving Pop pissed. Maybe he’s a closet republican?

I remember the word surrounding Kawhi when he was at san diego state was a lot of nba teams did NOT like the people he surrounded himself around off the court. He apparently got in to some trouble at san diego state as well that is not talked about since his personality or lack thereof does not reflect that of a troublemaker. ANYWAYS.  Of course I never thought anything of it until now and the whole storyline now of pop saying talk to HIS GUYS or HIS team whatever he said. Looks like his entourage is getting in his ear to not play even though he most likely could. Spurs are not used to this type of drama at all. IT IS SO FASCINATING.

[aujeff11 6,243]

8 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

I remember the word surrounding Kawhi when he was at san diego state was a lot of nba teams did NOT like the people he surrounded himself around off the court. He apparently got in to some trouble at san diego state as well that is not talked about since his personality or lack thereof does not reflect that of a troublemaker. ANYWAYS.  Of course I never thought anything of it until now and the whole storyline now of pop saying talk to HIS GUYS or HIS team whatever he said. Looks like his entourage is getting in his ear to not play even though he most likely could. Spurs are not used to this type of drama at all. IT IS SO FASCINATING.

I never knew this. I guess for those that didn’t know about this, I have to wonder if it’s possible for anybody to not have their opinion changed about him. There is absolutely no way this guy is injured.

[GwillMac6 20,683]

6 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I never knew this. I guess for those that didn’t know about this, I have to wonder if it’s possible for anybody to not have their opinion changed about him. There is absolutely no way this guy is injured.

I never liked him. But that was Mainly just because I hated how boring he was and how he had no personality and had no facial expressions or showed ANY kind of excitement during games. LIKE GIVE US SOMETHING MAN! lol.  BUT yah this is just a whole other level. There is just no way he is hurt. Pop would never ever call someone out in the public at a post game press conference if he did not know for a fact that kawhi is fine and COULD play. This is surreal. This kind of thing never happens to the spurs.

[GwillMac6 20,683]

lol this freaking guy. CAN HE STOP ASSAULTING people on the floor?! dirtiest player in the game! Ric Flair would be so proud......

[aujeff11 6,243]

6 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

lol this freaking guy. CAN HE STOP ASSAULTING people on the floor?! dirtiest player in the game! Ric Flair would be so proud......

Meh stop being so dramatic. The no name player literally had his elbow planted into Green’s throat.  It’s no more dirty than what CP3 did to some Timberwolves player. 

Edited April 17, 2018 by aujeff11

[GwillMac6 20,683]

6 hours ago, aujeff11 said:

Meh stop being so dramatic. The no name player literally had his elbow planted into Green’s throat.  It’s no more dirty than what CP3 did to some Timberwolves player. 

ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!? YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! lol stop being dramatic?! THat is like asking green to stop flailing his legs and hitting people in the crotch. I WILL NOT STAAAAAAAAAND FOR PEOPLE NOT HATING DRAYMOND GREEN WITH EVERY SINGLE FIBER OF THEIR BEING!!!!!!!!!! Good DAY! 

 

 

[aujeff11 6,243]

4 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!? YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! lol stop being dramatic?! THat is like asking green to stop flailing his legs and hitting people in the crotch. I WILL NOT STAAAAAAAAAND FOR PEOPLE NOT HATING DRAYMOND GREEN WITH EVERY SINGLE FIBER OF THEIR BEING!!!!!!!!!! Good DAY! 

 

 

? 

[GwillMac6 20,683]

LOL you are NOT winning when rondo is making dagger clutch time threes ON THE ROAD in the nba playoffs.  You just got to tip your cap. Cause that is the shot you WANTED them to take. National T.V. rondo is still a thing!

Edited April 18, 2018 by GwillMac6

[GwillMac6 20,683]

Dang! Jrue is playing the best ball of his career right now. I have no doubt DOLLLLLLLA Dame will play better in NOLA. I would not be suprised if portland gets both games.

[aujeff11 6,243]

6 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

Dang! Jrue is playing the best ball of his career right now. I have no doubt DOLLLLLLLA Dame will play better in NOLA. I would not be suprised if portland gets both games.

?

[GwillMac6 20,683]

4 hours ago, aujeff11 said:

?

I have a feeling this could be like the suitcase series of houston and mavericks fame from 2005 when the road team won the first 4 games. It has a weird vibe surrounding it.

[GwillMac6 20,683]

 

[GwillMac6 20,683]

Shams Charania

The most arduous moments for Jrue Holiday had come inside gyms while sharpening the work ethic that established him as a professional, and as players go, he knows they cede so much of life’s control to the sport. Then came the moment when Holiday felt so futile, relying on doctors and prayers during the treatment for his wife Lauren’s brain tumor during her pregnancy with their baby girl, Jrue Tyler, in 2016. He was also dealing with the pressures of the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans — entering a contract year, no less — and he admits now that it had become time to hit pause on the professional stresses and focus on the deepest, most important aspect of life.

“There was a lot of stress that I felt, a lot of pressure there,” Holiday told Yahoo Sports. “I think how my family dynamic is built, how my faith is built, we persevered through that. Always praying. My family praying, especially for my wife. My wife going through that — being pregnant and having a brain tumor — that was the point where I had to rely on other people.”

Holiday pauses as his daughter is yelling for her dad in the background on this evening at their home, a moment he cherishes.

“As a man and as an athlete, you always feel you can handle things by yourself,” Holiday said. “You feel like, ‘I got to the league, I did it by myself.’ You thank and serve people along the way — but I put in the work. That was somewhat in my control. But my wife’s situation, it really wasn’t in my control. So to bounce back from that has been pretty cool, pretty special to me.”

Holiday stepped away from the game in September 2016 to stay with his wife, returning 12 games into last season, signing a five-year contract to return to the Pelicans in July and is now in the midst of one of his best NBA seasons. New Orleans had lost five of six games after losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins for the season because of a torn Achilles tendon in a victory over Houston on Jan. 26 and proceeded to win 10 of 12 to compete for home-court advantage in the Western Conference at 38-28. Anthony Davishas played MVP-caliber basketball during this recent stretch, and Holiday has served as his co-star, scoring 20 points or more in the first eight games of the Pelicans’ recent 10-game winning streak, including two 20-point, 10-assist games and a 19-point, 17-assist performance. It’s Holiday whose performances can serve as a barometer of this team’s success, with averages of a career-high 19.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds in playing all 66 games entering Tuesday’s matchup against Charlotte.

The Pelicans finally started meshing and winning games with Cousins at the center of it all, and it took several games to revive their spirit. Cousins and Davis had dominant stretches together this season, and Rajon Rondo and Holiday supplemented their All-Stars’ play while finding their own chemistry. Together, they had the strut of a contender in the West. Apart, Holiday, Davis and Rondo needed to recalibrate their games and messages as leaders, and needed to sit down with coach Alvin Gentry to ensure the Pelicans would find purpose again.

“A.D. and I had a big conversation, including Rondo and Gentry, and we talked about staying positive,” Holiday said. “We really felt like we lost a big piece in DeMarcus. We’ve been rolling right now, but with him we started to get in a groove. That Houston game was a real important staple, showing us we can compete against anyone in the league with DeMarcus. We’ve had a lot of challenges over the years, dealing with injuries in previous years and this year with Solomon [Hill] and our rookie, Frank [Jackson]. We dealt with challenges just coming into the season with different players, and even though we finished the year well with DeMarcus last season, we had to figure ourselves out again.

“At this point, we all know the Western Conference is a beast. Just a couple games between the third and the [ninth] spot. There’s an understanding, but we’ve had fun. Maybe this will be the challenge we needed because we persevered through it for now.”

Cousins’ injury was out of the Pelicans’ control, and so they’ve found methods to cope and succeed. New Orleans acquired forward Nikola Mirotic last month and has had Holiday and Rondo pushing the tempo.

“We’re moving faster, pushing the pace more,” Holiday said. “Rondo has done a great job with that from the jump, having better starts to games. By him doing that, it gets me, E’Twaun [Moore] and Anthony to run because we know he’s going to look for us.

“When Rondo first came in, we grew so close, so fast. Me growing up, I watched him play. Once we got to be around each other, that respect gained more and more. I love playing with Rondo, and he’s one of the best point guards I’ve ever played with. They said to me that they wanted Rondo to put me off the ball and put me to playmake off that position. I’ve been a combo guard my whole life, so I had to get acclimated to it and having two dominant scorers [in Davis and Cousins]. I had to figure it out and see what they want. Having a point guard like Rondo, who has such a major position with our team, keeps everybody happy.”

When Holiday remained in North Carolina with Lauren to be by her side during the final stretch of her pregnancy, half of the Pelicans’ roster, Gentry and general manager Dell Demps visited in the fall of 2016. Davis, Hill and former Pelicans Tim Frazier and Dante Cunningham were among the players who made the trip in which team workouts also took place. Most say the lasting memory was their taste buds awakening over Lauren’s famous rib dishes during a Monday Night Football game. Lauren had a successful procedure to remove the tumor late in 2016 after her pregnancy.

“The guys enjoyed each other’s camaraderie, and it was beyond basketball for us,” Demps said. “We always felt Jrue’s best basketball was in front of him, and we’ve seen him evolve so much as a man, a husband and a father. We couldn’t be more proud of Jrue as a person.”

Holiday was an emerging guard for Philadelphia and an All-Star in 2013 before a draft-night trade to the Pelicans, but the past several seasons brought some injuries and a cloud over his impact for New Orleans. Through it all, Holiday stayed firm.

“I’m sure people were doubting me and my play,” Holiday said, “but I don’t really look into the negative thoughts. Negative things can impact your game, so I usually stick to positive vibes and positive people. I never doubted.”

Holiday, like so many pro athletes, had become accustomed to controlling his own fate and helping the lives of those closest to him. However, so much had come in a wave — his newborn and wife’s condition, changes across a roster facing pressure to win, and an unknown free agency — that steeled him for arguably his best pro year. “It was out of my hands and it was stressful,” Holiday said. “I’m so lucky to be here and make it on the other side.”

[GwillMac6 20,683]

OK SHAQ!!!!! we see you getting those 5 assists!!! lol WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!