in these, the waning days of stern: 2013-2014 NBA regular season thread (part 1)

Is there any good writing or theorizing on why all the injuries? Is it just that medicine is getting so good and paranoid that now we detect that much more?

feel like its some combo of increased athleticism and increasingly demanding styles of play

this is football obvs but http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/10193209/bill-belichick-new-england-patriots-questions-nfl-offseason-workout-limits id think a good approach would be to maybe cut the number of games in particular eliminate back to backs and lengthen training camp/preseason

it would not just cut down on injuries but also improve the quality of play

feel like its some combo of increased athleticism and increasingly demanding styles of play

― lag∞n, Saturday, December 28, 2013 1:40 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I feel like this is it. driving hard just to get hacked is now a sound strategy

taking the more practice less competition approach one step further replacing high school/aau and college with a european style academy system, would produce better players

i think maybe the biggest change in style of play has come on defense, all the switching from side to side is v demanding

but theres a lot more movement on offense too, too bad we didnt have those super stat cameras for the last 20 years cause i bet players move like twice as much over the course of a game as they used to

There's probably a way to track total distance moved over a game

Overhead camera facing down like the ones they used to shoot aerial footage

feel like its some combo of increased athleticism and increasingly demanding styles of play

― lag∞n, Saturday, December 28, 2013 1:40 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah this + medical staffs being more aggressive to fix possible problems that could turn into career nagging injuries.

Remember that camera they put in the floor underneath the basket. Wow that was weird

There's probably a way to track total distance moved over a game

― 乒乓, Saturday, December 28, 2013 3:48 PM (38 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well there is now http://stats.nba.com/playerTracking.html

Phoenix training staff knows the secret to good health is a Club Med atmosphere not the effing weight room

http://valleyofthesuns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nash_nelson_081016.jpg

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/h6C5Xe0oIPHUDXptLoSn8g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnbaexperts/72143941.jpg

happy endings reduce the instance of injury 69%

board descrip

I hadn't considered movement amount, but thinking about it, yeah, there's tons less standing around in basketball these days, particularly amongst the more progressive systems.

its funny cause a lot of it can be traced back to thibodeau and he plays his players too many minutes and his best player is chronically injured

NBA Legion ‏@MySportsLegion 5m -- Cavaliers have called multiple NBA team regarding an Andrew Bynum trade. "No one wants him" (via @SamAmicoFSO) Cavs likely to release Bynum.

hm.

lol the clips are scooping him up no question

haha, what a cancer.

Kev, what have you got to say for ya boy?

"He doesn't want to play basketball anymore," a league source told Yahoo Sports.

The Cavaliers believe Bynum has been a "disruptive" presence within the team and have lost hope the partnership can be salvaged, sources said. Bynum often expressed a lack of desire to play and practice and was convinced by the Cavaliers not to quit previously, sources said.

haha who's gonna sign a guy that openly just hates playing the sport?

maybe he doesnt want to sign with anyone

he just wants to quit

just retire already yeah

Quit get cool perms bowl a lot dance the salsa

he is going to become a yoga instructor.

Tbf if if I was a multimillionaire at the age of 24 like he was Id quit too

SPORTSTALK ‏@LegacySportTalk 1h -- Heat are interested in signing Andrew Bynum if he becomes a free agent.

lol.

look out, "champion-in-waiting indiana pacers."

def, also has two rings so he's good xxp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWyzAzXgo0Q

From most angles that was a pretty well-executed flop. Tim's elbow probably did brush his nose ever so slightly.

BTW, list of non-guaranteeds who could be cut in the next week:

Atlanta: Shelvin Mack, Cartier Martin, Mike Scott
Boston: None
Brooklyn: None
Charlotte: Jeff Adrien, Chris Douglas-Roberts
Chicago: D.J. Augustin, Eric Murphy
Cleveland: Andrew Bynum, Matt Dellavedova, C.J. Miles, Henry Sims
Dallas: None
Denver: Quincy Miller
Detroit: Josh Harrellson, Peyton Siva
Golden State: Hilton Armstrong, Kent Bazemore
Houston: Patrick Beverley, Greg Smith
Indiana: Rasual Butler
L.A. Clippers: Stephen Jackson, Maalik Wayns
L.A. Lakers: Xavier Henry, Ryan Kelly, Kendall Marshall, Shawne Williams
Memphis: Seth Curry, James Johnson
Miami: Michael Beasley, Roger Mason Jr.
Milwaukee: None
Minnesota: Robbie Hummel
New Orleans: Lou Amundson
New York: Cole Aldrich, Toure' Murry
Oklahoma City: Ryan Gomes, Hasheem Thabeet
Orlando: Solomon Jones, Hedo Turkoglu
Philadelphia: James Anderson, Lorenzo Brown, Brandon Davies, Daniel Orton, Hollis Thompson, Elliot Williams
Phoenix: Dionte Christmas
Portland: None
Sacramento: Hamady N'diaye
San Antonio: Malcolm Thomas
Toronto: Julyan Stone
Utah: Ian Clark, Diante Garrett, Mike Harris
Washington: None

Funny enough, from Stein's piece on them yesterday: "The list of players technically at risk includes some who face zero chance of getting snipped; Andrew Bynum, Patrick Beverley and Michael Beasley jump off the page in terms of vets who have noting to fret about."

:0

lol

Ha

nba insider mark stein B-)

he's no chris sheridan, that's for sure.

no shame there, tho.

lol bynum

i vaguely recall one of the knocks on him when he was drafted was that he wasn't particularly interested in basketball

yep only seems to ever be 7 footers who have that affliction, any shorter and you just wash out

obv a number of big guys come in like that and get over it but its probably harder to find the desire to keep up with the nba grind when you have two rings beaucoup dollars messed up knees and a heap of kobe abuse in your past

most people prob just arent psychologically built for it, lord knows i have never put nba level effort into anything

most people prob just arent psychologically built for it, lord knows i have never put nba level effort into anything

― lag∞n, Saturday, December 28, 2013 5:10 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not really sure I've even ever put Bynum-level effort into anything :/

im sure you have if you include hair or bowling

Zach Lowe ‏@ZachLowe_NBA 18m
Enterprising Raps fan wearing old Bargnani jersey, but taped over Bargnani's name and wrote "NYK'S PROBLEM" on the tape. Fun times!

raps fans have a great sense of humor

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx144/lillehammer/Turbo_Zone%20Sigs/Turbo_Zone_Bargnani_Girlfriend.jpg

Bynum signed a two-year contract for $24.8 million with the Cavs, but only $6 million of it is guaranteed before Jan. 7. After that date, the full $12.25 million this season is guaranteed. Next season's $12.5 million is not guaranteed until July 10.

In short, there is no other contract like this in the NBA at the moment. Not only has Bynum proved in spurts this season that he can be effective, but the Cavs also signed him to a contract that gives them or any team that trades for him lots of flexibility. He can be an instant money saver if the Cavs or a team that trades for him waives him before Jan. 7. He can be a rental for the rest of the season. Or he can be a trade chip heading into the draft and next summer because he can act as a salary purge option.

LeBron James (strained groin) won't play tonight at Portland. He's day-to-day.
9:41pm - 28 Dec 13

ugh lebron