part two of the nba 2020-21 anything but regular season

from the numbers it seems like they decided to finally play defense to win rather than waiting for another superstar to show up

that thibs magic

https://i.imgur.com/PWRqCGJ.png

think i read that the knicks have been the healthiest team this year also getting flukey good luck with opponent shooting and have one of the toughest scheds the rest of the way, so theyre prob looking a lil better than they actually are but theyre def playing good ball

are they better without mitchell robinson?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31250045/the-lockdown-defender-blueprint-stopping-luka-doncic

TA’s intensity in this interview is so in character lol

hope the celtics can get into that 4-5 seed series seems like the easiest path by far to make a underdog run this year

yeah you dont want to play all 3 of the good teams

Michael Porter Jr. is a good defender now

why is aaron gordons usage so low on this team? seems like he could do more than hes doing idk

incredible stuff here

No no no no no no no no no no no no Denzel Valentine!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/l8yp4mroI9

— Gustavo (@iamvega1982) April 25, 2021

cross post on the basketblolz thread

i think my favorite part is the play by play guy reacting to the replay as if its happening for the first time

You think I’m sent from above. I’m not that innocent!

Denzel Valentine on 30-footer: "I had made 3 in a row before that. It was a bad shot. I just kind of got lost in the game."

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 25, 2021

My friend is arguing that this was actually a good shot

lol

I think we can all agree that it kept the clock from running

i’m not gonna lie when he shot it i just assumed it was going in because as he says he had already made three in a row in the quarter so at that point why not a fourth? i’m no better than denzel

he was talking a lot of shit too

not the best spot for a heat check ie thats not the shot

laddy

Asked Anthony Edwards why the Timberwolves have been playing better in 4th quarters recently compared to the beginning of the season.

His answer: "I was on the bench back then."

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) April 25, 2021

send good thoughts to ringer bball writer jonathan tjarks, who just started treatment for stage 4 cancer.

yeah that fuckin sucks, he seems like a really good dude

damn what the fuck

i hope bill simmons is paying for his treatment

That sucks

"tinker with lineups"

Rockets star guard John Wall will be sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring tweak, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Wall being shut down also gives Houston opportunity to tinker with lineups for final 11 games of season.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2021

let's see what we have here *kicks draft picks into the eyes of opposing players like sand*

ok

Chris Paul clutch circus shot! 🔥pic.twitter.com/jZuQtMkDck

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 27, 2021

can’t think of a player in the league who has a wider gap between how good he seems he should be and how good he actually is than lauri markannen. everything looks good but then the shots just.... never go in. like, ever

at the end of the day you gotta have "the touch"

He’s at 48/40 splits but something is definitely off with his game

THE TIMBERWOLVES HAVE WON TWO GAMES IN A ROW!

D-Lo really played great tonight

gotta hand it to Chris Paul I was one of the naysayers who thought he'd be out of the league by now

Michael Porter Jr. is a talented young man

MPJ at 25.7 ppg on 55/54/82 since the Jamal injury. Turns 23 this summer and missed almost 2 full years of games during important developmental ages.

— Ross Homan (@Ross_homan1) April 27, 2021

yeah this season is a bummer now but I'm super sanguine on his future. gordon is still a mystery to me but it seems to be working

prob take gordon a minute to figure out how to operate as more of a secondary system player where his whole career in orlando it was kind of just do whatever, tho i think his ideal role on the nuggs is pretty obvious and normal so he should get there

being selectively aggressive is tricky, requires good quick judgement

he’s also never been a very good offensive player, doesn’t possess any exceptional skills aside from leaping ability, which is why being the fourth or fifth best offensive player in a line up was a good fit for him. he’s probably overstretched now tho his three point shooting will prob tick back up

saw some in depth breakdown of his numbers and it basically came down to in pretty much every situation hes really bad at creating for himself but otherwise pretty good, so denver should be a great fit

and on defense hes pretty much exactly what they need

if mjp can realize his defensive potential they could be great together roaming around switching and whatnot

Malone said something a few weeks ago about how Gordon was feeling worn down and he was trying to limit his minutes a bit, seems like maybe he’s pushed through that

I don’t really know what to say about how well MPJ is playing. He seems to have a chase down block in every game now and just absolutely shoots the shit out of the ball.

shooting the shit out of the ball is maybe the best single thing you can do in nba

I was told the dunk was better, by you iirc. You’ll have to make up your mind.

the world famous dunk... *nervously* is a type of shot

Hmm idk about all that

in all seriousness dunks are still the best but theyre too hard to get how many points can one score off dunks in a game like 8, you can get 20+ from the 3 point shot alone, so while the dunk is still the best shot, shooting the shit out of the ball is maybe a better all around behavior, unless youre zion