2019-2020 NBA Season

Bucky

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Did the Lakers show any sign of fatigue for those that watched?
 

ramicackle

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Did the Lakers show any sign of fatigue for those that watched?
Lebron travelled twice near the end of the game and took a low percentage 3 point attempt from 5 feet behind the arc that missed with like 20 on the shot clock. He didn't even try to work the ball around for a good look. That's when I knew the game was over. Lakers were uncreative in the last 6 minutes.
 

white lightning

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Kelly Olynyk has so much talent. He has bounced around multiple teams but the kid produces everytime he plays. He is a starter in my honest opinion but even off the bench he is so important. The guys is athletic and smooth. He plays with an ease
that looks like he is playing in slow motion. I say this as a compliment. He is very fast and can jump explosively but he looks like he is not trying. Always liked his game. He doesn't force anything and lets the game just flow with him. Kelly Olynyk is
vastly underrated as a player.

As far as I know both Dragic and Bam are gonna start in game four. I sure hope so as Goran Dragic is as important to this team as Jimmy B. Let's hope for another big game in a couple of days so they can put the pressure back on the Lakers.
 

Bucky

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Thanks for the response Rami! That's one advantage for The Heat: Younger fresher legs.
 

white lightning

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I forgot to mention a few days ago that 20 year old Tyler Herro is the youngest player to ever start an NBA Finals. At least Miami has a smart coach that actually believes in and trusts white players. This is how all teams should be but I digress.

Herro will be a household name in the coming years. He is only 2 years out of high school and playing for the NBA Championship. The Owner, Coach, Team and Fans all believe in his ability. Exciting as this is rare for a white basketball player or athlete in general.
 
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TomIron361

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I don't give a rat's butt about the NBA but Lebron James leaving the court early yesterday is very indicative of his race. When the going gets tough, blacks don't have the intestinal fortitude to work through adversity. They almost always give up.
 

Riggins44

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I might have to watch Game 4. Didn't even know Miami was in the finals until today. The Black Lives Matter NBA is nauseating, but Miami is such a compelling team with Herro, Robinson, Olynyk and Leonard, plus Dragic if he can get healthy. So glad to see Miami in the finals!
 

white lightning

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I predict a big win for Miami tonight in Game 5! I'm gonna predict Tyler Herro leads all scorers. :)
 

white lightning

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The Miami Heat did it and again and won despite Goran Dragic not playing. What an epic back and forth game.

Butler was the leader and he played great. We give credit where it is due.

Duncan Robinson put on a show as well scoring 26 pts while pulling down 5 rebounds! He also had 2 assists and a steal.


I was wrong about Tyler Herro leading all scorers but he was solid with 12 pts, 3 assists and a one rebound in a smaller role tonight. He did hit the
game clinching free throws with ease!

Let's Go Heat. Stay focused. We need two more wins for an NBA Championship. If they win on Sunday the pressure will be back on the Lakers.
 

white lightning

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Heat down by 5 in the first quarter. Goran Dragic didn't start but he has just come into the game. Hope this can be an emotional lift for the Miami Heat who are trying to force a game 7 in the NBA Championship.
 

white lightning

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James and Lakers win, how predictable.


Yeah it was so boring I turned it off. A blowout all night as the Heat trailed by over 30 pts for alot of the game. The Miami Heat played with no energy or enthusiasm. It makes no sense. Well they still had a very good year. I'm glad
that Dragic at least got some minutes so he can say he played in 2 nba finals games in his career. I wonder how much longer he will play if he doesn't retire? He still has a couple of years left if he chooses to keep playing.
 

Bucky

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Yeah it was so boring I turned it off. A blowout all night as the Heat trailed by over 30 pts for alot of the game. The Miami Heat played with no energy or enthusiasm. It makes no sense. Well they still had a very good year. I'm glad
that Dragic at least got some minutes so he can say he played in 2 nba finals games in his career. I wonder how much longer he will play if he doesn't retire? He still has a couple of years left if he chooses to keep playing.

Same here was able to stomach about 5 minutes of uninspiring play before I switched back to SNF. Good run for what it was for Miami. Bummer Dragic was hurt to Cap the season but agreed he can still play.
 

Claimjumper

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The whole season, especially in the bubble, felt like an impending coronation and formality for the lakers and James especially with the Warriors out of the way with injuries. The media did their best to hype up the Bucks, Celtics, Heat, Clippers, and Rockets but no one was going to touch them. The Nuggets with Jokic seemed to have the best shot of knocking them off, playing them harder and closer than the 4-1 series indicated, but one just needs to remember back to the 01 Kings Lakers finals to know that there wouldn’t be an upset (not to go all bigunreal haha)

and speaking of the bubble, I’ve noticed a recent talking point going around with sports “journalists” heaping praise on how perfectly executed the NBA’s bubble plan was. No mention of the fact of how the lily white NHL’s bubble went just as smooth nor the fact that the NHL was the trailblazer on the plan.
 

wile

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The NBA and its fan base have become status reducers not status increasers, in a feminine society status is the top concern.
 

Shadowlight

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Before I discuss the unusual Alex Caruso story a quick word about LeBron James. James has never really captured my imagination and I have been relatively uninterested in his story. He seemed like he was 30 when he was in high school. I have never actively disliked him as a player and he seems like he is a good teammate. For whatever reason he hasn't been able to generate much of a reaction from me despite his duh public political statements.

With his 4-6 finals record he is now being mentioned with the likes of Russell and Jordan and one or two other luminaries as the best ever. I wouldn't go that far but sometimes you have to tip your hat and James does deserve at least some of the high praise coming his way. James was the best player on the floor and surprised me by playing like his younger self. Probably benefited from a shortened season and of course having Anthony Davis on his team.

Caruso on the other hand is a role player. James is fond of Caruso and it shows on the court. He meshes well with James and typically James plays extremely well when Caruso is on the court with him.

Caruso was a bench player for the Lakers this season averaging close to 25 minutes a game. His path to the NBA was most unusual. Having followed him since high school Caruso ( class of 2012) got my attention early because my ears perk up when I see bouncy white basketball players. But during his weird four year career at Texas A & M he averaged 8 points a game. He did though average 4.7 assists a game and I think during his senior year averaged 2 steals a game. Nothing suggested an NBA career though. He naturally went undrafted but somehow worked his way onto the Lakers roster. Due to injuries he got decent playing time last year and made more than a few highlight dunks.

This year he settled into a consistent rotation player and according to one of those nerdy stat metrics he ended up being rated the second best defender in the NBA. He proved throughout the playoffs he is one of the best defenders out there. His quickness, leaping ability and lateral movement helped stifle some of the best backcourts in the NBA including those in Portland and Houston. And he continued his stellar defensive play in the finals. Future NBA all star Tyler Herro did not have a good finals. Part of that could be blamed on the rotational and offensive flow disruption by not having Dragic in the lineup. But another reason was Caruso's harassing defense. Caruso also hampered Duncan Robinson in this series.

So often the white guy off the bench role was a relatively non athletic type relegated to standing behind the three point line waiting for the stars to pass them the rock at various intervals. Caruso breaks that stereotypical mold and then some. An erratic offensive scorer his greatest worth is the way he can dish the ball, play egoless basketball and play hounding defense with the best of them.

Herro should go on to have a great career and Robinson will surely improve even further. Caruso's future on the other hand isn't as secure. But his contribution to the Lakers run this year shouldn't be minimized. In fact he actually started the final game 6 and his injection of quickness helped the Lakers run Miami out of the building. It was the only time I recall in the playoffs where the Miami HC, who I feel is the best in the business, got caught by surprise. It is a shame Dragic couldn't play. And that was yet another unusual storyline in the playoffs. At his age Dragic was playing the best basketball of his career without any question.
 
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Bucky

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NBA lost 1.5billion this year.. That's gotta make a dent.
 

Leonardfan

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Another NBA tragedy - Klay Thompson tore his achilles...will the world ever recover?
 

white lightning

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Another NBA tragedy - Klay Thompson tore his achilles...will the world ever recover?

Ironically, Golden State drafted Nico Mannion. With Klay out for the year it might benefit him alot. Hope he can do good in his rookie year. Wish Mannion would have went to another team but I still wish him the best.
 

Bucky

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Another leg injury for Klay, that's too bad!

Interesting about Mannion!
 

Leonardfan

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Just saw on the bottom of the screen that Nerlens Noel signed a 1 year deal with the Knicks. That name vaguely rung a bell so I looked him up. He is a former 5 star college recruit who played one year for at Kentucky and was not dominant at all. He ends up being the 6th overall pick (he tore his ACL during the season prior to the draft). After being drafted 6th overall in 2013 he is now on his 4th team. His career stats are pedestrian and he has only averaged double digit points once - 11.1

Career numbers are:
8.0 PPG
1.4 BPG
1.3 SPG
1.2 APG
6.2 RPG

Can anyone else say MASSIVE bust? The funny thing is the media refuses to be overly critical of black busts - must be because they are a dime a dozen and don't fit in with the narrative.
 
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