This and that around the League 20-21

Schroder's situation spells out why sometimes a team would rather overpay a player than have him walk and have no way to replace him due to salary cap rules.

This is a long and ongoing thread that everyone enjoys. It would be a shame to cut it off.

I'm going to make this simple and direct. Let's get off the topics of who is or isn't racist and who does or doesn't have some issue. The hot-button gossip topics that are stinking up the web and social media like month-old garbage aren't happening here. We're treating each other with respect and dignity and better than that, right? This is not the opinion page.

If we see them, they will be deleted. If it continues, we'll just lock the topic.

I'm asking everyone to use their head before they post.

Thank you.

So I saw the Nets- Charlotte game earlier tonite, I really wanted to see Gordon Hayward and Kyrie without Harden and Durant. Nets play like a  finely tuned veteran team that knows it’s identity and everyone knows their roles. I don’t think Nash gets enough credit for how unselfish and dynamic that offense is. They always go out of their way to get the role players like Harris and Brown off, tonite Shamet also went off and even without Harden there’s was great ball movement leading to great open looks to those role playing snipers I just mentioned. Kyrie was also great with his normal amount of dazzling moves with either hand. He and Harden are so unselfish and even without Harden Nets had a 30 point lead by the 3rd quarter and Jeff Green also went off with some great cuts, leading to spectacular dunks. The Nets just change up their offense from 3’s to back cuts getting easy looks and spectacular iso from their stars. Again I don’t think Nash is getting enough credit.

The other player I wanted to see looked slow and unathletic sadly, being brutally honest. Gordon had no impact whatsoever, if you never saw the players before and this was first time watching, Jeff Green looked like an all star compared to GH. I’m glad we didn’t match that 120 mill 4 year contract. Devonte and Rozier ran that offense, GH just stood on the side for the most part and when he did get it, shockingly/sadly he couldn’t do anything with it barely. He sure looked like an average player at best, no ability to score, looked like an old Celtic from way back Jeri Welsh, remember him? Saw some good boxscores from GH this year, but he looked like a shot player on the wrong side of 30 tonite.

Maybe Stevens should study some Nets game film, they get such great production from Harris and Shamet and Brown. Harris and Shamet are young vets, but Brown I don’t think ever played in the NBA before. Their offense is so diversified and ours is so predictable, they know how to get their role players wide open looks and we get so little production out of ours, is it them or the offense? Maybe a combination of both, could you imagine if we could get any production at all from Nesmith, and they’re guys know exactly what to do to get easy baskets....which is why they are in 1st place.

Last night's Nets game showed the difference good coaching makes. I'll bet that Nesmith would shine as a backup in a better designed offense.

worcester wrote:Last night's Nets game showed the difference good coaching makes. I'll bet that Nesmith would shine as a backup in a better designed offense.

Exactly what I was thinking as I’ve watched Nets enough times, they know how to get their role players off, their offense is so unpredictable, never know what method of attack leading to an open look or driving lane is coming next. They are making Jeff Green look great, Nash should be coach of the year. They got up to a 30 point lead on their role players going off. Do we even have an offensive coordinator/assistant? Why is our offense so bland with J’s always making tough shots?

Dallas just beat Utah by 8, and Utah needed a 34-24 4th quarter to get it even that close.  Doncic with 31 and 6-11 from 3.  Apparently it isn't just us.

Porzingis was a Coaches-DNP.   Gobert played 34 minutes and went 14 and 15, so it wasn't just matchup driven. ????



Bob


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Dallas at home without the Unicorn beats the Jazz ...now that is really impressive. Carlyle just need a Luka to become a great coach.

worcester wrote:Dallas at home without the Unicorn beats the Jazz ...now that is really impressive. Carlyle just need a Luka to become a great coach.

Didn’t see the game, but when Lukas outside shot is on, with the rest of his game, the vision and clever amazing drives, he can carry a team on his back and make everyone better....

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/t-wolves-owner-rod-partner-014829250.html



T-wolves owner: A-Rod, partner in agreement to buy NBA club





FILE - In this May 2, 2016, file photo, Marc Lore speaks during an interview in Hoboken, N.J. Former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and e-commerce mogul Lore have signed a letter of intent to buy the Timberwolves and keep the NBA franchise in Minnesota. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed the agreement, which includes the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. The two sides have a 30-day window for negotiations to be finalized. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)


DAVE CAMPBELL
Sat, April 10, 2021, 6:48 PM



MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former baseball star Alex Rodriguez and e-commerce mogul Marc Lore signed a letter of intent Saturday to buy the Timberwolves and keep the NBA team in Minnesota, owner Glen Taylor said.

The agreement, which also includes the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, opens a 30-day window for negotiations to be finalized. If accountants and attorneys for both sides agree, the deal would then need to be approved by the league.

The Athletic first reported the $1.5 billion sale.

Under the conditions of the deal, Taylor would keep control of the club for the next two years and bring on Rodriguez and Lore as partners until a handover in 2023. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Taylor said their connection went “terrifically well” and that he was “happy” and excited" about what's to come.


“They’ve asked that I would be there for any decisions that would need to be made,” Taylor said. “I would enjoy that. I love teaching people. These are a couple of very bright guys, and I think it could be helpful to the club and I think I could be helpful to them so that they feel confident once they take over 100%.”

Taylor, who put the teams on the market last year, said he was first approached by Rodriguez and Lore a week ago. The pair traveled to meet Taylor and his wife at their winter home in Naples, Florida. Taylor, who turns 80 on April 20, has spoken with numerous suitors over the years but taken a deliberate approach to finding a buyer he's comfortable with. He said he's done that with Rodriguez and Lore.

“I was concerned if I got ill or something happened to me what would happen to the club. This gives me a path that I know it’s going to happen. I feel confident that they’ll take care of the franchise and move it ahead,” Taylor said.

Throughout the sale process, he told interested parties that keeping the franchises in town was a prerequisite for purchase.

“There was no use talking to them if they didn’t agree to that,” Taylor said.

The Timberwolves, who entered the league in 1989 as an expansion club, were on their way to New Orleans in 1994 before Taylor, a lifelong Minnesotan who built his fortune from a small commercial printing business, bought the team for $88 million.

As part of the renovations at Target Center that were initiated in 2016, the team’s lease with the city of Minneapolis carries a $50 million penalty if it were to be broken prior to 2035.

Rodriguez and Lore are 50-50 partners in the deal, Taylor said.

The 45-year-old Rodriguez hit 696 home runs over 22 major league seasons, with the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. His last season on the field was 2016, marking the end of marvelous career that was tainted by performance enhancing drug use he later admitted to. Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season for violating Major League Baseball policy.

Lore became Walmart's e-commerce chief in 2016, when the retail giant bought his Jet.com startup in an attempt to boost online business. Lore notified Walmart on Jan. 31 of his intent to leave the company. The 49-year-old Lore will continue to serve in a consulting role as a strategic adviser through September.

Rodriguez and Lore confirmed the agreement in a statement distributed to ESPN.

“We look forward to entering this phase of the process with Glen Taylor. Our respect for him and the legacy he has built lays an amazing foundation for what is to come. We are excited by the prospect of getting to know the Timberwolves organization,” the statement said.

Rodriguez was the headliner in a group that tried to purchase the New York Mets last year, before dropping out. Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen bought the club instead.

The background on the biggest stages of major sports that Rodriguez has was intriguing to Taylor.

“I just think he understands leadership and what it takes and the different ways that you can coach and motivate people," Taylor said, "and I think having him around will be helpful in the selection of the right leaders for the team."


Bob


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Steph Curry dropped 49 on the Sixers.  That was his fifth 40+ point game in the month of April, breaking Kobe and MJs record for most 40-point games in a calendar month.

And it's still only the 20th.  He has however many games the Dubs have left to play in the next 10 days to add to his new record.


Bob


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My favorite NBA player to watch since KG, and I like watching him better than even KG.

NBA TV has the replay of the 77 Finals game 6 Blazers and Bill Walton vs 76ers and Dr J on tonite at 8, actually on right now!!

[quote="bobheckler"]Steph Curry dropped 49 on the Sixers.  That was his fifth 40+ point game in the month of April, breaking Kobe and MJs record for most 40-point games in a calendar month.

And it's still only the 20th.  He has however many games the Dubs have left to play in the next 10 days to add to his new record.


Bob


BobH, while not doubting you or the record, I find it hard to believe that Wilt didn’t accomplish this many months, many times. The man AVERAGED 50.4 points a game in 61-62!

Will good point, scoring 40 would bring down his avg

Wilt did this 5 games in a row in October 1961.

He scored 40+ in 8 games in November 1961.

https://www.statmuse.com/musings/wilt-chamberlain-begins-an-nba-record-streak-of-65-consecutive-games-of-6ef9279a

He was ridiculous in 1962. https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/wilt-chamberlain-points-by-game-in-62

Thanks Worcester. One of my sports related pet peeves is when sportswriters and/or networks come up with “streaks or records” to glorify a certain athlete or endeavor. Steph is great, Kobe and MJ were great, Wilt was great. Inventing a narrative to enhance their greatness is in my opinion demeaning and disrespectful to the history of the sport. I don’t get into The Who’s era was better debate, the history of professional sports is littered with immortals. It is not necessary to disrespect or disregard the historical for the contemporary. A Cleveland Indians pitcher is on a fantastic strike out streak to start the season. That’s great but it’s meaningless to dissect the minutiae of every pitch to elevate his accomplishment as something that Walter Johnson, Carl Hubbell, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson et al did not or could not do. The young man is having a great start to the season, a contrived record isn’t needed for a fan to see that. The same applies to Steph’s streak.
Ok guys, I’ll put my soapbox up for the night but reserve the right to climb back on it at any time.

Willjr, I share your sentiments completely, and I must add, you are a fine writer with quite a command of the English language. The Will Sr. I most often think of is Will Shakespeare.

Btw, speaking Cleveland pitchers, a friend of mine is/was Herb Score's first cousin. What a tragedy that injury was.

Yeah, the league and current society don't want to mention or recognize anything from that era as there were only 3 teams in the league at the time and every team Wilt played against only had 3 players and Lord help you if you played for the Celtics because they got every call and were spotted two or three games for each playoff series depending upon whether it was a best of 3, 5 or 7.  The complete and utter disrespecting of Russell is more than enough for me.  Don't get me started!

db

Perhaps the greatest consecutive stretch of scoring by a player may be Wilt's 13 game stretch between December 8, 1961 and December 29, 1961

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/chambwi01/gamelog/1962/

Those 13 games produced one subpar 43 point effort

78, 61, 55, 54, 52, 43, 50, 57, 55, 50, 51, 53 and 60

Wilt never gets enough credit, because of Russell and Red. Missed him in his prime, but read so much documented evidence of him coming up small at crunch time of the biggest playoff games. Bill Simmons covered this and even named all his sources of multiple writers and players and game logs about Wilts failure in the clutch. This scoring streak is still amazing/phenomenal and Wilt should get his due....

worcester wrote:Willjr, I share your sentiments completely, and I must add, you are a fine writer with quite a command of the English language. The Will Sr. I most often think of is Will Shakespeare.

Btw, speaking Cleveland pitchers, a friend of mine is/was Herb Score's first cousin. What a tragedy that  injury was.

Wow, me and the Bard! Thanks for the kind words Worcester, greatly appreciated. As a kid my favorite sport was baseball. My parents gave me a subscription to the old Baseball Digest magazine. I remember reading a story in there about Herb Score and the terrible accident that occurred. Gil McDougall hit the line drive. He took a step towards first, heard a sickening sound and immediately ran to the mound. Herb’s best friend on the team was right fielder Rocky Colavito. Rocky said he instinctively knew from the sound of the contact that the ball was headed up the middle. He moved toward centerfield to back up the play and the ball wasn’t there. He looked to the infield saw a crowd around the mound and took off on a dead run, fearing the worst. Herb eventually came back but never regained his form or dominance. McDougall was also never the same hitter afterwards.

willjr wrote:Thanks Worcester. One of my sports related pet peeves is when sportswriters and/or networks come up with “streaks or records” to glorify a certain athlete or endeavor. Steph is great, Kobe and MJ were great, Wilt was great. Inventing a narrative to enhance their greatness is in my opinion demeaning and disrespectful to the history of the sport. I don’t get into The Who’s era was better debate, the history of professional sports is littered with immortals. It is not necessary to disrespect or disregard the historical for the contemporary. A Cleveland Indians pitcher is on a fantastic strike out streak to start the season. That’s great but it’s meaningless to dissect the minutiae of every pitch to elevate his accomplishment as something that Walter Johnson, Carl Hubbell, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson et al did not or could not do. The young man is having a great start to the season, a contrived record isn’t needed for a fan to see that. The same applies to Steph’s streak.
Ok guys, I’ll put my soapbox up for the night but reserve the right to climb back on it at any time.

Willjr,

Excellent points in a well thought out and concisely written post.

The spread of analytics though the sports world does have it's downside. Among fans and media, the staggering volume of statistics does seem to lead to more nonsensical debates. On the field, although sometimes helpful, that same data overload can often backfire. To continue your baseball example, there is nothing I like better than to see a hitter send one to the the opposite field when there's a shift playing him to pull. Revenge of the statistically challenged.

After all; Over-analysis leads to paralysis.

Regards

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-heat-concerned-tyler-herro-191203649.html



Report: Heat concerned about Tyler Herro’s personal life



Dan Feldman
Tue, April 20, 2021, 12:12 PM

Heat guard Tyler Herro played like a star as a rookie in the 2020 playoffs.

This season, he has regressed… while continuing to embrace his celebrity status.

Ethan Skolnick on the “Inside the Paint” podcast:

Everybody is entitled to their own personal life, and we don’t try to bring it up. And, look, the greatest player in Miami Heat history, there was a lot of stuff that we knew about that we didn’t talk about. It’s just the way that this played out. And he grew through some things. And we all know who we’re both talking about. But ultimately, the team starts to get a certain level of concern. In this particular case, the team has been concerned now for months. And that’s kind of where it’s at. But they were concerned with players during the big-three era. But this one is different, because this kid is 21.

It’s telling that the Heat were also concerned about similar issues when they were winning big with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Though it’d be ideal to get players who care about only basketball, this seems like a good tradeoff: Get players good enough to garner major-celebrity status, try to manage the potential distractions and hope for the best. It sure beats trying to win with players who aren’t talented enough to draw significant attention.

The problem: Herro isn’t playing anywhere near like a star.

There could be several reasons unrelated to his focus level: He has been hurt. He’s shooting just 33% on 3-pointers, and that’s a stat prone to fluctuation.

Expectations also grew way too high after his bubble run. That was a small sample with a unique shooting background. While it was possible Herro would pick up where he left off, assumptions he’d be an All-Star – or even good starter – this season were unfair.

But Herro has embraced his fame. The Heat should be concerned about that – though not necessarily panic about it. Succeeding in the NBA requires massive commitment and leaves little room for outside interests.

Miami teammate Jimmy Butler could help guide Herro. Some Bulls once felt Butler enjoyed the trappings of stardom too much. But Butler maintained his elite work ethic. That’s why he’s such a good player. And he still finds room to bask in attention.

It’s possible for Herro to have it all. But right now, he’s just not playing well enough.

The Heat should be concerned about every possible reason for Herro’s sophomore slump.


Bob


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cowens/oldschool wrote:Wilt never gets enough credit, because of Russell and Red. Missed him in his prime, but read so much documented evidence of him coming up small at crunch time of the biggest playoff games. Bill Simmons covered this and even named all his sources of multiple writers and players and game logs about Wilts failure in the clutch. This scoring streak is still amazing/phenomenal and Wilt should get his due....

Cow,

Anytime the league has to change the rules to make it harder for you because you're just SO good nobody else has a chance, you know you're something special.  They expanded the paint because of Wilt, to make him have to go further, and make it easier to box him out, to get position for a rebound.  They changed the rule about fritos and made the frito shooter not be allowed to leave the line until after his shot hits the rim.  That was because Wilt would just follow his misses, and there were many of them, in and get a dunk off his own frito miss.

They don't do this anymore, and haven't since MJ.  Quite the opposite.  They changed the rule regarding handchecking because of MJ, but they changed it so it was easier for him, not harder.  The Little General, David Stern, wanted to market individual players so he changed the rule to make it harder to defend Jordan.  Do you think they'll move the 3pt line out further, because of Curry (and Dame and Trae coming up behind him) or do you think they'll just add a 4pt shot?  I'm betting a 4pt shot.  More scoring and harder to defend.  It doesn't level the competitive landscape, it exalts and elevates top shooters like those guys by catering to their strengths because there will only be a few of them that can take and make 25'+ 4pt shots with efficiency.


Bob


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