New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season

[jadis]

My son just showed me this. How is this not 2 points?

 

[jadis]

Saw the Rockets Suns game, and the Harden Westbrook tandem was very potent. 2 ex MVPs are money men. And Harden even had 2 straight steals.

 

[steve williams]

My son just showed me this. How is this not 2 points?

I don't get how the refs disallowed it but what I thought funny was Mike D'Antoni having an apoplectic fit at the 1:27mark

 

[WLVCA]

Bucks make statement in 14th straight victory, dismantling Clippers
Rivers: 'We were awful ... I don't think we played with any zip'

Steve Aschburner

a very good read......


MILWAUKEE -- Nobody likes to show up to a party, least of all a birthday party, empty-handed. So with the LA Clippers playing at Fiserv Forum Friday on the night Giannis Antetokounmpo turned 25, coach Doc Rivers and his players faced a dicey choice: impolite or awkward.

They opted for awkward, falling behind by as much as 41 points in losing 119-91 to an Eastern Conference counterpart with the same championship aspirations they have.

“It was Giannis’ birthday and we searched all over the city to find a gift,” Rivers said afterward. “Couldn’t find one. So we gave him this one.”

Hello, is this mic on? The joke fell flat in the postgame media scrum.

“That’s all I can come up with. Best I’ve got,” Rivers said. “We were awful.”

The Clippers were that, particularly on offense (shooting 8-for-32 on 3-pointers and 21 turnovers, which led to 29 Milwaukee points). But that just made the Bucks by contrast shine so much more brightly in winning for the 14th consecutive time and 18th time in their past 19 games.

This game had all the makings of a potential Finals preview. Both coaches acknowledged that there was a bit more buzz, with two heavyweights meeting with essentially healthy rosters and all their All-Stars all on board.

The Clippers in particular were amped after practicing Thursday for the first time all season with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the starting unit. And yet:

“I didn’t think we played with any zip,” Rivers said. “You could see from the beginning of the game. Offensively, we were so slow, so easy to guard as a group. … Their entire team was more physical. I felt they really looked at this game as a big game, the way they played. I thought we showed up to play a basketball game.”

That could get twisted into something dismissive – Y’know, it was a bigger deal to Milwaukee – except that the Bucks just did, again, what they’ve been doing for a while now.

The last team to beat them was Utah back on Nov. 8, their lone misstep in a four-game Western trip. This streak of theirs is the franchise’s longest since 1973, surpassed only by the 20- and 16-gamers Milwaukee had in its 1970-71 championship season.

At 20-3, the Bucks have matched the best start through 23 games in team history, something they did both in 1970 and 1971 when they had another hoops freak of nature who needed only one name (Kareem).

And now Milwaukee has won its last four games by 137 points, treating the Clippers (28) no differently from Charlotte (41), New York (44) or Detroit (24) all in the past week. That’s the second-largest point differential over four games in NBA history (Sacramento outscored four foes by 150 in 1992-93).

“To do what we did defensively and offensively was great,” said Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer. “We're getting closer to 48 minutes of the kind of team we want to be.”
Antetokounmpo celebrated his birthday with 27 points and 11 rebounds, his 21st double-double and 20th 20-10 game. And he did it in 26:21, the very best kind of load management.

You know Kawhi and Paul George want to get into the passing lanes, want to get deflections. Their hands are always there.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Curiously, Rivers assigned forward Mo Harkless to Antetokounmpo. Never mind he has two of the best wing defenders at his disposal, with either Doberman capable of throwing the Bucks’ attack out of whack by choking off its leader.
“Well, that’s what we’ve been doing all year. We start out games with other guys guarding their [best] guy,” Rivers said. “Y’know, Giannis didn’t guard Kawhi either.”
OK, so the Bucks might want to keep their MVP from early foul trouble. But the Clippers have two.
“But they’re both coming off injuries, too,” Rivers said. “They’re not 100 percent yet. The second half of the year, they’ll do it more.”
Not against Milwaukee. These clubs are done this season, with the Bucks sweeping 2-0.
Most of the Clippers’ rotation guys got their turns in the tank against Antetokounmpo. And it worked all right, as he scored 10 points by halftime. In the third quarter, however, Antetkounmpo scored 13 points, including 10 straight early in which he blistered all comers with a layup, an alley-oop throwdown, a thunderous dunk and a 3-pointer from out front. Milwaukee’s 35-19 edge in the period made it 87-62 with 12 minutes left.

Surprisingly, Antetokounmpo said that not having Leonard or George locked in as his primary defender actually made his life tougher.

“You know Kawhi and Paul George want to get into the passing lanes, want to get deflections,” he said. “Their hands are always there. So now you’ve got to worry about three guys basically, and not just Harkless. I think it’s better when Kawhi is on me because you know, all right, he’s right here. He’s not helping. He’s not in the passing lanes. He’s not going to put his hands in when I’m dribbling.”

There was no comeback in the Clippers. Leonard (25.0 points), George (23.5), Lou Williams (21.1) and Montrezl Harrell (19.1) typically combine for 88.7 points nightly. But they had 47 with a quarter to go Friday. And with 9:25 left, Rivers went white flag, sitting them all down.

So Milwaukee, making a persuasive case as the NBA’s best team, didn’t have to gut out all 48 minutes after all.

The night unexpectedly wound up a lot like Antetokounmpo’s postgame menu.

“Piece of cake,” he said.




I liked the part where it said no load management for Giannis

We've had family visitng for the past few days. I missed the Clippers beat down by the Bucks....fortunately. That was UGLY.

Also couldn't watch the Clippers - Wizards game today but the Clips did beat a weaker Wizards team.

Looks like Doc has his work cut out for him.

 

[steve williams]

Lakers are playing amazing and at the half have a 73-65 lead. Lebron with 4 quick fouls sat most of the half

AD however is so quick and strong and is a joy to watch.

The Wolves are young and very quick and very accurate

No defense in this game. Just run and gun

 

[steve williams]

Minnesota is so gutsy. They are like a fly on the a$$hole of an elephant. They just hang around

AD already has 42 points at the end of 3rd with Lakers up 110-103

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

Wish the came was on here at the hotel in New York, instead ESPN 2 has a Tetras championship on, very exciting. I am keeping tabs on the game on the internet. The outcome appears inevitable, but not a total blow out...

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

and now its a blow out, the jellos jigglin

 

[steve williams]

Lakers just way too strong as they win
142-125

AD and James combine for 82 points with AD hitting 50 of them

Lakers with best record in the NBA open another grueling road trip with one of those games in Milwaukee

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

Lakers just way too strong as they win
142-125

AD and James combine for 82 points with AD hitting 50 of them

Lakers with best record in the NBA open another grueling road trip with one of those games in Milwaukee

Now that's the game to watch!

 

[jadis]

How I wish now that the Bucks were in the West as they were in the 70s.

 

[jadis]

Now that's the game to watch!

Lakers vs Bucks. Watch out for a possible jersey-covered mouth conversation between LeBron and the Greek Freak, this is for his age 36-40 career recruiting, in case Davis does not get him a title this year and walks.

 

[jadis]

Luka Doncic passes Michael Jordan for modern-day NBA record

Jason Owens
Yahoo SportsDec 9, 2019, 10:22 AM


The hits keep on coming for Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.


This time to the tune of passing Michael Jordan in the NBA record books.

The Mavericks playmaker tallied 28 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The stat line marks the 19th straight time Doncic has logged 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game, breaking a tie with Michael Jordan for the longest streak since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger.

Big O is next in Doncic’s sights
He still trails Oscar Robertson, whose streak of 29 straight games achieving the feat from 1964 to 1965 is still the standard. As with many things Robertson-related, he’s at the top of the record list multiple times with streaks of 25 and 19 in addition to his 29-game streak.


https://sports.yahoo.com/luka-donci...for-modernday-nba-record-022245607.html#Aside

 

[christoph]

And finally.........

Report: Cavaliers now ready to listen to trade offers for Kevin Love

Jack Baer
Yahoo Sports Contributor
,
Yahoo Sports•December 6, 2019

After a 5-15 start, the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly ready to look into moving their most obvious trade chip.

The Cavaliers are ready to listen to trade offers on All-Star power foward Kevin Love, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Teams mentioned as possibly still interested in acquiring Love are the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets

“I’m told that Cleveland is ready now to listen to offers on Kevin Love as we get to that December 15 date and then the February trade deadline,” Wojnarowski said. “If somebody blows them away with an offer, this is a team clearly in a rebuild. Kevin Love is still player who, look at our teams who are all playing tonight who have all had interest in the recent past with him. Boston. Portland. Denver.

“He’s going to be a player very much in demand and I think there are going to be a lot conversations between Cleveland and teams all over the league about Love.”

Moving closer to that Dec. 15 date is significant to the Cavaliers’ ability to trade Love because that’s the date in which teams can trade away free agents signed over the summer, opening up a whole new range of players that can be included in a deal.

What will Kevin Love’s trade market look like?
The 31-year-old Love is currently averaging 16.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from deep. He remains one of the better rebounders in the league and fits the classic profile of a floor-stretching big men, though he comes with his detractors on defense.

Still, it’s usually pretty easy to fit an offensive presence like Love into a lineup, and there are a lot of teams out there — including the three mentioned above — that could use him.

Currently playing in the first year of a four-year, $120 million extension signed before the 2018-19 season, Love will come with three additional years of control after this season, with an annual cap hit around $30 million.

The Cavaliers, whose struggles this season hit a new peak with reports of players unhappy with the coaching style of head coach John Beilein, clearly have plenty of reasons to trade away their former All-Star. It’s somewhat unlikely Love would be around for their next real contender if he stays, and even more unlikely that he will be a player worth $30 million in cap space to them by then.

If a team calls them up with an offer of significant draft capital or young players, it should be hard for the Cavaliers to say no.

Seeing that Love is over 30, maybe he could go to the Lakers

 

[christoph]

Lebron with 4 quick fouls sat most of the half

Load Management à la Bum?

 

[christoph]

Minnesota is so gutsy. They are like a fly on the a$$hole of an elephant. They just hang around

 

[WLVCA]

Clippers beat the Pacers tonight, led by PG13 with 36 points. Kawhi did not play.

Leonard and the Clippers play Toronto Wednesday in Canada. Kawhi will receive his championship ring from the Raptors in a pre-game ceremony. Classy move by Toronto.

 

[steve williams]

I really hate the Rockets but they were truly robbed.........

NBA officially denies Rockets' protest

Official release

NEW YORK – The NBA announced today that Commissioner Adam Silver has denied the Houston Rockets protest of their 135-133 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 3, 2019, following receipt by the league office of submissions from both teams and the completion of its investigation.
In the protest, the Rockets argued that the officials misapplied the playing rules by failing to grant a Coach’s Challenge in connection with James Harden’s fourth quarter dunk, and that this error had a clear impact on the outcome of the game by depriving the team of two points. While agreeing that the referees misapplied the rules, Commissioner Silver determined that the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the error during the remainder of the fourth quarter and two subsequent overtime periods and thus the extraordinary remedy of granting a game protest was not warranted.

In addition, the league announced today that it has disciplined all three referees from the game for misapplying the Coach’s Challenge rule.
With 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and the score 102-89 in favor of Houston, Harden stole the ball and converted an uncontested dunk. The ball was dunked with such force that, as it cleared the net, the ball was propelled around the basket and upward, creating an initial appearance that it was not a successful field goal. Houston then called a timeout, and the officiating crew conferenced to discuss the play.
After deliberation, the crew informed the Houston coaching staff that a basket interference violation had been called on Harden, and Houston asked for a Coach’s Challenge. This request was denied by the officials because more than 30 seconds had elapsed from the start of the timeout. But the 30-second time limit for Coach’s Challenges only applies when the challenge arises during a mandatory timeout or a timeout called by the opposing team. Because Houston called the timeout in this case, it was entitled to challenge the basket interference call upon being informed of it by the game officials.

If the Coach’s Challenge requested by Houston had been properly granted, instant replay would have shown that Harden’s dunk was a successful field goal.

As a follow-up to the NBA’s investigation of this matter, the NBA will work with the Competition Committee to develop additional procedures to help prevent the situation with Harden’s made basket from occurring again.

 

[jadis]

Clippers beat the Pacers tonight, led by PG13 with 36 points. Kawhi did not play.

Leonard and the Clippers play Toronto Wednesday in Canada. Kawhi will receive his championship ring from the Raptors in a pre-game ceremony. Classy move by Toronto.

Yes, classy move and he should be given a warm hero's welcome there. Aside from the LM concept, there is really nothing much to take away his contributions to his teams. Perhaps he knows his body best, and his group thought up a way to combat that quad injury that made him miss 73 games with the Spurs. He brought titles to his team, so, maybe the end justifies the means.

 

[steve williams]

Clippers beat the Pacers tonight, led by PG13 with 36 points. Kawhi did not play.

Leonard and the Clippers play Toronto Wednesday in Canada. Kawhi will receive his championship ring from the Raptors in a pre-game ceremony. Classy move by Toronto.

Not really. That's standard protocol to award the player his ring when he plays his former team on their home court